A Demons Mate (Black Butler)

Chapter 4

It was Lucien that got him thinking about mates again a couple hundred years ago. The blonde had called for him after going to the human world to feed and pointed out the pretty, shy young woman that had caught his attention. The daughter of a farmer, Emily was not what Sebastian had been expecting. Lucien was normally drawn to the elegant and refined for a meal. Instead, he had been in a panic, not sure why he couldn't let the brunette out of his sight.

At least she had been easy to get away from her family. Emily was to be the family's sacrifice to save the rest of them from starvation. A merchant, over twice her age, had made an offer that her father couldn't turn down. Not and keep the rest of his family alive. Emily family had two brothers, three sisters and no means to give them a start. They could keep a roof over the young ones' head but little else.

They had to take whatever came their way.

With his Elder's help, Lucien had easily eclipsed the merchant's offer and taken Emily back to their home.

After that, Sebastian had started to make changes to the tower he and his first family members had built. The changes made Emily more comfortable in what had been a 'bachelor' home, but the true reason had been because he was making his home comfortable for his own mate when he found him or her. As a demon, the question of gender did not matter to him. Demons did not procreate so man or woman didn't mean anything to them. But, all the mates that demons had found had been human. The changes he had enacted made the tower more suitable to a human's presence.

He hoped that Serena would be more agreeable when she woke up again. Emily still wasn't the strongest personality and he would like to keep Lucien. However, a mate's wishes came first. If Emily wasn't comfortable around Serena, Lucien would look for another home.

Edwin had been the second demon he gathered close. He had approached him after asking the only demon in the pit that Lucien would want on his side in a fight. The blond had pointed to a brunette not far away. The other was Lucien's exact opposite. Definitely a warrior in his human life, the male was muscled and rugged where Lucien was more lithe and delicate. Edwin had been another that used his brain in battle, but his was born of pure experience. He discovered that in his human life, Edwin had been a battalion commander for a long dead empire and looked at everything in terms of battle strategy. He had been a valuable asset indeed.

Sebastian laughed at the memory of introducing the first members of his house to his former Elder. Haagenti had tried to Edwin to come to his house instead. Surely he wanted a more experienced Elder to train him to survive.

Lucien had dropped back, preparing for a fight. However, Sebastian knew that it was a compliment. As a lifelong soldier, Edwin had known as well and thanked the Elder for his offer before politely declining. His loyalty would always be to the one that pulled him from the pits.

The two of them had stayed with him for centuries, through battles with other houses, through underlings that tried to betray, and through contract after contract. In exchange, the Elder had taught them to survive, had given them shelter from the harsh reality of hell and changing times in the human world.

His musing stopped when the figure on the bed started to move. When Serena saw him she sat up quickly. Too quickly evidently, as she put a hand to her head and squeezed her eyes shut. After a moment, she looked back over.

"So, you're still here. I'm obviously not imagining this." The red head sighed heavily. "Damn."

"I would still like to you explain how you know that I am a demon." Sebastian kept his voice low so as not to repeat their earlier episode.

"I have a feeling that you're going to think my explanation is a little crazy."

"As opposed to your earlier behavior?" He raised an eyebrow at her glare.