Heavenly Poison

Damien Gray

“It didn’t go well, did it?” Sebastian asked as soon as I stepped into the apartment.

“I left her.”

“You don’t look happy about that,” he told me.

He had been in the living room, reading an old book that was practically falling apart.

“It’s for the best,” I shrugged and began making my way to the couch next to him.

A small bark got my attention and I noticed Luke running towards me. I was surprised he hadn’t been with Sebastian before I got there.

“He already dumped the trash can on the floor three times,” Sebastian said, looking at the pup disapprovingly.

I grinned when pup came up to me and put his two front paws up on my shoes. It was as high as he could reach and he looked funny trying to climb up my leg.

“He’s still getting used to things,” I told Seb.

I grabbed the husky from the ground and took him to the couch with me.

“So, what was the excuse?” Sebastian asked while I scratched Luke’s head. He had been playing with a toy bone that Sebastian bought for him.

His tags kept dangling and making bell noises whenever he moved too much.

“They need a strong Alpha male. Emilia’s strong, but she’s a girl,” I began explaining.

Sebastian looked at me expectantly and waited for me to continue.

“Apparently, anyone can challenge me for the position if I become Alpha and Luke’s got his sights on the title. Emilia’s dad said that Rogues are crossing over because they’re waiting for Emilia and me to take over the pack. Since they think I’m a human, I’m no threat.”

I tried to sound casual, but the harsh tone behind my voice didn’t go unnoticed by Sebastian.

“But you’re stronger than all of them,” he said, with a frown on his face.

“They don’t know that,” I reminded him.

“Oh right,” he said, tapping his head with the book. “Are you going to tell them about us?”

I was looking at Luke, as he continued to play with the bone. I didn’t want to look at Sebastian because I could already feel him staring at me intently.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

When I did look up to meet Sebastian’s gaze, I noticed his raised eyebrow. He wasn’t saying anything, but I knew he wanted to.

“It doesn’t feel real, not anymore. Yeah there’s that bond between us, but I’m just there for the Alpha and Emilia’s convenience.”

“No you’re not.”

I narrowed my eyes at him, not liking that he wasn’t with me on this one.

“How am I not?”

“It’s easy. Luke has his eyes set on this Alpha title, right? I didn’t know that they could challenge you for the position. Thanks for finding that out,” Sebastian told me, clapping my back.

“You were saying,” I told him, shaking my head.

He was getting sidetracked by some piece of information that was no longer useful to us.

“Right, Luke wants this. He’s a Wolf. The Alpha could easily pair up Emilia with him and have that kid they want. But he’s picking you and so is Emilia. That must mean something, don’t you think?”

I hadn’t really thought about it like that. He did have a point.

“For Em, you’re a human. Yet she still wants you because you two are mates. I don’t know if it’s such a good idea to back out before we find out more about this thing. Besides, you can give me what I’ve always wanted,” he told me, with a grin on his face.

“What do you want?”

“I want my own pack of dogs,” he replied, like if it was easy to just take it.

“You do know that these dogs are still people?”

“I know, but I also know that with you in charge, I have free reign,” he said, resting his head fully on the couch.

There was a satisfied look on his face, one that I didn’t think he could get by imagining his own pack of Wolves.

“I don’t want a kid.”

“So don’t have the kid.”

“The Alpha and Emilia told me that it was either stay and have the kid, or walk away and Luke comes in,” I told him.

I cringed at my own words, hating the thought of Emilia and Luke together.

“Do you really think Emilia is going with Lukey boy? She’s got it bad for you Damy. She’s not moving on anytime soon. Just stay with her. Make your terms and make her accept them.”

Sebastian made it sound so easy.

“What if we leave?”

“It’s your call. But if we leave, then you can probably say goodbye to Emilia.”

“I thought you said she had it bad for me?”

“She does, but she’s not going to wait around, especially not with her father pushing for an heir.”

I groaned, knowing that he was right and hating that he was.

It was barely seven in the afternoon when I went to bed. My sleeping habits had been getting out of control lately, so I didn’t think I’d be able to knock out.

As soon as my head touched the pillow, I was out for the night.

“Damien,” I heard Sebastian’s voice.

When I squinted my eyes open, I felt him shaking my shoulders.

“What?” I asked, clearing my throat.

“Do you wanna go out?” Sebastian asked me.

He was only in his boxers, and I frowned at that.

“What time is it?” I asked, sitting up from the bed.

“It’s still early. We could have breakfast and then go into town or to the city. I’m cool with both,” Sebastian shrugged.

When I grabbed my phone from the bedside table I noticed it was already past eleven in the morning.

I had overslept. The sleepless nights were finally catching up to me.

“I’m not up for it,” I told him.

I didn’t think he would let me off the hook, but he just nodded and began walking out of my room.

“Get dressed, I’m making breakfast,” he yelled from down the hall.

I didn’t say anything to Sebastian, but Emilia had called me. I had my phone on silent, so I missed her three calls and the five text messages. Two of the messages were from a different number, but they were still from her.

I was surprised she hadn’t dropped by.

“Feeling better?” Sebastian asked.

I was barely about to enter the kitchen area.

The entire first floor had the scent of honey, coffee, and bacon.

“Are we celebrating something?” I asked, chuckling as I scanned all the food Sebastian was preparing.

I had only taken about fifteen minutes to shower and get ready. In that short time, Sebastian had made a hefty breakfast.

“We survived the first week of school. Oh, and Tania called me last night. We didn’t make it to the party,” Sebastian told me.

“She went?”

Lately, I hardly ever saw Tania do anything without Sebastian.

“She did, but she left early. She thought we were going to go.”

“Did you want to?”

“Eh, not really. It was a heavy night for us,” Sebastian replied.

It had mainly been a bad night for me. I was glad he hadn’t gone to the party though. Even if I fell asleep, I knew Sebastian was just a few rooms away in case I needed him.

I lounged around in the living room after breakfast. Luke was hanging out with me. While I watched a movie, he was chewing on one of Sebastian’s shoes.

I kept laughing, because I knew Seb would start complaining about it when he noticed what the pup had done.

I was pretty sure he was regretting getting Luke in the first place.

When I heard Sebastian walking down the stairs, I grabbed his shoe and threw it behind the couch. He would have to look for it and then see it all chewed up- when I wasn’t around.

“We should go out,” Sebastian told me.

“Go fly?”

“No, I mean go into town. I’ll call Tania and have some of the girls meet up with us at the mall. Or whatever you wanna do,” Sebastian told me.

I was sitting on the ground and he came to take a seat on the couch, about a foot away from me.

“You can go if you want.”

“Come on, Damy, let’s just go. We can invite Emilia if you want,” he proposed.

I snapped my head in his direction right after he said that.

“We’re not together anymore,” I reminded him.

“So?”

“Just leave. I’m fine,” I snapped at him.

He continued to stare at me, but I didn’t meet his gaze. I kept my eyes glued on the screen.

“Fine, I’ll see you later. I have my phone on. Call me if you need me. If you wanna come, just text and I’ll swing by to pick you up.”

I nodded at him, but I didn’t turn up until I heard the front door close.

It was almost two hours after Sebastian had left the apartment when my phone went off. It was vibrating on the floor right next to me.

The screen flashed Sebastian’s picture.

I sighed, considering whether or not to answer the call. I figured he was calling to try and persuade me to leave the apartment.

“What?”

“Uh…” Sebastian muttered.

“What is it?”

“From a scale of one through ten, how over Emilia are you?” He asked me.

“Did you seriously just call me for that? I’m gonna hang-”

Before I could finish up my sentence and before I could hang up on him- he interrupted me.

“Just answer the question.”

“We’re not together anymore,” I replied, rolling my eyes even if he couldn’t see me.

“So it wouldn’t be a problem if she was parading around the mall with Lukey boy?”

His words were enough to make my blood boil.

“If you’re doing this to mess with me, it’s not funny,” I told Sebastian through gritted teeth.

He knew that his words would get to me.

“I’m not trying to mess with you Damien. They’re here. You can ask Tania if you want.”

I ended the call before he could pass the phone to Tania.

I hadn’t realized the mess I made of the living room, until I got control of myself. I had thrown the couches around and Sebastian would probably hate the new crack that was decorating the screen of the TV.

I kept arguing with myself about going to check if Sebastian was lying to me.

Odds were that he wanted to get me out of the apartment, and he’d come up with that crap. Even if I got angry at him for it, I was hoping he had been lying.

If Emilia had really moved on that fast to the next guy, then there was no turning back. It was over between us.

“Where are you?” I said into the phone as soon as I arrived outside the mall.

Sebastian seemed surprised that I was calling him, but he didn’t joke about it. That was good. I wasn’t sure what I would’ve done if he had laughed.

“I’m at the food court,” Sebastian told me.

“Emilia and Luke just took a table,” he quietly added after that.

A pang in my chest brought me to a halt. It always happened because of her. It was all her fault. Yet I was now the one following her around like a fucking lost puppy.

“Okay,” I told him, and disconnected the call.

I spotted Sebastian first. My stomach felt strange, full of knots. I was getting ready for the worse, even if I shouldn’t have.

Emilia and I had broken off everything yesterday. She and the Alpha had made it clear that either I accepted the deal or Luke stepped in. I had walked away on my own.

I had just arrived at Sebastian’s table, which was crowded with a few girls and two guys I faintly recognized. Tania was sitting by Sebastian’s side. When she saw me, she gave me an apologetic smile.

“Where?” I asked Sebastian.

On my own I could’ve found Emilia. I actually felt her near. I didn’t look around in the food court because I was still hoping that Sebastian had been lying.

He didn’t say anything. Both Tania and Sebastian turned to look at the tables on the step above us. When I followed their gaze, my eyes landed on the squared table where they were at.

Emilia and Luke were there. But there were also other shifters around.

“They’re not alone,” I flatly stated when I turned back to look at Sebastian.

By this point, I had gotten all the attention of the clique he was with.

“They were before, when they were walking around,” he said.

I shook my head at him. This is what he got me out of the apartment for.

“Whatever, I’m going home,” I told him.

“You’re already here. Just hang out with us,” Tania told me.

“I have homework,” I lied, and I chuckled at the disapproving look Tania gave me.

“I do need to get going, but I’ll see you guys later,” I told them.

I waved around the table and some of the girls began giving me each their individual goodbyes.

I was feeling more relieved now that I was going back. Not even Sebastian dragging me all the way to the mall had dampened my mood.

“Omg…” Tania mumbled.

Sebastian’s eyes widened and his mouth dropped open right after Tania spoke. If there was ever a look of surprise for him, it was in that moment.

When I turned to see why they both looked shocked and were going pale, I saw it. More specifically, I saw them.

Emilia and Luke- they were kissing.

I looked away before I could see anymore. I already felt the image engraving itself in my mind.

“Fuck this,” I said, before walking away to the opposite direction.

“Damien, wait!” Sebastian called out after me.

Plenty of people were passing by and it was making it harder for him to catch up to me.

He kept calling out my name. The closer I heard him, the faster I walked.

When the people began thinning out, I broke out in a run.

It took me a minute to get to some trees that were to the side of the mall. I needed them to hide my take off. My wings had extracted from my back on their own accord, ripping my shirt in the process. As soon as greenery surrounded me, I shot up to the sky.

I didn’t have a direction. I just flew up, higher than I had ever gone before. When I was far enough from the ground, I began flying ahead.

My thoughts caught up to me once I was in the sky. I was alone and there was nothing distracting me from the image that now burned itself in my mind.

I felt angry. I didn’t know if I was angry with her or with my decision to leave her. I didn’t really think she would take up Luke’s offer the day after we broke it off.

It had only taken one day for her to move on. Even a cold hearted bitch could wait longer than that.

I had my phone with me and it was buzzing in my pocket. I didn’t bother taking it out. I let it go off, but I didn’t answer.

I must’ve flown for hours. The more I flew, the more tired my body grew. It was good though. I was using it as a distraction from my thoughts.

It was already dark when I decided to fly down. The only light was coming from the moon. Since I was in an area that was covered by trees, the stars seemed to be shining bright.

It all reminded me of Mountain Peak territory, but I knew I was far from home.

When I was satisfied with the area I would be landing in, I stopped moving my wings and let myself go. For a few minutes, it didn’t feel like I was falling. The wind was moving my hair and it was hitting my face, but I was still far from the ground.

Once I noticed the trees were getting closer, I started moving my wings to make a smooth landing.

I had just lowered myself to the ground when my phone went off once again. This time I was actually going to answer the call. I knew Sebastian must have been worried, and this wasn’t his fault.

It was all her fault.

I had just taken out my phone when I heard somebody behind me gasp.

I turned around just in time to see a girl making her way towards me.

For a moment, I was left stunned. Something about her- it was calling to me. I shook my head a few times to make the strange sensation go away.

It wasn’t until she was about five feet away from me that the reality of the situation kicked in.

I looked at my back and realized that my wings were still out. She was looking at me in awe. She didn’t look scared though. I could almost say she looked exited, happy even to see me.

“You…” She whispered, covering her mouth with one of her hands.

When I inhaled a deep breath of air, her scent reached me. It seemed familiar, but I was sure I had never seen her before.

“I,” I began to say, but I didn’t exactly know how to follow up the sentence.

“You’re a Legen,” the girl said, as a tear rolled down her cheek.