by G. Bailey
"Are you okay?" Wyatt asks, like he can actually feel my guilt.
"Mm-hmm. So, what have you been up to this week?" I ask to change the subject. Wyatt frowns at me before letting it go and answering.
"I've been working with my father, and Drake has been helping. There is some new information that's come to light, and we are planning a take-over," he tells me, his jaw is clicking as he talks, and I get the impression it’s not what he wants.
"A take-over? Like acquiring a new business or something?" I ask.
"No, we will take it apart, so it can’t hurt anyone else. The group is going to do something terrible. I might get in trouble for stopping them, but it’s the right thing to do," he says, and I get the feeling he didn’t mean to tell me that when he looks at me. I’ve always had the feeling Wyatt isn’t telling me something, but I’m not sure how to ask him about it.
"Why?" I ask.
"It's not us being evil, Winter. They would do the same to us without a second thought, and it’s better to take out the threat before they become a bigger one," he says without a hint of emotion, one of his pale hands reaches over and takes mine. I let him hold my hand for a while, neither of us saying a word.
"Doesn't make it right," I say finally, as he looks at me oddly.
"You’re right, it doesn't, but we don’t all have a choice. Sometimes a wrong can make a right." He smiles with a sadness that I don't understand.
I yawn, feeling how tired I am from last night. When I have nightmares, I don't get any sleep and usually feel more tired than usual. They started when I was ten, and I used to wake up screaming. My mum took me to the doctors after I started getting one every month, but they didn’t help. I eventually learnt that they aren’t that scary, they just feel very real. I told my mum I didn’t get them anymore, when I couldn’t stand her looking at me with concern all the time. Alex knew and usually would help me, and she still does, but the dreams aren’t all always the same. Sometimes I dream of fire-covered demons and beautiful people who glow different colours, but some of them are so awful that they scare me into not sleeping for days. Thankfully, I only seem to get those dreams once a year now.
"You look tired, a rough night?" he asks, watching me from the corner of his eye.
"Just bad dreams keeping me awake," I tell him honestly.
"What were they about?" he asks gently.
"Oh, the usual: strange people, I don't know, arguing and wearing weird clothes. It wasn’t a nightmare, but it didn't feel good. It doesn't matter," I mumble, looking away. I can’t tell him how I think it’s my subconscious trying to tell me I have feelings for someone who is just a friend.
"Maybe you need a strong, blond man in your bed, to protect you from bad dreams," he says, and I giggle when I see the small twitch in his lips.
"You need to work on your chat-up lines, buddy," I grin. This makes us both start laughing.
"I don't usually need them, but, I agree, that was bad," he chuckles as he takes my hand and brings it to his mouth. Wyatt places a gentle kiss on the back of it before letting go to change the gear.
"We're here," he says, and I can see how excited he is from his eyes. I get out of his car to see we are parked outside a very small restaurant. It looks like a cottage in the middle of nowhere with a few lanterns in the windows. I look at Wyatt in confusion.
"You should never judge a book by its cover, hasn't anyone ever told you that?" He chuckles when I don't reply, and he comes over, taking my hand. Wyatt leads me to the entrance, and a man opens the door, nodding to Wyatt as he leads me in. The room is practically empty, except for a staircase lit up by fairy lights on the big banisters. The staircase leads down into the ground, and I can’t see where it goes. There were a few cars parked outside, so there must be other people down here.
"After you, sweetheart," Wyatt whispers in my ear, as he pushes my hair over my shoulder. I smile, walking down the staircase, then my jaw drops open.
There is a massive room under the small restaurant, with tables in the middle. The ceiling has hundreds of different lights, and the walls are filled with bottles of wine on display. Wyatt gently nudges me down the staircase with his hand, and the man at the end smiles at us. The staircase looks like it’s been carved out of one piece of wood, and little twirls are carved into it. It makes me wonder how the hell they got the staircase into here. It must have been a hell of a job.
"Sir, you and your lovely guest are very welcome here tonight. It’s been such a long time since I have seen you. The usual table?" he asks with a small bow. The man is dressed all in black, with a small red crown stitched into the pocket on his chest.
"Please, Albert," Wyatt answers. I scowl a little inside as we are led to a nice table in the corner, thinking about how many girls he has brought here. A wave of jealousy hits me as I imagine Wyatt with anyone else, but I push it away as Wyatt looks through the drinks menu. I can’t be jealous of people who came before me, but, for some reason, I know I am. The way Wyatt looks at me suggests that he isn’t seeing anyone else, so I should relax.
"I will have my usual red wine, and what would you like?" he asks me, and I ask for a glass of any white wine.
"That's no problem. I can choose something for you," Albert nods before leaving.
"The lobster is really tasty here, it’s a favourite of mine, but anything here is. The chef is known around the world for his cooking talents, and has won many awards. I wouldn’t stop eating if that man cooked for me all the time," Wyatt says as I skim though the menu.
“It sounds really good,” I reply, vaguely wondering how expensive the food must be here. The menu doesn’t have any prices, which makes it beyond expensive. I don’t know if I like Wyatt spending that much money on me. I know he must be well off because of his car; it’s still something I’m not sure how to get used to. Growing up, we weren’t poor by any means, we had a lovely two-bedroom house in a nice neighbourhood, and my mum found enough to take us on a few holidays over the years. I’ve just never been to a place as expensive as this, and, honestly, I think I’m a little intimidated by it all. But I don’t want to ruin tonight, so I force myself to act comfortable.
I decide on the mixed fish food plate, and as the waiter brings us our drinks, I order my food, and Wyatt has the same as me.
"How did you find this place, it's almost magical?" I inquire as I look around. The walls look like they are polished, brown stone, and there are a few couples at the other tables who look more interested in the room than their partners. The thoughts of what Harris said about other supernaturals flutters to my mind as I look around the place. It's really a very magical place with the lights looking like they are hovering above us, too bright for me to make out. The table even has a rose which looks too perfect to be real.
"This place was created by my mother. I actually own it now, but it always feels like hers. My mother was just like this place, unique and stunning," he looks around the room as he talks, his eyes are distant with a lost memory.
"Your mother had beautiful taste in things," I comment.
"She did. She was a magical person inside and out, you could say." He smiles, and I'm reminded how handsome he is when he does. We chat about normal things until our food arrives, and Wyatt was right, the lobster is amazing, as it all is.
"Would you like dessert, sir?" Albert asks when we have finished.
"A chocolate pudding to share please," he says, and Albert nods before he leaves.
"How did you know I wanted dessert?" I ask with a slight smile when he grins at me.
"Well, a little bird told me of your weak spot for chocolate," he says with a wink.
"Alex," I groan, and he laughs. She is right, I have a serious addiction to chocolate. I really believe the stuff should be banned because it’s the main problem for my hips and ass. Actually, I don’t want it banned, I would have to buy it illegally and then end up in prison.
"What else did she say?" I ask, feeling my cheeks going red.
"I'm afraid we
discussed your running around the house naked phase at nine, and my favourite is the time you tried to save a cat in a tall tree and got stuck for a whole night, while everyone searched for you." He laughs with me as I chuckle. I put my hands on my red cheeks trying to hide them.
"The damn cat betrayed me,” I say with a pout as Wyatt laughs.
“How did the cat betray you?” he manages to ask between laughter.
“The cat climbed down once I got up, and walked off. I had to have firefighters use their truck ladders to get me down." Wyatt laughs harder as I add, "The whole neighbourhood had to watch as I was thrown over one of the men’s shoulders, and my skirt flew up, flashing everyone my kitten knickers," I say with a slight grumble that makes Wyatt laugh more.
I can't help but laugh with him, as I plan ways to get back at my revealing friend later.
The waiter smiles as he hands us the chocolate pudding with only one spoon.
Wyatt calms down enough to slice off a bit of mouth-watering pudding, and smirks at me.
"Try this," he whispers as he leads the spoon to my mouth and slowly feeds me it. I can't help the small moan that escapes my lips as I taste the amazing flavour of the pudding.
I look up to see Wyatt’s eyes almost glowing black before he looks away.
"You can have the rest if you want," he says gently.
"We can share," I say, and we take turns feeding each other. It becomes way too much of a turn on every time he licks the spoon, so I have to go to the toilet to calm down and get away from him for a second before I do or say something embarrassing. I finish in the bathroom, and when I come back to the table, there is a man in my seat.
I can only see his back and that he has a lot of shiny, white hair that’s tied loosely at the nape of his neck in braids and goes down to his middle back. There are odd bits of silver in it, and I think it must be a really expensive dye job. When I get to the table, both the men stop talking, and Wyatt looks up at me with a slight smile. The white-haired man is even more impressive from the front. He has a handsome, baby face, with white eyebrows that I wouldn’t think could look hot on a guy, but it does for him. His purple eyes are big and bright as he stares at me, and I notice he is wearing some kind of white tunic with what looks like white trousers underneath that showcase his massive build. I would guess he is as big as Jaxson, or just a tad bigger than Wyatt, but who knows? When he smiles at me, two perfectly placed dimples appear.
“Wyatt, where have you been hiding this gorgeous one?” he asks, and I watch in slight curiosity as he stands and offers me my chair back. I was wrong about his height, he towers over me, and I feel tiny next to him. I take the chair and feel his large fingers slide across my back as he tucks me in.
“Dabriel, this is Winter,” Wyatt introduces me with a friendly smile on his lips. I’m a little surprised he didn’t take offence to this guy calling me gorgeous, but maybe they are just good friends.
“Nice to meet you, that’s an unusual name you have,” I comment and smile up at him from my seat. I watch as Dabriel gets another chair from a nearby table and moves it next to ours.
“So is Winter. Were you born in winter by any chance?” Dabriel winks at me, and I laugh.
“Nope, my birthday is in May. I asked my mum about it once, and she said she just loves winter. It’s odd, actually, because when it’s cold at home, she hates it,” I say, and we all laugh a little.
“How do you guys know each other?” I ask. Dabriel looks the same age as Wyatt, so maybe they grew up together.
“We have been friends for a long time. Atti will want to meet you; he is our other friend. It’s a shame that Jax won’t speak to us still,” Dabriel says, and I briefly panic before deciding that they couldn’t mean Jaxson. That would be impossible. I couldn’t imagine the big, bad wolf having friends that are human. It must just be a coincidence.
“I bet he would, and one day, Jax will stop being an idiot.” Wyatt shakes his head.
“Yeah, that’s not happening.” Dabriel laughs.
“Can I call you Dab? I like it,” I say randomly.
“You can call me whatever, hot stuff.” Dabriel winks.
“That was bad. Winter said I was bad at hitting on her, but come on, he is worse,” Wyatt waves a hand at a laughing Dabriel.
“Okay, I'll admit you’re both bad. How do you get dates?” I laugh at their pouting faces. “Must be the good looks,” I think and realise too late that I’ve said it out loud. Both of them grin at me.
Men and their egos.
“I have to leave, but I will see you again, Winter,” Dabriel says as he gets to his feet.
“Dabriel,” Wyatt warns in a low voice.
“It’s true, it’s not the right time but soon,” Dabriel tells Wyatt, and they both stare each other down before Wyatt nods. He looks at me and eventually smiles.
“Soon, Winter,” Dabriel says before walking off. I watch until he leaves the restaurant.
“Sorry about Dabriel. He is…different and, well, not usually this friendly. Honestly, I’ve never seen him come out with such terrible pickup lines before,” Wyatt apologises.
“I thought he was nice,” I say, not wanting to tell him that I actually thought he was hot as sin wrapped up in a tight package. I wonder what colour his eyes are usually, I think he must have worn some cool contacts. I remember when Alex bought some pink ones, and she looked really creepy for a while. It kind of suits Dabriel.
“Nice is a word I’m sure Dabriel has never been called.” Wyatt chuckles to himself, his dark eyes meeting mine.
“How did you meet him?” I ask, breaking the building tension between us.
“Our fathers all hated each other, when they were all alive at least. We all protested against them by being secret friends as kids. Atti was the first to come to us all, he found a way without anyone knowing, and then we all used to meet once a week. As we got older, they became like brothers to me. We all have our own family issues, and it was a great way to escape,” he says.
“Sounds like most kids, tell them not to do something, and they will go straight ahead and do it,” I chuckle.
“I enjoyed tonight, spending time with you is relaxing,” Wyatt tells me.
“Me too,” I whisper with blushing cheeks, and he runs his fingers across my hand on the table. We leave not long after. On the way home, I look over at Wyatt. "Thank you for tonight, I had a really good time," I say, and I mean it. Being with Wyatt has become relaxing. Jaxson is so intense that I feel like I’m going to kill him half the time, whereas being with Wyatt is fun.
"How about next week, same time? I’m free Friday if you are, and I could invite Atti to meet you," he asks.
"I would like that. I like getting to know you and meeting your friends," I say gently, placing my hand on his arm.
Wyatt stops the car on the side of the road, ignoring my questioning gaze. I let him undo my seatbelt and pull me onto his lap.
"It's so hard to be around you all night and not beg you for a kiss," he says before his hands cup my face, and his cold lips meet mine. My hands curl around his neck and into his hair, as he kisses his way down my jaw and to my neck. I lean my head back to give him more access, but he pulls away looking at me, his hands tightly holding my waist.
"You’re beyond temptation, you know that?" he groans, kissing my forehead before lifting me and clipping me back in my seat.
"Am I?" I flirt a little, as I check him out with his messy hair from my hands. I like the relaxed look on him.
"If you keep looking at me like that, sweetheart, I will end up showing you in my car how much of a temptation you are," he says as he smirks at me.
Wyatt drops me off at home with a sweet kiss, not letting the kiss go any further, and I scowl at him.
"I don't want to rush this…us. There are things I haven't told you, and I need you to know before we become serious," he says, rubbing my arms as he pulls me into his chest for a hug. I wonder what he needs to tell me. I mean, I have the feeling he i
s a good guy, well I hope he is. My thoughts go back to when we first met, how scary he was to me and how much I wanted to run. I can’t understand what changed my mind other than he seems like a different person to who he was when we first met. He seems warmer.
"No rush," I whisper back confirming his thoughts. My feelings rush to Jaxson and how different it feels to be held by him. Wyatt feels relaxed and safe in a way. Jaxson feels wild and untamed but safe in the same kind of way.
"Goodnight, Winter," he whispers as he kisses the top of my head. I walk into my apartment, locking the door behind me with a large grin on my face.
Eleven
Dabriel
The prophecy said she would be the one for me, but I didn’t expect to like her the moment I met her. I had been warned about a human girl all my life, but my visions never warned me about how it would feel. I saw myself meeting her tonight, I saw how happy I was. For once in my life, I actually felt at peace when I walked into that restaurant, my powers weren’t pressing me to heal everyone in the room, anything from a paper cut to cancer.
My mind and eyes couldn’t look away from her. Winter has an aura like no other, like a glowing, blue beacon, and it’s beautiful, much like her. Her dark-brown hair looks softer than fairy wings, and her body was made to make angels fall. I can’t actually fall by mating with humans—that’s just a human rumour. We angels are born either light or dark, two light angels can have a dark angel child, much like two dark angels can have a light child. We don’t mix our races, yet somehow the goddess always chooses who we belong to.
“We have a problem,” I say to Wyatt, flying down next to his car outside Winter’s apartment. I flew behind them, watching as he kissed her. I can’t say I’m not a little jealous, but I’m trying not to be.