The men hadn't gone more than a few yards before Daemon stopped, closed his eyes slightly, and tilted his head up as if to smell the air. His eyes, when he opened them again, were shining and he continued on purposefully, weaving in and out of people, with Lucivar, Azazeal, and Lucifer trailing after him.
"He's like a blood hound," Lucifer commented and Azazeal smiled in acknowledgement.
"A Warlord Prince on the verge of rut, hunting prey is not a good combination," Lucivar said gravely, "Someone is going to get hurt."
Neither Lucifer nor Azazeal had a chance to comment because Daemon had stopped in front of a store a lazy grin on his face, his hands in his pockets, and sexual heat pouring from him directed into the shop. Lucivar, tensing, thought wildly about how he could protect Marian or himself for that matter against what was so soon to be a male in full-blown rut.
Inside, Jaenelle's eyes suddenly glazed over and she shuddered and began to walk towards to exit. Fortunately, Marian was next to her and sensed the seductive tendrils that were weaving themselves around Jaenelle. She alerted Elizabeth and Cassie, telling them that they had been caught and that it was time to give themselves up.
As the four women came out into the open, Jaenelle in the lead, Daemon's eyes glazed over and he saw only the red haze of violent desire, while his seduction spells on Jaenelle ceased as he no longer had the focus to keep them going. Her mind now became clear, and to her credit, she recognized immediately what state Daemon was in, but before she could go anything, he was on her, kissing her roughly. Her mind reeled as her body responded to him and she tried to think of what to do to protect all of the people around them in this public place.
When Daemon let her go, the other women had moved beside their men, behind Daemon. He was still clutching Jaenelle tightly but now he was enraged by the realization of the number of males and females around them. The males were rivals to be destroyed and the females only served to excite him and infuriate him because they were not the one he wanted.
As if not sure which he wanted more, to mount Jaenelle or destroy the intruders, he began lightly kissing her neck at the same time as moved behind her in order to face the most immediate of the threats: Lucivar, Lucifer, and Azazeal as well as the ladies.
"They are not rivals," Jaenelle said calmly but Daemon's only response was to press teeth against her neck and produce a low growl as if dominating a lower member of a pack. This was not good.
Elizabeth knew a little bit about the rut from what Jaenelle had told her, but really had no concept of how violent a Warlord Prince could be. However, she had never felt the need to be afraid of almost anything, so she stepped forward directly in front of them, before anyone could stop her, and said, "Stop it," as one might snap at a disruptive child or a bad dog.
Daemon released Jaenelle neck from his mouth, responding to something in Elizabeth's tone, but then immediately saw her as the focus for the need to destroy.
He smiled wickedly for a split second before launching psychic power at her to destroy her mind. He laughed as he did it and was gathering himself to follow with a body-splattering bolt of power…
And then there was nothing. Nothing but an iron grip on his throat and on his snake-tooth handed wrist. Nothing but his inner barriers being, not opened, but penetrated as if there was no need to lift them to get through. The Warlord Prince inside him howled but then quailed at the absolute and unyielding power that surrounded his mind and locked his body in place. Daemon did not give in, there was no giving in, there was only the reality of what was happening. An utter calm came over him as the instincts of the rut fell away in the face of such a dominating force. He knew who was doing this and thought casually that power like this should be tempered with love and submission and understood why Lucifer had gone mad with out those things. To have so much more power than everyone else that you could do anything you wanted but really only wanting to be accepted. He had known all along that Jaenelle herself had felt seperated from everyone by her power but now he thought he had a glimpse of what it must feel like.
Jaenelle blinked and found herself stumbling back from Daemon who was now immobilized in Lucifer's hands. She realized that they were back in Azazeal's church, the others left behind in California, but she did not remember anything after Daemon setting his teeth against her neck.
"Can you handle him?" Lucifer asked gruffly.
Coming back to herself, she replied, "Yes," as confidently as she could. She was actually prepared for this, she knew what Warlord Princes were, but she just hadn't expected the rut to take him at such an inopportune time.
"If you will make a window I will take him home," she continued.
"Do you have somewhere you can be alone? When I let him go, there will not be time to warn anyone near to him of his…condition."
She thought about it and realized that he was right, "I have a cabin, a remote one…"
"Does it have food and supplies?" Lucifer cut her off.
"No…"
"You will stay here with him. There's a bed and food in the kitchen. I will inform the sentries that no one is to be admitted. When it's over let Lucivar or Marian know. If you can't contact them, call myself or Azazeal, we will hear you. How long will it last?"
Janelle was somewhat surprised by these easy and practical instructions coming from Lucifer but grateful because she was clearly not in a state to think of these things herself.
"It may be a few days," she answered, "Will the sentries obey? Someone could get hurt."
"They're angels, they were created to serve," he responded simply.
"Okay," she nodded, "I'm ready."
Lucifer turned to give Daemon's empty eyes a close inspection and then saying rather angrily, "I leave him to you," he disappeared abruptly.
The immediate and sheer absence of control was like a hole that was flooded almost painfully with the rage and desire that had been held back until Lucifer let him go. Daemon snarled and whirled around searching for his lost prey but still to shaken to see clearly.
"I am here," Janelle said softly.
Daemon turned on her and crouched slightly like a cat ready to pounce. Rather than flying at her, he stalked her carefully, snatching her up only when he was a few inches away which somehow made the quick movement more threatening.
How he found a bed, Jaenelle did not know, but soon she was lying on a bed under him as he devoured her. She had not realized it until now how trained to please he was. She, being a young girl and a virgin, had simply accepted what he did in bed as the standard, but what he was doing now was exciting and tantalizing in a different way. When he kissed and sucked and licked it was for his own gratification, to fulfill his own raging desires. It was just a bit rough but equally as pleasurable as when he was focused solely on her pleasure. It felt more real, more honest, and more intimate in some ways because this was not a demonstration of his bedroom skills, this was a male intent on his chosen female, savagely lulling her into compliance.
She wasn't worried about getting hurt. She knew the rules of this ritual better than anyone. This was natural. The body wanted to mate and the male would not harm the vessel selected to bear his offspring unless provoked. The female just had to be level headed enough to placate his feral response to anything that could be seen as an obstacle to his mating.
And so Jaenelle gave herself to the experience, even playing with him a little to cause a growl or another gesture of dominance, which actually made him more gentle when she submitted.
Lucifer returned to the spot where he had left everyone but they were gone. If anyone had seen the look in his eyes in that moment they would have surely died of fright. How dare they leave! Then he vanished again, knowing where Azazeal would have taken them and hating the idea of people in Elizabeth's house even though it was the correct thing for Azazeal to have done.