Siren's Mark

Chapter 2

ℤ𝕒𝕟𝕖

Kami said she'd handle her own ride home, so Kieran and I head back to the car. I push the elevator button while Kieran eyes a curvy blonde doctor at the nursing desk.

"So Kami's charming as ever," he says, reluctantly pulling his eyes from the doctor's assets.

"Yeah, you know how she can be. She's just looking out for me. She hasn't had a lot of positive experiences with demons in the past. She thinks you all have ulterior motives."

"Ah come on, can't a bro have a supernatural wingman?"

I chuckled. Supernatural wingman isn't exactly the title I would have come up with, but it's a very Kieran thing to say.

"She thinks I'm reckless," he says. "She's right, in a way. Or she was. It goes without saying that I've made some bad decisions. I wasn't looking to out myself or draw any unwanted attention. Certainly not to lead it your way."

He looks at me with concerned eyes, almost guilty. I'm not really looking to have a gushy moment right now.

"I know," I say.

"I hope you don't think of me as a leech," he says with a serious expression.

"No, mate, not at all. Honestly, we're good."

For an Incubus, Kieran is very young. Kami expects everyone to have their shit together right away, but sometimes I think she's too far removed from her past to remember what that learning stage was like. God forbid I take him in because I have compassion for him.

When I first met Kieran, he was starving. He would kill anyone he could lure because he needed everything he could get. It's sick that Incubi don't have any powers to help them lure their prey like we do, yet they need to feed off human sexual energy to survive.

The elevator dings before the doors open to reveal the girl with purple hair. She has some paperwork rolled up in one hand and a bright pink bandage wrapped around her elbow. She must've just had a blood test of some kind.

Her grey eyes catch mine as we step into the elevator and she smiles awkwardly.

"Hey," she says. "So you found your friend?"

Kieran immediately inserts himself between us before I can answer. "Hey Zane, aren't you going to introduce me to your lovely friend?"

I see his eyes widen as a deep, dark smile washes over his face. I've seen this look before when he has spotted his prey.

"I'm Kieran," he says, reaching out for a handshake.

"Ava," she responds.

I feel an uncomfortable pressure in my chest as their hands meet. This girl has just come from a blood test and told the receptionist she had been here many times recently. Whatever's going on with her, she's not someone he should be targeting. She could get hurt, or worse.

The elevator stops and I firmly pull Kieran by the arm out of the elevator.

"This is us," I say. "Bye."

I'm getting him away from her. Now.

Kieran is quiet, but fuming, leaving a minute for the elevator doors to close as he slowly walks toward the car.

"What the hell was that, man?" Kieran snaps. His eyes are wide with fury and his body is tense. He punches a nearby cement pillar and a chunk crumbles off.

"Kieran, stop," I say. "That girl is sick."

"So?!" He growls, his hand tugging on his hair at the root.