Kaylee and Damien

“It’s a winding road, when you’re in the lost and found. I’m a runner, you’re a lover and we go round and round. And i love you but i leave you. I don’t want you but i need you. You know it’s you that calls me back here baby.” ‘Colder Weather’ Zac Brown Band

Kaylee smiled as she watched her brother, Vanessa and Faith chasing each other around the yard. She was glad to see Kayleb laughing and smiling again. He had been like a completely different man the last month since fully mating to Vanessa.

“Ugh!” Kaitlyn exclaimed as she slammed the book she was reading down on the table. “It’s supposed to be summer vacation. I shouldn’t have to read a stupid book and do a stupid report!”

“Huck Finn is not a stupid book. It’s a good book.” Kaylee replied as she finished braiding one of Gwen’s long blond pigtails and started on the second.

“I would rather be watching tv or playing a video game. Or at the mall… You know they have the cutest new pink purse there that would match my new sundress perfectly!”

“Oh no! Somebody take the girl to the store before the perfect pink purse is gone because we all know what a terrible tragedy that would be.” Kent teased as he walked out of the house and sat down on the porch.

“Leave her alone.” Jordan said in her pixie like voice, as she too walked out and sat down on Kent’s lap. “She comes by her obsession with fashion honestly.”

“Thank you, Jordan.” Bethany said walking out and tossing her glowing blond hair over her shoulder.

“I think she meant that she got it from her daddy.” Kent replied.

“Gee thanks, Kent.” Greg said as he walked out and Kent strained his neck to look up at the tall skinny man and nodded.

“No problem, Greg.” Bethany glared at Kent.

“You’re such a troll.” she said.

“You keep talking so sweet to me princess and I might just have to switch mates.”

“You all behave. Every one of you is over one hundred years old, now act like it.” Rebecca scolded as she stepped out onto the porch.

“Not me!” Kaitlyn said.

“Or me.” Kaylee agreed.

“No me.” Gwen piped up. Suddenly thunder sounded in the distance and the sun seemed to be swallowed up by the big black clouds moving in.

“Come on in everybody. It’s getting ready to storm and I have dinner ready.” Rebecca said quickly. Kaylee finished Gwen’s pigtail and watched the girl follow everyone else inside, leaving Kaylee alone on the porch.

Kaylee walked off the porch and out into the yard as the summer wind grew cooler against her bare arms. She pulled down the bottom of her tank top and hugged herself tightly. The bright sunny day had quickly turned into a dark and dreary one. Kaylee gave a humorless laugh as she realized the day was a little like her. One moment she was happy and feeling blessed as she enjoyed her family and the next she was thinking about the loss of her parents and Damien’s month long absence and she would feel suddenly sad and gloomy.

She missed her parents almost desperately. She knew that the other adults in the family missed them as well but they all had mates and children of their own to share their pain and little Gwen was too young to miss her mom and dad.

It was hard to believe that Kaylee felt alone when she was always surrounded by so many people but alone is exactly how she felt. She missed Damien. Never before had he been gone this long without at least a five minute visit to check on her. She was worried about him but she knew there was no way to know whether or not he was okay.

“You okay?’ Hunter’s voice broke through her thoughts as he walked up toward the house from the barn.

“Yeah.” she replied giving him a reassuring smile. Hunter stuck his thumbs in his belt loops and stood there awkwardly for a minute. “Uh.. I don’t do real good with words Kaylee but everybody is worried about you. You want to talk about anything?” Kaylee looked at her cousins mate and shook her head.

“No, I’m okay.” she replied. Hunter nodded and Kaylee could tell he was relieved that she wasn’t going take him up on his offer. A fat droplet of rain landed on the brim of his stained brown hat and he gave her a dimpled smile.

“We better get on in the house or we’re going to get pretty darn wet.” he said and Kaylee looped her arm through his and let her lead him inside.

888

“Was it worth it, Damien?” Rotan asked coldly. Damien did not reply because he knew if he opened his mouth his screams of pain would escape. He could her the steady drip drip drip of his blood on the stone castle floor. Wind was beating and echoing off the castle walls as lightning bolts of pain shot through his body.

Rotan held the blood covered knife up as he shook his head.

“I will never understand you, big brother. Father gave you everything and yet you refused to take your place as a demon prince. You forced him to denounce you as his heir and still you insist on acting in such a way that earns you these punishments.” Rotan lowered the knife back to Damien’s stomach and drove it deep into Damien’s already mutilated body.

Damien clenched his jaw as his veins popped out and his face turned red. Sweat covered his body as he pulled against the chains holding him to the stone table. Thirty days he had been enduring this pain as his brother would mutilate his body and then allow him to heal, only to mutilate it again.

“You have been denounced as a demon prince. You are no longer permitted to use the royal magic, Damien. Did you think father would not sense it when you used that immortality spell? We may not know who you used it on but I can guarantee I know why. It is because you have grown soft.”

Damien’s entire body shook with the force he was using to keep from crying out in pain as he glared at his younger brother.

“Are you angry?” Rotan asked with curiosity. “I have never felt anger. It must be a side effect of living among the ‘lower beings’.” Damien turned his face away from Rotan and looked at the wall beside him. He heard a wet, splashing sound as something, most likely an organ, rolled from his body and fell to the ground.

“Perhaps it… is a side effect… of being tortured by….my own….brother.” Damien gasped between the waves of pain.

“ Was that humor or do they call it sarcasm?“ Rotan shook his head. “Humor and anger. You have been among the lowers for too long. Come back home, Damien. Take your place beside father and I.”

“Nothing has….changed Rotan… I will not… kill innocents…. That.. Makes me useless… in father’s eyes….”

“That makes you foolish Damien.” Rotan replied as he pulled the knife blade away and wiped it on his leather pants. “I will see what father wishes to do with you now that your thirty day punishment as been completed.”

Rotan turned and walked out of the dungeon chamber, shutting and locking the metal door with a thud.

Damien allowed an angry yell of pain to escape from him now that he was alone. His heart thundered in his chest and the pain worsened as his blood poured from his body. He knew his body would not heal quickly. His brother had given him a drug to worsen the pain and hamper his healing. It would take days before he was fully healed and pain free. That is, if they stopped his torture today.

He closed his eyes against the pain and nausea and let himself picture his beautiful wolf’s face in his mind. Her light freckles, her soft red hair. Everything about her was soft and warm, and the hard, cold demon inside of him craved to be close to her.

The metal door opened with a click and Damien heard Rotan’s footsteps walking toward him, splashing in the pools of blood on the stone floor.

“Father says you have served your punishment and you are free to go.” Rotan said as he unhook the chains from Damien’s wrists and ankles. Damien used all his strength to rub his sore swollen wrists. Sitting up or moving was impossible thanks to his shredded abdomen.

“Father also says you have to leave immediately. You are not permitted to stay here any longer.”

“I cannot leave…. if I….. cannot move.” Damien replied. Rotan shrugged.

“Not my problem.” he replied with a sneer.

“Now…. Who is… getting emotional?” Damien asked and Rotan gave him a cold smile.

“Goodbye brother.” he said. He snapped his fingers and several sub demons walked into the room. “Throw him out of the castle.” Rotan said and then he turned and stalked away with his long black coat whipping around his lean legs.

The subs wasted no time in throwing Damien from the castle and out into the freezing, arctic cold. He looked down at his naked body as he lay helpless in the thick white snow that he was quickly turning red. Mercy toward a son was not something that his demon father would ever even consider feeling.

Damien grimaced when he saw that his stomach was a mess of blood and cuts.. There was nothing holding his insides in and the frigid temperatures were quickly freezing his organs. He had to get somewhere warmer… Somewhere where he could lay safely a few days and heal from his thirty days of torture.

He was tired… His eyes barely remained open as he thought of where to go. He decided on his home near the equator because that seemed like the warmest location. He lost consciousness as he dashed and the last image to pass through his failing mind was Kaylee’s smiling face.

Chapter Two

Darkness had fallen by the time the storm ended. Kaylee walked out onto the back porch and looked out at the yard, lit up by the glow of the porch light. She looked down the long porch and saw Jake and Angela cuddling on the porch swing. Kaylee walked with bare feet down onto the wet grass and across the yard to the swing set. She sat down on one of the swings and suddenly the urge to become a little kid again came over her.

She began to turn around and around, twisting the chains until they could not be twisted any more and then with a laugh she lifted her legs and held on tight as the swing spun quickly and her red hair was sent flying around her. Her stomach flipped and her adrenaline rose all as she laughed happily.

Things were so much simpler as a kid… Back when the hardest thing she faced was a ticked off uncle Jake in the mornings when her yelling would wake him up. Back before the wars and the killing. Back before chasing after murderers and thieves. Back when she still had her parents and she hadn’t yet given her heart to a demon she could never really have.

She was just about to twist the chains of the swing again when a body suddenly appeared in the grass at the edge of the porch light. She heard Jake growl and jump to his feet and she stood as well and took a deep breath to catch the scent of the newcomer.

It was familiar and smoky and it made her heart race. ’ Damien? ’ she thought and the next word to flash through her mind had her knees buckling and her grabbing onto the swing for support.

’ Mate!’ the wolf inside her screamed. ‘The mate is hurt! Help the mate! He is bleeding. He is in pain! Save the mate! Comfort him!’

Damien was her mate? He couldn’t be… Surely the wolf in her must be mistaken. She had known Damien for almost twenty years… If he was her mate she would have realized it before now!

“Damien!” Kaylee screamed loudly as she ran across the yard toward him.

“Stay away Kaylee!” Jake warned as he walked off the porch.

“Jake, that’s Damien!” Kaylee replied. “He’s hurt! I have to help him!” Jake stopped walking suddenly when he caught both Kaylee and Damien’s scent join together on the breeze. They were mates. He had not noticed it before and he wondered why… A demon in the family? This was going to be interesting.

Kaylee fell to her knees beside Damien. He was laying on his stomach, face down in the wet grass. His long muscular body was naked and covered in blood. She rolled him over and gasped when she saw the shape he was in. His body had been ripped apart. The flesh and muscles all ripped through and mutilated across his stomach and chest. Kaylee was not a woman who fainted or panicked easily but the sight of Damien looking so pale and near death had her coming nearly undone. It did not help that the wolf in her was panicking that the mate was in pain.

“Damien, wake up…” she said gently as she laid her hand on his pale, face that was drawn tight with pain. He gave no indication that he heard her or that he was even alive.

“Angela, save him.” Kaylee said looking up at her aunt with helplessness. Angela nodded and stepped forward but Jake grabbed her arm and pulled her back.

“No.” he said.

“Yes!” Kaylee exclaimed. “You can’t just let him die!”

“He will not die, Kaylee.”

“Let me heal him, Jake.” Angela said, even though she wasn’t sure just what she could do… His body was a mess.

“No, Angela. Demons do not like accepting help from anyone. He would not want you to heal him because he would not like feeling as if he owes you.”

“Jake, he needs help!” Angela argued with her hands on her hips. Jake nodded.

“We’ll take him inside and put him in a room. He’ll heal on his own… I’m not sure why he hasn’t healed already.” Jake bent down and picked Damien up, tossing the bloody demon over his shoulder. He carried him into the house with Angela and Kaylee on his heels and up to the spare room that Vanessa had used before fully mating to Kayleb.

Kaylee dropped to her knees beside the bed and stared at Damien’s pale face. She wanted to see his eyes… His blue eyes that always looked at her with such caring. She still didn’t understand why the wolf in her was just now realizing he was her mate. All she knew was that she was finally allowed to love the man that had her whole heart and she could be with him forever…

“Kaylee, did you know?” Jake asked from the doorway. Angela had already left to their bedroom and Jake knew she angry with him for not allowing her to heal Damien. Kaylee turned to look at him.

“Know what?” she asked. Jake pulled off his blood covered shirt and ran his hand through his long black hair.

“That he is your mate?” Kaylee shook her head.

“Not until tonight.”

“How long have you known him?” Kaylee turned and looked back at Damien, running her fingertips gently along his tense jaw.

“Almost twenty years. I guess I don’t really know him though…. He has always just shown up when I’ve needed him and I’ve never understood why.” Jake looked thoughtful when she turned back to him and she stood up.

“What are you thinking?” she asked.

“Kaylee, your wolf should have known right away.”

“I don’t understand….”

“There has to be a reason your wolf didn’t know…. And a demon does not just make friends with werewolves, Kaylee.”

“What are you saying?” Kaylee asked suspiciously.

“He is a demon. He knows magic. There’s a good chance he knew all along that he was your mate.”

“Damien would not do that to me.” Kaylee said, growing defensive.

“It’s the only explanation I can think of.” Jake replied with a shrug. “He must have been hiding it from you whenever you were together but now that he is unconscious his defenses have slipped.”

“Get out, uncle Jake!” Kaylee demanded, stomping her foot and reverting back to the angry teenager she had once been. Jake nodded and walked out of the room without another word.

Kaylee stood beside the bed and looked down at Damien lying in the bed. The wolf in her craved to be near the mate. To curl up against his mangled body and provide him with warmth and comfort. But the woman in her was not so quick to forget what her uncle had said.

She wished she could just forget his words and tell herself that Jake did not know what he was talking about but that would be a lie. Her uncle Jake might be overprotective and easily angered but he was smart and he knew just about everything there was to know about all immortal creatures.

Kaylee herself knew that demons were cold heartless creatures who felt they were above the ‘lower creatures’ such as weres, vampires and mortals. They fed off of innocent souls and pain and were completely evil. Damien had been the exception to that rule. Or so she had thought.

Was he heartless and cold enough to hide the fact that he was her mate from her? She looked into her limited knowledge of demons and realized that she had never heard of a mated demon pair. She didn’t think demon’s even had mates. Maybe Jake was wrong and Damien hadn’t known. But then why had he kept such a close eye on her the last twenty years? She thought back to the day she had met him.

The bombs and gunshots were blasting all around her in the desert heat. She was screaming both telepathically and out loud for Kayleb but she couldn’t find him anywhere among the rubble that was left of the building they had been in.

All the mortal troops were dead and still the rebel fighters kept firing shots. Maybe they didn’t know they had already completed their task or maybe they just hated the American soldiers so badly they were hoping to kill them all over again.

Kaylee had screamed and been overwhelmed with pain when a barrage of machine gun fire cut through her. She could no longer hold herself upright as her legs were turned to hole filled, useless stumps and as she fell the shots moved higher and higher until she was completely riddled with bloody holes.

She laid on the ground, staring up at the cloudless blue sky and wondered if there was anyone alive who had eyes that blue… She would love to have eyes that color instead of the plain brown ones she had been born with.

She heard the silence as the gunshots ceased and then she heard the sound of boots and voices speaking a language she did not understand. The brightness of the sun was hidden as a figure stepped over her and looked down at her face.

She could tell the instant he realized she was still alive. His face contorted with disgust, fear and rage and she knew why. If she was mortal she would already have died from loss of blood. She could feel it all pooling beneath her.

“ Demon!“ he hissed. If Kaylee hadn’t been in so much fiery pain she would have told him he had the wrong mythical creature. He pressed the barrel of the rifle he was holding against her forehead and Kaylee closed her eyes and prepared herself for the pain she knew she would feel. But instead of a gunshot, the air was filled with a deafening primal scream of anger.

At first Kaylee thought maybe Kayleb had come to her rescue but the yell sounded wrong. She opened her eyes when she heard the rebels around screaming with fear as their guns once again roared to life. She couldn’t sit up because the bullets had rendered her body useless but she turned her head toward the action and saw a blur moving so quickly she could not tell if it was a person or a shadow. It took only seconds before silence fell over the hot desert wasteland. The rebels all lay dead and bloody on the dusty ground.

“ Kayleb!“ Kaylee called out weakly. She didn’t know what the hell had just killed all the rebels but she didn’t want it getting her next. Where the hell was her brother?

“ Are you okay, wolf?“ A deep, cold but somehow soothing voice asked. Kaylee looked back above her at the new figure currently blocking out the sun and felt her breath catch in her chest. He was tall she could tell, he had long lean legs wrapped in dark denim jeans that were faded just slightly at the thigh. His white button down shirt looked clean, stark and spotless, which she found odd considering he had just single handedly killed thirty armed men. He had lean hips, broad shoulders and his muscular frame was clearly defined in his clothes… But it was his face that truly took her breath.

She had never seen a man more handsome in all her life. His blond hair was curled slightly and it was just long enough to look careless without looking messy. His face was boyish, almost angelic and it was expressionless as he stared down at her with eyes as bright a blue as the cloudless sky behind him.

“ Yes. Are you going to kill me now?“ she asked, figuring it was better to know than to be caught completely off guard. His left brow raised ever so slightly and he studied her with concentration as if he was trying to piece together a very difficult puzzle.

“ No.“ he replied simply. He knelt down beside her and his smoky scent filled her nostrils and somehow brought her comfort even as she realized what he was.

“ You’re a demon!“ she gasped as she tried to move away from him, more out of habit than actual fear. A demon was not a creature you wanted to get very close to. She thought for sure she saw hurt in his eyes as he stood back up but then decided it must have been a trick of the light as his eyes once again turned cold.

“ You will live. I must go.“ he said and he turned to walk away.

“ Stop!“ Kaylee called. She couldn’t explain why she didn’t want him to leave but for some reason his presence brought her comfort despite her pain. He turned and looked at her keeping that indifferent look on his face.

“ What?“

“ Thank you for stopping that man.“ she said. “And all the others.” she added.

“ Do not thank me.“ he said. “I was going to kill them anyway.” Kaylee nodded and pulled herself into a sitting position as her body began to heal.

“ I’m Kaylee.“ she said holding out her hand. He stared at her hand for several long moments as if trying to figure out what she wanted him to do and then he reached out and grasped her hand gently.

“ Damien.“ he replied and Kaylee felt sparks of heat at his touch. Then a sensation came over her and the air surrounding their hands began to glow with a white light. She looked at his face but his eyes were closed.

Her soreness and pain faded away and she looked down at her body to find that every single wound was gone. He released her hand and moved away from her. He stared at her yet again as if she was a puzzle and then he turned and disappeared into the dusty haze surrounding them.

Kaylee looked down at Damien lying unconscious and bloody on the bed and suddenly realized that he had known. He had known all this time that he was her mate and he had hidden it from her. She did not know why he would do such a thing but it would explain the puzzled way he had looked at her back then and the way he had always seemed to show up when she needed him.

Suddenly all her sympathy for his current condition left her and she just felt angry. How dare he hide something like that from her? She had spent twenty years fighting against her feelings for the demon because she’d been waiting for her real mate and all along he had known that he was the mate she was waiting for!

She stood and walked out of the room slamming the door behind her. She walked down the hall to her own bedroom. She pulled off her clothes, slipped into a pair of lounge pants and a pink tank top and climbed in her bed. Whenever that damn demon finally woke up he had a heck of a lot of explaining to do.

Chapter Three

“I may not get to see you as often as I like. I may not get to hold you in my arms all through the night. But deep in my heart I truly know, you’re the one that I love, and I can’t let you go.”

Damien’s body was sore and stiff as he groaned and rolled onto his side in the feather soft bed. He didn’t remember his ocean shack’s hammock being this comfortable. As a matter of fact he did not remember coming into his beach shack or climbing into his hammock.

He took a deep breath and realized he could not smell the sea nor did he hear the gulls or the waves crashing against the sand. Instead he smelled wolves and he heard laughter and voices speaking.

His eyes flew open as he realized where he was… How had he gotten to Kaylee’s home? His sense of smell was barely above that of a mortal but his sense of hearing was highly adapted and he could hear every breath that every member of the household breathed. He could also sense Kaylee’s presence. Her deep breathing let him know she was still sleeping several rooms away.

He tried to remember the night before. He remembered thinking of Kaylee just as he lost consciousness and that explained why his mind had dashed him here. He remembered her soft fingers on his face and her gentle voice begging him to wake up….

“She knows.” he stated aloud. He had done nothing to hide the mate scent from his body last night. He had not had the strength nor had he known he would need to. He had meant to dash to his beach shack.

He looked down at his naked body and saw that all the smaller cuts and bruises were completely healed and his skin was tan and unscarred…. The skin on his stomach however was red, swollen and burning. He was not worried about the scars. He had already had plenty there to begin with. This had not been his first punishment at the hands of his brother.

For a demon who claimed to never feel anger or hatred, Rotan certainly had a mean streak when it came to his older brother. Damien rose from the bed slowly, finding that his strength had not yet fully returned. It was time to go home. He was covered in blood and dirt. His body was weak and his mind was tired.

He did not want nor desire to fight with Kaylee today and he was sure that she would certainly want to fight now that she had discovered what he had been hiding from her for so long. Damien did not fully understand the pain he was feeling in his chest at the thought of Kaylee’s anger nor the way his eyes burned at the thought of how badly she would hate him for this.

He shook his head to try to rid himself of whatever it was that was wrong with him and then worked hard to clear his mind. He longed to hold Kaylee in his arms after being so long without her touch but now was not the time. He closed his eyes and pictured his tiny beach shack and the next thing he smelled was the salty scent of the ocean.

---

Kaylee jumped out of the bed and ran her fingers through her hair to comb out the tangles. The wolf in her was desperate to be near the mate and Kaylee herself wanted to see how he was doing. A lot of her original anger had begun to cool. She did not know why he had kept the truth from her but she would work hard to keep her patience and let him explain himself before she clawed at those beautiful blue eyes of his.

She walked quickly down the hallway and then froze outside of the door to his room. Her heart dropped to her feet when she realized that his scent was not as strong as it should be behind the door. She turned the knob slowly, hoping that he would still be there sleeping, but knowing that he wouldn’t be.

Her heart broke as she took in the sight of the empty, blood covered bed. The demon who owned her very soul was already awake and gone. He had left without even bothering to say thank you, goodbye, or go to hell…..

“He’s gone isn’t he?” Jake’s voice came from behind her. Kaylee blinked back her tears and nodded as she turned around.

“Yes.”

“It’s probably for the best, Kaylee. Demon’s do not feel the things we do. He would not be good for you.”

“I won’t talk about this with you.” Kaylee said angrily as she crossed her arms over her chest. “Damien is good. He has saved my life more than once, he has dried my tears, held me when I’ve needed comfort and….”

“And he made my daughter immortal even though he knew what they would do to him.” Vanessa added as she walked down from her and Kayleb’s room with Kayleb’s arm firmly around her waist.

“You think that’s why he was in the shape he was last night? They punished him?” Kaylee asked turning back to her uncle.

“Yes.” Jake replied. “His wounds were consistent with demon torture.”

“Sick bastards.” Kayleb mumbled. Kaylee threw him a look and he shrugged.

“Look I don’t have a problem with Damien… I mean he made it so Vanessa and I could be together but if the jackass keeps making you cry I’ll break his demon nose.”

“I’m not crying, Kayleb.” Kaylee said matter of factly, even as her eyes burned with tears she refused to let fall. Kayleb moved away from Vanessa as Jake walked back down the stairs.

“I’m your twin brother, Kaylee, I can tell when you’re upset.”

“I just don’t understand him.” Kaylee said looking back into the room at the empty bed. “Why would he hide the fact that he is my mate from me? I mean if he had hidden it from me and then never spoken to me again, I would know that he hid it from me because he didn’t care but he has always been there for me. For twenty years he’s been around whenever I’ve needed him…..”

“Demon’s are stupid?” Kayleb offered with a grin and a shrug. Kaylee shook her head and let out a weak laugh.

“He says the same thing about mortals.” she said. Vanessa shrugged.

“I guess there are times when all of us are stupid.” she said. Kayleb put his arm around Kaylee’s shoulders and kissed her temple.

“Don’t worry sis, he’ll realize what a prize he’s got eventually and if he doesn’t…. well then I’m sure that between me, uncle Jake, and grandpa Charles, we’ll be able to take him out.” Kaylee pulled away from him and punched him in the arm.

“You’re such an ass.” she said but Kayleb was happy to see that she was smiling.

“Come on. Grandma’s got breakfast ready.” Kayleb said and he led both women downstairs.

Kaylee put on a brave face for the day. She did not want her family to realize how badly she was hurting. Now that she knew Damien was her mate, her wolf was going crazy because of their separation…. The woman in her was hurting to know that the man she loved had lied to her and then walked away with no explanation.

She waited until after she was sure everyone was asleep that night before rising from her bed and walking out of the house and down to the woods. She pulled off her clothes and folded them neatly before changing into her wolf form and shaking out her thick fur. She was a slender wolf, covered in sleek muscles and thick auburn colored fur.

She breathed in the scent of the hot summer night and the aroma of flowers filled her nose. She took off at a fast run, stretching out her slender legs and moving so quickly the trees and rocks she was passing by were nothing but blurs.

She ran until her lungs were burning and her legs were screaming in protest. She finally stopped in a clearing, miles from the house, out in the middle of the Virginia mountains and changed back to her human form. She was breathing hard as she clenched her fists and looked up at the moon, shining brightly on her bare skin.

“Damien!” she yelled. “You’ve always said you’ll come anytime I call you so where the hell are you at?” she demanded. She waited and waited as she stood in the moonlight but only silence met her words and she remained completely alone. An owl hooted in the distance and she cursed herself for being a fool.

Of course he wouldn’t come. He must know that she knew the truth now and he was hiding from her. So much for being a big, tough, scary demon. She changed back to a wolf and started back toward home, the moonlight and the stars the only company she had.

chapter four

A week passed and Kaylee felt herself breaking apart more each day. She wanted to see Damien. She needed to see Damien.

She dashed herself to the police station and Barry Hicks cursed loudly when she knocked over a stack of files he had just organized.

“I am sick and damn tired of you and your brother doing that!” he yelled. “Thank heaven there is only two more months before I get to retire and never step foot in this place again!”

“Sorry.” Kaylee said and she bent to help clean the files up. Tyler grabbed her by the arm gently and pulled her back upright.

“I’ll help clean this up.” he said. “You look like you’re not feeling very good.”

“Gee thanks, Tyler.” Kaylee said dryly. “You’re such a charmer.” Tyler’s face turned red and he shook his head.

“I.. I.. didn’t.. I didn’t mean it like that.” he stammered. Kayleb walked up with a laugh and wrapped his arm around his sister’s shoulders.

“Don’t bother trying to change your story now.” he said to Tyler as he led Kaylee over to their desks. “Cheer up, buttercup, maybe there will be somebody to kill today.” Kayleb said to Kaylee with a grin. Kaylee flopped down in her chair and glared at him.

“I liked you better when you hated the world.” she mumbled. Kayleb frowned as he sat down.

“Still haven’t heard anything from the demon guy?”

“Damien.” Kaylee corrected him. Kayleb shrugged.

“Sure, him.”

“No I haven’t heard anything from him.”

“You’ve known him a long time, don’t you know how to get in touch with him?” Kaylee rolled her eyes as she opened a file and hid her face behind it.

“I don’t know anything about him other than his name is Damien and he’s a demon.”

“You want me to ask around about him? I might be able to find him.” Kayleb said, sitting down in his chair and stretching out his long legs.

“No.” Kaylee replied quickly, without lowering the file from her face. “I won’t chase after him. When he wants to talk, he’ll come to me.”

“How are you so calm about this?” Kayleb with disbelief and a hint of jealousy. “Hell I was a damn wreck when I was apart from Vanessa.”

“You’re a man. I’m a woman.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Kayleb demanded.

“You’re a wuss and I’m not.” she replied.

“No, you’re a bitch.” Kayleb grumbled and Kaylee looked over her file and couldn’t help but smile at the beaten puppy look on her brothers face.

“That would be really insulting if it wasn’t technically true.” she replied. Kayleb was about to reply when Chief Michaels walked out of his office.

“Kayleb, you got anything on that jewel heist case?’ he asked in his gruff, always angry, voice.

“I was going to head over there this morning.” Kayleb replied. Chief Michaels crossed his arms over his chest and let out an irritated breath, causing the wispy hairs of his mustache to blow away from his lip.

“I am going to head over there right now.” Kayleb amended as he stood up. “God Chief, you’re nothing but a regular old slave driver.” he added and the smallest of smiles pulled at the chiefs lips. Kayleb walked away, patting Tyler on the back and blowing Susie Tortilonni a kiss before leaving the station.

“I liked him better when he was a miserable ass.” the chief said and Kaylee nodded in agreement. “I got a call a minute ago, I need you to get over to Hagarty and deal with a group of subs. They’re under the tenth street bridge and rumor has it they’re dealing drugs to minors.”

“What do you want done with them?” Kaylee asked.

“They don’t seem to take too kindly to being arrested so I’d say you’ll be killing them.” Kaylee nodded. “Do you want some back up?” the chief asked.

“No. I think I can handle a group of drug addicted, good for nothing subs.” she replied and then she walked out of the station.

Kaylee found out fast that she should have accepted that backup. The group of subs turned out to be about twenty of them and all of them were arms with pistols and automatic rifles.

She was hiding behind one of the concrete bridge supports as bullets flew around her. She was out of ammunition and she knew the only thing left to do was attack these freaks head on and that would lead to her being full of lead and in a heck of a lot of pain.

She jumped from behind the pillar and felt the burn as their bullets immediately began finding their mark. She delivered a round house kick to one of the subs heads, snapping his neck and then she did a back flip and landed on the another subs back, grabbing his head and twisting. She could feel his neck break as the bones cracked against her arms.

He fell to the ground dead and she turned her attention to another sub but as she felt her strength failing and she realized there were still seven subs left, she knew she was in trouble. She was about to dash and save herself when a primal scream of anger filled the air, echoing beneath the bridge and seeming to shake the concrete around them.

She fell to the ground as yet another bullet ripped through her, this one ripping through her chest. She saw a flash of white rush past her as the sub demons screamed in fear. She caught Damien’s smoky scent as the sound of gunshots ceased. She looked to her right and saw him. He was holding a struggling sub demon by the throat, and the subs feet were dangling in the air as Damien lifted him up off the ground.

“Damien?” the sub gasped.

“Yes. Go tell your boss that the next time one of his pets harms my wolf I will come for his blood instead of theirs.”

“Fuck you, Damien. Your father should have killed you the day you came out of your worthless mortal mother’s womb.” Damien snarled and Kaylee saw the muscles in his tense arm flex and the subs head was sent rolling wetly across the dirty ground.

Kaylee felt herself growing weaker from the blood she was losing. Her body couldn’t seem to heal itself fast enough with the amount of gunshot wounds she had. She couldn’t hold her eyes open… She was weak and needed rest. Just as she was falling into unconsciousness she felt two strong arms grab her and she was pulled against Damien’s rock hard body.

She opened her eyes and looked up at his face. His eyes were closed and she felt his energy pouring into her as they were surrounded by a white light. Her pain disappeared and she looked down at her body to see that her wounds were healed.

He opened his eyes as the light faded and Kaylee saw concern in their blue depths.

“Are you okay?” he asked gently. “What were doing here alone fighting all those subs?” Kaylee felt the wolf in her practically wagging her tail with happiness at being held in Damien’s arms but the woman in her remembered his long absence and the secret he had kept from her.

“I took out thirteen of them all on my own, I would have done just fine with the other seven.” she said as she forced herself to pull away from him, despite the protests of the wolf within her. She stood up and looked down at her hole and blood covered clothes. Damien rose from his knees and she saw that he was covered in blood as well but she could tell from the scent that none of it was his own. It was the subs and hers.

“You are angry.” he said matter of factly. Kaylee snorted and glared up at him.

“I just want you to tell me one thing.” she hissed. Damien’s face was a mask of indifference as he tilted his head to the side.

“What?” he asked and even in her anger his cool voice seemed to wash over and comfort her.

“Did you know that you were my mate and hide it from me all of this time?”

“Yes.” Damien replied. Kaylee saw red and she clenched her fist and swung, catching Damien hard across the jaw. She was so angry, she was shaking as she watched him for any sign of anger or pain but his blue eyes remained locked on hers and other than a slight tensing in his jaw, he gave no indication that her punch had hurt or made him angry.

She brought her arm up again and again she swung at his face but this time he caught her fist in midair in the palm of his hand and held it firmly.

“I let you hit me once. You will not do it again.” Kaylee felt her anger melt away and it was replaced with hurt and sadness. She cursed the tears that filled her eyes as she jerked her hand away from him.

“Why?” she demanded. “Why would you do that to me?” There was no mistaking the regret in his eyes as he laid his hand gently on her cheek.

“I had my reasons.” he replied simply. “Please do not cry. I don’t like seeing you in pain.”

“You should have thought of that before you hurt me.” Kaylee replied coldly and she pulled away from him and walked toward her squad car.

“What are you doing?” Damien asked and she could hear the sadness in his voice but she forced herself to remain strong as she turned to look at him.

“I’m leaving, Damien. I figured you would recognize the gesture seeing as how you are so good at doing it yourself.” Kaylee got in the car, slammed the door, and squealed the tires as she pulled away, leaving Damien standing there alone beneath the bridge.

Chapter Five

Damien felt that pain in his chest again as he watched her drive away. It was as if his heart was being torn to pieces beneath his ribs. He raised his hand to that spot but could feel no injury.

“Why does her anger cause my heart to hurt?” he asked out loud.

“Sounds to me like you love the girl.” a raspy voice said from behind him. Damien turned to see a filthy mortal man with long tangled hair and dirty clothes. Damien shook his head as the man looked around at the dead subs. “Come down here to find a cool place to rest and end up finding a pile of stinking zombies.” the man said.

“Sub demons.” Damien corrected. “And I’m sure the police will send a clean up team.” The man nodded and leaned against one of the concrete pillars as he pulled a half smoked cigarette from his pocket and lit it with a small metal lighter.

“Anyway.. About your heart. It sounds to me like you’re in love with the girl, whoever she is.”

“Demons do not feel love.” Damien replied matter of factly. The man’s eyes widened.

“You’re a demon huh? I would have figured you as an angel or something. I thought demons had scales and horns.”

“Perhaps I hide them well.” Damien replied.

“So you can’t feel love, huh?” the man asked. Damien shook his head. “Are you sure?” the man asked and Damien nodded. “Well then I guess you could just have some bad gas.”

“You should leave here, sir. There may be more subs that will come looking for these.” Damien said.

“I think you’re right. Not because I’m scared of damn zombies but because they smell like shit.” the man agreed, wrinkling his nose. The man turned and began to walk away but then turned back to Damien. “You can get ya some Pepto bismal, that’ll help with the gas. Of course if my first guess was right and you’re in love with the girl then the only thing that’ll help is to beg her forgiveness for whatever stupid thing you did.”

“What makes you think that I did something stupid?” Damien asked, raising his brow.

“The man always does.” the man replied with a smile and then he walked away before Damien could respond.

Damien thought about the old mans words and shook his head. Demons did not feel love but there was a part of him, a big part, that cared very much about Kaylee and her being sad, unhappy or angry was not something he could live with. He could not explain why her smile meant so much to him but when he saw it he felt lighter somehow and his heart would beat faster…

He looked down at himself. He was filthy. Covered in blood and dirt and he smelled nearly as bad as the sub demon corpses surrounding him but this could not wait. He must see her smile and know that she did not hate him before he could worry about anything else.

888

Kaylee was both angry and scared when she pulled back in at the station. She had already radioed ahead and let the chief know to send a clean up crew to the bridge and while she should have gone home first to clean up before coming back to the station, she wanted to get all of her paperwork done as soon as possible.

She turned the key, cutting off the engine and then buried her face in her hands as she laid her forehead against the steering wheel. What if walking away from Damien had been a huge mistake? What if he decided that she wasn’t worth coming after? What if he didn’t care about her enough to chase her?

She would have to live forever without him and she had no idea how to do that when everything in her was screaming to feel his protective, comforting arms holding her once again. Maybe her grandma could help her learn how to cope without her mate. After all, Rebecca had been without her mate’s love and affection for hundreds of years before Grandpa Charles had finally realized what really mattered to him and come home for good.

Kaylee raised her head and looked out the window when she heard a tapping sound. She rolled her window down and looked at Kayleb who was standing there with a grin.

“Damien’s inside. He barged in covered in blood and smelling an awful lot like shit and demanded to see you and then disarmed all the officers holding him at gunpoint because they thought he was a crazy person. He is sitting at your desk and insisting that he’s not going anywhere until he’s had a chance to talk to you.”

“He came after me….” Kaylee said and Kayleb smiled when he saw the big grin come on her face.

“That’s more like it… I knew you still remembered how to smile.” Kaylee tried to give him a glare but she couldn’t stop smiling long enough. She opened the door and stepped out of the car.

“He must care about me. He wouldn’t chase me if he didn’t care would he?” she asked her brother, hoping for a glimpse into the male mind.

“How the hell would I know?’ he asked with a shrug. “All I know is when the chief asked him his name he told him his name was Damien and that he was your demon….. Kinda weird if you ask me.”

“Shut-up! That’s romantic.” Kaylee said slapping her brother’s arm. Kayleb chuckled and scratched at his head.

“It’s a good think Vanessa isn’t into all that romantic stuff because I would obviously suck at it. I just thought he was being creepy.” Kaylee rolled her eyes and then quickly walked into the station. Chief Michaels let out a sigh of relief when he saw her.

“Kaylee, who the hell is he?” Chief Michael’s demanded as he pointed at Damien. Damien stood quickly when Kaylee walked in and Kaylee could have sworn he looked nervous but then wondered if she’d been imagining things when that cool, indifferent, confidence came back to his face and posture.

“His name is Damien and he is my demon.” she replied. Chief Michael’s grunted with irritation and she was sure she saw something that looked like relief pass over Damien’s face. Damien stepped forward and ran a gentle finger down Kaylee’s cheek, nearly causing her knees to buckle beneath her.

“Can we talk?” he asked. Kaylee nodded and Damien wrapped his arm tight around her. Kaylee felt a pull at her stomach and she closed her eyes. The next thing she knew she smelled the salty scent of the ocean and she could feel the warmth of the sun and she could hear the sounds of sea gulls and the crashing of waves against rocks and sand.

She opened her eyes and gasped at the breathtaking view around her. The white tropic sands, bright blue waters, blowing palm trees and rocky cliffs in the distance were all the most beautiful things she had ever seen. She spun in a circle but on all sides of her there was nothing but breathtaking wilderness.

“That’s my home.” Damien said pointing toward a tiny beachside cabin. Okay, so Kaylee had to admit it was more of a shack. The wooden walls were bleached nearly white from the sun and the roof was made up of woven tree fronds. Coconut wind chimes and brightly colored tropic flowers decorated the otherwise plain shack.

“What is wrong?” Damien asked as she looked around.

“Nothing.” she replied. “This place is beautiful, I just pictured you living somewhere….”

“What?”

“Bigger.” Damien nodded and looked out over the ocean.

“I grew up in a castle. I hated it. I am simple and I like things around me to be simple.” Damien looked down at her. “Do you want to talk now?” Kaylee looked down at herself.

“I need to wash up first.” she said. “Do you have something clean I could put on?”

Damien turned and walked away toward the shack leaving Kaylee standing alone in the sand. She walked about twenty yards down the beach to the waters edge and slipped off her shoes before walking out into the ankle deep waves. She had been a lot of places in her life but the simplicity of this beautiful place truly was the most amazing thing she had ever seen.

“Here.” Damien said as he walked down to her and held out a folded white button down.

“Are these the only kind of shirts you own?” Kaylee asked raising her brow. Damien looked puzzled for a moment and then nodded.

“Should I own different kinds.” he asked. Kaylee shook her head and grabbed the shirt.

“No, the white shirts and dark jeans work for you.” Damien raised his brow.

“Work for me?” Kaylee stared at him with disbelief.

“Are you fishing for compliments?” she asked. He looked truly puzzled as he stared down at her.

“Fishing?” Kaylee was about to laugh but then she realized that he was serious.

“You honestly don’t understand what I mean?” she asked. Damien shook his head.

“I do not.” he replied.

“It means you look good in what you wear.” Kaylee said as a blush colored her cheeks. Damien smiled and Kaylee thought her heart might just beat out of her chest.

“You are complimenting the way I look?” he asked. Kaylee quickly pushed her hair behind her ear with her free hand and nodded.

“Yes.” she squeaked, wondering why she felt so embarrassed. She had known Damien for twenty years but somehow being here with him, in this beautiful place that was his, with the wolf in her craving him and calling out for him made everything feel different.

“You are beautiful, my wolf.” Damien said reaching out his hand and resting it against her cheek. His own passion toward her surprised him. It was something he had worked hard to never feel before. Nothing good could ever come from a demon giving into his passions.

Kaylee pulled away from him as she remembered what he had brought her here to discuss.

“Can I have privacy?” she asked. “And a pair of pants?”

“Yes to the privacy.” Damien said taking a step away. “No to the pants…. I do not have any that will fit you.”

“Great.” Kaylee said with a sigh. Damien shrugged.

“I will not take advantage of you, Kaylee.” he promised, wondering if her sudden shyness was caused by fear. She looked back at him and locked her eyes with his.

“I know that. I would break your arms if you tried.” she replied. Damien nodded.

“Of that I have no doubts.” he replied with a hint of a smile. “I will go to the other side of the rocks and clean up myself, and then we will talk.” Kaylee nodded in agreement.

“Yes we will.” she replied and she watched him walk away, knowing that it would be much easier to stay mad at him if his jeans did not hug his legs and rear quite so nicely.

chapter six

“When the rains blowing in your face and the whole world is on your case, I would offer you a warm embrace, to make you feel my love. When the evening shadows and the stars appear, and there is no one to dry your tears, i could hold you for a million years, to make you feel my love… There ain’t nothing that i wouldn’t do. Go to the ends of the earth for you. Make you happy, make your dreams come true. To make you feel my love.” ‘To make you feel my love’ Garth Brooks

Kaylee stripped down to her black lace bra and panties and went out into the water. She took her time to make sure she got off every bit of blood and the stink of the sub demons. She grabbed her tattered jeans and scrubbed them as clean as she could before laying them over a rock in the sun to dry.

She walked out of the water and pulled on Damien’s shirt. She had to roll the sleeves up several inches so she could see her hands and the bottom of the shirt hung halfway to her knees. Kaylee sat down in the sand and stretched out her long legs. She leaned back on her elbows and threw her head back, closing her eyes and letting the sun shine on her face. This place was truly beautiful.

She didn’t even realize Damien was around until his shadow fell over her and she opened her eyes to see him sit down in the sand beside her. He sat cross legged with his arms resting on his knees as he stared out at the water.

“Why?” Kaylee asked after several long moments of silence.

“I thought that it was best.” Damien replied.

“How could you have possibly thought that hiding that from me was best?” Kaylee asked as she raised from her elbows, brought her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them.

Damien sighed and looked over at her. Damien was over one thousand years old and he had seen everything there was to see in this world. Kaylee was not the most beautiful woman he had ever seen but there was something about the sight of her that tugged at his heart. Something about her pale skin, deep brown eyes, and soft red hair made a part of him come alive that he hadn’t even been aware existed. Demons were not supposed to feel caring, or gentleness but when it came to Kaylee he felt all of those things.

Toward everything else in the world he could remain indifferent and cold but there was no use in him pretending he could do the same with Kaylee.

“I had my reasons, Kaylee.” he said. Kaylee rolled her eyes and looked over at him and she saw that his blue eyes were locked on her.

“Don’t you think I deserve to know what they are since it’s me that you hurt?” she demanded. She saw pain in his blue eyes as he reached out and laid a gentle hand on her cheek.

“I never wanted to hurt you Kaylee.”

“Well you did.” she replied pulling his hand away. “And I want to know why.” Damien dropped his arm back down onto his knees and looked back out at the water.

“At first I hid it because I did not understand it. Demons do not have mates. Then you acted frightened when you learned I was a demon and I continued to hide the fact that I was your mate because I did not think you would be happy to find that you were mated with a demon. Then as the years went on I hid it because I worried your family would disapprove.” Kaylee took a moment to digest everything he had told her.

“If demons don’t have mates then how are you my mate?” she asked. Damien shrugged.

“I don’t know.” he replied.

“So all these years when you’ve always been there every time I’ve needed you, it was because we were mates?” she asked and she found that she was upset by this fact. She had fallen in love with Damien without knowing that he was her mate. She had hoped that his devotion to her came from something other than a mate bond.

“No.” Damien replied. “I do not feel the mate bond in the way that you do. I am aware that I am your mate but I feel no pull toward you because of it.”

“Then why…..?”

“I don’t know why. That is what has frustrated me for all these years. I am a demon, Kaylee. I am not supposed to care about anyone. I am not supposed to care whether or not you are happy. I am not supposed to want to see you smile. I am supposed to thrive off death, destruction and pain but instead something inside of me comes alive when I see you happy and smiling. I don’t understand it and I don’t know what I am feeling or why I feel it but I feel it nonetheless.” Kaylee felt as if she was going to float right off of the sand and into the endless blue sky.

“You should not have kept it a secret from me, Damien.” she said matter of factly.

“I know and for that I am sorry…. See that is another thing, I should not feel the need to apologize to you. I am not supposed to care. I do not care about a single other person in this world. If you were anyone else I would simply shrug at your pain and walk away.”

“Damien, you shouldn’t have hidden you being my mate from me but I am kind of glad you did.”

“You are?” Damien asked and he looked just as confused as he had when she had tried to compliment him earlier. She smiled.

“Yes. Because it gave me the chance to fall in love with you without my wolf screaming at me every second and telling me you were my mate.”

“Love?” Damien asked and he was truly shocked. She loved him? He was a demon. Cold, heartless and evil. She should not love him. She was warm, soft and good… His complete opposite.

Kaylee could tell by the look in his eyes that he was not about to say ‘I love you too’ and her heart fell. She saw him open his mouth to speak and shook her head to silence him.

“Let’s talk about something else, okay?” she asked. Damien saw the pain on her face but he did not know what had caused it. His wolf had so many different emotions every second of the day, that he found it impossible to keep up.

“Okay. What do you want to talk about?”

“You.” Kaylee replied.

“What about me?” Damien asked.

“Anything… I don’t know a thing about you.” Damien shrugged.

“There is nothing for you to know about me.” he replied. He recognized the anger that flashed in her dark eyes and she stood up quickly and brushed the sand from her legs. Damien couldn’t help but stare at her long legs nearly completely revealed to him as she stood there in his shirt.

“If this is how you’re going to treat me then you can just go to hell, Damien.” Damien was confused. Why was she mad? He had no idea… This woman and her constantly changing emotions were a mystery to him. He stood up.

“I was born there actually.” he said. “Why are you angry at me?”

“You were born in hell?” Kaylee asked as she tilted her head and stared at him. Damien nodded.

“Many have called it hell.” he replied. Kaylee glared at him, trying to come up with something sharp and witty to say. She was angry that he was being so vague with her and wanted nothing more than to make him feel as angry as she was.

“Well then…. Go to heaven.” she spat. A loud laugh burst from Damien and while Kaylee was surprised by the sound and the way it made her smile, Damien seemed to be completely shocked by it as he stopped laughing quickly and clamped his mouth shut.

“What’s wrong?” Kaylee asked. Damien shook his head.

“I laughed.” he said with confusion in his voice.

“Yes you did. It was nice. I’ve never heard you laugh before.” she replied feeling all her anger melt away. He looked like a baby who had just taken his first step and was now standing in shock and waiting for someone to tell him it was okay.

“I’ve never laughed before.” he replied and he saw the disbelief in her eyes. “I’m serious. I did not even know I could.”

“I gave you your first laugh.” Kaylee said with a wink. “And what I said wasn’t even that funny.” she added.

“Yes it was.” he argued. “The thought of a demon being sent to heaven as punishment… it’s very entertaining.”

(Damien, I need you. There are men snooping around here and I am afraid.) Damien cringed at the sound of his mother’s scared voice inside his head. He knew there was more than likely nothing wrong with his mother but she tended to panic whenever someone she did not recognize came around her home.

(I’m coming, mother.) he replied and then he looked down at Kaylee.

“I have to go.” he said. Kaylee snorted and crossed her arms over her chest.

“Of course you do.” she said. “You always have to go.”

“I’ll be back and we will talk.” he promised. “I’ll tell you anything you want to know about me.”

“I might decide not to wait on you.” she replied harshly. She saw something that looked like pain in his eyes and then he shrugged.

“If you are not here when I return then I will simply have to find you.” Kaylee fought to keep her happiness at his words off of her face.

“I’ll be here.” she said, looking out at the water instead of at him.

“I won’t be long.” he promised and she felt her heart speed up when he pressed a gentle kiss to her temple. He pulled away, the air shimmered and he was gone.

Kaylee looked around her and wondered how she was going to keep herself occupied. She walked up to the shack and stepped inside. If Damien insisted on being vague about himself, maybe she could learn something inside his home.

Her hopes for that were quickly dashed when she saw that his house was plain. There was not a single decoration, splash of color, or personal touch anywhere. A hammock was in the corner of the one room shack and there was a plain brown couch, a fireplace and a small rickety looking table.

Kaylee walked over to the hammock and climbed inside. She might as well get a little rest while she waited since she had not slept much the night before or the entire last two weeks for that matter.

She was just getting comfortable and drifting off to sleep with the sounds of the waves helping give her peace when her brothers voice came into her head.

(Am I interrupting anything?) he asked with a smile in his voice.

(No, I’m trying to get some sleep.) she replied.

(Sleep? Where the hell is prince charming?)

(He had something he needed to do.) she replied.

(Where are you?)

(At his house. On a beach on a tropical island.)

(Take care of yourself, sis…. Just so you know grandpa is having a heart attack, knowing that you are alone with a demon.)

(Tell him not to worry. Damien would never hurt me.) Kaylee replied.

(You can’t tell him anything. The entire family seems to hate your mate. All except for me, Vanessa, Jake and of course Aunt Angela. I don’t think she hates anybody.)

(Was there something you wanted or were you just wanting to make me never come home?) Kaylee demanded.

(You know I love you, sis. I just want to make sure you know what you’re in for whenever you do come home. Enjoy your mate and your home on the beach and don’t forget that my offer to kill him still stands if he hurts you.)

(I love you too Kayleb, now leave me alone because next time you really might be interrupting something.)

(Dad just rolled over in his grave.) Kayleb said with a mixture of entertainment and sadness in his voice.

(Well he shouldn’t have been listening.) Kaylee replied with a light laugh.

(You know dad, he never could mind his own business when it came to us kids.) Kayleb replied and then he closed the link. Kaylee rolled over on her side in the hammock and cried as she thought about her mom and dad and how much she missed them.

888

Damien had been right about his mother being fine. Her strange men that were watching her had been nothing more than some mortal men that had been out hunting in the Montana mountains and had wandered too close to her cabin.

He dashed back to the beach where he had left Kaylee not long ago but she wasn’t there. He listened closely and when he caught the sounds of her quiet sobs coming from his shack his feet seemed to take on a life of their own and carried him quickly inside. He dropped to his knees beside the hammock and smoothed her hair from her face. Her eyes flew open and at first she looked afraid but then she recognized him.

“Damien.” she said softly. Damien felt something in his heart seem to thaw at the sound of her tear filled voice saying his name.

“Why are you crying?” he asked gently. “I cannot stand to see you in pain.”

“It’s nothing.” she said trying to dry her face but the new tears were falling too quickly.

“It is something.” he argued.

“My brother ….” Damien cut her off.

“You need to quit basing your own happiness off of your brother’s. You care too much for too many people.” he scolded as he took her hand in his and kissed her fingertips. Kaylee felt herself tremble at the feel of his lips on her sensitive flesh and she shook her head.

“No, it’s nothing like that.” she said. “I shouldn’t even be crying, it’s stupid.” Damien shook his head.

“If it makes you cry then it is not stupid. Now tell me what is causing you pain so I can fix it.”

“You can’t fix this.” Kaylee replied. “It’s just something he said.”

“Should I kill him?” Damien asked and his attempt at a joke surprised him. Perhaps because he had never attempted one before. He was desperate to see her smile.

“No. He says the same thing about you though.”

“He wants to kill me?” Damien asked, raising a brow.

“Only when he sees me hurting because of you. That’s the way men are over women they love.” Damien took a moment to digest her words. Did men become protective over women they loved? Was his demon heart in love with Kaylee? He certainly cared about her more than any other person, even himself, and just being near her made him feel happy somehow.

“Why are you crying then?” he asked.

“I miss my mom and dad.” Kaylee replied and then her tears began falling again. “At first I was just angry when they died. I wanted to kill Vincent and get revenge. And then after Vincent was dead, I was too worried about Kayleb for their deaths to truly sink in. Then came the shock and now all I can do is cry. I miss them so bad and I feel so alone. I know my family misses them too but they all have somebody.” Kaylee was crying so hard by now she could barely speak. “I don’t have anybody.” she gasped and the sobs that racked her slim body were more than Damien could bear.

He pulled her into his arms and climbed onto the hammock. He held her close to his chest as she clung to his shirt with her fists and cried hard.

“You have me, wolf. You have me.” he said as he ran his hands along her back and kissed her hair, trying to give her what comfort he could. “I am sorry I was not there when you needed me before to deal with your loss but I am here now. I will hold you and dry your tears.” He didn’t feel the need to tell her that he had been too busy being held prisoner and tortured to be there for her. He knew that learning he’d been tortured for a month over helping her brother would do nothing to help her feel better.

“I love you, Damien. I know that you don’t love me back but I love you with all my heart.” Kaylee whispered as she kept her face buried in his strong chest. Damien sighed and kissed her hair.

“It’s not that I don’t want to love you, Kaylee. It’s just that I am a demon and I don’t know how.” he replied and Kaylee felt the tiniest ray of hope as she snuggled closer to him.

“Just hold me, Damien. I just need you to hold me.”

“I can do that.” he replied gently.

Chapter Seven

Kaylee woke up and realized with disappointment that she was alone in the hammock. She opened her eyes and realized that darkness had fallen outside. She could hear the waves crashing against the sand and she rose from the hammock and walked out into the moonlight.

The moon was full and shining brightly on the light sand as stars twinkled up in the endless black night sky. She smelled Damien’s smoky scent just before his arms slipped around her waist from behind and she leaned her head back against his chest, enjoying the warmth he provided.

“Are you feeling better?” he asked gently and Kaylee felt herself tremble as his breath washed against her ear.

“I’ll be okay.” she replied and then her stomach growled loudly. “I’m hungry.” she said matter of factly. Damien pulled away from her and pointed down at the beach.

“I thought you would be.” he said. Kaylee’s eyes followed where he was pointing and she saw the small table from the house sitting down in the sand with candles lit in the center and two small chairs.

“Damien….” Kaylee gasped as she raised her hand to her mouth. “Candles and everything?” she had not pictured him as the romantic gestures type.

“It keeps the bugs away.” Damien replied simply as he led her down the beach. Kaylee couldn’t help but laugh and he gave her a puzzled look but said nothing. Kaylee’s eyes fell on the food on the table and she had to stifle yet another laugh as she saw the cheeseburger and fries and the fast food drink sitting there. Demons don’t eat and clearly Damien had no knowledge of what a romantic meal would consist of.

“I hope this is okay. If not I can go get you something else. Anything you want.” Kaylee could hear his eagerness to please her in his voice and she smiled up at him.

“No, this is fine.” she promised. She could sense something different about him. It was as if he was trying to open up more and putting an effort into letting her know how much he cared. He loved her…. She knew he did. Twenty years of devotion proved that he loved her even though he hadn’t said the words.

He pulled her chair back and then gently scooted her toward the table after she had sat down. He sat across from her and stared out at the moonlit ocean as she began to eat. She felt a little awkward eating in front of him when he wasn’t eating but her hunger overcame her awkwardness and she quickly devoured the meal.

“Do you want me to get you something else?” he asked as he raised his brow and looked at her. He had forgotten just how big a werewolves appetite was. Kaylee suddenly looked embarrassed as she shook her head.

“No… I’m full.” Damien suspected that she was lying but seeing as how she looked embarrassed he said nothing. He had no idea why she would be embarrassed over being hungry. She had to have food. That would be like him being embarrassed because he had to feed off of mortal souls. It was something that had to be done to survive.

“It’s beautiful here.” Kaylee said as she looked around the beach. Damien stared over at her and the way the moonlight was dancing on her pale face and nodded.

“It is.” he replied. “I’ve lived here a long time and never fully noticed the beauty before.” Kaylee blushed and smiled as she pushed her hair behind her ear. Coming from any other man this would seem like the most ridiculous of lines but Damien said the words with such certainty and sincerity that she was helpless but to believe him.

“I should probably be getting home.” Kaylee said, standing up and smoothing out his shirt that she was still wearing. Damien realized he could see the black shadow of her bra and panties beneath the thin white fabric and he fought back the desire and passion that she stirred in him. When a demon gave in to passion, pain or death always followed for the women who had stirred him and he could not risk hurting Kaylee.

“I would like for you to stay a little longer.” Damien replied. “I told you before that I would tell you anything you wanted to know about me and we haven’t had a chance to talk yet.”

Kaylee was tempted for a moment to go home and make him wait. He had left her standing alone plenty of times when she had wanted and needed him. But then she saw the love in his blue eyes and even if he refused to recognize the emotion for what it was, she could not ignore it.

“Okay.” she said with a nod. “Let’s take a walk.”

They walked along the beach for a long time and despite the fact that he was supposed to be telling her about himself, Kaylee ended up being the one that did most of the talking. She told him countless stories of growing up in her big, loud family and Damien found himself wondering what it would be like to have a true family.

Silence eventually fell over the two of them and Kaylee wondered if she should do what she wanted to do in this moment. She spared a quick glance at his face but he was looking straight ahead and he looked surprisingly content. Kaylee had never seen that expression on his face before and it made him even more handsome as it relaxed all the hard, tense lines from his face.

She decided that nothing would ever be gained if she was a chicken and so she reached out quickly and took his hand in hers. She cursed the way her nerves were eating at her stomach and she looked up at his face to judge his reaction.

Damien looked down at her with a puzzled expression and then she saw what looked like a war of emotions raging behind his eyes. She was sure that desire flashed in them just before he blinked and it was replaced by confusion and then as he twined his fingers through hers and gave her hand a squeeze, she saw what could only be love fill his eyes.

“Tell me about yourself now.” Kaylee said as they walked hand in hand in the moonlight.

“What do you want to know about me?” he asked. He could not explain what was happening to him as he walked with her. It was as if every bad thing he had ever done or experienced had been washed away when she had taken his hand. He did not know what love was but surely that elusive emotion could not compare with the way his heart felt for this werewolf at his side. He would give his life for her happiness and never think twice or curse that the price was too high.

She was all that made his heart feel alive, she made him feel , and because of that simple fact he would do anything for her.

“Do you have a family?” she asked. Damien nodded.

“In the biological sense, yes. In the sense that you speak of family, no.” he replied.

“Who tortured you for helping my brother?” Kaylee asked quickly. She wasn’t sure why she asked him that or if he would even answer but she wanted to know.

“My brother did, per my father’s orders.” Kaylee’s eyes widened as he turned to look at her. “I did not know that you knew about that.”

“I’m not stupid, Damien. You yourself told me that you would be in trouble if you helped Vanessa and so when you disappeared right after ward and then show up a month later with your guts hanging out, I put it all together.”

I know you are not stupid. I hoped you didn’t know because I didn’t want you to worry.“

“How long did they torture you like that?”

“Thirty days. That is why I could not come to you that night on the porch when you waved for me. They were already summoning me to the castle and I did not want to keep them waiting and have them come looking for me and find you.”

“Did you know what the punishment would be?” Kaylee demanded as her grip on his hand tightened. Damien nodded.

“Yes.”

“Then why in the hell did you do it?” she demanded.

“Because it was something you needed me to do.” he replied.

“Damien, I don’t want you doing things for me that end with you getting hurt!”

“There is no price too high to pay if it leads to your happiness my wolf.” His words of devotion did little to soothe her anger with him. She decided to change the subject before she punched him again like she had under the bridge.

“So you have a brother and a father?” she asked looking down at their legs moving in sync as they walked through the sand.

“Yes.” Damien replied. “Though Rotan is technically my half brother. We have different mothers. His mother was a demon and my father killed her shortly after she gave birth to him.”

“Lovely.” Kaylee said dryly and Damien shrugged.

“That is what happens when a demon gives into his passions.” he replied. “My mother was lucky, though few would see it that way.”

“Your mother was mortal… Isn’t that what the sub demon at the bridge said?”

“She was born mortal. My father, Victor, turned her before she gave birth to me and then he held her prisoner for nearly five hundred years before I was able to free her. Now she lives in a cabin in the middle of nowhere. She is frightened of everything and refuses to ever leave her home even though I have told her that she has nothing to fear from my father. He has no more use for her.”

“You freed her?” Kaylee asked. She knew enough about psychopathic freaks to know that this Victor, would not have just allowed Damien to free his mother.

“Yes. I will not tell you how. There are some things about my past I would rather you did not know.” he said sternly. He had actually given his father ten virgin mortals to take the place of his mother and had then endured nearly a decade of torture once his father had grown bored of his new toys and killed them all and wished to have Damien’s mother back. In the end his father had given up and replaced Angelica with a new ‘passion’ slave.

“Fair enough.” Kaylee replied. “Maybe one day I’ll meet her.”

“She has been scarred by her years with my father. She is not what you would consider to be normal.” Damien said matter of factly. Kaylee smiled and looked up at the moon and the stars.

“Maybe one day you’ll get to know my family and you’ll realize that I wouldn’t have a clue what ‘normal’ is.” she said and Damien smiled as they stopped walking. He laid a gentle hand on her cheek and she leaned against it and sighed.

“I really do have to go home, Damien. It will be dawn soon and I always get Gwen up in the morning.”

“Your ability to care for so many people amazes me. I will never understand how you are able to keep all of them on your mind and in your heart at once.”

“Isn’t there anybody that you care about, Damien? Isn’t there anyone that is always on your mind?”

“Only one person.” he replied honestly as he traced her full bottom lip with his rough thumb. Kaylee felt herself tremble beneath his touch and was amazed at how quickly her feelings for him had turned from love and affection to love and passion. Being alone with him on this beach, with his fingers touching her soft skin filled her with fire.

“And how do you feel about me?” she asked softly. Damien looked down at her and thought about his words carefully before responding. He had never tried to speak from the heart before, then again he had never truly used his heart before.

“From the first time you smiled at me you’ve had my undivided attention. From the first time I heard you laugh, you’ve had my urge to laugh with you. From the first time you cried, you’ve had my urge to hold you and when you told me you loved me, you got my urge to give my heart to you forever.”

Kaylee felt tears of happiness and hope fill her eyes. She raised her own hand to his face and ran her black painted fingernail along his cheek. She felt him tense up and his eyes darkened in the moonlight.

Time seemed to stand still and the crashing of the waves was the only sound as they stared into each others eyes. Kaylee parted her lips slightly and ran her tongue quickly along her bottom lip and she saw his eyes follow the movement. Damien lowered his head toward hers as she closed her eyes and held her breath, waiting for his kiss.

Their lips brushed together and both felt the sparks at the feather light contact. Kaylee had never been much for clichés but she swore she could hear bells ringing and see doves flying and then suddenly he pulled away.

“I cannot, Kaylee.” he said, his voice raspy and full of regret. Kaylee opened her eyes and stared at him with confusion.

“Why?” she asked feeling a mixture of hurt and disappointment.

“Because I’m a demon, Kaylee, and it is not safe for you if I give in to what I’m feeling.”

“You would never hurt me.” Kaylee said laying a gentle hand on his cheek. He stepped away from her and shook his head.

“There is no way to be sure and I will not risk your life.” he said. “Maybe you should go home now.” His body was screaming to have her. He could feel the blood pounding in his veins and the heat settling low in his body. He wanted her and if she did not leave he wasn’t sure he could stop himself from taking her.

“Fine.” Kaylee said as she took several steps away and ran her hand through her hair. “When am I going to see you again?”

“I don’t know.” he replied as he clenched his jaw and fought the passion rising inside of him. Kaylee clearly did not understand what passion did to a demon or what a passion crazed demon could do to her. Kaylee didn’t even bother saying goodbye before the air shimmered and she was gone.

Damien let out an angry roar and quickly decided that hunting was the only thing that would calm the fire coursing through his veins. He had to feed on mortal souls to live. He never took more than he had to in order to survive and he only took souls of ‘evil’ mortals such as murderers and rapists. Yes feeding was the only thing that would calm the current torment going on in his soul.

Chapter Eight

Rotan sat in the high backed wooden chair and watched his father pace back and forth, the sound of his boots echoing against the stone castle walls.

“Damien has tested the last of my patience.” Victor growled . Rotan slid his knife along his palm, feeling himself grow hard as the pain coursed through his body and he licked the blood from his hand.

“I do not understand why you worry yourself about him. He is nothing.” Rotan replied, his voice gruff with lust as he watched the droplets of his own blood splatter against the stone floor.

“Stop that!” Victor exclaimed as he smacked the knife out of his youngest sons hand and it clattered against the stone wall. Rotan wiped his bloody hand on his thin cotton shirt and glared up at his father.

“Do not be angry with me simply because you are afraid of Damien.” Victor walked across the room and picked Rotan’s knife up off the floor. He walked back over and slammed it down, driving the knife blade deep into wooden arm of the chair.

“I am not afraid of your brother. I fear no one and nothing.”

“Except the angels that banned us to the castle.” Rotan replied in a bored voice as he looked down at his already healed palm.

“I do not see you going against their orders.” Victor hissed as he sat down in another chair about five feet away. Rotan smiled coldly as he yanked his knife blade out of the wood.

“I have everything I could ever need here. A plentiful supply of mortal women thanks to our sub slaves and I have you for intriguing conversation. There is no reason for me to leave.” Victor shook his head.

“You fear the angels just as must as I do.” he said as he tapped his long fingernails on the wooden arm of his chair.

“It is not the angels I fear, father, it is their boss.”

“He fears us. That is why we are forbidden to leave this castle!” Victor exclaimed angrily as he slammed his fist on the arm of his chair.

“Yes. I am sure he shakes right out of his heavenly sandals every time he hears our names.” Rotan replied dryly.

“Sarcasm? You are starting to be as bad as Damien.”

“Tell that to the mortal woman I have chained and bleeding in the dungeon.” Rotan replied and then he closed his eyes and threw his head back in ecstasy as he ran his knife blade down the length of his forearm. Victor shook his head at his youngest son. Rotan drew immense pleasure from causing pain, whether to someone else or to himself. It made him a very useful tool when it came to torturing someone for information but it also made it hard to have a conversation with the man.

“Damien will pay for turning his back on me.” Victor promised as he stood and adjusted his long black coat around his legs. He looked at Rotan but his son was currently too busy enjoying his own pain to notice that he was leaving.

Victor strode from the room and up the stairs toward his bedroom. The problem with Damien was his mothers blood. She had been a good woman and her mortal blood gave Damien a conscience and true emotion. It gave him the ability to put others before his own pleasure.

Victor should have killed the abomination as soon as he had come out of his mothers womb but he had been so proud to finally have a son that he had not been able to. Then Damien had begun to show promise until one day he had snapped and refused to kill any more innocents. Victor had tried to kill the boy then but Damien had gained favor from the angels and they protected him. Victor and Rotan could torture him, they could bring him to within an inch of his life but when it came to killing him they could not do it. If they killed him they too would die. The angels had made that much clear the day Damien’s power had turned white.

He walked into his room and smiled at the sight that awaited him. A mortal woman was chained to his bed. Her naked skin was shining brightly in the candlelight and her brown eyes were wide with fear as she screamed behind the gag in her mouth.

He stripped off his clothes revealing his warriors physique and the black script tattoos covering his body. He felt his passions rise as the woman’s fear filled his senses. He pulled his lips back in a smile that was more of a snarl and stalked toward the bed, his blue eyes quickly glowing red with his lust. The woman fought to get away but Victor knew her efforts would prove useless.

“You are mine, love.” he said coldly and then he hissed as he lowered himself down upon her.

888

“So did you have you any sex on the beach?” Kayleb asked with a grin as he walked into the mansions library to find Kaylee alone at a table, flipping pages in an ancient book without truly looking at them.

“You’re a perv.” Kaylee replied as she slammed the book closed and pushed it aside.

“I’m not a perv… Sex on the Beach happens to be an alcoholic drink. What did you think I was talking about you damn sicko?” Kaylee shook her head at her brothers antics and then laid her head down on the table.

“What’s wrong, Kaylee?” Kayleb asked, his voice suddenly sounding more serious and concerned. Kaylee shook her head without looking up.

“Don’t you have somebody else to bother today?”

“Nope. Aunt Jordan took Vanessa and Faith to the school to get Faith registered for kindergarten. Kent is at work. Hunter and Laney are busy with their horses. Lane, Joey, Jake and Angela took the babies and Gwen to the park. Grandpa took Grandma out to lunch and Kaitlyn, Bethany and Greg are gone to some kind of fashion thingamajig, so I’m all yours.” Kaylee raised her head and glared at her brother.

“Yay for me.” she said, her words practically dripping with sarcasm. Kayleb grinned his lopsided grin and leaned back in his chair.

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

“Nothing.”

“What did he do?”

“Nothing.”

“You were alone on a beach in the moonlight and he did nothing?” Kayleb asked raising a brow. Kaylee shook her head.

“Nothing.” she replied with a sigh and then she laid her head back down.

“Is he gay or something?” Kayleb asked and Kaylee’s head snapped back up and her eyes sent daggers flying at him. He held his hands up defensively. “I wasn’t trying to insult anybody, it’s just that when a man has a hot woman alone on a beach at night he usually does something .”

“Did you just call your sister hot?” Kaylee asked and Kayleb grinned.

“Stop trying to change the subject.”

“No Damien is not gay. He says he can’t give into his passions because if he does he might hurt me.”

“Demons are known to kill their… uh… partners.” Kayleb said suddenly feeling awkward talking about sex with his sister.

“You brought this up and now you’re blushing.” Kaylee said with a laugh. Kayleb stood up.

“Are you seeing him again?” he asked. Kaylee shrugged.

“I don’t know.” she replied.

“For what it’s worth, I think he cares about you. I just think he isn’t sure what to do with his feelings… He is a demon after all.”

“Thank you for your wonderful insights.”

“You’ll always have your wise older brother here to help you.”

“You do realize that you are only two minutes older than me right?” Kayleb laughed and then he turned his head to look out the window.

“Jake and them are back with the kids.” Kaylee saw the mischievous look on her brothers face.

“What are you going to do?” she asked.

“I’ve been practicing my skills. I think I’m finally ready to take uncle Jake.” he replied. Kaylee shook her head.

“Give it up Kayleb. There is no way you’ll ever take him.” she said.

“Watch me.” Kayleb replied with a grin and then he growled and quickly left the room. Kaylee laughed and followed after him. She couldn’t miss out on an opportunity to watch her two minutes older brother get his cocky butt kicked.

---

“YOU’RE BLEEDING ON MY CARPET!” Rebecca screamed as Jake and Kayleb wrestled around the living room. She had just walked in from her lunch date and kept trying to jump between the two snarling wolves but Charles held her back.

Kaylee laughed when a blood covered Kayleb lunged at a bored looking Jake and Jake stepped out of the way. Kayleb couldn’t stop his bodies path through the air and crashed into the coffee table, sending magazines and knick knacks flying through the air and causing the wood of the table to crack and shatter beneath his weight.

“That’s ENOUGH!” Rebecca exclaimed as she picked up one of the fallen knick knacks and threw it at Kayleb’s head as he lunged once again at Jake.

“End it, Jake, before your mother has a stroke.” Charles said with exasperation. Jake growled and caught Kayleb’s neck in his mouth and flung the smaller wolf to the ground, holding him down with his body weight.

(It’s over, nephew.) Jake said with a smile in his voice. Kayleb’s brown eyes rolled.

(One of these days, uncle Jake. One of these days I will take you.)

(No you won’t. But thanks for the exercise, it keeps me young.) Jake replied as he moved off of Kayleb and changed back into a man. Kayleb changed as well and Angela tossed both a pair of sweatpants.

“Are you sure none of this is yours?” Kayleb asked as he panted and looked down at the blood covering him. Jake looked down at his own arm and found a single scratch about an inch long on his forearm.

“Hot damn, I scratched you!” Kayleb said happily.

“Get upstairs and get yourself cleaned up, hot shot, before your mate and Faith get home and see you looking like a man who just got his ass kicked.” Lane said with a chuckle.

“I don’t see you taking Jake on.” Kayleb replied with irritation. Lane shook his head.

“That’s because I value my pretty face too much.” he replied with a smile. Joey slapped his arm and he shrugged. “Besides I get my ass kicked enough by my mate. I don’t need to let my brother kick it too.”

“Chicken.” Kayleb grumbled as he walked away toward the stairs.

“Cluck cluck.” Lane replied, doing his best flapping chicken wing impression. Kayleb stomped away up the stairs.

Kaylee raised her brow when she noticed that Jake was limping slightly as he made his way toward the stairs to get cleaned up.

“Don’t tell your brother but I think he broke something.” Jake said running his hand over his leg. Angela laid her hand gently on Jake’s leg and Kaylee knew she was healing him.

“Come on upstairs old man and I’ll get Brent down for a nap and then take care of any other wounds you might have.” she said with a wink. Kaylee saw Jake’s golden eyes flash and he growled under his breath before bounding quickly up the stairs, taking them four at a time.

“He’s whipped.” Lane said after Angela had followed Jake up the stairs. “Pretty pathetic really.”

“You know Charlie is already asleep.” Joey whispered. Lane laughed and lifted Joey’s tiny body up into his arms, cradling her against his chest.

“Then what in the world are we doing down here wasting time?” he asked and Kaylee laughed lightly as she watched him carry her out of the room.

Her grandma and grandpa left the room next with her grandma mumbling something about getting bleach for the carpet and Kaylee was left alone. A knock came on the door just as Damien’s smoky scent filled her nostrils. She nearly tripped over the broken coffee table to get to the door and when she jerked it open, there he was. All six and a half feet of him in his dark jeans and white button down with his perfectly unkempt blond hair and bright blue eyes shining as they looked down at her.

“Can I come in?” he asked. Kaylee stared at him in shock.

“You want to come in?” she replied. She had begged him countless times in the past to come in and he had always refused.

“Yes. It is not easy for me to say this but…. I need you, Kaylee.”

Chapter Nine

“I know living with me, ain’t always easy. I dam up emotions some men just let flow. But girl when you’re not by my side, I feel like part of me has died and I love you more than you’ll ever know. More than life, more than I’ve, ever loved before. It’s absurd and beyond words, I couldn’t want you more. Even when I pour my heart out to you, I’m not sure it shows. That I love you more than you’ll ever know.” - Travis Tritt ‘More than you’ll ever know’

“Huh?” Kaylee’s brain seemed to have shut down at his words and all intelligent thought processes had ceased to function.

“What are you doing here?” her grandfathers angry voice interrupted before Damien could reply. Damien stood straight and looked at Charles.

“Leave him alone grandpa.” Kaylee said turning to face Charles. “He’s here for me.”

(You’re better off without him, Kaylee, You cannot trust a demon.) Charles said so only Kaylee could hear.

(No offense, grandpa, but this is really none of your business.) Kaylee replied.

(Kaylee, he….)

(Back off grandpa.) Kaylee replied and a growl escaped her lips. She felt Damien move closer to her.

“Kaylee, I do not want that demon in my home.” Charles said out loud as he locked eyes with Damien. If Damien felt any hurt or anger at Charles’s words it didn’t show on his expressionless face.

“Then it’s a good damn thing this isn’t your house.” Jake’s voice was low and cold behind Charles and Charles turned quickly. He knew Jake’s ‘angry’ voice when he heard it.

“Demon’s can’t be trusted, Jake. Do you really want one around your mate and your children? Around your baby?” Jake looked over at Damien and crossed his arms over his chest.

“Damien has been a part of this family for twenty years, we just didn’t know it. If he was a threat we would have known about it before now.”

“But….” Jake stood at his full height and glared at his father and Kaylee was reminded of why she had always been a little afraid of her uncle. When he was angry, his presence seemed to fill an entire room and the intensity in his golden eyes was enough to scare the bravest of men… or women.

“This is my home. If I say he’s welcome then he’s welcome.”

“Jake, I am older and wiser than you and I am telling you that there is something not right about this demon!”

“A lot of people used to say there was something not right about me too and they considered you to be a lost cause. They were wrong about us… You are wrong about Damien.” Jake replied with a growl.

“You never…” Charles started and Kaylee stomped her foot angrily and put her hands on her hips, cutting him off.

“That’s enough!” she exclaimed. “Stop talking about Damien as if he isn’t standing right here! Thank you, uncle Jake, for standing up for him and, Grandpa, you need to stop being a hypocrite. You keep talking about Damien as if he’s some kind of monster but from what I’ve heard you yourself were a monster for a long damn time!”

“Kaylee Elizabeth Banner!” Rebecca’s angry voice exclaimed as she walked into the room.

“I should not have come.” Damien said as he moved away from Kaylee. Kaylee turned her head and glared up at him.

“If you leave me again, Damien, you can forget about me.” she said, deciding that for once and for all the demon needed to learn that he couldn’t just come and go as he pleased. Damien nodded and stood still. He was worried. He had not meant to have the whole family fighting. Jake and Charles were glaring at each other as if ready to kill and Rebecca and Kaylee were standing toe to toe.

In his family, turmoil such as this, always led to bloodshed and pain. He didn’t want to cause either of those things but he would not let anyone harm Kaylee. If it came to it he would defend her against anyone in this family that made a move toward her.

“Apologize to your grandfather right now, young lady.” Rebecca scolded. Kaylee shook her head.

“Not until he apologizes to Damien. He has no right to say mean things about Damien. Damien helped us when Vanessa was being held by Vincent and he has always been there for me! Do you people realize how many times he has saved my life when I’ve gotten in too deep?”

“He’s a demon, Kaylee! There has to be an ulterior motive!” Charles exclaimed.

“I assure you there is not.” Damien spoke up and Charles looked at him.

“I did a little digging on you, Damien. You are a demon prince. Does Kaylee know that? Does Kaylee know that you, your father and your brother are the only true demons left alive? There is a reason the demons were wiped out and that is because they cannot be trusted.”

“What’s going on?” Angela asked coming down into the living room with Lane, Joey and Kayleb on her heels.

“I don’t want a demon in my home!” Charles replied angrily.

“This is not your home and he is welcome to stay.” Jake growled.

“I can’t believe you, Charles!” Angela scolded as she put her hands on her hips.

“Why not? He is a demon.” Lane butted in and soon everyone was arguing at once and Damien stood there in shock as their angry voices filled the living room. He was certain that no one could hear anyone else over their own anger and he was waiting at any moment for someone to snap and attack someone else. There had never been arguments in his own family….. Things were settled in a much more violent manner. If you went against Victor you were tortured and beaten until he was satisfied you would not dare go against him again.

Damien finally could stand no more of the noise and he stepped forward.

“Enough!” he called loudly in a tone that clearly belonged to someone born into nobility. Kaylee was shocked because she had never heard him use that tone before. She was even more shocked when it caused all the loud, arguing voices to stop instantly and look at him.

“Yes, I am a demon prince, Charles, or at least I was born as one. I was disowned and kicked out of the family, I guess you could say, almost eight hundred years ago because I refused to kill innocents. I have been alone since. I cared for nothing and no one until I met your granddaughter. I do not want to cause fighting among any of you but if I am being honest, whether you trust me or not and whether you like me or not, does not matter to me at all. Kaylee is the only one that matters to me and I have stayed away from here for nearly twenty years because I knew how you would react to finding out that Kaylee’s mate is a demon but I cannot stay away any longer. I do not care what any of you think of me. I have done my fair share of evil things but I can assure you that I will never harm Kaylee or your family.” Damien stood there in front of the pack as they all stared at him with mixed emotions on their faces.

Kayleb stepped forward and held out his hand and Damien stared at it for several seconds as if trying to figure out what to do with it. Damien had never ‘shook hands’ with anyone before. Kaylee was the only person he had made physical contact with in hundreds of years other than Faith and then Vanessa when she had hugged him that night.

Finally he reached out and shook Kayleb’s hand and Kayleb grinned.

“My sister loves you and you saved my ass with Vanessa, so that makes you okay with me.” Kayleb said. He let go of Damien’s hand and stepped away.

“What the hell…” Lane said with a sigh. “We got slayers and vamps in this family we might as well throw a demon in there too.” Kaylee smiled at her brother and her uncle.

“I’m not much for speeches. You already know you’re welcome here.” Jake said.

“I’m going for a run.” Charles grumbled and he stalked out of the house. Rebecca looked torn for a moment but then she followed quickly after her mate.

“I’ll talk to him.” she promised as she walked out the door.

“Where the hell was dad going so pissed off?” Bethany asked as she breezed in the door in a skin tight white dress that showed off her long legs and tan arms. “And what’s the demon doing here?” she added.

“He’s actually Kaylee’s mate.” Angela said as Jake, Lane and Kayleb walked out of the house with Jake saying something about working on his motorcycle.

“Really?” Bethany asked looking Damien up and down. Kaitlyn huffed.

“I wish I could find my mate…And I hope he’s hot like that.” she said. Greg grumbled as he walked in.

“You’re only twelve and whenever you do find your mate he won’t be hot once I’m through with him…”

“I doubt he’d be afraid of you honey. You’re too pretty.” Bethany said patting his arm.

“I believe I’ll join my fellow males out in the garage.” he said and he turned and walked out the door.

“Kaylee, can we talk?” Damien asked and Kaylee quickly nodded.

“Yeah.” she said. “Come on to the library.” She led him to the library and once there she sat down on one of the long tables.

“Damien, I’m almost afraid to get my hopes up…. When you said you need me and when you told my family that you couldn’t stay away any longer… Did you mean all that? Are we going to be a real couple?” Damien walked over and sat down beside her on the table.

“I am yours, Kaylee, if you want me.”

“What do you mean, if I want you? Of course I want you.” she replied matter of factly.

“You need to know some things about me Kaylee. I really do not care about anyone but you… and perhaps my mother, I do what I can to keep her safe. I do have to kill people to survive. I have to feed off of souls, though unlike my father and brother, I do not torture anyone and I do not harm innocent mortals. There is nothing innocent about the men I take souls from. I have been a loner for eight hundred years and I have no idea how to interact with other people. I do not know how to function within a family and I do not like a lot of noise. If you still want me, I am yours.”

Kaylee rose from the table and stood in front to him. She pushed his knees apart so that she could stand between his legs and be closer to him. She put her hands on his cheeks and held his eyes even with hers.

“I love you, Damien. I know that demons have to feed off of mortals. I’ve always known that and I fell in love with you anyway. And don’t worry about feeling awkward in the family. Hunter still walks out when we get too loud and poor Vanessa is still trying to remember everybody’s names. Jake is a grouch and threatens to kill everyone when he gets woken up in the mornings and most of the time Lane has at least a fifty/fifty ratio of blood to alcohol in his system. You’ll be just fine.”

“If you say so.” Damien said uncertainly as he laid his hands over hers.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you nervous.” Kaylee teased. Damien raised his brow.

“I am not nervous. A demon never feels nervous.”

“Yes but you are technically only half demon.” Kaylee replied and then she growled as her cell phone rang. She pulled it from her pocket and saw that it was Chief Michaels.

“Give me just a minute.” she said as she turned away from Damien. She walked across the room, growing angry as she talked to the chief but Damien’s mind was still on her earlier words. He was half a demon. He had never really thought about that before. He was half his mother as well. Did that mean that these emotions he’d been feeling were real? Was that why he was pretty sure that he loved Kaylee even though demons weren’t supposed to feel things like love? Was that why he had always found himself caring for his mother and doing things for Kaylee even though he knew he would be punished for them? Is that what made him different from his father and brother?

“You’re going to hate me.” Kaylee said as she closed her cell phone and walked back over to him.

“Impossible.” he replied as he stood up.

“I don’t want to leave but the boss says there was a murder and he needs me….”

“Go. I will be here when you get back.”

“Are you sure? Do you really want to be left alone with my family?”

“You yourself said that I will be fine here. I have survived much worse tortures than a few hours alone with your family.”

“We’ll see if you love me enough to stick around after you spend some time with them…..”

’ I think I love you more than you’ll ever know.’ Damien thought but he didn’t say that out loud.

“I’ll be here.” was what he said to her. Kaylee felt her heart do a little flip. Had he just admitted that he loved her?

“I’ll hurry as fast as I can.” she promised. She laid a gentle kiss to the corner of his lips and then the air shimmered and she was gone.

Chapter Ten

The family. We were a strange little band of characters trudging through life sharing diseases and toothpaste, coveting one another’s desserts, hiding shampoo, borrowing money, locking each other out of our rooms, inflicting pain and kissing to heal it in the same instant, loving, laughing, defending, and trying to figure out the common thread that bound us all together. ~Erma Bombeck

Damien thought about staying in the library until Kaylee returned but he knew he needed to at least make an attempt to get to know Kaylee’s family. He wished there was a way around it since he really had no interest in getting to know any of them but he knew there was not. It wasn’t that he didn’t like people, he had just always been a loner and other than Kaylee he had never craved anyone’s company.

He finally left the room and walked through the quiet house. He could hear babies fussing upstairs and he could hear Angela singing a song to try to calm them. He walked through the living room and Bethany and Kaitlyn looked up at him from the fashion magazines they were flipping through.

“Hello demon.” Bethany said with a smile and a small wave.

“Hello.” Damien replied. Bethany rolled her eyes and crossed one of her long tan legs over the other.

“Do I call you demon or do you have a name? I can’t remember.”

“Damien.”

“I thought demons were all rotted.” Kaitlyn said, raising her brow and looking like the spitting image of her mother as she looked Damien up and down.

“Those are sub demons.” Damien replied and Kaitlyn looked like she was ready to faint as his eyes met hers and he spoke.

(What’s the matter with you?) Bethany asked her daughter.

(He is the hottest man I have ever seen.) Kaitlyn replied (I wonder if he has a younger brother.)

“Do you have a younger brother?” Bethany asked Damien out loud and Kaitlyn buried her bright red face behind her magazine.

“Moooom!” she exclaimed. Damien raised a brow and wondered why she seemed upset and why Bethany was smiling guiltily. Emotions…. Would he ever fully understand them?

“Yes actually I do. His name is Rotan.” Bethany elbowed Kaitlyn who was still hiding her face behind the magazine.

“See honey, he has a brother.” Bethany said. “Does your brother look like you?”

“No.”

“You don’t talk much do you?” Bethany asked.

“No.”

“Well go on about your day then… Don’t let us stop you.” Bethany said as she dismissed him with a graceful wave of her hand. Damien shrugged and walked quickly out of the room.

“He’s definitely not a people person.” Bethany said as she grabbed the magazine from Kaitlyn and went back to looking through the pages.

“But he looks good when he walks out of the room.” Kaitlyn replied looking over the back of the couch. Bethany rolled her eyes and slapped her daughter on the knee.

“Your father’s heart would stop beating if he heard you talk like that.”

“He’ll be fine.” Kaitlyn replied flipping her blond hair over her shoulder. “Do you think aunt Raquel would have given up her Hunter crush for a Damien crush?”

“I doubt it.” Bethany said with a touch of sadness in her voice. “She lost her heart to Hunter the first time he called her ma’am.”

Damien walked into the kitchen and shook his head at their conversation. He was not sure what a crush was… It sounded painful… But he assumed it had something to do with feeling affectionate toward another person.

“You look lost.” Damien suddenly realized he wasn’t alone in the kitchen and he looked at Vanessa who was sitting at the table watching a tiny blond girl and Faith eat while Lane’s mate sat in a chair with her knees pulled up to her chin and watched him cautiously.

“I am not lost. The house is not that big.” Damien replied and he didn’t understand why Vanessa laughed since he had not been being humorous but he shrugged it off as a mortal born thing.

“Overwhelmed then?” Vanessa offered. Damien shook his head.

“A demon does not get overwhelmed.” he replied and there was no mistaking the ‘give me a break’ look on Vanessa’s face. “Maybe just a little.” he admitted.

“That boss of Kaylee’s and Kayleb’s doesn’t give them a break. Of course since they are the only two members of the supernatural task force there really isn’t anyone else to deal with everything.” Vanessa replied.

“I do not understand why Kaylee feels the need to risk herself for people she does not even know. It amazes me the way she is able to care for so many people at one time.” Damien said.

“Too bad you said that demons don’t feel love.” Vanessa said and Damien raised a brow.

“Yes I did say that. Why is that too bad?”

“Because when you say Kaylee’s name you look and sound like a man in love.”

“I am only half a demon.” Damien replied and then his eyes were drawn to Faith who was staring up at him. He felt a pull in his soul toward this little girl who had a piece of himself inside of her. The pull surprised him since he had not expected it. He had never given immortality to anyone before and he hadn’t realized the bond would be there. How could his father and brother hurt those they changed? When he looked at this little girl he felt nothing but an urge to protect and care for her.

“Hello Faith.” he said.

“Hi.” Faith said giving him a little wave as she looked up from her grilled cheese sandwich. “What’s your name?”

“Damien.” he replied.

“That’s Gwen.” Faith said, pointing at the tiny blond girl. Damien nodded as he looked at her. This was Kaylee’s sister…. She looked like Evan had looked.

(Gwen’s having a hard time since losing her mom and dad.) Vanessa said so only Damien could hear. Damien nodded, though he wasn’t sure why that fact was any of his business or his problem.

(Can we trust you?) Joey’s voice came in his head. He looked over at the tiny woman with wild red hair and glasses and raised his brow.

(Yes.) he replied simply and she nodded.

“The men are outside in the garage if you want to go out there.” Vanessa said noticing the awkwardness in his posture. Damien quickly nodded and walked out of the house. He didn’t head for the garage though. He could hear arguing in there and decided that was not where he wanted to be.

Instead he walked to the barn at the back of the house. He walked in a small side door, ducking slightly to keep from hitting his head on the door frame and saw Hunter and Laney both busy grooming horses. Hunter looked up when he walked in and nodded.

“Damien.” he said in greeting. Laney looked up when Hunter spoke and smiled and Damien realized that she looked like her mother.

“Hi Damien.” she said.

“Hello.” Damien replied. He walked over to a gray mare and ran a hand over her neck. Hunter and Laney shared a surprised look as the normally hateful and moody mare closed her eyes and leaned into Damien’s hand.

“She likes you.” Laney said with surprise.

“Most animals do. It is people that seem to have a problem.”

“Oh jeez, not another man around here who is convinced he’s evil.” Laney said with exasperation as she went back to combing through a black mares mane.

“Another?” Damien asked. Hunter shook his head and walked to the other end of the barn to start cleaning stalls.

“Hunter was convinced he was evil when we first met because his father was a murdering, cold hearted vampire.”

“Your family does not make you evil.” Damien said as he grabbed a handful of oats and held it out for the gray mare.

“Thank you!” Laney exclaimed. “Finally someone that understands.”

“Laney, I am the grandson of Dracula… That has to mean something.” Hunter said, leaning on the rake and then he smiled at the angry look on Laney’s face as she glared at him. “But luckily I have you to keep me in line so I’ll be alright.” Damien was reminded of Kaylee as Laney smiled and winked at Hunter before turning back to her horse.

“We have to get these horses all prettied up for tomorrow.” she said.

“What is tomorrow?” he asked. He found that there was something about Laney and Hunter that made him feel a little more at ease.

“Laney has a group of orphans come out here a couple of times a month and we give them rides.”

“Why?” Damien asked.

“Why what?” Hunter replied.

“Why would you do that for them? Did you kill their families?”

“No.” Hunter replied. “We just do it to be nice. Laney has always helped out everyone she can.” Damien could hear the pride in Hunter’s voice as he talked about his mate. Damien however was confused.

“Why would you do things for someone for no reason? If there is no debt to repay than why spend your time or energy on them?”

“Haven’t you ever just done something for somebody for no reason without expecting anything back?” Laney asked. Damien looked around the dusty barn and nodded.

“For Kaylee I have. But never for anyone else.”

“Well it’s a start.” Laney said with a smile. “You should spend some time with the kids tomorrow. I think it would be good for you.” Before Damien could reply the yelling in the garage became so loud that it could be plainly heard even out in the barn.

“Oh shit! That’s dad and grandpa!” Laney said and she ran out of the barn with Hunter right behind her. Damien also left the barn though he did not run and by the time he reached the garage, the scene was tense.

Jake and Charles stood toe to toe. Angela was standing behind Jake trying to calm him while Rebecca stood behind Charles doing the same. Lane, Hunter, Laney and Greg were standing off to the side and Damien walked over to stand beside them.

“Any bets on who will win?” Lane asked.

“Uncle Lane, now is not the time.” Laney scolded.

“My money is on Jake.” Greg said and Hunter nodded in agreement.

“Why Jake? Dad taught Jake everything he knows.” Lane said matter of factly.

“I’ve had the hell beat out of me by Jake remember? I know how damn hard the man punches.” Damien wondered what circumstances had led to Jake hitting Greg but knew it was none of his business.

“Do you know how many of our kind and of your mates kind were wiped out by demons?” Charles demanded of his son, his face growing red in his anger.

“Do you know how many of my mates kind have been killed by werewolves? Does that mean I am a danger to her?” Jake growled back. Damien was suddenly sure that Greg was right. Jake’s posture and his expression were those of a man who knew how to kill and knew how to do it well, whereas Charles seemed more like a man who was used to giving others the order to kill.

“Of course not! But you are not a demon!” Charles replied. “I don’t want him here!”

“He’s staying.” Jake growled in a low voice. “Kaylee deserves her mate and your hate is not going to get in the way of that.”

“You have changed since meeting Angela! You used to agree with me about demons!” Charles sneered.

“I will not argue with you anymore.” Jake said and he turned to walk away.

“If he stays then I’m leaving.” Charles said crossing his arms over his chest.

“Charles…” Rebecca started but he held up his hand to silence her. Damien was about to step forward and agree to leave since he did not want to be the cause of any more fighting but Jake turned quickly to face his father and shrugged.

“Goodbye.”

“You would choose that demon over your own father?” Charles demanded as he clenched his fists and glared at his oldest child.

“That demon is not the one causing trouble right now, you are. So hell yes I would choose him to stay over you. I warned you when you came back here that things would not be the way they were before. You do not call the shots and we are no longer hunters or slayers or enforcers of what we consider to be right and wrong. We are a family and if you cannot accept that then you are free to leave.”

“I’ll teach you a lesson boy.” Charles said stepping toward Jake with his features contorted with rage. Angela stepped forward.

“Charles, enough!” she said. “Why are you acting this way?”

“Get out of my way!” Charles growled and he shoved Angela back and she would have fallen if Lane hadn’t run forward and caught her in his arms.

Damien’s eyes widened when in less than a blink of an eye Jake leapt forward and brought his fist hard across his father’s jaw. Charles was thrown backward by the impact but Jake caught him before he could fall to the ground and closed one big hand around Charles’s throat.

“Do. Not. Touch. Her.” he growled out and suddenly Charles realized that he had indeed lost the alpha position in this family. Jake was the leader and he was the one everyone would listen to.

“Jake, let him go.” Angela said gently as she laid her hand on her mates arm. “I’m fine… He didn’t hurt me.” Jake slowly released his hold on Charles’s throat and Charles jumped away from his son as he rubbed the bruised flesh.

“Are you saying I am no longer welcome here?” Charles asked though his voice was raspy from the damage Jake’s hand had done.

“You know you are always welcome here but if you say that you will not live here with Damien here than I guess you have to leave.”

“Fine, I’m leaving.” Charles growled and then he turned to look at Rebecca. “Are you coming with me Beccs?”

Rebecca looked at her mate and her family. Charles needed her… They didn’t need her anymore. She nodded.

“I’m coming.” she said. Charles grabbed her hand, the air shimmered and the two of them were gone.

“I should have left.” Damien said, walking up to Jake who was still standing as still as stone and looking ready to kill. “I did not want to cause any of this.”

“You didn’t.” Jake growled and then he stalked away toward the woods with Angela right behind him.

“He’s telling the truth. There’s been a bit of a power struggle going on between Jake and dad ever since dad came back. You showing up just brought it all to a head and well, dad lost.” Lane said. “I can’t believe dad put his hands on Angela… He’s lucky Jake didn’t just rip his head right off. That’s what usually happens to anyone that touches Angela.”

“Grandpa and grandma will be back.” Laney said. “Everyone just needs time to cool off. Grandpa has been on edge ever since Raquel died. He felt like he wasted so much time with his family but he thought he’d have forever to make up for it and then his daughter was gone….” Laney’s voice broke and Hunter wrapped his arms tight around her and pulled her close.

“Where’s Jordan?” Greg asked realizing that she wasn’t around.

“Out back.” Lane replied. “She wanted to plant some flowers around the grave.” As the family began talking about Raquel and Evan and their sadness became thick in the air Damien walked away and back into the house. He went up to the third floor and found Kaylee’s room.

He sat down on the edge of the bed and tried to work through what he was feeling. Usually when an emotion attempted to take hold of him he pushed it aside because he knew they got in the way and had no place inside a demon…. But as Kaylee had told him he was only half a demon and he figured he’d try to look at the emotions before pushing them aside.

Guilt…. That was new. Guilt was not something he had ever felt before. He had always just done want he wanted to do or what needed to be done and did not worry about anyone else but knowing that he was the cause of Jake and his father feuding made him feel guilty.

Sadness… He’d felt this before every time he’d had to leave Kaylee but this was the first time he was feeling sadness for people that he did not really know. He was sad that this family was still hurting over the loss of Raquel and Evan. He had never cared about anyone enough to be sad over their loss.

Loneliness…. Strange that he had spent the last eight hundred years alone and never felt lonely. Now he was in a house with all of these people that cared so much for one another. They helped raise each others children, they cooked, cleaned, joked, laughed and lived as a unit… He was now technically a part of that unit, Jake’s earlier confrontation with his father had shown him that, and yet now he felt lonely.

He ran his hands roughly over his face and pushed his emotions aside, remembering now why he had never had any use for them. He laid back in Kaylee’s bed and decided to just wait on her here. It was the only way he knew for a fact he wouldn’t have to see anyone else and be plagued by more of these emotions.

Chapter Eleven

It was dark outside and Kaylee was tired when she finally made it back to the house. She was covered in blood from her fight with the murdering vampire and Kayleb’s arm still wasn’t fully healed from the vampires bite and it was hanging loose, shredded and black from the venom.

“Kayleb!” Vanessa exclaimed as she jumped from the kitchen table and ran to him when he walked in. Kaylee couldn’t help but smile because though Kayleb was trying to act tough, she could tell how much her brother liked Vanessa’s attention.

“Where is grandma?” Kaylee asked as she realized that Rebecca, who seemed to live in the kitchen, was not here. Jordan looked up from her dinner and sighed.

“Apparently we missed quite the showdown between dad and Jake today and it ended with dad and mom leaving.”

“What the hell happened?” Kayleb demanded. Kent stole a fry off of Jordan’s plate, earning his hand a slap and then he shrugged.

“I was at work but Greg said that Jake and Charles were fighting over Damien being here. Jake said he could stay and Charles said if Damien stayed then he was leaving. Jake told him goodbye and Charles lost it. He started toward Jake, Angela jumped in between them trying to calm the situation down and Charles’s dumbass pushed her down.”

“Oh shit.” Kayleb and Kaylee both said at once. Kent nodded.

“Jake just about killed him but Angela stopped him of course. Charles’ owes his life to her now. Charles took off and Rebecca went with him.”

“Where’s Damien?” Kaylee asked even as she tested the air and caught his smoky scent.

“Upstairs. I think he feels guilty over what happened.” Vanessa replied as she looked at Kayleb’s arm. “I’m gonna get Angela down here to fix this.” she said.

“No, leave Angela alone.” Kayleb replied. “I’ll be fine.”

“What happened to you anyway?” Vanessa asked as she led Kayleb to a chair and made him sit down. Kaylee didn’t stick around to hear Kayleb tell her the story. She followed Damien’s scent upstairs to her bedroom.

“What happened to you?” he demanded when she walked in and he jumped from the bed and began looking over her blood covered body checking for injuries.

“I’m okay, Damien.” Kaylee promised. “Kayleb jumped in and took the worst of the punishment.”

“I do not want you putting yourself in danger like that.” Damien scolded. “I do not like having to worry about you.”

“Then get a job with me and you can come and protect me from the bad guys.” Kaylee teased sarcastically.

“Why? Why put yourself in such danger for people you do not know. You did not know the mortals that vampire was killing.” Damien said as he ran his hands over a small bite on her arm and felt his temper rise. Anger was another emotion that only Kaylee in danger seemed to be able to bring out in him.

“Because it’s the right thing to do. I would die to protect innocent people. The same way that you let your father and brother torture and banish you in order to protect innocent people that didn’t deserve to die.” Damien looked in her eyes for several long seconds and then sighed with defeat.

“So you will not quit your job?” he asked and Kaylee shook her head.

“No I will not.” she replied. He nodded.

“Then I will have to get a job there too. I don’t want you chasing after vampires when I am not there to protect you.” Kaylee’s eyes widened.

“Are you serious? You are going to get a job with the agency just so you can keep an eye on me?” Damien shrugged.

“I want to be near you. I cannot explain it, Kaylee. When I am not with you I feel like a part of me is broken and when I am near you that part is fixed.” Kaylee felt her heart swell at his words. She raised her hand and caressed his cheek.

“I love you, Damien.” Damien looked down into her eyes and laid his hand over hers.

“I do not know what love is, my wolf, but I am over one thousand years old and when I met you twenty years ago it was the first time in my entire life that I found myself feeling. You are the only thing in this entire world that I know without a doubt I would die for. Without you my life would go back to having no meaning and no happiness. That has to mean something.” he said earnestly. Kaylee pushed her body closer against his and gazed up into his clear blue eyes.

Her body was on fire as he ran a hand through her hair and she knew the heat had nothing to do with the vampire venom flowing in her blood. She was sure he was going to kiss her as his eyes moved down to her lips but then just as quickly as the passion had flashed in his blue eyes he pulled away from her and crossed his arms over his chest.

“You should get cleaned up.” he said quickly.

“Why won’t you kiss me?” Kaylee asked as she tried to pick her bruised ego up off the floor.

“I have already explained that to you.” Damien replied without meeting her eyes. Kaylee let out an irritated growl and stomped over to her closet. She pulled out a clean pair of gray lounge pants and a tank top and walked to her bedroom door.

“We’ll talk about this later.” she said matter of factly and he simply nodded as she walked out and closed the door behind her.

She walked to the bathroom and turned the hot water on in the shower. She stripped out of her bloody clothes and examined herself in the mirror. Most of her wounds and bruises were gone, except for the bite on her arm. Luckily it been more of a glancing blow from the vampires teeth and not much venom had been injected. She stepped into the shower and sighed with pleasure as the hot water beat down on her sore muscles. She thought about Damien as the steaming droplets quickly fogged the room and she felt her body heat. Why did he push her away?

She knew that he loved her and she knew that he wanted her. She had felt his desire for her pushing against her stomach when she had pressed herself against him. She didn’t believe for a second that he would ever hurt her.

She thought about the words he had spoken to her before their near kiss in her room. She knew that Damien had not spoken the words in an attempt to woo her. He wouldn’t even know how to think about doing something like that. No, he had simply been stating what he saw as facts and for some reason Kaylee found that more romantic than ten thousand sugar coated promises.

She thought about how far their relationship had come in just a few short days and decided that she wouldn’t rush him. He was here now and clearly he meant to be around her everyday… She wouldn’t have to go days or weeks in between visits and never know where he was or if he was okay. That was more than she had ever thought they’d have.

As she turned off the water and wrapped her hair in a towel she thought about her mom and dad and wiped a tear from her eye. Her mom had always been so eager for her to find her mate and now he was here and her mother would never know. She could imagine what her overprotective dad’s reaction would be but she knew her dad would like Damien once he got over the initial ’ my baby girl has a mate, this cannot be happening’ phase. Her dad had always liked straightforward, no nonsense people and Damien definitely fit that role.

Kaylee brushed out her hair, but didn’t take the time to blow dry it before pulling on her clothes and leaving the bathroom. She walked to her bedroom but Damien wasn’t there. She followed his scent down the stairs to the kitchen and found him standing at the stove with Vanessa.

“Whoa!” Vanessa said as she grabbed the salt shaker from his hand. “If you put that much salt in the soup, you’ll lock Kaylee and Kayleb’s jaws.” she teased.

“I don’t understand.” Damien said as he scratched his head. “I thought salt makes the food taste better.”

“It does.” Vanessa said with a nod.

“But too much makes it bad?” he asked and Vanessa nodded again.

“That’s right.”

“Perhaps I should just leave the cooking to you.” Damien said with a sigh of defeat. Vanessa laughed lightly.

“If you hang in there you might just get the hang of it eventually.”

“No. I think I may have found the first thing that I do not have the patience for…. Cooking.”

“I’m starving.” Kaylee said as she walked in. “Will that be ready soon?” Damien turned quickly and the smile that appeared on his face took Kaylee’s breath away.

“You look refreshed.” he said as he walked to her and wrapped her in a hug, pressing his lips against her soft hair.

Damien could tell that Kaylee was surprised by his show of affection but he had been paying attention to the other couples all day and he had realized that they always took the time to hug one another when they saw each other after being separated for any amount of time. He decided that this seemed like a good thing to do, especially since it gave him an excuse to touch her soft body and caress her silky hair.

“Have a seat, Kaylee. Damien helped me get the soup ready so if your heart stops instantly from the amount of salt… don’t blame me.” Vanessa said with a smile as she sat a bowl down on the table. Damien pulled out a chair and Kaylee sat down.

“I don’t understand the ‘salt’ concept.” he admitted as he sat down beside her.

“It’s not too hard to learn.” Kaylee said as she took a bite of the soup and fought to hide the grimace from her face as the salt seemed to lock her jaw. “I’m sure you’ll get it eventually.” she added while forcing a smile. Damien raised his brow and she knew he didn’t believe that she liked the soup.

“For you, I will try.” he said and Kaylee smiled as she forced yet another bit of soup down her throat.

888

“I should go.” Damien said as he lay in Kaylee’s bed later that night, holding her close against him. They had been laying like this for an hour, simply gazing at one another. Damien had memorized every single freckle and curve of her beautiful face and every single tiny fleck of gold in her brown eyes.

“No, don’t.” Kaylee said quickly as she snuggled up against him and buried her face against his chest. “Stay with me.” Damien knew he could not deny her request. Lying here with her wrapped in his arms had to be the closest to heaven that any demon had ever been.

“Okay. I will stay.” he said.

“Tomorrow will be a hard day. I’m not working.” Damien could hear the sadness in her voice and he held her a little tighter as he kissed her hair.

“I hate to hear your pain. Why will tomorrow be hard?”

“It would have been my moms birthday if Vincent hadn’t…..” her voice broke and Damien rubbed her back gently.

“I will be here with you, my wolf.”

“I don’t know why I’m crying so much.” Kaylee said as she sniffed and Damien felt her hot tears soak through his shirt. “I’ve never cried like this in front of anyone but you.”

“You never have to hide what you are feeling from me.” he replied.

“I just wish there was a way I could see them again.” Kaylee said as she cried against him. “I never even got to say goodbye to them. One second they were here and we were all laughing and joking and then the next they were gone and Gwen lost her mommy and daddy.”

“So did you.” Damien reminded her gently.

“Yes but at least I’m a grown woman. I have thousands of memories to keep with me forever… Gwen won’t even remember them. She won’t remember the way mom would sing so gently at night when she tucked her in and she’ll never hear dads stern voice saying ‘you heard your mother’, I wish she still had the chance to know them.”

“It’s late, Kaylee.” Damien said as he glanced at the clock and saw that it was nearly midnight. “Get some rest and I’ll be holding you while you dream.”

Kaylee fell in love with Damien even more in that moment. She had known him twenty years and loved him nearly as long but when she heard his words of love and caring and felt his strong arms wrapped around her, she had never felt more safe or more loved and that made her love him even more. She sighed as she closed her eyes and snuggled up against him.

Damien held her for a long time and he heard her breathing become deeper and more even and knew she had drifted off to sleep. He hated to know that she was in pain. He thought about her parents and he knew he could fix her pain. He could give her parents back to her. But the risk to himself was great. Not only could he die while giving so much of himself to bring them back but if his father and brother found out they would send their minions out to get him and the torture would be worse than the last time.

His father and brother would not appreciate him using his powers to bring good souls back from the dead. That would go against everything they believed in.

Damien shook his head and kissed her hair. It was not worth the risk. He loved Kaylee and would do anything for her but surely her pain over the loss of her parents would fade over time. He would simply be here to catch her tears until then.

Chapter Twelve

“Don’t tell me it’s not worth trying for, I can’t help, it there’s nothing i want more. I would fight for you. I’d lie for you. Walk the wire for you. Yeah iIwould die for you. You know it’s true. Everything i do, I do it for you.” ~Brian Adams ‘Everything i do’

By the time Kaylee fell asleep the next night, Damien had changed his mind. The day had been full of tears and pain. Not only Kaylee’s tears and pain but the entire families. Charles and Rebecca had returned and Charles had apologized to Damien and to Jake and Angela and he had told Damien that his mother had been killed by demons and that was where his mistrust of Damien came from.

Damien had been surprised by how quickly the entire family had forgiven Charles for walking out. Jake had simply nodded at his father and with that simple movement all had been forgiven. Damien had watched the family lean on one another all day as they talked about their lost loved ones.

The women had cried while the men had done their best to seem strong and comfort them. Damien had stayed by Kaylee’s side all day but even though he could sense her pain, she had not shed a single tear throughout the day as she had focused all her attention on little Gwen.

Only when Kaylee was wrapped safely in his arms that night, in the privacy and darkness of the bedroom did she cry. Damien had not known a person could hold that many tears. She had sobbed into his shirt as she had clung to him and told him stories about her mother and father and how badly she missed them.

Damien had felt that pain in his chest again and he realized it was heartache and sadness that put the pain there. His heart was breaking to know that this family and his beautiful wolf was in this much pain.

He knew he had to bring Raquel and Evan back to this family. His wolf needed her parents and he could not live with the guilt of knowing that he could have ended her pain and suffering but had done nothing.

He waited until the house was silent and he could hear the steady breathing of every member of the family before slipping silently out of the bed. He looked down at Kaylee’s sleeping form and her soft pink lips and couldn’t stop himself from brushing his own lips against her gently. He felt passion and desire course through him and he pushed it down. He had just wanted to kiss her just once before leaving because after he did what he was about to do tonight, he may never see her again.

He forced his feet to move from her room and he used the stealth that only a demon possessed to walked silently through the house without waking any of the sleeping wolves or the vampire. He walked out into the hot summer night and out to the barn where he knew he would find a shovel. He carried the shovel to the grave and went to work.

It took him nearly an hour to dig out the coffin that held Raquel and Evan’s bodies. It took some time to maneuver the coffin out of the hole but he finally lifted it up onto the grass. He wiped his sweat and dirt covered face on the sleeve of his white shirt and climbed out of the hole.

He grabbed one end of the coffin and drug it deep into the woods. He found a clearing and sat the coffin down in the moonlight. His shirt was soaked with sweat and sticking to him so he undid the buttons the pulled it off revealing his lean muscled body and the black ancient script tattoos low on his stomach and across his back and shoulder blades.

The logical part of his mind told him he was making a mistake. He very likely would die bringing Evan and Raquel back and if he didn’t then his father and brother would make sure he paid dearly, but then the ‘human’ part of his mind told the logical part to shut up. He would do this for Kaylee and her family and whatever penalty he had to pay would be worth the happiness that he knew Kaylee would feel at having her parents back.

He opened the coffin, and looked down at Raquel and Evan’s perfectly preserved bodies. Immortals did not age or rot even in death, and for that Damien was thankful. He may be a demon and used to seeing horrible things but he did not like the sight of decomposed bodies… It was a sight he had never been able to stomach.

He knelt beside the coffin and touched both Raquel and Evan’s foreheads. He was about to close his eyes and give them back life when a twig snapped behind him. He stood straight and turned quickly, snarling as he looked around for the intruder.

“You…. Who are you?” Damien demanded with confusion as the old homeless man from under the bridge walking out of the shadows and into the clearing.

“My name is Angelo.” the man replied. Damien looked at his tattered clothes, tangled hair and dirty face and something told him he was looking at much more than just a homeless mortal.

“What are you?” Damien asked. Angelo smiled, revealing rotted teeth with a lot of gaps.

“A friend.” he replied. Damien shook his head.

“I don’t have friends.” he replied. Angelo chuckled.

“Yes you do. You’re just too ignorant to realize it.”

“Ignorant?” Damien asked as he crossed his arms over his bare chest and raised a brow.

“Don’t be insulted. Ignorance simply means you lack knowledge about certain things. We’re all a little ignorant. Take me for example, I have no knowledge on how to remove these stains from my shirt. I am ignorant in the art of stain removal.”

“I am busy so if your done I’d like to get back to what I was doing.” Damien said matter of factly. He wanted to bring Raquel and Evan back before Kaylee woke up and realized he was missing.

“No I’m not done. I’m an angel, Damien.” Damien’s eyes widened as he looked at the man in front of him. Angelo shook his head. “You should know by now not to judge a book by it’s cover.”

“What do you really look like?” Damien asked.

“That’s not important. What is important is the mission the boss sent me on.” Damien nodded and sighed with defeat.

“To banish me to the castle with my father and brother right? Look, I will not fight against you but please let me finish what I came out here to do and then…..”

“Kid, you really are ignorant aren’t you?” Angelo interrupted and Damien stared at him with a mixture of shock and irritation.

“Quit insulting me.” he said. “What are you here for if not to banish me?”

“The boss wanted you to know some things.”

“What things?”

“You are not a true demon, Damien. When you were born your father considered you an abomination because a demon and a mortal should not make a child. It had never happened before and it has not happened since. But to my boss you were not an abomination, you were a tool.”

“Tool?” Damien asked raising his brow.

“Yes a tool. Your birth led to your fathers demise and his and your brothers banishment to the castle. You rescued your mother and you have done His will several times when you have rescued Kaylee and also when you turned little Faith immortal.”

“Your boss, wanted me to do all those things?”

“Yes. My boss loves you. He considers you one of his own. He protects you. Why do you think your father and brother have not killed you? They know the angels will kill them if they do.” Damien’s mind was racing. For a thousand years he had seen himself as an evil being and now this dirty man was standing here and telling him that he was still alive because the big guy upstairs loved him. Was that possible? Did he really have the approval of the angels and their boss?

“But I kill people. I feed off of souls. Why would the angels want to protect me?”

“But even the souls you take are the evil ones. The dark and the poisoned, never the innocent.” Angelo replied and then he sucked at his tooth and rolled his eyes. “Quit trying to argue with me. Why do you think your power is white? My boss likes you and you’re alive because he wanted you to be and still wants you to be.”

“Okay.” Damien replied, deciding he had no choice but to go along with Angelo, clearly the man believed what he was saying.

“You do realize that by bringing these two back you could very well end your own life?” Angelo asked while looking at the dead bodies in the coffin. Damien listened to an owl hooting somewhere in the forest and nodded.

“Yes.”

“You realize that if you do live through bringing them back your father and brother will once again send their men out to hunt you down so they can punish you?” Damien shivered as he thought of the pain his brother would eagerly inflict on him but he nodded as he ran his hand over the massive scars covering his muscled stomach.

“Yes.”

“But you’re determined to do it anyway?”

“Yes.” Damien said again and Angelo smiled.

“If you ever needed proof that you aren’t like the rest of them, right there it is. A true demon would never put someone else’s feelings, life, happiness or safety above his own and you are doing just that. I’ll help you out, kid. There is nothing I can do about the chance you’re taking with your life but if you do make it through bringing them back, I can promise you that your father and brother will never know you used your powers and therefore there will be no punishment.”

“Thank you.” Damien said. Angelo nodded and turned to go but then he turned back.

“By the way, under the bridge that day, that pain in your heart wasn’t gas was it?”

“No.” Damien replied as the breeze blew through the dark forest, shaking the leaves and cooling his overheated skin.

“Don’t be afraid to love the woman, Damien. You won’t hurt her, I promise.” Angelo winked and then he turned and walked into the forest, vanishing silently as if he’d never even been there at all. Damien wondered if the angel had been telling him the truth. Was he really a good demon? Almost like an angel born to a demon? Did the angels and their boss love and protect him? It would explain why his father and brother had never killed him no matter what crime he committed against them.

Damien shook his head to clear his mind. There would be time to think about what Angelo had said later, if he lived through bringing Kaylee’s parents back to her. He turned and looked back down at Raquel and Evan. They simply looked like two lovers sound asleep and peaceful in each others arms.

He crouched down and laid a hand on both of their cold foreheads and then he closed his eyes and felt his power beginning to flow into their bodies, as white light filled the clearing, brightening the trees and the sky as if daylight had arrived. Damien felt himself weakening even as he felt Evan and Raquel beginning to stir beneath his hands.

He felt his head spinning and his vision blurring and then everything went black as he fell to the ground and lost consciousness.

888

Kaylee rolled over to curl up against Damien’s chest only to find that his side of the bed was empty and cold. He was gone and he had been gone for a long time. She rubbed her sleep filled eyes and looked out the window to see that it was still dark but dawn was approaching. She looked at her bedside clock and saw that it was four in the morning.

She smelled the air but she couldn’t smell his smoky scent anywhere in the house and she felt her heart fall to her feet. He had left her…. Again. She stood up and smoothed out her silk pajama pants and her black tank top and walked silently down the stairs and onto the back porch. It was foggy and the air was damp as she rubbed her arms.

She looked around the yard and gasped when her eyes fell on her parents grave at the edge of the woods. No, it couldn’t have been dug up…. The mist and fog had to be playing tricks on her eyes but she had to be sure.

She stepped off the porch and walked barefoot across the wet grass and when she got to her parent’s grave she nearly cried out…. Someone had dug them up and taken their bodies and the air was full of Damien’s smoky scent. Kaylee was filled with horror. Why would Damien do such a thing? Why would he disturb her parents grave and take their bodies away?

“Damien.” she hissed in an angry whisper. She heard a noise in the woods beside her and stared into them waiting for Damien to walk out.

“Oh my….” Kaylee gasped and she covered her mouth with her hand and took several giant steps back, nearly tripping over the shovel on the ground, as her parent’s walked out of the woods. Her dad was carrying Damien’s limp body over his shoulder.

“Who the hell are you?” Kaylee demanded. This couldn’t be her mom and dad. Her mom and dad had been dead for nearly two months.

“It’s us, sweetie.” Raquel said softly and her mothers voice was the sweetest sound she had ever heard.

“But how…. And what’s wrong with Damien?”

“Is that who he is? How do you know him?” Evan asked and Kaylee nearly cried at the usual overprotective tone in her fathers voice… But how could this be her mom and dad?

“It can’t be you.” she said shaking her head and taking another step back. “You are dead. Vincent killed you. I watched uncle Jake and grandpa bury you! Who the hell are you and what did you do to Damien?” Raquel took a single step forward but before she could say anything the air shimmered and Jake appeared between them, growling low in his throat and protecting his niece.

“Jake!” Raquel exclaimed and Jake’s growl ended abruptly as his nostrils widened and he tested the air.

“Raquel. Evan… “ Jake turned to Kaylee. “This is your mom and dad, Kaylee.” he said with a mixture of disbelief, happiness and shock in his voice.

“But how.” Kaylee gasped as tears ran down cheeks.

“Damien. Damien brought them back.” Jake replied. Kaylee nearly fell as her knees weakened and then she ran to her mother and threw her arms around her neck. The smell of dirt and mildew was clinging to her moms clothes and hair but she was warm and as her arms closed around Kaylee’s waist she knew this was really her mom.

Jake took Damien from Evan and Kaylee felt her dads strong arms close around her and she broke down in sobs, feeling very much like a little girl again.

Jake turned and carried Damien’s body into the house and upstairs to Kaylee’s bed. He looked down at the demon and cursed under his breath. Damien’s skin was gray and his pulse was weak. Jake didn’t think he was going to make it.

“What happened to him?’ Angela asked as she came into the room. Jake wrapped his arm tight around her waist and kissed her dark hair.

“He gave us Raquel and Evan back.” Jake replied.

“What are you talking about?” Angela asked pulling away and looking up at him.

“Demons and angels have powers we don’t have. Damien used his and gave us Raquel and Evan back.” Angela’s eyes widened. “Kaylee is outside with them now.” Jake added.

“What’s wrong with Damien though?” Angela asked looking down at his nearly lifeless form. Jake frowned.

“It took too much out of him. I don’t think he’s going to make it.”

“Maybe I can do something.” Angela said reaching her hand down toward Damien. Jake pulled her back.

“No, Angela… It might be too much for you.” he said, his tone that of an alpha expecting to be obeyed. Angela yanked out of his grasp and glared up at him with her hands on her hips.

“Jake Collins, don’t you boss me around! You might the so called alpha of this pack but I am not a wolf and if I want to risk myself to help Damien, then that’s what I’ll do.”

“Angela…” Jake warned.

“Jake…” Angela replied mockingly. “Go be with your family. Wake everyone up and let them know about Raquel and Evan and I’ll see what I can do for Damien.” Jake wanted to say no but he knew that arguing with Angela was no use when she got like this. He nodded and walked to the door.

“Be careful, Angela. Please don’t push too hard.” he said. Angela nodded and Jake left the room. Angela turned and looked back down at Damien.

“You crazy man.” she said as she shook her head. “Did you think you were giving Kaylee what she wanted by giving her her parents back? Didn’t you stop to realize that she wouldn’t want to sacrifice you for them?” Damien gave no sign that he had heard her and she sighed and laid her hand on his cheek.

“Please let me be able to save him.” she prayed and then she closed her eyes.

Chapter Thirteen

“When you love someone, you’ll do anything. You’ll do all the crazy things that you can’t explain. You’ll shoot the moon, put out the sun. When you love someone…When you love someone, you’ll sacrifice. You’ll give it everything you’ve got and you won’t think twice. You’ll risk it all, no matter what may come, when you love someone. You’ll shoot the moon. Put out the sun. When you love someone.” Bryan Adams ‘When You Love Someone’

The family was all gathered around Raquel and Evan in the kitchen. No one seemed able to believe that they were back. Kaylee was a nervous wreck as she waited for Angela to come downstairs and tell them how Damien was.

“My daughters mate is a demon?” Evan asked and Kayleb nodded.

“Yep, but it’s okay, dad. He really loves and cares about her.”

“I just can’t believe I have my daughter back!” Rebecca exclaimed as she went about frying bacon and scrambling eggs.

“I can’t wait until Gwen wakes up.” Raquel said matter of factly. “I want to hold my baby girl.” Evan wrapped his arm tight around Raquel’s shoulders and pulled her against him.

“I want to hold you.” he said pressing his lips against her ear.

“Great… Now we get to live through their honeymoon phase all over again.” Kent said doing his best to sound disgusted, but there was no hiding the happy smile on his face.

Lane looked around the kitchen at all the happy faces and then at his brother and niece who both looked nervous as hell as they waited for Angela to let them know how things were going up in the room.

(Lane.) Angela’s tired voice came into his head.

(Are you okay?) Lane replied, sparing a quick glance at Jake who was standing with his arms crossed by the wall and seeming to be lost in thought.

(No… Yes… I don’t know.. I’m really tired and weak but I don’t want Jake to worry… Can you come up here and help me get to my room?)

(Are you asking me to take you to bed?) Lane teased.

(Haha. Yes I’m asking you to take me to bed.) Lane could hear the weakness in her voice and he stood up from the table.

“Where are you going?” Raquel asked.

“Gotta go drain the main vein big sis. Don’t worry, I’ll be right back.” Lane said with a wink and Joey shook her head as Raquel smiled.

“Just as immature as ever.” she said happily. Lane smiled and walked out of the room. He went upstairs to find a very worried Damien sitting up in the bed holding an unconscious Angela in his arms.

“Why would she do this to herself for me?” Damien asked as Lane walked in. Lane shook his head and picked Angela up into his arms.

“It’s a personality flaw of hers. She’d kill herself for just about anybody.” he replied.

“What the hells going on!” Jake demanded as he walked in. He took one look at Angela and grabbed her from Lane.

“Is she okay?” Damien asked him. Jake kissed her forehead softly and she stirred in his arms and curled into his body.

“She’ll be fine.” Jake replied and then he glared over at Damien. “No more being a hero because my mate will not do this to herself again. I don’t care if I have to tie her up and lock her in the room to stop her.” Jake growled under his breath and carried Angela from the room, pushing past Kaylee on his way out.

“What he means,” Lane said with a grin. “Is thank you for risking your life to give us our sister and Evan back. You might be an evil, soul sucking, vicious demon but you’re good people.”

“Bye uncle Lane.” Kaylee said pointedly. Lane nodded.

“Gone.” he said and he quickly left the room. Kaylee walked over to the bed and knelt down beside it so she could look in Damien’s eyes.

“I’m so glad you’re okay!” she exclaimed and she threw her arms around his neck and laid nearly a hundred kisses to his cheeks and temples before Damien finally put his hands on her cheeks and held her face still so he could press his lips gently against hers.

Kaylee felt like her body was trying to float off into space and only his hands on her cheeks kept her grounded. The kiss was soft and light but lit a fire in her blood that she knew only Damien could ever cause or put out. He pulled away from her and she saw that his blue eyes looked just a little darker and his breathing was harsher than it had been before.

“You kissed me….” Kaylee said as she ran her tongue over her tingling lower lip. Damien nodded.

“I was told by a dirty, homeless angel that it was safe.” he replied. Kaylee raised his brow but he shook his head. “Long story.”

Damien could see the love shining in her eyes and it took his breath away. He had no way of knowing if Angelo had been telling him the truth out in the woods but he was going to believe every word of it anyway. He wanted to be able to love this wolf and believing that he was not a true demon was the only way he could do that.

Suddenly Kaylee pulled away from him and the love in her eyes was replaced by anger as she glared at him and then slapped him sharply across the cheek.

“Don’t you ever do something that you know damn well could kill you again, do you understand? I love you, Damien, and I cannot lose you!” Damien was shocked and confused by her outburst.

“But I thought…..” Then just as quickly as the anger had appeared in her eyes, it was gone and she was throwing her arms around his neck again and clinging to him as her tears soaked his bare skin.

“Thank you so much for giving my parents back to me… For giving them back to Gwen.” she whispered. Damien was lost and he knew it was hopeless for him to try to understand her storm of emotions. At least now she was hugging him instead of hitting him and he could wrap his arms tight around her and hold her close.

“There is nothing that I would not do for you, Kaylee.” he replied as he kissed her soft red hair. Kaylee pulled away and her eyes were drawn to the top half of his body which was naked. She felt her mouth go dry at the sight of his leanly muscled arms and broad shoulders. His waist tapered down to lean hips and she gasped when she saw the thick tangle of scars covering his lean, toned stomach just above his black ancient looking tattoos.

“Your stomach.” she said. “Why is it scarred?”

“Demon torture.”

“But it should have healed cleanly.. Why did it scar like that?”

“Rotan is good at what he does.” Damien replied simply. “Do my scars bother you?” Kaylee nodded.

“Only because they remind me of the pain you went through for my family.”

“The scars were there before that, Kaylee, but you should not worry about what I have went through. I would go through it a hundred more times to keep you happy and safe.” Kaylee wanted to argue with him and tell him how foolish that statement was but he yawned loudly and she ran her hand through his hair, causing him to lean into her touch.

“Are you tired?” she asked gently and he nodded.

“Yes but I am worried about Angela.” he replied and he was surprised by this fact. Worrying about anyone other than Kaylee was new for him.

“She’ll be okay.” Kaylee promised. “She always has to rest a little after she heals something so major.” Kaylee pushed him back down on the bed and pressed her lips gently against his temple.

“Get some rest, Damien.” she said. Damien grabbed her hand and shook his head.

“There are some things I want to talk to you about… I talked to someone today and he told me things.” Kaylee smiled at the excited tone in his voice. She had never heard him sound excited before but she had also never heard him sound so tired.

“You need rest, Damien, and I really want to spend time with my mom and dad. Get some sleep and then I promise we can talk about anything you want to talk about.” Damien nodded as he yawned again.

“I’ll rest then.” he agreed. Kaylee pressed another light kiss to his lips and then smiled.

“I love you, Damien… Even if you are a fool sometimes.”

“I love you too, my wolf.” he replied, knowing that it was the truth. These feelings inside of him had to be what everyone called ‘love’. “Even though you confuse me greatly most of the time.” he added sleepily. Kaylee’s eyes widened even as Damien’s heavy eyelids drifted closed and his exhaustion claimed him. He had just said that he loved her! Kaylee truly felt as if she was walking on a cloud as she made her back downstairs.

888

Damien was mentally exhausted by the time he and Kaylee went up to bed around midnight that night. He had been thanked and hugged so many times that both his ears and his waist were numb. No matter how many times he had told everyone not to thank him, they had continued to do so anyway.

Evan, however, had thanked him in one breath and let him know that he would die if he ever hurt Kaylee in the next.

Damien’s worry for Angela had simply increased when Jake had helped her downstairs around noon and she had been pale and weak with dark, bruise like circles around her eyes, but she had assured him that she would be okay. Damien could see Jake’s love for this woman in the way he hovered over her and took care of her every need throughout the day.

It had surprised Damien to see the man who just the other day had been dangerous and deadly and ready to kill his own father, now loving and doting on his mate. Damien realized in that moment that there was more than one side to all living creatures whether they were human, were creatures, vampires or half demons.

He rubbed his face roughly as Kaylee shut the door and smiled at him.

“Feeling a little overwhelmed?” she asked. Damien wanted to lie and say no but he knew that Kaylee would know the truth.

“Yes.” he admitted. “I spent eight hundred years completely on my own and I’ve spent my entire life blocking out emotions and feelings and now I am in a house full of people and finding myself feeling things… It is a little overwhelming.”

“Maybe I can help.” Kaylee said and Damien could her nervousness in her voice as she walked toward him and laid her hands on his chest. “This is the first time I’ve seen you in something other than a white shirt.” she added and she ran her hands over the cotton fabric of the black t-shirt Jake had given him to wear.

“This is the first time I’ve worn something other than a white shirt since I gained my freedom from my father.” he admitted.

“The t-shirt works for you too.”

“You’re complimenting the way I look again aren’t you?” Damien asked and Kaylee laughed lightly.

“Yes I am.” she replied and she felt his heart beating faster beneath her hand. “Earlier, you wanted to tell me what you learned in the woods.” Damien raised his hand and smoothed her soft red hair from her face.

“I’m not evil, Kaylee, and apparently the reason I’m alive is because the angels and their boss protect me. I am the only demon born to a mortal mother that there has ever been and that is why I feel things and that is why I am able to love you.”

“I love you, Damien.” Kaylee said as he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her up against his body and the air itself seemed to electrify around them. “I have always told you that you’re different from the rest of them.” she added just a little breathlessly.

“Yes you have.” Damien replied as his eyes roamed over her beautiful face, taking in every tiny detail.

“You’ve given me so much, Damien. You’ve saved my life countless times. You’ve been a shoulder for me to lean on and your arms have wrapped around me and kept me warm even when life felt cold. You gave me my parents back… How can I ever thank you for all you’ve done?”

“You do not have to thank me, Kaylee. I have told you before that I would do anything to make you happy. I am the one that owes you, wolf. I spent over a thousand years feeling dead and empty. Living day to day in a dull haze. There was no happiness, no sadness, no joy, no pain… no love. Then I saw your face in that dust and bullet filled desert and you woke me up. You made me feel for the first time in over a thousand years.”

“Kiss me, Damien.” Kaylee whispered and Damien did. He pressed his lips to hers and felt passion and desire fill his senses. His first instinct was to tamp those feelings down but then Kaylee moaned against him and ran her teeth along his lower lip and he forgot all about self control.

Damien became a demon lost in his passions and there was nothing soft or gentle in his movements. It was with passionate desperation and fiery demand that he quickly pulled off her clothes and devoured her soft, pale body with his hungry mouth. He felt her fingers lock in his hair as he moved his kisses to her chest and as she moaned her knees buckled, he wrapped one arm tight around her waist to hold her upright. Kaylee pulled his face back to hers and matched his passion, kissing him hungrily as she tugged off his shirt and Damien felt her fingertips leaving trails of fire along his naked skin.

He trembled as wave after wave of desire coursed through him. He had never allowed himself to get lost in these feelings before. He had never before felt a woman’s fingertips running over him passionately. He felt her tugging on his jeans and he quickly pulled them off and his passion rose as her brown eyes widened when they fell on his throbbing desire for her.

Kaylee’s body was on fire as she looked over Damien’s glorious body. It was clear that he was a warrior and his grace and stealth showed in every movement his body made. She gasped when he let out a snarl and his eyes took on an animalistic quality as the blue turned to red and he grabbed her and tossed her down on the bed covering her body with his own and laying kisses along her neck and down lower to her chest.

She was frightened at first by the change in him as his hand moved roughly over her body but as his hand found her most sensitive place she felt her body matching his passion and coming alive in ways she had never imagined it could. She threw him off of her and onto his back on the bed beside her before straddling him and she let out a passionate growl when she felt him slide inside her.

Kaylee couldn’t herself from saying the words as she sat there motionless on top of him as he bucked beneath her and his passion filled red eyes stared up her. She took a deep breath and pressed her lips against his ear.

“I, Kaylee, take this man as my mate. To be eternally bonded to him and only him mind, body and soul. My life is his and his is mine.” Kaylee felt Damien’s movements still beneath her and she looked at his eyes to find that they were again bright blue and staring at her with shock.

“What are you doing?” he asked.

“Bonding with my mate.” Kaylee replied nervously. She didn’t know what she would do if he pushed her away right now.

“Are you sure this is what you want?” Damien asked with disbelief and when she nodded he pulled her face to his and kissed her gently. Then he pulled her face away and gazed into her eyes. He had no idea if ‘mating’ with Kaylee would work. He had no idea if the life bond would truly be there since no demon had ever mated before but if this is what she wanted he would try. He would do anything for her.

“I, Damien, take this woman as my mate. To be eternally bonded to her and only her mind, body and soul. My life is hers and hers is mine.” Kaylee felt the wolf in her come alive at his words and the love they began to make was passionate and full of heat.

As Kaylee became lost in waves of passion she felt her teeth sharpen and she let out a growl as the wolf in her took control and she sunk her teeth deep into the skin between Damien’s neck and shoulder.

Damien felt pleasure course through him as his wolf’s teeth sank into his flesh. Then the urge to take a bit of her soul came to him… At first he tried to push it away but it was too strong and he was helpless to stop himself. Kaylee moaned loudly and clung to him as he felt himself going over the edge of passion and a glorious release filled his body. He laid his hand against her cheek and his white power flowed between them as he took just a bit of her soul inside of him before moving his hand away.

Kaylee fell limp on top of him and suddenly Damien’s mind cleared and his passion was quickly replaced by panic and fear.

What had he done? Why had he taken a piece of her soul? Had he killed her? She was lying so still and quiet on top of him with her head buried in his neck. He lay there for a moment and felt her warm breath teasing his heated skin and felt relief fill him as he realized she wasn’t dead. But why was she so still?

“Kaylee?” he whispered against her hair. “Are you okay?” Kaylee raised her head and the sleepy, satisfied smile she gave him was the most beautiful and sexiest thing he had ever seen and he was filled with pride to know that he had put it there.

“I am better than okay.” she promised as she moved off of him and curled up on her side against him. Damien rubbed gentle circles on her back and then curled her hair around his finger.

“Do you think it worked?” Kaylee asked after several peaceful minutes. “You didn’t bite me.”

“No but I did something else Kaylee. Something that you’ll hate me for.”

“I could never hate you Damien.” she argued as she pressed her lips against his bare chest and smiled at the way he trembled beneath her kiss.

“I took a piece of you, Kaylee…I took a piece of your soul.” he waited for her angry outburst. He waited for her to slap him and tell him to go away and never come back but instead she wrapped her arm tight around him and sighed with contentment.

“Yes and I bit you. Wolves bite when they mate, vampires suck blood, maybe demons take a piece of their mates soul.”

“Perhaps.” Damien replied as he kissed her hair. He had never been with any woman other than Kaylee so he had no way of knowing for sure if he would have been tempted to take a piece of another woman’s soul. When a demon lost himself in his passion it usually led to the death of whatever woman happened to be with him and so he had never let himself get lost to passion before Kaylee.

“I know a way we could check to see if it worked.” Kaylee said and Damien raised a brow.

“How?”

“See if you can contact somebody in my family. If it works than we’ll know we’re fully mated.” Damien shook his head.

“No, demons can use telepathic speech with anyone from anywhere so that wouldn’t work.” Suddenly Damien felt a sadness and a desperation fill him that he knew were not his own and he smiled as he looked down at Kaylee’s face and saw her frowning as she stared at the yellow bedroom wall.

“It worked, Kaylee.” he said and she looked up at him. “And please try not to feel your emotions quite so strongly for a while because I am still getting used to feeling them at all.” Kaylee smiled brightly and raised up so she could kiss him gently.

“I love you Damien.”

“And I, you.” he replied. “Let’s get some sleep because tomorrow I’ll be starting work with you.” Kaylee rose from the bed long enough to turn the light off and then she snuggled back up against him as he grabbed the blanket and pulled it over their bodies.

“Goodnight, Damien.” she said softly. Damien smiled as he kissed her soft hair.

“They will all be good from now on.” he replied and he heard Kaylee’s sigh of agreement.

chapter fourteen

Damien was sure he was in heaven as he listened to the steady beat of Kaylee’s heart and caressed her soft hair with his cheek. The sunlight was streaming through the window and shining on the soft skin of her freckled shoulder and he couldn’t help but press his lips against those freckles.

Kaylee moaned as she stirred in his arms and pressed her back closer against his chest. Then suddenly she gasped and jumped from his arms.

“I’m late!” she exclaimed. Damien looked at the beside clock.

“It is only nine o’clock.” he replied as she scrambled through her closet for an outfit and he enjoyed the view of her naked backside.

“Yeah and I’m usually at work by eight!” she replied as she threw a pair of pants and a shirt over her arm and then ran to her dresser to get panties and a bra. Damien felt his passion rising as he watched her naked body moving across the room.

“Kayleb is already at work… I heard him leaving earlier. He will call you if anything comes up.” Kaylee shook her head.

“No… I’ve missed two days already, I have to get a shower and get to work.” she replied and as she was pulling on her robe Damien caught a flash of black on the pale skin covering her left hip bone.

“What is that?” he asked as he rose from the bed and walked toward her. Kaylee’s mouth went dry at the sight of his naked body and she forced herself to blink and move her eyes up to his face… Of course the sight of his sleep tousled hair and his blue eyes didn’t exactly put her fire out.

“What is what?” she asked and Damien grabbed her hands and stopped her from tying her robe shut. He pulled the yellow fabric aside and ran his finger over the ancient demon script tattoo that had appeared on her hip.

“That.” he said. Kaylee looked down at her hip and her eyes widened.

“What the hell is that?” she demanded.

“A tattoo.” Damien replied simply. Kaylee rolled her eyes as she nodded.

“Duh… But where did it come from and what does it mean?”

“It is demon script.”

“You mean it says something?” Kaylee asked looking down at the black design on her hip.

“Yes. It says ‘Damien.’” he replied. Kaylee looked at him with confusion.

“How did your name get on my hip?”

“I don’t know.” Damien said with a shrug, looking just as confused as her. “It must be my mark… Kind of like the scar you put on my shoulder.” he said and Kaylee’s fingers instantly moved to the light scar marring his tan skin. Kaylee shrugged as she looked back down at her hip.

“It’s pretty.” she said.

“It’s the mark of a demon.” Damien replied and she could tell he was not happy.

“What’s wrong?” she asked and Damien moved away from her and began pulling on his clothes.

“I do not like seeing the mark of a demon on your skin.” he replied. Kaylee felt her own temper rising.

“How can you say that?” she demanded. “This is your mark! You gave this to me to symbolize our love and our passion, just the same as I gave you a mark. What’s the difference?”

“Demon marks are dark, Kaylee! Do you know when I got mine? The one on my back appeared after I killed my first innocent and took his soul and the one on my stomach appeared after my brother tortured me the first time. Demon marks represent bad things, Kaylee…. That mark on your hip shows me that us being together last night was a bad thing.”

“That is the craziest thing I have ever heard.” Kaylee replied but Damien shook his head.

“No it’s not.” he replied. “It’s logical.”

“What happened to the Damien that was finally opening up to the fact that he wasn’t evil and cold? Where did he go because I would much rather talk to him!”

“I was letting my emotions control me Kaylee but this morning I am using logic. Demon marks appear after intense moments of evil and what I did to you last night must have been one of those moments.” Kaylee wanted to slap him as he stood there looking at her with that cold, emotionless face that she hadn’t seen in the last few days. Her heart was breaking and if he felt anything it sure didn’t show on his face.

“I’m going to go take a shower.” Kaylee said after she bit the inside of her cheek to hold her tears at bay. “Maybe by the time I’m done, your brain will be working again.” She tied her robe tight, grabbed her clothes from the dresser and left the room, slamming the door behind her.

Damien sat down hard on the bed once he was alone and buried his face in his hands. Who would have known that heartache could be such a tangible thing… The air seemed to be thick with his pain. And he knew it was his own pain he was feeling and not just Kaylee’s. He had quickly closed that link between them when he had felt her hurt and temper rising this morning.

The only explanation for the mark on Kaylee’s hip was that what Damien had done to her last night had been evil. Her lying with a demon and making love to a demon had been bad and it had marked her. But then why had Angelo told him that it was safe to love her?

Probably because Angelo is a crazy person that doesn’t know what he’s talking about. A small voice inside his head answered. Damien was sitting there drowning in guilt and self-pity, two emotions he had never had time for before, when Vanessa’s voice came into his head.

(What is wrong with Kaylee?)

(Why?) Damien replied, not liking the fact that Vanessa was being nosy.

(She nearly ran me and Faith over on her way down the hallway because she was crying so hard and in such a hurry to hide herself in the bathroom. What did you do?)

(What makes you think I did something?)

(Because the man always does.) Vanessa replied . (Except when you’re talking about me and Kayleb of course, because it was me that was constantly screwing things up in the beginning.)

(It’s nothing.) Damien lied.

(You might as well tell me Damien. This is what family does, they help each other.)

(I marked her, Vanessa.)

(Wow.. No details please, but marking each other is what mates do.) Vanessa replied matter of factly.

(This is different. She has a demon tattoo that just appeared on her hip.)

(Why do you say that like it’s a bad thing?)

(Because it is.) Damien replied with irritation. (Demon tattoos only appear during moments of intense pain or rage or after an evil act. Either way the fact that she has one on her hip after last night is a bad thing.)

(Can I put my two cents in?) Hunter’s voice was suddenly in his head as well.

(I thought this was a private conversation?) Vanessa exclaimed. Hunter sighed.

(I’ve told you people over and over again that I can hear your private conversations unless you make a conscious effort to block me out. Now normally I ignore them and mind my own business but I can’t help but think that me and Damien are alike in a lot of ways and I wanna help.)

(Is there anything private in this family?) Damien demanded.

(Apparently not.) Vanessa replied dryly.

(Can I say what I wanted to say?) Hunter asked.

(Go ahead.) Damien replied. (But you will not change my mind about this.)

(You say that demon tattoos only appear during moments of intense feelings right?) Hunter asked.

(No, I said intense rage, pain or after an evil act.)

(Is that the only ways?)

(Haven’t you been listening to the man?) Vanessa piped in.

(Hush and go flip your daughters pancakes, I think they’re burning.) Hunter replied.

(Oh shit!) Vanessa exclaimed and Damien found himself chuckling… It was the first time he had ever chuckled and he was surprised that it felt good despite the amount of pain still in his heart.

(Okay but how do you know those are the only times.. .I mean I thought demons only ever felt rage and pain… And all they ever do is evil things. How do you know that those tattoos don’t appear after any intense emotion or bond has taken place? Maybe the intensity of what the two of you shared put that mark on her. Maybe that’s the mating mark you left behind, like when I bit Laney’s neck or when she bit my shoulder.)

(I guess I don’t know.) Damien replied and he felt the smallest sliver of hope rise in him.

(Look it’s none of my business but I don’t want you to throw away a good thing just because you think that you or what the two of you share is bad… Because I almost threw Laney away because I thought the same thing and that would have been the biggest mistake of my life.)

(Thanks for the advice, Hunter.) Damien said and then he closed the link. He thought about what Hunter had said and then he thought about what had happened between he and Kaylee the night before. He shook his head. There was no way that what they had shared had been evil or bad… Hunter must be right about the demon mark. Damien had been a fool.

He heard the bathroom door open and he knew that Kaylee was on her way back down the hall. He jumped from the bed and ran out into the hall causing Kaylee to let out a small scream of shock when he burst from the room and grabbed her in his arms. He hugged her tighter than he had ever hugged her before and by the time he pulled away she was breathing harshly from the lack of oxygen.

“I am sorry, Kaylee. I had no right to say that what happened between us was evil or bad, not when you are the best thing that has ever happened to me.”

“I’m sorry I got so upset. I guess I forgot that you are still coming to terms with who you are.” Kaylee replied. Damien smoothed her hair from her face and kissed her forehead.

“Are you hungry? I think Vanessa is making pancakes.” Kaylee scented the air.

“Yes she is.” she said as her stomach growled. “How did you know?” she asked, while wrinkling her forehead.

“Lucky guess.” Damien replied with a shrug.

888

“This isn’t bring your boyfriend to work’ day, Kaylee. What the hell is he doing here?” Chief Michaels demanded as Kaylee and Damien appeared in the station and Damien reached out quickly and caught the stack of falling files off of Barry Hicks’ desk just before they hit the floor.

“Thank you.” Barry muttered as Damien sat the files back on the desk.

“You’re welcome.” Damien replied, he had learned over the last few days that that was the proper thing to say when someone thanked you for something, even if you hadn’t necessarily done what you had done for them.

“Damien is here for a job.” Kaylee said.

“I don’t remember offering him one.” Chief Michaels replied. Kaylee rolled her eyes.

“Kayleb and I could use the help.” she said and Kayleb nodded in agreement from where he sat at his desk.

“So what are you?” Chief Michaels asked as he laid his hands on his large belly and eyed Damien suspiciously.

“A demon.” Damien replied and a collective gasp filled the station.

“Half demon.” Kaylee added, hoping to erase the look of horror from the chiefs face.

“No. I want him out of here. If the citizens found out I had a damn demon working here they’d flip.”

“I will not leave Kaylee alone. I don’t require your permission to stay. You cannot make me leave.” Damien said matter of factly as he wrapped his arm around Kaylee’s waist. Chief Michaels looked angry enough to burst as he huffed out a breath that caused his mustache to dance wildly on his face. Kaylee elbowed Damien in the stomach to tell him to shut up and then she smiled her most endearing smile as she took a step toward the chief.

“I have worked here for two years, chief. I have been a good cop and I haven’t let you down yet. You can trust that I know what I’m talking about when I say that you can trust Damien to be here.”

“Besides chief, if he gets out of line, I could take him.” Kayleb added with a wink as he leaned back in his chair with his hands folded behind his head and his feet propped on his desk. Kaylee rolled her eyes and shoved his feet sending Kayleb and his chair flipping backwards onto the ground.

Kaylee saw a smile tug on chief Michael’s lips as the station errupted in laughter.

“Bout time that cocky punk got knocked on his rear.” Barry Hicks grumbled even as officer Tortilonni ran over and began fawning over Kayleb as he climbed to his feet, muttering under his breath and rubbing the back of his head.

“Fine. We could use another member on your team but I’m not paying him until I know he’ll work out. We’ll call it a week long trial.”

“I do not need money.” Damien said, shaking his head and chief Michael’s eyes lit up.

“Good. You’ll work out fine then.” he said and then he turned and walked back into his office, shutting the door behind him.

“So this is your boyfriend, huh?” Tyler asked from behind Kaylee and she turned to see him looking Damien up and down sadly.

“He’s my mate, Tyler.” Kaylee replied.

“Guess that explains why you never showed any interest in me.” Tyler said as he held his hands up and shrugged. Kaylee was irritated. Tyler was trying to make her feel guilty and she had no reason to. She had always been straightforward with him about not being interested in dating him.

“Take another officer down to the basement and bring up a desk for Damien.” she said. Tyler shook his head.

“I’d rather not.” he said, sounding like a little kid throwing a temper and pouting. Kaylee rose to her full height, which matched his and her eyes flashed as she glared at him.

“Maybe I misspoke just then and gave you the impression that I was asking you to do me a favor instead of giving you an order. I am giving you an order to take another officer down to the basement and bring up a desk for Damien.” Tyler huffed out an irritated breath and then stomped toward the basement stairs with an officer that he had graduated the academy with following behind him.

“You just bwoke his wittle heart.” Kayleb said with a grin and then he growled as he swatted Susie Tortilonni’s hands when she began rubbing his chest as if checking for injuries from his recent fall.

“Does he have an interest in you?” Damien asked and Kaylee was sure she heard jealousy in his voice.

“He’s followed her like a puppy ever since he started here. If she told him to lick her feet, he’d get down on his belly and do it with pleasure.” Kayleb answered. Damien looked puzzled.

“Why would she tell him to lick her feet?” he asked and Kaylee and Susie both laughed.

“Because she’s a cold hearted snake.” Kayleb replied and Damien shook his head.

“You are just angry that she knocked you on your ass.” he said matter of factly and laughter filled the station as Kayleb blushed, grumbled under his breath and went back to looking through files.

“Well aren’t you a tasty looking dish?’ Susie said as she wiggled her eyebrows suggestively and walked toward Damien. Damien tightened his arm around Kaylee’s waist and frowned.

“Tasty looking dish?” he asked. “As in food?” Susie nodded as she looked him up and down.

“Yeah darlin’, a delicious looking food that I could just eat up with a spoon!” Damien could feel Kaylee’s jealousy and it confused him. Why was she jealous that this woman wanted to eat him? Then again, why in the world was this mortal woman threatening to eat him? Damien saw that Kayleb was laughing silently as he looked at the file he was reading and this just confused him more.

“Are you threatening me?” Damien asked looking at the big hipped, older woman and she smiled brightly revealing that some of her bright red lipstick had rubbed off on her teeth.

“No, I’m not threatening sugar.. I’m offering.” she replied.

“Offering to eat me?” Damien asked, not understanding this conversation at all.

“Yep.” she replied with a wink.

“I have to turn down your offer then.” he said. He wanted to be polite because he didn’t want to cause a difficult situation for Kaylee at work but at the same time he wanted this woman, with a very annoying voice, to leave him alone. Susie laughed loudly and patted him on the arm.

“Think about it, sweet cheeks, and I’ll come back later.” she said as she looked down at her pager and then walked out of the station. Before Damien could ask Kaylee what that had been about, Tyler and the other officer came back with his desk and chair. They got everything set up and Damien and Kaylee both sat down.

“I can’t believe Susie hit on you.” Kayleb said shaking his head. “How quickly she forgot about everything we shared.”

“She did not hit me.” Damien replied, shaking his head. Kaylee laughed lightly.

“No she hit on you.” she said.

“I don’t understand what that means.” Damien replied feeling lost.

“Seriously?” Kayleb asked and Damien nodded.

“She offered to eat me… Why would she think that I would want her to eat me?” Damien asked looking across his desk at Kaylee. He saw the amusement in her eyes.

“She thinks your handsome and she wants to have sex with you.” she replied and Damien nodded.

“That would certainly explain your jealousy.” he said.

“So now that you know what she was really offering to you, do you still want to turn her down?” Kayleb asked with a grin and Damien nodded.

“I would let her eat me before I would ever have sex with her. I belong to Kaylee. I am her demon.” Kayleb faked a gag while Kaylee beamed and wondered how she had gotten so lucky.

Chapter Fifteen

“What can I do for you, Victor?” Frances asked as he sat down in the high backed chair across from the demon and tapped his long, pale fingers on the chair arm.

“I need my oldest son found.” Victor replied as he signaled for a sub demon and the demon handed Frances a golden goblet full of blood. “It’s not human.” Victor said in response to Frances’s questioning look. Frances nodded but did not take a drink.

“I fail to see how your wayward son is any of my business.” Frances said as he crossed his long legs. Victor smiled coldly.

“I think you are forgetting what I have locked up in my dungeon. You either do what I ask or I will make my newest guest Rotan’s business.” Frances hissed and downed a quick sip of the blood.

“What do you want me to do.”

“Find him.”

“How am I supposed to do that, Victor? I am not a bloodhound or a private eye.”

“Your sister and brother were good friends of mine, Frances. As was your father. It is a shame that you are not more like them.”

“Yes such a shame.” Frances replied coldly.

“I happen to know that he still visits his mother quite regularly. I want a watch set up at her home. I want you there….”

“Perhaps you have forgotten the fact that I am a vampire and cannot just wander where I want to throughout the day.”

“Angelica lives in a cabin in the middle of a thick pine forest. Surely you can stay out of the sunlight while you watch.”

“I should kill you, Victor.” Francis hissed and Victor nodded.

“Yes you should. But you will not because you know what my youngest, somewhat sadistic son would do if you did.” Frances’s jaw was tense and his fists clenched as he stood up.

“Get someone to take me to the cabin and I will find Damien.”

888

Days passed quickly and Damien was becoming more accustomed to living with so many people and he was understanding his own emotions more everyday, though he still found himself missing the solidarity and peace that he found at his beach home. He wanted to spend some time there with Kaylee, just the two of them but he didn’t know how to ask her to leave her family. He was afraid it would hurt her if he asked her and he figured he had hurt her enough the first twenty years of their relationship.

Damien was sitting on the couch with Kaylee one afternoon as she argued on her cell phone with the manager of a store about surveillance videos he was supposed to hand over, when Faith walked up to him with a book in her hands.

“Will you read this to me?” she asked. Damien looked over at Kaylee but she was too distracted by her conversation to help him and he looked back at Faith. He was still surprised by the pull he felt toward her. He nodded and then sat in shock as she climbed up into his lap and handed him the book with a picture of a princess and a frog on the cover.

“I was going to ask Kayleb to read to me but he reads boring. Maybe you’ll be a better reader.” Damien raised a brow. How could someone be a boring reader? Damien decided he’d do his best attempt to entertain the girl. After all he had seen a few original Shakespeare plays in his life.

Damien began reading the book, using different voices for the different characters and matching their emotions perfectly with his voice. By the time he was done Faith was laughing happily and Kaylee had hung up her phone and was staring at him with shock.

“Thank you.” Faith said as she slid from his lap and ran back up the stairs toward her room.

“Where did that come from?” Kaylee asked.

“What?” Damien asked with confusion.

“Those killer acting skills.” Bethany said as she walked in. “I could definitely get you a part in a movie if you’re interested.”

“Movie?”

“You don’t know what a movie is?” Kaylee asked with disbelief and Damien shook his head.

“Is it like a play? I have seen several of Shakespeare’s. I was there for the opening of Romeo and Juliet. Although I was greatly confused by the ending because I knew that Romeo was an immortal with healing powers so why he didn’t just heal Juliet instead of drinking poison, I will never understand.”

“The original Romeo was immortal?” Bethany asked and Damien nodded. “Did Shakespeare know?”

“Of course. Shakespeare liked to surround himself with immortals of all types. He was a very eccentric and unique man.”

“That is amazing!” Bethany exclaimed. “I have always loved Shakespeare.”

“I’m seeing a whole new side of you.” Kaylee said to Damien as she shook her head. Before Damien could reply to her Bethany spoke up again.

“So if you really knew Shakespeare, what was he really doing during the ‘lost years’?”

“MOM!” Kailyn’s voice screamed from upstairs before Damien could reply. “Mom, I broke my fingernail!” Kaylee nearly laughed out loud at the panic and tears in Kaitlyn’s voice. Bethany cursed under her breath.

“I’m coming, honey!” she called and she ran quickly from the room.

“Kaitlyn knows her nail will grow back, right?” Damien asked.

“Apparently not.” Kaylee replied as she curled up against him and he wrapped his arm around her shoulders and kissed her hair.

“I’ve been thinking, Damien.” Kaylee said after several quiet moments. “I’d like to….” Damien didn’t hear the rest of what Kaylee said because his mothers voice was suddenly screaming in his head.

(Damien! It’s going to kill me! Get here quick, Damien!)

(What is going to kill you?) Damien replied to his mother’s normal panic.

(Ahh! It just jumped at me! Please hurry, Damien!) Damien shook his head and closed the link.

“I have to go, Kaylee.” he said. Kaylee looked up at him with confusion.

“Where are you going? I thought you’d like the idea of you and I spending a few days on the island.”

“I do. I like that idea a lot.” he replied. “But my mother needs me right now and I have to go. I shouldn’t be gone long.”

“Take me with you.” Kaylee said with a smile. “I’d like to meet your mom.” Damien looked uncertain.

“I’ve told you before that she is not normal since her centuries of torture at my father’s hands.”

“Please Damien.” Damien sighed. He could not deny her anything that she asked of him. He nodded and grabbed her hand before dashing them quickly to his mother’s log home in the Montana mountains.

Kaylee looked at the thick pine forest surrounding them and then at the tiny log cabin. She sniffed the air but there was not a single scent indicating that civilization was anywhere near.

“She lives way out here alone?” Kaylee asked.

“Yes.” Damien replied with a nod. “She is afraid of almost everything. As a matter of fact do not be alarmed if she is afraid of you at first.” Kaylee nodded and followed Damien up to the bright red front door. Damien knocked several times and the sound of a woman screaming came from inside. Damien shook his head. He had no idea what had his mother so afraid but he knew it wasn’t anything serious.

“Mother, open the door and let me in! Don’t make me break it like I did last time.”

“You broke her door?” Kaylee whispered.

“She wouldn’t open it.” Damien replied with a shrug. Just then the door opened and Kaylee stared at the woman standing there with shock. She was immortal and therefore should look young, but her blond hair was full of gray and her face was covered in deep, thick scars. Her bright blue eyes were full of fear and uncertainty as she looked at Kaylee.

“Who is she?” she asked as she tugged at the blue, floral moo moo styled dress that was hanging off of her stick thin and very petite frame.

“Mom, this is Kaylee. She is my mate. Kaylee, this is my mom Angelica.”

“Hello ma’am.” Kaylee said but Angelica ignored her and looked up at her son.

“It’s going to kill me, Damien!” she exclaimed with panic.

“What is?” Damien asked calmly.

“It’s in the backyard!” Angelica replied pointing a bony finger around the house. She clung to Damien’s arm as he led her outside and around the house. Kaylee followed after them, noticing that Angelica’s bright blue slippers were running to keep up with Damien’s long strides.

They got to the back of the house and Kaylee looked around for what could have possibly scared Angelica so badly but all she saw were some birds walking around in the grass and several rabbits chewing clover.

Before she could say anything one of the rabbits moved and Angelica let out a scream and clutched at Damien desperately. Kaylee would have laughed if there had been anything funny about the desperation and fear in this tiny woman’s eyes. She clearly thought her life was in danger.

“It’s okay, ma’am.” Kaylee said as she stepped forward. “Look, I’ll make them leave.” Kaylee jumped forward and waved her arms.

“Shoo! Go away!” she called out and of course the birds and the tiny rabbits left quickly, disappearing back into the woods. Kaylee turned back to Damien and Angelica and smiled. “See they’re all gone.”

“Thank you. He is always sending guards out to kill me.” Angelica said as she pulled herself off of her son and smoothed out her dress. “Why don’t you both come inside and get a drink of tea.” Angelica didn’t’ wait for a reply before walking back to the cabin.

“Thank you for that.” Damien said as he and Kaylee followed after Angelica.

“If she is immortal then why does she look so…”

“Old?” Damien asked and Kaylee nodded. “Over five hundred years of being Victor’s woman did that to her.”

“Then whatever it was that you did to gain her freedom was justified. Did he give her those scars?”

“That was Rotan. My father’s torture is more mental, whereas my brother just likes to hurt people.”

“How lovely.” Kaylee said dryly and Damien nodded as he led her into the dusty, dark cabin. Kaylee looked around as her eyes adjusted to the change of light and frowned at the mess. The house looked as if a bomb had gone off inside and the windows were all covered with thick black curtains.

Kaylee walked over to one of the windows and pulled back the curtain, eager to see what kind of a beautiful view would be visible without it and Angelica let out a scream.

“Don’t do that!” She scolded and she picked up a fly swat and began swatting Kaylee to get her away from the window. “They will see me! They will know where to find me!” Angelica screamed as she smoothed out the curtains. Kaylee rubbed her stinging arms and looked at Damien but whatever he was feeling he was hiding from her as he stood there with that cold look firmly plastered on his face.

“I’m sorry.” Kaylee said to Angelica. “You have a lovely home.” she offered as a token of peace.

“Thank you.” Angelica said as she walked back into the kitchen and grabbed two cups of tea. She handed one to Kaylee and sat down on a laundry covered reclining chair.

“Have a seat.” Angelica said pointing at the tiny loveseat that was covered in newspapers and magazines. Kaylee pushed some of the things out of her way and sat down whereas Damien just sat down on top of the mess.

“Drink your tea, sweetheart.” Angelica said, suddenly sounding sweet and innocent. Kaylee sniffed the tea and bit her lip. It smelled an awful lot like stale sweat.

“Thank you.” Kaylee said and she forced herself to take a sip finding that the tea tasted like sweat as well. She cleared her throat and held the cup down on her lap.

“How have you been, Damien?” Angelica asked.

“Fine, mom.”

“Good, I’m glad.” Angelica said and then she turned her blue eyes, that looked so much like her sons, toward Kaylee and Kaylee was again shocked by the amount of scars covering her face and neck. Even the parts of her hands, arms and legs that were visible were pale and scarred.

“Kaylee, you better be good to my boy.” she warned and Kaylee nodded.

“Yes ma’am.” Angelica waved her hand, causing her tea to spill and shook her head.

“Call me Angel, that’s what my friends call me.”

“Mom, you don’t have friends.” Damien said with exasperation and Kaylee knew this must be something he had to tell her a lot.

“Yes I do, Damien.” Angelica argued.

“You would if you would leave this house with me. Just come with me for a few hours and get out of here….” Fear flashed in Angelica’s eyes as she pulled her knees up to her chin and wrapped her arms around her legs, dropping her cup on the floor.

“No. No. No. I can’t leave here, Damien. He watches me all the time…. He’s just waiting for me to get out where he can get me.”

“No he’s not, mom.” Damien said tiredly and though he was trying to hide it, Kaylee could feel and hear his sadness.

“Yes he is, Damien! My friends tell me so… They tell me that he’s watching me.” Angelica exclaimed as she waved her arms and grew agitated.

“Okay mom. Okay. Sorry I mentioned it.” Damien said as he leaned back against the love seat.

(Are you okay?) Kaylee asked him.

(Yes. I’m sorry you have to see her on such a bad day.) he replied. (We will not stay long.)

(We can stay as long as you want. I’m here for you.) Kaylee replied and she reached over and grabbed his hand, smiling when she felt him squeeze her hand slightly.

“Kaylee, can I ask you where you get the red hair from? It’s very beautiful.”

“My mom.” Kaylee replied. “Of course she got it from my grandma so I guess you could trace the line back further.” Angelica nodded but then she looked beside her as if someone was sitting there that only she could see.

“Shut up, she is a pretty girl…. No my Damien could not do better… I do not care if you are my friend, I will kick you out if you keep insulting her.” Kaylee looked over at Damien but he was just shaking his head and picking at his jeans.

“Mom, who are you talking to?” he asked quietly.

“My friend.” Angelica replied as if the answer should be obvious. “I’m sorry she’s so rude, Kaylee. Seems she can’t help but share her two cents about everything.”

“That’s okay.” Kaylee said awkwardly as she crossed her legs. Angelica smiled and then continued talking, this time about the cloudy weather.

888

They left about an hour later and Damien dashed them back to their bedroom at mansion.

“Sorry about her.” Damien said and Kaylee shook her head.

“I feel sorry for her. Your father and brother must have done horrible things to her.” Damien nodded

“Yes they did. I should have gotten her out sooner but…” Kaylee pressed her finger against his lips to silence him.

“You got her out. That’s all that matters.”

“It amazes me that you love me, Kaylee. I don’t deserve someone as warm and loving as you.” Kaylee smiled mischievously and moved away from him. She sat down on the bed and leaned back on her elbows.

“I think if you work hard enough at it, you could deserve me.” she whispered.

“Is that right?” Damien asked as he pulled his shirt over his head and dropped it on the ground. Kaylee nodded and stuck the tip of her finger between her teeth.

“It might take a while… All night even.” Damien’s eyes flashed red and he snarled as he moved fluidly toward the bed, and the sight of her demon full of passion excited her like nothing else could.

Chapter Sixteen

“I trust you found him and that is what has brought you back?” Victor asked as he and Frances yet again sat across from each other in his office.

“Yes I found him.” Frances replied.

“Good. Where, may I ask, has my son been staying? Where can I send my men to get him?”

’First give me my daughter back.“ Frances replied coldly and Victor shook his head.

“No. She will remain my prisoner until I have my son. Where is my son?”

“Do you know Charles and Jake Collins?” Francis asked. His loyalty to them was gone after Kayleb’s attack on him and even if he had still felt loyalty he would betray them anyway to save his daughter.

“Yes I know those dogs. They’ve been wiping out immortals for years simply because the two of them are soft and weak and have a fondness for mortals.”

“I do not think Jake Collins is what I would call weak but Damien is staying with them. From what I could hear of Damien’s conversation with his mother he is mated to Jake’s niece, Kaylee.” Victor smiled and ran his long nails over the wooden arm of his chair.

“Tell me everything you know of this family.” he said. He would make his son pay and he would use the family his son was so fond of to do it.

888

“I’m going to go check on my mother. After the rough day she had yesterday I want to make sure she’s okay.” Damien said the next morning as he and Kaylee lay wrapped in each others arms. It was Sunday and Kaylee had allowed herself to stay in the bed past her usual seven a.m. wake up time.

“Do you want me to come with you?” Kaylee asked as she traced the muscles of his arm with her fingertips.

“No.” Damien said and he grabbed her hand and kissed her palm. “You spend time with your family. I will not be gone long.”

“I love you.” Kaylee said as Damien got out of the bed and pulled on a clean outfit that he had gotten from his beach house in the middle of the night.

“I love you too.” Damien replied as he did up the buttons on his shirt. He bent and kissed her nose before pulling away and vanishing.

Kaylee stretched out her deliciously sore muscles and rose from the bed. She pulled on a pair of gray pajama pants and a black tank top and then walked downstairs to the kitchen.

She smiled when she walked in and saw her mom helping Gwen eat her eggs and toast. Hunter immediately stood and pulled a chair out for her. He was always the perfect gentleman and did this for any woman who came into the kitchen while he was there, if she didn’t have her mate with her to do it for her.

“Thank you, Hunter.” Kaylee said as she sat down.

“You’re welcome, ma’am.” Hunter replied with a wink as he sat back down. He knew what Raquel’s reaction would be to hearing him say ma’am.

“Oh, Hunter, I love you. Let’s say we forget about Evan and Laney and we run away together.” Raquel said breathlessly.

“I would, Raquel, but the truth is I’m scared of your niece.” Hunter replied with false sadness. Laney came bouncing into the kitchen and threw her arms around his neck from behind.

“You better be scared of me you evil, cowboy, vampire. My daddy would whoop you.” she said just before pressing a kiss to his ear.

“Yes ma’am.” Hunter replied with a smile as he reached his arm back and pulled her around him so she could sit in his lap. Laney looked over at Raquel.

“Quit trying to steal my man.” she said and then she looked over at Rebecca who was busy at the stove.

“Grandma, please tell me those are cinnamon rolls I smell baking.” she said and Hunter pretended to wipe drool from her lip, earning his hand a slap. Rebecca laughed as she nodded.

“Yes my dear, they are cinnamon rolls.” Kaylee and Laney shared a look of excitement as both of them laughed. Cinnamon rolls were their favorite.

Kaylee was just finishing off her third cinnamon roll when Angela and Jake came into the kitchen. Jake grabbed a steaming cinnamon roll from the stove and stuck the whole thing in his mouth before letting little Brent, who was on his hip, lick the frosting from his finger.

“Wolves and their damn super epic metabolisms.” Angela grumbled. Jake handed Brent to Rebecca and then grabbed another Cinnamon roll. He carried it over to Angela and pressed it against her lips. She grinned and took a small bite.

“You know I am extremely jealous of every one of you guys’ abs.” she said and Jake growled before pressing a kiss against her lips that was full of a sweet cinnamon and sugar taste.

“You’re perfect, my dear.” Rebecca said with a smile as Charles came into the kitchen and began brewing the tea that he brewed for her every morning. “I don’t have abs either.” she added and this time is was Charles’s turn to growl as he reached out and swatted her backside, causing her to squeal and blush blood red.

“I’m going to town, Vanessa is at the hospital working so I’m taking Faith with me. Do any of you want to go?” Angela asked as she took the cinnamon roll from Jake’s hand and ate a bite.

“Sure I’ll go.” Kaylee said standing up. “Just let me go change my clothes.” Kaylee ran up to her room and changed into a pair of blue jean carpri pants and a formfitting blue t-shirt. She pulled her hair back in a scrunchie and ran back down to the kitchen.

“Mom, make sure you tell Damien that I’ll be back soon. I don’t want to bother him while he’s with his mom.”

“Sure, I’ll tell him. I’m so happy you found your mate finally and the fact that he’s handsome doesn’t hurt anything.” Kaylee smiled and kissed her moms cheek and Hunter shook his head.

“You better be glad I’m not a jealous man, Raquel, or else I might get upset hearing you say those kinds of things about a man other than me.”

“And you better be glad I’m not a jealous man.” Evan said, walking into the kitchen and tousling Gwen’s blond hair. “Because if I was, you would be one dead vampire.” Hunter chuckled and Faith ran into the kitchen.

“I’m ready!” she said. Kaylee bit back a laugh at the girls crooked pigtails and her bright pink skirt and green t-shirt with her white sneakers.

“Who picked out your outfit Faith?” she asked.

“My Kayleb.” she replied.

“What’s wrong with it?” Kayleb asked as he walked into the kitchen and crossed his arms over his chest.

“Nothing.” Kaylee said quickly as she smiled down at Faith. “You look very beautiful.”

“Well let’s go then girls. The book store doesn’t stay open long on Sunday.” Angela said.

888

“Well I’ll be going then, mom, I just wanted to check on you.” Damien said as he stood from the loveseat and walked toward the door. Angelica stood and smoothed out her blue dress before walking on her thin legs to the door.

“Thank you for coming, Damien. You worry about me too much. I am okay.”

“No you’re not. I wish you would come with me. He won’t get you, mom. Neither one of them can leave the castle.” Damien assured her for what felt like the one millionth time. Fear flashed in Angelica’s eyes.

“He has spies, Damien! Spies that watch every move I make just waiting to grab me and take me to him!”

“If that was true, he would have gotten you a long time ago mom. It’s been five hundred years since I freed you. Five hundred years that you’ve been worrying he’s going to get you. Even if he wanted to get you back, I would never let him.” Damien promised as he thought about the years of torture he had endured just to keep his mother safe.

“You never believe me!” Angelica exclaimed as she crossed her thin arms over her frail body. Damien sighed and shook his head.

“I just worry about you mom. You shouldn’t be out here by yourself, scared to death all the time.”

“I’m not by myself. I have my friends.” Angelica argued and Damien nodded and opened the door.

“Just call for me the next time you need me, okay?” he asked and then he walked out and shut the door behind him. He stood outside the bright red door for several long seconds, feeling the guilt he always felt whenever he saw his mother this way. She had given him life, he owed her life, and yet it had taken him five hundred years to care enough to free her from his father and now, five hundred years later she was still technically his father’s prisoner. Victor and Rotan had destroyed her mind with years of torture.

He was about to dash back to Kaylee, needing to feel her arms around him, when a flash of color caught his eye. He looked toward the woods and waited for the wind to blow again and this time he realized it was a piece of fabric caught on the bow of a pine tree. His senses automatically went on high alert but if there was anyone around he could not feel them. He walked over to the piece of purple fabric and pulled it off the tree.

He used his supernatural demon senses to open his mind and find out where the fabric had come from and then he snarled. A vampire. A vampire had been here and it wasn’t just any vampire. It was Frances. The vampire that Kayleb had nearly killed.

Why had Frances been here watching his mother? Dread washed over Damien. Had his mother been right? Did Victor know where she was and did he have people watching her? Instantly Damien knew he could not leave her here. It wasn’t safe as long as Victor was alive.

He stuffed the fabric in the pocket of his jeans and walked back to the cabin. He knocked on the door but got no response.

“Mom, let me in.” he said. He could hear the shuffling of her slippered feet as she walked to the door and opened it.

“What is it, Damien? My friends and I were about to eat an early lunch.’

“You’re coming with me, mom.” Damien said, deciding to let her mention of her imaginary friends slide for now.

“No I’m not.” Angelica replied as she shook her head roughly.

“Yes you are. You can either pack your own bag and come willingly or I can pack it and take you unwillingly. You cannot stay here. You were right. He’s had a vampire watching you and you’re not safe here.” Panic flashed in her eyes.

“I told you so!” she exclaimed. “All of these years I’ve been telling you and you haven’t believed me!”

“Just pack a bag.” Damien said calmly and as his mother ran back toward her room he thought about where he was going to take her. He didn’t want to take her to his island. Call it selfishness, but he didn’t want to risk his father finding out about the one place Damien had that was all his own.

(Jake.) Damien called to Jake alone.

(What?)

(I need help.) Damien replied and it bothered him to be saying those words. He had never asked anyone for help before.

(What do you need?) Jake asked.

(I think my mother is in trouble. I need a safe place for her to stay.)

(Bring her here.) Jake replied without hesitation.

(Are you sure? This may cause trouble for your family.)

(I am sure. You have helped us in the past and you are family now. We take care of each other here. Bring your mother here and we will keep her safe.)

(Thank you.) Damien said and he closed the link before going back to his mothers room to hurry her along.

888

“Mom, I promise that none of the people here are going to hurt you okay? They are Kaylee’s family and they are going to help me keep you safe.” Damien said as they stood outside the giant log house.

“Are you sure they aren’t your father’s men?” Angelica asked as she twisted her bony hands nervously. Damien nodded.

“I’m sure.” he promised. Angelica clung to his arm as he led her up to the house and through the kitchen door. The kitchen was empty except for Rebecca, Charles and Raquel and all three of them rose from the table when Damien and Angelica entered the room.

“Did Jake tell you we were coming? Damien asked and Charles nodded as Rebecca stepped forward.

“Hi.” she said gently to Angelica. “My name is Rebecca.” Damien was surprised to see his normally cautious mother, step forward and hold out her thin, scarred hand.

“Hello.” she said. “My name is Angelica… But my friends call me Angel.”

“Well Angel, how about I show you to your room? Then we can come back down and get some lunch?” Angelica nodded and Rebecca took her suitcase from Damien and then led her out of the kitchen.

“What happened to her?” Raquel asked once they were gone.

“Demons happened to her.” Charles replied with disgust.

“Dad…” Raquel scolded as she looked up at Damien but Damien shrugged.

“Demons did that to her. I got her free from them but not before the damage had already been done.”

“How did you free her?” Charles asked coldly. “Mortal sacrifices?” The air was thick with tension between the two men and then Damien nodded.

“Yes.” he replied and Raquel’s eyes widened. “Ten of them, followed by ten years of my own torture.” Damien walked out of the kitchen and onto the porch, leaving Charles sitting there feeling like a fool. Raquel stood up and followed him out on the porch.

“I was supposed to tell you that Kaylee went to town with Angela and Faith. They’ll be back later.” Damien nodded. “Also, don’t worry about my dad. He’s stuck in his ways and he’s as stubborn as a mule.”

“I’m sure you are regretting your daughters mate now that you know just one of the horrible things I have done.” Damien said as he looked out at the forest. Raquel wrapped her arm around him comfortingly as she stood beside him.

“I am very happy for my daughter because she has a mate who will clearly do anything he has to do, no matter the consequences, in order to protect those he loves.” Damien didn’t respond and Raquel smiled sadly and then walked back into the house.

“Good job, dad. Way to be an ass.” she snapped as she walked past him and toward the living room. Charles sighed and stood up. He walked out on the porch.

“Sorry, Damien.” he said, finding that he nearly choked on the words as they tried to lodge in his throat.

“You do not owe me an apology. You were right about demons. We do horrible things.”

“You had good reasons for doing what you did. I would do the same thing for any member of my own family.” The two men simply nodded at one another and then walked back into the house.

chapter seventeen

Angela, Faith and Kaylee were coming back down the winding roads toward home in Angela’s old truck and singing along to the radio at the top of their lungs when suddenly Angela saw a man step out into the road.

She slammed the brakes and swerved to avoid hitting him and collided with the rocky cliff line. The truck crumpled and the sound of crunching metal and painful screams filled the air.

Angela lifted her bleeding head from the steering wheel when she regained consciousness and looked over at Faith and Kaylee. Kaylee was just coming to as well with a large purple welt on her forehead but Faith was still unconscious and bleeding from her nose on the seat between them. Angela reached over and laid her hand on her, letting her energy flow into the little girl and fix her injuries.

“What happened.” Kaylee groaned as she rubbed her forehead.

“There was a man in the road.” Angela replied looking back at the road and seeing that it was empty. “I don’t see him anymore… I hope I didn’t hit him!” Angela and Kaylee got out of the truck and as Angela limped out onto the road, Kaylee helped Faith out of the truck and the girl clung to her neck.

“What happened?” she asked.

“Angela’s not a very good driver and she ran us off the road.” Kaylee replied lightheartedly.

“There’s no one out here.” Angela called out and Kaylee walked out onto the road to join her.

“No there’s not.” she replied. She looked over at the truck and winced. “I don’t think anyone can fix that truck now… Not even my dad.” Angela sighed.

“No, I don’t think so either.” she replied with sadness. Kaylee growled when an unfamiliar immortal scent reached her nose. She whipped her head around to the woods and saw five very big men walking out of the trees.

“What are they?” Angela asked and Kaylee shrugged. They looked like sub demons but they were much bigger than any sub demon Kaylee had ever seen. They were close to seven feet tall and covered in muscle.

“Do you have your gun?” Kaylee whispered and Angela shook her head.

“It’s in my purse, in the truck.” she replied and then she bent down and removed the two long silver knives from the straps on her legs. She handed one to Kaylee, who sat Faith down and hid the girl behind her.

“Who are you and what do you want?” Angela asked the men who had stopped about ten feet away and were staring at them.

“Victor sent us for you.” one of the men said as he pointed at Kaylee.

“He can’t have her.” Angela replied and the giant subs grinned.

“Rotan would like you. He likes the big bones girls.” the first man said again.

“How charming.” Angela replied dryly.

“Kaylee!” Faith screamed and Kaylee and Angela turned in time to see Frances appear and grab Faith around the waist, lifting the struggling girl into his arms.

“Frances what are you doing?” Angela demanded.

“Protecting my own daughter.” he replied coldly. “Do not fight us or I will have to kill this girl.” he added, wrapping one arm around Faith’s shoulders and the other around the top of her head, preparing to snap her neck. Angela and Kaylee shared a helpless look. Even if they could take out the five giant subs, there was no way they could do that and stop Frances before he killed little Faith.

“Throw your knives down.” Frances said calmly and Angela and Kaylee knew they had no choice but to do what he told them. They tossed their knives down and stood still as the subs grabbed them. They tied silver cuffs around Kaylee’s wrists and ankles, to weaken her and keep her from changing.

“Jake and Damien will kill every one of you.” Angela spat and one of the subs laughed before bringing his fist down hard on her jaw. Kaylee saw that Frances flinched and looked angry at the assault but he did nothing to help stop it. Angela’s chin dropped down to her chest as she lost consciousness.

“Goodnight, wolfie.” the giant sub holding Kaylee said and then he punched her hard in the temple, and in her already weakened state, the blow was enough to knock her unconscious and turn her world black.

888

“Angela is down in your dungeon, Kaylee is up in your chambers. Now give me my daughter and let us go.” Frances said to Victor as they once again met in his office. This time Frances did not sit, he remained standing beside the door with Faith in his arms. The girl had stopped struggling against him and he was holding her cradled in one arm and propped on his hip.

“Who is that?” Victor asked pointing at the girl.

“My new pet. I found her today and had to grab her.” Frances replied and Victor smiled.

“That would make you father proud.” he said, too distracted with thought of what was waiting for him up in his chambers to notice that Frances was lying.

“Where is my daughter?” Frances asked again and Victor nodded.

“Of course.” he said. He snapped his fingers and a sub demon walked into the room carrying Kimberly in his arms.

“Daddy!” she cried when she saw him and Frances felt relief flood him when he realized she was unharmed. The sub put her down and Frances scooped her up in his free arm as she clung to his neck.

“Are you okay, my darling?” he whispered and she nodded.

“I missed you, daddy.” she said. “Rotan is scary… He kept showing me his knives.”

“You are welcome to stay, Frances…” Victor said as he rose from his chair.

“No thank you. I think I have had enough.” Frances replied and he turned quickly and carried his daughter and Faith from the room. His feet echoed loudly off the stone walls as he made his way to the door and once outside in the icy wind he knew where he had to go… He just prayed he would not get killed for his betrayal.

888

Kaylee’s body was so weak she could do little more than sit and lean against the stone wall that she was chained to. She saw the naked, mortal woman, chained and gagged, on the large four poster bed in the center of the room and wished there was something she could do for her.

She looked around the dark room. The walls and floor were stone. The floors were covered in ancient looking rugs and expensive, heavy furniture filled the empty spaces. The walls were covered in portraits of a man who looked just like Damien, only with darker hair. She assumed it was Victor

She tried to call out for Damien telepathically but it was like there was a wall in her mind stopping her from doing so. She had heard of people using spells on their homes to keep their guests from sending or receiving telepathic messages and she assumed that Victor must have the same spells here.

She heard footsteps coming toward the door and she pushed herself closer against the wall as a man, matching the portraits in the room, walked in. He was wearing tight leather pants that hugged his muscular legs, a loose white tunic shirt and a long black leather coat that slid across the floor as he walked.

“Hello, dear Kaylee. My name is Victor.” he said in a voice that was so cold and full of venomous hatred that it made her blood freeze.

“What do you want from me?”

“Well you see, it would appear that my son loves you…” Victor shivered with disgust. “He gets those disgusting emotions from his mother. But that is not the point. The point is that my son has been a thorn in my side for over eight hundred years and I cannot kill him directly because the angels like him.” Victor snorted as he eyed the naked woman in his bed and pulled off his coat.

“If I know Frances, and I do, he is already finding Damien and letting him know where you are. My son will come and I will be able to capture him and tied you both up together. What better way to make him pay for his years of disobedience than to make him watch you suffer? And then, once I’ve had enough of you, I will kill you and in doing so my son will finally die as well and the angels will not be able to do a thing about it because I will not have laid a hand on the abomination.” Horror filled Kaylee at his words.

“You’re crazy.” she said, hoping her voice sounded braver than what she felt. “It won’t just be Damien that comes. Jake, Kayleb, Hunter, my father.. All of them will show up and you won’t stand a chance.” Victor raised a brow and shrugged as he pulled off his shirt and Kaylee saw that every inch of his thick body was covered in the ancient demon scrip tattoos.

“They will all die.” Kaylee turned her head as Victor pulled off the last of his clothes. She looked back at him when she heard him hiss and his eyes turned blood red as he stalked toward the bed and the mortal woman lying there.

“Leave her alone!” Kaylee screamed, pulling helplessly at the chains holding her.

“You will have your turn soon enough.” Victor replied, though his voice was harsh with lust.

“Where are Angela and Faith, Victor? What have you done with them?” Kaylee demanded, hoping to distract him even as he lowered himself down on the bed. He turned to look at her and the lust filled expression on his face made her gag.

“Angela is with Rotan. Do not worry, he will take good care of her. I don’t know who Faith is.” He reached down to the terrified mortal woman’s face and removed the gag from her mouth. Her screams of terror filled the room, rocking against Kaylee’s eardrums and making her wince.

“I like to hear them scream for me.” he said and Kaylee closed her eyes tight and turned her head as the smell of pain, fear and blood filled the air. She hoped that Angela and Faith were okay and she prayed that someone would find them soon before she suffered the same fate as the mortal woman in the bed.

888

Angela could feel cold stone beneath her bare back and metal cuffs against her wrists and ankles. A musty scent filled her nose along with coppery aroma of blood. She tried to call out telepathically for Jake but for some reason she couldn’t form the link.

She opened her eyes just a crack and saw a pair of red eyes staring back at her. Her eyes widened as she let out a yelp of shock and the man looking at her smiled coldly and stood up straight.

“Are you awake, my puppet?” he asked. Angela looked at the man with horror. His eyes were bright red and full of lust. He was very skinny. His cheeks were sunken in and his bones stuck out sharply. His black hair was slicked back smooth on his head and his teeth were sharpened to points behind his thin lips.

He was wearing tight leather pants that showed off his stick thin figure. He wore no shirt beneath his open black coat and black tattoos covered his sunken in body and his jutting out ribcage.

“Who are you?” Angela asked, forcing herself to look back up at his face.

“My name is Rotan.” he replied. Angela looked around the room but she and Rotan were alone.

“Where are Kaylee and Faith?” she demanded. “Are they okay?” Rotan shook his head as he ran one long, sharp fingernail down her bare stomach. She looked down and realized she was wearing only her pink bra and her jeans. She tried to pull away from his touch as it sent shivers down her spine but she was bound too tightly to the stone table top.

“So typical of you lower beings.” Rotan said coldly as he turned and walked over to the wall, which Angela realized, was covered in knives and other, much scarier, weapons that could only be called ‘torture devices’. “You are concerned about your friends when you should be much, much more concerned about yourself.” He walked back toward her with a knife shining in the candlelight from the chandelier above their head and Angela felt pure terror fill her.

“What are you going to do?” she demanded and he shook his head.

“Don’t ask me questions you already know the answer to.” he replied. “I always love the ones with extra meat on their bones.” he added as he reached his hand out and ran his fingers gently over her stomach. “It give me so much more meat to cut through.”

“My mate will kill you!” Angela said, fighting desperately against the metal chains on her arms and legs.

“Your mate does not scare me, nor does he concern me.” Rotan replied as he ran his knife blade along his arm, leaving a thin line of blood. Angela watched in horror as his eyes rolled back with lust and a bulge appeared in the front of his pants. This guy was a freak!

“Jake Collins is my mate you sick bastard and he’ll be more than happy to rip your head right off your scrawny shoulders!”

“Are you insulting me?” Rotan asked coldly. “Tsk. Tsk. Not a smart move when you are the one chained to a table and I am the one holding a knife. Your mate will never know that you are here. Try calling for help and you will find that you cannot. My father has safeguards in place so that we can have our fun and not have to worry about interference.”

“Go fuck yourself.” Angela spat. Rotan held the knife up and then brought the tip down and pressed it against the pale skin of her stomach. She bit her lip to keep from crying out as the tip of the blade pierced her skin.

“I find sex to be both primitive and unenjoyable. I get my pleasures in a much more fulfilling way.” he replied with a sneer and then Angela forgot all about being strong as he began carving patterns into her skin with the knife blade and she screamed in pain.

chapter eighteen

“So how upset is Angela?” Vanessa asked as she walked into the kitchen, finally getting home from her morning shift. Kayleb stood quickly from the table and wrapped his arm around her waist while Jake looked up from the spoonful of pureed peas he was sticking in his sons mouth and over at her with confusion.

“What do you mean? Why would Angela be upset?” he asked. Vanessa hung her purse on the hook by the door and frowned.

“Doesn’t she love that old truck of hers?”

“Heck yeah she loves that truck. I’ve been begging her for over twenty years to just let the thing die but she talks me into fixing it every time.” Evan replied.

“Well I saw that she crashed it. It’s crumpled up against the cliff on the road to the house.” Jake and Damien both jumped to their feet just as Rebecca came back into the kitchen with Angelica. The two of them had been looking through quilting books in the living room.

“What’s going on?” Rebecca asked. Vanessa raised her brow at the sight of Angelica before replying.

“I saw Angela’s truck wrecked on the road. Where is she?”

“Her, Kaylee and Faith went to town together.” Kayleb replied as his arms tightened around her.

“Faith?” Vanessa asked feeling dread creeping into her. “Where are they now?” Jake and Damien both tried to contact or feel their mates but neither could.

“What the hell is going on!” Jake growled and before anyone could respond Frances’s scent came to them as he walked into the house with Faith and Kimberly both held in his arms. Faith jumped from his arms and ran to Vanessa who scooped her up and held her tight.

“What the hell are you doing here Frances? And why was Faith with you? Where’s my sister and Angela?” Kayleb demanded. Frances sat Kimberly down and moved several steps away from her so that she would be out of harms way when the wolves attacked him.

“I brought Faith back to you but I gave Angela and Kaylee to Victor and Rotan.” he said, holding his head up high and refusing to let any fear show on his face. Before anyone could respond, Jake’s growl filled the kitchen with so much force that it shook the windows and he leapt across the room.

He slammed against Frances and rammed the skinny vampire against the wall while Kimberly screamed with fear and Rebecca and Laney screamed at him to stop.

Frances had underestimated Jake’s strength and he quickly found that fighting against the man was useless as Jake held him down and brought his fist into his face several times.

“You gave him my mate! You worthless cowardly son of a bitch! I’ll kill you!”

“I had to Jake!” Frances exclaimed. “They had Kimberly, I had no choice.”

“And I have no choice but to kill you.” Jake replied and he grabbed Frances’s hair but before he could rip the vampires head off, a body slammed into him and knocked him away. Jake saw Hunter standing between him and Frances and growled low in his throat.

“Back off, Hunter. Frances is going to die.”

“No.” Hunter said shaking his head. “His daughter is standing right here and besides he didn’t have a choice, Jake. He says they had his daughter. You would have done the same thing if they had your daughter.” Everyone in the room backed away from the intense rage on Jake’s face and the fire in his golden eyes.

“No, I wouldn’t have done the same thing.” Jake growled as Frances pulled himself to his feet. Kimberly tried to run to him but Rebecca grabbed the girl by her shoulders and held her back.

“Stay here, baby girl.” Rebecca whispered. Jake’s jaw was so tense that his face seemed to be made of stone as he continued.

“I would not have sacrificed two women and handed them over to a couple of demons to save my daughter like some spineless coward. I would have run in there and saved my daughter with my own bare hands while making those damn demons wish they had never been spawned by the devil in the first place.”

“I did what I had to do, Jake. I saved the girl and clearly your mates are still alive because you both are standing here.” Jake growled and tried to step forward but Damien got in his way.

“I will talk to him. You are too angry.” he said calmly. Jake glared at him, his golden eyes looking more like molten lava.

“You aren’t angry? He gave them your mate too.”

“Yes I am angry.” Damien said, his voice cold and even. “And once I have my mate safely back in my arms I might kill Frances myself but until then I need him to tell me some things.”

“You won’t have to kill him.” Evan said as he moved to stand beside Jake and crossed his arms over his chest. “That is my daughter you gave them.”

“And my sister.” Kayleb added. Damien turned back to Frances.

“The castle is big. Do you know where they are inside?”

“Obviously not precisely at this moment since I am not there. I can however, tell you that when I left, Kaylee was chained up in your fathers chambers and Rotan had Angela chained up in the basement.”

Jake roared again and lunged at Frances and Frances backed away until his back was pushed against the wall and Jake was glaring at him, his body tense with anger and rage.

“Dad, calm down.” Laney exclaimed. “Mom’s alive.. He hasn’t killed her.”

“He’ll do worse than kill her.” Angelica whispered from where she was hiding behind Rebecca. “Victor is bad but Rotan is pure evil. He gave me these.” she added pointing at her face and this did nothing to improve Jake’s mood.

“Leave, Frances. I don’t have time to kill you right now but you better run and you better hide somewhere that I can’t find you because if I ever see you again, I will drive a stake through your heart and smile while I do it.” Frances nodded and reached his hand out for Kimberly, who ran to him quickly. The two of them walked outside, under the cover of the thick clouds and disappeared.

“Take me there, Damien.” Jake growled. “It’s time for your brother to die.”

888

Kaylee was fighting to hold onto consciousness. The smell of death and blood still hung heavy in the air even though the mortal woman’s body and the gore covered sheets had been disposed of. She was alone in the room and had been for what felt like hours.

Her struggles to free herself from her chains had resulted in the silver cuffs cutting into her wrists and poisoning her blood stream and her wrists couldn’t heal because the cuffs were embedded deep within them so the silver continued to take its toll.

She was worried about Angela. She had not seen her nor could she contact her because of the safe guards set up inside the castle. She had no way of knowing if her aunt was alive or dead. She wasn’t sure which one would be worse. Damien had made it clear that Rotan was sick and twisted and poor Angela was his prisoner.

“You look tired, dear Kaylee.” Victor said as he walked into the room and drew Kaylee out of her thoughts.

“You look heavenly.” she replied, though even she could hear the weakness in her voice. Victor cocked his head to the side and twirled one of his large rings around his thin finger.

“Was that a joke?”

“You’re a smart one.” Kaylee said, her voice dripping with sarcasm even as her eyelids fought to close.

“I can see why my son was intrigued by you, though you are not nearly as beautiful as the other pets he has had, you do have um… Spunk, I believe is what they call it.”

Other pets? Had Damien had other women that he had kept prisoner the way Victor was keeping her? No . She didn’t believe that for a second. Damien was not that kind of man.

Victor seemed to notice then, that she was having trouble staying conscious and he walked over and kicked her sharply in the leg to get her attention.

“I have something for you.” he said. “Our company should be arriving soon and I would like for you to look your best.” Victor snapped his fingers and a sub demon came into the room. He wasn’t like the subs that had grabbed Kaylee and Angela earlier. He was average and he was carrying a green satin gown in his hands that appeared to be from the Renaissance era. Despite the severity of the situation, Kaylee couldn’t help but imagine just how her fashionista aunt Bethany would react to seeing a dress like that.

“I’m fine with what I’ve got on.” Kaylee said, turning her nose up at the dress. Victor walked toward her and pulled an intricate metal key from his pocket.

“Now I am going to unhook you so we can change your clothes. Before you think about trying anything, I think I should remind you that I have Angela. You do not know where she is but Rotan does. If you harm me, he will know and I can promise you now that Angela will be the one to pay.”

His words and her own weak state were enough to convince Kaylee that now was not the time to try to fight. According to Victor, Damien and her family were on their way and while it scared her to know that they would all be in danger, she knew that Victor and Rotan would be the ones that would die today.

Victor undid her chains and then closed his hand around her upper arm and lifted her to her feet. Kaylee’s skin felt like ice as he pulled his hand away and she shivered. He removed the cuffs from her wrists and frowned at the cuts there.

“No wonder you are so tired, dear Kaylee.” he said and then he slapped her face sharply. “Stop trying to end your own life and make this easier on yourself. I will not allow you to die until I kill you with my own hands.”

Kaylee stood still as he unhooked her ankles and then he stood at his full height, which was easily six and a half feet like Damien, and looked down his nose at her.

“Take your clothes off.” he sneered and Kaylee forced herself to stand proudly even as she undressed in front of him.

888

Angela was lying on the stone slab, shivering with fear and cold, all alone in the small stone room. Rotan had carved at her body with his knife for what felt like hours before finally saying he was finished and walking away. Angela could smell her own blood and for a long time she had heard tiny droplets of her blood rolling off the table and splashing on the hard floor.

She had not been brave enough to look down at her stomach but now that she knew it was healed she decided to take a look. She wanted to see her skin, smooth and healed to assure herself that she was still okay.

“Oh no!” she gasped and new tears, these cold and full of self pity, ran down her cheeks as she saw the tangle of raised scars covering her flesh. How had he scarred her? She was supposed to be immortal! Just then she heard the clicking of his boots coming toward the room. She knew it was him because he was whistling the same tune he had been whistling when he had left. She forced herself to stop crying and she laid her head back down just as he opened the metal door and then closed it behind him with a click.

“Hello puppet.” he said coldly. “You’re all better I see.” Angela wanted to tell him off. She wanted to yell at him and tell him to go straight to hell but her fear of him and the knife he was holding in his thin hands kept her silent.

“I want to show you my new toy.” Rotan said, his red eyes flashing with lust filled excitement. Angela watched him walk over to the wall and grab a weapon. It was a circular metal disk about as big around as a pop can and it had eight short, razor sharp blades sticking off of it.

“It looks kind of like a spider does it not?” he asked as he walked back over to her and laid the blades against her stomach, just above the waistband of her pants. Angela whimpered as new tears ran down her face.

“The ittsy bittsy spider went up the water spout…” Rotan sang as he moved the blades gently up her torso, stopping just below her breasts. “Down came the rain and washed the spiders out.” Rotan stuck all eight blades deep into her skin and ripped down her belly, stopping at her jeans and Angela’s screams filled the air.

“Jake!” she screamed, knowing that he wouldn’t hear her but hoping that somehow he would. Rotan laughed.

“He’s not coming, puppet. Just lay back and relax.” he said, his voice gruff with lust as he bent and licked at the blood running down her sides. Angela sobbed with pain and hopelessness. Jake wasn’t coming. She was going to be stuck here with this freak forever… Or at least until he got tired of torturing her and finally killed her. She prayed that he would get bored soon because she would much rather be dead than have to live through much more of this.

“The ittsy bittsy spider went up the water spout.” Rotan sang again as once again he moved the blades gently up her stomach and Angela closed her eyes against the pain she knew was coming.

Chapter Nineteen

“Do you think we have enough weapons?” Lane asked as he looked at Jake, Hunter, Damien, Evan, Kent and Joey all loaded up with guns and knives.

“There are many sub demons at the castle, but what you really have to worry about are my fathers’ personal collection of sub demons.” Damien said as Lane laid his tommy gun over his shoulder.

“Personal collection?” Kent asked.

“Yes.” Damien nodded. “He breeds the biggest subs together to come up with bigger subs. They are close to seven feet tall and heavily muscled.”

“He breeds them like horses or something?” Kent asked, curling his nose.

“This isn’t important. I will kill any fucking sub, or demon, or vampire or mortal that comes in between me and Angela at that damn castle. Now let’s go.”

“You want a few more weapons?” Damien turned to see Angelo standing in the door with a bag in his hands. Jake growled and Damien stepped between the angry wolf and the angel before Jake could attack the newest nuisance.

“Who the hell are you?” Lane asked.

“His name is Angelo.” Damien answered. “He is an angel.”

“Angel?” Bethany asked as she curled her nose at the dirty man. “I thought angels were pretty?”

“Maybe I am. Maybe you’re the one that is ugly.” Angelo replied with a shrug. Bethany shook her head, tossing her blond hair around her face.

“No. I may be vain and selfish but I am definitely not ugly.” she replied.

“That’s enough!” Damien exclaimed, as his temper snapped and everyone looked at him with surprise. He himself was surprised as well, he had never before lost his temper. “We don’t have the time to be arguing over something so stupid. What did you come here for, Angelo?”

“I already told you. I have weapons.” Angelo replied. He reached into the bag and pulled out several vials of holy water. Kent, Lane, Evan, Joey and Jake quickly grabbed one apiece but Hunter and Damien shook their heads.

“Right, I figured the vamp and the demon wouldn’t want holy water so I also brought some of these.” Angelo reached back in the bag and pulled out what looked like a throwing star only it was shaped more like a crucifix.

“These are safe for you both. I promise.” Angelo said to Damien and Hunter.

“I do not want one.” Damien said as he laid his hands on the hilts of the two Katana swords strapped to his sides. “I have all I need.”

“What will they do that’s so special?” Lane asked Angelo.

“If you throw one and it sticks in a sub demon, even Victors largest ones, the sub will instantly burst into flames.”

“Hell yeah, give me some!” Lane said and he, Kent, Evan and Hunter grabbed a handful a piece and stuck them in their pockets.

“What about Rotan? What will it do to him?” Jake growled, his mind focused on only one thing and that was freeing his mate. Angelo smiled.

“I thought you might ask that. Rotan won’t burst into flames but he or Victor will definitely not like the feeling they give them… It will be a thousand times worse than any knife or bullet they’ve ever felt before.” Jake grabbed the bag out of Angelo’s hands, the bag was filled with more of the stars and he tied the string around his waist.

“I’ll take these.” he said.

“I’ll wait here, Damien. Just to make sure you all make it home okay.” Angelo said as he sat down on an empty kitchen chair beside Angelica, who scooted away from him and eyed him warily. “The boss doesn’t want me involved in anything physical.” he added. The seven family members that were armed and ready to go clasped hands and Damien dashed them all to the castle.

“Holy shit balls, you could have told me it was in fricking Antarctica! I would have worn a coat!” Lane said as he shivered in his t-shirt on the hillside looking down at the castle.

“He did tell us.” Kent replied as he bounced from foot to foot for warmth. “You were busy downing a bottle of Jack Daniels.” Lane grinned sheepishly.

“Oh yeah. Well in the words of a very smart country star from years ago…. I gotta get to feeling ten feet tall and bulletproof.”

“How are we getting in?” Joey asked looking down at the fortress-like castle. Damien looked at Jake.

“Front door?” Damien asked and Jake nodded.

“Front door.” he said and then he started down the snow covered hill, with everyone else scrambling to catch up.

Damien stood beside Jake at the door with everyone else standing behind them with their weapons ready. Damien could tell by the look on Jakes’ face and the tension in his body that Rotan was going to die tonight, just the same as Victor. Damien had never felt a rage like he was feeling right now.

The thought of his wolf in his fathers hands made his blood boil and his temper flare. The thought of his cold, heartless father touching Kaylee was like Damien’s worst nightmare come to life.

“There will be more subs here than we encountered at Vincent’s.” Damien warned and Lane shrugged.

“I got plenty of whiskey in me. I’m good to go. Besides we got the midget with us today. Those sub’s ankles won’t stand a chance.” Lane said patting Kent on the head. Damien did not understand why Lane was making jokes at a time like this but Jake just shook his head. He knew that humor was how his brother handled stressful situations.

Jake counted to three and then he and Damien threw open the giant wooden door and were greeted by hundreds of snarling sub demons.

“Let’s have some fun.” Jake said and he lunged into the group. Lane shook his head as he shouldered his Tommy gun.

“I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. My brother needs help.”

888

Back at the house the women were all waiting on pins and needles around the kitchen table. Darkness was falling outside while nerves and tempers rose inside. Kaitlyn had all the kids up in the playroom. Charles had locked himself down in the basement and Greg had gone out to the garage. A sure sign that he was worried out of his mind, because as Bethany had pointed out, he didn’t know a socket from a screwdriver.

“I need Jake to teach me how to fight so I don’t have to stay behind like a helpless little woman.” Jordan said as she tapped her fingernails on the table. Bethany blew on her perfectly manicured nails and wiped them on her soft cotton tank top.

“Jordan, you are a helpless little woman. Nothing is ever going to change that. If you ran after a bunch of big bad sub demons they would swear they were being attacked by the queen of the fairies.”

“Yes and the reason you stayed behind is because, God forbid, you fight to save your niece or your brothers mate and break a nail.” Anger flashed in Bethany’s eyes and Raquel slammed her hand down on the table.

“Can you two knock it off?” she demanded. “You fighting isn’t going to help anything.” Vanessa was sitting in a chair at the other end of the table chewing on her fingernails while Rebecca watched Angelica rocking back and forth in her chair with her thin arms wrapped tight around her body.

“Victor is bad but Rotan is evil. Victor is bad but Rotan is evil…” Angelica chanted over and over again. Rebecca heard Bethany say something else that earned an angry snort from Jordan and she stood up.

“Where are you going?” Bethany asked.

“To get us all something to drink.” Rebecca replied. Raquel made a face.

“Please mom, no tea. None of us want to drink it, it tastes like dung.”

“No, not tea.” Rebecca agreed as she walked over to Lane’s liquor cabinet and looked at the lock. She couldn’t remember the combination and so she simply grabbed it and broke it off the handles. She opened the door as her daughters watched her with shock.

“What’ll it be girls? Your brother has a good selection. We have Jack, Jim, Jose…. All the great men.”

“Mom, I’m shocked right now. Since when do you know a thing about liquor?” Bethany asked.

“I don’t always drink tea dear.” Rebecca replied.

“So your solution to all of us being scared to death about the fate of our family is to get shit faced drunk?” Raquel asked with disbelief. Rebecca nodded as she grabbed up several bottles from the cabinet.

“Desperate times call for desperate measures.” she said as she opened up a bottle and poured some in a cup. She sat it in front of Angelica, who quickly grabbed it and took a big swig.

“Well, bottoms up then girls.” Jordan said as she grabbed a bottle just for herself and put it against her lips.

888

Angelo sat out on the porch swing looking out at the darkening night and listened to the conversations he heard going on inside. He knew they were all scared and worried about their loved ones and he knew he could easily ease all of their minds and let them know things would be fine but what fun was there in being a ‘higher being’ if you ran around telling the ‘lower beings’ everything you knew.

He pulled a toothpick from his pocket and stuck it between his dirty teeth as he rocked back and forth and whistled a tune.

888

These subs were much tougher than any subs the family had ever fought before. The guns were empty but that didn’t seem to bother Jake or Damien. Jake was cutting through the subs; coldy, methodically, and Lane was reminded of the old Jake. The hunter Jake. The Jake that could, and would, kill anyone that got in his way.

Damien was cutting through the ocean of subs with his swords, leaving severed head and limbs in his wake.

“Damien, where’s the dungeon?” Jake yelled over the noise. Damien nodded down at the stone floor at their feet. Jake breathed deep and he smelled her. His Angela. She was below him, just through the floor and she was scared and in pain.

“I’ll save Angela, the rest of you take care of these subs and find Kaylee.” Jake said and then he grabbed a seven foot tall sub that was coming for him, by the neck and slammed his body hard into the stone floor, shaking the stones and sending up dust.

“I’m sure there are stairs somewhere.” Lane said and then he laughed when he threw a throwing crucifix at a sub and the sub erupted in flames, catching several subs near him on fire as well. “Hell yeah, these things are badass!” he exclaimed.

Chapter Twenty

“What’s going on upstairs?” Angela demanded as Rotan looked over his tools of torture, carefully trying to decide which to use for round three of his play with the fat woman.

“Nothing for you to concern yourself with. At times, my father likes to have his slaves fight one another and provide him with entertainment.” Rotan said looking uninterested in the noise above them. “Though he has bloodlust, he lacks the killer instinct when sex is not involved. I however do not lack that instinct.” Rotan added as he grabbed what looked like a giant fish hook from the wall.

“Please, don’t.” Angela pleaded helplessly as he walked toward her with the hook. He smiled coldly as he ran the sharp, serrated tip over his lip and licked the droplets of blood that sprang up.

Angela thought of Jake and then suddenly the link was there. She could feel his rage and anger and she knew he was close. She tried to call out for him telepathically but could not. That wall was still there between them.

“That’s not your father playing.” Angela said, feeling some of her spirit come back now that she knew Jake had come for her.

“Then what is it, puppet?” Rotan asked distractedly as he laid the hook against the smooth, pale skin of her upper arm.

“It’s all six feet five inches of my heavily muscled, trained to kill, pissed off werewolf, you perverted little psychopath. And I have a feeling he’s coming to kill you.”

“Wishful thinking.” Rotan said coldly. “Just accept the fact that this is your life from now on, puppet.” He slid the hook along her arm, leaving a line of blood that welled from her skin and dripped onto the stone table below and she cried out with pain.

The roar from above them, in response to her cry, could not be mistaken. Angela would recognize that roar anywhere, it was Jake. Rotan looked alarmed and quickly took the hook away from her arm and looked up at the ceiling as a loud crashing sound filled the air and the stones about three feet from the table Angela lay on cracked, and dust filled the air. There was a slight pause and then another thud and the ceiling crumbled. Two bodies fell to the ground beside them. One was a giant sub demon, clearly dead and the other was a growling, dark shadow, surrounded by dust.

The dust began to clear and Angela saw Jake’s face. He looked angrier than she had ever seen him. There was a cold blooded, murderous look in his eyes that made a chill run down even her spine. He was crouched on the ground, with one hand on the crumbled stones at his feet bracing himself as he glared at Rotan, his golden eyes flashing and his black hair falling across his face.

“Jake!” Angela cried out with relief. She wasn’t afraid for Jake’s life. She knew that Rotan would be no match against him.

“Jake Collins, we’ve never had the pleasure of meeting. My name is Rotan and I’ve had the pleasure of your mates company the last few hours. I must say she’s a fun one.”

“I’m glad you had fun.” Jake growled as he walked toward Angela and placed his body between hers and Rotan’s. “Because you’re going to die very soon.” Before Rotan could reply, a yell filled the air and another body fell through the hole in the ceiling.

“Watch out, that first steps a doozy.” Lane said from where he lay with his head bleeding on the crumbled stones. “I’ve come to rescue you, little sister. Just as soon as my head stops spinning.” Lane pulled himself to his feet and Rotan, realizing he was outnumbered, ran for the door.

“Grab him!” Jake ordered and Lane jumped forward quickly and grabbed Rotan, yelling in pain when Rotan sunk the hook he’d been holding deep into his arm.

“You son of a…” Lane hissed as he tackled Rotan’s skinny body to the ground and held him down by sitting on his back. “That fucking hurt.” Lane said and he grabbed the hook from Rotan’s hand and stuck it into the demon’s ass cheek, causing him to let out a painful snarl.

“Look Jake, I’m finally as big of a pain in the ass as you’ve always said I am.” Lane said with a grin. Jake was too angry to deal with his brothers immature humor as he turned and looked down at Angela lying on the table. He wasted no time before breaking the chains holding her ankles and wrists and he grabbed her arm and helped her sit up.

“Jake, how did you find me?” Angela gasped as she threw her arms around his neck and clung to him. She felt suddenly cold as he pulled away from her without a word and looked down at her stomach and the tangle of ugly, pale scars covering it.

Jake turned quickly and stalked across the room, grabbing Rotan by his greasy hair and jerking him to his feet. Lane barely managed to jump up in time to save himself from being tossed across the room.

“What are you going to do?” Rotan sneered. “The damage has been done to your mate… Enjoy looking at that for the rest of eternity.” Angela covered her stomach the best she could by wrapping her arms around herself. Jake growled low in his throat and looked over at Lane.

“Take her home.” he said. Lane nodded and walked over to Angela, who was too weak to stand on her own. He lifted her into his arms.

“Jake, please just kill him and come with me. I want to be with you.” Angela pleaded. Jake refused to look at her as he shook his head.

“Get her out of here, Lane. I don’t want to look at her right now.” Lane understood Jakes mood. He understood that Jake was in his ‘dark place’ as Lane had always called it. Death and killing were the only things occupying Jakes thoughts.

Angela however did not understand this and she felt hot tears of shame at what she considered to be Jake’s sudden disgust in her. She buried her face in Lane’s chest, wishing it was Jake’s warm, hard arms wrapped around her instead and Lane quickly climbed on top of the pile of rubble and jumped up onto the floor above.

Jake slammed a struggling Rotan down on a second stone table that was in the room and chained his wrists and ankles.

“What are you going to do?” Rotan asked with, an eager smile that showed his sharp, pointed teeth. “Torture me?”

“Yes. That makes you happy?” Jake asked as he pulled his knife from the holster on his leg.

“I love pain.” Rotan replied. “Your mate sure didn’t. You should have heard her scream.” His words did not affect Jake because Jake had turned his emotions off once he had gotten down here and seen the shape his Angela was in. The sight of her strapped to that table, covered in blood and scars, looking tired, weak and scared had filled him with so much sadness, rage and guilt that he would have been worthless in a fight.

Now he had slipped back into his hunting mode. The same as he always had each time he and his father had taken a rogue prisoner and it had been Jake’s job to get as much information from them as he could before finally ending their lives.

“I’ve known a few like you.” Jake said as he ran the blade of his knife down Rotan’s chest, careful not to break the skin. He saw a bulge form in the front of Rotan’s leather pants and raised a brow. “Maybe not quite as pathetic as you though.” he added.

“Pain is how I find my pleasure.” Rotan replied.

“No. Causing pain is how you find your pleasure. You’re about to find out that when someone else is causing the pain, it isn’t nearly as much fun.” Jake stuck the blade deeper, drawing a gasp of pain and a stream of blood to come from Rotan as he traced the intricate tattoos on the demons stomach.

Rotan struggled to get away as his pants quickly deflated and he yelled in pain. Jake growled as Rotan’s skinny knees caught in him the arm. Jake pulled the knife away and laid it on the table before reaching into the bag, tied around his waist, and pulling out two of the throwing crucifixes.

“Hold still.” he said and he shoved the crucifixes through Rotan’s knee caps and lodged them into the stone table below. Rotan screamed in pain as his thin muscles bulged and his veins became black as they swelled beneath his skin. Smoke billowed from his knees and Jake smiled as he picked the knife back up.

“You made a mistake when you touched my mate Rotan. She is my life. She is my breath. My entire world revolves around her and I would kill anyone and I do mean anyone who dared to touch her. Your death could have been quick but now I think a quick death would be far too good for you. Don’t you agree?” Rotan’s nostrils flared as he whimpered and Jake ran the bloody knife blade down his cheek. Jake reached in his pocket and pulled out the vial of holy water. He pulled the cork from the top and held the vial above Rotan’s forehead.

“What are you doing!” Rotan demanded. “Just kill me! I made her scream, you stupid wolf! She screamed and she screamed and she cried! She cried for you and I told you would never come as I rammed my knife inside of her!” Rotan had been hoping that his words would anger the big wolf badly enough that he would just kill him. Rotan had come to terms with the fact that he was going to die. He had known the moment that Jake had fallen through the ceiling that he was a goner, but his father had always talked about Jake and Charles Collins as if they were soft and merciful killers. There was nothing either soft or merciful about the man currently standing over him.

Rotan saw Jake’s jaw tense and a muscle began to tick in his cheek but instead of delivering a death blow Jake tipped the vial and Rotan went cross-eyed as he looked up at the vial and focused on the droplet of water hanging off the rim.

The droplet hung there and then, as if in slow motion, it dropped from the rim and landed with a sizzling plop on Rotan’s forehead, drawing out a hiss of pain from the demon’s lips. Rotan suddenly realized he had found someone who seemed to enjoy torture more than him as Jake smiled at his hiss of pain and let another small droplet gather on the rim.

888

Hunter had been waiting at the top of the hole for Lane, Jake and Angela and he frowned when only Lane jumped out with Angela cradled in his arms as she sobbed into his shirt.

“Where’s Jake and is she okay?” he asked. Lane shook his head.

“Jake is down there, being Jake.” he replied. “And no, she is not okay. I’m going to take her outside and get her home since I can’t dash her from in here.” Hunter nodded.

“Alright, we got things here.”

“Where’s Damien?” Lane asked. He could see Evan fighting and looking a little worse for the wear and he was pretty sure he could see the top of Kent’s head as he gave the subs hell as well. Lane decided that Kayleb was just as crazy as Jake, as he laughed and jumped from sub to sub, breaking necks. Joey’s flaming red hair, made her stand out from the crowd as well and Lane smiled when she kicked out her combat boot clad foot and snapped a subs neck.

“He went upstairs to find Victor.” Hunter replied and Lane nodded. He started toward Joey but then turned back to Hunter as the vampire threw a crucifix into a sub that was coming toward them and the sub burst into flames.

“They just keep coming.” Hunter said warily as he ran his hand through his sweaty dark blond hair. “And I lost my damn hat.” he added with a pout.

“I gotta get out of here but first I need to warn you.” Lane said as he narrowed his eyes. “You will pay, you stinking blood sucking tick, for shoving me down in that hole earlier. I broke my head…..again.”

“You’ll be okay.” Hunter promised. Lane muttered under his breath and made his way to Joey, with Hunter serving as a blocker to keep Angela safe since no one wanted to have to answer to Jake if any harm came to her while she was in their care.

“I gotta go, Joey, are you coming with me?” Lane asked once he got to her. Joey shook her head as she threw a crucifix and it lodged in a subs head before bursting the rotting creature into flames.

“No, I’m not leaving until I know that Damien has Kaylee safe.” she replied. Lane was torn between Angela and his mate. He didn’t want to leave Joey here alone but Angela needed to get home. Joey smiled as she pushed her glasses up on her nose and laid her hand on his arm.

“Go. Take Angela home where she’ll be safe and stay with her. She’ll need you.”

“I don’t want to leave you Joey.” Lane replied.

“I’ll be fine…. You’re the one more likely to get hurt in a fight.” she said with a teasing smile. “Besides, if I remember correctly, you told me when we first met that there would always be a woman before me, and right now she’s crying in your arms, hurt and scared to death.” Joey was actually alarmed to see Angela looking this way. Angela had always been the strong one. The tough one. The one who never broke no matter what situation you put her in.

“I love you.” Lane said and Joey nodded as she delivered a back kick to a subs chest and the sound of cracking ribs came to Lane’s ears.

“I love you too. Get her home safe and I’ll be there just as soon as we’re done having fun.” Lane shook his head, his mate was just as crazy as his brother and his nephew, and then he quickly carried Angela back out into the cold and wind.

He dashed her home to her and Jake’s bedroom so she wouldn’t be bombarded by all the well-meaning but overwhelming women in his family.

(Angela and I are home. Everyone else is okay but still fighting. You all stay down there and leave Angela alone for a while, she’s in rough shape.) Lane called to everyone he knew was in the house. Lane laid her in the bed and she sniffed as she curled up to her pillow.

“It was horrible Lane.” she said, her voice hollow and empty. Lane nodded as he climbed in the bed and laid on his side beside her. She let him wrap his arms tight around her and buried her face in his chest as he rubbed her back comfortingly and kissed her hair.

“It’s okay, little sister. You’re home now and he won’t touch you again.”

“Neither will Jake.” Angela whispered. Lane frowned.

“Why do you say that?” he asked.

“He wouldn’t even look at me. He took one look at all of these ugly scars and it disgusted him. I don’t’ blame him…” she replied as fresh hot tears soaked through his shirt.

“Angela, Jakes loves you… he has this ‘dark place’ that he goes to when he gets like that. It had nothing to do with your scars.” Lane promised. Angela shook her head but said nothing. Her body was exhausted but not nearly as exhausted as her mind and her heart was shattered. One thing she had always loved the most about Jake was the way his eyes had always looked at her with love no matter what kind of situation they were in. That love had not been there in the dungeon.

“Get some rest, Angela.” Lane said and Angela shook her head.

“I don’t think I’ll ever sleep again. Every time I close my eyes I see those red eyes and I feel the knives.”

“I’m here Angela. Everybody might like to say I’m no good in a fight, and most of the time I would agree, but when it comes to keeping you safe I can be just as badass as my big brother.” And Lane had every intention of letting Jake know what an ass he was whenever Jake made it back. As far as Lane was concerned, anyone who made Angela cry deserved a swift kick in their ass.

“Sleep, little sister. I’m here and I won’t let a thing happen to you

Chapter Twenty-One

“He was raised to think like his dad, narrow mind, full of hate. On the road to nowhere fast, til the grace of God got in the way. Then he saw the light and hit his knees, and cried and said a prayer. Rose up a brand new man, left the old one right there. Here’s to the strong, thanks to the brave. Don’t give up hope some people change. Against all odds, against the grain, love finds a way, some people change.” Montgomery Gentry ‘Some People Change’

“They are here.” Victor said with a smile as the commotion erupted downstairs. Kaylee put her hands on the cold wall and pulled herself to her feet with a rattling of chains.

“Damien will be arriving here soon, dear Kaylee, and then the fun will really begin.” he said and a flash of red passed over his eyes.

“You underestimate my family, you bastard. You, your subs and your youngest son will be the only ones dying here today.”

“And you underestimate me and my army. I am hoping that my youngest son meets his end today, that is why I did not warn him that danger would be coming.”

“You want your son to die?” Kaylee exclaimed. “I thought you loved Rotan since he seems to be the most like you.” Victor curled his nose as he sat down in a wooden chair and crossed his long legs.

“A true demon does not feel an emotion quite as useless as love, dear Kaylee. Only my soft, oldest son feels those ridiculous things.” he smoothed his long coat around his knees and smiled coldly. “And as far as Rotan goes, the boy is a bit too crazy for me to put up with. Do you have any idea what it is like to have a conversation with someone who is constantly cutting themselves to give them a moment of pleasure?” Kaylee felt a shiver run down her spine and she hoped that Jake had already gotten to Angela and freed her from whatever horror she’d been living in the dungeon with Rotan.

“You may as well relax, my dear Kaylee. Damien, being the self-sacrificing abomination that he is, will come up here alone in moments and he will walk in thinking to catch me off guard and kill me, but the surprise will be on him. I am stronger than he can even dream of being and will not be killed by my weak, soft, kind-hearted son.” Victor sneered as he said these last words and Kaylee hoped he was wrong.

She knew Damien was strong. More than once he had taken out big numbers of soldier and subs without so much as getting a drop of blood on his always perfectly clean white shirt. She hoped Victor was wrong about being stronger than her mate.

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Damien worked hard to hold his anger at bay as he got closer and closer to his father’s chambers. He was surprised that he did not encounter a single sub demon once he got past the entryway where everyone else was busy fighting. It was almost as if his father wanted him to come.

Damien arrived at the thick wooden door, that led to the hellish hole that was his fathers room. Countless mortal women had met their deaths in this room at his father’s cold hands. The only thing Damien was sure of, was that if Victor had done with Kaylee what he did with most of his prisoners, Damien would kill him nice and slow.

“Do not stand out there all day, son, come on in. Dear Kaylee and I are just having a nice conversation.” his father’s cold voice came from inside. Damien opened the door and stepped into his fathers room. His eyes immediately flew to Kaylee who was standing against the wall in a green silk gown. Damien’s eyes narrowed and his jaw tensed when he saw the silver chains on her wrists and ankles but other than those she seemed to be unharmed.

Victor took advantage of Damien’s moment of distraction and lunged at his son, his nails sharpening and slicing across Damien’s cheek, leaving five bloody cuts in their wake. The force of Victor’s body sent Damien flying backward and as he collided with the stone wall, he heard it crack behind him and the air rushed from his lungs as he fell to the floor.

“Damien!” Kaylee screamed as Victor laughed and stood over him.

“You were foolish to think you could take me son. Living among the ‘lower beings’ has made you too sure of your own strength and you have forgotten that I am higher than you on the chain.”

“We’re on different chains, father.” Damien replied as he jumped to his feet and Victor took several steps back.

“I should have killed you the instant you came screaming out of your mother’s womb.” Victor sneered.

“Yes, you should have.” Damien replied and he lunged at his father. Kaylee watched in horror as the two men wrestled around the room, breaking furniture, cracking stones and leaving blood trails behind them. She couldn’t keep from crying out with fear when Victor pulled a sword that he had had concealed beneath his shirt and raked it across Damien’s chest, leaving a wide cut through the white fabric, which quickly turned dark red as Damien’s blood poured from him.

Victor smiled with triumph. He raised his sword to ram it down into Damien’s chest and render him helpless, so he could chain him as well, when Damien suddenly lunged forward and knocked Victor backward, slamming him back down in his chair and sending his sword clattering across the floor.

“I should have killed you eight hundred years ago when I realized what a monster you were.” Damien snarled, his blue eyes flashing with anger.

“Yes, you should have.” Victor sneered as he slid his hand down to his side and closed it around the hilt of the knife he had hidden there.

“I guess I will have to settle for killing you now.” Damien hissed and then in a movement so quick that Kaylee would have missed it if she had blinked, Damien pulled two long Katana swords from his sides and in a cutting motion, much like a pair of scissors, he severed his father’s head and it fell to the floor with a wet thud and rolled to a stop at Kaylee’s feet.

Kaylee was staring down at Victors lifeless blue eyes and she heard the high pitched noise that Damien’s swords made as he slid them back in their sheaths. She looked up as she heard him walking toward her and the worry and love in his eyes took her breath away.

“Are you okay, my wolf?” he asked as he smoothed soft, stray strands of her red hair from her face. Kaylee nodded as she gazed up at him.

“Yes. He didn’t hurt me.” she replied. “How are Angela and Faith, I’ve been so scared for them.”

“You worry too much about others.” Damien said gently as he used the key he had taken from his father’s pocket to unhook her wrists and ankles. “Faith is fine. Francis brought her home, he did not let her stay here. And Jake was going to find Angela but I don’t know how she is.” Kaylee nodded and wrapped her arms tight around him as he held her close and kissed her hair.

“I was so scared about what he would do to you. If I had any doubts that what I feel for you is what poets and writers have always called love, they are gone now. You are my heart beat, beautiful wolf, and the thought of you alone, in pain and scared filled me with a helplessness and a rage that I had never felt before.”

“I’m okay, Damien.” she promised as she kissed the bottom of his jaw. “He didn’t hurt me, he was waiting for you to get here so you would have to watch him hurt me.”

“Let’s get out of here.” Damien said as he pulled away and kissed her forehead. “I never want to see this place again.”

“A week at the beach sounds good to me.” Kaylee replied.

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“They just keep coming!” Evan exclaimed as he decapitated a sub that had just sliced his arm open with its rotted claws.

“I can’t take much more of this! Where the hell are Jake and Damien?” Kent demanded as he ducked down to avoid a fist aimed at his head and kicked out his foot, breaking the subs leg.

“STOP THIS!” Everyone in the room stopped instantly. Every sub demon, werewolf, vampire, and immortal mate stopped fighting and looked up at the stairway, to see what man had just spoken in a tone that they couldn’t help but obey.

“Kaylee….” Evan and Kayleb both said at once as they breathed a sigh of relief when they saw her standing beside Damien with her arm wrapped firmly around his waist.

“Subs, you are no longer under my fathers command, you are now under mine.” Damien said as he kept one hand behind his back.

“Why should we listen to you?” one of the subs asked. Damien held his arm high in the air, lifting his father’s severed head by the hair for all to see. He threw the head down and it rolled to the ground at a subs foot.

“What are your commands?” the sub asked as he looked up at the new demon king.

“You stay in this castle. You do not harm another mortal. If you do and I find out, I will come back and I will bring an army of my own and every one of you will die.” Damien replied. He led Kaylee down the steps as screams filled the air from the dungeon below.

Kaylee ran to Evan and Kayleb who both wrapped her in a tight hug.

“I’m so glad you’re okay.” Evan said. Kaylee looked at them both, they were covered in sweat and blood and looked exhausted but they were smiling happily.

“Let’s go home.” she said and the family headed for the door. Hunter stopped before walking out and looked at Kayleb.

“I’m gonna go get Jake.” he said and Kayleb nodded.

“I’ll wait outside for you.” he said. Hunter walked through the piles of dead sub bodies, glad that the living subs had left the entry room and gone to other parts of the castle to lick their wounds, and he jumped down in the hole Jake had made in the floor.

His eyes widened when he saw Jake standing over a screaming Rotan, driving small knives into different parts of his body and leaving them there. Rotan looked like he was undergoing a very painful acupuncture procedure, or perhaps like one mean ass porcupine had gotten hold of him.

“We’re leaving.” Hunter said and Jake nodded but didn’t look away from his prisoner. “Damien killed Victor, the subs were forced to listen to their new king and retreat, and Kaylee is safe.” Jake nodded again.

“Good.” he said. Hunter shifted his feet and looked away from the bloody mess that was Rotan. He couldn’t help but feel the vampire in him coming alive at the scent of all the blood but the man in him was scared shitless that Jake was capable of doing that to another person.

“Are you coming with us?” Hunter asked.

“I’ll be home when I’m done.” Jake replied coldly and Hunter nodded.

“Okay then, I’m leaving.” Hunter said and he quickly jumped back up through the hole and to the floor above.

“Note to self.” he muttered out loud as he began searching through the bodies for his lost hat. “Do not ever make my father-in-law angry.” He smiled with victory as he found his hat and after wiping some sub demon brains off it and onto his blood covered pants, he plopped it on his head and headed for the door.

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“Are you drunk?” Evan demanded of his mate as they all dashed into the kitchen. Raquel shook her head as she stood up and weaved slightly.

“Of course not.” she said.

“Yes she is.” Bethany said with a laugh from where she sat glossy eyed. “She drank a whole damn bottle by herself.”

“Lane is gonna be so mad when he finds out his liquor is gone.” Jordan added and every woman at the table snorted with laughter. Damien’s eyes widened as he looked at his mother and realized she was drunk and laughing as well. He hadn’t heard his mother laugh… ever. If alcohol was what it took to make her unafraid, he’d give her a lifetime supply.

“Are you drunk too?” Evan asked Vanessa and she shook her head.

“No.” she said and then she smiled guiltily. “Maybe just a little.” she admitted. Charles came running into the kitchen as Greg walked in from outside.

“You all stink!” Greg exclaimed and Joey rolled her eyes.

“We can’t all be pretty like you all the time. Sometimes we have to kick a little ass.”

“She has attitude after a battle.” Kent said with a smile.

“Where is Jake and Kayleb?” Charles demanded.

“And where is Hunter?” Laney added, seeming to be the only halfway sober woman at the table. Before anyone could reply the air shimmered and Hunter and Kayleb appeared.

“Sorry we were late.” Hunter said as Laney jumped to her feet and ran to him, throwing her arms around him tightly, not caring that he was covered in sub demon gore. “I had to find my hat.”

“Where is my dad?” Laney asked.

“Busy… uh…. With his own form of revenge.” Charles nodded, understanding what Hunter was saying.

“Lane said my mom was in bad shape but he wouldn’t let any of us come up…. Is she okay?”

“Physically I think so…. Mentally though, I don’t know. I think Rotan put her through hell.” Hunter replied kissing her soft brown curls.

Damien slammed his fist down on the table, causing the drunk women to gasp and then break down into fits of giggles.

“This should have never happened!” he said angrily. “I should have killed both of them a long time ago.”

“Don’t blame yourself, Damien….” Kaylee started but Damien pulled away from her.

“I need some space.” he said and he walked out of the house leaving Kaylee feeling suddenly cold.

“That damn emotionally crippled demon is going to be the death of me.” she exclaimed as she stormed from the room to get first dibs on the third floor shower.

“I take it they are dead?” Charles asked and Kayleb nodded.

“They’ve been taken care of… It’s over.” he said. Vanessa sighed as she leaned back in her chair.

“Is it always like this around here?”

“Yes.” Nearly everyone said at once and Vanessa sighed.

“Thank goodness for Jack Daniels.”

Chapter Twenty-Two

“I wouldn’t last a single day, I’d probably just fade away. Girl without you I’d lose my mind. Before you ever came along, I was living life all wrong, the smartest thing i ever did was make you all mine! Crazy girl, don’t you know that i love you? I wouldn’t dream of going nowhere. Silly woman, come here and let me hold you. Have i told you lately, i love you like crazy girl.” Eli Young Band ‘Crazy Girl’

Damien walked off the porch and glared up at the sky and the giant full moon above him. All of this was his fault. Angela’s torture, his mothers torture, Kaylee being held prisoner, the deaths of countless mortals at his fathers hands had all been his fault because he had been to big of a coward to kill his father nearly a thousand years ago.

“You give yourself too much credit.” Angelo’s voice came from behind him and he turned to see the dirty angel walking off the porch and coming toward him.

“What are you talking about?” Damien demanded impatiently. He wanted to be left alone, not bothered by this worthless angel who seemed to know everything about everything but wasn’t willing to lend a hand and help in any situation. Why hadn’t he or his boss done away with Rotan and Victor centuries ago instead of allowing them to kill so many?

“You were standing here blaming yourself for all that was wrong in the world weren’t you?” Angelo asked as he stood next to Damien and ran his hand over his tangled beard.

“I was blaming you too.” Damien replied.

“Well stop. They’re dead now. Well, Victor’s dead and Rotan will be just as soon as that wolf is done having his way with him.”

“Jake is torturing Rotan?” Damien asked, raising his brow. Angelo nodded.

“Yep.”

“Rotan likes pain…” Damien said , thinking that just killing Rotan quickly would have been the best option. Angelo chuckled and tossed his tooth pick down into the grass.

“Trust me, your brother isn’t having any fun.” Damien nodded.

“Good.” he said, thinking about the scars covering his mother’s body.

“Listen kid, don’t blame yourself or anybody else. Sometimes bad things just happen. But you did good.” Angelo said with a nod. “And now I’m going home.” Angelo started to walk away but Damien shook his head.

“Wait.” he said. Angelo turned to look at him.

“What?” he asked before sucking at his tooth.

“I want a favor.” Angelo snorted.

“Why should I do you a favor?” he asked.

“Because you and your boss have made my life hell. I was born to a monster just to do your dirty work because no one else wanted to get their hands dirty. Now I want something in return.”

“Other than life.” Angelo asked, raising a brow and Damien nodded. Angelo sighed. “The boss ain’t big on granting favors… What do you want?”

“I want you to take away my mothers scars.” Damien replied. “The physical ones anyway.” Angelo tilted his head.

“I thought you wanted a favor?”

“Yes.”

“No, you want a favor for your mother. What has your mother done to earn a favor?”

“Your boss put her in that demons hands so that I could be born.”

“Yes and then he allowed you to free her.” Angelo said with a nod. Damien snarled.

“She doesn’t deserve to look in the mirror everyday and see Rotan’s handy work on her body.” Angelo wanted to say okay and do what Damien wanted but he knew that Angelica’s scars would serve their own purpose later in life. There would come a day when Angelo would take them away but not today. Angelica had to learn to love herself and come to terms with what had happened and repair her insides before Angelo could repair her outsides.

“One day I will.”

“No, now.” Damien said crossing his arms over his chest. Angelo shook his head.

“I said I’d do you the favor but it’s gonna be done in my time, not yours. Goodbye Damien.” Angelo vanished before Damien could say another word, leaving him standing there fuming.

He went back in the house to find the kitchen empty except for Rebecca and his mother.

“Victor and Rotan are gone now mom, I’ll take you home if you want me to.” Damien said. Angelica shook her head and stood up, while ringing her thin hands.

“My friends and I want to stay here.” she said.

“You do?” Damien asked with a mixture of surprise and shock. His mother was normally scared of everyone.

“Yes.” she said. “I like it here. It feels safe.” Damien looked over at Rebecca who smiled and seemed to be regaining her sobriety.

“I told her she was welcome to stay here… The more the merrier is what I’ve always said.” Rebecca said in response to his unspoken question.

“Okay.” Damien said with a nod. “I’m going upstairs.” he walked out of the kitchen leaving his mom and Rebecca talking like old friends.

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Jake walked out of the castle and wanted nothing more than to get home and wrap his arms tight around Angela. He wanted to hold her, to breathe her in, feel the warmth of her skin and know that she was alive and safe.

Rotan was gone and Jake had left him in enough pieces that there was no fear that the demon was ever coming back. Jake was tired and felt raw. Going back into the mindset that he had always carried when hunting with his father had taken a lot out of him. He had vowed to never be that man again but there had been something inside of him that had snapped when he’d seen Angela on that table. Everything inside him that was good had disappeared. He had wanted nothing more than to cause as much pain as he could.

Now he needed to feel Angela’s arms around him and see the love in her soft brown eyes to know that was still the same man he had become when he had first laid his eyes on her.

He dashed himself to their bedroom, knowing that she had been exhausted and would probably be asleep. His mood only got worse when he got to his and Angela’s room and found Angela, in her bra and pants, sound asleep with Lane lying beside her. Lanes arms were wrapped tightly around her and his face was buried in her hair as he too slept soundly.

Jake walked across the room and flipped on the light causing both Lane and Angela to wake up suddenly. Lane jumped to his feet with a growl, ready to defend Angela against the unknown threat while Angela quickly grabbed the blankets and pulled them over herself.

“Were you comfortable, Lane?” Jake asked crossing his arms over his chest. Lane shook his head and rolled his eyes.

“Don’t try to play the jealous role right now, Jake. You know damn well there wasn’t anything going on. Angela was scared and crying and heartbroken and so I stayed with her and we both fell asleep.” Jake looked at Angela and saw that her eyes were red and swollen and her skin was puffy… She had been crying. He opened the link between them and he could feel her pain and it broke his heart.

“Why are you sad?” he asked her. “Rotan and Victor are gone. Everyone is okay….” Angela let out a little whimper as she pulled the covers over her head and he heard her start crying again.

“ She’s not okay you jackass!“ Lane exclaimed and then he clenched his fist and caught Jake hard in the nose. It was hard to say whether Lane or Jake was more surprised by the punch. Jake reached up and wiped the blood away from his nose and then pointed at the door.

“Thank you for taking care of her but I’m here now so you can leave. Go take care of your own mate.” he growled. Lane nodded.

“Okay.” he said and he quickly made his escape out the door, thankful that his older and much tougher brother hadn’t whooped his ass and handed it back to him for punching him in the nose.

Jake walked over to the bed and pulled the blanket off of Angela and tossed it aside. He knew he should probably be more gentle but Jake and gentleness had never really gotten along. He liked to get to the point of a problem, solve it, and move on.

“What’s wrong? What is making you cry?” he asked as he sat down on the edge of the bed and braced his arm on the other side of her so he could look down at her face and she couldn’t move away.

“I’m just tired, Jake.” Angela replied while refusing to meet his eyes.

“You never cry, Angela, so I know it’s not just because you’re tired.” Jake said. “Now I can’t make anything better if you don’t tell me what’s wrong in the first place. I killed Rotan and he’ll never hurt you again. I know he hurt you, Angela, but I’m here now and you know I’ll protect you.”

“It’s not Rotan…. I mean yes he hurt me and I think I will always be scared of spiders from here on out and if anyone tries to sing ‘Ittsy Bittsy Spider’ around me I’ll probably have a panic attack… But that’s not why I’m crying.” Jake was confused as he shoved his hand through his hair.

“Why then?”

“You….” Angela said and then her voice trailed off.

“Me?” Jake said and he sighed and moved his arm away from her. He turned and buried his face in his hands. “I’m sorry, Angela. I snapped when I saw you and all I could think of was hurting him. I don’t have any other excuse than that for what I did to him. If you can’t look at me, I understand. I guess you didn’t realize what a monster you were mated to.” Angela sat up and laid her hand on his sweat and dust covered back.

“Jake, I don’t blame you for what you did to him. I know about your temper and truthfully if the situation were reversed I would have tortured his ass for hours too.” Jake sat up straight and turned to look at her.

“Then why are you crying? What did I do? I would never hurt you intentionally, Angela. You are my whole world, you know that.” Angela bit her lip and shook her head as she looked down at her scar covered stomach.

“You wouldn’t touch me or look at me in that dungeon. You saw these scars and you turned away from me. I’m sorry I’m not attractive to you anymore, Jake…. I never understood what you saw in me anyway since I’m not thin but now that I’m scarred like this I don’t blame you if you never want to look at me again.”

“You’re insane. That’s the only logical explanation for the words you’re saying right now.” Jake said as he stared at her with disbelief.

“Jake, don’t. You don’t have to pretend.”

“Pretend hell, you crazy person! I love you. You are everything to me and I’m sorry if I made you feel like I didn’t want to look at you in that dungeon but I didn’t. The sight of you hurting and scared and covered in those scars sent me over the edge and filled me with guilt. I should have kept you safe, Angela. You never should have been in that dungeon.”

“Jake, I know you love me but don’t try to lie and make me feel like you still find me attractive. Even I can see how ugly these scars are.” Jake growled low in his throat and Angela saw his golden eyes flame with passion.

“I will always want you Angela.” he promised and before Angela had the chance to argue again he pushed her back on the bed and lowered himself over her, crushing his lips against hers and burying his hand in her hair. He breathed in her lilac and vanilla scent, and tasted the sweetness of her lips. Her soft body was warm beneath him and as her arms closed around his waist he felt passion and love fill him.

This was his mate. This was the other half of his soul and the fact that she could believe for a second that he wouldn’t want her anymore was something that he had to fix. He lowered his mouth to her chest, feeling her tremble as he traced the outline of her bra with his lips and tongue and then he moved lower to the scars on her stomach. He felt his heart break as he kissed each one. Rotan deserved what he had gotten. The pain his Angela must have gone through was enough to tear Jake’s heart out. He kissed each and every scar and Angela felt her worry melting away.

Jake had never lied to her. Not once in nearly thirty years and she knew there was no way he could fake the passion that she saw in his eyes when he moved his face back up and looked down at her.

“Never doubt what I feel for you, Angela. There is nothing that could ever make you any less beautiful in my eyes. I don’t care if your hair falls out, your teeth rot, or you turn into some kind of alien from outer space, you would still be the most beautiful woman in the world to me.” he said, his voice slightly more gruff than usual and Angela could tell he was fighting back emotion. A wolf as tough as Jake would never allow himself to cry and look weak. She gave a teary laugh as she ran her hand through his unruly black hair and pushed it out of his face.

“Let’s hope it never comes to something as serious as all of that.” she said and Jake smiled.

“At least if it does, you won’t think those crazy kinds of thoughts anymore. Thinking that I don’t want you! That’s like thinking that a vampire suddenly doesn’t need blood or a demon no longer has to have souls… Nothing will ever change how badly I want and need you.”

“And nothing will ever change how badly I want and need you.” Angela replied and then Jake was pressing his hungry lips to hers again and taking her breath away.

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Lane walked down the dark, silent hallway after leaving Jake’s room and then made his way upstairs to the nursery. He walked inside and smiled at all the kids, sound asleep in their beds. Even Kaitlyn had fallen asleep in the room and was curled up to Faith on Faiths tiny bed.

He walked to Charlie’s crib and looked down at his sleeping son. He kissed his palm and then pressed his hand gently to Charlie’s forehead and smoothed the boys dark hair from his face. Charlie had gotten Joey’s green eyes and Lane’s dark hair and charming smile. The boy was definitely going to be a heartbreaker.

Lane checked on each child asleep in the room and covered Kaitlyn up with a quilt before slipping silently back out of the room and closing the door. He tiptoed back down to the second floor and into the empty bathroom.

He was just stepping out of the shower and grabbing a towel when he realized he had forgotten to bring clothes. He wrapped the towel around his waist and walked to his and Joey’s bedroom.

Joey was lying on her side, facing the door and appeared to be asleep when he walked in, though she had left the lamp on and he smiled when he realized she had tried to wait up for him.

Lane didn’t realize it but Joey was awake and she was watching him through her cracked eyelids. She felt her heart begin to race at the sight of his lean, tan body and the water droplets still clinging to his skin and dripping down his chest and stomach before soaking into the towel around his waist.

She was about to welcome him eagerly into the bed until she remembered that he had just spent hours with Angela and not come to her when she had arrived at home. She was okay about his closeness with Angela since it was a bond that she had been warned was there but she didn’t like feeling second best with her own mate.

She moaned and rolled over to face the wall, still pretending to be sound asleep. She heard him sigh and she heard the towel hit the floor. He climbed under the covers in the bed and curled up on his side against her, wrapping his arm tight around her waist and kissing her red curls , which were still damp from her shower.

He could tell she wasn’t asleep by the way she was breathing and her moan had been fake. He knew Joey as well as he knew himself and something was wrong with her.

“I love you.” he whispered against her ear.

“I love you too.” she replied and Lane moved his arm.

“Turn around.” he said. Joey thought about arguing but decided not to. She turned and looked up at him. Lane reached over and pulled off her glasses and set them on the bedside table behind him before running his finger gently down her cheek.

“What’s wrong, slayer?” he asked.

“Nothing.” she replied. Lane gave her that charming grin of his that could make any woman swoon and raised a brow.

“Your mouth says it’s nothing but your eyes say it’s something.” he replied.

“You know I’ve never said anything about you and Angela because I know that you love her like a sister but when we all got home from the castle, everyone had their mates running to them and so happy to see them okay, but I didn’t, because my mate was busy taking care of someone else.”

“You told me to.” Lane replied. “Your words were, ‘take Angela home where it’s safe and stay with her.’”

“I didn’t mean sleep with her half the night.” Joey said matter of factly. Lane sighed and ran his hand down her freckled arm.

“I’m sorry. We fell asleep and once Jake got back, I left and I checked on the kids, took a shower and came to you.”

“I’m pretty far down on your list.” Joey said and she hated the way the words sounded. She had never been one to complain or try to make anyone feel guilty or earn pity but the jealousy and pain of nearly thirty years of feeling second best was coming out all at once.

“No you’re not, Joey.” Lane said, wondering where this was coming from.

“Yes I am, Lane. But it’s okay, as usual I’ll just deal with it.”

“You aren’t acting like yourself.” he replied as his brow furrowed with confusion.

“Maybe that’s because I’m tired of being strong and okay with everything! Just once I would like for my mate to want to take care of me first and someone else second! I came home and showered and felt the sting of pain from the water and dealt with the soreness in my muscles alone while everyone else had their mates to help them.. Do you know how that makes me feel? Everyone looks at me with pity because they know that my mate loves someone else more than he loves me.” Joey was embarrassed by her outburst but it was too late to take the words back now.

Lane stared at her with shock. He had had no idea that she felt that way. He felt shame fill him and his heart broke to know that he had caused the tears that were forming in her emerald green eyes. He lifted his hand to the silver wolf charm dangling from the necklace he had given her almost thirty years ago.

“There is no one in this world that I love more than you.” he promised. “I love you even more than I love myself, and that’s saying something.” he added, trying to lighten the mood.

“I’m sorry I said all of that.” Joey said with a frown. Lane shook his head.

“I’m sorry I made you feel like I don’t care about you. Do you want to know why I don’t come running to you all the time? Because you’re so damn tough I feel like you don’t need me to. I’m a screw-up Joey, you knew that when you saved me from those subs in the alley the first day we met. I screw everything up and I couldn’t fight my out of a wet paper beg with a damn machete and you….. You’re like this crazy, red-haired, slaying machine. You never cry. You never break. You never complain. You just kick ass, take names and keep on moving forward…. But, Joey, I love you. You are my mate. You are the other half of my soul.”

“I do need you Lane…” she said as she looked down at his chest. Lane put his finger under her chin and lifted her face to his.

“Angela is special to me. I can’t explain it so I won’t even try but she is not above you. I might have said that all those years ago, but if you remember correctly I was angry, you had just tried to kill Angela and I was probably pretty drunk so you really oughta cut me some slack.”

“I love you, Lane.” Joey replied as she ran her hand through his wet black hair. “I really am not jealous of you and Angela, I’m just tired and stressed and…”

“Stop making excuses. It’s okay for you to be less than a rock of toughness sometimes. It’s kind of nice to know that you do have normal emotions.” Lane said with a sad half-smile. “And I promise that from now on I will be your one wolf cheer leading squad. If you need a back rub when you get back from a long day of ass kicking, I’m your puppy. And if you need someone to wash the dirt from your body after a day of whooping bad guys well then I’m definitely your puppy.” Lane said with a silly grin and Joey couldn’t help but smile.

“What about if I just want you to hold me while I sleep?” Joey asked, feeling the fatigue from the long battle settling into her bones. Lane reached behind him and twisted the switch on the lamp, letting the darkness envelope them.

“Then I’m your puppy for that too.” he said and he kissed her hair as she sighed and snuggled against his body.

888

Kaylee was sitting on the bed when Damien walked in and he could tell she was angry.

“These emotions are killing me.” Damien muttered as he pulled off his ripped and bloody shirt and looked at her. “Why are angry with me?”

“Oh no reason.” Kaylee said as she pulled up the spaghetti strap sleeve of her silk sleeping gown, since it had fallen down her arm. “Maybe it has something to do with you telling me you needed space and walking out the door earlier.”

“Why would that make you angry?” he asked. “I needed peace for a few moments.”

“And you can’t find peace with me?” Kaylee asked. “Look Damien, I understand that everyone needs time to themselves now and then, it just seems like you are walking away from me all the time. I want you to be able to lean on me when something is wrong with you. I want you to share your thoughts and feelings with me. I want to really know you and I can’t if every time you are upset about something you walk away from me.”

“Kaylee, I don’t know what you want from me.” Damien said with frustration. “I don’t understand my own emotions most of the time, how am I supposed to include you in them?” Kaylee shrugged as she flopped on her back on the bed and stared at the ceiling. Damien felt his passion rise as he looked at her long legs on display for him, and saw the way the thin silk fabric molded to her breasts and her waist as she lay there. Any passionate feelings he had were quickly ended by her next words.

“You say you love me but how am I supposed to be with you when you don’t trust me enough to open up to me? You won’t give all of yourself to me and you don’t need me?” Damien had never heard a more ridiculous statement in all of his life but clearly she believed every word.

He walked to the bed and grabbed her hand, pulling her back into a sitting position on the edge of the bed and then he got on his knees at her feet.

“I won’t pretend to understand why you are so upset. You have to understand, Kaylee, that I have worked hard to ignore emotions for a thousand years. I have worked to never truly feel them and therefore I don’t understand them or how to handle or control them.

“When I saw you for the first time that day in that dusty desert, it was the first time that I couldn’t simply shut myself off and ignore what I was feeling. I do love you, I am sure of that. I don’t like knowing that I have hurt or disappointed you and I’m not sure how to make things right but I want you to teach me. Help me learn what my feelings mean and teach me how to act.” Kaylee raised her brow as she looked down at his large hands, closed gently around her much smaller ones.

“Are you saying you want me to train you?’ she asked. Damien frowned.

“Is that bad?” he asked, hoping that he hadn’t done yet another thing wrong. Kaylee smiled and looked back into his eyes.

“No. As a matter of fact, I’m pretty sure those are words every woman would like to hear.”

“I love it when you smile.” Damien said, bringing her fingertips to his lips and kissing them gently. Kaylee’s smile widened.

“You keep saying things like that forever and you’re sure to see more of my smiles.” she said. Damien couldn’t help but smile in return and he nodded.

“Is that you’re first lesson?” he asked. Kaylee nodded.

“Yes it was.”

“I think I will be a quick learner then.” Damien replied.

“Are you ready for lesson number two?” she asked teasingly as the strap of her gown slid down off her shoulder. Damien’s eyes flashed with red as he nodded.

“Yes.” he said with a nod.

“You have to finish getting undressed for lesson number two.” she said matter of factly. There was no mistaking the red flash of passion that lit up Damien’s eyes.

“I’m going to enjoy this lesson.” he said huskily as he stood and began to undo his pants.

“Not as much as I am.” Kaylee replied as a passionate blush lit her cheeks. Damien stepped out his pants and grinned.

“Lets just agree to disagree on that.” he said and he lowered himself over her as her laughter filled the air.