Juniper's feet padded against the hard wood floor, the men gathered at a large table all glanced up.

The blue haired woman's gaze was steely,  Seraphina holding tightly to her arm behind her.

"Juniper," Raphael grunted. He nodded his head for her to come closer, he pulled a chair out for her.

Juniper was eyeing him suspiciously but Warren came up to give her a tight hug. He told her how he was glad she was okay.

The woman nodded gratefully all while keeping eye contact with the irritated berserker staring at them.

Slowly she left his arms and sat reluctantly besides her mate.

"We need to figure this out," Raphael husked out. Everyone took seats around them, Juniper toyed with the boxers she was wearing.

"Any information you can give me would help," Raphael's words were strained. Phoenix had drilled it into his brain that he had to be gentle with her. Phoenix spoke about how she was scared.

But when Raphael thought of Juniper, gentle and scared were not words that's came to mind.

She side eyed him, "I have people trying to kill me. They're just too stupid to do it right." Her tone was casual, her manicured nails began tapping the wood of the table.

Both of her friends slapped a hand over their face.

"I know that part," Raphael leaned closer. He was hoping to use the bond to his advantage, she would give him more information if she was comfortable.

Rolling her gray eyes, she grit her teeth before finally taking a deep breath.

"A couple months ago, I was traveling. I have been for a few years. I was in a shop, it was small and pretty remote. I just needed some supplies to last me a day trip, herbs for a cold or something stupid like that-" Juniper looked to see Raphael and everyone else listening intently.

"This witch, the fucking cunt-" They watched her clench her fists. Frustrated tears gathered at her eyes, Raphael felt his chest tighten and his fingers twitch.

"She was the type of witch to see the future in visions. I didn't know that at the time. She was nosy too, acted nice to get close enough to touch my shoulder. That's how she'd see someone's future, skin contact. She saw something she didn't like. That night my campsite was raided by a whole coven of witches. Got pretty close to killing me, luckily I'm hard to catch in the night."

Her cloudy eyes glanced at Raphael under her lashes, she turned her body to face him completely. Lifting the shirt she borrowed, a long scar marred her dark skin, she bared it all to her mate. The skin was smooth and otherwise flawless expect a long scar running from one hip to the other.

"Tried to gut me, ain't that a bitch?" she huffed quietly. A traitorous tear slid down her supple cheek.

Juniper visibly flinched when Raphael reached to wipe it, it didn't stop him as ran his thumb over the streak.

"They haven't stopped ever since. This place was my last resort."

The room was quiet.

"So, Mr. Saint," Juniper drawled tiredly, taking a deep breath as she gained back her composure. "What's my next move? Since you're in charge apparently," she mocked with a humorless smirk.

He gave her an unamused look, reaching and gripping the bottom of her chair. He dragged her closer, so her small frame was between his parted legs.

Juniper's breath hitched. Her eyes widening, swallowing to keep her sanity.

"You'll be staying with me," he leaned in. His eyes were trained on her own lips, mere inches were between their faces.

"You're not telling me everything, hm?" he growled lowly as he examined her features.

Juniper didn't respond.

"You're staying here. They might think you're dead, so whoever is after you might lay low. This is the safest place for you, it's guarded. We have a scent of the man who shot you. He got away," Raphael shot an irritated look to Phoenix.

"Until this is resolved, we keep our situation to ourselves. You're not the only one people want dead."

Juniper rolled her lips, thinking over what he said.

"And if I refuse?"

"It wasn't an option, Juniper."

She sucked on her pouty bottom lip, Raphael's chest rumbling lowly as he watched.

"So I just sit on my ass until you decide what to do next?"

Raphael frowned, "We have plenty of things to go over to fix your situation. We won't be sitting around."

She leaned forward, Raphael's eyes widened a little. She rest her hands on either side of his chair, "And then what?"

Raphael didn't answer, looking at her closely.

"I think you're in over your head, Saint. But since your the boss around here," Juniper's voice was soft and teasing as she spoke only to Raphael. She lifted her chin so their noses almost nudged one another.

"I'm tired," she suddenly fell back just as Raphael began leaning in, as if in a trance. "Do you need me to move to another room?"

"No," Raphael gruffed in a low voice. "You can stay there."

Juniper nodded, "Warren can you bring my things from Seraphina's? I don't think it's best for me to go out."

"Phoenix and I will get it," Raphael announced and stood up. He brushed past her, sending her a heated look over his shoulder as he left.

Phoenix was wide eyed but quickly followed, grabbing Seraphina's hand to bring her along.

The nymph gasped and parted with a rushed wave to her friend. Juniper was caught a little off guard but hummed nonetheless.

She motioned for Warren to help her up. Once he aided her up the steps, when they reached the door of Raphael's room she stopped him.

She stopped him from coming in the bedroom. She didn't want Warren invading Raphael's space or mingling another man's scent with his own, "Thanks. I'm going to lay down for a bit, will you be here when I feel better?"

Warren nodded with a small smile, "I'll be downstairs."

Juniper laid face first into the soft bed, soaking in Raphael's scent.

She crawled up and onto the side that smelled most like him, it wasn't even a minute later that she was falling asleep. The best sleep she's had in months.

When Raphael came back with bags under his arms, he didn't spare anyone a hello. He walked straight up the stairs and to his bedroom that trailed his mates scent.

He paused at the small lump under the covers, minuscule compared to the large mattress.

A quiet sigh fell from his lips, that sound alone roused Juniper from her nap.

She sat up drowsily, squinting at the berserker.

She watched him set the bags down, eyes following him tiredly as he sat on the end of the bed. He leant against one of the four posters of the bed frame.

She also sat up, leaning against the headboard. Juniper was drowsy, more so than usual probably because of all her body has been through.

She hugged his pillow to her chest, shameless as she rest her chin on it and stared back at him.

He felt amusement at the sight but his face remained stoic, "You like the bed?"

She nodded while rubbing her eyes.

The endearing sight was completely foreign to all he has seen from Juniper so far, his breath hitched. Raphael was tempted to check if he was having a heart attack. He rubbed at his chest while quietly observing her.

"We have to talk about the mate process."

She sighed and slumped back, "We've done so much talking."

"Not hardly enough," he responded with a raised brow.

"I haven't even... met someone with a soulmate in years. Let alone a shadow demon with a mate, I need to know what to expect."

Juniper blinked tiredly, he watched as a different look in her eyes showed.

She pushed herself up onto all fours, crawling closer to him. Raphael swallowed before she sat back on her haunches, he was painfully aware of the fact that she'd taken off his boxers at some point.

Her hands dangled between her thighs, she looked over his body.

"Depends what you want to do with me."

"What?" he forced out as he tore his eyes up to her own.

"Do you want to reject me? You've accepted the bond," Raphael's face showed surprise.

"It's an unconscious thing, I did it the night we met. Since you've accepted the bond, rejection would be more painful for the both of us."

Raphael had steadily moved closer to her as she spoke, meeting her in the middle of the bed.

"And if I don't reject you?"

"Then I'd tell you how the process goes."

"You haven't rejected me yet," he observed. Juniper frowned and toyed with the duvet they sat on. She licked her lips nervously.

"Despite our issues," she gave him a stern look. "I feel like this whole thing has taken away a lot from me. I want something for me, even if it is a stupid berserker mate. Things are just complicated."

"The easy thing would be to reject you and deal with the problem," Raphael muttered while watching her tap her fingers slowly.

"It would be."

She glanced up as he sighed, running a hand through his hair. She watched his arms flex with the simple movement.

"I've never done things the easy way."

Juniper scoffed lightly, fighting a smirk while brushing her hair over her shoulder.

"You want to know how this whole thing goes?"

He nodded once.

"We've got a grace period of getting to know each other. About a month or two before the desire to mark you will... become too much to say the least. I think you can mark me, it'll come down to spur of the moment from what I've heard. Whatever your demon prefers."

The idea of marking Juniper as his own had his inner berserker going feral in his mind. Juniper didn't notice how his eyes swirled with black, fighting off the desire.

"We'll be marked, more time goes by before the marking triggers the heat. Shadow demons aren't really like the wolves or lycans, we don't need to have sex to avoid being in pain. I just- I just will get moody and you'll be the solution to that. I'll be really fucking horny," Juniper crooked her jaw in thought as Raphael choked a little.

"After we mate during heat everything will be set in stone. We could theoretically mark and mate now, but sex during the heat is what binds us for the rest of our lives," her words weighed heavy as she said them out loud.

"You could reject me at any point until that mating during heat. The survival rate will just plummet the longer you wait. Well, more so for me than you since your berserker. So, get it over now if your just doing this to fuck with me."

Both their faces were unreadable. Raphael inhaled slowly, "Are you hiding anything else from me?" He knew the answer was yes.

Juniper nodded her head, "I'll tell you when I'm ready and you're ready."

He scowled, "How long are you going to wait? If it's as important as your life I have a right to know."

She rubbed her face with both hands, "I know. Just give me a little bit, it's not the run of the mill stuff alright?"

He huffed in mild annoyance but nodded a single time.

"You know being mated to me means we can't have children? Is that really something you want?" The words were hard for him to speak out loud, mildly concerned it would scare her off before they even truly begun.

Juniper swallowed harshly, darting her eyes down to the bed again. "I'm not worried about that."

Raphael almost felt relieved, "How do we do this?" He gestured between the two of them.

Juniper shrugged, "Fuck if I know. Just stop being mean to me."

He nudged her with his knee , "When you stop being mean to me."

She waved him off, they both looked at the door when scratching could be heard.

"Go let my dog in," she nudged him back.

Raphael furrowed his brow, "I don't want a dog in my room."

"You're already in here, stupid," she huffed and stood to let Bear in as well.

Raphael scoffed and sent her a look.