“What about Blair? She’s human,” Ryan says. I give him a look that shows he’s being naïve. “You know what? That tracks. There was always something off about her.”

“There’s nothing wrong with her,” I say defensively.

“You really like her?”

“I do,” I reply.

“More than you like me.”

“No, it’s so completely different. It’s probably selfish to ask you to be okay with it, but I’m going to ask.”

“And if I say no?” Ryan asks.

“I don’t think I can stay away from her. It goes beyond feelings and attraction.”

“It’s some demon thing?” he asks, grimacing.

“Something like that. I’d understand if you want nothing to do with me, Ryan. I know I deserve it, and I know me being with Blair just confuses things further. But I want you to know that I do care about you. As much as I have the capacity to. I would like to spend more time with you, but if that isn’t something you want, I would understand. There’s no rule book on how to be a parent as a demon. I’ve done a shit job so far, but I’d like to change that.”

“I really need time to process all of this,” Ryan says, clearly directing me to leave his house.

“Thank you for hearing me out,” I tell him, and he nods his head, not saying anything else as he leads me through his front door. He shuts it gently, and I let out the breath that I was holding. It wasn’t easy, but it felt like the weight I had been carrying around with me for so long has finally been lifted off my chest.

Now I need to go find Blair and have a very different conversation with my cunning little witch.

Damn, this vessel feels perfect. It’s finally my perfect match. My happiness is short-lived as I watch the red head try to escape the house. It seems my vessel’s magic is dormant. No matter, mine is not. I quickly chase the redhead, grabbing her by the hair and dragging her to the basement. We nearly trip over the body of the vessel I just left. I tried to be gentle in the way I left her, but I was just too excited. Plus Blair didn’t really care for her, so I took care of the problem for her.

“Blair, what the fuck did you do?”

I don’t answer her, seeing as I’m not Blair and the idiot was there witnessing the whole thing.