"When you love someone, you'll do anything. You'll do all the crazy things that you can't explain. You'll shoot the moon, put out the sun. When you love someone...When you love someone, you'll sacrifice. You'll give it everything you've got and you won't think twice. You'll risk it all, no matter what may come, when you love someone. You'll shoot the moon. Put out the sun. When you love someone." Bryan Adams 'When You Love Someone'

The family was all gathered around Raquel and Evan in the kitchen. No one seemed able to believe that they were back. Kaylee was a nervous wreck as she waited for Angela to come downstairs and tell them how Damien was.

"My daughters mate is a demon?" Evan asked and Kayleb nodded.

"Yep, but it's okay, dad. He really loves and cares about her."

"I just can't believe I have my daughter back!" Rebecca exclaimed as she went about frying bacon and scrambling eggs.

"I can't wait until Gwen wakes up." Raquel said matter of factly. "I want to hold my baby girl." Evan wrapped his arm tight around Raquel's shoulders and pulled her against him.

"I want to hold you." he said pressing his lips against her ear.

"Great... Now we get to live through their honeymoon phase all over again." Kent said doing his best to sound disgusted, but there was no hiding the happy smile on his face.

Lane looked around the kitchen at all the happy faces and then at his brother and niece who both looked nervous as hell as they waited for Angela to let them know how things were going up in the room.

(Lane.) Angela's tired voice came into his head.

(Are you okay?) Lane replied, sparing a quick glance at Jake who was standing with his arms crossed by the wall and seeming to be lost in thought.

(No... Yes... I don't know.. I'm really tired and weak but I don't want Jake to worry... Can you come up here and help me get to my room?)

(Are you asking me to take you to bed?) Lane teased.

(Haha. Yes I'm asking you to take me to bed.) Lane could hear the weakness in her voice and he stood up from the table.

"Where are you going?" Raquel asked.

"Gotta go drain the main vein big sis. Don't worry, I'll be right back." Lane said with a wink and Joey shook her head as Raquel smiled.

"Just as immature as ever." she said happily. Lane smiled and walked out of the room. He went upstairs to find a very worried Damien sitting up in the bed holding an unconscious Angela in his arms.

"Why would she do this to herself for me?" Damien asked as Lane walked in. Lane shook his head and picked Angela up into his arms.

"It's a personality flaw of hers. She'd kill herself for just about anybody." he replied.

"What the hells going on!" Jake demanded as he walked in. He took one look at Angela and grabbed her from Lane.

"Is she okay?" Damien asked him. Jake kissed her forehead softly and she stirred in his arms and curled into his body.

"She'll be fine." Jake replied and then he glared over at Damien. "No more being a hero because my mate will not do this to herself again. I don't care if I have to tie her up and lock her in the room to stop her." Jake growled under his breath and carried Angela from the room, pushing past Kaylee on his way out.

"What he means," Lane said with a grin. "Is thank you for risking your life to give us our sister and Evan back. You might be an evil, soul sucking, vicious demon but you're good people."

"Bye uncle Lane." Kaylee said pointedly. Lane nodded.

"Gone." he said and he quickly left the room. Kaylee walked over to the bed and knelt down beside it so she could look in Damien's eyes.

"I'm so glad you're okay!" she exclaimed and she threw her arms around his neck and laid nearly a hundred kisses to his cheeks and temples before Damien finally put his hands on her cheeks and held her face still so he could press his lips gently against hers.

Kaylee felt like her body was trying to float off into space and only his hands on her cheeks kept her grounded. The kiss was soft and light but lit a fire in her blood that she knew only Damien could ever cause or put out. He pulled away from her and she saw that his blue eyes looked just a little darker and his breathing was harsher than it had been before.

"You kissed me...." Kaylee said as she ran her tongue over her tingling lower lip. Damien nodded.

"I was told by a dirty, homeless angel that it was safe." he replied. Kaylee raised his brow but he shook his head. "Long story."

Damien could see the love shining in her eyes and it took his breath away. He had no way of knowing if Angelo had been telling him the truth out in the woods but he was going to believe every word of it anyway. He wanted to be able to love this wolf and believing that he was not a true demon was the only way he could do that.

Suddenly Kaylee pulled away from him and the love in her eyes was replaced by anger as she glared at him and then slapped him sharply across the cheek.

"Don't you ever do something that you know damn well could kill you again, do you understand? I love you, Damien, and I cannot lose you!" Damien was shocked and confused by her outburst.

"But I thought....." Then just as quickly as the anger had appeared in her eyes, it was gone and she was throwing her arms around his neck again and clinging to him as her tears soaked his bare skin.

"Thank you so much for giving my parents back to me... For giving them back to Gwen." she whispered. Damien was lost and he knew it was hopeless for him to try to understand her storm of emotions. At least now she was hugging him instead of hitting him and he could wrap his arms tight around her and hold her close.

"There is nothing that I would not do for you, Kaylee." he replied as he kissed her soft red hair. Kaylee pulled away and her eyes were drawn to the top half of his body which was naked. She felt her mouth go dry at the sight of his leanly muscled arms and broad shoulders. His waist tapered down to lean hips and she gasped when she saw the thick tangle of scars covering his lean, toned stomach just above his black ancient looking tattoos.

"Your stomach." she said. "Why is it scarred?"

"Demon torture."

"But it should have healed cleanly.. Why did it scar like that?"

"Rotan is good at what he does." Damien replied simply. "Do my scars bother you?" Kaylee nodded.

"Only because they remind me of the pain you went through for my family."

"The scars were there before that, Kaylee, but you should not worry about what I have went through. I would go through it a hundred more times to keep you happy and safe." Kaylee wanted to argue with him and tell him how foolish that statement was but he yawned loudly and she ran her hand through his hair, causing him to lean into her touch.

"Are you tired?" she asked gently and he nodded.

"Yes but I am worried about Angela." he replied and he was surprised by this fact. Worrying about anyone other than Kaylee was new for him.

"She'll be okay." Kaylee promised. "She always has to rest a little after she heals something so major." Kaylee pushed him back down on the bed and pressed her lips gently against his temple.

"Get some rest, Damien." she said. Damien grabbed her hand and shook his head.

"There are some things I want to talk to you about... I talked to someone today and he told me things." Kaylee smiled at the excited tone in his voice. She had never heard him sound excited before but she had also never heard him sound so tired.

"You need rest, Damien, and I really want to spend time with my mom and dad. Get some sleep and then I promise we can talk about anything you want to talk about." Damien nodded as he yawned again.

"I'll rest then." he agreed. Kaylee pressed another light kiss to his lips and then smiled.

"I love you, Damien... Even if you are a fool sometimes."

"I love you too, my wolf." he replied, knowing that it was the truth. These feelings inside of him had to be what everyone called 'love'. "Even though you confuse me greatly most of the time." he added sleepily. Kaylee's eyes widened even as Damien's heavy eyelids drifted closed and his exhaustion claimed him. He had just said that he loved her! Kaylee truly felt as if she was walking on a cloud as she made her back downstairs.

888

Damien was mentally exhausted by the time he and Kaylee went up to bed around midnight that night. He had been thanked and hugged so many times that both his ears and his waist were numb. No matter how many times he had told everyone not to thank him, they had continued to do so anyway.

Evan, however, had thanked him in one breath and let him know that he would die if he ever hurt Kaylee in the next.

Damien's worry for Angela had simply increased when Jake had helped her downstairs around noon and she had been pale and weak with dark, bruise like circles around her eyes, but she had assured him that she would be okay. Damien could see Jake's love for this woman in the way he hovered over her and took care of her every need throughout the day.

It had surprised Damien to see the man who just the other day had been dangerous and deadly and ready to kill his own father, now loving and doting on his mate. Damien realized in that moment that there was more than one side to all living creatures whether they were human, were creatures, vampires or half demons.

He rubbed his face roughly as Kaylee shut the door and smiled at him.

"Feeling a little overwhelmed?" she asked. Damien wanted to lie and say no but he knew that Kaylee would know the truth.

"Yes." he admitted. "I spent eight hundred years completely on my own and I've spent my entire life blocking out emotions and feelings and now I am in a house full of people and finding myself feeling things... It is a little overwhelming."

"Maybe I can help." Kaylee said and Damien could her nervousness in her voice as she walked toward him and laid her hands on his chest. "This is the first time I've seen you in something other than a white shirt." she added and she ran her hands over the cotton fabric of the black t-shirt Jake had given him to wear.

"This is the first time I've worn something other than a white shirt since I gained my freedom from my father." he admitted.

"The t-shirt works for you too."

"You're complimenting the way I look again aren't you?" Damien asked and Kaylee laughed lightly.

"Yes I am." she replied and she felt his heart beating faster beneath her hand. "Earlier, you wanted to tell me what you learned in the woods." Damien raised his hand and smoothed her soft red hair from her face.

"I'm not evil, Kaylee, and apparently the reason I'm alive is because the angels and their boss protect me. I am the only demon born to a mortal mother that there has ever been and that is why I feel things and that is why I am able to love you."

"I love you, Damien." Kaylee said as he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her up against his body and the air itself seemed to electrify around them. "I have always told you that you're different from the rest of them." she added just a little breathlessly.

"Yes you have." Damien replied as his eyes roamed over her beautiful face, taking in every tiny detail.

"You've given me so much, Damien. You've saved my life countless times. You've been a shoulder for me to lean on and your arms have wrapped around me and kept me warm even when life felt cold. You gave me my parents back... How can I ever thank you for all you've done?"

"You do not have to thank me, Kaylee. I have told you before that I would do anything to make you happy. I am the one that owes you, wolf. I spent over a thousand years feeling dead and empty. Living day to day in a dull haze. There was no happiness, no sadness, no joy, no pain... no love. Then I saw your face in that dust and bullet filled desert and you woke me up. You made me feel for the first time in over a thousand years."

"Kiss me, Damien." Kaylee whispered and Damien did. He pressed his lips to hers and felt passion and desire fill his senses. His first instinct was to tamp those feelings down but then Kaylee moaned against him and ran her teeth along his lower lip and he forgot all about self control.

Damien became a demon lost in his passions and there was nothing soft or gentle in his movements. It was with passionate desperation and fiery demand that he quickly pulled off her clothes and devoured her soft, pale body with his hungry mouth. He felt her fingers lock in his hair as he moved his kisses to her chest and as she moaned her knees buckled, he wrapped one arm tight around her waist to hold her upright. Kaylee pulled his face back to hers and matched his passion, kissing him hungrily as she tugged off his shirt and Damien felt her fingertips leaving trails of fire along his naked skin.

He trembled as wave after wave of desire coursed through him. He had never allowed himself to get lost in these feelings before. He had never before felt a woman's fingertips running over him passionately. He felt her tugging on his jeans and he quickly pulled them off and his passion rose as her brown eyes widened when they fell on his throbbing desire for her.

Kaylee's body was on fire as she looked over Damien's glorious body. It was clear that he was a warrior and his grace and stealth showed in every movement his body made. She gasped when he let out a snarl and his eyes took on an animalistic quality as the blue turned to red and he grabbed her and tossed her down on the bed covering her body with his own and laying kisses along her neck and down lower to her chest.

She was frightened at first by the change in him as his hand moved roughly over her body but as his hand found her most sensitive place she felt her body matching his passion and coming alive in ways she had never imagined it could. She threw him off of her and onto his back on the bed beside her before straddling him and she let out a passionate growl when she felt him slide inside her.

Kaylee couldn't herself from saying the words as she sat there motionless on top of him as he bucked beneath her and his passion filled red eyes stared up her. She took a deep breath and pressed her lips against his ear.

"I, Kaylee, take this man as my mate. To be eternally bonded to him and only him mind, body and soul. My life is his and his is mine." Kaylee felt Damien's movements still beneath her and she looked at his eyes to find that they were again bright blue and staring at her with shock.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"Bonding with my mate." Kaylee replied nervously. She didn't know what she would do if he pushed her away right now.

"Are you sure this is what you want?" Damien asked with disbelief and when she nodded he pulled her face to his and kissed her gently. Then he pulled her face away and gazed into her eyes. He had no idea if 'mating' with Kaylee would work. He had no idea if the life bond would truly be there since no demon had ever mated before but if this is what she wanted he would try. He would do anything for her.

"I, Damien, take this woman as my mate. To be eternally bonded to her and only her mind, body and soul. My life is hers and hers is mine." Kaylee felt the wolf in her come alive at his words and the love they began to make was passionate and full of heat.

As Kaylee became lost in waves of passion she felt her teeth sharpen and she let out a growl as the wolf in her took control and she sunk her teeth deep into the skin between Damien's neck and shoulder.

Damien felt pleasure course through him as his wolf's teeth sank into his flesh. Then the urge to take a bit of her soul came to him... At first he tried to push it away but it was too strong and he was helpless to stop himself. Kaylee moaned loudly and clung to him as he felt himself going over the edge of passion and a glorious release filled his body. He laid his hand against her cheek and his white power flowed between them as he took just a bit of her soul inside of him before moving his hand away.

Kaylee fell limp on top of him and suddenly Damien's mind cleared and his passion was quickly replaced by panic and fear.

What had he done? Why had he taken a piece of her soul? Had he killed her? She was lying so still and quiet on top of him with her head buried in his neck. He lay there for a moment and felt her warm breath teasing his heated skin and felt relief fill him as he realized she wasn't dead. But why was she so still?

"Kaylee?" he whispered against her hair. "Are you okay?" Kaylee raised her head and the sleepy, satisfied smile she gave him was the most beautiful and sexiest thing he had ever seen and he was filled with pride to know that he had put it there.

"I am better than okay." she promised as she moved off of him and curled up on her side against him. Damien rubbed gentle circles on her back and then curled her hair around his finger.

"Do you think it worked?" Kaylee asked after several peaceful minutes. "You didn't bite me."

"No but I did something else Kaylee. Something that you'll hate me for."

"I could never hate you Damien." she argued as she pressed her lips against his bare chest and smiled at the way he trembled beneath her kiss.

"I took a piece of you, Kaylee...I took a piece of your soul." he waited for her angry outburst. He waited for her to slap him and tell him to go away and never come back but instead she wrapped her arm tight around him and sighed with contentment.

"Yes and I bit you. Wolves bite when they mate, vampires suck blood, maybe demons take a piece of their mates soul."

"Perhaps." Damien replied as he kissed her hair. He had never been with any woman other than Kaylee so he had no way of knowing for sure if he would have been tempted to take a piece of another woman's soul. When a demon lost himself in his passion it usually led to the death of whatever woman happened to be with him and so he had never let himself get lost to passion before Kaylee.

"I know a way we could check to see if it worked." Kaylee said and Damien raised a brow.

"How?"

"See if you can contact somebody in my family. If it works than we'll know we're fully mated." Damien shook his head.

"No, demons can use telepathic speech with anyone from anywhere so that wouldn't work." Suddenly Damien felt a sadness and a desperation fill him that he knew were not his own and he smiled as he looked down at Kaylee's face and saw her frowning as she stared at the yellow bedroom wall.

"It worked, Kaylee." he said and she looked up at him. "And please try not to feel your emotions quite so strongly for a while because I am still getting used to feeling them at all." Kaylee smiled brightly and raised up so she could kiss him gently.

"I love you Damien."

"And I, you." he replied. "Let's get some sleep because tomorrow I'll be starting work with you." Kaylee rose from the bed long enough to turn the light off and then she snuggled back up against him as he grabbed the blanket and pulled it over their bodies.

"Goodnight, Damien." she said softly. Damien smiled as he kissed her soft hair.

"They will all be good from now on." he replied and he heard Kaylee's sigh of agreement.