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Chapter 40

As my feet touch down in the snow in front of the house with a crunch and soft thump as my full weight settles Chase lets out a huff, “That was a much softer landing this time.”

Letting go of him I shift back to my wolf form and pop my neck, “Well this time I didn’t have a broken wing with a gaping hole in it.”

Nodding Chase steps towards the house asking, “Speaking of, how did you heal all your wounds so fast?”

I rub a paw over my right eye and feel the bare skin where the cut had been just a few hours before, “That would be a healing spell that Dae apparently knows. Without it I would likely still be limping through the forest leaving a blood trail. Wish I had known he could do that before now.”

Chase lets out a small huff before opening the door, “Well I’m glad we didn’t have to spend the rest of the night hiking back through the snow. But you are in desperate need of a shower. You reek of smoke and blood.”

As I step into the house I lift an arm up to my nose and recoil as the smells of the fight flood my sinus, “Bleh your right. Any wolf in the area could find me with no problem.”

A small yelp catches my attention, and I look up to see Jake’s tail disappearing into the kitchen leaving the door to swing shut. I move to try and follow but Chase holds up a paw, “No, you go shower first. I will go talk to him.”

I open my mouth to argue but his stern gaze causes me to shut it and just nod. As he turns and goes into the kitchen I head up the stairs towards the bathroom next to my room. Before I am out of ear shot I hear Jake’s scared voice, “Why would you let a demon stay here? After what happened….”

Feeling my ears fold down on my head I make my way towards the shower with my limp tail dragging behind me. Feelings of rejection and self hatred at what I am beginning to bubble to the surface. I guess it was too much to hope that I had found a place where I could be fully accepted despite my heritage.

Reaching the bathroom I quickly close the door and start the shower before taking my clothes off and examining them. Aside from the blood stains and a few small tears they survived our little adventure fairly well, “Shame though, these were the finest clothes I have owned in centuries.”

After a moment a tingle starts in the back of my mind and the knowledge Tribus gave me earlier flows through me again. Acting on more instinct than anything I lay the clothes out on the cabinet and trace a single rune on them with a claw.

For a moment the rune pulses before expanding out in a wave of flames leaving the garments clean and fully repaired. From the mirror comes Dae’s voice, “Now that’s convenient, why couldn’t he have taught us that when we were younger. Would have saved a lot of embarrassment and thieving of clothes over the years.”

I glare up at him for a moment, “Most of those moments were because of your disregard for clothes in fights.”

He simply shrugs, “Well it’s not like you keep any clothes around in my size now is it?”

With a huff I turn and step into the now hot shower as he chuckles and vanishes from the mirror.

As the filth and gore washes from my fur I feel my muscles begin to relax a bit. Scrubbing the last of the blood from my fur I find myself grumbling, “Why can’t those stupid hunters ever get it through their thick skulls that they are horribly out matched. Sure some demons are a danger to mortals, but most of us just want to be left alone to our own business.”

Grumbling, I step out of the shower and towel dry before getting dressed and make my way back down stairs.

As I reach the bottom of the stairs I hear Chase’s voice from the kitchen, “Jake, I get what you’re saying, I really do. But think for a moment… has Ebony ever once done anything to hurt any member of this pack? Hell, he taught you how to read and cook. Does that really sound like someone who is out to cause us trouble?”

There is a shuffling sound as what I assume to be Jake moves back and forth, “But Chase, he lied to us about being a demon! How can we trust him?”

Taking a deep breath I step forward and push open the door causing both of them to jump and turn towards me when I take a couple steps into the kitchen before letting the door close. Looking Jake straight in the eyes I ask him, “When did I ever lie about anything I have told you? When did I ever deny that I was a demon?”

Jake goes to open his mouth but pauses as he stops to think as I continue, “I have never once denied what I was to anyone who asked me directly, here or elsewhere. I may not have volunteered the information, but I never lied to you about it.”

Jake goes to shake his head saying, “Demons are a threat! You all lie and manipulate others before you destroy them.”

I take another small step closer to him, “Jake, no demon lies… we physically can not lie. We can hide the truth yes, omit facts sure, and we are very very good at letting people make the wrong assumptions if it suits our agendas. But we do not lie.”

His eyes snap up at my words and I see anger in them, “But you don’t deny you manipulate and destroy people!”

A slow sigh escapes my mouth, “No I do not deny that some of my kind do that, and take great pleasure in doing so. Most of us though simply just want to be left alone to live our lives in peace. Those who do cause trouble give the rest a bad reputation. Not unlike a rogue werewolf slaughtering a farmer’s cattle or terrorizing a village.”

The comparison catches Jake off guard for a moment as he thinks about my words, “But the books in the library…”

I nod, “The books contain a lot of information about demons yes, and you can use that information to figure out if someone is a demon or not. That’s how Jasmine figured it out about me. But not everything in them is true.”

With a growl he looks back up at me and almost snarls, “That doesn’t change the fact that you destroyed my life!”

I look at him with a confused look, “How did I destroy anything of yours?”

He waves a hand, “My birth pack was slaughtered by a monster! Chase tried convincing me when he found me that I was just mistaken about who caused it because of the trauma. But no humans or rival pack can freeze people solid! I know it was a demon now. I know it was one of YOU!”

He drives an out stretched claw pointing straight at my heart, “Your kind killed my family! Made me an orphan! I saw my father turned to solid ice as he tried to protect my sister! And my mother….. She….”

Tears begin to flow down his face as his whole body shakes violently as the memories begin to surface. Acting before he could move I step in close to him and pull him tight against me pressing his head to my chest in a tight embrace.

As he sobs against my shirt I rub a paw up and down his back speaking softly, “Jake I am terribly sorry about what happened to you and your family. I don’t know who was responsible for that but I am certain it wasn’t me.”

I feel him shaking in pain and rage as he lifts an arm and begins to beat a fist against me crying out, “It’s not fair. We did nothing wrong! Why did it kill them?!”

Letting him beat on me and yell all he wants I continue to hold him close, “I don't know Jake, I have never been able to understand how any being could be so cruel and heartless. But I promise you, I will never be one of those creatures. I care about everyone here and only want the best for you.”

Slowly his fists stop hammering against my body and instead he wraps his arms around me and hangs on tightly as he continues to sob into my chest. For several long minutes he stands there letting out years of repressed emotions.

Eventually I turn to look at Chase and nod towards a towel on the counter. Nodding back he moves over quietly to it and picks it up before handing it to me.

Taking the towel I lean Jake back enough to begin drying his eyes before offering him the towel. As he clears his eyes and face with it he slowly gets his tears back under control, “It just… It hurts so much.”

I look down at Jake with what I hope is a soft expression, “I know Jake, I have felt that pain as well. My own family was torn apart when I was young and my mother was murdered. For years I thought I was even responsible for it, but I have learned that she died protecting me from others.”

He looks up at me, “But you still have family, I saw them.”

Slowly I nod, “I do, but we only very recently started talking. Most of my life I lived under the impression that they were trying to kill me.”

Blinking he moves to sit down at the table and after a long moment he almost whispers, “I’m sorry Ebony. I didn’t mean to blame you. It’s just…”

I move to sit across from him, “You just got a sudden shock when you found out I was part demon and it brought up a lot of painful memories.”

He nods silently as I continue, “Well it won’t be any real comfort but I can assure you that no one in my family was responsible for what happened to your birth pack. I am certain of that.”

He looks up at me with blood shot eyes, “How could you be sure? You weren’t there!”

I watch him for a moment before answering, “You said they were all frozen, that means very powerful ice or water magic was used. My family are descended from an ancient primal draconic demon of fire. We can’t use ice magic without some serious effort. I can’t even do more than make a glass of water get a tiny bit cooler. Let alone freeze it. Now if you want something cooked to a cinder I’m your wolf.”

That gets a snort from Chase, and I turn and fix him with a glare before Jake asks, “So you do believe that a demon caused it then?”

Turning back to Jake I chew on my inner lip a moment before saying, “I don’t know for sure what it was, but from what little you described it could be a demon with ice powers… probably a powerful one at that. But there are other creatures and beings in the world who could do the same that are not demons.”

For a moment he looks at me before nodding, “That’s fair I guess… But if it is a demon they need to be stopped before they destroy another family like they did mine.”

I watch Jake for a long moment before saying, “I agree they would need to be stopped if they can be found. But I warn you not to go looking for them Jake. If they are as powerful as they sound then you wouldn't stand a chance against them. Not alone.”

At my words he turns and looks at me and I see the flames of determination in his eyes, “You could help me though! You can teach me to fight them and bring justice for my family.”

I open my mouth to speak but Chase interrupts me, “Jake, what you’re asking is a very dangerous thing. I understand you want to stop that creature but if you follow this path you will be exposing yourself and others to dangers you have no way of dealing with. I have seen just how strong demons can be and it terrifies me. Asking Ebony to teach you how to fight on that level…”

Chase looks at me for a moment before I turn back to Jake, “I will teach you to defend yourself and about my kind, but I am not agreeing to teach you how to fight demons. As strong as you are and can become, you will not be a match for a true demon. I will not teach you if you intend to start hunting them.”

Jake looks between us for a moment before lowering his head, “But if they attack someone else, and I could have done something to stop them…”

Shaking my head I reply, “Jake I’m telling you, no single wolf would be able to stop a demon on a rampage. Not without some serious preparations and training.”

Chase moves to rest a hand on Jake’s shoulder, “Eb’s right, just tonight I saw him take on four trained demon hunters and come out with little more than a scratch. They were all four trained, armed, and had magical gear designed to fight and kill demons.”

Jake looks at me with a mix of awe and fear, “You fought them? And killed them?”

I give a slight shrug, “Well three of them at least, the fourth surrendered. But yes, there are groups out there who specialize in hunting and killing my kind. They have entire orders who have spent thousands of years honing their craft and most of them are barely a nuisance to those like me.”

For a long moment we all wait in silence before Jake speaks in a quiet voice, “So there’s no chance my family will have justice then.”

I open my mouth for a moment before shutting it then eventually speaking, “Jake, demons rarely make any promises of any kind because they are very important to us. But I will promise you this. I will help you to find out what really happened to your family and, if possible and I deem it to not be too dangerous for you or others, I will help you to find justice.”

His eyes light up again as I continue, “But if at any point you put yourself in danger without my express permission or if I say it is too dangerous to continue my help will end. Do you understand? I will help you anyway I see fit but on the conditions that you do as I say and I have final say over if it’s too dangerous to continue at any point.”

He nods eagerly, “Yes I agree. If you help me then I will agree.”

A shiver passes down my spine as the pact is sealed between us before Chase comments, “Jake, you have made a contract with Ebony just now, and you will be bound to it. He will help you, but if at any point you don’t do what he says you will lose that help forever and nothing will be able to undo it.”

Jake nods in understanding before Chase nods to the door, “Ok then. Go get some rest cause I get the feeling you’re going to be needing it if Ebony starts teaching you to defend yourself against demons.”

After Jake leaves the room I wait for the door to fully close before turning on Chase, “You knew his family was murdered by something like me?”

He holds up his paws in a defensive posture, “When I first found him he was young and half starved. We just figured some kind of tragedy happened to his family, and his mind used the idea of monsters attacking to make sense of it. Frankly, until you showed up, I never had any reason to think otherwise.”

I give him a glare before letting out a small huff of smoke in irritation at him, “Chase, I know you haven’t been exposed to the more… monstrous side of reality long, but try to remember that when someone says they have seen something like that, it probably is real.”

He gives a sigh of half annoyance as he waves the smoke out of his face, “I know that now Ebony, but at the time I didn’t, none of us did. We did what we thought was right to help him heal.”

Letting out a sigh I lean back in my seat, “I can’t fault you for that. Hell, I would have done the same thing.”

Chase moves to sit in the seat Jake left behind before asking, “So you do intend to teach him to defend himself if he is ever attacked by a demon?”

I raise an eyebrow, “I will teach him to defend himself in a normal fight and to run if a demon actually attacks. No offense but if a true demon ever attacks any of you… well the barrier is the only thing that would give you a chance to survive.”

Chase folds his paws on the table with a huff before replying, “Oh believe me I realize that now. After seeing you tonight, and seeing your grandfather’s true form… honestly you guys scare the crap out of me.”

I reach a paw over to lay it on top of his giving him a light squeeze before looking him in the eyes, “You do trust me not to hurt you or anyone here though right?”

He gives me one of his warm smiles, “Of course I do, Ebony. But that doesn’t mean I can’t have a healthy fear of the power your kind so casually throw around. I mean look at those hunters! They have been trained for years to fight your kind and Dae was just tossing them around like dolls. If that’s the kind of power you have access to and it is still weaker than you could be…”

He lets out a huff of despair, “I just don’t see how any of us could come close to being a threat to you, let alone defend from someone like you.”

I give him a small humorless chuckle, “Well to be fair you are comparing yourself to one of the strongest demon lords alive and to an oddity of a hybrid who is far stronger than he should be. Most lower demons, the ones who most commonly cause trouble for mortals, are only two to five times stronger than your average human. So you would have a chance against them. It’s the stronger ones you have to really fear.”

He lets out a snort before looking up, “Oh don’t worry the freakishly strong demons aren’t going to get ya, just the little weak ones who can tear a man in half. You really need to work on your pep talks, Eb. That one kinda sucked.”

Shrugging I give him a half smirk, “It’s true though. Most of the demons who are strong enough to do what happened to Jake’s family don’t bother with mortals. Which is what has me curious about what happened to them.”

Tilting his head slightly he asks, “So you don’t think it was a demon that did that?”

Taking a moment to think before I answer I go over the few details I know, “Honestly a demon of ice could have done it, but it doesn’t really fit their normal way of doing things. That doesn’t rule them out mind, but there are other creatures that could have done the same thing. Of course that’s provided it was one individual and not a group. If you had a group of magic users that would be much more fitting than a single demon.”

A moment of silence grows between us before Chase asks, “What about that wolf, the one who owes you a debt?”

I raise an eyebrow at his question, “Oh he has the power to do what Jake described I have no doubt, and he may know other possibilities to how it happened, but I also know he wouldn’t have been involved. He is too good and noble to ever do something so violent. No, who or what ever did that was powerful and evil. But the odds of us ever finding out who are slim.”

At that Chase raises an eyebrow, “Then why did you promise to help Jake?”

Swallowing a small lump I answer, “Because now that he knows real monsters exist he was going to do whatever it took to get revenge. If I give him training and knowledge then I can at least increase his chances to survive his desires until he gets some sense drilled into him.”

With that Chase leans forward and plants a small kiss on my cheek before he gets up, “As much as you try to deny it Ebony, you really are a good person. If anyone will be able to teach him what he needs it’s you.”

As he reaches for the door Chase pauses and turns back to me, “Oh, almost forgot. Your grandfather mentioned you needed to talk to me about something earlier?”

I feel a grimace cross my face before answering, “Yeah, it’s a demon thing you need to know about. You should probably sit back down.”

He raises an eyebrow in a concerned look before sitting back down across from me, “What kind of demon thing?”

Slowly I take a deep breath before talking, “As you know demons live for a very long time, thousands of years easily.”

He nods, “Yeah, you have mentioned that a few times. That’s nothing new.”

I look down at the table for moment before looking back up, “Well you also know that my grandmother is a normal werewolf like you.”

Again he nods, “Ebony I am not seeing what you’re getting at.”

I let out an exasperated sigh, “Chase, how long do werewolves typically live for? Not counting injury or the rare disease that can kill you?”

Shrugging he answers, “I dunno exactly over a century at least, maybe two if we take good care of ourselves.”

I nod again, “And my grandmother has been mated to Tribus far longer than I have been around.”

Chase keeps nodding along, “That’s right, she is your biological grandmother on your fathers side and you are…” His voice trails off as his eyes go wide and I see that the point I am trying to make is finally getting through.

With a half smile I finish his words, “And I am over eight hundred fifty years old. My father was over three thousand when I was born.”

Chase falls back in his seat as he fully realizes the implications of what I am telling him, “You mean Celeste has lived for several thousand years and is a normal wolf like me? But how is that possible?”

I give a small shrug, “Well there are lots of ways actually, just very few mortals ever figure them out. But as for how she has managed it, that’s the point of this talk.”

He raises an eyebrow at me, “More secrets?”

I give a chuckle, “No, it’s common knowledge for those who know about demons actually. Just not one I thought would be an issue until very recently. You see, when demons take a mate they form very deep bonds. When we mate with a mortal it can even have some unique results.”

His eyes narrow a bit at me, “Unique how?”

I shift my head from side to side a bit, “Well depending on how deep the connection grows… there can be a sharing of power, enhanced physical abilities, physical changes… and shared lifespan…”

Chase leans forward and stares hard into my eyes, “You mean your grandmother has gained powers from your grandfather and that’s why she has lived so long?”

I nod, “Yes, their bond is so strong that she has gained some demonic powers, that is why she is so good with the hellhounds. They sense an echo of his power inside her. Also she will live for as long as he does, their life force is so interwoven now that should my grandfather ever die, she will die at the same time.”

He looks away and down at his hands, “Wow, that is a definite perk to being mated to a demon. I must admit it is a very tempting thing to want.”

I give him a smirk, “Glad you think so. Cause it is something we need to consider.”

His head snaps back up to mine as he asks, “What do you mean? What do we have to consider about it?”

Smiling I answer, “Well forming such a bond with a demon is not an overly complicated process, in fact the steps are pretty simple.”

With a suspicious look Chase eye’s me closely, “What are the steps Ebony?”

Trying not to look him straight in the eye I start listing, “Well first you have to have a strong emotional attraction to each other.”

He nods. “Then you have to make physical love and share your body with each other.”

He nods again. “Third you will need drink each others blood.”

That causes Chase to pause, “Drink blood?”

I nod, “Yes, just a drop is more than enough.”

After making a grimace he says, “Well I guess that’s not too bad then. Anything else?”

With a slow nod I answer, “The final two steps are that everyone involved openly confesses their feelings and then agree to be mates. Like I said pretty simple.”

Chase thinks for a moment before giving a short nod, “Well as far as mating rituals go that is pretty straightforward and simple. If a bit unusual with the bit about the blood being needed.”

I stare at his face long and hard taking in every inch before speaking again, “Glad you think so, because there is only one step left for us to complete should you want.”

I watch as his eyebrows lift in confusion and curiosity. I take a deep steadying breath before looking him straight in the eyes and asking, “Chase… Would you like to be my mate in life and love?”