Chapter 22-Roman

I sit down on the cushion with my legs crossed while Amara does as Blair instructed her. I think I’m more nervous than she is. When I asked Blair if my magic would help, she said I could try if she failed but I haven’t had the right opening to talk with Amara about my demon side. I don’t know how she’ll react, but hopefully she won’t run away screaming.

“Don’t break the salt circle when you’re holding her down or you’ll fuck everything up. Hear me, Alpha?” Blair says pointing at me. She’s the only one allowed to talk to me as such, other than Amara, but it’s just who she is. She’s been like my second mother, so I’ll never get angry with her.

“Yes ma’am” I responded. I watch as she turns off any lights, closes the curtains, lights candles and takes out several jars from a cabinet. She mixes them all in a mortar and pestle before getting up and approaching us with the concoction in her hand.

“Hold her down now, Alpha” she says seriously

I do as I’m told, putting my hands on Amara’s biceps. She’s already starting to get toned up from training, or all the sex, but either way she looks damn good. ‘Focus you big idiot!’ Adonis says redirecting me back to the situation at hand.

Blair starts speaking in an ancient tongue I cannot understand as she walks around the circle, dusting Amara with the herb mixture. When she’s done, she repeats the same thing but louder, her hands lingering over Amara’s chest. I feel Amara tense under me, and I clench my jaw, knowing I can’t interrupt Blair but I want to let out a growl as I watch my love in pain.

Suddenly, Amara’s back arches as she lets out a scream of pain. I clench my jaw even tighter, wanting to calm her but I don’t think I can speak. I just continue to hold her down, rubbing my thumbs in circles so she knows I’m here. I look down at her and I can see her eyes are turning black. I freeze in shock.

The only eyes I’ve ever seen turn black this way are mine. In my demon form. Was that what she was? I look up at Blair who is still chanting, now only louder with beads of sweat forming on her forehead. She falls to her knees as Amara continues to scream, her eyes are full black now. I can see Blair’s eyes glowing a violent white before she gasps and drops her hands.

Amara’s body instantly relaxes and her eyes turn back to normal. They’re both breathing heavily, I cup Amara’s cheeks and kiss her all over her face, trying to calm both of us. She lets out a weak laugh as she grips her chest.

“I’m sorry Alpha, Amara I was unsuccessful. The magic on the seal was impenetrable. It was put in place by a very strong demon, possibly one of royalty.” Blair says after she catches her breath.

I watch Amara’s face pale and hear her heart start racing. Well, we’ll see how this goes.

“A…a de-demon?” she stutters “what would any demon want with me? Let alone one of royalty?” she stutters. My heart is sinking as I see the fear on her face, maybe I shouldn’t tell her about my demon side. But if my hunch is correct, she’s a demon herself, so maybe she won’t freak out when she finds out I’m one. She would have come into her demon powers when she was 18, so I’m certain that her demon side is what is sealed. But why?

“I cannot answer those questions dear, I only was able to tell the kind of magic as well as the strength of the barrier. No one but you will be able to break the barrier” Blair responds

“Me? How?” Amara responds, starting to calm down a little but I can still smell her fear

“Usually intense emotions will break a barrier like this one, or a near death experience. I don’t recommend trying to, however. Let it break on its own. I can’t sense any evil in it, but only you or the demon who put it on you can break it. But rest easy knowing whoever put this spell on you did not do it to harm you. It’s possible your parents had it placed on you, why, I cannot say.” Blair finishes

“Do you think that I’m part demon?” Amara asks quietly

“It wouldn’t surprise me, but there’s much more to you than I am able to understand. I sense great power in you, so whatever you are, you are of strong blood.” Blair says. Now that confuses me, what else is there to understand?

My mind is such a mess that I don’t even realize I’m not comforting Amara, who seems to have calmed down on her own, but I can still see her trembling. I pull her onto my lap and hold her tightly. I feel her relax but I can see the wheels turning in her head. I’ll have to tell her about me, maybe that will help her understand.

“Baby?” I say, sounding vulnerable because I’m fucking scared she will leave me if she knows this. I see Blair give me a reassuring nod, encouraging me to continue. “My mother’s father was a demon hybrid. That gene skips the females in my bloodline…but not the males” I finish, letting the words come out like word vomit. She jerks her head towards me, her eyes wide.

“You…you’re…” she stutters. My heart is pounding, please don’t leave me. Please don’t run away. “Why didn’t you ever tell me?” she says softly

“Well, I’ve known you for a week. I generally don’t tell my deepest darkest secrets on the first date. Only Blair and Aston know this about me.” I tell her, watching as she nods her head and relaxes back into me. I breathe a sigh of relief and put my head in her neck, calming my pounding heart

“I never thought I’d see the day Alpha Roman is weak for a woman.” Blair says, a hint of amusement in her voice and Amara lets out a little laugh, turning back to me.

“What do you think? About me? I never told you either…when I was attacked by rogues in the forest…there were at least 5 of them, there was no chance I’d win, they swarmed me and attacked. I thought for sure I was going to die but…” she trails off and I growl and hold her tighter. She takes a deep breath before continuing “I felt a really intense coldness, it took over my entire body before I felt it leave my fingers…and I thought for sure I was dead but when I opened my eyes…there were body parts and blood everywhere. Like someone had thrown a grenade into the middle of the fight. Neither Tamisra nor I knew what it was…but I had a lot of injuries and had to get out of there so I couldn’t ponder it much. And I kind of forgot since I’ve been here.” she finishes.

“It’s likely that was the start of your barrier weakening, I’m surprised it didn’t break completely, given the severity of the situation.” Blair says thoughtfully

“My magic is cold when I use it. And during the ritual, your eyes turned black. I don’t know of any other species that happens to. I think you’re part demon, baby” I tell her. She nods and looks down at your hands

“And your demon side came from your mother? But she wasn’t a demon? Is that normal?” she says, her eyes watering

“Yes it’s normal, especially in hybrids. It’s even possible the demon genes in your bloodline stayed dormant for a long time” I respond and she exhales a sigh of relief

“Can we go home now?” she says looking up at me, I can tell she’s spent

“Let me analyze your wolf and you are free to go” Blair says, getting up “allow your wolf to take control but don’t shift. You’ll make a mess”

I watch as her eyes bleed into Tamisra’s blue eyes and she gets up, walking over to Blair who places her hands on her cheeks and closes her eyes.

“I can’t sense anything on your wolf, she shares your essence but no dark magic. I said last time you might not be able to find your mate, but you should be able to, since your mate is identified by her. There are some cases where a hybrid’s other form is mated to the person, but it’s a case by case basis” Blair says. Walking over and starting to put away her jars

Amara looks at me, worry and fear clear in her eyes. I hold hope that maybe, just maybe, her demon form is mated with mine. It’s a one in a billion chance, but I can hope. I would let her go if she chose her mate over me, but my heart would be broken. I walk up and squeeze her hand, she shouldn’t worry about that now.

“Come on, let’s get you home baby.” I say leading her out

“Thank you Ms. Blair. I appreciate you trying” Amara says before we leave

We walk home in complete silence. I know she’s probably trying to make sense of everything, she knew the possibility of her being a hybrid was there, but I don’t think she ever really considered it to be true. When we get to the pack house, she goes straight up to my room. She’s been sleeping in here and moved her cats things in, after I threatened to get a separate tree, bed, and bowl set for the cat.

He’s sleeping in the middle of my bed and she walks over and cuddles up to him. Petting his head while he purrs and starts kneading on her. I don’t know if I should leave her alone or stay with her. Maybe she wants Seth? Or maybe I should suggest she call her friend? Taking my chances, I sit down on the edge of the bed.

“Do you want to go shower?” I ask her, knowing she loves to shower and she wouldn’t want to fall asleep without showering after training. She nods her head and silently gets up, stripping as she walks into the bathroom. I follow, maybe I’m being clingy but I don’t really care. If my girl is upset, I’m not leaving her until she tells me to go.

I get in with her, turning my side of the shower on. I let her stand under the water for a few minutes before I start to wash her long black hair. Goddess, I love her hair. I don’t say anything and she doesn’t break the silence as shampoo, condition, and scrub her body down. When I’m done she turns to me and wraps her tiny arms around me, resting her head on my chest. We stand there in silence, warm water beating down over both of us, hugging. I’m the first to break the silence, wanting her to open up to me.

“What are you thinking, baby?” I say gently. She doesn’t respond for a moment

“I’m just wondering why my parents never told me…and how did they find someone so powerful to put the barrier on me? I have more questions now than I did before we saw Blair. I just…nothing makes sense.” she sighs

“Your parents probably intended to tell you, your demon powers wouldn’t awake until your 18th birthday. Maybe sooner, depending on how powerful you are. Mine awoke when I was 16. It’s possible they just didn’t get the chance to tell you.” she nods her head. I can tell she’s done with the conversation, so I turn around and finish my own shower.

She waits for me to finish before we both step out. I wrap a towel around my waist and get hers to wrap around her after she’s done wringing out her hair. I help get her dried and put her lotion on her. She puts whatever it is she puts on her face, she has like 5 different bottles of weird smelling things. When I got her phone, I saw her looking at the things and convinced her to let me buy them for her. She’s smiling softly at me as I turn her to face me and sit her on the sink so I can get her legs

“You spoil me, you know. I can do my own lotion” she says with a cute giggle

“I know you can but this gives me an excuse to touch you all over” I say, waggling my eyebrows at her and she just rolls her eyes but lets me continue.

When we get to bed, I pull her to me and rub my hand over her arms and back and hips until she falls asleep. I close my eyes as I feel her cat come up and snuggle in beside her, and all 3 of us are out.