My cheeks flushed, and my nipples pebbled. Suddenly, the demi-bra I'd chosen felt too small. My breasts threatened to burst free with every heaving breath that I took. Neo shot them an appreciative glance; but evidently, the sight of my chest wasn't enough to dissuade him from his plan. He gave my left leg the same treatment as my right.

  This time, I felt certain he would shift my panties out of the way and finally kiss me where I so desperately wanted him to.

  But he didn't. Instead, he sealed his mouth over my lace-covered mound and blew out a hot breath over me.

  I bucked. I couldn't help it.

  “Neo,” I moaned.

  He looked up from between my legs, wings and horns gleaming as he smirked up at me.

  “Yes, Cornelia?”

  “Stop teasing me,” I complained.

  Instead of answering, he crawled over my body, abandoning my pussy completely in favour of reclaiming my mouth.

  I poured all of my frustration into the kiss, and he just smiled against me, settling his full weight between my thighs. The bulge of his erection made contact with my clit, and I couldn’t help but arch against him.

  I slipped one leg over his hip and tried to use it to rub our lower bodies together, seeking some relief, but Neo just chuckled. He stilled me with one hand on my hip while his other hand grew those deadly talons, trailing them across the flat plane of my stomach.

  I stilled at the hint of danger, pulse thundering beneath his touch.

  “Scared?” he asked.

  I shook my head, but I was mute with anticipation as he traced his path upwards.

  The front of my bra was sliced apart with brutal efficiency. He was so careful not to catch my skin, but the fragile lace was destroyed, fluttering aside to reveal my pebbled nipples.

  “So beautiful,” Neo said. “I'm afraid you're too tempting. I'll have to skip part of the plan.”

  He delivered the words so solemnly that I didn't know how to respond. Part of me wanted to demand that he end his stupid plan and make love to me. The other half preened under the unwavering focus of a man who was looking at my body with such dark possessiveness that it made the wetness pooling in my core unbearable.

  Luckily, he didn't seem to need me to say anything as he continued to kiss his way across my collarbone and down my sternum. I thought he'd keep going, heading for my navel. I was so entranced by the slow progress that his sudden switch to my breast made me gasp. His tongue flicked over the tip of my nipple and circled it before sucking it deep into his mouth.

  When he withdrew, deliberately scraping the sensitive flesh with his teeth, I almost came. He switched to the other breast, but the sensation of his fingers playing along the edge of my panties distracted me. When I felt claws again, I tensed.

  Cool air kissed my sex as the lace was destroyed. The fingers which dipped into my core were still tipped by the barest hint of those deadly black nails, adding a heady edge of danger to the potent mix of arousal and desire which flowed between us. He traced the lightest of touches over my clit before dipping into the wetness below.

  I let out a breathy moan, arching my hips to try to get him to go deeper. Neo delivered a hard suck to my nipple in response, making me gasp before he resumed teasing my entrance with one circling finger.

  “Is the plan over yet?” I asked, breathless.

  “We've barely started,” he replied, his expression completely serious. “Why? Aren't you enjoying yourself?”

  I felt the laughter along our bond. “The plan is going to kill me.”

  His dark chuckle reverberated against my hypersensitive skin as he released my nipple to kiss the underside of my breast. “Patience.”

  I'd never felt more impatient in my life.

  Thankfully, he sank a finger—sans claw—into me as he spoke, making me twist against his hold. The invasion was gentle, but the press of his finger against that perfect spot had me crying out. Neo claimed the sound with his mouth, taking my lips in another savage kiss as he added a second finger, scissoring them inside of me until I was grinding against his hand.

  The tension echoing down the bond was adding to my own need. Neo was so very close to the edge of his control, and I wanted him to lose it. My hand stretched between us, finding the bulge in his trousers and squeezing it lightly.

  “More,” I demanded, sending a surge of lust and desire to him along the mating bond.

  Neo snapped. His clothes disappeared in a flash of cold and I got the briefest glimpse of his cock, jutting proudly from his body before he removed his hand from my sex, grabbed the back of one knee, and plunged into me.

  “Neo!” I screamed his name as he drove all the way to the hilt inside of me.

  I was still recovering from the unexpected invasion, but Neo didn't wait for me to get used to his girth. No. He drew his hips back and pounded straight back into me, setting a punishing pace that had me gasping and fluttering around him. My nails clawed his shoulder, needing to hold on to something as the Strange God lost control completely.

  His thrusts turned almost brutal, the speed and power shoving me a little farther into the pile of pillows with every stroke. I gloried in it. This was what happened to Neo when he stopped holding back.

  Wet sounds filled the air, broken by the sounds of my whispered pleas as he drove me higher and higher. His other hand took my other knee and spread me wider, deepening the angle until I let out a tiny whimper. Like this, he hit my g-spot with every thrust, and my body trembled under the assault.

  With that double assault, it didn't take long for me to fall over the edge, screaming into his mouth as my body clenched around him. My hand let go of his shoulder, twisting into his hair and brushing against his horns.

  Neo's roar shook the room, the tendons in his neck straining as he pumped twice more, then stopped. His orgasm filled me with warmth, his black eyes going soft with pleasure for a second.

  I almost expected him to collapse on top of me, but he rolled to the side almost as soon as his softening cock slipped from my body, dragging me with him so I was snuggled against his side, the two of us breathing hard.

  “You disrupted the plan,” he accused, eyes narrowing.

  I grinned, unrepentant. “I know. You'll just have to try again.”

  He muttered something that sounded suspiciously like 'I'll tie you down next time,' then pressed a kiss to the top of my head before heading to a bathroom I'd not noticed before.

  “So where are we?” I asked when he returned, looking around the formal, modern room with confusion.

  “Another of our investments and a backup location if you ever need to stay somewhere closer to Lilith than the fortress for your work. I purchased it through Rasz, but the documents are in the same name as your fake ID.”

  I accepted the cloth from him and wiped away the mess between my thighs as I processed that. I'd never anticipated needing a fake ID before, and it seemed a little over the top. But that was Neo: protective to the core.

  He climbed back into the bed, throwing a good portion of the pillow army to the floor before he pulled the covers over us both, spooning me with a warm arm around my middle.

  “I've taken precautions to ensure you're safe, even if I fail to find Marcus in time.” His words were whisper soft, and I had to strain to hear them. “Rasz will care for you and you'll never want for anything.”

  “That won't happen,” I whispered, my throat tightening at the thought. “I refuse to believe it.”

  His silence spoke volumes, and I gripped his arm tighter. I wished I could hold them both there with my sheer will alone, but we were running out of time. He wouldn't be bringing the subject up if he didn't think it was a possibility.

  It took me ages to fall asleep after that. Troubled dreams kept me from true sleep, and perhaps that was why I woke up when the body behind me shifted to a sitting position and turned on a lamp.

  “Neo—” I stopped mid-complaint. “Matteo?”

  My gentle mate was almost a ghost of the man he was only two days ago. His hair, normally a pale, sunny blond, was almost white and limp, while his skin had turned papery and lines of strain surrounded his eyes and mouth.

  “God, what—Are you…?” I couldn't even ask if he's okay, because he clearly wasn't. Instead, I settled for throwing my arms around him and burying my face in his chest. What Neo said before about him having a fortnight left seemed optimistic now I was faced with the reality of his decline.

  “Hey.” His voice was scratchy, and that made me tense even further. “Hey, Nelly. What's wrong?”

  I shook my head, unable to speak past the lump in my throat. Matteo finally pried my face away from his body and grasped my chin in both hands as he wiped away tear after tear with his thumbs.

  “Don't cry,” he whispered. “Please, Nells. I can't stand your tears.”

  “You can't leave me,” I choked out. “We just found each other, and you're fading so fast…” In such a short time, it had become obvious how much I needed Matteo. He was the softness that I needed to counter Neo's intensity. I didn't want to be without either of them.

  “Shhh, shhh.” He tugged me close again, squishing me against his chest. “Neo's going to figure it out, I promise. I'm not leaving.”

  How could I believe that when he was literally disappearing before my eyes? Time suddenly seemed so unfairly stacked against us, and suddenly, crying felt wrong. Like I was wasting what little we had. If anything, I should be the one comforting him.

  I lifted my head and brushed at my tears with the sheet, desperately trying to clear them. “I'm sorry,” I mumbled, guiltily. “I know I shouldn't. I don't know what's wrong with me…”

  Matteo shakes his head. “We'll fix this, I promise. You don't need to cry over me. I thought…” He trailed off, then cleared his throat and started again. “I thought after Neo said you heard us talking you'd be a little more mad with me, to be honest.”

  I shook my head. “I'm confused, but… I don't want to waste time being angry anymore.”

  Because we might not have that much time left. The way his eyes softened told me he knew exactly what I was thinking.

  “I'm a Cruelty,” he whispered, and the words hung heavy in the air for a second before he could continue. “I knew when I was a Wrath it would be something... violent. I guess, I just hoped I'd be something good as well. Maybe a Protection or a Justice. Instead, I got Cruelty.” His face took on a hopeless, faraway look as he spoke, and I had to reach up and kiss him to remind him I was still there. “I'll never, ever use the mate bond to generate power. I'd rather die.”

  I shook my head. “I never thought⁠—”

  “And yes, it was me, who was responsible for what you saw in the dungeon, but it doesn't mean I liked it. Neo had to coach me through it to begin with⁠—”

  I pressed a finger over his lips to silence him. “Matteo, I know.” My Wrath mate wasn't that kind of man. He had a dreamer's heart, not a sadist's.

  The more I thought about it, the more I wondered how he was going to cope.

  “I was going to back out.” His whispered confession was hard to hear. “It was just an experiment, really. To see if my gaining power would give us more time. But then that vagrant started talking about what he would have done to you... I've never felt so angry.” His gaze dropped to his hands. “I don't regret what I did, and I'll do it again if it gives me the power to protect you.”

  I shook my head, mute. I didn't want Matteo's light to dim under the burden of belonging to such a dark sub-caste. I couldn't imagine the eyes I loved so much losing their sparkle every time he needed to gather more power.

  “When Neo and I have separate bodies, I'm going to make a bargain,” Matteo confessed. “If he's still able to, I'll give him anything he wants in exchange for a different sub-caste. Then—if you'll let me—I'll make a second one to get you your arm back.”

  I was stunned for the longest second as I processed what he was saying, then I turned to look down at my missing arm blankly.

  “I—I'm grateful, but...” I stalled, unsure how to say what I wanted to without being completely ungrateful. “If I make that bargain, I need to do it for myself. It took months of learning how not to have two arms, and I got so used to the idea that this was my new reality. I need time to decide whether I want to bargain away my scars and forget that this part of my life ever happened.”

  He nodded and pressed another kiss to my forehead. “I understand.”

  “If Neo can't change your sub-caste, what will you do?” I asked.

  My Wrath mate just shrugged. “I don't know. I considered asking him to just take away my power, but then I think about how I'd feel without it if any of his enemies caught up to us. Even being a Cruelty is better than not being able to protect those I care about.”

  I snuggled closer to him. “I love you, no matter what your sub-caste is.”

  His smile was swift, soft, and blinding.

  But when he opened his mouth to reply, his face contorted in pain. Matteo's body slumped against the pillows like he'd lost the strength to hold himself up.

  “Matteo?” I gasped, hands fluttering over him as I tried to figure out what had happened. As I watched, his features morphed, slowly returning to Neo's. The Pride crystal pushed through the skin of his forehead, leaving drops of blood in its wake.

  “Neo?”

  I pressed against his neck, hands shaking as I tried to find a pulse. Was he breathing? Our bonds were fine and, although Matteo's was quiet and faint, it was still there.

  His eyes opened easily, the black orbs filling me with relief.

  “Cornelia? What's happened?”

  His voice was calm, his whole body instantly alert as he sat up and surveyed the room, swinging his legs over the side of the bed.

  I let him check every shadow as I tried to put my breaking heart back into my chest.

  “You should take me back to the fortress so you can find Marcus,” I whispered. “I don't know what happened to Matteo, but he's so weak now. You have to save him.”

  He stopped his searching and speared me with a perspicacious look.

  “I need both of you,” I added, realising how my words could be interpreted. “Please, Neo.”

  He was silent for a heartbeat. “As you wish,” he said, his voice even as he extended a hand towards me.

  I grabbed for him, clinging to his warmth as the chill of the shadow realm enveloped us both.

  But when I reappeared in the kitchen of the fortress, I was alone.

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  It took the better part of three hours for me to stop pacing the corridors like a caged animal. Rasz only managed to make me sit down by preparing breakfast for me, and even then, I barely touched it. Rasz's cooking was excellent, but worry kept me from enjoying it. What I wanted was a distraction.

  Yet I sat in the library for hours and still couldn't focus on any of the work I was supposed to be doing as Lilith's personal assistant.

  I felt useless, and it was horrible. I ended up searching for more information on Marcus on the Assembly's databases. I didn't expect anything, so I nearly fell out of my chair when I saw the email from an anonymous address in my inbox.

  “Neo, Marcus has been sighted.” I called along our bond. “A former member of the unshown resistance in Rio emailed me. Their note says 'following increased Sect activity across the globe, Marcus was spotted in a Brazilian airport, though we lost him before he got on a plane.'“ My heart sank. “He could be anywhere by now.”

  “Or he could still be in Rio and using it as a bluff,” Neo replied. “His cult is still here.”

  “According to this, his people are everywhere.” We'd really kicked the hornets' nest. “A lot of demons are on the move, more so than usual.”

  “After their failed attack in Rio, they know you're real, and they're aware of the lengths I'll go to to protect you.”

  Marcus was aware of everything, it seemed. Except the fact that all he had to do to succeed in banishing Neo to the shadow realm was stay hidden.

  A cough from the doorway interrupted me, Rasz politely making his presence known.

  “Dinner is served, Mistress.”

  I nodded, rising from the desk I'd been using with a stretch. “Thank you, Rasz.”

  He led the way back through the castle. I was prepared for the formal silence that normally hung heavy between us, so when he spoke, I wasn’t prepared for it.

  “The Master has given permission for Nascia to take you to town so you can procure more things for the fortress and yourself in his absence.”

  That was unexpectedly sweet of Neo, and I perked up a little at that. I knew how hard it would have been for him to make that kind of concession while Marcus was still at large.

  “How do we get to town?”

  “There is a tunnel, Mistress. It has remained mostly disused, but is serviceable. The trip into the nearby town will only take an hour.”

  I smiled, unable to help myself.

  “That sounds perfect.”

  Then I turned my mind to my bond. “Rasz told me… Thank you.”

  “You will remain vigilant. I have people watching the town, and it's small enough that I doubt Marcus's people will be there, but be careful.”

  “I will, I promise.”

  Dinner passed in a blur. I ate faster than I should have, but I hadn't been outside for something as simple as shopping in too long.

  When I was ready, the two servants led me through the fortress and down a set of stairs I'd never seen before. We emerged into an underground garage, but where most men would probably have sports cars, Neo had Hummers and Bentleys. They probably all had bulletproof glass and armour plating. Hell, I was pretty sure some of the vehicles were hybrid tanks.

  Of course, Nascia approached the most heavily armoured one of the lot. It was so massive that it had a folding step and extra handles to allow the occupants to climb in. It was white—presumably to blend with the snowy terrain—and the windows are so heavily tinted that they look black.

  We were going to look like drug dealers in that thing. Any hope of a quiet, inconspicuous shopping trip went down the drain the second the engine roared to life beneath me.