A/N: It has occured to me through reading over my past chapters that I could really use someone to proof read my writing! I feel like I should apologize for all the mistakes and choppy edits I've made. I have a habit of glossing over my writing as I reread it because I know what's going on so I don't always pick up on the mistakes! So if you have the time to help me out, I'd love to hear from you. I'd appreciate anyone able to read through the chapter that could get back to me in a handful of days. I'd be looking for grammar/spelling/over-all edits as well as input into the course of the story!

Anyway I hope you enjoy this chapter! Things are going to get interesting! Let me know what you think!

I had been unsure about going over to the vampire's house the following night, but Eric had called me as the sun was going down to let me know that a car would be there shortly to pick me up. So I rushed to get ready under Evan's watchful eye and made the car ride with my stomach doing flips.

No one was in the entry way when I arrived so I peeked into the rooms on the main floor first. Pam was in the kitchen wearing a silk dressing gown and slippers, warming up bags of blood.

"Here, bring this up to Godric for me" She demanded as she poured one of the bags into a tall glass.

I snorted "hello to you too Pam. Where is he?" I questioned.

Pam jutted her chin upwards "in his room. Sounds like he just got out of the shower."

I raised my eyebrows, wondering if that meant I should wait before going up but she gave me an impatient look and waved me away. I hesitated in front of Godric's door for a minute, trying to decide if I should knock or not.

"You can come in, little one" Godric's voice called through the door.

Blushing at being caught I pushed open the door and stepped inside. My eyes fell on Godric and widened in surprise. He was wearing loose cotton pants that hung low on his hips but nothing else. His hair was still dripping and droplets ran down his back. I stood gaping at him, taking in the sight of his well sculpted back and the dimples on the small of his back. He had been reaching into a dresser presumably for a shirt but paused when I came in.

"Ah, I, ah, brought you…that is to say…Pam sent me up with this for you" I stuttered out, holding up the glass.

Godric glanced over his shoulder at me and gave me a small smile "thank you for bringing it up, little one."

Godric turned and strode towards me and I found myself gaping at him even more. He looked like a sculpture or photographs of celebrities in magazines. His chest was defined and the muscles corded around his arms and into his strong shoulders. The tattoos I had glimpsed on his chest were fascinating and I wanted to trace my fingers over them. I was startled out of my thoughts by Godric's hand touching mine as he took the glass from me.

My eyes flew up to his face, my cheeks flushing scarlet. Godric had a strange look on his face almost like he was satisfied by something and a mischievous glint in his eyes. The spark in his eyes was something I realized I hadn't seen in a while, not since before I had been kidnapped.

"If it is bothering you, little one, I can put a shirt on" Godric offered nonchalantly.

I blushed even more and shook my head "no, I mean if you want to. But it doesn't bother me. I just, uh, well I haven't really seen these tattoos and they caught my attention." I admitted, and it wasn't a complete lie, I was very interested in his tattoos.

Godric hummed in understanding, his hand idly touching the tattoo around his collar bone. "I admit that I sometimes forget they are there and that you have not seen them. You can examine them if you like."

I couldn't refuse his offer so I stepped closer to him and circled around to his back. I had caught glimpses of his other tattoos in the past but the one down his spine was entirely new to me. As was the strange circular mark on his shoulder. Godric turned his head so he could see me out of the corner of his eye. Slowly, I brought my hand up and trailed it along the outline of his tattoo. His shoulders stiffened for a moment before he relaxed but the muscles along his back jumped under my hand. My hand moved from the sea serpent twisting down his back to the peculiar circle. It wasn't a tattoo, it almost looked like a burn.

"What is this, Godric?" I asked him quietly.

"A brand, put on me by my maker before he turned me" Godric explained.

I gaped at him for a moment. Godric had mentioned once before that he had killed his maker and that it was a rare occurrence but I had never pressed for why. Although I was fairly certain that the brand on his shoulder was only a small thing in comparison to the other things his maker must have done to cause Godric to kill him, I was still shocked to see such a painful looking thing.

"How did your date go, if you don't mind me asking" Godric inquired after a moment of awkward silence.

I hadn't been expecting him to ask about it and even less the bitter tone in his voice when he did. I pursed my lips at him and raised my eyebrow in challenge "it was alright. Why? Is there a problem?" I demanded.

Godric met my look with a scowl "no, of course not, why would I have a problem with that?" he snapped.

"Good" I spoke through gritted teeth, crossing my arms over my chest "because you don't have any say over who I date." I stepped away from him and Godric spun to glare at me.

It was easy to forget sometimes that Godric was as old as he was, but the power that came off of him not to mention the waves of anger reminded me that was much older and much more powerful than I was. It wasn't exactly that he scared me, I knew Godric wouldn't hurt me. But some part of me, deep down, recognized that he was not just an attractive young man. He was two millennia old and a vampire to boot.

All of the planning that Evan and I had done the previous night left my mind in an instant. I had intended to be coy, make him jealous even. But his anger over me going on a date made me angry. What right did he have if he wasn't going to make a move towards me to judge who I was spending my time with? If he wanted a say in it then he should have spoken up before the fact, I told myself angrily.

"No" he spat "you've made it very clear that I don't!"

Godric was taking steps towards me and I found myself backing away from him, trying to keep a couple of feet between us. My anger was fighting with the urge to throw my hands up in surrender from the glare he had trained on me. I found myself backing up without intending to, automatically trying to keep space between us. It was like I was a small bunny being stalked by a wolf.

"Why do you even care who I date?" I shouted at him even as I took a hasty step back.

Godric's fists clenched by his sides "You can't be serious! You dangle this man in front of me! It is a cruel way of making your point!"

I threw my hands up in frustration "I have no idea what you're talking about! Just because you don't want to be with me doesn't mean I can't be with anyone."

My back hit the wall and I watched him with wide eyes as he closed in on me. We were hardly six inches apart and he glowered down at me. Without warning he spun away from me, picked up a vase from the nearby side table and chucked it across the room. It shattered into a spray of glass, water, and flowers against the wall and I flinched in surprise.

Godric's shoulders heaved with heavy breaths. His back was facing me and his fists squeezed tightly together at his sides.

I felt instantly bad for yelling at him. There were better ways to handle the situation than yelling. He seemed to come to the same conclusion because he took a deep breath and dragged his hand down his face.

"I am sorry, little one. That was uncalled for" Godric apologized, his voice soft and full of regret.

I took a slow step forward, unsure of what I was doing, and then another until I was only a foot or so from his back. Hesitantly, I lifted my hand and touched his shoulder. I could just barely see the side of Godric's face. He was frowning down at the carpet, looking as if he had just kicked a puppy by accident.

"Can you please tell me what's wrong?" I pleaded, trying to catch his eye.

Godric turned his head slightly so that he could look at me. His hand raised as if in slow motion to cover mine on his shoulder. His hand was gentle, his finger curved softly over my knuckles to grip lightly at my skin. His dark eyes peered back at me, considering. I could feel the weight of them on me and it was his eyes, not his hand that pinned me down. I was frozen like a deer in headlights.

Eventually Godric sighed and nodded. He turned, his hand still holding mine, to face me. Dark eyes dropped to examine our hands and he sighed.

"I am a monster, Alyssa" Godric breathed.

I opened my mouth to protest without hesitation but his free hand raised before I could make a sound like he knew I was going to deny it. Resolved to let him speak and then tell him how wrong he was I closed my mouth and waited.

"I am a monster" he repeated "perhaps I behave differently now but there are still many being out there who once called me 'death'. I was a savage and I killed for sport. I was worse than any vampire has ever been since. This I must live with, as you once convinced me it was better to attempt to atone for my choices than escape from them. But if that is to be my path, then how can I be so selfish as to try and keep you close to me? Yet when this journalist who would be safe and normal for you tries to get close to you- and you let him- I can't help but get angry even as I am telling myself this is what is best. I simultaneously want to wish you both happiness and at the same time tear his throat out for thinking he can touch you" Godric explained, his voice getting more and more heated as he spoke. "But no matter what I do I find myself fighting you and pushing you further away."

I took time to think over what he had said and to decide on how I would respond. I knew Godric had a violent past, I knew after killing his maker he had been feral and on the run for several years but I did not know much else about him. He and the others were rather close-lipped about his past where they were fairly open about Eric's as well as Pam's. But I had noticed how even the vampires in the Authority had had a great deal of respect for him and the vampires who frequented Fangtasia steered clear of him. It had taken me some time to realize that it wasn't just because Godric was so old, but also because of his reputation. I had indeed heard several people refer to him as death though I thought it made Godric rather uncomfortable. But did it bother me that he had such a dark past? I considered it and decided that Godric had become a much different person since then. I might've had problems with the things he had done, of which I intended to get more information, but I was confident that Godric would never hurt me nor anyone else if he had an alternative.

I realized I could spend the whole night debating what was best and how things would play out but it didn't change what I thought or felt for Godric, nor what I wanted.

"Maybe you were a monster, Godric. I don't know enough about your past to say you weren't. But I do want you to learn about it. Nothing that you did then is going to change the way I feel about you now because the way I see it, you're a different person than you were. And maybe you're right, Jim is a normal, safe person. But even if you won't have me, Jim was never an option for me. I care about you, Godric, and I want to be with you" I admitted, my cheeks flushing red at my confession.

This hadn't been the plan at all and I felt silly making declarations like we were in a sappy romance movie. But the tentative smile that bloomed across Godric's face made it worth it. He peeked up at me from under his lashes and he held my hand a little bit more securely.

He opened his mouth to say something but paused. His eyes snapped over to the door and a serious look took over his face. His mouth pulled into a frown and he dropped my hand.

"What? What's wrong?" I questioned, searching his face for answers.

"They found him" was all Godric said. He swung the door open and ushered me out hastily.

Godric's hand landed on the small of my back to lead me down the hall towards the stairs. He seemed deep in thought and his expression had gone to the carefully blank look that he often got in the presence of strangers. I wanted to stop and ask him what was happening and who he was talking about but he hurried me down the stairs and before I had the chance we were in the entry way.

A tall man, as tall as Eric, stood in the doorway. His broad shoulders took up the door frame and tight curls of inky black hair tumbled past his shoulders. I couldn't make up my mind if I thought he was attractive or odd looking. His eyes, as black as his hair, were deep set under his brows and a long straight nose hovered over thin lips that looked almost too big. He was thin and almost lanky but I could see the muscles that corded around his frame.

I halted in my tracks as soon as we reached the base of the stairs and Godric moved to stand slightly in front of me. I didn't know what to make of the man, nor the way the vampires reacting. They seemed defensive and anxious but Godric had said they had 'found him' which implied that they had wanted to see him in the first place. Eric was standing between us and him, arms crossed over his chest and from what I could see of his face, his expression was cross.

The man gave off the same feeling that Godric did when he wanted to exert his power. It screamed 'I am much older than you can imagine and so much more powerful than you'.

"Is this her?" He asked with a nod in my direction.

He had a strange accent that I couldn't place. It was lilting and pretty sounding even though his voice was deep and rough, but he put emphasis in strange places.

Eric nodded shortly "this is Alyssa. Alyssa this is Bael, a demon" Eric introduced over his shoulder in a strained voice.

I gaped at Eric and then at Bael. His dark eyes ghosted over me as if he was sizing me up. A demon? Was he serious? I didn't know what to do. Why was he here? And more importantly, why was he looking for me?

"What's going on?" I demanded, looking from Godric to Eric and finally the demon standing in the entryway.

"Why don't we sit down and discuss things? Perhaps you have tea that can be made?" Bael asked, his voice like gravel. He looked at Eric expectantly for a moment before Eric gave in and turned to lead us all into the dining room. Godric made sure that he walked ahead of me, putting the demon in between himself and Eric and shielding me from him.

I wasn't sure how capable Eric was at making tea since I suspected Eric had never gone out of his way to appear human at any time. But when we reached the dining room Eric veered off and headed for the kitchen. Godric motioned Bael towards and chair and pulled one out for me on the opposite side of the table. He took a seat next to me and shifted so he could face me.

"I promised you quite some time ago that we would look into why you have the abilities that you do. A couple of weeks ago we found some information that led us to one on Bael's underlings. It appears that Bael had a human child at approximately the same time that you were born and the offspring of demons and humans are usually gifted with certain abilities such as telekinesis" Godric explained slowly.

My eyes widened. Was he implying what I thought he was? Did Godric mean to tell me that they thought the reason that I had my abilities was because I was half-demon? Could that even happen? My head was spinning trying to figure out what that meant and how it was going to affect me. Did it mean I was evil? Was I going to go to hell when I died?

"When I heard that these vampires might have their hands on a child of mine I began investigating immediately. I had to know, you see, whether you were involved with them as a choice of your own or not. I also had my underlings look into your family history and I do in fact remember your mother. So it is likely that you are my child" Bael informed me, flashing a toothy grin.

I tried to figure out what I was supposed to say to him. Should I be happy to know where I really came from or scared because this demon was claiming to be my father and everyone seemed to agree with him?

"If you're my father then why didn't you try to contact me? Why did you let my dad raise me?" I demanded.

Bael's smile faltered for a moment before he spoke. Clearly that wasn't what he had thought I would say. "I was not aware you were mine. It is not common for half-demon children to survive let alone appear as human as you do. When your mother was pregnant she assured me it wasn't mine and after she died I had no way to know until you grew up. By that time I had lost track of you" he explained.

"Did she know what you were?" I asked him without hesitation. It seemed very important to know whether my mother had been aware of demons and had still chose to sleep with one. It didn't surprise me that my mother had had an affair on my father simply because he was a disgusting person and from what my grandmother had said it had never been a good relationship.

Bael nodded "she did. I will admit that it was quite some time after we had been… involved that she found out. But she did know before she was pregnant with you."

I thought it over for several minutes. I had so many questions for him about my mother. He was the only person alive now who could tell me about her. I wanted to know what she was like, if I was much like her, and how they had met and begun an affair. Not to mention how she had reacted when she found out the man she was sleeping with was actually a demon. Maybe she had known about vampires as well though they wouldn't have been out of the coffin at the time. Or perhaps the demon sitting across from me had told her about them. I realized that if this man was my actual father then Evan wasn't my sister, or not by blood anyway. I would have to figure out a way to tell her all of this and hope she wouldn't think I was evil. Was I?

"What does this mean for me? What happens now?" I questioned, looking between the vampire beside me and the demon across the table.

"Nothing has to change, Alyssa" Godric assured me "we only wanted you to know where you came from and if you want, Bael can help you master your abilities."

"On the other hand, everything can change. You would be more than welcome to return with me and learn about your abilities and where you come from first hand" he offered "telekinesis is just the beginning of what you can do my dear."

I was shocked at his suggestion. What could possibly make him think that I would want to drop everything and go off with him to spend time with people that up until five minutes ago I didn't know existed? I shook my head quickly "look, I don't mean to offend you, but I'm not going to just leave with you. I don't even know you. I'd appreciate the help with learning to control my abilities but if you aren't willing to help unless I come with you then it's just not going to happen. I've made do without you for my whole life, I can keep doing that" I informed him, forcing myself to stare him down.

Bael seemed surprised but schooled his features into a pleasant expression after a moment "Of course. Well, the offer stands if you ever change your mind. Nevertheless I am more than willing to help you, child. Call it paternal instinct but I am curious to know you and for you to know me better as well" he confessed.

I nodded in agreement. I was curious as well to know more about demons and especially the one across the table from me. There were so many things I needed to think over that I could hardly pay enough attention to carrying on a conversation. Luckily Eric came in a moment later carrying a tray full of tea things. He had a put out expression on his face and I got the feeling he didn't like being ordered around by anyone. The tray was set on the table with more force than necessary and he simply waved at it in invitation before settling into a seat at the head of the table.

Bael poured him and me a cup and asked what I took with my tea. I didn't have the heart to say that I didn't normally drink tea after Eric had been made to go to the trouble of making it so I sipped idly at the tea and used it as an excuse to not speak.

Bael allowed the silence to stretch for several minutes before he began questioning me about my life and interests. It was almost like an interview since I didn't know what was and wasn't okay to ask him so I mostly just answered his questions.

The demon's phone buzzing in his pocket brought our conversation to a halt. He snapped a few words into the phone in a strange language that matched his accent before standing. "Unfortunately I must go. I will leave you with a number that you can use to contact me. Please do not hesitate if you would like to expand on your gift or if you have any questions for me" Bael instructed, placing a business card pointedly on the table.

I nodded and took the card. A moment later he had whisked out of the room and the sound of the door closing followed shortly after.