Demons (Darkness #4)(36)

Chapter 10

“What the f**k is this?” Jonas roared, standing at the back of his Hummer.

I’d just spent a tense fifteen minutes sitting in confined quarters with Jonas and his simmering temper. Now we stood at the back of his car, seething rage turning into explosive language. Dominicous stepped back to see the problem, and then, grinning, wasn’t helping.

Keeping my distance, I circled to the back of the car and found the issue. It was a bumper sticker that read, “Trust me, I’m hilarious.”

Ann’s doing, obviously.

“Everyone that knows you will know that thing is lying, bro,” Charles helped, slinking away. “Sasha, I’m going to go eat. I’ve had about enough of you for one evening.”

“Real nice,” I muttered.

“I must get you to tell me a joke sometime,” Dominicous said to Jonas.

“Okay, Jesus, you guys. You spend more time pestering each other than you do me, and that is saying something.” I walked toward the mansion. Toward Stefan.

“Did you do this, human?” Jonas demanded, still standing at the back of the Hummer.

“No,” I called.

“It was that mongrel. Damn it!”

“He is so easily riled up,” Dominicous noted in his usual pleasantry, walking with me. Sometimes it was hard to remember he could rip someone’s face off. And would, if the situation demanded it. “I wonder how he relieves his stress.”

He didn’t have long to wait to find out.

Jonas caught up to us as we entered the mansion. “Sasha, wait.”

He stepped in front of me, his face red from willing calm. “In this territory, all things magical go through you. It is up to you to defer that authority to another. And while the Boss knows this, the most important thing to him is you. Your safety. He, more than most, will first act as your mate, and next as a leader. Some would say this is his greatest weakness, but in a race where procreation is hard, females that can bear children are, indeed, the most important, and therefore, no one will fault him too heavily.

“But as a co-leader, you need to balance his weaknesses, as he balances yours. If he steps on your position, it is up to you to set him right, aggressively if need be. The Boss has wronged you, and you need to see to it that he gets a hold of his shit, and doesn’t do it again. We don’t breed weak females, human. We don’t breed females that will roll over and take what they are given. We are a warrior race. We fight for what’s ours.”

Jonas flexed, thick cords of terrifying muscle running from his head to his feet. His face went red. This message will self-destruct in five, four…

“I got it, Jonas. Go have sex. Mean, nasty, aggressive sex.” I didn’t dare pat him on the arm. You had to know when to leave the guy alone.

His crazy gaze slipped past the Regional as he turned. He strode down the hallway, flexed arms pushed away from his sides. A smaller guy stepped in front of him and loitered, apparently not having the presence of mind to look up. Big mistake.

With a roar, Jonas picked him up by the neck and the ass. Limbs on the guy flailing, mouth in a silent oh, Jonas hurled him through an open doorway. A thumping tumble indicated the guy had landed.

Jonas continued on his way as if nothing had happened.

“I can see why he doesn’t get a multitude of challenges,” Dominicous said, his expression pensive as he watched my helper stride away. “He is largely unpredictable and barely contained. He’s had some emotional scarring, I think. He looks to Stefan, to his Boss, to keep him in line. To keep him grounded. That is wise, or else he would be a problem.”

“Did you just see what he did? He threw some random guy through a doorway! He is a problem.”

Dominicous turned his gaze back to me as we continued to the upper floors. “But he is on your side. More so than on Stefan’s. He is rooting for you, or else why would he call his superior’s personal motives down?”

“Well, he offered up his life to protect me. If I don’t succeed, it will mean he made a bad decision. He doesn’t say the words, ‘I was wrong’ all that often.”

“Good. He is knowledgeable. I hope you don’t mind if I keep an eye on him, though. I don’t like such unpredictability so close to my daughter.”

Dominicous deposited me in front of Stefan’s and my wing. “Until dinner, then.”

He offered a slight bow and continued on his way, his stride quickening without my shorter legs to hinder him.

What a weird night. And it wasn’t over.

I paused outside the door as the familiar wave of longing washed over me. Sometimes I hated this intense hunger to reconnect with him after even a short absence. It muddled my thoughts and got in the way of my agenda. Like right now, for example. I needed to be firm and steadfast, demanding what was mine and taking no compromise.

With a stern face and confident air, I steeled myself, then pushed through into the room. Plush and refined furnishings greeted me, welcoming me home. I found him in the living room area, sitting in front of a huge bay window, staring out at the night. His broad back faced me, the bump and divot of his muscles beckoning me closer.

Keep your head, Sasha. Don’t let the prettiness distract you!

I cleared my throat. I would not request an audience, I would demand it.

He continued to stare out the window, completely lost in thought.