Ava had never actually seen a bonding before. As a human, her mother hadn’t known of the demon rituals, and as a Fallen angel, her father wouldn’t have cared for her mother enough to make her his eternal mate. She’d heard stories of that kind of love, though. One so strong, the male would face an army of demons to protect his mate. Would fight to his last breath for her. And lived solely to pleasure her.

Like something out of a romance novel.

Staring at her reflection in the bathroom mirror brought a smile to her face. She almost didn’t recognize herself in the silky pink chemise. Her breasts plumped over top, waist small and curving out to full hips. The bronze of her skin gave her a Mediterranean appearance, set against the ice-blue of her eyes that’d held specs of fiery orange ever since the night with the hellsfire.

Healthy.

Happy.

She rubbed her hands over her stomach and smiled. Two days before, Drechler had examined her, offering the incredulous news that her womb had remained intact. Should she and Calix decide to, they’d have the choice of starting a family. A choice.

When she exited the bathroom, Calix stood at the end of the bed, wearing a druid-style robe, his face shielded inside the hood of it.

He reached out a hand to her, his expression indiscernible from where she stood.

From what Ava had gathered from Calla, bonding happened after midnight. She’d expected Calix to wake her from sleep and do his thing. His thing being the most exquisite sex she’d ever experienced.

She placed her hand in his and allowed him to lead her toward the door. “Wait. Calix. We’re doing this outside of the bedroom?”

“Yes,” was all he said in response.

“Then, I should probably get my robe. Or something, in case we run into Bennett on the way.”

At his release, she darted back toward the armoire, nabbing the robe draped on the chair beside it, and slid it over her shoulders before returning to Calix’s side.

Down the hallway, he led her to a dark corridor, lit only by sconces. She’d never been there before, where ghostly paintings stood before various phases of the moon. There seemed to be a pattern to the images that, had she been given the opportunity to study them, she may have picked up on, but Calix didn’t pause to admire the scenery. He kept on down the hallway, which seemed to darken the further they ventured, until they reached a door at the end.

Light bled through the cracks, and as Calix pushed it open, the source of the lambent glow was confirmed in the dozens of candles lit around an open room. All of Calix’s brothers, with the exception of Zayne, lined either side of a path that led to a fire pit. Beside Logan, stood Calla, who held a sleeping Avalon, and Sabelle smiled from Gavin’s side. Both women wore a sleeveless stola and palla, looking like something out of the Roman era.

Ava shrank at the sight of them, feeling underdressed in her nightie, particularly as they seemed hell-bent on avoiding her gaze with their eyes focused downward.

“Calix,” she whispered, as they made their way toward the fire pit.

He didn’t answer.

Panic swelled inside her chest at a single thought racing through her mind—one that would seem almost ridiculous, if not for the fact that she understood demon rites to be some of the most strictly followed and respected practices of the underworld.

Finally reaching the pit of fire, she turned to face him, and from the way he tipped his head and reached out to stroke her cheek, the conflict must’ve been flashing like a marquee across her forehead.

“Calix,” she whispered, glancing at the others out of the corner of her eye. “Do we … bond in front of them?” Again, Ava was no stranger to sex with an audience, but for chrissakes, they were his brothers, and she’d never consider such a thing in front of Avalon.

“Yes.” He chuckled, pulling back the hood of his robe to reveal his exquisitely handsome face. Truly, Calix was something to behold when he was groomed and his incubi nature had been sated. “But my claiming of you is quite private,” he whispered in her ear. “No one gets the pleasure of your O face, but me, from here on out.”

Ava bit the inside of her lip to stifle a laugh and cleared her throat. “So, this is something like a wedding.”

“If human weddings were a proclamation of the male’s eternal servitude, then yes. Probably more like your coronation.”

“What, like a queen?”

“Yes. My queen.”

The words cast a chill up her spine, and Ava could hardly force herself to look at the others in the room. She’d never been looked upon as anything important—only a lowly Nephilim that preyed on innocence, like some kind of vulture of the underworld.

Gavin approached them, cloaked in the same robe as Calix, and the two of them exchanged a glance and a nod, before Calix’s gaze swung back to her.

“A demon must have the blessings of at least one brother in order to consummate a bonding,” Gavin explained. “Calix is fortunate to have three.”

Watching Gavin kneel before her and take her hand was about the most unnerving thing she’d ever witnessed, since the regal male carried himself like a king.

“For saving Calix, soothing him, and caring for him in his time of need. Du et gloriasz.” I honor you.

Ava’s cheeks flushed, body trembling, as he kissed the top of her hand, and she nodded when he rose to his feet before her, then stepped aside.

Logan strode forward, wearing his usual stern expression, but when he fell to his knees before her, dropping his hood back, Ava fought the tickle of embarrassment sweeping through her.

She’d never felt so on display, her emotions ready to burst through her skin at any moment.

“For saving the life of my taszchla and child. Du et gloriasz.” Like Gavin, he kissed the top of her hand and rose before her, taking his place beside his older brother.

The long pause that followed brought the unrelenting quiver of her muscles to her attention, and undoubtedly everyone else’s, as she awaited the third brother.

When Ferno stepped out of formation and strode toward them, her view of the demon blurred behind a shield of tears. She hadn’t gotten the opportunity to thank him for saving her life. Mostly because he’d refused to acknowledge her in the last few weeks, for reasons she’d probably never know. Seeing him approach left her feeling more nervous than even a moment before.

He, too, knelt before her, not bothering to look up, thank goodness, because she’d have probably accidentally wobbled into the flames.

“Everyone says I saved your life.” The deep, gravelly rasp of Ferno’s voice didn’t match the smooth tones of his brothers. His brow furrowed, lips thinned with whatever churned in his mind. “They tell me you’d have died that night. But truth is, you saved me. By giving me a small piece of redemption.” His gaze lifted to hers, and he reached for her hand. “Du et gloriasz.”

A quick glance toward Calix showed his pinched brows, lips downturned as if he might break.

Before Ferno could rise to his feet, Ava fell to her knees, covering his hand with hers, and bowed her head. “Thank you, Ferno.” She kissed the back of his hand, and both of them rose to their feet. When he bent forward to kiss her cheek, a gasp filled the room, as everyone, particularly Ava, stood in shock.

He stepped back, and Calix patted his shoulder, before Ferno took his place alongside Gavin and Logan.

From the stones beside the fire, Gavin tugged a blade from his side, cut into his forearm, and allowed himself to bleed into a set-out brass bowl. He then handed the knife to Logan who did the same, followed by Ferno. The bowl caught the blood of each of the brothers, before it was handed off to Calix.

Gavin stepped forward carrying a gorgeous gold band and an elaborately etched staff with a gold tip, and he wrapped the jewelry around Ava’s bicep.

Twisting her arm in front of her, she studied the etchings of demon script, ones she only vaguely recalled from her childhood.

A bright glow caught her attention, as Gavin lifted the blazing gold tip of the staff from the flames and held it out to Calix.

Jaw set to a hard line, Calix’s gaze fell on hers, and as Gavin set the red-hot tip of the staff to Calix’s chest, Ava’s eyes widened with horror.

The crackling of burning skin slid down her spine, and the insanely protective desire to lash out at Gavin left her slamming her hands against her ears. “Gods, don’t do this!”

Calix’s lips softened to a smile, and he glanced down at the black marking seared into his skin, one Ava squinted to make out behind all of the charred flesh.

“The blood of your brothers seals the bond.” With a black cloth held to Calix’s chest, Gavin poured the contents of the bowl over the wound.

Once he’d wiped the cloth over the wound, leaving only the clean black etching of his skin, Ava examined the symbols and script there, and found her name sat in the thick of what looked like an extension of the ink on Calix’s chest.

“As the eldest son of Wrath, I vow our loyalty and protection to you, Ava.” Gavin spoke a demonic chant, an offer of wisdom and foresight, then kissed the back of her hand.

Ferno stepped forward, and like Gavin, spoke the demon words of hellsfire and protection.

Each of Calix’s brothers approached, offering a promise of what she determined was their brand of pain—the element each used to exact vengeance. A proclamation of their loyalty that cast ripples of humility down her spine, but not because she wasn’t appreciative. On the contrary, Ava thought herself unworthy of such sincerity and devotion.

As if she’d somehow deceived them into thinking she was something special.

After each of the brothers had shown their respect, Calix ultimately knelt before her and held her hand in his. “As your servosx, I vow to love and protect you. To honor you, serve you, and pleasure you for eternity. You will never know hunger, or loneliness, pain, or sadness, as long as I live and breathe. You are my tazschla from now until absolute death.”

Through a blur of tears, Ava smiled down at him and shook her head. “Even in death.”

His jaw tightened, and Calix rose, his lips crashing against hers with urgency, as if the moment would somehow slip away from him.

Over the clapping, an obnoxious whistling had Ava peeling her face from Calix’s. Zeke stood with his fingers tucked inside his lips, and another whistle had her laughing. The only time in the ceremony that he’d broken from his serious composure, which had struck Ava odd, seeing him so sober and concentrated—so not Zeke.

Calix held her face in his palms, his face glowing with happiness. “Du amec.”

“I love you,” she said, kissing him once more.

After offering their congratulations, all his brothers, along with Calla and Sabelle, exited the room, leaving only Ava and Calix standing beside the fire.

“Is this when you claim me?” she asked, while a nervous and nauseating tickle struck her stomach. Like a jar of butterflies had been set free inside of her, a jittery vibration hummed beneath her skin.

“Yes. And you’re nervous.”

“No. Yes.” She smiled, threading the belt of her robe between her fingers in her fidgeting. “A little. Lot.”

Calix chuckled and slid his hands between hers, tugging the knot of the robe until it opened, exposing her chemise beneath. “It’s a shame, you know.”

“What is?”

“Such a pretty garment.” He slid his fingers beneath the thin strap at her shoulders, back and forth. “I almost hate to take it off of you.”

“I’ll show you what’s under my nightgown, if you show me what’s beneath that robe.”

With a wily grin, Calix stepped back and untied the robe, allowing it to fall away from his body, and holy shit. He’d somehow gotten bigger, and not just his muscles. His erection stood proud between them, setting Ava’s nerves on edge at the sheer size of it.

“I see you’ve been holding out on me.”

A burst of laughter beat through his chest, as Calix took hold of the beast, stroking it in front of her. “The bonding ceremony often produces much higher levels of hormone in the males. In preparation for my change.”

“You. You’ll … still be Calix, right?”

“I’ll still be me. No matter what you see on the outside.”

“This is a Wrath thing?”

“Yes. Part of our change when we bond. Our true nature.” His eyes fell to her clothing and back. “I showed you mine. Now, let’s see yours.”

Ava slowly slipped the straps off her shoulders, watching his breaths hasten, while he stared down at her. Still stroking himself, his eyes remained riveted on her breasts, as she peeled the thin satin away from them, exposing herself to him.

Nostrils flared, Calix’s lips parted, and Ava caught the clench of his jaw, as if he fought to hold something back.

She allowed the garment to fall to the floor and kicked out of it, standing almost naked before him. Many times, she’d been naked in his presence, and never once had she felt self-conscious beneath his stare until right then. As if something else watched through Calix’s eyes, Ava felt on display for a stranger.

Nabbing the thin strap of her panties, he pushed them down her thighs, his breath hot against her sex as he glided them over her ankles and tossed them aside. Beside the fireplace, sat a large wooden box, like an old cedar chest, that Calix lifted open, tugging a luxurious blanket from inside. He spread it out on the ground beside her and pushed to his feet once more.

His eyes roamed her with far more hunger and want than before, and the way he slammed his teeth together, tightening his jaw, sent the first tingle of fear down her spine. “Lie back, tazschla.”

The voice didn’t sound like Calix, at all. Much more gruff and beastly, and if not for the fact that she had anticipated his change, Ava would’ve surely run for her life.

Instead, she did as he commanded. She even went so far as to spread her legs for him, offering a view of her impossibly wet sex. After all, even if he didn’t sound like Calix, or behave like him, he still looked like the man she loved.

At least for a few minutes more, anyway.

A frightening madness claimed his expression, as he stood softly chanting in demonic, and when he fell to his knees, diving headfirst between her thighs like a starving man at a buffet, Ava kicked her head back and gasped. His lips found her folds, tongue dipping into her drenched entrance, and he chuffed a grunt.

Ava squirmed beneath him, his aggression reminding her of some kind of animal, the way he fed on her, ate her like a platter of pussy au jus, and she cried out when he sucked at her clit. She bucked her hips that he held down, keeping her from moving, and the moan that passed his lips sounded like something straight out of a zombie flick during a feast of human flesh.

There was no pain, though.

It was the most horrifically amazing and terrifying moment of her life.

Ava stared down her body at Calix’s head bobbing between her thighs, and the stiffening of her muscles told her orgasm was close.

Calix pushed against her shins, bending her knees and opening her to him, before his tongue buried so deep inside of her, she cried out a second time.

Mercifully, he stopped, but when he lifted his head and he crawled over her body, Ava shot up on her elbows, instinctively backing away.

His skin had changed to a deep red, his lips darkened to almost black. As he inched closer, his muscles trembled beneath the weight of him, flexing with his transformation. He snarled, baring enormous fangs, and his eyes morphed from a calm sea of blue to deep pools of angry red.

“Calix?” she whimpered, as he held himself over her, looking every bit a beast in his demonic form.

“Relax, tazschla.” His gruff voice did nothing to set her at ease, but Ava told herself that somewhere beneath his frightening mask was Calix. Her Calix.

Paralyzed by terror, she lay still, and while he lowered his face to the side of her, disappearing from view, Ava closed her eyes, waiting for what would come next.

A stab of pain at her neck arched her back, but the agony was quickly smothered beneath a cool wash of warmth that felt like too much Elysia in her system at once. It forced an involuntary giggle that made her want to cry, as intense pleasure rushed through her veins, tickling her bones. The warmth softened her muscles, and when the first pang of desire struck her core, Ava opened her eyes on a forced exhale, as tiny zaps of electricity moved beneath her skin, innervating her nerves.

Her body came alive, craving his touch like never before. The seconds that passed were pure agony as she waited for him, needing him.

“Calix, please. T’ch’me.” She frowned at the drunken dizziness that claimed her voice, as if her whole body had been anesthetized by whatever he’d done to her.

At a sharp tug of her neck, Ava let out a quiet moan as the wooziness intensified, every muscle in her body shaking and weak. Just like an animal that’d been stunned for the kill, she lay unable to move, until his teeth dislodged from her throat.

Stirring her hips did nothing to lessen the ache in her core, the need to be filled and sated.

Like an answered prayer, Calix positioned his tip at her entrance, gliding his cock up and down her slit.

“Please, Calix. Please fuck me.” He pushed into her, and Ava gripped his nape, squeezing him as she stretched around his impossibly large dick. “Gods!”

Slow and gentle, he rocked in to her, keeping an even tempo, until, at last, he thrust to the hilt.

“Does it hurt, tazschla?” His voice caressed her ear, brought a smile to her face as his demon spoke with such reverence.

She shook her head, wrapping her legs around his back, wanting every part of her against his skin.

Permission granted, he upped the pace, pistoning into her body while she clung to him, only vaguely aware of anything outside of their merged bodies. A delicious scent struck her senses—dark and heady and brimming with promise.

She felt exquisitely beautiful and vulnerable at the same time. As if he’d numbed all of her inhibitions, all of her worries, and allowed her to expose her true self to him, just as he’d exposed his beast to her.

A moment of honesty and verity, trust and respect.

He was raw and beautiful, in search of his release. Her fingertips skimmed over cords of tight muscles, and skin so hot, he could’ve burst into flames. Every thrust inside of her eased the ache, and his masculine sounds of approval brought a smile to her face.

The tremor in her arms and legs intensified, as she struggled to keep it together, to hold out a bit longer. She moaned a staccato sound, and Calix’s growl against her ear told her he was close, too.

Faster, faster. She climbed toward climax.

A flash of white detonated behind her eyes, casting waves of pleasure to every nerve ending in her body. Tingles dispersed in all directions, and she arched into him, as his seed shot like bullets, filling her with his heat.

“Fuck! Ava, fuck!” His muscles shuddered with his release, and she held tighter, bucking her hips into him, meeting his thrusts, until he finally stilled.

Waves of passion washed over her, while he remained inside of her, riding out the last of his orgasm.

“Calix, what is this feeling?” She shook her head to release the punchy swells of lust muddling her brain.

“The bonding of souls.” For the first time, Calix’s voice had returned to the familiar soothing timbre she recognized. And when he pulled away, staring down at her, she wanted to dive into the deep blue of his eyes and drown there. “You’re mine now. Forever.”

“I love the sound of that.” Still caught in an intoxicated haze of satisfaction, she smiled, wrapping her arms around his neck. “I vow never to betray you again. I’ll restore your faith in me. Whatever it takes to redeem myself in your eyes.”

“Your happiness is all the redemption I ask.” He shrugged, lowering his head to her neck for a kiss. “A son or daughter would be nice, too.”

A chuckle kicked her head back, and she wrapped her arms tighter. “What d’you say we get on that, then?”

Calix slid his teeth along her jaw, planting a kiss at her chin. “There’s no rush, tazschlama. I have all eternity to get you knocked up. Tonight, I’m going to savor you. Slowly.”

She dipped her head to kiss him, relishing the spiced flavor of his skin. “And I’m going to enjoy every minute spent with you. Eternally.”