by G. Bailey
“Yes, locking you in your room alone sounds like a brilliant plan,” Dabriel mutters. I chuckle and shake my head.
“I’m a wolf, I'll just break the door,” Freddy says with a smirk. A smirk much like his father’s when he is being an asshole.
“We could tie him up and gag him,” Jaxson says, coming into the corridor and ruffling Freddy’s hair. Jaxson has just jeans on again, foregoing a shirt, so his chest is on full display. I swear these men are trying to kill me by setting my hormones on fire.
“You wouldn’t,” Freddy glares at him and shoves his hand away.
“I will if you don’t go and tidy that room like I asked you to last week. I want your washing downstairs in ten minutes as well, or I’ll start your training an hour early, for a week,” Jaxson says, crossing his arms. If I thought dad mode was hot on Wyatt, Jaxson gives him competition.
“I don’t want to,” Freddy growls.
“Two weeks?” Jaxson says, growling far louder and scarier.
“Fine,” Freddy says and stomps out of the room. Dabriel and I can’t help the laughs that escape. Jaxson just smiles at us both.
“Let me cook for you, lass,” Jaxson says.
“I have already cooked, I was just coming to find Winter when she found me,” Dabriel says and turns me towards the door. I walk in and see that he has cooked pancakes and has lots of different fruits spread around the table.
“Thank you,” I say as I lean up to kiss his cheek and walk over to the table.
“Where are Atti and Anna today?” I ask.
“Anna is out on a walk. The pack loves to see pregnant wolves. There aren’t many. They are all saying that the goddess is blessing us again as there have been more pregnancies,” Jaxson tells me. When I widen my eyes in disbelief, Jaxson continues. “There have been seven newly pregnant wolves in the last two months, far more than there have ever been,” Jaxson piles a plate full of pancakes. I get two and some strawberries.
“That could be just luck,” I say.
“No, lass, it’s not. You’re the goddess’s granddaughter; people always believed the two goddess sisters brought luck to the people. She did create them after all. The pregnancies are a blessing,” Jaxson says. All this talk of the goddess just reminds me of the dream last night. Elissa was pregnant with a half demon baby, that couldn’t be good luck for her, considering the demon king wanted to kill her.
“It’s true. Wyatt said there were four more vampire pregnancies confirmed in the months following you coming into our lives. We all believe you bring the supernatural race some form of good luck.” Dabriel says.
“I don’t agree, but I am not going to argue about it when there is chocolate sauce for my pancakes. Some things have to come first,” I say with a grin, and Jaxson grabs the chocolate sauce before I get it. He holds it up and smirks at me.
“I’m not saying ‘please’, you jackass,” I say with an angry glare.
“I want a kiss this time,” he laughs, and I shake my head.
“I don’t believe you deserve one. No one should come between a woman and her chocolate. No matter how hot they are,” I tell him, standing with my hands on my hips.
“How about I take this chocolate sauce to our bedroom and find out how it tastes on your sweet body?” Jaxson asks, making me go red.
“Err,” I stumble out. Dabriel and Jaxson laugh as I stare at my plate. Damn sexy men.
“Harris and Katy’s mother is expecting you over there this morning. I can’t go with you,” Jaxson says.
I look towards Dabriel, who nods at me.
“I’m interested in these books she has,” Dabriel says.
“All sorted then, lass. I have to go, and Harris is off duty today, so I have to deal with the small pack stuff. Come to me tonight,” Jaxson says and holds up the chocolate sauce. He walks out with the sauce, and I laugh.
Dabriel and I clean up after we eat our breakfast. On the way to Katy and Harris’s house, we have to stop to ask a few people the way, but I eventually recognise Harris’s car outside a large cabin. It’s two floors and has seven or so cars parked around the sides. I walk up and knock on the wooden door. Dabriel holds my hand in his.
Katy slams open the door, pulling me into a bone-crushing hug.
“I wanted to come and see you, but everything is hectic,” she says, and I hug her just as tightly. Everything we went through when we saved each other’s lives has given us a bond. Plus, I just like Katy, she reminds me of Alex. I have a feeling they would get on really well, like “someone would end up hurt, and I would have to break them up” kind of well.
“I missed you as well,” I say.
“And you brought eye candy with you,” Katy whispers, and I laugh as I pull away.
“I’m here to see your mum,” I say.
“Oh, I know. She had my dad and me cleaning the entire house because the queen was coming. She even baked you chocolate chip cookies, because she heard you like chocolate,” Katy says and rolls her eyes. “Come on in so I can finally eat one of the cookies,” she says.
We walk into a small corridor with wooden stairs going up. The cabin is mainly wooden floors and soft-cream walls. The corridor wall is full of pictures of a young woman and several men. There are photos of Katy and Harris as children on a man’s shoulders. They look so content. Katy walks us down to the end of the corridor and through a large kitchen to a dining room. The dining room has a wooden, round table in the middle, and there are eight chairs spread around it. There is a lovely bunch of flowers in the window and big French doors that are slightly open. A middle-aged woman is sitting talking to a dark-skinned man who looks near enough the same age. They both turn when I walk in and instantly stand to bow to me.
“My queen,” they say together. It’s still really weird to see them do that.
“It’s nice to meet you, err–” I stop talking when I realise I don’t know their names.
“My name is Roger, and this is my mate, Angela,” the man introduces them and holds out a hand. I shake his hand, and Angela pulls a chair out for me. I don’t want to be rude, so I sit down. The minute I sit, she offers me a cookie from a plate of them. I take one, as does Dabriel, who sits next to me.
“Can I finally have one?” Katy groans from the doorway. This is a girl after my own heart, and I grin at her with a mouthful of cookie. Damn, these cookies are good. Angela gives her the plate.
“Make sure to share them with your brother,” she says.
“No way in hell, mum. He has a girl over, so they are all mine. I’m going to watch some human TV,” Katy says with a disgusted wrinkle of her nose and walks out, a cookie already shoved in her mouth.
“I’m sorry about Katy, she can be–” Angela starts to say.
“A little bonkers?” I finish her sentence, and she laughs with a nod.
“I like her, she reminds me of my best friend,” I add, and she smiles at me. I can see the resemblance to Katy; they have the same brown hair and large eyes.
“Here you go; these are the four books that have been passed down through my family. They are the diaries of my great-something-grandmother. She was a maid to the goddesses, and a friend of theirs. Her great grandfather was mated to the goddess,” she tells me.
“I don’t understand,” I say. If her great grandfather was mated to the goddess, then wouldn’t she be related to her, too?
“Oh. I'll start from the beginning, it should answer most of your questions,” she says, and I nod.
“So, a long time ago, when the goddess was in trouble and dying from silver, a human saved her life. The man was dying as well, and he used the last of his strength to pull Demtra into his home and stitch up her wound. Demtra had the power to do almost anything, but she could not save someone from a silver wound. Silver is the only thing that could ever hurt her, and she couldn’t heal others from it,” Angela says.
“The man died,” Dabriel adds in, and Angela nods.
“Yes, and he asked Demtra for her blessing for his child
ren. My ancestor said that Demtra promised to give them long lives and treat them as her own children. The problem was Demtra had trouble finding them because they had moved, and she had never met them.
She eventually found two of the sons in an old hut in the middle of nowhere. The two twin sons were not as she hoped to find them; one had passed away from an illness and another was gravely injured. The one son had only just died, so she breathed life into the man, and he came back as what are known as vampires. The other son, she pushed earthly powers into, and he became a wolf as he healed,” she says; this is a far better telling of the story than what Harris said.
“I know that part from Harris,” I tell her, and she nods.
“I am not aware what happened to the other two sons, but–” Angela stops when Dabriel holds a hand up.
“Please allow me to tell that story. I know that part.”
“May I write this down later on? I would love to add it to the books for our future generations,” Angela asks, her eyes lighting up when Dabriel nods.
“The other two sons had travelled over the seas for work. When the goddess turned up with their other brothers, neither wished for her help. My ancestor was happily married and had a child. Demtra stayed near when the other sons returned home. Later, a fire raged through my ancestor’s house. The man screamed for her help when his child and wife were stuck on the highest level, and no one could get close. Demtra gave him wings and the power to heal his wife and child.”
“Amazing, and the witch ancestor?” Angela asks gently.
“Time went on, and the final, youngest son found his own wife. She was said to be very beautiful, and many men in the small village were in love with her. There was one man who would watch her every move and was mad about her. The man snuck into their house and took the wife when the youngest son was at work,” Dabriel says and glances at me.
“The youngest son went to ask for Demtra’s help when he couldn’t find her or the man. She gave him the power to move anywhere he wished, including to be able to go to someone close to him and control over all the elements to serve punishment to the man who took his wife. When he found his wife, she was already long gone, and the youngest son ripped the island away from the rest of the earth with his power in anger. Demtra blessed the earth where the wife’s body was buried, and the first jewel tree grew there. The youngest son killed the man who took his wife, but he was lost in sadness. The goddess gave him a final gift, the power to make a barrier around the island and keep it for himself. I don’t know anymore,” Dabriel says and reaches over to hold my hand.
“How terrible, but it makes a lot of sense,” Angela says.
“How so?” I ask.
“Well, it is said that Demtra didn’t always have a sister. Not at the start and not when she met the sons. The goddess’s sister was born many years later, no one really knows where the goddess’s parents are from, or if they had any other children,” she says and opens the book. She moves a few pages of the worn book and stops. “Ah here,” she says and starts reading.
“Elissa is a grown woman now, no longer the young baby Demtra brought back to the castle and told us was her sister. Elissa has fallen in love with the original sons, all four of them, after her heart was broken.”
“So, she mated with all the originals?” I ask.
“Yes. They all must have had several or at least one child over the hundred or so years before they met Elissa. The book tells of a gathering where Demtra asked them all to come and see her. That’s when they first met. There’s another part which is interesting,” Angela says and flicks through the book carefully.
“Elissa was very much in love with the king of demons. Demtra told me he thought himself a god, but he was not. Only Demtra is a true goddess, Elissa is a goddess but with a tiny amount of power. The demon king had eyes for more than just Elissa and cheated on her. Elissa found out and left. Demtra was very upset,” she says.
“In my dreams, I see Elissa, my grandmother,” I tell Angela and Roger. Both of them look at me in shock. “One time, she was talking to your ancestor, Dabriel. He had long white wings with black tips and hair like yours. The point is that he said the demon king could not be trusted, and he had Elissa’s heart first. Elissa said she loved the demon king and all her mates the same,” I say to them all.
Dabriel watches me in fascination, “You saw my ancestor and he had both black and white wings?”
“Yes,” I answer.
“I heard people say that he had twins, one born dark and one born light,” Dabriel tells me.
“There is one more thing that is said,” Angela adds in. “Demtra gave the originals and all the descendants that stayed to fight in the castle new powers, so they had a chance of survival against an army of demons. The witches were given weather magic, the wolves given a bundle of different abilities from being able to turn invisible to talking to the earth. The angels were given a power to cause pain with a touch, and to see the past and future. The vampires were given the ability to share their life with their human mates. The vampires were also given some special powers by accident; the goddess was growing weak as she protected her sister. The goddess said it was all she could do to protect the future; she said the past was lost. I will fight to protect her, she is my goddess, and Elissa is my queen,” she stops and smiles sadly at me.
“So, do you know any more?” I ask her.
“One more part, and it is a sad ending,” she says and moves a few pages in the book.
“Elissa and her mates are dead, much like the rest of the castle as I write this. Demtra has a stone, which she says her blood can control and is using it to lock away the demon king. I will not survive much longer, but many have. Demtra saved many today. May the goddess never die.”
“Why would he kill her and them? He loved her, or must have had feelings for her to mate with her?” I shake my head.
“Is there anything else?” Dabriel asks as I swallow the sadness I feel for Elissa and Demtra.
“No, I’m afraid not,” she says and closes the book.
“I have an idea. A dark angel owes me a reading because I told him his future. If he touches you, he can show you your past,” Dabriel says to me.
“Is it safe? “I ask.
“Very. I will always protect what is mine,” Dabriel says and lifts my hand to press a kiss to my knuckles.
“Ah, young love,” Angela says, and I smile at her with a little blush.
“Thank you for all your help; I really needed to know about this. About my family,” I say.
“Oh, don’t thank me; you have helped me as well. Finally, I know how all the supernaturals were created,” Angela says. I smile, and she comes around the table. After she hugs Dabriel and me, she walks us out.
When the door shuts behind us, I hear, “One time. It was a one-night stand, Harris. It did not mean anything,” Leigha shouts. I look at Dabriel who winks and places a finger to his lips as he pulls me closer. I hold in a scream when Dabriel spreads his large wings and flies up in the air. He lands us silently on the other side of the roof. We can both look down to where Leigha and Harris stand very close at the back of the house, both of them looking angry.
“The fuck it didn’t, Leigha,” Harris says.
“I’m sure you will get over it,” Leigha says and pats his cheek. Harris grabs her hand and pulls her closer; they both kiss each other in an explosive passion that makes me look away.
“No,” Leigha says, and I look back to see her push him away. She stomps off into the woods.
“When you drop the cold-hearted act, come find me!” Harris shouts and storms into the house.
“He’s an idiot,” I groan.
“Why?” Dabriel asks me.
“He called her cold-hearted. I mean, I know she comes across like that sometimes, but I don’t think she really is. She just doesn’t let people close. If Harris wants her, he has to prove it. Leigha will never be with someone weak, someone who lets her walk away,” I say.
&
nbsp; Dabriel nods, “I believe I agree. To give up just means you didn’t love the person as much as you thought.” I lean back as his wings spread out again.
“Are we going flying?” I ask a little nervously.
“Would you like to?” he asks me.
“Maybe a little?” I ask, and he holds me closer to him. I wrap my legs around his waist as he lifts me, my mouth near his, and he speaks gently, “You only have to ask.”
I scream into his neck as he flies us into the sky, and he holds me closer.
Forty-Nine
Atticus
"Paris is controlled by the demon king," I say in disgusted horror as I watch the news. The newswoman goes on about how last night, a red ward-like wall appeared around Paris. The woman says the government is taking blame and saying it’s for protection purposes. What a load of bullshit.
What I don’t get is, why Paris? Why hasn’t he attacked the witches or us here? From what I’ve heard, the new, fake queen has taken control of the city and killed all the light witches that opposed her. Now, she has complete control, and I know she was helping the vampire king to open the portal for the demons to come through. She must have gotten some power boost to be able to kill my mother and control the city. All I want to do is fucking kill her.
"What’s in Paris that he needs?" Dabriel asks, but he knows none of us know the answer. I glance around the room; Winter is sitting close to Dabriel’s side, his arm around her shoulder and her hand on his knee. They look mated already, they are so close to each other. Winter looks gorgeous just wearing a long, purple dress that sticks to her body and makes me want to run my hands all over her. I have pushed Winter away, not because of anything she did, but because I don’t want anyone close to me. Winter, especially, because her blue eyes see straight through me.
"I need to return to my city, we need an army to stop this. I need to sort my shit out," I say angrily. All I feel is anger recently. I should have been with my mother; I knew something was wrong the last time I saw her.