Chapters

Lesson 1- Always take a friend, the buddy system is key.

Lesson 2- Crying is allowed, but shouting for no reason is not.

Lesson 3- Always say "please" and "thank you"—your cuteness can only get you so far.

Lesson 4- Say sorry when you've hurt someone—it helps to make things right.

Lesson 5- Respect other people's property and space.

Lesson 6- Be kind to others, especially those who might be different from you.

Lesson 7- Ask for help when you need it—no one knows everything.

Lesson 8- Keep your hands to yourself, unless you're giving someone a high-five.

Lesson 9- If you make a mess you have to clean it up.

Lesson 10- Nap time is non-negotiable; everyone needs their beauty rest.

Lesson 11- Sharing is caring, especially when it comes to drinks or cookies.

Lesson 12- Wash your hands after using the toilet—germs aren't your friends.

Lesson 13- Always look both ways before crossing the street.

Lesson 14- Take care of your stuff- broken toys are no fun!

Lesson 15- Clothes are for wearing, not decorating the floor.

Lesson 16- Don't hit or hurt others, use your words to express yourself instead.

Lesson 17- Sometimes, the answer will be no, and that’s okay. It’s important to accept it without getting upset.

Lesson 18- Be curious and ask questions. Exploring and learning about the world is fun and important.

Lesson 19- Don’t judge others, treat them the way you want to be treated.

Lesson 20- Don't play with your food, but making faces is allowed.

Lesson 21- Use your inside voice or you’ll be sent to time out.

Lesson 22- Get enough sleep, bedtime is important for growing up strong.

Lesson 23- If you borrow something, don’t complain when it’s time to give it back. Sharing is caring.

Lesson 24- When someone is doing their job, be a good helper by not getting in their way.

Lesson 25- Don't interrupt when the adults are talking.

Lesson 26- Always wash your hands after using the bathroom to get rid of yucky germs.

Lesson 27- Don't put things in your mouth unless it's food or you've asked first.

Lesson 28- Don't play with the pet's food, it belongs to them, not you.

Lesson 29- Don't touch things that aren't yours, even if they're shiny.

Lesson 30- Ask before borrowing someone's toys, sharing is a two-way street.

Lesson 31- Only colour on paper, not on yourself or the furniture.

Lesson 32- Don't talk to strangers, but it's okay to smile.

Lesson 33- Feet go on the floor, not on the furniture.

Lesson 34- If you want pocket money you need to do your chores.

Lesson 35- No sneaking treats without permission.

Lesson 36- Put your things away, or the Toy Goblin might steal them!

Lesson 37- Don’t interrupt when someone else is speaking, wait your turn.

Lesson 38- Use your inside voice indoors, outside voices are for the playground.

Lesson 39- Always tell the truth. Lies are like wobbly blocks, they fall down.

Lesson 40- Say sorry right away when you hurt someone. It’s like cleaning up a spill, do it fast, it’s much easier to fix!

Lesson 41- Use the magic words: "please" and "thank you." They open doors (and cookie jars)

Lesson 42- Sometimes making friends is easy, just smile and say hi! It's like opening a door to fun and new adventures.

Lesson 43- If you can't reach it, you probably shouldn't be playing with it.

Lesson 44- Don’t take things that aren’t yours. It’s not nice.

Lesson 45- Sometimes when you fix a broken toy it isn’t exactly the same as it was, but that doesn’t mean it’s no good!

Lesson 46- Good communication is talking and listening. It’s like playing catch, everyone gets a turn.

Lesson 47- When you wake up, smile and get up. There’s a new day of fun waiting for you!

Lesson 48- Enjoy your cake, but don’t eat too much at once!

Lesson 49- Save some of your money instead of spending it all. It’s like storing up treasures, you’ll have something special for later!

Lesson 50- Always play fair and take turns.

Lesson 51- Don’t take candy from strangers.

Lesson 52- When someone says "no," listen and accept it.

Lesson 53- Running is for the playground, not the living room.

Lesson 54- Always be polite and knock.

Lesson 55- If you’re stuck inside, use your imagination. It’s like turning your home into a playground!

Lesson 56- Smiling makes you and others happy… Most of the time.

Lesson 57- It’s wrong to steal.

Lesson 58- Just because you CAN do something, that doesn’t mean you SHOULD.

Lesson 59- Always be respectful of someone else’s home.

Lesson 60- It’s important to wear clean socks and underwear.

Lesson 61- It’s not nice to talk about someone behind their back.

Lesson 62- It’s okay to be scared sometimes.

Lesson 63- No throwing toys, you break it you bought it.

Lesson 64- Be a good friend and listen.

Lesson 65- Sometimes you just have to agree to disagree.

Lesson 66- Always be on time.

Lesson 67- When someone is sick, be kind and helpful

Lesson 68- Remember, not everything people say online is true.

Lesson 69- If you see someone being left out, invite them to join in.

Lesson 70- Freedom means you get to make choices, but it also means dealing with the consequences.

Lesson 71- Remember to always ask first before taking someone else’s toys.

Lesson 72- You should think carefully when you make decisions.

Lesson 73- Always take good care of your pens.

Lesson 74- Everything is better with good teamwork.

Lesson 75- Always chew your food properly.

Lesson 76- Always wash your hands with soap and warm water.

Lesson 77- Just because your day is bad it does not give you an excuse to ruin someone else’s.

Lesson 78- Knowing who to call for help is just as good as knowing how to fix something yourself.

Lesson 79- If someone knocks on the door, don’t open it by yourself, always get a grown-up first.

Lesson 80- Always double check your work.

Lesson 81- Respect people’s bubble of personal space.

Lesson 82- There is nothing wrong with being in a bad mood, as long as you don’t take it out on someone else.

Lesson 83- Pets love to play, but remember to be gentle! They’re not toys!

Lesson 84- Every house has different rules, follow them just like your own.

Lesson 85- Medicine may taste sweet, but it's not candy!

Lesson 86- If you find a cute animal, always ask a grown-up before bringing it home.

Lesson 87- It’s okay if you fall as long as you get back up and try again.

Lesson 88- Always clean up after your pets!

Lesson 89- It’s not nice to leave people out when you do something fun.

Lesson 90- Just because someone is different that doesn’t make them bad.

Lesson 91- It’s not nice to make people worry.

Lesson 92- Sometimes people don’t want to play, and that’s okay too.

Lesson 93- Always ask a grown-up before using a phone.

Lesson 94- It’s important to always ask nicely before taking something.

Lesson 95- If someone else is telling a story, it’s polite to listen.

Lesson 96- Sleepovers might be fun, but everyone needs to sleep sometime.

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Lesson 5- Respect other people's property and space.

Torin is the first to move. He steps forward, reaching out to help me steady Laura, but before he can reach us she staggers back.

“I’m fine. You don’t need to help.” She insists. She tries to take another step and goes tumbling into Kyle who catches her. He’s shorter than her too but apparently is much stronger than I am either way because he is able to guide her back to a chair.

Torin wordlessly steps back and returns to his position lounging against the wall but I’m a little confused. Why was Laura so against accepting his help? I was the one who asked for help in the first place, and she had no issues collapsing into me or half tackling Kyle.

Is it just because he’s her boss? Or is she actually frightened of him? I don’t know why she would be, I mean sure he LOOKS intimidating, but I've only known him for like five minutes and I can tell he’s a decent person.

Not to mention that as intimidating as he might be, the guy is hot. If I had to ‘accidentally’ stumble into someone, he would be my first choice. Maybe she knows something that I don’t know. But I don’t think it matters all that much. He saved me and he was gentle when taking care of my injury.

Sure, he’s TECHNICALLY keeping me captive here, but I don’t think he’s particularly thrilled about it. I’d prefer to make my judgments based on what I actually know and as far as I can tell, Torin is someone who makes me feel safe. That’s good enough for me, for now at least.

Torin pushes himself off the wall and approaches me.

“I will do what I can to make it comfortable for you here. It’s a bit late for me to do much tonight, but if you figure out what you might need, Laura can go fetch it for you tomorrow. She can collect things from your home and we can buy the rest.” He says sternly. I raise an eyebrow.

“Look, I don’t know how you’re planning for this to work, but if I don’t work I can’t afford to buy anything. I get by but I don’t have a lot in the way of savings.” I admit. Torin shrugs.

“You’re technically my prisoner. I’ll provide for you while you’re here, within reason that is.” He adds as a side note, probably worrying that I’ll want fancy five star dinners and designer clothes or something. I sigh. I don’t like the idea of spending his money, but if I can’t work it’s not like I really have a lot of other options. A girl’s gotta eat.

“Fine, tomorrow I can give work a call and let them know that I won’t be in for a while and-” I cut myself off when Torin starts shaking his head.

“What now?” I groan.

“I’ll be taking your phone. The whole point of keeping you here is so that you can’t tell anyone what you saw. There wouldn’t be any point if you could just call for help.” He explains. I narrow my eyes.

“I’m starting to think that you guys all have trust issues.” I confess and I think I see the slightest hint of amusement in his eyes before it quickly fades. I might even have imagined it.

“This really isn’t fair you know. All I did was run for my life and try not to die. It’s not my fault I saw that monster guy or that I saw you looking all horny.” I whine. It takes my brain a moment to catch up with what I said. Laura gasps in shock and Kyle gives me an expression that says he can’t quite believe what I just said. I’m not sure I can either, it was a total accident. I laugh awkwardly.

“Sorry, I meant I saw you looking all monstery. Like, with horns and stuff…” I risk a glance up at Torin’s dark eyes and see him give that single confused blink once again. Yep, he definitely does that when I baffle him. He doesn’t look annoyed or anything though. He doesn’t answer me either though so I just push on and continue my complaint.

“My point is that none of this is my fault, I already agreed to this spell and I promised not to tell anyone. Can’t I at least keep my phone? I plead. He shakes his head, his resting bitch face still going strong. Damn it.

“You should know… Most supernaturals have the ability to cloak themselves from humans, or to shift into a human form. If you saw that man as he was, it was because he wanted you to see him. Because he wanted you to be scared.” He points out, his voice dark. I shudder.

“He was creepy as hell. Although to be honest I’m pretty sure I would have been scared even if he was just a regular guy stalking me and cornering me in a dark alley. I still have no idea why he was after me. I don’t know him. At least I don’t think I do, and I had this weird feeling I was being watched all day.” I ramble away nervously. Yeah thinking about this is stressing me out. I’m not ready to deal with it just yet so I change the topic.

“Hey you said supernaturals have cloaking things or another form. So which one do you have?” I ask cheerfully. I AM legitimately curious. Torin blinks again. Does he do that a lot or am I just really strange?

“Aren’t you scared?” Laura blurts the words out as if she was trying to keep them in but just couldn’t. She blushes bright red which is only emphasised by her red hair.

“Hmm? Scared of what?” I clarify. Laura stares at me like I’m insane while Kyle’s gaze slides past me, over my shoulder to land on Torin.

“Wait, you’re asking if I’m scared of Torin? Seriously? Of course not. Why would I be? At this point he’s basically my hero, even if he won’t give me back my phone.” I grumble. Nudging his side with my elbow playfully. I’m complaining, but it’s good natured. I can do without my phone for a few days and hopefully this won’t take too long to sort out. I really am just grateful to be alive. I’ll probably be upset by it all later, but above all else I’m just glad I ran into Torin. I mean seriously, I was being chased by a monster, what were the chances of me running into someone who was actually capable of scaring him off AND was willing to help, even if there are consequences.

“No, Torin doesn’t scare me.” I reiterate. Laura and Kyle seem baffled. Torin himself looks as stoic as ever. He didn’t respond to my elbowing him, not even a dirty look or something. I’m going to take that to mean he doesn’t mind and continue treating him accordingly.

“Carina… You… You do realise that Torin is… A demon?” Kyle practically whispers the last two words, glancing nervously at the demon standing beside me. I shrug. I didn’t know that actually, but I guess it makes sense. Am I scared of him? Maybe I should be but… He just seems so nice! Having me around can’t be convenient for him and he hasn’t complained once, nor does he seem annoyed at me.

“Nah, I’m not scared of him, even if he is a demon.” Suddenly I feel weird talking about Torin like he isn’t here. I turn to face him properly and look him in the eye.

“I’m not scared of you. If you wanted me dead, all you had to do was nothing.” I point out.

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