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  SUCCUBUS UNDONE: VANISHED

  SUCCUBUS HAREM PART 42

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  Copyright © 2020 by L.L. Frost

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  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the writer, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.

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  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

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  Cover design by L.L. Frost

  Book design by L.L. Frost

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  Printed in the United States of America.

  First Printing, 2020

  Contents

  Time to Choose

  Corked

  (un)Bottled

  Assigning Purpose

  Wannabe Destruction Demon

  New & Shiny

  A Mask for the Broken

  Vanished

  From the Author

  Also by L. L. Frost

  About the Author

  The floor seems to tilt, leaving me unbalanced as cousin Cassandra steps around me, her predatory gaze fixed on Emil.

  No. The word pounds through me. No, not her. Not my men.

  My hands curl into fists, my sharp claws biting into my palms.

  “You need to leave, Cassandra,” I say, my voice low and shaky with the restraint it takes not to fling myself at her. “You’re not welcome here.”

  She tosses a derisive look over her shoulder. “Like you can make me? Landregath’s not here this time to fight your battles.”

  “You need to leave,” Tobias says as the air fills with the scent of burning. “When our current contractee is present, you have no right to be here.”

  She tosses her head. “It’s a matter of minutes. Are you seriously going to make me wait on the porch?”

  “Yes,” Emil snaps. “Better yet, wait outside our territory, where you belong.”

  “I belong here.” She spreads her arms wide to encompass the room. “I don’t know why you three keep fighting it. At the end of the world, there will only be us, so you should just get used to it.”

  I hold my breath, waiting for them to force her out, but they don’t move. She won’t leave on her own, and they’re bound not to hurt her.

  Anger boils through me, and I stomp over to stand in front of her once more. She’ll have to go through me to reach them, and I’m prepared to fight tooth and claw to stop her.

  The beast in me rumbles with interest, seeing prey I actively despise. It whispers for me to grab her, to tear her apart and dig out her insides. It tells me how good it will feel to feast on her power and eat her whole.

  A low rumble starts in my throat as my claws lengthen, turning into daggers made to rent flesh from bone.

  Cassandra’s brows shoot up. “Are you seriously threatening me, baby Adie? Don’t you remember what happened last time?”

  “This isn’t like last time,” I growl, flexing my fingers. “You won’t find me such an easy target anymore.”

  Her nostrils flare, scenting the air, before she throws her head back and laughs. “Please. I can barely smell you. You’re wasted away to nothing and just haven’t accepted it yet.”

  Not true. I feel it in my bones and in my blood. The more I lose my succubus self, the greater the space becomes for the beast that grows inside me.

  I step forward, ready to attack.

  Before I can reach her, though, someone yanks me back, spinning me across the brand new circle of gold engraved in the hardwood floor. Tobias, Emil, and Kellen join me, and a moment later, a wall of magic rises around us, locking us on one side and Cassandra on the other.

  Snarling, I launch myself at my prey only to bounce off the wall and tumble to the floor. I hiss and whip around to focus on Xander and Reese, the ones keeping me from tearing Cassandra apart.

  They stare at me with wide eyes before Tally steps in front of them, gossamer wings lifting from her body to shield her men. “I will not allow you to harm those you care for, my friend.”

  I don’t want to harm them, though. I just want them to let me out so I can devour Cassandra the same way she’s taken so many of our kind. It would be a fitting end for her to be consumed.

  But when I try to tell them that, to reason, all that comes out is another growl.

  “What are you protecting her for?” Cassandra calls from right next to me, only a shimmering wall of iridescent magic between us. “Let her out. I’m more than happy to put her down like the bitch she is.”

  “Leave, Cassandra,” Kellen commands, none of his usual playfulness in his tone. “As Adie said, you’re not welcome here.”

  “Welcome or not, it’s my place to stay.” She paces away from me a step, her eyes fixing on Emil. “Look at you, my ice god. Look at how she’s neglected you. Do your frozen bones ache? Does the slush in your blood make you tired? I can warm you.”

  Snarling, I launch myself at her again, and the barrier around us shivers.

  She ignores me, her voice a sweet siren song of invitation. “Does the call of extinction tempt you with every day that passes? The need to release those ice ages and finally free yourself? I can ease that for you, remind you of summer.”

  No. Not my Emil. She will not feed on my ice demon. The word throbs through me, and I slam against the barrier again. When my shoulder pops at the impact, I barely register the pain.

  Her focus shifts to Kellen. “And what about you, my storm god?”

  I snarl at her claiming and slam my body against the barrier over and over.

  “We can fly through the lightning heavy clouds and drink from the rain,” she croons. “When was the last time you allowed yourself such freedom, locked in this house with an incompetent child?”

  Kellen glares at her, lightning snapping from his skin like sparklers. “Leave.”

  Instead, her focus shifts to Tobias, and she purrs with anticipation. “I have new toys for us to play with. And brand-new skin for you to break. I’ve missed being bound to your bed. Missed your wrath.”

  Red clouds my vision as I picture her in the place I knelt, subjected to Tobias’s punishment and left yearning for more. Never. She will never feel that sweet torment again. That relief of acceptance brought through pain.

  Pulling back my arm, I slam my fist forward. My knuckles pop and break before sweet air kisses my split skin and I feel freedom.

  Then, rough hands pull me back, and the hole I made snaps shut.

  The smell of burning lava surrounds me, and Tobias stares down at me as his pupils slowly expand to block out the whites. “You will not lose what’s left by feeding on that trash can. Do you understand? She’s not worth it.”

  Cassandra hisses with anger. “What did you just call me?”

  “A trash can.” Tobias turns his head to stare at her. “You’re the waste bucket we’re forced to toss our power into. Nothing more. And we replace you at every opportunity because your filth disgusts us.”

  She sucks in a sharp, angry breath. “You will regret that when you’re on your knees, begging me to take you.”

  “I have never begged for anything from you.” Tobias turns back to me, starlight in his eyes. “But I am begging you, my sweet Adeline, to stay with us. Don’t give in to this curse. We need you.”

  My heart breaks at the desperation in his face, and I reach up one broken, claw-filled hand. The bones pop back into place, the skin over
my knuckles knitting back together as my fingers straighten. With a loud pop, the shoulder on my opposite arm snaps back into place.

  It costs energy I don’t have to spare, but it’s worth it when Tobias takes my hand and presses it to his cheek before turning his mouth against my palm to kiss me in the only way he can right now.

  The warmth of his lips promise love and hope, emotions that confuse the beast and force it back.

  My thoughts begin to clear, and I stare from him to the others. No matter what secrets they hide, their feelings for me are real. They chose me, a broken and incompetent succubus, over Cassandra. She’s just the interloper forced on them by others.

  “I love you, too, Grumpy Pants,” I whisper, the words cracking from my raw throat. “I’m not leaving.”

  Cassandra’s bitter laugh cuts through the moment. “You don’t have a choice, you stupid child. Or don’t you remember your date with your prison?”

  No, I haven’t forgotten, but I won’t be in the bottle for long. Reese and Xander will help Flint fix me. Then, I’ll be out again, ready to feed and grow strong enough to kick her ass if she ever looks at my men again.

  Thumping comes from the kitchen, and I look past Tobias to see Tac entering the living room, his giant green eyes wide with curiosity. Merp and Prem peek out from around his wing joints, chirping out questions.

  When Tac spots Cassandra, his ears flatten against the top of his head, and he lets out a rumbling growl of warning. His wings rustle and tuck tighter around his whelps as he backpedals toward the kitchen.

  An evil smile spreads over Cassandra’s lips as she stalks toward him. “Tac, what do you have there? Are those babies? Let auntie Cassandra see.”

  Tac’s lips peel back to reveal dagger long canines and his eyes narrow.

  Seeing my babies in danger, the beast slams back into possession of my body. I launch myself forward, only for Tobias to catch me and hold me tight. I snarl, claws reaching for my prey, and Tobias struggles to contain me.

  Emil lurches toward the edge of the barrier. “Stay away from them!”

  Cassandra looks back over her shoulder with a pretty pout. “If you refuse to play with me, then I’ll have to find my fun some other way.”

  “Touch them and I’ll destroy you, contract or not,” Emil snarls, then whips around to glare at Xander. “Let me out.”

  “I can’t without dropping the whole barrier.” His focus jumps to where Tobias contains me. “Can you hold her?”

  “Shouldn’t the question be if you can stop me from ripping her apart before you can get your barrier back up,” Cassandra purrs.

  At the possibility of freedom, I lift my feet from the ground and shove them against Tobias’s thighs, my body straining toward Cassandra.

  She lets out an evil cackle. “Time to choose, boys. Your pet, or your bitch.”

  I snarl and rip at Tobias’s hands. Not my babies.

  Emil looks between Tac and me, and his expression ices over before he steps back, away from the barrier.

  I scream a denial, ripping at Tobias’s arms to no avail.

  Tac lets out a loud whine before hissing at Cassandra, his claws digging up the tiles from the kitchen as he prepares to defend his whelps.

  Then, a loud blast echoes through the house, ringing my eardrums, and everyone freezes.

  The blast comes again, and Cassandra’s body jerks as she stumbles. Blood drips to the floor around her, and she looks down in confusion at the hole in her stomach.

  The sound of a shotgun reloading comes from the entryway, followed by the steady tread of boots on hardwood. Marc strides into view, with Pen and Flint a step behind.

  Cassandra rears back as she stares at Marc in shock. “You. How are you still ali—”

  The next blast takes off half her face, and she flies backward before slamming to the floor.

  Marc calmly continues forward until he stands over her still moving body and blasts another hole into her stomach. Then he reloads and blasts two more into her head.

  Finally, her body stills.

  The smell of blood fills the air with the taste of copper, and I lick my lips in hunger. The beast wants to spring forward and feast, but the power it craves in Cassandra’s body already fled this plane. A moment later, so does her body as it disintegrates into dust, leaving not even a drop of blood behind.

  Everyone remains frozen in shock. Where magic couldn’t have forced Cassandra out, a human weapon did with frightening ease.

  Marc nods in satisfaction and lifts the shotgun to his shoulder, the muzzle pointed at the ceiling. “It won’t take her long to come back, so do what you need to do. I’ll keep a watch on the perimeter.”

  And he turns and stomps back out of the house.

  “Right.” Flint steps forward and eyes the barrier surrounding us. “Looks like we’re all ready, so let’s get this show on the road.”

  Tobias’s hold on me slackens, and I finally free myself to launch across the room and slam into the barrier.

  Flint lifts his brows. “Are we too late? Is the curse in full effect?”

  “No, she’s still in there.” Tobias peels me away and tries to stroke my hair.

  When I snap my teeth at his fingers, he settles for just holding me with both arms banding mine to my sides and my back pressed to his chest.

  His voice sends vibrations through mine as he speaks firmly. “She’s still in there.”

  “If you say so.” Flint looks around at everyone else in the circle. “But we can’t work like this. Unless everyone wants to go into the bottle?”

  “Drop the barrier so everyone else can get out,” Tobias instructs.

  At the knowledge freedom will soon be within reach, I renew my determination to escape, and Tobias struggles to contain me.

  “Are you sure?” Xander asks, worry clear in his voice. “If you let her go—”

  “I won’t.” Tobias leans in to press his cheek against mine. “I’m not leaving you. You’re not going alone.”

  In answer, I headbutt him hard enough to fill the air with the scent of blood once more.

  Around us, the barrier drops, and everyone else springs to the other side of the golden line before it rises once more, locking only me and Tobias inside.

  I hiss and snarl, thrashing within Tobias’s hold. In the back of my mind, I know what it means that he’s on this side with me, that he’s risking his existence to help control me. And I don’t want that, but I can’t make my body stop fighting. The beast has full control now, and given freedom, it will hunt. It’s taking the last of my control to stop it from tearing apart the people I love, and I can feel those threads fraying.

  Looking at Flint, I snarl, trying to convey everything I feel in the wordless sound.

  Whether he understands or not, he steps forward, a squat green bottle in his hand. He already has the cork pulled, and the small, dark opening points toward us.

  He looks past me to Tobias. “Are you sure?”

  I feel him nod. “Do it.”

  Without giving him a chance to change his mind, Flint begins to tap the bottom of the jar, out of rhythm at first, then slowly falling into the pattern of a heartbeat.

  As the sound tugs at my core, pulling it forward, the beast who controls me turns inward. It hooks claws and teeth into my being, trying to hold me in place, to stop me from escaping. It needs my consciousness to control my body, and it refuses to let me go.

  I fight against it, focusing on the feel of my heartbeat, matched to Flint’s rhythmic tapping, and stare at the small, dark opening that waits. I will myself to go, to leave this body and enter the bottle.

  The beast continues to fight, but I pull its claws out of me one by one, unhook its fangs, and shove hard.

  For a moment, I float outside my body, free of the constant pain, free of the hunger and aching emptiness. I see the tethers that still hold me to my corporeal form like shining threads that lead from my core to my body, and other strings that shoot outward, connecting me to Tobias
, Kellen, and Emil. Then, narrower threads that connect me to my imps. And buried among them is a thin, almost invisible thread of pink that shoots away across the city to a place I can’t see.

  Elation shoots through me, and I reach for it, eager to follow. But then the thread of red that binds me to Tobias strengthens, and his core leaves his body, rolling down our connection like an avalanche and catching me in the process.

  I try to fight, to tell him Not yet, but I have no voice, and he drags me forward, through the barrier of magic, and into the bottle.

  For a brief moment, I see all the threads leading out of that small opening, then they vanish, and only darkness remains.

  As Flint said, the inside of the bottle is much roomier than I thought it would be. It feels like it goes on forever, the darkness unending. I can’t feel the walls, as I thought I’d be able to. This isn’t a vessel like my corporeal form, or like the body I build in Dreamland. There’s no floor, and no matter how high I stretch, there’s no ceiling, either.

  It’s simply emptiness.

  Then, something brushes against me, and a sense of burning determination wraps around my core of energy.

  Tobias.

  I feel him all around me, fire, earth, ice, and storm. The scales of choice and the possibilities of those unmade. Paths fill me with the options of what could have beens. I see death, so much death. Humans and demons alike consumed. But next to it is life, and both species living in harmony. I see war, and I see peace. Worlds filled with life and those left scorched and barren. Hundreds, thousands of choices spinning outward, more than my mind could handle if I were still corporeal.

  Is this what Tobias lives with every day? Tipping the scales here and there to achieve the outcome he desires?

  Of all my demons, I had thought his power the least threatening. He doesn’t embody an ice age that can wipe out humanity or storms that can destroy everything in their path.