Greyson’s POV:

Elijah and I watch as Levi falls onto the concrete, barely missing the pool of vomit that came as a result of drinking too much and expelling the content of his stomach. It’s still light out, which concerns me because no one day drinks like this except Winston, and alcohol can’t impact us as demons. 

“Elijah, get in the car,” I say gently, scooping up our unconscious soulmate in my arms. 

Winston gets into the driver’s seat and rolls down the window. “He smells disgusting.”

“I will fucking send you back to Alastor,” Elijah snarls, keeping his voice soft so he does not accidentally wake up our already overwhelmed soulmate. 

“I cannot believe you two sold him a ring to propose to someone else,” Winston continues, rolling his eyes. “Completely foolish.”

“Well, we couldn’t just kidnap him,” I say, rolling my eyes at our hotheaded friend. 

Winston mumbles something to himself, and I am almost ninety percent sure that, had he been in our position, he would have just taken his soulmate with him. He is a bit impulsive and needs to be in control, so it is not shocking to me, but he is going to start things with his soulmate on a shaky note. 

The only ones who have found their soulmates are now Elijah and I, and Simon, the sin of Sloth. Simon has had his soulmate for about ten months, and despite their shaky beginning, the two are completely infatuated. Plus, Kayden fits right in with our demonic family. 

“You will be paying to clean my car,” Winston mumbles. “And filling my gas tank next.”

“Because money is oh-so important with how much each of us makes,” Elijah mutters, because we all do quite well for ourselves. 

It helps that we can use our own demonic influences at our jobs and that it is rather easy to steal if we really needed to due to Master Alastor’s ability to open portals anywhere. 

“Don’t burn your steering wheel,” Elijah adds, and I notice for the first time that there is smoke coming from Winston’s hands as he drives us down the road. “I am not paying for that.”

I look at our soulmate who is asleep between us and brush his sweaty hair off of his forehead. “Both of you, stop please,” I say, and I am grateful that they put a stop to their bickering. “We need to wake him up when we get back.”

Elijah pouts. “No, he needs sleep,” he whispers, narrowing his eyes a bit when he looks at Levi’s shirt sleeve that is pulled up a bit. He tugs it up all the way and lets out a small cry to himself. 

“We’ll help him, love,” I whisper to Elijah, unable to tear my eyes away from the marks that our soulmate must have given to himself. “Cover them for now. He needs to tell us when he is ready.”

“Fine,” Elijah murmurs, pushing Levi’s sleeve back to its original position, his hand lingering on Levi’s arm.  

When we get back to the mansion, I carry Levi inside and lay him down on our bed. Elijah closes the door behind us and looks sadly at the other piece of our soul, concern and worry all over his face. Even with my gentle rubs on his back, Elijah cannot seem to calm down. 

“He looks so fragile,” Elijah whispers, lightly jumping onto the bed and sitting next to Levi. 

I nod in agreement. “I am going to go get some water and a small snack for him… hopefully it will help him a bit.”

Elijah does not make eye contact with me and keeps staring at our human, but he does offer a nod so I know that he has heard me. When Elijah is zoned in on something, especially something that hits him emotionally, it is hard to dissuade him from focusing on that. 

Once I get to the kitchen, I find Paxton, the sin of Pride, sitting at the counter reading the paper. Even though all of us sins are on an equal playing field in Hell, we all respect Paxton as if he is our leader. He was the first sin created by Master Alastor, the lord of Hell, and all of the rest of us sins go to him for advice when needed.

“I heard you found your soulmate,” he says, not looking up from the crossword puzzle that he is busy working on. “I cannot say it is too surprising, as you are the sin of Greed.”

I fill a glass with ice and water. “Elijah is the sin of Envy,” I point out. 

Paxton nods and takes a sip from his glass of what I assume to be iced tea. “Yes, but he has such a big heart. Even though envy runs through his veins, he will not experience jealousy between you and your other soulmate.”

“I’m worried about him, Pax.”

“Elijah? Or Levi?”

“How did you know his name?” I inquire, opening the fridge and seeing one of those “uncrustables” peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. I grab it along with a bag of apple slices.

“Winston came home complaining,” Paxton says, a fond smile pulling at his lips, but it fades as soon as he catches me looking at him. “I hope you plan to replace that sandwich. It’s Lexi’s.” 

I shrug. “My soulmate not vomiting and feeling miserable is much more important to me. Besides, you have the Costco card.”

Paxton groans in annoyance and finishes his tea before he stands up. 

“Make sure to get more of those really sweet grapes while you’re there. And take the brat with you.”

“Don’t call him that,” Pax tells me, irritation showing in his tone. “He is not that much of a brat.”

“Yes, he is.” 

Paxton scowls, grabbing his car keys and wallet before walking to the hallway that Lexi lives in. “Lexi! Put on some clothes, you’re coming to the store with me!” he shouts, and Lexi emerges seconds later, yawning and only wearing tight underwear and a beige crop top. “I said clothes.”

“I need more information before I put pants on,” Lexi says, running a hand through his messy, cotton candy pink hair. “What store? Am I getting lunch and coffee out of it? Are you finally going to take me to Sephora like you promised to do last week?”

“Costco, yes, and if you behave,” Paxton answers. 

Lexi purses his lips and turns around to head back down the hallway. “I suppose that’s acceptable.”

“It’s not my fault I was busy,” Paxton grumbles. “Master Alastor needed my assistance.”

“You know Lexi won’t hear that excuse,” I say, smirking. “He’s Master Alastor’s favorite.” 

Paxton rolls his eyes. “That’s because he’s the baby.”

I leave him to wait for Lexi, but before I can get down the hallway, I see Levi sprinting down the hall. 

“Levi!” I shout, unable to hold back my shock. “Levi, stop!”

He ignores me and tries to get to the front door, but Paxton effortlessly stops him, holding his arms behind his back. A large part of me is grateful that he wasn’t allowed to escape, but the small, demonic piece of me is livid that another demon has their hands on my soulmate. 

Lexi walks down the hallway and pauses when he takes in the sight before him. 

“Go get Simon,” Paxton orders. 

“No, wait,” I say, walking up and feeling my heart break as I watch Levi struggle, sobbing as he tries to get away. “I’ll drive him home. I’m not going to force him to stay here when he is clearly terrified.”

Lexi frowns. “Paxton, you go alone. I’m going to make sure Elijah is okay,” he murmurs. 

As much as Lexi can be an annoying little brat, he and Elijah are also extremely close, as they are the youngest of us sins. It does not shock me in the slightest that he is willing to stay here and make sure my other soulmate is alright. 

Paxton releases Levi and the poor human doesn’t even try to fight back against me, instead just collapsing and crying into his knees. 

“Come on, Levi,” I say gently, pulling him to his feet. “I’ll take you home.”

“So you can know where I live and have that advantage over me, too?” he asks, his voice breaking. “You fucking stalkers.” 

Paxton pats my arm. “Humans cannot feel the connection as strongly,” he whispers. “And I highly recommend not taking him home. He is still pretty drunk.”

“Am not,” Levi grumbles, but it’s clear from his eyes and his slurred speech that he is not as sober as he claims. 

“I say we get Simon, have him put your human back to sleep, and then when he is more sober, you and Elijah talk to him,” Paxton says, and his plan does not sound terrible, but watching Levi cry and seeing his terror is breaking me. 

Levi tries to get away once more, but he trips when doing so and ends up back on the floor.

“Fine,” I say to Paxton, and he disappears down the hallway. “Levi, I promise we are not going to cause you any harm. Elijah and I… we could never do that to you. I would let you leave, but you are far too drunk and I do not want you in any danger.”

“You guys kidnapped me while drunk and that other guy harassed me in your store, but you expect me to believe you’re going to protect me?” he asks, his voice gravelly and eyes barely in focus. “Let. Me. Go.”

“When you wake up, I will take you anywhere you want to go, but for now you need to rest,” I say, glancing back at the plate of food. “Now, before you fall asleep, are you hungry? Do you want to change out of those clothes? I promise, we are trying to help you.”

Levi looks at his clothes, which are crumpled and covered in dried vomit. “I don’t want anyone watching me change.”

“No one will,” I promise, walking into Paxton’s room since it is the closest and making sure that Levi is right with me. 

As expected, he keeps his distance, but he doesn’t try to run. He accepts the clothes I offer him and I guide him to the bathroom. Thankfully, Paxton’s bathroom only has one window at the top of the room, so Levi won’t be able to escape. 

He comes out a few minutes later and I am a bit frustrated that he smells like Paxton, but I try to keep myself calm so I don’t scare him. Of course, he cannot feel my emotions, but I am sure he can pick up on the energy I would be giving off and I do not want to scare him. 

“Here is the spare room where you can stay,” I say, guiding him down the hallway and showing him the extra room that is a good distance from mine and Elijah’s room. 

Simon walks in the room without knocking, his soulmate Kayden trailing him. He looks at me, raising an eyebrow. “I need you to move,” he orders me dryly. 

“What’s wrong with him?” I ask Kayden, not hiding my own bitterness. 

Levi’s beautiful voice pipes up and I immediately ignore Kayden, focusing on my soulmate. “Who is he?” he asks anxiously, staring up at Simon. 

Simon does look intimidating; he’s the tallest one of us sins and he has a no-nonsense look when he is focused and about to use his abilities. He seems mean and brash, but anyone who gets to know Kayden will learn how sweet and doting Simon really is. It often embarrasses my fellow demon, but he does not seem to have the ability to tell Kayden to shut up. 

As the sin of Sloth, his abilities include being able to lull people into deep sleep and relaxation, or he can make them feel lazy and encourage procrastination. He often does that to competitors in his field of work in order to make deals work in his favor. 

“He is going to help you sleep,” I say, as the whole demon explanation might be a bit much for my exhausted and overwhelmed soulmate at the moment. Plus, I need to finish up here so I can focus on Elijah. 

Levi furrows his eyebrows and sits on the bed. “You’re going to drug me?” he asks, and I can see he is about to panic, but thankfully Simon realizes that, too.

A baby blue ring surrounds Levi’s gray irises and I see a wave of exhaustion overcome him. 

“Don’t worry, human, I am not drugging you,” Simon says, helping him to lay on his back and gently laying his palm on Levi’s forehead. “Just relax. You deserve to rest.”

Levi’s exhausted brain is no match for the influence of a sin from Hell, and he quickly slips to sleep. Of course, I want to stay and watch over him, but I know Elijah needs me right now and Levi likely will not wake up for at least three hours. 

“Go check on Elijah,” Kayden says, sitting on the bed beside Levi. “I’ll watch over him.”

I know Kayden will take good care of him, so I take my leave, trying to mentally prepare myself to take care of Elijah. Of course, I don’t know what happened, but I fear it was bad if Elijah did not run after Levi.