By the time I was done with my story, Lucien was raging, and it was only Anna's soothing touch that stopped him from doing anything rash. That and the message that I got from Rafe that his father was now dead. The news brought me comfort but, at the same time, my heart ached a bit as I knew it couldn't have been easy for Rafe to do what he had done. We pick our friends but not our family and no matter what, Angus Macalister was his father.

"So Rafe is now the Alpha of the Windcrest pack?" I heard Anna ask my brother.

"Yes. He is Angus' legitimate heir and he is also the one who killed him, so no one can dispute Rafe's right to the Alpha position unless he decides to give it up," Lucien explained.

"Hold on a second....you are all missing something important here," Connor exclaimed as he jumped out of his seat. He wrapped his arms around me before he continued, "Our Riley here is the potential next Luna of the Windcrest pack."

My eyes widened at what he had said. "I am what?" I blurted out. "You have this all wrong, Connor. I am no Luna and I am nobody's Luna."

"Technically you are right as Rafe hasn't marked you and claimed you yet, Riley-" my brother spoke.

"Thank you."

"-but if he does so, Connor is right- you would be the Luna of Rafe's pack." Yeap, he had to go on and ruin my day.

I stood up from my chair and dropped off my glass on the coffee table before I looked at them all. "You know what, I am tired so I am going to sleep."

As I walked out of the door, all I could hear was Anna's voice. "Riley, wait, don't go...." I didn't have the energy for any of this though.

When I finally made it to my room, I crashed on the bed and pulled my phone out. I quickly typed up a message but all I could do once I was done was stare at it. I hope you are okay. It felt like the words were staring right back at me. My finger hovered over the Send button multiple times, my heart beating anxiously every time I thought about actually sending Rafe the message. Eventually my mind was made up. Delete.

Instead of texting him, I went to the phone book and I pulled out my parent's landline number, dialling it. The phone kept on ringing but no one was picking up on the other side. I removed my mobile from my ear and was about to hang up when I finally heard my dad's voice.

"Hello?" He sounded out of breath.

"Hi, dad. It's Riley." I paused. "Is everything okay? You sound like you have been running."

My dad never ran. It was not his thing.

"Sweetheart, it's so good to hear your voice. And don't worry- your mother and I were in the garden, planting some new flowers. I had to run to get to the phone on time."

"Oh, sorry."

"Don't be - I am so happy that you called. Are you okay? Is everything going well in Scotland?"

"Yes. Everything is great."

Aside from me having two mates and discovering that the father of one of my mates and an evil cambion were behind my biological parents' death. Oh, and did I mention that said cambion wanted to wipe out all shifters? Apart from that, everything was perfect.....is what I wanted to say.

"Aurelie Boswell, I can tell when you are lying."

Damn it, why did he know me so well. I realised that I also missed hearing Boswell. Up here everyone referred to me by the name of my biological parents.

"Dad, I have to be honest- I need your help."

"Anything, sweetheart."

"Have you ever heard of Markolf?"

I heard him take a deep breath at the mention of the cambion's name. When he spoke again, his voice trembled a little.

"Why are you asking me this, Auri? Are you somehow involved with him?"

"Not exactly. I've only heard his name."

"Good- keep it that way. That cambion is the worst of the demon offsprings, Auri. Please stay away from him."

"Dad, I won't do anything stupid, I promise. But I need more information on him - it's important."

"Auri, it's really better that you don't know anything. For your own good."

"Please, dad- he had something to do with my parents' death and I think he is planning something against shifters. I need to know who he is."

He sighed before he spoke again.

"Do you know what a cambion is?"

"Yes, I do- the offspring of a human and a demon."

"Correct. I won't go into the details of how cambions are created exactly- it's not a pretty story. But the bottom line is that every cambion has a demon parent. In Markolf's case, his father is Asmodeus, the demon of anger and lust. Asmodeus is a powerful demon. In fact, he is one of the great demons that is granted access to the realm where the angels and some of the most powerful magical creatures live."

Wait, what? Did I hear correctly- angels? Powerful magical creatures?.....When did these kinds of things become my reality? Then again, some goddess had apparently decided my fate already, so how could I possibly judge.

"Markolf was never granted access there because he is half-human- he was not considered demonic enough by his father to bring him along and he didn't have the powers of a great demon. He was sent to live on Earth instead, now causing havoc wherever he goes. He is angry and bitter for that which makes him extremely dangerous. Do you understand that I am trying to tell you, Auri?"

"I do, dad- I need to stay as far away from him as possible. Out of curiosity though, how do you kill a cambion?"

"Auri!"

"Okay, okay, sorry for asking. Right, I've got to go- it's been exhausting a few days. I love you. Tell Mum I love her too."

I hung up the phone before my dad could lecture me further on how reckless it would be to go after Markolf. It was too late for him to change my mind though- there was not a scenario in which I could let that cambion get away with his evil plans.

Lost in my own thoughts on how to bring Markolf down, the exhaustion finally took over as I found it harder and harder to keep my eyes open. As my eyelids finally closed, the world around me slowly faded away and tranquillity finally took over.

The day passed quickly once I woke up. I busied myself with helping Anna decorate the baby' s room and catching up with Natalia who I still hadn't seen since coming back. The training of the pack's warriors was left to Connor as I wanted to take a day for myself- a rarity in my life but one that I felt was very much needed with the craziness of the past few days. On top of that, I didn't really want anyone to see the schoolgirl-like excitement that was slowly starting to take over me as my date with Aiden was nearing. It was so abnormal for me and yet it felt so right. These mate bonds really were insane.

All feelings aside, it had been ages since I had been on a proper date so the nerves were also kicking in a bit. As I flicked through the outfits in my wardrobe, I realised that I had no idea what we were actually doing for the date which made choosing an outfit pretty impossible. I grabbed the phone from my nightstand and texted Aiden.

Hey, you. What are you up to? I clicked Send on my WhatsApp and started typing the next sentence. Planning to tell me what we will be up to tonight so that I can dress accordingly?

Not even a minute later, my phone buzzed with Aiden's reply.

Hi, beautiful. Just prepping for our date tonight.

I looked at the picture that he had sent me and I was not sure whether I was more gobsmacked by the fact that he seemed to be cooking for our date or that he was shirtless. It was the first time that a man had ever cooked for a date with me and the first time that I had seen Aiden's toned body like that, and both had me feeling rather pleased.

Are you cooking? Does this mean we are staying in? I texted back.

I am not revealing my plans, Riley.

But I need to know what to wear for the occasion, I protested.

Wear whatever you want- you will look stunning no matter what you have on. Wear layers because tonight is meant to be quite chilly. Can't wait to see you. xx

Layers? Chilly? Now he had me confused- I thought we were staying in.

I put my phone away and took off my clothes, heading to the bathroom for a nice, relaxing bath. I hadn't realised how much I needed to relax until I got into the tub. The water was the perfect temperature to loosen my muscles and the whole bathroom smelt like the soothing bath salts that I had added before I went in.

I lay there, the warm water enveloping my body. I closed my eyes, letting go of all thoughts in my mind. The tranquillity was heavenly and I wished I could stay in this moment forever. I must have jinxed things though because instead of the expected peace and quiet my mind quickly filled up with sinful memories of the dirty, hot sex that Rafe and I had back at the cottage. I didn't even have time to figure out what was going on though, as the memories were replaced with what I could only assume were fantasies of Aiden and me as he was balls deep inside me, both of us lost in the passion of the moment. I quickly opened my eyes trying to bring myself back to reality, although the fact that I was alone in the bathtub brought a slight disappointment. It was like my brain had a mind of its own and I really didn't like that.

Reassured by the fact that the previous images were out of my head, I closed my eyes in an attempt to relax again. I gasped though as I was once again greeted by racy visions but this time they involved both Rafe and Aiden pleasuring me, as my body was fully at their mercy while I begged them for more. In an apparent agreement with my sex-focused mind, one hand made its way to my clit, while the other grabbed one of my boobs harshly. Imaging the guys claiming my pussy and my mouth simultaneously, I began pleasuring myself until my orgasm hit me and brought me back to reality like a bucket of cold water. 

Why the fuck was a fantasising about being devoured by these two?

Because they are your mates and you want them, I could feel a faint voice at the back of my mind attempt to say but I ignored it, wrapping myself with a nice, woolly towel as I got out of the tub.

Focus, Riley- you can't let two guys and sex get to you like that. Okay, two insanely hot guys...fuck, who am I kidding - the sexiest, most attractive two men that I had ever met in my life, even if I want to murder one of them. Still...

I rolled my eyes at my own thoughts as I opened the wardrobe again and finally made my choice after 15 minutes of deliberation with my inner alter ego. I put on one of my favourite pairs of matching cotton bra and panties before I slipped into my dark blue jeans, which I decided to pair with a strappy top and a dark blue jumper. After I got dressed, I put on some light makeup before grabbing some chunky rings to accessorize my look. As I fixed my hair, opting to let it down, I felt satisfied with my look and ready to leave, just in time for Anna's call that Aiden was waiting for me downstairs. I put on my leather high heel ankle boots and made my way to the living room.

I hadn't reached the ground floor when I heard Aiden's voice before I noticed him.

"Wow, absolutely gorgeous." I saw him stand on the side of the stairs with Lucien, which was not a surprise as they were supposed to meet beforehand.

Goodness, he looked as dapper with his black blazer with a white t-shirt and beige chinos as he did wearing an expensive suit. Yet, it was his smile that was like a magnet for me every time I looked at him.

When I finally reached Lucien and him, Aiden took my hand, placing a feather-light kiss on my knuckles. Every move of this man was so refined, so elegant, and yet Lucien looked less than pleased with the fact that Aiden was being so intimate with me, even if nothing sexual had happened between us today or at any point, in fact. I guess that mates or not, older brothers always remained protective of their sisters. I didn't pay much attention to Lucien's annoyance though as I found myself mesmerized by the dragon shifter in front of me and the pull I felt towards him. Suddenly I found myself wishing that we could get out of the mansion as quickly as possible so that we could finally be on our own.

"Hi," I said and smiled softly at Aiden.

"Hi," he smiled back, although his face resembled more that of a kid who received the best Christmas present.

The realisation that this was brought on by the simple fact of seeing me thrilled me to such an extent that my smile spread even further as Aiden looked at me.

I tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. "Shall we go?" I said and grabbed his arm, practically dragging him towards the door. I picked up my coat and waved Lucien and Anna goodbye.

"You better not be back late, Riley," I heard Lucien say as we were getting out of the door, with Anna scolding him that I was not a teenager.

Aiden led me towards his car where he opened the door on the passenger side for me. I readied myself to sit down but before I could do so, I felt him grab my hand, pulling me towards him. Within seconds I felt his lips against mine. A simple kiss but one that once again stirred all sorts of needs and desires within me.

He looked at me, caressing my cheek with his hands. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to act so impulsively. It's just that I couldn't wait to see you again and if I hadn't kissed you now, I would have had to stop the car and do it along the way. Otherwise, I wouldn't have been able to think straight for the whole drive," Aiden explained with a cheeky smile.

"It's okay- it was a nice surprise," I replied bashfully but underneath my clothes, my body was already burning from the contact with his lips. "Now let's make a move because I am starving and I am more than intrigued to see what you have prepared."

"Your words are my command, my lady." He bowed playfully and helped me get in the car, finally leaving the Blackwood estate.