Bane of My Existence

Chapter 22

James Hawthorne steepled his hands and set an incredulous stare on Damon. "Let me reiterate what you just said, to make sure we are on the same page: you want me to hire Kinsey Ashe as my assistant?"

"Yes."

Damon peered around the warlock's office, at all nick knacks lying around. Some were relatively harmless, wisps of hair, jars of eyeballs, sulphur powder dusting every surface. While other things were not as harmless and made his wolf stir at the thought of Kinsey going anywhere near them, like the Iron Maiden in the corner or the shelf filled to the brim with dangerous potions.

"Well, isn't this interesting?" James hopped back onto his perch above his desk; his scaly tail hung off the edge, twisting and curling beneath him. The pointed pincer at the tip pried open then snapped shut in his excitement. "Why should I take a human under my wing?"

Damon crossed his arms. "I know you've been following her; though, I don't know why. "

James tapped his chin in thought, tail flickering like an agitated cat; his pupils constricted into a thin black line barely visible among the purple gaseous state of his iris when he looked at him. A wicked smile danced on his lips. "What's this I hear? You will allow a human to work with me without knowing why I have taken an interest in her? Alpha Damon, how very reckless of you."

Damon's wolf growled in his mind and made his flesh ripple. "I know you mean her no harm, and I know you will protect her should trouble find her. Please, James, take her in."

It was beneath him to beg, but he'd beg the warlock if he had to if it meant keeping Kinsey safe.

If she wouldn't take his money, he would do the next best thing and find her a job away from evil scientists and unethical testing of his people. He could have found a boring office job for her, one she'd hate and would have been insulted by if he had proposed it to her. Working with James will have its challenges and dangers, but she'd like it here. She'd love all the animals and creatures James collected and studied. Ethically.

"Do we have a deal?" Damon pressed. He had another important meeting he was already late for, but he needed to know Kinsey would be taken care of.

James flashed him a pointy smile. "We do. I will take the human under my wing. It has been fascinating watching her grow into her new role and I look forward to seeing what she does with it."

Damon frowned curiously. "What do you mean?"

James tilted his head dubiously toward him. "Damon, darling, don't you know your wolf has chosen her to be your mate? She will rule beside you. A human and a shifter. It will change the world. Everyone is watching."

A shiver ran down his spine. He should have known the warlock would notice. He probably noticed before Damon pieced it together.

Damon rose out of the chair and turned to leave. James waved at the door, twiddling his fingers for extra flourish; a whoosh of magic blasted passed Damon and ripped the doors open, nearly smacking him in the face.

Safe. Hmm.

Damon ignored his wolf's disapproval for his choice. As far as he was concerned, James' property was safer than Damon's own home. Nobody fucked with a demon. No one would come after Kinsey here; not the Corporation, not any of his enemies, not a curious fae.

He stepped through the door portal, and was launched outside the main gates at the edge of the property. They were black, made of Demenirium, towering over the driveway with spikes at the tips. To an ordinary human, it was an overkill Gothic fence; to anyone from the Night Folk, this fence was a death sentence. It sapped magic out of any magic users caught within ten feet of it and burned anyone with the tiniest hint of magic in their blood. Including Damon.