Chapter 43
F or the first time in their relationship, Kyla and Dylan managed to share a bed and not have sex. After her energy draining ordeal, she wanted nothing more than to fall asleep held in a pair of strong, arms that encased her in a warm hug.
The fact those arms belonged to a bad ass werewolf made the deal even sweeter, but she wouldn’t tell Dylan that.
When she woke the next morning, refreshed and buzzing with energy, she rolled onto her side, looking down at her dog, who had slept by the side of the bed all night, and smiled. “I think he looks like a Dylan,” she said, biting her lip to stifle her smile.
Dylan shot straight up in bed. “What did you just say? You’d better not name your dog after me.”
“Why?” she asked, innocently shrugging her shoulders. “He wants my love and affection, just like you. He’s cute, I want to pet him all the time. I think it’s a good fit.”
Dylan put his hand on her shoulder and forced her to turn to face him. “Don’t you dare,” he said, narrowing his eyes as he looked down at her. “You can call him anything else but my name.”
Kyla grinned up at him. “I think it’s up to him what his name is.” She turned back to the dog and said, “What do you say, boy? Do you like the name Dylan?” The dog barked and jumped to his feet, wagging his tail eagerly. Kyla looked back at Dylan. “I think he likes it.”
Dylan rolled his eyes and then rolled out of bed. Glaring at the dog, he said, “No.”
The dog whined and sat down, his big brown eyes filling with sadness.
“You’re so mean,” Kyla said.
Dylan lifted his chin and said to the dog, “Oscar.” The dog leapt up and barked twice before spinning around in a circle. “There you go,” Dylan said, folding his arms over his chest, a triumphant gleam in his eyes. “That’s his name.”
“Oscar,” Kyla said, sounding the name out. “I like it. How did you come up with it so quickly? Does it have a meaning or anything?”
“I believe it has some Irish roots that means God’s spear or champion warrior. I think he’s definitely going to be your protector when I’m not around.”
Kyla turned to look at him. “How do you know it’s meaning?”
Dylan kept quiet for a few seconds and then said, “It’s my middle name.”
“Dylan Oscar Mohun,” Kyla said. “That’s quite a nice name.” She paused for a second, then said, “Wait. Your initials spell DOM.”
He grinned. “Yes, they do. And don’t you forget it,” he said, winking at her.
Kyla giggled and dragged herself out of bed.
Around an hour later, after breakfast, feeding Oscar, and getting ready for the day, Kyla decided it was time to visit her grandparents and talk about yesterday. As Dylan drove them both towards her grandparents’ house, Kyla phoned Sam, asking her to join them there.
After she put the phone down, Dylan gave her the side eye and sighed. “What about the guys?” he asked, his voice low and quiet.
Kyla’s heart backflipped in her chest at the thought of the handsome demons. Quirking an eyebrow up at Dylan, she replied, “I didn’t expect you to ask about them.”
Dylan pulled his lips into a thin line, staring straight ahead. Seeing an entrance to a field on the left, he swung the car in and came to a stop. Turning his full attention to Kyla, he took a deep breath and said, “I need to get something off my chest. When you woke up yesterday, the first thing you said was Azazel’s name.”
Kyla held her breath and looked down at her hands, wringing them together as she tried to calm her racing pulse. “He was the last thing I saw before I fell unconscious. He literally rushed in right as Mildred pulled me under.”
Dylan reached over and took one of her hands. “Hey,” he said, his tone quiet and gentle. “Look at me.”
Kyla peeked up at him from beneath her lashes, her mind whirling as to what he would say next.
“I am not blaming you for anything, let me just get that clear. You had been through a hell of an ordeal, he was the first person you saw when you woke, considering you were in his arms.” Dylan took a breath, those words leaving a sour taste in his mouth. “It hurt like hell, I won’t deny it, but I believe it happened because of the circumstances. What concerns me is...”
Kyla waited a second or two for him to finish his sentence but as his eyes drifted away from hers, she took a guess at where those words had been going. “The fact he’s my demi-soul. Apparently anyway.”
Dylan glanced back at her and nodded.
“Do you want me to be honest with you?”
Dylan swallowed a lump in his throat, then nodded. “Always.”
“I can’t deny that I don’t feel a pull towards him.” Kyla took a breath and let it out slowly, picking her next words carefully. “I can’t explain it, it’s weird...like he’s a magnet and I’m a paperclip.”
Dylan chuckled, trying to ignore the ache in his heart at her words. “What an analogy.”
Kyla smiled. “I know that’s not what you wanted to hear. I’m sorry, but we’ve battled through so much over the years, the least I can do is be honest with you.”
He nodded. “I appreciate the honesty so thank you. I guess I’m just worried about what happens next. Is this where you run off with him into the sunset playing happily ever after?”
She shrugged her shoulders and stared out of the windscreen. “I don’t know, Dylan.” She looked back at him. “I’m sorry but I just don’t have those answers yet.”
“What are we in the meantime?”
Kyla studied him for a few seconds, scanning her eyes over his. “Is it selfish of me to ask for everything to stay as it is until we figure all of this out?”
Dylan relaxed somewhat, grateful she wasn’t telling him to give her space until she knew her place with Azazel. “Not at all.”
Squeezing his hand, she said, “I’m worried that you’ll end up being hurt at the end of this though. Is it kinder to just cut it off now?”
Something in Dylan’s chest constricted, an arrow of panic shooting him straight in the heart, coursing through his body at a rate of knots. “No,” he said, shaking his head. “I’m ok, don’t worry about me. I’m as tough as old boots, you know that.”
“Maybe you’ll find your demi-soul soon.”
Dylan gave her a small smile, appreciating her optimism. “There was a reason I had no idea what a demi-soul was,” he said, his voice almost a whisper. “Wolves don’t have one.”
Kyla frowned. “What? How? Why? Maybe you’re just not aware of it?”
“It’s complicated,” he replied. “Werewolves are seen as the peacekeepers of the supernatural world. That’s why we’re big and tough and take a bit of rough and tumble. We’re like guards. If we had a weakness, such as a soulmate, it would compromise our position. Our duty takes precedence over anything else. As such, we can choose freely to be with who we please.”
Kyla frowned and shook her head. “I don’t buy that. It doesn’t make sense. If all the supernatural creatures have demi-souls, then you being with any of them means you’re with someone that isn’t technically yours.”
“That’s why we tend to be with humans or wolves. You won’t find records anywhere of wolves being with any other species.”
Kyla thought over his words for a few seconds, then said, “We need to get to my grandparents. Once we have some solid facts, then we can make decisions and figure things out, right?”
Dylan lifted her hand to his mouth and brushed a kiss over the back of it. “Good point.”
Easing the car back onto the road, they continued on in silence, each lost to their own thoughts. Kyla kept replaying yesterday over and over, specifically the part with Lucifer where he mentioned demi-souls and then presented the brothers with two red roses. What was that?
She needed them at her grandparents, they had questions to answer. Wondering if she could reach them with her mind, Kyla took a deep breath and closed her eyes. Picturing Azazel in her mind, focusing on his jade green eyes, she thought I need you and then showed him an image of her grandparents’ cottage.
After repeating it three times, she opened her eyes and bit her lip as she debated if it was as simple as that to call a demon to her aid. Was it as easy as willing yourself to communicate with someone?
Minutes later, as Dylan rounded the corner to Lily and Malcolm’s house, Kyla couldn’t stop herself from grinning as she saw Azazel and Balthazar waiting for her outside the cottage.
Maybe it was that easy after all.