Heavenly Poison

Damien Gray

‘You’re a Legen.’

The girl standing in front of me had said that. I didn’t imagine it. At least, I didn’t think I had.

I wasn’t sure how much time passed between my landing and the silence that had settled between us.

I stared at her, while silent tears continued to roll down her cheeks. She was smiling or laughing, shaking her head and making her long hair resettle differently.

It only served to throw her scent my way. I didn’t understand why she was calling to me. She seemed familiar, just like Sebastian did.

The thought of him reminded me that I had been about to answer his call.

When I looked down at my hands, where my phone should have been, I realized that somehow I’d managed to crush it.

The phone was broken into tiny pieces and the glass from the screen had cut into my hand.

“You’re hurt,” The girl said when she noticed my bloodied hand holding the broken fragments of the phone.

“It’s okay, I’ll-” I stopped myself before finishing that thought.

“Heal?” She finished for me.

I swallowed audibly, not knowing whether to admit that I would indeed heal. She had recognized me, she knew what I was. Admitting to healing hardly seemed like a big deal if she already knew I was a Legen.

I nodded, and she returned her attention back to my hand.

I stood frozen in place when she closed the distance between us. Her attention was on my wounded hand. When she reached out to touch me, I was about to pull away.

For some reason, I couldn’t bring myself to actually move from her.

When our hands came into contact, an electric energy began flowing between us. I couldn’t describe the sensation, but I could feel myself smiling over it. It was almost like I got recharged and the tiredness I had felt before was no longer there.

The next thing that happened was something I hadn’t been expecting.

A pair of white wings fluttered from her back.

“You’re a Legen too?” I breathlessly asked her, pulling my hand away from her.

Her expression fell when we lost contact. It looked like I’d offended her somehow.

“I didn’t know there were more of us,” I told her, trying to amend my action.

“I didn’t either,” she said, the smile returning to her lips.

“This is really cool,” she told me, before completely closing the distance between us.

Her arms wrapped around my neck. I instinctively wrapped my arms around her waist. The energy I had felt before tripled with our embrace.

I didn’t know what to make of it. I felt a calming sensation running all over my body. Since I didn’t want to disturb the moment, I simply allowed myself to enjoy it.

When she giggled, I found myself smiling along with her.

“Do you feel that?” she asked, finally pulling away from me.

Her wings were still out, but she stretched them back and kept them out of the way.

Her wings were slightly smaller than Sebastian’s and mine, but the difference was barely noticeable. I assumed it was because her frame was much smaller than Sebastian and me.

She actually looked like an angel.

If I had seen her, without her calling me out on being a Legen, I would’ve assumed she was an angel. Her features were so soft and delicate, her skin was flawless, and her face was lit up in pure bliss. Her green eyes were lit up, conveying so many emotions.

If she was Legen as well, how could she be so happy? I kept asking myself.

“I’ve never seen another Legen before. I always thought it was just me,” the girl said.

“I’m Cassidy by the way,” she told me, outstretching her hand.

Since she had already hugged me, shaking her hand seemed slightly impersonal, but I took her hand in mine anyway.

“Damien,” I said.

The smile hadn’t left her lips, but at least the tears were gone.

“I can’t believe I met you. What are you doing here? And why are you flying out in the open?” She asked.

Her voice had started out cheery before it shifted to a reprimanding tone.

“I didn’t know I’d find anyone…?” My answer sounded like a question.

I expected her to be angrier. Instead, she smiled brightly and interlaced her arm with mine.

Again, the touch of her skin was sending energy through my body. I felt refreshed and that was confusing to me.

“I feel like I’m dreaming,” she told me.

I followed along as she walked, looking like she was in daze. I noticed that although I’d answered her questions, she’d been doing most of the talking.

The thing was- I didn’t know what to say. I was probably more surprised than her. I had always thought it was just Sebastian and me.

The serene expression on her face was putting me at ease. By then, she’d concealed her wings inside her back. Surprisingly, her shirt only created slits. It allowed me to see parts of the creamy skin in her back, but her shirt didn’t fall apart.

I wasn’t wearing a shirt at all, but she didn’t seem bothered by that.

“Damien,” she repeated my name.

She wasn’t calling out to me. More like she was saying the name to herself.

“I didn’t think there were any more of us either,” I stated my thoughts.

I could hear my voice sounding softer when I spoke to her. It just didn’t seem right to use any other tone.

Even with Emilia, I sometimes raised my voice. I pushed that thought away as soon as it came. I didn’t want to think of Emilia at the moment.

“Cassidy!” I heard a male voice call out.

“Crap,” Cassidy said, as she slapped her forehead with her hand.

I cocked an eyebrow at her, wondering what was wrong.

“Is everything okay?”

“No, that’s,” she paused, looking at me with a conflicted expression.

“You’ll meet him right now. Ah shoot, you aren’t wearing a shirt,” she said.

I wasn’t sure if she noticed that she had rested her forehead against my chest.

Growls coming from behind her got my attention.

A guy was stalking in our direction with a murderous look in his eyes. The angry look, his growls, and the way his eyes were fully black should’ve been hints.

It wasn’t until he was about five feet away and I caught a whiff of his scent that I realized he was a Wolf.

Once he was close enough, he yanked Cassidy away from my arms.

The rough way he had grabbed her moved something in me and I found myself trying to get her back.

“Stop- it’s okay,” Cassidy told me, putting a hand forward and holding me in place.

I grinned when I realized she was using her mind to keep me from moving closer to her.

“You’re good,” I told her.

I was betting she practiced with her telekinesis often.

“Thanks,” she said, grinning back at me.

“Who is that?” The guy asked, looking at me suspiciously.

“You are never going to believe this,” she told him, as she pressed her lips hard against his for a moment.

When Cassidy pulled away from him, it was like she left him dumbstruck.

“Damien is a Legen! Just like me!” She excitedly cried, her grin growing impossibly wide.

I was completely shocked that she told him about me. Sebastian and I had never told anyone about our identity. I wanted to be angry at her for spilling my secret so easily, but I couldn’t.

Looking at her and seeing how happy she was, it was enough to stop me from saying anything.

“Are you an Alpha?” I asked the guy holding Cassidy.

I was sure we were both surprised by my question. I hadn’t been intending to show how much I knew about packs but that question had been the first thing that popped into my mind.

“How do you know I’m a Werewolf?” He asked, frowning at me.

“I can smell you’re scent. My girlfriend-” I started to say before I could stop myself.

As much as I tried to keep my thoughts in check, images of Emilia kept surfacing in my mind.

“Your girlfriend…” Cassidy prodded, trying to pull away from the guy to walk closer to me.

“My ex-girlfriend is the daughter of an Alpha. His scent is different from the rest of the shifters- it’s stronger. Yours is similar to his,” I said, looking more at the guy than at Cassidy.

“Layton is an Alpha,” Cassidy said, looking at Layton proudly.

“Why are you here?” He asked, staring at me distrustfully.

I looked down at the ground. It wasn’t because I feared him, but because I didn’t want to think of the reason that had taken me so far from home.

“I was flying and made a pit stop here. I was going to leave after I got some rest.”

He looked at me for a long while, not letting his guard down.

“Stop questioning him Layton. I want to go to my parents’ house. My mom and dad are really going to want to see him,” Cassidy said.

“Your parents?” I asked her, feeling a sting in my chest. I closed my eyes, trying to push away the dark thoughts that were trying to crawl into my mind.

“Yes, they’re going to go crazy when they see you,” she told me excitedly.

Although Layton’s hold on her looked really strong, she somehow managed to pull away.

“Cassidy,” he growled at her, trying to get her back.

“I just can’t believe this,” she said, offering him an innocent smile.

“You two are together, I’m assuming…” I said, letting the sentence hang.

“She’s my mate,” Layton stated.

He took the opportunity to get his arm around her waist.

“Don’t worry, I have my own,” I said to him distastefully.

“You have a mate?” Both of them asked in unison.

While Cassidy looked at me wide-eyed, Layton looked more confused than anything.

“I do. She’s the daughter of the Alpha I told you about,” I shrugged at them.

It was a sore subject and one I wanted to change. In all honesty, I didn’t really want to say anything. I didn’t want to be socializing with a Wolf, especially an Alpha.

“Your mate is the daughter of an Alpha?” Layton asked me, taking a step closer to me.

All of a sudden he looked interested. It didn’t seem like the guy knew about personal space because I found myself having to take a step back from him.

“Yeah,” I replied.

“Which pack?” I didn’t look down from his intense stare, but I had to admit it was making me uncomfortable.

“Mountain Peak,” I answered.

I wasn’t sure why the hell I kept answering his questions.

He didn’t say anything after I brought up Mountain Peak. He simply sighed and began shaking his head.

“Which one’s Mountain Peak?” Cassidy asked, looking between Layton and me.

“It’s far from here,” I told her.

“You have a Werewolf mate who’s an Alpha. That is so… weird,” Cassidy said.

“Why?”

“I’m a Legen and I have an Alpha mate,” she shrugged.

While Cassidy and I continued to talk, Layton seemed to be thinking really hard about something.

“You came in just the perfect time, you know that?” Layton asked all of a sudden.

Cassidy had been in the middle of telling me about her Legen gifts.

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“We should go home. I can explain things better there. I’ll lend you a shirt,” he told me, nodding toward my bare chest.

“We should go to my parents’ house,” Cassidy said.

There was a bounce on her step as she walked between Layton and me. Layton looked like he was about to give in to Cassidy, before he shook his head.

“This is more important,” Layton vaguely added, before picking up his pace.

“This is so amazing.”

Cassidy was sitting down across from me on the table. Her eyes had been locked on me since the moment we both sat down.

Layton had gone into his office to pick up some documents he thought I should take a look at.

“It is,” I admitted.

I smiled at her. It was probably the most I had smiled in quite a while.

“Your scent, can you distinguish it? It’s similar to mine as well,” she told me with a glint in her eyes.

“This is your place?” I asked, looking around the fairly large dining room.

The house itself was impressive. Cassidy told me she was turning seventeen this month, while Layton was turning nineteen.

I noticed Cassidy was young as soon as I saw her. Since Cassidy and Layton were living together though, I thought they were a bit older.

I didn’t picture myself living with Emilia while we were both so young. It seemed like a big commitment.

Not that I had the option available when she was out cheating on me with that dog.

“Yeah, Layton and I got together last year. We moved in together about four months after he became Alpha,” she replied.

“You’re young,” I told her, raising an eyebrow.

She didn’t seem to care that she was so young or that Layton was a Werewolf or that she was a freak. She just seemed so… happy.

“So are you,” she shot back.

“You don’t mind living with him? You seem okay with having a Werewolf mate. I don’t understand,” I told her.

She didn’t get to answer my questions because Layton walked in just then.

“She’s my mate and the Luna of our pack. Of course she doesn’t mind living with me. What’s wrong with having a Werewolf mate?” Layton asked, cocking an eyebrow.

“You said it yourself. You’re a Wolf. Practically our enemy,” I replied, shrugging nonchalantly.

“Why would Wolves be your enemy? Up until last October, no Wolf knew about Legens,” Layton said, looking at me questionably.

“Sebastian and I haven’t told anyone about us. I didn’t know Cassidy had put it out in the open,” I muttered.

“Who’s Sebastian?” She curiously asked me.

“Sebastian is my cousin and he’s a Legen too,” I replied.

“What?” Cassidy asked, her eyes widening in surprise.

“There are three of us,” she whispered.

“So it seems.”

“Cassidy didn’t know about Wolves before coming here,” Layton told me in a questioning tone.

“Sebastian and I have encountered Wolves, Rogues mainly. If they saw our wings, we had to get rid of them.”

While Layton cocked an eyebrow at my words, Cassidy stared at me with a strange expression.

“You killed people?” She asked.

“Not humans. We killed Rogues and a few Wolves from packs.”

“You killed pack Wolves?” Layton asked.

Cassidy seemed disappointed. It was the only way I could describe the way she was looking at me.

“It was either them or us. You shifters don’t exactly take it too easy when you see guys with wings,” I tried to excuse myself.

Layton shrugged, not looking all that bothered with my words. Had his pack been the one Sebastian and I attacked, I was sure he wouldn’t be looking so calm.

Cassidy didn’t share that expression though. She looked full of grief.

“Cassidy, it’s okay,” Layton said, taking a seat next to her.

“Legens aren’t supposed to kill. It defeats the purpose of what we are,” she told me in a small voice.

Her words made me feel guilty, even though I had no idea what she was talking about.

“If you hadn’t exposed yourself to them, then they wouldn’t have seen you. They wouldn’t be dead right now,” she continued.

“You didn’t even know them,” I defended myself.

“I know they were people. The advantage you have with your gifts shouldn’t be used to kill others. That’s wrong Damien.”

I looked down, not knowing what to respond to her accusations.

It didn’t seem wrong at the moment. Hell, right now there were a few Wolves I wanted to get rid of- Luke being one of them.

“It’s obvious we have lived in different worlds. I don’t judge you and I won’t let you do the same. I only made a pit stop here but I’m leaving already,” I told her.

I tried to get up, but I couldn’t move. Cassidy was keeping me in place.

“I can get up even if you’re doing this,” I warned her.

“You probably can. But you don’t have to leave. I was just trying to understand. I’ve never killed anyone before,” she said in a low voice.

“Should I be worried that you’re a danger to my pack?” Layton asked, getting up from the chair.

He stood behind Cassidy protectively.

I had to admit the guy looked intimidating. He was a few inches taller than me, with a strong build, and he just all around radiated power.

Wolves had that in general, but I was finding out Alphas had it stronger.

“I’m not here to hurt anyone. I hadn’t planned to come here in the first place.”

“Is everything okay? You mentioned your girlfriend,” Cassidy asked, sounding worried.

“I’m fine and she’s not my girlfriend. We broke up,” I replied, not sure why I was telling her that in the first place.

“You two broke up?” Layton asked with a laugh.

I raised an eyebrow but remained quiet otherwise.

“You can’t break up with her. You said she was your mate,” Cassidy told me.

“It’s complicated and I don’t want to talk about her,” I said, giving both of them a look that hopefully conveyed that conversation was over.

“You probably won’t want to hear about this then,” Layton said, dumping two black folders on the table in front of me.

“What’s that?” I asked, nodding toward the folders.

“Yeah, what is that?” Cassidy asked as well, picking up one of the folders.

“Mountain Peak Pack business,” Layton replied.

Cassidy looked through the folder while I kept my gaze on Layton.

“What about them?” I asked him.

“Everyone’s been talking about this for a few years now. Anthony only has a daughter, your mate. She was supposed to the next Alpha in line, along with her mate. She’s a female though,” Layton said.

“What’s with everyone stating the fact that she’s a girl? Is it really a big deal that she’s not a guy?”

“Males are stronger. Alpha males are the strongest Wolves. It means that a common Wolf wouldn’t fit the part. Other packs have been discussing the possibility that Mountain Peak will fall. If it did, the members would either go Rogue or join other packs. I was interested in a few of their members. But we all know most will probably go to Midnight Moon. They have the strongest pack and Anthony knows it,” Layton explained.

“Yeah, they wanted me to give them a kid. They think I’m a human though, it’s why Emilia and I broke it off.”

“They didn’t want you because you were a human?” Cassidy asked indignantly.

She turned to glare at Layton, who was giving her an apologetic look.

“No, I turned them down. I don’t want to have a kid right now,” I told Cassidy because she looked a step away from attacking Layton.

“When he first met me, he pushed me away because I was a human,” she told me, keeping her glare on him.

I chuckled, though the situation wasn’t really funny.

“Let me guess- Anthony wanted a male pup to take over the pack?” Layton asked me with a knowing smile.

I nodded at him.

“You should tell them what you are. I have the third biggest pack in the US. It isn’t Midnight Moon big, but it’s a decent number. Having Cassidy levels out the advantage they have over me. She’s pretty lethal,” Layton said as he leaned down to give Cassidy a kiss.

I looked away, wanting to give them what little privacy I could.

“I thought you said you hadn’t killed anyone.”

“I haven’t,” Cassidy replied, shrugging.

“But if it comes to it, I know I’ll have to,” she finished.

“You can protect the pack you know. If they think you’re human, it would explain why Anthony is worried. We all are. With Raven still picking itself from the ground, packs are starting to get paranoid. None of the packs want another repeat of Raven pack. If Anthony knew what you are capable of….” Layton said without finishing the sentence.

“Is today off day?” Cassidy asked all of a sudden.

“Why?” I asked her, not holding back my grin.

“This is the most I’ve seen Layton talk to somebody other than me and he’s not giving you his ‘oh so mighty Alpha’ attitude,” Cassidy said, grinning at Layton teasingly.

While I chuckled at Cassidy’s words, Layton was frowning at her.

“This is important. You’re never present in private pack meetings. Maybe if you would spend more time with the pack and less time with Zeverus, then you might know what’s happening with Mountain Peak,” Layton scolded her.

“I’m hearing about it now, so it’s all right. It’s not that big a deal anyways,” she told him.

“You should go back and tell them,” Layton said, turning back to face me.

“I was being serious Layton. Why are you so interested in this? I’ve never seen you so concerned about other packs unless it involved ours,” Cassidy questioned him.

“I get involved,” Layton snapped at her.

Cassidy didn’t even look affected by the tone Layton had used with her. Instead, she rolled her eyes at him.

“You only get involved when it comes to Zev’s pack and that’s because I pester you so much about it. You don’t get involved with anyone else. What’s so important about Mountain Peak?”

“What happens with Mountain Peak can cause serious damage to the rest of us,” Layton told her, his expression turning dark.

He looked genuinely concerned.

“How is that possible?” I asked, interrupting whatever Cassidy had been about to say.

“Right now there are packs feuding. Everyone’s picking sides. If they’re not picking sides, they’re trying to find a way to stay out of it. Right now five packs are in the middle of a battle. Out of the twelve packs, two of them already fell. Are you willing to make that three?” He asked me.

“You say it like it’s my fault. I’m not the one bringing the pack down. I’m not even a Werewolf!”

“It’s not your fault, but your decision can help them.”

I remained quiet.

Cassidy was looking between Layton and me with a panicked expression. It wasn’t like we would start fighting in the middle of her dining room.

I had no intention in attacking Layton and he seemed far from that. He was looking at me like I was a child that needed to be reasoned with.

“What do you get out of this? Do you want something?” I asked Layton.

Cassidy focused her attention on Layton after I spoke. She seemed curious to hear his reply as well.

Layton cocked an eyebrow at me, but the thoughtful expression remained on his face.

“I want an alliance.”