Shifter Mate Tri-Totem (Shifter World - Book Thirteen) (Series of 13 Short Stories)
Chapter Ten: To Trap the Devil

“What are we going to do? He’s the fucking Devil!” Dustin hollered.

“Uncle Dustin said a bad word,” Ruby said as she pointed at her uncle.

Dustin took a deep breath as he looked at his niece. “Sorry, sugarplum.”

Ruby smiled as she wrapped her arms around her father’s neck.

“What are we doing?” Shar whispered.

“I have an idea.”

They turned to Lucifer again. He had a devilish grin on his face and was watching each of them as they waited.

“Give me the child of light, and black-eyed child, and I will be on my way.”

“You’ll never find my son,” Kota said as he stepped forward.

“Are you sure about that?” Lucifer asked as he looked into Kota’s eyes.

Kota hollered as a searing pain shot through his head.

“Kota,” Pearl cried as she rushed to her brother.

“He’s trying to read where Linkin is,” Kota said as he placed his hands to his head.

Pearl glared at Lucifer. “Stop it!”

“Not until I get what I want,” Lucifer said as he dug deeper into Kota’s mind.

Kota screamed, and Pearl cried.

“Read my mind!” Pearl hollered.

“No!” Dylan hollered.

“Mommy,” Ruby whimpered.

Pearl glared at the Devil. “Read mine. I was with him.”

Lucifer let Kota go and turned to Pearl.

“No,” Kota said as he took hold of his sister’s shoulders.

“He can read your thoughts easier. You’re half Demon,” she said as she tapped his arms then pulled away from him.

“Pearl,” Dylan said as he handed his daughter to Dustin and walked over to his mate.

Pearl smiled up at him. “Trust me,” she whispered.

Dylan saw in her eyes the same look she’d given him when he’d trusted her that his best friend would come back if they killed him. He nodded, and she leaned up and kissed him.

Pearl moved away from her mate and walked over to the Devil. “I won’t help you,” she said as she watched him.

Lucifer smirked, “we’ll see about that,” he said as he placed his hands on either side of her head.

Pearl cried out when a pain shot through her mind. She could hear her family behind her hollering for Lucifer to let her go. But she couldn’t move her limbs to motion for them to stay back. When Lucifer hit the barrier, he cried out in pain and let her go.

Pearl fell to the ground, Dylan ran to his mate and lifted her against his chest.

“Fool woman,” he said as he rocked her.

“What the fuck was that?!” Lucifer hollered.

“He’s a potty mouth,” Ruby said as she pointed at the Devil.

Dustin chuckled as he kissed his niece’s forehead.

“What did he find?” Shar asked as she watched Dylan rock his mate.

“Whatever it was isn’t agreeing with him,” Bishop said as he pointed at the Devil, who was still holding his head and hollering.

“So, you thought it would be that easy, did you?”

Everyone turned to find Senshire standing off to the side, watching them.

“Senshire,” Shar said as she watched the Goddess.

“What did you do to me?!” Lucifer hollered.

“You did it to yourself, fool child,” Senshire said with a hiss. “I told you to stay away from my children!”

“Father shouldn’t have put it in them!” Lucifer hollered, then cried out as another pain shot through his skull.

“He placed it in my children because he knew I would protect them!” Senshire hollered.

“Some protecting you’ve done. You’ve already lost one to one of your nephews!”

“I know all about that. And your brother will get his. But first, I must deal with you.”

“What is he talking about?” Dustin asked as he looked at his mate.

“I’ll tell you later,” Shar said as she placed her hand on her mate’s arm.

Dustin growled but didn’t say anymore.

“What is happening?!” Lucifer cried out when another pain struck.

“Do you think your father does not know what you have been up to? Do you think he didn’t know what was going to happen? Did you think he wouldn’t fix it?” Senshire said as she moved over to Dylan and Pearl.

Everyone watched as Senshire placed a finger on Pearl’s forehead. Pearl coughed as she opened her eyes.

“Thank you,” Pearl said as she looked up at Senshire.

Senshire smiled at her, then looked at her nephew. “I know you’re a bit old for time out, but I think that’s what you need. Some time out,” she said, then flicked her writs.

Lucifer hollered as his head fell back, and a light erupted from his body. When the light was gone, so was he.

“What did you do?” Shar asked as she looked from where the Devil had stood to their Goddess.

Senshire smiled as she walked up to Shar. “He won’t be bothering any of you for a while. I’m not sure how long that will hold him, he is the Devil after all.”

“How did you get him weak enough to send him away like that?” Cael asked as he approached his aunt.

“Me,” Pearl said as Dylan helped her to her feet.

“You?” The others asked as they stared at her.

Pearl nodded, “God sent his messenger to me. And he showed me what Lucifer is looking for. But what he didn’t know is that I saw him place the trap in my head.”

“You saw Gabriel?” Shar asked as she watched her sister.

Pearl looked at Shar. “You know who the messenger is?”

Shar nodded, “Gabriel is my favorite Archangel. He’s the Angel who told Mary she was pregnant with God’s son.”

“You sure know a lot,” Pearl said with a chuckle, “I thought he was the Angel of death, and he was there to kill me.”

Shar chuckled, “nah, that’s Azrael.”

Pearl rolled her eyes, and the others chuckled.

“I have a bone to pick with you, dear one,” Senshire said, interrupting their discussion.

Shar looked at Senshire, her cheeks turning a bright pink.

“I didn’t lead you to your animal for you to give her up so easily,” Senshire said as she placed her hand on Shar’s cheek.

Shar sighed, “I know.”

“Your family would have survived without you.”

Shar nodded, “I know. But Dustin was slipping, I could feel it.”

Senshire looked at Dustin, then back at Shar. “What you gave up was far more valuable than anything else, and you know that.”

Shar nodded, “yes, ma’am.”

“What did you give up?” Dustin asked as he handed his niece to her father.

Shar looked up at her mate. “Raphael takes light from humans when he heals them. I’m not human. Never have been, I guess. So, the only thing I had to offer was…” She took in a deep breath and let it out. “My Cougar.”

“What?!” Everyone around her hollered, her mate the loudest.

Shar cringed, “he wanted my Cougar. It was the fastest way to get back to you before you lost yourself.”

“Mafilia,” Dustin said as he pulled her against his chest, “I would have survived without you. Senshire would have given you back to me after this was over.”

“But you were losing yourself. Even dead, I could sense that” Shar cried against his chest.

“Sharissa,” Dustin said as he buried his face in her hair.

Shar sniffled, “I talked to her before I agreed to it.”

“Talked to who?” Dustin asked.

Shar pulled back and looked up into her mate’s face. “My Cougar. I talked to her before I agreed to the terms.”

“What did she say?” Lyvia asked as she watched her best friend.

Shar smiled, “she said that we wouldn’t be separated for long. That Senshire would never allow anyone to keep her. She was the one who told me to agree to it.”

Senshire laughed, “your Cougar is smart,” she said, then raised her hand in the air. “Raphael!”

A gust of wind blew the tree branches as a man appeared before them.

“Aunt Senshire,” the man said with a grin.

Senshire turned to her nephew. “How dare you take one of my children!”

Raphael’s grin faded as he looked past his aunt at the girl he had taken the Cougar from.

“Don’t you look at Sharissa like that. I knew the moment you took my child that you had her. NOW GIVE HER BACK!”

Raphael jumped back. He may be an Archangel, but Senshire is a Goddess and the strongest of his father’s sisters. With an agitated sigh, he pointed at Sharissa.

Dustin caught Shar as she fell back and started to convulse.

“There, now may I go?” Raphael asked as he glared at his aunt.

Senshire glared back. “Your father wants to have a few words with you,” she said, then flicked her wrist, sending him back to the heavens.

“Mafilia,” Dustin said as he held his wife in his arms.

Shar opened her eyes and smiled at her husband. “Hello, Mafilio.”

Dustin smiled. “Is she back?”

Shar nodded, “she’s back. And she has something she wants to tell Senshire.”

Senshire moved closer to them and placed a hand to Shar’s head. She smiled as she backed away. “Very good, my child,” she said, then vanished.

“What was that?” Daryl asked as he watched his brother help his mate to her feet.

“My Cougar found some information she’s been searching for. While she was in the care of the Archangel, she was in the heavens and found something Senshire has been looking for.”

“Oh, great,” Lyvia said with a smile. “Did she tell you what?”

Shar shook her head.

“You all ruined everything!”

They turned and moved out of the way as a bolt was thrown at them. Ember’s brother stood before them, creating another bolt as he glared at them.

“We missed one,” Dylan grumbled as he handed his daughter to his mate.

“You took everything from me!” The Dark Wizard screeched as he held the bolt up, ready to toss it at them.

A flame erupted around his body, and he dropped the bolt as he screamed. He fell to the ground and tried to put out the flames.

“You can’t hurt my new family or me, anymore,” Ember said as she and Akan moved to stand over the burning man. “There is no one to save you this time.”

The man continued to scream as his body burned to ash.

“About time, you two joined us,” Dustin said as he watched the newly mated couple.

Ember smiled as she wrapped her arms around her mate. “Sorry.”

“We were a bit…occupied,” Akan said with a laugh.

“Next time, try and be a bit faster,” Winter said as she walked over to Ember and gave her a hug. “Welcome to the club.”

Ember chuckled, “thanks.”

“I can’t believe my brother is a Fated Mate,” Marry-Beth said with a chuckle.

“I can’t believe it’s not a man,” Dylan said, making everyone laugh.

“Hey,” Akan said as he glared at Dylan.

Dylan smirked as he pulled his mate against his side.

“What do we do with all those dead, Demons?” Allora asked as she looked at the corpses of the Demons who had attacked them.

“Leave them,” Daryl said as he pulled his mate into his arms, “no one will ever find this place. And I think Senshire has plans for them.”

Everyone nodded as they headed for the gate.

“Ohmigod,” Shar said as she turned in a circle.

“What is it?” Dustin asked as he watched his mate.

“Has anyone seen Tate or his brothers?”

“Hey, yeah, they were supposed to help. They came here to spy, then we never saw them again,” Lyvia said as she looked around their group.

“You would think he’d have been all over Sharissa when she came back to us,” Daryl said as he looked for the Vampires. “He’s not in our pack, so I can’t call for him.”

“I haven’t seen Chelsea either,” Maddy said.

“She’s always with her mate,” Josiah said as he looked behind them.

“They’ll show up sooner or later,” Shar said with a chuckle.

They continued out the gate, and Pearl turned and cast an invisibility spell on the compound.

Daryl set Ruby on her feet and took her hand as they headed for the vehicles.

“Would you like to ride with us?” Bridget asked as she looked at Ruby.

Ruby’s eyes opened wide as Keon screeched with happiness and flew off his mother’s shoulder. He landed on the ground beside Ruby, and she placed her hand on his neck. He was almost as tall as her in Dragon form and smarter than a newborn should be.

“If your parents are okay with it,” Bridget said with a smile.

Ruby looked at her mother. “Please.”

“How about you two join us,” Zephyrus said with a smile as he watched Pearl and Dylan.

Ruby jumped up and down in excitement, and Keon joined her.

Pearl chuckled, “all right, sounds like fun.”

“Yay!” Ruby shouted.

Bridget and Zephyrus shifted into their Dragons and leaned down for Pearl and Dylan to climb onto their backs, then lifted off into the sky.

Keon flapped his wings and lifted into the air, then picked Ruby up and followed his parents into the clouds.

Ruby hollered with delight to be flying with her Dragon again. She couldn’t wait for him to get bigger so she could ride on his back.

They’re already an unbeatable team.

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