A True Lifestory: Part 2 A Demon’s Obsession

Chapter 30 Seeking Refugee

[..]

When the sun disappeared and the blue sky had been swallowed in darkness, only leaving the small lights from the stars evident, Chase was getting impatient and worried.

“I knew it, they are not coming! Something must have gone wrong,” Chase stated as he began to pace back and forth.

“Relax, Chase, I’m sure everything is fine.” Cathrine tried calming him.

“How can you be sure? What if he in the end decided to run away with her, or Damon killed him, then what?” Chase argued, but just as she was about to reply, something caught her eyes, making her take a step to the side.

It made Chase turn around to see what was catching her attention, and that was when he saw Armaros and Stella walking towards the pack house.

“Stella, honey! Are you okay?” Cathrine called as she ran over and hugged Stella, when she was only a few feet from them, while Stella gladly hugged her mother back.

“I’m fine, mom,” She replied, as they stood like that for some time, while Armaros walked up to Chase, as it was clear on Armaros' face that he had some on his mind.

“I have something I wanna say to you,” Armaros admitted, as Chase observed him, before he replied.

“Okay.. About what?”

“You might not like me, and I know I haven’t given you much reason to trust me, but I love Stella, and I am not going to leave her again. I know I agreed to do it, but I am not doing it again. If that means you wanna throw me back into that prison of yours, then I don’t care. I have tried doing it your way, but I realized that I can’t stay away from her. So, you can either accept the fact that I’m with your daughter, or you’ll have to lock me up, or kill me, ‘cause I will not change my mind!” Armaros stated.

Those who were present stared in shock at his statement, as there was complete silence for a moment, before Chase replied.

“Well, I have something to say to you too,” Chase started.

“You’re right, I didn’t like you.. In fact, I hated you. You have no idea what kind of horrible things your father did to my mate, and I know it has nothing to do with you, but seeing you brought those memories back. I believed you were just like him, but I’ve just recently realized how wrong I was. I clearly judged you for more reasons, then I was entitled to..” Chase explained, as he knitted his eyebrows, and looked at the ground for a moment – as it was clearly difficult for him to say what he was about to say – before looking back at Armaros.

“.. And for that, I’m sorry.” Chase spoke, before he pulled his hand forward. Armaros stared at it, as he was taken aback.

“I can’t really judge you by thinking like that, so, I accept your apology.” Armaros replied cautiously, not sure where it was heading.

“And thank you for bringing her back home. That means a lot.” He added, as he gave his hand a firm shake, and Armaros nodded.

“You’re welcome?” He added, still a bit confused by Chase's sudden change of attitude.

“So, does that mean you aren’t throwing me back into prison?” He asked, as Chase shook his head.

“No, I’m not, just.. Take care of her, okay?” he stated, as Armaros nodded.

“I will, I promise.” He stated.

At the same moment that Armaros retracted his hand, Stella jumped into her father’s arms and hugged him.

“Thank you for giving him a chance, dad.” She spoke, as he was a bit surprised, but then he smiled.

“I just want you to be happy, and if you believe he will be able to do that, then it’s good enough for me..”

“He is making me so happy, dad,” Stella replied before she pulled away. She then turned towards Armaros, who opened his arms for her as she ran in to his embrace, before she leaned her head against his chest, as he kissed her on the top of her head.

“The Council has decided that you, and your friends, can stay for now. But we will have to announce it first thing tomorrow.. But I’ll have to warn you, I don’t think everyone is open to it,” Chase explained, as Armaros nodded understandingly.

“I know.. Not to seem arrogant, but people’s opinions don’t bother me that much.. And if people need someone to blame, then it doesn’t matter if it’s me. If they wanna be mad at me, then let them.” He shrugged, as he looked at Stella and smiled.

“I only care about one person’s opinion, and that’s Stella’s.” He spoke.

[..]

Everyone gathered in the Council’s meeting hall. At the front of the room, the Council considering of Chase, Narla, Lucerna and Vlad.

They were all sitting at a long table, as everyone else was sitting on chairs facing them, while Armaros and his men stood by the wall. People were mumbling and glancing at them, and it was clear everyone wanted to know what was going on.

“Thank you everyone for coming to this meeting. I know you all wonder what the demons are doing here, but there is a special reason for that..” Narla spoke, as she had raised from her chair.

“We, in the Council, have decided they will be allowed to stay here, they have nowhere else to go right now, so for now, they will be our guests; we expect they will be treated as such.” She stated, as a commotion spread throughout the room.

“They came here and threatened us. Why should we show them hospitality, when they showed up as enemies and threatened us?” Someone yelled.

“I understand your hesitation, but they defended our kids from the real enemy, and I’m sure that..”

“Who says it isn’t just lies?” Someone interrupted.

“I don’t trust them!” Another one stated.

“Everyone, please calm down.. I know that this is difficult, but..” Narla tried once more, but people weren’t listening.

“I believe we should throw them out!” Someone then yelled as others agreed.

“Can I say something?” Armaros asked, stepping forward from where he was standing, as he glanced at Narla.

She seemed hesitant for a moment, glancing at Chase, Vlad, and Lucerna. They all nodded, as she then agreed to it. Armaros then stepped further to the middle and looked at the crowd.

“I know we haven’t given you any reason to trust us, but we don’t wish to cause any more trouble.. I promise, my men and I will be on our best behavior, while we are here,” he stated, as there was silent for a moment.

“Why should we believe you? Isn’t the infamous Damon Mortem your father?” Someone suddenly yelled, making Armaros halt.

“.. And aren’t you also the one who kept Stella hostage, in the first place? So please enlighten us, why should we trust you!” The voice added, as the person who spoke stepped forward with crossed arms, and Armaros realized it was Nathan.

Everyone started mumbling, as not all knew that it was him, but now they did, and Armaros stood for a moment uncertain of what to say.

“So, what? It might be true, but like us, they have been taught to hate us – that we are the enemy,” Stella spoke up, as she rose from her seat, and walked towards the front.

As she passed Nathan, he stared at her, but she didn’t spare him one glance. She walked up next to Armaros, as she proceeded to take Armaros’ hand.

He looked at her hand in his before meeting her gaze, only to be met by a reassuring smile from her, as she then looked at everyone else.

“I might not have been in any control of my abilities, but I was the one who showed up at their territory as a wolf - uninvited in the first place.

Despite that, they didn’t harm me, so you shouldn’t blame it solely on them. If you wanna blame them, you’ll have to blame me too.” Stella spoke up, as she then looked directly at Nathan for a few seconds before looking around.

“The truth is.. We are more alike than we wanna admit, and he might have kept me imprisoned, but he is not the enemy here, and neither are they!” Stella, exclaimed, as Armaros stared at her with fascination. She then decided to walk with him back to the wall, and stayed there, while Vlad took over.

“Stella is right, once even vampires were a threat. As some of you already know, even I worked with Damon Mortem many years ago, and I believe if I were able to change then, why shouldn’t they?” He argued.

“It’s only two days ago and you wanna make us believe they have already changed! What about our families?”

“We know it’s not easy, but we promise our priority is the safety of this tribe, but we also have to help those who need it, 'cause that is what this place is for,” Lucerna stated.

“What about you, Chase?” One asked.

“You have been the one warning everyone about these demons, but now you aren’t saying anything, and even letting your daughter be with one! Do you really agree with this?” He asked in disbelief.

“I do!” Chase answered, as he raised as well.

“And who my daughter is with is none of your concern,” he added.

“What we need to focus on, is how we prevent another attack from happening.”

[Stella’s POV]

As the meeting ended, Vlad showed the way to where Armaros, Baal, Shax and the others would be staying. Armaros told them that he would meet them later, as he stood next to me, while I had been observing my surroundings.

It was clear a lot of the tribe-members weren’t happy when they left the room. Of course, I understood their concerns, but they didn’t know Armaros or the others like I did. I knew a lot of the things they worried about were true, or at least it used to be.. But people change and I wanted them to see that.

“You seem worried.” Armaros suddenly spoke, making me turn back to him.

“No, I.. Or maybe a little.. People clearly aren’t happy and with everything happening, we shouldn’t be torn apart but stand together, and..” I spoke, as Armaros stopped me, by leaving a kiss on my lips.

“What was that for?” I asked, as he just grinned.

“Nothing, I just wanted to. And also, I wanted to thank you for coming to my aid.. Again. You always seem to know what to say, don’t you?” He spoke, as I shrugged.

“What can I say? It’s in my bloòd.” Stella replied.

“Right, but listen.. You can’t expect them to just accept it. People don’t change their minds overnight.. I didn’t.

They need time to adjust.” He replied, as I looked at him amused.

“What? Why are you smiling at me like that?” He asked, as I shook my head while my smile widened.

“I just didn’t realize how well you put yourself in other people’s place, that’s all.” I answered.

“Well, I do know how to read people’s intentions based on their emotions, it’s some sort of gift I have.. More or less.” he replied with a shrug.

“I normally used it to get what I wanted, ‘cause I knew what to say or do, to trigger the right reaction from it..” he continued, as he focused his eyes on my hands.

“I even did that to you..” He added, before he looked at me.

“It doesn’t matter anymore, does it?” I replied as I took my arms around him, while I looked into his eyes. They were like fire, as he looked at me with this kind of fascination.

“I guess not..” he spoke as a small chuckle left his lips.

“I believe I am where I’m supposed to be, and that is with you.” I stated, as he leaned down and kissed me, but then someone made a small cough, as Nathan and some of his friends stood there.

He didn’t look pleased at all, but neither did Armaros at that moment, and I knew they didn’t like each other at all.

“Can I talk to you for a second? Alone.” Nathan asked me as I looked at him with skepticism.

“She has nothing to discuss with you!” Armaros interrupted coldly, as he glared at Nathan.

“Stay out of it, it has nothing to do with you!” Nathan snarled, as Armaros took a step forward, but I immediately placed myself in the middle of them.

“Please, Armaros, you promised to stay out of trouble..” I reminded him, as his breathing was getting heavy, and he proceeded to fist his hands.

Whatever Nathan planned to say or do, this was not the right time or place for it.

“Please calm down.. For me, okay?” I told him, as his eyes flickered between me and Nathan, before he finally began to relax a little, as he sighed and gave a small nod. Then I turned around to face Nathan.

“Whatever you wanna say, Nathan, you can say it here.” I spoke calmly.

“Come on Stella, I have been patiently waiting for you to talk to me. I know you have been through a lot, but I’m your friend. I didn’t think anything would ever come between our friendship,” he argued.

“When you say ‘anything’ are you referring to Armaros or your father and Hunter?” I bit back, as he frowned, but he clearly didn’t know how to respond to it.

“I’m sorry, Nathan, but right now, I’m not sure if I’ll ever be able to go back to how it used to be,” I spoke, as I crossed my arms.

“Is it because of him? I haven’t even done anything, and you just keep pushing me away!” He defended.

I knew he was upset, but it annoyed me that he didn’t even see his mistake.

“You haven’t? How about all the conversations we had – personal things that I shared with you, things I didn’t want anyone else to know, but you told Hunter! Did you know he used it against me, Nathan?” I asked accusingly, as he seemed surprised.

“I-I’m sorry, I didn’t know that was gonna happen..” He started, as he took a hold on my hands, but I immediately pulled away.

“Don’t! If I’m not even able to trust you with personal things I tell you, how do you expect us to be friends? Do me a favor and leave me alone,” I spoke, before I walked past him.

I was so angry at that moment because I felt he was constantly playing the victim, and made me feel like I was the one who did something wrong.

I felt he was defending his father and Hunter’s perspective, he wasn’t even considering the least how I felt, which was hurtful.

Especially when he was supposed to be my best friend. I heard footsteps behind me, but my nose quickly told me it was Armaros.

“I’m sorry, you had to witness that. I asked you to stay calm, and then I couldn’t even do it myself,” I sighed.

“Hey! You don’t have to excuse it. You have every right to be upset,” he spoke, as he placed his hands on my shoulders.

He was standing so close, that I was able to feel the warmth radiating from his skin so clearly.

“How about we just go to your place and relax for a bit?” Armaros asked, as he placed his hands on my hips, sending heatwaves through my entire body – not the best timing if you’d have asked me – but I had missed having him that close to me.

“Relax you say.. What exactly do you mean about that?” I asked him, as he made me turn around.

“I mean, you, me, alone,” he whispered into my ear, making every cell in my body jump in anticipation.

Before I knew it, I agreed to it, and we both headed to my parent’s house. We walked directly to my room as I proceeded to close the door.

My parents weren’t home at that moment, but we still had to be careful.

“We should be able to stay here for a while, but we have to be super quiet, ‘cause if my parents or anyone else find us.. Well, let’s just say that your father will be the least of our problems.” I whispered, as I walked over to the bed, where he was already sitting at the bedside.

“Oh, I can be very quiet..” he replied, while he gently pulled me closer to him.

“.. I’m more worried about you,” he stated teasingly, as he pinned me down to the bed, as he, without any warning, kissed me.