The Darkest Torment (Lords of the Underworld 12)

“No, babies,” she said gently. “I can’t go with you. I have to stay here.” Had to fix things with Baden, once and for all. He and the beast needed her, and she kinda sorta...loved them. Loved them more and more every day. Every hour. Every minute. They were the center of her story. The only path to her happily-ever-after.

I have to give my guys another chance, don’t I?

“I have to stay here,” she repeated, and this time she meant it with every fiber of her being. “Baden is my man, and he needs me.”

The pups shook their heads no, adamant.

—You come! You come!— Frantic now.

The tears raced down her cheeks.

Be strong. The words she’d had to tell herself every time one of her dogs had gone to live with a new family. “Your momma and daddy miss you very much. You’re going to be happy with them.”

—You come! You come!—

A sob burst from her, and she buried her face in their soft, sweet-smelling fur. She cried for what she would lose today, and for what she’d already lost. Her parents and Peter, and the boy her brother had once been. She cried as she realized it was okay for her to live. To feel the emotions her loved ones couldn’t.

She hiccupped when she calmed and told the pups, “I miss my mom and dad so much, and if I could bring them back, I would. You’ve been given a second chance with yours, a brand-new story. I won’t stand in your way.”

As she wiped away their tears, she almost broke down again.

“Well, well. If it isn’t my little wife and her new pets.”

The hated voice drove her to her feet. Her gaze landed on Aleksander. He stood a few yards away, black-clad guards lined up behind him, blocking the door to the house.

Stay calm! A command for herself, and for the pups. Baden had taken precautions, had placed cameras throughout the realm. Surely Galen and Fox had—or would—spot the intrusion and sweep in to even the odds.

Biscuit and Gravy growled, and an answering growl rose from her. Maybe Katarina had disapproved of Baden’s methods for disposing of his enemies, but there were two things she’d always admired about him: he stood up for himself, and he never backed down.

I’m done cowering because of Alek and his threats. The only power he has over me is what I allow.

I am strong, and now I’ll prove it.

“How did you find me?” she demanded. “How did you get here?”

“Finding you wasn’t easy. I knew I had a wife, but couldn’t recall her name. Until Lucifer helped remind me.”

Bastard!

Alek stepped toward her, only to stop when the pups issued another warning.

Each of the guards—can’t be human, too big, too menacing—raised a big, angry-looking gun and aimed at the animals.

She placed Biscuit behind one of her legs and Gravy behind the other. Stay. “Don’t hurt them,” she shouted at Alek. “They’ve done nothing wrong.”

He grinned coldly at her. “But you have, haven’t you, princezná?” He didn’t wait for her reply, but added, “Because of your failure to pick the lock or find the key needed to free me, I had to promise the coin to Lucifer. In exchange, he’ll give me an army and a kingdom under his. I won’t be a king, merely a prince. Today is just a taste of my reign.”

Or he’d been tricked. “If Lucifer truly has such amazing power, why aren’t you a prince right this very second?”

A flicker of red in the depths of his eyes. “I have yet to reveal the coin’s location. I insisted on a visit with you before I fully align with him.”

No, there was more to it than that. Lucifer hadn’t liked Katarina’s refusal to bargain, and he wouldn’t want to risk her alliance with Hades. But given Baden’s bands, there was no way around that. Except through her death.

Why not send Alek to see to the deed, since he’d controlled her in the past, without giving the human/immortal hybrid what he wanted?

Is today the end for me? Even with her newfound strength, she couldn’t take on all these men. Not on her own.

Well. If she went down, she would take Alek with her.

—Bad people. Bad people die.—

The pups spoke into her mind, and the desire to fight bombarded her. Her gums and fingers began to burn.

Alek frowned, as if he sensed something about her had changed but he couldn’t quite pinpoint what it was. “You,” Alek told her while taking another step in her direction, “will be my concubine, not my wife. I know you gave yourself to the redhead—”