BENEATH HER DARKNESS: The Alpha’s Little Demon
Chapter 82 – Shapeshifting
ADAN STONE…
Every day had been routine for me, and I still didn’t have the answer we were looking for. Collin told me that maybe we needed help from the same witch that put a shield in the territory, and that’s what we were about to do today. He said her name was Althea.
So, I had to arrange to meet with someone who would look for her in places they thought she would go because I couldn’t reach Blade at the moment. But I didn’t tell my parents or grandparents about this plan. I needed to ask Althea questions without anyone interfering.
“You didn’t eat anything.” Mom followed me after I left the dining table. Aside from her and Dad, Pops and Momma also moved back to the packhouse. They called it family solidarity. I called this invasion of space and babying the Alpha.
“I don’t have an appet*ite at the moment, but I can always grab a meal on the road.”
“Okay. But don’t go hungry.”
“Mom, I’m 28,” I grunted, and she stopped following me, but I could hear her giggling.
If anything, it made me happy to hear her laugh. My Beta told me she was miserable when I was still missing, and even when I came back, she still looked in agony. But at least today she was smiling and laughing.
“Ready to go?” I asked Collin the moment I reached the entrance hall of the packhouse, where he waited with Laira.
“Yes. Whenever you are.” I nodded my head at him before tilting my head to look around and when I saw no one, I focused my attention back on him.
“Tell me, Collin, despite my memory loss, do you still trust me as your Alpha?”
“Yes, I do.”
“Don’t lie to me.” Not everyone knew in the pack about me losing my memory of Lucy. Only a few of my warriors and most of them accompany me every now and then to make sure I have a scapegoat whenever someone asks about Lucy. And sometimes I wonder if they see me as weak this way.
“You lost your memory of her but not the pack or how to be an Alpha.”
“Make sense. But let me check if you’re lying…” I chuckled, but for some reason I found myself reaching for his forehead with my pointer and middle finger as if I had seen this before or knew what I was doing.
Collin’s forehead creased as he watched me tap his forehead, but nothing prepared me for what happened next. It felt like a bolt ran through my fingers and gave me a quick view of his mind, confirming he was not lying – he still believed in me as his Alpha.
“What the f*uc*k?!” I growled as I withdrew my fingers almost immediately after I tapped his forehead.
“What’s wrong?” He asked, and confusion was written on his face.
“Let’s try this again. Do you love Laira?” Laira’s eyes widened, and Collin chuckled at my question before he spoke. “What kind of question is that?”
“Answer it!”
“Of course, I love Laira!” I tapped his forehead again. Truth.
“You love every home-cooked meal Laira makes?”
“Of course, I do.”
I tapped again.
Lies.
Laira giggled softly. She knew her mate was lying. Collin would always complain about the meals Laira made. He would always tell her to do something else and not touch our meals. She couldn’t cook to save her life. But what the f*uc*k was that? Why can I read lies?
‘Lucy can read lies.’ Beast informed me.
‘And why can I do the same now? I didn’t have this ability before.”
‘She marked us.’
‘Do you think she shared this ability with us?’
“Alpha,” Collin said, drawing my attention away from my thoughts with his hand on my arm. “Are you okay?”
“Yes, let’s go.” I didn’t wait for his acknowledgment. I immediately walked past them and headed for the car waiting outside.
♡♡♡
“Wait! I know that guy! f*uc*k!” Viktor growled from the backseat, and my forehead creased as my eyes focused on the man he was talking about.
“He was one of them! That one that took you to the underworld!” I could hear the panic in his voice while my ears were ringing with the loud thudding of his heart as well as Collin’s.
My Beta hit the brakes hard even before we reached where they were standing, but the man in front of us moved at an inhuman speed and was now standing in front of our car.
He tapped the hood of Collin’s car and motioned with his finger for me to come to him with his eyes fixed on me. If Beast hadn’t told me he was Lucius, Lucy’s brother, and the one we should be reaching out to, I would be growling at his audacity to order me around.
But I kept my temper in check because my f*uc*king wolf wanted me to behave. I pushed the door open and stepped out without taking my gaze off him.
“Lucius.” I greeted him as I walked to where he had positioned himself, leaving a few meters between us. Even if Beast kept telling me we needed him, a part of me was not convinced he would help us. For all we know, he’s working for Lucien.
“You remember who I am?”
“My wolf does.”
“Impressive.”
“And her? Do you remember her?” He tilted his head and pointed a finger somewhere on his right. And when my gaze followed his line of sight, I saw a female in her early twenties looking at me, as if she were scrutinizing me. And Beast began to growl in my head. He was upset.
“No. I don’t remember her, but it seems my wolf doesn’t like her.”
“I won’t blame him. Patrea, come here.” He called for her without taking his eyes off me as if he were watching my every move. “Alpha Stone, meet Patrea…”
‘She took our memory away,’ Beast growled in my head, and something snapped in me. I was about to attack her if Lucius hadn’t magically placed a fire between us.
“f*uc*king calm down!” He positioned the witch behind him as his eyes blazed red while mine dilated in black. We stared at each other; if there hadn’t been f*uc*king fire between us, I’d be snapping his head off for getting the witch out of my way.
“What the f*uc*k do you want?” I asked.
“Calm down and then we’ll talk!”
“I want my memory back!”
“That’s why we’re here!” The witch behind him spoke, and my eyes met her gaze. I was expecting her to back down and take her gaze off me, but she didn’t. Instead, she tilted her head up and moved to stand beside Lucius. “We want to help you.”
“Why would I trust you?”
“I’m on Lucy’s side.” The witch bravely answered.
“I want to be sure.”
“What proof do you want?”
“Lower the fire.” I told them calmly.
“No.” Lucius answered firmly. “Unless you give me your word that you will not attack her.”
“Who are you? Her f*uc*king babysitter?”
“You’re f*uc*king word, Stone! You’re wasting time! Instead of us devising a strategy to defeat Lucien, you kept babbling!”
“f*uc*k you! Try to be in my position, and f*uc*king tell me you can still trust people around you! Oh, for f*uc*k’s sake! You’re not even human! You’re a f*uc*king demon and a f*uc*king witch! Lethal combination! Now tell me I’m f*uc*king acting up here!”
“Fine! Just f*uc*king say you won’t touch her and…’
“You have my word! I won’t f*uc*king attack her!” I snapped at him, gritting my teeth to stop myself from growling. The fire on the ground disappeared, and I took one step forward, making Lucius extend his arm as if he could protect the witch from me.
“I just want to check something. I f*uc*king swear, in Lucy’s name, I will not K*ll her.”
Lucius hissed and withdrew his arm and watched as I extended my hand to Patrea’s face, and my fingers tapped her forehead, the same way I did with Collin earlier. I was hoping it would work on a witch and that I was not hallucinating, that I was able to read lies as Lucy did.
A spark of electricity ran through my fingertips before I was able to catch a glimpse of her mind. She was right – she was on Lucy’s side. I closed my eyes as I let out a sigh of relief before withdrawing my fingers from her forehead.
“What the f*uc*k was that?”
“I just want to check if she’s lying.”
“Alphas can read lies?” Lucius asked, his forehead creasing.
“No. I just woke up today and I was able to read my Beta’s mind, and find out if he was lying or not.” I told him but I had no idea why I was even telling him. Maybe because I found out the witch was on our side.
“Can you mind link?”
“Yes, of course. I’m a f*uc*king wolf.”
“No, with me?”
“What?” I asked, confused at his question but I found the answer when someone dug in my head.
‘Can you hear me?’
My eyes widened when I realized the voice came from Lucius. ‘The f*uc*k?’
A smile slowly crept into his mouth as he took a step toward me. His hand coiled on my neck as he pulled my face forward and rested his forehead on mine. I wanted to pull away, but his words left me unable to move a muscle at all.
“Lucija shared her demon power with you.”
“What?”
“This will make it easier for all of us,” he said in a positive tone instead of answering my question. His gaze then darted to Collin and Viktor, who was standing behind me. “Do you trust these two?”
“Yes.”
“No one needs to know we met. My father still believes I am on his side.”
“What are you planning to do?”
“I will tell you in time. But you need to do what I tell you to do.”
“And if I don’t?”
“You will lose Lucy?”
“What do I have to lose? I can’t even remember her?” I answered sarcastically, although I knew a part of me wanted this female badly.
He hissed before he brushed his hands through his hair. “We’re running out of time! So f*uc*king cooperate! Because if you don’t, Lucija will be thrown into the pits of hell for demons to f*uc*k her brain out!”
My chest heaved at his words, and before I knew it, I was already on my feet and launching at him. I had no memory of her, but I knew she was mine!
“Take it back!” My hand gripped his shirt tightly, but the devil just smirked at me.
“Now tell me you have nothing to lose?”
My hand loosened on his shirt before I shoved him. “She’s f*uc*king mine! I will do whatever you want, just make sure nobody touches her!”
He brushed off his shirt before he extended a hand. “We have a deal then? Follow my lead, and I will make sure she remains yours.”
I grabbed his hand and shook it firmly, but he didn’t let go. “We only have seven days left before her cleansing. I will explain to you about the cleansing the next time we meet. Patrea will need to prepare the ritual and find a suitable location to carry it out in order to break the spell she has cast on you. So, we need to meet again tomorrow.”
“What do you want me to do?”
“Just wait for tomorrow. Go on with your daily routine as if you never met me. And once your memory is back, you need to keep pretending you still don’t have it. That means your family doesn’t need to know. And when you talked with them…” He pointed at Collin and Viktor behind me, before continuing. “…they will act as if you still have memory loss.”
“Why?”
“Lucien is watching you. If he finds out your memory is back, he will hunt Patrea.
I nodded my head. “But do I have a say in the plan, or do I just need to act like a puppet?”
“Not used to being ordered around, Alpha?”
I scoffed and didn’t answer him. “We will discuss, I’m open to suggestions. Whatever will help Lucy out of the underworld. And with her sharing her power with you, I want you to master one of those sK*lls.”
“What sK*lls? Mind link or reading lies?” I chuckled.
“Shapeshifting.”
“Taking someone’s form?”
“Yes.”
“You want me to take a demon form?” I asked, making sure I understood what he wanted me to do.
“Not just any demon. I want you to practice taking my form.”