A Demon's Toy

~Back at the Hunt Estate~

“Alderin!” Coraline yelled for the servant as she descended the steps.

Alderin exited the dining hall and promptly made his way to his mistress’ side as he placed a hand over his heart and bowed deeply. She smiled loving how completely devoted to her he was. She pressed two fingers beneath his chin making him meet those violet eyes with hers.

“You’re such a good dog,” she smirked digging her nails into his jawline. Alderin flinched, not from the pain of her nails, but from her calling him a dog. He hated being called that especially by her.

“Now, go find that new servant girl…Emily or whatever her name is,” Coraline huffed pushing his face away as she descended the rest of the way down the stairs.

Alderin watched her brush past him dumbfounded. Why was she asking for Ember when she had been the one to order her off with Sebastian? Regaining his composure, Alderin rushed passed Coraline and knelt down before her causing her to stop. She glared down at him through dark blue slits.

“Why aren’t you doing as I ordered you? Go find the servant girl immediately!” she snapped down at his bowed head.

“Um, excuse me for speaking so boldly Mistress, but…didn’t you order Sebastian to take her with him to help him run your errands?” the shifter quietly inquired, his gaze never leaving the immaculate floor.

It took a moment for his deep words to sink into her mind. She had never once heard him speak and it amazed her how sultry his voice naturally sounded whereas Axel’s was almost more forced. Apparently she had been using the wrong brother. As if just now comprehending his words, Coraline felt something inside her brain snap. She was where? With whom?

“What did you just say?” Coraline hissed her fingers tangling in the shifter’s thick head of hair and yanking his head back to make him look at her while he spoke.

Alderin gritted his teeth as she pulled at the sensitive follicles of his hair; a vein protruding from his neck as he did his best to speak through the pain.

“I apologize, Mistress. I just simply thought you would remember about the orders you gave to Sebastian regarding Miss—”

“I gave NO such orders to my slave!” she snapped interrupting his softly spoken words.

“Forgive me, Mistress. I must be mista—” She pulled further on his hair causing Alderin to whimper at the extended agony.

“Tell me the exact words that were spoken to you,” the petite woman growled bringing around her other hand to tightly grasp his jawline in her tiny palm.

“I must have been mistaken, Mistress. I probably misheard the words being spoken. I’ll go find Miss Em—”

Coraline slashed her nails across his cheek leaving behind three scratches across his cheekbone that was now beginning to swell and bleed.

“Do not lie to me, mutt!” she hissed. She saw from the corner of her eye two of the maids flee the area. Yes, be afraid, and be glad you are not the cause of my anger, she thought to herself.

“Now tell me—” she jerked once more on the servant’s hair causing him to lose his balance while kneeling and instead fall to both his knees. A position she much liked her men to be in whilst before her—“where is the servant girl?” she growled.

Alderin could feel tiny drops of blood ooze from the wounds on his cheek as they made a slow trail down his face. He had never meant to get anyone in trouble. Especially not Ember. Never her. He couldn’t bear the thought of Coraline putting his sweet neko through her sadistic torture. Ember had been through enough with the experiments. So he would continue to lie to the sapphire eyed monster for as long as he could even if it meant putting his life at risk.

“I’m sure I just saw her go downstairs to grab some more cleaning supplies from the basement,” Alderin answered keeping his words calm and confident as he focused on anything but the burning pain in his head.

Coraline released her death grip on his hair causing Alderin to sigh in relief as the pain immediately diminished. However, chills erupted down his spine as Coraline slid her cool hands onto his face. She tilted his head back forcing him to meet her dark, hungry blue gaze that was burning bright with madness.

“Why do you lie to me?” she cooed stroking a thumb across his bottom lip. Had he contained the courage to pull away from her grasp, he would have done just that. However, he did not have the courage, or carelessness, his brother seemed to possess when it came to dealing with their Mistress.

“Is it possible that you care for this servant girl? That you like her?” she inquired, her voice soft and full of faux sweetness. Hearing her speak like this made his need to take a shower grow even more than when she had been yelling at him.

“Mistress Hunt is the only woman I—”

As he was speaking, Coraline jammed her hand into his mouth and grasped his tongue between her fingers to wrench the muscle out of his mouth. Her nails dug into the soft, slick flesh making sure her grip wouldn’t slip from all the saliva.

“Your voice may be one of truth, but your words tumble from this tongue as lies. Lie to me again and you will no longer have to worry about uttering another sound,” she threatened with a low growl. Alderin winced as he felt her sharp, painted nails jab deeper into his tongue. He could taste the metallic tang of his own blood as it seeped into the back of his throat from the wounded muscle.

Coraline released his tongue unexpectedly watching as Alderin quickly regained his composure and curl his bleeding tongue back into his mouth.

“Tell me EXACTLY what she told you,” the mistress calmly demanded pressing both hands to her shapely hips.

Alderin shuddered knowing that he would not be able to endure much more of this pain. It made his heart ache knowing he was probably about to lose Ember’s trust, but he didn’t know she had lied to him. By the way she had told him though, it seemed she hadn’t known she had been lied to as well. This all came back on Sebastian. Why had he lied and said that those had been direct orders from Coraline when, in fact, the demon himself had created those orders? Alderin’s eyes went wide. Did the demon butler…?

“Do not go silent on me now, mutt!” the petite woman shrieked raising a hand to slap him once more. Alderin flinched waiting for the blow across his cheek, but it never happened. His eyes flashed up when he heard an outraged shriek. Axel had Coraline’s wrist grasped in the palm of his hand while he fought to seize her other hand that was trying desperately to claw at his face. Instead her fingers found solitude in raking down his exposed arms.

Alderin flinched in pain for his brother, but Axel didn’t so much as grimace at the contact. What had she done to him that one night that caused him to become so emotionless toward pain? Axel finally seized her other hand and pinned both of her arms behind her back which caused her lithe body to press up against his. Something Alderin knew his younger twin brother probably did not enjoy doing, but knew it was necessary.

“How dare you touch me with such carelessness, mongrel?! You are a lowly servant meant to—”

Her words were cut off as Axel smashed his lips to hers; his eyes remaining wide open to stare into those furious blue eyes. He hated the mere thought of touching this demented woman, but he couldn’t stand seeing his brother go through any more punishment because of his loyalty to Ember. Axel had only known of one way to get the blonde to shut up and that was by dealing back the pain. That’s why he had her nearly bent over backwards as he bit at her bottom lip drawing blood.

He shoved his tongue into her mouth as she began to wriggle in his arms trying to break free. That invasion of her mouth caused her solid teeth to snap down hard onto his tongue. Even though she wanted to hear him cry out in pain, there was one sound that his sadistic mistress wanted to hear even more and that was the low moan that emitted from that back of the younger twin’s throat.

He tore his mouth away from hers vaguely wondering if that was his blood or hers that stained his lips. A naughty, twisted smile curled the edges those bruised lips of hers.

“You have my attention, servant. Now let’s see what else that tongue of yours can do and what other part of you I can make bleed,” she breathed wrangling herself out of Axel’s embrace and latching onto his hands.

Without so much as another glance at Alderin, Coraline ascended the stairs to head for her bedroom.

“Brother…” Alderin whispered causing matching violet eyes to lock with his own. He saw a muscle tic in the younger shifter’s jaw before that violet gaze moved away.

Just remember you owe me one, Axel’s voice sounded in his head.

Alderin stood up on shaky legs as he did his best to brush the dirt of his black tailored suit.

Thank you, he thought back to his brother knowing by the way his brother’s shoulders tensed and relaxed that his words had been heard.

So if Coraline hadn’t given Sebastian those orders then that meant Sebastian had been lying to Ember when he had told her. Why would the demon lie though and risk the neko’s life? Alderin knew for a fact that Coraline wouldn’t, nor couldn’t, kill Sebastian. However she would cause him serious pain. Yet there was nothing that stopped Coraline from killing Ember the way she had disposed of all the other maids before her.

That still begged the question as to why Sebastian would blatantly lie and go against Coraline. Could it be that…the demon butler…had feelings for his Ember?