Copyright © 2020 Kaizer Wolf

 

Innocent Devil's Harem | Chapter 14-3: Showing Off My Wings

“Sorry,” I whispered. “But there was nothing else I could do. He flat out told Gabriella he was going to ‘finish the job’ after handcuffing her, and he shot me when I tried to stop him.”

Her deep brown gaze snapped up to meet mine. “He shot you?” she repeated in bewilderment. “And you’re okay?”

I cringed. “After I drank some of his blood.” Honestly, I was surprised she’d even ask, considering what happened last night, but maybe the memory was hazy for her or something.

“Oh, Kai. I’m so sorry,” she said gently. “I feel horrible, because I had no idea about any of this.” Her tone abruptly became more serious as she dropped her hands and leaned forward. “Does Nick know about that one? What did you do with the body? And did he have a car? What did you do with that?”

I sighed, knowing she was now thinking about me getting caught. “I hid the body in one location, far away from here, deep in the woods. And I drove the car into a pond. Buried the license plate, though I’m not sure if that helps anything.”

She frowned. “Since we have company over, I don’t think now is a good time to go into further details, but later I’m going to need you to elaborate. And what about the guy from last night?” she added.

“Flew him out of the city and buried him. And he had some Rubbing Alcohol at the warehouse, so I made sure I got rid of my fingerprints on the car. Also burned the area where I bled, but I don’t think anyone will find that anytime soon anyway.”

Her chocolate eyes were suddenly wide as saucers. “F-Flew?” she repeated.

“Oh, umm, yeah. That’s sort of how I killed the guy from last night too. With my wing. Didn’t you see?”

“I’m not sure what I saw, Kai,” she admitted. “I couldn’t really turn my head, so half of what happened was in my peripheral vision.”

“Oh, well, I can sort of grow wings too,” I said cautiously, trying to gauge her shocked reaction. “Do you want to see them?” I wondered.

She seemed stunned. “I mean, yeah, of course.”

I nodded, my skin turning dark gray as I grabbed my shirt in the back to start lifting it up. Her gaze was completely on my shoulder in anticipation, not at all seeming drawn to my abs like Gabriella had been, likely since she’d seen me without a shirt many times before, her eyes visibly widening in shock as she watched the bat-like appendages form and open up around us, with one higher than the other due to the table.

“Kai,” she said in disbelief, reaching out without hesitation to feel one. “How long have you been able to do this? And have you always been like this?”

“As far as I know,” I replied, answering her second question. “And I think I first grew my wings when I was around eleven or twelve. I don’t actually remember the exact date, but my back was itching a lot and every night it felt like the moon was calling to me, and…” I paused when she gave me a confused look. “I always feel like that for a couple of days before and after the full moon, but this was different.” I glanced at my left wing. “So I snuck out of the house one night and my instincts just kind of kicked in. Growing them out felt like I was scratching the itch.”

She nodded slowly, still feeling the membrane. “I’m really sorry,” she repeated, only to give me an apologetic expression, her eyes glistening slightly. “I just keep thinking about the morning you started being so depressed. I’m not sure if you remember, but we had a sleepover, and the two of us stayed up late that night, because we were playing a game together, and when my mom told us to go to bed, you seemed really sad, so I promised we could continue it first thing in the morning.” She paused to reach up and wipe her eyes. “And then you didn’t want to play at all, and I just kept wondering if I’d done something wrong. If it was somehow my fault.”

“What?” I whispered. “Of course not, Ren. Why would it even be your fault?” I asked seriously.

She shook her head, sniffling. “I don’t know. I was fourteen and kind of moody myself sometimes. But you just never got like that. Never. And I assumed I must have done something. I had no idea what, but felt like it was my fault somehow.”

I sighed heavily, still keeping my wings out. “Sorry,” I said gently. “I just…I just didn’t know how to handle what I experienced. And I felt like I couldn’t tell anyone.” I paused when she nodded, more tears slipping out of her eyes. “But you helped a lot,” I reassured her. “You and your mom both. And of course my mom too. I couldn’t have gotten through it without all of you. And I definitely couldn’t have gotten through losing mom and dad without you,” I added quietly.

She sniffled, giving me a small reassuring smile, not responding this time as she tried to collect herself. After a second, she returned her focus to my dark gray wing, reaching out to feel the membrane again.

Oddly enough, whereas usually I didn’t like having them out unless I was going to fly, instead I was more than comfortable to have them out in her presence. There was almost something cathartic about it, being completely exposed to her -- finally, after all this time -- and having her acceptance.

“Thank you,” I said quietly after a few seconds.

She looked at me in surprise. “For what?” she wondered in confusion.

I decided to be blunt. “For accepting me. And for loving me.”

Her eyes pained briefly as she nodded, returning her focus to my wing as guilt tainted her scent again.

“It means a lot,” I added softly. “You’re everything to me. So please don’t feel guilty. You’ve been my friend when I needed a friend, and helped fill the role of our parents when we were left all alone.”

“But that’s the problem,” she finally whispered. “It’s not right for me to…” She shook her head, not finishing her statement. She then glanced at me. “And what about Gabriella?” she asked seriously. “You seemed pretty certain about marrying her last night.”

I stared down at my plate, uncertain of how to answer her.

My best friend scoffed, her tone becoming chastising. “Kai, I know you’ve never dated anyone before, but I would assume you’d understand the basics. You can’t date two women. I mean, what would Gabriella think if she found out what just happened?” Her frown deepened, though there was nothing unappealing about it. “Kai, you basically just cheated on her by kissing me.”

I shook my head, deciding not to correct her by pointing out that she kissed me, my voice feeling like it was caught in my throat.

“She knows,” I finally managed.

Serenity abruptly sat up straighter in her seat. “Knows what?” she whispered in confusion.

I felt mortified even thinking about it, unsure if I could really tell her everything. Lifting one hand, I covered my eyes, my elbow on the table. “She knows how I feel about you,” I admitted. “And she’s fine with it. She…” My voice choked up, my heart pounding in my ears now. “She’s okay with…” I sucked in a sharp breath. “With us being together at the same time,” I hedged, my voice almost inaudible, finding myself unable to say the word ‘sharing.’

Serenity didn’t respond for a long minute, and I couldn’t bring myself to look at her. I couldn’t even believe I’d really said it.

Finally, she spoke. “Y-You’re serious, aren’t you?” she said in disbelief. “She really said that?” she added, though the question sounded rhetorical. When I didn’t respond, she cleared her throat. “Kai, look at me please.”

I slowly dropped my hand, focusing on her small frown instead of her eyes.

“Kai,” she repeated a little more firmly.

I looked a little higher, meeting her chocolate brown gaze, feeling the most embarrassed I’d ever felt in my entire life. I assumed she was going to scold me or something, but she didn’t respond, her expression unreadable as she examined my face.

She then sighed heavily, and focused on my wing, reaching out to touch it one last time. “You should probably get some sleep,” she finally said. “I’ll ask Nick to leave when he wakes up. And then I guess we’ll talk when we have time later.” She focused on me, her expression a little endearing, though there was a hesitation to it. “But for now, get some sleep, okay?”

I nodded, slowly pulling my wings back and reabsorbing them as I rose from my seat, pulling down my shirt. “Are you alright with me checking on Gabriella first?” I wondered cautiously. “I cleaned her wound with Peroxide, but I want to make sure it’s not getting infected.”

Serenity nodded, her brow suddenly furrowed, staring off into space like she was deep in thought now. “Yeah, that’s fine,” she agreed, seeming even more pensive.

“Okay,” I replied, hesitating for a second, before deciding to go upstairs without making things awkward again by trying to hug her goodnight or something.

Once I crept into Serenity’s bedroom, I felt a content smile tugging slightly at the sight of Gabriella sleeping, her vibrant red hair strewn over the pillow, her lips slightly parted as she slept soundly. She was really out of it though, not even rousing a little when I sat on the edge of the bed and carefully checked the wound.

On the plus side, it seemed perfectly fine, having scabbed over nicely with no signs of inflammation.

Staring at her for a few seconds, I reached out and began gently running my fingers through her hair, feeling a longing begin to stir in my chest -- not something sexual, but a different kind of desire. It was like I missed her, even though she was right here, wishing I could hold her in my arms while we both slept. I doubted Serenity would be thrilled about that though, especially in her bed.

Especially with our relationship feeling like it was in flux right now.

I mean, I disclosed that Gabriella was theoretically fine with sharing me, but what about my best friend? Would she be okay with that? And what did she mean by ‘we’ll talk later’ anyway? Was she going to explain to me all the reasons why we couldn’t be more than friends? Or did she want to talk about making it work out somehow?

I had no idea, and was almost afraid to hope it might somehow be possible.

But in this moment, I just really wanted to hold Gabriella, or to at least sleep beside her.

Taking a deep breath, I stood back up, figuring it couldn’t hurt to ask. I’d just have to make it crystal clear that I would only sleep, and nothing else. However, when I got downstairs, I discovered that the quiet commotion I’d noticed half a minute ago was my housemate digging through a closet, with her now sitting at the table, looking through a shoebox full of envelopes.

“What are you looking for?” I wondered, seeing that she still had that pensive expression.

She glanced at me for second, before patting the table next to her. “Sit down. I’ll tell you in a minute.”

I nodded, carefully approaching to sit beside her like she’d indicated. It was difficult to not feel a little nervous around her now, between the question I wanted to ask, in addition to the fact that we’d literally kissed not long ago.

After a few more seconds, she seemed to find what she was looking for, pulling out an old envelope that had been long since opened. In the corner, she’d written ‘For Kai’ on the outside.

“Here it is,” she announced, handing it to me.

“What’s this?” I wondered, preferring to just ask instead of reading it.

“A letter from the bank,” she explained. “They have something for you in a lockbox, left by your mom and dad. But you weren’t allowed to withdraw it until you turned eighteen.” She gave me an apologetic look. “I’d completely forgotten about it until now.”

“Oh,” I said, nodding. “What do you think it is?”

She shrugged. “Honestly, no idea. It’s obviously not money, but when you mentioned biting Gabriella, it suddenly made me wonder if this might have something to do with your secret.” She paused when I gave her a confused look. “I mean, I may be completely wrong, but I just started wondering if your parents knew that about you.”

“What makes you think they did?” I asked seriously.

She sighed. “Well, of course you know that when you first started living with them, I thought God sent me an angel for a friend. A playmate.” She hesitated when I grimaced, only to quickly continue. “But I remember your mom laughing the first time I said that, saying something like ‘well, she’s not wrong’ to your dad. It really confused me, and really stuck in my mind as proof that you were really an angel. At least, it did for a few years, before I stopped being so naïve.”

“Well, obviously, I’m not an angel,” I said quietly, suddenly feeling almost ashamed of my demonic look when I was transformed.

She reached out and rested her hand on my shoulder. “Kai, you’re still my little angel, no matter how you look.”

I nodded, a lump appearing in my throat. “Umm, so did your parents do something like this for you?” I wondered, knowing the lockbox thing wouldn’t seem so weird if they’d done it for her as well. Or maybe it was just some kind of heirloom or something, or possibly even a letter left by whoever dropped me off to live with them.

Serenity shook her head, giving my shoulder a small squeeze before letting go. “No, just you,” she whispered.

I nodded, clearing my throat. “So, when can we go check it out?” I wondered.

Serenity glanced at the clock, seeing that it was only about 7:30 AM. “Well, it’s Saturday and the bank is open from nine to noon. I can wake you up at around ten, if you want, so you can get a few hours of sleep.”

I nodded slowly. “Okay.” I hesitated. “Umm, do you mind if I lie down with Gabriella?”

She immediately gave me a critical look, seeming to think it over. “Only as long as you both are actually sleeping,” she replied.

My face flushed, my hair threatening to turn white, prompting me to look away. “Of course,” I whispered, feeling embarrassed. “Thanks,” I added, beginning to get up again.

Serenity surprised me by saying my name in a strange tone. “Kai…” She grimaced slightly as she looked up at me. “I love you,” she said meaningfully. “Sleep well.”

“I love you too,” I replied gently, unsure if that was truly what she wanted to say, but not wanting for things to become awkward again. “Don’t hesitate to wake me up if you need anything,” I added.

“I won’t,” she promised. “And thanks.”

I nodded, making my way to the stairs, afraid that hugging her would cause another spark to flare between us. Thankfully, as I made my way upstairs and focused more heavily on Gabriella’s scent, I felt a little more relaxed. Entering the room, I was almost relieved to climb into bed with her and lay down, keeping a few inches between us, but suddenly feeling my fatigue really begin to hit me.

Now that the sun was up, and my housemate was awake, I felt like I could finally relax and allow myself to drift off into a hopefully dreamless slumber.

Within only half a minute, my mind had already wandered, as I quickly began falling asleep.

 

Copyright © 2020 Kaizer Wolf