The Thrall (Seven Sins MC 3)

"That's a good plan," I agreed, reaching for a mini bag of Doritos. I hadn't had junk food in years. Not since childhood. The vampires fed us fancy things, didn't keep "cheap human food" in the house because they thought it made the blood taste bad. They wanted us to eat "real" food that made us taste better.

The first bite of junk after so many years without was practically orgasmic.

"You're killing me," Drex grumbled, taking a couple steps away from me. Like he didn't trust himself to be near me.

"I haven't had chips in years. Back at... the mansion," I said, trying to stop referring to it and thinking of it as my master's home. He wasn't going to be my master for long. "They liked to feed us 'clean' foods."

"Well, here at Casa de Shitty Hotel, you can eat whatever the fuck you want, babe."

"What about you?"

"You know what I want to eat," he said, lips curving up.

"I mean aren't you hungry?" I asked, even if heat was blooming across my belly.

"I ate my body weight in junk before I passed out last night. I don't have to eat like humans do. It's mostly just an enjoyment thing if anything."

"It was the same way with... them. They can eat, but usually don't. They drink though. Red wine."

"Yeah, big surprise there," Drex said, snorting. "We drink. But we can't get drunk. I like the burn more than anything. Warms you up inside."

"Do you miss hell?" I asked, genuinely curious. It didn't sound like a place anyone would enjoy. But then again, they weren't just anyone, were they? They were demons. They were made to exist in hell.

"I think we all do. Well, some of us, I guess."

"Why just some?"

"Ace and Lycus have Claimed their mates. They can't go back to hell now."

"Wait, like, other demons? Why can't they go back then?"

"No. Ly is hooked up with a witch. Ace is hooked up with a nurse."

"As in... humans?"

"Witch isn't fully human, but yeah, like humans."

"But... but won't they die?"

"Normally, yeah. But Ly's girl, she figured out some magic whammy shit that took a little piece of their souls, and made them immortal too."

"Wow. They were willing to give up their humanity for your friends?" I asked. "What about children? Won't they miss that?" It was what I was most upset about missing out on when I'd realized what I'd done by signing my future away to the vampires.

"They can reproduce. It's an intentional thing, though, not like humans who can accidentally get knocked up after a night with too much tequila."

"Oh, wow. And the children would be..."

"Demons," he confirmed. "Though I guess Lenore and Ly's kid would be part witch too. Don't know how that shit works."

"How does the, ah, whammy work?" I asked.

"The human takes some of our blood. Lenore does the ritual. It's all very formal and shit."

"Is it... bonding?" I wondered.

"You mean could Lenore and Jo leave if they changed their mind? Yeah. I mean... yeah."

"What's confusing about that?" I asked, sensing his uncertainty.

"For us, demons, when we find the right person, whether we want to or not, something inside us Claims them. It is out of our control. And it is lifelong. We can never Claim anyone else. There's only one true Claiming. And to have that Claiming be broken or rejected is excruciating. Pure torment. Hellfire type shit. I don't know if it works that way for Lenore and Jo, though, now that they're partly evil. But I don't think we'll ever find out. They're all in love and shit."

"You make it sound so terrible," I said with a smile.

"Different strokes, I guess."

"Did your friends want to fall in love?"

"Don't think they meant to. Fate had other plans. She's a real bitch, that Fate."

"Are they upset that they can't go back to hell?"

"I think the Claiming and love shit replaced the desire to go back home."

"That's interesting," I said, meaning it.

"Yeah, learned a lot more shit about Claiming than I'd ever thought I'd need to the past few years."

"Can I ask something else?" I asked as he gathered clothes to start getting dressed, and I tried not to be too disappointed about him covering up my very nice view of his body.

"Shoot."

"Why are you here?" I asked. "If you want to be in hell, I mean."

"We're stuck," he told me, shrugging. "Up until we met Lenore, we'd never been able to open up a hellmouth to allow us to go back. The first time she did, Red, our friend, jumped in, and two more demons came out. The second time she did, Red came back. It takes a long time to track down hellmouths. And Ace has been busy with Jo now, so he hasn't been tracking them like he used to."

"Are you in a rush to get back?"