Chapter 20

NATHANIEL 




My insides were on fire.




Every breath I sucked in was more painful than the first. My vision was blurred, and I felt dizzy. 




The room was too crowded for me, the multiple nauseating scents filling my nose until I caught a particular scent.




One I was all too familiar with, one that brought calm to all the clashing thoughts in my head. I could feel a cord snapping within me, and without giving it a second thought, I followed the scent until I was behind her.




As if sensing my presence, she turned away from Seth, and from my peripheral, I saw him curl his lips up in anger.




"What's wrong?" She asked, worry coming down on my face.




"I need you."




My voice sounded weak even to my ears. She picked up on that, her brows knitting together in confusion.




"Come here." She grabbed my hand, tugging me along with her as she made her way out of the ballroom, ignoring the people that tried to stop us and talk to us.




"What's going on?" She asked. "Are-"




I didn't let her finish before I pinned her against the wall, slamming my lips down on hers.




"Oh," she said when we finally ran out of air, and had to break the kiss. "Are you ready to finally do this on my terms?"




"Yes."




I'd give just about anything to feel him again. I pressed my lips against hers once more, slipping my hand between her thighs. I pushed the flimsy material of her underwear to the side, pushing my fingers into her wet heat.




Still nothing. 




Even as the scent of her arousal filled my nose. Even as her moans filled my ears.




He was truly gone.




I yanked away from her, snapping her out of her haze, but I didn't stick around long enough to see the look she had in her eyes.




I went in search of Kimberly, ignoring the stares people shot my way.




"Nathaniel. I finally found you," Kimberly said from my side.




I turned to face her. "Good. Come with me. It's urgent."




"Your speech. It's time for your speech."




"This is a matter of life and death, Kimberly. Forget my speech. I need to get in touch with my brothers."




"Why?" She asked, staring at my face intently. She must have seen the look of desperation I had on because she nodded. "Let's go. It's at the store."




"I'll drive."




"Care to tell me what's going on?" Kimberly asked once we were settled in the car.




"No."




I sped out of the packhouse, heading straight for the store. A few minutes later, we were packed in front of the store.




"Hold on. I can't keep up with your long strides." She let out a string of curses as she ran to keep up with me.




"Where is it?"




"Just around the back."




She led me to a door, where she quickly typed in a code before pushing the door open to reveal a dark room. She flipped the light switch, and light flooded the room.




"Here's the phone." She handed the phone to me. "The room is soundproof. I'll wait outside."




She left the room, shutting the door behind her to give me some privacy. I dialed in my brother's number, praying he picked up.




I didn't have to wait for long before he picked the call, and his familiar gruff voice filled my ear.




"Nate, we already sent the watches. Didn't you get… "




"I lost him," I cut him off. "I can't feel him. Not even when I touched Ayra."




"Ayra is the woman you're housing, right?"




I could hear the disdain in his voice, but at this point, I didn't give a fuck. 




"He's gone, Aiden. I can't fucking feel him. I felt the cord snap."




"You're not making any sense, Nate. Who is gone?"




"Acheron."




I heard something crash in the background before he spoke. "Your demon is gone?"




"Yes. I need you and Alan here. Without my demon, they'll kill Ayra."




"Forget Ayra. They'll kill you. Hang in there for today. I'll track down Alan, and we'll be there. We'll figure this out."




"I don't know, Aiden," I said, looking at my shaking hand.




"Stop it, Nathaniel. You won't die."




"I don't want to lose her."




"You won't. Stop shaking, and go to bed you'll be fucking fine."




"Okay. I'll go."




"Good."




I hung up, replacing the phone on the table. I walked out to find Kimberly twirling a piece of her hair around her finger.




"I'm done. Lock the door."




"Nathaniel, are you okay?"




"Yes. Why wouldn't I be? I'm fine. There's nothing wrong with me. Why would you ask that?" My voice sounded foreign even to my ears.




"You look like you're about to have a breakdown."




"Let's get out of here."




We exited the building, and I'd just opened the driver's door when I saw a moving shadow, and black smoke twirling together.




"Kimberly. Get into the car. Return to the packhouse, and tell the Enforcers to get Ayra home."




"Why? What's going on?" She asked with a frown.




"Now!" I growled, tossing the key at her just as the figure formed completely. 




"What is that?" Kimberly asked with a wide-eyed look.




"Go!"




I tried to get through to Ayra, but just like the other day, I failed. Kimberly zoomed off just as the demon made his way toward me. 




"Acheron," he said with a grin. "Or do I call you Nathaniel now?" 




"Doesn't matter. I'm going to kill you either way."




"And how do you plan on doing that?" He asked, his claw elongating. "You're powerless."




"I'm better than you. You take orders from Benjamin. That says a lot about you."




"At least Benjamin isn't a two-faced liar," he snarled, sending a ball of fire that hit me square in the chest.




I fell to the ground, pain filling my chest. This was going to be a long night.




***




AYRA




I felt his presence in the bathroom without having to turn around. What felt like an eternity later, the shower door opened, and he stepped in, still dressed in his tux.




I raised a brow at him. "Why are you still dressed?"




"I need you."




"You said the same thing an hour ago, and you left abruptly without a single explanation."




"I'm sorry. I need you right now. Please."




His voice cracked at the end, sending me into panic mode. Something was wrong with him.




"Nathaniel, are you okay?"




"No."




Okay, that was unexpected. He never admitted to things like that. "Do you want to talk about it?"




"Can we talk about it later?"




I nodded. "Of course. Do you need me to get you anything?"




"No. I just need you right now."




"Okay. Let's get you out of your clothes first." I undressed him, grabbing my body wash. "Do you need me to go get yours in your bathroom?"




He shook his head.




"Great."




He remained still throughout the entire scrub, drying him up, and getting under the covers.




"Do you want to talk about it now?"




I was convinced he didn't hear and was about to repeat my question after a long minute of waiting for an answer before he replied. "No."




"Okay. We can talk about it some other time. Go to sleep."




It didn't take long before his breath evened out, and he fell asleep. Shortly after, I fell unconscious myself. When I woke up the next morning, he was gone.