Chapter 120: Recognition

I stared at the creature in front of me and I knew what she was. I had met her before, after all, she was one of my mate's top lieutenants. I had known that Nephael assigned one of her creations to guard and protect Elinn but I had no clue that it was going to be her. "Demetre, it's good to see you. We haven't talked in far too long," I didn't try to get closer to her. I had no idea what state Demetre was in right now and I kind of liked keeping my limbs attached to my body. Carter's head flipped towards me in shock, oh he was definitely mad that I knew what was going on and he didn't. There hadn't been time to stop and talk about what we might find when we got here and I hadn't known for sure what was going on. I suspected that whatever guardian Nephael had given Elinn would show up soon but I couldn't guarantee anything. "Oh Ecstan, I have missed seeing you around. It was interesting seeing you through her eyes feeling what your daughter felt for you. I am honored to have been chosen to be the one to guard her while during her stay in this realm. Tell me how is my friend?" Demetre's eyes glimmered with amusement at this turn of events and I knew she was enjoying herself. She had always been one to torment others and loved watching others scurry about trying to figure out what was going on. When my mate had first introduced me to her I had been terrified of her, after all the Queen of Hell is a pretty intimidating title. She had interrogated me well, that was to be expected of your mates best friend. Though I had been scared of her at first I got to know her over time and loved her. Demetre was fiercely loyal to Nephael, it was part of the reason she had been put in charge of the underworld. She was also one of the greatest warriors that I had ever met, her strength and skill almost unmatched. Part of the reason she had become so talented in the art of taking lives was because of her appetite. Demetre was a supernatural immortal being and, like most supernatural beings, her main source of food was different. She fed off the souls of the damned, their misery and torment nourished her body keeping her strong. If she did get the chance to actually kill someone, she had explained to me that it was like eating a burger made by Gordon Ramsay instead of one from Wendy's. Looking around myself I could see that she was gorging herself on the souls of the men she would be looking over in the afterlife. They would still end up in hell, they would just be weaker than some of the other occupants making them targets for those already banished theirs. "So tell me Ecstan, why exactly are you here? Were you coming to save Elinn because if so you can see that she is just fine and has no need for your help? I'm taking care of the situation, or I've taken care of most of the situation as you can clearly see." Carter's stance grew more and more agitated as he listened to our conversation and looked at all the bodies on the floor. "Where is Elinn?" Carter's voice was low and filled with rage. I knew that trying to calm him down would accomplish nothing but I also knew how Demetre got when she was challenged by others. "She's right here, can't you see her or has it so long that you've forgotten what your mate's face looks like?" She was well aware of Carter's agitation she just didn't care. "I'm not in the mood to be played with nowhere is Elinn." His fingertips began to sharpen into claws signaling that he was losing control of his wolf. "Carter calm down," I admonished him but he refused to even look at me. "Yeah, pup takes a breathe and think about what is going on right now. Do you really think that Elinn would have made it through this by herself with all of this surrounding her? The poor thing is still trying to figure out how to breathe without losing it how is she supposed to deal with all this carnage?" Demetre's gaze never left Carter's and yet I could see the sincerity in her eyes. She didn't want anything bad to happen to Elinn and had tucked her away so that she wouldn't see what was going on around her. "WHERE IS MY MATE!" Carter screamed his eyes flashing back and forth between his wolf and his human. He was going to lose it and I didn't want to risk him hurting Elinn knowing he would regret it and if he harmed her in any way I would have to punish him for it. "Carter, get outside now," I growled pushing all of the Alpha power I had into the order. Slowly his head turned to face mine and the began to flicker slowly staying mostly with his wolf side. "You forget Ecstan, your daughter is my mate, that Alpha voice of yours isn't going to work on me." His eyes were filled with so much rage I couldn't help but take a step back. "Demetre, I think it best if we leave and you give control back to Elinn. We don't have time for a fight here and I can't have either of you getting hurt. I know this isn't what you want but I'll have her order you if I have to, you know I will." I didn't dare glance towards her afraid if I broke eye contact with Carter he might lose it and attack my daughter. "Fine, but I expect us to have a real discussion about this later Ecs, you know how much I hate being locked up." With that, her eyes faded from their golden state. The wings retracted and disappear into her body the crown blowing out fainty. Carter rushed to her pulling his mate's body into his arms. I wanted to run to her so badly, but I knew better. This young Alpha had just found his mate again and she smelled like a dozen different men, he wasn't going to let anyone else touch her for a while. He stood carefully and faced me once again allowing me to see the tears in his eyes. "Let's go home, let's take her home."