Heart of Darkness

Skender was on his way to his room when he came across Rayven. The demon pushed past him causing their shoulders to collide without looking at him.

"Rayven." Skender stopped him. 

Rayven turned around looking annoyed. He gave him a 'what now?' look. 

"Do you have a problem?" Skender asked. "Use your tongue." 

"I am more of an action person." Rayven retorted. 

The demon definitely had a problem with him. He couldn't blame him. Things always turned left when he was finally going right. That was with everything in his life. 

"You know I didn't want you to get punished instead of me." Skender said. 

"What you want, need or think are of no importance to me. Only what you do." 

Skender nodded. "I am trying. We are all being punished and if you didn't know I am being punished for being negligent when I am suddenly given all these responsibilities."

Rayven placed his hands in his pocket and tilted his head. "Should I feel bad for you?" 

Skender smiled. The demon never changed. Always rude and cold. 

"I don't want you to feel bad for me. Just emphathize with me." 

"What is that?" He asked. 

Skender sighed. The man was impossible when he finally thought they were making progress. Now everyone went back to disliking him again. 

"Nevermind." He said and proceeded to go back to his room. 

Once he was alone, he lay down on his bed. 

Make Angelica his mate? 

He closed his eyes. 

How? 

Mating was very different from marriage. It was a bond that, once made was almost impossible to break. It connected two hearts and two souls so deeply they almost became one. Demons didn't make hasty decisions when choosing someone to mate with, especially if they wanted to mate with a human. They needed to trust the person enough to bring them into their world. 

When a demon found the woman or man they liked their heightened senses would imprint that person's face, voice, touch and scent into their mind. That way they would know when they found the person they loved and wanted to be mated to. 

Did he like Angelica enough for her face to be imprinted into his mind? Skender did think about her a lot. She kept wondering around his mind but why he wasn't sure. 

Was it because he had just killed her father? His foolish decisions would soon turn her into a traitor's daughter. It wouldn't be the first time he ruined someone's life. 

Or was it because she looked like her? The woman he once loved dearly. 

Ramona.

Angelica looked a lot like her. The hair, the eyes, the way she spoke and carried herself. The maturity, the self-confidence and bravery. She was even as well spoken as her. 

She had all those qualities that had made him fall in love with Ramona. Even the way she said his name was similar. 

He had repeated that sound in his mind a thousand times. Something he would probably not hear again ever and it happened for the second time in his life. 

Ramona was no longer living, and he lost the little he had with Angelica. 

He opened his eyes again and stared at the ceiling. Who was Angelica really? He couldn't read her thoughts just like Ramona. 

Ramona was a prophetess which made him suspect that Angelica could be one as well. This would mean she was in danger since the shades were looking for her. 

He groaned as he sat up. He had been thinking too much lately, and it exhausted him. Angelica wasn't Ramona so he shouldn't care. The shades were already looking for her so unless he intended to make her his and openly protect her, he shouldn't treat her differently than how he would treat anyone else. 

And William. There was something about that boy that he liked as well. He couldn't exactly pinpoint what it was aside from his wisdom and politeness. 

Yesterday he was surprised to see him come to his training. He watched him from a distance while he fought. Skender was very familiar with grief and he could see that behind the boy's tough exterior there was a son grieving his father's loss. 

Whether Angelica and William had a good or a bad relationship with their father, he was still their parent. Their only parent whom he killed. It was as if his fate had been sealed. Despite avoiding it, it just happened without him even intending to kill him. 

He remembered striking him while he was fighting off a few shades. Only after did he realize that the person who had attacked him had been Lord Davis. 

Knowing that he wouldn't be able to sleep, he decided to go find Acheron and Lazarus. These two were the only ones who didn't keep on judging him. Vitale and Mazzon were indifferent to him. Rayven didn't like to be with anyone but seemed to dislike him more lately and Blayze hated him. 

Skender teleported to Lazarus's home where all the entertainment took place. But today it was quiet. No parties, no liquor and no women were around. 

Did the demon redeem himself? 

Highly unlikely. If anyone would redeem themselves, Lazarus would be the last one.

Perhaps. 

"What a pleasant surprise." Lazarus appeared from thin air holding his arms open. "To what do I owe this honor?" 

"It seems like you are taking the day off today." Skender said. 

"I guess I am. I am trying to focus on other things." 

It sounded funny coming from him. "Oh really? Like what?" 

He teleported to sit on the large sofa in the hall. "You will not believe me, anyway. But you are not here to hear what I am doing."

Skender went to sit down as well. "I came here for some entertainment but there is none from what I see." 

Lazarus leaned back and squinted his eyes. "Are you here for entertainment or distraction?" He asked. 

Skender sighed. "Both." 

"Is it Lord Davis or Lady Davis?" He asked with a smirk. 

"Both." Skender replied again. 

Lazarus nodded. "Have you decided whether or not you want to make her your mate?" 

"Even if I wanted to, she wouldn't want to be my mate." 

"You can't be sure without trying." Lazarus said. 

"How am I even supposed to try?" 

Lazarus shrugged. "If you want her enough, you will do anything necessary." 

"I am not Rayven." Skender said. 

He was the one who took whatever he liked. 

"You certainly are not. Maybe he will take her." Lazarus raised one brow. 

Skender had noticed Rayven's changed behavior when it came to Angelica and her brother. At first he would order him to take them home, knowing he hated people as a way to tease him but now it seemed he liked them as well. 

Did he want to make Angelica his, perhaps? She would have to agree to it just like she would have to agree to him. Skender wasn't sure if any of them were good for her. 

They were damaged souls. 

"What would you do if he decided to make her his?" Lazarus asked. 

Did the demon know something he didn't know?

Skender shrugged. "I would do nothing." He said. 

"That is your problem. You never do anything. You expect things to magically happen for you." 

Skender looked at his shoes. He was right. Waiting and not doing anything had made him lose Ramona. 

"I don't expect anything to happen for me. I have decided to leave her alone," Skender said. 

Lazarus shrugged. "Very well then, if that is your decision." 

Acheron arrived looking exhausted. He threw himself on the sofa without saying anything. 

"Did you kill someone?" Lazarus asked. 

"Almost." Acherons said. "It is always almost." 

They were all struggling with their punishments but Acheron looked more exhausted than ever lately. 

"I bet she tasted good then." Lazarus smirked. 

Acheron remained quiet and both Skender and Lazarus understood he had an extremely tough day. 

"The more I feed the more I need to feed." He said with a look of disgust on his face. 

"You should try fasting then." Lazarus suggested jokingly. 

Acheron turned his head to look at Skender. "Will you be the first of us to have a mate?"

"I believe not." Skender said. 

"You will let her go?" Acheron was surprised. 

Skender nodded. 

He could understand their confusion. After causing all the trouble not only for himself but for them as well, he was just letting her go. He wouldn't blame them if they got angry with him. 

"Well then, I guess it might be Rayven who gets a mate first." Acheron said. 

They seemed to know more than he did. 

"Does he like her?" Skender asked. 

They both frowned. It was as if they had difficulty answering that question. Then slowly Lazarus smiled. "Rayven liking someone... I would have said it is a miracle if you had asked a while ago but… I am not sure now." 

"I am sure he likes her." Acheron said. "He just doesn't know what liking is. Maybe we should explain it to him." 

They both chuckled and Skender scoffed. "He will say what is that?" 

Now they laughed but Skender didn't. What would it mean if Rayven liked Angelica? 

What would happen? Would he make a move? 

For some odd reason the thought made him uncomfortable. He didn't want to have to defend Angelica against Rayven. If he wanted her, he didn't think he would go about it in a gentle way.