A/N: Read and enjoy! :)

Disclaimer: We are not Kelley Armstrong, we don't own Darkest Powers or the characters and we make no money from this.

The fact that I hadn't told Derek the truth bothered me for the rest of the day. But when I tried calling him when I got to Aunt Lauren's, I got a voicemail. I didn't leave one, thinking I would call him again later. But at 9, when I called him hoping we could talk, it went to voicemail again.

"Hey Derek, just hoped we could talk. I guess you're busy getting ready for tomorrow. Call me before you leave, okay? Love you, good night."

I had an uneasy feeling about it all. It wasn't like Derek to not pick up for so long. He would have seen my number on his phone.

A hot blast of air blew across my face, lifting my hair. "Maybe he doesn't want to talk to you. After all, he knows you're hiding something. Why else did he decide to go to Stonehaven without you?"

My back stiffened.

"Go away, Valefar."

"Any man would be tormented by his lover's inability to confide in him. Then again, how tormented would he be to know how easily I could slip into his body and have you spawn my child?"

"Why are you doing this?" I asked before I could stop myself.

"You made a deal with me. Now we need to agree to the terms. I will get rid of your pest for good and in exchange, I will need something. And since you refuse my offer of spawning my child…"

"It's still no for that." I told him. "What do you want?"

Instead of answering my question, he ignored it. "Your wolf is upset with you. His pride is hurt. But if you were to get pregnant with a child, he would think it was his. As a wolf, he would be bound to you for the rest of his life."

"I wouldn't want to trap him to me with a child he believes is his!" I said, shocked and disgusted at the idea.

"Not all women have the same mind as you, Chloe." He sounded almost amused. "There are some who would do anything to keep their lover at their side. You have proven you would kill for yours."

I was confused as to what he was trying to do. Convince me that I needed to give Derek a reason to stay with me? "Yes, I would kill for him, and I have. But it was either us or Mark. And I don't need to defend myself to you."

"A powerful young necromancer like yourself shouldn't have to. You should embrace your powers."

I nearly snorted. Even if I chose not to embrace my powers, I would still have ghosts and demons haunting me, amulet or no amulet. And in the end, I would go crazy.

A sudden thought hit me. Did my mother go crazy? Could she also see ghosts? I pushed that thought away, deciding it was not the time or place to contemplate such things.

"Just tell me what you want and then leave."

He clucked his tongue. "This generation of humans forget their manners sometimes. I often miss the old days." I gestured impatiently. "Oh, fine. As you well know, I can inhabit a body. However, the majority of souls are strong enough to push me out, after anywhere from ten minutes to half an hour. Those whom I can stay in for longer, are not usually worth being in. However, there is a necromancer spell that can bind me to a body for the number of hours or days that I so choose."

"So you want me to find you a body and bind you to it?"

"Yes."

I thought about it for a moment. It would be a quick way to get rid of him. But I wanted to talk to Jaime first. Mostly because I wanted to know what the spell entailed as well as finding out what dealing with a demon would be like in the long run.

"Come back tomorrow and I will have your answer for you. But remember your end of the bargain. Mark goes away, for good. And so do you."

I heard what sounded like a chuckle. "At this exact moment tomorrow evening, I shall return. I will need an answer by then."

"You will have it." With a blast of air, he left.

I wanted to call Jaime right away, but it was almost 10 o'clock and I didn't know if Jaime would still be up… or if I might accidentally interrupt something. So I got myself ready for bed, hoping that I would be able to sleep.

I was so exhausted, my eyes closed the moment my head hit the pillow. But it was a night of fitful dreams in which I create a Frankenstein monster, made up not of seven men but of one powerful demon and one stupid necromancer.

I got up early to try calling Derek again and – again - it went to voicemail. I started to worry, but I forced myself to calm down. I would be at school in an hour and Simon would be able to tell me what the hell was going on.

I was just praying that Simon showed up to school today.

Luckily, he was waiting for me by my locker when I showed up.

"What did you do to him?" Simon asked me.

"What do you mean?" My heart was pounding.

"He left last night in such a rush. I thought you might have been on fire, but when I asked if everything was alright, he grunted at me. I brought you up and he got even more agitated. Then he got his bag, got in his car and said he would see us Sunday night."

"He left?" I said it loudly, unable to control the pitch of my voice. A few students stared at us as they passed by. "He just up and left without telling me?"

"Oh, shit." Simon looked apologetic. "I'm so sorry. I thought he would have told you he was leaving early."

"Apparently not." I was fuming. That's why he wasn't answering. "Why would he leave a day early?"

"Chloe, I really don't want to pry, so please, you don't have to answer anything if you don't want to. But did you guys have a fight?"

I bit my lip. "We didn't fight. But there was something I had to tell him, something I was hiding from him that I should have told him about right away and I didn't. And he could tell."

"Did you cheat on him?" Simon asked in a whisper, brows arched teasingly, but I saw a hint of genuine worry in the tense lines around his mouth.

My eyes went wide. "What! God, no."

"Phew. 'Cause if you had, I would actually never talk to you again."

"Simon, you know how much I love Derek." I had killed for him. That kind of said it all in my books.

"I know, I know," he said, raising his hands. "But honestly, when you said that, it was the first thing that came to mind." He cocked his head slightly. "So what's the big secret?"

"Remember Mark?" Simon nodded. "Well, his ghost has been haunting me. I banished him twice. Now, I haven't seen him since the second one, but…" I sighed. "Well, there's this demon."

"Are you fucking kidding me?" Simon didn't swear often, so I was shocked at his outburst.

"Let me finished. This demon showed up, which, I don't know what to call it but, like, banished Mark away for a while. And he tried making me a deal. He wanted me to spawn his babies in return for getting rid of Mark permanently."

"And you said no, obviously." It sounded more like a question than a statement and I found myself a little insulted.

"Of course I said no! If I knew the word in any other language, I would have said it, too. I told him that I would consider another deal, just because Mark… okay, I know it's too much information, but he's been watching Derek and I when we're having, um… alone time?" I was shy divulging the information, but I needed Simon to understand how creepy the whole thing was.

Simon caught on quickly. "Huh? Oh…Oh! That's twice as gross because, one, I don't want to picture that and two, because that's just wrong for him to watch. So what does this demon want?"

"A body. There's a spell to keep him in it. Apparently, only necromancers can do it."

"And are you going to?"

"I thought about it," I admitted. "But I wanted to talk to Jaime first. I was supposed to have gone up with Derek to Stonehaven, but he told me that he rather go alone the other day. So now I have to call Jaime."

"And you're going to tell Derek, right?"

"On Sunday, when he gets back. I tried telling him yesterday, but the whole Tori and Trent thing interrupted us. Then I called him, but he didn't answer."

"You need to tell him as soon as he's back. Because if I know Derek, he will not be happy you kept this from him."

I put my hands up. "I know, I know! But he can't protect me. How can he, when he can't see, hear or touch the enemy!"

Simon was quiet. "I understand, Chloe. I truly do. It will kill him. But don't you think that you shouldn't make these decisions for him?"

Guilt ate away at my heart. "I know," I repeated. "I just thought I could take care of it on my own. I don't want to be the damsel in distress."

"Well, Derek does enjoy saving you, I think."

I couldn't help but laugh at Simon's comment, happy that the tension was broken.

"Listen, call him again later. He'll have had time to cool off."

"Thanks Simon," I said, grateful for his advice.

"And get this Mark slash demon thing resolved quickly. Like, maybe before Derek gets home?"

I nodded gravely. "Believe me, my first call when I get home tonight is to Jaime."