In the short time Adela had known Lucifer, she hadn’t seen him hesitate as much as he was right now.
“I wasn’t sure if you would want me that close to you,” he finally admitted.
She had been bracing for impact, as if he was going to come up with an excuse as to why he wouldn’t want to be close to her.
There were many reasons she could think of for how unsuitable she was to even be in his presence.
She was too tainted not to know.
For now, she tried to push away the hurt it unexpectedly caused her.
“You could have asked,” she responded quietly.
“I could have,” he agreed.
But then he paused.
“I didn’t want to put you in a position where you felt like you had to answer or couldn’t say no.” Safety—that was all she felt.
Things really were black and white for him.
He refused to let them become grey.
If it wasn’t a total yes, it was a no.
She accepted this with a nod and returned to her novel.
However, the hints of romance in the novel were stirring things up inside of her.
A multitude of questions wanted to boil over and satiate the curiosity that ate at her.
Rather than focusing on the novel anymore, she was looking at things he had written in the margins of some of the pages.
Even his handwriting was neat.
Her eyes traveled over the top of her book and to the handsome Devil who lounged on the other wing of the large brown couch.
She shouldn’t have been so aware of how attractive he was, but how could she ignore it?
Their snacks went forgotten as she thought of something else she wanted to sink her teeth into, the werewolf half of herself rearing its ugly head.
Even in such a mundane setting, she watched as he turned a page.
Occasionally, he grabbed a grape from the pile he had placed on his plate.
She stared at each one that disappeared between his lips.
He focused on reading and began to play with the long necklace resting between his pectoral muscles.
As her eyes dipped to his chest, she felt his gaze shift to her, and she quickly looked away.
“Need something?” he asked quietly, but his deep voice easily reached her ears.
The prior conversation lingered within her.
She did want him closer.
She didn’t know how to navigate this.
It wasn’t usually her who wanted someone first.
“I’m… attracted to you,” she admitted.
“But I don’t know if it’s just because you’re nice to me, and I don’t know how to handle that.” He didn’t seem displeased by that.
Instead, a small smile lingered.
“I find you attractive as well,” he responded.
It only brought forth more questions, but they were interrupted.
A bell rang out, filling the entire room with noise.
Adela had to cover her ears.
They were too sensitive to loud noise.
“An uninvited guest?” Lucifer questioned as he turned off the alert with a wave of his hand.
He stood up and placed his book down.
“Shade!” he called.
The figure appeared more quickly than usual.
“Sire, there has been an unidentified being in the castle walls,” he explained.
“The guards are taking care of it, but for now have lost his trail.
It is most advisable that you stay here—” “I must see to it myself,” Lucifer insisted, interrupting his assistant.
No one had dared cross Lucifer in years.
He glanced toward Adella, not wanting to blame her but wondering if it had to do with her.
She received his silent message.
“If it has to do with me, I’m going with you,” she insisted.
“Besides, if you’re there, I’m protected, aren’t I?” Lucifer felt like he was being tested.
He wanted to pass her tests.
“There’s no one you will be safer with,” he responded, then turned back to Shade.
“You go and make sure the castle remains safe.
She and I will investigate ourselves.
A werewolf’s nose might help us in this case.” “Then I’ll get dressed,” Adela responded as she stood up and walked forth.
“Our moment of relaxation is over.” There hadn’t been much relaxing in her life as it was.
The brief moment was enough.
“I’ll meet you by your room,” Lucifer relented, realizing their time was indeed over, as was the conversation.
The woman had gone from relaxed and more easily pliable to reserved and serious.
Lucifer felt a sense of loss at that.
Adela rushed down to her room.
She hadn’t really paid attention to the outerwear she had been given, but she was pleased to find a leather jacket she replaced the sweater with.
On her lower half, she had black slacks, a belt, and black boots that seemed sturdy enough for the situation.
Her hiking boots looked pathetic and dirty in comparison.
They were old and reliable, but she didn’t often have new clothing so she wanted to wear it.
Just as Lucifer said, he met her outside her door, wearing a dark outfit similar to hers.
No words were needed as she rushed with him to the elevator and then even lower than the first floor.
There they had access to the hallway where the guards’ barracks were.
It had openings on either end that led to the outer walls of the castle.
That was where they exited.
The blood moon had disappeared again, and all of Hell was cast in the darkness she recalled from when she first arrived.
It was eerie, but that Devil at her side promised to protect her, and she wasn’t a damsel in distress.
Even though she couldn’t overcome an alpha werewolf in strength, there weren’t many other supernaturals who could take her down.
They both rushed to the castle walls, and Adela found herself slowing as she got to one of the towers in between each wall segment.
“Someone was here,” she confirmed.
“You’re certain?” Lucifer questioned.
She felt her throat go dry at the thought, but she was determined not to crumble.
“My nose never lies to me when I smell another werewolf,” she admitted.
“I feel like I need to take responsibility.
This one is weaker and not an alpha.” Lucifer walked to the wall and looked down into the dark nothingness on the outer side.
A slow sigh escaped his lips.
“If you want to help me, help me find whoever this is,” he requested as he turned towards her.
“It seems a few bad dogs need reminding of boundaries.” His words might be offensive to some circles, but Adela couldn’t help smiling.
For years she had wanted to punish the dogs because they treated her even lower than a housepet.
“Let’s follow the scent,” she directed.
Lucifer liked the determination she was displaying and decided to follow her lead.