Seven Deadly Sins

Chapter One

The weather was bleak at best and dreary at worst. The rain had settled from a downpour to a steady drizzle. The wind nipped at people every now and again adding to the feelings of misery. He could tell by the overall aura of the medium sized café that this was the most Monday of Mondays. Even the color scale seemed off. Everything seemed to be shaded in gray. The men and women sprinkled throughout the café even wore shades of black and gray. They all held certain things in common and he loved that.

This particular café was right in the middle of the corporate district. Business men and women littered the café holding meetings, garnering deals and other corporate tasks that not only made their businesses money, but also made them feel a certain way about themselves. He loved coming here to feed. The egos of the people scattered throughout the space were so inflated it was like a Thanksgiving feast on steroids. He knew that nothing filled him up quite like rich people with an inflated sense of self.

His brother also liked to feed from them. They were quite filling to him based on their depraved ways, but who was he to judge. As he sat in the back corner of the café and hummed to himself as he feasted, he felt the atmosphere shift. It was as if his chest was unfolding a fiery flower. He looked around to see what the cause could be until he saw her. In a room full of grays and blacks, she waltzed in with a cheerful smile on her face in a bright yellow dress and matching headband that tried its best to contain a sea of natural curls.

He tried to rub at the burning sensation in his chest, but to no avail. He had never been afraid of anything in his life, but as she looked towards him and smiled, he feared that he no longer knew how to breathe. As she began walking towards him, he realized he was on the brink of having a panic attack. "Is this seat taken?" Her voice was so similar to the sounds of seraphim singing in the holiest of realms. He would know. Seeing her up close did nothing to alleviate the sensations that ran through him. If anything, he felt like his heart was bound to burst at any second.

"Cat got your tongue." She giggled and he committed the sound to memory. "I-I'm sorry. You can have the seat." She gave him another smile that made him want to start wars if it pleased her. "This place is pretty full and everyone seemed to be paired off doing work. I saw you were by your lonesome and wanted to join you." She held out her hand after setting her drink down. "I'm Mikayla. Mikayla Moore." He took her hand and immediately felt a spark unlike any other. He knew she felt it too, because she began to seize a bit. He quickly removed his hand.

"Pride. Pride DeVille." She looked at him oddly. "Your parents...named you Pride?!" He chuckled at her confused expression. "Yes. My father has a sick sense of humor. I'm not even the worst one. My other brothers have pretty interesting names as well." She shrugged her shoulders before taking a sip of her drink. The proximity was killing him. He wanted to know every single thing about her. He wanted to touch her once more and kiss her into submission. "Tell me about yourself, Pride." She laughed at herself. "That's just so weird. Pride. I'm going to have to come up with a nickname for you."

The thought of her giving him his own special name made him want to fly. "What do you want to know, Mikayla?" She thumped her pointer finger on her thumb as she thought. "Where are you from? What do you do? How old are you? How many siblings? The usual..." He chuckled at her and thought over her questions. He used to hate the 'where are you from' question before his oldest brother Damien told him what he told people.

"I'm from the south. Florida. I work in Marketing at Draven, Inc. I'm 30 years old and I have seven brothers." Her eyes bugged out. "Eight boys. Your poor mother." He chuckled lightly. "My oldest brother and I have the same mother. My remaining brothers all have different mothers." He couldn't help but laugh at her facial expression. "My dad is a slut. He has more children, but my seven brothers are the only ones I acknowledge as my siblings." Mikayla simply nodded her head. "What about you?" She gave him a small smile.

"I'm originally from Hartford, Connecticut. It's beautiful and I love and miss it. I am the executive assistant of Mrs. Meredith Monroe. I'm 25 years old and unfortunately I am an only child." Pride nodded to himself with a smile. "I heard Meredith Monroe is a real pain in the ass." The laugh that tumbled off of her lips did something to him. "She's challenging, yes, but I think everyone has a story as to why they are the way they are. I don't judge and I think people can sense that because they don't usually treat me the same way they do others. She's actually nice to me for the most part."

Pride was shocked to hear that. Meredith Monroe was a raging lunatic, but she was also quite prideful and the few encounters he had with her in the past left him full for weeks. "Draven, Inc. is a pretty big company. They've done a lot worldwide." Pride nodded thinking of his brother's company. "It's my brother's company. Well, his and his two best friends." Mikayla's eyes widened in recognition. "You're Damien DeVille's younger brother?" He chuckled at her and nodded. "Your brother is so hot." His expression grew cold. "Don't let his wife hear you say that. Kali wouldn't like that very much."

She scrunched up her eyebrows. "I thought his wife's name was Harlow?" Pride realized his blunder and quickly changed topics. "So, what brought you here from Hartford?" She sighed as she looked down at her cup. "I just needed a change. There was nothing left for me in Connecticut." He nodded before her phone chimed. She quickly checked it and sighed once more. "I'm sorry, Petey. I have to go. Duty calls." He quirked an eyebrow. "Petey?" She giggled and nodded. "Pride DeVille. P. D. Petey. Get it." She laughed to herself as if she'd told the funniest joke and it warmed him. "I like it." She nodded with a wave and headed out.

It wasn't until she was gone that he realized he never got her number. "Idiot." He mumbled until he saw the napkin she had left. "You never asked, but that doesn't mean you didn't want it. 959-555-1211." He smiled widely as he entered her number into his phone. He wasn't sure when she had the time to write it down, but didn't care. He shot her a quick text thanking her for keeping him company before heading out of the packed café. He had his full and was stuffed. He knew he should head to work, but all he really did was feed or project at work and he didn't need to do either.

Most of the things done at Draven, Inc. were admirable. However, Pride like his brother Damien knew that their father had certain expectations of them. They were responsible for a lot of underhand dealings in the world and Draven, Inc. played a role in that as well. Pride would project thoughts and ideas into the minds of the humans and supernatural creatures working there to ensure certain things happened to lead the world into the chaotic madness it was currently swan diving into.

He gave Mikayla the age he presented as in the mortal world, but he was really almost as old time. He and his brothers had major roles into the things that occurred throughout the world and over time. The creation of pornography and rise to various sex related lifestyles like BDSM were all his brother Lust's doing.

The development of technology was his brother Damien's doing, but it was Pride and his younger brother Sloth that kept it afloat. The rise to diet fads and eating disorders were all his brother Gluttony's doing. Fortune 500 companies and the amassing of wealth seen by many celebrities and CEOs were all his brother Greed's doing. Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk were his favorite victims to feed from.

They also had a role in certain events that happened worldwide throughout history. 9/11 was the work of his younger twin brothers, Wrath and Envy. He truly hated to admit it, but his father orchestrated the entire catastrophe that was 2016 to present day and demanded he spearhead it. There isn't a day that goes by that Greed doesn't remind him that he was the cause of MAGA 2016.

Pride walked into an empty alley before looking around and then disappearing. He reappeared in the twelve-bedroom mansion he shared with six of his brothers and sighed contently. He made his way to one of the living rooms where he knew he'd find him. Sloth lay on the couch aimlessly watching Property Brothers. "Why do you watch this shit? You'll never do anything even close to what they do." His redheaded brother chuckled. "I like to think that in a parallel universe I'm as handy and productive as ever." Pride shook his head running his hand through his sandy blond hair.

"What happened to you earlier?" Sloth asked sitting up begrudgingly. "What do you mean?" Pride asked and images of Mikayla danced in his head. He felt the same warmth in his chest and rubbed. He did, however, notice that his brother did the same thing. "That. What is that? We all felt it earlier today. I feel like my chest is on fire, but in a good way." Pride smiled at his younger brother. "Brother. I've found our mate."