Two

I step outside the house while I put on my leather gloves. I look up to see Camila and the others waiting for me.

I grin.

"You should stay inside," I say.

"We wanted to see you off," Camila explained.

I reach and pat her head this time without messing up her hair.

"Takkar come with Lippy?" The gentle ogre, Takkar says.

I smile brightly at him. "No, Takkar, stay and protect home and the family while I'm away, okay."

Takkar's ears fell and his face into sadness. "Takkar is scared you will leave me."

It breaks my heart to hear him say that. Takkar may be significant in size, but his brain hasn't functioned since birth. His family abandoned him because of his slowness.

The first time I meant Takkar was about two weeks ago when he stole bread and milk from inside the house. Thinking some thugs were stealing food, I caught him living in a handmade homemade out of sticks and twigs. Takkar has been alone in the woods for two years. Feeling sorry for the guy and knowing how gentle he was, I brought him home, adding another household member.

I take Takkar's large callous hand into mine tiny ones. With hands like his, he can break a tree in half.

"Takkar, like Camila, I want you safe from the bad fog. You remember what happened if you go near it?" I ask him.

He scratches his head, and seeing how he does it makes it cute to watch. "Oh! You become an ugly monster."

"That's right," I praise him making him jolly. "So, you stay here with Camila and Shadow and protect our home. Would you do that for me?"

"Yes! Yes, Takkar will protect home and my new family!"

My heart couldn't take the cuteness he showed off as it made me smile. How can they abandon such an adorable creature? Then I learned from Nera, a water nymph I made friends with at a nearby lake behind the farmhouse, that ogres treat their offsprings as the next newly born warrior. They are trained the day they can learn to walk and be strong enough to wield a weapon.

And because Takkar has a child's mind and is slow, they cast him out of their clan for being weak. But he's such the sweetest ogre I've ever met, and they treat him like that. They don't know how much of a help he was during the time ferals attacked our home. Not only does my foxfire affect the ferals, but seeing his new family in trouble, Takkar went berserk, ripping them apart. Cutting off the heads or damaging the hearts is the way to kill them. It's those ogres lost for losing a significant asset.

"Master, when will you be back?" That question came from the last member of the family.

I look over at Kaze. He was sitting on his feet, wagging his tail, waiting for my response.

Kaze is a Dire Wolf, a prehistoric animal that is considered extinct. But while I was traveling through Eastern Asia last week, somewhere in Tibet, in a snow-covered climate. I found Kaze in an icy glacier and rescued him. I felt intense energy coming from him, equal to a mighty beast known as Ancient Beast. I know I shouldn't get close to one who can take me down, but unexpectedly he senses a familiarity with me.

Was it my demon blood he sensed?

Kaze said I remind him of his old master. Got me thinking that time who could his master be?

"I'll be back in three days, maybe a week, depending on how long the search takes," I say and scratch his head. He enjoys my touch as his tail wag faster.

"I will wait here and protect our home before Master comes home," he states.

"Good boy."  I smile at Kaze, his name, because that is all he remembers. Kaze means Shadow, and that is what he is. I know I told him to stay here, but in case things go south, I can call upon him through my shadow.

You can say he's my secret bodyguard.

"Okay, I'll be off," I announce as I start to walk off with Saye and Arlo behind me. "Protect the farmhouse while I'm gone. See you guys in three days or a week." Then using my demon magic, the twins and I disappear in a flash.

The twins and I flash ourselves in front of the wall protecting the people inside. Memories flooded as I tried not to bring anything up with the twins by my side. They also didn't know I was in a wolf pack, especially when we were standing in front of their gates.

"Master, what is this place?" Saye asks curiously.

Arlo sniffs the air. "Sister, it smells of wolves."

His sister does the same and makes a sour face. "Master, why are we here? I smell wet dogs on the other side of that wall."

Knowing of my demon blood, I sniff the air, but instead of what Saye describes, I smell something else, fresh woodsy. Like a mixture of pine wood and sweet honey on the other side.

"Master?"

I blink out of my trance. "What the fuck was that?" I mutter, and the large doors open slowly as soon as I say that.

Nerves were pumping my blood as I took deep breaths.

As the doors are wide enough, I did not wish to meet someone other than Malik Shields, Dominic's beta. Another person on Dominic's side hates my guts. He walked out with two other members who were unhappy about my presence here. I can feel his beta aura, more robust than most wolves but not as powerful as an alpha.

Knowing him, he wouldn't let me inside. For all I know, Dominic should have taken over his father's place as alpha, and Malik becomes his beta.

But I should be in the same position as him as everyone knows about his past. Like me, Alpha Marcus took him in. There are rumors about Malik that makes people fear him instead of hating him. For all I know from those rumors, he killed his parents and went rogue.

I wasn't sure if that was the truth, but while I was dating Dominic, I stayed away from him.

Malik's eyes roam to the two unidentified people behind me, then look at me. Glaring.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Malik asks in a hostile tone.

It's crystal clear he does not want me here. But I have to talk to Dominic.

"Hello to you, Malik," I say his name casually.

"It's Beta Malik to you," he snarls.

"Yeah, well, I'm not part of the pack anymore, so I can say your name however I want," I ignore the curious eyes from Saye and Arlo and smirk at a growling beta. "Anyways, I'm here to see Dominic."

"It's Alpha Dominic," he's annoyed I'm not using the proper title, "and why do you need to see him? You don't belong here."

That put a knife to my heart, but I did leave the pack, and I'm no longer a member. "I need to see him. It's urgent."

"What's so urgent that you must trespass Blue Moon territory?"

God, this man is so frustrating.

"I can't say unless I talk to Dominic," this asshole wasn't subduing my patient. "Just call him out here, and I'll explain."

"You aren't welcome here," he says firmly. The other two wolves behind him growl at me. "You don't belong here."

I swallow hard.

My fingers are itching to use my magic and barge in like a madwoman, but if I do, I fear my reputation will become more severe than before.

"Master, shall I sedate him," Saye says in a purr, her arms around me once again, and her bat-like wings and tail appear as her demonic eyes stare at Malik, who in return is shocking to see a demon for the first time. The other two behind him start to take a step back. "I promise I won't kill him. Please, master, it's been a long time since I had a werewolf. Hey little boy, won't you come and play with me?"

I watch as Saye cast her magic on Malik and the two men. Their eyes change to the same colors as her magic, crystalized magenta. They all started walking towards her like zombies.

I need to do something before things get worst. "Saye, stop!"

Saye drops her hand and snaps her fingers to undo the trance. The three wolves blink their eyes, looking around, confused about what happened.

I better warn them because Saye and her twin brother aren't just ordinary demons.

"Look, if you don't want to be demon's food, tell Dominic to meet me by the river in an hour where we had our first..." I blush and clear my throat before I proceed. "He will know."

I disappear before them and then reappear to the river where I had my most memorable day. I lean against the tree and watch the river flow and the firefly illuminate.

When I was sixteen, the same night as tonight, Dominic and I had our first kiss, and things got heated after that. That day I felt horrible for what I had done. I used the leftover aphrodisiac on Dominic when I asked him to meet me by the river. And yeah, that happened, and this happened. I lost my virginity at sixteen, and Dominic wasn't too pleased. He hated me even more for what I did. I begged forgiveness, but that just made it worst.

What became my memorable memory had become Dominic's worst nightmare.

I sigh.

I don't blame him. After all, I was a bitch in my past life. But things are different now, and I no longer have feelings for a man who will never love me back.

I glanced at my watch, and thirty minutes had passed as I waited for him. I know Malik must of them him about my sudden presence, and I'm sure he's telling his alpha that I have two demons by my side and probably think I made a deal with the devil.