Harlee POV
The shouting in the living room/bathroom area made me leap from the bed in a panic. My Demons were generally calm. Shouting never meant anything good. As I slid to a stop in the kitchen, Ash close on my heels, I saw Sam and Sands trying to tug an out of control Zeev off the Prince of Hell.
"I didn't think Zeev had that much power." I said with awe. Sam's head swiveled around.
"This is what he used to be like in battle Harlee. It's what made him a good soldier. Deadly. It's what's going to get him killed." Sam growled through gritted teeth.
"Harlee, your knuckles are bleeding." Ash said softly. I looked down to see the blood softly splattering the floor. I didn't even feel it.
"Better check yours too. You share our Bond now, these things are funny sometimes." I responded absently. In a daze, I walked forward and placed a gentle hand on Zeev's back.
"Zeev, stop." I commanded softly. He froze instantly.
���After what he did-"
"You've adequately punished him for it. And yourself. Now go get yourself cleaned up so my knuckles will stop bleeding." I scolded lightly. Zeev blanched. The Prince looked at me with a wry grin.
"You will one day bear me a child, Mother of Nephilim. I will have you as my own." He said, spitting blood to the bathroom floor.
"You may want to ask Zeev, Ash or Sam how that worked out for them." I answered dryly.
"Oh I know. It's why I want a child from your womb. You must be powerful to have converted so many." He purred. "You even managed to entrap an Angel."
"I'm really not. It's all been dumb, blind luck. And Sands made his own choice. Every one of the Demons, however, has screwed up making a power grab. And you have too. The question is: How far are you willing to screw up? Right now you have your own free will. Do you want to become one of my leashed dogs too?" I leaned in closely with a sneer and suddenly the Prince looked less sure of himself. I turned and left the bathroom.
"That was.. really harsh." Ash stated as I turned towards the living room. There was carefully disguised hurt in their voice. I motioned with my head for Ash to follow me and sat on the couch with a sigh of exhaustion, rubbing my forehead. Sands carried in Cael who cried out and held his hands out to me.
"Baby! Come here my little Prince!" I grabbed him and held him to me tightly, then turned back to Ash. "I was mostly bluffing." I murmured as Cael's consciousness brushed mine. Sands settled beside me.
"He's been worried about you." Sands informed me.
"So he just said, in fewer words. Also apparently, I've been neglecting my motherly duties." I said with a small grin.
"Ah yes, well, you were ill for some time.." Sands remarked. "So he had formula, and apparently Sam and I do not know how to cuddle or hum correctly." Sands remarked. I laughed.
Zeev POV
I followed the sounds of Harlee's laughter with disbelief. How was she taking this so well? How many times was she going to be attacked or injured and yet she sat there laughing like nothing had happened? Harlee's attention snapped to me.
"Zeev, come here." It was nearly a command, though it was said kindly, with a hand extended. I still felt my body obey as if she'd used our Bond to force the issue. If I admitted it to myself, it still gave me a slight jolt of pleasure, which Harlee shook her head about with a roll of her eyes.
"Ok, listen guys, like I told Ash earlier-wait where's Sam?" Harlee looked around suddenly. Sands cleared his throat with a soft chuckle.
"Zeev gave him a nice knock to the face. He stepped out for a moment to heal. I'm afraid he's rather vain." Sands explained. The rest of us were looking behind him.
"Well hi Sam." I drawled and he issued a soft growl as Sands twitched slightly. I felt Harlee's mirth bubbling up through our link, but she covered her giggle with a cough, then held out her arm.
"I'd say everyone's still a little hungry, right? If what I'm getting through the link is right, Ash and Zeev are, and Sands is I know, I bet you are too Sam, so would you do the honors?" Harlee asked softly. As Sam's eyes lit up and he moved towards her, Harlee began again. "Ok, as I was saying." She dropped her voice. "What I was telling our guest was a little harsh, so please don't take it to heart. I'm hoping it'll help discourage further advances from him and the others." She inhaled sharply as Sam made a long slice down her arm from elbow to wrist. The blood immediately began to well up and pool on her arm. Sam licked his lips, plucking a huge goblet from wherever he stored them, probably Hell. He titled Harlee's arm to let the blood drain into it. I could feel the tension in the room. All of us may have fed or restored ourselves in our own ways, but it was not enough with all the tension and energy expended on all our parts... And none of us wanted to stay away from Harlee long enough to truly fill up our empty reserves. And poor Sands, he had to rely solely on Harlee to restore his lagging Grace.
The goblet nearly filled, Sam tilted Harlee's arm up to face him. With lust in his eyes, he ran his tongue along the trail of blood, then covered the bleeding wound with his mouth. I heard her hiss and felt the burn in my own arm as he released his flames beneath her skin to heal her. I turned away. The act was extremely intimate, and I was feeling... jealous. And needy. Ash shot me a quick look, letting me know my lust was getting out of hand. I growled slightly. Sam took several large pulls from the goblet, then passed it to Sands, who did the same.
Harlee POV
The Demons and Fallen Angels passed around the goblet full of my blood. I tried to ignore the little moans and whimpers of satisfaction it caused, and the growl from Zeev, plus his insistent need pressing on my consciousness, which was affecting Ash, and even trickling down to me. I squirmed uncomfortably. Cael nudged at my shirt insistently and a brush of his consciousness implored me to feed him too. Only I wasn't too sure I could.
"I'm sorry little guy. I think momma was unconscious too long, I don't think I can feed you anymore. And I'd be afraid of that poison hurting you, even though you're half Angel, even if I could." I apologized, holding him tighter. Cael began to cry, he was after all, still half a human infant under it all, and he had needs and wants. And right now, he needed to be fed, and he wanted his momma to do it.
"I'll go get him some formula." Sands said softly. I nodded sadly, rocking him while patting his back. I felt horrible, unable to provide for my own child in something like this. Ash perched beside me on the arm of the couch and squeezed my shoulders.
"You're an amazing mom Harlee. Something like this could never change that." Ash pressed a kiss to my hair and I felt a tear roll down my face. Sands soon returned with the bottle and gratefully took another swig from the goblet after handling the bottle to me.
"We've been trying to get him on baby foods, but I think he was waiting for you." Sands said softly as he settled back in and Cael begrudgingly took the bottle in his mouth. I rubbed Cael's back until his eyes began to close, trying to hide the tears, and when I felt calm enough I looked each of my Demons and Angels in the eye in turn.
"So-what do we do with our two uninvited guests?"
Zeev POV
"I still don't think this is a good idea." Sam's voice rumbled across the back yard. I muttered an agreement.
"Look, I think she can be trusted, so I'm going to try, but we're the only former Angels, so we're the only ones capable of drawing the symbols for the trap and capable of keeping her imprisoned." Sands responded.
"I need to teach Ash this stuff." I muttered.
"That might not be a bad idea." Sand said thoughtfully. Of course, I was saying it for selfish reasons. Ash was inside with Harlee right now-and if the images flashing through my mind were right, they were either dreaming about or in the midst of a heavy petting session with Harlee. I ground my teeth in frustration. I needed her too, damnit!
"What if she decides not to cooperate?" I asked sullenly.
"Well, I hear it's supposed to rain tonight..." Sands offered offhand with an undignified snicker. "That's why I'm having you burn the marks into the very soil.
Harlee POV
"Ash, damnit, Cael's still upset with me, and now you're monopolizing his time." I griped as Ash nibbled my neck, sending a shudder through me.
"He was pouting last time I checked on him." Ash pointed out.
"I know, that's my point!" I responded as Ash slipped their hands under my shirt.
"Well you're never gonna be able to make him talk to you. Let him sulk. He'll get over it soon enough." Ash remarked, nipping one of my breasts through my shirt. I sucked in a breath and cursed. Ash hummed. "Thank you Mistress, keep feeding me, please." Ash groaned.
"God damnit." I cursed again.
Zeev POV
I cursed and turned towards the house with a growl.
"Zeev?" Sands asked curiously.
"I'm sorry Sands, I can't concentrate. Ash and Harlee are distracting me." I rubbed my neck and slammed the barrier down in my mind. An aching emptiness settled in my heart, soul and mind. How did I become so bound up with these two creatures that the very act of distancing myself from them caused me physical pain? How in Hell's name did a Demon like me go from being one of God's soldiers to being in love, in LOVE damnit! With a human and my former arch enemy. I couldn't live without either of them now. I loved them both too much. I began to laugh and Sands and Sam looked at me incredulously. I just shook my head.