Two days. The cambion had my mates for two days already, and I didn't even realise it because time passed slower in Selen and Sol's realm, and in the In-Between.

The bastard had the audacity to reach out to me via my adoptive parents. Sure, the fact that they were warlocks made it easier for him to get in touch with them, but he even dared to demand that they teleported me to the location where I was to meet him.

My poor parents were out of their minds worried for my safety, yet he forced them to comply with his demands. I had to ask them to teleport me to the meeting point directly instead of going back to Blackwood first because I did not want to waste any time and I did not want to have more people on my back trying to stop me. Getting my parents to agree to let me do this was already hard enough.

The moment they left, my calmness was gone though. I was livid and set more than ever now to destroy Markolf. My hand squeezed the glamoured angel blade as I stood in front of the front gate of the castle where he had requested to meet. I twisted my hair into a high bun until it coiled around itself and then secured it with the disguised blade, pretending that it was a genuine hairpin. It was going to stay there until I had the perfect opportunity to end Markolf once and for all.

Relax, release, ease.

I kept on repeating that until finally managed to calm down. I knew what Markolf's abilities were capable of. Even though I was now marked and protected from having my lust used in his favour, any anger on my part provided the cambion with an opportunity to control me- something that I wanted to avoid at all costs.

Markolf appeared out of thin air, smirking at the sight of me waiting there for him.

"Riley, how nice of you to accept my invitation." He opened the gate and motioned for me to follow him.

"Invitation? Goodness, you really don't understand the meaning of words, do you?" I snorted. "You would benefit from the use of a thesaurus- I would recommend looking up the meanings of "threat" and "psychopath". The anger inside me was growing just at the mere sight of him.

Relax, release, ease. Keep it cool, Riley- keep it cool.

"Where are my mates, Markolf?"

"Call me Mark, please." He smiled at me like we were on good terms. This guy was more delusional than I thought.

"Hold up. You don't actually think that we are friends, do you?" Examining his expression, I saw a muscle twitch on his face as he tried to maintain his smile. Wow, he genuinely thought that there was a bond between us.

"Oh my, you actually do," I burst into laughter. "I think that you have been taking notes from the wrong book- it's "How to make friends and influence people", not "How to make enemies and alienate your friends"."

We walked quickly through the garden and entered the castle while I remained amazed by the fact that the cambion had no clue that this was not the way to win me over to his side. Not that there was any way for him to do so anyway.

"I get that your father is a demon- so most likely a prick- but sure you must have come across some good people in your life that taught you basic social skills," I continued as we walked along various corridors. Pissing him off was probably a risky strategy on my part but at least in doing so, I did not have time to think about my anger, so that was certainly a good thing. "Your mother was human, after all."

He came to a halt and turned around to face me. His jaw stiffened. There was something angry but also sad in his eyes.

"Do not mention my mother again," he snarled before he smiled again and kept on speaking politely, "This would be so much easier if you are a bit more cooperative, Riley. You know I can just persuade you to join me by using my demonic persuasion and you would not be able to say no."

I shivered at the idea of being compelled again by him to do something against my will, even if my parents reassured me that my bracelet would weaken the effect of his demonic persuasion on me. Still, it was not capable of blocking his control of my anger. I couldn't let him get to me though. "So I've heard but you won't do it."

"Won't I?" Markolf moved closer to me, so close that I could feel his breath on my neck. He was like a snake that was trying to wrap itself around me, biding its time to suffocate me until I was unconscious.

"No," I answered calmly and confidently.

"And why is that?"

"Because you want me to join you without being under some sort of compulsion. If you use your abilities on me, you lose the ground to say that we are alike. That we have a bond. And you want us to have that bond."

He looked at me, stunned, so I kept going as the realisation hit me. "You are lonely. That's why you are looking for a kindred spirit."

My words clearly got to him because he averted his gaze. I had to admit that I did not know what his story was and I did wonder what made him want to cause so much pain and suffering to people that had never done anything to him. I felt sorry for him but not enough to forget that he was trying to hurt my mates and that he was partially responsible for my parents' death.

"Enough," he commanded and started walking again. He reached the door ahead of us and opened it, waiting for me to go through. "We have more important things right now."

I found myself entering a brightly lit oval room which seemed to have a giant hole in the centre. As I got closer to the edge of the hole, I realised that below us was a huge fighting pit and my mates were right in the middle of it, facing each other in a fighting stance.

My head snapped back to Markolf in disbelief. "What the hell is this?"

"What does it look like?" he smirked. "They are about to fight each other. The winner gets to keep his animal, while the loser will contribute to my ever-growing collection of shifter animal spirits."

"Nooooooo," I screamed horrified, as I looked again at my mates who seemed ready to fight.

Neither of them moved though, not even to look at me. I knew that Markolf had them under his control, I could feel it in my bones.

Guys, don't do this. Please, I begged through our connection.

Get out of here, Moreau. Don't let him control you, Rafe ordered but his voice sounded more like a plea.

We will be okay, love, but not if you fall into his hands. Do it for us, my other mate begged.

There was no way in hell that I was going anywhere though. They were here because of me. The psychopath next to me wanted to hurt them because they were my mates. I contemplated using my newly-discovered super speed to stab Markolf with the glamoured angel blade but my quick assessment of the situation told me that the odds of succeeding were not good right now- certainly not for what I had in mind.

"Right, time for some action," the cambion shouted. "Gentlemen, begin now. Oh, and show no mercy."

When the words came out of his mouth, I saw Aiden lunge toward Rafe, attacking him with a savageness that I had never seen in him before. As Rafe fought back and counter-attacked, the feral desire for blood was written on his face just like it was on Aiden's. They fought each other like they were mortal enemies, not best friends and my mates.

Please stop it. Listen to me, listen to my voice. You can break through his control, just like I did thanks to you, to our bond.

Neither of them listened though. They just kept on hitting, punching and kicking each other, and every painful hit felt like a stab in my heart. I could feel the pain they caused each other but also the mental torture that Markolf was inflicting on them.

As my heart was breaking while I looked at them, anger churned inside my chest. My palms stung from digging my fingernails into them without even realising. He was the cause for all of this. He was responsible for their pain.

My anger was dangerous though- if the boys were to stand a chance of getting out of here, I had to reign it in.

I took a deep breath. Relax, release, ease.

The budding rage slowly calmed down but intense worry took over as I watched the guys fight.

I saw Aiden fall to the ground, blood dripping from the punch that Rafe had just landed on his face. Just as Rafe got close to him to land another blow, Aiden tripped him and grabbed him in a chokehold, cutting off his air supply.

Markolf watched the whole scene with such satisfaction like his favourite show was playing out right in front of him.

"Finish him," he commanded but Aiden hesitated.

Don't do it, Aiden. I need you- I need both of you. Our bond is stronger than this, it's stronger than Markolf.

My words must have gotten through to him because I saw his hold loosen a little bit. Before I could rejoice though, Rafe used the hesitation of his best friend to break free and throw him on the floor, where he began punching him mercilessly.

Riley, I heard my wolf mate say in my head, I can't stop this. I have no control over my body. The hold that Markolf has on us is too strong.

You can do it, Rafe- I believe in you. Fight this! You are an Alpha. You are a Macalister. You are my mate. You both are. Come back to me, please.

Suddenly he stopped and let go of Aiden. He got up, while my dragon lay there on the floor, bloodied but alive.

"That's enough, Markolf- clearly I won," Rafe said with the confidence and dominance of an Alpha.

The cambion frowned, unhappy with the outcome of the fight. He had evidently hoped that they would finish each other off but this was not the case. I could see that he was pondering what to do next until his lips tipped up, an evil smile emerging on his face.

"You know what, I changed my mind- fight to death," he ordered, snapping his finger at them as he pushed his command through the grip he had on them.

Rafe didn't even have a chance to turn around- Aiden attacked him from behind, slamming him on the floor and launching his own attack all over Rafe's body.

I couldn't take this any longer. There was only one way out. Only one way to protect them and hopefully provide me with the time I needed to make my move.

"Enough," I snarled at Markolf as I turned to face him. He did not look surprised- just pleased. Like he had been expecting my reaction. Fucking bastard. "You made your point."

"I have?"

"Yes, you have. Now make them stop fighting while you listen to me," I ordered him, even if I was not sure whether he was actually going to listen to me.

"Why should I do that?"

"Because you want to know my answer whether I am going to join you, don't you?"

His face lit up but his eyes did not break contact with mine like he was trying to see what was going on inside my head. He motioned for the guys to stop and I sighed in relief when I saw that they did.

What are you doing, love?

Moreau, please don't do anything stupid...Please, Riley.

Panic. Fear. Desperation. That was what I could sense through our bond. They were worried about me and they felt helpless that they couldn't protect me but this was not their call- the decision was mine and mine alone. I didn't want to block them but I couldn't let them try to talk me out of it.

Stop it, both of you. I've got to do what I've got to do.

"I'll stay with you, Markolf." The cambion clasped his hands. An angry growl and a roar echoed from the pit. "On one condition," I added.

Rafe's pained voice reached me through the mind link. Don't do it, Riley. We are begging you. Please don't agree to this, mate.

It was the first time that Rafe had called me mate- at least in my presence. And I felt how he truly meant it as he said it.

I smiled on the inside but I maintained my nonchalant exterior because I could not let Markolf know that I was communicating with guys.

Don't worry, I know what I am doing- I am just bidding us all time to take him down. And I have faith in both of you that you will find me, mate.

Markolf's word brought me back to our conversation. "Why do you think that you are in a position to make any demands, Riley?" His surprise was obvious- he hadn't expected me to be bold enough to put any conditions forward.

"Are we really going to go through this again? I told you already, I know that you want me to make this decision on my own. So, as I said, I will stay with you but only if you fulfil my condition."

"Fine, let's hear it."

"You will let Rafe and Aiden go and you will not hurt them," I said with a firm voice.

"You are ruining my fun, Riley," he whined like a little spoiled brat.

"Yeah, well, you have fucked up my life and you definitely ruined my week but you don't hear my whinging about, do you? So grow the fuck up and tell me whether you accept my terms."

"Fine, fine, I do. Now, can we go?" He reached out for my hand but I refused to give it to him just yet.

"Not so fast."I glared. "I need you to promise and I need it to be a binding promise."

"Oh, for fuck sake, you are too smart for your own good. So be it- I promise," he said, as he made a cut in his palm with a nail that elongated in front of my eyes, his blood falling on the ground. "Demons cannot break blood promises, so there you have it."

I saw every drop of blood hit the floor and burn it, smoke rising from the spot where it collected. The vapours swirled up in the air and wrapped themselves around Markolf like vines tightly twinning around a tree. I didn't know much about blood promises in this world but it did look like what he had done was binding.

"Fine. Now let them go and we can leave then," I nodded.

"Of course, my dear. Caleb," he called out, although there was no one else in the room but us and my mates. An unfamiliar man appeared in front of us out of nowhere. He was covered in tattoos, but his eyes took me aback, their solid black colour screaming magic. "Can you please give our guests a very warm farewell?"

The malicious grin on Markolf's face sent shivers down my spine and the fear in the pit of my stomach was back. I tried to remain calm though- after all, he had just promised not to hurt them.

The mysterious man started waving his hands around as he muttered words in a language that I did not understand. Before I even realised that it was an incantation, the whole place burst into vicious flames. In a matter of seconds, everything around us was ablaze. The crackling of the burning walls and ceiling overpowered all other sounds in the room. Harsh smoke was starting to fill up the air. The magic made the fire lethal, infernal, and my mates were right in the middle of it.

I stood there horrified. "What are you doing? We had a deal," I lashed out, unintentionally giving Markolf control over my anger so that I couldn't do anything else.

"And I will do as I promised." He waved his hand. Rafe and Aiden fell to the ground, free to move without his control. "See- I let them go and I am not hurting them. Now, whether the fire harms them or not, that would not be up to me. Such a shame though that Caleb's potion, which is keeping their animals unconscious, would take some time to wear off- they would stand a much better chance of survival if they could shift. Oh well."

"You fucking bastard," I shouted as I tried to see my mates through the fire and the smoke that were now getting in the way.

Get out of here, Riley. I heard one of them mind link.

I-

My reply was interrupted though as someone grabbed me from behind and we disappeared.