The Demon's Daughter

Hell for the Holidays

As the weather turned cold and Christmas approached, Cillian and Madison both were thankful that nothing else out of the ordinary had happened. Madison became intent on her studies as finals approached, but one weekend she told Cillian she needed to go into the city. It was the first time she wanted to leave campus, and it came out of the blue.

                “I follow you,” Cillian said when Madison told him of her plan to go downtown.

                “I know, but I always feel rude just going about my business as if you’re not around,” Madison replied. “You’re a person, not a robot.”

                “Technically, I’m a werewolf,” Cillian pointed out, making Madison laugh. Cillian liked Madison’s laugh. It was something pure in an otherwise awful world. For someone who lived with demons, Madison was a genuinely decent person.

                “I’m sure your family is excited to see you for the holiday,” Madison said as Cillian drove downtown.

                “They are,” Cillian agreed. Liam had been mind-linking him constantly asking for various things from the city actually, so this trip was useful. He wondered if Madison would mind making a few stops. “Does your family celebrate Christmas?”

                Madison laughed again. “Jane asked me that when we first met,” she said, answering Cillian’s quizzical gaze. “We don’t really celebrate in the traditional sense, but not because my family is a bunch of demons or anything. My father is always working and mother is gone, so usually it’s just my brothers and me for the holidays, and we avoid each other when possible.”

                “That doesn’t sound like much fun,” Cillian commented.

                Madison shrugged. “I hang out in the kitchens with some of the nymphs. They’re fun. It’s also when I talk to the pack that guards the house.”

                It wasn’t the first time Madison had mentioned the pack that the Becks employed, and Cillian’s interest was piqued. He knew from his own salary that working for the Becks had its perks, but Azrael had made a comment a few months ago that had Cillian confused about the nature of the wolves that worked at the Beck residence.

                “What did your brother mean when he said I was a werewolf that could shift?” Cillian asked as he parked in one of the parking garages downtown and the duo got out.

                Madison didn’t reply right away. She seemed to be weighing the words in her mind, trying to find the best way to say what she wanted. “It’s complicated,” she finally said.

                “Is it complicated or are you just worried it’ll offend me?” Cillian inquired.

                “A bit of both,” Madison admitted.

                “Your family did something to them, didn’t they?”

                “In a manner of speaking,” Madison said with a nod. “I don’t know the whole story, and Rob, the alpha, won’t tell me it. It’s a pride thing, I think. All I know is that they can only shift when someone takes off the collars they wear.”

                “And how do they come off?” Cillian asked, clenching his jaw.

                “If you have magic in my family, it’s the snap of your fingers,” Madison replied. “I can’t do anything or believe me I would have.”

                “What’s your family so afraid of that they keep them chained?” Cillian questioned, trying to keep his anger in check, but failing miserably.

                Madison shrank away from him. “I don’t know,” she said quietly. “No one tells me anything at that house.”

                Cillian believed that. Madison was a victim just like everyone else who worked for the Becks. He could hardly be angry with her over something she had no control over. By the way she talked about the staff at the house, Cillian got the impression that Madison spent a lot of time with them when she was home. She had already admitted to spending Christmas with the kitchen nymphs and the werewolves. It must be lonely being the only human around and having a family that didn’t care much for you.

                “You seem friendly with them despite everything,” Cillian said, his tone softening.

                “Rob and the others are nice to me,” Madison remarked. “Well, they tolerate me,” she amended. “When no one else is around we talk and play cards and stuff. The entire pack works there, so they’re like a family and sometimes…” Her voice drifted off, but Cillian knew what she was going to say.

                “Sometimes you felt like family as well,” he said for her.

                “It’s stupid,” Madison replied. “Look, I have to go get some stuff in the shop here. I’ll be back.” She quickly ducked into a store and disappeared among the racks of clothes before Cillian could tell her that he didn’t think it was stupid at all.

                Madison was a quick shopper, and she readily agreed to accompany Cillian to the shops he needed to go to. His supplies were utilitarian in nature. Liam said they needed knives and rope, some new tools, and weights for training. Cillian bought those and paid to have them shipped as close to home as possible. He’d pick them up after he dropped Madison off at the Beck estate.

                When the last day of the term finally came, Madison packed a single bag and met Cillian by the car her father had given to him. Cillian had to admit the car was nice. It was an Audi, so nothing fancy in the world of the Becks, but something wholly new for Cillian. The most important detail of the car, however, was the magic imbued in it that allowed for travel between the human world and the supernatural world. That magic made the trip, which would have last hours otherwise, only a few minutes.

                “Well, give your family my best,” Madison said as Cillian eased the car to a stop in front of the lavish mansion.

                “I will,” Cillian replied. “I’d say the same, but I doubt your family cares much.”

                “It’s sad how accurate that is,” Madison remarked. As they were speaking, a tall figure loomed in the doorway. “Merry Christmas, Cillian,” she added as she exited the car.

                Cillian knew without seeing the figure that it was Rob, the alpha of Black Moon Pack that guarded the Beck house. He could also tell that Rob knew who he was. They were both alphas, after all.

                She has a kind soul, a voice echoed in Cillian’s head. He knew it was Rob.

                I know, Cillian responded. Watch out for her while she’s home.

                I always do, Rob responded.

                “Rob!” Madison said, throwing her arms around the tall, imposing looking man. “Did you miss me?”

                “Get off me,” Rob said, shoving Madison away. There was a hint of a smile on his face though.

    Cillian smiled a bit at the interaction as he drove off. Madison certainly was different.

    “You did miss me,” Madison said sarcastically. “You were just playing tough in front of the other alpha.”

    Rob rolled his eyes. “How does he put up with you 24/7?” he teased.

    Madison laughed. “I’m not that bad,” she replied. “Where is everyone?”

    “Blake’s out back training with the others. If you’re hungry, Lily has some sandwiches in the kitchen,” Rob replied. He knew Madison wasn’t asking about her family. She didn’t care where her parents or brothers were, and they probably didn’t care that she was home.

    “Let’s go train,” Madison said, dropping her bag by the stairs and heading toward the back of the house.

    The Beck mansion was a maze of marble and granite that gave way to passages of concrete and stone when it got to the servants’ quarters. Madison had never found comfort in the cold marble halls, but rather the feeling of rough stone and concrete. The staff had always been nicer to her than her brothers. From a very young age, Madison had a way of brightening everyone’s day with her antics. She was such a playful child, and one of the few humans they had ever seen.

The training grounds were used exclusively by Rob and the pack to keep in shape. It consisted of some weights, a few punching bags, and an open area for sparing. Blake, Rob’s beta, was focusing on hitting a punching bag when Madison walked into the room. He had his headphones on, so Madison quietly ran up behind him and went to jump on him. Before she could jump, however, Blake tuned around and took her down, pinning her to the mat.

“Damn you and your werewolf hearing!” Madison shouted as the others laughed.

“Welcome home, Maddy,” Blake said with a laugh as he let her up. “You would think after seventeen years you’d know you can’t sneak up on us. Besides, you smell like a human and a,” he paused and sniffed her, “another wolf.”

“Cillian just dropped me off,” Madison said.

“Ah, yes, your new bodyguard,” Blake remarked. “How is he?”

Madison shrugged. “Normal, I guess. I don’t know why my father hired him instead of letting one of you guys come with me though.”

“I wouldn’t want to spend 24/7 with you in the human world,” Jacob commented sarcastically. While his appearance suggested he was only a few years older than Madison, she knew he was actually in his thirties.

“Oh, ha,” Madison retorted. “I happen to think Cillian has an easy job. Boring, yes, but easy.”

“Didn’t he have to save your ass from a demon?” Blake asked.

“Yeah, there was that,” Madison admitted. “Which reminds me, why did none of you tell me how freaking terrifying you all look as werewolves?”

The men laughed.

“I’m serious! I don’t think anything could have prepared me for being face to face with a huge werewolf, but a little warning would have been nice,” Madison said.

“He’s an alpha too,” Rob said to the others, making them laugh more.

“The real question is, what did you expect us to look like?” Blake asked. “We’re not house pets.”

“I know that,” Madison retorted. “I don’t know what I was expecting, but I’ve literally met Hades, and he wasn’t nearly as scary as the huge ass werewolf.”

The men chuckled.

“If we could shift, we’d have shown you before,” Blake remarked.

Madison frowned and looked at the thin silver collars that each man wore. Blake was dressed in only his gym shorts and no shirt, so his stood out the most against his tanned skinned. “I wish I had magic,” she said sadly.

“That’s probably why your parents made it so only magic could open them,” Rob pointed out. “Human emotion makes you want to do things without thinking about the consequences.”

“What consequences?” Madison asked. “Why did they do this to you guys?”

“Maddy, it’s not your business,” Rob said sternly.

“So you’re telling me if I found a way to get those things off, you wouldn’t be interested?” Madison questioned.

The men looked at r****f course they wanted to be free. They wanted to shift again and not be stuck in this demon hell hole.

“You’d need magic to do that, and you’re a human,” Rob pointed out.

“A human who lives in a house full of magic,” Madison countered. “There has to be something in my mom’s collection that could give me some power—”

“Are you insane?” Rob snapped. “Using magic could kill you. You know that. It’s not worth the risk.”

“I’m willing to risk it,” Madison said with a shrug.

“Then you’re more foolish than I thought,” Rob retorted.

Madison was about to reply but stopped when she saw all the men turn toward the entrance, suddenly on guard. Three demons entered the training area, bringing with them an aura of darkness and the smell of hell.

“Thought we’d find you down here,” one of them said, his voice haughty and arrogant.

“Cian, Zagan, Aron,” Madison replied. “Nice to see a few of my brothers are here to welcome me home.” She smiled sweetly at them.

“Nice to see you’re still f*****g the wolves,” Zagan scoffed.

Madison felt Rob tense next to her. “Language, dear brother,” she replied sweetly. “Not to mention, I think our friends here have better tastes than humans.”

Her brothers laughed. Madison had learned that self-depreciating humor kept demons at bay, so she often made use of it to keep her brothers from tormenting her and the staff.

“You know, I’d pay to watch one of them in their wolf form f**k you though,” Cian said. “What do you say?” He looked at the men. “Any takers? You get to shift and have sex.”

Cian was a textbook psychopath and sadist. He enjoyed hurting people and he was good at it. He had a job working for The Commission, just like all of the Beck brothers, but he had specifically requested a job that gave him the power to torture people. Madison was sure he got off on it. In fact, she knew he did. He used to get aroused torturing her when she was younger. It was disturbing, and only increased Madison’s want to get away from this house and her family for good.

Luckily, none of the werewolves took the bait. Madison wondered if Rob was mind-linking them to tell them to stay quiet and ignore Cian.

“See, I’m not worth it, Cian,” Madison said, trying to take his attention away from the men before he started trying to hurt them. He wanted to watch someone get hurt, and Madison was the type that couldn’t stand seeing people in pain.

Cian laughed under his breath and pulled out his silver cigarette case. “Bunch of mutts,” he muttered as he lit a cigarette and took a drag.

“Are you home long?” Madison asked.

“Few days,” Cian answered. “We’ll go back to work then, but don’t worry, we’ll be home for our normal Christmas festivities with you.” He smirked.

Yes, torturing Madison had become a brotherly game for almost all of her siblings. Azrael wouldn’t be home, at least she doubted he would. But the other six would probably be back.

“Give me your hand, Maddy,” Cian ordered.

“Cian, please, don’t,” Madison begged.

“Zagan,” Cian said.

Zagan grabbed Madison’s arm and easily held it out to Cian. Madison couldn’t even fight back against her brothers. Their strength made it impossible and dangerous since they could easily snap her bones in half. Cian looked at the burning end of the cigarette for a moment before putting it out on Madison’s palm. Madison tried to stifle her cry of pain, which only made Cian laugh more.

“Throw that out for me, will you, Maddy?” Cian said before turning and leaving.

Zagan and Aron laughed as they followed him.

“Maddy, let me—”

“I’m fine,” Madison snapped at him. Her hands were shaking, and she had to blink back the tears that threatened to fall, but she didn’t want to seem weaker than she already felt. “I’m hungry,” she said before leaving the room.

“Those demons are a bunch of pricks,” Jacob said angrily. “Why do they torture her like that?”

Rob shook his head. The boys had always treated Madison like this. The worst part was that Leo and Belinda Beck rarely disciplined them or even tried to stop them from doing it. Sure, they made sure Madison never died, but her pain was never taken into account. They didn’t understand what being a human felt like, so Madison suffered at the hands of her sadistic brothers.

Madison wasn’t actually hungry. She skipped going to the kitchen and instead went to her bedroom where she would clean her wound and hide from everyone. The cold water hurt as it cleaned out the ash from the burn, but the ointment that Madison kept for these circumstances took the pain away immediately. The burn would still take a while to heal, but at least it wouldn’t hurt. She really hated her brothers sometimes. She wished her parents cared more so she could tell them what happened, but she knew that would only cause more issues. The best way to handle Cian and the others was to just ignore them. While everyone else was home for the holidays, Madison was living in hell for the holidays.