“What the hell?!"

As Bandit jumped away, taking her wandering hands with her, Shadows whirled around to see Vengeance stood in the doorway, staring at the two of them like he’d swallowed a sock. He didn’t feel bad, because he hadn’t meant anything by the kiss, he’d just imagined it was Hurricane but Vengeance was going to be something else to deal with.

“Zacky…I…I didn’t mean…I, um, this isn’t what it looks like!” Bandit pleaded, running over to him and falling to her knees, grabbing his hand as she looked up at him. It wasn’t often that she begged for his forgiveness, but this time, she could look past it.
He, however, had a completely different idea. His once bright green eyes were slowly turning darker at the sight of the little demon, and suddenly- Shadows turned on her too.

“I don’t think her being here is helping her stay monogamous at all Vengeance. I suggest you and Gates have a little conversation about her staying here much longer” Shadows snarled, a small grin creeping up on his face. Zacky had been caught in the middle for this whole ordeal, and now if looks could kill, even the undead would be quivering in their shoes at Zacky’s glare.
“I think you might be right Shadows. You, come with me!” he growled at the girl, who got up from her knees and ran after him, pleading for his forgiveness.

For a moment, Shadows listened to the yells from both Vengeance and Bandit behind the closed doors near his office, and then at the low pitched frustration from Gates as he stormed up the stairs behind his sister. All was silent for a moment, the only sound being the quiet barking of Alfie and Pinkly in the living room downstairs, when there was a timid knock on the wooden door of his office. Hurricane’s head appeared around the door and he beckoned her forward, a horrible feeling of guilt sinking in the pit of his stomach. He was the devil, he wasn’t meant to have feelings and emotions.

They were for the weak.

“Is everything OK? Vengeance came downstairs and said something about Bandit and then Gates went with him” Hurricane whispered, pausing when she heard the sound of someone shouting from the other room. A female shout- and Shadows could only guess that Bandit was putting up as much of a fight as possible to stop her brother and Vengeance from torturing her again. He didn’t say anything, just waited until she was curled up in his lap, toying with a long strand of her dark hair.
“Bandit tried to cheat on Vengeance and he walked in on her. He’s not a happy demon, I’ll tell you that much” Shadows said quietly, trying to think of a good enough reason not to tell her that he was the person she’d been cheating with.

“I don’t like yelling. Reminds me of what happened before I died” she mumbled, staring blankly into the distance, like she was watching something in front of her eyes.

She had never said much about her life before Johnny left her, and before she died.
“What happened? You know you can tell me, honey. I love you, remember?” Shadows whispered, tightening his grip around her tiny waist. He’d seen the bruises and the cuts the first time they’d been together, but had never questioned it before.

“My parents used to argue a lot. With each other mostly. Johnny and I would sit under the covers in his bedroom and pretend like we didn’t have parents who hated each other. My mom was the violent one- she threw stuff at my brother when he tried to intervene. That scar he has above his left eye- that was after she threw a wine bottle at him. I had to carry him to hospital”
“Is that how he died? By something…your mother did?”

“Sort of. She threw him out when he was sixteen, just after he got involved with the mob business. Said she didn’t want any bad blood getting in our family- didn’t want any of us to go to hell. Didn’t help that was where we were destined for anyways. We heard he was shot, died in action according to the note he left me. I never thought I’d see him again”

Shadows was silent for a moment, letting himself mull the words over in his head. How she hadn’t been completely scarred from birth was beyond even his knowledge. He just held her a little tighter and kissed the top of her head, wondering if his initial plan to enslave and dominate this girl, the same girl he’d come to love over the few months she had been in his possession, had just fallen through altogether. He didn’t quite understand it, but he wanted to protect and guard her from the world he had created, a world he wasn’t even strong enough to leave.

A door slammed suddenly, making Hurricane jump almost out of his arms, and Gates stalked down past the door, pausing when he spotted the two of them. He shot daggers at Hurricane and then stormed into the office, slamming his hands down on the desk.

“Shadows. I want to borrow Hurricane. Now” he hissed and she recoiled backwards. This was the devil Syn- what had happened to the angel she’d been hanging around with.
“She is not yours to borrow, Gates, she is mine” he said calmly, though his grip around her chest tightened even more.

“Who says so? You were the one that bought her- you’re just baiting her so she’ll go along with your little plan!” Gates yelled and Hurricane froze. A plan. There had been a plan?
“Don’t listen to him Princess; he doesn’t know what he’s saying. He’s not right in the head” Shadows muttered, but she stood up, pushing her arms away from him. She felt disgusted. Had he been using her all this time to get something for himself? Positioning herself between the two men, she glared over at Shadows.

“Tell me what’s going on. Don’t lie to me!”

But Syn was the one to speak, a small chuckle leaving his lips at the thought that he was tearing them apart at the seams.
“Your precious lover has been plotting against you all along. He got Johnny to sign you over to him, he didn’t want you. He just wanted a woman to help him overrule the whole of Hell, and you were the perfect candidate. He doesn’t love you, Hurricane, he never did!” Gates said, grinning as he saw the happy expression drop from Shadows’ face.

“So that’s what this was? A scheme? Another plan?” she demanded and he shook his head, standing up to face her.

“You have to understand me, Princess, I love you. And I wouldn’t say that if I didn’t. At first it was about my plan, but now it’s about so much more. I love you, please. Don’t listen to him” he begged, and surprisingly, getting down on his knees, looking up at her with a pleading and miserable expression. But instead of softening, her heart hardened. Why hadn’t she listened to the warnings people had given her?

Johnny, Zacky, Syn- even Bandit had warned her against him. Why did she have to be so stubborn? Hurricane threw Shadows one last pitiful look, and then stalked over to Syn, grabbing his hand.

“I’ll go with you. After all- nobody owns me anymore” she muttered and dragged the eager man out of the room, trying with all her might not to cry.

He cornered her almost as soon as they’d reached his bedroom, slamming her up against the wall and attacking her lips forcefully, letting his hands roam over her thin body. She’d forgotten he had another pet, she’d forgotten that she loved Shadows.

All she wanted was one night of sin to take her away from the cruel world she lived.
And as she waltzed into his room with a ‘come hither’ look staining her features, Syn sent a little thought message to Zacky, who was in the other room, fucking the brains out of Bandit.

Sometimes if you want to do something, you just have to do it yourself