Original Stories Fan Fiction / Romance Fan Fiction ❯ Playing With Fire ❯ For You Own Good ( Chapter 27 )

Chapter 27: For You Own Good

Chase's P.O.V

“Disrespectful. Fucking. Bitch!” Chase fumed when his head snapped to the side. He stilled for a moment, allowing the fact that her fist just connected with his jaw to sink in. Never in his life has he allowed another individual, much less a woman, to strike him so many times without retribution. But this bitch was beginning to tap dance on already broken ice…

He slowly turned his head to face her, though she didn't notice the deadly look that flashed across his face due to her incessant rambling.

“Do you exist solely to make my life a living fucking hell?!” She roared seeing nothing but red. “You promised me you would behave! You promised! What the fuck happened to that, huh?! Do you have any idea how much shit your arrogant mouth just landed my ass in? I can't believe you!”

Chase calmly wiped the blood from his split lip before meeting her gaze. “Did this bitch really just fucking punch me in the goddamn face?” Granted, he deserved it, but regardless…what the fuck!

“You know,” he drawled calmly. “You wouldn't like it very much if I slapped your ass around. Try considering that the next time you raise your fucking hand to—”

Another sharp blow sailed across his other cheek. Bitch was on a roll.

Then, in one swift movement, he grabbed her arm and yanked her body hard against his chest.

“Hit me one more time and I'm gonna be binge drinking on witches' blood til motherfucking dawn,” He growled menacingly, eyes flashing black as the monster in him took over. Threatening her family seemed to help her restrain from anymore violent outbursts.

“You're hurting me,” she bit out gesturing towards her arm which he still had twisted at an odd angle. His grip tightened for good measure, watching her wince in pain before releasing her arm without fully relinquishing his hold on her. He leaned in, his nose almost touching hers. To onlookers, their position could easily be mistaken for an intimate embrace between lovers.

“Listen carefully, cause I'm only gonna say this once,” he whispered calmly, his vibrant blue eyes hard and uncaring. “I'd like to think that I've been lenient with you, but you seem to be confusing my kindness for something else entirely. So maybe I should make a few things clear. The next time you raise your fucking hand to me, I will break it after smashing your head into a fucking wall…any wall…I'll even let you pick the fucking wall. You think I'm a bastard now?” he laughed tersely. “You have absolutely no fucking idea the pain I can and will inflict on you if you cross me again, understand?”

Her eyes met his head on, anger burning deep within them. She nodded stiffly, a small yelp slipping from her mouth when his free hand shot out and gripped her face roughly.

“Say it,” he ordered, his tone dark. He watched as her eyes watered. He was forcing her into submission and her own compliance and inability to fight back overwhelmed her with shame.

“I…understand,” she choked out, his grip making it difficult for her to speak

“Good girl,” he praised in a quiet voice, his lips brushing against hers as he spoke. He tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear before leaning down for a kiss. Sage turned her face, forcing him to kiss her cheek instead.

“C'mon baby, don't be like that,” he pouted lifting her chin until their eyes locked. “You're the one that ruined a perfectly good evening.”

She gapped at him in shock, her unleashed tears already dried. “Are you kidding me?”

He rolled his eyes. “Unless you're the one that just got punched in the face…then no, I'm not. Don't be so emotional. I didn't even do anything to your precious family. They were the ones threatening and calling me names. I mean evil I get, but vile? C'mon! That was a little harsh.”

Sage slowly shook her head in disbelief, her pale green eyes glowing under the moonlight as she tried in vain to get out of his iron grip.

“Let go.”

“Make me…oh wait, you can't,” he grinned smugly.

“My family is probably watching,” she replied as if that knowledge alone would get him to back off.

He chuckled. “I know they are. Witches are so nosy.”

“They're not gonna want me to see you anymore,” she replied in an even tone.

“Oh, no!” he mocked dramatically holding a hand to his chest. “Are you breaking up with me? Whatever will I do? I just love you so much!”

“Fuck you!” she spat now struggling to free herself from his grip.

Chase jerked her roughly once, halting her movements. “Fuck me? No, baby. Fuck you. Which is exactly what I'm going to do to you if you continue disrespecting me, you hear me? I don't care what we have between us, love, hate, fuck buddies, I don't give a shit! And believe me when I say rape would be a kind punishment for you because there are far worse things I could do to you other then my dick ripping a hole in your cunt. Do not fuck with me. And I would advice you tell your precious little coven to do the same since I plan on going and coming as I fucking please.”

Sage gazed unblinkingly into his eyes, her cold expression mirroring his own.

“Why is it…” she began calmly, her voice barely above a whisper… “Every time I think there are redeeming qualities in you, it blows up in my fucking face?”

“Ouch,” he teased with a pout. “If I remembered what feelings were, mines might be hurt.”

“That would imply you actually have a heart, which I am seriously beginning to doubt,” she deadpanned.

Chase continued to gaze down at her, disappointment flashing in her transparent green eyes. Despite her beliefs, it wasn't his intention for things to get as out of hand as they did with her family. And as childish as it may sound… they started it. Witches always poked their fucking noses where it didn't belong. Power tended to make people cocky and overly confident. Granted, he himself possessed those same qualities, but with good reason. He was one of the strongest beings in the universe and acted so within his means. There was a natural order about things. Humans fear the unknown because they know they are inferior to it. But witches are forever under the impression that they are the exception to the rule because of their powers, powers that most demons don't even possess. So what do they do? They underestimate every opponent. They jump to conclusions that will only get them killed in the end…foolishly blinded by their own confidence and arrogance.

Every time Sage displayed even an ounce of that confidence, he took it away from her. She didn't have the power to back up her actions. She needed to realize all actions have consequences unless you're strong enough to say otherwise. She saw it as him trying to crush her spirit, but that was never his intention. He just didn't want Sage to end up like her…no, he wouldn't allow that to happen a second time. Chase couldn't deny he felt something for this girl. Sage was pure and innocent yet accepting of what he was. A part of him didn't want her to accept him. This part of him knew it would be better for her to run as far away from him as possible, but then there was the other part telling him to follow her where ever she goes. He tries to scare her off, telling himself it's for her own good, only to pull her back in. He keeps telling himself that Sage isn't her, that they're nothing alike, but why take the chance? Maybe he should just let her go now before it's too late and he ends up with the blood of another dead witch on his hands.

Chase lifted his eyes to meet hers again, breaking himself out of his thoughts.

“You know shit about me, little girl,” he spoke breaking the blanket of silence that fell between them, his voice taking on a bitter tone. “So go ahead and think whatever the fuck you want.”

Sage's P.O.V

She was slightly taken aback by the bitterness in his tone, thinking for a moment she might have actually hurt his feelings. But she quickly shook away the feeling of guilt she felt crawling to the surface, reminding herself that she was still pissed at him. She was growing tired of his threats whenever he didn't get his way and she refused to allow him to push her around anymore. It became clear to her a while ago that Chase specialized in pushing people away when he felt like they were getting too close. His defense mechanism often sent him spiraling into dick mode during these times.

He made it so easy to hate him, yet…

Sage stared into his clear crystal blue eyes. It amazed her how easy it was to get lost in his piercing gaze.

“I don't know shit about you because you won't let me in,” she challenged, her hard gaze meeting his defiantly.

“You wouldn't like what you find,” he fired back, his tone almost begging her to tell him different.

She scoffed curtly. “That's not for you to decide. You can't keep doing this.”

“Doing what?”

“Pushing me away.” She watched as his face softened before he quickly covered it, his mask slipping back in place. His grip on her loosened as he finally removed his arm from around her waist, though neither stepped away.

Sage wouldn't let him intimidate her; she wouldn't back down from this. She wasn't the one who was scared here. Chase averted his gaze, opting to look anywhere but her. Several emotions flashed across his face in that moment as if he were struggling to contain them. Suddenly, they both turned towards the sound of the front door opening. Abel stepped out.

He scratched the back of his head nervously; clearly uncomfortable to be the one to interrupt what appeared to be a serious moment between the two.

“Um…your dad wants you inside,” he called out, his tone reflecting a silent apology.

Sage nodded, indicating she heard him. She gave Chase one last look as if begging him to say something before letting her walk away. But he merely stared back at her, his expression unreadable. She released a deep breath, tearing her eyes away and casting them downward before making her way over to the front porch.

“Time to face the music…” she mumbled to Abel who offered her a tight-lipped smile in return, knowing it was going to be a long night. She turned back around when the sound of a car engine filled her ears. She watched as Chase took off down the road, tire screeches and tread marks left in his wake.

“What happened?” Abel asked, taking notice of her obvious distress.

“Same shit that always happens,” she mumbled walking past him into the house.

Kel's P.O.V

Kel strolled through the back door leading to the kitchen, wiping the blood from his mouth. He always felt rejuvenated after a good hunt and fresh kill, the blood clearing his mind as much as it quenched his hunger. He was seeing his situation with Mia a lot more clearly since their encounter in the school washroom. He couldn't ignore it anymore; he had to get closer to her. Of course, there was the little issue of her being pissed at him for reasons that were beyond him. She wanted the truth and he gave it to her. He couldn't comprehend how he was the one at fault.

“She'll get over it,” he thought with a shrug.

He decided it would be best to give her some time to cool down, so he spent the majority of the day with Ace and Tage as they reported to him. Ace informed him that Kai was, indeed, getting his affairs in order for the big move. Word was beginning to spread among the demons, but not quickly enough. But Kel already expected this. These demons didn't have the power or the resources to prepare every single demon in the realm within the time span of 3 months. So, Kel ordered Tage to collect a list from Kai listing all demon infested territories his crew covered and the ones they were unable to reach as of yet. Needless to say, the latter was the longest list.

Kel was currently waiting for his brother to return so they could begin gathering up demons and altering the memories of the humans left behind. Every human in this realm will be trapped in a zombie-like state until the very last demon steps through the portal into the new world. The second the portal closes, the humans will be free of compulsion and will proceed to live a normal, monster free existence.

“Some times ignorance really is bliss…” Kel thought as he flopped down on the couch beside Hades. The hellhound was left to itself all day and chose to stay cooped up in the house.

“You just slept your lazy ass all day, huh?” he asked rubbing the creature behind the ears. Hades whined in reply and kicked out his leg, welcoming the attention.

“Stupid mutt…” Kel grumbled smiling down at the 200 pound beast as it curled up in his lap.

The sound of a door opening and slamming drew his attention. Kel looked over his shoulder in time to see Chase barreling into the room.

“Where the fuck have you been?” he called out. “We got business to take care of.”

Kel distinctly heard Chase swear under his breath before striding towards the wet bar in the living room, snatching up a bottle of Johnny Walker and guzzling it down.

“How was dinner with the in-laws?” Kel asked dryly, his tone as impassive as always.

“Great!” Chase replied sarcastically before taking another swig from the bottle. “The wedding's in June.”

Kel watched as his clearly aggravated brother drained the rest of the bottle. Chase usually drank when he was under stress or irritated, but alcohol was never his chosen beverage. Usually by now he would have drained half the town dry, eating every human in sight, but Kel hasn't seen his brother feed on anyone since the first few days they arrived in town.

“I see the witches blood withdrawal symptoms have begun,” Kel mocked in a lazy tone, a smile tugging at his lips when Chase shot him a glare. “Alcohol will only tame the cravings for so long. Maybe you shouldn't have relied on her as your personal blood bank.”

“I can feed whenever, on whoever I fucking want,” he snarled reaching to open a bottle of Whiskey.

“Lemme guess…you just don't want to, right?” Kel raised a skeptical brow.

“Shut your hole,” Chase deadpanned before raising the fresh bottle to his lips. Kel merely shook his head.

“Damn, she's got your balls nailed to the wall, doesn't she?” he drawled, a hint of disbelief lining his tone. He's never seen Chase this far gone over a woman before, and a teenage witch no less. It was fascinating.

“How bout I nail your fucking balls to the goddamn wall?” he scowled, glaring daggers at Kel after draining half the bottle.

Kel smirked. “No need to get defensive, brother.”

Chase scoffed in reply as he began pacing the length of the living room floor with the bottle dangling loosely from his hand. “We've been here too long,” he grumbled. “I wish this fucking mission would end already.”

“I have the list of places we need to visit,” Kel said diverting the topic, holding a piece of paper up between his fingers for Chase to take. “We need to start compelling the humans to forget and gathering the demons the dog squad won't be able to reach in time.”

“Good,” Chase nodded in approval, his eyes scanning the list. “Let's get it done and get the hell outta dodge.”

“Why the sudden rush?” Kel cocked an eyebrow. “There's still the matter of our malfunctioning powers.”

“Fuck it,” Chase growled, waving the bottle for emphasis. “Those two bitches are the fucking problem. If we disappear, they disappear, and if they disappear so does our little power glitch. There, problem fucking solved.”

“And if that doesn't solve anything?” Kel challenged. Chase was being irrational. They couldn't just ignore something this important. They couldn't afford to have a weakness and these girls were becoming just that. They had a lot of enemies in between the different realms, and if anyone were to find out that there are two beings in existence that are immune to their powers… it could be disastrous.

“I don't frigging know!” he yelled throwing his hands up in the air as if admitting defeat. “All I know is whatever this fucking shit is, it's…it's getting to me, man.”

Kel sighed. He knew what his brother was going through because he wasn't far behind himself.

Kel shooed Hades from his lap and stood, walking over to his distraught brother. “I know…it's getting to me too,” he said pulling the bottle from Chase's hand and taking a long swig. “But now isn't the time to be having a nervous fucking breakdown, so snap the hell out of it.”

Chase stared at him, a blank expression on his face. He then scrubbed a tired hand down his face, chuckling softly. “Wasn't I the one giving your ass this speech a few days ago?”

“How the tables have turned…now look whose losing their mind,” Kel grinned admiring the irony of the situation.

“Like you said before, we'll figure it out,” he continued. “One thing at a time, remember? Let's just get this done first,” he said holding up the list.

Chase drained the rest of the bottle and shrugged off his blazer, tossing it onto the coffee table. “Yeah, let's go. I need something to do anyways. Hades, come!”

The hellhound's head perked up at the command and sauntered over to stand beside his master, his fire lit tail wagging behind him.

The three vanished from the room.

Sage's P.O.V

“What were you thinking? You know nothing about this boy!” her father scolded as she sat at the kitchen table, her elders surrounding her. Her cousins and siblings sat in the living room and, although she couldn't see them, she knew they had their ears pressed against the kitchen door. Sage returned to the house to find her father standing with his arms crossed over his chest while her mother wore an expression mixed somewhere between disappointment and anger.

Her Nana slowly shook her head and Sage waited for the “I told you so” to drop.

“I didn't trust that boy from the moment I laid eyes on him.”

“And there it is.” she thought, resisting the urge to roll her eyes.

“You realize he's older then all of you combined, right,” she spoke drawing everyone's attention. “I don't think boy is the appropriate terminology.”

“Don't get mouthy, young lady,” her mother scolded. “You have a lot of explaining to do.

“What is he?” her father demanded.

“A demon,” she answered evenly meeting her father's gaze.

“His power is beyond that of a demon,” her Nana piped in.

“Okay,” she shrugged. “He's a really strong demon then.”

“Do you think this is a joke, young lady?” her father's deep voice bellowed. “Do you have any idea how dangerous a creature with no aura is? No soul?”

“Yeah, I think Nana covered all that with Chase earlier. He's evil and vile and what not—”

“I suggest you watch your tone,” her mother interrupted. Sage released a heavy breath, calming herself before continuing. “Maybe you just can't sense his aura, maybe he has it hidden. That doesn't mean he has no soul.”

“Impossible,” her father shook his head.

“Why, because you're all powerful and incapable of making a mistake?” she fired sarcastically.

“Sage!” her mother yelled.

“What!” she snapped at the woman. She was so sick of people treating her like a child. “None of you even know what you're talking about! You know nothing about him!”

“We don't want to know him,” her father hissed between clenched teeth. “But what I do want is for you to stay away from him. You will no longer see him, do you understand?”

“You can't tell me who I can and can not see!” she yelled outraged, the lights in the room flickering. “I'm 17-years-old, I'm not a child!” The lights shattered, glass shreds flying in all directions as the windows rattled, indicating they might be next. Her rage expelled a bolt of energy from her body, sending several chairs flying backwards into the wall and breaking upon impact.

“You are a child!” her father's voice echoed through the room, silencing all other sounds. “Only a child throws tantrums and ignores danger when it's right in front of her! You can't even control your powers! Maybe if you spent more time learning your craft and less running around with boys you barely know I would consider treating you like an adult. Respect is earned, young lady.”

“Earned my ass!” she spat standing to face her father. “Respect is something you give when you feel like it. You never gave me the chance to prove myself; you always look down on me, telling me I should be more like Jayden. Well guess what? I'm not Jayden!”

“That's enough! You will not talk to your father like that!” her mother yelled stepping up to stand beside her father. “I can already see the influence this boy has over you—”

“There it is again!” Sage laughed tersely, waving her arm towards her mother. “You don't even think I can rebel on my own! None of you have ever had fate in me, in my choices, whether it be life or witch related. “Sage is too stupid to make her own decisions so it must be the wrong one”. Well I am done playing the obedient daughter, do you hear me? Done! I'll teach myself from now on.” Sage slammed her hand against the kitchen door, watching as it swung open the same time her cousins scattered away so they wouldn't be caught listening. She made her way towards the door and slipped on her shoes.

“You aren't going anywhere!” her mother stomped out of the kitchen. “Go upstairs to your room, you're grounded!”

Sage laughed out loud and turned the door knob, but it wouldn't open. She looked back at her mother, who had a satisfied look on her face.

“Up stairs. Now.” she pointed towards the staircase that Jayden was currently sitting on.

“You have to lift the spell sooner or later, unless everyone plans on sleeping over?” she glared at her mother.

“Oh, everyone can leave whenever they want,” she answered. “The spell only affects you and you're not strong enough to override it.”

Sage could feel herself shaking in anger. Why was everyone always stronger then her? Chase, Kel, her family…she just couldn't win. Someone else was always overpowering her, even weak rapists. She felt useless.

She glanced around the room at her family, all looking at her like she had lost her mind.

“Fine,” she bit out as she brushed passed her mother and made her way towards the stairs.

“Not so fast,” her mother grabbed her arm. “Give me your cell phone.”

“What for?”

“Don't play dumb, Sage. When we said you couldn't see Chase anymore that included talking to him on the phone.”

Sage looked at her mother for a moment before bursting out in laughter. If they questioned her sanity before, there was no doubt about it now. This just proved what she told them earlier. They knew nothing about Chase. The man didn't even own a cell phone; he's telepathic for god sakes. Taking her cell only meant she couldn't talk to Mia, but she would see her in school anyways.

“Here, take it.” She said tossing her mother the phone, a smile plastered on her face. “Chase isn't big on technology anyways.” And with that she stomped up the stairs and slammed her bedroom door behind her, leaving her family utterly confused.