4. DEAL WITH THE DEVIL

THIRD PERSON POINT OF VIEW 

That night, the rain never ceased. Thunder and lightning outside fought for attention, but neither could drown out the screams echoing inside the packhouse.

Curled in a shadowed corner outside Alpha Basil’s bedroom, Ace held his breath, his body violently trembling, sweat slicking his skin as the screams finally subsided. Every nerve in him screamed for escape. The faint click of the door opening stopped his heartbeat cold.

Soft, bare feet coated in blood appeared in his vision. His wide eyes froze as he followed the trail of crimson footprints leading from the bedroom, down the corridor, and into the lush courtyard beyond.

Rain poured relentlessly, washing over the courtyard and there she stood, Vivica. Her bloodied, naked curves glistened under the downpour, streaks of red mixed with rainwater, clinging to every line of her body. One hand pushed back her hair, chest lifted slightly to the sky, face tilted toward the heavens. Lightning flashed, illuminating her expression for the briefest moment: perfect, serene, calm.

A calmness so complete that even now, it seemed Basil’s soul could not escape the room.

“Beta Ace!”

The sharp call tore Ace from his trance. He gasped, startled, as Austin’s voice reached him over and over. He had been waiting outside the Heaven’s Gate territory in the car for his Luna when Council wolves brought him in to speak with the Council, but now Austin’s questioning had dragged him back into the nightmare that had haunted his every waking moment.

“Did you see anything the night Alpha Basil was killed?” Austin repeated, his tone sharp and demanding.

Ace remained silent, trembling, sweat beading his forehead, eyes unfocused.

Austin’s sharp gaze narrowed, reading him like an open book. “You were Alpha Basil’s Beta for a long time. It’s impossible for you to know nothing. There’s no use hiding or lying for your Luna. The Council Head knows she killed Alpha Basil. She will not escape…”

Before he could finish, Ace’s quiet voice cut through the tension, sharp as a blade. “Don’t touch her… you will burn.”

Austin froze, struck by the unmistakable dread in Ace’s eyes. “What do you mean by that?”

“It’s just a suggestion… for your own good,” Ace said softly, locking eyes with Austin. “And if you can… stop the Council Head too.” He rose slowly, moving toward the door.

Austin’s lips pressed into a thin line, disbelief twisting his features. “The Council Head is not someone that your Luna can burn. He is Alpha Finn Hart, the Phantom.”

Ace paused in the doorway, slowly turning to meet Austin’s gaze. His expression was grim, almost serene. “Then now… you will see what happens when the Phantom meets a… psycho.”

In Heaven’s Gate territory, lust throbbed in every corner of the room, growing heavier with every heartbeat as the elixir began its work. Just a single drop in their drinks had already started to warp the atmosphere, moans, desire, and heat rippling through every soul present. Finn’s dark eyes locked onto Vivica’s, piercing through the haze. “Show me the hunger,” he murmured.

Their eyes remained locked, an intense duel of challenge and ferocity. Vivica’s lips curved into a faint, knowing smile. Slowly, deliberately, she pulled herself away from the heat radiating from his body and turned, walking across the room. The soft chime of her anklets echoed with every step of her high heels, drawing his attention entirely as his gaze roamed down her slender, breathtaking back.

Her brown hair swayed with each movement, brushing the curve of her hips as Finn followed her every motion, curiosity flaring in his dark eyes. She stopped at the center of the room, where the round bottle of elixir sat, untouched and inviting.

Without hesitation, she seized it and drank. Finn froze, every muscle taut, as the wolves in the room stiffened like statues. A ripple of shocked whispers spread, disbelief etching every face as they watched her sip again and again smoothly, elegantly, when one drop alone would have driven them to madness.

“She drank… she drank…” murmured the stunned observers, eyes wide in horror and awe.

Vivica stopped at the bar counter, swinging herself onto it with ease, legs crossed, and met Finn’s gaze as though daring him to look away.

“She drank the heat drink!” gasps echoed through the chamber, but she only smiled, unbothered by the chaos she’d unleashed. The heat radiating from her seemed to warp the air itself, driving every male wolf in the room to the brink of control.

Finn’s wolf growled deep within his mind, stirred like never before. He had never been affected by a she-wolf’s heat, but this… Vivica’s heat… it ignited something feral, untamed, within him.

Every sip she took was deliberate, intoxicating, her gaze never leaving his. Every male wolf present stiffened under the pull of her aura, shifting instinctively, desire making them reckless.

Finally, she finished the bottle, letting it fall to the ground. The sound of shattering glass rang through the room, halting hearts for a split second. She licked her lips slowly, tilting her head, a soft smile playing on her bloodied, perfect mouth. “Whoever kills this man for me,” she said, voice low, teasing, “will get to fuck me.”

A collective gasp filled the room, excitement and disbelief mixing in equal measure.

“Be it a single man, or a group,” she added, eyes glinting dangerously, “anyone who kills him will have a piece of me… all night. Nonstop. Until my heat ends.”

Her heat flared like molten lava, consuming every ounce of sanity in the room. Lust and obsession replaced reason in an instant. The male wolves, once subservient to Finn, shifted, their fangs bared, eyes blazing with bloodthirsty desire. In a heartbeat, they surged forward, claws and teeth aimed at him.

Yet, Finn remained, utterly unmoved, his posture commanding, his eyes devouring the darkness swirling in Vivica’s gaze, the hunger, the madness, the deadly intent.

Slowly, his smile mirrored hers. For the first time in his life, a woman drove him to the edge, the one whose heat and ferocity could awaken the devil inside him, had finally arrived. 

Almost instantly, the male wolves charged at Finn, their fangs bared and eyes blazing with madness. In a heartbeat, Vivica had turned every loyal guest against him. Those who once bowed now lifted their heads with murderous intent, snarls filling the room as they shifted, claws tearing into the air, pouncing toward him in unison.

Yet Finn remained perfectly still, a dark calm at the center of the storm. His gaze devoured the fire in Vivica’s brown eyes, the hunger to claim his life, the sheer insanity to end him.

A dark, slow smile curved his lips, mirroring hers. For the first time in his life, he faced a woman who could drive him to the edge, awaken the devil within him, and she had.

Then, with a motion that seemed almost impossible, enormous black wings erupted from his back, flaring wide with deadly force. Wolves collided with the shadows of those wings, thrown across the room as blood and instant death erupted. 

Vivica froze, eyes wide, her chest rising as she watched the devil himself descend upon them. The dark blue aura surrounding him pressed against her burning skin, sending a thrill along her heated skin, and desire, through her. 

All the rumors about him turned out to be true. He was the Devil. The real Devil. 

Finn stepped forward deliberately, each movement slow, lethal, deliberate. He stopped just in front of her, the room now deathly silent except for the beat of her pulsing heat.

“Delicious,” he murmured, lifting her chin with a single finger, eyes locked on hers.

Vivica met his gaze, fearless, her brown eyes dark and fierce. “My heat… or my hunger?” she whispered.

“Your soul,” he replied, eyes sweeping from her flushed face to the curves of her body, “and your body.”

Vivica uncrossed her legs with teasing slowness, spreading them under his unwavering gaze. “Unfortunately,” she said, voice low and dangerous, “you can’t have it. Not yet. Since I’m still planning to kill you.”

Finn’s lips curved into a wolfish grin. “Want to make a deal?” he asked, sliding his hands to her waist and pulling her close.

She felt the hard bulge pressing against her belly, his intoxicating scent filling her senses, setting her heat and desire ablaze.

“A deal with the devil sounds tempting if…” he paused, glancing down at his harness and back up at his eyes, “I get your life.”

He tilted her chin, pulling her closer until their faces nearly touched. “You can’t kill a devil, baby girl,” he whispered, voice low, dark, teasing.

Her fingers slid over his chest, tracing the ridges of muscle as she closed the last inch between them, lips brushing his. “If I can’t kill the devil…” she murmured, voice trembling with fire, “then when I take my revenge… you’ll wish for anything but death.” Her eyes locked on his in a promise. “I will make you taste tears of blood, dear devil.”

Finn’s wolf stirred, roaring inside him as he leaned in, voice dropping to a growl. “You have seven days to enact your revenge. Do whatever you can with me… and I will do whatever I want with you,” he whispered, sliding his hands slowly between her thighs, sending a pulse of heat through her entire body.

He pressed closer, wings brushing her sides, lips grazing hers as his words sank in like fire. “But if you fail… on the seventh day, I claim not only your soul, but you.”

Time seemed to stop, the air between them thick with heat, power, and danger. Their eyes locked, two predators circling each other in silence.

Finally, Vivica blinked, a beautiful smirk curling her lips. “Deal,” she sighed.