Heavenly Poison

Damien Gray

What the hell does one do in a crap situation like the one I was in? For a minute I considered saying the line ‘down boy’.

But then I thought against it.

He’d probably get offended if I implied he was anything other than a Wolf.

The Wolf was staring at me intently, but he made no move to come forward. I kept my gaze on him only because I was waiting for him to attack. If he did, whether I exposed myself or not, I was going to attack back.

The black Wolf caught me off guard when he made a noise that sounded like a bark, before turning away and running off.

I was still on the ground, shocked by what had happened. I sat there for a few more minutes, wondering if maybe I had imagined it.

“Damien!” Emilia calling my name rather loudly snapped me out of my thoughts.

I picked myself from the ground, and noticed she was running to me with what looked like a worried expression.

“Are you okay? What happened?” Emilia asked as soon as she reached me.

She wrapped her arms tightly around my waist, and I embraced her in an awkward hug.

“I’m fine,” I told her.

I wasn’t physically hurt. I simply felt strange. I was thinking back to that short encounter I had with that black Wolf. He hadn’t hurt me though and I didn’t know whether that was a good thing or bad thing.

“What are you doing out here?” Emilia asked me.

Her hands moved up to hold the sides of my face.

She felt warm, so I wrapped my arms around her waist and pressed her body closer to me. I rested my forehead against hers, and took a few breaths of fresh air mixed with Emilia’s scent.

That was definitely enough to calm my erratic beating heart.

“What are you doing out here?” Emilia asked again.

“I came for a walk,” I told her, leaving out the part where I’d crashed into a Wolf.

If the Wolf was from Emilia’s pack, something told me she already knew what had happened. She was probably playing dumb and waiting for me to spill my guts about it.

Is that what a human would do? I had to think that one over, in a stretch attempt to keep my identity hidden.

“There was a Wolf, I think,” I added.

I looked down, pulling myself away from Emilia.

“He didn’t hurt you, did he?” She asked, closing the distance I had just created.

“Not so much.”

I was probably acting strange. Hell, I felt strange. I needed to see Sebastian. Telling him about the Wolf now didn’t seem so bad. Maybe letting Emilia admit she was a Werewolf would’ve been easier.

I wouldn’t have to hide so much or pretend like I was clueless when I knew exactly what was going on.

“My house is a few ways in that direction. We could go there,” Emilia told me.

She was pointing in the direction where the Wolf had left too.

“The Wolf took off that way,” I stated.

“He’s probably gone by now,” Emilia told me, but her voice sounded uncertain.

She had to know whether the Wolf was gone or not. He must’ve belonged to her pack.

“Is it a long walk?”

“It’s a few miles. I’ll call Luke and have him meet us at the side of the road. We’ll get a ride from there.”

I rolled my eyes, but went along with her. I preferred a ride from Luke than being in the woods any longer.

“Emilia,” Luke said as soon as we reached him.

His back was leaning against his car.

“Luke,” Emilia replied with a nod.

“What are you doing out here?” Luka asked.

I wondered if it was a thing between Wolves to play dumb with each other. Luke had to know why we were out here. The smirk on his lips and that smug look on his face said he at least had an idea of what had happened.

“We wanted some alone time,” I told him with a smirk of my own.

Luke glared at me, and it only made my grin grow wider than it already was.

“We’re dropping off pretty boy first?” Luke asked.

I chuckled. The bitterness in his voice made it easy to ignore his comment.

“No, we’re going to my house,” Emilia told him.

She sat on the passenger seat, beside Luke.

Since I was the only one in the back, I laid down.

“Why?” Luke asked her.

“We’re still not done with alone time. Some things are just easier done in bed,” I replied for Emilia.

An audible growl escaped from Luke’s chest.

“Luke!” Emilia snapped at him.

“You sound like a dog,” I sneakily remarked.

The comment was partly to taunt him, but he really should be more careful with his attitude.

“What?” Luke’s voice came out through gritted teeth.

“Dude seriously- are you alright?” I asked him, sitting up and getting in the space between the driver and passenger seat.

“He’s alright, just having a bad day,” Emilia told me.

Although I knew that wasn’t the case, her answer still didn’t even any make sense.

The phone vibrating in my pocket distracted me from anything else.

A picture of Sebastian and his name were blinking on the screen.

“What’s up?” I asked, answering the phone.

Both Emilia and Luke stayed quiet. I could tell from Luke’s tense body that he was still mad. Emilia was pretending not to listen in on my conversation. The way she’d leaned her body closer to the back seat made it obvious she was.

“Where are you?” Sebastian asked.

“I’m with Emilia. Can you pick me up?” I asked him.

I assumed he wasn’t in school either.

“We’re going to my house. Tell him I’ll drop you off later,” Emilia told me, giving me a pointed look.

“Why are you going to her house?” Sebastian’s voice sounded suspicious.

What to tell him? I probably should’ve acted more shaken up in front of Emilia. I was betting that’s how a human would react to almost being attacked by a Wolf.

“We’re going to have sex,” I replied, mainly to bother Luke.

Another growl escaped Luke’s chest.

“What the hell was that?” Sebastian asked.

He must’ve heard the dog’s noises.

“It’s Luke, he’s misbehaving,” I told Sebastian.

Sebastian chuckled, and I couldn’t help but join him.

“Seriously Emilia? This is the guy you’re meant to be with? He’s a fucking prick,” Luke said.

It didn’t escape Sebastian and me that Luke’s voice had a certain tone to it- one that came when a shifter was about to go Wolf.

“Luke, calm down. And watch your words,” Emilia reprimanded him.

“Where are you?” Now Sebastian’s question sounded serious.

“I’m going to Emilia’s house. We were in the woods and Luke’s giving us a ride,” I told him.

I figured it was better that he knew what exactly was up, in case I had to get rid of Luke.

“Is it safe?” The question was only meant for me, but I was sure both Luke and Emilia had heard it.

“I’m not sure,” I replied honestly.

“I gotta go, but I’ll text you later,” I told him, before disconnecting the call.

“Is he your fucking babysitter or what?” Luke asked, looking at me through the rearview mirror.

“Something like that,” I shrugged.

Luke’s loud laugh confused Emilia and it strangely surprised me as well.

“What, you can’t take care of yourself?” His mocking tone was obvious.

“Something like that,” I said, and shrugged once again.

“You’re such a spoiled brat,” Luke said, narrowing his eyes at me.

I grinned, and shrugged at him once more.

“Something like that.”

While Emilia was looking between Luke and me worriedly, Luke was busy frowning at me.

If Sebastian had been here, he’d be proud of me. Although most of the credit went to Luke and how easy it was to get him angry.

“Thanks for the ride,” Emilia told Luke as soon as we arrived at her home.

I was more or less expecting the large mansion. I was a bit surprised when I noticed how modern and clean it looked. I shouldn’t have been though. It was usually the Rogues that were messy. Not all, but most of them were.

“I’m not ever giving pretty boy a ride,” Luke stated.

He’d gotten off his car and was standing on the other side of Emilia.

“Why do you keep calling me pretty boy?” I asked Luke, with a frown

Luke’s smirk was wiped off his face when I finished that thought.

“Are you gay or something?” I asked, shaking my head and walking ahead of both him and Emilia.

The loud growl that escaped Luke’s chest was satisfaction enough. They were behind me so I allowed myself to grin.

Rule #32 in Zombieland- Enjoy the little things.

Making fun of Luke was a little thing that I definitely enjoyed.

Luke was gone by the time we reached the front door.

Emilia was now standing by my side, but she didn’t look happy.

“Why do you keep messing with him?” Emilia asked me.

She sounded annoyed.

“Why does he keep making me mess with him?”

Emilia looked gave me a flat look, obviously not impressed with my comment.

“What are we doing here anyways?” I asked her, but I continued my way into the house.

“You can meet my dad,” Emilia proposed.

It was probably her plan all along.

“You keep bringing up your dad. What about your mom?”

A sullen look took over her features. The bright electric blue of her eyes slowly swirled to a dangerous dark color.

“My mom is gone,” Emilia replied, walking ahead of me.

“Dead?”

She didn’t turn back to face me, but I noticed the small nod in her head.

I wasn’t sure why, but something told me I had to find a way to comfort her. I reached out to stop her, even though she was once again walking faster than she should.

I grabbed her elbow and pulled her to me.

“Sorry for asking,” I told her, as I wrapped one of my arms around her waist and ran my other hand through her hair.

“It’s fine, it was a while back,” she told me.

I was glad she allowed me to hold her.

“Emilia,” a deep voice said from behind me.

I pulled away from Emilia and turned to face whoever had spoken.

A man was standing there, looking between Emilia and me with an amused expression.

“Daddy,” Emilia said, as she made her way to him.

She pecked his cheek, giving him a respectful nod.

Just like Emilia, her dad also had the dark hair and the same blue eyes. His skin was slightly darker than hers, but I could see the similarities between the two.

The Alpha, I thought to myself.

“What are you doing home so early?”

Although his question was directed toward Emilia, he kept his gaze on me.

“Damien, this is my dad- Anthony. Dad, this is my boyfriend- Damien,” Emilia introduced us.

This was the first time I was introduced as someone’s boyfriend. Well, Emilia was my first girlfriend- or whatever we were. I still wasn’t sure on that one.

I was certainly not expecting so much friendliness from her dad.

“It’s good to finally meet you Damien. Emilia talks a lot about you,” Emilia’s dad said, outstretching his hand for me to shake.

He had a genuine smile on his face, which automatically made me smile back.

“It’s good to meet you too, sir,” I told him, as I returned his hand shake.

It was strange when he pulled me in for a hug, slapping my back a few times.

I hadn’t been aware of how nervous I was while being introduced to Emilia’s dad. Well, I assumed it was nerves that had stopped me from paying attention to the Alpha’s scent.

He was the Wolf I had crashed into in the woods just an hour ago. Now I knew why he hadn’t hurt me.

“Are you kids going to stay here at the house?” The Alpha asked, looking between Emilia and me.

“I’m giving Damien a tour and then I’ll probably make something for lunch. He hasn’t eaten,” Emilia said, as she ran her hand over my cheek.

I wasn’t sure why, but I felt warmth creep into my face.

“Don’t be embarrassed Damien. She likes to baby me too,” Emilia’s dad said, chuckling.

“I… I,” and that was all I was able to say.

It was true, she did baby me- more than she should actually.

My hesitation only made the Alpha laugh some more.

“I know, don’t worry,” he said to me, and then turned to Emilia.

“I’ll be gone for a few hours. If anyone calls, tell them I’m out,” he told Emilia, as he pointed towards his forehead.

Emilia nodded, smiling at him.

So he was blocking his pack members from his mind.

I wondered where he was going. I was tempted to send Sebastian a message to tell him that the Alpha was leaving the house.

“I’ll be right back. Let me just walk my dad out,” Emilia told me.

Her dad looked like he was expecting that, because he was already holding out his arm for her to take.

I watched them go. They behaved like a father/daughter would. It was still strange for me. Parents in general didn’t really make great impressions on me.

The Alpha seemed to be a good enough father. In fact, his only fault seemed to be that he was a shifter.

‘Tell him while I’m gone,’ he whispered to Emilia just before going out the door.

So that was what this was all about? They wanted another chance to get me alone and confess all their pack secrets.

I shook my head disapprovingly. Something told me this time I wouldn’t be able to stop Emilia from telling me everything.

“My dad likes you,” was the first thing she said after she walked back to me.

“That’s good, I think.”

“It is, very good.” She was grinning at me widely, and I noticed the glint in her eyes.

She looked excited. Probably confessing to me was making her giddy. In a strange way, I understood why. She would be getting it off her chest and wouldn’t have to hide what she was- not that she was all that great at hiding anything.

I’d lost cost of the times she did things a normal human shouldn’t be able to do. It made me wonder just how dense the humans at school were.

Luke and the rest of the guys in the pack also had anger management problems- which most of the time, were pretty obvious.

“Do you want the tour first, or should we eat? I had to give your food away during lunch. You hadn’t touched anything,” Emilia scolded me.

Her pouted lip made her entire expression too cute.

I smiled, finding her attempt to look serious, more appealing than anything.

“We could eat,” I said, placing my hand on the back of her neck to bring her closer to me.

She didn’t fight me, instead reaching up to allow me easier access to her lips.

I grinned, before pressing my lips hard against hers.

“My dad’s gonna be gone for a while, if you want to, you know,” she breathlessly said, nodding up the stairs.

I grinned at her. She was definitely not one to waste an opportunity. My thoughts suddenly drifted onto other things, and I felt my grin disappear as fast as it came.

“Have you been with anyone before?” I asked her, feeling myself frown.

Her eyes widened in her surprise and her expression turned into one of shocked.

“No,” Emilia mumbled.

Her gaze dropped to the ground, and I noticed her cheeks, neck, and ears had turned into a dark shade of pink.

Never had I enjoyed her blush more than I did in that moment.

“Good,” I told her, wrapping both of my arms around her waist and resting them on her lower back.

She was still hiding her face in my chest, but I felt her significantly relax when I brought her into my arms.

“Would you mind if I had?” She wrapped her arms tighter around my neck, and hid her face even more when she asked that.

I chuckled, but still tightened my hold on her waist.

“I would probably have to kill anyone you’ve been with,” I told her.

She giggled at my words, thinking it was a joke. The more I thought about it though- I knew I really did mean what I had said.

“Do I have to kill anybody?” She asked me, moving away from my neck so that she could look into my eyes.

She was gazing at me intently, waiting for my answer.

“Are you asking me if I’ve been with anyone?” I asked her, not able to suppress my laughter.

If she was expecting me to tell her I was a virgin, then she would definitely be more than disappointed.

“Yes, it was probably too hopeful on my part to think that you hadn’t,” Emilia said, sounding sad.

She looked down, and I felt the air shift around us. It was crazy, but something in me knew that she was feeling bad.

“Hey,” I whispered, putting my hand under her chin to make her look at me.

“Honestly, I don’t remember half of them- any of them, actually. That’s how little it meant,” I said to her, not really knowing how to comfort her.

She smiled at me, a sad smile that tugged at my chest.

“So do you cook?” I tried changing the subject.

Her sad smile turned into a small grin, which made me sigh in relief.

“I can. I cook for my dad and me practically every day,” she said, grabbing my hand and dragging me towards the kitchen.

“Good because I can’t cook to save my life. Sebastian is the one who usually does the cooking,” I admitted.

“Did he go back to school, or did he skip?”

“I’m pretty sure he skipped with Tania. I’ll text him.”

I was glad Emilia had reminded me. I needed to text Sebastian and tell him what was up, editing out some parts of course.

‘I’m safe,’ I texted him first, knowing he’d want to make sure.

‘Where r u?’ He replied just seconds after I sent him the text.

‘Emilia’s house. Luke is gone. I’ll fill you in later on.’ I sent the text as fast as I could manage.

He was probably waiting with the phone in his hand.

’Okay. Call if you need me. Laters Damy!”

The grin on my face apparently caught Emilia’s attention.

“You look happy,” she told me, looking up from the vegetables she was cutting.

“I don’t like carrots,” I told her, feeling my nose scrunching up in distaste.

“You look like a little kid,” Emilia said, laughing at the face I’d made.

“I’m sorry about earlier, at school,” I apologized, thinking back to the way I had behaved.

It was probably a good thing if I stayed away from her friends for a while.

“It’s alright,” she said, dropping the knife she’d been holding.

She came around the kitchen island, and placed herself in between my legs, while wrapping her arms around my neck.

“I love you Damien,” Emilia said.

I remained quiet, simply staring at her. Somewhere in my dumbfounded state I knew I should say something back to her, I just didn’t know what.

I hadn’t been expecting her to make a love confession so- casually?

While I was racking my brain on what to say, she kissed me for a few seconds, smiled, and walked back to where she had been before.

“So what did Sebastian say?” She asked.

I shook my head, and tried finding my voice.

“Uh, he was just wondering what I was doing,” I replied.

The conversation stopped after that, but Emilia continued preparing lunch like if nothing had happened. As I stared at her move around in the kitchen, I couldn’t help but admire how beautiful she looked.

She had fixed her long black hair into a side braid, probably so it wouldn’t get in the way. Her icy blue eyes were concentrated on the meal, yet her features remained soft.

I thought back to what she had said.

‘I love you Damien.’ Those had been her exact words.

There was no confusing it, and she had even said my name.

The only person who had ever said that to me was Sebastian.

My parents had said it as well. That was before they kicked me to the curb like yesterday’s trash. Or as my parents had so kindly put it, because I was a freak.

But she loved me. I chuckled to myself, liking the idea of her saying that to me.

Instead of eating in the kitchen island, like I had been expecting- Emilia fixed two spots for us in the dining room.

“I kind of wanted to make this special,” she started out saying.

“Our lunch?” I asked her, even though I knew what she was referring too.

“Yes, well, sort of. I have to tell you something.”

“Okay?”

Her next words would be it. Either I stopped her now, or I allowed her to tell me what she was.

“Damien, I-” Emilia said, abruptly stopping in the middle of the sentence.

“You, what?”

“Crap,” she said.

She got up from the table, and started running out the dining room.

“What’s wrong?” I asked, following after her.

We had just reached the foyer, when Emilia finally turned to face me.

“Rogues,” she said under her breath.

I wasn’t sure whether I was meant to hear that or not.

Just then, Luke burst into the house, only wearing a pair of dark blue basketball shorts.

“Where’s the Alpha?” He asked Emilia, completely ignoring the fact that I was standing right there.

“He’s out.”

“Then I guess you will do,” Luke said, before turning to look at me for the first time.

“Did you tell him?” Luke asked Emilia.

“Not yet, I was going to just before you called me,” Emilia replied, as she came to stand in front of me.

Her stance and the way her figure tensed almost made it seem like she was trying to protect me or something.

“Someone needs to go out. Either it’s you or the Alpha,” Luke said, giving Emilia a sharp look.

He nodded at her once, before turning and walking away.

“What’s happening?” I asked Emilia, knowing from the concerned look on both her and Luke’s faces that it was something either really serious or really bad.

“I need to go and you have to stay here. I’ll send someone here in a little while, okay?” She asked me.

She placed both of her hands on either side of my neck, making me face her.

The way she was looking at me, with her eyes already shifted to that black color- it made me feel like a little kid who had been given an order.

“I’ll go home,” I told her.

If they were having pack problems, I didn’t want to be here for them.

“No!” She snapped, making me move back from the surprise of her authoritative tone.

“Just stay here. I’ll tell you everything when I get back,” she said, reaching up to kiss me.

“I guess,” I muttered, not really knowing what else to tell her.

She was worried for me when she didn’t have to be. If what she had said earlier about the Rogues was true, then she was in a lot more danger than me.

Just as she was leaving out the door, one of the guys who had been at the lunch table, strolled into the house.

“Please tell me she did not send you here to babysit me,” I said, closing my eyes and shaking my head.

“Hey dude,” the guy greeted.

He sounded genuine enough, but I was still ticked off.

Emilia had really hit a nerve the moment she decided it was alright to go out and fight Rogues while I stayed in her house being watched by one of her dogs.