AZIEL

I listen to Gray comfort Charlie while Shay smashes her lips around on my own. She's rough as she forces her tongue between my lips and prods away at the inside of my mouth, but I let her do what she wants and focus my attention on what Gray's saying to Charlie.

The Human wasn't nearly as upset as I anticipated her to be, and I'm interested in hearing if that attitude changes now that she's alone with Gray. My anger grows when it doesn't, but the pulsating thread of hurt that feeds into me through Gray's bond keeps that emotion in check.

Gray whispered in my ear that she's developing feelings for me, stating that she's been having dreams about me, but now I know that to be a lie. I should have known better than to believe him.

He's not one to lie, but it wouldn't be the first time that he's stretched the truth in the hopes to sway my opinion on something.

And to think I almost began to regret bringing Shay here.

He probably also told Charlie to start calling me by my real name. I bet he thought me hearing her tongue fumbling around as she tries to pronounce it would do something to me.

It's unfortunate my Wrath decided it's time to get a female and latched onto the first one it saw, but I'm sure I'll get over it quickly. The pits were supposed to do that, but Charlie's still taking up more of my mind than I'd care to admit. She's seeping in too far, and I hope Shay will fix that.

She fucking better, otherwise this entire thing is a waste of my time.

Shay groans when I don't return her kiss, and lowers her lips to my jaw instead. I know she's just trying to get a rise out of me and provoke some sort of physical reaction, but she should know by now she's not going to get one.

Despite my best attempts, I can't seem to get aroused by anything she does. She's arguably an attractive woman, but my Wrath is still too stuck on Charlie to let himself enjoy Shay.

I hope that will change when I bond her, though. She's the only female we've ever come across that both Silas and Gray have shown any sort of interest in, and I'm willing to tie myself to a woman that I don't personally enjoy if it makes the other two content.

Silas scoffs leans against the wall as she brings her attack to my neck. I turn to look at him in interest, surprised by how against my idea he is. Once upon a time, he was the one suggesting we consider taking Shay while I was against it.

Funny how those tables have turned. I'm willing to bet if it weren't for Charlie's interference in our lives he wouldn't have an issue with this. The Human's ruining everything.

"Enjoying the show?" I snap as he continues watching Shay and me.

He sucks in a slow, deep breath and shakes his head.

"No."

His stare turns into a glare as Shay rolls her hips into mine, and I glare at him right back. He's in no place to judge me when he's running around playing house with the Human whenever I'm not here.

I saw her kissing him while I was probing around in his head. The memory practically threw itself at me the moment I seeped into his mind, its aggressive intrusion signaling it's weighing heavy on him.

For a brief moment I was him, and it was my hair she was pulling out as she ground her soft heat against me. He can sit here and pretend like she's nothing more than Gray's female he tolerates, but I could feel the excitement and hope that seeped up inside him as she planted her lips on his.

He might not want to admit it, but that Human has him wrapped around her little finger.

"You and Charlie are getting awfully close." I state, carefully watching his reaction.

Despite the calm facade he's got on, his eyes dart toward the door for a quick moment as he listens and scans the house for her. Her timid footsteps as she follows Gray up the stairs make their way to my ears, and I find myself momentarily distracted by it.

Gray reeked of her tonight, his pores seeping nothing but her scent. Despite the relief I know I should feel at the knowledge she's feeding him so well, my jaw clenches shut and I shake Shay's mouth away in frustration instead.

"That tends to happen when you live with somebody." Silas finally responds.

I hum. A lot happened while I was gone in the pits, and I don't like the feeling of needing to catch up now that I'm back. Gray and Silas are always steady. They're here when I leave and here when I get back, their attitude and beliefs never changing.

Now I feel like I'm interacting with two strangers.

It's all the Human's fault. She's different from the other females we typically associate with, soft and weak and, most notably, uninterested in us. Most women we're around practically throw themselves at our feet, but Charlie hardly seems to care about pleasing us.

At least she wasn't when I left.

I can only imagine the things the Incubus has been whispering in her ear. It's in his nature to try and create an environment of free-flowing lust, and he's always been eager to have one in this home.

He could have one with Shay if he weren't being so stubborn.

Instead, after just one look at the Human's scared expression, both Gray and Silas were stepping in to fight on her behalf. I should have clarified that I don't intend to turn back on my word and remove my claim on her.

This doesn't have to be a Charlie versus Shay situation. It's simply a Charlie, then Shay. It's not ideal, but I'm willing to wait and let Gray have the Human until she dies.

"Why are you so against Shay?" I ask.

Silas's cheeks puff out as he turns his attention to her. She spins to meet his gaze, her back straightening and head held high as all high-bred females have been taught. They show no weakness and meet the stares of men head-on.

It's a shame she's so shit at fighting. I found myself quite disappointed by her inability to defend herself in the pits, and no amount of coaching was helping. She didn't even seem that excited about it, either, too busy complaining about her appearance the entire time.

"She's fun, but not a woman I'd ever want to bond with." Silas eventually responds. He holds eye contact with her as he spits his insults. "I want a female that I can love, not just one that serves as a mediocre fuck."

I hold back a groan as the female tenses in my lap, and wrap my arm around her body so I can grab her thigh and keep her seated. The last thing I want is her trying to pick a fight with Silas.

I can tell he's not in the mood for a friendly spar, and would kill her before she has the opportunity to submit. I'm sure the only reason he hasn't done so yet is because he doesn't want to deal with my anger afterward, but if he's directly challenged then there's not much I can do.

A challenge is a challenge. It would be a fair kill.

"Why did you bring Shay here? Is this some sad attempt to make Charlie jealous? She'll never care for you if you keep treating her like she's disposable." He probes.

I shrug, feigning indifference. It's probably for the best that she hates me.

"She is disposable." I state.

Even if I don't want her to be, she still is. Her entire life is just a small blip compared to mine, and she offers no skillsets that would even remotely serve to make her indispensable. She is, in every sense of the word, disposable.

"Try saying that to Gray." Silas retorts, letting out a quiet laugh.

My eyebrows furrow and I shake my head in confusion.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"You missed a lot in the time you've been gone. He loves the Human, and has already begun whispering about bonding in her ear." Silas explains, shrugging as if the idea isn't completely absurd.

He glances away as he shares this, the action just enough for me to realize this is a sensitive topic for him. Has he considered bonding the Human? Why would Gray go to Silas about it before me?

My body warms at the thought of bonding with Charlie, of finally feeling her soft flesh on mine, but I push the thought aside before it can go too far. We could never bond a Human. It's not even worth considering or fantasizing about.

While Silas and Gray like to believe we'll pick a bonded mate out of love, the sad truth of the matter is that this is a political play. I'll do my best to find a female we all care for, but at the end of the day, the one we choose will need to be of benefit.

There have been thoughts of picking outside our breed, but never a human. We would need a strong female, probably from an Elven or Vampiric realm.

"He would never suggest we bond a Human." I argue before turning toward Shay. "Leave."

She scoffs, crossing her arms over her chest in refusal. Offering her up as a suggested bonded mate has made her cocky, and I reach up to grab her jaw in anger. She flinches as my fingers dig into the bone on both sides of her mouth, but continues to meet my gaze dead on.

"We want a female that obeys us. If you can't give that, then it seems as if I've made a mistake." I spit.

In all honesty, we'll need one that holds her own against us, but I don't trust Shay enough to let her sit here and eavesdrop on any more of this conversation. There will be riots if the Wraths hear there have even been discussions of bonding the Human, and Shay loves to gossip.

Her eyes flash in anger, but with a shaky breath she gives in and shifts away. I readjust as her weight is removed from my lap, a relieved sigh slipping from my lips as I fix my shorts and stretch my legs.

She's not heavy, but having her on me was sure as fuck uncomfortable.

"It was made clear when I bought Charlie that she's only temporary." I state, continuing the conversation.

What the fuck happened while I was gone that Gray has even gotten it in his head that Charlie could be our potential bonded. I know he wanted her to serve all three of us in some capacity, but never as our mate.

My lips flatten into a straight line as I reach out and slip my mind into Silas's.

He audibly groans and fights it at first, pushing back against me in fear, but I ignore it and enter anyway. I know it's risky entering a Fate's mind, but he's clearly keeping things from me and I need to understand what's happening if I'm to fix it.

His thoughts feel like a maze as I search around for Charlie, and I shut my eyes to focus as I find a memory of Lust. He and Valentine sit at our dining table discussing my bond with Gray, and I clench my hands into fists at the insults he spits toward my Incubus.

He's lucky I wasn't there.

The conversation smoothly navigates itself to the uproar that bonding Charlie would cause, and I mentally groan as both Silas and Gray fall perfectly for the play. Nobody would ever be dumb enough to think we'd consider bonding the Human, and Lust was sneaky in the way he put the idea in their heads.

I'm sure Gray was already thinking about it, always the optimist, but I can feel in Silas the moment he realized it was an option. The fucking warmth in his heart as the potential settled over him has me reaching up and pinching my nose.

Lust doesn't give a fuck which of his children I bond, and only cares that we don't choose another that'll take my affections away from his kingdom. The Humans are already practically extinct, and bonding her means I have one less consideration to make in my decisions. It's less competition for him.

"You've got to be fucking kidding me." I groan. "Gray wants to bond with every woman he finds himself in a relationship with. You shouldn't have supported those thoughts." I snap.

Gray, even on his best days, is petty and stubborn. If he's gotten it in his head that we should bond Charlie, then it should've been removed immediately and not left to simmer. I suppose it makes sense why he was so against Shay. The Incubus isn't thinking of Charlie as a female that'll die in sixty years. In his mind, it is Charlie versus Shay.

"You need to tell him it's not going to happen." I order.

Silas surprises me as he kicks off the wall and shakes his head.

"No. If Charlie wants to be our female then I think she deserves the opportunity to fight for it." He states.

"Fight for it?" I scoff. "She wouldn't stand a chance against even the weakest Demons. They'd snap her neck in milliseconds."

Silas sucks on his tongue and rolls his eyes in response to my accusation. I resist the urge to seep into his mind again as he turns his back to me and heads toward the door. My lips curl up in a snarl at the disrespect, but I hold back my instinct to punish him for it.

I can't leave them for the pits and then demand they respect me. Even I understand it must be earned again.

Silas turns back to me as he pulls open the door, his exhaustion apparent even through the blood coating his face. His chest deflates as he lets out a quiet sigh, and with a subtle shake of his head, he's turning forward and walking out.

"Not everything's about physical violence, Aziel." He finally murmurs, turning the corner and leaving me alone.

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I think I've said this before but Silas could get it any day of the week, no questions asked.

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