Contract Marked: a Dark Paranormal Romance
Copyright© 2025 by Alice Craft
Chapter 25: Erin
Supernatural Sex Story: Chapter 25: Erin - I didn’t believe in magic, monsters, or anything that defied logic. But that was before the fortune teller’s chilling prophecy, before my best friend vanished into thin air, and before him—the unnaturally beautiful and dangerous being who took her in the first place. Now, I’m trapped in a deadly game between two immortal rivals, each more ruthless than the last. To save my friend, I made a deal with, not one, but two monsters. If I fail? My mind, my body, and my soul will belong to them forever.
Caution: This Supernatural Sex Story contains strong sexual content, including Ma/Fa Mult Coercion NonConsensual Reluctant Heterosexual Fiction Paranormal Magic Demons Humiliation Rough Oral Sex Sex Toys Slow
I bolted upright in Cal’s bed. Quilts and a thick red comforter had been draped over me, my body warm in contrast to my cheeks and the tip of my nose that felt cold to the touch.
Cal crouched by the woodstove, adding more logs to the fire. He could just snap his fingers, but something about the way he did it manually made me wonder if he was ... nervous. Anxious. I had a bad habit of trying to read people before I really knew them. Look where that got me with Dez.
Fuck, Dez.
I rubbed a hand over my face. “Where’s Saya and Lucy?”
Cal didn’t look at me as if he had already known I was awake. “Lucille Owens is back in her world. Saya Suzuki is in my guest bedroom currently losing her shit.”
I blew out a breath of hot air. “Lucy wanted to go back home?” I didn’t blame her after what happened.
“No, I sent her back.”
“You, what?”
He stood, his white shirt pulled taut across his frame as he stretched and cracked his neck. His dark sweatpants hung low on his hips, and my eyes slid further south before bouncing back up to his face. To his normal gray eyes. He had to have been the one who saved me from Dez, but did that mean he could also transform? I hadn’t hallucinated when I saw him with horns, right?
“I’m not a daycare. I’d have dropped off the other one, too, if she weren’t a con-bond slave.” He said it so callously, but Cal had never given me any other reason to think he had any humanity in him. He had been willing to let Lucy die in that arena, after all.
“Are you ... do you plan to send Saya back to Dez then?”
He didn’t respond.
I clenched my fists under the blankets. I was still in my tank top and yoga pants; my sneakers were on the floor beside the bed. The only thing I was missing was the silver coin. My best chance to save Megan and myself, gone. Slipped through the cracks in the ground in Dez’s dimension.
“I need to see Saya.” I swung my legs over the side of the bed when Cal warped in front of me. He made an intimidating sight with his arms crossed, looming over me. I still hadn’t forgotten the threats he made my first time here.
His stance was wide enough for his knees to brush my outer thighs on either side. “Where’s the Sylvain Silver?”
“What?”
He sighed. “The coin you used at the tournament.”
Oh. Well, at least I had a name for it now.
I glanced at the floorboards. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Erin, don’t test me.”
I swallowed. “It’s in a safe spot.” I wouldn’t tell him I was defenseless.
The corner of his mouth twitched. “You lost it, didn’t you?”
Shit. Well, it wasn’t as if the coin would’ve protected me, anyway. It hadn’t helped at all against Dez who broke through my defenses like Swiss cheese. “No.”
His lips curled into a full-blown smile. “Liar.”
I crossed my arms, trying to match his intimidating presence, but it looked silly with my neck craned up to meet his gaze. “Why didn’t you tell Dez or the Council about it?”
He arched a dark brow. “You fulfilled your end of the contract, didn’t you?”
I blinked. “Yes, but...”
“I underestimated you when you first told me about the love letters and the photos. I thought you had seduced Dez, and he had ... shared that with you willingly. It wasn’t until I saw you with a Sylvain Silver that I figured out the truth.”
I neglected to tell him that the red door appeared before I used the coin, but that point was moot now.
“It was in your best interest to keep this a secret so I could finish the job,” I said, connecting the dots. “Still doesn’t explain why you wanted to break into Dez’s dimension.”
“No, it doesn’t.”
I scowled, but Cal’s expression was unreadable. He wouldn’t tell me, not that any of that mattered right now. I needed to figure out my next step.
“At least let me see Saya.” He didn’t budge. “Please, Cal. I just want to see if she’s okay.”
Cal bent down until his face hung inches from mine. “That might’ve worked on Dez, but just so we’re clear, pleading and begging doesn’t work on me.” He tilted his head as if to kiss me, the same silver dagger earring I’d seen him wear at the party swinging toward me. “Otherwise, I wouldn’t be very good at my job.”
He stepped away, and I let out a shaky breath.
“You’ll be staying here until this situation with Dezmandaro blows over. You have his contract mark and he’s already tried to convince the Council to have you legally in his custody, as is his right regarding contracts with Lower Realms’ beings. But you also have mine.” His jaw tightened for a second, the only sliver of emotion he revealed. “However, it’s no secret the Council has a soft spot for Dezmandaro due to his lineage. It’s only a matter of time before he gets what he wants. He always does.”
I definitely wasn’t going to unpack that. “You don’t have to have me here. Why not let Dez just take me back?” The idea of being forced to go back to Dez’s dimension made me break out in a cold sweat. Not that I would make it easy. Even if it was fruitless, I’d fight tooth and nail to stay away from Dez’s wrath.
He stopped at the door and glanced over his shoulder. “How else am I going to let you see your friend?”
My jaw slackened. “Wait, I want—”
The door had already shut behind him with an audible click. What an asshole.
I was stuck inside Cal’s bedroom. I’d already tried the door and window, but both were locked and conveniently break-proof, so I resorted to snooping, pacing, and reading from the nook of books I discovered beside Cal’s bed, but I mostly paced. Had the floor been sand instead of wood, Cal would have seen the figure eight I made with my repetitive steps, like a zoo animal trapped in a cage. There hadn’t been an attached bathroom the last time I’d snuck in here, but Cal was at least considerate enough to give me a toilet and a bathtub.
I tried to sleep, but nightmares chased my dreams. Dez with his talons wrapped around my throat as the ground fell apart around us. Others where he had me chained to the bed, fucking me over and over, even as I begged for sleep. But the worst ones were of Megan. I’d finally see her smiling face, pulling her into a long overdue embrace before Dez’s claws would sink into my hair, yanking me away, kicking and crying. Megan would wave goodbye, her footsteps fading as she walked away from me. I’d scream her name every time, but she never looked back, even as Dez dragged me further and further into the darkness, his sinister laugh haunting me even in my waking hours.
No, I avoided sleep as much as I physically could.
It was hard to keep track of time. The only window sat above the bed, but the heaps of snow on the outside blocked most of the view. Cal hadn’t returned since the first night, probably to avoid following through on his end of the contract. Still, I tried to communicate with him to force his hand. Like when I wrote in bold letters that I wanted to see Megan this instant and slipped it under the door for him to see, or periodically would shout out my request in hopes he would hear, unable to refuse per our terms. But Cal never came, and I worried he had left this dimension altogether.
My stomach growled at the gentle knock on the door. Saya entered with a tray of food, like she did twice a day. I learned the hard way that only Saya could enter and leave when I tried slipping out past her smaller frame only to be knocked back flat on my ass by an invisible force field.
Saya set the tray down on the edge of the bed, inches from where I sat crisscross. “Good morning, how are you feeling?” she asked, the same question she had asked the past few days.
“Fine,” I lied again. “Where’s Cal?”
“Still missing,” she’d always reply with.
Puffiness rimmed her eyes and it was obvious she’d been crying, given how red they were. Guilt pricked me like it had every day since I destroyed all remnants of Dez’s former lover, but I didn’t know what to say to make things better.
I remained silent as she took off the lids of the black and red bowls, revealing steaming rice, miso soup, and grilled fish. I wonder if she cooked the meals herself or if Cal had them prepared beforehand.
I left the food untouched and frowned at Saya’s hollow expression. “How are you doing?”
She flinched as if I’d slapped her. “How do you think I’m doing?”
I glanced away, internally wincing at her tone. Saya was definitely more than a little upset with me. Rightfully so.
“You’re right, I shouldn’t have asked—”
As if a dam had burst, one that had been building for days, Saya fisted her hair, eyes wide and feverish, as she shouted, “You ruined everything, you know that?” Tears streamed down her cheeks as she pulled at her chin-length bob.
My face crumpled. “Saya, I—”
“For the first time in my life, things were peaceful. For the first time since I was taken to this forsaken place, I didn’t have to worry about my friends being tortured or being beaten until I could barely walk or speak. My mind had just become my own again. I finally wanted to live again, and you destroyed that!”
I inhaled a shaky breath. “I didn’t mean to hurt anyone—”
“Well, you did!” she screamed.
“I didn’t have a choice!” I volleyed back, the miso soup sloshing onto the bed as I threw up my hands. “I had to do what needed to be done to save my friend!” I hated how I had risked Saya and Lucy’s lives, but I didn’t regret doing what I had to do to save Megan.
“You’re a selfish bitch, Erin.” Saya threw open the door, her mouth twisted in a snarl, an expression I thought I’d never see on her face. “We would’ve been okay if you’d never shown up. This is all your fault!” She slammed the door shut behind her, and I sank my head into my hands.
Saya wouldn’t speak to me again, not after what I’d done. Lucy was gone, and I didn’t even know if Megan was okay. I was all alone. Again. But unlike all those nights watching TV and eating takeout alone, this time, I felt crushed—as if I had lost something I couldn’t get back.
I cried myself to sleep.
A whole day went by before a knock came on the door.
I’d finished my hundredth lap when I froze. I hadn’t been able to work up an appetite at all, anxiety eating away at my nerves, but my rumbling stomach stated otherwise.
Saya’s head peeked in, her cheeks flushed pink, and her eyes cast downward. She opened her mouth, but I cut her off.
“I’m so sorry,” I started.
She shook her head as she nudged the door open wider, a tray of food in her hands. “No, I should be the one apologizing.” She set the tray down at the foot of the bed before twisting a strand of hair between her fingers. “I didn’t mean to lash out like that. I shouldn’t have called you a selfish...”
A selfish bitch? I mentally flinched in remembrance. “Don’t be sorry. You’re right, what I did...” I sighed. “I was only thinking about myself.” What smelled like cheddar cheese and heavy cream wafted from the silver pot on the tray with fresh bread set beside it, but I ignored it, turning to face Saya.