by Mia Hawkins
I push my energy out to see if I can feel him anywhere around me. As soon as I do, I feel two people walking, and they are coming right for us. I have seriously had enough for one night. I quickly throw out a shield around me and the guys.
“Impressive, I must say. You have not even been able to reach half of your potential yet, but I must admit you have surprised me tonight,” the man from my vision earlier says. “Sorry about your mates. I had to make sure you were really the one, and what better way than to have you heal them?” He walks forward with Matthew right by his side, but I can tell it is not willingly.
“What is it you want from me? Everyone I have met has wanted something, so what is it for you? My power? Want me to go around killing rogues for you?” I can tell this guy isn’t a rogue; he didn’t have the grayish look of them, and I trust my gut feeling. Almost like how I knew right from the beginning there was something wrong with the woman that was with Xavier. I know this guy might not be good, but at least I don’t sense any evil in him. Thinking back to every time I have been attacked, I think somewhere deep down, I knew they were not human. Supernatural or demon, I’m sure if I would have looked harder, I would have known what they were. I always just tried to block that part out because it made me feel insane. Now that I am fully immersed in the crazy world of supernaturals, I am focusing more on the parts I always blocked out. One thing I have always believed, though, is my instincts, and right now they are telling me I am not in imminent danger.
He shakes his head. “I want nothing from you, I just want you to break through your magic block and take your rightful place.” I cock my eyebrow at him. What does he mean rightful place?
“Ok, if that is the case, then why go through all this? Why kidnap and hurt these men? I’ve had a long day, and I would really appreciate if you would just cut to the chase.” The man looks at me carefully as if judging his next words.
“Do you know the story of the white dragon, Rayven?” I shake my head. “That is not surprising, growing up the way you did. Which I am sorry about, by the way. Anyway, the white dragon is an old bedtime story that has been told for hundreds of years. It is actually adapted from the original prophecy. It all starts with a child born of both light and dark.” He takes a step closer, and I fight the urge to back up.
“So, what? This white dragon is both a demon and an angel?”
“That is correct. The white dragon is born a demon and an angel. But you see, one person cannot contain so much power, so they must have what are called extensions, or you can call them mates if that is easier. You, as the white dragon, will depend on your mates for more than just a bond.” I am sure my eyes are bugging out.
“What do you mean I am the white dragon? How in the world did you come to that conclusion? I have no idea who my father is.”
He shakes his head. “You might not know, but I do. It also mentions in the prophecy about a birthmark of sorts. You should have the mark of Michael on you somewhere. No one else would have been able to heal those two. Only Michael has the ability to heal—well, Michael and now you.” He chuckles.
“So hold up one second. You’re telling me I am part fucking demon?” I don’t know if I want to believe him. I don’t sense any sign of deceit, but I also don’t want to think about being part demon.
“Yes, that is right, but do not let that define you, little angel. There is a bigger part of you that is from the heavens. An angel’s essence far outweighs the demon in you. You see, that is how it had to be; an angel can only give their essence to a living person. Your mother was well aware of the dangers, but she thought the risks were worth it. Your mother and Michael put everything in place to protect you. What we did not account for was the council going after her. That was an unexpected tragedy.” He clears his throat like he is fighting tears and continues. “You need your mates for survival, and they ultimately need you. With your amount of energy, your mates will help ground you. As an extension, they will be able to give you more energy when you run low and take any extra you need to get rid of. I am guessing you have had a hard time burning off your energy without them. Once you found them, did you have a problem with that anymore?”
I think back to the week I spent at the guys’ house and, besides the second day, I didn’t need to run myself to death or train the way I had before. I just associated that with practicing my powers. “How do you know all of this?” I ask, curious as to who this guy is.
“You will find out soon enough who I am, but let us just say I know some people in high places. Here is a little tidbit for you: each type of supernatural has its own signature. Take dragons, for example. Their dragons are completely black, and their magic is always red. It never fails, and the same with fae. Their magic is gold, which I am sure you have seen already. Mages are blue, so if you see a spell and it comes off blue, you will know a mage did it. Wolves are purple. You do not often see their signatures though because they shift so quickly. The white you see when you heal, that is because you are an angel. These are really life lessons you need to commit to memory.” He throws a wink my way and starts walking towards the cliff edge.
“Where do you think you are going? Give Matthew to me!” I yell as they get closer to the edge. “Rayven, you will learn I am not the bad guy here. I just want to help you, I swear. There are a few things I want you to remember, ok?” I slowly take steps closer to him, hoping they are not noticeable.
I will not hesitate to grab Matthew and push this guy over the edge. He doesn’t seem to notice my movements as he keeps talking. “First, you are an angel in every sense of the word. Michael gave you a piece of himself, so because of that, you are a part of every race of supernatural, including angels. Which I am sure you have already realized.” He pauses as if to let that sink in before continuing, “You need to be careful; Lucifer will stop at nothing to get to you. A part of the prophecy that not many know is that you are also the only one who can let Lucifer out of hell. He is a tricky person who can show himself in many different forms, so be watchful. Also, always be wary of people trying to help, because sometimes they might have good intentions, but they don’t care about the damage they leave behind.”
As soon as the words leave his mouth, I feel my stomach drop. He pushes Matthew over the cliff and disappears before I can even register what happened. I run to the edge of the cliff and jump, knowing there is little to no chance of me being able to save him, but I have to try. The cliff is at least six hundred feet above the water. There is no way we will survive the rocky waters below. Suddenly, I feel power surge from within, and my body feels like it is on fire. I scream as the sudden pain increases tenfold. I have never felt this much pain with my powers before. I throw my hands out in an attempt to let some of the energy go, and I am blinded by red light.
Chapter 36
Xavier
I can’t believe what is happening right now. I don’t even have time to process everything as men start attacking me. How did this even happen? A fae I grew up with comes at me from my left. I can’t remember his name, but we went to school together our whole lives. I try to take him down as quickly as possible, but another one comes up behind me and tries to grab my arms. I throw my elbow back in his face and bust his nose. I quickly phase behind him and kick his knees so he falls to the ground. I reach around his head and give it a quick, powerful twist. One down, one more to go. I look at the door, sensing Rayven, and I watch as she disappears. Where the fuck is she going?
I don’t have time to waste as I swing at the fae coming my way. He ducks and grabs me around the waist, ramming me back into the wall. I drive my elbow repeatedly into the guy’s head. He punches me in the stomach, but not hard enough to do any damage. I wish I had one of my knives right now, but in the hurry to get here, I completely forgot it. That normally doesn’t happen to me, but ever since Rayven has come into my life, I have been fighting my primal side, and it’s causing me to become sloppy. That’s what I was doing on the way here. It wanted to save her, but I wanted to s
ee Delilah again. Just thinking about her turns my stomach sour. I thought seeing Delilah would help my mind clear up, but it did the exact opposite.
I quickly move my knee up to connect with the fae’s chin. He lets go and backs up. I take his retreat as a chance to phase towards the fae lying on the ground. I grab his knife and phase back to put it through the man’s stomach. He screams as I pull the blade out, and I notice his blood is not red, but black. Does that mean he is a demon?
I look back over to where Delilah is perched in the corner. As soon as the fighting broke out, she disappeared. I should be happy she is safe, but I can’t help thinking that Rayven would have fought by my side.
I wonder if the council knows their wards did not work on me or Theo. Theo was the one to actually bring her inside to the council, as I don’t think I could have actually handed her over if it had been me after all. He found me later and told me that they were going to have some ceremony with her tonight that he had gotten us into, but he was worried they would try to limit what we could see or hear. So Theo put us both under protections that made us able to hear everything that was said tonight. And I can’t believe the things that I saw and heard.
I am so grateful Theo pulled himself together and released Rayven from those cuffs. I was frozen in place, watching her energy being drained. I had no idea what to do. I was trying so hard to keep my primal side from coming out and marching into that damn arena with her and protecting her. Either that or going to the council and ripping them apart piece by piece.
I must admit, seeing Rayven cuffed and in that much pain cut me like a knife. I kept having flashbacks from my time living with Frank. There is one time in particular that always pops into my mind. Just for the fun of it, Frank gave me a drug to completely paralyze me. He slipped it into my breakfast that morning, I could still feel everything he let those men do to me. He let them beat me for hours, just for the fun of it. I couldn’t see them because I couldn’t open my eyes, but I heard them laughing and talking like what they were doing was completely normal. Their voices are burned into my brain, and if I ever hear them again, I will skin each of them alive.
That was one of the hardest days of my life, and I had nightmares for months. I tried leaving Frank’s house so many times, but Delilah was there, talking me into staying. She was scared if I left, then Frank would turn his abusive behavior on her, and there was no way I could let that happen. That’s why I became a warrior; it was the only way I could get out from under his thumb. And it was amazing for the first couple of years until he ended up making me his personal guard. I shake my head, trying to get the horrible thoughts out.
I look around the room, and almost everyone is gone. There are a couple men left standing, one of which is Theo. I jog over to him to make sure he is ok. He is one of my closest friends. Just like the others, I grew up with him. “Is she who they say she is?” he accuses when I get close to him.
“I’m not sure. She is different from anyone I have met, yes. But that doesn’t mean she is the one our parents talked about.” Our parents used to tell us stories of the one who would save us all. The one would connect all the races of supernaturals and protect us from the council. I always assumed it was just a made-up story. Besides me, Alex, Matthew, Chaice and Theo, supernaturals didn’t mix races that often. People stuck to their own, and there was less fighting that way. On the other hand, that also caused a big divide that has only been getting worse.
“Don’t give me that bullshit, Xavier! You knew it was her, yet you let me bring her here like she was a fucking power bank for them!” Theo never raises his voice, so seeing him cursing and yelling is not a good thing. I have never seen this side of him before. “I have stuck by your side when everyone else left! I always thought the real Xavier was in there somewhere, you were just a little lost. Now I know everyone was right about you. The fact that you would give up your own mate, and the person destined to save us, is despicable. I can’t believe you would stoop so low. You better hope she is ok right now, because if I find out she is hurt because of your stupidity, I will end you.” Theo closes his eyes and dissipates before my eyes. No doubt it is a spell he learned while working for the council. He wants to put all the blame on me, but he is the one who brought her in here. So if anything happens to her, he is also at fault as well.
“Someone is grumpy, aren’t they?” Delilah saunters up to me and grabs onto my arm. Her touch repulses me, and it takes everything inside me to not push her away. As soon as my mate bond with Rayven was made, I honestly didn’t want anything to do with Delilah. My feelings for her just didn’t compare to what I felt for Rayven, but for some reason, I kept pushing Rayven away and still insisted on bringing her to the council, even though in my heart, I didn’t want to.
I look over at Delilah, and it’s like I am seeing her for the first time. I wonder if that enchantment Theo put on me to see past the illusions is what is helping me think clearly. Not only does it help with seeing through illusions, it also keeps enchantments from working on me. When we walked into the throne room together, I couldn’t even look at Delilah. I wanted nothing more than to leave her and run up to Rayven and carry her out of there. But I knew that was not an option, I had to wait for the right time.
When Delilah kissed me, I couldn’t believe Rayven actually growled. It proved to me that there might still be hope for our bond after everything I have done. I could feel the smirk on my face from the excitement, but I had to quickly school my features so no one noticed. But I am sure Rayven did, she notices everything. The whole time the council was talking, I was biting the inside of my cheek to fight the urge to protect Rayven. This mate bond has been tearing me apart.
I was relieved when Theo was finally able to help her. He has different skills than I do, which is the way it was when we were kids as well. That’s why we work so well together; our strengths and weaknesses complement each other.
I push her hand off of my arm. “You put an enchantment on me, didn’t you?” I accuse her. She feigns outrage and cocks an eyebrow at me.
“Now why on earth would I do that, my love? You are my fiancé, so why would I need to force your devotion to me?” The fact that she is not outright denying it is just more proof to me that I am right. The way I was thinking and feeling while I was at the house with the guys was not my own feelings.
“This whole time, I thought it was Rayven who was making me act so crazy, but it was you. Did you know she was my mate?” I whisper in shock. Everything starts clicking into place, me attacking Rayven for no reason, and even my primal side fighting me so hard. In my heart, I wanted to protect Rayven, but my body wouldn’t allow it.
“Were you even held by the council, or was that just made up?” I ask her, hoping that I am wrong.
“Xavier, my dear sweet fiancé. You have got to be one of the dullest men I have ever met. Of course I knew she was your mate; I am the only one in this place who knows anything. You think the council suddenly got off their thrones and found out about the prophecy? I must admit this has all been very hard on me to orchestrate,” she coos as she walks towards me. I take a step back. I am disgusted with her and myself. How have I never seen this side of her before? “You see, honey, I still need you. I was worried that the enchantment would wear off before you made it back home. That’s ok, no worries.” She reaches up and grabs me before I can stop her, and she forces her lips onto my own. I try to push her away, but she holds tight. It finally clicks, and I realize what she is doing.
Delilah must have had a mage make a compulsion enchantment which needs to be delivered through the skin. What better way for her to give me it than through kissing me. She must have had her lipstick enchanted, and she must not realize that her enchantment hadn’t actually worn off. Theo put an even stronger protection over me, it must have broken what she did to me, and thankfully it is protecting me right now. I relax into her, even though it is the last thing I want to do. She needs to think I am completely under her charms, because I want to fin
d out what she wants. Delilah pulls back slowly.
“You really are a good kisser, my love,” she purrs as she pats me on the cheek. “Now back to business. I need you to find, Rayven. Once you do, I want you to use your manly charms to get her to find something called the original prophecy. She will feel drawn to it, and she is also the only one who can see it. Apparently only angels are good enough to read the holy word.” She steps back and leans against the wall. I stare at her, confusion doesn’t begin to describe what I am feeling. Is she trying to say that Rayven is an angel?
“Rayven will never help me; you forget that she hates me,” I retort. She made sure I would ruin any chances I had with my mate the moment she put that enchantment on me before I left. I bet she did it the night her father said that we would become mates, fucking bitch.
“Well, figure it out, use your mate bond or something. You don’t want to let me down, do you? We have been through so much together, and I need you, Xavier.” She is practically whining, and it is making me internally cringe.
“I would never let you down. I will leave now to go find her,” I force out, trying to sound as normal as possible.
She smiles at me. “Well, aren’t you going to come over here and give me a kiss goodbye?” I want to vomit at the thought of my lips touching anyone’s other than Rayven’s, but I know I have to do it if I want her to stay safe. I walk up to Delilah and lean in to kiss her cheek. She turns her head and catches my mouth with hers. She moves her hands down to the front of my pants and grabs me. That’s it, I can’t take anymore. I am so close to going primal I push her away and walk towards the door.
“I will go find her, stay safe,” I say between clenched teeth. I can’t believe the woman I was in love with was using me, and even worse, she used magic on me. I don’t even know which feelings were mine and which were just the spell when it comes to her. Did I ever really love her, or is the whole relationship nothing but an illusion?