by Leia Stone
Shea gritted her teeth, casting me a glance.
Damn, I wish I knew mind reading, because I had no idea who this bitch was.
The girl stood. She was tall with bright pink hair, and had the death mark tattoo on her wrist that marked her as a Dark Mage. “When they told me some prissy Fallen Academy kids wanted to sign up for Fight Night, I just knew it would be that bitch Shelly.” She winked.
Shea’s breath was coming out in ragged gasps, and I knew it was taking everything within her to not run over, and smack this girl down.
I stepped forward. “It’s Shea, actually. And I’m Brielle. You might want to write that down so you spell it right on our million-dollar check.”
She looked momentarily shocked at my words, but she smoothly covered it with a laugh and looked at her hairy boyfriend. “Oh my God, they are adorable. I can’t wait to pulverize them.”
At her last words, a blackish green magic rose up from her hands and I froze.
Shea had seemed to find her Zen now, stepping forward and holding out her hand. In it was our entrance money. “So where do we sign?” Shea added, ignoring the sickly looking magic exuding from the girl’s hands.
The magic retreated and the girl crossed her arms, looking at the one hundred-dollar bill in Shea’s hand.
“Oh, hun. That was the Tainted Academy price. If you want to enter, it’s going to be a grand. Each.” She grinned as her boyfriend laughed.
Bitch.
“We don’t have that kind of money!” I shouted. This was all a shit show. They weren’t even going to let us enter. How was I going to get my mom out of here now? We’d trained for nothing!
She shrugged. “Then run along, sweetie. Your boy toy isn’t looking so hot.”
I followed her gaze to Lincoln, who was grimacing, sweat rolling down his neck. I’d forgotten how badly being there affected him.
“Do you take Angel Express?” Lincoln asked and whipped out his credit card.
My eyes went wide, as did Pink Hair’s.
“You really want a beatdown that badly?” she scoffed.
Shea and I nodded, which felt stupid considering what she’d just asked us.
“Fine. It’s your funeral.” Leaning forward, she snatched Lincoln’s card, swiping it into an attachment on the end of her phone. She also had a little printer set up next to a cash box.
“I need to see ID,” the boyfriend growled.
Shea and I stepped forward, pulling out our Angel City IDs, which showed our name, school address, and age.
He swiped them into some machine and it started printing.
My gaze went over to Lincoln, he was signing his credit card receipt. I wanted to tell him not to, that I’d never be able to repay him two grand, but he just looked at me and winked.
Ah, the wink. Sigh. Wink number four. Each one was engraved in my heart. I was a sucker for Lincoln Grey’s winks.
“Brielle Atwater,” the hairy boyfriend said, looking at his girlfriend.
Her eyes narrowed on me, and then she grinned. “Mike’s sister, I presume?”
In that instant, I saw red. If she said one more word about my brother, I was painting this room with her blood.
“Knock it off,” Shea barked at her, snatching our IDs back from the hairy boyfriend.
She was trying to bait me into a fight. I knew that, and still I couldn’t get myself to calm down.
The boyfriend handed us four shiny barcode tickets. “Each fighter gets to bring someone to claim the body,” he stated as I tucked the tickets into my pocket.
“See you on Fight Night,” the girl called with fists clenched.
Shea smirked. “I hope you’re competing.”
Pink Hair nodded, rolling out her wrists. “Luckily my hands have healed from her brother’s face.” She looked at me and smirked.
I‘m going to jail for murder.
My wings snapped out, and with one gust I was airborne, and flying at her. Her face was about to get ripped off.
A sharp pain shot through my right wing, and I yelped as I was flung backward.
Lincoln.
Motherfu—
“She wants this! You’re playing into her hand. Save it,” he whispered.
The searing pain in my wing was throbbing as he kept an iron grip on it. I’d been thrown against his body, and he now had one hand wrapped around my waist as well.
The girl was grinning at me, blackish green magic erupting from her palms once more. She was ready to throw down.
“Let’s go,” Shea snapped.
With another deep cleansing breath, I forced myself to walk away. I would save her ass-whooping for the ring. My eyes remained on hers while I allowed Lincoln to pull me away.
Payback was going to be a bitch.
We were escorted to the car quickly, where Noah sat anxiously behind the wheel. Once we were all inside—Shea and I in the back, with Lincoln up front—Noah started to drive home.
“How’d it go?” he asked. He looked like shit—sweaty, ashen, and he hadn’t winked once the whole time we’d been in Demon City.
“Fine. They’ve enrolled,” Lincoln told him.
“Um, not fine,” I countered, leaning forward. “I can’t believe you spent two grand on that. It’ll take me two years to pay that back.” Or more if I was going to be helping out my mom.
He chuckled, looking down at me. “You’re welcome.”
I groaned. “Well thank you, obviously, but I hope that didn’t break the bank.” I didn’t know his financial situation, but living out of a trailer while the rest of the boys stayed in nice Fallen Army apartments didn’t bode well.
Noah laughed. “Lincoln’s rich. It’s fine.”
Lincoln cut him a glare.
“Oh,” I murmured. “I assumed with the trailer…”
Noah busted out laughing. “I told you that trailer was ghetto.”
Lincoln reached over and socked him in the arm. “I like my trailer.” Then he turned to face me. “I’m not loaded, but my parents left some money behind with the life insurance so… yeah. I don’t mind spending it on you girls.”
Oh my God. He spent his parents’ death money on me. Love exploded in my chest, and I vowed right then and there to one day have Lincoln Grey’s babies.
Shea squeaked out an “aw,” and I smiled.
“Who knew this entire time you were just a pretend asshole?” I stated.
A frown pulled at his lips. “Pretend asshole? Is that a thing?”
Leaning forward, I ran my fingers through his hair, pressing a kiss to his cheek. “It is.”
“I think he’s a real asshole who only has nice moments,” Noah piped up.
Another sock in the arm.
“Oww.”
Shea chuckled. “An asshole and a manwhore go on an adventure in Demon City. Sounds like the beginning of a messed-up children’s book,” she lamented.
Laughter erupted out of me as we reached the gates to Angel City.
Noah stopped the car when we reached traffic and looked over at Lincoln. “Can I be a manwhore if I haven’t touched another woman besides Shea in almost a year?”
Lincoln grinned. “Nope. You can’t.”
They both looked back at Shea, who was glaring, but she just thrust her palm out in a ‘talk to the hand’ move. “Whatever.”
The hard-to-get act was going to crash and burn soon. She needed to claim that shit, or Noah was going to walk.
But we had an Awakening ceremony to attend for my brother, so no sense in trying to fix her life now. That was going to have to wait.
Chapter Four
“What if I have black wings like you?” my brother asked as we walked up to the Awakening ceremony.
My jaw went slack. I’d never thought of that. In all the scenarios I’d played through my head the past few hours, that had never occurred to me.
“Then we’ll deal with it,” I told him.
Please God, don’t let him be like me. I couldn’t handle Lucifer being after my brot
her too.
Lincoln and Shea were walking with us, and Lincoln put a hand on my brother’s shoulder. “You’re a free soul, so no matter what, you’ll be at Fallen Academy with your sister. Nothing to worry about, bro.”
Bro. Oh my God. My ovaries did somersaults at Lincoln’s nice gesture toward my little brother.
Mikey grinned at him and nodded.
Shea tipped her chin down and chuckled a little. “Unless you’re a Gristle. Then you’re screwed and the academy won’t want you.”
I reached back and swatted her head.
“Kidding. You’re going to be fine,” she added, rubbing the spot I’d hit.
We finally reached the doors where the other kids were waiting to be let in. I knew the nerves Mikey must be feeling—hell, I’d felt them just the year before.
Leaning over, I gave my brother a tight hug. “Whatever it is will be fine. I love you,” I told him.
He nodded curtly and waved to Lincoln and Shea before walking awkwardly to stand at the end of the line.
Lincoln was wearing his Fallen Army uniform. He was going to work the stage again, like he had with Raphael when I’d gone through my Awakening. It was reassuring to know that if anything went wrong, he’d be there to help my brother.
After making our way inside, we handed the attendant our tickets.
One of her eyebrows raised. “Front row. Fancy, fancy.” She ripped the ticket, giving us the other half.
Front row! I hadn’t even looked. Lincoln had given them to us. I glanced over at my boyfriend and he winked.
Ah, wink number five. Be still my heart.
“I’ll see you after. Don’t worry.” He kissed me chastely.
As he walked away, Shea linked her arm with mine and dragged me toward the interior hall.
“Front row. Damn, girl, Lincoln loves you.” She batted her eyelashes.
I smiled. “He does.”
Front row was for Fallen Army officials, and rich families of kids who were going through the Awakening, not Lucifer’s stepdaughter with the black wings.
I did a quick check to make sure my boots didn’t have bloodstains on them. Maybe I should have dressed nicer.
“Sucks that your mom can’t sit with us,” Shea commented.
My heart pinched as a pang of sadness washed through me. I craned my neck to try and find her. There, in the nosebleed section with the other demon bound slaves she sat, looking tired as hell. I’d made an executive decision to not tell her about the whole fight thing, not yet.
She caught me looking and gave me a little wave. I waved back with a small smile.
“Please be seated, and we will bring out the students.” Raphael’s voice boomed from the stage.
Shea and I fast-walked to the front row and took our seats between some really important-looking people. One was an older dude wearing a Fallen Army uniform with tons of medals on it, and the other was a lady with her hair so tight in a bun, it made her eyes pull up at the sides.
Shea and I tried to contain our giggles.
Oh my God, am I going to actually get to experience the after-party? The chocolate fountain and bliss donuts and all of the other things I never got to at my ceremony?
I looked up at the stage and tried to suppress my anger at seeing Grim and another demon there. His beady little eyes roamed over me, and then with a scowl, he turned away.
I should have killed him when I had the chance.
After a moment of sitting in the quiet, I heard the back doors open and everyone began to file in. Mikey looked super handsome in the black suit he wore. I gave him a thumbs-up and he rolled his eyes, red-faced and clearly embarrassed.
Whatever. I was a cool older sister.
Raphael gave his remorseful speech about the fallen war and infecting the humans with powers, and then he started to call the first name. Atwater would be one of the first.
Oh God, I was so nervous.
What if he was a Centaur? I’d never give him a hug without getting on a ladder first.
Shea must have known I was stressing, because she reached out and grasped my hand.
There was something so comforting about having a best friend. Not just a bestie for a few years and then you grew apart. A. Best. Friend. Shea was stuck to me like glue, for life. No matter what, she was my person, and I was hers. Knowing we had each other, it took the weight off my shoulders in that moment. Whatever Mikey was, we would deal with it together.
“Melanie Anderson. Free soul,” Raphael boomed, and I released the breath I’d been holding.
Being first sucked.
A waif-thin, timid-looking girl with mousy brown hair shuffled to the stage, her chin down. When she stood before Raphael, he beamed at her and held his hands over her head. A fine sprinkling of gold dust fell into her skin and we all froze. Even though she wasn’t my family, I felt myself go rigid with anticipation. It was like watching a suspenseful movie.
Suddenly she began to cry, staring at her hands.
“No!” she shouted.
Raphael’s upper lip curled, and Lincoln, who stood behind him, discretely covered his nose.
“Melanie Anderson. Gristle.”
Oh shit.
I wasn’t a pro lip reader, but I thought Raphael muttered, “I’m sorry,” before she ran offstage crying.
Craning my neck back, I could see that my brother was as white as a sheet.
“Michael Atwater. Free soul,” Raphael said next.
I hadn’t expected the pang of pride that would swell in my chest when Raphael said “free soul” after my brother’s name, but there it was. My mother and I had made some mistakes, but Mikey was a clean slate.
Shea squeezed my hand, and I squeezed back.
Damn, going after a Gristle reveal was a hard act to follow.
“You got this, Mikey!” Shea called out like a loud New Yorker.
I flinched as the snooty people next to us scowled down their noses at us, but it had worked. Mikey smiled shyly, and the color came back in his cheeks.
Okay. Breathe. Just breathe. God, please don’t let him have black wings, or be a Centaur.
By the time I’d gotten out of my head, and focused on what was happening, Raphael had already started to drop the magic reveal dust or whatever it was.
Mikey just stood there, hands fisted and eyes forward. Terrified.
‘Poor lad,’ Sera said from my boot.
‘You scared me!’ I told her. I’d forgotten she was there.
‘Sorry,’ she whispered and then went quiet.
I was staring at my brother, waiting for something to happen, but nothing did. Raphael had finished sprinkling the dust, and now just stood in front of him watching, same with Lincoln.
Oh God. He’s a dud. A freaking worthless human!
He’d get no admission to Fallen Academy, no job with the Fallen Army, and would be homeless. Tears welled in my eyes, and Shea clenched my hand tight enough to hurt.
At that moment, a howl ripped from Mikey’s throat and he lurched forward on all fours, panting in pain. The hairs on my arms shot up, and I leaned forward in my seat.
That howl wasn’t human.
“Mikey?” I stood, brushing Shea’s hand off.
His body was contorting, and the sound of cracking bones was so familiar to me, I actually felt some relief, and sat back down.
He was a beast shifter, like Luke. I could handle that. That was okay with me.
I glanced at Shea, who was smiling in relief as well.
My brother’s suit tore as his body bulked out, black fur popping up everywhere, muscles stacking up over his form, and enlarging his mass. Beast Shifters were usually animals—deer, bears, mountain lions, and so on, whatever animal had been in the vicinity when the fall happened—and then they had horns, which gave them a demon look. Luke would be able to help Mikey through what shifting was like, and everything associated with being a Beast Shifter. I was actually okay with it. It felt right.
At least it did until my brother turn
ed into a huge black wolf, with black velvet horns, and searing yellow eyes. He looked freaking possessed as he bent down low, and started to growl at Raphael.
The Archangel went stiff, and Lincoln slowly pulled his sword.
What the hell!
“Call Clark!” Lincoln barked to someone offstage, and the whole crowd gasped as Mikey lunged for Raphael.
Shooting out of my seat, I barreled towards the stage within seconds.
“Mikey, no!” I shouted, but it was too late. Raphael was forced to grab Mikey’s shoulders and slam him to the ground in self-defense.
Lincoln held his sword aloft; it was glowing blue, and my brother was staring at it with a venomous gaze. His lips peeled back and he growled from his place, pinned on the floor beneath Raphael.
What the hell is happening? That was not my brother. I knew Lincoln wouldn’t hurt him, but why the hell was he holding his sword at him?
I climbed onto the stage, and Lincoln’s gaze shifted to me. “What’s wrong?” I asked in a low voice.
Raphael still had my brother pinned, and I could tell it was taking great effort, his arms shook as the muscles flexed. My brother jerked, trying to slip free, but Raphael laid more of his weight on him and strengthened his hold.
Lincoln looked out over the crowd and kept his voice low. “He’s a pack animal. When pack animals shift for the first time, they’re consumed with the need to hunt. He’ll wipe out half this crowd if we can’t get an alpha here soon.”
What. The. Fuck.
I swayed on my feet, looking down at my little brother. He was huge, almost as big as Luke’s bear, and it was clear now that Raphael was using all of his angelic strength to hold him.
An oversized wolf with demonic powers that wants to hunt humans. Awesome.
“Mikey?” I knelt down and tried to meet his eyes.
The growl that ripped from his throat, as he jerked his head in my direction, had tears lining my eyes. He’d wriggled his head free from Raphael, and was now snapping his teeth in my direction like a rabid dog.
“I can’t hold him much longer.” Raphael confessed through gritted teeth.
Oh. My. God.
‘Pull me out,’ Sera instructed.