All The Wrong Signs
The Change

Riley’s POV

The moment I opened my eyes, I could feel the difference in my body. It was subtle, but there at the same time. I knew Blaze was close. I could feel him as if we had an invisible string tied, connecting the two of us together.

Getting up, I grabbed my clothes off of the floor, throwing them in my dirty clothes basket before pulling out a pair of panties and an oversized t-shirt I used as a nightgown. Opening the door to my bedroom, I could hear Blaze and Petra speaking.

I paused for a moment, but they grew quiet. Shaking my head, I knew I should have realized that they would have picked up on my sounds. Blaze probably realized the second I woke up.

Walking into the kitchen, I wasn’t really sure what to expect. Blaze was sitting at the bar, drinking what looked like a cup of coffee, and Petra was standing beside him.

I stood waiting for Petra to start in on me. She had warned me about bonding with her brother and I had done it anyway. I had spoken the words. I had…

I had pressured him into doing something he did not want to do.

My eyes went to his, worried. I didn’t replace anger. If I didn’t know better, I’d think he was awaiting my reaction to him. Without speaking, he nodded at me. I felt a wave of relief wash over me as he reached out, pulling me closer to him when I was within his arm’s reach.

“Are you ok?” he asked, leaning down whispering in my ear. When I nodded, he pulled a stool closer to him and motioned for me to sit.

Petra watched us, mildly interested. When her eyes moved to mine, I looked down. “I’m sorry.”

“You don’t apologize to her,” Blaze said, looking over my shoulder at his sister.

“No, really, he should be thanking me,” she said, rolling her eyes. Looking back at me, she shrugged, “I warned you. Don’t you ever say I didn’t.”

“Don’t you have things to do?” Blaze growled at her.

She laughed. “God, you are even more annoying now. This is going to be a whole shit show.”

“Bye Petra.”

She winked. “I’ll be back to babysit before nightfall.”

As she disappeared, I turned to look at Blaze. “You’re leaving again?” I wasn’t sure I liked the thought of him leaving. Not yet. Now when I was still trying to figure out this whole bonding thing. Being close to him, my body felt alive. It was like a thousand humming birds were beating their wings inside my body.

He nodded, reaching out and soothing my hair out of my face. “I still have a mission to do, you know.”

Of course he did. I nodded, “are you mad at me?”

Blaze frowned, “now why would I be mad at you little witch?”

I raised my hand, looking down at my palm. There was only the faintest silver line there, barely noticeable.

Blaze took his hand and held it to mine. The beating in my chest got faster, my body was practically humming with vibrations. “I did this. Not you.”

“But…”

“You need someone to protect you. I’ll take that roll, Riley. You’ve been mine since the first time I saw you in that tattoo shop. You wear my mark, and now my blood is mixed with yours. You are stuck with me now.”

I turned to face him. “I’m going to help free you from Kyler. And once you are free, I will release you from my hold.”

Blaze smiled, lacing his fingers with mine. “Free me, little witch, you will still be mine. This bond isn’t temporary. It’s not over until I say it’s over and I don’t like to give away things that are mine.”

My eyes moved up to look at him. “Careful demon. You are starting to sound like you want me.”

“I showed you last night now much I fucking want you,” Blaze said, pulling me off of my stool onto his lap. “Do you need reminding so soon?”

The giggle that escaped my mouth sounded foreign to me. It was, dare I say, happy. Blaze leaned down, kissing my forehead. “Can you feel it?”

I nodded. “it’s like my entire body is thrumming with energy. I knew you were here. I could feel it.”

Leaning up, Blaze looked down at me. “It can be unpredictable. Sometimes it will be the loudest when we are apart, other times when I am near. Through it, I can feel your emotions, no matter how far away I am.”

“Can I feel yours?”

Blaze shook his head snorting, “of course not. Demons don’t make a habit of having their weaknesses exposed.”

“You can turn it off, can’t you?” I asked.

Nodding, Blaze reached out picking up his coffee cup. “I can. Like I said. The bond ends for me whenever I say it does. It will never end for you. Even I can’t undo it.”

Petra had told me much the same, but still hearing it from his lips was a little sobering. When he was ready to move on, he could flip a switch and turn off his feelings toward me. I wouldn’t have that option. I would yearn for him for the rest of my life.

“We still have a long way to go, little witch,” Blaze said, setting his cup down. “I still have to replace Kyler, replace where he has my sigil etched into the stone. We don’t even know if I can destroy it. I physically can’t. I’m going to have to rely on Petra to help with that.” He sighed, “and I have to replace that fucking book.”

“What book?”

Blaze looked down at me for several moments, long enough for me to think he had decided I didn’t need to know that information. “Kyler’s ancestor Orik found my name in a book someone gave him. Kyler still has it, or it’s in his famili’s possession. His been trying to get people to decode it on the dark web, but so far he hasn’t uploaded anything of interest, besides my sigil, and nobody has even hit on it.”

“Can’t you use that to get him?” I asked.

Blaze shook his head. “It’s a whole bunch of dead ends. Whoever is helping him is smart.”

“He hasn’t been able to decipher your name,” I said.

“Yet,” Blaze added. The book is written in a long dead language, but today’s technology has gotten pretty good at cracking codes. From what I can tell, Kyler is being picky about what information he has been uploading or the book is not in its complete form anymore. I’m not sure, and he can keep the whole damn book as long as the page with my name on it gets destroyed.”

Seeing the look on Blaze’s face, I wondered how his name ever came to be in a book. Had someone betrayed him? Someone he trusted?

“I won’t betray you. Your name is safe with me.”

Blaze took a long breath. Finally, he looked back up at me. “My name is your one get out of jail free card. If things go bad, you use it to free yourself.” He reached out, putting his hand on my chin and pulling it up. “Do you understand?”

I nodded, tears rolling down my eyes at just the thought of betraying him. I couldn’t. And I wouldn’t. I’d die before I betrayed him.

“Our bond will make it hard, Riley, but you have to push through it. It’s what I want and you want to make me happy, don’t you?”

Oh, the bastard. Reverse psychology. He knew our bond would make me do what he wanted, but I would fight it. I would fight it with every ounce of strength and willpower I had left in my body. He might own me, but he forgot I owned him too.

“Enough of that,” Blaze said, changing the subject. “Are you hungry?” When I shook my head up at him he smiled, “correct answer is yes. How about some fruit?”

I tilted my head, not hating the idea of fruit. “What kind of fruit?”

Blaze stood up, walking over to the refrigerator. “Strawberries, grapes, cantaloupe, and honeydew.”

Before I had ever agreed, Blaze started cleaning and cutting the fruit, making me a plate. I watched him studying his moves. Calculated yet graceful at the same time. Who would have ever imagined a demon would be in my kitchen fixing me breakfast? Not me.

Ok, well maybe I had. I used to read romance books. My favorites were always the ones with the monsters in them. The thought made me smile.

“What?” Blaze asked, sliding me my plate of fruit.

I shook my head, taking a bite of a strawberry. “I just never thought you’d be serving me breakfast.”

Arcing his brow, Blaze looked down at me. “I don’t serve anyone. I’m making you eat. You are far too thin…”

“You don’t like me the way I am?”

“I care about you enough to want you healthy. I think you are beautiful, little witch.”

Taking another bite of my fruit, I felt my cheeks blush. “Well, you are alright.”

Blaze laughed, “bullshit. I had your heart racing from day one.”