Chapter 25: Chapter Twenty-Five

I looked at Damien, who was still refusing to look back at me. He knew how upset I would be when I found out, and it showed as he downed the rest of the blood without opening his eyes to so much as glance at me.

Sam sighed and stood "I'm sorry, Lucifer." he said softly before walking out of the room. A few seconds later I heard the front door close.

"Why do you continually lie to me?" I asked Damien, watching his face closely.

"Bast, I've always had your best interests in mind-" Damien started to say, but was cut off as I stood, and gave him an open-handed slap across his cheek. His eyes flew open as he looked over at me, holding his cheek. I know it didn't hurt him, but he was definitely stunned into silence.

"Cut the bullshit, Damien. Give me straightforward answers, or I leave. And you won't be able to stop me." I hissed at him, even surprising myself with the venom in my voice. I was livid, but I didn't realize exactly how upset I was until I spoke.

"Yes, my love. I'm sorry." Damien said, his once deep and thunderous voice, now a soft and hurt whisper. If I didn't know better, I would have thought he was seconds away from crying. But vampires can't cry... Can they?

"What have you done the past two centuries, Damien? Did you follow your wife around and seduce her offspring? You told me you never laid claim on another girl before me, was that a lie?"

"No, it wasn't a lie. You are the only descendant I have ever pursued. I didn't know you were of her bloodline until that day at the park, when you were six."

"So you didn't pursue me because of my connection to her? Okay, then how did you find out?" I asked softly, the venom in my voice lessening. I felt better knowing that wasn't the reason he wanted me, and I actually started to feel bad for slapping him.

"The similarity between the two of you... It's uncanny. I didn't see it until then, and I had every intention on telling you this, until you asked me to marry you." Damien responded with a slight chuckle, a small smile beginning to form at the corner of his mouth. "I thought if I told you, that you would think me a deviant. I've loved you the moment I laid eyes on you. And I know it was selfish of me, but I couldn't stand the thought of losing you."

"What was her name?" I asked after a few moments of thought.

"Karin."

"What happened to her?"

Damien looked back down at the ground, taking a few deep breaths before responding. If I wasn't still so upset, I might have laughed. A vampire taking deep breaths, as if he needed to breath? Amusing to say the least. But I didn't want him to think he was off the hook, so I couldn't allow myself to laugh.

"I didn't know what had happened to me. I woke up hungry and dying of thirst. No amount of food or drink could sate me. It wasn't until I drained a messenger, that I knew what had happened to me. But Karin was not far away, and she saw everything. When I looked up at saw her, I realized what I had done. So I ran, and I didn't look back."

"So you just left?" I asked, reaching for the bottle of wine I'd nearly forgotten about.

"Back then, vampires were not commonly known. I didn't have anyone to teach me control. It was nearly fifty years before I could be within one hundred feet of a human without tearing out their throats. By the time I had control over myself, Karin was dead." Damien said, watching me as I drank the wine straight out of the bottle, his worry obvious on his otherwise emotionless face.

"I'm sorry, Damien." I said after finishing what was left in the bottle, feeling a wave of sadness wash over me.

"You've nothing to be sorry for, Bast!" Damien exclaimed as he took the bottle from me, then pulled me into his arms, holding me tightly.

"I'm sorry for slapping you." I said, resting my head on his shoulder.

"Don't be."

"So how uncanny is the resemblance? Do I look exactly like her?" I asked, pulling myself back to look at him.

"No, her eyes were brown. As was her hair. But your face does resemble hers." He responded, running his fingers down from my eyebrow to my chin lovingly, his eyes soft as he looked over my face.

I put my head back on his shoulder, closing my eyes as I felt the effect of the alcohol taking over. I shouldn't have chugged the last bit, and I will pay for it in the morning, but I didn't really care.

"Would you really leave me, so easily?" Damien suddenly asked, his voice once again soft and filled with emotion. I was glad my eyes were closed, as I might have cried if I had to see his face as he asked me that question.

"If you continued to lie to me, yes." I answered honestly. It wouldn't be fair if I demanded honesty from him, but didn't give the same in return.

"I'm sorry for the lies I've told you, Bast. Truly, I never wanted to lie. I didn't think you would accept the truth of the situation, and I don't know if I would have survived this long without you in my life. Whether it was from afar or not."

"So, if I die, you'll go recreant?" I asked as I pulled myself out of his arms, then walked upstairs, knowing he would follow.

"Yes." Damien responded as he walked beside me, following me into my room, then sitting on the couch beside me as I turned on the TV.

"But if I were to have kids, then you could have a family to keep you grounded, just like Sam." I said thoughtfully as I put my head in his lap, stretching out with a moan.

"Vampires cannot reproduce, kitten," Damien said as he began to laugh, but then stopped as he looked down at me, his eyes flashing in anger as he realized what I meant. "You are proposing another man impregnate you?"