“Do you still hear thewhispers and the roars?”
Startled, I turned my head to gaze into the void of a stranger’s eyes. The man didn’t blink. And there wasn’t a pupil. Just black as the witching hour of the night without the moon. I’d watched enough Supernatural late at night when I couldn’t sleep to know this guy was either fucking around or he wasn’t human.
Honestly, my life was so fucked up right now that I could believe he was the devil himself because the man was a sight to behold. He looked like one of those guys on the expensive razor commercials with the perfect scruff on his face and hair in that slightly messy look girls adored. A dark suit was tailored to fit his frame so well it was like a second skin. Perfect, white teeth too straight not to have expensive work done were framed by full lips drawn into a macabre grin.
He had a muscular build and trimmed waist with rounded, sculpted shoulders and biceps that stretched beneath the fabric of his suit jacket. Tall, lean, and lethal were the words that popped into my head. Charm oozed from his frame and combined with a scent that reminded me of a burning fire and decent cologne.
Blinking, I still hadn’t answered him yet.
“You’d think I’d get a coherent response this time. After all, I was the one who sent the whispers and shadows for you when your asshole foster dad liked to use you for a punching bag.”
My eyes widened. “Are you a vampire?”
Amusement danced in the inky fathoms of his eyes. “Fuck no. Why would I want to limit myself to only drinking blood? Utterly boring if you ask me.”
“A demon?” Because hell yeah, I’d learned a bit about those during the seasons of Supernatural. I always did like bad guys more than the angels. They sure had a lot of fun.
A chuckle vibrated up and out of the stranger’s throat. “I like you. You’re not half as disbelieving as the rest of the club. Grim found something rare with you, didn’t he?”
Shit. Shit. Shit. I was so screwed now. The club didn’t know I was out tonight and about to fuck up the first of the men who touched my Stefanie.
“Uh, maybe?” I asked, lifting my shoulders in a shrug. “I always knew I wasn’t normal.”
“Ding. Ding. Ding. Let’s give this kid a prize.” Black smoke poofed into the air, and the man disappeared, reappearing in front of me only about a foot from my face.
“Holy shit!” I yelled, nearly shitting my pants. “How did you do that?”
This being was powerful. And if he knew about the club, he knew plenty about the Royal Bastards and the Tonopah, NV chapter. Grim never told me about this little detail. Neither did Rael.
A smirk rode the handsome, flawless features of the man as he bowed. “You may call me Lucifer. I do like your tenacity. And those dark, positively wicked thoughts in your head.” He shivered like the idea turned him on, and I took a step back. “You only like women. Such a pity,” he murmured, almost as an afterthought.
“Are you here to strike some kind of bargain with me?”
“As a matter of fact, I am. Do you understand what that means?”
“Selling my soul? Yes. If that means I can have fun with the men who hurt Stefanie and make them suffer, then yes, we can talk about a contract.”
Amused, the devil, and I knew there was no mistaking his identity, plucked a piece of parchment paper out of thin air. “This is so unorthodox I love it.”
Quirking a brow, I didn’t hide the fact that I was clueless about what he meant. “You’re gonna have to be a little more detailed.”
“Ah. Someone who doesn’t hide the truth or anything else. So refreshing. However, one also needs to know how to lie convincingly. It’s so mundane to deal with the truth all the time. All the fun lingers between truth and lie. Never forget that, kid.”
“Okay. I won’t.”
“You’ll still be taking the Devil’s Ride, Shadow. Mark my words. We’ll meet again. Very soon.”
Was he leaving already?
“I’m gonna give you a taste before you decide permanent allegiance, something I’ve never done before today. How delightfully unpredictable. I do love twisting the rules for my benefit.”
“What do I need to do?”
“Nothing, Wyatt born of Shadows. Keep the name. There is none other that suits you better.”
“The name?”
“You’ll know when the time is right.”