BENEATH HER DARKNESS: The Alpha's Little Demon by Cassandra M

082 – Shapeshifting
ADAN STONE.
Every day had been routine for me, and I
still didn’t have the answer we were looking for. Collin told me that maybe we needed help from the same witch that put a shield
in the territory, and that’s what we were about to do today. He said her
name was Althea.
So I had to arrange to meet with someone who would look for her in places they thought she would go because I couldn’t
reach Blade at the moment.
But I didn’t tell my parents or
grandparents about this plan. I needed to
ask Althea questions without anyone
interfering.
“You didn’t eat anything.” Mom followed
me after I left the dining table.
Aside from her and Dad, Pops and
Momma also moved back to the
packhouse. They called it family
solidarity. I called this invasion of space
and babying the Alpha.
“I don’t have an appetite at the moment, but I can always grab a meal on the road.”

“Okay. But don’t go hungry.”
“Mom, I’m 28,” I grunted, and she stopped following me, but I could hear her giggling.
If anything, it made me happy to hear her laugh. My Beta told me she was miserable when I was still missing, and even when I
came back, she still looked in agony. But at least today she was smiling and
laughing.
“Ready to go?” I asked Collin the moment
I reached the entrance hall of the
packhouse, where he waited with Laira.
“Yes. Whenever you are.”
I nodded my head at him before tilting my head to look around and when I saw no one, I focused my attention back on him. “Tell
me, Collin, despite my
memory loss, do you still trust me as your Alpha?”
“Yes, I do.”
“Don’t lie to me.” Not everyone knew in the pack about me losing my memory of Lucy. Only a few of my warriors and most of
them accompany me every now and then to make sure I have a scapegoat whenever someone asks about Lucy.
And sometimes I wonder if they see me as
weak this way.
“You lost your memory of her but not the
pack or how to be an Alpha.”
“Make sense. But let me check if you’re lying...” I chuckled, but for some reason I found myself reaching for his forehead with my
pointer and middle finger as if I had seen this before or knew what I was
doing.

Collin’s forehead creased as he watched me tap his forehead, but nothing prepared me for what happened next.
It felt like a bolt ran through my fingers and gave me a quick view of his mind, confirming he was not lying – he still believed in
me as his Alpha.
“What the fuck?!” I growled as I
withdrew my fingers almost immediately after I tapped his forehead.
“What’s wrong?” He asked, and
confusion was written on his face.
“Let’s try this again. Do you love Laira?”
Laira’s eyes widened, and Collin chuckled at my question before he spoke. “What kind of question is that?”
“Answer it!”
“Of course, I love Laira!”
I tapped his forehead again. Truth.
“You love every home-cooked meal Laira
makes?”
“Of course I do.”
I tapped again. 2
Lies.
Laira giggled softly. She knew her mate was lying. Collin would always complain about the meals Laira made. He would always
tell her to do something else and not touch our meals. She couldn’t cook to
save her life.
But what the fuck was that? Why can I

read lies?
‘Lucy can read lies.’ Beast informed me.
‘And why can I do the same now? I didn’t have this ability before.”
‘She marked us.’
‘Do you think she shared this ability with
us?’
“Alpha,” Collin said, drawing my attention away from my thoughts with his hand on my arm. “Are you okay?”
“Yes, let’s go.” I didn’t wait for his acknowledgment. I immediately walked
past them and headed for the car waiting
outside.
♡♡♡
“Wait! I know that guy! Fuck!” Viktor
growled from the backseat, and my forehead creased as my eyes focused on the man he was talking about.
“He was one of them! That one that took you to the underworld!” I could hear the
panic in his voice while my ears were ringing with the loud thudding of his
heart as well as Collin’s.
My Beta hit the brakes hard even before
we reached where they were standing, but
the man in front of us moved at an
inhuman speed and was now standing in

front of our car.
He tapped the hood of Collin’s car and motioned with his finger for me to come
to him with his eyes fixed on me. If Beast
hadn’t told me he was Lucius, Lucy’s
brother, and the one we should be
reaching out to, I would be growling at his audacity to order me around.
But I kept my temper in check because my fucking wolf wanted me to behave. I
pushed the door open and stepped out without taking my gaze off him.
“Lucius.” I greeted him as I walked to where he had positioned himself, leaving a few meters between us. Even if Beast kept
telling me we needed him, a part of me was not convinced he would help us. For all we know, he’s working for Lucien.
“You remember who I am?”
“My wolf does.”
“Impressive.”
“And her? Do you remember her?” He tilted his head and pointed a finger somewhere on his right. And when my gaze followed
his line of sight, I saw a female in her early twenties looking at me, as if she were scrutinizing me.
And Beast began to growl in my head. He
was upset.
“No. I don’t remember her, but it seems my wolf doesn’t like her.”
“I won’t blame him. Patrea, come here.” He called for her without taking his eyes off me as if he were watching my every
move. “Alpha Stone, meet Patrea...”

‘She took our memory away,’ Beast growled in my head, and something snapped in me. I was about to attack her if Lucius hadn’t
magically placed a fire
between us.
“Fucking calm down!” He positioned the witch behind him as his eyes blazed red
while mine dilated in black.
We stared at each other; if there hadn’t been fucking fire between us, I’d be snapping his head off for getting the
witch out of my way.
“What the fuck do you want?” I asked.
“Calm down and then we’ll talk!”
“I want my memory back!”
“That’s why we’re here!” The witch behind him spoke, and my eyes met her gaze. I was expecting her to back down and take her
gaze off me, but she didn’t. Instead, she tilted her head up and moved to stand beside Lucius. “We want to help
you.”
“Why would I trust you?”
“I’m on Lucy’s side.” The witch bravely
answered.
“I want to be sure.”
“What proof do you want?”
“Lower the fire.” I told them calmly.
“No.” Lucius answered firmly. “Unless you give me your word that you will not
attack her.”

“Who are you? Her fucking babysitter?”
“You’re fucking word, Stone! You’re wasting time! Instead of us devising a strategy to defeat Lucien, you kept babbling!”
“Fuck you! Try to be in my position, and fucking tell me you can still trust people around you! Oh for fuck’s sake! You’re not even
human! You’re a fucking demon and a fucking witch! Lethal combination! Now tell me I’m fucking acting up here!”
“Fine! Just fucking say you won’t touch
her and...’
“You have my word! I won’t fucking attack her!” I snapped at him, gritting my teeth to stop myself from growling.
The fire on the ground disappeared, and I took one step forward, making Lucius extend his arm as if he could protect the
witch from me.
“I just want to check something. I fucking swear, in Lucy’s name, I will not kill her.”
Lucius hissed and withdrew his arm and
watched as I extended my hand to Patrea’s face, and my fingers tapped her forehead, the same way I did with Collin
earlier.
I was hoping it would work on a witch and that I was not hallucinating that I
was able to read lies as Lucy did.
A spark of electricity ran through my fingertips before I was able to catch a glimpse of her mind. She was right – she
was on Lucy’s side.
I closed my eyes as I let out a sigh of relief
before withdrawing my fingers from her
forehead.
“What the fuck was that?”

“I just want to check if she’s lying.”
“Alphas can read lies?” Lucius asked, his
forehead creasing.
“No. I just woke up today and I was able to read my Beta’s mind, and find out if he was lying or not.” I told him but I had no idea
why I was even telling him. Maybe
because I found out the witch was on our
side.
“Can you mind link?”
“Yes, of course. I’m a fucking wolf.”
“No, with me?”
“What?” I asked, confused at his question
but I found the answer when someone dug in my head.
‘Can you hear me?’
My eyes widened when I realized the
voice came from Lucius.
‘The fuck?’
A smile slowly crept into his mouth as he took a step toward me. His hand coiled on my neck as he pulled my face forward and
rested his forehead on mine. I wanted to pull away, but his words left me unable to
move a muscle at all.
“Lucija shared her demon power with you
“What?”

“This will make it easier for all of us,” he said in a positive tone instead of
answering my question. His gaze then darted to Collin and Viktor, who was
standing behind me. “Do you trust these two?”!
“Yes.
“No one needs to know we met. My father
still believes I am on his side.”
“What are you planning to do?”
“I will tell you in time. But you need to do
what I tell you to do.”
“And if I don’t?”
“You will lose Lucy?”
“What do I have to lose? I can’t even
remember her?” I answered sarcastically, although I knew a part of me wanted this
female badly.
He hissed before he brushed his hands through his hair. “We’re running out of time! So fucking cooperate! Because if you don’t,
Lucija will be thrown into the pits of hell for demons to fuck her brain
out!”
My chest heaved at his words, and before I knew it, I was already on my feet and launching at him. I had no memory of her, but I
knew she was mine!
“Take it back!” My hand gripped his shirt tightly, but the devil just smirked at me.
“Now tell me you have nothing to lose?”

My hand loosened on his shirt before I shoved him. “She’s fucking mine! I will do whatever you want, just make sure nobody
touches her!”
He brushed off his shirt before he
extended a hand. “We have a deal then?
Follow my lead, and I will make sure she
remains yours.
I grabbed his hand and shook it firmly, but he didn’t let go. “We only have seven days left before her cleansing. I will
explain to you about the cleansing the
next time we meet. Patrea will need to prepare the ritual and find a suitable
location to carry it out in order to break
the spell she has cast on you. So we need to meet again tomorrow.”
“What do you want me to do?”
“Just wait for tomorrow. Go on with your daily routine as if you never met me. And once your memory is back, you need to keep
pretending you still don’t have it. That means your family doesn’t need to know. And when you talked with them...” He pointed at
Collin and Viktor behind me, before continuing. “...they will act as if you still have memory loss.”
“Why?”
“Lucien is watching you. If he finds out your memory is back, he will hunt Patrea.
I nodded my head. “But do I have a say in
the plan, or do I just need to act like a puppet?”
“Not used to being ordered around, Alpha?”
I scoffed and didn’t answer him.

“We will discuss, I’m open to suggestions. Whatever will help Lucy out of the underworld. And with her sharing.
her power with you, I want you to master
one of those skills.”
“What skills? Mind link or reading lies?”
I chuckled.
“Shapeshifting.”
“Taking someone’s form?”
“Yes.”
“You want me to take a demon form?” I asked, making sure I understood what he
wanted me to do.
“Not just any demon. I want you to practice taking my form.” 2
Author’s Note: I will be holding a raff for my book merchandise before the yea ends, so find me on social media, lovelies ^ ^