The questioning could have been worse. It helped that so many things had happened that folks were less concerned about what Alistair was and more about the fact that Morfeus and other TDCM employees—aka wizards—were subverted.

But that wasn’t to say that everything was rosy. Alistair had been outed as a hybrid form of demon, but not everyone was surprised by his existence. His aunt Jas’a’meen Ba’ak’ra, the first one to truly infiltrate this dimension, had been slowly preparing for their arrival. The female, who’d created a life for herself in this world—and allowed her grandchild to call her Meemaw—was part of the highest council in existence. She was the one who’d brought Alistair and others over, showed him the beauty of this world, then tasked the former soldier—a lowly seventh son of a seventh son—with keeping this world safe.

In the early dawn, his aunt, who’d been present at the ball and instrumental in them pushing back the demonic horde, sent everyone home. There would be time to rehash events and plan for the next invasion—because they hadn’t seen the last of the demons.

Nor had they killed all those who came through. Two vampires had lost their human companions, now suspected of being possessed. The cage of canaries in the kitchen, meant to fill a pie, also gone.

Add in who knew how many had come through in that wave when the horn had put out its call…

The war to save Earth had begun, and Alistair knew there would be no avoiding the questions. Especially from the woman he’d soon marry.

This time, she didn’t protest when he insisted they take his truck. Only as they were buckled, her demon cat in her lap, did the torrent of questions begin. “Do you mean to tell me, all this time, you’ve been looking for a way to stop the demon invasion?” Willow looked confused as Alistair pulled away from Atlantis.

“My aunt is the one who convinced me to do something to save this plane. The wars in my world destroyed what was once a lush land. It wasn’t always a hell dimension. Lucifer began the corruption there after his banishment.”

“As in the Lucifer? He’s real?”

“Not in the way the Bible depicts. For one thing, he’s not an angel, although he can project wings.”

“You keep saying banished. Are you implying that demons and Lucifer originated here?”

“He and his followers committed too many crimes. Rather than perform genocide on a race, they were given the choice of exile. My ancestors moved to a new dimension, one beautiful and lush, then proceeded to repeat the past and destroy it. The demons are what Lucifer and people became. They had to change in order to survive in Hell.”

“Why don’t you look like a demon?” Willow squinted at him. “Do you shift like a Lycan? Do you have horns and a tail?”

His lips quirked. “Not all of us changed. Those with the strongest magic retained our human aspect.”

“If you’re so human, then why did you need witch blood?”

“Because, despite retaining our outward appearance, inside, we changed too much. Adapted to our environment, I guess you would say. In order to survive on Earth, we had to re-adapt again. The quickest way was by imbibing the blood of a descendant.”

“And by descendant you mean someone with magic.”

“Exactly.” What he didn’t say was that they couldn’t just imbibe the blood of any magic user. Those with elven blood only partially satisfied their need. They needed a descendant of Lucifer or his ilk, the so-called witches whose ancestors had borne children from the banished ones, to truly survive.

“Are you descended from Lucifer?”

“Yes. All the major families left are somehow related to him. All striving for his approval.”

“You speak as if he’s still alive.”

“He might be. He disappeared a long time ago. Some say he went off to die. Others say he’s waiting for the right time to return.”

“What do you think?”

“I think the world is better off thinking he’s dead. He didn’t sow a positive legacy.”

“You turned out all right.”

“By accident. Before coming to your world, I was as violent and bloodthirsty as they came. Everything was about advancing myself in the family. Only once I came into your world and truly understood the possibilities did I change.”

“What possibilities?”

“A life that wasn’t all about battle and destruction.” A life that could involve love.

“So you made it your mission to try and stem the invasion. Why not tell us? Enlist our help?”

“We have been trying, slowly. But as you heard, many take offense to the fact that we need blood, magical blood, to survive.”

“Do you need blood forever?”

He shook his head. “No. After a while, our bodies adjust, and your environment is no longer poisonous. However, before we reach that point, we need a lot.”

“So you killed people.”

“I haven’t. It takes longer, but the same result can be achieved with measured amounts from a strong witch. Some, though, don’t want to wait. They take too much and kill the donor. Exactly how welcome do you think we’d be if people knew?”

“Complicated.”

“It is,” he agreed.

“I should probably be more shocked by it, yet I can’t fault you for doing what you needed to do to survive. Maybe we’ve been going about this demon thing all wrong. What if we found a way to help them survive in our world without killing?”

He snorted. “Most of them are past the point of reasoning. Inbreeding and upbringing have made them violent tools.”

“Is this your way of saying you’re unique?”

“Very. But, then again, so are you.” She was a bright and shining prize he’d never expected to find. In his world, affection was seen as weakness. Marriages were made for alliance and strength.

But this was a new world. A new chance. And he was ready to try something new. To love and be loved.

“What do you say we go back to my place and get cleaned up?” she asked.

Meow.

He frowned at the cat who was not a cat.

“Don’t worry. I haven’t forgotten about some treats for my big hero of the day,” she said, baby-talking her pet. She snuggled it close before giving its belly a rub.

A loud purr erupted.

Alistair could have sworn the damned thing smirked at him. It could smirk all it wanted. I will be the one sinking balls deep into her later.

He made record time to her place, the fact that she kept petting the kitten in her lap an incentive to have that petting transferred to him.

He wanted to be touched. Never mind that the world was dealing with a demon outbreak. Who cared if the biggest demon of all might be looking for another portal in? Dawn crested bright with possibility.

He and Willow would deal with the fate of the world later. After he’d made her his.

Entering the house, after she’d taken down her wards, he made a beeline for the kitchen and had the can of tuna opened before she’d even walked into the room with her cat. He held it out.

“Feed it. I’ll go start the shower.”

It pleased him to notice she didn’t waste time following. He’d only managed to strip off his soiled dress shirt when she entered the bathroom and closed the door.

Then stripped, her gaze holding his.

There were all kinds of things he could have said in that moment. None of them could have conveyed strongly enough how he felt.

Love seemed too small a word.

He held out his arms, and she stepped into them, hugging him close. He’d almost lost her today. Almost lost this vibrant, perfect woman.

He kissed her and would have devoured more than her mouth, but she shoved at him. “I reek of demon tail.”

He chuckled. “Get in the shower. I’ll wash.”

And he did, on his knees, a worshipper with soapy hands, cleansing every inch of her body. Marking her with his touch.

She moaned and sighed as he teased her, eyes closed, and her head tilted back. The bench in her shower provided a perfect spot to park her so she wouldn’t fall. He knelt between her legs, and she clasped her legs around his waist.

She pulled him close, her moist core pulsing against his lower belly. It put her breasts at just the right height. He latched on to a pert nipple and tugged it.

A noise escaped her, one of pleasure. Her legs wrapped tighter, pressing her sex harder against him.

As he teased the nub with his mouth, he cupped her ass, kneading and playing with the cheeks. She squirmed and moaned at his touch, and it drove him mad with desire.

I want to taste her. With the water of the shower pounding his back, he kissed his way down over her ribs. Her tight vise loosened, allowing him to keep going, kissing her belly before nuzzling her mound.

She spread her legs wide for him, exposing her sex in all its silken glory. He traced the delicate edge of a quivering lip. Felt her shudder.

He pressed his mouth to her and licked, sucked at her sweet honey. Lapped at the proof of her desire for him.

“Alistair.” It was his name she moaned as her body quivered. That she screamed as he flicked his tongue again and again over her clit, bringing forth her orgasm.

As she moaned in pleasure, her body shuddering from her first climax, he stabbed his tongue inside her, feeling the quivering waves of her pleasure.

The first of what he hoped would be many orgasms.

As her body calmed, he worked to bring it to a fever pitch again. He teased her clit. Already swollen, her nub stuck out from its hood, and he tongued it relentlessly. He lapped at her, feeling her pleasure building, coiling, readying itself for a second eruption.

When she skirted too close to the edge, he paused to blow on it, drawing a tortured moan from her lips. A quiver rocked through her body.

Time for something different. He stood and drew her up to her feet, but her legs were weak from pleasure.

“Hold on,” he ordered her, lifting her so that his cock aligned with her sex. The tip of him pushed at her, and before he could tease her some more, she wrapped her legs around his waist and sheathed him.

The heat of her pulsed around him, tight and blissful. Control eluded him as his fingers dug into her ass cheeks.

But she wasn’t about to let him take control. He might have been the one holding her, but she was the one bouncing on his shaft, her muscles squeezing him, the smooth silk of her flesh rubbing.

He turned enough that he could press her back to the wall, only then did he have the right angle to piston her. His cock thrust deep, hard, hitting her sweet spot over and over.

She trembled in his arms. Her body tensed. With a sharp cry, she came, her channel fisting his cock, drawing forth his own climax. He thrust deep, one final time, marking her with his seed.

Hopefully life.

Giving him the best reason of all to fight his past.

Love.