Mated to the Demon Prince

Chapter 5- Draken

On the other side of the portal, they were greeted by vast red skies and the sounds of creatures echoing all around them, putting Dion on edge. For all they knew these could be possible threats to them. Lilith was in an area he was unsure of and this weighed heavily on him.

While he worried about her safety, Lilith on the other hand stood with her lips parted in awe as she stared at the red skies above them. Dion admired her animated expression unable to contain the smile that fought its way to his lips.

This was her first time ever entering a demon plane so her reaction wasn’t surprising.

The portal had landed them in what looked like a forest covered by towering black trees that she couldn't make the top of. Her hand moved to trace the bark of one of the trees when Dion snatched her hand backwards. She was about to protest until what looked like a snake was crushed in Dion's palm. The reptile had blended in completely with the bark as it laid in wait for it's next meal.

"Don't just touch anything you see around here carelessly. These in particular are extremely poisonous," he gave her a clear view of the dead reptile. A little slip up like that and his mate would be dead. Dion was understandably upset. "It would have killed you instantly."

She stared at the dead snake in shock before she muttered a soft apology. Of course Dion could never stay mad at her, it was impossible.

Tossing the snake far away, Dion inspected her hands to see if she was hurt and winced at the bruise that started to form on her wrist where he grabbed her too tight.

"I'm sorry." He frowned at the bruise. He brought her hands to his lip, "I'm so sorry."

"Its fine," she stuttered with wide eyes as she pulled her hand away from him. Her face flushed, his lips had left a tingle on her hand. "I should have been more careful."

"Eve doesn't expect us to search the entire plane for a bunch of weeds now, does she?" Asher asked, the witch had a knack for sending them on impossible errands.

Lilith laughed inwardly as she thought back to some of the tasks Eve had given the males before. "Ahhh, they grow on mountains or beside rivers so-" a loud roar had sounded above them interrupting her.

"Any one else think this is the last place we want to be?" Asher asked. Dion couldn't agree more.

"You're a bit more familiar with this place so find somewhere safe for us." Dion turned to Malcom, he had casually taken hold of Lilith's hand. Malcom had come here twice before. Once when he still worked as a mercenary and they had come here to retrieve a dragons scale. The other time when Olivia had nearly lost her life. But just because he had been there didn't mean he knew the plane.

However. he did know that you never want to be in a Draken forest.

Lilith continued to stare at the demon's hand wrapped around hers. His hands were much larger than hers and they felt rough. For a person she hasn't known for long he sure was touchy and for some odd reason, she didn’t seem to mind it. It didn't make her recoil the way she did when other males randomly touched her. She didn't want to admit it but she enjoyed his touch. His hand even felt right around hers.

They followed behind Malcom as he tried to maneuver his way out of the forest but by no means was it an easy feat. Those poisonous snakes were everywhere so the men did their best to keep them away from Lilith even sometimes using themselves as a shield for her. The posion would only hurt them but they wouldn't die.

When they finally made it out one side of the forest, they realized they were at the bottom of a cliff. The cliff looked to be over 3000ft tall. Unless they found another way, this would be their only route out the forest. Dion and the other three didn't mind having to climb up but they didn't want to make a mortal climb 3000ft into the air. Any slip would kill her instantly.

"We'll look for another way through the side of the forest." Malcom informed and Dion agreed.

If they were at the edge, their chances of getting attacked lessened. It had been a couple of hours since they arrived, the journey through the forest had been lengthy. Dion only realized this when he saw her rub at her ankles, they had been walking without any breaks since they got here.

Time in Draken moved differently than in the mortal realm so it wasn't like they would be able to ascertain what time of the day it was.

"Let's take a break here." Dion suggested.

"The quicker we get out of here the quick we can-" Dion Glared at the Lycan. Only then did Asher glance in Lilith's direction. Her skin was pallid and some strands that had escaped her bun clung to the beads of sweat that had formed on her forehead to. Her breaths left her harder than they usually would and the backpack she wore looked like it weighed her down. "I guess we could camp here for a while."

Dion collected the heavy back pack from her and set it on the floor gently beside the foot of the cliff. He took his own bag off and dropped beside the bags with his back leaning against rock. He took out a flask from his bag and took a swig, enjoying the bitter liquid burn his throat as he ingested it. The other two males sat down as well, Asher digging his bag for some food and Malcom holding a similar flask to Dion though the contents obviously differed.

Lilith knelt at her bag beside Dion and took out a bottle of water. She was gulping down it's contents like a starved child but was careful not to drink to much. In an unfamiliar environment, it's best to manage resources as you didn't know when next you could get access to it. "Don't worry, you can drink as much as you want. I hear water a few miles away." Dion told her. When she finally sat beside him, he smiled. "What do you have in the bag?"

"Some travel food, water bottles, toiletries, some extra clothes and some other stuff." she bit into a sandwich that she got from the bag. "Just the bare necessities."

"We should try and find a place to hide to for the night. It wouldn't be safe to be around while the owners of the Forest roamed at night." Malcom started, "I don't know what kind of creatures we'll meet and I'm sure no one here is that eager to find out." he turned to Lilith, "I know this pace is going to be a bit hard to keep up with but this is the safest option."

"And Dion will always be willing to carry you if you're tired." A rock collided hard with the side of Asher's face.

Lilith was now starting to understand that these men saw her as nothing but a liability. A fragile little girl that apparently couldn't even handle a hike. She couldn’t quite place why the opinion pf males she barely knew irked her as much as it did. She was the princess of a once powerful fae kingdom. Just because she lost her crown didn't mean she was weak. With a glare in Asher's direction she started,

"Biologically speaking, I'm the faster one and I have magic to boot." Magic that she didn't have too much control over but they didn't need to know that. "Even creatures as powerful as you are would have some difficulty if they were forced to fight me. Just because I'm still mortal, doesn't mean I'm weak." she wasn't looking at just asher now, she stared at all three men.

"I won't pretend like I don't need your help here but I don't need you to act like I'm incapable of the most basic functions."

Malcom suddenly thought back to Olivia, all three men here knew that Olivia was not a force to be reckoned with. She was a powerful fae, with mind blowing speed and agility though she didn't possess any magic like Lilith. She had taught Malcom that strength wasn't everything in a battle. He knew just how deadly a fae could be and he was treating this one like a weak link for simply being mortal. Olivia would scold him for this. It was only dawning on them that she wasn't the gentle fae they thought she was.

What exactly had given them that impression in the first place?