Ask the Oracle (11 page)

able to come on command, but something about this Demon seemed to change all the rules.

Without a thought, Gray’s balls pulled up tight and he was spraying the stone wall with a

thick layer of pearly cream. Seconds later, he felt his ass heat, as his insides were bathed with

Dreo’s steamy release.

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Groaning, Dreo collapsed against his back, his breathing erratic. The heavy weight of

the man was surprisingly comforting, as Gray tried to calm his own racing heart. He’d never

been much for cuddling, but he was starting to think he could get used to it, if this powerful

Demon was the one holding him tight. From the sounds of it, he had a feeling that there were

a lot of things he was going to have to get used to in regards to his new lover.

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“Damn,” Dreo panted against his neck. “Are you sure you don’t have a Lust Demon

somewhere in your family tree? Maybe a Siren or an Incubus? That was amazing!”

Gray tensed. Straightening, he pushed away from Dreo and began looking around the

room for his discarded clothing. He knew Dreo didn’t hadn’t meant anything by it, but just

the mention of his ‘family’ made his blood run cold. Despite his determination to not let their

abandonment hurt him, he still had moments where it became a heavy weight on his chest.

The sensation of being watched had Gray looking up to see Dreo staring at him, a

curious expression on his face. Sighing, he knew he was going to have to give the man some

kind of explanation for his behaviour. Grabbing his underwear off the floor, he focused on

cleaning himself up, not able to meet Dreo’s perceptive gaze.

“I don’t know anything about my family. I was left outside a fire station when I was an

infant. No family ever came forward to claim me, so I became a ward of the state.”

“Grayson,” Dreo murmured softly. Grabbing Gray’s wrist, he pulled him into a bone

crushing embrace. “I’m sorry. I had no idea.”

“I know,” Gray responded flatly, suddenly feeling very foolish. “There’s no way you

could have known. It’s just a touchy subject for me. I shouldn’t have been such a prick about

it.”

Looking away from Dreo, Gray grabbed his shirt and pants from the floor then

hurriedly finished dressing. There was no way he wanted to be naked while they talked

about his lack of family. He felt vulnerable, and that was an emotion he avoided at all costs.

It was a weakness that left you open to attack. Gray had learned that lesson, well. He had

made it his personal mission to never be weak again.

Once dressed, he turned his attention back to Dreo. The Demon’s expression was equal

parts curiosity and confusion. It was obvious the man had questions, but he was too polite to

voice them. Gray groaned. He knew he would have to allow the man to ask his questions.

While he didn’t understand the connection he felt to the Demon, he knew he could trust him.

Gray sighed. “Just ask.”

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“So when you say no family, you mean—”

“I mean,
no family
,” Gray emphasised. “I was first brought to Burgus House. It is an

orphanage that houses small children. I lived there until I was around six years old, then I

was transferred to a group home, Milton Hall. I lived there until I aged out at eighteen, and

I’ve been on my own ever since.”

Dreo scowled. “I don’t understand. I thought human couples were clamouring to adopt

babies. How is it that you stayed in the system your entire life without being placed with a

family?”

Gray laughed, but there was no joy in it. “From what I’ve been told, even as a baby,

people could tell I was…different. One of the women who worked at the orphanage was

convinced I was possessed or something. She was the reason I was transferred to the group

home, so young. Group homes are like a dorm, so they don’t like to move kids there until

they’re older, usually teenagers. In my case, I guess they thought it would be okay to make

an exception. I mean, when the head of the orphanage caught the woman holding me under

water in a bath tub, trying to force the devil out of me, I don’t think that she felt she had any

other choice but to move me out of the building, for my own safety.”

“What happened to the woman?” Dreo asked, quietly.

“I think she still works at the orphanage,” Gray replied dismissively. “I’m not really

sure.” In all honesty, he hadn’t given the woman a lot thought after he’d been removed from

the orphanage.

“Are you fucking kidding me?” Dreo roared. “She should have had her ass thrown in

jail. The woman tried to kill you!”

Gray shrugged. Honestly, what could he say? He knew Dreo had a valid point. Gray

had questioned it himself, after being forced to move to the group home. He’d been angry

and scared. His immediate relocation had left him feeling like he had done something

wrong—that he had deserved what had happened to him. The group home had seemed

more like a prison sentence than a safe haven.

It hadn’t taken long for him to change his way of thinking. While it wasn’t the homelike

environment he had been used to, the group home had offered him something he had never

experienced before—freedom. With no one watching his every move, he’d been able to make

his own decisions for the first time in his life. It’d been then that he’d decided it was time to

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put all the pain and guilt behind him, and just accept things the way they were. There was no

sense concerning himself with things he couldn’t change and he had plenty of other things to

worry about as it was.

At that time in his life, he’d had to focus all his energy on just trying to stay sane. It was

then that his abilities had truly started to manifest. His visions, which had been sporadic at

best, had started to increase in strength and frequency. He’d never admitted it to anyone but,

when the visions had first occurred, he had begun to believe the woman at the orphanage

had been right about him. That belief had filled him with an overwhelming sense of self-

loathing. He’d been so convinced of the evil within himself that, at one point, he’d tried to

kill himself to rid the world of his evil.

Looking back, that had been the point where his visions had taken on a more violent

cast. He’d found out later, through speaking with other Oracles who had had similar

experiences, that the gift grew in stages. They had all gone through periods where violent,

disturbing images filled their visions, only to then go through periods where everything they

saw was good and pure. They referred to it as ‘the settling’, when their powers grew and

settled into them, like putting on layers of clothing, one on top of the other. Eventually, their

powers stabilised, blending together seamlessly.

He looked up at Dreo, whose eyes were still filled with a murderous rage at his past

treatment. A warm wave of pleasure washed over him with the realisation that such a

powerful man could have any sort of feelings for him. The Demon’s outrage, although

unnecessary, tugged at his heart.

“It is what it is, Dreo. It’s in the past and no good will come from dredging it all back up

now. Besides, I thought you brought me down here for a reason. My team should be here

soon, and we need to get ready to meet them.”

Dreo looked ready to argue, but at the last minute, seemed to bite his tongue. He settled

for throwing a glare at Gray before retrieving his own clothes, dressing in quick, jerky

movements. After spending another few minutes putting the room back to rights, they

headed back to the main receiving hall to wait for Gray’s team.

A crowd had gathered by the time they returned to the hall. Demon men, women and

children were gathered at the centre of the room, surrounding what Gray assumed was his

team. His men never failed to make a lasting impression. Pushing his way through the

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assembled masses, Gray smiled as he caught sight of the eight weapon-laden men standing

in the centre of the room, seemingly unfazed by the number of Demons congregating around

them. There were many curious faces in the crowd, obviously wondering about what kind of

excitement these new visitors might have in store for them. After the show Gray had

provided so far, he could hardly blame them.

Breaking into a run, Gray crossed the room, zeroing in on a large man standing slightly

in front of the rest. The man was obviously their leader, but that had nothing to do with his

size. The aura the man exuded practically screamed alpha. If that wasn’t enough to tip

someone off about what he was, the golden gleam in his eyes cleared up any confusion.

Gray sensed Dreo’s steps falter behind him, but didn’t slow his approach. As he

reached the group, the leader opened his arms wide, allowing Gray to leap into his embrace.

The man’s thick arms wrapped around him, cocooning him in a reassuring warmth. Gray

sighed, releasing some of the tension that had built in him from his earlier conversation with

Dreo.

“Gray.” The man’s voice boomed, low and rough.

Tilting his head back, Gray beamed up at him. “Maddox, it’s good to see you. I’m glad

you’re here. Where’s Stephen? Didn’t he come with you?”

“Nah. He’s still working that murder case with Detroit PD. He sounded like he was in

the middle of something when I called. I gave him an update on the situation and let him

know where we’d be. He said to call if we needed him. I told him that it shouldn’t be

necessary and to focus on his case.”

Gray nodded his agreement. “He needs to stay where he can do the most good. We can

handle this without him.”

Stephen Jurgens was a well-known psychic and a close friend of Gray’s. It was widely

known that he worked for Revelations on an ‘as needed’ basis. What wasn’t common

knowledge was that he was also the man responsible for saving Gray’s life when he had been

on the verge of ending it. Stephen had talked him down from that ledge, figuratively

speaking, and Gray would always be grateful. He’d shown him not only how to control his

powers so they no longer ran roughshod over him, but how to hone them so they could be

used to help those in need. There was no way Gray would never be able to repay Stephen for

what he’d done, but he planned to spend the rest of his life trying.

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Lost in his thoughts, Gray almost didn’t notice the growl that sounded behind him and

echoed through the room. Startled, Gray pulled back, looking over his shoulder for its

source. Dreo stood mere inches from him, his eyes glowing blood red as hellfire practically

leapt from their depths. Gray felt a hand on his shoulder, before he was roughly jerked away

from the Demon.

“Wolf…” Dreo growled, hands fisted at his side. He dropped his shoulders, clearly

readying himself for attack.

“Demon,” Maddox countered.

“Release my mate, dog, before I forget our people are at peace and skin your mangy

hide!”

“Be careful who you call a dog, Demon. I might decide to show you the distinction.”

Turning away from Dreo, Maddox looked down at Gray, surprise clear in the Shifter’s eyes.

“Mate?”

Gray felt his cheeks heat under his scrutiny. “It’s a long story,” he answered irritably.

“Can we talk about this later?”

The man smirked. “Sure, Gray, it can wait. I can’t wait to hear that story. Who would

have thought—little Gray, settling down with one guy. I guess stranger things have

happened. Are you positive this is really the guy for you?” Maddox pulled Gray closer in a

mock embrace. “Maybe we should test the theory?”

Dreo took a step forward, his whole body vibrating in fury. “Don’t even think about it!

He is
my
mate. Now, get your hands off of him before I rip off your fucking arm!”

Gray saw Maddox stiffen and knew he had to do something before one of the men he

cared about got hurt. Stepping away from his friend, Gray went to Dreo, wrapping his arms

around the man in, what he hoped, was a reassuring embrace.

“Dreo, I’d like you to meet Maddox Blackwood, Alpha of the Pontiac Pack and one of

my oldest friends. Mad, this is Andreo Demos. He is the Demon who hired me for this job.”

He would have stopped there, but when Dreo started growling again, he knew that wasn’t

going to be an option. “We are also seeing each other.” Dreo still looked angry, but at least he

stopped his rabid dog impression.

Maddox stared at them silently for a moment, before his mouth quirked up into a grin.

“A mate, huh? Damn, Gray. You sure move fast. I can’t wait to tell Dad. Congrats, man!”

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“Thanks,” Gray replied grudgingly. “I’m still undecided on the whole mate thing, but