Elizabeth inwardly sighed out of frustration as she looked up at Shane. For years he haunted her dreams and tormented her to the point of nightmares. She had loved him for so long and all he had shown her was unkindness. The words that had been spoken to each other were few and far between but Elizabeth remembered each one as if they had been burnt into her brain. She remembered every gesture and every wave. She remembered the humiliation and the laughter that shattered her heart so long ago. She was never good enough for him then, all those years ago but was clearly worthy of his attention now.

She tried desperately to ignore his slender fingers that ghosted at the small of her back as the bodies of partygoers crashed into them. She tried with every ounce of willpower to break the eye contact that held her his captive. Shane’s perfectly sculpted lips curved into a smirk as another body pushed hers into his, causing her to steady herself with his chest.

Elizabeth’s heart was beating at an uncomfortable pace as Shane lowered his eyes and smiled at her as if she were the only girl in the room. Her brain was buzzing with millions of questions that had no logical answer. Why would Shane Night, after 5 years of ignoring her and treating her worse than dirt, be smiling at her the way he was. Why would Shane Night be talking and flirting with her when he never said more than one sentence to her so long ago?

The feelings flitting around Elizabeth’s mind were a mess. She felt angry, happy, sad, frustrated, livid, ecstatic and disgusted all at the same time. She was confused.

“Do you want to meet up tomorrow for coffee and catch up?” Shane whispered in her ear. His breath tickled her ear and made her knees a little less strong than they were a minute ago.

Elizabeth’s brain screamed at her why the fuck does he want to meet me tomorrow? We have nothing to catch up on! He broke your heart with his unkind words. NO!

“Yeah. Sure.” She murmured back to him, mentally kicking herself. What the fuck was I saying? What the fuck are you doing you retarded idiot!

Shane kissed her cheek, leaving the spot where his lips touched searing, that Elizabeth touched it to make sure that he hadn’t burnt a hole into her face.

“I’ll see you tomorrow at The Brew House on Fifth at 10.” He said softly before flashing the smile that had melted her heart when she first met him.

Elizabeth smiled up at him trying to catch her breath. Something felt wrong but there was no way she could process it while he stood in front of her looking like sex in jeans. God he had changed and looked even better than she remembered. His raven black hair fell into his emerald green eyes. His fair and obscenely flawless skin had just a layer of sweat from the mass of bodies that surrounded them.
Shane pulled her into his muscular arms and whispered in her ear “Happy Birthday Liz”. He released her and smiled his dazzling smile before walking back to the group he was with leaving Elizabeth even more confused than before.

He remembered that today was her birthday? No, he probably put two and two together when he saw the beads around her neck and the ridiculous tiara that her friends forced onto her head. He probably heard the exuberant ‘Happy Birthdays’ that flooded her way from friends that got drunker. There was no way that Shane could have remembered that September 6th was her birthday. He never acknowledged it before so why now?

Elizabeth’s head began pounding as she tried to figure out Shane. Unwilling to let him take away anything more from her night, Elizabeth threw herself back into the festivities that were in her honor and danced the night away, with Shane one her mind every second that her body moved.
****************

Shane’s emerald eyes scanned the crowd looking for someone in particular. He had come to this specific venue in pursuit of one individual. She was his mark and he was assigned to her only because he had a history with her.

Well, not so much of history, rather a blip in the past, thought Shane with a smirk as he remembered her while they were in high school together; awkward and pathetic.
Nevertheless, his objective was to get close to her, make her trust him and then use whatever information he got on her coven to bring them down from the inside, isolating her and giving her to his master for his own uses. He had to hide his true identity and change himself into someone that she would want in order to get what he needed. There was much more at risk if he did not complete the task at hand. The question of his long awaited humanity hung in the balance. This task was the final debt that he had to pay off in order to get it back. If he failed he would forever remain one of the Fallen, and that was not something he wanted.

Throughout history there were mentions of The Fallen; a group if renegade demons, who in the greater scheme of things were really quite powerful and known as Dominions or Lordships. They had broken out from the depth of hell with the intention of creating an army to take down Lucifer, for they had enough of his rule. The Fallen saw humans as nothing more than rats to be used in experiments on how much the pathetic human race could take. They had been doing it for years and would continue doing it for many more. But what the leader of The Fallen, Abaddon, had failed to see were that not all of his “followers” were as malignant and power hungry as him. Some wanted to be free of Abaddon and retreat into their own life for being so close to humans had created a sort of desire to be free like them.

Shane was one of the Fallen, and had been a part of them since they first broke out 1300 years ago. He reveled in their ability to control the weak minds of the humans. They had created wars for fun and found humor in watching humans slay each other from day to day. But after living that life for so long, Shane became bored and wanted more.

For the last 178 years he had been a high school or university student and enjoyed the little sinister acts that brought him pleasure. As the years progressed it got easier for him as humans became more and more feral to each other; which meant less work for him. His “special” skill however was something that not many of his counterparts had knowledge of. Shane had the ability to control all five elements, which he used to his advantage too many times to count.

Shane felt her presence before he saw her and his body stiffened uncharacteristically. He turned to his left and saw her as she moved gracefully through the crowd towards a large group of people. Her long chestnut brown hair fell in loose waves to her small waist.

She looked different to him now, much more a woman than he recalled. She carried herself with effortlessness and confidence. Her step never once faltered as she moved with surety, parting the thick crowd to get to her destination.

It was hard for Shane to believe that she was the same Elizabeth Baker from high school; meek and mild, with no voice and no ability to stand up for herself when the time called for it. Of course he preyed on her knowing all of these things. He also knew that she had been irrevocably in love with him and that knowledge made his game all the more sweeter. His victory came on the day she had finally admitted to herself that her heart was broken and that she had given up. Though for some reason that victory was somewhat bittersweet.

Smiling to himself, Shane trailed behind her and waited until she had greeted all of her friends before tapping her lightly on the shoulder. She spun around and flashed a dazzling smile at him that caught him off guard. Her honey colored eyes met his and a flash of pain crossed her beautiful face only to be quickly masked with resolution. She squared her shoulders and breathed deeply.

“Shane?” she said somewhat breathlessly, giving him a once over with a cocked eyebrow.

“In the flesh Elizabeth” he replied, a smile playing on his lips as his eyes hungrily took in every aspect of her. She definitely was not the same girl from high school. No, she had grown, and there was a significant change that he couldn’t quite put his finger on. She radiated charm, elegance and beauty that had him taken aback. She was exquisite and clearly well-polished.

“It’s been a while.” She said to him sounding almost surprised. “What have you been doing with yourself?”

If she’s truly nervous on the inside she’s doing a damn good job of hiding it thought Shane as he looked down into her piercing eyes. Surely I would remember those eyes…wait what? Why am I having these thoughts? Focus Shane….

“The usual. Working and such” he said nonchalantly, raking his hands through his raven colored hair, something he did only when he felt nervous, which was an extremely rare occurrence.

The blaring music and the dancing bodies surrounding them caused Shane to take a step closer, invading Elizabeth’s personal space. His slender fingers barely touched her lower back as he gazed down at her. She smiled shyly and fluttered her eyelashes slightly, as if the closeness of his fingers was causing a reaction inside of her. Suddenly, some clearly drunk part-goer pushed Elizabeth closer to Shane, causing her to steady herself with a hand on his muscular chest. Shane smirked inwardly as Elizabeth blushed a bright shade of scarlet. Using this opportunity, Shane made his move.

“Do you want to meet up tomorrow for coffee and catch up?” he whispered in her ear. He heard the seductiveness in his own voice and felt Elizabeth’s reaction to it.

“Yeah. Sure” she murmured back to him sounding just a little bit confused.

Leaning down, Shane kissed her cheek and instantly felt her body tense. When he righted himself, he saw her fingertips touch her check as if he had burnt her.

“I’ll see you tomorrow at The Brew House on Fifth at 10.” He said with confidence, knowing that he had already reeled her in.

As he geared up to leave, the urge to hold her overwhelmed him and he gently folded his muscular arms around her, tucking her body closely to his. The warmth that radiated from her body to his felt incredible.

“Happy Birthday Liz” he breathed into her ear and once again felt her body tense. He smiled at her as he released her and turned away, weaving through the crowd and finally cloaking himself so that no one would see him.

He moved swiftly, the smell of honeysuckle faintly clinging to his clothes. The sound of her radically beating heart got softer until he could no longer hear it. He smiled to himself as he turned the corner. He walked a few more paces until another presence snapped him out of his reverie.

He turned to the darkness on his right. “Evening Caym” Shane said softly as a man with black eyes darker than the night stepped forward grinning.

“Seems like you have her baited Samael” said Caym, lighting a cigarette and inhaling.

“Somehow I knew you would have been around to report back to Abaddon.” Shane hissed, irritation rising. Caym got under his skin just by opening his mouth.

“I’m always around Samael” sneered Caym, basking in the fact that he had pissed off his superior.

“I should have you de-feathered you useless crow” growled Shane

“We all know you can Samael, but I know that you’re too much of a coward.” taunted Caym.

Shane let his temper get the better of him and snatched Caym’s neck and threw him roughly to the floor. Caym laughed and began to get up. Shane’s booted foot crashed down onto his chest with mind-blowing force. His eyes turned from green to black and his voice lost all its’ feigned humanity.

“Do not go there Caym. I have had enough of your games. You will fall into line or I will use force to make sure that you do. I’ve had enough of your disrespect.” Said Shane in a lethal tone “you may be Abaddon’s favorite but you are within my legion which means you need to think before you open that irritating beak of yours”

Shane dug his boot into Caym’s chest for emphasis. He heard Caym wheeze and Shane ground his boot in further.

“Mark my words Caym, your days of meddling are over. Fall in line or suffer.” Shane said cruelly.
Removing his boot, Shane once again cloaked himself in darkness and left Cyam sputtering and in distinct pain. He hadn’t made five paces when he heard Cyam’s venomous words pierce through his mind like a jagged blade.

"You will regret this night Samael, guardian of Esau. Perhaps you were once the seducer and destroyer but you have become weak and it’s been noticed by more of us than you think. You can keep lying to yourself and believe that you are still the angel of death but I can tell you now that it you whose days are numbered. You may have once been an archangel but remember Samael, God favors you no longer. You have no one that seeks your interest anymore. You have seen to that by joining us so many years ago. Do not think that because you are powerful that we still follow. You are weak . You’re humanity seems to be showing…"