“Ah, but that’s the thing. I don’t believe Fate has touched your bloodline, demon. You didn’t claim the girl after I activated her ring, despite how her scent must have hit every dark, primal part of your base brain. No, you were capable of scheming and calculating how to best strengthen King Kain’s hold on the throne, even as the little thing was begging for your dick.” The goddess picked at a perfect fingernail before she looked up at him through her lashes, that infuriating smirk still in place. “No, I believe Fate has touched your late mate’s bloodline. Your sons are Fate-bound, but you… well, you are more circumstantial. A catalyst, if you will.”

He stared blankly at her. Uninterested in taking the bait.

She placed her hands on her hips, impatience crossing her childish features. “Your sons are not the only ones whose mother you killed.”

“I have killed countless mothers. What is your point?”

The goddess tilted her head, the smirk returning. “You’ll see. Mercy has a way of coming back to haunt us. Ah, but I’d best be going. Fate seems to need just a teensy extra nudge to get things rolling—and I have a bit of a deadline to meet. See you soon, lord Kirigan.”

A soft twinkle of light and she was gone.

Kirigan stood still in the darkness, letting the prickles of irritation along his skin from the divine presence fade.

Mercy? He had never shown anyone mercy, not before his mate’s death, and certainly not after. Whatever the goddess’s plans, she had revealed very little. Not that he would expect anything more from such a treacherous being.

What had she hoped to gain by coming here? She’d pried no secrets from him, and whatever her reasons to crack the wards that kept the magical worlds separated⁠—

A hot, sharp flash of pain along his veins interrupted his thoughts. He stared down at his forearms, but nothing broke the skin.

What the⁠—?

Searing agony split behind his ribs, like the organs behind them ripped open. Kirigan let out a gasp and sank to one knee, one arm clutched across his ribs. It was then, as he knelt on the floor of the dark apartment, the goddess’s words finally pieced together.

His sons were not the only children he’d left motherless.

Fate hadn’t touched his bloodline, but his late mate’s.

Another gasp tore through his throat, hoarse with pain, as something old and filthy clawed its way up through the madness.

A memory swallowed up by the void in his mind. A little girl, curled up on the floor at his feet. Body wrecked, eyes glassy.

His mate’s first daughter, orphaned twice over by the same monster.

And the magic he’d buried in her bones that day, formed in the blood of her freshly killed father.

Thoughts? Feelings? Horny devastation?

So… what did you think?

If you’re still trying to catch your breath (or walk straight), I’d love to hear about it. Reviews help indie authors like me get seen—and they let me know exactly which parts of Kesh’s… technique made an impression.

Craving more monstrous men with filthy mouths and ruinous intentions? There’s a whole backlist waiting for you.

Also by Nora Ash

ALPHA TIES

Alpha

Feral

Protector

(Holiday) Intrusion

THE OMEGA PROPHECY

Ragnarök Rising

Weaving Fate

Betraying Destiny

DEMON’S MARK

Branded

Demon’s Mark

Prince of Demons

ANCIENT BLOOD

Origin

Wicked Soul

Debt of Bones*

DARKNESS

Into the Darkness

Hidden in Darkness

Shades of Darkness

Fires in the Darkness

MADE & BROKEN

Dangerous

Monster

Trouble