A trail of blood slithered out from beneath the witch as she crawled away from Jason. The black chains that held her had already disappeared. That wasn't necessary anymore, since his bite would finish what he began. The Queen and her entourage rushed into the chamber with his friends in tow. The guards held up their weapons toward Jason and Ishmael while the Queen assisted Selene to her feet.

"Thank the goddess you have arrived, my Queen," said Selene. She slipped back into her disguise, appearing innocent as ever. Jason had to admit, the witch could act. "They took me prisoner when I caught them sneaking into the King's quarters. They intended to finish what they started."

Jason chuckled, "Really, Selene? Hasn't your charade carried on long enough?"

Selene turned to Jason while clamping down on the bite wound on her shoulder. "Who is this Selene you speak of?"

Going with the dumb act I see... Jason groaned while rubbing his tired eyes. No rest for the wicked, I see...

All Jason wanted to do was to cuddle up beside Killian and revel in the fact that the goddess had given him a second chance at happiness. But the Queen and her accomplice wouldn't rest until they shattered it to pieces.

"It would seem our enemy has finally shown themselves," the Queen barked out. "How dare you lift a hand toward your King!"

A slow, throbbing pain spread across Jason's forehead. The Queen was pissing him off. Couldn't he just get one day of rest before all hell broke loose? "Can you keep your mouth shut for once?" He continued rubbing his forehead. "Your agent poisoned Killian before we even got here. Why would we even enter the fortress if our plan already succeeded? As the 'physician' already told us, Killian won't make it till dawn."

With a smug grin on her face, the Queen straightened her back. "Maybe you just wanted to make sure your plans succeeded before we could save the King."

"Really? Then why did you bring in Alaric's second-in-command to 'save' the king when we all know his intended is to kill Killian?" Jason replied.

The Queen readjusted her bracelet while saying, "What are you taking about? There are no traitors or assassins in my court except for you and your cohorts."

A guard pushed Mallory and Darren to the front, their hands were cuffed behind their backs. Darren growled at the guard; however, the guard smirked and hit him on the back of the head with the pommel of his sword.

"It would seem we have another fool to kill," Cyron growled out inside of Jason's head as they watched the guards abuse his friends.

"We'll make an appointment for a later date. For now, we have to deal with these hags."

Jason turned his attention to Selene and the Queen. He started laughing at her earlier statement. "Oh, don't worry. Your assassin will make her appearance shortly." His eyes landed on Selene once again. Drops of sweat trickled down her haggard face. She was having a hard time keeping up her deception. "Is everything alright, Sir Olten... or better yet, Selene? You look rather pale."

Selene rushed forward and pointed her finger toward him. "It is your fault, villain! Now if you'll excuse me," she turned to the Queen and bowed, "I have to go to the infirmary and get this bite mark treated before I get infected by his rot."

The Queen placed her bejeweled hand on the witch's shoulder and said, "You may go, Sir Olten. Your ordeal has ended. We'll deal with these traitors."

With a snap of Jason's fingers, the doors to the chamber slammed shut just as Astrid slipped into the room undetected. To the naked eye, she had shrouded herself in an illusion that made her invisible to the naked eye. However, Jason could see her as clear as day. Demon powers rock.

"Glad you're impressed," said Cyron with a chuckle. "I aim to please."

Selene stopped dead in her tracks just as she reached the door. The group whipped their heads around and glared at Jason.

"What's the meaning of this?" King Desmond boomed out. "Let my subject go or else..."

Jason glanced over at Ishmael as he tried to assist Killian as best as he could, but even from where he stood, Jason could sense the life-force of his mate dwindle to nothing. He had to act fast before the poison they used to end Killian's life worked its magic.

"There's only one way that I know of," said Cyron. "You have to mark him."

Jason grumbled internally. "I can't. What if Killian wakes up and rejects us on the spot because we marked him? We don't even know if he likes men."

"It doesn't matter if he dies, then he won't like anyone while he drifts amongst the clouds in a halo and white dress."

This time, Jason groaned at Cyron's lukewarm joke. "Never try to be a comedian. Stick to what you're good at."

"Fuck you too," Cyron laughed back.

Still ignoring the regent's warnings about killing him on the spot for his betrayal, Jason walked up to the bed while contemplating the ramifications of what he was about to do. But after seeing the anguish bleeding out of Ishmael's face for his inability to heal his friend, the answer to their dilemma became clear. He had to mark his mate, even if it came back and bit him in the ass later on. His mate had to survive.

"Get away from him!" the King bellowed. The royal guards rushed toward him, ready to impale Jason with the spears they held in their hands.

Just as Jason wanted to defend himself against the guards, Ishmael intervened and magically pulled the weapons out of the warriors' hands. With a flick of his fingers, Ishmael twisted the spears around in mid-air. The tip of the spears had turned against their masters. The guards raised their gloved hands in the air in surrender and backed away from Jason.

"Why did you interfere, Ismael?" The King growled out, his eyes lit up. Liquid gold swirled around the King's irises. "I had hoped that the demon had somehow enthralled you, but it seems you're a co-conspirator! Killian was your friend! How could you betray him like that?!" The King raged, spitting, while the Queen and the wicked bitch of the west smirked behind his broad shoulders.

"He is still my friend, my King," Ishmael walked past Jason, giving him time to save Killian from his untimely death.

Jason walked up to his frail mate and wiped a strand of his sweat-drenched hair out of Killian's face. Jason thought he'd remain single for the rest of his life. Forcing him to settle down with a human whose idea of monogamy stretched as far as the maintenance warranty on their vehicle.

Jason leaned down and kissed Killian on the forehead. "Sorry, Killian. I hope you can forgive me for what I'm about to do, but there's no way that I can save you otherwise."

He turned Killian's head sideways to get a better shot of his neck. Jason's heart thumbed around in his chest, fighting against the urge to run away.

"Get away from him, you monster!" The King growled out, stomping his way toward them, but Ishmael erected a barrier to strafe off the regent and his pack of hounds.

Ishmael assured him, "Do what you must. You're the only one who can save Killian now."

Jason nodded. He then focused on Killian's shoulder, where he was about to bite him. Licking his lips, Jason leaned forward and let Cyron push forward. His teeth extended into fangs before he bit into the soft, but heavily muscled, flesh. Coppery blood filled Jason's mouth, sweeter than nectar. He never thought that marking one's mate could be this thrilling; ripples of delight trickled down his back, accumulating below. His friend downstairs struggled against the fabric of his jeans. Jason moaned as he sunk his fangs deeper into Killian's shoulder, earning a groan from his mate.

"This is an outrage!" The Queen yelled. "How dare you mark my son as yours, you filthy mongrel! You'll die for your insolence!"

Jason retracted his fangs until he was sure he had injected enough venom into his mate's bloodstream to fight off the poison that ravaged Killian's body. In addition to his venom, Jason infused demon magic into his venom to help his mate heal faster. Hopefully, it would be enough to save him.

"Why would I die for marking my mate, huh?" Jason licked the bite mark, closing the wound.

"Mate?!" The King and Queen yelled out at the same time. Jason chuckled as he strolled over to Ishmael's side.

"That's right. I'm your son's mate. The bite mark will neutralize the poison your physician injected into his body. A thanks will suffice."

Just as the Queen wanted to yap his ears off again, a commotion behind their backs drew their attention. Sir Olten/Selene started convulsing, throwing up blood that splattered on the floor in front of her feet. The guards stepped away from her as her skin began to bubble. Slowly, her face drooped as a seam ran down her head, running down her face until it reached her chin. In one gruesome second, the skin she wore from the man she impersonated slid off her body and pooled at her feet. Selene dropped to her feet as she gasped for air. A coat of thin blood covered her entire naked body, which reeked of metal and rot. Most of the audience to the macabre magic trick covered their mouths to ward off the revolting stench that filled the room.

The Queen, in all of her dramatic glory, pulled a napkin from her left sleeve and covered her mouth. She screeched out, "What's going on here? Who's this? One of your demons in disguise you sent here to fool us and kill my beloved son?"

The word 'beloved' made Jason laugh out loud. "Mine?" He pointed his finger toward his chest. "No, my Queen... She's yours."

The Queen threw him a death glare before she continued with her Oscar nominated performance. "How dare you accuse me! I would work with the enemy to kill my son."

"Just drop the act. You've killed before, so why wouldn't you now? You worked with Selene to kill off Killian so that you could put Christopher on the throne."

The Queen rushed forward, grabbing the skirt of her hideous and over-the-top ball gown and yelled out, "That's a lie! I would never touch the hair on my eldest son's head. I love Killian with all my heart." She clamped her hand onto her chest and let out a fake sob.

Cyron chuckled and said, "Does she even have one?"

Jason shook his head. "Stop with the theatrics, will you? You have no love except for Christopher and yourself. Your aura betrays you, my Queen." He stepped up to the Queen, allowing Cyron's voice to seep out into the light. "" His sentence ended with a growl. It took all of his willpower not to rip the head off the Queen's body. Even though the bitch deserved it.

"Yes, I did." The Queen slapped her hand over her mouth. Her eyes widened when she realized what she had admitted to. She whipped her head to her mate and then back at Jason. A dark scowl crept across her powdered face. If the glare she gave to Jason could kill, he'd lie dead on the floor, meeting his maker for afternoon tea. "What foul sorcery have you cast on me?"

Jason chuckled, rubbing his stubble. "Nothing foul, my Queen. I assure you. When the souls of the wicket enter the underworld, demons extract their confessions so that they can cleanse their souls. Only the cleansed can enter the gates of Elysium." Jason peaked out from behind the Queen to see the guard put Selene in handcuffs. He turned his eyes on the woman before once again. "I've done nothing other than to extract the truth from your soul, which you hid from the world."

"Lies!" The Queen flung her hands into the air and then ran up to her mate, who stared at her with utter disbelieve in his eyes. Jason felt sorry for the regent. For the first time in the old man's life, the deception over his eyes slipped off. His only crime was to love her, a love she never precipitated. "I didn't do it! You have to believe me, my love." The Queen grabbed the King's hand and brought it to her cheek, wanting the warmth and acceptance of her mate. But the King yanked his hand out of her clutches.

"Don't tell me you're falling for his lies?" The Queen continued her rant. "I would never do such an atrocious thing."

"Won't you?" a voice sounded from Jason's left. Astrid slipped out of her illusion, holding a file in her hand. A royal seal decorated on the front cover caught his eye. "These documents would prove you otherwise."