Laurel

17

Twenty minutes after their shattering orgasms, Laurel woke up on Damon's chest. Feeling refreshed, her mind was also clearer than it had been. She had lost her past life this weekend, she had no family, and no friends anymore. Her mother was never motherly, she was dutiful but never warm, never exceptionally caring, and her friends from her old town had made her feel like a deviant slut; they had never accepted her as she was. None of this was her fault, she had always been different, neither her original mother or adoptive mother were likely to be her biological parent since she wasn't human and they both were as far as she knew.

Her moment of clarity let her see that she had another chance to find her real family, and her friendship with Delia and the others was letting her know that she had always deserved friendship without judgement. Laurel had accepted that she deserved love in her life, and it had been sorely lacking before. She may have lost her old life, but she was optimistic that a new and better one was in front of her. If she could pull herself together and make it happen.

Plus the very handsome, very skilled and talented demon sharing her bed with her right now, was helping her learn more about herself. She wanted to spend every moment she could in bed with him, discovering more about herself, learning more about him, learning each other's bodies like treasure maps of pleasure. She blushed as she thought about him and all the things she still wanted to do with him. She was not finished with him, not by a mile. Her physical body was exhausted and she was going to need more than a power nap on his chest before she was ready to go again.

"Welcome back beautiful, I think you drooled on my chest" Damon said, the left side of his lips curling up in a half smile. Horrified, Laurel rolled off of him and onto the bed, fetching the sheet up over her naked body, feeling embarrassed.

"I'm so sorry, I.." Damon cut her off with a kiss.

"I didn't mind, really. You looked so peaceful I was letting you get some rest. You seemed like you needed it." Never had anyone looked at her like that. Like they adored her, saw her as she was and still loved her.

"Yes. I did. It's been... an interesting weekend" a slight smile on her lips warmed his heart far more than he was expecting. The more time he spent with her the more he was coming to care for her deeply. He had never cared for a mortal like this before, it was strange to feel his heart stir like this after an eternity without these feelings. Humanity had been unchanging for so long.

"I need to tell you something Laurel" he hated how she tensed next to him, he wanted her to bask in peace for longer, but he didn't want to keep secrets from her. "I think whatever you are, is awakening more, your eyes aren't all green anymore, it started with just some gold flecks mixed in with the emerald color, but they look like they are turning entirely gold now." His voice quiet, calm and controlled, not wanting to spook her anymore than he had to.

Her eyes went wide, showing off more of the gold color to him, before she jumped out of bed, dropping the sheet and ran naked to the small washroom to look in the mirror. "Well that is unexpected..." he heard from the bathroom. She didn't sound scared, or upset, which he hoped was good. He got up and followed her to the bathroom, standing behind her, wrapping his arms protectively around her body.

"Are you ok? The gold is very pretty at least?" he offered lamely, feeling impotent to help her.

"I guess I am? I had a moment of...a moment of clarity I guess I will call it. I accepted that my old life was gone, that I was different and was feeling optimistic about my future, accepting the truth of my situation...this is just something new to get used to. The gold doesn't look very human though? How am I going to blend in anymore?" she started off sounding strong, but the more she looked at her shiny gold eyes, the less confident she felt.