“Landon,” I started whispering, curling myself into a ball. “I’m fully recharged, and I need to get out of here.”
“Is everything alright? Why are you whispering?” His voice was sharp.
“I’m fine, just trapped in a house with strict religious people. Shit, no. I’m confused.” I sighed. “I just told my guy that he’s an incubus and he lost it completely. Called me spawn of Lucifer.”
“Well,” Landon drawled, “he’s not wrong.” I made a noise of disgust and he hurried to add. “But I’m sure that was horrible for you.”
Fingering the sheets, I stared up at the ceiling with a frown.
“I don’t know how else I could have handled it. We had sex. It was incredible. Mind-blowing. He could feel the power surging between us. I couldn’t pretend and he’s so torn up about it, thinking he’s been influencing other people. I should have done it slower. But I also don’t want to stay here any longer than I have to. He can’t stay here. It’s a death sentence,” I rambled.
“What are you going to do?” Landon pressed.
“I’m going to give it a week. Probably for the best. I can always keep tabs on him and check in to make sure he is doing alright.”
“Allera, stop,” Landon chastised me. “You can’t leave an incubus in that place. He needs someone to teach him how to control himself. Imagine if you’d been left untrained and raw? Incubi are so rare, you can’t chance someone else finding him and taking him.”
“What do you expect me to do?” I ground my teeth. I knew I couldn’t leave him here, but the alternative was something even worse. It would have to be done by force. He would never forgive me. He would hate me, and it would take years to dismantle the twisted beliefs that clogged his mind. But I also didn’t have a choice. On the off chance that someone sensed his true self, he would be snatched and caged like an animal in some dingy hole, never to see the light of day. At least I could offer him freedom, although it may feel like the opposite at first.
“You know what you have to do, but I can help you?” Landon asked. I clicked my tongue.
“No, I won’t have you digging around in his mind. It’s wrong. It’s what Reeve would do.”
“My brother isn’t a monster, Allera, you just bring out the beast in him,” Landon sighed harshly down the phone, and I bristled. I wasn’t about to be lectured about Reeve again. He had tried to cage me and to me, that meant he was capable of extreme darkness.
“He wanted to knock me up,” I hissed.
“He’s been in love with you since the moment he met you and when he finally had you? He went a little crazy. Some things he said were unforgivable. He needs to atone for that.”
“Are you serious right now? How do you explain what he did, draining all my power?” I was about to rage throw my phone across the room.
“He was jealous that you’d got that power from someone other than him. I’m not saying what he did was right. He regrets losing his temper and wants to mend things with you.”
“Why did you help me escape if this is what you really thought?” His words mystified me.
“I thought you loved him and that after a beat, you’d miss him. I thought you’d calm down and realize that he’s a dick, but he’s your dick. We’ve been in each other’s lives for years. You two have been dancing around each other for just as long. One fight shouldn’t ruin that. You know Reeve. He would never have truly hurt you. He only has one weakness, and that’s you.”
“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” I whispered, my chest aching at his words. “He wants to own me, and I refuse.”
“He realizes that now. He thought you were exclusive. Allera, you should see him. He’s an absolute mess. Calls me twenty times a day to ask if I’ve heard from you. It’s pathetic. You could ask him anything and he’d agree if it meant you’d give him another chance.”
“Foolish man,” I breathed. My heart constricted at the thought of Reeve brought to his knees by my absence. “I can’t believe that. Are you being serious right now?”
Landon laughed.
“Honey, I’m going to send you a video. You tell me that isn’t a broken man. He’ll do anything to mend this, Allera. And I’d like my best friend and my brother back to his usual asshole self. This moping mess is disturbing me.”
My phone chimed as the video he sent came through.
“I’ll consider what you said, alright? I need to think about it. Reeve, he really hurt me,” I admitted. “But things have changed. Kellen will be with me now and I don’t want to give him up. Reeve would have to get used to sharing me if I ever forgave him.”
Landon hummed his approval.
“Of course, and if you decide you’re done with him I respect your decision. I just think you need to hear him out. You two are like oil on a flame. Blowing up and burning bright. The communication could use a bit of work.”
“I’ll talk to you in a few days. Nail down getting me out of here,” I hung up before he could say anything else. What Landon had said about Reeve had me reeling and I couldn’t help the spark of hope that flared in me. I clicked open the video, turning the sound down. Reeve was on a leather chair, wearing a rumpled suit, his collar buttons undone. His head was tipped back, and he had a bottle of whiskey in his hand.
“What’s up, brother?” Landon taunted him, nudging Reeve with his boot.