The Devil's Angel

Damon groaned as he fluttered his eyes open and looked around the room. Stefan and Elena were both sitting on the couch beside him, holding hands. Of course, he thought and rolled his eyes, realizing he was laying his head on Mia’s lap.

His heart accelerated as he thought about the last images before he went blank. Rebekah feeding on Mia, a twinge of guilt consumed him as he looked at her smiling face. “How are you?” she asked, a little hesitation in her tone but she reached out her hand to touch his face.

“Fine,” he breathed, “Are you…” he cleared his throat and sat up, not knowing what to expect. He had hurt her a lot, everything he said during those blank days rushing to his mind.

“I’m fine,” she replied. Damon rubbed his neck as he looked at Stefan, “How long was I out?”

“Quite a while but not much long. Actually, I’m surprised to see you up. It was faster than before,” Stefan said as his gaze flicked to Mia who nodded at him with a smile.

Elena threw a blood bag towards Damon and he quickly caught it. Instead of opening it right away, he juggled it in his hands. He wanted blood but he didn’t want to do in front of Mia. He didn’t want to upset her anymore with his nature.

“You need blood, Damon,” she said softly eyeing him, “Take it.”

Damon was eyeing her, still trying to decide if that was a good move or not. “Good to have you back, brother,” Stefan interfered, breaking the awkwardness between them. Damon chuckled as he opened the bag and his eyes caught the heart lying on the floor.

“What happened to the Blondie? Did she leave the cure alone?” he asked.

“Yeah, about that. Umm, she’s dead,” Stefan said, keeping a straight face.

“What?” Damon was stun, “How did you kill her? We don’t even…” he started but Stefan cut him off.

“I didn’t. Mia did,” he replied and Damon blinked at his brother, unsure of what he heard.

“Is it true?” the voice came from behind and they all looked to see Enrique leaning against the door frame but his eyes were only for Mia and Damon wanted to kill him for that. Ah! Feelings sucked, he thought.

“Ca…Enrique,” she looked at him dazed, “I…”

“Did you?” He asked in a tight tone.

“Hey, you don’t talk to her that way,” Damon said in a calm but threatening voice and Mia’s heart soared, feeling warm and lighter. She wanted to hug him and kiss him and…

“Mia?” Enrique’s voice cut off her thoughts.

“Yes,” she replied, startled, “I did.”

“How?” he stepped forward.

“What is this, twenty questions?” Damon asked annoyed.

“She took my blood,” Mia replied, ignoring Damon’s question. “She drank from me and…she, died.”

Damon turned towards her, his eyes large as he stared at her. “She died by your blood?”

“Yes,” she whispered.

“Does that mean…” Damon started.

“She has it unlocked…yes,” Enrique said coldly eyeing Damon with pure hatred.

Damon didn’t notice that. He only knew that he had his humanity off and he had annoyed the hell out of Mia and she was during that time spending time with Enrique and now, she had unlocked her powers. He was right, she had chosen Enrique. He knew that she will never chose him, nobody ever did but that didn’t mean hurt was anywhere near less.

“What triggered it?” Enrique asked, trying to avoid, looking at Damon.

Mia didn’t know how to answer the question, not when Damon was looking at her with those eyes. She so wanted to know what he was thinking. Did he remember the time when she told him that she loved him or when he said those words to her?

“She thought Damon was dead,” Stefan provided and Damon turned sharply to his brother, “She thought that you had died,” Stefan repeated his answer, looking straight to Damon who knitted his eyebrows together.

“Right,” Enrique replied in a clipped tone, “Doesn’t surprise me…”

“What I don’t understand is,” Elena started, “how did she chose him when there was no brother to choose from?” she looked at Stefan, “These prophecy things should hold true, right?”

Mia snapped her eyes to Elena and then to Enrique. “What? You don’t have a brother?” Damon asked Enrique, shaking his head and Enrique smiled at him.

Stefan chuckled, causing Damon to glare at him. Elena was smiling too unable to contain herself. What the hell? Damon thought as he turned to look at Mia. Her cheeks were tainted pink as she smiled shyly at her knotted fingers that rested on her lap.

“What?” Damon asked confused, wanting to touch her so badly.

“She didn’t chose me,” Enrique said, “though I wish it wasn’t so,” he shrugged, “She chose you. You’re the one who unlocked her powers. She probably thought you were dead and protective instinct as well as pain and revenge must’ve triggered it,” he paused, “Strong emotions are needed to unlock the powers with ‘The One’.”

Damon’s heart leaped in his chest, increasing its pace with every beat. He fixed Mia under his hot gaze and the very familiar electric buzz left her breathless. He couldn’t believe what Enrique had said. It felt too good to be true as he reached out to take her hand in his. He wanted to make sure that she was real and not a dream.

“This is so exciting. I mean, we finally got her and…” Elena looked at Damon and smiled knowingly who nodded at her with a silent, ‘Thank you’ and looked back at Mia. He wanted her to tell him herself that she had chosen him, that she loved him. Love, that word sounded so different to him now.

He always thought that love hurts but in that moment he knew it was wrong. Loneliness hurts, rejection and losing someone you cared about hurts but love…it was the shining beacon of hope that took away the sufferings, the pain and made it all worthwhile. Love, he knew was what made life wonderful again and that was what he felt; wonderful.

He wanted to hear her voice, see her smile and then he wanted to make everyone leave so he could devour her like he wanted. So, he could hold her and kiss her and apologize to her and lastly, thank her for finally making him feel that way again.

Damon felt Mia’s hand tense in his and he searched her face for any emotion but she just smiled at him, her eyes glistening. Mia closed her eyes as she tried to form the words. How in the hell was she supposed to explain everything Enrique had told her?

“About the prophecy,” Mia started and everyone turned their attention to her and she fidgeted uncomfortably under their observant gazes.

“There was a loop hole,” Enrique spoke up, feeling her discomfort and all the eyes darted to him, “I’m the brother,” he stated simply, trying to get over it.

“You’re the what?” Damon asked, disbelief in his eyes and voice as he contemplated Enrique’s statement. Mia could hear the cogwheels turning in both their heads and Stefan and Damon regarded each other and then looked at Enrique.

“Giuseppe’s son,” Stefan stood up, “You’re the son of that maid,” he said, trying to keep a straight face but contempt was evident but Enrique shrugged, not taking any offence. Probably, because he doesn’t care. It’s not his life story, Mia thought.

“Who, uh…what was her name, your mother’s?” Stefan asked, finally getting a chance to know about this part of his father’s life, he or Damon never knew.

“Sabrina,” he answered dismissively, “Sabrina Parisi.”

“Oh,” Stefan said, remembering the name but he couldn’t put a face to it. It had been long after all.

“How are you so…I don’t know, uh…alive and young? You’re not a vampire,” Elena asked because Stefan and Damon were just gawking him.

“He’s a werewolf,” Mia replied and then straightened, “was a werewolf.”

“What, you’re not one anymore?” Stefan questioned.

“No, Enrique died,” he said, stunning them all into silence again as he smirked. He was clearly enjoying their confusion and this awkward conversation.

“Ok,” Elena dragged the word and chuckled without humor, “you’re dead.”

“That’s the loophole, actually. I’m Enrique…but at the same time I’m not,” he said, smiling to himself which annoyed Mia as she shook her head.
“Stop playing, Cam and just tell them,” she said irate but Damon stood up from the couch, taking Enrique in for the first time.

“I’ll be damned,” he said in disbelief, “You’re one of the angels, aren’t you? And you took,” he pointed out, not at ease with taking his name or calling him a brother, “Uh, his body?”

“Ah!” Enrique exclaimed, “Smart one. So, you know?” he flashed his eye brows.

“That still doesn’t explain him being young,” Stefan said, looking from Enrique to Damon.

Enrique nodded in Damon’s direction, asking him to answer his brother’s question which Damon did, confidently, “When they take the bodies, they can set it to any age they want. She didn’t explain much, just said that it’s a whole different experience…hard to understand.”

“She?” Elena raised her eye brows.

“Samantha,” Damon provided and Mia’s ears perked up. He did came to tell her about his meeting with Samantha which turned into something else entirely but if she had just listened to him, she would’ve gotten to the truth a little earlier, she thought.

Mia squirmed again and scratched her back as Damon looked at her, “Are you ok? You look…uncomfortable?” he said.

She smiled at him, “I’m fine,” she said but he kept looking at her skeptically as he sat down on couch and threw his arm over her shoulder. She quickly snuggled with him, remembering the first time she did it and he smiled gratefully.

“So, what’s your name then?” Stefan asked.

“Cam,” he replied quickly and sighed, “It’s Camiel but Cam is fine.”

Elena nodded at him when Mia squirmed again and drew in a shaky breath as if in pain. “Mia?” Damon’s voice was worried and alarmed, “What is it?” he asked as he reached out his hand to touch her face, smoothing the wrinkled on the forehead.

“It…hurts,” she gasped out.

“What?” he looked at with examining eyes, “What hurts?”

“My. Back,” she let out a small scream, “Da-mon,” she huffed as the pain grew and clenched her eyes shut. Her body was rigid now, fighting the pain, her muscles locked and small beads of sweat had started to show up on her skin.

Cam rushed to her side as he looked at her in wonder, his eyes filled with amazement. Mia screamed out loud, thrashing in pain as Damon looked at her helplessly, his face twisted in worry and pain so much he looked vulnerable.

“Touch her,” Cam ordered. Damon turned his face towards him but his eyes stayed on Mia who arched her back and tried to breathe. “Touch her, Damon,” Cam said again and Damon obliged.

He pulled her in by waist and she relaxed for a moment, her rigid body going limp in his arms as he put his lips to her forehead, “Its ok. You’re going to be ok,” he chanted to her, “I’m here,” he said, assuring her that he’ll be with her and she’ll be fine.

Mia kept nodding her head absorbing his words as she put her hand on his neck and tried to breathe. The pain was subsiding and so was the burning sensation but she knew it was still there.

The whole room was silent except for Mia’s panting and Damon’s little reassurances to her and then she was shouting again for it to stop, her hand going to her back but Damon pulled it back and put them on his face, “Look at me,” he coaxed her as he touched her shoulder blades and moved his fingers down.

The hard bony edges that marked her skin send a shock to his system. He traced the V shape with his fingers from above her shirt but then she arched her back again and held Damon tightly. “What do I do?” Damon asked Cam, impatiently.

“My. Back. Is. Burning,” she said in between her breaths, “It. Hurts,” she said as her fingers grazed Damon’s face and she hid her face in the crook of his neck. The pain was too much, she couldn’t do anything. Then, there was a very familiar feeling of her falling into the blackness and as much as she dreaded it, she welcomed it.

“There’s nothing you can do. You can absorb her pain but only to an extent,” Cam replied, “But it’ll be fine. Touching you will render her unconscious and she wouldn’t feel the pain anymore.”

“That’s your best plan. Render her unconscious?” Elena almost hissed at him.

“It’s better than the pain. Her body does it when the pain becomes too much but like every other guardian angel, she needs her…uh, Damon,” he cleared his throat, “To help her through it. That’s why ‘The One’ is so important.”

“To take away the pain?” Stefan asked incredulously.

“That and also everything else. They both share the same energy now which connects them together in several of ways.”

Damon was oblivious to all the discussion as he tried to calm her down but suddenly she went very still and Damon leaned back to look at her. Her eyes were closed, her long lashes casting a shadow on her pale skin. She looked serene like she was sleeping peacefully.

“Mia?” he called for her and Cam put his hand on Damon’s shoulder.

“She’s fine. Let her sleep through it. She’ll be fine when the transformation is complete,” Cam said, his voice filled with awe and understanding.

Damon turned to look at him, “Her back…I felt the,” he still didn’t how to say it. He was just as surprised as he was when Samantha told her.

“Wings. I know,” Cam shrugged with an arrogant smile.