Chapter Twenty Seven

"Mom, you gave dad the same necklace as me!" Nathaniel responded snapping his mother from her thoughts.

Rina's eyes widened, Nathaniel had silently followed and observed them.

"Yes, well I thought it would be nice for you two to have something in common." Rina replied.

Nathaniel seemed to accept the answer and nodded.

"Okay!…let's go back to Karim's hut. I'm sure everyone would love to know where Nathaniel disappeared to. Wouldn't they, Nathaniel?" Rina giggled when he lips formed into a pout as he stared up at her, but she wasn't falling for it this time.

"I only left for a couple of minutes I don't think they'll be mad." Nathaniel quickly countered.

Rina kneeled down before him. "Nathaniel honey, how many times do I have to tell you? It's not safe here like at home anything can happen, understand? I wouldn't know what to do if something happened to you; your everything to me." Rina said raking her fingers through his thick hair

"I'm sorry…"

"It's okay but next time tell someone where you're going, what matters is you won't do it again."

Rina was frustrated she couldn't believe the group didn't notice Nathaniel was gone, but then again she couldn't blame them after all she knew how smart he was. The group probably wasn't prepared for this to happen.

Rina stood up taking a hold of Nathaniel's small hand and began the short journey back to the village with Damien.

Damien felt out of place as Rina spoke to their pup. Though he was proud that his pup listened to everything his mother told him, he knew he had played no part in what Nathaniel knew. All the credit went to Rina and everyone knew it.

The demon Lord knew he had a long road ahead of him when it came to the role he would play in Rina and Nathaniel's life. He wasn't sure how the other Lords were going to react to the news of not only did he have a human mate but she was a priestess and an heir, a full blooded demon.

He didn't care what the other Lord's would think of this new revelation but he wasn't sure how he was going to explain the reason he did not reveal having a mate and an heir for almost two years. His mind was rapidly spinning with multiple scenarios at once he couldn't think of a right way to explain everything away.

He was not used to explaining himself to anyone but this would call for a fabricated story to not only deter the courts from questions but his heir as well. He needed to say something that would also help Nathaniel understand what happened. The little one was far too curious for his age adding pressure to the current situation.

Damien's eyes slide towards his human mate beside him. Her attractiveness was obvious to anyone with eyes. the swell of her hips and pinched in waist for baring him more pups. But looks were only skin deep. The demon Lord knew next to nothing about her on a personal level. The words they exchanged in the past were more of disagreements than anything else.

His inner beast growled at the swirling thoughts, everything always involved Tristen. His introduction to Rina was because of him. The few times he saw her was because his young brother chose to bring her by. Those few occasions and interactions had reeled him in.

He supposed he should be thanking the half-breed for his interference. The giggles of Nathaniel burst through, he ran around them. He would not be staring at this pup had Tristen's wretched presence not been involved. Damien sighed, there was no way of looking at this situation without seeing its faults but also see the blessing that have come along with it.

The walk back to Karim's hut was silent but comfortable as Nathaniel swung Rina's hand in a sense of joy. Tristen suddenly jumped from the trees in front of them in a state of panic scanning the small group, when his eyes landed on Nathaniel he let out a growl.

"You!…you little runt how the hell did you get out the hut without us noticing?!"

The demon Lord's beast rammed against its cage. Thoughts of Tristen and simply seeing him stirred the rage within his beast. Damien's iron control clamped down on it and pulled it back in. A soft growl passed his lips but no one heard it.

"Mmm…you all were arguing so it was easy to sneak out of the hut without you noticing…" Nathaniel said.

Tristen stared at Nathaniel with his mouth agape.

"What the hell Rina?! What did you teach this kid?" Tristen yelled.

Nathaniel hid behind Rina and giggled as he wrapped his little arms around her legs.

"Umm…I trained him that's all I guess." Rina responded sheepishly.

"Tristen it seems that you have been beaten by a one year old." Damien replied then smirked.

"I'm sorry was that a joke? I'll give you one too, you fu-"

"Stop! Tristen what did I tell you? No cursing in front of him!" Rina all but shouted.

The trio brushed past him, Nathaniel grabbed his parents hands and swung his himself between them. A soft hand with slight callous around the edge wrapped around his right hand. Deadly claws much like his own curled around his left hand. The difference was not shocking to the little one, it was his world. It brought a sense of comfort to him, his pack was finally complete.

"Okay, lets head back to the village." Rina said, clapping her hands.

"I'll race you down to the cabin Mom!" he shouted and sprinted not waiting for a reply.

"Hey?!" Rina ran after him chasing Nathaniel down the hill.

Damien followed behind them in a even pace, and reached them to see Rina panting and ruffling Nathaniel's hair.

-O-

The hut was in a state of panic; it seemed as if they were all waiting for someone.

'Or should I say Tristen…' Rina thought.

Rina stepped through the entrance. "Hi guys is something wrong?"

"Rina?!" they yelled in relief.

Sarah came rushing forward.

"Rina its Nathaniel, we were just talking then the next minute he's miss-" Sarah was cut off from her state of panic.

"Oh do you mean this little guy? Rina questioned patting Nathaniel's hair.

Nathaniel wrinkled his nose in response.

"He was just worried about his mommy…but he promised not to sneak out again without telling someone, right Nathaniel?" she hugged him to her side.

"Right," Nathaniel muttered.

"But where's Tristen?" Michael asked.

"He'll be here soon." Damien said.

"I am happy ye child is alright, but now it is time to eat." Karim said as she stirred the pot of stew over the fire.

"Oh Karim you have no idea how much I missed eating your food especially when I was pregnant!" Rina exclaimed bursting into laughter at the memory. But she didn't realize how much the impact of her words had on Damien.

The demon Lord took a deep breath when his mate mentioned her pregnancy. He knew she did not understand the pack ways. How much they cherished their mates and how symbolic her pregnancy was. He should have been there to bond with his pup but he understood the situation they were in.

Wolf mates were very affectionate and protective of their packs. Once a mate fell pregnant, things would shift into a more possessive state. It should have been his duty to feed her and have all her needs met. No matter how the situation came to be it was something he would never be able to correct.

It would have been near impossible to occur. He was just grateful there were no complications in his mate's pregnancy or he might have lost them without even knowing he had them at all. So many things could have gone wrong, yet they didn't. A human birthing a pure breed was unheard of.

Out of the many demons that stretched across his territory, the wolves were the most affectionate to their mate and pups, they protected what was theirs viciously. But Damien was an exception; he did not show his emotions to anyone. He was the Lord of the West and he would be damned if he let anyone defeat him by using something as simple as emotions against him.

He locked them away a long time ago…but it seemed new emotions were starting to leak through his armor. The discovery of a mate was a shock. She had given him an heir, a strong heir, a strong pup, Damien never thought he would have a pup especially from his experiences in his court.

It was a modern world but it still held the viciousness and greed like the past. His status attracted every greedy person in his territory, association with him would further their place in the demon world.

But now he found himself staring at his growing pack and realized he was no longer alone.