Innocent Devil’s Harem Ch. 54 (Patreon)

September 5, 2021

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Innocent Devil's Harem 1 (Ch 1-15, 114,000 words)

Innocent Devil's Harem 2 (Ch 16-30, 112,000 words)

Naughty Friend 1 (Ch 1-14, 115,000 words)

Thanks so much! And I hope you enjoy this chapter!

<< Chapter 53 | Ch 1 (Book1) | Ch 16 (Book 2) | Ch 31 (Book 3) | Ch 46 (Book 4)

- CHAPTER 54: Threat -

The group of five guys who rounded the corner of the tall metal shelving inside the woman’s clothing store were not at all what I was expecting. Certainly, based on the situation, I was beginning to suspect that she had multiple male kidnappers, but not ones who looked so nerdy, like they were on the ‘mathematical theory’ debate team.

To be clear, math was my strongest subject, and I had no qualms about admitting that I had great grades in school, largely just because I did all my homework and paid attention in class, which was all a great distraction from all the other things vying for my attention, especially at school.

However, these guys were the literal definition of nerdy, and not because of how they were dressed or even because they had glasses on.

Because none of them wore glasses, and they all had on pretty standard attire. In fact, a group of guys from a sports team, all hanging out together at the mall, might wear the exact same stuff. However, there was only so much clothing could do to hide their physical features.

Eyes too close together on one, nose far too large on another, eyebrows far too thick on yet another guy, and almost all of them had some quirk to the shape of their head, such as a forehead that was far too huge, or a chin that tapered in far too much to look normal.

But it was even more than that, since even physical features might be overcome with proper grooming and hygiene. It was also the obvious attitudes, looking very self-entitled and condescending.

Granted, it was also obvious there was a lack of self-care, as evident by the oily skin, somewhat unkempt hair on a few of them, along with outdated haircuts in general.

In particular, the guy standing in the middle of the group had greasy raven-black hair that almost went down to his cheeks, parted right in the middle, and framing the sides of his pasty face in such a way that his nose looked even larger, coupled with his dark eyes appearing even more beady than they might have otherwise. Seriously, it was like he got his hairstyle directly from a ‘How to Look Nerdy without Glasses 101’ book.

And without a doubt, he was the leader.

He identified himself right away by being the one to speak up, even if it wasn’t already obvious from him being in the middle of the five, standing a foot in front of the others. However, not only was he the nerdiest looking, and the shortest, he also surprisingly had the most commanding presence, a bizarre contrast to his appearance.

When he spoke, his voice was hard and pompous, but also a little nasally.

“What the fuck is this?” he snapped.

His tone only pissed me off.

I wasn’t normally someone who let others get underneath my skin, but everything about his attitude communicated that he believed he was above me in every way, like I was the scum of the world, not even worth talking to…

As if he was the king, and I was the peasant.

And I wasn’t about to take this little bastard’s shit.

Because I was a king.

“What the fuck is what?” I snapped right back, squaring my shoulders.

Surprisingly, he ignored me though, shifting his infuriated gaze on the blue-haired Rockstar chick, his voice suddenly low and menacing.

“I asked you a question, bitch.”

Okay, that took me completely off guard. Suddenly, rather than making me more pissed, I was just dumbfounded by his level of arrogance. I couldn’t believe he was so conceited that he wasn’t even talking to me, even though he was staring directly at me when asking the question, unable to believe that someone could really be so arrogant as to not even acknowledge another individual.

Truly, I wasn’t sure I’d ever met someone so full of himself.

However, his question gave me pause for another reason, as I sensed a dramatic shift in the girl’s aura in response to the demand for her to answer the question apparently directed at her. Not that her previous emotions were gone, with the pain, defeat, depression, and now terror and panic all still there, but a new pulse radiating through her aura was subduing all the other aspects, literally tainting the whole thing with one single reaction.

Absolute submission.

She was trembling now, but her aura was radiating submission, even to the point of suppressing her fear. And when she spoke, her voice was shockingly even, as if she was answering a completely normal question, no hint of her panic leaking into her tone, even if she was still feeling it.

“I don’t know how they knew,” she explained. “I was sure I covered everything up. Y-You checked me over even,” she added, her voice breaking just briefly.

“Yeah, I did,” he agreed with a snarl. “But you know what that means, right?”

Her expression pained, her bottom lip trembling as the fear spiked again, her eyes remaining closed, yet her voice was still even.

“Yes,” she said simply. Definitively.

Her tone was so certain, almost to the point of confidence that she knew exactly ‘what that meant,’ that after she spoke that single word, it suddenly felt overly silent in the store.

No one moved, no one breathed, no one blinked.

I suspected the couple of nearby shoppers had heard too, because even they had stopped moving.

It was as if the world came to a halt.

And then, everything happened all at once.

Instantly, even as everyone remained where they were, a nauseating CRACK, like a massive tree branch snapping off the trunk, ricocheted in my ears, as I watched in horror at the girl’s arm abruptly bending backward at the elbow, like someone had literally grabbed her arm and slammed their knee into the joint, her mouth slamming shut in an urgent attempt to muffle the shockingly loud scream that erupted from her throat.

A scream that could be heard throughout the whole store, even though it sounded as if someone had duct taped her mouth.

What the fuck?!

What the actual fuck?!

As fast as lightning, far too fast for a normal person, I was standing next to her, trying to defend her from whatever unseen assault she was enduring. Trying to understand how her arm had suddenly bent the wrong way.

But I sensed nothing! The bastard hadn’t even moved!

“Stop it!” I finally barked out, my tone tainted with sincere panic from simply the fact that I couldn’t understand what was going on right now. Couldn’t comprehend what he was doing, or how he was doing it.

However, he didn’t respond.

Instead, he just glared at her, even as the girl continued to shriek with her mouth closed, the fucking jackass not at all seeming threatened by the fact that I was standing next to his property.

“Stop what?” he finally spat at me, even as another CRACK filled my ears, the girl right next to me shrieking again, the sound muffled by her closed lips, as her other arm abruptly snapped backward, forcing her to hold it to her side.

The sight was literally sickening.

And I didn’t fucking know what to do!

Should I knock him out? Would that even help? Punch him in the face and then use a healing spell on her?! How was he even breaking her bones?!

“Shut up!” he finally barked out at her.

Instantly, her agonized muffled screaming turned into an almost silent whimper, an overpowering wave of submission pulsing again through her aura, literally silencing her even despite the mind-splitting torment she was obviously suffering. She was trembling violently, her face contorted in pure agony, and yet she was almost completely silent.

And just like that, it clicked.

Just like that, my panic vanished, the confusion lifted away, and my rage turned ice cold.

My appearance remained the same, but the twelve-foot monster deep inside of me resurfaced, instinctively understanding the nature of these circumstances, even if I couldn’t logically explain why it was resulting in this outcome.

And with that rage, I felt magical energy boil up within me, rising, intensifying, swelling, strengthening -- threatening to overflow.

Threatening to explode.

And with it, I spoke a command, releasing the built up pressure all at once.

I didn’t know her name, nor did I know the true name of her aura, but suddenly I knew what I could call her.

What name I could assign to her, for the sake of my command.

My voice came out deep, the ground beginning to tremble beneath our feet, the racks of clothing starting to rattle, the lights above our heads beginning to flicker, all as the air pressure in the room seemed to increase dramatically in response to my voice.

“DEFIANCE. By my authority, I grant you permission to Obey Yourself.”

The girl screamed with her mouth open this time as her arms abruptly snapped back into place, her backward bent elbows suddenly right again, only for her to instantly collapse to the ground in a heap, sounding like she was hyperventilating as she panic-sobbed.

And what I’d just done didn’t go unnoticed.

The raven-haired bastard moved faster than I was expecting, his face blood red in pure rage, literally screaming at the top of his lungs as he lunged at me with his fist raised.

“WHAT IN THE FUCK DID YOU--”

All at once, just as his fist was about to collide with my face, my hand shot up in a flash, catching him by the forearm, my body graying underneath my clothing, my muscles swelling, all as I crushed the twig suddenly in my grasp, my ears filling with a satisfying CRUNCH.

And then, before he could even comprehend that his arm was split in two, I shoved him backward, shocked when two of the guys rushed forward to catch him before he landed on his ass, moving in perfect sync, as they hoisted him by his arms to his feet.

He finally looked down at his snapped arm, the color draining from his face as if he was only now beginning to register the pain.

“I’ll…I’ll kill you!” he unexpectedly yelled, even as his face contorted in agony as his four buddies started helping him retreat, as if they fully expected me to let them go. “I’ll fucking kill you!” he repeated, even as they dragged him away.

I took a step forward, about to break all of them, only for thin familiar fingers to grab me by the arm.

I glanced back at Serenity in surprise, realizing that her skin was visibly gray on most of her body, her eyes having a visible red tint to them.

“Kai, not here,” she whispered urgently. “I’m already struggling to look normal, and we need to get out of here.”

Suddenly, I realized that my phone was vibrating in my pocket, only now realizing the implications of what I’d just done.

Even though I hadn’t shifted myself, or even grown taller, obviously the abrupt release of magical energy had an effect on the others…possibly including those who weren’t here with me.

Shit.

I pulled out my phone to see that it was Ms. Miriam again, no doubt calling because Gwen had felt what just happened. I decided to answer it really quick while Serenity helped the girl to her feet, who was surprisingly composing herself rather quickly, beginning to look shell-shocked and teary eyed, but not at all falling apart like she’d done when she first fell.

Granted, I was aware of the reason why, that underlying stubbornness in her aura beginning to take hold again, as if she just couldn’t let herself be seen like this by anyone. Not even us.

As if she was too prideful to be seen in such a defeated state, even though she was no doubt traumatized from what she’d just experienced. But then again, maybe that wasn’t even the worst of it. Maybe she was already so traumatized that this incident was nothing by comparison.

I knew the five guys had already escaped into the hallway, but hadn’t realized they truly snuck away unnoticed, until I heard a booming voice echo at the entrance to the store.

“Security!” a man announced.

Shockingly, Serenity spoke up. “We’re over here!” she cried out, only to immediately speak quieter to me. “Just trust me, Kai,” she whispered, only to direct her words at the girl. “Go along with what I say,” she added.

The girl simply nodded, her light brown eyes vacant, her blue-hair surprisingly not looking even remotely disheveled despite her fall.

I answered the phone call, speaking quickly to Ms. Miriam. “We’re okay. I used a spell. Or I guess, made up a spell, or whatever. I’ll call you back to explain. Need to try to avoid exposure first.”

Ms. Miriam paused for a second before responding, sounding worried but also relieved. “Okay,” she said simply, hanging up.

I shoved my phone back into my pocket, just as a heavy-set middle-aged guy with a huge belly hurried around the corner, clearly dressed as mall security.

Serenity was already holding out her police ID, since she hadn’t brought her badge.

“I’m a cop,” she explained. “Some guys were harassing this girl, but we made them leave.”

He looked from her to me, then to the girl, and back to Serenity again.

“Mind if I see that?” he asked seriously.

“Of course,” she agreed, taking a step forward and handing it over.

He only looked at it for a few seconds, before nodding and handing it back. “The cashier reported screaming. Said it sounded like someone was getting murdered in the store.”

“Wasn’t quite that bad,” Serenity lied. “But they were definitely pushing her around. She might have screamed once,” she added.

He nodded, suddenly more serious as he grabbed a radio on his hip, while focusing on the blue-haired girl in question, even as he continued to speak to Serenity. “Okay, I’ll let you handle her, in the event she wants to file a police report. Any idea which way they left? If they harassed one woman, they’ll likely harass another.”

She shook her head. “We haven’t left this area, so I didn’t see which way they headed. Probably the opposite direction you came from, assuming you didn’t see them, because they just left barely a minute ago.”

“How many were there?” he wondered. “And what did they look like?”

“Five guys. Most of them average height. They look like troublemakers, so you’ll know it’s them, if you see them.”

He nodded, angling away from us now. “Right. I’ll go look around and make sure they aren’t still hanging around.” He then spoke on his radio as he walked away, making a request to another guy to start scoping out the south hall for five suspicious guys walking around.

I focused on Serenity in confusion once he was out of sight, although not because he’d left this particular situation up to her. On the contrary, this guy probably wasn’t a real cop, as was the case with most mall security, likely not even having the right to arrest anyone unless he actually witnessed a crime.

And even then, it would technically be a citizen’s arrest if he wasn’t a registered officer.

Nevertheless, I was still confused. “Are you sure it was a good idea to send him after those bastards? They definitely weren’t normal people.”

She shrugged. “Yeah, it’s a risk. But I’m more worried about getting out of here without a huge headache. And besides, I doubt they’d hang around after you broke that guy’s arm.”

I nodded, having no reason to disagree with that reasoning, trying to focus my hearing to see if I could find them.

However, it was similar to the hospital, where there were too many sounds to wade through for me to pick out particular ones. Because, while there weren’t a ton of people at the mall, they were all much louder than before, pretty much everyone talking about the ‘earthquake’ that just ‘almost made the lights go out.’

“Right, let’s get out of here then. We’ll figure the rest out once we’re in the car.”

Serenity nodded, but the girl didn’t budge at all, not even responding to my suggestion.

It was like she was frozen in place.

Both of us exchanged a glance, before Serenity focused on the chick, her tone gentle. “Hey, you’re safe now. Just come with us for now, and we’ll figure out how to help you. Okay?”

The blue-haired magazine model just shook her head, still looking shell-shocked, her voice coming out barely above a whisper. “They’re going to kill me.”

“We won’t let that happen,” Serenity tried reassuring her.

The chick finally focused, her light brown eyes serious now, though there was resurfacing defeat growing in her expression and tone. “You don’t understand,” she barely managed, sounding like her voice was about to break. “There’s no where I can go. They will find me. And when they do, they’ll kill me.” Fear then resurfaced in her light brown eyes, her expression pained as she looked away. “Or worse,” she said almost inaudibly, beginning to tremble again.

Serenity and I exchanged another glance, before I finally spoke up, deciding to take a slightly different approach, going off what I knew about her from her aura. “Look, you’re afraid of them getting a hold of you again, right?”

She immediately stiffened in response, not looking at me, a wave of guardedness washing over her.

I continued anyway. “And, after what I just did, do you believe I could protect you? Or rather, do you believe that I would at least protect myself, and anyone directly around me?”

Again, she didn’t respond, her aura growing even more guarded and defensive.

I then focused on Serenity. “Let’s go,” I said simply.

She gave me a confused look, but followed after me when I started walking, the two of us leaving the chick behind, not at all taking our time as we made our way through the racks and tables of clothing. And we actually got pretty far, almost halfway to the exit, before we heard someone call out behind us.

Her voice was surprisingly desperate.

“Wait!” she pleaded.

We stopped and focused back at her, seeing that she looked visibly distressed, her gaze downcast again now that we’d stopped. The front desk to check out was actually visible from where we were, but there was no cashier in sight, likely scared off after all the tormented screaming earlier. Because that person hadn’t been exaggerating when saying it sounded like someone was getting murdered.

Doubtful any sane person would hang around after that.

It was obvious the blue-haired chick was struggling to speak as she clutched at her leather jacket.

“I…I need to grab my purse,” she finally managed. “L-Left it in the changing room.”

While probably not the smartest idea, I could understand her reasoning for leaving something important unattended. For one, there hadn’t been too many shoppers here to begin with, and a lot of places like this had little signs that could be hung on the door to let others know it was occupied. At the very least, she might have been using her purse to reserve her spot, in the event they didn’t have such signs, trusting that the average shopper wouldn’t bother it, and would instead see it as a sign that someone was using a particular changing room and would be right back.

So between that, and the fact that she likely hadn’t planned on being away for long, it kind of made sense.

“We’ll be in the hall,” I replied simply, turning back around and urging Serenity to continue on, even as I heard the chick all but run to go grab her belongings.

It was obvious Serenity was still a little confused, but I suspected that the questioning look she was giving me was more in regards to wondering how I knew that approaching this stranger in this manner was going to be more effective than demanding it.

And sure enough, once we were in the wide hallway, with surprisingly no one else in sight, she voiced her question more as a lighthearted statement.

“Don’t tell me you can read minds now, too.”

I gave her a small smile. “No, but I can tell from her aura that she’s the kind of person who doesn’t like being told what to do, when given the choice.”

“Yeah, I gathered that much. Some people would prefer to jump off a cliff, rather than come back to safety simply because someone told them to do so. But I’m just a little surprised that a person’s aura can tell you so much.”

I frowned at that. “Well, I don’t think it would tell me that information for the average person. Being stubborn, on its own, probably isn’t something I could sense. But with her, it’s almost as if the most important aspect, revolving around who she is, centers on a need to make her own decisions. So that’s what I offered her. The choice to either remain near us, like we were offering, so that we could defend her, or else let her choose to fend for herself.” I shrugged. “And as much as I’d hate to see her get hurt if she refused our offer, I’m also not going to go out of my way to help if she’s going to flat out refuse it. No point in dragging her, kicking and screaming, away from the cliff if she’s really determined to jump.”

Serenity sighed heavily.

“Disagree?” I wondered.

She immediately shook her head. “Oh, no. Not at all. I agree fully. I’ve seen plenty of woman get hurt by their boyfriend, only to go right back to them the moment they get the chance.” She sighed. “And earlier, I was only planning on talking to her and letting her know she had options. I wasn’t about to try to make her seek help.” She paused. “Obviously, things changed a little when those guys showed up, ready for a fight.”

I nodded, glancing at the store entrance when the girl reappeared, looking just as immaculate as before, with not even her makeup affected by her brief, but intense, sobbing not long ago. She still looked half naked, since the black sheer dress she was wearing barely went past her ass, but other than her face looking a little puffy, no one would be the wiser that she’d experienced anything painful or traumatizing recently.

Given what I gathered from the situation she’d been in, I kind of wondered if she normally dressed like a Rockstar chick, or if she was only wearing the military boots and leather jacket because that’s what they’d dressed her up in, like a living doll. Hard to say, because given the nature of her aura, I almost couldn’t imagine this girl dressing normally.

On the contrary, everything from her blue hair to the dark makeup around her eyes, to the bracelets on her wrists, all seemed to align with her inherent personality.

Wanting to avoid her becoming guarded and defensive again, I simply wrapped my arm around Serenity’s shoulders and began walking the way we’d come to first enter the mall, passing the jewelry place where we’d bought her ring, and then making our way to the main store we’d first gone through.

Unsurprisingly, the girl followed us, but the further we walked, the more she decreased the gap between us, until she was literally walking a couple of steps behind us once we exited the building.

I again sensed the aura she’d left behind in that spot, realizing this must have actually been the way she’d come in as well, causing me to look around and keep my eyes out for those nerds. However, I didn’t notice anything at all, not even any unusual scents, suspecting they were long gone at this point either way.

Still, without a scent to go off of, I wasn’t sure I’d be able to find them again. And that gave me pause, causing the chick to almost run into me when I stopped just outside the mall glass doors.

Because I needed to find them again, so I could end them.

Especially since, I believed this girl when she said they’d find her again.

Serenity looked up at me in concern when I stopped.

“What’s wrong?”

I sighed. “If I don’t find their scent before we leave, then I’m not sure if I’ll be able to find them again. It’s strange enough that I’m struggling to pick up on it at all. Especially not when I can normally track a scent from miles away.”

“Want to try walking around the mall to see if you can find it?”

The blue-haired girl unexpectedly spoke up. “Don’t bother,” she scoffed. “They have a way of masking their presence.”

I glanced back at her in surprise, seeing that she was averting her gaze again, her light brown eyes pained. “You’re not trying to protect them, right?” I asked seriously.

She didn’t look at me, but her frustration was obvious. “Fuck no,” she hissed. “But you also have no fucking idea what you’re dealing with. They will find me, and they will kill me. And if you’re around when they come, they’ll kill you too.”

I frowned at that, wondering why she doubted my strength after what I’d done. But then again, maybe she didn’t fully understand my role in what happened earlier. After all, if she was in enough pain, then she might have been oblivious to everything, including the shaking floor, flickering lights, and she might not have even heard me speak, all because she was in so much agony.

Hard to say, but now wasn’t the time to try discussing it.

It was still fairly early in the morning at this point, but the mall was becoming a bit more busy, with a woman and her three kids currently crossing the parking lot and heading in our direction.

“Okay, let’s go,” I said simply, giving Serenity a small nod as we began walking again.

“Want me to drive?” she wondered when we reached my car. “That way you can focus on calling Ms. Miriam back.”

I shook my head. “I’ll let you send her a short message for now,” I suggested, pulling out my phone and handing it to her, only to walk around to the driver’s side. “Don’t have much else to tell her at the moment. Might also want to call Gabriella to make sure she’s okay. Maybe Michelle too.”

She nodded as she climbed into the passenger’s seat, beginning to type out a quick message as our blue-haired company gracefully slid into the backseat. Serenity then called my busty redhead as I pulled out and began heading to the edge of the parking lot.

Surprisingly, Gabriella didn’t answer right away, which did make us a little anxious, but once I got onto the street she was already calling us back, only seeming worried that we were calling in the first place, not at all seeming aware that anything had happened recently.

Which sort of confirmed something for me.

For whatever reason, Gwen’s ability to sense what was going on with me was stronger than it was with the others. And while I couldn’t be certain of the reason, I suspected it might have something to do with her inherent ability to basically read minds, with her being able to get a general grasp of what someone was thinking, even if it wasn’t true mind reading.

Or, it might just be that she was more attuned to the connection we shared.

Could also be that she was an imp, with Serenity sharing a similar heritage, whereas my other women clearly didn’t have those underlying genetics.

Hard to say at this point.

Being that Gabriella was at work, and had been in the middle of working on someone’s nails, Serenity didn’t keep her for long, the overall conversation pretty short. I assumed we would just fill her in on the details later, once she was back home. My sexy brunette then called Michelle using her own phone, just to check up on her, only to hang up a couple minutes later and take a deep breath once she’d verified everyone was unaffected, leaning back more in her seat.

“So, where are we going?” she wondered after a second.

“Haven’t really decided yet. Are you hungry?”

She sighed heavily. “Honestly? Yeah, I kind of am.” She groaned softly. “And I ate so much for breakfast too.”

I couldn’t help but chuckle slightly, even despite all that just happened. “Okay, well, where do you want to eat then?”

Her brow furrowed briefly, only for her to perk up as if she’d just recalled that we had company with us. Turning around in her seat, she focused on the chick, who surprisingly met her gaze. “Do you have a preference?” she wondered.

The rearview mirror was turned in such a way, that I could just barely see her at the edge, noticing how she glanced hesitantly at the side of my head before responding. “I’m…not going to eat,” she replied quietly.

Unexpectedly, as if just the thought of food had made her stomach begin moving, a ridiculously loud gurgling growl came from her flat belly beneath the leather jacket, causing her to immediately look out the window in obvious embarrassment. It was so noisy that it might have actually been comical in a different situation. Instead, it was just a little frustrating.

And sure enough, Serenity frowned, her tone a bit firm. “Look, it’s no big deal for us to pay for your meal. I assume you probably don’t want to feel like you owe us, but you don’t. Okay? If anything, you’re sparing us the awkwardness of eating in front of you while you sip on a glass of water or something.”

The girl’s light brown eyes pained, with her not responding.

I spoke up. “How about this?” I said, causing her to flinch at my voice alone. “We want information. So how about a meal in exchange for you answering our questions?”

Her voice was quiet. “I can’t tell you anything.”

“And why not?” I wondered.

“Because it’ll be worse when they get me again,” she said almost inaudibly, obvious fear in her tone.

Serenity chimed in. “We won’t let that happen. They won’t--”

“Yes they will!” she unexpectedly yelled, suddenly releasing all of her pent up fear and frustration. “You have no idea! What you saw back there was just an ant of a man, compared to the real thing! They are all far more powerful and vicious than you could ever imagine! You have no fucking idea!”

We were just passing a restaurant that focused mainly on breakfast foods, including pancakes, along with bacon and eggs, and her outburst actually frustrated me, to the point that I just wildly made a turn and pulled into the parking lot, only to slam on the brakes as I whipped into a space a bit too fast.

I then shifted it into park and focused on her with a glare, causing her to shrink away as she met my gaze for the first time, her light brown eyes sincerely afraid to see the expression on my face.

My voice was low as I responded, wishing I could just take her to a secluded area so I could show her my crowned form, knowing I couldn’t do that without making everyone else transform in the process.

“No,” I said in a commanding tone. “You have no fucking idea.” I paused when I realized she looked like she was about to piss herself, forcing my tone and expression to be a little less harsh. “So how about this?” I began in a firm, but less hostile, tone. “Let’s make a deal. Right now, we’re going to go in here and eat, you included. And then, in exchange for the meal, I want you to promise me that you’ll tell us what we want to know, assuming I can prove to you that I am stronger than those assholes. Sound good?”

She was trembling again, seeming like she was struggling to respond. “H-How will you prove t-that?” she stammered.

“By showing you what I look like when I get serious.”

She looked even more afraid, her voice barely a whisper now. “A-Are you going to touch m-me?”

My eyebrows raised. “Do I need to, in order to make a point?”

She immediately shook her head, almost panicked now.

“Then no. I’ll only show you my true form, and if that’s not enough to convince you, then you’re off the hook. Deal?”

She grasped at her leather jacket, her exposed thighs visibly tensed and trembling, her knees forced together as hard as she could manage. “O-Okay. I…I accept that offer.”

Serenity sighed heavily. “Jeez, why do you have to be so difficult?” She then glanced back when the girl didn’t respond, frowning slightly. “And what’s your name, anyway?” she asked, only to scoff. “And don’t tell me you’re going to refuse to share even that. If you might end up getting a free meal out of this, then that’s the least you can do.”

She immediately looked out the window at that, grasping at her leather jacket again, some of the blue curls shifting on her shoulders as she tried to control her trembling. She then took a slow deep breath, and let it out with slightly puckered lips.

“I’m…Natalie.” She paused. “And…thanks for the meal.”

“You’re welcome, Natalie,” she replied warmly. “And look, if you don’t want to be friends with us, that’s perfectly fine. But let’s at least try to tolerate each other, okay?”

Natalie looked at her in surprise, before nodding just slightly. “Umm, yeah. Okay.”

Honestly, despite her obvious stubbornness, she didn’t strike me as the kind of girl who was overly choosy about who she decided to be friends with. If anything, she probably was the kind of person who would be friends with almost anyone, so long as they weren’t a backstabbing bitch.

Which I suspected was where the surprise came from, just that Serenity was implying that Natalie might be the type of girl who wouldn’t want to be her friend. But I could see in her expression that wasn’t the case at all, and that giving off that impression wasn’t this blue-haired Rockstar chick’s intention.

If anything, she probably hadn’t been afforded the ‘luxury’ of being friends with anyone for quite some time, and was more worried about her impending torment and death, rather concerning herself with anything to do with her actually getting to live life again.

Because I realized that’s what was really going on in her head.

In her perception, she hadn’t been saved from her captors.

She’d only been temporarily released, and now had death to look forward to, the moment they recovered their strength and came back for revenge. And thus, she was much more interested in keeping us at a distance, if for no other reason than to prevent further casualties.

After all, when Natalie first noticed that I had someone with me, it was obvious she was sincerely worried about her -- worried that Serenity might become a victim too. Which said a lot.

Even despite her own pain, torment, and depression, she didn’t want anyone else to suffer the same fate. And even though she didn’t know me, she similarly didn’t want me to get killed simply because I was worried about her.

That fact was true then, and it was true now.

Which she emphasized again.

“Hey,” she blurted out when Serenity popped open her door to get out. “Seriously, you’re putting yourselves in serious danger by trying to help me.”

“No,” I disagreed right away. “They are putting themselves in serious danger by crossing us in the first place.”

Her expression pained as she looked away, but I finally saw it. Just barely, but it was there, nonetheless.

Just the tiniest hint of hope…

Coupled with the fear of what that might mean for her -- in her own perception, at least -- to be indebted to me in that way.

Natalie’s stomach gurgled loudly again, prompting her to pop open her door, her face flushed in embarrassment. “Well, if we’re going to eat, let’s do it then,” she scoffed, as if suddenly we were inconveniencing her. “By the time we get in there, they’ll be serving lunch.”

I just shook my head as I climbed out, deciding not to point out where we were, and the obvious implications that had for her statement, considering they served breakfast all day here. However, I did notice that her face flushed again when she focused on the building, obvious recognition touching her light brown eyes.

Serenity and I exchanged a glance as we regrouped on the sidewalk, both of us trying to suppress smirks, which didn’t appear to go unnoticed by our flustered company.

Oh well.

I suspected Natalie would soon be convinced that I really could protect her from her tormentors, and thus be willing to share with us everything we needed to know about the situation, so that we’d hopefully be better equipped to handle the threat.

But either way, while a logical part of me wanted to be cautious, the prideful part of me wanted to acknowledge that there wasn’t much that could pose a real threat to me, as far as I was aware. Problem was, I did have to be concerned about others getting hurt in the crossfire, causing intelligence and strategy to still be a vital aspect that we needed to take into consideration.

But for now, we’d have brunch, and figure out the rest along the way.

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Innocent Devil's Harem 1 (Ch 1-15, 114,000 words)

Innocent Devil's Harem 2 (Ch 16-30, 112,000 words)

Naughty Friend 1 (Ch 1-14, 115,000 words)

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Chapter 55 >>