Fallen Angels (6 page)

I fed before taking a long walk home, overanalyzing the events of the night. First the visit from Kara, Devlin, and Angela, then my fight and finally Jeanie’s kiss. I couldn’t say that any decisions I had made in my past were correct. What I could say with certainty was that Devlin was moving in on Kara, and he always got his way. I hated that I was being forced to stay away, all because of a certain scent. I did make damn sure that Kara would know the truth if she decided to be with Devlin. It was a shitty way to drop the truth on her, but it would serve a purpose.

Chapter Five

Kara

Baby on Board

My trip to Seattle did little to revive my broken heart. Ravyn looked really good as usual, but she was cold and calculated with her deliberate words. I thought there might have been a chance of her accepting me and my choice, until she sat across from me and her jaw clenched. I knew then she was telling the truth; she truly couldn’t stand the way I smelled. She also really wanted my baby dead.

It’s not an easy thing to hear that the person I love wants to kill my baby, not to mention I apparently smelled awful. It was a lot to handle so I looked to Angie for confirmation. To my surprise she immediately agreed with Ravyn. I guess I used to smell like fresh-baked cookies, and now I smelled like a moldy cookie. It made Angie laugh, but all I could do was cry. Angie’s admission left me with one horrible question. Would Ravyn ever be able to accept my baby?

My worries about Ravyn didn’t end there, thanks to a certain gorgeous Asian woman with whom Ravyn was currently living. Angela informed me Jeanie was one of the Fallen, and that was all it took for my mind to play tricks on me. She was just like Ravyn, and therefore they would have more in common. Ravyn wouldn’t have to be gentle with Jeanie. She wouldn’t have to explain her demon urges. Jeanie would be a better match for my Ravyn, and I could do nothing about my horrible realization.

It’s not like any of my worries mattered anymore, since I straight up told Ravyn I didn’t want her back. Then for the first time in my life I threatened to kill one of the Fallen. Yep, my trip didn’t mend anything, it only made things worse.

If that wasn’t bad enough, something even more disturbing happened in Seattle. Devlin had magically found the answer to my eating problems. He offered me his blood that night, and it immediately soothed my baby. It also led to a very odd attraction to Devlin that worried me greatly.

Devlin had been here for me time after time, and then he saved me and my baby with the power of his own blood. Don’t get me wrong, I was more than grateful. However, there was a very dangerous downside to drinking the blood of a demon. It turned on a desire that would never otherwise exist.

We had been sharing a bed for nearly two months, and it started as friendly. We were both lonely and needed comfort; it was nice having someone so close, someone who was always on my side and I would do anything to keep things this way. When the blood sharing started Devlin was quickly on the hunt for something more, and I was finding it hard to stop us. 

Devlin didn’t seem to mind at all, but I did. I liked having him close, but not lover close. I was starting to fear the possibility that he wouldn’t be able to stop himself from taking what I refused to give him. So, after a month of feeding from Devlin I had to stop it before something happened that we would both regret.

There were two other options in the house. Nebiros, who I would never feed from considering he was doing the nasty with my mom. Yuck! Angela, however, was very available, and I trusted her with my life. I laid down the ground rules of no touching, no cuddling, and she had to promise to stop me if I wanted anything more. You know, because of what the blood does. She happily agreed, then warned me that her blood wasn’t like Devlin’s.

I shrugged her warning off, because the prospect of not having to feed from Devlin was enough for me. Tonight I would feed from my best friend, which sounded way too weird, but for some reason I was bubbling with excitement.

It was just after dark when Angie entered my room. “Hey momma, are you ready?”

“Yep. Thanks for doing this Angie. Can you tell me why I’m excited when I know this is weird?” I asked.

She laughed and helped me off the bed, leading me to the center of the room, away from all the furniture. “You’re excited because you know what the desire does to you, and you haven’t had sex in forever.”

“Ugh, don’t remind me Angie. Why are we standing over here anyway?” I huffed.

“We stand so you can’t get overly comfy, if you know what I’m mean. Also please keep your hands and body to yourself.”

“Duh, you’re my best friend. Nothing’s going to happen.”

Angie released her demon, which I had never witnessed before, and I was so surprised that I gasped and stepped back. Her eyes turned blood red, but only the iris changed. Her fangs and claws were longer and thinner than Ravyn’s.

“Come on, I won’t hurt you Kara.”

Then I saw what looked liked a leopard’s tail flicking side to side. “Holy shit! Do you have a tail?” I stepped forward, trying to look for the source.

“Yes, I do, but it’s not show and tell so drink up,” Angie said, making a small incision in her wrist.

The conversation was over when I saw her crimson blood spill out onto her soft skin. My hands locked onto her arm. Bringing her wrist to my mouth, I licked the trail of blood and then seized the small incision between my lips.

Within seconds Angie’s powerful blood was coursing through me, causing my desire to rage out of control. My body felt like it was being licked by hot buzzing flames of passion. I could barely stand as the sensation rocked me to the very core. I had to pull away from Angie’s amazing blood when my knees weakened; slowly, I sank to the floor. My heavy breathing and moans were the only sounds in the room while I lay on the cold wood floor. I felt like I had just taken the most fantastically wrong drug in the world.

“Kara? Are you okay?”

I looked up at Angie, who looked incredible. “You’re beautiful,” I purred.

“Yep. All right momma, I’ll check on you in a little bit.”

“No, I want to see you.”

“Just stay put, I’ll be back.” Angie laughed while slipping out of the room.

I don’t know how long I lay there, or when the effects of her insanely powerful blood wore off. I woke up on that damn floor, only to find Angie sitting on the edge of the bed, smiling. I was exhausted and when she helped me up, I recalled what had happened. Releasing her hands, mine flew to my mouth to stop the gasp, and I could feel the extreme heat rise to my cheeks. “I’m so sorry Angie!”

“It’s fine. Come now, you need to rest.”

“I’m so embarrassed! Please forgive me,” I begged.

“There is nothing to forgive, Kara. It’s the blood,” she said, dismissing my apology.

“I can’t do that again. I may as well go back to Devlin.” My own words made me cringe.

“We can try to dilute it, so the effects will be limited. You are not going back to drinking his blood. Trust me, we will figure this out. Don’t forget I don’t want you like Devlin wants you. I can stop you from doing anything sexual, Devlin won’t.” Angie tucked me into bed, acting the part of a great best friend. “Get some sleep and stop worrying.”

Thank god for Angie, because she found that if she mixed her blood with water the effects were lessened, and my baby was still satisfied. I was so relieved that she had found the perfect solution. Minimal effects from her blood, and I no longer needed Devlin’s; it was a win-win.

However, Devlin didn’t feel my relief, and he still wanted me to drink his blood. I knew I didn’t need it, and I turned him down night after night. He had grown so used to cuddling with me while we slept that he continued to be over-cuddly. Without his blood to feed the attraction, my patience with cuddling and wandering hands quickly came to an end.

Angie and Emma busied me with decorating my baby’s room, which had been my room before I moved myself into Ravyn’s. Everything had to go, except for the carpet.

Abby and I picked earth colors for the base and accents, a stone grey, sage green, and a light tan. These were neutral colors, and would satisfy a boy or girl, though I hoped for a girl. We also painted an elemental symbol on each wall. I spared no expense on my baby’s room. She would have the best, compliments of my rich demon friends.

Abby was a huge help during my pregnancy, and to my surprise she was probably the most excited about the coming addition to the family. She had overcome a tremendous amount of abandonment in her life and I think that’s why Abby was so interested in taking care of her new sibling.

It was tough connecting to Abby after Ravyn disappeared, and I honestly didn’t know if she would ever come back around to me. When the news of my pregnancy came out, she was instantly at my side and as overprotective as Ravyn used to be. We resumed her homeschooling and soon she was calling me mom.

It was weird hearing Abby call me mom out of the blue, but it warmed my heart and quickly became as natural as if she were my biological daughter. She was a teenager and going out was her second priority. She had her good days and bad days, and I knew she missed Ravyn as much as I did. I can’t deny the fact that Abby had always been closer to Ravyn.

Imagine how surprised I was when Abby brought home a man. Not a teenage boy, not a human boy, but a demon in his late twenties, and then she introduced him as her boyfriend. My pregnant self about died. I didn’t like it, but I went along with it because Abby was truly happy. Her boyfriend was very good to her, and for that I was thankful.

I have to say that having Abby and her boyfriend, and Nebiros and Emma, hanging around the house was pretty awful. Here I was pregnant and alone, having to watch these two overly lovey couples parading their love around the house. It made me sick somedays. You better believe both couples received plenty of eye rolls from my bitter self.

They didn’t take it personal, I think they understood how miserable I was. Can you believe my wonderful family even threw me a baby shower? The living room was full of wrapped gifts. The most extraordinary gifts! I couldn’t believe how much stuff you could buy for a baby. Bottles, diapers, clothing, and toys galore. I didn’t even know if my baby would need all of the normal things. Angie pointed out that it was better to have than not to have.

When I was done opening the gifts in the living room, they led me up to the baby’s room. It was completely furnished. There was a stunning canopy crib with toys hanging above it, a toddler bed, a fluffy sitting chair, a swing, bouncer, walker, and an array of stuffed animals. I couldn’t muster a word; I just hugged everyone while trying to hold back more tears.

Seeing the room this way sent a nervous chill down my spine. I would almost know what to expect when I went into labor if my child was a normal human. The rate of growth and the thirst for blood were all I needed to tell me this child was anything but normal. Trying to imagine what it would be like, my mind conjured up the birth scene from “Twilight,” and I abruptly burst into laughter.

My family would never let me suffer like that. Nope, I was much healthier since my friends shared their powerful blood with me. There would be no biting and rampant panic when my baby was ready. I was fairly confident that everything would be just fine. I even caught Nebiros laughing at my ridiculous comparison while my Mom stared at him in curiosity. He quickly shared the vision of my thoughts with her. I was finally grateful that he could read my thoughts, and that he shared them with my Mother, it made life for me a lot easier. I smiled and joined the laughter while the rest of the family wondered what was so funny.

Now at almost five months pregnant and looking more like eight, I no longer wanted Devlin in my bed. I don’t know if it was my hormones, his excessive cuddling or Ravyn screaming at me in the back of my mind, but I had come to my breaking point. 

The night was young and I was lying in bed reading a fabulous book about a headstrong witch when Devlin entered my room and began stripping down to his boxers. Watching him over my book, I exhaled a loud huff and rolled my eyes at him. 

“Are you feeling all right?” 

“I’m fine. I’ve been thinking though,” I replied, unable to stop glaring at him. 

“About what?” he asked as he crawled into bed next to me. 

I quickly scooted to the edge of the bed, creating space between us. Devlin looked at me curiously. “We can’t do this anymore Devlin. I love you, but not like you want me to. Things got out of control, and you know it was your blood that caused my mixed feelings. This isn’t what I want. You can’t sleep in here anymore,” I said in a rather bitchy way. 

“You’re right. My apologies. I will take my leave then.” His sadness and guilt were evident as he slid out of bed, grabbing his clothes as he left my room.

I hated hurting Devlin like that. He had done so much for me, but the truth had to come out before it was too late. I needed to talk about it so I sent a thought to Nebiros.
I need to talk to Angie please.
I knew Nebiros would get her for me so I wouldn’t have to get up. I wasn’t being lazy; it was just hard to move around being so big. 

Seconds later Angie rushed into my room. “What’s wrong momma?” she asked, trying to hide her worry. 

“I think I just crushed Devlin,” I replied with a huff. 

“Okay, how would you do that?” She sat next to me in my bed. 

“I don’t love him, and I don’t want him sleeping in my bed anymore. You know what your demon blood does to us humans. Anything that happened or that I thought I felt for him was all fake. It was the blood talking, not my heart,” I ranted.

“Kara, if you’re done you’re done. I knew the blood would do this and so did he, but I assure you he only wanted to help you. He didn’t do it for any other reason. I think he misses Lilith and you miss Ravyn. Loneliness just got the best of both of you. He will see this. Just like you did.”

“How did he figure it out anyway? Did Ravyn tell him what I needed?” I asked. It was the question that haunted my dreams.