Chapter 68: Chapter Sixty-Eight

"Congratulations!" Valerie squealed, pulling me into a hug, trying to stop herself from jumping up and down with excitement. Her brown eyes were big and bright, her smile going from ear to ear as she hugged me with a tight grasp, squeezing me a bit too tightly; causing me to let out a little squeak, which sent us both into a fit of giggles.

"Yes, congratulations, Lucifer. You're going to be a father." Sinclair said, pulling Damien into a hug, clapping him on the back so hard, it sounded like a thunder strike in my ears.

"Toxic masculinity much? Jesus that would have broken a human in half!" Valerie exclaimed, giving me sideways glance before shaking her head.

Damien didn't seem to mind it at all as he smiled and returned the embrace, before giving Sam a quick hug.

"Toxic masculinity?" Sinclair asked, turning to face Valerie, his gold eyes darkened slightly in his confusion.

"Oh god, how are you so old but so uninformed?" Valerie asked, throwing her hands up in defeat.

"I was in hiding for over 150 years, not to mention imprisoned in this very house for the last 30 years." Sinclair responded nonchalantly, not seeming to care about Valerie's insults. "So please forgive me for not being up to date on humans social norms, and terminology."

"Wait, what?" Valerie said, doing a double take, then looking to Damien and Sam, waiting for one of them to explain.

"You don't want to know." I said with a short laugh, shaking my head at her. "Toxic masculinity is when men conform to the cultural norms of what a man should be. Like showing emotions mean you're less of a man, while being a sexist prick somehow makes you more of a man." I explained to Sinclair, which resulted in his eyes flashing amber, a short snarl escaping from between his pursed lips.

"You think me a sexist prick?" He asked taking a step back, looking back and forth from Valerie and I, waiting for one of us to answer him.

"No, we aren't calling you a sexist, that was an example." I said quickly, standing to put my arms around him quickly, before giving him a quick kiss on the cheek.

"It's not an insult, Sinclair, it was a comment on the act itself." Valerie explained quickly, then shook her head. "Sorry, I should have thought about it, before I said it."

"There's no need to apologize, as I see it was a misunderstanding." Sinclair said shortly, before turning his attention back to Sam and Damien who were conversing quietly.

"So... Are you hoping for a boy or a girl?" Valerie asked me, turning her attention back to me.

"I don't know, I never really preferred one over the other, but Damien wants twins."

"Of course he does, he's not the one who has to carry or give birth to them." Valerie said, rolling her eyes, then shuddered slightly at the thought. "I cannot imagine that's a fun thing to go through. I mean... OW!"

"Oh, stop it." I said, giving her a playful slap on the arm. "I can't believe this is really happening." I said breathlessly, putting my hands to my stomach.

"Congrats again, Bast! I can't wait to spoil the absolute shit out of this kid!" Valerie exclaimed, pulling me into another hug.

'Oh my god, I'm actually pregnant!' I thought with a smile, returning Valerie's hug. I found myself staring off into space, still shocked by the news, my thoughts running rampant. 'I'm actually pregnant! Damien and I are going to be having a baby! I wonder if it's going to be a boy or a girl... oh, what if I actually have twins? What if the baby isn't human? What if Damien takes one look and changes his mind about not killing our baby? Oh my god, what have I done...'

"Bast, why do you look so upset? Did you not want this after all?" Damien asked, kneeling down in front of me, his eyes alive with pain and worry. He put his hands on either side of me, putting himself between my legs, staring into my eyes.

"I did- I mean I do. It's just the shock. Thinking and imagining are completely different from knowing." I said, trying to calm my breathing as the reality of the moment was slowly sinking in.

"Speaking of knowing, how did you three know? It hasn't been long enough for her to be positive on a home test, so how is it possible for you to tell?" Valerie chimed in, watching the interaction between Damien and me.

"I know not how to explain it to a human, Valerie." Sinclair said, squinting his eyes as he thought about how to explain it, in ways we could understand.

"Her blood pressure is lower than normal, is the first thing we noticed. There are some other minor things, but those are much too complicated to begin to explain." Damien cut in, his eyes not leaving me as he continued to study my facial expressions.

"Seeing as how this is not something we've dealt with before, we've no idea what the normal is, or will be, for Bast." Sam said, holding his hand out to Valerie. "Let's give them some time alone." He said when Valerie refused to take it.

Valerie back and forth between Damien and I for a moment before nodding and taking Sam's hand. "Text me, yeah?" She said before she walked back in the room to leave. She made sure to cast a glare at Damien before leaving, as if her glare could affect him in any way.

Damien continued to watch me in silence as Valerie, Sam, and Sinclair left the room; his orbs studying me for something, that I wasn't sure if he was finding or not.

"Why are you staring at me?" I asked, squirming uncomfortably under his steady gaze. It was weird to me to be uncomfortable under Damien's gaze, as I'd grown quite comfortable with him over the last few months, and rarely found myself afraid of him anymore.

"You still think I'm going to harm our child, even after I swore to you that I wouldn't?" He finally said, but continued to search my eyes, the hurt in his voice making my heart ache. His blue eyes were bright as ever, but with a darkness to them, telling me that he was much more upset than he was letting on. If it weren't for the sadness I heard in his voice, I would have thought he was upset, rather than sad and offended.

"You've been dodging this question the entire time I've known you, and you need to answer it. Can you read my mind?" I snapped, standing up and walking back into the room, putting some much-needed distance between us.

'I knew it! I knew he could read my mind, but he's always refused to admit it, or dodged the question all together.' A voice in my head screamed, my anger boiling as I watched him slowly come closer to me.

"I cannot read your mind, Bast. I've told you this already." Damien said as he started to come towards me, then stopped suddenly, watching me. He did this for a moment before seemingly changing his mind, and sitting on the bed instead.

"How the hell do you always know what I'm thinking?"

"I think it's my recreant power coming to the surface."

"Your recreant?..." I started to ask, but remembered when Cristóbal nearly killed me, I saw Damien with one gold eye. 'I thought that was a dream, but that still doesn't explain his ability to do it the entire time I've known him.' "That happened weeks ago, but you've been doing it for as long as I've known you."

"I've been one heartbeat away from recreant the entire time you've known me, Bast."

"You..." I started to say, but trailed off as I honestly didn't know what to say. It's true, I'm the only thing keeping him from going recreant, but that still doesn't explain whatever the hell he's doing, but claims it isn't mind reading.

"Not a mind reader, per se. But I can tell what someone is thinking. It's just years of practice to get as accurate as I am."

"Reading minds and knowing what someone is thinking, that sounds dangerously close to the same fucking thing," I said with a forced laugh, shaking my head.

"I don't know what you're thinking. I know the subject you're thinking." He said, pausing as he thought about how to explain it, before continuing. "I cannot know the exact words of your thoughts, but I knew you were thinking about our baby, and I know you felt worried. So I put two and two together."

"So your power isn't that much different from Sinclair's then? He knows what someone is feeling, which could lead to knowing what someone is thinking." I said after a few moments of thought, crossing the room to sit on the bed next to Damien, looking up into his blue eyes as he searched mine.

"I supposed our abilities aren't that different, no." He said with a slight nod, taking my hands in his. "I swore to you, I would bring no harm to our child, and I will not break that promise. What do I need to do, to prove that to you?"

I thought about this for a moment before responding, trying to find the answer, but finding none. "I don't know, Damien. The damage has been done, and I'm not sure if there is any repairing that now."

He sighed softly, nodding softly, his face filled with pain and defeat. "Yes, my love. Regardless, I will do everything in my power to prove it to you. Of that I can promise without any doubt."

I leaned forward, kissing him softly, putting my arms around his shoulders. "We have an empty house now." I whispered softly in his ear, kissing a line from his throat, to his shoulder.

He moaned softly, pushing me down on the bed, putting himself between my legs. He pulled his shirt off, before unbuttoning mine; kissing, nibbling, and sucking a line from my lips, to the hemline of my pants where he stopped just long enough to unbutton them before pulling them off.

"You're not going to break me, Damien. You don't have to be so careful." I mumbled, watching him as he unbuttoned his pants, then positioned himself back between my legs.

He didn't respond, but cocked his head slightly to the side, before yanking me down on the bed. "Just admit you like it rough, and maybe I'll give you what you want." He said with an impish grin, then nibbled on my nipple harshly, causing me to gasp out in a mixture of pain and pleasure. He did the same to the other nipple, then lifted himself up to look back down at me, raising an eyebrow as he waited for my response.

"That's not fair!" I gasped out; partially sitting up as I tried to pull him back down to me, but to no avail as he remained where he was, completely unaffected by my efforts. I sighed out heavily in defeat, and gave him my best puppy dog eyes, sticking my bottom lip out in a small pout.

"Now that, is what is unfair, kitten." He said sternly, but I could see his eyes getting softer, showing it was working. I tried to hid my victorious smile as he bent down to kiss me, but gasped out in shock as he thrust hard, causing him to chuckle softly as my back arched from the sudden movement. He kissed me softly, slowly pulling back, waiting for me to adjust to his size before thrusting back in. I moaned out and bit his shoulder, causing him to jump softly, then smile at me as he pinned my hands above my head. "Behave, or else." He warned, grazing my throat with his fangs, before rythmically thrusting, keeping me pinned so I couldn't touch and carress him the way I liked to. Despite the fact that he'd told me what would happen if I didn't behave, I still faught against him, trying to free my hands. He tsked softly before sinking his fangs into my throat, causing me to flinch with a whimper of pain. He snaked his arm around my waist, holding me still while he thrust as deep as he could, while still making sure he was soft enough not to hurt me.

I knew he was ready to finish when he released my hands, giving me free reign to do as I pleased. I put one arm around his shoulder, the other I placed on his hip, helping me hold myself up as I readjusted so he was pressed directly against my sensitive spot. I moved myself back and forth against him, almost immedietly driving myself to orgasm, digging my nails into his shoulder as I began to spasm; Gasping and moaning out as my orgasm tore through me. I brought my lips back to Damien's, both of us moaning out as he finished, filling me with his seed.

"Bast!" Valeries voice came from outside of the door, knocking loudly.

"Son of a bitch, what the fuck do you want?" Damien yelled back, sighing loudly as he stood and quickly threw on his pants, a low snarl coming from his depths as he threw the door open.

"Jesus, calm down..." Valerie said, holding her hands up as she took a few steps back, her eyes wide in fear.

"Calm down? I've had no time with my fiance since you've been here, and I need to calm down while you continually interupt us?" He snarled, slaming his hand into the doorframe. He bent his head, closing his eyes for a few moments, before looking back up at her. "What. Do. You. Want?" He forced out every word slowly, his eyes slowly turning purple as he glared at her.

"The seamstress is here." Valerie responded, trying to back away, but couldn't due to already being against the railing.

"Damien, stop." I said, getting dressed as quickly as I could, to run to his side. He turned to look at me, his eyes going wide as if he was just noticing what he was doing. He looked at Valerie, then back at me slowly, then grabbed his shirt and walked down the stairs. "Damien, where are you going?" I tried to ask him, but my only response was the slamming of the door as he left.