The Struggles of Dating a Demon [Completed]

Anger

Mabel woke up slowly, grimacing when her body made its protests clear. She blinked several times to clear her vision, questions forming in her head when she realized she was lying in her own bed, swaddled in blankets.

"Aleron?" she croaked, startling when he appeared directly above her, his dark hair dangling around his worried features. "What happened?"

"You fell unconscious," he rumbled, his hands dancing over her face and arms. "I brought you back here."

Memories coming back to her the more she woke up, Mabel groaned. "Oh, no. Was that before or after you killed the guy?" she knew there was no hope for the man who'd attacked her—especially not when she wasn't even conscious.

A dangerous smirk crawled across Aleron's lips. "Where do you think I came from, Little One?"

Mabel let her head fall back against the pillow with defeat. "Of course. I should have known. Can you help me sit up?"

"No." his stare turned steely. "You will not move until you are healed."

Laughing at his typical behavior, Mabel pushed herself up to her elbows, ignoring the soreness and grinning victoriously when Aleron assisted her. "You are stubborn," was all he said, clearly disgruntled.

"Yes," Mabel agreed, sitting on the side of the bed with her legs dangling over. "Which is something you should remember in the future."

He quirked a smile, but Mabel could tell his heart wasn't in it. "What's wrong?" she asked, leaning forward and grasping his hand in her own.

Still silent, he inspected their clasped hands, twining their fingers together. "Would you like to know why you were attacked?" He asked finally, his voice cautious.

"Actually, yes." She bent her head down to try and catch his eyes, to no avail. He was just as stubborn as her, it would seem. "Aleron?"

Pulling her hand up until it was settled against his chest, he sighed with contentment, eyelids shut as he soaked in the feeling. "Do you trust me, Little One?" his eyes snapped open, and they searched hers.

Mabel curled her fingers against the rough material of his black shirt, bobbing her head up and down without hesitation. "Yes. Of course I do. Aleron, you're scaring me a little bit. Why was I attacked?"

"You were targeted because Herman continues to involve himself in things darker than he understands. He has no family or friends, and—since you are the only one seen with him—you are the only weakness they believe they can exploit." His words dripped with fury, and Mabel swallowed back the bile in her throat.

They were targeting her? All because Herman was doing stupid stuff?

She was suddenly lightheaded, and closed her eyes against the too-bright lights. "Right," she started slowly, "So, in other words, I'll keep being targeted until Herman gives them what they want."

Aleron's entire body stiffened; he growled low in the back of his throat, lips lifted in the beginning of a snarl. "I will kill them if they touch you!"

She had no doubt about that, and it probably should have scared her more than it did. "Yes, yes, I know," she soothed, moving her free hand to pull her fingers through his hair, grinning inwardly when he relaxed immediately. "Please don't go around just killing random people, though, alright? I don't want to be responsible for the deaths of innocents."

"I will determine whether they are innocents," he scoffed, tilting his head minutely so she could get better access to his shaggy locks, "Not you. You need only worry about your own safety, Little One. You will not go anywhere without informing me beforehand, and you will call for me if you believe you are in the slightest bit of trouble."