Why You Should Never Rescue Stray Demons Chapter 38

**OZ**

Kacia might have been all teasing smiles at the cafe and dishing out bold lies about wedding seating charts, but the moment we reach Amy Lane’s front door, she’s all business. The shift is immediate. Her shoulders square, her jaw sets, and she marches up the walkway. No hesitation. No nerves. Just laser focus.She knocks firmly, sharp and precise, none of that polite tapping nonsense. I hang back a few steps, scanning the modest little house. The garden is tidy, the car in the driveway. Someone is definitely home. Kacia frowns slightly when no one answers.

“Is she not home? There’s a car in the driveway…” She murmurs. I shake my head slowly, angling my face toward the door. 

“I can hear someone moving around inside. And I smell a shifter. Definitely wolf. Male.” I add. Her expression hardens. She nods once, then knocks again, louder this time, the sound echoing off the siding.

“Dave, I know you’re in there. Your parents sent me. They’re worried about you!” She calls, voice raised. There’s a pause, then a muffled voice calls back. Male and defensive.

“Who are you?” He demands.

“Kacia Hunter. I work with the police.” She says, projecting calm authority. 

“This is my friend Oz.” She adds. Another pause. I hear hurried whispers behind the door, too soft for humans, but I catch snatches. Nervous. Hesitant. Uncertain. 

“Do you really work with the police?” He confirms. 

“Yes.” Kacia says firmly, but her tone softens. 

“We just came straight from the station. Do you need help, Dave?” She asks. There’s a beat of silence. Then the door opens with a soft creak. Dave stands there, half blocking the doorway, his posture guarded, but everything else about him is pure golden retriever energy. Floppy blond hair, earnest brown eyes, and the kind of open, boyish face that probably gets him asked to help move furniture a lot. He’s tall and broad shouldered, dressed in track pants and a hoodie that reads ‘I paused my game to be here.’ Behind him, a woman peeks out from the hallway, her pale face partially obscured by a curtain of dark curls. She matches the description we were given of Amy perfectly. Pretty, anxious, and clearly not thrilled to see strangers at her door.

“I think… I think maybe we need your help.” Dave starts, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. Kacia nods slowly, eyes scanning them both. 

“Then we’d better come in.” She responds easily. And just like that, the door swings wider.

Kacia steps inside first, her posture relaxed but confident. She flashes a friendly, disarming smile at Amy as she passes, one of those quiet reassurance looks she gives people when she’s trying to make them feel safe. I follow a step behind. The moment I cross the threshold, I feel the shift. Dave stiffens immediately, going rigid like someone just pulled a fire alarm in his spine. In one quick movement, he places himself squarely between me and Amy, nudging her further behind him with an outstretched arm. He doesn’t growl, but he’s one glare away from it. 

“Your friend… He’s a demon!” His voice is sharp, accusing. I exhale slowly through my nose, keeping my posture non threatening. Of course. OF COURSE he’d react like this. This isn’t some hardened criminal or cocky assassin. It’s just a young, anxious wolf shifter with too many instincts and too little experience trying to protect the girl he likes. I glance at Kacia, silently checking how she wants to play this. She doesn’t miss a beat, she just shrugs casually.

“He also makes REALLY good pancakes.” She says with a light smile. I snort. I can’t help it. The sheer deadpan delivery. The absurdity of being vouched for via breakfast food. It’s ridiculous, but apparently it works. Dave falters, caught between suspicion and confusion. His frown loosens. His shoulders drop half an inch. Not all the way, but enough. Amy, meanwhile, looks like a deer in supernatural headlights. Her eyes are wide, darting between us all like she’s waiting for someone to yell cut and reveal this is some kind of prank show. Wait. Amy’s human. Or at least, she’s supposed to be. So why is she not asking follow up questions like ‘did he say demon?’ Or ‘what the hell is going on?’ No protest. No panic. Just wide eyed, quiet shock. Yeah. She knows something. Kacia notices it too.

“Okay, well, I’m glad to see you’re alive and uninjured, Dave. But what’s going on here? You know you’re not supposed to go around telling your family history to humans.” Kacia says, tone still calm but laced with something sharper. She pivots slightly toward Amy with a quick smile. 

“No offense. I’ve actually heard lovely things about you. I’m just saying, in general, it’s a bad idea.” She clarifies. Dave crosses his arms, lips thinning into a pout that does absolutely nothing to help his golden retriever aesthetic. 

“I don’t need to explain myself to anyone.” He mutters defensively. Kacia raises an eyebrow, clearly not impressed with the sulk. Then Amy clears her throat. It’s soft. Barely there. But enough.

“It’s not Dave’s fault.” She says quietly. Her hand slips around Dave’s forearm, fingers curling just above his wrist. She steps forward slightly, no longer hiding behind him.

“He wasn’t the one who told me, I figured some of it out. He just… Filled in the gaps.” She continues. I swear Dave actually blushes. The tension in Kacia’s shoulders eases. She tilts her head, assessing them both with that perceptive look she gets when she’s piecing together a situation.

“Am I right in thinking that Dave isn’t the one who needs my help?” She asks, voice gentler now. Amy nods, eyes darting down and back up again.

“Okay, then let’s sit down and you can tell us everything.” Kacia says. She leads the way into the lounge like she owns the place, and for a second, I can’t help watching her walk, sharp and sure, in complete command of the moment. And this time, Dave steps aside to let me pass.

When we’re all seated, Amy takes a deep breath, and then begins to explain. 

“It started a few months ago, I just went on a couple of dates with a guy she met in a class at uni. Nothing serious. He seemed charming at first, if a little intense, but then things got weird fast…” She pauses and takes a breath. 

“The first time he kissed me, he bit my lip.” She says softly, rubbing at the faint line on her mouth like the memory still lingers. 

“I thought it was just an accident. But then he got… Obsessed. Possessive. Like we were soulmates or something, even though we barely knew each other!” She exclaims. Kacia and I exchange a look. She already looks furious. Amy continues, her voice growing quieter. 

“I ended it. But he kept showing up. Following me around. Talking about my blood. The way it ‘smelled.’ The way it ‘tasted.’ Like I was a… A drug he couldn’t stop craving.” She frowns, like maybe that’s not the right word. My stomach sinks. That’s not just a creep, and I think I know exactly what she is describing. Dave notices my expression and nods, jaw clenched. 

“I think he’s a dhampire.” He confirms. 

“He can walk around in daylight, and he doesn’t need blood to live, but when they get a taste of someone’s blood and fixate on them, it’s like a drug. They go full junkie, right?” He glances at Kacia for confirmation and she nods. Amy looks vaguely ill. 

“He tried to grab me after work… A few days ago. I didn’t even see him coming, but Dave did. He was waiting for me.” She explains. Amy nervously reaches over and squeezes Dave’s hand. He’s trying to look calm, but his knee is bouncing like mad. 

“He fought him off.” She says, her voice turning dreamy, admiring. 

“It was like something out of a movie. He got in between us, even when Jerry hit him… And then Dave was shaking and sweating, I thought he was just scared or hurt, but then he shifted. Just a little. His eyes, his claws. That’s how I knew.” She tells us. Kacia makes an understanding humming sound. Dave gives her a sheepish look, ears going red. 

“I didn’t mean to shift. I tried not to. Really hard. But I was angry. And scared.” He confesses. 

“And amazing.” Amy adds with a smile that could probably power a small town. Dave looks like he’s about to melt into the carpet. It’s no surprise. Wolf shifters ARE very loyal and protective, especially towards their families and partners, or potential partners I guess. This dhampire triggered a ‘hellhound.’ I’m impressed Dave didn’t just completely shift. Kacia, meanwhile, has crossed her arms tightly. 

“Please tell me you filed a police report.” She says.

“We tried, but the cop just said there was nothing they could do since there wasn’t ‘proof.’ He said it was my word against his. Even after Dave told them he saw it happen.” She says, clearly annoyed. Kacia’s eyes flash. 

“When I find out who that cop was, I’m sending Mikey after them with a clipboard and a vendetta. That’s not how we treat victims.” She says hotly. Then, she pulls a card from her jacket and scribbles something on the back.

“Here.” She says, handing it to Amy. 

“That’s my friend Mikey’s direct number. He’s a detective. Tell him everything you just told me, all of it, you can tell him the truth. And I’ll talk to him too. We’ll get Jerry flagged and picked up. He needs to be arrested, and then someone needs to send him straight to vampire rehab before he spirals worse.” She says firmly. 

“Vampire rehab?” Amy asks, wide-eyed.

“Well, I don’t think they have a formal rehab, but we can get some to help him get himself under control. Although I doubt it will ever be safe for you to be around him again.” Kacia says. 

“I know someone who’d be great at mentoring him. His name’s Tracey.” She adds with a smirk and I cough to cover a laugh. I am betting that Tracey will HATE that. 

“If Jerry’s fixated on you, it’s dangerous, for both of you. But we can fix things.” Kacia promises. Amy nods slowly, visibly relieved. Kacia turns to Dave, eyebrows raised now.

“And you!” She says, pointing at him like a disappointed older sister. 

“You couldn’t have called your parents? Told them you were safe?” She demands. 

“They don’t even have a phone!” Dave protests. Kacia shrugs. 

“Then go visit them. Take Amy with you. I bet your mom will be thrilled. She’ll probably cry. Possibly bake.” She says, like it’s the natural thing to do. Dave goes beet red. Amy giggles behind her hand. Mission accomplished I guess. I hide a grin and lean toward Kacia, murmuring just loud enough for her to hear. 

“I guess Dave will be bringing a date to our fake wedding after all darling.” I hover a little longer than is strictly necessary. Kacia elbows me in the ribs without even looking at me. Totally worth it.