I didn't even need to think about what I wanted to know first, so the name rolled off my tongue when he finished his sentence. "Michelle."

"Yes, the lovely Windcrest Luna. I was honest earlier when I said that this was never planned. After that idiot Angus Macalister made the deal to save his son's life, my men extracted her wolf, but the most peculiar thing happened in her case- the process caused severe amnesia for her. She did not remember anything about her life, except for her name." He casually took a sip from his wine, enjoying his meal while he kept on speaking. "See, I was looking for an assistant at the time and let's just say that Michelle had the right skill set that I needed. She may not have remembered her life but her Luna abilities are embedded in her mind and no memory loss could take that away from her."

I stared at him with my mouth open. I just couldn't believe how he saw nothing wrong in everything that he was doing.

"Are you for real? You destroyed her life and then you just took her in as your assistant! Do you get a kick out of your twisted ways, Markolf?"

"Oh, come on, Riley- if anything, I did her a favour. How would she have fended for herself in the human world? She had no family, no money, no place to stay. And I have to admit, I have come to care for her after all this time."

"Care for her? You tore her away from her children, you maniac." My voice was cold but calm as I was finally able to better control myself around him.

"Ha, the bonds with parents are not all that they are made out of to be. You see, the Macalisters just kept going with their lives. They never even tried to look for her. Instead, they continued, like she never existed. Just like she had." Bitterness oozed from his words as finished his sentence. Clearly, he was not referring to Michelle but whoever he had in mind, it was someone that had upset him to a great extent.

"Who?"

"My mother."

"Your mother?"

"Yes, the cold-hearted human who abandoned me as a kid." The air became thick with anger and resentment while he spoke. A sudden chill swept around the room, making me shiver. "My father- the supposedly great demon Asmodeus- slept with my mother when she was in her early twenties, impregnating her and abandoning her once she discovered she was pregnant. But when she gave birth to me, she finally understood that I was not really human. You see, cambions are stillborn- we show no sign of life outside of being alive, meaning that we have no pulse and no breath. By the time we turn seven, we resemble your average human kid. Yet, for my mother, that one look at me after I was born was enough to hate me for being different. Half-demon."

I carefully weighed my words before I spoke. "So she abandoned you?"

"You could say that," he shrugged. "She became very religious, repenting for her sins, and I turned into a constant reminder of her lustful times with a demon. So she locked me up in the basement the moment I turned one. She didn't abandon me completely- she took care of me just enough to keep me alive. But she might as well have thrown me on the streets to survive on my own- I probably would have led a better life!" His bitter laughter rang across the room.

"Instead, she kept on telling me every day that I needed to hate myself for what I was and my repentance was to be shown through my pain- physical mainly, but also emotional."

I was horrified by Markolf's story. Yes, he was a psychopath and nothing excused what he had been doing or what he planned to do but learning about what he had been through helped me understand better what made him this way.

"Eventually, my father showed up and took me away. Supposedly to bring me to my people, the demonic creatures. Yet, as a cambion, I had very little power and he did not find me worthy enough to remain with them, so he threw me out. Abandoned me, just like my mother, for being different. For not being good enough," he spat out the words. I couldn't help but feel pity and sadness for the little boy who experienced so much heartbreak and betrayal. The shakiness in his voice as he stopped briefly was so subtle that I would have nearly missed it but I did. Perhaps he also realised it because he cleared his throat, regaining the confidence in his tone. "Some witches took pity on me and took me, teaching me about the supernatural world. And here we are today."

Markolf paused just as the staff came in again to pick up our plates and bring the main course. Out of some strange sort of respect for his privacy, I waited for them to leave before I spoke up.

"I'm very sorry that you went through all of that- I truly am. No child should ever face such abandonment by those who should love and protect it. But I don't understand how you went on to hurt others when you have been hurt so much. The shifters you go after are innocent! They have never done anything to you."

Markolf smiled. "They are a means to an end really. Shifters' animals-well, their life forces- are full of magic. Lucifer himself created all things supernatural so his magic and power permeate every single one of them. By absorbing the spirits, my own powers grow and soon enough, I will be able to teach all those angels and demons a lesson before I take my rightful place in their realm." The fire in his eyes was burning with such a force that it made me feel anxious. His hatred for his parents was fuelling his dark fantasies of domination and acceptance by force so much that he was way past reasoning. "Why shifters and not any other supernaturals, you may wonder-"

"I am not," I cut him short.

His signature devilish smirk emerged on his face. "Well, I will tell you anyway. It's simple, really- they are everything that you and I are not! They are human and yet they are supernatural but they are accepted in both worlds. How is that fair?" The whole table shook as he slammed his fist on the table. His anger was getting the best of him. But it only lasted a brief moment. "My apologies, Aurelie- my emotions run a bit high sometimes. Where was I? Oh yes, then there are also their precious goddesses looking after them, ensuring that they are loved, that they have their perfect mate out there. Mating bonds," he snorted.

With a renewed purpose, Markolf got up from his seat and sauntered towards me as he continued to make his point fervidly.

"Bullshit- it's all magic. Nobody, nobody genuinely loves anyone so unconditionally. They just pretend until the moment comes to prove themselves and then they fail," he whispered in my ear when he finally stood behind. His presence so close next to me felt dangerous, almost like he was the serpent trying to convince me to eat from the forbidden tree in the Garden of Eden. "I've been observing you for long enough to know that you also don't believe in this love and bonds business, right Aurelie?"

"I....." I was not sure how to continue.

Was Markolf right?

Was it all magic that made mates want one another?

Hearing him say that brought back all the doubts and reservations that I had when I first found out that I had mates.

I never believed in love, at least not when it came to me. For me, love was one of those unreal concepts that society was trying to get us to believe in to conform to some socially acceptable conventions and I was never one to follow the rules and expectations like some blind sheep. And yet, the past weeks had made me wonder whether I had been wrong all along. Or was it just some illusion? Would Aiden, Rafe and I have cared for each other if there were no bonds between us?

The idea that it was all fake, forced by magic, was like a punch to the stomach now that I had fallen for it. As I slowly drove myself crazy thinking about it, a ray of hope broke through the dark thoughts. My parents loved each other unconditionally, even though warlocks did not have mates. Lucien loved me enough to search for me for years. My birth parents loved my brother and me so much that they refused to leave the In-between and be reborn, just so that they could look out for the two of us, even from a distance.

My lips tipped up in a relieved smile.

He was wrong!

Love, unconditional love, did exist! I had seen it with my own eyes.

Was it what I had with my mates? I had no idea. The bonds were in place so I could not imagine what it would have been without them but I knew that I cared deeply about my mates. I was ready to die to protect them.

I......

Warmth spread across my body as the words were edging to roll out in my head.

I loved them.

I didn't know when or how it happened but I couldn't deny it any longer. Was it just magic though?

"We set things into motion by putting you together as mates but you decide if you want to take these up or not," the Sun Goddess's words rang in my head.

Yet, before I could tell Markolf how wrong he was, a servant came in.

"I'm sorry to disturb you, sir, but Mr Caleb is here to see you."

"This is unexpected. I did not want to be disturbed but let him in," Markolf replied with annoyance. He walked back to his seat and motioned to the servant to let Caleb in. "My apologies, Riley- Caleb wouldn't show up it was not important."

Within minutes the mysterious warlock from earlier walked through the door. I studied his face to figure out what was going on but his onyx black eyes gave nothing away.

"So sorry to disturb you, my lord, but the stupid dragon Alpha has been bothering me for days now, requesting to have a blood promise about your deal."

Dragon Alpha? Deal? Who and what was he talking about? His cryptic statement certainly piqued my interest.

"That's what my lovely date gets interrupted for?" Markolf raised his voice as he scolded the warlock. His fingers wrapped around the wine glass so tightly that I half expected it to shatter under his grip. "For fuck's sake, I really must stop working with idiots," he sighed. "Bring him here."

The warlock snapped his fingers and a familiar man appeared next to him out of nowhere. The newcomer didn't see me from where he was standing and, to be honest, I couldn't see him very well either but I knew I recognised that figure. When he finally turned slightly, albeit still not enough to see me as he was nearer to Markolf's end and was focused on him, I caught his profile. A silent gasp left my lips- it was Cyrus.

Why was he here? What deal had he made?

"Alpha Murray. Caleb tells me that you wish to speak with me. I am listening but you better be quick," Markolf said while he tapped on the table with his fingers.

"I'm sorry, Markolf, but I...erm... need to have your reassurance that you will stick to your end of our deal." The man who stood there was far from the fierce Alpha that one would expect to be leading a clan of dangerous fire dragons. Instead, he was practically trembling in front of the cambion.

"Oh, and why is that? What have I done to make you think that I wouldn't stick to my end of the deal?"

"Well, it seems that making a deal with you is a risky business, from what I keep on hearing."

"Is that so? So, what would you like me to do?"

"A blood promise that I am safe from whatever you are planning to do- and my clan, of course- and I will be out of your hair. After all, I gave you both Aiden Hayes and Rafe Macalister like I had promised."

I saw red the moment I heard his last sentence. Cyrus was the fucking reason why Markolf had my mates to begin with. He had betrayed them and had made a deal with the cambion. The only thing that stopped me from jumping on top of the table and running over to stab that bastard with my meat knife was the fact that Markolf could control me through my anger and he probably wouldn't let me take Cyrus out.

"You fucking traitorous scumbag! You sold them out," I shouted as I unleashed my outrage while I somehow miraculously kept my anger at bay.

Cyrus' head snapped in my direction at the sound of my voice. When he saw me, his face paled.

"You-"

I heard Markolf chuckle but I was too busy glaring at the traitor in the room to look at the cambion. "Cyrus, it appears that you have angered my guest, which doesn't bode well for you. I have to admit that I was planning to uphold our deal, for the time being. But showing up here like this and demanding my word- well, that has really rubbed me the wrong way now."

The dragon Alpha was suddenly shaking like a leaf.

"What do you mean?" he asked with a trembling voice.

But the cambion ignored him while he observed the Alpha like a predator about to jump on his prey. "Do you know how powerful dragons are, Cyrus? They are amongst the animal spirits with the most magic out there- a wonderful addition to my collection, especially fire dragons."

Cyrus took a step back, trying to get further away from Markolf but all he did was bump into Caleb who blocked his path.

"Riley, help me," he pleaded as he looked at me.

I was torn- I wanted him to suffer for what he had done to my mates but not like this. Nobody deserved a fate like that.

The glowing bright light from the small crystal orb that Markolf took out of his pocket interrupted my dilemma. The painful familiarity of the object held my gaze even if I wanted to look away- the orb was identical to the one I remembered from the night when I lost my parents and my wolf but smaller in size. The cambion quickly crossed the room until he finally got to Cyrus and Caleb. The closer he got to them, the brighter the orb became, vibrating as he finally stood next to the dragon shifter.

"You will have to excuse me, Aurelie," Markolf apologised sweetly, "it looks like I have some business to take care of tonight so our dinner has to be cut short. Yet, you should not rush. Enjoy your meal and sweet dreams."

Shocked, I didn't even get a chance to say anything- he brought the orb closer to Cyrus' face which caused a lightning-like bolt to shoot out of it, building a luminous bridge between the Alpha and the orb. Cyrus screamed in agony. His cries were so horrific that I knew the pain was excruciating.

I bolted out of my seat to get to them and stop this torture but when I was just mere steps away from them, the Markolf's warlock snapped his fingers and they disappeared, leaving me with nothing but the memories of Cyrus' harrowing screams.