Total pages in book: 77
Estimated words: 72519 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 363(@200wpm)___ 290(@250wpm)___ 242(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 72519 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 363(@200wpm)___ 290(@250wpm)___ 242(@300wpm)
Chapter 26
My Extended Family
LUKE
Luke stretched out his toes as his brain crawled toward consciousness, and they came into contact with another foot. His eyes snapped open to find Matteo sharing the same pillow. That beautiful face was relaxed in sleep, not holding a single shadow or bruise from last night’s adventure.
He sucked in a loud breath as all his memories slammed into his brain. The attack by the masked men, the kidnapping, waking up to a brutal beating, and the demons.
The demons had swept in and saved them. He had no idea what they’d done with those frat bros in the end, and he didn’t care. Not when they’d hurt Matteo for no reason at all.
But Azroth had come to him afterward and given him the choice to have the horrible event wiped from Matteo’s mind. Walking away from that choice still seemed like a good idea, but now he had to explain it all to Matteo.
What the hell was he thinking?
Just as panic was setting in, Matteo stirred next to him. He blinked those ridiculously long eyelashes that always made Luke’s heart flutter. As soon as his big brown eyes focused on Luke, he smiled and let out a happy sigh.
Yet, before he could whisper a pleased “good morning,” that expression of joy withered. His eyes widened as they filled with a mix of horror and fear. He gasped and grabbed Luke’s arm, his fingers digging painfully into flesh.
“Luke! The kidnappers! They—” His words broke off as he looked around, fully registering that they were lying in Luke’s bed in his attic apartment. He released Luke and shot upright. He clutched the blanket to his chest, twisting it in his fingers. “How…how did we get here? How did we escape? It was real! I know it was real. That wasn’t a dream!”
Luke sat up and wrapped Matteo in his arms, squeezing him as a tremble rippled throughout his entire body. “We’re safe. We’re at my place, and we are safe. No one can get us here.”
“But-but-but how? How did we get here? I don’t remember! Those bastards…they grabbed us right off the street. They…they were the ones who were harassing you! They go to Ravenwood! We have to report them. Call the cops!”
His arms didn’t budge from Matteo as the man seemed to want to spring from the bed. Calling the cops wasn’t an option any longer. Even if the demons hadn’t stepped in and they had escaped on their own, what would they tell the cops? That they vaguely recognized the voice of one of the masked men? That they thought it was this one guy—someone whose name they didn’t even know—without an ounce of actual physical proof?
“Shhh, honey. You need to calm down. It’s okay. Everything is okay,” Luke murmured, kissing his cheek.
“Yes, but how is it okay? I don’t understand anything. The last thing I remember is lying in the dark on that cold concrete floor. My arm was killing me. My head hurt. But now, nothing hurts. It’s like it didn’t happen, but I know it did.” Matteo’s face whipped around, and he stared at Luke with an air of desperation, tears filling his eyes.
“It did, and I can explain everything, but…I’m afraid you won’t believe me. It’s going to be hard to understand.”
“Why wouldn’t I believe you? Of course I’d believe you!” Matteo practically shouted in his face, making Luke’s heart melt. “Wait! Wait! First, are you okay? That evil fucker kicked you. I saw it. Did you go to the hospital?” As he spoke, he turned in Luke’s arms and began feeling his chest and stomach.
“I’m fine.” Luke caught one of his hands and pressed a kiss to his knuckles. “All healed up. Nothing’s wrong, I swear.”
“Okay, good.” He released a deep breath of relief and then narrowed his eyes at Luke. “Now start talking.”
Luke’s lips twisted into a complicated smile. “Um…so, those guys who attacked us? They were the same ones from the quad that day. The ones who were making fun of me and were chased off by the crows and other birds.”
“I remember them. Fuckers,” Matteo snarled. “They deserved to be chased off.”
“Well, apparently, they wanted payback because the birds continued to give them grief, even though I didn’t know about it.”
Matteo giggled. “All the birds love you.”
Or more likely, his demons were a little too overprotective.
“How did we get out of there?” Matteo asked.
Luke licked his lips, debating for a second on how to dive in, but no great ideas came to him. “My roommates.”
His boyfriend blinked at him. “Really? The people you’re renting from? They found us and saved us? But…”
Yeah, that wasn’t good enough to fill in half of the holes in Luke’s story.
“You see, my landlords or roommates or whatever you want to call them, they’re not…human. They’re actually…” Luke clenched his teeth and fought to get his mouth to spit out the word. “Demons.”