The italic part is a flashback of past...it is also a part of Warrior's Affection Epilogue about little Devilin and Devon.

"How is she?" Gio asks as he soon as his sister walks out of the room Engel was in.

"Um...Gio, I don't know what to say but..."

"Just tell me she will be okay"

"I am sorry Gio, I don't know. I wish I could have given you this news in some other way but Engel is pregnant and it seems that is what ticked her off...

She is deep slumber and not responding to any of our medicines but if she does not respond soon, then both Engel and baby can be at risk" UT sadly informs him and gasps seeing her brother crumble down on the floor with his head in his hands.

"I am so sorry bro," UT cries hugging him as she too sits on the floor with him.

"It's my entire fault; I should have never mated her" Gio whispers brokenly before he stares at the door separating him from his mate and child.

"Don't say so Gio, you have to be strong for her" UT advices but he shakes his head no.

"I cannot, I can no longer pretend to be strong UT, I really cannot" he answers softly breaking UT's heart as it goes out to her brother and seeing such a strong man in this condition hurts her.

"Doctor" a shout startles them and they watch Devon running inside the hall with a unconscious Ariel in his arms.

UT pats on her brother's arm before she rushes to aid Ariel.

"What happened?" she asks as she checks on the Ariel.

"Eric...Thomas...portal...she..." Devon manages to croaks out, as he cannot think straight.

"Come on" UT says before she pulls him towards an empty room so Ariel can lie down properly.

*******

Gio walks up to Devon to check on what was happening all of a sudden, he stops when another commotion attracts his attention.

"I said fucking let go of me, I want my mommy in here. I swear if she finds out how you all are treating me she will burn you all alive," Eric shouts as he struggles between two of the warriors who has held him up.

"What is going on?" Gio asks as he stops the guards from passing along with Eric.

"These fuckers will not let go of me and I want my mommy here with me, what is wrong with everyone in here?" Eric shouts as he tries to fight the hold the men have on him.

"Eric, why are they holding you up?" Gio asks as even with his orders the men do not let him go.

"He hurt Ariel" one of the guards speaks up which brings a curse from Eric's mouth.

"I need to fucking meet Ariel to hurt her, fuck man I have been home after a whole decade and this is how I get treated?" Eric sighs shaking his head, before he frowns staring at Gio.

"Hey, do I know you?" Eric asks trying to figure out exactly where he met the person.

"Eric, what exactly is going on here? I cannot help you if I do not know what the situation in here is...

With Engel still in her sleep"

"Wait, Engel...as in my sister Engel? She is here...where...let me see her, god I have been stuck in that stupid portal for so long I don't even remember who is who...

That stupid Devon I will kill him for sending me into that portal of his," Eric cries as he once again tries to fight the hold they have on him.

"Portal, what portal?" Gio stiffens as he hears it and asks the question.

"The same one Devon opened bragging about his new ability and then that idiot pushed me in while we all were fighting...

I don't remember what happened after that but I have been stuck in nowhere ever since" Eric sighs dejectedly before he narrows his eyes at Gio.

"But, who are you? If you know Engel does that mean you know my family...that's great and, can you call my mom?" he requests pleadingly.

"Eric, I am Gio if you don't remember me" Gio sighs rubbing his temple as it seems this night was going to turn out even worse.

"Gio, the same fucker who wants to fuck my sister so badly that he never left her side ever?" Eric gasps dramatically before smiling as Gio glares his way for the way he was speaking.

"Sorry, dude did not remember you, you were kind of small when we met but fuck if you did not turned out to be a mountain...so Gio as your one and only brother-in-law do as I ask call my mother" he smiles sweetly which brings a frown onto Gio's face.

"Take him where you were going to" Gio orders the guards while Eric gasps.

"You traitor, wait till I get my hands on you, you will never be able to touch my sister" Eric shouts threatening Gio as he is being dragged towards wherever the men were taking him.

*******

"Is she alright? He did not do anything to her did he? She will be fine right?" Devon keeps asking questions as UT checks on Ariel's condition.

She sighs before stopping whatever she was doing to turn towards him.

"Devon, I know you are worried for her but if you keep asking me so many questions and break my concentration I don't think I will be able to answer you anything, just go and stay out...

I will check on her and come back to you and report okay?" she requests and Devon frowns before he looks at the pale looking Ariel then towards the door before making his way.

"Just hurry up...no, no, do not hurry, you may miss something take your time and check on her completely" he requests before leaving UT to her work.

"Hey" Gio calls as soon as Devon walks out.

Devon hugs Gio tightly startling Gio before he holds Devon back awkwardly.

"Uh..."

"Tell me she will be okay" Devon whispers a bit broken and at that time Gio connects with the feeling the man was going through as his heart and head both were in the same turmoil for his own mate.

"She will be, don't worry" Gio pats on Devon's shoulder who nods before letting go of Gio and taking a seat on the bench.

"What exactly happened?" Gio asks as he sits next to Devon who rubs his face trying to collect his own thoughts.

"Ariel went missing from the party, no one knew where she was then all of a sudden dad got a call...almost everyone in the party knew something was happening...

It seems someone broke into the faculty so they were all trying to figure out what was going on before one of the guards came in informing that some emergency came in from faculty so we all went to check in...

I do not know how Ariel happened to be in HP grounds but it seems all this time the man we thought of as Eric was actually Thomas the bastard...

He must have done something to my girl, no one knows the details but Ariel somehow opened the portal to the one place no one has power to"

"That is?" Gio asks holding his breathe as he can sense it will not be good news.

"The old mandrakes, it seems somehow Thomas awakened her powers to do so" Devon explains what he knows.

"This is not good, if Ariel has been the key all this time then..."

"Then he will try to take her away and I will not let that happen" Devon finishes for Gio.

Gio keeps quiet not wanting to say something and anger the man in front of him more as everyone seems to be vulnerable tonight.

*******

Dante walks inside of the building after ordering his men to search for any traces of Thomas or anything connecting to him.

All this time the bastard was right under his nose but he was unaware, he wonders how many more traitors are inside of his territory he is not aware of.

How many Thomas's are surrounding him?

He slowly stares around to find anything a miss, as all along the enemy was with them, in their house watching them but no one knew.

He knows that this little slip will cost them much more than they can imagine, this is the reason he wanted to get hold of Ariel as soon as he could.

This is the reason he wanted Devilin to fucking mate her already, if only his visions did not betrayed him, if only he did not think the possibility of Devon being her mate.

If only Devon had not pretended to be Devilin then the vision he had years ago would have been correct, as he had seen Ariel calling Devilin's name, as they were wrapped up into each other's arms.

"Fuck" Dante curses as he kicks a chair nearby which goes crashing down.

"What are the damages?" he asks rubbing his face as Ethan walks towards him.

"It seems he got hands on all of the warrior's files as well as vital information he should never have"

"How...no don't answer that, alert all of the warriors in the field and ask them to retreat back home...

We are closing all of our missions from now..."

"But..."

"Only those I will choose will be working, I don't think I can trust anyone anymore"

"And who might that be?" Ethan asks a bit wary of the idea.

"Let me worry about it, just do as I ask and call Enzo, he needs to come and fucking see to his son before I skin him alive"

"Okay" Ethan sighs before he goes to walk out but stops.

"What?" Dante asks sensing Ethan's hesitance.

"Did you check on with Adrian, if Ariel is the key don't you think they would have sensed anything?" he asks and Dante nods.

"He cannot be disturbed right now, Scar...the marks on her body has disappeared all of a sudden...she is unconscious at the moment" Dante informs quietly.

Both the men stand quietly taking in all of the information before Ethan speaks.

"If the marks on her body has gone that means the power has been transferred to someone else...

They really have a new master then" he sighs once again.

"It seems so" Dante replies slowly.

*******

"Eric?" Enzo calls as soon as he opens the door and sees his son.

"Dad" Eric cries as he jumps in his father arms and hugs him tightly.

"Take me away from these monsters dad, they manhandled me so much, I am so scared" he cries and Enzo breathes shakily before taking a seat.

Yes, he definitely was his own son.

"How..." Enzo asks, as he really cannot believe his eyes.

"What...how? I really am not doing this...gather everyone up so I can explain the injustice that happened to me at once....

It gets boring to answer same thing again and again" the boy whines as he too sits down.

"So, you mean all this time you were lost in some portal?" Enzo asks staring at his son.

"Yes, but how did you...oh did you meet Gio before coming here?" Eric asks nodding to himself before Enzo nods back.

"Well, that's right"

"So, what about the kids who died"

"What kids?"

"The special ones who was with you and Devon that day in the lab" Enzo asks wanting to know about the mystery.

"Oh well, about that"

"Start speaking Eric, I have very little patience left," Enzo says slowly and he backs a bit away from his father.

"I need my mommy" Eric whispers scared.

"Eric" Enzo bangs on the desk in anger, as it seems even after all these years; his son was still a momma's boy.

That is why; he had put Eric in training away from home, in HP grounds just so his dear mate would not spoil their son rotten and turn him into her but that still did not work.

"I am not talking till mom is here," he softly protests but one glare from his father puts him in silence.

"Eric, I cannot save you if you will not start speaking, things have turned out worse with you coming back...

Because all this time someone else was pretending to be you and doing bad stuff, and if you want me to bring you back home you need to start speaking," Enzo sighs hoping his son would co-operate.

"Okay, but I think we will need Devon in here as well, because it was not just me" Eric finally gives in.

*******

"How is she?" Devon asks standing up as soon as UT walks out of the room Ariel was in.

"Don't worry, everything is fine with her. Part of the reason for her unconsciousness is shock as well exhaustion, I think her body could not handle the power she used...

Her body is not used to such power I think, we will keep her in for observation for the night. I am sure she will be awake after a few hours rest" UT assures him and Devon breathes a sigh of relief.

"Thank you" he smiles before walking inside the room Ariel was sleeping in.

Devon takes the seat next to her bed and holds her hands before kissing the back of her hand lightly as he stares at her face.

He strokes her cheek before lightly brushing the locks away from her face.

"How is she doing?" his father asks entering the room.

"She just needs some rest" Devon replies as he turns to face his father who nods before making his way towards Ariel.

Dante watches the girl's face before he pulls the sleeve of her dress a bit and Devon frowns.

"What are you doing?" Devon asks not knowing why his father was touching his mate.

"I just need to check on something," Dante grumbles as he pushes the hair of Ariel aside before letting it go.

"Why?" Devon asks still frowning.

"I am checking for the sign if she is the real key" Dante speaks walking away from Ariel's side.

"What key?"

"The key to call back those mandrakes out and the key to something Thomas wants, nonetheless, I will stay with her for a while...

You need to go and clear some things up, Eric is back and the mystery you both left must be revealed now...

One of the guards is waiting for you, go along with him"

"I am not leaving her side"

"It's an order Devon and I am not in the mood to argue, it's already bad that I cannot get hold of your brother so do not make me angrier than I already am" Dante warns his son who bites his tongue so he do not answer back and rile his father.

Therefore, he quietly pecks on his mate's forehead and walks out of the room.

*******

"What is the meaning of this?" Devon asks as he walks inside the room where Enzo and Eric were waiting on him.

"We are to tell the truth about the incident that occurred in the lab few years ago and how you pushed me in one of the portals you opened ruining the chances of me getting laid" Eric replies with a grumble as he folds his hands on his chest.

"What is there to tell?" Devon asks, as he cannot remember anything to tell them.

"Come here" Eric sighs as he holds his hands out for Devon who steps back.

"Fuck off"

"I will not molest you, I am not that desperate to get laid" Eric rolls his eyes before he goes to holds Devon's hands.

As soon as they touch each other, as if something unlocked all of the people around get a jolt and all of the memories that disappeared returns back into place.

"What...the..."

"It seems when you pushed me in the portal you did not just sent me in but your memories were too locked in that portal" Eric grins wiping his hands before he turns to face his father.

"Now do you remember who he is?" Eric asks his father who shakes his head a bit before nodding as all of the memories of Devon being in their life come back.

"Now do you remember?" Eric asks Devon who silently takes the seat before they start.

*******

"Fawn, Naomi and Mina were the ones who got killed that day and no it was none of us who killed them" Devon speaks.

"I had just started to get hold of the portals opening while those special kids they could easily do it...

So, I wanted to brag that I too can open it, it was while doing it that something went wrong" Devon speaks before he turns to look at Eric.

"I was in lab when he came to call me, I did try to stop him from doing it just to show off because if something went wrong then we would be in trouble and Uncle Dante can be mean when he is angry...

However, he was not listening to me, we were arguing about how it was wrong and right when the special kids showed up...

You all may think they all are good but no, not all of them, some of them were bullies. When no one was around to look at, they would use their powers against us...

Naomi, was in the lab as well, she heard our argument then started to tease us, she used to make fun how even if Dante was the head leader, Devon was nothing special"

"We don't know when our silly argument turned into a bet and it was me and Eric against the special kids...

It was just simple open the portal and to bring something out of it. It was easier for them; they brought many things like water, fire, even animals...

I was getting angrier so I told them I can send someone in and bring them back, they did not believe it so I threw Eric inside" Devon stops so he can let Eric talk on it.

"He was able to bring me back the first time, everyone was pretty impressed and then he started to gloat about it...

Fawn did not like it that some kid half their age could do something like that, so she raised the bar, she pulled out a mandrake from one of the portals...

We did not know what it was at the time and then she could not make it go back from where it came from, the mandrake started to refuse her...

She was extremely angry and then the mandrake started to attack us, Devon was going to call someone but before he could, the other special kids stopped him...

We were two against four and by the things of it; the mandrake was not on any of our sides. Naomi was the one who got killed first, we were in shock" Eric sighs sadly shaking his head as how even if they were greater in number they could not kill the mandrake not because they were weak but they were against each other.

"Fawn stopped every time we tried to attack the mandrake which gave him advantage...

She was scared that if someone knew she summoned a mandrake she would be in trouble so she tried to kill us as well....

That was when I opened the portal and pushed Eric in to save us both, I even tried to stop the time so we could run in time, but Naomi held me back...

I guess I was too weak to control everything all at once, opening a portal and trying to stop the time and erasing memories was too much for me to handle that is when all of it happened...

Next thing I know, I woke up in my grandparent's house, with an angry father, three special kids dead, no memories of me with anyone and then a exiled Eric" Devon stops telling his tale.

Both the boys stare in front of them silently as they both have no idea what happened after that.

Enzo stares at them quietly, taking it all in before he takes a deep breathe and speaks.

"What about the mandrake? What happened to him?" Enzo asks as there must be something more of the tale.

"I have no clue, in between all of it; I lost my consciousness as well my memories" Devon replies.

"I guess that is when it all stared then," Enzo sighs, getting up from his seat.

"What?" the boys ask not knowing what Enzo was talking about.

"What we found in the room was three dead bodies with Eric all bloodied, no sign of Devon at least, I guess that was the day someone took Eric's place...

Most likely Thomas, are you sure it was a mandrake that walked out not someone else?" Enzo asks once more to be sure and both the boys nod their head.

"Well, it was definitely not like the one I saw when Ariel opened that portal and not like the ones who were with Thomas but something in between, it was more of a human" Devon replies as he concentrates to remember that day.

"Yes, he had quiet a speed as well" Eric adds which brings a nod of understanding from Enzo.

"So, it means that day Naomi did not call a mandrake but Thomas from that portal. Do you know what does that mean?" Enzo asks the boys who shakes their head no.