Chapter Seven

Although Damon would never be the same again, it was time to get back to the real world. Maybe. "I have a problem," he said to his mate.

Casimir's arms tightened around him. "Name it and I'll destroy it."

Despite the pain Damon still felt resonating inside of him, he grinned. "That easy?"

"For you. Hell yes, nékah ." Casimir placed a soft kiss on his shoulder. " Miákahy, ceutya nétya ."

"Are we doing more pop quizzes?" Damon chuckled.

Casimir groaned behind him. "You're telling me you don't recognize at least one of those words? I've said it in reference to you a few times already."

"Hole?" Damon smirked. "I told you we have to work on your sexy talk."

"You are a troublemaker." Casimir tightened his arms. "Roughly translated, it means my sword is at your command, beautiful wolf."

"What if my problem is my family?"

His mate sighed heavily. "I really did like them."

Eyes wide, Damon sat up. "You'd kill my family if they were the problem?"

Casimir rose up so fluidly it appeared as if he'd floated up from the ground. He really was a weapon himself. Damon still couldn't believe fate had given him a warrior. Maybe it knew the battles that were coming Damon's way and decided to provide him with a life raft.

Or, in Casimir's case, fate had given him a battleship.

Locking gazes, Casimir said, "The moment my mark appeared, I was ripped away from my family to endure a thousand years of brutal training. Afterward, I spent a millennium serving a despicable king, followed by two thousand years of being hunted. Throughout all that time, I have never had any ties or relationships. But now, I have finally found my mate, and I will do whatever it takes to protect you. I will eliminate anyone or anything that dares to make you shed even a single tear." His jaw tightened. "If Panahasi was not Life itself, he would already be lying dead at my feet."

Damon was blown away by what Casimir had just revealed about himself. He was aware his mate never stayed in one place too long because he was being hunted, but Damon couldn't imagine living four millennia and not making at least one connection.

Damn. That was… He was at a complete loss on how to even begin to process that.

"In that case, my family are saints," Damon said slowly.

"Tell me." Casimir ran his hand over Damon's arm and down his side. "What troubles you?"

Damon had always been close with his family, able to talk to them about anything. Although the keeper had fixed a lot of what was wrong under his hood, Damon couldn't bring himself to talk to them about any of this.

He still felt like a freak who no longer deserved to be a Frost. "The things I said to them before I flew off." He closed his eyes. "I adore my dad, look up to him, see him as our family's solid foundation, and…" Damon cleared his throat as guilt ate its way into his gut. "I attacked him. I threatened to drink from his vein." His throat tightened.

"And you don't believe he knew what you were going through, that he wouldn't understand or be forgiving?" Casimir brushed aside Damon's hair and kissed his temple. "From what I have observed, parents are reasonably forgiving."

"I'm pretty sure the parents you've observed didn't have their offspring trying to sink fangs into them." He pushed to his feet. "Where exactly did you put my jeans and underwear?"

He was still stumped on how his mate had gotten his clothes off, not to mention his boots. Damon felt damn silly standing there in his shirt and socks. But at least he saw where his shoes were. Well, one of them.

This could not be his life right now.

Casimir glanced over the edge of the cliff with a frown.

"Dude, my wallet, cell phone, and keys were all in my jeans." Damon groaned.

Looking back at him, Casimir asked, "You want me to go look for them?"

It was so ridiculous Damon burst out laughing. "I guess I'm flying home in my shirt and socks. I just hope I don't run into a flock of birds and get a beak in my dick."

Brows furrowed, Casimir still stood at the edge peering over. "I can go down and search."

Storming over to the edge, Damon gestured toward the forest down below. "We're at least a mile above the forest floor. The wind is stronger up here. There's no telling where they landed." He narrowed his eyes. "If a squirrel finds my wallet and charges one damn cent to my credit cards, you'll be paying the bill."

Damon's brows shot up when his mate dove off the edge. "Are you insane!" He quickly followed after Casimir in a panic until he remembered his mate had wings.

Casimir flew over the treetops with ease, his delicate wings vibrant and beautiful. Damon laughed in pure delight as he watched his mate spin in a graceful roll then shoot up higher, clearly enjoying the sensation of flying.

Watching as Casimir's long hair billowed out behind him and his muscular body glistened in the sunlight, Damon felt a surge of tenderness for his mate. His warrior looked so happy.

Hovering with his wings simply flapping, Damon shot after Casimir, rolling with him, then they glided over the treetops together.

Damon just hoped no one saw them flying. Even though the forest was dense, there was still a chance, but there was so much joy on Casimir's face that Damon never wanted this moment to end. Unfortunately, it had to. The longer they stayed in the air, the greater the risk of a human seeing them.

Or someone seeing Damon's nudity.

They finally descended to the forest floor. Damon felt exhilarated, especially because he'd flown with his mate. Casimir's cheeks were flushed, and he had a sparkle of happiness in his eyes.

"It's been a long time since I've flown," Casimir admitted. "Felt damn good."

Damon gave his mate a quick kiss. "Finding my wallet before a squirrel does will feel even better." He wasn't holding out hope. As high up as they'd been, his jeans could be anywhere.

"Can't you use some magic to find them?" Damon asked. If not, he had a snowball's chance in hell of getting them back. Everything could have fallen out of his pants on their way down.

He turned when Casimir didn't answer him and saw his mate wasn't looking at him.

Damon closed his eyes. Fuck. How had he forgotten his mate had had his magic stripped from him? "I'm sorry," Damon said. He'd just made it seem as if he hadn't been paying attention to Casimir when his mate had opened up to him. "I wasn't thinking."

Casimir cleared his throat as he turned to face Damon. "After our magical abilities were stripped, it was one of the council members who opened a pathway to the human realm for us. I honestly can't even remember her name, but it was her way of thanking us for not blindly following that lunatic's orders."

The more Damon learned about his mate, the more pissed he became at how Casimir was treated. Then something dawned on him. "So you've been in hiding with no magic to help out even a little?"

Casimir spread his arms and laughed bitterly. "Like I told you, baby. Except for my wings, I'm basically human."

"Wait." Damon frowned. "If you can't wield magic, how did you end up at my house?"

"When Elvine summoned me, she provided a pathway as well," Casimir said.

Another thought struck Damon. "How do you even know her?"

Elvine was a little over a millennium. By the time she was born, Casimir would have already been in hiding.

"I don't know her," Casimir said. "While I was staying at your house, she told me she'd cast a spell for the strongest warrior to help battle Vicino's undead vampires." He shrugged. "Crazy it was me, considering my mate and nephew happened to be there."

Damon was struggling with what was forced on him, but his mate had had so much taken away. That made him wonder if what he'd become was really so bad. He could definitely do without the vampire crap, but he was really starting to love the wings. The ability to create fog was kind of cool, though he still wished he'd gotten laser eyes, but that was the kid in him wishing for it.

He started to say he would ask Elvine to help find his things, but it would crush Casimir that it wasn't him helping his mate.

"I can't avoid my family forever," Damon said, changing the subject. He gestured to his groin. "I also feel ridiculous with just a shirt and pair of socks on."

Casimir smirked as he gave a soft growl. "I don't know. I think it's a sexy look."

"That's because you're my mate." Damon rolled his eyes. "Between us we have a full outfit. I have the shirt, and you have the pants." He frowned. "Why don't you have a shirt on?"

Come to think of it, Damon had yet to see him wearing one.

"I was summoned at night," Casimir said. "I'd just taken my shirt off heading to the bathroom for a shower in my motel room. I'm just grateful I still had my shoes on, but I would really love a fresh pair of jeans. Thankfully, Jax has been laundering them for me every day."

Something Damon should have been doing for his mate. When he got home, he was going to beat the squirrel to spending his money and order his mate a ton of clothes and everything else he needed.

"You're telling me my brother has seen your underwear?" Damon was messing with his mate. He really appreciated Jax looking out for Casimir while Damon had been dealing with all his craziness.

"Did you see me put any underwear on?" Casimir ran his finger along the waistband of his jeans, like he was about to perform a striptease. "Commando."

Sweet hell. That turned Damon on.

His mate's grin widened as his gaze dropped to Damon's groin. Shit, with no pants, he couldn't hide the proof of his arousal. "Not a chance until we've both had a long, hot shower." And Damon wasn't ready to experience the anguish again. He glanced around. "I don't have a clue how far we are from the house."

"You don't know where we are?" Casimir frowned.

"It's a huge forest," Damon argued. "It's not like I know every inch of this place." He threw his arm out. "We could be a mile away or twenty."

"Damon!" Casimir shot forward and yanked him away from the portal that had suddenly appeared ten feet away. The same kind of black swirly portal Panahasi had used to yank Damon into the underworld.

Casimir pushed Damon behind his large body just as swords manifested in his hands. "I thought you said you didn't have any magic," Damon whispered, waiting to see who would exit the portal.

"They are a part of me and rest on my béskym mark when not needed," Casimir whispered back.

"Your what?"

"The wings on my shoulder." Still watching the portal, Casimir said, "I told you béskym means commander."

"Now is not the time for the answers to a pop quiz." Frowning, Damon looked at his mate's fairy wings tattoo-looking mark. His brows shot up when he saw the wings were still there, but the swords were missing.

"Your weapons live on your body?" He would kill to have a tattoo of his cell phone, wallet, and keys, so he could summon them when he needed them instead of having to search for them all the time. Like he was doing now.

"I already told you they're a part of me. Why has no one exited the portal?" Casimir asked.

"I was listening to you," Damon argued. "It's just hard for me to remember a language I've just been introduced to." Why wasn't anyone coming out? As far as Damon knew, only Panahasi had that power, and the demon leader was the last person he wanted to see. " No way !"

"What is it, nékah ?" Casimir spun and scanned the area around them. "Do you see someone? I don't feel another's presence."

No freaking way! Damon stepped from behind his mate—he'd felt ridiculous hiding there anyway since he was a formidable predator—and walked toward the portal.

"Damon," Casimir growled. "What are you doing? You have no idea who could be on the other side of it."

Scratching his beard, Damon turned to his mate. "I'm pretty sure I just did that."

The swords in Casimir's hands vanished. "Are you saying you made this appear? How?"

"It has to be another ability from him ," Damon replied, refusing to speak Panahasi's name out loud.

"I kind of figured that," Casimir replied. "I'm asking how you made it appear. I thought the keeper unlocked a manual in your head."

Damon gestured to the portal. "I didn't get knowledge for this. So either he doesn't know I have it or it was a bad download of knowledge." He frowned. "As a matter of fact, what ability did Ahm give me? Do you know what abilities shadow elves have?"

Casimir was staring warily at the portal. "When they did the spell, they said you would absorb their essences."

Damon gagged. "That sounds so dirty."

"That's exactly what your twin said." Casimir chuckled. "Ahm and I thought you could probably get our ears. You now have Unseelie blood, but since my magical abilities were stripped away, you won't possess any magic."

"So that means I created the portal," Damon replied. "I was just bitching about not knowing where we were, and this thing appeared." He chucked a thumb over his shoulder. "Wanna take it for a test drive?"

Casimir's eyes bulged. "And you asked me if I was insane for diving off that cliff, yet you want to walk right into a portal that just appeared out of nowhere?" Casimir growled some words in his own language, but Damon understood the word for wolf.

"If you're gonna talk shit about me, at least let me understand what you're saying," Damon argued.

"I will put my wolf over my knee if he dares to go anywhere near that portal. Why is he willfully putting himself in danger?" Casimir snarled after translating.

Cocking his head, Damon asked, "On what planet do you think you're gonna spank me?" He began to walk backward. "I made the damn thing, so I'm heading home." Just as he reached the entrance, he flipped Casimir off.

"Get your naked ass back here," Casimir bellowed as he charged after him.

Damon's brows shot up at the sight of the six-seven tall warrior bearing down on him. Despite knowing Casimir would never harm him, it was still scary.

Damon shot into the portal just as Casimir grabbed his arm. Nausea rolled through him before he slammed onto a hardwood floor, his mate landing on top of him. "Son of a bitch! You weigh a ton. I think you just broke my back."

As soon as Casimir rolled off of him, Damon looked up to the sight of his dad and brothers staring slack-jawed at him. Their canines were extended and their claws were out. Elvine was hovering above their heads with a wide grin on her face, and Raidh had clearly been shoved behind Jaytee.

Pushing from the floor, Damon grunted.

"Son, you might want to put some pants on since you're naked in front of Jaytee's mate and the young lady," his dad said.

Casimir's hand shot out and yanked Damon behind him so fast he almost crashed into the wall beside him.

"Did Panahasi open that for you?" Jax asked.

A vicious snarl rumbled through Casimir.

His mate didn't like hearing the demon leader's name either. "Apparently I've just discovered a new ability," Damon said through Casimir's huge back. "Though I think I need to work on the landing…and how I did it in the first place."

"You went through a portal without knowing if you conjured it?" Kalen sounded pissed.

"Exactly!" Casimir agreed loudly. "That was the same argument I made, but my mate flipped me off and went through it anyway."

Damon slapped Casimir's back. "You're supposed to be on my side."

"You put yourself in danger," Casimir gritted out.

"If you two are getting along, does that mean…?" Elvine's voice was closer, so she must have come down from the ceiling where she loved to hover.

"It means he saw a mechanic," Casimir replied.

A burst of laughter escaped Damon. His mate had said it so seriously.

"Did you just laugh?" Jaytee asked, shock clear in his voice, reminding Damon of the turmoil he still felt about how he'd treated his family and the awful things he'd said to them.

"I'm gonna head upstairs." Damon tried to make a dash toward the stairs, but a strong grip kept him behind Casimir. "Let me go," he growled.

Casimir turned and faced him, staring down at Damon. " Nékah , they are your kéfyte . They love you no matter what." His eyes softened as he rubbed a hand down Damon's arm. Your méallan does not think any less of you, nor your nyzants ."

"Bless you," Damon said. "I think you might have allergies."

Casimir chuckled softly. "That word wasn't a sneeze. It means brothers. kéfyte is family, and meallán is father."

"Son, why would I think less of you?" Kalen asked, sounding genuinely confused.

Damon looked toward the ceiling as a hard lump formed in his throat. He was too ashamed to even say it out loud. Casimir caressed his cheek. Damon was taken aback at just how much tenderness was in his mate's eyes, as if Casimir worshipped the very ground he walked on.

"Is it because you threatened to drain dad?" Jaytee asked, "or because you attacked him?"

Moment killed. "You always were an asshole," Damon argued.

"We're identical twins. It's understandable you would get that backward," Jaytee countered.

"If you think I would hold any of that against you, then maybe I need to take you out back and remind you how this family works," his dad said.

"No!" Damon tried to jump on his mate when Casimir's swords appeared in his hands, his face a mask of rage. "I swear to god you better not lay a finger on my dad!"

Jaytee and Jax instantly shifted into their wolves, positioning themselves in front of Kalen, while Elvine and Raidh flew toward the corner of the room.

Kalen simply stood there with his arms crossed, his expression inscrutable. Damon knew that look. His dad was trying to decide whether to defuse or destroy.

"Back off," Damon warned Casimir, jabbing a finger into his mate's muscled chest as his canines lengthened. "Or I swear to god, you're going over my knee."

How would Damon accomplish that? He had no flipping idea, but this was getting out of control. He did not need his mate and father to become enemies. Their home was chaotic at times, but the good kind of chaotic. Damon wasn't going to live with stress, and his mate had been through too much to live with it, as well.

"You would threaten your own child?" Fury blazed in Casimir's eyes, but he had stopped advancing.

"I'm not a whelp," Damon growled. He was 235 years old, far surpassing his juvenile years.

"If he needs an ass-kicking, then yes," Kalen replied coolly. "Since you're family, I'll kick yours, too, if you need it."

Damon shook his head and muttered, "Oh great, my dad is going to die."

Casimir's swords vanished. "I'm...family?"

The wolves stood down and sat on their haunches next to Kalen, their protective stance easing.

"You're my son's mate." Kalen nodded, still speaking calmly and slowly. "In our kéfyte , we do not hold grudges. We fight, we move past it." His gaze landed on Damon. "A fact my son seems to have forgotten."

"I attacked you!" Damon protested.

His dad smirked. "But your britches weren't big enough to defeat your old man."

"Kalen threw a cast-iron skillet at me, and now I adore him," Elvine chimed in, her wings fluttering. She turned to Damon. "Mr. Scratchy Crotch or Mr. Grouchy Socks?"

Fuck, Damon loved this family. "For you, both."

Her eyes lit up, tears sparkling in them as she grinned widely at him. "Welcome back, Mr. Scratchy Crotch."

He chuckled, his affection for her growing.

"Welcome back, Rick Blaine." Raidh's smile matched Elvine's in size, deep affection in his lavender-gray eyes. Then his brows creased. "What's a mechanic?"