Alpha Nocturne's Contracted Mate

CHAPTER 292 Show Yourself The three groups moved forwardas one, each team approaching their doorways silently and waiting for the signal to advance.

Ada moved to the side of the enormous doors as Lord Brarthroroz, Lexi, Greyson and Allen took their positions up in front of the main door and exchanged a brief look with each other before Greyson raised his arm and gestured for the groups to push forward.

As one, they opened the three doors as quietly as they could and began their advance forwards, sliding carefully through the cracks of their respective doors and into the hallways and rooms beyond.

Lexi followed behind her father, shooting a disdainful glance to Ada as she passed, still unsure about her motivation and reasons for helping them so easily. To her, it reeked of a hidden ulterior motive, but it was too late to do anything about it now.

The breath caught in Lexi's chest as she emerged into an enormous cavern beyond and from what she could see, she assumed it must be a natural cave with the rough edges of the stone walls that she could see, a stark contrast to the floor, which had been smoothed over time with the passage of people across its surface.

She screwed her eyes up slightly as she strained to see further into the naturally formed room. But even with her keen eyesight, she was unable to penetrate the darkness that thickly

clung to the edges of the room and descended like a curtain a short distance in.

The almost crushing, depressive aura that hung in the air descended over them the further they moved into the room, and Lord Brarthroroz held his | hand up for them to stop.

A low, rumbling growl emanated from his chest as he too, narrowed his eyes towards the darkness and he glanced back over his shoulder at them.

"Spread out and do not give them an easy target that will allow them to take out more than one at a time," Lord Brarthroroz murmured quietly, "Stay clear of the darkness near the edges." "But Papa... I can't see anything beyond the darkness. What are we

fighting..." "Shadows, Lexi. They will come first when they become aware of our presence, only you and I will be able to destroy them with our abilities. Allen, Greyson, you and your shifters will need to wait for the physical daemons to show themselves. Stay away from the darkness and do not let it engulf you while you fight." The shifters shared uneasy glances with each other as they fanned out behind them and began to advance forward across the room until suddenly, an unsettling laugh emanated from beyond the darkness.

"How nice of you to visit brother...and you brought friends too? How delightful."

Lord Brarthroroz growled in response and stiffened, his senses on high alert as the voice echoed eerily around the cavern.

"What? No hateful retort brother? No threats of violence if I don't bend and scrape and bow at your feet?" the voice chuckled mockingly.

"Show yourself." Lord Brarthroroz hissed furiously at the shadows as they began to curl outwards towards them.

"I think not. Where is the fun in that? It's been such a long time since my shadow fiends have been able to play properly... well, with more than one person at least." the voice chuckled as misshapen figures began to form around the room and from the darkness in front of them.

Lexi huffed and rolled her shoulders, before stretching her arms in front of her and cracking her knuckles.

"Let's play then, shit-head." She snapped with a sneer, "All this standing around is boring me. I have plenty of things that I'd much rather be doing than stuck here listening to your damn monologue." As she spoke, the outline of a figure beyond the darkness could almost be made out, two amber orbs the only hint at where this creature's eyes lay, and a disbelieving snort came from its direction.

Lexi?" The voice whispered almost tenderly, instantly eliciting a protective snarl from both Allen and Greyson as they took a step closer to her, not liking the tone that the voice

carried towards their mate that's right fucktard, Now let's get this over with." She smirked as she lazily lifted a hand in the direction of a few of the shadowy figures that had formed at the edges of the room and flicked her fingers, the figures instantly evaporating in a burst of green light.

The other figures took this as a signal to launch their attack and Lord Brarthroroz and Lexi began their defense of the vulnerable shifters.

"1 can't believe you would be so kind as to bring her straight to me, brother," the voice laughed as wave after wave of shadow fiends descended upon them, their numbers seemingly endless as they pressed both Lord Brarthroroz and Lexi to within their limits.

| The odd scream of the unlucky shifters that weren't quite quick enough to evade the demons tore at Lexi's heart as she tried desperately to protect them all while listening to the taunting words of what she assumed must be her uncle. | "All this time keeping her from me, and now you waltz in here with her at your back, and expect for me to allow any of you to leave?" Eromaug chuckled and tutted loudly, "This was a poorly thought out plan brother, even for you." Allen and Greyson's hackles rose at the | tone in his voice, not liking the way he spoke her name as they pressed closer in to her side, as if their very presence could reflect the cloying, sickening, almost reverent way that his words curled their way through the air and

wrapped themselves sound them.

None of the shadows even came close to where the four of them stood, yet Lexi rapidly grew tired with fending the attacks off and in a fit of rage, threw her arms wide, causing a shimmering light to ripple outwards, incinerating everything in its pathina mixture of fluorescent green and crimson flames.

"Look, we can do this all day and you can continue hiding like the fucking coward you are, Or you can come out of your little floating cloud and..." Lexi began furiously before the voice cut her off with an amused chuckle.

"coward?" Eromaug chuckled as he stepped forward from the shadows, "No, Lexi. [ am no coward. I merely want what is mine and what was

denied me by your father all those years ago. He tore the most precious thing in the world away from meand- left me with nothing but hatred and a gaping hole to fill."