Outlaw (Wolves of Royal Paynes #4) - Kiki Burrelli Page 0,63

after her boyfriend.

The rest of us weren't far behind. Diesel didn't wait for me to get to my feet. He lifted me like a mother monkey and chased after Hallie with Jazz hot on our heels.

"Wait, I can ex—Fuck!" Hallie stumbled over the first step and caught herself against the pillar. She doubled over, clenching her teeth in pain.

"Hallie!" Alejandro had made it to his car, but doubled back when he saw Hallie trip. He dropped to his knees beside her.

The pack gathered in a half circle on the opposite side of Alejandro.

"I'm fine. I'm fine." She waved us off but still clutched the pillar. "Just lightheaded. There's a lot going on right now."

Alejandro peered up at the crowd, all still in their pajamas, except for Claus, who was topless with brown leather short pants, like what a pirate would wear.

Claus let out an outraged scoff.

It hadn't seemed like he could read anyone else's mind, so I assumed it was just a demon brother thing—man, that is weird.

Claus nodded.

If he could read my thoughts, did that mean I could read his?

Claus shrugged. Diesel noticed the gesture and glared at the air between me and Claus before stepping to the side with a huff and blocking my view entirely. I wound my arms around his waist, weirdly giddy after nearly having a hell-inspired meltdown.

Doctor Tiff pushed through the throng of concerned bodies, coming to Hallie's side and grabbing her wrist. "All right, let's get you inside, lying down, and staying calm." The doctor spread her commanding gaze to each person, stuttering as her eyes fell on Claus. She shook her head like a mother whose children would not stop bringing home stray animals. Her eyes landed on Alejandro last. "Since it looks like the cat is surely out of the bag…" Doctor Tiff stooped over, picking Hallie up with ease. "Alejandro, you and your niece follow me. The rest of you…" She shook her head. "I don't know…go eat breakfast?"

"An archangel and a demon king? Star-crossed lovers born on opposite sides of a war. How did they meet?" Storri swooned, opening his mouth absentmindedly so Faust could feed him more pancake. He'd been too entranced with Claus's story to touch his breakfast.

"On the battlefield," Claus whispered dramatically, like he knew how much it would please Storri.

"Oh yes," Storri sighed. "That's the perfect place. Then what happened?"

I couldn't be upset with Storri for finding my parents' tragic love story entertaining, not when Claus told it so dramatically. Like before, everyone sat clumped on the other side of the table eating their breakfasts, but that was only because Claus had already knocked his own plate on the floor twice with his wild gestures.

"It was love at first sight. My demon sire had the angel pinned, readying the final blow…"

Claus spoke faster, rushing over what should've been the most dramatic part. I'd only known the demon for a few hours and already knew he had a flare for the dramatic. I stared, unblinking, at Claus's temple. There was more to the story, and maybe if I concentrated really hard, I could see Claus's thoughts like he could mine.

I gasped at the flash of change. His words echoed like I'd turned on a radio in my brain. "That wasn't it!"

That jerkhole.

"My archangel mother had our demon king father pinned."

Diesel's chest rumbled unhappily. "I share your head with the wraiths already. Now this guy?" His tone flirted between jest and jealousy.

Claus waved his hand as though he was erasing what we'd said. "History is written by the victors. Anyway, neither could do it. They couldn't kill the other, but the enemies around them had no such reservations. So they ran, both deserting their posts, becoming wanted fugitives on both sides."

"And then they had you?" Storri asked.

Claus laughed warmly, his black eyes narrowed with something that looked most like affection. At this point, I thought he just liked seeing Faust bristle. "No, sweet angel, I am Quin's half-brother. We share a sire, but, Quinlan was born. Demons are not born in hell. Some, like my sire, were once humans who, through repeated evil deeds, were taken to hell, where their evil festered and reproduced like maggots in rotten flesh. If a demon doesn't die before coming to full power, they become demon kings.

Then there are demons like me, created of my sire's flesh. He ripped a rib from his chest, fed it with unwilling blood from a living vein, until utter perfection was created." He put his