Sun and sand.

Zakhar's heat had finally ended, the man had become far less demanding and Belial had spent a couple of days sleeping, completely undisturbed, if anyone had of woken him they would've found themselves promptly missing limbs.

Grudgingly he pulled himself out of bed with a soft groan, the smell of sex still lingered heavily in the room, he hadn't bothered to tidy up as of yet, torn clothes and broken toys still littered the floor.

The Demon would have someone come to clean it shortly. However at the moment he had over things on his mind.

The sky outside was bright, a typical warm Italian day, something he planned on making the most of.

Belial padded over to the wardrobe and began opening draws until he pulled out a bikini.
A small smirk quirked across his lips, perhaps not the best bathing suit for this form.

Immediately he shifted and took on a female form, humming cheerily to herself as her now over sized pajama pants slid off of her body.

Lia slipped on her swim suit, covering it with a rather short, slate summer dress, regardless of the season, it was always warm in Italy.

She walked down the halls as she tied her hair up, Zakhar hadn't entered her room in a few days, probably for his own safety, waking a Demon from their slumber is never a good idea.

She paused at the end of the hallway and headed towards Zakhar's room, easy enough to find since she could practically track him no matter where he went.

Standing outside of the room she brought her hand up and knocked, one of the rare times that the Demon didn't just appear randomly in the room.

Zakhar laid curled up with Evgeni and Lino in his large bed.

As much as he loved being with Belial, he missed spending so much time with his Slaves. Evgeni was being far more submissive than he used to and Lino was just as submissive as he always was; nothing had changed with him taking on a Master himself.

His fingers were stroking through the younger Lycan's hair gently when someone knocked on the door.

He looked up, debating on just leaving it and staying in bed with the other Lycans. But the other inhabitants of the room were still asleep and whoever was outside probably wouldnt leave them alone.

With a soft sigh, he slid from between the other two Lycan and pulled the blankets up over them, smiling softly. He pulled on a pair of boxers and padded to the door.

"Lia," he murmured in surprised when his eyes fell upon the woman.

He had expected her to be asleep for a little while longer. Another day or two. She had wanted a lot of sleep after the ruckus of Mating Season.

"The one and only."

She replied, smiling up at the Lycan, her gaze straying to the two men curled up in bed, her smile softening softly, that must have been Zakhar's other slave, she had already met Evgeni, though not on good terms.

Her words hushed a little to avoid waking the others in the room, she forgot that others shared rooms in the mansion, something that Tony had quickly denied the Demon.

"I was just about to head into town, I was wondering if you wanted to join me, but you have company."

His lips parted to answer her before he glanced back at the Wolves curled in his bed.

Did he want to go out with Belial and leave his boys alone after the three days of bonding they had done?

Yes. No. Yes...

He tilted his head to the side, beckoning the Demon into his room and closing it behind her. "I won't be long. Where are we going?"

The man strolled back towards the bed, laying one gentle hand on Lino's shoulder, rousing him gently from his sleep. "I'm going out for a while," he murmured softly in the boy's ear, taking on Italian rather than his usual English. "I want you and Evgeni to stay in the room and get to know each other. Do you understand, Lino?"

When the boy nodded and murmured softly, he stood again and turned to Belial.

Lia stepped into the room, her eyes trailing over the boys in bed, the little one sparked her interest, he seemed so small and breakable but he must be resilient enough.

She could catch Zakhar's scent on him, not just on his skin but in his very being, he must have been one of Zakhar's changelings.

"After being stuck indoors for so long I was thinking of heading down to the beach for a swim, then into town for something to eat."

The Demon hadn't left the room in a few days, not even to eat, sleep came first.

Zakhar's nose wrinkled a little at the idea of going out to eat.

He didn't think there'd be many - if any - Russian places in Catania. It meant he had to try different foods. He wasn't too keen on experimenting with foods when he was out.

"To the beach?" It had been a while since he had gone to the beach. He enjoyed a little sunbathing and swimming occasionally.

With a little hum, he turned to his wardrobe and rifled through it.

He slid his boxers down over his hips and pulled a simple pair of black boardshorts from the wardrobe, pulling them on before turning to his bedside table, pulling one of the drawers open to retrieve a hairband, pulling his hair up into a messy ponytail.

His eyes fell on Lia as he sat down on the edge of the bed and pulled on his usual heavy combat boots.

"Don't scrunch up your nose, nothing you can get out there is going to be worse than your cooking."

She replied to his facial expression with a small laugh as she leaned against the wall, playing with the tips of her hair which was currently tied up in a high pony tail.

"Mhmm, sun, sand, water, sounds like a nice change, if I have to look at my bedroom for a minute longer I am going to massacre a small village."

She joked with a little grin, it was well within her power to do so but her levels of boredom had not dropped that far yet.

Lia hummed softly as she walked over to Zakhar as he put on his boots, curling his pony tail around her fingers.

"I like your hair tied back."

He pursed his lips when she mentioned his terrible cooking.

Granted but at least he cooked things he liked when they turned out edible. He didn't know whether he would like what he ordered when he didn't know what it was.

His lips quirked upwards into a little grin. They had spent a lot of time in that room over the last three weeks.

The Lycan's eyes flickered up when she began playing his his hair.

"I only do it for convenience." He didnt care much about his hair. As long it was out of his face when he was out and about he was content.

"Typical man, totally uncaring when it comes to your own appearance."

She mused as she gave his pony tail a small tug and leaned over, kissing the top of his head softly.

Granted Lia didn't have to put excessive amounts of effort into her appearance, make-up and other such vanity items really weren't needed when you could look how ever you wanted to in the blink of an eye.

"He's cute."
She muttered softly as she looked back over at Lino, a small smile gracing her lips.

"Is there much point with how I look?"

He could dress his hair and clothing as much as he liked but he'd always have the scars marring his face. People would turn away in disgust or stare openly at his scars no matter what he looked like.

There was no point putting in the effort if he'd still get the same reaction wherever he went or whatever he did.

He smiled softly when she kissed his head.

Zakhar hummed. "I found him on the streets. We... were similar. I kept him."

"With how you look?"

She asked, genuinely confused by his question.
Lia did not see the scars as something marring his appearance, if anything she saw them as an enhancement.

Ancient Demon's were not such superficial creatures, they had seen enough soul shattering things in their lives to be able to see beauty with in everything they gaze upon.

In Belial's honest and unbiased opinion, Zakhar was extremely good looking.

"He looks so small and young, I can see why you would want to keep him close."

He arched a brow at her.

Was she being serious or stupid?

It was obvious what he meant like that. Not everyone thought scars were a build of character. Most people thought scars were disgusting and no matter how you dress up a scar, its still a scar.

He didnt care much about them himself.

"He is young. Not even nineteen. Still only a baby to the world."

Lino had a lot ahead of him in his life.

The Lycan stood and stretched his arms over his head before smiling down at Lia. "Shall we go?"

Her head tilted slightly as he arched a brow at her, chuckling softly as she shook her head.

"You think the silliest things Zakhar. You think their is no point taking pride in your appearance because of a few little scars?

I wish I was as good looking as you are, that would be a blessing."

She added, running her hand over his head. These forms were not what Belial really looked like, it was how she let the world see her.

Lia smiled back up at him and gave him a soft nod.
"Yes, lets go."
She replied, taking his hand and leading him towards the door.

He shook his head a little.

"Those few little scars mean a lot to some people." Scars meant danger. Danger meant they should stay away.

He looked like he was ageing gracefully in his late thirties. He had the odd line on his face and his eyes didn't have the bright sparkle of youth like they once did. His hair was still thick and coal black. His teeth were all present and accounted for.

He didn't much care how he looked. He got by in life, who cared about what he looked like?

His hand squeezed hers gently as he turned a little smile down at her again.

"You know what I have come to realize in my many years on Earth?
most people are idiots."

She replied with a soft chuckle, anyone who thought less of Zakhar because of a few little scars was obviously not worth knowing in the first place.

"How do you want to travel, car, walking, or via Lia express?"

The Demon asked, looking up at him through her fringe of dark hair, in this form he was quite a bit taller than she was, it made for an interesting change, having to look up at him.

Wasn't that the truth.

People were idiots. All of them were, just to varying degrees. He and Belial just managed to stay on the upper end of idiocy.

"I'd like to walk."

It was a beautiful day. He'd like to just go out and stroll through the forests to get into the city. It would be a nice change from using a car or Belial's teleporting. He'd love the feel of the breeze dancing through his hair.

His silver eyes turned down to her and he smiled a little.

She gave a soft nod and squeezed his hand gently as she led him to the front exit.

"That sounds nice."

She replied, all too often the Demon would rely on teleporting everywhere she wanted to go, it was a rarity that she took the time to actually walk around.

A smile graced her lips as the sun and breeze swept over them as they made their way outside into the garden.

It really was a lovely day and the perfect way the end the chaos of mating season.

Lia gave a contented sigh and leaned against him, nestling into his side as they walked.

His arm slid around her shoulders, pulling her a little closer as she nuzzled against his side.

He liked this. The calm peacefulness. The past three weeks had been chaotic. Nothing but sex and screaming and fighting.

This was calm. Serene.

Zakhar leaned down, guiding her face up to kiss her gently.

One of the few kisses they had shared that wasn't demanding or lustful. A gentle little kiss shared between two emotionally close people.

It had been a long time since she had, had a Slave or submissive of any kind that she could be like this with.

But Zakhar wasn't a normal Slave, the man understood her and her needs more than most, their lifestyles were very similar and they had been together for quite a while now.

She kissed him back softly, her hand reaching up to cradle against his face, her dainty fingers stroking over his cheek tenderly as her other arm wrapped around his waist as they walked.

Zakhar liked that he could be tender like this with his Mistress.

He liked diversity in his relationships. He liked that he could have the rough controlling Sessions and still be able to steal gentle hugs and soft kisses when they weren't in Sessions.

He couldn't do this with Lino or Evgeni. This was amazing. A feeling that he would never grow used to or take for granted.

Every soft kiss was a treasure to worship.

She pulled away from the kiss slowly, smiling up at him brightly, leaning up a little higher to press a soft kiss to the tip of his nose before getting off of her tip-toes.

Lia looked up at him with a gentle giggle, pushing a strand of hair out of her face and over her shoulder and she continued to walk with him, the arm around him holding in close to her.

Zakhar knew the boundaries well, what ever she allowed him to do outside of sessions rarely leaked into their sessions anymore, it was nice to have someone to be close to in such a relaxed manner that could still sate her sexual needs.

His nose wrinkled a little when she pressed a kiss to it, a grin pulling at his lips.

A soft chuckle sounded in response to her little giggle. They acted more like lovers than a Master and her Slave outside of their Sessions.

A grin spread across his lips as an idea came to his mind.

The Lycan's arms slid around the woman, hoisting her up and spinning her around, laughing as he dashed forwards towards the city with her in his arms, face lowering to nuzzle his nose against hers.

he could be so much more free and relaxed now. He loved it.

Lia gave a surprised yelp as he hoisted her up into his arms and span her around, her arms wrapping around his neck and she broke into a soft laugh.

Zakhar was a completely different person when you saw him like this, so care free and relaxed around her, yet she knew if she gave him an order he would comply.

They could be relaxed like this and it didn't lessen her claim on him at all, if anything it simply strengthened his devotion to her.

She nuzzled against him, her hand running through the back of his hair softly.

His running slowed to a gentle stroll again, a grin steal spread widely across his lips.

The more time they spend together outside of Sessions, the closer he felt to her. Even after that close call a few days ago, right now he felt like he'd stay with her for as long as she allowed him to.

He was utterly devoted to her.

Zakhar kissed her deeply, slowly setting her down on her feet, arms wrapping around her waist and lifting her slightly to spin her around again.

he was in such a light, carefree mood right now.

In the peaceful moments like these she didn't regret letting Zakhar claim her as his mate, he was quickly becoming one of the closest people that she had in her life.

He didn't want her to gain wealth or power, he simply wanted to be with her, it made for a nice change.

She kissed him back, her arms still wrapped around his neck as her feet touched the ground, laughing softly against his lips as he span her around again.

Lia adored Zakhar when he was like this, that much was obvious from the way she looked up at him brightly with her large violet eyes.