But I did nothing, and after a moment, time slowly restarted again.
I returned to where we’d been, and everything was the same.
Except it wasn’t.
I was different. I was more.
I looked, and Shay was there. She was more too.
There was an otherworldly glow to her, and I felt it inside of me, too. I was the mirror to her. The opposite of whatever she was, but we were connected, and we needed each other. If we didn’t have the other, there would be complete and utter destruction.
I didn’t understand it, but I knew it.
I breathed it, and it was there.
I needed her to ground me as if I were a human who needed air.
I started for her, and she cocked her head to the side.
“You’re different.”
Her words echoed inside my heart chamber.
It was a jolt, but it felt like a purring sensation. A caress. I liked it.
I moved closer. “So are you.”
I reached for her, feeling her inside, but needing to feel her on the outside.
There was a cough next to us.
Right.
We hadn’t been alone when this happened, and we weren’t alone now.
We blinked, almost as one. I could see out of Shay’s eyes, and I knew she could see through mine.
Damien’s eyebrows almost touched his hairline. A crowd of Damien’s fraternity brothers and their friends from the party gaped at us. Except for two. One guy was funneling a beer. A girl was imagining me naked. Those two were fine.
Damien closed his eyes. “How the hell is this going to be explained?”
Suddenly Christmas music filled the air, coming from the second floor of the house, and everyone turned to look. Crowman appeared, a hose in hand, and he waved it from side to side. Fake snow rained down on everyone.
“Merry Christmas, bitches!” he yelled. “Welcome to the Alpha Mu house, where our live entertainment is out of this world. You ain’t getting this from any other house. Now, everyone, get drunk and pretend we’re all slutty Christmas angels together.”
There was a pause.
Then a smattering of laughs.
A girl sighed. “Oh, thank God it was all a show. I thought I was on a seriously bad trip for a minute.”
“You and me both, girl.”
More awkward and relieved laughing sprinkled through the crowd, and slowly, one by one, they moved back inside, leaving just Damien, Shay, and myself in the yard.
Crowman turned off the fake snow and propped the hose on his shoulder. He lifted a foot to rest on the deck railing in front of him. He shook his head, staring down at us. “I’d like to request that you two don’t attend our next holiday party. I can only handle learning that humans aren’t alone in this world so many times. I keep hoping I’ll forget, but you’re making that shit hard.”
He disappeared inside.
“What the fuck happened?” Damien asked. “You both look seriously weird. It’s like you’re glowing with neon light, like a backdrop behind yourself. It’s freaking me out, and I’m not human. That shouldn’t freak me out.” He held his hands up, backing toward the house. “Do me a favor. This time, I don’t want to know. I want to pretend I’m only a fraternity brother tonight.”
With that, he turned around and went inside.
The music went up a few notches.
Shay almost floated to me.
I looked down, but her feet were there.
She seemed less human than she had before. And I certainly didn’t know what I was anymore.
She gave me a serene and loving smile, placing a hand on my cheek. “It’s a Christmas miracle.”
“That it is.” I chuckled.
We both knew that wasn’t the truth.
But at this moment, I was just relieved the prophecy hadn’t been a prophecy.
“I love you.”
“I love you, too,” she said, drawing me close. “Let’s figure it out tomorrow.”
I groaned. “I’m down for that.”
CHRISTMAS, NOT MY FAVORITE
KELLAN
These humans. Such simpletons.
They brought trees into their living rooms and put up lights. They sang the same songs every year, most of them sacrilegious—about altars and sacrifices made.
Demons are the better species. We’re simple. We give in and enjoy and relish in our pleasures—
“Kellan?”
“Yes, dear?” I turned, my drink in hand.
A slight smile turned up the corners of Shay’s mouth when she saw my drink. “I see you’re enjoying the festivities.”
“What?” I looked down.
It was a red drink, garnished with some mint leaves and a red and white candy cane hanging off the end. I shifted, my chest slightly tight. I blamed my soulmate’s pure joy in attending these parties for that. She’d insisted we follow the dress code, so I was in all cream. I’m a demon. Dark grey was my favorite.
Shay pressed into me, her hand touching my chest and her arm circling behind. Her eyes grew soft, and she tilted her head back. That smile softened as well, matching the glow on her face. The glow that I put there. You know...on account of my amazing skills in bed.
Yes. I was confident in my prowess in bed.
All conceited thoughts aside, I took a moment to enjoy the feeling of Shay against me.
She loved these humans, this world.
It wasn’t my first choice. She was my first choice. Always would be, no matter who appeared against us, what battle was on the forefront. It was always Shay.
We were at one of her college friends’ parties. We had another to attend after this, one of her professors. And tomorrow we’d travel with Damien to see their family for the holiday break.
Since what happened the other night, Shay and I had a talk. I was to indulge periodically in my deeper bases of death and destruction—but no humans. That was Shay’s stipulation.
So, on my holiday break, I’d be killing demons.
I was salivating already, thinking about it.
It would kill two birds with one stone—satisfying my demon instincts and also making me an even bigger pain in my father’s ass. He’d messed with me. He’d tried to take Shay from me. In my eyes, the war was on.
My first move: to kill as many of his henchmen as I could.
It was my Christmas gift to myself, and Shay was on board.
But for now, we were here, and my job was to make her happy.
I ran a finger under her chin, tipping her head back to meet my gaze. As her eyes caught and held mine, and as I felt the punch I always did when we connected, I smiled down at her. “Happy?”
She melted into me, her eyes sparkling. “Amazingly so.”
“Good.” I dropped my head down, my mouth finding hers, and I counted the minutes until I could whisk her away. In the meantime, I’d satisfy myself by enjoying her mouth, no matter where we were.
I was a demon. I didn’t give a fuck.
STILL KELLAN
Between you and me, I’m looking forward to the next holiday adventure.
I’m figuring it’ll be Easter.
I hope you enjoyed Kellan and Shay’s adventures.
Read Evil to learn their initial love story.
If you’d like to grab their Halloween scene, here it is: