Damon couldn't have asked for a better turn out.
When the Folk leaders responded to his invitations, he had anticipated their ambassadors would be the ones attending. Tonight, the only leader who sent a representative was the fae queen. Vampire coven leader Ryce Renaldi was here with his entourage. James Hawthorne, the Warlock of Wensworth had graced the event with his presence. The most surprising was High Witch Colleen.
He had half a mind to believe she only appeared just so she could catch him off guard. If that was the case, she succeeded. He had only sent her an invitation to be polite, he never would have thought she'd come.
And, of course, representing humans, Mayor Paul John had come, none the wiser of the company tonight. As far as he was concerned, everyone was shifter or human.
Damon's pride swelled to see so many representatives from all Folk here. Everyone in this room wanted peace. Hopefully, one day, they would have it. One day his people wouldn't fear walking alone on the streets.
After his speech, people rushed to congratulate him or to inform him they had already donated to the cause. His responses were half-hearted. The only thing on his mind was reaching Kinsey, who had found herself surrounded by seemingly every available male in the building. She had a drink in her hand and was flushed from all the attention. Her smile lit up the whole room--and the hunger in the males' eyes. A possessive need overtook him, urged him to walk faster. That was his smile, reserved only for him.
One fae saw him coming and immediately turned and walked in the opposite direction. Others weren't so fortunate.
As soon as he was able, he hooked his arm around her waist and yanked her to his side. He growled at the lot of them then steered her towards better company.
"Damon!" Kinsey gasped, stumbling in his hold. He loosened his grip so she could balance better. "What are you doing? I was talking to Chauncey."
"Chauncey--" he vowed to remember that name so he could track the vampire down later "--wants what you're hiding under that skirt."
"Damon." She dug her heels in, which, given her strength, didn't have a chance of stopping him, but her glare did. She placed a hand on his chest, calming him momentarily. He huffed, annoyed that she had that power over him. He wanted to be angry at the males for looking at her, why couldn't she let him? "What's the matter? You're acting. . . different."
"Nothing's wrong," he muttered, scanning the room for anyone who might be looking at her. For anyone he needed to hit.
"Are. . ." Her cheeks went rosy. "Are you jealous?"
Her words struck him and completely wiped his mind free of all previous thoughts. He swung his head back her way. "Jealous? That would imply I feel threatened by other men."
He was an Alpha, had all the money he could possibly want, and he was hot as fae fire. No other man could compete with him.
She looked at her feet. "Yeah. I guess you would have no reason to be jealous." Was that disappointment he heard with his very sensitive ears?
He caught her chin and brought her gaze up to meet his. "Do you want me to be jealous?"
Her eyes widened. "No. Of course not. I-I just. . ." Her voice lowered into a timid whisper, "I like it when you get all protective."
A slow smile crept up his lips. The news pleased his wolf and him. "That's good, because I have a feeling you're going to be seeing a lot of that side of me tonight."
◇ ◇ ◇
Almost anyone who had some semblance of power in the city came to greet Kinsey--not him, the host and fellow leader. Some were curious and had to see her up close, while others asked more probing questions about the mysterious woman at his side. Damon had been nervous about what she would tell people, but she didn't once mention the Bane Corporation or Carissa.
She was phenomenal. It had taken him years to charm the people in this room, and Kinsey had done it in a matter of minutes. It helped that she was genuinely engrossed in the tales told tonight. Even James Hawthorne had been taken by her--and it took a lot to pique the interest of the age old warlock. He had seen and done things maybe only the oldest vampire could imagine. It had been even more shocking when Damon discovered they had already met.
"When did you meet James?" Damon asked after the warlock had left to find an unsuspecting victim--of which Kinsey had thankfully not been previously. It wasn't that he set out to harm anyone, but he was so old he had long since forgotten what it was like to be fragile, to be susceptible to magic. Even his aura, in certain crowds, could cause harm, because it was so magically dense.
She shrugged, thinking nothing of it. "At the mall."
Damon clenched his jaw to stop it from hitting the floor. Now he had heard everything. James Hawthorne at the mall? What would a warlock, who could transmogrify, be doing at the mall?
She frowned then peered up at him. "It was strange, though. Only I could see him. Sabrina didn't see him."
Of course the careless warlock used magic in public. Damon refrained from rolling his eyes. "That's because he willed it," he answered vaguely. He didn't want to get into the complexities of a glamour spell with her in this public setting, with far too many magic welders to be tempted to show her how their magic worked. Maybe one day he'd tell her about the magic in this world.
"Willed it? What do you-" she cut herself off and went ramrod stiff. Her heart quickened, a tremble taking hold of her hand.
He immediately went on the offensive, pulling her close and scanning the room for anything that would have upset her. His trained eyes picked up on nothing, but the terror was very much real for Kinsey.
"What is it?" he asked, rubbing soothing circles on her back.
She swallowed. Her voice was low, "My. . . my parents are here. What are they doing here?"
He followed her gaze and spotted a couple with a group of shifters. Kinsey was the spitting image of her mother, except her eyes; they were a darker shade of brown and didn't hold a shred a compassion. Her father was a lanky fellow with blue eyes that were dulled with boredom.
Kinsey tugged on his arm, leading him away from them. "I love this song, will you dance with me?"
"You want to dance? Right now?" He knew it was an excuse to avoid her parents, but he wanted her to admit it and tell him why they would do such a thing in the first place. He wanted to meet the people who had brought Kinsey into this world.
And it's a great opportunity to get more information, he dutifully reminded himself. They must want to boast about Carissa--and possibly give you something to hold against her.
"Yes." Kinsey urged him to the dancefloor--then she stopped abruptly, bumping into him. "Shit."
They had caught sight of their daughter and were making their way over. Damon barred his arm around her waist, holding her firmly in place.
She fought futility in his grasp. "Damon, please. I don't want to see them."
The plea tore at his heart, but it was too late to run away now. Kinsey's mother stood before them, her hands neatly clasped in front of her. Her lips peeled back into a pleasant smile for Damon.
His wolf growled in the back of his mind. Damon agreed. Something smelt off.
Kinsey leaned into him and probably would have melted into him if she could, to hide from them.
"I'm Johanna Ashe, Kinsey's mother."
Kinsey snorted, then stopped trying to hide from them, since it clearly wasn't working out for her, and took a small step away from Damon, crossing her arms over her chest. Johanna finally drew her attention to Kinsey. Her gaze trailed over her dispassionately. "I'm surprised to see you here, Kinsey. This type of event is usually Carissa's thing."
"I could say the same thing about you." Kinsey was calm, but his sensitive ears could pick up on the slight tremor in her voice. "You do realise this is a shifter event?"
The way Johanna's face fell flat told Damon she did not, in fact, know that. She looked at him, mouth ajar in horror. "Then this is a. . .?"
Kinsey put a hand on his chest, already calming his beast before he could snarl in the woman's face. "This is Alpha Damon Hayes. He's the host of this event and my date."
Gasping, the woman clutched her pearls and took a step back. Her face twisted in disgust when she looked at her daughter. "How can you do this to us? We raised you girls better than this!" She waved her hand over Damon like he was some demonic spirit.
"I told you we shouldn't have kicked her out," her father muttered. "She'll only degrade further if we ignore her. If we bring her back home, there's still a chance-"
Johanna silenced him. "Quiet, Casey. Can't you see it's already too late? She's an embarrassment." She addressed Kinsey, "After everything we've done for you, this is how you repay us? By fucking animals?"
Damon clenched his fists. If she wanted to see an animal, she was on a fast track to seeing one. Kinsey stepped in front of him, stopping him. He allowed it. It might be the only time he had ever let someone defend him, but this was her fight, not his, and he would not disrespect her by taking it away from her.
"No. You're embarrassing me," she seethed. She stood proud and determined, his fierce little warrior in the making. "I am at this event with my date, and you're making a scene because you're both too stupid to realise you have been talking 'animals' all evening."
Their mouths fell open, but she kept on going, ruthlessly, "These people, who you call 'mindless barbarians,' have accepted me for who I am, which is far better than what you have ever tried to do for me. They are better people than you'll ever be. No amount of money can ever hide how terrible you truly are."
Kinsey stole a deep breath, her composure slipping. "Oh, and, by the way, moving out and getting away from you insufferable people was the best thing I've ever done and I won't let you make me feel bad about it." She had finished what she wanted to say, body quaking, her hands balled up at her sides. The silence stretched on, not only between them, but in the entire room. Everyone had heard Kinsey stand up to her parents, stand up for his people and Night Folk everywhere--but she was too focused on holding herself together to notice.
Damon couldn't have been prouder of her. After watching her struggle coming out of her shell over the time he had known her, he knew this wasn't an easy thing for her to do.
"So. There," she finally spat. She was out of breath and awkward about it, but she seemed happy with the outcome.
It was then when she noticed the silence, the eyes intently honed in on her. Her face went a deep, deep red then she ran for the nearest door.
Damon stepped toward her so-called parents, towering over then easily. "Leave." He could barely contain the growl, and he honestly didn't want to. If there weren't other humans in the building, he would have shifted and give them a piece of his beast.
The couple jumped back at his tone and scampered away.
Kalem was at his side in an instant. "Kinsey is in the hallway. Security is keeping it clear. Go to her, I'll soothe things over here."
Damon couldn't be more grateful to have him in his life. He clasped his shoulder in thanks then hurried to the door she went through. From there, he followed the sound of sniffles until he found Kinsey. She was sitting on the floor, her back against the wall, while she buried her head in her knees, which she had tucked into her chest.
The sight broke his heart.
He slid down the wall beside her and slipped his arm around her waist, easily lifting her and setting her sideways in his lap. He held her while she cried.
"I'm sorry," she mumbled between sobs. "I didn't mean to ruin your party."
He kissed her bare shoulder. Her skin seemed to be the only thing that stopped his wolf from tearing free of his human flesh and chasing after those horrid people. "You didn't ruin the party. I'm sorry for forcing you to greet them."
Hiccupping, she leaned into his chest and cried on his shoulder. "It's not your fault. I didn't tell you about them."
He held her tighter, resting his chin on her head. Letting his anger simmer but never overboil. Kinsey didn't need his anger. Shouldn't have to stop him from cursing out her parents when she was trying to deal with her own stuff. She was ashamed of them enough. He wouldn't make it worse.
"Are you mad?" she sniffled.
"At you? No. At your parents--absolutely furious. No one in my family talks that way to each other." What he truly didn't understand was how she had come from such a fucked up family and came out as this benevolent ray of sunshine. "Will you tell me what happened between you and your parents?"
She wiped her eyes with the back of her wrist, smearing her makeup in the process. "It's not a nice story," she warned.
"Tell me," he urged gently.
She took a deep breath in then let it all out. "As you know, it was a huge shock to the world when your people revealed themselves. Humans quickly became divided: those who accept shifters as equal beings versus those who don't. You'll never guess where my family lies." She pushed stray strands out of her face and met his gaze, sheepishly.
"Admittedly, there was a time when I agreed with them. Not in thinking your people don't deserve rights, but in fearing you. Your people are strong, and while we let our survival instincts dwindle, yours thrived. If you wanted to hurt us, there would be nothing we could do to stop it."
"What changed your mind?" He kept his tone low, gentle. She had stopped crying, he wanted to keep it that way. It hurt him to see her upset far more than it should.
She smiled softly at him. God, she was beautiful. A ray of light, even in her darkest moments. "You did. You've shown me that despite your power, you can be gentle. You don't want to hurt anyone."
Her words shocked him. Him? Gentle? He was anything but.
For the female, we are gentle, the wolf reminded him.
He supposed that was true. He wouldn't dare hurt her.
"Anyway, it got so bad at home, I wasn't allowed to go to certain neighborhoods. I couldn't go hiking anymore because shifters belonged in the woods. I put my foot down when they told me I couldn't see Sabrina anymore, because she writes paranormal romance novels. My best friend. The only person in my life who loves me for who I am and supports my decisions. I wouldn't do it. 'Our house, our rules,' they said." She scoffed bitterly and shook her head.
"Carissa's name is on the title. Not theirs. My parents wouldn't be anything if it weren't for Carissa. She bought them their new house on the west side of the river. She pays for their bills, bought their cars. She gave them the life they have right now. They did nothing." She took a deep breath and offered him a small smile in a way of apology--which was absolutely unnecessary. "I may have reminded them of that. . . so they kicked me out and told me I was an ungrateful brat.
"I didn't have a job at the time, so I couldn't afford anywhere to live. Sabrina took me in, and I've been sleeping on her couch ever since."
His wolf stirred under his flesh. It was painful to hold him back. Her own family had thrown her to the curb like trash. Like she was nothing.
He knew their names now. It would be stupid of him to hunt them down himself--or to put a hit on them--but he knew people who could make their life very difficult without the world ever knowing a shifter was responsible. He would make them pay for mistreating his woman.
Amongst all of his rage, he couldn't help but feel a little relieved. This was her secret. It had nothing to do with the Corporation. She was ashamed for having no home.
"How long ago was this?" he asked.
She looked down at her lap, fiddling with her fingers. Her shame rippled through him and only made him more furious. What did this woman have to be ashamed of? She stood up for what she believed in, held her ground after being outcasted. She should be proud.
"A month," she whispered.
A month. Kinsey had been sleeping on a couch for an entire month and still somehow managed to be a ray of sunshine when she smiled at him.
Fuck.
He rose to his feet, holding Kinsey in his arms. She tensed, clutching his shoulder in panic.
"Damon? Where are we going?"
"You're sleeping in a bed tonight." And every night afterwards if he had a say in it. He might not deserve her company, but he'd be damned if she didn't get what she deserved after the bullshit her family put her through--and what he was doing to her.
Bringing her home was definitely not part of the plan. It was dangerous for him; she could tell Carissa--even worse, Victor--where he lived. If the Corporation captured him, his pack would be vulnerable until Kalem got them in order again. Who knew how many lives would be lost in that time frame? Too many.
Still, he couldn't stop himself, whether it was his wolf silently taking the reins or his own morals driving him to make this right somehow.
Kinsey wiggled in his grasp. "Damon, hold on. Slow down. You can't leave yet. What about the fundraiser? If you leave, other people will too before paying their dues."
He stopped in the middle of the hallway only because she was wiggling so much he might drop her by accident. It would be much easier to hold her if her dress wasn't so slippery.
"Let's stay a few more hours," she beseeched, "then I'll go home with you."
He studied her, looking for any reservations she had about sleeping in his bed tonight. There didn't have to be any sex if she didn't want it--he would sleep in the guest room if he had to--but he would not be satisfied until she was in between his sheets, cozy and content.
He found none.
He took a deep breath to calm himself then set her down. "We will stay as long as you like," he relented. "Why don't you get cleaned up? I'll wait for you."
She frowned at him, confused by his request--then she remembered she was wearing makeup and had been crying moments ago. Her hands flew to her face. "Oh, my God. I must look like a sad clown! I'll be right back."
"Take your time."
He was in no rush. His female was coming home tonight.