David looked at Sera and then back at him. "No Liam, it can't."
"David," Mike warned.
"Mike, this cannot wait. You're losing it aren't you? Losing control of yourself? Losing control of your ability to keep the demon at bay?" His gaze was focused on Liam.
Liam stared back at him relentlessly. "Yes."
David ran his hand through his wet hair. "I thought so."
Sera pulled away and tilted her head back to stare at him. His jaw was set, and his eyes were gleaming dangerously as his nostrils flared. "Liam?" she asked questioningly.
He glanced down at her before looking away, but she had already seen the torment in his eyes. Her hands clenched on his shirt. She had known that he was grappling with himself to be around her, but she hadn't realized how bad it was until right now. She had pushed him yesterday; she had completely ignored his need to get away from her, in her own need to be close to him. She was doing this to him. She felt like the most horrible person in the world.
She took a step away from him, but he grabbed hold of her waist and pulled her back. "No," he said so quietly that she knew no one else had heard him.
"But..."
"I said no!" his eyes flamed with fire as his jaw clenched.
"But it's because of me!" she protested as she squirmed to get out his embrace. His hands clenched upon her. She winced in response and he immediately eased his grip. "It is, isn't it?"
"Yes." It was David that answered her. Sera stopped struggling as she turned to look at him. David's eyes were pitying before he looked at Liam. "You've tasted her?" Liam nodded sharply. "And she has tasted you?"
Sera's face flamed hotly. "Yes," Liam grated.
"But she's not one of us," Doug stated.
Sera felt herself turning redder as she realized that they knew everything. "No, she's not," David said. "That's the problem."
"What is that supposed to mean?" Liam spat. His body trembled; his arms locked around her were as taut as a bowstring.
"I met some of our kind in Pennsylvania..." David started.
"How did you know they were our kind?" Jack interrupted.
David shot him an aggravated look. "Like knows like," he explained hastily. "You'll see when you meet others. Trust me." His gaze returned to Liam and Sera. "After I talked to you, I went and asked them about our relationships with humans. We are not meant to be with them, not seriously anyway."
"They told you this?" Liam demanded.
"Yes. You have marked her as yours Liam. When you let her feed from you she became a part of you, and vice versa."
"Beth did the same thing!" Liam seethed.
"It's not the same Liam, and you know it! You never loved Beth, but you love her and the thing inside of you needs her to be with you, forever. When we fall in love something happens, something changes. Inside, we are savage, and we need to mark our mates. You will kill anyone that hurts her, you will kill us."
"So he says," Mike muttered.
"So he will," David said firmly. "You'll also destroy her."
"No he won't!" Sera cried.
David's eyes were sympathetic as they met hers. "Yes, he will. He will turn you. He's fighting it now, but he will. He can't let you go Sera, not in any way. The demon inside him senses the mortality in you, the frailty of your life, and it will not have it."
"Then I'll let her go," Liam said even as his arms tightened upon her waist.
"No!" Sera was horrified and broken at the mere thought.
"Sera..."
