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"He. Is.Mine!" Dahlia roared. "And this? This is your only warning. I'm not even going to bother with telling you he deserves respect, because I know you'll say he's just one of the living, which makes him unimportant. Instead, I'll say that I have put my claim on him. So, the next time you try to take what's mine, I will take it back, even if I have to take it out of your soul."
Isabella bobbed her head in a nervous nod, which was all Dahlia needed to see. Spinning quickly, she stormed out of the apartment with as much fury as she'd stormed in. Loyally, Nikki followed, pausing only to pull the door closed behind them. The pair kept going until they reached the first breezeway, and then Nikki grabbed Dahlia's arm, tugging her to a stop.
"Dahlia? What was that all about?" Nikki asked.
Dahlia pulled away and kept walking, only to pause after five steps and turn back. "She attacked Thane!" Waving a hand back the way they'd come told Nikki who she was talking about. "They were going to kill him."
Nikki patted the air. "Is he okay? What do we need to do for him?"
Dahlia just waved that off. "He's fine. Thankfully, Roarke was there. That fucking tattoo on his arm finally worked in Thane's favor - otherwise the succubus would've drained him to death. To death, Nikki."
"What about his protection bracelet?" she gasped.
"I don't know!" Dahlia admitted, all of her frustration coming out in her voice. "I mean, Roarke said Thane wasn't seduced, so maybe it worked - but it wasn't enough. They still tried to kill my fucking husband!"
"But they didn't," Nikki said, closing the distance to wrap her arms around Dahlia's shoulders. "It's okay. They didn't kill him, and I think you just scared them enough to make sure they won't. He's going to be okay."
"I can't lose him too," Dahlia said, the words coming out as little more than a breath.
"We're going to take care of him," Nikki swore.
"But I can't do this now. It's too soon. I'm not ready." Dahlia pressed her face into Nikki's shoulder. "I was worried about telling him how we feed, and then I come back to find that he almost died, and I can't do this. I'm not ready for this. It's all happening too fast, and I don't know how to keep up, and maybe I need to send him back - because that would be safer for him."
"Shh…" Nikki breathed, hugging Dahlia even tighter. "There's nothing wrong with liking him. No one thinks that you're forgetting Mei because you like him." Her hands clasped the back of Dahlia's head, cradling her. "Thane is a good man, and even if you're not ready, I think he is. He is not weak, he is not fragile, and he has as much right to fight for you as you have to fight for him."
"And if I end up getting him killed?" Dahlia asked.
"Then you'll hate yourself for all the time you spent saying you weren't ready instead of letting yourself care about him." Nikki kissed the top of Dahlia's hair before smoothing it back into place. "You take care of him, I'll take care of you, and we'll let Roarke and Cain think they're helping a little. Okay? We got this, valkyrie. He's going to be fine."
With those words, Dahlia felt the tension begin to relax from her body. "One way or another, we got this," she agreed, because she didn't exactly have a better option.
ChapterTwenty-Five
THANE
Thane barely remembered getting back to his apartment. He did remember Dahlia, Nikki, and even Roarke working together to cook him something, and then pestering him until he ate it all. Then he'd staggered his way to bed, stripped, and passed out. That had been late afternoon. Now, it was morning.
He knew, because the stupid band of light always hit his face in the morning, and only in the morning. Dahlia's Dollar Store curtains hung so stiffly that they refused to close completely. He also needed to piss. So, rolling out of bed, Thane staggered into the bathroom and waited for his mind to wake up and his dick to go back to sleep. When he finished, he returned to bed with a little more grace, only to see a light flashing on his phone.
Someone had plugged it in on the cheap bedside table. Dahlia, he assumed. But once he was back under the covers, aware of her form lying quietly on the other side of the mattress, Thane swiped at the screen, pressed his thumb to unlock it, and checked to see who had messaged him while he'd been sleeping.
Laird:Step one is done. Still going.
Laird:Figured you'd be more excited. Your girl must be keeping you busy.
Laird:Well, I'll be back at it in the morning, but Brice has an update. Call him - and let me know your girl isn't some axe murderer!
Thane huffed out a laugh at the last message. Laird made it all sound normal enough that no one in the Church would ask questions, but he also had a point. Dahlia didn't exactly use an axe, but she also wasn't exactly what he'd call safe. He also had no intention of telling his brother just how close he'd come to being a demon's snack yesterday.
But since he wanted to know about Laird's test, Thane found Brice's contact and gave him a call. It rang twice before Brice answered with a clipped, "Hey, I'm gonna put you on hold. One sec," and then the sound went dead. Thane didn't even get the chance to grunt out a reply, but he understood. Doing the mental math, he realized that Brice was at work, and probably headed outside right about now.
Soon enough, the sound came back. "Hey!" Brice said. "Glad to know you're still alive. Laird was a little worried last night."
"Yeah, had a little too much fun," Thane told him. "He also said he passed his first trial. How's that going, anyway?"
"It's a fucking clusterfuck," Brice said. "He had to knock out three demons. Then, while they were unconscious, give each one a drop of his blood into their mouth. Like, fucking prick his finger and drip it in, you know? Then he had to record what happened to them. So you know, nothing. I just want to know where the demons came from, though."
"Me too," Thane agreed, but his words were enough to make Dahlia stir. Sucking in a breath, she rolled over to wrap her arm around his waist. "Hey, beautiful," Thane said softly.
