Bane of My Existence

Chapter 20

Kinsey curled up against Damon on the bed, fast asleep. He loved how she tucked into him, fitting perfectly in his arms. After discovering what Barnett had done to his men, Damon wanted to keep her close. After hearing what Carissa had made Kinsey witness, he didn't want her out of his sight--including never letting her set foot in the Bane Building again.

He, Dayton, and Kalem had gotten Barnett absolutely wasted and made sure he kept on winning at the tables. On the high of so many wins, he let slip about his Mutants, unquestionably the men Kinsey had described.

The Corporation, or Carissa more specifically, had taken the genes that gave shifters their strength, regeneration, and senses, and injected them into his men, making them super human without the animal half. It wasn't perfect, though. It made the Mutants short-fused and extremely aggressive. They had a kill switch implanted in their brain that would end them if they ever went on a rampage, but it wasn't enough for Damon. Kinsey was too close to them.

Only, how did he tell her not to go into work?

I have to pay the bills somehow, she'd told his brother.

Idiot.

She had no home. Sabrina was generously letting her sleep on the couch, but that couldn't last forever. For either of them. Kinsey needed the money--wherever it came from--to find her own place. He was all too familiar with that drive to survive, to risk his own life for the sake of ensuring a roof over his head, food in his belly. The only difference between them was that he had his brothers. Kinsey's family had abandoned her. Left her to fend for herself.

Not anymore. We will provide for our female. She will stay with us.

Damon wanted to laugh at his wolf's idea. Not because it was ridiculous and he doubted she would go for it, but because he would love it if she stayed. She was awed by every room in his apartment, from the billiards room to his own fucking bathroom, and while he watched her drink it all in, he wanted to say, "It could be yours too."

But even if she did say yes--which was a big if--it wouldn't last long. How could it? He had lied to her. Used her to find out more about the Corporation. If he discovered she was doing all of this to get information on his pack, he would be livid. He would go on a rampage. It would break his heart.

He wouldn't blame her for leaving him.

Urgent pounding sounded at the front door. Damon sprang into a crouch, claws bared, and snarled at the door. Kinsey sat up with a gasp.

"Wh-what's going on?"

"Stay here."

He smelt shifters, but he wasn't expecting any visitors. It wasn't unheard of for his pack to come knocking on his door at unseemly hours of the night. It also wasn't the first time he'd been attacked in his own home,  either.

"If you hear me bark, hide in the closet and call Kalem."

Her eyes widened in fear. "What about you?"

"Don't worry about me." It took a lot more to kill him than it did her. It wasn't a risk he was willing to take.

He left the room, butt naked, with claws extended, ready to slice through anyone who dared to attack him in his home.

The pounding came again. The scent of blood wafted from underneath the door.

"Damon!"

The frenzied voice was familiar. Kalem.

Claws gone, Damon opened the door. Kalem stood breathless, suit smeared with blood. Slung over his arm was Cory, a young wolf pup Damon had accepted into the pack last year after the death of his parents. His older sister Cera had been glued to his side since day one. She was not with them now and Cory had deep gashes across his chest.