Elijah’s POV:

Levi hates me.

I couldn’t stand to sit in a car with him knowing he’d be uncomfortable, so I ran off. It was a cowardly thing to do, but I don’t care right now. I’m so worked up and upset that I need to get away. There’s a knock at my bedroom door before it opens without me giving any approval.

“Hey, mind explaining why my Led Zeppelin shirt was on the couch?” Winston asks, before he pauses in his tracks. “Elijah? What’s wrong with you?”

“Aren’t you just the warmest, fuzziest, most comforting person?” I ask judgmentally.

He sits down at the end of my bed. “Sorry,” he says in a gruff voice, but I can see in his eyes that he genuinely means it. “Is there something I can do to make you feel better?”

I shrug. “You’re not good at emotions.”

Winston sighs. “I know,” he says, scooting up the bed and pulling me into his arms. “I’ll need to get it together so that, when I find my soulmate, I’ll treat him right.”

“Yeah,” I agree, wiping my eyes. “Levi hates me. We told him about soulmates and I shifted so that he believed us, but it’s super obvious that he hates me.”

“I’m sure that’s not true,” Winston tries, and it’s clear that he’s uncomfortable and out of his element trying to comfort me. “He’s probably just trying to comprehend that soulmates and demons are real. It’s not a very human concept.”

I break down once again, sobbing into Winston’s very tense arms. “How come I’m so stupid?! I was too forward and chased him away, and now Greyson has to suffer the consequences! I’m such a bad soulmate,” I sob, clinging to Winston even though I’m sure he wishes he could escape.

“It’s okay, you’ve been living amongst humans for a long time. I’m sure their stupidity rubbed off on you.” He isn’t really making me feel better, but what he said was a little funny so I don’t try to fight off my giggle.

Winston picks me up, but he isn’t really one to carry anyone like a baby, so he holds me at his side, more like a quarterback running with a football. If he ever carries his soulmate like this, I hope he kicks Winston’s ass.

“Hey! I was wallowing in self pity!” I whine as Winston drops me on the couch.

Paxton is sitting at the kitchen table and Lexi is in the kitchen with Gale.

“You’re a sin from Hell,” Winston deadpans, grabbing Paxton’s cell phone from the kitchen table. “Have some self respect.”

“What are you doing with my phone?” Paxton asks, not looking up from his newspaper. “You have your own device, Winston.”

Winston shrugs. “Yeah, but mine is in my room,” he says, typing a message and then putting it back on the table. “Gale! What’re you making?”

“Waffles, and Lexi is learning how to make berry compote,” Gale replies, smiling sweetly.

Gale is one of the kindest demons, despite her horrifying reputation that she had when she was in Hell. She was trained by Master Alastor’s mothers, as they took a liking to the only female sin that Master Alastor created. She has ebony skin, dark eyes that look like the color of honey in the sunlight, and long, dark hair that reaches her elbows.

Gale is the sin of Gluttony, and she owns one of the top dessert restaurants in Cincinnati. She invited us all when it opened, and while she does not spend all of her time there, based on the turn around time of her employees, she is a great boss.

“Elijah, honey, are you okay?” Gale asks me when I sit at the bar and rest my chin on the surface. “Paxton filled me in a bit, but I assumed you would feel better today.”

I huff. “My soulmate despises me and I am currently indulging in self loathing.”

“Oh, Elijah,” Gale says sadly, reaching out and patting my hand. “You are far too powerful to give in to self loathing. You can take an hour to feel upset and then you can formulate a plan to win that human’s heart.”

“She’s right,” Winston agrees, grabbing a beer from the fridge. “You’re making the room smell like one of the bars I went to in Texas. Sad, depressing… need I say more?”

I scowl at Winston. “Shove it up your ass.”

“What are we shoving up Winston’s ass?” Simon asks, yawning as he carries Kayden like a baby to the kitchen and sets him down on one of the chairs. “Pax, you can still drive him today, right?”

“Yes, I can,” Paxton says, closing his newspaper.

Gale puts a plate of waffles with berry compote in front of me, as well as a pourer with syrup, and a glass of orange juice. She also serves plates to Paxton and Kayden, scowling at Winston when he insists that he’s fine with his beer.

“Demon or not, you will vomit if you do not have solid food in your system,” she says, handing a plate to Simon as well. “You too.”

Simon grumbles, but he relaxes when Kayden grabs his hand and kisses his lips. They’re as cute as always, but I long for Greyson and Levi to both be here, all of us eating together and sharing kisses as well.

“Are you feeling prepared for your test?” Paxton asks Kayden, cutting up his food. “Elijah, stop pouting at the counter and sit at the table with the rest of us.”

“Fine, dad,” I grumble, doing as he says and sitting across from the disgustingly happy couple in front of me.

Kayden smiles. “Yeah, I think I’m going to do well. It’s advanced math, but that’s a big part of my degree, so I’m not too nervous.”

Kayden is in college right now, going for a degree in astronomy. He doesn’t really need a job because we demons make plenty of money from our jobs (well, I don’t work) but Kayden always wanted to get a college degree. Since he doesn’t need a job, he’s likely just going to use his degree to better understand when he’s charting planets and stars.

Plus, Kayden is stubborn. He moved to Cincinnati with the determination to get a degree, and he is going to succeed. After a run in with a vampire last year, he’s been trying to get back to a somewhat normal life, and college is part of that. However, because of the little vampire incident, Simon refused Kayden the chance to go to college in person, so he does everything online but the instructors said the exams had to be in person.

Since he’s so overprotective, Simon is sending Paxton to wait on campus until Kayden finishes his test. Of course, Simon wanted to do it, but with Kayden in school and not working as his personal assistant, Simon actually has work to do as the CEO of a marketing company. It’s funny that the sin of Sloth owns a whole ass company, but he makes good money and most of the work is done for him.

He just has to make sure everything is running somewhat smoothly and meet with overly confident humans who don’t know they’re dealing with a demon. A demon who regretted starting a company for a while but now is determined to make more money to treat his soulmate.

“Well, good luck,” I say, taking a bite of the delicious waffles. “At least one of us is successful.”

“To be fair, I think everyone in this room has been successful in the last twenty four hours except for you, E,” Winston informs me, finishing his beer and starting on his food.

I glare at him. “Did you know how much I hate you?” I ask, lathering my next bite of food in the berry compote.

Winston shrugs. “I’m not here to make you feel warm and fuzzy inside,” he says, mocking my earlier words. “If you’re acting dumb and failing at existing, I think it’s my responsibility to inform you.”

“Is your plan to gaslight your soulmate into liking you? Because you’re probably the least likable being that I know.”

“I have a big cock and money,” Winston says. “What more does a human need?”

Kayden clears his throat. “As the resident human, I could write you a whole essay.”

Winston chuckles. “Alright, resident human. Remind me, how many times have you been to the basement in the past month?”

Kayden goes red with embarrassment and Simon slams his fist on the table. Simon’s eyes are bright blue, showing that his demon is fighting to come out and attack Winston for mocking his soulmate.

“That is enough,” Paxton announces. “Winston, finish your plate in your room or the gym or somewhere else. Just get out of here. Simon, Kayden, both of you calm yourselves and finish your breakfast. Getting worked up right now will not be good for your test, Kayden.”

Simon forces himself to relax and kisses Kayden’s forehead. “Ignore that asshole, baby. He’s just pissed that even his own soulmate will despise him.”

“I’m fine,” Kayden says, but it’s clear he’s lying.

Poor thing.

The front door opens and Greyson enters, a bright smile on his face. Well, this is good news to me; if he’s super happy something must have gone right with Levi! He’s also carrying a large smoothie that he hands me. Smoothies are definitely one of my favorite cold drinks.

“You look happy,” I say, kissing Greyson’s lips and hugging him.

He hands me the smoothie. “We’re taking Levi on a date tomorrow. Also, Winston told me you were still upset so to get you a smoothie. Where is he?”

“Time out for being a dick to Kayden,” Simon says, clearing his and Kayden’s empty plates.

Greyson shrugs. “Well, I guess he can only be nice to one person each day,” he says, sitting down in my seat.

I slide into his lap, sipping my smoothie happily while Greyson steals bites from my plate. I’ll have to get Lexi to take me shopping today so I can rant about my anxieties and get a gift for Levi. Gifts are normal on a first date with a human soulmate, right?

Hmmm… Maybe I’ll get him flowers. Flowers make everyone blush and feel special, whether they’re boys or girls. Lexi probably knows a florist somewhere that I could place an order with. Maybe I’ll get Greyson flowers, too… He rarely blushes, but when he does it makes me coo over how cute my tall, tough, demon boyfriend is.

“Are you doing okay, love?” Greyson whispers, kissing my cheek. “I know you were upset this morning.”

I hum. “I’m okay now. We need to find a way to get him to fall for us. I mean, we’re good in the looks department, but as far as knowing how to win a human’s heart? Only Simon has succeeded there and I’m, like, ninety percent sure that he has no clue how he did it.”

Kayden can clearly hear us, if his laugh is any indication.

“What is it, baby?” Simon asks, standing behind Kayden’s chair and kissing the top of his head.

Kayden shakes his head. “Nothing,” he insists, smiling at Greyson and I. “Come on, we both need to get ready for the day.”

“I think I need a shower,” Simon says.

“Good for you, I need to get dressed. I’m not risking missing my test because you want to fuck me in the shower, you imbecile,” Kayden says, brushing past Simon as he tries to kiss him. “Hurry up!”

“Damn, he’s got you on a leash,” Greyson jokes.

Simon scowls. “Yeah, keep laughing. Soon you’ll have two collars on from your human and Elijah’s possessive ass.”

“Don’t give him ideas!” Greyson whines.

It’s funny when he whines because he puts on such a tough-guy attitude. Of course, he’s soft with me and I know he’ll be soft with Levi, and with the sins he’s always lighthearted. With humans, however, he’s cold faced because he needs to focus on using his powers to trick them into buying expensive jewelry.

“Go get dressed, love,” Greyson tells me. 

I kiss him and take my smoothie with me, knowing he’ll finish my waffles off for me and clear my plate. When I get to our room, I see that there’s three different band t-shirts laid on the bed, and I smile as I pick them up. I guess Winston can be nice to one person each day, and it looks like today he chose me.

As I pick out my clothes and grab my phone, I nearly scream when I see a text.

Unknown number: Hi, this is Levi. I just wanted to apologize for being so cold toward you this morning.