BENEATH HER DARKNESS: The Alpha's Little Demon by Cassandra M

“Do you want her?” I asked.

“The fuck. Of course, I want her.” He

growled.

“Then stay.”

“She doesn’t want me here.”

“But Lucy does. She wants you to be around to protect Althea. Lucy is right — if hell breaks loose here. I

will protect Lucy with all I have, but I cannot guarantee I will or can protect Althea. Now if you think I can

assign that job to one of my men, then go ahead

and leave.”

“I don’t want to get paid for protecting her.”

“Sounds good to me.”

“But I don’t want her to know I’m not getting paid. Take it or leave it.”

“Of course, I’ll take it. This is the next best

deal I got.” Lucy would always be the best

deal I ever had.

I extended my hand to Blade for a

handshake.

“And I can back out anytime, just in case… she really doesn’t want me here.” He said this after taking my

hand in his.

“But give at least a day or two notice so I can find a replacement.”

“Deal.”

We shook hands, and I went to grab two empty glasses, pouring whiskey into each before handing him

one.

“So, which room do you prefer to stay in?

Inside the packhouse or at the warrior’s barracks?” I asked. Blade had been here

before, and he always chose the barracks but I knew it would be different this time.

“Here, in a room beside hers.” (1)

♡♡♡ –

LUCY.

“So do you know exactly what you need help with?” Althea asked while Lena and I helped

her take her things out of her bag.

She had so many little things with her, and most of them we were not allowed to touch, but she let us

help with placing her clothes in the closet. Soon the bedroom was dimmed

with just scented candles illuminating the room; it was cozy, and maybe for an

ordinary human it might be eerie, but I actually loved it.

“I want you to build a shield for Alpha Stone’s territory so that no supernatural beings aside from wolves

can come in

without approval from him or going through

you.”

I wanted to ask about channeling my wolf as

well as being able to let out all my other powers except for fire, but the shield would be the most

important thing for now. And

then, the one for Adan, which I planned to keep just between her and me.

“That would take a lot of energy and

probably hours. I need to round up all the borders of the territory before I can spread out that energy.

And I will need Alpha

Stone’s blood.”

“You’re not going to drain him of blood, right?”

Althea chuckled, which was followed by Lena as my eyes widened waiting for her response.

“Are you sure you’re a demon? You’re too

soft-hearted to be one.”

“Well, if you’re going to drain blood from Blade’s body, then I won’t care. But not

Adan.”

“You like the Alpha.”

“He just fulfills my deepest desire, and until I can find a replacement, I want to keep him by my side.

Alive.”

I saw Lena’s face morph into such a shocked expression that I started giggling. “I was just kidding. I like

Alpha Stone despite him being impossible sometimes, but please

don’t tell him.”

“He likes you too, Lucy. So I’m not sure why

you both still pretend to be just pretending when, in reality, everyone can see you’re

both into each other.” Lena added, a relieved

smile on her face.

“Pretending to be pretending? What the heck is that?” Althea asked as she slumped her body beside me

on the couch in her room.

I knew I should stop the conversation here and get down to business, but then it felt good to talk about

Adan. I had been keeping

everything about him to myself, and for some reason, I felt that Althea could be trusted the same way I

trusted both Lena

and Laira.

“Well, since we will be a tag team, there’s no point hiding from you. We’re not a couple. He bought me at

an auction. You know, Omega for sale. But he didn’t want anyone to know that he bought me, especially

his family, so he introduced me as his girlfriend.

“Well, I’m sure he’s not pretending.” Althea shrugged her shoulders as she spoke.

“I second that,” Lena butted in. “And you’re

the only one who refuses to see that the Alpha likes you.”

“Do you know what he told me before he allowed me to meet you?”

I shook my head and waited for Althea to

continue.

She cleared her throat and looked me in the

eyes. “He told me that if I decided not to help you, I needed to tell him first because he didn’t want me to

crush whatever hope you had there in your heart. He cares for you.”

I smiled and dropped my gaze to my hands

on my lap.

“He’s not going to this extent to protect you if he doesn’t like you. I have known the Alpha for over five

years now, and he never did this for any female.” Lena added, and I

wanted so badly to believe them.

“You’re both feeding my ego. But can I tell you one thing?” I let out a sigh and tilted my head up to look

back and forth between them. “I’m a demon. I have an allure that

comes naturally from being one. So I’m not sure if him, liking me is because he really likes me or if it’s

the allure I have that’s

working on him. I don’t even know if the

reason both of you trusted me is because you both like me, or if it’s the demon…”

“Shush it, Lucy. You’re half-demon. And

I’m a witch. We can use allure if we wanted

to, but there is also such a thing as

attraction and love. And I think that’s

universal.”

“Maybe we wouldn’t be having this

conversation if you go directly to the Alpha and ask him if he loves you.”

“No, we’re not going on the love track.” I giggled, but my heart ached.

Demons don’t do love. 1

“I think Lucy is in love with Alpha Stone. But

she’s afraid to admit it.” Althea chuckled,

squinting her eyes as if she were trying to

read my emotions.

“Well, this goes for both of you… since I’m the oldest one here, let me act as your mom for a while,” Lena

said, her eyes shifting

between me and Althea. “There’s nothing

wrong with falling in love. Like you said, it’s a universal thing. It transcends races,

species, and boundaries. So don’t stop it. Let

it flourish, and I assure you that if this love is returned with the same intensity as you’re giving it, it’ll be

worth it.”

“But what if it’s not returned…” My voice

came out so low as if I didn’t want the

question to be heard.

“At least you tried. No what-ifs. Life is short. Maybe not for both of you, but the people you’re falling in

love with cannot go over a century older, so love them while you still

can.”