***POV – Damion WARNING – sex scene!!! Uncle John is busy making coffee already and he hands me a cup with some cream on top. Great, just what I need. Mel jumps down the stairs and gives her uncle a peck on his cheek and then turns to do the same with me. She seems in a better mood. “I’m still feeling slightly nauseous so I think I’ll just skip breakfast.” Her eyes burn with a girlish charm that makes my knees go weak. Something is bothering me about this bug she has, the symptoms are all there. I shake my head. How could I’ve been so stupid? I’ve never ever slept with a girl without protection. But with her, it’s as if I just can’t control myself. I didn’t even think about protection, my desire overclouded my brain. No, I’m not going there. It’s just a bug and she said she’s on the pill. But a part of me can’t stop annalizing it, nausea, tiredness … “So, I suppose my dickhead brothers are still passed out?” Upon her question, Uncle John makes a noise sounding lik

***POV - Melaena “You want some ice cream?” I jump on Kiara’s bed suddenly craving a delicious snack and needing some TLC from my best friend. She runs into the bathroom. “I’ll be with you in two secs!” she shouts. I scoop a large helping of ice cream into two bowls and then I take out the jar of pickles and throw some on top of mine before covering it with peanut butter, jam, and chocolate sauce. This is weird, even for me, but something is making me want this so badly. I take my phone and sit on the sofa eating my new favorite snack. Kiara jumps over the back of the sofa and takes a huge bite of her plain ice cream, moaning softly. "Mmmmm, this is fabulous!” I tell her about the misunderstanding between me and Damion and everything that happened between us, about Chloe and Alejandro. Reaper tries to steal some of my bowl of weirdness and I shoe him off by tapping on his nose with my finger. “He’s soooo cute. But what is that disgusting stuff you’re eating?” Kiara star

***POV - Damion “I think it’s too late for that. I told you before that I will stand by you. That I will help you chase away those monsters.” I remember the words of the song, words that mean so much to me. “Mel, that shit, I can’t put it on you!” “Well, you'll have to. We don’t really have a choice anymore,” I frown at her words, wondering what exactly she means, but she doesn’t give me much time to top about it. “I can't help you if I don't know what it's all about ... and you can’t go forward if you don’t face the past first. I need you to do this, for us … eh for me … ” I let out the breath I was holding. I’m not sure what the feeling in the pit of my stomach is, but I’ll have to investigate it sometime. However, if I have to hypothesize it, it smells like fear, the fear of losing her to be precise. “But I don’t want you to regret anything later … I’m telling you to walk away now.” “I’m big enough to make up my own mind … I don’t need your permission to date you.”

***POV – Melaena The little boy takes his hands from the pockets of the number 13 jacket, raven black hair in serious need of a comb, the face of a little angel, sinlessness exemplified by big green eyes highlighted against thick dark lashes – an image of perfection. He smiles at me and the dimples in his cheeks deepen, a small finger wiggles for me to follow him. He runs too fast and I’m lost in a dark hallway; iron doors with locks on either side. The boy appears at the end, smiling at me. Then his eyes turn hazy, fearful, as claws reach from the shadows to pull him toward the darkness. I run forward, frantically, as if knowing I’m his only hope. His hand grabs mine, but slowly it slips from my grip and he gets pulled further and further away until he’s entirely engulfed in the blackness. A small hand covers my mouth, obstructing me from shouting, and I get dragged down the hall, away from the dead of darkness that swallowed the boy. I struggle to get away from the hands th

***POV - Damion “Let’s get ready, guys,” Logan shouts as soon as he walks through the door with Jesse and Noah, carrying some duffle bags. Some of Garcia’s guards are behind them with boxes, machines, and weapons. I grab two more sandwiches from the kitchen table and slam my arm around my mom. The devastation I see in her eyes mirrors mine, hers just lacks the darkness I know is stuffed behind my soul. Uncle John tells the men where to place what … most of it some sophisticated equipment any spying agency could kill to have … thanks to the Blackburn company. Logan drops the bags on the floor and drags Jesse to where the men are setting up a high-tech computer area, leaving him there to get acquainted with everything. “Guys, there’s some gear for each of you,” Logan now pulls stuff from the bags, including a spray can, and he starts shaking it. “You all know that the company created this new tracking device. You spray it onto the skin and it leaves an invisible tracker that