Innocent Devil’s Harem Taboo Ch. 16

I smiled slightly at her. "Yeah, that would be awkward," I agreed, only to do a double-take when I realized she'd lost some of her color. Or rather, she looked a bit more normal.

"What's wrong?" she asked in alarm, her coloring instantly looking as vibrant as ever. Her hair so red it was almost glowing, her emerald eyes similarly super bright, her skin a deep tan.

"Oh, sorry," I said after a second. "It's just, I think your hair was starting to look more normal. Your skin too, before I freaked you out."

"Oh," she replied in surprise, holding up her arms, focusing on the one with the torn sleeve.

Nothing happened.

"Maybe try taking a deep breath and relaxing," I suggested, deciding to get to my feet and pull up my shorts.

She nodded, her huge chest puffing out as she sucked in a breath, slowly letting it out as she rolled her shoulders once, attempting to relax. Slowly, her skin started becoming a little more pale, as if her tan was fading away, her red hair dimming in saturation as if she was a picture on my phone that I was messing with.

Then, all at once, she abruptly shifted the rest of the way, suddenly looking completely normal.

Her skin was pale, her hair was still bright red, but not like it had been, and her eyes were now...

Still vibrant green -- that seemed to be the only difference.

Her eyes were really bright before, but not like this. Still, overall, she looked like she was entirely back to her normal appearance.

Gabriella blinked a few times, seeming to notice the abrupt transition, focusing on me after a moment. "Huh," she commented, holding up her arms a little higher to look at her skin again. "That was..." She paused. "Different. I think I can do it 'at will' now," she added, only for her appearance to abruptly shift a second time.

Just like that, she had the stripper look, her skin tan, her hair looking dyed bright red.

She continued after a second. "I can feel it."

"You can?" I said in surprise. "What does it feel like?" After all, I had no recollection of ever being normal, so I had nothing to compare it to.

Shifting back to her pale complexion, she crossed her arms under her heavy chest, seeming pensive now. "Well, it's sort of like I have a new muscle I can flex. Except, it's everywhere. I can feel even my organs shift inside me when I flex it, which is a really bizarre sensation." She uncrossed her arms to look at her right one again. "Granted, it's probably not a muscle, but that's kind of what it feels like." She then focused on me. "Although, it makes sense that you'd have a hard time appearing normal under threatening or arousing circumstances."

"It does? Why?"

She gave me an affectionate smile. "Because that's what muscles do naturally when people are stressed. They tighten, as a reflex. And even though this isn't really a muscle, it probably activates in a similar manner. You can choose to do it, but in certain situations, I'd imagine it becomes difficult not to."

Gabriella then walked up to me, abruptly grabbing my hand without warning as fast as she could. Jerking it back in surprise, she smirked at me.

"See? Just like that. Did you mean to pull back?"

I frowned as I considered that. "No, I guess not. It was more like a reflex."

"Exactly!" she said cheerfully. "That's exactly what it was. Something you couldn't control."

My eyes widened slightly at her unexpected change in mood, with her seeming super excited and happy now. It forced a smile out of me, almost making me forget all the tension I felt. "How do you know so much about all this?" I wondered.

"Anatomy and Physiology!" she chimed, abruptly kicking her heels together and saluting me. She then giggled at her own gesture.

"Are you alright?" I asked seriously.

Her cheer instantly vanished, looking at me in confusion. "Yeah, why?"

"Well..." I reached up and rubbed the back of my neck briefly. "Your emotions just kind of seem to be jumping all over the place. It wasn't so noticeable earlier, but kind of seems to be getting worse. It's like one minute your sad, the next you're horny, and the next you're happy." I paused. "No offense."

Her cheer immediately returned. "None taken!" she exclaimed, only for her expression to immediately become serious. Her tone was super serious. And thoughtful. "I do feel a little emotionally fickle right now though," she admitted. "Like, I'm really excited to be with you, and I'm excited to be like you. And I also kind of want to fuck you." She gave me an apologetic look, as if she was saying sorry for wanting to wait. "But I also feel guilty about what I did to Serenity. And I'm really stressed about the unknown. Specifically, I'm afraid of hurting you without meaning to, since there might be something dangerous about me if I really am part-succubus." She sighed, reaching up to tap her temple, her gaze on the ground. "It's a big swirl of conflicting feelings in here at the moment. And it feels easy to switch gears on which one has my focus."

I nodded, not responding verbally as I reached out slowly and pulled her into my arms, wrapping her fully in my embrace as I inhaled a deep breath of her suddenly increasing aroma. We were both quiet for half a minute before she continued.

"We should probably get back," she whispered, her own hug a little loose.

"You still love me though, right?" I asked seriously, her body language making me have doubt.

She looked up at me in surprise. "Love you? Of course, I still love you." She then sighed. "Kai, please don't make me feel guilty for trying to put on the brakes a little. I'll fuck you as much as you want after I've talked to my mom, but I need to know that it's safe for you." She paused. "Or were you just exaggerating when you said it felt like I was messing with your head?" she asked seriously.

I took a deep breath. "No, I was serious," I admitted. "And I'm not trying to make you feel guilty. I just didn't think a hug was going to hurt anything."

Gabriella abruptly gave me a tight squeeze, only to grin up at me, her tone coming out a little sarcastic. "Kai, you could barely handle me touching you only yesterday. So forgive me for being hesitant to even give you a sincere hug."

I smirked at her. "Okay, I guess you have a point."

"Yep!" she agreed cheerfully, her expression rapidly becoming serious again. "But we really should get back. I want to make sure Serenity is doing okay."

"Sure," I agreed, loosening my embrace so she could pull away. I then grabbed her hand, thankful when she intertwined her fingers in mine, a big grin plastered on her face as we began walking back. On the way, we passed the mauled deer, and Gabriella made a point to make sure we grabbed my sister's gun where I'd dropped it.

After making sure the safety was on and sticking it in my shorts, we continued on, walking mostly in silence, simply enjoying each other's company on our way back. At one point, she abruptly let go of my hand to throw herself against my chest, wrapping her arms tightly around my torso, before pulling away just as quickly and snagging my hand again.

I decided not to question it, not wanting her to feel bad about her behavior, instead just focusing on the fact that she was wanting to nonverbally communicate to me how much she loved and wanted me.

When we returned to my backyard, she gave me an abrupt kiss on the lips and then took off like a bat out of hell, rushing through the backdoor with a huge grin on her face like she expected me to chase her. I considered doing so, but decided against it when I realized Nick was still here.

Not that I was trying to get rid of him necessarily, but I'd been so focused on testing my limitations that I hadn't even considered the fact I was putting my sister in a situation where she'd have to be alone in the house with him. Granted, I supposed I was hoping she'd ask him to leave sooner, rather than later.

Even though I had plenty of reason to believe my sister was going to explain to me later why we couldn't be together, I also really didn't want her to start dating anyone else anytime soon.

If ever.

When I walked through the door and down the hallway past the stairs, I found Gabriella hesitating in the foyer, seeming guilty again. The look prompted me to recall that I had my own reasons to feel guilty as well, since my 'hypnotic eyes' might have actually been the reason why my sister kissed me.

Thus, I couldn't help but mimic her expression as I joined her side and we both walked into the kitchen together.

Surprisingly, my sister seemed fine, minus the bandage on her arm, her expression normal when we made an appearance. Alternatively, Nick was sitting across from her at the table, an empty plate in front of him from breakfast, seeming a little glum.

"Oh, hey!" Serenity exclaimed in surprise, focusing on Gabriella. "You look normal again!"

"Yeah," she agreed quietly. "Seems I can control it now," she added, looking ashamed, her vibrant emerald gaze lowered.

"Gabriella, look at me," my sister said gently. "I'm alright. It's really not that bad."

My girlfriend sighed. "I just feel so horrible about it," she whispered.

Serenity gave her a sympathetic look, only to focus on me, seeing that I was pretty dejected too. "Did something bad happen?" she wondered seriously, clearly directing her words at me now.

I shook my head. "I mean, not really. I just feel bad about earlier."

Her deep brown eyes widened incrementally, reading between the lines, knowing what I was actually referring to. She then tried to change the subject. "So, then how did it go?" she pressed.

Nick perked up a little. "Actually, I'm really curious about that too," he said, leaning forward in his seat.

I glanced at Gabriella. "Oh, well, actually that didn't go well. Nothing bad," I clarified when they both looked confused. "But it seems that what happened to Gabriella wasn't a fluke. Once I lost enough blood, I passed out and pretty much did the same thing. Woke up running."

"Oh..." Serenity's voice trailed off. "But no one got hurt, right?" she wondered, looking at Gabriella with concern now.

My girlfriend decided to respond. "No, he didn't attack anyone. Only the deer he caught. And he completely ignored me." She paused, glancing up at me. "Basically, like how I ignored him earlier. Coming downstairs instead..."

I nodded. "Yeah, and it looks like once I had enough blood, I regained consciousness pretty quickly. I mean, I can run pretty fast, so I'd gone a decent distance, but..." I focused on Gabriella again.

"Honestly, not sure about the time," she replied automatically. "But maybe a minute at most?" she added with a shrug. "After you were done drinking its blood."

Nick sighed heavily. "Well, I guess that means you better be careful not to get hurt. But at least it sounds like animal blood will truly work. It would be extremely problematic if it had to be human blood. Getting your hands on that wouldn't be easy."

"Agreed," I replied, only to focus on my sister. "So, now what do we do about your bite? Just wait to see what happens?"

Serenity and Nick exchanged a glance, before my sister looked back at Gabriella. "How did you feel after Kai bit you last night?"

Gabriella was pensive for a moment, crossing her arms again. Nick glanced down at her chest in response to the motion, almost as a reflex, but quickly glanced at me and then back at her face. I ignored it, not about to start worrying about trying to control people gawking at her. Otherwise, I'd have a problem every time we went out in public.

After a few seconds, my girlfriend responded. "Well, when he was drinking my blood, I started feeling really cold and tired. It wasn't too bad at first, but I barely managed to stay awake on the way home last night." She sighed. "And then it was all I could do to make it upstairs before I crashed." She gave my sister an apologetic look. "I tried to stay up longer, but it was like I couldn't keep my eyes open at a certain point. Might have just been stress though, and maybe a reaction from the blood loss."

Serenity frowned at that. "Well, so far I feel completely normal." She looked at me. "Are you still up for a trip to the bank?"

My eyes widened slightly. "Are you sure? We can wait."

She shook her head. "I'd really like to go with you, and this is the only day I could do it, because of work. I mean, I could take a day off if I had to, but would really prefer to avoid doing so." She sighed. "Plus, if this bite is going to end up making me like you, then we shouldn't have to worry about me looking different until tonight." She paused. "I mean, when you went upstairs this morning, Gabriella still looked normal, right?"

I nodded. "Yeah, she did," I replied, glancing at her, before focusing back on my sister.

"And Gabriella can come too," Serenity added, seeming to assume that's what was on my mind.

"Oh." I hadn't even thought about that part. Her going out in public could actually be problematic if she couldn't control her emotions enough to avoid transforming. I glanced at her again. "Do you think you can keep your appearance normal?" I asked seriously.

Gabriella laughed, unexpectedly grabbing my hand and beginning to rub her thumb affectionately over mine. I gave her a confused look, only for the gesture and her intense expression to begin causing my hair to flash white.

She then grinned. "I think I'm better at this than you are!" she said cheerfully, only for her to let go and begin intentionally causing her hair to brighten, even as her skin grew tan. "See?" she added triumphantly, rapidly shifting back to normal.

I scoffed at her teasing, unable to look at my sister now, feeling embarrassed at having her witness all that. I mean, if I'd realized what Gabriella was going for, then I probably would have pulled away before she had that effect on me.

I was almost glad when Nick seemed confused, more than happy to explain what was going on in order to avoid focusing on my sister's reaction.

"Usually strong emotions can make me start transforming, even when I don't want to. She was just showing that she's in better control than I am."

"Ah, okay," Nick replied. "I was suspecting it was something like that, but I didn't want to ask in case there was only one reason."

My eyes widened in surprise, only for it to transition to renewed embarrassment, my skin graying underneath my shirt. "Umm, no. Being afraid, anxious, angry, or anything else similar can have that effect. I've always avoided horror movies, since the startle can make it happen too."

"Oh Kai," Serenity whispered. "I'm so sorry."

I looked at her in confusion. "Why?" I wondered seriously.

She sighed. "I just wished I'd known. I mean, I'm not really into horror movies either, but just everything makes so much sense now, and I just wish I'd known," she repeated.

I sighed, deciding to change the subject as I glanced up at the clock, seeing it was already past nine. "So when do you want to leave?"

Serenity mimicked my sigh. "Umm, well, I guess whenever. Preferably before ten. Gabriella can wear one of my shirts," she added. "But you need to change yours Kai."

I glanced down, realizing I still had a little visible blood on mine.

"Right," I agreed, wondering if I should hop in the shower too.

Nick chimed in then, seeming somber again. "Well, I suppose I should get going if that's the case." He paused, focusing on my sister. "Maybe let me know how it goes tonight?"

"Sure," she offered. "Might have to let you know when I see you on Monday though."

"Okay yeah, that's fine," he agreed, looking depressed as hell, and not doing a very good job of hiding it.

Honestly, I kind of felt bad for him, but this was my sister we were talking about, and they'd literally just met a day or two ago. And even if they'd known each other longer, it was still my sister.

Who I admittedly was infatuated with and wanted for myself...

Dammit.

If only.

Taking a deep breath, I spoke up. "Well, I think I'm going to jump in the shower," I commented. I then focused on Nick. "Thanks, by the way. For everything. Sorry to be rude to you last night. I was just really upset."

"Nah, man, it's fine. Someone kidnapped your sister. You had plenty of reason to be upset." He grimaced. "I'm just really bothered by who was responsible. Like, I've been thinking about it, and I kind of wonder if the first guy might have been involved too."

Gabriella and I immediately exchanged a glance, before I looked at my sister as well.

"You know," Gabriella began slowly, still looking at me. "When we went to the mall yesterday, this really big dude came over to us and almost seemed like he was intentionally trying to provoke Kai. Even grabbed my arm when Kai didn't initially say anything." She began directing her words at me. "And then you said he looked accomplished, right?"

I nodded. "Yeah, he seemed triumphant, like he'd achieved his goal."

"Oh really?" Nick said in surprise, reaching up to scratch his chin. "So what happened?"

"Umm, I sort of showed him my eyes," I admitted. "Scared him off."

Nick slowly inclined his chin, seeming pensive. "Then, I really hate to admit this, but it's possible all of this was orchestrated by the man you killed last night."

My eyes widened in shock, as I focused on Gabriella again. "Including her kidnapping?" I asked seriously, talking to him while I focused on her.

"Yeah, unfortunately," he replied. "I, umm..." He cleared his throat. "Well, I'd already made the connection that Serenity was on all the cases, and while I had everything encrypted, the guy was a genius. I hate to admit it, but I feel like I might have led him right to you. Which means he might have went for Gabriella to try to draw you out."

"So," I began hesitantly, trying to understand what he was implying, since obviously Gabriella and I hadn't been dating a couple of days ago. "You think that he targeted my sister's best friend simply because Serenity had a connection to the cases."

He nodded. "Doubtful he thought it was necessarily you specifically at that point, instead just assuming that she might know the Impaler. But after you saved Gabriella, he might have hired someone to provoke you at the mall, to see how you'd react." He frowned. "The only question is, was the man just making a random guess, or did he have reason to suspect it was you?" he wondered, the question sounding rhetorical.

Holy shit, Nick sincerely was smart!

Because the man from last night did have reason to believe it was me, after he sent a second serial killer after us, only for that fake-cop to 'disappear' after coming over to my house...when Serenity was at work too.

But then, that just meant that the man -- who I noticed Nick was intentionally avoiding referring to him as his biological father -- had been keeping an eye on us somehow from a distance.

After all, the guy would have had to be keeping some kind of surveillance to know when we left the house, as well as knowing which mall we ended up going to.

Honestly, I was glad he was dead, but realizing this had all been an orchestrated crime made me paranoid now.

"You do think it's really over, right?" I wondered seriously. "Like, do you think that guy from last night was calling all the shots? Or do you think there might be more danger?"

Serenity and Gabriella both looked at me in alarm, before focusing on Nick at the same time.

He didn't seem phased, scratching his chin as he sincerely considered it. "I think it's a pretty low chance there are more people involved. Probably a good idea to still lock your doors at night of course, but I'd be sincerely shocked to discover this whole thing wasn't all him."

Serenity spoke up. "Well, we always lock our doors," she commented.