Via hell incorporated (regeneration)
First you love it then you hate it (you're such a saint)
And now you're never gonna make it (bad situation)
Get on, get on down - there's HELL to pay!
(Devil Is a Loser – Lordi)
July went by without much fuss either at home or in the astral. She had such peace she was almost surprised.
Spending the days in slumber or half-sleep, she mostly pondered, what will the mating season be like. She was told the second one is the hardest, so she was safe already, but still... 2012... it might be a nice punch to the gut.
In the calendar it was planned right ahead. First full moon was the second of August, second on the first of September. Those that went to school were quite safe.
Nobody knew nothing of what changes will there be. Or at least, nobody spoke of it.
When she asked her father, he only grinned on her.
,,Wait and see, fledgling," he chuckled darkly after. It could drive her mad.
Unfortunately, Lilith told her nothing either.
,,I'm sorry, girl. I would, but nobody can know nothing until it's settled – then you'll be the first to know."
Sulking, the younger demoness left it alone for the rest of July.
Her mate seemed anxious to know as well, more so than her. She could see he hid something he for the world wouldn't show... directly. But of course, he wasn't an expert for hiding his emotions. And from them she could read like from an open book. There was a hunger for power and expectation, and a slight bit of excitement and nervosity.
So maybe he was one of the adepts for the future leader. She said nothing, after all, that could be expected. He was a high demon, and mate of a princess. Not the most noble or known princess, but nevertheless, he was. She wondered if he was in it as a volunteer.
…...
The end of the month was unbearable. Everyone thought the heat only got worse and worse, tension outside escalating to levels above anyone's liking except maybe desert animals, midday witches and cactuses. All grannies expected a storm every evening, every day, and nothing came from it. Clouds, yes – rain, not.
Demons were flying around, complaining every minute of it.
,,If I could at least go to Hell, but no, shit!" Rich groaned. ,,Nobody can cross the outer gate – they let no one in or out now."
,,Boil, sweethearts, boil in the sun!" Maayden spat. ,,Of course!"
,,That mess should be dealt with soon. Why's he not doing anything?"
,,Don't question father, Matt," Kate mumbled, idly playing with her phone. Then a message from Caroline beeped.
I've heard that mister S is no longer the ruler, what's the truth of that?
Kate opened eyes wide, blinking and texting back.
What? I thought it would be in December. Or maybe early elections came to us? I dunno. Who said so?
A moment after came a reply.
A friend demon. He was very happy that the asshole is off throne, but didn't know, who's on next...
Typical.
So that was the mess in Hell. And they could wonder!
In the evening of one of the hottest days they remembered this century came a cold wave. Wind shook the trees powerfully, and iron rattled around on the balcony, and Kate's grandmother started crossing, at what she flinched mildly.
The demons started shouting ,finally!' ,Stoooorm!' ,Cold!' ,,We'll liiiiiiiiiive!" and similar optimistic quotes until a very excited blonde succubus ran into them, nearly out of breath, and announced;
,,We have a new ruler! Officially it's only tomorrow, but it's known now already!"
The first one that crossed the alpha's mind was Cassius. He was the one she knew most ambitious... and boy, wasn't he skilled in leading. He wouldn't be a bad choice.
But then, there were probably a lot of them. She wondered, who even elected and when, and how, and if females had any say in it then why didn't she know anything about it...
Then the thunder sounded faintly in the distance.
,,Finally," came from Eve in a sigh. ,,some water for the Earth."
Something fresh. And new. And unsettling...
And in that beginning of a storm, finally there flied in a familiar face through the wall and it was like he formed out of shadows in the room, of pure dark...
She nearly stayed staring with mouth open when she noticed that was her mate.
,,Hello," he said in the voice of a person who just won gold at the Olympic games, but doesn't want to tell yet.
,,Who's the new ruler?" was all that came out of her in a quiet voice of someone who knows already.
,,Well, heh... me."
To guess and to hear were two entirely different things.
Somewhere in the little back of her mind, she wasn't surprised. But the rest of conscience was so shocked she only managed to blink a few times, then sat very quickly down.
,,-Y...you?" He nodded with a proud grin, eying her. ,,I- oh. My. Jesuschrist. Y- really?"
He then tried to shrug modestly, but was a bit too smug about it.
She sat on the ground, palm rested on forehead, and only stared on him for a while, face pure awe.
,,I-" she raised a finger. ,,give me a minute. Or- or a few. I need to breathe through it. I'll be okay, I'll be okay!"
The cheer emanating wavered, he bit his lip.
,,You don't seem to be too happy about it."
,,I- no, I am! I just... whoa." She couldn't even speak.
Truth be told, all came crashing down at her at once. Him ? Ruler of Hell? And now, no less! Half a year before she expected it, if at all! Gosh. He took such a responsibility. So fucking much responsibility on his shoulders... and hers as well. The whole race would depend on them, and not only demons, but every single dark being out there would look up to them if it came to the worst, to make future plans and keep harmony with the Light and... she was frightened beyond her senses of the position. Sure, it held power, an unspeakable amount... but at what cost!
She couldn't bring herself to enjoy that achievement.
,,I, uh... what... should I call you?" she asked shyly, looking up from behind eyelashes.
,,My lord, if you want," he joked, then added more seriously- ,,but privately... have I told you my human name?"
,,No," she said quietly.
,,Well, it... was almost like Andro. So you can call me that."
,,Andro. I got to get used to it all over again," she managed a weak smile, at what he smiled back.
She finally noticed something different. His aura, yes, mostly. It felt colder somehow... and looked that way. There wasn't any traces of reddish pink that was, to her, characteristic for him.
And his eyes. Was that blue?
Sliightly greenish blue, yep. Light color. Not as blue as Chastity had, but blue nevertheless...
When he blinked then, they turned almost black.
,,Well, recover, and don't fall asleep, I'll come later."
,,I'll... look forward to it." That was sincere at least.
…
That night she lied with eyes wide open, not even thinking of sleep. Her heart pounded like wild. She needed answers, desperately.
Kate? You okay? Breathe, please.
LILITH! You can't imagine how glad I am to hear you.
She was. It was like a mother's comforting hug, this touch of her mind.
Yes, I see. Please, calm down, you need to collect yourself. And don't be so scared, it's mostly his responsibility! The ancient laughed. Be a bit happy. You're the devil's wife! Smile!
Then she got more serious.
Kate, I'm not saying ,don't worry', because you HAVE matters to be worried about.
Why thank you, Lil, you know, how to calm a girl!
I'm sorry, but I'm sure you will handle it. I only have to tell you some important things.
I'm listening.
First: we have some old traditions. And it will be necessary for your feminine side, so… you will have to have your first child until the first year passes-
WHAT?! A year? A YEAR?! HOLY-
…and if you'd let me finish… Until the first DEMON year, which is a thousand human years.
O-oh, she breathed again.
Second, Lilith continued in utter seriousness, don't make decisions instead of him. Magic concerning. I mean, because it would be pointless. Rituals and suchlike can be done only by the RULER, not you. Of course, I don't mean bullshit like ,pink or green', you can do that of course.
Kate smirked. Yes, I understand. That was all alright, and reasonable.
Oh, and… one more very important thing.
She was quiet for a second, only breathing.
Don't run away from him.
The younger demoness nearly burst out laughing. Seriously?
You consider this important?
Again there was a while of silence, then she said, bemused-
Kathrine… he'll have the whole Hell, all the demons in it and on Earth on his shoulders. It's really some pressure – as much his as yours. He'll find himself sometimes in need of comfort. Don't leave him alone in it. At that the grin froze on her face, ashamed, and a new resolve formed.
No. I won't. I'll stand by him. She felt it to be a vow for a long while, and one she intended on keeping.
….
It couldn't be described differently than starting flat out weird.
When he came, she couldn't bring herself to be comfortable. She was tucked in a chair, muscles tensed, and though she consciously tried to explain to her body that NOTHING would happen to her, she was still all prepared to lunge forward like on a hunter.
It had to be him. It was some old weird reflex of being on guard around someone of higher position, a male on top… her mate.
Goddamn it, this was her mate. He has been tucked under her covers countless times, pressed against her back, nose at her nape and arm around her waist. He watched over her, he wasn't a threat…
Well, tell that to a sub conscience.
She realized that it meant she didn't trust him as much without being used to him – or a human body reacted differently than she wanted to a dark being.
Maybe it was the cold. Every time he came before, all the time, he had a certain lustful, hot layer underneath both energy, voice and overall personality which was not there now.
She mentally slapped herself – of COURSE it wasn't there now, he gave it up in favor of complete, clean dark which could be full of anything. It wasn't as… concrete as lust.
It still made her very on guard though, albeit it also gave her an opportunity to study him further.
He himself seemed sort of uneasy by the change, and didn't seem to handle the new energy well yet. That was to be expected. She wasn't helping…
Way to go, hawk, way to go.
By the feelings he was grateful and relieved that the before ever-present ache in his pants was gone, but he seemed a bit freaked out by it, constantly looking down quickly as if for inspection.
His voice was also slightly different, but it was more the stule of speaking than anything else. The flirty, mischievous and a bit suggestive tone was not as present, almost entirely gone, and the unconsciously put-in, growl-like layer as well, although it gave place to a more calm and smooth one. It all flew fluently now and sort of was more calculating, which he certainly didn't intend. It was like hearing a stranger.
And she usually wasn't shy around strangers – in fact, she could be lying on one's arm in the matter of minutes if wanting to get laid, but then, she didn't need to make a impression. She woulnd't see him again (probably).
…Did she need to make one NOW?
He was familiar with every freakin inch of her body, seen her at her worst and saw the most ungraceful things one could (or heard, at least).
It was a bit late to be making a impression.
Yet, facing the new ruler now, she found herself shy and uneasy, forcibly having to remind herself, who he is.
Had she gone through such a change too? She hoped not.
,,Are you afraid of me?" he piped up curiously, frowning non-believingly, sitting down on the bed.
,,No." It didn't sound as sure as she hoped.
He only raised eyebrows with a sigh, getting on his feet and with a wave of his hand taking off what looked like a very deep shadow, but was actually a cloak. Now that she was at it, he was all in black… well, no complains about black. If anything, it suited him in certain aspects…
She momentarily wanted to shake it off, but then stopped in shame, remembering, where she is.
She got into bed very quickly with a jump, covering herself up and only watched him take all off with a snap of fingers and letting it dissappear into black smoke. Well, she had to learn that.
He moved that way as well, slipping beside her as a black tendrill and only then pulling her to him.
Movements were all the same, ebergy wasn't – until she got, what was going on fully. She couldn't hear even one thought, one deeper emotion!
Of course she was uneasy. She carefully slipped into his mind and left a flicker of her energy there, alrhough she still had a certain awareness.
If it was him knowing her thoughts or also feeling like around a stranger wasn't clear, but everything he did was in a very careful and gentle manner. It wasn't worth much this time, and she psychically prepared herself for a not-much-comfortable sleep this time – until she felt something sharper than a tongue on her neck.
,,Put your hair out of the way," he said half-loudly. It wasn't a plea, it was a command, but she happily obliged this time and waited with a submissive stance and a small smile of excitement.
She did expect it to be pleasant, but nothing prepared her for that burst.
It was like universe snapping into place through orgasm when he sank teeth in. Her back arched up to him and she had to bite down to a pillow to not be heard by the whole family moaning – the jolt went straight down her spine and into groins.
She barely registered through the haze of sudden lust his own groan, quickly turned to a growl, and that he gripped her nape to hold her in place.
Both calmed down only after he drank at least half a litre (and was obviously stuffed) and even then he licked over it more than necessary.
Now she definitely felt closer to him.
,,That… was awesome."
He smirked, licking lips. ,,Indeed."
She sat up on knees and outstretched a hand by instinct, which he took and entwined fingers with her. Black and blue, then golden and black flew through their hands to the other's energies to rest. For a second they looked up, checking each other's eyes.
A loud thunder sounded outside, at what Kate immediately cheerfully leaped out of the bed and to her window to see. Rain poured down nearly into her face and shoulders, but she sat there with a wide smile and ruffled hair falling down her back, and tendrils of darkness wrapped around her body into a - sort of still uncertain - dress.
She more felt than saw his smile at the side, watching his crazy mate.
Well, she COULD get used to this.
