“Never,” he answered and Raven saw he was dead serious.
“I don’t even think that Tierney knows the truth,” she said, worrying her bottom lip.
“I won’t say anything,” he said.
“Well then, my real name is Keshiel and a thousand years ago, my brother, Zandraziel, and I, were sent to the ground as avenging angels. Punishers.”
There was silence for a moment and Raven’s heart sped up. For some reason, what he thought mattered.
“What does an avenging angel do?” Soroyan finally asked, drawing his fingers through her hair before bringing it to his nose to inhale.
Raven took a deep breath and slowly let it out. “We were tasked with patrolling the Fallen.”
Seeing his frown, she shifted so that she was facing him once more, and smoothed the lines in his forehead. “You really should stop frowning and scowling all the time,” she said, moving her hand lower to cup the side of his whiskered face, marveling at how ruggedly handsome he was.
When she went to draw her fingers away, he captured them again and brought them to his lips. “I want to know everything about you. Tell me why the Fallen need to be patrolled.”
Raven took a breath. “Angels are born emotionless and without the capacity for feelings, or so they make us believe.”
“It was a lie?” he asked, eyes wide.
“No and yes,” she said and swallowed deeply, not sure why she was telling him all this. “They are born without emotion, but do have the capacity to feel. They are all given jobs. One of those jobs that a great number of angels are tasked with, is to keep an eye on all ground beings and to ferry the souls when they die, to their final resting places. Be it the heavens or the underworld.”
“Hades,” he said and she nodded. “So what happened?”
“Well, after so many years of watching all the different beings took it’s toll. Seeing happiness, love, anger, hatred, greed, all of it eventually began to poison the well, so to speak.”
Soroyan frowned. “Is that why the angels began to fall?”
“Pretty much. Watching others for so long, they grew invested. Suddenly, the desire to understand, to laugh, cry, hate, love, grew overwhelming. It happened so slowly that no one noticed until it was too late. The angels began to covet life on the ground.”
Raven paused as she remembered how bad it had gotten. “Eventually, it was deemed that angels would rotate from that job to others, and punishers were brought in to patrol them, making sure no one got out of line. The punishers were picked from the elite of the avenging angels.”
“What was the job of an avenging angel?” Soroyan asked.
“Only the best fighters are chosen to fill those ranks and their task is to fight and protect the heavens from our enemies, mainly Lucifer’s arch demons.
“So you were given the job of punisher?” he asked.
Raven nodded. “Yes, we had to choose who went to the ground. My brother, Zander was the leader of the Avenging Angels. He never asked anyone do anything he wouldn’t do, always stepping in the way of danger to keep the rest of us safe. No one wanted to lose their position in the squad, so my brother offered to go. A second was needed, so I went with him to help patrol the Fallen.”
“If they’d already fallen, why bother with them?” he asked.
“The first angel to fall was an accident. Once it was discovered that angels could fall and live on the ground, more followed, even if it meant giving up their wings. With a few thousand Fallen suddenly on the ground, experiencing a plethora of emotion for the first time ever, chaos began to reign.” Raven took a deep breath. “Suddenly there were way too many souls going down rather than up and the fear was that the balance would shift, causing the heavens to collapse. So, if the Fallen wanted to stay on the ground, they needed a set of rules to live by. When they refused to heed the rules, we were sent to enforce them.”
“That must’ve been hard,” he said.
Raven shook her head. “No, it really wasn’t, not for the longest time. But five hundred years later, my brother began making friends with the different beings in the different realms. He quickly gained respect, and before long the Fallen and the Dracones made him lord of their clan.”
Chapter Forty-Four
Wings
Soroyan, feeling lighter than he had in four hundred years, listened to Raven talk. Then her eyes lowered to his chest. He was fascinated and couldn’t imagine the life she’d led, yet he sensed her sadness. “What happened?”
Broken violet eyes rose to his. “My brother met his soul mate first and five years later I met mine.”
Soroyan drew in a breath, feeling her pain along with his own. “What happened?” he asked again, voice barely a whisper as dread filled him. Raven was silent so long that he didn’t think she was going to tell him. “Sorry, I shouldn’t have asked,” he said, noticing a wistful light in her eyes that made his heart ache.
Finally, Raven guided his fingers to a scar he’d noticed on her belly. He’d wondered about it. It was unusual for any of them to scar. He traced it with his fingers and saw a tear slip from her eye.
“Lukkah and I were together just long enough to get pregnant, when the Ilyium attacked,” she said, making him swallow deeply. “There were so many of them. I fought. I was stabbed and my little girl …” She drew in a shaky breath. “I could feel that it was a girl.”
“I’m so sorry,” he said.
Raven sighed. “It was twenty years ago, I should be over it, but—” she stopped and he pulled her close. His heart was thudding, her pain too close to his own.
“It doesn’t matter how long ago it was, it never goes away,” he said.
Raven pulled back and wiped the tear from her face. “You sound like you are talking from experience,” she said, then regretted the comment at the sadness that filled his eyes.
“I’m sorry, I know you lost someone too, and I really didn’t mean to stir anything up last night,” she said.
“I know you didn’t,” he said and she felt his pain.
“Have you ever talked to anyone about it?” she asked and he shook his head.
Raven hugged him and he closed his eyes, feeling like he was home. Then, for the first time in four hundred years he spoke about what had happened. “I lost my mate four hundred years ago along with my three young children, during an attack by the Ilyium as well,” he said and when he opened his eyes, there were tears running down her face.
“They were so young,” he whispered. “Always laughing and giggling. So fierce and fearless as wolfling pups are.” He swallowed when Raven leaned close and kissed the tears from his face.
“I am so sorry, love,” she said and cradled his head against her. Soroyan lay with his arms wrapped around her for a long time, listening to the beat of her heart. She was so full of light, so complete and made him feel like he was right where he should be. Nothing had ever felt right until now, here. With her.
He contemplated that as he told her how he went rogue. About his killing spree. “I lost myself. The things I did. If it wasn’t for my brother.” He shuddered, but couldn’t bring himself to tell her the rest of what he’d done.
“Well, we aren’t so very different,” she said and he moved so that he could look at her.
She gave him a wry grin. “I am no longer an avenging angel. I became the Angel of Death, meant to scare children in line. I’ve spent the last twenty years avenging my mate and baby,” she said, worried he’d think her a monster.
The look in his eyes was not of disgust, but rather understanding. “And the souls you ferry?” he asked.
“It is my punishment for forsaking my duty, and the ones that go down—” She hesitated, but he just patiently waited for her to continue. “Those ones, I get a boost of energy from,” she said, sure she’d see censure in his eyes. Soroyan just hugged her close.
“I have been the enforcer for the pack. I can’t imagine trying to lead them. Once maybe, when I was younger, but now—” He shook his
head.
“Well, if it comes to that, maybe you and Kyrian can rule together,” she said, then shrugged. “You both have different things to offer.”
Seeing his frown deepen, she snorted and mistook why. “Sorry, silly idea.” She gave a wry smile.
“No, actually, that is not a bad idea,” he said and knew there was nothing in Oberon’s law that prevented dual leadership.
Heart suddenly a lot lighter, he ran his fingers through her silky hair. Then he thought about something else. “If you bonded, how is it you are still alive, or whole, or—” He frowned again, because while he might not have his powers, he could sense that she was more than complete.
“You mean how is it I retained my soul?” she asked and he nodded. Raven shrugged. “Simple. We never bonded.”
“But you were soul mates,” he said.
“Yeah, I was stupid and karma is a bitch,” she said and then lowered her eyes to his chest where she drew pictures. She didn’t need to say any more. He understood the desire to die yourself when such a tragedy happens.
“I want to see,” he said, as heat from her touch filled him once more.
“You want to see what?” she asked, as she dipped her head and licked him, sending fire through his veins.
“Your wings,” he said, breathless.
Raven stopped what she was doing and smiled. “All right,” she said and the heat in her eyes made him suck in a ragged breath.
Pushing him onto his back, she leaned over and licked first one of his nipples, before giving a little bite. His groan was music to her ears. Then she did the same to the other one and slowly worked her way down his chest, over his abs and as she moved lower, he slid his fingers down her sides and groaned with fierce need. Raven chuckled and then climbed up and slowly lowered herself over him.
Soroyan sucked in a deep breath at how wonderful it felt to be sheathed inside of her. Then they began to move. Raven took her time, driving him close to the brink, then easing off, until he could barely hang on any longer. Then, as she began to move faster, he felt her let her power loose and great black feathered wings rose from her back as she took them both over the edge.
As the aftermath trembled through them, Soroyan gazed at her in awe, then he reached up. “May I?” he asked and when she nodded, he carefully touched one of her feathers. Moisture filled his eyes as he felt such peace for the first time in four hundred years.
Afterward, Raven curled up in his arms once more and they both fell into blissful, dreamless sleep.
***
Soroyan awoke beside Raven and felt a smile tugging at his lips. He felt happy and relaxed and was enjoying every inch of the female in his arms. Her black lashes rested on her smooth cheek and he couldn’t resist leaning over and brushing a light kiss there. When her eyes opened, she grinned and stretched, then pulled him close.
“We should get up,” he said, knowing it wasn’t happening.
“This first.” She pulled his lips to hers, deciding they weren’t getting out of bed without some fun. If he’d been a cat, he’d have been purring by the time they were done.
Chapter Forty-Five
Alone No Longer
Soroyan sucked in a deep breath when they walked into the great room and found the place full and waiting for him. “No,” he whispered.
Tierney walked up and smirked at him. “Save it, we’re going with you.” Then she grinned at Raven.
Soroyan looked at Jax for help, but Tierney’s mate just shrugged. “We’re in this together.”
Sami, Mark, Brimstone, two Okami warriors, and a warrior from the Raizarch, Honor, stood ready to go. At Soroyan’s scowl, Tierney nodded. “You should be glad. Xeata, Isoul, Julie, Hinah, along with Hellfire and Brimstone’s two older siblings wanted to go, as well as more of your wolves.”
“Yeah, we managed to talk them all into staying here, to watch over those we leave behind,” Sami added.
Soroyan held his tongue, suddenly grateful. It would be easier for a small group to slip in and get back out. Still, he normally worked and hunted alone, and the ones going were already more than he was used to.
“Go eat,” Tierney said, nodding toward the kitchen. “We go as soon as you two are done.”
“I have to go get some supplies,” he said and one of the pack warriors handed him a familiar case.
“I already got it,” Blaez, a multi-colored wolf said.
Soroyan blinked. “You went up to the cave?”
“I knew you’d need it,” Blaez answered with a shrug.
Soroyan was surprised. “Thank you.”
Blaez inclined his head. “I will wait outside.”
***
“This is gonna be fun,” Genna said as they all made their way through the forest a couple hours later. Soroyan glanced at her, but she just grinned and danced on ahead.
“I hope you can destroy their wards,” he said when she slowed and dropped back beside him.
Genna’s face screwed up in consternation. “I can feel them, they make my skin itch. How do you destroy wards?”
Soroyan explained how he had always done it, and as they got close to where he and Raven had sensed the most magic, Genna drew on her power. Nothing happened.
“Just relax,” he told her, but after a good while, he started to doubt it was going to work.
Genna angrily waved him away and a moment later, a loud pop sounded and the ground shook. He drew in a startled breath and a slight smile lit his lips at the sight in front of them.
“Well, that’s one way to do it,” he mumbled.
“What is that?” Genna asked.
“What the hell is that? Some kind of modern freaking castle?” Brimstone said, a scowl on his face.
“Ohh, a castle. Lets explore! This is so coolio!” Genna grinned. Made of cream-colored stucco, it appeared to be a smaller replica of what a real castle might look like.
“That is going to be a big place to search,” Jax said to everyone’s agreement. “We need to do some surveillance.”
“You can stay out here and surveil all you want, but I’m going in. I need to find my nephew,” Soroyan said.
“Fine. Then we all go in,” Jax said, though he didn’t look too happy about it. Everyone nodded their acceptance.
Once they were sure there was no one watching the perimeter, they moved closer and circled the structure unit, and they found a cargo bay and loading dock.
“They must’ve brought their prisoners through here,” Jax said.
“I can’t believe they don’t have anyone on watch,” Sami said.
Soroyan pursed his lips. “They think their wards are all the protection they need.” He was ready to prove them wrong.
Except the doors were thick steel and not easily broken into. Soroyan said nothing, just got his C4 ready, just enough to blow the door off its hinges without hurting anyone close by.
Everyone stood back and Soroyan looked at them. “Thank you all for coming. Once I blow this, we won’t have a lot of time to get Toren and get out.”
There were a bunch of nods, and then he spoke to his sentinels. “I need you both out here, watching our backs and keeping anyone out who might try to sneak up on us,” he said.
The two sentinels nodded and they all stood back as he blew the steel door off its hinges. Then, leaving the two wolves there, they silently made their way inside to find themselves in a long, wide corridor. It was big enough to ferry supplies throughout the place.
“Okay, let’s go,” Jax said and sticking close to the walls, they quickly started to move. Large pallets were stacked here and there, providing hiding space if needed.
“They don’t even have surveillance down here,” Sami mumbled, glancing all around. They came to two closed doors, one on each side.
“This one is locked,” Brimstone said, trying the handle.
“This one too,” Sami said, then he twisted the knob and shoved. The room beyond was filled with old tables, most collapsible, and stacks of chairs. Sami pulle
d the door closed, though it would no longer latch.
“You want to try this one?” Brimstone asked.
Honor leaned in, took a deep breath in, and shook his head. “There’s no one in there.”
Not wanting to waste any more time, they hurried down the passage, not worried about hiding, since there was no one down here. They finally came to a T-intersection. Two hallways stretched out on either side, both narrower than the one they stood in, and not as well lit.
“Laters,” Genna said and with a little wave, hurried down the one on the left.
“I’ll take this one,” Tierney said, Glock in hand as she peered down the right hallway.
“I’ll go with you,” Raven told her.
“Okay,” Tierney said.
“Shouldn’t someone go with Genna?” Honor asked, glancing at them all.
“Don’t look at me, she’d rather eat me than let me help her,” Brimstone said, wide eyed.
“Yeah, probably should,” Jax added with a sigh.
“You don’t seem too worried about her,” Honor said with a frown.
“Yeah, Genna is probably deadlier than anyone here,” Brimstone said. Sami and Jax agreed.
“Well, I’ll go,” Honor offered and turned away before noticing the relieved looks.
Soroyan turned to see Raven walking beside Tierney down the other hallway. He wanted to tell Raven to be careful, but knew she wouldn’t like it if he did.
“She will be fine,” Jax said.
He nodded. “I know, I—”
“Yeah, I worry too, but they are both strong,” Jax said, though Soroyan noticed he didn’t take his eyes off his mate either.
“I’ll go with them,” Mark offered.
Soroyan and Jax both nodded and if he hadn’t been so stressed, or if his power wasn’t locked up, leaving him feeling bare, he’d have laughed at his and Jax’s reaction.
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