Copyright © 2020 Kaizer Wolf

Innocent Devil's Harem | Chapter 14-4: Showing Off My Wings

“Sorry,” I whispered, referring to my second murder. “But there was nothing else I could do. He flat out told Gabriella he was going to ‘finish the job’ after handcuffing her, and he shot me when I tried to stop him.”

Her deep brown gaze snapped up to meet mine. “He shot you?” she repeated in bewilderment. “And you’re okay?”

I cringed. “After I drank some of his blood.” Honestly, I was surprised she’d even ask, considering what happened last night, but maybe the memory was hazy for her or something.

“Oh, Kai. I’m so sorry,” she said gently. “I feel horrible, because I had no idea about any of this.” Her tone abruptly became more serious as she dropped her hands and leaned forward. “Does Nick know about that one? What did you do with the body? And did he have a car? What did you do with that?”

I sighed, knowing she was now thinking about me getting caught. “I hid the body in one location, far away from here, deep in the woods. And I drove the car into a pond. Buried the license plate, though I’m not sure if that helps anything.”

She frowned. “Since we have company over, I don’t think now is a good time to go into further details, but later I’m going to need you to elaborate. And what about the guy from last night?” she added.

“Flew him out of the city and buried him. And he had some Rubbing Alcohol at the warehouse, so I made sure I got rid of my fingerprints on the car. Also burned the area where I bled, but I don’t think anyone will find that anytime soon anyway.”

Her chocolate eyes were suddenly wide as saucers. “F-Flew?” she repeated.

“Oh, umm, yeah. That’s sort of how I killed the guy from last night too. With my wing. Didn’t you see?”

“I’m not sure what I saw, Kai,” she admitted. “I couldn’t really turn my head, so half of what happened was in my peripheral vision.”

“Oh, well, I can sort of grow wings too,” I said cautiously, trying to gauge her shocked reaction. “Do you want to see them?” I wondered.

She seemed stunned. “I mean, yeah, of course.”

I nodded, my skin turning dark gray as I grabbed my shirt in the back to start lifting it up. Her gaze was completely on my shoulder in anticipation, not at all seeming drawn to my abs like Gabriella had been, likely since she’d seen me without a shirt many times before, her eyes visibly widening in shock as she watched the bat-like appendages form and open up around us, with one higher than the other due to the table.

“Kai,” she said in disbelief, reaching out without hesitation to feel one. “How long have you been able to do this? And have you always been like this?”

“As far as I know,” I replied, answering her second question. “And I think I first grew my wings when I was around eleven or twelve. I don’t actually remember the exact date, but my back was itching a lot and every night it felt like the moon was calling to me, and…” I paused when she gave me a confused look. “I always feel like that for a couple of days before and after the full moon, but this was different.” I glanced at my left wing. “So I snuck out of the house one night and my instincts just kind of kicked in. Growing them out felt like I was scratching the itch.”

Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.

She nodded slowly, still feeling the membrane. “I’m really sorry,” she repeated, only to give me an apologetic expression, her eyes glistening slightly. “I just keep thinking about the morning you started being so depressed. I’m not sure if you remember, but we had a sleepover, and the two of us stayed up late that night, because we were playing a game together, and when my mom told us to go to bed, you seemed really sad, so I promised we could continue it first thing in the morning.” She paused to reach up and wipe her eyes. “And then you didn’t want to play at all, and I just kept wondering if I’d done something wrong. If it was somehow my fault.”

“What?” I whispered. “Of course not, Ren. Why would it even be your fault?” I asked seriously.

She shook her head, sniffling. “I don’t know. I was fourteen and kind of moody myself sometimes. But you just never got like that. Never. And I assumed I must have done something. I had no idea what, but felt like it was my fault somehow.”

I sighed heavily, still keeping my wings out. “Sorry,” I said gently. “I just…I just didn’t know how to handle what I experienced. And I felt like I couldn’t tell anyone.” I paused when she nodded, more tears slipping out of her eyes. “But you helped a lot,” I reassured her. “You and your mom both. And of course my mom too. I couldn’t have gotten through it without all of you. And I definitely couldn’t have gotten through losing mom and dad without you,” I added quietly.

She sniffled, giving me a small reassuring smile, not responding this time as she tried to collect herself. After a second, she returned her focus to my dark gray wing, reaching out to feel the membrane again.

Oddly enough, whereas usually I didn’t like having them out unless I was going to fly, instead I was more than comfortable to have them out in her presence. There was almost something cathartic about it, being completely exposed to her -- finally, after all this time -- and having her acceptance.

“Thank you,” I said quietly after a few seconds.

She looked at me in surprise. “For what?” she wondered in confusion.

I decided to be blunt. “For accepting me. And for loving me.”

Her eyes pained briefly as she nodded, returning her focus to my wing as guilt tainted her scent again.

“It means a lot,” I added softly. “You’re everything to me. So please don’t feel guilty. You’ve been my friend when I needed a friend, and helped fill the role of our parents when we were left all alone.”

“But that’s the problem,” she finally whispered. “It’s not right for me to…” She shook her head, not finishing her statement. She then glanced at me. “And what about Gabriella?” she asked seriously. “You seemed pretty certain about marrying her last night.”

I stared down at my plate, uncertain of how to answer her.

My best friend scoffed, her tone becoming chastising. “Kai, I know you’ve never dated anyone before, but I would assume you’d understand the basics. You can’t date two women. I mean, what would Gabriella think if she found out what just happened?” Her frown deepened, though there was nothing unappealing about it. “Kai, you basically just cheated on her by kissing me.”

I shook my head, deciding not to correct her by pointing out that she kissed me, my voice feeling like it was caught in my throat.

“She knows,” I finally managed.

Serenity abruptly sat up straighter in her seat. “Knows what?” she whispered in confusion.

I felt mortified even thinking about it, unsure if I could really tell her everything. Lifting one hand, I covered my eyes, my elbow on the table. “She knows how I feel about you,” I admitted. “And she’s fine with it. She…” My voice choked up, my heart pounding in my ears now. “She’s okay with…” I sucked in a sharp breath. “With us being together at the same time,” I hedged, my voice almost inaudible, finding myself unable to say the word ‘sharing.’

Serenity didn’t respond for a long minute, and I couldn’t bring myself to look at her. I couldn’t even believe I’d really said it.

Copyright © 2020 Kaizer Wolf