Heavenly Poison
Chapter 9

Damien Gray

“You okay?” Sebastian asked me after I closed the door. Emilia had just left and I found myself feeling confused.

“I’m fine,” I distractedly replied.

“You sure as hell don’t look fine,” he said, pressing me for more.

“Why did you change your mind? Yesterday, you seemed set in keeping Emilia away. Now all of a sudden, you don’t mind her being around.”

I couldn’t help the frown that took over my face.

Sebastian shrugged casually and began walking toward the kitchen.

“Food?” He asked.

I shook my head as a reply.

“I’ll still make you something,” he said, looking around the fridge.

“Yesterday, I thought Werewolves weren’t safe. Actually, I’ve always thought that. The other day, you happened to give me a scare when you came home with that girl in your arms. You were in danger, I wasn’t there- you probably get the picture,” he said, as he began preparing some sort of meat.

“And today?”

“Today, I saw her defend you against that dog,” he answered, with a shrug.

“Luke?” I asked.

“That’s the one.”

Sebastian’s frown showed the disapproval he felt against Luke.

“So?”

“So she defended you. She proved that she could and that she’ll protect you if I’m not around,” he casually replied.

“You do know that I can defend myself. Werewolves aren’t really a match for me,” I told him.

He looked at me sternly.

“A few Wolves- yes you can take care of. We haven’t had to fight against too many Wolves. They have an entire pack. I’ve listened around. Before we got here, Luke was interested in Emilia. It explains some of his hatred toward us.”

“I’m sure it didn’t help when you kept taunting him,” I snorted.

“It didn’t. Not that I really care. I’m just pointing out that Luke is dangerous. If you’re around Emilia- whether or not you can take care of yourself- I want to know you’re safe with her,” he replied.

“I don’t want to be with her,” I bluntly stated.

Sebastian looked at me, cocking an eyebrow suspiciously.

“You have a great way of hiding that.”

I stared at him wide-eyed. I didn’t expect him to say that.

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“It means that you don’t have to hide that you like her, maybe even more. She’s your mate- I get it. I know how that works. Well, I don’t really. But I’ve heard a little about it,” he replied, not sounding worried.

The meat cooking was starting to smell good.

“I don’t want to like her,” I muttered.

I really didn’t. I didn’t want to like her, or be attracted to her, or even be around her. But I knew better than that. There was no way I would be able to stay away from her.

Sebastian looked at me for a while, with a pensive expression.

“It’s the bond. I wasn’t expecting it to affect you that much,” he said, while turning back to the food on the stove.

I felt tired in the morning. It was the second night that I tossed and turned in the bed. I was already feeling annoyed on the drive to school.

“What do you want me to do?” He asked me, just before we reached school.

“Huh?”

I was too lost in my thoughts. If he had said something, I’d missed it.

“You look like crap. I can tell you’re tired, your hair is messier than usual, and you’re looking pale. What do you want me to do?” The concern was etched in his voice.

I was bothered by the fact that I was worrying him over nothing.

“I’m fine,” I stated, without turning away from the window. Light rainfall was falling, and I distracted myself with the small raindrops.

From my peripheral vision I noticed that he shook his head at me.

“Where are we going?” I asked, when I noticed we were no longer headed toward school.

“We’re taking the day off.” The worried expression was now hidden under a playful smile.

“I thought you told me to stop cutting class?” I asked him, reminding him of his own words from just yesterday.

“Today will be an exception.”

It was a two hour long drive. I didn’t know where we were going, but Sebastian seemed excited.

“What is this place?”

I couldn’t stop looking at the gated area we had arrived to.

The name ‘Wildlife Preserve’ was written on the front gate. The fence that surrounded the area stretched out for miles.

“It’s soon to be ‘Gray Wildlife Preserve’,” he replied with a grin on his face.

“Should I be worried?” I asked, teasing him.

I was still shocked by the giant piece of land.

“No you shouldn’t, because we’re buying it. You said you wanted to fly and this is the perfect place. We can work out here and fly whenever we want. I’m just finishing up some paperwork, but it’ll be ours in a month or two.”

For some reason, he already had a key for the gate.

After he noticed my curious expression, I got an explanation to why we were already entering.

“It’s practically ours. The owners sold it very cheap. It was supposed to be a park, government funded actually. They cut the funds and the main holders couldn’t afford to pay the utilities to sustain it- or something like that.”

“That sucks,” I told him.

“It does, but that’s not our problem.” He put his arm around my shoulders and left the car parked near the front gate.

“How big is the land?”

“It stretches for about twenty miles.”

His grin got bigger after his reply.

“Nice,” I told him. I couldn’t keep the smile off my face.

“It is. It could be bigger, but this will do for now.”

In one word, flying was- awesome. I’d been feeling constricted and having my wings out was relieving. Rainfall was still coming down, heavier than before.

We had been flying side by side. We weren’t going high, so we could still see each other. In certain areas, we had to swerve through the tall trees. It was one of the things that made it fun.

Both Sebastian and I had left our shirts inside the car. We didn’t want to rip them with our wings. I also wanted to feel the water against my skin.

“Nice view, huh?” Sebastian asked. He nodded ahead at a small clearing.

“Feeling better?”

Sebastian’s voice brought me out of my thoughts. I’d been thinking back to the first time I ever flew. I was with Sebastian, of course.

He’d already had his wings for a little over a year. Thanks to him, I knew what to do.

I didn’t reply to his question. Instead, I slowly descended to the ground. Our jeans- the only piece of clothing we were wearing- were soaked.

Even though the rain had been soft- at some point it had managed to get every part of our jeans.

Sebastian touched the ground before I did. He still looked worried about me- but I could tell the fly had helped him clear his thoughts as well.

“Much better,” I finally replied.

We had already been around the Reserve several times. The more I saw, the more excited I was about buying it.

“It’s barely midday. Do you want to fly some more, or should we head home?”

It had been a week since the last time I flew. I wanted to enjoy it the most that I could. With how strict Sebastian had been lately about flying, I wasn’t sure when we’d have another chance to fly.

“The Reserve is practically ours. I’m the only one who has access to it. We can come and go as we please. I’m planning a trip later this week.”

“We can leave,” I told him, unable to suppress the grin from my face.

We ended up stopping at a small coffee place about an hour before reaching the apartment.

The smell of coffee automatically attacked my senses in a calming way. The rain brought about lower temperatures, which I hadn’t noticed until I felt the warmth inside the café.

I waited in the table, while Sebastian went to get coffee and some pastries.

“They smell good,” he said.

I looked up at him and noticed the two steaming cups of coffee, along with an assortment of muffins.

“I feel like a little kid who’s had a rough day at school,” I told him.

Sebastian took a seat in the chair across from mine. He looked at me strangely, probably because of my comment.

“What are you talking about?” He asked, but we both know what I meant.

“Thanks for the distraction.”

Sebastian offered a shy smile- which was the type of smile he reserved for times when he ‘knew how I was feeling or at least tried to understand’.

“It’s alright if you’re into her.” Sebastian’s words threw me off guard.

I raised an eyebrow, preferring to keep quiet until I knew where he was headed with that.

“I did tell you it was convenient for us to have you date her.”

I smiled at him. At least his comment hadn’t been as bad as I had expected.

“Yesterday, we-” I stopped myself before finishing that sentence.

“I know. You guys were getting it on,” Sebastian said.

I tried to act surprised by his words, but I couldn’t.

Of course Sebastian would know what we’d been doing. He always knew everything.

“Yeah well, I’m not ready for that,” I told him.

He laughed- really hard. I frowned at him, not approving of his way of mocking me.

“Oh, you’re serious?” Sebastian asked, looking surprise that I wasn’t laughing along with him.

“I am.”

“Damien, it’s just sex.”

Sebastian’s words somehow felt wrong. It wasn’t just sex. I knew that, and I was sure Emilia knew that as well.

“She’s screwing me over,” I stated.

“No, you’re letting all of this get to you. Enjoy your time with her. If you want her, go for it.”

“I never thought I’d be the mate of a Werewolf.”

The words were out of my mouth before I could stop them. After I stopped Emilia from leaving yesterday, I thought there would be no doubts about our relationship.

I was wrong.

“Neither did I,” Sebastian added.

By the time we got home, it was almost two in the afternoon.

“I’ll call the school and tell them why we couldn’t make it. You’ll be in your room?” Sebastian asked.

“Yes dad,” I replied.

I nodded at him, and chuckled as I made my way upstairs.

I dropped my jeans and shirt in the ground, only leaving my boxers on. Now that I’d flown, my body felt relaxed.

Emilia…. Her name kept taking over my thoughts.

I drifted off to sleep with her image in my mind.

I breathed in an enticing scent, one that was all too familiar to me.

My body felt the presence of another person in the room before I did.

“Damien?” Emilia’s soft voice came from the side of my bed.

“What are you doing here?” I asked her.

My voice was still husky from sleep. I lazily looked at the closed door, which also happens to be locked.

“Why weren’t you in school? Are you sick?” She asked, looking down at my body.

I was only wearing my boxers, and Emilia noticed that.

Her cheeks tinted into a light rosy color, as she took in my appearance.

“Did Sebastian let you in?” I asked her.

She nodded, and lowered herself to kiss me.

I responded to the kiss, feeling how desperate her lips were on mine. Once I let her have enough, I grabbed her by the waist and laid her down on the bed. She yelped from the surprise.

“Easy,” I told her, as I settled myself over her body.

Having my body pressed against her, feeling the electric currents run between us- it was what I needed.

The fly this morning was great. It cleared my mind and it allowed me to bring out my wings. Having Emilia in my arms was better than anything else.

Her lips were soft. Now that she was under my body, she let me take control. One of her hands was knitted in my hair, while she ran her other hand over my back.

I smiled into the kiss when I felt her tugging at her clothes.

I tried pulling away from her, but she wouldn’t let me.

“Emilia,” I whispered her name.

She stopped moving and finally loosened the hold she had around my neck. Once I could see her face, I noticed her once blue eyes had shifted into a darker color.

“Your eyes,” I said.

I didn’t mean to say that out loud. It had happened to her before, and I knew why. I’d just never pointed it out. I wasn’t sure exactly why I’d said that just now.

Emilia quickly sat up in my bed, and put her head in her hands.

I tried getting closer to her, but she was pushing me away.

“Wait, my eyes, they’re like this because,” and then she stopped talking.

It wasn’t like she could give me a credible explanation. I knew she couldn’t.

“It’s alright,” I told her, trying to get my arms around her.

This time, she allowed me to embrace her.

When Emilia looked me this time, her eyes were already shifted back to blue- but not the bright electric blue I was used to seeing in her eyes.

“Are you okay?” I asked her.

She swallowed loudly. I could tell how nervous she was. Even though I knew saying something to reassure her would help, I didn’t. I remained quiet, wondering what she would say to me.

Emilia nodded at me, before wrapping her arms around my neck tightly.

“Damien,” she said, with a pained voice.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” Her voice twisted something inside of me. The thought of her being in pain bothered me- more than I thought it should.

“Yesterday, I was going to tell you something. I,” she said, before stopping herself.

“What is it? Whatever it is, it’ll be fine.”

I wasn’t sure what had made me say that. Maybe it was because it was true. Maybe it was because I already knew what she was going to tell me.

That moment, just like the rest, I felt scared about my feelings toward Emilia. She was breaking boundaries that I had, and I wasn’t sure how comfortable I was with that.

“If I tell you something that sounds really crazy, you promise you’ll believe me?” She asked. There was urgency in her voice, mixed with desperation.

I nodded, keeping my steady gaze on her.

“Promise me,” she whispered.

I smiled, because she looked really scared of her next words.

“Damien, I-” The rattling of the door knob made Emilia stop her next words.

“Damien, why is your door locked?” Sebastian asked.

I rolled my eyes, but played his game. I wouldn’t have been surprised if he’d been listening to our entire conversation.

“Hold up,” I called back.

“What were you two doing in there?” Sebastian asked as soon as I unlocked the door to my room.

I was still in my boxers and my hair was probably messy with how much Emilia kept playing with it.

When I turned to face Emilia, I noticed her blushing. Her heartbeat picked up, which Sebastian must’ve noticed as well.

“We were just talking,” Emilia quickly replied.

“It’s fine, Sebastian doesn’t really care,” I assured her.

“Actually, I do care,” Sebastian said, while giving me a pressing looking.

I smiled at him, remembering our flying and our talk from this morning.

“I just came to say that I’m going out. I’ll be back later on. You’ll be okay on your own?” He asked, while giving Emilia a short look.

“I’ll be fine,” I told him.

Emilia was still sitting down on the bed. I followed after Sebastian, wondering where he was going.

“Are you up to something?”

“You’re in your room with a girl, the door is locked, and you’re wearing boxers. And you ask me if I’m up to something?”

“You know what I mean,” I replied, giving him a flat look.

Sebastian laughed at my words, looking amused by something.

“It’s a surprise,” he said, before continuing on his way.

“I’ll be back soon. If you’re going to do something, wrap it up before I get here,” he told me.

“I’m not going to do anything, but thanks for the warning,” I dryly replied.

Even from outside I could hear his laughter.

“Why didn’t you go to school today?” Emilia asked me.

We were sitting down in the living room couch. She was looking at me with expectant eyes.

“Sebastian and I had some things to do,” I answered.

The TV was playing a movie. I wasn’t paying attention, but I pretended like I was.

“What things?”

“We’re going to buy a place.”

“A place?” She asked, and I heard the worry in her voice.

I nodded, and focused my eyes on her.

“I thought you guys bought this apartment. It’s yours. Why are you going to buy another place?”

“It’s not to live in. It’s just property,” I said.

I ran my hand over her cheek. She rested her face against my hand, before sliding it up. I was surprised when she kissed the inside of my wrist. It was strange that she did that. When I looked at her, she just shrugged at me.

“You and Sebastian are confusing,” Emilia said.

Her eyes were closed, and she was breathing deeply. If it wasn’t because I knew how curious she was right now, I would think she’d fallen asleep.

“Why are we confusing?”

“I don’t know. I’m scared of it though.” She opened her eyes after saying that.

“You don’t have to be scared of me,” I said, frowning at her.

The last thing I needed was her to be scared of me- especially because of what I was. I’d had enough comments about Sebastian and me being ‘freaks’.

“Damien, I’m not scared of you.”

She reached closer to me and kissed my cheek, running her hands through my hair.

“You’re just so secretive. I’m scared that you’ll leave me,” she said.

Emilia looked nervous- her features showed how vulnerable she was at the moment.

“I thought we agreed we weren’t together,” I told her.

She slapped my chest, but still chuckled at my words.

“You still need to ask me, but yes, we’re together,” she firmly stated.

“I’m not leaving you.”

“No you’re not. I’m not going to let you. But today when you didn’t show up to school, I was worried about you,” she told me, while cuddling into my arms.

I hugged her back, wrapping my arms around her, and pressing her tightly to my chest.

“What did I miss in school today?” I asked Emilia.

She had grown tired of sitting in the living room watching pointless TV. I felt like we’d been skipping from place to place all over the apartment.

We were now sitting in the kitchen, eating some ice cream. It was still fresh outside, but Emilia insisted.

“Uh…” Her nerves surfaced, and her cheeks began tinting to that lovely pink color.

“As much as I love that color on your cheeks, it doesn’t answer my question,” I teased her.

She laughed nervously, and began eating her ice cream at a pace faster than she’d been before.

“What is it?”

“I might have skipped school today,” Emilia said, while looking down at her bowl of ice cream.

I cocked an eyebrow at her, wondering if she’d really skipped school because of me.

“Why did you skip school?” I asked.

The more I probed her about it, the more embarrassed she grew.

I noticed her squirming in the chair, probably trying to come up with something.

“I was looking for you. I came here but you weren’t home,” she said.

“I told you I was out.”

“You could’ve called me. You have my number,” she mumbled.

I shrugged, but a grin was still on my lips. It made me strangely happy to know that she had been looking for me.

“I didn’t think it would take all day. When we got home, I was tired so I took a nap,” I told her.

Her blush, which had faded away, was back full force.

“Yeah, I remember seeing you when I got to your room,” she said.

I chuckled, thinking back to how little clothing I was wearing while she was there.

“My dad wants to meet you,” she surprised me by saying.

It was a complete change of subject, and one that wasn’t welcome.

“Yeah?”

“Yup, he does. He’s been asking about you.”

“Cool,” I shrugged.

“It is. Do you think maybe we could go to my house after school tomorrow?” She looked hopeful, which was somewhat disappointing.

“I’ll be busy tomorrow.”

“What about the day after?”

“I’ll think about it.”

She frowned at me, the same frown she’d given me yesterday before storming out of my room.

“Is he going to try and kick my ass because I’m dating his little girl?” I asked, in a teasing tone.

I was trying to lighten the mood and it seemed to work. A huge smile quickly took over her lips, and brightened her expression.

“No,” she said, elongating the letter ‘o’. She sounded shy, but looked happy with my comment.

“Then we’ll set up a date some other time.”

“Alright,” she agreed.

For now, I was safe from meeting her dad. If Sebastian knew I was passing up the opportunity to meet the Alpha, he’d probably be pissed off.

Meeting her dad was just like having her confess that she’s a Werewolf. It felt like a responsibility that I didn’t want at the moment. As it was, I was struggling with the new feelings that had surfaced in me since I met her.

It was almost eight when I heard Sebastian on the other side of the front door.

“I’m home!” He called out, for our benefit rather than his.

Emilia and I had been in the living room, watching TV.

Sebastian made a show of unlocking the door and getting into the apartment.

“I have a surprise,” Sebastian said, as he walked into the apartment.

He wasn’t alone.

“What is that?” Emilia asked, pointing at the puppy that stood in the ground, right next to Sebastian.

There was a collar around his neck and a small silver tag, shaped like bone, was dangling from it. Sebastian was holding a leash that was connected to the collar of the puppy.

He was a husky, very similar to a Werewolf pup. Black and white were the colors that dominated most his body. His back was mostly covered in black, while his belly and paws were white. His big blue eyes were looking around his surroundings.

“Oh, he’s a puppy. You’ve never seen one before?” Sebastian asked with a smirk.

“The surprise was a puppy?” I asked, while grinning at him.

Sebastian nodded, and looked down at the husky in the ground.

He was a cute little guy.

I leaned down and ran my hand over his head. The fur of the husky was very soft and puffy. It was obvious he was a puppy, not only by his small size.

“Why did you get a dog?” Emilia asked with a frown on her face.

“He’s not just a dog,” Sebastian said, but I could see something shining in his eyes. There was surely something behind all of this.

“This is Luke,” Sebastian replied, with a mischievous grin on his face.

He leaned down in the ground next to the cute little guy, and padded him on the head.

I tried not to laugh- especially after seeing the shock and disapproval on Emilia’s face- but I couldn’t. I burst out laughing and soon enough, Sebastian joined me.