Alastor sat at the head of the table, so everyone shifted down one spot. It became clear to Levi that of the sins, Paxton was Alastor's right hand and the one he relied on the most when visiting. Especially because Alastor seemed to direct conversation to Paxton when it was about something important and he wanted a second opinion.

Levi sat in his usual spot in between Greyson and Elijah, but before he could do anything else, Alastor addressed him.

"So, I give you a rare cat from Hell to care for and to protect you... and you named her Oatmeal?" Alastor asked, a hint of amusement on his face.

Levi nodded, the cat herself pushing her head on his leg to warn him right before she hopped up into his lap. "It was my dog's name when I was younger. Plus, she responds to it so it's too late to change her name!" he exclaimed, petting the tiny cat.

Elijah huffed. "You should give her back to him," he murmured, making Levi roll his eyes and Greyson snicker at his attitude.

"We're here to discuss the annual celebration, correct?" Paxton interrupted, his cold voice carrying down the table and getting everyone to shut up. "Greyson, Elijah, will you two be joining us?"

The pair glanced at each other, their eyes having a conversation.

"I don't know," Elijah said, slipping his hand into Levi's. "We're not sure if he'll be ready."

Alastor hummed, taking a sip of his wine. "Just let me know at some point in advance so enough is prepared. Also, shall I mark that Winston will be there? Where is he?" he asked, looking down at the table at the unusually empty spot.

"I haven't seen him in a few days and I know for a fact he didn't have any wrestling matches and even Winston takes breaks from the bar," Gale said, pulling out her phone and calling him, only to set down the device a few seconds later. "Didn't answer."

Alastor pursed his lips. "I'd expect Simon to skip dinner," he said, narrowing his eyes at Simon who was being very obvious about touching Kayden on his lap at the table. "But not Winston."

"Maybe he found his soulmate," Lexi said in a dreamy voice, his skin slowly turning into a cotton candy pink and matching his hair, but he caught himself and made it go back to its normal shade. "Sorry, it's just that with Winston... I think he needs a soulmate sooner rather than later."

Out of nowhere, Kayden let out a small whine, drawing the attention of the whole table as he slapped his hand over his mouth.

"Nice one," Simon teased, making Kayden scowl and slide off his lap, face burning red with embarrassment.

"Don't tease your poor soulmate," Alastor said, but the mischievous look in his eyes told the room that he was enjoying the show. "There's not enough soulmates here for us all to enjoy ourselves, so be considerate."

"Yet!" Lexi chimed in, earning himself glares from Simon, Greyson, and Elijah. "Come on, we're all sins and we've all shared before."

Elijah huffed and grabbed Levi's thigh, causing Levi to jump slightly and Oatmeal to hiss at Elijah's hand. "If he ever goes near you, kick him in the balls."

"Relax," Greyson said, knowing that Elijah was still in a mood and wouldn't hesitate to fight Lexi at the table. "We wouldn't want to upset our Master or soulmate, would we?"

"I'm beginning to not care," Elijah said, his eyes gradually starting to glow.

Levi tensed up and covered his mouth so he wouldn't moan when Elijah leaned over and began to suck on his neck, leaving a dark purple mark. The entire table seemed like they were trying not to laugh at Levi's embarrassment, even Alastor.

"On that note, I'm going to leave," Alastor said, standing up and pushing in his chair. "I'll see you all in a couple of weeks to get your answers and see if you will all be there. Tell Winston he'd better be here."

Everyone waved and said their goodbyes as Alastor made his portal and walked through it.

•••

Levi couldn't get over the slight ache in his neck from the day old hickey he'd been given. He kept grabbing at it and wincing in pain, but something about the mark warmed his insides.

He liked knowing that Elijah wanted him to the point where he'd mark him in front of the entire pack of sins and their literal Master from Hell. Even if it was embarrassing, it made Levi feel wanted and needed.

"Did you get a bite?" Fredi asked. "The pests aren't usually bad in the spring."

Levi took his hand away from the mark. "No, I didn't get bit," he said, before backtracking. "Actually, I did, but not by a bug."

Fredi looked at the mark and a sly smirk made its way over his face. "Ah, I understand," he said, leaning close to Levi's ear. "You had a steamy night, right?"

"If you consider being bit at a dinner table with your new friends who are actually demons 'steamy' then sure," Levi thought, working on their next order as he stopped the inner monologue and spoke aloud. "Something like that."

"Why is your boyfriend not here yet?" Fredi asked, looking at the clock.

Levi sighed. "He can't come get me today because he's busy," he said.

Though he knew Elijah worked with Greyson even though it was usually just small tasks in the back, it had come as a shock to Levi when Elijah said he had stuff to work on and couldn't pick him up. So, he had to take the bus and meet at the jewelry store after his shift.

"Shame on him," Fredi said, scoffing. "If he's leaving marks like that, you should be top priority!"

Levi let out a dry laugh. "I'm not going to leave it to him to feel responsible for all of my transportation," he said, disappearing to the back and grabbing his bag once his shift replacement showed up. "I'll see you tomorrow."

The bus stop wasn't far from the cafe and it was midday, so Levi didn't understand why a strange sense of fear gripped his chest as soon as he stepped outside. His mind was telling him to be careful, but he didn't understand why his mind demanded that or why he was so afraid.

Levi ignored the fear, but he still sped up and made it to his bus, paying for a ticket and climbing on. He slid into a seat by the window and looked outside.

His heart stopped.

For four years he'd been recovering and healing; he'd become happy again. All of that faded away when he saw his foster father, the one who damaged his mind and truly broke him, staring at him through the window of the bus.

Levi was terrified he'd get on the bus, but thankfully the vehicle pulled away from the stop, and as soon as he got to the jeweler, he sprinted to the back room and threw his bag on the ground and climbed onto Elijah's lap, burying his face in his neck.

Elijah had been working on the computer but his wheeled chair was pushed away from the desk when Levi leapt onto him. He thought it was Levi initiating something at first, until he heard quiet cries and found Levi refusing to pull his head from Elijah's neck.

"Baby, what's wrong?" Elijah asked, abandoning his work and rubbing his hands up and down Levi's back. "Who do I need to kill?"

Levi could barely breathe, his throat tight from crying and the stress of seeing the one man he never wanted to see again. He tried to take a deep breath, only for it to stutter and make him cough.

"Levi, take a deep breath," Elijah said, gripping the back of his neck and to try to make eye contact, but Levi refused to let Elijah see his face. "Baby, I can't help you if you don't talk to me."

Levi shook his head, the situation leaving his mind where it was when he was abused by his foster father. He was broken, scared, and didn't speak. In fact, he felt as though he was in worse shape now than he was when he cut himself weeks before.

"Do you want to go home?" Elijah asked, and Levi nodded against his neck. "Greyson has another half an hour before we close up. Can you hold on until then?"

"Yes," Levi gasped out, the broken cry in his voice breaking Elijah's heart. "J-Just don't let g-go of me."

Elijah promised he wouldn't let go and held on tight until Greyson entered the room, his eyes widening at the sight of his crying beloved clinging tightly onto his clearly concerned soulmate that didn't know what to do.

"What the hell happened?" Greyson growled, knowing that Elijah was trying to stay calm for the sole purpose of keeping Levi calm.

Elijah didn't stop Greyson from taking Levi and hugging him tightly, Levi burying his face into Greyson's neck just like what he'd been doing with Elijah.

"Did he say anything?" Greyson asked, his jaw tight.

Elijah shook his head. "He's just been crying and won't calm down," he said, reaching over to touch Levi's back. "He wants to go home."

"Did he want to go home when he got here?"

"Yes," Elijah responded, not sure why it mattered.

Greyson glowered at him. "Then you should've gone home!" he yelled, making Levi cling to him tighter and sob harder.

Elijah's jaw was tight with anger. "He didn't want to be alone so I thought it would be better! It was half an hour and he said he was okay to wait!" he snapped back. "Stop yelling at me for making a decision."

Realizing he was making things worse, Greyson forced himself to relax and ordered Elijah to grab the car keys, but Elijah shook his head.

"I texted Gale and Paxton. They're going to drive us and your car back so that both of us can be with Levi," Elijah said, and as he said it the two sins entered the back room.

Gale took the keys to Greyson's car and left while Paxton guided them to his car and had the three get in the back of his vehicle.

Levi was sandwiched in the middle of them, exhausted from his sobbing. He kept his face hidden in Greyson's shoulder, wishing he could curl up into a ball and just vanish. No part of him felt safe or happy; demons or not, Greyson and Elijah couldn't always be there to protect him and he hated that he was so weak, but the shock of seeing his foster father hit him where it hurts, especially because he could tell that the man knew who he was.

As soon as they got home, Paxton checked with Greyson to make sure they were going to be okay, saying he would bring them dinner later so they could stay in their room.

Elijah took off to run a bath for the three of them and chose a rose scented bath bomb to put in once the tub was filled. He then reentered the bedroom and found Levi curled up under the covers, his face buried in the pillows while Greyson sat beside him, rubbing his back.

"Baby, let's go get in the bath," Greyson said, but Levi didn't budge. "It'll help you to relax."

Levi just stared into space, his tears having stopped but it was obvious he was nowhere near okay.

It surprised Elijah that Levi didn't even move at the suggestion of the bath.

Over the last few weeks, once Levi discovered how to use the bath because he didn't have one in his apartment, he'd run one every other day and soak for an hour or so. He didn't care if he was alone or if Elijah or Greyson joined him; Levi loved the bath.

"Come on, Levi," Elijah begged, hating how spaced out and broken Levi seemed. "Don't shut down."

Levi's eyes moved to him and he took a shaky breath, sitting up and sliding out of the bed. He entered the bathroom with the other two following him, seeing where he would go.

Greyson walked up behind Levi, holding his hips and kissing his cheek while Elijah went to his front and stripped his shirt and pants off.

Levi didn't panic, but he didn't look happy either.

Once he was naked, Greyson and Elijah stripped themselves and slid into the tub with Greyson holding Levi against his chest and Elijah sitting in front of him, unwrapping the bath bomb and setting it in the water.

"What happened, baby?" Greyson asked, rubbing his hand across Levi's stomach.

Levi's eyes welled up again, his voice broken when he finally spoke. "I s-saw my foster father," he whispered. "And he saw me... he r-recognized me."

"Did he touch you? Speak to you?" Elijah asked, ready to find the man and put an end to him.

"No," Levi said, sniffing. "He just... stared."

"We won't let him hurt you," Greyson said, hugging Levi and bringing Elijah into it as well. "You're going to be okay."

Levi sniffed once again, the three of them laying in the tub in silence.