Lois couldn't breathe, and her entire body had gone numb, making her lose her grip on her glass. The sound of glass shattering barely registered to Lois; her brain didn't have anything to spare as it tried to comprehend the scene it was witnessing.
Looming over Ashe like a starving wolf, the creature had its teeth embedded in her neck, making Ashe writhe around in pain; or at least that's what Lois initially thought. But then, as the initial shock faded, Lois noticed the crucial lack of blood staining the mat beneath Ashe, the heavy flush across her cheeks, and the fact that her arms and legs were also wrapped around the creature as if to keep it from running away.
In that moment of confusion, the creature looked at Lois, exposing its face and revealing a painfully familiar visage.
"Ramon?" Lois called out his name without even realizing it, as there was no doubt in her mind that the creature and her lover were one and the same. How such a thing was possible, Lois had no idea, but she was witnessing it with her own two eyes.
"Well, shit."
Lois' rampant thoughts were interrupted by Ashe as she cursed and unwrapped her arms and legs from around Ramon, "Just as we were about to get to the good part."
"W-what's going on?" Lois stammered as she stared uneasily at Ashe, "What is that thing and why does it look like Ramon?"
"That's not for me to explain, Red," Ashe shook her head as Ramon rolled off on top of her, letting Ashe sit up, "But just trust me when I say, he wouldn't touch a damn hair on your head."
"Thanks, darling," Ramon sighed with a resigned look on his face as he stood up and stared at Lois, "I don't think I need to say this, but this isn't how I wanted you to find out."
Lois didn't respond right away and instead drank in the full breadth of Ramon's new appearance, the gray skin, faint markings across his body, the small horns growing from his temples, the tail coiling and uncoiling behind him. All of it was inhuman, monstrous, something that should have driven terror right into the depths of Lois' heart. But no matter how long she stared at Ramon's sharp, almost claw-like fingernails, she wasn't afraid in the least bit.
No, it wasn't Ramon's appearance that scared Lois; it was everything else. The questions, the implications, the secrets that she had been wrapped in, and what that meant for her, Meg, and the child currently growing inside of her.
"D-does Meg know?" Lois asked, stammering over her first words as her heartbeat threatened to drown out the sound of her voice.
Ramon nodded, "Yes, she does, and so does Patty, but none of the other girls know what I am."
"And just what exactly are you?" Lois demanded, "How is any of this even possible?"
"I'm not entirely sure myself," Ramon replied after a brief pause, "I was a human at one point, but then I died, and then I came back as this, an Incubus."
"Y-you're a demon…l-like from hell?!" Lois exclaimed, unable to keep her voice calm as she imagined some infernal spawn growing inside of her.
"I've never been to hell, I don't even know if it exists," Ramon insisted, holding up his hands, "But I can promise you that I'm not here to harm you or anyone else."
"Unless they mess with one of us," Ashe added with a smirk, still lounging on the cabana, "And I'd imagine that goes doubly for you, red, seeing as you're the first one to get knocked up."
Now it was Ramon's turn to look confused as he glanced at Ashe, who just rolled her eyes, "She hasn't been drinking, and didn't eat any raw fish. Only one reason a woman would deny herself such a good time."
"Shit…do you think-"
"Yes," Ashe answered before Ramon could finish his sentence, "They all at least suspect it."
Moving her hand down to her stomach, Lois felt lost, "Were you ever going to tell me? Or did you just hope that the baby would come out human-looking and you could just keep me in the dark?"
"I was going to tell you the moment I could give you the life you deserved," Ramon swore, "I know you want to start a family, Lois, one that can make up for your first marriage. I think that's why you got pregnant, and no one else I've slept with has."
Lois shook her head, "H-how does that even make sense? You're saying you knew I wanted to get pregnant, so you just willed it to happen?"
"In a roundabout way, yes," Ramon nodded, "My magic allows me to form bonds with those that truly love me. It can not be forced, and I cannot survive without them, meaning that it is my instinct to do anything that will make these bonds form."
Lois glared at Ramon, "Oh, so it's my fault that I got pregnant?"
"No, if anyone is to blame, it's most definitely me," Ramon corrected, "And ever since then, I've been working to make sure you never regret having met or having a child with me."
Lois fell silent, unsure how to respond. Ramon's words felt genuine, but she couldn't possibly be expected to take him at face value. "This is all too much. I still don't know if you love me for me or if it's some strange demonic drive that will end up hurting me in the long run."
"It's really no different from if I were a human." Ramon explained, "Everything is a mix of instinct and genuine affection. I just have a bit more incentive, as, for me, love is an actual matter of life and death. But I don't view it as some obligation. I could find women who only care about money, and end it there, but I don't!"
"Really, so you're telling me you love every single girl sitting down there in that bar?"
"Yes," Ramon answered without hesitation and with such intensity that Lois was surprised, "I would do anything for them, just like I would do anything for you. And it's likely I will end up doing anything and everything, because when I eventually form a bond with them, it isn't something that can be reversed. Megan, Patty, and Ashe all know this, which is why they trusted me with their souls."
Lois hesitated as she looked from Ramon to Ashe, who was watching the conversation with rapt attention, "Is that all true?"
"Sure is," Ashe answered with a fond smile as she stared at Ramon, "Even before I signed my soul over, Tiger here was willing to stick out his neck for me and my farm. He guided me out of some of my darkest days and went toe to toe with a sociopathic millionaire."
A flash of confusion crossed Lois' face before realization dawned on her, "That was why you were asking about the Northwests, a-are you the reason why he's missing?"
"As much as I would like to take credit for running that self-entitled piece of shit out of town, I can't." Ramon muttered before a fond smile spread across his face as if recalling a fond memory, "I did make his life a living hell, though."
"You really did all of that," Lois muttered, though it was less of a question and more of a statement as she stared at Ramon.
Instead of responding, Ramon slowly walked towards Lois, his hands held out at his sides. Watching him approach Lois's heart couldn't help but skip a beat, but she didn't move. It was possible that Ramon was lying to her, that he had used some sort of unknown means to manipulate Ashe to go along with his bidding, or that he had some ulterior motives behind his seemingly harmless persona.
But the truth was, Lois, couldn't bring herself to believe it; she didn't want to believe that the one good thing that had happened to her over the last twenty-some odd years had turned out to be another curse in disguise.
So when Ramon's arms closed around her in a gentle, loving embrace, Lois almost sobbed as she pressed her forehead against his chest, "Thank you for trusting me, Lois. I know that wasn't easy."
"Keep a secret like this from me again, and I'll chop it off," Lois muttered into Ramos' chest, only to pause as she inhaled and caught a whiff of something powerful, pungent, and familiar. 'What is that smell?'
Taking another deep breath, Lois felt her body heat up as her hands grabbed Ramon's shirt, 'Why is it making me so…'