The Demon of Angels (Bk. 2)

FAMILIAR AND FOREIGN voices stirred me from the darkness that continuously found its relentless ways to pull me under. I winced against a soft pounding against my skull, squeezing my eyes shut as consciousness slowly came back to me.

“Is she going to be okay?”

“She needs to wake up.”

“I can’t believe he found us so soon.”

“I never want to hear her scream like that again.”

My eyes fluttered open, and I slowly started to look around me. Everyone was watching me, including an individual I had never met before. There was an unearthly glow radiating from his skin. Wearing a bright blue polo shirt and khaki pants, he sat at the end of the couch I was currently lying on, smiling down at me with an emotion I couldn’t quite comprehend. His bright blue eyes reminded me of Michael, while his hair was much darker yet still had a strange bright tint to it. It reminded me much of my own hair.

I sat up and then cried out as pain shot through my stomach, bile rising in my throat. I lifted my shirt up and cringed at the large dark bruise covering the entire length of my abdomen. Looking closer, bruises were spotted all over my body. Scabs layered over my arms and skin where the cracks of power had previously been when I had lost control.

The man at the end of the couch rushed over to me, grabbed my arms, then closed his eyes. I watched in silence, too stunned to do anything as soft tendrils of heat seeped through my pores. Slowly, the bruise on my abdomen started to fade, several bones snapped into place, and the scabs healed over and disappeared completely. I found it easier to breathe as the pain faded and the man opened his eyes. He had just healed me.

I felt the dizziness and nausea fade away as well, and after another moment, my body felt normal. The man locked his eyes with mine, my face feeling stiff from all the tears that I had shed. I reached up and rubbed my eyes. He smiled warmly down at me, and I felt a hint of recognition, but I couldn’t place it.

“How are you feeling?” He asked. His voice was soft and smooth, basking me in comfort and safety.

“Better,” was all I said. The fact that I was still alive baffled me. I should have died along with my mate back in that cabin. As if reading my thoughts, the man tried to suppress a grin and then stepped away. The man’s similarity to Michael was uncanny.

I looked behind him to see Maddie standing beside Evan with Hannah. Bragden and Charlie stood behind the couch, watching me with interest. Axel was nowhere in sight, and Hardin stood next to Noah and Morgan. Noah was standing behind the strange man, his eyes continuously looking to his right and then back at me several times over.

I followed his gaze, and my eyes connected with a familiar pair of stormy grey eyes. I gasped when I saw him sitting in the chair at the end of the couch, watching me like the others. I jumped off the couch and stared at him, stunned with my mouth hanging open. I took a couple of steps backward and started shaking my head.

Impossible.

I could feel the tears start to well up in my eyes again. He slowly stood and walked over to me. I covered my mouth with both of my hands, not caring about the dried blood still covering them. Tears cascaded down my cheeks once again, streaking through the blood.

No one said a single thing, and no words were spoken for a few moments as we stared at each other.

“How?” I finally managed to choke out when he stopped in front of me. “You died. Your heart stopped beating; you were gone.” I started sobbing again. “You left me.”

He reached out and pulled me against his chest tightly, gentle as if he was afraid I’d break beneath his grasp. “You healed me,” he whispered. I started shaking my head. This wasn’t real. I was experiencing another one of death’s twisted visions. Zeke died. He was gone. “You healed me, Celeste,” he echoed, cupping my face in his hands with such gentleness that it nearly broke me.

I fisted my hands in his shirt, then palmed his chest. His chest moved beneath my fingers as he breathed. Oxygen was pumping in and out of his lungs, the rapid beat of his heart pounding against his rib cage as heat basked beneath my palms.

“That’s not possible,” I murmured, too stunned to say much more than that.

Zeke tugged me closer, enclosing me in his warmth and the safety of his arms. “It is possible for soulmates,” he murmured into my hair, tightening his hold around my waist.

I tilted my chin, bending back at the waist, and looked into his eyes. The gorgeous silver eyes were looking back at me, and every loving emotion that was radiating from his gaze poured through our bond.

He’s alive.

“I love you,” he whispered, resting his forehead against mine. The tears started to flow again, and all I could do was give him a firm nod.

Zeke kissed my forehead and pulled away, wiping away my tears. Each droplet that fell from my eyes was a piece of my heart. Each tear he wiped away was the glue that patched it back together.

Someone cleared their throat from behind Zeke, snatching our attention back to the true reality. The man that had healed me stepped forward with a shy smile. “Sorry to interrupt, but I think we have some important things to discuss.”

As the stranger motioned between him and me, a frown tugged at the edges of my lips. “Like what?” He smiled at that, and a familiar tug itched in the back of my mind.

“Well,” he started. “How about we start with introductions?”

I nodded, silently urging him to continue. His smile brightened and closed the gap between us. Zeke didn’t seem tense, nor did he pull me closer in a protective way. It seemed he trusted this man. The stranger lifted his arm, holding his hand out. I took it and shook his hand, eyeing him wearily.

“I’m Archangel Raphael, Michael’s youngest brother, and your mother’s father,” he paused, clearing his throat with a nervous breath when my mouth popped open. “Your grandfather.”

My feet rooted themselves to the carpet that seeped between my bare toes. I was stunned to silence as the gears churned in my head, repeating the same word over and over again.

Grandfather?

“Uh,” I fumbled over the words that refused to leave my mouth. My brain hadn’t fully comprehended what he had said, let alone managed to come up with a response. “What?” Michael had told me stories of Archangel Raphael, many in fact, but I never thought I’d get the chance to see him in person. Let alone find out that he was my grandfather.

Raphael smiled sheepishly for a moment, then rubbed the back of his neck. “I’m Michael’s youngest bro-.”

I cut him off quickly, irritation and impatience settling in. “No,” I snapped at him. “The other part. The part about you being my dead mother’s father.” Those last few words flew from my mouth harshly, more so than I intended. Zeke’s hand on my hip tightened, his thumb rubbing circles on the bone. It soothed me, but not nearly enough.

Raphael’s smile dropped, but he didn’t waver from my penetrating gaze. He held firm as words started to sputter from my lips as my emotions got the best of me. Again.

“Where were you when your own daughter died?” I hissed, choking back on another wave of emotions. “I didn’t see you, but I saw Michael. Michael was there for me when my mother– your daughter, was murdered on our own front lawn! You weren’t there!” The final words left my throat in a harsh throaty yell. The tears fell then, my heart aching for my dead mother.

“That’s not true,” Raphael argued, his eyebrows pinching together.

“Yes, it is!” I snapped at him, lurching forward. Zeke held me back as I tried to lunge at him. “You were never there. You did nothing,” I seethed through clenched teeth.

“I tried to help in all the ways that I could.” His tone grew softer, losing its emotion as his expression morphed into a mask of pain.

“You could have been there that night! You could have comforted your own Granddaughter!” I was screaming now, the tears continuously pouring from my reddened eyes. Raphael opened his mouth to interject, but I quickly sputtered out the words I never knew I was burying.

“Instead, you watched from home! You watched as your daughter was murdered. You watched as I went through my hot flares, as I was bullied and picked on for being different. Watched as Michael did all the work you were supposed to do!” Again, I tried to lunge for the Archangel before me, but Zeke now held me in a firm grip with both of his arms wrapped around my middle. Raphael didn’t flinch back from my frantic advances. He didn’t move at all.

“Celeste,” Zeke practically growled in my ear, his grunts giving away how much effort it was taking him to keep me from getting to the Archangel. “Calm down.”

“No,” I yelled, trying to tear myself from my mate’s arms. “He let my mother die!”

Evan had moved to Noah’s side, both of them eyeing me warily. “Celeste,” Noah said, as calmly as he had before we left the cabin. “Calm down, Cupcake.” He started to slowly move around Raphael to get to me, Zeke still struggling to hold me at bay.

“You should have been there!” I screamed, the tips of my fingers nearly grazing his polo shirt. “You should have-” I choked on a sob, “-been there.” My arms suddenly went limp, my knees giving up from underneath me. Zeke scooped me up into his arms.

The tears never ceased as they streamed down my face. The vivid memory of my mother’s battered face burned a scar-like image behind my eyes as I squeezed them shut. My sobs echoed around the sudden silent space. No words dared to be spoken as my emotions were nearly out of control.

“I did all I could do,” Raphael whispered after a few moments of silence. “Do you not understand how important she was? How grateful we are to her?”

My eyes snapped open. “That’s all she was to you? Did you not even look at her as a daughter? Your own flesh and blood?” The words came out in a nasty snarl. The organ beating beneath my rib cage was pounding at vigorous speeds.

Raphael let out a defeated sigh, rubbing the bridge of his nose. “That is not what I meant, Dear One.”

More nicknames?!

I leaned against my mate, sinking into his embrace. He rubbed small patterns along my back as he held me. I sniffled slightly, eyeing Raphael. “You still could have done something,” I growled slightly at him.

Raphael’s eyes snapped open, widening with hot anger. All evidence of his agony for causing such pain to his granddaughter was long gone. “I did do something,” he snapped at me. “Who do you think asked Michael to be sent to help protect you?”

“That should have been you!” I screamed, leaping from Zeke’s arms and getting into his face. Noah’s eyes widened, and he quickly jumped in between the Archangel and I.

The Hellhound’s eyes met mine for a moment, offering me a moment to cool down. I swallowed the heavy lump in my throat, then turned and closed my eyes once again, burying my head into my mate’s shoulder as he appeared in front of me. “What’s important,” Evan began, “isn’t what has happened, but what will happen.”

Zeke gently kissed the top of my head, pulling me closer to him. Even still standing, the loving action motivated me to hold more of my own weight. Zeke bent his head low, his lips brushing against my ear. “We need to focus on your father, Princess,” he murmured.

Bragden came around the couch and leaned against the armrest. “He’s right,” he announced, crossing his arms over his broad chest.

I nodded my agreement, ignoring the Archangel entirely. “But we don’t know for sure when he plans to strike,” I grumbled.

Raph stepped forward. “Actually, we do.” My eyebrow raised, and the Archangel continued. “Tomorrow.”

My head dropped simultaneously with my stomach. “Fuck.” Raphael grimaced, and I didn’t bother apologizing. I was still mad at him.

“We need to get some rest, be at our best to face whatever comes,” Charlie added. Everyone bobbed their heads in agreement.

It was all happening so fast. So soon.

My head rose, and I cleared my throat, grabbing their attention before they all walked off. “I wanted to say thank you,” I began. “Thank you for being here and fighting this with me. I know a lot is riding on me tomorrow, but it helps to know all of you have my back. A lump formed at the base of my throat as silence followed my words, then I continued. “Look,” I sighed. “I don’t know how things are going to play out tomorrow, and I can’t say we’ll all make it out alive. But, I can say with confidence that none of us will go down without a fight, and that’s all any of us could ask of each other.”

“She’s right,” my mate announced, his chest rumbling from his strong and steady words against my back. “We’ve been training all our lives for something like this to happen. It’s about time we put it to good use.”

Looking each of them in the eye, including Raphael, I told them a truth I had almost denied myself for a long time. “I will not fail you. I will not fail your family, and I will not fail those dearest to you.” Zeke squeezed my waist. His pride and love for me warmed the depths of my soul.

Noah clapped, then rubbed his hands together. “Let’s do this,” he grinned enthusiastically. Hannah snickered, shaking her head at her little brother. I smiled at my protector; the organ in my chest warmed as the love I had for him radiated through me.

Raphael frowned. “After we get some rest,” he said, scolding the Hellhound like a child. Noah rolled his eyes, mumbling “yeah, yeah” before strutting off in a random direction. Evan shook his head, smirking as he followed after my best friend.

Maddie gave a side glance at Hannah, and she nodded. They followed in the boys’ direction, leaving the room without a word. Bragden leaned back and flopped himself on the couch. “Dibs,” he called. I chuckled. Axel and Hardin had smirks on their sharp features, then moved from their places to the chairs that bordered the couch. Morgan and Charlie dipped off in another direction, down a separate hall that I was sure led to more bedrooms.

My brows pulled together, tilting my chin to look up at Zeke. “Where are we going to sleep?”

The edge of his lips twitched. “The master bedroom.”

I opened my mouth to respond with a smart-ass comment, but the more my eyes wandered, the more confused I became. “Where are we?”

Raphael, who was eyeing Zeke and me, answered my question. “A safe house in Las Vegas.”

My eyes widened. “We’re in Vegas?”

Zeke chuckled, nodding his head. “Vegas is crowded with demons; has the largest portal to Hell in North America.”

“Portal?”

Raph nodded. “Direct links to the gates of Heaven or Hell.”

“Yippee,” I mumbled sarcastically. Zeke chuckled. I caught Raphael smiling at me, and I suddenly felt uncomfortable, unsure of what to do or say. Thankfully, my mate felt it through our bond and started tugging me in the direction nearly everyone had headed.

“Goodnight, all,” I called over my shoulder as we passed.

“Night, Spark Plug,” Bragden called back.

A laugh parted my lips as I followed Zeke down a narrow hallway. I’m going to have to keep a list of all the nicknames I was earning lately.

The walls were painted a light grey, matching the carpet under my feet. Several closed doors lined either side of the hall, and Zeke led me to the one at the end of it on the right.

Pushing through the door, I tugged my hand from his grasp and sped into the master bed, flopping onto the mattress and burying myself into the foam. A thick ice blue comforter was blanketed over my body, basketing me in warmth. Zeke then followed me into bed and under the comforter.

My eyes were closed and pressed firmly against a pillow, so it wasn’t until he pulled me against his chest that I realized it was bare. My eyes shot open, eating up every perfected line and detail of his naked abdomen.

This boy would never not make me drool.

Shooting out of the bed, I quickly undressed until I was in nothing but my panties, then quickly plucked Zeke’s shirt off of the ground. I tugged it over my head, the dark fabric brushing against my bare thighs. Slowly, I slunk back into bed, and Zeke instantly snagged me around the waist and crushed me to him.

I snuggled myself into his embrace, taking a deep breath and inhaling everything that he was. Dark, dangerous, wild. But he was also bright, loving, and kind.

Mine.

As much as I didn’t want to think about it, yesterday’s nightmare replayed in my head over and over again, knowing this could be the last time I got to sleep in his arms. I wasn’t so sure that soulmate healing thing would happen a second time.

“I love you,” I mumbled into his chest, my eyes drooping as I started to surrender to the blissful serenity of sleep, pushing those ugly thoughts away.

Zeke ran his hands through my hair, drawing circles over my hip. “I love you.”

His loving confession was the last few words I heard before I peacefully slipped into the depths of sleep, wrapped in the arms of my soulmate.