The Demon of Angels (Bk. 2)

ZEKE

AS THEIR BODIES vanished from view, my entire body crashed to the floor. Numbness took over my brain as the scene replayed in my head. Over and over again, I watched Death slit Celeste’s throat, and tears fell from her beautiful brown eyes after she told me she loved me.

Heart hammering in my chest, I spun on my beta with glowing golden eyes. My demon was on the verge of losing it. “Where is she?” I screamed, praying that he somehow knew the answer to such an impossible question.

Noah’s eyes found mine, their warm chocolate brown irises full of terror, shock, grief, and tears. He was starting to hyperventilate, chest moving rapidly as he struggled to breathe. As much as I wanted to, I couldn’t lose my shit. Celeste was counting on us.

On me.

But when he shook his head slightly and confirmed my fears, I knew I was on the verge of a full-blown panic attack. Frantic, I shifted my gaze to Evan, but he wore the same expression. He looked how I felt: Guilty, stricken, and lifeless without her in my arms.

Safe.

A lump formed in my throat as I turned to Hardin, tears streaming down his face as he stroked Morgan’s hair. To no one in particular, he whispered four words that cut my already aching heart, and fueled my anger all at once.

“He almost killed her.”

With a mangled half cry and half growl of rage, I bolted out of what was left of Celeste’s house, stopping at the edge of the driveway. My broken leg was healing, but the searing pain in my quad and calf didn’t ease.

I gritted my teeth and attempted to stand tall, but my legs gave out beneath me. I fell to my knees in a heap, bones cracking against the pavement. I growled, the image of Celeste’s stab wound, the never-ending pool of blood from her chest, replaying behind my open eyelids like a damn horror movie.

Even through the bond, I felt nothing, empty and numb.

A sudden hand gently placed itself on my shoulder. “Get up, Son.” My body jolted in surprise, but only for a moment before it settled back into its black hole.

Hearing his voice now made the blood in my veins boil. Snarling, I shrugged off his hand and whipped my head around as I shakily stood to my feet and stared down at the Archangel. “Don’t touch me.” I meant for my voice to come out temperamental and angry, but the words only croaked from my throat.

Michael sighed, closing his eyes. “I’m sorry, but this is not my battle to fight.”

“You left! AGAIN!” I roared. The anger was quick to surface but quicker to dissipate as defeat weighed heavily on my shoulders. “When she needed you the most. You. Left.”

The Archangel frowned, shaking his head. “Celeste no longer needs me as much as you all may think. If anything, she needs you-”

I bolted upright, gesturing to the open space around me. “Then where is she?!” I snarled, poking the Archangel in the chest. “We were there when her father stabbed her in the fucking heart.” Michael recoiled from my language, but I kept going– kept pushing. “But you weren’t. You never are!”

Footsteps crowded the driveway. Noah and Evan stood steadily on their feet, eyes hard as they glared at Michael. “We can’t feel her,” Noah murmured, despite the clear anger vibrating in his steady gaze. Emotion clogged his throat. “The soul bond,” he clarified. “She’s gone.” Tears brimmed to the surface of his eyes. I felt his sorrow through our pack bond.

The Archangel sighed with another shake of his head, despair for the three of us written all over his features. “She’s not dead, son–”

My head snapped up. “Then let’s go get he-”

“But we can’t act rational,” Michael finished, standing tall with his arms crossed over his broad chest.

I’m pretty sure my soul just shattered at his words, a growl releasing itself from my throat as my Hybrid surged forth. He was pissed, eager to retrieve our mate and shred through anyone who got in our way. Michael was demanded we stay put and act rationally while my mate was being held captive by the same High Demon that nearly killed all of us– nearly killed Morgan. “You need to stay strong and prepare yourselves.”

“For what?”

Michael grimaced. “For what’s to come; the war.”

Searching his eyes, I found determination, pride, compassion, and hope swirling around the bright blue irises of his. The fight to rush to get my mate left my body in a breath of air. Although it didn’t take it away, the emotion in his eyes made it easier to breathe despite the ache in my chest.

Slowly, I nodded, letting Michael wrap an arm around my shoulders and lead me back into the mangled house. We managed to sidestep most of the debris, wood splinters, glass shards, and brick clumps, finding ourselves in the exact spot Death had taken my girl.

My eyes lowered, spotting the pool of blood on the hardwood floor of where she once stood.

Motherfucker.

My nose flared as I mentally vowed that I would kill that son of a bitch for what he’d done the first chance I had. Fury rolled through me in waves, crashing into my brain and numbing it with a red cloud of anger. Memories of Celeste followed the red haze, bringing her light to my darkness that was threatening to consume me. They flickered in and out of my subconscious so fast that I thought I was starting to go insane.

I’d never forget the day I first saw her at my doorstep, standing tall with eyes full of pure stubbornness. A ghost of a smile appeared on my lips at the memory. Remembering her sass and witty comebacks, challenging me in a way I never knew I craved until I met her. I was an asshole to her at first, but it was for reasons that meant safety for my pack. But it did nothing to deter the odd feelings I would get around her. Tingles would spread through my back whenever she was near, and the hairs on my neck would stand on end. A feeling I now ached for.

It wasn’t until she bitched me out later that day that I realized she was the one for me. I smiled to myself, but it dropped as quickly as it came. It was the same day that I realized I could never have her and pushed her away instead. The biggest mistake of my life. Celeste was gone now, and I could not get her back.

Michael squeezed my shoulder, probably reading my thoughts. “Patience, Son. She’ll be back soon.”

She’s not dead, I told myself. She’ll be back soon.

She had to be; I don’t know what I’d do with myself if she weren’t. My Hybrid wasn’t already frantic and severely pissed off. The urge to protect, claim what is ours, and maim anyone who dared to lay a finger on her was nearly overwhelming any sense of direction.

Michael stepped away from me, his shoes crunching against the glass. Evan was helping Hardin with Morgan’s unconscious body upstairs. I frowned, watching them. Despite Morgan’s… obsession, as most referred to it, she was a dear friend to myself and my pack.

Hardin refused to meet my gaze when they came back downstairs but gathered with us around the island. No one said a word, and Michael let us sit in silence, mulling over what had just happened. I refused to think any more about it. I needed to get to Celeste.

Now.

“Why can’t I feel her?” I blurted, scrunching my eyebrows. The question was meant for Michael, but I would have accepted anyone’s answer.

“I assume because her father is blocking it somehow,” Michael mused.

“How is that possible?” Noah asked. “It’s a soul bond.”

I growled instinctively. Michael raised his hands, motioning for me to calm down. I crossed my arms, huffing and nowhere near as calm as he wanted me to be. I was here and not out there searching for my mate– my Soulmate. Calm wasn’t currently in my vocabulary.

The Archangel raised an eyebrow in my direction with a small smile, probably hearing my obnoxious thoughts. Evan leaned forward on the counter. “He thinks he could change her mind,” he breathed, coming to a realization none of us could have fathomed. Besides the Archangel, of course.

My eyebrows drew together. “What do you mean, change her mind?”

Evan met my gaze. “He thinks, wherever he’s taken her, will fuel the dark side of her Hybrid, possibly even forcing any light out of her. His goal is to get her to submit to him willingly and his cause– to fight for him, instead of against him.”

I shook my head in full denial. “Not possible; she wouldn’t.”

“Then why stab her in the heart? Making us believe she’s dead.” Noah asked.

“To get us to think just that,” Evan answered. “And to make her think, that we think, she’s dead. Either way, it hurts Celeste and gives him the upper hand.”

“How?” I blurted.

“How do you think?” Evan shrugged. “He believes we think she’s dead. Why would we go after a dead person?”

We all let Evan’s question hang in the air, rolling it over in our heads, but I can’t shake the feeling that he’s right. It makes the most sense, and it does sound like something Death would do to manipulate the situation and in turn, manipulate us.

Another question cleared the haze in my head. “But why would she go dark because of that?” I asked.

Michael cleared his throat, grabbing our attention. “Evan is correct. I’ve never seen Celeste care for or and love anyone as much as she does the three of you.” Warmth spread through my chest at his words, knowing full well those feelings were reciprocated. “If something happened to you, and she believed it was her fault, she’d never forgive herself.”

My eyes widened. “The prophecy,” I murmured. Noah’s eyebrows furrowed, and before I had a chance to explain, Evan was already one step ahead of me.

“The Prophet’s bonded protector and mate shall be the light that helps save us all. Or the dark pathway to the Prophet’s self-destruction.” Evan recited the words from memory, staring at the wall.

“It’s up to her now,” Michael added. “Just as it did then, as it does now– our fate lies in her hands, her mind, and her heart.” Michael ran a stressed hand over his face. “It just depends if she’s willing to fight it, or succumb to it.”

A solemn silence fell over us. Hardin was still sporting his blank stare. He almost lost the only family he had left that mattered to him; it traumatized him. Morgan kept him in place, held him on firm ground, and she kept him sane. Who knew what he would have become if she passed?

It took all five of us to devise a plan, and what I hoped would only take a few minutes ended up taking a few hours. I was growing impatient as hell, and Evan was testing my temper. I started pacing the living room while Evan went over the plan again and again. I still couldn’t get Celeste getting stabbed in the chest out of my mind.

At some point, Evan must have paused, as no talking was going on. When I looked over, momentarily stopping my pacing, he was glaring at me with a pointed look. “What?” I snapped, uncrossing my arms from my chest.

The Celestial just shook his head, going back to his notes. Noah stifled a laugh, eyeing Hardin by the fireplace below the T.V. He hadn’t spoken much in the past few hours, but I hadn’t expected him to. He was here, helping when he could, and that was all I could expect of him in his state. Morgan still hadn’t woken up.

“So,” Evan chirped, snapping my attention away from the quiet Hellhound. “Since Zeke hasn’t listened to a word I’ve said all night, I vote we leave him here.”

My nose flared. “Like hell you will,” I growled.

Evan jumped to his feet, tossing his notes on the couch. “You’re not going to go in there and risk getting yourself killed and us in the process– all because of your stupid possessive and body-hungry nature,” he snapped back. Evan’s eyes started to burn a bright blue, something I’ve only seen a few times in the years I’ve known him. Except, they weren’t haloed. Instead, the entirety of his irises was consumed by the Celestial glow.

Stepping forward, I pointed a finger at him. “You don’t get to make that decision for me.” Noah stood to his feet then, inching his way toward us in case he had to intervene.

“When Celeste’s and everyone else’s life is on the line, yeah, I do.” Evan matched my advance. “Especially when you just want to charge right in there recklessly.”

“I can save her faster than anyone. In and out,” I growled. Evan advanced again, and Noah was nearly in between us now, our bodies a foot apart on either side of my Beta’s body.

“No,” he hissed. “You,” he stabbed a finger into my chest. “Will be the one to get her killed.”

I roared, reaching for Evan, but Noah quickly intervened. My beta shoved me back, catching me off guard and laying me flat on my ass. “Enough!” He growled, his eyes now bright red, his demon brimming just beneath the surface. Evan was back on the couch, brushing himself off with an irritated expression.

I jumped to my feet, growling as my vision hazed over in red. “Don’t do that again.” My core pulsed with energy that needed to be released. I never lost control, hadn’t in a long time. But I was slowly being pushed over the edge, and with Celeste’s life hanging in the balance, I was going to go crazy without some sort of release. Specifically involving her father’s minion’s dead bodies at my feet.

Noah’s head snapped up to mine, his eyes darkening to crimson. He tilted his chin and snarled. The hound inside me rumbled, my entire being on edge.

Challenge.

“Oh, for fucks sake,” a voice behind me grumbled. A second later, Hardin’s back was to me, facing Noah. “Down, puppy,” he growled, shoving his face away from mine with his hand. Noah snarled as his ass landed on the couch next to Evan. Hardin swiveled to face me then. “Look, I don’t know this Celeste chick very well, but it seems like you all care about her a lot. But if you want to save her, Evan’s right. You can’t charge in there, hell-bent on getting your girl and acting like a fucking lunatic on steroids.”

After a beat of silence, I growled and turned away, giving them my back as I slowly reigned in my Hybrid. As much as I didn’t want him to be, I knew Hardin was right.

For once.

Running a hand through my hair, I parted my lips to speak, but a pulse in my chest stopped me. Halting all movements, including my breathing, I waited. Seconds later, it pulsed again, this time stronger. A smug smile found its way to my lips as I shook my head in disbelief. Like a bat out of Hell, I could feel Celeste alive and fighting.

It was about damn time I did the same.