Chapter 143 Chapter 143
“Why are you here?” Valerie asked the four demons sitting on her sofa in the living room. Xander, Wade, Shawn, and Liam had arrived without prior warning, as they usually did, but she guessed that they had a reason for coming by.
“We heard about your new bond,” Shawn said, waggling his eyebrows. “Thought we should come over and check in on you.”
“You didn’t need long to make a new one,” Wade said slyly.
“Someone must have been impatient again,” Liam added. The red-haired demon kept his eyes on the couple on the opposite sofa, his gaze lingering on their intertwined hands.
“Shut up, Liam,” Maxwell growled. “You don’t have a say in this.”
“Were you scared someone else would steal her from you?” Xander cackled, earning himself a death glare. “Valerie knows lots of attractive guys. I bet she wouldn’t have waited for you forever.”
She knew that the silly demon’s only objective was to annoy her boyfriend, who was fuming in anger. The lamps above them kept flickering madly; a clear warning that Maxwell was about to explode. Which meant that she needed to do some damage control.
“Xander, that’s not…” she began, but she was cut off when Maxwell interrupted her.
“Fuck off, Xander. I wouldn’t let anyone take her from me,” he hissed, his enraged red eyes burning a hole through Xander’s head.
“Look how obsessed he is with her,” Shawn laughed, exchanging a glance with Wade, who was grinning in amusement.
“Are you guys only here to poke fun at us?” Valerie asked, raising her eyebrows. While she was nowhere near as hot-tempered as Maxwell, even she didn’t have infinite patience. So far, the other demons hadn’t done anything except barge in unannounced and tease them.
“That was indeed part of the plan,” Shawn admitted shamelessly, “But we also wanted to see how you were doing. Haven’t met you since you left hell a few weeks ago.”
“Vaughn told us you were on a double date with him and Esther,” Liam said. His deep blue eyes darted from Valerie to Maxwell, a hint of curiosity swimming in them.
“Oh, yes, that’s true.” Valerie smiled. The memory of that day never failed to make her happy. She loved recalling Maxwell’s wondrous expression when he had tried cotton candy for the first time. He’d been delighted by the snack but hadn’t wanted to admit it. “You guys should come along next time, it would be fun!”
“Definitely,” Liam nodded.
“Hell no.” Maxwell shouted and glared at Valerie. “Why would you say that? They wouldn’t let us have a minute to ourselves.”
“But they’re our friends, don’t you want to spend time with them?”
“No, I only want to spend time with you!”
“That’s so rude of you.”
“What? Why? You should be flattered!”
“Your logic is twisted,” she nagged.
“No, yours is. Not everyone gets to enjoy my presence daily,” he retorted smugly. “Be grateful.”
“You’re so damn arrogant.”
“But you love me,” he countered. When she fell silent, the smirk on his lips widened, overflowing with arrogance. “See, I knew it. There you have it.”
The four demons opposite them tried hard to hold in their laughter, and in the end, it was Shawn who lost it first. He bent over in laughter, hitting Xander, who snickered madly. Valerie and Maxwell returned their attention to them, finally remembering that they had had spectators for their little argument. She blushed in embarrassment while Maxwell looked mildly annoyed, his lips twitching.
“You’re a bunch of clowns,” he muttered, shaking his head in disbelief.
Wade wiped away the tears from the corners of his eyes and said, “You two are just the same as usual. That’s great.”
“Bickering like an old married couple,” Xander cackled.
“Will you shut up? One day you’ll get payback, mark my words.” Maxwell crossed his arms, glowering at the younger demon who didn’t care about the rather obvious threat in his words.
Xander simply shrugged. “Oh well, I’m ready for it. But first, I’ll annoy you some more.”
“I’m interested in seeing that,” Valerie said.
“No, you’re not,” Maxwell sulked. “You’re on my side.”
She grinned, putting a finger on her chin as she pretended to ponder it. “Hm… am I?” she said teasingly, but she couldn’t maintain her façade for long and broke out in chuckles. “I’m just joking, no need to look so glum.” She leaned in and gave him a peck on his lips, inching closer to him so their bodies were touching.
“You’re lucky because I decided to forgive you.”
“Oh, why, thank you. That’s so generous, you mighty demon,” she said sarcastically. He narrowed his eyes at her, ignoring the other demons’ wheezing in the background.
“Valerie, stop it right now, or else I’m going to punish you later,” he growled.
“Kinky,” Wade howled.
She blushed bright red and glared at him, but her embarrassment was impossible to hide at this point. “I swear, one day I’ll go mad with you demons around me,” she mumbled.
“Let her breathe for a second, you idiots,” Liam thankfully interfered and glowered at Xander, who looked like he wanted to counter something, but the evil stare of the older demon made him change his mind. Valerie wondered whether Liam was the only person Xander ever listened to. It certainly looked like it.
“Alright, fine,” Shawn sighed, leaning back on the sofa. The demons finally calmed down.
“Didn’t you want to tell them something, Xander?” Wade reminded him, and Xander’s demeanor changed instantly. The grin on his lips vanished as red overtook the green of his iris. Suddenly, the atmosphere in the room became heavy. Valerie suspected that something was wrong, uneasily gnawing on her lower lip.
“That’s right, there’s something you two need to know,” Xander said seriously. “I’ve already warned you about that blood mage who was after you in the forest, and I need to do it again.” His words were followed by a tense silence.
“I sensed faint traces of their magic when I was in the city center earlier. Their aura is very distinct—I’d recognize it anywhere. They seem to be lingering here. The problem is that I couldn’t pinpoint their current location. I’m not sure why they would stay in this area for so long, but I think they might be looking for you two,” Xander went on. “If this really is the case, you should be very careful.”