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Chapter 27

As I lay tied to Chase a storm of new emotions merges with the already turbulent thoughts racing through my mind. For close to an hour I try and organize my thoughts and feelings into something resembling a sane mind but with little success.

Eventually my emotions calm down enough for me to be left wondering why he chose now, of all times, to tell me what he feels. As though today wasn't traumatic enough for me he just had to go and drop that on me.

Suddenly shifting in his sleep I feel Chase's shaft slip free from my ass. Carefully lifting his arm off of me I slide out of his grasp and place a pillow under his arm. My movement causes him to stir in his sleep and grip the pillow tighter to his chest as he mumbles something unintelligible. Quietly I gather my clothes and leave his room heading to take another quick shower before deciding on my next steps.

The hot flow of water from the shower does little to calm my mind. As my fur soaks through and the remains of my time with Chase gets washed away those three words keep echoing around inside my head. The longer I stand under the shower stream the more confused and angry until I have finally had enough and shut the water off with a grunt.

Stepping out of the shower, water dripping from my fur, I grab and towel and start drying off. After gets most of the water out of my face I find my self looking at the mirror through a thin layer of fog. For a moment I stare at my spiked fur and wavy reflection before growling out, "Well don't you have something to say about all this?"

Slowly the silence grows heavy and I snort, "Fine keep you opinions then."

After finishing getting cleaned up I move silently through the now dark house making my way to the kitchen. Once I arrive the first thing I notice is the rather large pile of unwashed pots and pans on the counter. Letting out a sigh I set to work scrubbing away the days residue letting the simple repetitive task free my mind to try and sort things through.

Loosing track of how long I had been there cleaning lost in thought I nearly jump out of my skin when a cold nose presses up against my elbow. Heart racing I look down and see Rangers bright eyes looking up at me with concern. Setting down the pot I was scrubbing into the soapy water to soak I turn around and face the hound.

As I dry my paws on a dish towel I say in a loud whisper, "You scared me big guy. I wasn't expecting to get any company this time of night."

Letting out a soft whine he looks at the fridge just as his stomach lets out a low rumbling growl. Raising an eyebrow I ask with a smirk, "I take it your hungry huh?"

Going to the fridge I pull out two large steaks and turn back to Ranger, "Do you want them raw or cooked?"

Stepping over he sniffs the steaks in my paw and takes them both from my grasp and moves back closer to the table before he flops down on the floor and begins to tear them apart. Shrugging as I move back to the dishes, "Raw it is then."

While Ranger enjoys his meal I keep cleaning dishes until a loud belch from behind me causes me to look back in surprised. Ranger is sitting there licking his chops with a satisfied grin on his face looking up at me. Turning fully to face him I ask, "I take it you enjoyed your breakfast?"

He lets out a happy yip as he sits down on his haunches studying me. With a sigh I lean back against the counter and slide down the front of it till I am sitting eye level with him. For a moment I just sit there my arms resting on my knees as Ranger studies me then the words begin to spill out.

"I don't know what to think Ranger. When I woke up this morning my entire world view was set in place and I understood what I needed to do. Keep moving, don't form attachments, hide, avoid my family. But now... now everything is upside down.

"First I find out that my grandfather doesn't want me dead, in fact he wants me to be his heir. Then I find out my mother wasn't killed by me but by someone who was instead trying to kill me and apparently I tried and failed to protect her but don't remember it. The only truth remaining is my half brother trying to kill me because of some stupid writings people are calling a prophecy."

I Look directly at Ranger then as I continue, "Then you come back into my life and start to awaken memories I didn't even know I had lost. Apparently you and I were best friends since we were both small pups but the only thing I remember is the day we met."

At that he leans forward and presses his big head up against my chest and rubs it back and forth a few times before pulling back looking at me with his big eyes. Reaching up and scratching his ears I answer his unspoken words, "Yes big guy I know you missed me and are happy to be with me again. I just don't remember much yet about our time growing up but one thing I do know, even though I'm not sure why yet, I trust you with my life."

He lets out a soft happy yip and starts panting. Dropping my hand back onto my lap I bang my head back against the cabinet and let out a long sigh, "Then when we all get back here you and Dae convince me to talk to Chase about things. Only it turns into more of a life story confession and I tell him everything about my past. I fully expected him to push me away, kick me out, or tell me to get ready to leave and never cross his path again, but no... he decides instead to show me care and affection and then..."

Ranger perks up suddenly and quickly pushes his nose to the right side of my neck and starts sniffing hard. Fighting back a laugh at the ticklish sensation I push the big hound back saying, "Yes, yes we... had a tussle in the sheets and he... gave me a mating bite."

Loud thumping on the floor precedes the sudden assault of a wet tongue on my face as Ranger happily licks me from nose to ear. Sputtering I wipe my face off grumbling, "Get off me you slobber monster."

Grinning and panting happily he backs off barely containing his obvious pleasure, "You knew he was going to do that didn't you? Thats why you were confused when we first met?"

He nodded happily as I let out a snort, "Great, now I have another nose poking into my love life."

For a moment the silence is interrupted only by his thumping tail before I continue, "Honestly I think the fact we had sex would have been a great way for me to end the day. At the very least it got my mind off of everything else that happened. But then he had to go and make things more complicated."

The thumping of his tail stops as Ranger looks at me with a confused head tilt. Looking down at the floor between my hind paws I say, "Chase said he loves me."

A whine draws my eyes back up to Ranger and in his eyes I see him asking why it upsets me, "I'm not upset... at least... I don't think I am. It's more that I'm confused. I mean why did he say it now, today of all days. Surely he could understand how hard today was for me.

"My entire life was based a lie Ranger. Nothing I thought I knew was true. Every action I have ever taken, every choice I made was all influenced by one single defining core belief and now..."

I burry my head between my knees and dig my claws into the back of my head as I ask, "What am I supposed to do? I'm not even sure of what to think about myself let alone about how I feel about love or being in a relationship."

A paw settles itself on my arm and rests there as a soft whine reaches my ears. I just sit there on the kitchen floor holding my head as emotions and thoughts swirl around inside of me. Eventually Ranger pulls his paw away causing me lift my head up and see him watching me.

I give him a half smile and say, "Thanks for listening big guy, even if there isn't much you can do to help with it. Why don't you head back up to our room before the others start waking up. I'll be up with another plate of food in a bit ok?"

He leans forward and licks the side of my cheek before turning back to the door and disappearing from view. Soft paw steps are the only evidence of his leaving till the door swings open then shut, seemingly of its own accord. Grunting I get back to my feet and set about finishing the dishes before I try and decide on cooking.

Putting away the last of the dried dishes I glance out from the kitchen door into the living room and see through the windows where dawn is starting to break. Letting out a sigh I pull back into the kitchen and dig out a cookbook with some breakfast recipes I haven't tried yet. Going through the list of ingredients I organize them on the counter making sure we have everything.

As I am starting to mix a big bowl of batter my ears pick up soft, shuffling foot steps coming down the stairs followed soon by the door opening. Expecting to see Jake stumbling in half awake I'm taken aback by the white fur of Jasmine entering, preceded by her rather large belly.

Giving her a smile I move to pull a chair out from the table for her as I greet her, "You're up a bit earlier than normal. Don't usually see you or Richard down here till after sun up."

She lets out a grunt as she settles into the seat, "Well the twins decided they wanted to have a boxing match this morning and I wasn't able to sleep."

Sniffing the air she lets out a smile, "Trying something new today Eb?"

Nodding I say, "Yeah, going to try out a crepe recipe I found in one of the cook books. Not sure how it will turn out though, I've never actually made crepe's before so don't know how it will taste."

Picking up the bowl of batter I go back to mixing it absent minded as I read over the recipe again. A little later Jasmine asks from behind me, "What's wrong Ebony?"

I give a slight start as I glance over at her then back down at the book, "Nothing's wrong."

She lets out a snort and says, "Don't lie to me. I don't have to be able to sense your emotions to tell you're horribly upset about something."

Turning on here with a glare, "I thought we agreed you wouldn't try manipulating my emotions again."

She raises an eyebrow saying, "I wasn't. It was the batter dripping on your foot that gave it away."

I quickly look down and let out stream of mumbled curses under my breath as I quickly set the bowl down and grab a towel to clean up the mess on my foot and floor. Jasmine shifts in her seat as she continues, "Something serious must have happened with you and Chase yesterday where ever you disappeared to in order for you to be so distracted when cooking."

Tossing the dirty rag into the sink I lean forward against the cabinet my back to Jasmine as I say, "There were some... uncomfortable things revealed. Things which have me questioning a lot of my core beliefs about myself and my place in the world."

In a soft voice full of concern she asks, "Would you like to talk about it?"

Shaking my head slowly at her words, "No, not really. It would take to long to explain and would..."

As I trail off into silence I hear her stand up and move to the door and slide the lock into place before sitting back down. Then she asks a simple question, "Is it because of your demon heritage?"

I spin around so fast to face her I send the bowl of batter sliding across the counter leaving a messy trail in its wake. Eyes wide I stare at her hard with a mix of fear and anger boiling rapidly to the surface, "What did you say?"

She calmly looks me in the eyes as she repeats her question, "Are your upset over something that was revealed having to do with your being part demon?"

Swallowing hard I glance at the door, my paws balling into tight fists, before growling out a low whisper, "How the fuck did you find out? Did Chase tell you? He swore he wouldn't... When I get my paws on him I'll..."

Jasmine holds up a paw in a placating gesture, "Calm down Ebony, Chase didn't breathe a word to anyone. No one else knows besides the three of us."

I narrow my eyes at here with suspicion, "Then how the hell did you find out?"

Lowering her hand she starts to explain, "Every since you arrived it was obvious you were different from a normal wolf. Only a blind idiot with no nose could avoid noticing it. Leaving aside your eyes and blood there is also a very faint smell of smoke and sulfur around you at all times if you pay attention."

Crossing my arms I continue to glare, "That has never lead anyone to thinking I was anything other than what I claimed before."

She nods as she continues, "True, if that was all I would have accepted what you said like all the others have. But since you started teaching everyone here to read and write I have been exploring the library on nights when the babies would keep me up. One night a few weeks ago I found a book talking about how to track and identify demons. It was a fascinating read."

As a chill runs up my spine I ask, "Where is that book now?"

She points up to the library, "Still in the library, but I hid it behind some other books on a high shelf so it won't be easy to find. I didn't think you would want everyone reading it."

Clenching my paws tight I force my emotions to try and calm down, "I will have to take that book. Will you continue with what you discovered?"

She lifts an eyebrow before continuing, "It described many different kinds of demons and demonic creatures, what some of their known abilities were, and how to identify full and part demons. One of the most common traits it listed were unusual eye colors, course it also said it wasn't uncommon for normal people to have weird eye colors."

As I grumble a few choice words under my breath she keeps explaining, "It described a lot of behavior patterns to watch out for as well, only some of which you really show around us. Not sleeping much was the biggest hint you gave though."

Snorting I say, "It gets hard pretending to be an insomniac all the time, but still nothing that could be conclusive."

She nods, "That's true, but what really gave it away though was when I walked in on that circle thing you had upstairs in the lab today."

My eyes go wide as my jaw drops, "I was certain the door was locked before we went through the portal."

With a slight twinkle in her eye she says, "Oh it was. But I was able to get it open. I was trying to find the two of you but you were no where in the house and with it being the only locked door I got concerned. So I went looking and found that... portal you called it?"

Letting out a weary sigh I rub my eyes with my left paw, "Yes, it was a portal Chase and I took to another realm to answer a... summons... I received."

She tilts her head sideways and asks, "What kind of summons?"

Fighting hard not to bite back with a sharp reply I manage in a semi neutral tone, "The kind I have no desire to discuss."

Blinking slowly at me a couple times she shrugs then continues, "Well when I saw the portal and the writing on the floor around it I was surprised of course, but instantly went to check the book and it described the writing perfectly as being demon words..."

I interrupt her more out of habit than anything, "Demonic runes."

She stares at me a moment before asking, "What?"

Taking a deep breath I explain, "They were demonic runes, not words. Words are a combination of letters forming a bigger meaning. Each rune has a set of meanings that can change based on the runes before and after it. It's a very complex language able to convey far more meaning than normal words will."

Jasmine watches me with rapt attention before saying, "Fascinating, I would love to learn more about them some day."

She shakes her head slightly trying to get her focus back on track, "Anyway once I realized what the writing was it felt like someone turned on the lights in a dark room and suddenly it all made sense. I realized quickly that you weren't a full blood demon obviously since I have seen you in direct sunlight before, and you're able to look like a normal wolf."

I watch her intently for a moment before saying, "I'm a quarter demon. My mother was a full wolf. But why didn't you tell anyone what you found out?"

This time she lets out a sigh, "I thought about telling Richard, I really did. I hate keeping any kind of secret from him. But I know he wouldn't take it lightly so I decided to wait and see what happened when you and Chase returned."

Unfolding my arms I place my paws on the counter behind me and grip tight asking, "How did you know I was going to return with Chase? How could you be sure I hadn't abducted him, or worse?"

At that she stands up and moves till she is within arms reach of me before she answers, "Because I know how much you two care for each other and how much you care for the rest of this pack. I figured what ever it was you two were doing it was very important otherwise you wouldn't have left so suddenly without telling the rest of us."

I just stare into her eyes as I ask another much more important question, "What did the book tell you about trusting demons?"

She continues to lock gazes with me as she answers, "It said to never trust what they say, never turn your back on them, and to absolutely never enter a deal with one."

Moving with blinding speed as I don't hold back I place a paw around her throat, just close enough so she can feel the tips of my claws parting her fur. To her credit she doesn't drop her gaze from mine, never even flinches.

For a moment we stand there starting into each other eyes before I say, "You have violated all three of those rules repeatedly since I arrived. Almost every other demon in existence would rip your throat out and never bat an eye. Very few have my restraint or control over their murderous impulses. At any point I could have desecrated the peace you have here. Every single day I have to make a conscious choice to fight back those impulses and let you..." I glance down at her swollen stomach for a moment before looking back in her eyes, "All of you live."

She smiles saying, "That's why I know you were not going to do anything to hurt Chase, our pack, or..."

She grabs my paw which is just fractions of an inch away from being able to tear her throat out and places it on her swollen abdomen, "Or hurt my unborn children."

For a long moment she holds my paw tight against her stomach before a tiny paw presses against my own much larger one. That tiny contact causes my anger and fear to recede rapidly as my tense muscles relax.

Grumbling I say, "I am guilty of a great many sins it's true. But the one thing I have done my absolute best to try and avoid is hurt cubs."

Smiling she says, "I know Ebony. That's why I trusted you enough to keep your secret, even from my own husband. You have had more than enough time and opportunity to hurt us since Chase brought you here and you have done nothing to but help and protect us."

She reaches a paw up and touches the side of my face, "I just ask that you please consider telling everyone else the truth. So that I don't have to keep this secret from Rick a moment longer than I must. I have never had to hide something from him before."

With that she turns to leave, "I'll let you get back to cooking in peace. I just wanted to talk before the others woke up."

When she reaches the door and unlocks it I speak up, "Can I trust him to keep quite about the truth till I am ready?"

She looks back at me with confusion, "Pardon?"

Taking a deep breath I say, "If and I stress IF you can be absolutely certain Richard will tell no one about my true lineage... You don't have to keep any secrets from him."

As she begins smiling I continue, "But know that if he does spread my secrets around to anyone save you or Chase I will personally make sure he never speaks again. Can you agree to that for yourself as well as him?"

For several heartbeats she locks gazes with me then nods, "I can Ebony, and if he were to open his mouth I would personally silence it for him."

Nodding I turn back to the counter and set about trying to clean the mess I made of the batter before she asks another question, "I forgot to ask, have you and Chase discussed your feelings for each other anymore?"

Stiffening again as my paw freezes in mid air holding a dish rag I swallow hard before saying, "We had a long talk when we returned about a lot of things, or rather I talked about my past and he listened."

Patiently she waits by the door for me to continue but when my silence doesn't end she says, "After that I take it you two were intimate?"

I glance over my shoulder at her and she taps her nose saying, "His scent is still all over you despite the shower."

Snorting I turn back to the scattered batter and say, "Yeah we were... then he... he said..."

I trail off as the batter on the counter becomes very interesting to me. Not letting the subject drop however Jasmine continues to press the issue, "What did he say?"

Feeling my paw begin to shake I answer in a shaky voice, "He said he loved me..."

She crosses the kitchen as quickly as she can and takes my shaking hand pulling the rag free before she turns me to face her, "Ebony, that's wonderful. I've been hoping you two would finally admit your feelings for each other..."

Cutting her off I say, "I didn't."

Her words catch in her throat as she asks, "You didn't what?"

Lowering my gaze I say, "I didn't admit anything of the sort. He just dropped it on me as he was falling asleep."

Placing a paw on my arm she says with a soft smile, "Well I suppose he could have chosen a better moment. But I know he meant it."

At those words I turn rapidly from her grasp and slam a clenched fist into a cabinet hard enough to cause every dish within to rattle loudly. Gasping on my emotions I try and choke out my words, "But all... all it did...it just... it just made things worse."

With a soft touch Jasmine places a paw on my arm and asks, "How did it make things worse Ebony?"

Fighting back my fear, anger, and uncertainty I try and explain, "Yesterday I learned that one of my most deeply held secrets about myself that has been at the very core of my being my entire life, motivating every choice I made, was a lie."

A soft gasp escapes her mouth as she says, "Oh Ebony I'm so sorry. I can't begin to imagine..."

Continuing as though she hasn't spoken I plow on, "Then he has the nerve, the audacity to go and tell me that he loves me. Knowing full well what I just learned. It's more than bad timing. Pouring salt in a still bleeding wound would be less painful. I can barely keep myself sane right now trying to figure out what is or isn't true in my life and he has to go and throw that into the mix. Especially knowing how reluctant I am to have anything close to a relationship in my life."

She takes me by the shoulder and guides me to the chair she was previously using. My body betrays me by meekly following her guidance without resistance. Once she has me seated she sits down across from me and takes one of my paws in her own, "Ebony... I see how hurt and confused you are right now, and I agree Chase chose a very poor time to tell you his true feelings. Trust me I fully intend to rip him a new one over that as well."

Unable to help myself a small chuckle escapes my lips as she continues, "But no matter how confused you are about anything else right now I want you to know this one undeniable truth, Chase DOES love you very much. Every single wolf in the pack knows it, and we all support his decision completely. No matter what other uncertainties you have in life now you can be certain of that."

I just stare down at her paws holding mine for a long minute before uttering one word, "Thanks."

With that she squeezes my paw tightly before letting go, "Now I really think you should go take another long hot bath to try and relax your body and mind then go lay down and let us worry about all the cooking today. You have enough on your mind to worry about."

I glance back over at the mess I made of what was going to be breakfast and let out a defeated sigh, "Ok ok... your right."

She reaches over and places a paw on the side of my face and says with a smile, "Of course I'm right you big bad demon. And don't you forget it, I am going to be a mother after all."