The Hell Lord's Prize

17

I pat his soft hair, mockingly cooing over Alastor. "So cute," I say, because that's something he'd say to me.

"You are impossible."

"Yes I am!" I exclaim, standing on my tip toes and kissing Alastor's cheek.

He grabs my waist and turns his head so he can kiss my lips, taking me by surprise, but I grin into it nonetheless.

I love when Alastor kisses me when both of us are happy. It's heartwarming when we both smile into our kisses, and it makes me so much happier when he is smiling, because Alastor doesn't smile a lot. It's mainly just chuckles and hums of approval.

We walk into a small town area with a couple of restaurants, a coffee shop, and some miscellaneous stores. It's actually quite peaceful, albeit a bit empty because the only ones who live here are demons and they don't randomly go out in the middle of the day due to their work torturing in the torture chambers underground.

At least, that's what Alastor told me.

"Here we are," he says, opening the door to a dark, quiet shop.

It must be the tattoo place, but it has no designs on the walls and it's very unnerving.

I lean into Alastor's side, taking his hand because this is kind of creepy.

"It is alright," Alastor says, rubbing the back of my neck. "Tavon, where are you?"

A young woman walks out, her eyes strikingly blue against her dark skin. "Your majesty," she says in a soft voice, bowing lowly. "To what do I owe the honor?"

"This is my life mate, Gabriel," Alastor says as I push further into his side, not liking how uncomfortable this woman makes me.

In fact, she's the first demon here who doesn't look like they've been dropped in a pool of tar and that actually seems to be a woman or a man.

"Hmmmm," she looks me up and down. "I don't think he enjoys my form. Shall I change into someone who suits him better?"

Alastor rolls his eyes. "He's here for a tattoo, so become whatever form you'd like."

She grins and her body shifts.

Like, bitch becomes a man.

A big burly man with tattoos all over his arms and a big, excited smile.

"Uh..." I trail off, looking up at Alastor.

"Tavon is a shapeshifter. They do not prefer to be a male or female," he says, and I hum, still wary of Tavon. "They were one of the first demons I made, since I could use them to spy on other people or go to Earth and stock potential life mates."

I raise my eyebrows as Tavon leads us to an empty room. "Did they ever stalk me?"

"Yes, at some points. For the most part I relied on the cameras I left in your room."

I stop in my tracks, my jaw dropped. "You had cameras in my room?!" I exclaim as Tavon prepares their station to do a tattoo on me. "What the fuck, Alastor?!"

"It was how I kept an eye on you." He leans into my ear, lowering his voice. "I saw the first time you ever touched yourself when you were sixteen. It was the best day of my life until I took you."

I blush, but I don't get anymore time to be upset or comment on it because Tavon is ready and asking Alastor about what I want tattooed on me.

The three of us talk over a design and Tavon makes some stencils and has me slide down my pants so they can see where I want to be tatted.

"Right there?" Tavon asks, laying the stencil on my skin.

I nod, feeling more relaxed around Tavon, now that they seem focused and aren't as creepy as when I came in.

"This will pinch," Tavon says apologetically as they prepare the needle. "Are you ready?"

"Yeah," I mumble, squeezing Alastor's hand. "Go ahead."

It stings, like a really bad, deep bee sting, but Tavon begins to ask me questions to distract me, which I really appreciate. They tell me about how they've become the designated tattoo artists of Hell for any demons or victims.

For the victims, Tavon practices whatever design they wish to use and makes sure to use poison needles to bring pain.

Thankfully they don't do that to me, because I'd probably have a panic attack.

"It looks good," Alastor says as Tavon works. "I enjoy the design."

Tavon smirks. "Does this mean you'll get me a date with the Punisher?" they ask, licking their lips.

"You know she's a torturer right?" Alastor asks, raising an eyebrow.

"I like pain."

Alastor shakes his head. "The Punisher stays in her chamber," he says, making Tavon scoff. "Don't scoff at me. You know that she was made to inflict pain."

Tavon looks at the needles and the tattoos all over their body. "Yes, and I want her to use those toys on me." They look at my hip and wipe off the extra ink. "You're all done. Good job."

They put a clear cover thingy on my tattoo and tell me to pull up my pants.

"Let me know when the Punisher wants to torture someone!" Tavon chirps as we leave, shifting into the body of a young woman with blonde, curly hair and green eyes. "Think this would appeal to her?!"

Alastor waves them away as we walk down the street and head toward the mansion. He picks me up, worried that the tattoo would bother me, but I don't really mind it.

He probably just wants a reason to carry me.

We get back home-

Oh gosh, I just called it home!

I mentally shrug; I like referring to it as home. As of now, my home is Alastor, so wherever he is, that's my home.

We sit down on the bed and cuddle until there's a knock at the door and a demon servant walks in.

"What is this?" Alastor asks, growling at the demon for interrupting our moment together.

The demon bows. "I apologize, Master. The king of Paradise is here to speak with you."

"He's here unannounced," Alastor growls, getting out of bed. "Stay here, Gabriel. You, watch over him!"

The demon nods and stands in front of the door while Alastor leaves.

"Who's the king of Paradise?" I ask the demon.

"Uh... you humans call it Heaven, I believe. It is essentially where the good souls go when they pass away, but unlike the stories humans tell, we work with Paradise. It keeps balance."

I narrow my eyes. "If you guys work together, why would Alastor be upset that their king is here?"

"The king of Paradise rarely visits, and I think Master Alastor knows why he's here."

"And why is that?"

The demon seems panicked. "He is here to reprimand Master Alastor for taking you." He pauses to let me process. "You are not someone meant to be in Hell and he knows Master Alastor doesn't have a soulmate. He wishes to take you back to Earth or Paradise and prevent Master Alastor from bringing you back here."

If I wasn't already sitting down, I'd have collapsed from shock.