Damien looked down at the little girl sleeping soundly in the bed. The dog sleeping at her feet was unaware of his presence. Demons were gifted at slipping in and out of places unnoticed. When the entire world hated you it was a very useful talent to have.

The girl whined in her sleep and curled up tighter to the pink blanket in her arms as her hair fell across her face. Damien wondered what she dreamt that frightened her because he could sense her fear.

He was very good at thinking through problems with a logical mind because he did not feel all the emotions that made decision making hard for other creatures. The logical part of his mind told him that making this girl immortal so that her mother could be with her werewolf mate was not his problem. There was no reason for him to include himself and put himself in harms way.

He would not be killed for using the forbidden demon magic... No the penalty would be much higher. Too high of a price to pay just so a mortal and a werewolf would not have to feel pain.

But then there was the part of his mind that forgot about logic when it came to Kaylee. All of his coldness and level headed thinking seemed to vanish when he thought about her. She was hurting because her twin brother was hurting and there was no penalty that was too high to pay in order to take away her sadness.

His decision made, he lowered his hand to the tiny girl's head and closed his eyes. The room filled with a white light so bright and intense it would have caused blindness for any mortal watching but did not disturb the girl beneath his hand. The dog whimpered and jumped from the bed to hide in the shadows beneath it.

Damien felt his own power flowing into the girl as he shared his immortality with her. Not only was she immortal now but she was nearly impossible to kill. Upon coming of age she would have demon strength and be able to learn demon magic. Because his power was white, her soul would be pure. Damien had been born with the typical black aura of demons but after rebelling against certain evils his family tried to enforce on him his power had turned white.

He did not know why that was and he did not take the time to try to figure it out because it did not matter to him. He was only satisfied that nothing in the girl would be evil because of the power used to change her. He pulled his hand away and knew the deed was done. He could sense the change in the girl. She would still be a normal child but all immortals would be able to sense her immortality and the power that she held inside.

***

Vanessa sat up in bed with a start just before Vincent sank his fangs deep into her neck. She took several deep breaths, hoping to calm her heartbeat and wiped the sweat from her face. She realized that Steven must have carried her to bed and she was still wearing her dirty nursing scrubs. She looked at the clock and saw that it was nearly one in the morning.

She stood up, deciding that she at least wanted to change her clothes, when she caught a movement in the corner of the room and saw a man standing there in the shadows. His face was cloaked in the darkness and she let out a startled gasp before grabbing her pistol from the bedside table and firing a shot at his chest.

She watched with a mixture of horror and amazement when the bullet stopped in mid air. It hung there for a moment before falling onto the carpet with a dull thud.

Vanessa held her useless weapon in front of her as the man stepped out of the shadows. She saw his dark blue jeans that hugged his legs and were faded just a bit at the thigh, his crisp white button down shirt unbuttoned slightly to show the dusting of hair on his chest and then his face... Perfect and almost angelic, with light blue eyes and blond hair that had just a bit of curl as it fell around his face.

"You're that man... You helped rescue me from Vincent." she said as she took a step back. "What are you doing here?"

"Kaylee asked me to help. I solved the problem that was keeping you from your mate so you do not have to be sad anymore and neither does Kayleb and Kaylee can stop worrying." Vanessa was struck by the lack of emotion in his voice. He gave off the impression that he was indeed a higher form of being that did not like being troubled by the 'lower beings' problems.

"What are you talking about?" Vanessa asked.

"Your daughter is immortal now. I used demon magic to give her an immortal soul."

"You what?" Vanessa demanded. "What did you do to my daughter! What do you mean demon magic! If you hurt her, so help me God I'll....." Damien held up his hand.

"I did not harm your daughter. She is perfectly healthy and still sound asleep. Just because magic comes from a demon does not mean it is evil. Demons may just use it to meet evil needs at times. This was not one of those times. You can now be with your mate without worrying that you will have to watch your daughter die of old age. She will grow up and be immortal just as if she were born that way. And she will be powerful since she holds a part of my own immortality." Vanessa was trying to wrap her head around what he was telling her. She dropped the gun back on the table and sat down hard on the bed.

"Can this be undone?" she asked. Damien raised a brow.

"Do you want it undone?" he asked. Vanessa bit her lip and closed her eyes before running her hands roughly over her face and looking back at him.

"You swear to me you didn't do anything that will hurt her."

"I do."

"She'll still grow up like a normal child and then stop aging the way all immortals do?"

"Yes."

"When you say that she holds your own immortality does that mean her life is tied to yours?" Vanessa asked.

"No." Damien replied. "Only her mate will form a life bond with her."

"She'll have a mate?" Vanessa asked finding all this hard to believe. Of course she was exhausted both physically and mentally and that probably had a lot to do with the fuzziness in her brain.

"Yes. All immortals do." Vanessa couldn't stop herself. She jumped from the bed and ran to him throwing her arms around his waist and hugging him tightly. He stood there as still as stone and tense until she finally pulled away.

"Thank you." she said.

"I did it for Kaylee. There was no other motive. You do not need to thank me."

"You love Kaylee don't you?"

"Demons do not feel love." Damien replied. Vanessa nodded and then walked back over to her bed and sat down.

"I have to get ahold of Kayleb." she said as she reached for the phone on the bedside table. "I have to let him know...."

Before she could press talk on the phone the air shimmered in the room and suddenly Kayleb was there. His red hair had gotten too long and it was a mess. He had clearly run his hands through it about a million times recently.

His face was pale in the moonlight coming through the window and the dark circles around his sad brown eyes looked like bruises. He looked like he'd been sleeping in his jeans and t-shirt for a few days and he smelled like a whiskey bottle.

"Kayleb...." Vanessa gasped.

"Please, listen to me..." he said.

"Have you been drinking?" she asked. He waved his hand dismissively.

"Yes, but that's besides the point." he said. "I can't do this anymore, Vanessa. I can't live another day without you. I need to smell you, taste you, touch you.... I need you."

"Kayleb I...."

'Before you say we can't be together because you don't want to hurt me let me get something straight with you. You are already hurting me! No I take that back.. You're killing me. I don't care if I have to tie you up, throw you over my shoulder and take you back with me against your will.. You are coming back to me tonight because I can't live another second without you and Faith."

Suddenly Kayleb's nostrils widened and he turned quickly and growled low in his throat as he realized Damien was in the room for the first time.

"What the hell are you doing here?" he demanded.

"Kayleb" Vanessa said as she laid her hand on his arm. Kayleb's eyes closed as he leaned into her touch and then he turned and wrapped his arms tight around her, breathing in her scent and letting her fill his senses.

"I love you, Vanessa... Please come back to me."

"Kayleb, that's why Damien is here....We can be together now. I can be your mate, your real mate, and we can have eternity."

"Eternity?" Kayleb said uncertainly. "What about Faith and what does Damien have to do with this?"

"He made Faith immortal, Kayleb. He swears there was nothing evil about it and nothing he did will harm her... She will grow up and then stop aging the way all immortals do."

"Are you sure, demon? Because if you did a damn thing to hurt that girl I'll rip your head off right now." Kayleb growled turning back to Damien.

"I am sure wolf. The girl will be fine."

"Mommy what...." Faith stopped talking as she walked into the room and saw Kayleb.

"Kayleb!" she squealed happily. She ran to him as he dropped to his knees and wrapped his arms tight around her. "I missed you!" she gasped as she pulled away.

"I missed you too, angel...You and your mommy. But I think you guys are coming back home with me now." he said and both he and Faith looked up at Vanessa.

"Take us home, Kayleb." she said with a happy smile.

Steven knocked loudly on the door to the huge log mansion. He jumped back with surprise when the door was thrown open and a six and half foot man with no shirt and rolling muscles glared down at him with angry golden eyes and a growl.

***

"Who.. Who the h..h..hell are y..y..you?" Steven stammered.

"You are knocking on my door in the middle of the night. Who the hell are you?" Jake growled as he tried to decide whether to hear the man out or snap his neck and go back to bed.

"My name is Steven... I need to talk to Kayleb."

"You need to get the hell out of here before I....."

"Uncle Jake, it's okay!" Kaylee said running up and stepping in front of her uncle.

"You know him?" Jake asked, motioning toward Steven with his thumb. Kaylee nodded.

"He's Vanessa's ex husband... Faith's dad." Jake nodded and scratched at his bare stomach.

"Can I go back to bed now?" he asked.

"Yes. Go back to bed." Kaylee said while fighting to hide her smile. There was nothing quite as scary yet funny at the same time as her grouchy uncle when you disturbed his sleep.

"Good. Because you know Kaitlyn will probably be up at the crack of dawn yelling about a sweater or something." he mumbled as he turned and walked away.

"What are you doing here, Steven? Is there something wrong with Vanessa or Faith?"

"Damn straight there's something wrong with Vanessa. Where is your brother?" he demanded.

"I'm right here." Kayleb replied as he, Faith, Vanessa and Scout suddenly appeared in the living room.

"You're together!" Kaylee exclaimed and then she caught Faith's scent and her eyes widened. "She's....." Kaylee didn't finish her statement because she didn't want Steven to freak out but Vanessa nodded.

(Your demon friend paid her a visit tonight.) Kayleb said so only his sister could hear.

"What are you doing here, Steven?" Vanessa asked her ex-husband.

"I came to talk some sense into that damn man and tell him to go get your ass and bring it back here where it belongs but obviously he's smarter than me and did it on his own."

"Of course I'm smarter than you." Kayleb grumbled but Kaylee was relieved to see the happy smile on his face... Her brother was back.

"You came here for me?" Vanessa asked.

"Of course I did. You never cry, Nessa. You are always the picture of strength and holding things together. You didn't cry when your parents died. You didn't cry when Matthew died. You didn't cry when I turned to drugs and our marriage fell apart. You didn't cry no matter what horrible things I said to you. You didn't cry when you walked out and left me and as far as I know you never cried no matter how hard life got taking care of Faith on your own..... So when you sobbed against my chest because you loved and missed him so much, I knew I had to do something."

"Thank you." Vanessa said and she wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him tight. Kayleb felt the wolf in him grow jealous but he forced himself to keep his mouth shut. Vanessa was his and he definitely had no reason to be jealous over Steven.

"Mommy, I'm super sleepy." Faith said as she rubbed her eyes. Vanessa nodded.

"Kayleb and mommy will take you up to bed." she replied.

"Can I come by and visit sometimes?" Steven asked Kayleb and Kayleb nodded.

"Yes. Faith would probably like that." Steven nodded, said goodbye to everyone and then walked out shutting the door behind him.

Kaylee watched Kayleb and Vanessa lead Faith up the stairs with Scout close behind them and she smiled.

Finally things were going back to the way they were supposed to be. She just wished her mom and dad could be here to see Kayleb's happiness. Kaylee walked through the house to the back door and walked out on the porch. She could see the shadow of her parent's grave at the far end of the yard against the forest and she wiped a tear from her eye.

Then a smoky scent filled her senses and she looked closer at the tree line and saw Damien standing there. She wondered if his life was really in danger now that he had used that demon magic without permission. She hoped not. She waved for him to come to her but he shook his head sadly, gave her a half smile and then turned and faded into the woods. Kaylee wrapped her arms tight around herself, despite the heat of the early summer night, and walked back into the house.

***

Kayleb traced the scar on Vanessa's shoulder with his fingertip and smiled when he felt her tremble. His bite now sealed their bond. Vanessa raised her own fingers to the scar on his shoulder and smiled.

"I can't believe I actually wanted to bite you." she said with embarrassment.

"You wanted to bite me because you've got a little wolf in you now." he replied with a grin.

"Just as long as I don't grow fur." she replied as she snuggled deeper into his arms, enjoying the feel of his skin against hers.

"I thought you liked fur... You said you loved me fur and all didn't you?" he teased.

"I love your fur." she agreed. "That doesn't mean I want any of my own." They lay there in silence for a while, simply enjoying being together again.

"Would you really have tied me up and made me come with you?" Vanessa asked after a while. Kayleb nodded.

"Hell yes I would have." he replied.

"I would have let you." Vanessa admitted. "I was miserable without you, Kayleb. It was like everything in life had lost its luster. Everything was dull and drab and all the happiness was gone."

"We're together now, baby, and that's all that matters." Kayleb said and then he yawned loudly.

"Are you tired?" Vanessa asked.

"Very." he replied.

"Get some sleep."

"I'm scared to."

"Why?" she asked looking up into his chocolate brown eyes.

"Because every time I've fallen asleep with you in my arms after making love, I've woken up alone." Vanessa raised her hand to his face and he closed his eyes and leaned into her touch.

"You'll never wake up alone again. I promise." she vowed. "Just like I don't have to be strong on my own anymore."

"Finally she gets it." Kayleb said with a sigh. Vanessa laughed lightly and laid her head back down on his chest.

"I'm a slow learner but I catch on eventually."

"Get some sleep, Vanessa... I'm sure the family will have us up bright and early to celebrate you and Faith coming home."

"It feels good to be home." she replied and truer words had never been spoken, until of course Kayleb kissed her hair and whispered,

"I love you."