Chapter Twenty Six

"Rina…" Damien came to a halt when she sighed, still staying in the same position he found her in.

"You know I miss this place. The fresh air, open fields, the weather even you, surprisingly my child's father I'm still not sure why."

Her words cut him so deep he felt pain in his chest.

"But that's in the past now, I know it wasn't your fault to begin with, what I want to know is why?" she said closing her sapphire silver rimmed eyes from his sight blocking any emotions he could have seen.

"Why...why what?"

"Don't play coy with me Damien, why me? Why did your beast pick me?"

"My beast desired you…he always desired you from the moment he laid eyes upon you. You were the only female that stood up to me, you talked back to me. But most of all you were the only female, human or demoness that did not see me as a way to wealth or my title. You did not seem to care for material objects as most do. My beast did not only desire you but also wanted you, all of you for himself, with him for eternity as a mate. Even though he took you the way he did and left you he made sure no one could harm you by spreading his aura through the area."

"What now you're defending your beast's actions towards me, what the hell is that supposed to do? I still don't care for your wealth Damien, the only positive thing that came out of this situation is our child Nathaniel."

"Pup."

"What?"

"Nathaniel is referred to as a pup in wolf demon terms not a child." Damien responded.

"I think I have the right to call him my child instead of a pup since I did raise him and I'm not a demon to call him that..."

An uncomfortable silence hung in the atmosphere. "Why did you come here Damien? Is there something you need?"

"I...apologize it was not my intention to teach Nathaniel the words spoken in the hut, I do not wish to expose him to...such language." Damien said.

The term half-breed was also used in a derogatory way. The word describes a person's heritage but others often manipulated the word to slander them instead and use it to insult their mixed blood.

Rina's eyes softened immediately at his apology. She knew he was trying really hard to accept what his beast did and he was trying to cope with finding out he had a child without his knowledge. But it did not mean she was fine with how everything happened.

It had taken Rina a long time to come to terms with the conflicting emotion's she felt. Damien had come on to her by force, then there was the moment everything changed. She began to pull him towards her, the press of his flesh the attention he gave her. She wanted more, shame was the first thing she felt later when she began to reflect on their encounter.

Then it slowly began to change, due to Rina's position in the Northern lands she was privy to information most humans did not know. Demons were matched in strength, it was a game of dominance.

Demons and demoness's alike knew what to expect. The chase, a fight or worse. But a human had no idea how to respond. Rina knew all of this and it went out the window as soon as Damien pulled her into his arms.

A demoness would only allow a male to mate them if they proved their strength. strength meant safety, security of a home and future children would be protected. But the practice was not a normal occurrence anymore.

War had ended many years ago, for the most part there was peace in the four territories. This led to copulations that would have never occurred in the past. It also led to many mixed breeds forming bonds, half-breed children were not taboo as they were in Tristen's time. But that didn't stop pure breeds from using it as an insult.

"It's okay, but please try not to say half-breed in front of Nathaniel, Tristen is after all his uncle by blood and you know he would protect Nathaniel with his life; he is the only family he has besides you and Nathaniel that accepts him for who he is…"

Rina's eyes narrowed.

"What would you have done if Nathaniel was a half-breed instead of a full demon, would you have abandoned him because of his mother's blood flowing through his veins?"

Damien looked directly in her eyes. He could see tears forming and would fall based on his answer.

"I would never abandon my pup, halfling or not. My pup would be the strongest even if he were a half-breed, he has two powerful parents to gain different abilities from. My beast knew there was a chance our pup could be half human but he still desired you and no other."

Rina was surprised the demon Lord acknowledged her powers, but she still wanted to know one more thing. "But would you have accepted him, you…not your beast?"

"Yes," Damien responded.

He locked eyes with Rina showing his emotions for the first time since Rina revealed their son. The mood seemed to change drastically as the cool air brushed across their forms, smoothing out the tension from their bodies.

Damien and Rina were both locked in their own thoughts as they went over the conversation they just had. Rina seemed to snap out of her daze first only to notice Damien leaning on a tree staring at the sky.

Taking a deep breath she got up from the bench, Rina knew she had to get this over with sooner or later.

'Better now though…'

He casually leaned back against the weathered tree as he watched his mate walk towards him carrying a small package wrapped in a vibrant royal blue material.

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Sapphire orbs with a hint of gold stared curiously as his mother sat before his father fidgeting nervously as she held the package in her delicate hands.

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Damien watched amused as his mate continued to fidget nervously not looking him in the eye. What would normally be viewed as submission was an act expected towards a mate. But Rina's actions did not please him. He did not want her to be submissive like other demon females, but expressive and willing to voice her opinion as she usually did.

"Rina," Damien called.

He did not dare touch her for fear of her pulling away from his person again. He patiently waited for her to look up, when she did not he called for her attention again but this time with more authority.

"Rina…look at me,"

Hearing his tone Rina immediately turned to look at his face focusing on his mouth before slowly looking into his eyes. Heated amber clashed with hazel orbs.

"Hi..." Rina said losing thought of why she was in front of Damien.

Damien simply responded by raising his perfect brow in question.

"I believe you sat here for a reason Rina." Damien said amused only to have his voice turn breathy at the mention of her name. He was testing how her name rolled at the tip of his canine tongue.

He crouched before her. Rina's breath hitched when Damien spoke her name. Then anger took over, her body responded one way while her mind went the other way. The closer he came the more muddled her thought became. It was a constant battle to not give in, to not submit to the mating marks desire for completion.

"Right…This is for you." Rina breathed quickly as she lifted the gift in front of him. It seemed as if the conversation that they just had by the portal was just a rush of emotions she had pent up for too long.

As he reached for the package Damien still kept his heated gaze upon Rina's face. He noticed a hint of blush creeping down her chest as he took the package from her. He was astonished that she would give him anything let alone react this way. He stared at her flushed skin a moment longer.

Damien gazed at the royal blue package in wonder before delicately ripping the material off to discover a thick masculine chain inside a wooden box. It looked silver but it was made of a much firmer material and it seemed to be cloaked in holy powers, Rina's powers. He pulled the chain out of the package and noticed a crescent moon hanging in the middle of the chain. He looked up curiously turning his head to the side in question.

'So that's where Nathaniel got it from.'

His thoughts went back to the riverside. Nathaniel wore a similar necklace to the one before him. The only difference was the size of the crescent moon and thickness of the chain.

"It's a necklace that I made for you…to protect you should you ever face a foe that would endanger your life, not that I'm saying you're weak or anything like that." Rina quickly added the last part.

"I mean if you don't like it I could-"

"Thank you,"

"I don't want you to get any wrong idea, I made the same thing for Nathaniel. You just came into his life this is for him. He needs you with him and this is basically a trinket compared to the power you hold but its something that I thought might would be useful should you ever encounter a foe of divine power."

Damien was at a loss for words. He ignored the last bit she said and focused on the necklace. Not only did she not hold resentment for his beast's action towards her person now, but she was giving him a gift and protection that she had no obligation to. Normally he would have declined any sort of protection, but when he looked into the depth of her orbs he knew he couldn't reject this gift. Holding the chain higher in the air Damien ran his clawed fingers against the crescent moon gem.

Rina hesitantly took the masculine chain from his lethal hands and gently placed the necklace over his head lifting his thick silver hair to place the chain around his neck. As Rina fixed the chain around his neck she froze with her small hands clutching the chain.

Damien's gold orbs flared as he gazed down at her. She quickly broke eye contact only to stare at his perfect pale lips. One of his small fangs peaked out piercing his bottom lip.

It was interesting how the human canine teeth were sharp and slightly protruding. But when compared to an actual canine demon, they were vastly different. Rina shuddered as she thought of those same fangs piercing her neck by the hot spring. The fangs were just a bit longer but it was enough to do damage if the need arose.

A low purr rumbled through his chest snapping Rina from her dazed thoughts.

"I gave Nathaniel one too, I thought it would be nice for you two to have something in common." Rina said.

Damien could tell she was hiding something. But he decided to address his curiosity later, now was not the time. He was truly amazed at how Rina was acting; she still had that fire in her like before but now there seemed to be something more lurking in its depth.