Claimed by a Demon King

  Claimed by a Demon King

  Felicity Heaton

  Claimed by a Demon King

  The moment the demon King Thorne of the Third Realm set eyes on the mortal huntress Sable, he knew she was his fated one. The fiery, dangerous female awakened hungers he had never experienced before, a dark craving and passion that has consumed him in their time apart. As the lunar cycle wanes, she enters his world again and nothing will stand in the way of him claiming his forever with her—not the relentless assault from the Fifth Realm or the dark elf male determined to seduce her out of his grasp.

  Intent on achieving the coveted position of commander at Archangel, Sable leads her small team into the dark underworld and the Third Realm, to a war where her allies are the very creatures she normally hunts—vampires, werewolves, and demons. Her eagerness to lead the deadly mission has everything to do with winning her promotion, and nothing to do with the kingdom’s brash, lethally seductive demon king—a king who stirred fierce desire and wildfire heat in her with just a look and an innocent touch when they first met, and has been in her wicked dreams ever since.

  As the gathering storm between rivals unleashes irresistible passion that flares white-hot and the heat of the battle brings life-shattering realisations, can Sable place her duty before her heart? Or will she surrender to her deepest desires and be claimed by a demon king?

  CHAPTER 1

  Sable checked her weapons for the millionth time, a light morning breeze playing in her long black hair, causing rogue strands from her ponytail to flutter over her shoulder as she stood in the middle of the training ground in the courtyard of the elegant sandstone building that was Archangel’s headquarters in London.

  She ran her fingers over the twin rows of small throwing blades strapped to her ribs beneath her arms, the leather holster laying them flush against her tight black t-shirt, and expelled her breath. It wasn’t a sigh. She wasn’t nervous.

  It wasn’t. She wasn’t.

  She had been telling herself those two things on repeat throughout the endless briefing she had endured, trying not to let her senior, Mark, and the high-ranking staff notice her nerves.

  Not that she was nervous.

  Eager to get going. Excited about the prospect of taking command of a unit of hunters for the first time in her life. It was a big deal and an opportunity she wasn’t going to squander. Archangel had chosen her to lead a team of fifty into Hell to the Third Realm to assist in the Third King’s war against the Fifth Realm.

  Thorne.

  Her belly fluttered.

  That was definitely nerves. Not something else. Not a reaction to just his name whispered in her mind.

  An image of the brawny demon king flashed into her head, sending fire rushing through her veins. Intense dark crimson eyes. Wild russet brown hair. Rough masculine features. Shoulders so wide that they made the biggest of her hunters look scrawny and muscles that bulged beneath bronzed tight skin.

  Not to mention those rich brown horns that curled from behind his ears and that lopsided grin.

  He was six-feet-seven of Heaven and ruled a realm in Hell.

  Sable expelled another breath. Not a sigh. A girl had to breathe.

  Several of the male hunters near the front of the group were studying her.

  She cleared her throat and finished her weapons check, using it to push Thorne out of her head.

  It had been growing increasingly difficult to keep the brash demon from her thoughts over the past month and almost impossible to lock him out of her dreams. Heat burned up her cheeks and she dropped her head, turning it slightly away from her team so they wouldn’t notice her blushing like a schoolgirl. She checked her folded compact crossbow and the quiver of bolts attached to her belt, trying to focus on them in the hope it would shove Thorne to the back of her mind. What was wrong with her?

  Get a grip.

  She shut down her emotions one by one, locking them back in place and restoring order. This was a mission. Her chance to secure the rank she had desired for so long now, ever since she had joined Archangel. There were only a handful of commanders in the entire organisation and she wanted to be one of them.

  Sable lifted her head and pinned her team with a deadly look. “Fall in.”

  They responded immediately, forming five neat rows of ten before her. They were the cream of Archangel’s hunters in London. While that was a good thing, it also meant that they were highly experienced and used to working alone. If she didn’t exert some authority and failed to lead them well, they would branch off and fall back into old routines. That would prove disastrous.

  None of them were familiar with Hell.

  She only knew the elf kingdom herself and only had Prince Loren of the elves’ reports on the demon realms to go by, but he made them sound like forbidding lands filled with creatures liable to chew mortals up and spit them out before they could even think about drawing a weapon to defend themselves.

  If her team didn’t act like one and work together, none of them would make it out of the place alive.

  She was damned if she would lose a single hunter on her first mission in charge.

  “Listen up,” she barked and they snapped to attention. “We don’t know much about the situation we’re heading into or the territory of the domain. We will need to be on our guards. We know from intelligence given to us by the elves that the kingdom known as the Third Realm has been under attack from the one known as the Fifth Realm for the past twenty-one months. The Fifth King seeks to defeat and absorb the lands of the Third King, and the Third King has asked for our assistance.”

  Sable pointedly looked at all her hunters in turn, ensuring she still had their attention. A few women at the back shifted foot-to-foot. She couldn’t blame them for being nervous. They were all of fifty mortals heading into a demon war, but they had back up. Prince Loren was bringing a whole legion of elf warriors and they would work together on the battlefield.

  “I don’t need to tell you how important this mission is on many levels. This is an opportunity to form an alliance with the Third King and to gain intel on the realms and political landscape of Hell.” She still couldn’t get her head around that. Hell. She had popped in and out of the elf kingdom there several times over the past month, but that realm didn’t look like Hell in her eyes. It looked like paradise—lush, green, and beautiful—an oasis surrounded by darkness on all sides. “Anything you think is important for Archangel to know about, you document it and report it to me or to Evan, and I’ll gather the information and pass it on to Archangel. We’re to assess the threat level of every species we meet. The more information we can bring back from this mission, the better we’ve done. Understood?”

  They all nodded.

  “We’re leaving as soon as our transport arrives, so prepare yourselves.”

  Sable turned away from them and blew out another breath, trying to expel the tension cranking her muscles tight. She rolled her shoulders and flexed her fingers, and resisted the temptation to perform another weapons check.

  Some of the hunters broke away from the main group, heading towards the stacks of black ribbed metal cases and luggage. She had placed Evan in charge of their equipment. As the most experienced hunter in the team, she trusted him one hundred percent with the task and with his role as her second in command.

  The tall blond man motioned to the five men he had taken with him to the cases and they began checking everything against the list on his tablet one more time.

  Sable paced, hoping to work off at least a little of her tension before Loren arrived with his elves. She really didn’t need him noticing that she was wound tighter than he had ever been during his courtship of her best friend, Olivia.

  She co
uld do this. Mark had told her as much before she had left his office barely an hour ago. He wanted to give her the title of commander and this was her test. She wouldn’t fail him and she wouldn’t let anything stand in the way of her achieving that rank.

  She had busted her arse over the past month, working twice as hard as normal in order to convince Mark and the senior staff that she was the perfect candidate for the role of commander on this mission.

  It had absolutely nothing to do with getting a pass into Hell and seeing Thorne again.

  Not at all.

  She was going because she wanted the position of commander.

  A familiar female voice cut off a deep male one and Sable smiled as she turned to glance across the courtyard.

  Their transport was arriving. Scores of elves dressed in their tight black scale-like armour appeared before her eyes, the air shimmering around them. Prince Loren led them across the courtyard towards her, his long strides eating up the distance and his left hand resting on the hilt of the black sword sheathed at his waist. His black eyebrows knit into scowl and his purple eyes darkened.

  The slight brunette beside him shook her head, causing her long chestnut hair to sway against the shoulders of her dark t-shirt, and waved him away. “I’ve told you a million times, Loren… I am going on this mission.”

  Loren’s lips compressed into a thin line. Olivia was trying her mate’s patience again. He looked ready to grab her and teleport her back to the realm of the elves and leave her there.

  Olivia had a mean stubborn streak though and that was another reason why Sable had been eager to win this mission. Olivia was her best friend at Archangel and she didn’t want her friend in the firing line during a war, but having her there was necessary. They needed a doctor on hand to take care of any injured. That and Sable needed the moral support of her friend on this mission. She would go crazy without her.

  “Olivia,” Loren started and then seemed to think the better of whatever he had intended to say and scrubbed a hand over his face instead. He threw Sable a pleading glance.

  Sable shrugged. Helping him was above her pay grade. She couldn’t overturn a decision made by Mark and the board of senior staff. Loren scowled again and turned back to his mate, speaking in a low voice now.

  Sable glanced at Bleu as he strode to his prince’s right, meeting his green gaze. It was strange seeing him in better control of his emotions than Loren was, able to retain a more mortal appearance, concealing his normal purple irises and pointed ears.

  She smiled at Bleu as Olivia began to rant.

  Bleu raked long fingers through his wild black-blue hair and gave her a warm smile in return.

  “I am going whether you like it or not,” Olivia snapped at Loren and then softened. “I know you’re worried but I’ll have you there with me, and Sable too. Archangel assigned me to this mission as the medic and to research any new species we encounter… and you know both of those things are very important to me. So I’m going and that’s final.”

  Loren looked as if he had just lost a war. His shoulders slumped and he let out a long, weary breath. “Very well, Ki’ara.”

  Bleu shook his head. “Olivia, you sound more like my sister every day.”

  Olivia didn’t look sure whether that was a compliment or not. Sable had seen Bleu often over the past few weeks. He had visited Archangel whenever Loren had and Loren was rarely away from Olivia when she was working.

  The dark elf commander was a great sparring partner and had helped Sable step up her game during their training matches. She was glad he didn’t hold back when he was fighting her.

  Well, he didn’t hold back much. She knew he wasn’t going all out on her and in a way, she was glad. She had seen him fight and part of her knew she wouldn’t stand a chance against him, even if her pride wouldn’t allow her to admit it.

  The only time Bleu hadn’t been with Loren was when his sister had returned to his family home for a rare visit. Bleu had disappeared like a shot. Sable had asked about this elusive sister and Loren had informed her that Bleu had only one sibling, a younger sister, and that he was forever getting her out of scrapes, but that only seemed to make him love her more dearly.

  The indulgent and amused twinkle in his eyes at times made Sable feel that he was beginning to view Olivia with similar brotherly affection. It would be nice for Olivia to have family again after everything she had been through.

  Sable idly rubbed her right wrist, her thumb caressing the stylised black cross on the inside of it, and tamped down the dark thoughts that threatened to rise and ruin her mood.

  “Is everyone ready?” She checked her assembled team and then the elves. Loren had finally given up trying to convince Olivia not to come on the mission and was speaking with Bleu and several of his men. He motioned towards the crates and baggage, and a group of elves broke away, heading towards them.

  The rest of the elves made their way over to her team, one for each member. A few low giggles broke the silence as the female hunters in her unit met the tall, darkly beautiful male who would be teleporting them.

  Sable sighed this time. “Rein it in. This is a mission, not a Club 18-30 holiday. Remember that.”

  Her hunters jolted to attention and nodded as one.

  Sable just hoped that she could remember it. Whenever she thought about seeing Thorne again, she got the jitters. Stupid of her considering she had only met him once and for little more than a handful of hours. It hadn’t stopped her from desperately trying not to hang on every word whenever Loren had spoken of the demon king. It wasn’t like her, but she couldn’t help herself. Something fundamental inside her had changed the moment Thorne had barged into her life.

  Thorne met often with Loren to discuss their arrival and arrangements, and to keep him abreast of the situation in the Third Realm.

  Loren relayed everything to her.

  It hadn’t satisfied her in the slightest. Loren never said how Thorne was coping with everything or how he seemed to him.

  She wanted to know how he was doing and wanted to see that he was still well, and still the same brash male she had met a month ago. Of course, she refused to admit that to Olivia whenever her friend pressed her about Thorne, and her friend had pressed a lot over the long four weeks.

  Sable had denied everything, refusing to admit that she couldn’t stop thinking about the demon king.

  She couldn’t get that moment in the cafeteria out of her head. Thorne had teleported them back to Archangel after they had defeated Kordula, freeing Loren’s brother Vail from the bitch-witch’s spell. Thorne had stood with his hand on Sable’s arm, as if he couldn’t bring himself to let her go, and had stared at her for so long that she had ended up lost in his crimson gaze. He had opened his mouth to speak, had turned frustrated about something, and had teleported out of her life as quickly as he had come into it, leaving her confused and curious.

  What had Thorne wanted to say to her?

  Whatever had been balanced on those firm sensual lips, she wished he had just come out and said it because it had been driving her completely crazy. She had found herself pondering it at the strangest times. Dangerous times. A hunt was no place to lose track of your surroundings. That moment kept invading her head though, replaying in infinite detail, every shift in his body language and expression captured perfectly. With each replay, she found herself wanting to know more than ever what he had meant to say.

  The first chance she had, she was asking him about it.

  Sable grimaced and reminded herself again that she was going to Hell on a mission, not just to see Thorne. This was about the mission. This was about her future with Archangel. This wasn’t about the big, rough, demon male.

  She jolted when someone took hold of her arm and looked up into Bleu’s eyes. Flecks of purple broke through the green, slowly taking over until not a trace of emerald remained. His violet gaze narrowed on her and he moved closer, towering over her, a vision of dark beauty and lethal grace. His lips parted, flash
ing white daggers at her. His fangs were down. The tips of his ears turned pointed. He had shaken off his mortal guise, revealing his true nature.

  “Ready?” he murmured, his fingers lightly flexing around her arm and his gaze locked intently on her.

  Sable blinked herself back the courtyard and nodded.

  Her world disappeared in a swirl of cold black shadows. She closed her eyes against it. The heat of the sun on her skin gave way to the icy chill and then became a blast of moist warm air. The shrouding silence of the portal shattered under the explosion of grunts and roars and the metallic clang of weapons clashing.

  The scent of morning became the odour of blood.

  Sable snapped her eyes open and her heart leaped and pounded, quickening her blood and preparing her body.

  The first thing she saw was Thorne shirtless and swinging his enormous broadsword at an equally massive bare-chested warrior. His opponent blocked with his own blade and growled, flashing huge fangs as he swung a meaty fist. The blow connected with Thorne’s right cheek and he stumbled, grunting as he struggled to regain his footing and ready his blade to defend himself.

  Sable’s hand instantly went to the folded crossbow at her side and she flicked it open, pushing away from Bleu at the same time. Another immense demon attacked Thorne before he managed to right himself and the dagger sliced across the Third King’s thickly muscled right shoulder.

  Thorne roared and finally launched himself at the males, taking them both on at once. They weren’t alone. The wide oval courtyard of the dark stone fortress was in pandemonium. Sable counted at least two dozen demons, all focused on him with their weapons drawn and at the ready. No other fought on his side.

  The sight of him standing alone against so many adversaries, bleeding from multiple wounds on his torso and arms, brought a red haze down over her vision.

  Sable launched herself into the fray just as one of the males attacked. Her heart raced, pumping adrenaline that made her feel high as she reached beneath her left arm, slipped her fingers into the rings on two of her throwing knives, and hurled them with deadly accuracy at the warrior. They nailed him in the left of his broad chest and his shoulder, and she didn’t give him a chance to recover his focus. She loosed a barbed dart from her crossbow at him, reloaded in the space of a heartbeat, and shot the other male now attacking Thorne.