Chapter 20: The Demon Inside - Riven's POV

A few seconds later, I heard her sigh.

“Hello?”

She emerged from the treeline, wearing a dark hoodie with her hair pulled back. Exhaustion clung to her like a second skin. She had dark circles under her eyes and her shoulders were tight with tension, but she was here, just as she promised.

She had come.

“You made it,” I said, my voice rougher than I intended.

“I said I’d be here, so here I am.” She stopped several feet away, maintaining a small distance. “So what did you want to talk about?”

I took a breath as every instinct screamed to find a softer way to say it, but there was no soft way to confess that I was harboring a demon.

“What my parents told your family today about my wolf being aggressive and unusually strong is true,” I said, sucking in another breath. “But it’s not the entire truth. It’s not even close.”

“I figured as much,” she said with a sigh. “So, what’s the rest?”

“Do you remember those random rogue attacks several years ago?”

She nodded.

“When I was ten, there was one on our pack,” I said, the memories sharp as ever. “Rogues breached our border, but they were…different. Something dark.”

Her eyes widened slightly, but she didn't interrupt.

“I was outside when they came. I was just a kid.” Shame crawled up my throat. “One of them caught me before I could scream for my father. Then…my father found what remained.”

“What do you mean?” Her voice was barely above a whisper.

I met her gaze, needing her to see the truth. “No ten year old should have done what I did. They said I had the power of an Alpha King in the making,” I said with a laugh. “They didn’t see what was actually in their son. There’s a demon living inside of me and has been since…birth, I guess? It grows stronger as I get older, and feeds off my wolf’s power.”

“A…de…mon?” Her voice trembles. “You’re telling me you are possessed?”

“Well, I think it’s more like an infection.” I ran a hand through my hair. “It can’t fully control me or take over, but it influences me at times. He whispers things and makes my wolf more aggressive and harder to control, especially during the full moon.”

“And your parents—”

“Don’t know,” I said, my eyes meeting hers again. “They think I’m gifted.”

"Why didn't you tell them?"

"How could I?" The words burst out. "My father is Alpha. His heir is supposed to be strong, pure, and capable of leading the pack one day. How do I tell him I'm corrupted? That there's something dark twisted up with my wolf?"

She was quiet for a long moment. “The vision I had of my pack being slaughtered…was that real or the demon?”

“The demon can manipulate what seers see,” I admitted. “He can plant false things in your mind and twist it to make you afraid.”

“Well, it worked.”

"I know." I took a step toward her. "But that's not the only vision either of us has seen. The demon has been showing me things too. I’ve seen your pack destroy mine, you standing over my father's body and our packs going to war against each other. I’ve seen some things that would make you cringe.”

Horror flashed across her face. "I would never—"

"I know that now," I said quickly. "The demon lies. It twists truth and manufactures fear. It's been trying to turn us against each other from the beginning."

"Why?" She wrapped her arms tighter around herself. "What does it gain?"

“Freedom, I think.” The words taste bitter. “The demon keeps telling me if I fall in love with you, then it will be set free. He says the bond is the key to breaking his prison.”

Her face went pale. “So, this whole time you’ve been trying not to fall for me?”

“Yes and no. It’s complicated.” I closed the distance between us. “The demon lies, but it also tells partial truths. I’ve had different dreams, which I think are from the Moon Goddess. They’re clearer and the complete opposite of what he has shown me.”

"What do you mean?"

“She says that falling in love with my mate is what will keep the demon contained. That our bond is meant to anchor him and control it, keeping him from breaking free.” I cupped her face with both hands. “You’re not just my mate, Callista. You’re the only thing standing between the demon and complete freedom.”

Her breath caught. “So if the bond breaks, then—”

"The demon wins. It uses my wolf as a vessel and..." I couldn't finish the sentence.

"And my vision comes true," she whispered. "Everyone dies."

I nodded, unable to speak past the tightness in my throat. She stared at me, processing everything. Then she did something unexpected.

She laughed.

"Okay," she said, wiping her eyes. "So, there’s a demon, you need the bond, and falling in love saves everyone. Sure, why not? Why wouldn’t it sound like a fairytale?”

"Callista—"

"Show me," she interrupted.

I froze. "What?"

“Show me the demon, because I need to see it.” Her jaw ticked. “If we’re going to do this, I need to know what I’m really dealing with.”

“No,” I said, the word coming out sharply. “Callista, that’s dangerous and—”

“You said he doesn’t control you fully, so it shouldn’t be. Show me.”

Every instinct screamed to protect her, to keep her away from the darkness, but she was right. She needed to understand.

"Stay back," I warned. "If anything happens, if I tell you to run, you run. Understand?"

"I understand,” she said, her voice low as her gaze stayed locked on mine.

I took several steps back, putting a safe distance between us. Then I did something I had spent years learning not to do.

I loosened the walls that held him, and the demon rose too eagerly, pressing against my consciousness.

Finally, it purred.

When I opened my eyes, I knew they had changed. They’d be darker with something wrong lurking in their depths. The demon smiled with my mouth.

“Hello, little seer,” it said through my lips, my voice layered with something oily and wrong. “We meet at last.”

"What are you?" Callista's voice was steady despite her fear.

“I am hunger, shadow, and everything he tries to hide in the darkness.” The demon made my body step forward, but wouldn’t go further. “And I am bound to him. We are one.”

"You're a parasite," she said firmly.

The demon laughed. “Maybe, but I’m a parasite he can’t remove. We’re too intertwined.”

"There has to be a way,” she said, shaking her head.

“Oh, there is.” The demon tilted my head, studying her through my eyes. “Love, little seer. True love, but are you capable of loving someone as broken as this?”

"Enough," I snarled, shoving it back down with all my strength. The battle left me gasping on my knees.

Callista was at my side immediately, her hands on my shoulders.

"I'm okay," I managed. "I'm okay. He’s gone now.”

"That was terrifying," she breathed. “Your eyes…looked…all wrong. They were black with only a speck of red in the middle. Riven—”

"Now you understand what's inside me." I looked up at her. "That thing is part of me. And if the bond breaks, if I lose you, it wins.”

She stared at me for a long moment, her face pale, then she helped me to my feet and wrapped her arms around me.

"Then we need to make sure the bond doesn't break," she said against my chest. "We’ll face it all together and fall in love to keep that thing locked away.”

Relief washed over me. "You're not leaving?"

"I'm terrified," she admitted. "But you're my mate and I'm not letting some demon destroy that."

I reached under her chin, one finger gliding against her flesh as I tipped her head back. I kissed her then, pouring everything I had into it. When we broke apart, she gave me a shaky smile.

“So, falling in love shouldn’t be hard, right?”