The Rise of Monsters: Angelus Book One

by Brianna Jean

  “Pull it out already, I can’t stand this!” Quint shouted, his voice raw and broken, causing my chest to ache for a different reason. I hated his torment.

  Fuck, I couldn’t open my eyes!

  I felt a hand land on the uninjured side of my chest. “I’m sorry.”

  The pain tripled as the dagger was pulled free, and my eyes flew open. I cried out, my body twisting against the agony, my legs coming up to curl into a ball.

  “Anna, feed,” Lanier commanded, his wrist at my mouth. My fangs dropped immediately, and I snatched his arm, sinking my teeth in. His wine flavored blood exploded in my mouth, and a moan ripped from my throat as I drank.

  His hand came up to the back of my head, holding me in place, as if he thought I’d stop before I had enough. No way in fucking hell.

  His blood was bliss, pure fucking heaven.

  I drank and drank until I heard Cabe snap, “Enough, she needs the water.”

  Lanier pulled his wrist from my mouth, and I groaned, trying to snatch it back. He chuckled a dark sound before placing his hand on my shoulder and pulling me up into a sitting position. A cup was brought to my mouth and I greedily swallowed the water down. As it fell down my throat, the water took away the taste of Lanier’s blood and replaced it with a meadow of flavors—sweet roses and sunshine.

  I wanted to cry as the water invaded my senses. I could taste the healing power within it, the magic that was used to create it. It wasn’t dark, but instead, it was bright with a heavenly light, magic, as it worked to close the wound in my chest.

  I felt my skin pulling back together, but the pain remained, and a voice was whimpering in my head.

  I closed my eyes, searching for Bestia, but it wasn’t her that I found.

  Instead, I faced a massive white wolf with bright lilac eyes mirroring my own. She was bleeding from her chest, right where I was stabbed. Her eyes were full of torment, pain written all over her pretty face.

  She was beautiful, as white as snow. Her paws were massive, twice the size of my hands, her face triple the size of my own.

  I knew instantly that she was my “gift” from Quint.

  And she was broken.

  I opened my eyes, immediately looking for my mate. He stood in the corner of the room, his head in his hands, his body curled in on itself. “Quint,” I rasped, my voice raw from screaming.

  His head snapped up, his eyes bloodshot and swimming in moisture.

  Oh, Quint.

  “Help her,” I cried, my own tears blurring my vision. My heart was breaking as I felt the emotions rolling off of everyone in the room.

  “I can’t,” he whispered, dropping his head back down.

  “Lucifer said that the fifth Angel would heal the wolf,” Cabe said, standing up from his crouched position before me. He took the cup with him and placed it on the coffee table. “Alias is out looking for her…for my sister.”

  He was different than normal. He was stressed and torn between thinking about me and thinking about the fact that he had a sister he never knew, never met.

  Somehow, all of us got fucked in this situation. Quint Transitioned, Lanier was forced to Accept, I was stabbed in the heart, and Cabe found out that he had a family member, a fucking twin, that he never knew existed.

  “What kind of fucking God does this?” I spat, my voice cracking with gravel. “What kind of monster creates…”

  “Monsters?” Quint asked, looking up again. He was so broken, so afraid, and I couldn’t go to him. I couldn’t fucking move.

  Then there was a knock on the door.

  We all froze, our gazes bouncing between one another.

  “I’ll get it,” Cabe said, turning toward the door of the penthouse.

  “Help me up, Lan.” I tried to do it myself, but my limbs wouldn’t work. The wound was healed, but my wolf was broken. If she couldn’t be fixed, neither could I.

  “Here, Vix.” He wrapped his arms around me, picking me up and walking me into the kitchen, setting me down next to the island so that I could hold on to the marble and not need his help. I was grateful for him not treating me like I was fragile, just hurt.

  Cabe pulled the door open, and AK stood in the threshold with an unconscious girl in his arms. I couldn’t look at him, not wanting to deal with the emotions that would no doubt make an appearance. I wasn’t strong enough, brave enough, or stupid enough to unlock that mess now.

  The girl he held had her head thrown back over his arm, blonde hair flowing in the empty air around her. Her body was bruised and malnourished, but even still, I could feel her power wafting toward me, seeking out my pain and latching on before finding my wolf and going to work.

  I sighed and closed my eyes as the magic did its job, my body already attuned to the power. This was different than Cabe’s or Lanier’s powers, this was gentle and sweet. The white wolf in my mind attempted to stand on shaky legs as the wound closed completely. Once the job was done, the magic left me but not completely. A new bond was formed, but this one…

  I sucked in a breath, tears exploding from my eyes.

  I stumbled forward, not caring about my injuries or the pain. I took in her blonde hair, her small size, the dainty fingers on her hand, the shape of her neck, her jawline, her nose…

  I didn’t need to see the color of her eyes to know for sure. I knew deep within my soul who was unconscious in the arms of The Army Killer.

  Cabe’s sister. The fifth Death Angel.

  A sob broke free, crashing through the room as my hand came up to touch her face.

  There was no way…and yet… “Brinley?”

  TO BE CONTINUED…..

  GOD I’m SO SORRY. That cliff is brutal, I know. But you need this time to reflect on what you read and prepare yourselves because book two is going to be true to the storyline. It’s going to be darker, sexier. It’s going to give a whole new meaning to the word raw.

  That being said…

  WHAT IS HAPPENING?! Is this even real?

  You just read my book baby. You now know my characters. YIKES.

  Okay I have a lot of people to thank so bear with me here.

  To my mom, who has read this book—in all of its various forms and versions—over and over again but never lost her enthusiasm. Thank you for everything. I love you.

  Rosie fucking Metcalf. My boss ass PA and absolute best friend. I love you. I couldn’t have done this without you. Here is to years and years of new releases and you keeping my ass in line. IT’S LIT, ya girl Winston!

  To my rock, Maxwell, for listening to me go on and on about plot points and changes. For letting me bitch about the four of them not shutting up in the middle of the night or forcing me into a full-blown mental breakdown when having four personalities in my head became too much. For dealing with too many nights of fast food because I didn’t have the energy to cook dinner. I love you.

  To my little Harley Jay Jay Tookie Monkey Lady. Mama loves you, lady pie. Follow every damn dream. Don’t you dare give up.

  To my fucking betas. Y’ALL KNOW HOW MUCH I LOVE YOU. The Rise of Monsters wouldn’t be what it is today without you, for real. I adore you. Thank you thank you thank you.

  Stephanie, Quint is still yours. Though, we may have to fight over him because he has wormed his way into my cold heart and I’m reluctant to share.

  Rob Wageck. You…kind sir, are the greatest. Thank you for four years of continued support, being my cheerleader and always staying in my corner. Thank you for EVERYTHING!

  Dad, thanks for letting me publish my first book on your birthday. I doubt you realized what this means though…I’ll just keep it to myself until next year and the year after that when you have to share your birthday with TROM lololol. Whoops. Also, happy fucking birthday. I love you.

  Nikki. 9 years of friendship, you’ve been here. I love our very quick, very random, Melting Pot dates just to get me out of the writing cave. I love your dedication to my characters, your continued and forever support. I’m sorry I never answer your fucki
ng texts. I love you.

  Brooklynn. I’m not so sure how to thank you. For listening to me read this out loud to you. For helping me sort through my thoughts. For asking me about my fucking characters EVERY SINGLE DAY. For living and breathing support. For loving me, loving them, loving my music choices in the car, for letting me vent and rant and go on and fucking on about this story, this world. For all the tattoos, for your talent, for being you. I love to love you.

  Finally, to my readers. WELCOME TO THE CRAZY TRAIN Y’ALL. Thank you for reading, it truly truly truly means the world.

  Brianna Jean is a book loving, donut eating, vodka drinking, kind of human. Born and raised in Buffalo, NY, she thinks pizza and chicken wings are a food group and the Buffalo Bills are a way of life (even if they lose).

  She has a daughter named Harley Jay, two fur babies, and an incredibly supportive other half named Maxwell. She writes modern dark romance, set in both fantasy and contemporary worlds, and lives everyday with characters wreaking havoc in her brain. Writing is her passion, books are her favorite pastime, and music soothes her soul. She will never write books that make you comfortable. She will always push your boundaries while writing about the darker side of romance.

  Loud, sassy, and a little embarrassing, Brianna lives to love herself and those around her. Being an author was the dream, and now that dream is coming true—one book at a time.

  JOIN MY READERS GROUP: https://bit.ly/2N4yjpl

  Add books 2 and 3 to your TBR so you’re always in the loop

  TFOM (Angelus #2) - https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/48747717-tfom

  TBOH (Angelus #3) - https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/48749390-tboh