42. Demon

Demon

“ S he’s having another one!” Olivia cheerfully says.

Jasper and Olivia are offering all their support to Miss Teapot while she’s having her fourth kitten, who appears to be black and white. The first three—two white females and a black male—are doing great and are already nursing.

From the couch, Diva watches everything with a resigned expression. She craves attention so much that she even lets Ansel pet her. Of course, she is showing her teeth the entire time, warning Ansel not to get too comfortable with her.

I’m scrolling through my phone, lurking on the dark web, trying to find anything that would lead me to where Azael is. Ever since Olivia killed his last vessel, he has been quiet. Maybe too quiet. He’s stirring up some major drama, and I’m trying to catch it before it starts. It makes me paranoid about Olivia’s safety. It makes me want to build a bunker and hide her there until all threats have been eliminated, but she would most likely kick my ass and send me to the Catacombs for that. She is not the typical Lady who will submit to her mates. She’s fierce, and she doesn’t even realize it. That’s the thing that I love the most about her—her innocence and her strength.

Ansel and Rueben are setting up the gaming area in the attic. They constantly go up and down the stairs, grabbing things they need to get upstairs. The attic is the only place Olivia has no say when it comes to decorations. After all, it’s supposed to be the men’s cave. She decorated the rest of the cabin with the furniture from the Lair, and we purchased a few more items that she was missing.

Ansel appears focused on his task, but I know him. He is watching Olivia like a hawk. He’s different from the rest of us, yet he’s the only one who fully understands my concerns about Olivia’s protection.

Kitten number four is finally out, and Miss Teapot is cleaning him up. Olivia and Jasper are waiting for her to finish to see if the kitten is male or female.

Olivia feels Miss Teapot’s belly a bit. “This appears to be the last one.” To Miss Teapot, she says, “You are going to be one busy mom.”

Ansel and Rueben are carrying a desk up the stairs. “I’m sure it’s another male,” Tyson says.

“Nah, it’s another female,” Rueben comments.

Tyson pretends to arrange Miss Teapot’s basket. “Do you want to bet?”

A frown appears on Rueben’s face before he understands what Tyson is trying to do. “Fuck you! It’s a female. End of discussion.”

Nothing annoys Rueben more than trying to make him bet again. He finally learned his lesson when he lost his car to Olivia, who immediately decided she wanted to learn how to drive. It could have been worse; it could have been someone outside the family that won his car.

“Regardless of the gender, we need to spay and neuter them so we won’t end up with even more kittens.” Olivia makes a valid point.

Miss Teapot finishes cleaning the last kitten, and Olivia quickly checks the gender before letting him nurse. “It’s a female,” she lets us know.

I have been referring to the kitten as him, but I was wrong.

Rueben and Ansel reach the top of the stairs. “Next time, listen to your big brother,” Rueben says to Tyson. The two of them remind me of the good days with my twin. While I yearn for those moments, I’m not stupid enough to think that I’ll get my twin back. The only way to deal with Azael is by destroying him. It won’t be easy since he has gained a lot of power over the years while I was waiting for…Olivia. At that time, I thought I was waiting for the right vessel, that is until I felt Olivia enter this world.

When Azael chose a vessel for himself many years ago, I hoped he was truly sorry for his actions. For a while, he managed to trick many, including me. He even took a woman to be his wife, which he later killed. It was then that I knew that Azael only loved himself.

I see so much of Pandora in Olivia, especially when Ansel and I show her how to use the daggers since we are the only ones who know how to fight with swords and similar weapons.

Tyson snorts. “Don’t get so cocky just because you got it right this time.”

“This time!?” Rueben asks in disbelief. “I’m right more times than you are.”

“Right,” Tyson mocks Rueben.

A smile tugs at Olivia’s lips. Seeing her smile for the first time was such a special moment. “Now, boys, no fighting in the house.” I press my lips together because Olivia always pretends to scold us when we joke around like this. “How about you kiss and make up?”

“Yeah, no thanks,” Tyson huffs. His gaze goes to Jasper. “I’d rather…” He stops before he finishes his thought, but there’s no need to hide what he feels for Jasper. The sexual tension between the two of them has been off the charts, especially in the last few weeks. They try so hard to hide that they like each other that they don’t realise the rest of us are waiting to see how it will end. Probably with them fucking. Our sex life is about to get very interesting. I might even join them from time to time.

‘Don’t you fucking dare,’ Mose snarls.

I am starting to wonder why I chose Mose as my vessel. He’s always so grumpy.

‘How the hell do you expect me to be when you keep me a prisoner in my own body?’

I don’t bother to remind him about our deal, but I do tell him this, ‘For now, your body is mine, and I can do whatever I want with it, even let Jasper and Tyson fuck me until your ass is destroyed and you have to wear diapers the rest of your life.’

Mose stops talking and retreats to the back of my mind, where he belongs for the time being.

Ansel comes down the stairs. “Mose, let’s get started on dinner.” I narrow my eyes because he knows how much I hate cooking, but the expression on his face lets me know that he wants to talk.

“Bb-burgers?” I ask because that’s pretty much the only thing I can get right.

“Who’s going to help me now?” Rueben complains.

Ansel shrugs. “Jasper or Tyson.”

“I’ll stay here with Miss Teapot and the kittens,” Olivia says. I don’t expect her to pay any of us any attention for the next week or so. She’s been very excited over the idea of having kittens in the house. I only hope she won’t decide to keep all of them.

Half an hour later Ansel and I are flipping burgers on the barbeque.

“Did you get the plane tickets?” Ansel asks me.

“Yes.”

Ansel nods. “Good. The ring is finally ready.” Olivia told Ansel the kind of engagement ring she would like so he had a jeweller make it. Ansel got the ring yesterday, and it’s perfect. “Now, we only need to find an excuse to get her to our destination.”

Keeping our plans a secret from Olivia is tricky since she knows a proposal will follow soon. “But,” Ansel says next, “with the kittens here and Angelica close to having her baby, Olivia might not want to leave the city, let alone the country. At least she’s not worried about Azael and Ophyr.”

There is a moment of pause before he adds, “I’m uneasy.” He pops his neck left and right. “It’s probably nothing, just me being paranoid.” After flipping a burger, he adds, “We should concentrate only on the proposal.”

Azael and Ophyr are constantly at the back of my mind, especially my twin. I should only concentrate on killing Azael, but Olivia has me completely under her spell. I don’t think I’ve ever been so happy in my long existence. Especially since she carries a part of my divine power inside her.

I don’t want to wait any longer to make Olivia my wife.

‘She will be my wife!’ Mose protests.

I ignore Mose because all he does is contradict me. “Wasp,” I say.

Ansel pauses for a minute. “I didn’t even think of the possibility of asking Wasp for help, but she does owe us. We should talk to the others before we make a decision. Tyson and Rueben hate her with passion, and I don’t want to go behind their backs.”

I shrug.

“I’ll go get the steak from the kitchen. Don’t burn the burgers,” Ansel warns me before going inside the house.

I keep an eye on the burgers until I catch sight of Olivia’s little garden and go to it. She only has a few flowers planted, and more are on the way. For some reason, I find gardening peaceful. I’ve even helped Olivia a few times. In the morning, while the others are still sleeping, I step outside to watch the lake and the garden while I drink my coffee.

The daisies are doing well but the primroses need extra care.

“What the fuck did I tell you?” Ansel suddenly snarls at me. I lift my head. “The burgers are burned.”

My gaze goes to the barbeque. Black smoke coming from the burgers rises in the air. How long have I been looking at the flowers?

“Pizza?” I suggest, trying to fix the ruined dinner. A glance at the surrounding forest gives me another idea. “Olivia. Masks. Run.”

Ansel stops being angry. “I like the way you think.”