Innocent Devil’s Harem Ch. 19

November 15, 2020

DISCLAIMER: All characters engaging in sexual conduct are 18 years or older, and legally permitted to engage in such activities, irrespective of pet names used for each other.

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- CHAPTER 19: Origins -

When Avery abruptly fell unconscious from having my blood injected into her arm, her heart rate dropped too, until the monitor was showing fifty-four beats per minute.

I was also a little surprised it happened so fast, at least glad that this confirmed it was in fact my blood that caused the change. I assumed the major difference, from when it happened to Gabriella, was the fact that I didn’t inject it directly into her bloodstream, instead getting it in her tissues.

Essentially, it took longer for the blood to do its job in Gabriella’s body, whereas this dose got circulated through Avery’s bloodstream with a single beat of her heart. I wondered if that also meant her transformation would be faster.

However, I wasn’t the only one who noticed the significance of Avery’s sudden unconsciousness.

When I pulled out the syringe, Serenity abruptly stood up and grabbed her purse, like she was going to leave.

“Well, clearly I’m not going to be transforming anytime soon,” she stated matter-of-factly, walking around the end of the bed and over to the med cart. She then grabbed the second syringe and put it in her purse.

I looked at her in surprise. “What are you doing?” I asked seriously.

She gave me a hard look. “What do you think, Kai? Did you really think I would want to stay normal after finding out your secret? After finding out I could be like you too?” Her expression dropped then, suddenly vulnerable. “Unless you don’t want me to be like you,” she added quietly.

I took a deep breath. “Okay, yeah.” I sighed. “I’ll make you like me,” I reassured her, only to realize I should remind her of what that would really mean. “If you really want me to,” I added. “But it might mean you have to quit your job if you struggle to look normal.”

She shrugged. “If I end up looking like Gabriella does, then it won’t really be that big of a deal.”

I frowned, giving her a look.

She sighed. “But yeah, I get it. And yes, if that’s what I have to do, then I’ll quit. But I want to be with you Kai, in every way possible.”

I ran my fingers through my hair as I considered that. “Okay,” I replied simply, unsure of how else to respond. I felt like it was a big decision, but Serenity seemed like she’d already made up her mind, and I wasn’t going to deny her what she wanted.

She was literally everything to me, having always been there for me, even when the worst happened, and pretty much the one person who I could never deny.

Serenity simply nodded, only to point toward a red box on the wall. “But you should get rid of that needle. Just pop it in the sharps container.”

I walked over to do as she asked, and then turned to face them again, focusing on Avery’s unconscious form. “So now what?” I wondered, suspecting that she was going to be out for a while.

Gabriella replied. “Now, I’ll stay here until she wakes up. And if she’s not herself when she does, then I’ll slap her, or do whatever it takes to get her to snap out of it. You can stay if you want, but I don’t mind if you two want to go home.”

“Gabriella,” Serenity said in surprise. “We aren’t going to abandon you here. I mean, if we have to leave because it gets too late, and they kick us out since they have rules for only allowing one visitor overnight per patient, then that’s one thing, but we can hang around to keep you company until then.”

My fiancé sighed. “Well, I really need to get a hold of my mom anyway, and I kind of figured you two might want some alone time together to talk everything over. A lot has happened just in the last few hours.”

Serenity frowned at that, seeming pensive. Of course, Gabriella and I hadn’t mentioned the ‘succubus’ thing to Serenity, so she had no idea about that, instead likely focused on the last part of my fiancé’s statement – us having a lot to talk about.

She then looked at me. “What do you want to do?” she wondered.

I focused on Gabriella as I replied, just wanting to make sure she was alright with my decision. “I’d like to hang out for a while to make sure everything seems fine.” I gave my attention back to Serenity. “And then, yeah. We can probably head home. We do sort of need to talk, and I still need to open that chest.”

Serenity nodded.

“Only problem,” I continued, looking back at Gabriella. “Is that, when we leave, you’ll be without a car.”

She shrugged. “It’s not a big deal, Kai. You can just pick me up if needed, and worst case is I could just get my mom to pick me up. Might have to do that anyway in the event she doesn’t want to discuss things on the phone.”

“Okay, sounds good,” I agreed simply, moving closer to lean against the wall next to where she was sitting, since we planned on staying a little while.

Serenity also returned to her seat and shifted it more toward me, considering Avery was no longer involved in the conversation. However, it seemed no one had anything to say at this point, all of us falling silent for a handful of minutes.

The silence wasn’t uncomfortable though, instead feeling kind of nice just to be around each other. It also felt like there wasn’t a lot of personal things we could discuss here without it affecting my skin, but I was perfectly fine with just hanging around with the two of them.

However, as I began thinking more about Avery and her getting better, I realized we might have another problem we hadn’t thought of. “What do we do when she doeswake up?” I wondered. “I mean, it’s probably not a good idea for them to run tests on her after she’s magically healed.”

Serenity sat back slightly as she thought about it, only for Gabriella to respond.

“Honestly, she should be able to refuse treatment,” my fiancé commented. “And if she can move again, then they can’t deny her request to be discharged. I will just need to keep people out while Avery looks different, but that might not be a problem if it happens in the middle of the night. I think the medical staff only check in on people every couple of hours, so their patients can sleep, which gives us a lot of leeway for her to try to look normal again.”

“Will you be able to stay up?” I wondered.

Gabriella nodded. “Yeah, I think I’ll be fine. I mean, do you have an issue with staying up if you want to? Because for some reason I feel like I could stay awake for days if I needed.”

I frowned, realizing she had a point. “Yeah, I guess you’re right. If I’m determined to stay awake, then usually it’s not an issue. And there’s no reason to think you can’t do that too, especially since you feel that way.”

Gabriella nodded, not responding this time as she glanced at Avery.

I could hear people walking by in the hallways, not really paying too much attention to the commotion, so even I wasn’t anticipating for the male nurse to return, with him knocking on the door before popping it open.

We were all surprised when he had a bag of blood in his hand. “Her numbers are a little low,” he explained politely. “So the doctor decided to order this.” He paused when he focused on her. “Oh, did she fall asleep?”

“Yeah,” Serenity said right away. “Just a little bit ago. Does she have internal bleeding or something?” she wondered.

He shook his head, moving over to the med cart to punch in a code and grab some supplies. He didn’t even seem to notice the syringes were missing, which probably was due to him having three or four patients and not really paying that much attention to a common object. Not to mention, there were other medical staff around.

A nurse’s assistant, or even a doctor, might have come in and grabbed them.

“No,” he replied. “There was no serious hemorrhaging, as far as they could tell on the scans. Honestly, she might have just recently had her period or something, and didn’t take enough iron. It’s not too unusual for women to have lower numbers than what we prefer, though the doctor wants to make sure she doesn’t drop any lower from an unknown bleed.”

“I see,” Serenity said simply in response.

I frowned at that, since I knew Avery had been on birth control for a while now, or at least hadn’t had a period in almost a year and a half, but didn’t comment.

He continued to speak as he laid everything on the bed next to Avery’s hand. “I need to grab a chair, since I’ll be in here for a while. I have to stay at the bedside when giving a blood product. It can take up to an hour for this much,” he added.

Serenity nodded again. “No problem.” However, once he left, she sighed heavily. “Well, I guess this is a good thing.”

“Yeah,” I agreed quietly. “If she might end up needing blood anyway, then maybe she can shift back to looking normal right away.”

“And maybe she won’t even have an episode like I did,” Gabriella added.

We were then all quiet again when he returned.

Gabriella decided to use the opportunity to step into the hallway and try calling her mom, likely just intending on keeping things vague to avoid anyone overhearing her. In the meantime, after the nurse got the blood hooked up to Avery’s IV, he then tried to strike up a conversation with us, casually inquiring about our relationships.

I decided to just stick with saying that Avery was my classmate from school, as well as one of my best friends, as well as explaining that Serenity was also my friend when he asked.

Unfortunately, he then focused on her, being overly curious as he asked her what she did for a living, and then seemed to get really interested when she told him that she was a detective.

But Serenity was used to talking to strangers, and had no problem keeping him entertained, without getting too personal, while he jotted down information on a piece of paper every handful of minutes.

When Gabriella came back not long later, she seemed like she was in a good mood, but just kept her whispers to me vague, saying that she and her mom were going to talk as soon as they got the chance tomorrow.

Of course, I suspected that they would talk sooner if Avery woke up before the hospital’s arbitrary curfew for visitors set in, but I knew we shouldn’t plan for that to happen.

After that, we both fell silent again while Serenity continued to converse with the male nurse.

However, the blood transfusion didn’t take as long as he was expecting, and he was done after only forty-five minutes, seeming surprised that it hadn’t taken a full hour. He told us the doctor would likely want more labs to verify the amount was enough to raise her numbers, but I wasn’t worried about them seeing anything abnormal in her bloodwork.

After all, it wasn’t like they would be studying it. Instead, they would only be checking for specific things, probably having a machine or an overworked tech doing the test on ‘just another tube’ out of thousands.

Once he left the room, Gabriella finally elaborated by saying that her mom seemed excited that her daughter was finally interested in a guy and overall seemed positive about the situation.

“Of course, I didn’t mention we are already engaged,” Gabriella admitted. “And I kind of made it seem like I was only ‘interested’ at this point, so she doesn’t know we’ve done stuff.” She grimaced then. “But I’ll definitely let her know tomorrow.”

I frowned at that, being reminded that we’d kind of jumped straight into it, without her parents even knowing me. “You don’t think they’ll be mad that I didn’t ask them or anything, right?” I wondered. “Like, would your dad be upset?”

She shook her head. “Nah, they’re pretty easygoing when it comes to traditional stuff like that. Or rather, I suppose you could say that they’re pretty untraditional in a lot of ways, so I don’t think it’ll be an issue.”

“Untraditional how?” Serenity asked curiously, just being conversational.

Gabriella grimaced. “Umm, Kai, maybe you can tell her at home?” she suggested, seeming kind of embarrassed now.

I shrugged. “Sure,” I agreed simply, with my awareness of the topic not bothering me, since I had my mind mostly elsewhere, wondering if we should go ahead and get going.

It was only about 2:30 PM at this point, but what Gabriella said earlier was kind of true – Serenity and I had a lot to talk about, and it was probably going to take up a significant amount of time to discuss everything.

“Okay?” Serenity said in confusion, clearly not sure what to make of Gabriella’s reluctance.

“I’ll tell you when we get home,” I reaffirmed. “And speaking of which, are you ready to go?” I focused on Gabriella. “As long as you don’t need anything,” I added.

She shook her head, giving me a warm smile. “No, I’ll be fine. I’m starting to kind of feel attached to Avery here, so I won’t feel like I’m alone, even if she’s asleep.”

I smiled at that, walking toward her to give her a quick hug. “Okay, I love you. Just call me if you need anything.”

“Will do,” she agreed, moving to give Serenity a hug too. “I think everything will go alright though,” she added. “Especially since they gave her a bag of blood. If we’re lucky, she might just wake up looking completely normal.”

“Sure,” I replied. “And let us know if she does wake up. Like, even if it’s two in the morning, I’ll come pick you both up.” I paused. “Assuming she doesn’t want to go see her mom, but it might be better for her to experiment shifting a little before she does.”

“Agreed,” Gabriella replied, giving me a warm smile. “Love you.”

“Love you too,” I repeated, only to take a deep breath. I then focused on Serenity before exchanging a final goodbye with my fiancé and then heading out of the room.

After taking an elevator to the ground floor, Serenity wrapped her arms around mine as we began walking out to the car, something she’d occasionally done prior to today, but now felt a little different.

More like, a lot different.

I always suspected that people assumed we were together when she did that, but I knew we weren’t a couple previously. But now, we kind of were, unofficially.

I tried to keep my torso from graying as we reached the parking garage, finally having to pull my arm away once we got close to the car.

Thankfully, she didn’t appear to notice that there was an issue, just seeming content to walk while holding onto me, but I knew I’d have to tell her later that I might not be able to handle it anymore.

Not if we were sort of dating now.

It wasn’t until after I’d gotten the chest out of the trunk, and we’d driven down to the entrance of the parking garage, getting ready to exit, that she thought of it herself.

“Oh,” she exclaimed in surprise, readjusting the small black chest in her lap as she glanced at me. “Was it okay that I held onto your arm? I didn’t even think anything of it,” she added with a grimace.

I sighed heavily, not really wanting to discuss this too much while I was driving, but knowing I should be honest. “Umm, yeah it was fine, but I was a little gray underneath my clothes,” I admitted.

She gave me an apologetic look. “Does that happen a lot?” she asked quietly.

I shook my head. “No, normally I’d just pull away if it was affecting me.” I sighed. “And really, the biggest reason is because things are sort of different between us.” I paused, only to continue when her heartrate picked up. “But we shouldn’t talk about that too much right now,” I quickly added. “Let’s talk about something else.”

She nodded, focusing down at her lap. “So, what do you think is in here?” she wondered, glancing back up at me. “When we were first moving it around, it didn’t really make any sounds, but now…” She paused to gently shake it side-to-side, only for it to sound as if something loose was hitting the edges. “Almost makes me wonder if there is a rock in here or something.”

I laughed at that. “Wouldn’t that be funny?” I said playfully. “My biological parents, or whoever that’s really from, left me a piece of coal for being a bad boy.”

She initially started grinning only to immediately frown. “Hey,” she said somberly, her expression full of concern. “I don’t know why they dropped you off, but you were still the answer to my prayer. You were a miracle to me, and still are.” She paused. “In every way,” she added meaningfully. “If it’s because they didn’t want you for some reason, then I’m glad they didn’t see your value. Because I want you, and always will.”

I tried to swallow the lump in my throat, knowing she meant that in a variety of ways.

“And besides,” she continued, her tone somber. “It’s also possible something happened to your biological parents. Like, I know this sucks to think about, but maybe the woman who gave birth to you actually died. Not saying that happened, but it might not be because she didn’t want you.”

I grimaced then as another horrible idea occurred to me. “I hope she didn’t have me as a result of something like sexual assault.”

Serenity looked at me in alarm. “Kai, why would you even think that?”

I shrugged. “I mean, what if my mom was a normal person? I’m obviously not normal, which would mean the guy who donated his DNA wasn’t human. And if he really was some kind of devil, then their relationship might not have been mutually consenting.”

She just stared at me in disbelief, before focusing ahead at the road, seeming pensive now. “Well, Kai, I’ll be honest with you. If that happened to me, I’m not sure I’d be able to go through with the pregnancy.” She then looked at me seriously. “But that would only mean your biological mother did go through with the pregnancy. Which says a lot.” She sighed. “I mean, yeah, maybe she couldn’t handle keeping you, but she still gave you a chance at life. I’m not sure I would be able to do the same.”

I nodded in acknowledgment, knowing from her scent that just the idea of having to make that choice was stressing her out. Because for some women, the choice would be easy – some might not even view it as a question to abort the pregnancy right away, while others might feel it was wrong to do so, even despite the circumstance.

But for Serenity, she didn’t necessarily lean in either direction. Or rather, she was in both camps at the same time, able to understand the reasoning to both sides, though I doubted she’d ever seriously considered how she might handle making the decision herself. And the idea that I might have come from such a situation stressed her out even more, since it probably made her feel guilty for thinking she might not be able to handle nine months of pregnancy after such a traumatizing event.

“Don’t worry about it,” I finally said in a gentle tone, reaching out to rest my hand on her forearm. She immediately grabbed my hand instead, as I continued. “That might not be what happened at all. And for all we know, maybe my biological mother was the different one. Like, maybe my biological father was the human. Besides, I’m not going to ever let anyone sexually assault you.”

Serenity grimaced at that. “Thanks, Kai. I really appreciate that. But, while I can certainly take care of myself, the only way you would be able to keep that promise is if I never left your side again.”

I sighed, knowing she was right. “Well, then I guess it’s a good thing I’ll be injecting you with my blood later,” I said quietly, only to glance at her meaningfully. “Because then I will be protecting you, only in a different way. Indirectly, by making you like me.”

Serenity gave me a warm smile, pulling my hand more against her stomach and clasping it in both of hers. She then looked at me apologetically. “This is okay, right?” she wondered, making no effort to let go of my hand.

I tried to swallow. “Umm, yeah. It’s okay for now,” I hedged, knowing my back and chest were dark gray. Although, I actually felt mostly in control at the moment, feeling stable in my half-transformed state, prompting me to consider asking another question I desperately wanted to bring up, even if it was risky.

I cleared my throat. “Umm, so can I ask you something?” I began hesitantly.

She looked at me in surprise, likely due to my tone. “Of course, Kai. What is it?”

I took a deep breath, realizing I did need to take my hand away. She let go without complaint, seeming even more concerned.

“Umm, so you said you were alright with me getting you a ring, but you aren’t really thrilled about telling people you’re engaged…”

She nodded slowly. “Does…does that bother you?” she asked hesitantly.

I took a deep breath. “Well no, it doesn’t. And I mean, I’m kind of engaged to Gabriella, so I sort of already have someone to call my fiancé, and…” My voice trailed off.

Serenity was also quiet for a few seconds. “You’re not sure how to define our relationship now,” she finally realized.

I took a deep breath. “I mean…can I call you…my girlfriend?” I finally managed.

Surprisingly, she glanced away with a small smile tugging on her lips. Her voice was quiet as she responded.

“Actually, I really like the sound of that,” she admitted softly. “I still probably won’t claim I have a boyfriend at work, just to avoid issues with people asking who I’m dating. But yes.” She focused on me, her expression affectionate now. “I really like that.”

“Me too,” I whispered, barely managing to keep my graying skin hidden.

We were both silent then for a few minutes, with me finally offering my hand again, before I spoke up.

“Umm, so you are sure that you want to be like me, right?” I asked hesitantly.

She looked at me in surprise, readjusting my hand in her lap. “I mean, can you think of any downside to it? Other than having to keep my emotions under control, of course, which I kind of do anyway in public.”

I frowned as I considered that. “Umm, no. I guess not. I certainly wouldn’t choose to be normal, despite the problems that being different has caused me.”

She nodded, holding my hand even tighter. “Then yes, I’m certain I want to be like you.” She sighed, leaning back in her seat more, the black chest balanced on her thighs as she slid her butt out a little, my hands still in her grasp. “I admit I’m not sure how I’ll feel about possibly needing to drink blood, but if Gabriella was able to handle it, then I feel like I should be able to as well.”

I nodded.

She smirked then. “Plus, I might be able to show off a tan whenever I want,” she said playfully. “Just kidding,” she quickly added, before she even let me think she might be serious about walking around transformed.

I sighed. “Umm, so about that…” I began hesitantly.

She looked at me surprised, due to my tone. “What’s wrong?” she asked seriously.

I leaned back more in my seat. “Well, Gabriella is the only other person I know like me at this point, so I don’t know how you or Avery might turn out. However…” I paused. “Umm, well, Gabriella might not be entirely normal either,” I admitted.

Serenity abruptly sat straight up in shock, almost knocking the chest off her knees from the motion. She quickly reached out with one hand to grab it, leaving us with our fingers intertwined, one hand each. “She’s not normal?” she repeated seriously.

I shrugged, graying even more underneath my clothing from how we were now holding hands. It felt much like what a couple would do. “She’s not entirely sure,” I admitted. “That’s why she needs to talk to her mom. Because supposedly she might be part-succubus.”

Serenity’s chocolate brown eyes widened, before she slowly leaned back into her seat as she focused ahead at the road. “Oh,” she said simply.

“That doesn’t bother you, does it?” I wondered seriously.

Her brow furrowed then as she thought about it. “Umm, I mean, is she safe to be around? Like, intimately,” she clarified, glancing at me as her cheeks flushed slightly.

I sighed. “Well, we’re really not sure. It’s probably safe, since it sounds like her dad is a normal person, but Gabriella also wonders if that’s why her mom…” My voice trailed off, realizing Serenity didn’t know that part yet. I quickly pulled my hand away from hers as I cleared my throat, prompting a confused look from her.

“What is it?” she whispered, turning toward me a little in her seat. “Was holding my hand too much?”

I shook my head. “Umm, no. It’s just that her mom is apparently kind of kinky, and just thinking about it is making me embarrassed.”

“Oh,” she replied, facing forward again. “Gabriella did mention her mom was untraditional or something, didn’t she?”

I cleared my throat, deciding to just get it out. “Umm, yeah. So, I guess her mom sleeps with other guys. And her dad is okay with it,” I quickly added when she looked at me in alarm. “He, umm, kind of watches.”

Holy shit, she looked shocked.

“O-Oh,” she managed after a second, slowly turning her head to stare straight ahead again.

“Which is something I’m not okay with,” I continued, just wanting to get that out there too. “Like, I already talked with Gabriella about it, and she agreed it wasn’t something she was interested in either.”

Serenity nodded slowly. “Yeah, I agree. Just thinking about it kind of makes me sick to my stomach.”

I looked at her in surprise. “It does? How come?” I wondered. “Not that I’m complaining,” I added.

She sighed, slumping down in her seat. “I don’t know,” she admitted. “Maybe because of how I really feel about you? Like, I’ve always tried to deny that I had any romantic feelings. You’ve always been a lot younger than me, and I felt like it was my purpose in life to take care of you.” She sighed, turning her head away as she glanced out the window. “But if I’m being honest, you’re the reason why I’ve never really dated. And for some reason, if I do seriously consider the idea of being with any guy, it makes me feel uneasy. Especially the thought of bringing a guy home to meet you.”

I tried to lighten the mood. “So I guess you really didn’t bring Nick over for a date then, huh?”

She scoffed. “Jeez, no. I mean, if I’m being honest, he is kind of cute, but I literally just met the guy and…” Her voice trailed off when she examined my reserved expression. “Kai, I love you. I didn’t bring him over for a date, and I don’t plan on hanging out with him again. I won’t even talk to him outside of work.” She sighed. “I just didn’t want to lie by denying that he is good-looking, but he’s got some major quirks to his personality that can be kind of annoying. And I’ve only known him for a couple of days now! He wayoveranalyzes everything, even when he’s not working.”

I scoffed. “Yeah, I kind of noticed that.”

“Sorry,” she whispered.

I shrugged. “Nothing to be sorry about. In the end, everything turned out alright.”

She sighed heavily. “Yeah, I guess things could have been much worse,” she agreed.

“Muchworse,” I echoed simply, causing us to fall silent again for a few minutes.

Considering we were closer to being home now, I decided to reach out and offer my hand yet again, after snagging it away from the embarrassing conversation regarding Gabriella’s parents, prompting her to look at me in surprise, before giving me a warm smile and accepting it, intertwining our fingers like before.

The intimacy of simply holding hands under these conditions was actually starting to affect me beyond just embarrassment now, my cock becoming firmer in my jeans, not to the point of having a full-on erection, but definitely bigger and more stiff.

Thankfully, she didn’t seem to notice, appearing to be pensive again.

“So,” she finally said hesitantly. “Back to Gabriella. Are you saying that she might look different than you because it’s possible she’s part-succubus?”

I nodded, clearing my throat. “Umm, yeah. Sort of. Then again, it’s also possible that the method that I caused her to transform might have influenced it too.”

“How so?” she wondered.

I shrugged. “Well, I did get blood in her body, but I didn’t inject it into her bloodstream like Avery.”

Serenity frowned at that. “And what about other differences?” she wondered.

“Like what?” I prompted.

She gestured with her elbow toward me, still holding my hand tightly. “Between you and her. Like, are her senses as strong as yours now? She seemed to know Avery was involved in the accident at the same time you did.”

“Huh, that’s true,” I agreed. “Although, apparently Avery smells really good to Gabriella, sort of like how Gabriella smells really amazing to me.”

Serenity nodded, but didn’t comment on it. “But then, if you’re thinking that her appearance might be related to her not getting the same kind of dose of your blood, then that would imply two things. One, if she’s sort of ‘less transformed’ than she could be, I would assume that her senses should be a lot weaker than yours. And two, it might mean that getting more of your blood would cause her to end up looking more like you.”

I frowned as I considered that, unsure of what to say.

“Honestly,” she continued. “I don’t think it makes much sense she would only partially transform from the blood. I think how she looks is how she was going to look, no matter how she received your blood, whether it’s from her being part-succubus, or not. The only difference might be the speed of transformation, and I honestly wouldn’t be surprised if it takes less than ten hours for Avery to wake up.”

I sighed. “Well, I’m not sure I would want to give her more of my blood to test it out anyway, since right now she can still technically pass as normal when transformed. But yeah, I think you might be right. Unfortunately, we won’t know for sure unless you or Avery end up looking different than me too.”

“And, unfortunately,” she continued. “If we both end up with dark gray skin like you, then we won’t know for sure, since we both would have gotten an injection directly into our blood stream.”

I nodded. “I don’t think knowing for sure matters too much though. Like, I don’t plan on changing more people after this, so the only reason why it might matter is if it turns out that you and Avery surpass Gabriella in terms of senses or strength, or something. Then I could try giving her more blood if she really wanted me to.”

“Or wings,” Serenity added, only to look at me affectionately. “I kind of hope I get wings like you too. The idea that I might be able to fly is almost surreal to think about, but the idea that we might be able to fly together is kind of romantic.”

My heart swelled at that thought, just the idea of flying with her in the sky. It was definitely an activity I enjoyed, but I’d never considered how lonely it was until just now.

I gave her a warm look. “I’d love that,” I admitted. “I really hope you can grow wings too.” I then paused. “Speaking of which, when do you want to do that part?” I wondered.

Her brow furrowed. “Well, part of me wants you to do it as soon as we get home, but I realize that means I’ll be asleep for the rest of the day.” She sighed, giving my hand a gentle squeeze. “And we have a lot to discuss. About being boyfriend and girlfriend, even if our commitment is much deeper than that.”

I cleared my throat, deciding to let her continue holding my hand, since we were so close to home, even though I was struggling to keep the graying underneath my clothes now. “Umm, yeah, makes sense,” I said, referring to her wanting to wait to transform. “Plus, I don’t want to have to leave you home alone in the event Gabriella needs me to pick her up.”

“Oh, right. That’s true,” she agreed. “So then, I guess we’re going to have to wait until Avery wakes up.”

I knew she was right, but the idea of waiting made me feel uneasy.

“Dammit,” I hissed under my breath.

“What’s wrong?” she asked in surprise.

I sighed. “Well, I just feel really paranoid now, and I’m afraid something will happen to you, like you’ll get hurt really bad, or worse, if we wait.”

Serenity squeezed my hand again. “Kai, I know a lot has happened recently, but I think it’ll be okay. That man who kidnapped me was likely the person orchestrating everything that happened the last few days, and he’s dead now.” She then sighed. “But I guess if you want to be on the safe side, then maybe you can hide me in my closet or something, and lock all the doors if you have to leave to pick her up.”

I slowly took my hand back as I considered that idea, since we were finally driving down our street, close to pulling in. Really, there was no reason why I had to take my hand away, but I just felt so paranoid now.

When I made the turn into our driveway, I was almost relieved to discover everything as it should be, feeling as if there would be something amiss, considering the last couple of days had been so eventful. But there was nothing wrong at all.

When I parked the car, I even asked Serenity to wait for a minute so I could close my eyes and focus on my senses to scope out the area through my cracked door, but again there was nothing wrong.

When I opened my eyes again, she spoke up.

“Everything alright?”

I nodded. “Yeah, everything is fine. Just really paranoid.” I paused. “I think I’ll call Gabriella to make sure she’s okay, and then we can see what’s inside the chest.”

Serenity nodded, holding the small black wooden box up. “Sure. Where do you want to open this at?”

I shrugged, opening my door more fully. “Doesn’t matter.”

“Want to do it in my room then?” she wondered casually, only for her face to flush. “O-Open the chest,” she quickly clarified, seeming to assume I misunderstood her.

Which, of course, caused my entire body to instantly shift, since I hadn’t really taken it the wrong way initially, but now realized how that might have been interpreted.

Normally, I wouldn’t have thought much of it, since it wouldn’t have been the first time we’d sat on her bed to talk, or to do an activity like wrapping Christmas presents. It was one of the reasons why I never worried about getting caught in her bedroom, because her door was always open to me.

But now, I couldn’t stop thinking about what she was accidentally implying.

We were boyfriend and girlfriend now, and eventually we might really end up spending some intimate time in her bed.

“S-Sure,” I agreed, fumbling with my phone as I got out, to try to call Gabriella. “I’ll be up in a minute,” I added, turning away from her.

I heard her hesitate for a few seconds, just seeming to examine me before she headed inside, leaving the front door cracked open. My phone call with Gabriella wasn’t long at all, with me just asking for an update to make sure everything was fine, and her wondering if we just got home or if we’d opened the chest yet.

I told her I’d let her know what was inside when we did, and then she wished me luck with talking things over with Serenity.

“And hey,” she continued. “I really love you, Kai. I know a lot has changed in the last couple of days, but I’m really excited about the future. Excited to get to know you better,” she added. “And I’m really looking forward to becoming friends with Avery too.”

“I love you too,” I replied sincerely. “And yeah, I guess I feel the same. Just nervous about the unknown is all.”

She laughed at that, the sound adorable. “Well, of course you are excited,” she teased. “What guy wouldn’t be? I just wanted you to know how I felt about it.”

“Oh, umm, right,” I agreed. “Anyway, I guess I’ll talk to you in a little while. Might be an hour or two, in the event Serenity and I end up talking a lot.”

“Sure,” she replied. “Take your time. Love you.”

“Love you too.”

After we hung up, I heard my new girlfriend – damn, it felt so ‘right’ to be able to call her that – flushing the toilet in the bathroom upstairs. She then calmly walked back into her room as I opened the front door.

Of course, I knew she wasn’t thinking about doing anything unusual, since everything about her scent was normal now.

And her natural aroma was really comforting too.

Locking the front door behind me and heading directly upstairs, I found her on her bed sitting cross-legged with the small black chest in front of her. She was holding it kind of delicately now, tilting it so she could look at the bottom and sides.

I climbed on the bed too and sat in front of her, prompting her to hold it up.

However, I didn’t accept it. “Want to do the honors?” I wondered.

She looked at me in surprise. “Oh, umm, I guess I could. I can at least put the combination in, if you want. But you should open it.”

“Sure,” I agreed, watching her as she set it down and grabbed the tiny lock. It was currently set on four zeros, but she quickly shifted the numbers to my birthday. Obviously, being that it was April and I’d just turned eighteen a couple weeks ago, the first number was a four. She then gave it a small tug, and it unlocked without a problem.

Serenity then twisted it toward me.

Reaching down, I unhooked the lock and opened the little latch, surprised when the lid stuck for half a second as I tried to open it up.

I wasn’t sure if it was sticking from disuse or what, but there was no evidence of glue or anything sealing it shut.

However, that brief thought disappeared when I laid eyes on what was inside. Honestly, I wasn’t sure what I was expecting, but felt almost disappointed there wasn’t anything overly interesting on first glance. The sides and top were black, while the bottom was a light tan, almost looking like it had a layer of old paper, a single object inside.

A solitary black stone that was shiny, flat, and oval, almost looking like a piece of onyx for the theoretical heirloom we’d considered earlier. But that was it. No actual heirloom – no necklace, hairclip, or anything else I might have imagined.

Just this stone.

Carefully reaching in, I grasped it in my fingers, and pulled it out, noticing that there was a sort of red wax underneath, that it had been resting in, likely holding it in place. Returning my focus to the shiny midnight stone, I held it in my open palm as I examined it. The whole thing was only about two inches long, and maybe an inch-and-a-half wide, as well as a quarter inch thick, making it fit nicely in my grasp if I turned it sideways.

But was this really it? And if so, what was the significance?

Serenity seemed confused too, twisting the chest back toward her. “That can’t be the only thing,” she commented, reaching her fingers in, picking at the red wax. “Oh!” she then said in surprise, pulling something else out.

I looked up, shocked to realize that she was holding a folded piece of old parchment the size of the bottom, the red wax actually a seal, making me feel kind of dumb for not realizing that the tan surface wasn’t actually the bottom of the chest. But then again, the parchment kind of looked like it might have been added for decoration, sort of how velvet might be used nowadays to make the inside of a ring box look nicer.

My older girlfriendbroke the seal without hesitation, only to pause, before handing it to me. “Sorry,” she said sincerely. “I’ll let you read it first.”

I shook my head, focusing down at the stone in my palm again. “No, go ahead. Might be better if you see what it says, since it’ll affect you less. At least that way you can warn me if there’s something in it I might not want to hear.” I sighed. “Like the reason why they didn’t want me,” I added quietly.

Serenity nodded with a sympathetic expression, before fully opening up the parchment and beginning to read it.

I tried to ignore her facial expression and scent as she started reading, but it was hard to not register her sincere shock. I finally glanced up at her when she abruptly covered her mouth with her hand, tears suddenly filling her chocolate brown eyes.

“What’s wrong?” I said in alarm, concerned that she was reacting so strongly to whatever the letter said.

She finally just set it down, her initial gaze appearing as if she was giving up reading before finishing it, staring at the bed now with a defeated posture, her shoulders slumped.

“Hey,” I whispered, reaching out for the paper, feeling confused as hell by the dramatic shift in her demeanor. She looked like she was shell-shocked now, just stunned to the point of numbness.

She didn’t offer the letter to me, but also didn’t try to resist me taking it, almost looking like she just felt empty now.

Part of me wanted to comfort her, but I also wanted to know what had caused her to be so upset. I wasn’t sure I’d ever seen her react like this to anything before.

Taking a deep breath, I focused on the surprisingly elegant script, shocked to immediately realize it was a message from my biological father.

-

‘Greetings, my son.

I hope this message finds you well.

My servant and his consort should have already disclosed your origins, but in the event he has chosen continued reluctance toward his familial obligation, passed down from his ancestors, I shall bestow upon you the most fundamental attribute of your circumstance.

You are the rare child of an Incubus, and as such you may have noticed a certain persuasion over those of the feminine sex. It will likely be subtle for you, being that you only have traces of my abilities, but I am sure with time you can learn to control your gifts.

However, in the event you have found your innate aptitude lacking, I have already prepared for you a gift: the young girl you will come to know as your close friend, whose family I have also influenced.

She is yours to have.

She will be your first concubine, and perhaps even your consort, if you are of preference.

However, at the adamant request of my servant, I agreed to only persuade the young girl to be reluctant to set her eyes on another man, leaving her free to cherish or loathe you. Perhaps you will accept the challenge to charm her yourself. Or perhaps you will fail and be required to seek your own path. The outcome will depend on you.

Originally, it was my wish that you be delivered to my servant’s household the moment you were born, but unforeseen circumstances prevented that from occurring. You were raised by one of my many concubines for a time, a female I obtained in the prime of her lactation, before I finally persuaded my servant to accept his obligation, lest I take his consort for myself.

A simple look was all it took for him to finally agree, since a look was all it took for his female to submit at my feet, along with the girl, ready to accept any command I gave them. It is my preference to come to an agreement with males through mutual understanding, but his reluctance pushed me to an ultimatum.

Speaking of which, you may also feel free to take the woman, raising you, as a concubine as well, should you so desire. My servant is obligated to provide you anything that you wish to take, including his own consort. And if he spawns any additional females, you are welcome to have them too.

Beyond this, I will be of no further assistance.

Your life is your own, and you may live as you desire.

In the past, I was more involved in the lives of the rare children I fathered, following many of the traditions of my kind, but now I am content to allow my offspring the freedom to do as they please.

Consider this a gift as well, since all that is yours is traditionally considered to be mine, including your females. It is a tradition that is still practiced by many of my kind even in the present century, but I have lost interest in the custom. I have more than enough concubines to entertain me, and more than enough methods of exerting my power and authority over others to feel the need to do so in your life.

Many cambions in your position might consider that the greatest gift of all.

Finally, you should find alongside my epistle a catalyst imbued with a message from the woman who gave birth to you. She is a peculiar female, one who I am unable to charm with my innate influence, and she requested solely this single favor when I took you from her: that I deliver her message.

The catalyst is activated with your blood.

It is unlikely we shall meet, something you may consider a blessing, so I wish you well, and encourage you to live your life without regrets.

Sincerely,

Absalom Melchizedek’

-

Finished reading, I just stared at the page in disbelief.

Holy…

Holy fuck…

Chapter 20 >>

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