Prologue


"Well… how did we get in this situation again?" I asked, my eye twitching slightly in annoyance. This was driving me insane, no, beyond insane, and I was very, very close to snapping. Screams and cries came from around me, making it even harder to think straight. As I looked around, watching the idiots around me run around like crazy fools, I felt like yelling my lungs out. The man standing next to me looked equally as frustrated. His eye brow twitched uncontrollably, his shoulders trembling a little.

"I'm not really quite sure, young mistress…" he replied, looking like a cross between shock and anger. One of the women letting out panicked screams came to me, clinging to my arm tightly.

"Oh, Bella! You gotta help us out! The turkey exploded in the oven! What on earth are we going to do!?" cried out the woman, irritating me even more. I turned, letting out some of that anger.

"Just what do you expect a nineteen year old girl to do when her forty five year old sister can't do anything!?" I snapped, my shoulders shaking.

"Come on Bella, you gotta help your big sisters out, please? I'm begging you Isabella" the woman pleaded, two more women peering out the kitchen with pleading expressions. I shook a little more in anger, and then sighed.

"Fine… Sebastian, see what you can do… I'll try and clean this mess up… Make sure they don't make any more explosions" I commanded, making Sebastian put an arm over his chest, directly over his heart as he bowed a little.

"As you wish young mistress" he stated, taking the three sisters away from the room to figure out a new menu. I turned to look at the mess of the kitchen, and then sighed.

"Honestly… How are they the older sisters? Anyone would think I was the older one…" I muttered to myself, pulling my sleeves up to get to work. As I scrubbed at the burnt oven, trying to get off the charcoaled turkey that had stuck to the oven like glue, I thought back to how I'd first met Sebastian. Sebastian wasn't your average man, and he wasn't my boyfriend or anything like that. I knew the true reality of him, he was a demon. With his previous masters he'd been a butler as well as a body guard. With me though, he seemed more like an overprotective big brother. Probably to replace the one I'd lost.


He hadn't died or anything, but he'd become someone entirely different, stabbing the family in the back quite savagely. I'd definitely lost the man I'd called 'brother' that day. Now just thinking of what that man had become made my blood boil quite furiously. That was how I'd met Sebastian actually. I had been twelve at the time of my first meeting with Sebastian. I'd been at my second eldest sister's house to celebrate Christmas with the family when my brother had finally arrived.

I remembered I'd been so happy to see him, to see my brother Chase. He'd greeted me just as usual, lifting me up and spinning me in the air. I'd laughed so happily, feeling overjoyed. He'd placed me back on the ground and gone in to greet his sisters. Sure, there was a twenty one year difference between me and my brother Chase, he was old enough to be my father, but that was only because of our father remarrying. That's when I had arrived into the picture. When Chase was only four years old, their mother had attacked our father with a knife, going crazy, then ran off with another woman, leaving him to raise four children all on his own.

Fifteen years later, our father Duncan had met my mother Lillia and then two years they'd had me. My mother, Lillia, had been incredibly supportive and nurturing for Chase, and his three sisters, Serina, Taina and Eleanora. Serina was the eldest, the second eldest was Taina and the third eldest was Eleanora. Then the baby of the family was Chase, then myself.

As Chase had greeted the rest of the family, things had gone on as they normally would. We'd opened presents, eaten good food together as a family, laughed and talked about the good times. I had gone outside to play with my nieces that two of my sisters had given birth to that were close to my age, when I'd suddenly smelt smoke. I'd turned running back inside after telling my nieces to remain outside. The house had been set in flames, crimson flames that burnt everything in sight. I'd remained frozen in fear, seeing the bodies of two very precious people lying on the floor, and one very familiar figure stood there, his back turned to me.

I'd called out to him, seeing him turn to look at me, a crazy look in his eyes. I questioned why he'd done such a thing, and he'd replied to me.

"I'm merely setting things in motion. I've seen it, the darkness in this family. It's there, always there, and will remain there unless we all perish!" he'd replied, and then he'd turned his back on me and simply walked away. During my time stuck inside the house, I'd breathed in a lot of smoke. I was close to passing out, lying on the ground, looking at the mangled bodies of my mother and father looking back at me. Their faces were filled with horror, but not a single drop of blood could be seen. I assume they'd been poisoned. As my consciousness drifted in and out, I began to think back of my brother, what he'd said and how he'd simply walked away, leaving his little sister to perish in the flames. I became thankful that my sisters had left the house that moment, they'd probably be returning to see the house alight. But one thing I could not forgive was the sin my brother had committed. I felt anger, hatred, and the desire for revenge. Even as a twelve year old girl, who had nearly everything she could possibly desire, I still felt the need for cold, hard vengeance. It was during that time I heard a voice call out to me.

"Do you wish to make a contract?"

Those seven simple words changed my life that day. I went from being a girl about to die, to a girl who was seeking the path she'd laid out for herself, knowing that at the end of it, I would perish by the hands of the very demon I'd contracted. The contract is very simple in terms. Sebastian works hard to protect me and help me accomplish my goal, looking after my every need, and then once it's all done, he will devour me, body and soul. That's the way a demon's contract works. Sebastian has contracted over people before, male and female alike, but he'd always been a house worker or a servant of some kind. In this house, working for myself, he was treated more like an equal, a member of the household, and that had slowly changed him, bit by bit. My sisters had welcomed him warmly after I had returned after being mysteriously missing for a year when the house had burnt down, with Sebastian in tow. My second eldest sister, Taina, the only one without kids, had taken me in, as per Mother and Father's will. My eldest sister Serina has five kids of her own, and my third eldest sister Eleanora had three kids of her own. And obviously my brother was completely out of the question.


"Young mistress? Are you almost done? We've gathered and prepared the necessary ingredients for tonight's dinner" Sebastian called out, standing behind me. I came out of my trance of viewing the past, turning to glance at him. He really was stunningly beautiful, but I guess that comes with the territory of being a demon. He raised his head, glancing at me with his gorgeous blood red eyes. His lips turned into a small smirk.

"You were remembering the past, weren't you young mistress?" he asked in a taunting way. I huffed to myself, turning away from him.

"So what? I'm not allowed to replay the event that drives me for revenge? And last I checked, my past and what I think in my spare time, are no concern of yours" I replied, trying to sound snarky. Sebastian merely chuckled to himself, bowing a little again.

"Of course, you are correct. What's done is done and there will be no correcting. You can only merely plot your revenge, then be devoured by myself at the very end" Sebastian stated, as if reminding me that I'd never escape from him.

"I am well aware of the rules of our contract. Trust me, I won't be forgetting any time soon. And besides, I know I'd never be able to escape from you, there's no use even trying" I reminded him, turning back to glare at him. Sebastian chuckled again, looking very pleased.

"I'm pleased you think that way, now I know I'll never have to worry" he stated, sounding so smug and chipper.

"Sebastian? Is Isabella ready? Can we begin cooking?" Taina asked, walking inside the kitchen with Serina and Eleanora in tow. All three of them were holding vegetables in their arms, almost to the point they couldn't carry them all.

"What on earth are you four going to cook?" I asked, raising a brow in curiosity.

"Yes, she's almost done. By the time the oven's ready, we'll have finished preparing. Just place the vegetables down on the table there and I will begin watching over the cooking" Sebastian instructed them, pointing at the table we used to prepare meals. All three of my sisters nodded, rushing over to follow instructions. I sighed.

"Fine… ignore me then…" I muttered, finally catching Sebastian's attention. He blinked at me in slight confusion, his eyes wider than normal, making the red in his eyes stand out more against his pure black hair and pale white skin.

"Hm? Oh, I'm terribly sorry young mistress. You see, I'm afraid when I'm conversing with your sisters I have to use all my attention and tolerance to deal with them. What did you ask?" he stated, making me begin giggling. He looked even more confused.

"Sorry, I know I shouldn't laugh, but after all this time I thought there was nothing you couldn't do, and here, right now, I hear you say you have a hard time dealing with my sisters! It was just hilarious!" I stated through my laughter. I wiped at my eyes, attempting to wipe the tears brimming in the corners of them.

"I asked you what the four of you were going to cook" I finally stated, seeing Sebastian smile, bowing his head a little.

"We are making a particular type of stew tonight. It's a cross between a curry and a stew. Don't worry; I know that foul look you're giving me. I know your tastes by now, I can assure you, you will like this. I know you cannot stand much spices or flavours; you have little taste buds which make you dislike more flavours than most people. Hence why you're such a picky eater. You're lucky you have me to cook for you; I was able to quickly figure out the cause of your horrible picky eating habits and put an end to them. I'm not able to stop the problem entirely, but I am able to accommodate for them, allowing you to eat foods you normally wouldn't dare touch" Sebastian announced, turning it into a rather lengthy speech, or lecture, I'm really not quite sure.

"You are so full of it… Just because my sisters worship you for being able to get me to eat more foods than they ever could…" I muttered, seeing him smirk at me. That was the only reason my sister Taina hadn't called up the cops and gotten Sebastian arrested for kidnapping, and was also one of the only reasons, at least I like to believe, that she let Sebastian stay. Ever since then, Sebastian has been my big brother, my father, my tutor and most importantly, my only true friend. I know what he'd say though if he heard those words come out of my mouth. He'd begin lecturing me on trusting a demon and how I shouldn't be so naïve.

"Hm? Young mistress? Is there something wrong?" Sebastian asked, seeing the small smile forming on my face. I really did confuse Sebastian a lot, I didn't think like most other humans he'd encountered, and my family was really crazy too, almost pushing Sebastian to his limit.

"Oh, nothing. Nothing at all" I replied, chuckling. Now it was my turn to be smug. Sebastian raised a brow in disapproval, sighing to himself before going to make sure my sisters didn't blow up the kitchen again. Honestly, the three of them were hopeless.


After I'd finished cleaning the oven, I stepped outside for some fresh air. After a few minutes of staring out into the night sky, I heard the door slide open as someone walked out behind me.

"Enjoying the full moon young mistress?" Sebastian asked, standing directly behind me. I smiled gently, turning to glance at him, the warm smile still on my face. Sebastian gasped a little in shock, blinking to make sure he hadn't been seeing things.

"Young mistress? What are you-?" Sebastian asked but was cut off abruptly when I turned to face him entirely, still smiling at him. My smile must've really thrown him off.

"Have you looked in the mirror or seen yourself during the moonlight? Believe it or not, the moonlight really makes your hair and eyes stand out, a lot. It's really quite pretty. I'll have to draw it for you someday" I stated, seeing him look taken aback, but then he smiled, trying to calm himself.

"I look forward to seeing this picture one day, young mistress" Sebastian stated, bowing his head a little, moving closer, inch by inch, until his forehead was a mere centimetre from mine. I was used to this already.

"Though you know, you should probably not let your guard down around me. I am a demon after all; I may decide to take advantage of you. After all, despite the fact of my being a demon, I am a full grown man, and you are a full grown woman. A man cannot guarantee that he can keep his urges in check, even if they happen to be a demon" Sebastian warned, making my eyes widen. I hadn't been expecting such a thing to ever come from his mouth. This certainly was surprising. Before I could voice my surprise, Sebastian had grabbed my wrist, twirling me in a dance before laying me back in one of his arms. The only thing stopping me from falling onto the ground was his one arm he had around my waist, supporting me. I was forced to look at him as he leaned over me, his eyes beginning to glow darkly, his smirk growing. He inched closer, till his face was right near my neck.

"Remember, no matter what, you belong to me, young mistress" Sebastian whispered in a soft, husky voice. I managed to control the small shiver rising in my spine, and looked at him.

"Sebastian?" I asked, seeing him look at me directly, his face mere inches from mine.

"Yes young mistress?" he asked, his curiosity piqued. I gave him an unamused expression, a slight glare on my face.

"Stop calling me young mistress, I have a name" I stated, earning a shocked and surprised look from him.