Page 104 of Demons In My Head: Exposing the Exiled
"Felix? You know this changes everything, right?"
I looked back at my family, my crazy, complicated, fierce family. "Everything already changed the moment she walked into our lives. This is just making it official."
The coffee mug warmed my hands as I slipped back into Palmer's room. Jasper was no longer standing guard—instead, his semi-transparent form lay beside her on the bed, one ghostly hand hovering just above her hair, and Snake was now belly up on the pillow, like a pharaoh.
"You can touch her, you know," I said softly, settling back into my chair. "She responds to you."
Jasper's eyes met mine, and for a moment I saw the brother I remembered from our youth. "It's different now. Everything's different."
I nodded, taking a sip of coffee. "Good different though, right?"
"Yeah." His hand finally made contact with Palmer's hair, and I watched in fascination as it became more solid at the point of connection. "She's... extraordinary."
"That's one word for it." I set my mug down and leaned forward. "Can we talk about it? The mating?"
"What do you want to know?"
"How did you know? That she was yours?" The question had been burning in my mind since I first felt the pull toward her.
"It wasn't like the stories," he said after a moment. "No instant recognition or burning need. It was quieter. Like finding a piece of myself I didn't know was missing."
I understood that feeling all too well. "And the bond? Was it... overwhelming for her?"
Jasper's laugh was soft. "She took to it like she was born for it. The connection, the sharing of energy—it felt natural. Right." His expression grew serious. "You're worried about what happens when she wakes up."
"Aren't you?" Ashland’s concerns were replaying in my mind. "She's been through so much already. The last thing I want is to make her feel pressured or trapped."
"Felix." Jasper's voice held that familiar note of exasperation. "She chose us. All of us. Even before she understood what she was choosing."
"But a full mating bond? With six demons? That's not exactly—"
"Normal?" Jasper cut me off. "When has anything about our family been normal?"
I had to smile at that. "Fair point."
Palmer stirred slightly, and we both froze, watching her face. When she settled again, Jasper spoke softly.
"She's stronger than you think. Than any of us thought. The bond won't diminish that—it'll enhance it." His form solidified a bit more as he spoke. "And she needs this connection as much as we do."
"To help control the power?"
"To belong." Jasper's eyes met mine again. "That's all she's ever wanted. A family. A home. People who see her for who she really is."
The weight of unsaid words hung between us. "I'm sorry," I whispered. "For not seeing you. For not understanding."
"I'm sorry too." Jasper's hand reached across Palmer to grasp my wrist, and I gasped at the solid feel of it. "But we're here now. All of us. And she's the one who made that possible."
I stared at where his hand touched my skin, remembering centuries of missed moments like this. "How do we do this right? How do we give her what she needs?"
"We love her," Jasper said simply. "We protect her. We let her be exactly who she is, and we show her that she never has to face anything alone again."
Palmer made a small sound in her sleep, and both of us immediately focused on her. She turned slightly, pressing closer to Jasper's form while her hand reached out toward me. Without thinking, I took it, marveling at how right it felt.
"See?" Jasper smiled. "She already knows she's ours."
I squeezed Palmer's hand gently, watching as her face relaxed at the contact. "Yeah," I agreed softly. "She knows."
We fell into comfortable silence then, my brother and I, watching over the remarkable woman who had somehow brought our fractured family back together. And for the first time in centuries, I felt truly at peace.
