Nicholas felt his heart drop at the sound of Natalia's voice.
"Still awake, Butterfly?" he asked, quickly coming to his feet and walking over to her. He quickly shot his second a look, promising retribution for not alerting them that she was up. The demon dipped his head, refusing to look into the other man's eyes.
"I am not your sister?" she asked him, the tears in her eyes stabbing into his chest as surely as any demonic knife. He opened his mouth, only to quickly close it again, not knowing what to say.
"I don't think he meant it like that," said Greyson, putting down his drink and walking over to her. He walked around the other man to pull Natalia into his embrace. Nicholas gritted his teeth at the man; however, he kept reminding himself that he couldn't touch him. "I think he meant to say that he does not have any blood-related sisters. Not that he doesn't love and cherish you," the human continued, staring at Nicholas over Natalia's head.
"He is right," said Nicholas, realizing that the human was on his side. Or at least, not trying to throw him under the bus. "You know that there is no one in this realm or any other that means more to me than you do, Butterfly. Your wolf just knows what buttons to press."
Nicholas watched as Natalia raised her tear-filled eyes to look at him and then over to the wolf.
"Stop being a dick," she said, glaring at the man. The wolf only shrugged with a smile on my face. "What can I say? You wouldn't want me any other way. I've grown on you."
"Yeah, yeah," chuckled Natalia, rolling her eyes. "Just try. I missed him."
"For you, Sweetness, absolutely anything," vowed Mathew. He should have smelled her coming, but since he was covered in her scent, he didn't notice it strengthening.
"Come on," said Levi, getting up from the couch. "I'm tired," he continued as he walked toward the group, pulled her out of Greyson's arms, and picked her up. "Let them do all the dick measuring right now; we can get the gist of everything in the morning." He paused for a second. "Or evening. Depending on when we wake up."
"You promise you will be here when I wake up?" demanded Natalia, something shifting in her eyes as she stared at Nicholas. He nodded his head. "I promise."
"Fine," she huffed, wrapping her arms around the human's neck. Nicholas could feel his skin vibrate, knowing that she was being carried away from him by another male. But he also knew that if he was going to be part of her life in the way he wanted, he couldn't kill her males.
-----
"You are telling me that the Destroyer has come back to Earth?" said a heavenly voice. His tone was soft and smooth, causing anyone who heard it to sigh in happiness.
"Yes, My Lord," came a child-like vice. "We heard it ourselves."
"I understand. Thank you so much for telling me."
----
Nicholas leaned on the doorframe of the master bedroom, watching Natalia sleeping in the arms of one of the humans she had claimed as her own. The Skinwalker had shifted into a small black cat and was curled up on the pillow beside her head as the wolf claimed the bottom of her bed, using her feet as a chin rest.
He heard the sound of footsteps behind him. Taking in a deep breath, he recognized the scent of the older human male.
"I might be new to your world," said the human softly so as not to wake up Natalia. The Skinwalker raised his head to look at him before going back to sleep. The wolf simply flicked his ears, clearly not concerned about anything. Nor should he be.
"But there is one thing that I have learned very quickly," he continued, coming to a stop beside Nicholas. "There is always room for one more." His peace said, Greyson continued into the room and slipped into bed. Picking up Natalia, he positioned her so that she was on top of him, leaving space on her other side for the demon if he so chose.
Nicholas watched for a few minutes before walking into the room and laying a gentle kiss on Natalia's forehead.
"Nicholas," she murmured.
That simple sentence made his decision that much easier.
There were a hundred things that he needed to do. His men needed to be looked after; there were missions he was supposed to do while in this realm, and his presence would have been noticed by his enemies by now. But none of that matters in comparison to the woman in another man's arms.
Taking off his shoes, Nicholas slid under the covers, looking up at the ceiling.
"Good choice," grunted the older human.
Nicholas didn't bother to answer. At the end of the day, it was the only choice to make.
------
On the other side of the world, Viktor sat bolt-upright in bed. The hunt that had been grating on his nerves day after day had just disappeared like a puff of smoke. Getting out of bed, he looked out of his hotel window and stared at the Port of Shanghai.
"Sir?" asked one of his guards, gently knocking on the door after hearing movement inside of the room.
"Let everyone know that we will be heading out soon," grunted Viktor, his eyes never leaving the body of water.
"Yes, Sir. Will we be flying, driving, or going by boat?" asked the guard.
"Let the pilots know that we will be flying," answered Viktor, closing his eyes and taking in a deep breath. The hunt was over. He could finally go back home… to her. "We are going home."
"Understood, Sir," said the guard, still on the other side of the door. There were some benefits of being a supernatural creature; heightened hearing was only a tiny part of it.
"And someone calls Sasha to let him know we are on our way back and get any news about home while we were away."
"Yes, Sir. I'll have him email you the report as soon as he can," replied the guard. He looked at his watch.
It was currently 3:40 a.m. Singapore time, which meant that it was about 3:40 p.m. New York time. It should be easy to get a hold of Sasha.
"Tell him I expect it in 30 minutes," grunted Viktor.
It was time. He wouldn't drag his feet anymore.