The Devil's Daughter: A Paranormal Romance

by Shyenna Renee

  “Never!” A broken pair of wings sprouts from her back and she flies up into the air. Without hesitation, I follow behind her.

  “You can’t escape this!” I scream as I gain up on her, her wings wilted and dead as she struggles to keep flight. I catch up with ease and grab hold of her shirt, holding her in place as I keep us in the air.

  “Keep this up and your punishment in hell will be much worse.” I warn.

  “Either way, I’m a dead woman so why not go down in a blaze of glory.”

  The earth begins to rumble as inhuman screeches echo around us. Black shadows shoot up from the ground and surround us. She shoves me away and hides in the clumps of darkness while I look around for her.

  “Stop being a coward!” I slash across one of the shadow demons as they fly towards me. “How are you controlling them? You don’t have the authority!” I yell as more of it attack.

  The sound of her dark chuckle comes from all around as I defend myself from the demons. “Dark magic lets you do all kinds of things, my dear.” She appears in front of me with a cocky smile in place. “Watch this.” Excitement is laced in her voice as she snaps her fingers and more of her appear.

  “Where am I? Am I here?” The one to the left of me speaks as she waves her hand in fake worry.

  “Or how ‘bout over here?” Another appears behind me as I spin around, my sword drawn.

  “Close your eyes and focus!” My father scolds and I listen, my eyes falling shut as I clear my thoughts. A rush of power flows through me, and once I feel the surge of energy that itches to come out, I open my eyes..

  “Enough!” My voice is laced with authority as a blast of red and black magic rushes through the air. It clears away the shadow demons and clones. The real Lilith appears behind me, her dagger raised above her head and ready to strike.

  I spin around, knocking my wing into her and sending her falling to the ground. She lands with a harsh thud, a crater forming where she landed, and I fly down to stand next to her.

  “This is over Lilith. I win.” I hold the top of the sword to her throat as she coughs blood. “Your ribs are broken, and you have internal bleeding. Surrender.”

  She coughs once more before shakily raising her hand, her power flickering across her palm before dying out. “Go on. Kill me.”

  “Do it, my child.”

  Listening to the voice of my father, I raise the sword above me. Just as I’m about to plunge the sword into her heart, a smirk crosses her features, and I scrunch my eyebrows in confusion.

  Before I can question her strange behaviour, I’m tackled to the ground, a snarling wolf on top of me.

  “Dean, stop this,” I hiss as I try to reach for the sword that was knocked out of my hands.

  “He can’t hear you. He’s still under my command.” Lilith’s pained voice comes from behind Dean’s form as she pushes herself off the ground.

  “Dean, listen to me. Remember what Celeste told you. Fight her,” I command as I look into his eyes, trying to catch a glimpse of the real him and not the zombie he’s been for the last decade. His eyes flash between foggy haze and his natural hazel eyes. “That’s it, fight,” I whisper but they switch back.

  “You won’t win.” Lilith bends down next to me as Dean keeps snarling in my face.

  “Yes, she will.” I look over in shock at Austin as he stands behind Lilith with my sword in hand. The sizzling of his skin can be heard as the scent of his burning flesh lingers in the air.

  He kicks Lilith’s broken and bruised body away before tackling down Dean and giving me the sword. The flames once again take over the metal as I shoot up to my feet and stand above her once more.

  “Goodbye, mother.” With that said, I plunge the sword into her chest, piercing her heart as she screams in pain.

  As her screams die down, my vision goes hazy. Black dots dance across my vision as my knees buckle. I fall to the floor, the darkness consuming me once more.

  CHAPTER 44

  |celeste|

  Everything is dark. No matter where I look, it’s darkness. The last thing I remember is watching Leena fight before everything goes dark.

  “Hello?” I called for what seems like the trillionth time. And just like the other times, there was no reply.

  “Please, I just need some help!” I yell, but the only noise that comes back is the echo of my own voice.

  It feels like ages since I actually opened my eyes. They seem to ache, begging for me to peel them open, but no matter how hard I try, they don’t budge. A burning in my throat also accompanies the pain I feel all around.

  I know these signs. I’m in a coma.

  It happened once before when a rogue caught me off guard.

  I was trying to help another, and succeeded too, but I got knocked around too much and ended up passing out for two weeks in Crowley’s cabin after the fight. I wonder how long I’ve been out this time.

  I give up calling for help. It’s useless. I let myself get comfortable in the darkness with my thoughts until, finally, I start hearing snippets of the people around me in the real world.

  “Is she okay?” comes the faint voice of my mate, Austin.

  I can feel his hand as he gives mine a gentle squeeze out of anxiousness. I giggle slightly at the way he bugs the doctor over something he simply couldn’t control.

  I am in a coma. They may or may not know why, but either way, there’s no way to get me out. I’ll have to do that on my own.

  “Celeste?” comes the faint voice of a woman. It sounds a lot like Cat, but she is gone...isn’t she?

  “I am, but we were granted one last chance to talk, remember?”

  In our world, I turn around quickly at the sound of her voice behind me. There, stood my grey wolf.

  “Cat!” I call happily as I hug her.

  “Hello Celeste.”

  I pull away to look at her. All the scars that used to line her coat have disappeared.

  “They left when I went to heaven to be with our ancestors,” she answers my silent question.

  “Are you happy?”

  “Yes!” she cheers. “I no longer need to fight. I get to rest and be a normal wolf,” she chirps out happily. “Now, you get to be happy too.”

  “How though? I’m trapped her for goddess knows how long.” I peek around at the darkness as I speak.

  “Just keep moving forward. You’ll eventually find the light.”

  The light? That’s what I need to find? I thought you went to the light when you were ready to die?

  “That’s just a myth,” Cat says.

  She must know what I’m thinking.

  “Yes, I do know. Now, it’s time for me to leave and for you to go back to your mate.”

  “I’m going to miss you, Cat,” I tell her sadly.

  “I’ll miss you too.”

  We soon say our final goodbyes and then she fades away, leaving me alone in the darkness once again.

  After I make a deep sigh, I decide to listen to Cat and start to kick my feet to move around in the darkness. It’s better than just sitting there and floating.

  The farther into the darkness I go, the more light shines through. It gets brighter and brighter until it’s fully lit, and I could finally see my surroundings.

  I was in a painfully white corridor that approached a dead-end. There are no doors. There is nothing. For a moment, I think maybe I should go back and try a different way, but in my heart, I know this is right.

  At the end of the corridor, a tall and elegant mirror stands. When I gaze on it, I couldn’t help but gasp as the sight of my feathery black wings comes into view. They are dark and mysterious but also beautiful. I flap them a few times and stretch them out to get a better view.

  Will they stay forever?

  I couldn’t help but wonder. Just the thought of these wonderful things leaving saddens me. I don’t want them to go, and something tells me they won’t.

  Once I was done admiring the beauties on my back, my image in the glass mirror
starts to slowly fade into an image of a hospital room; my hospital room to be exact.

  My hand reaches out to touch the mirror that is displaying my unconscious body. Austin’s slumped and dishevelled figure comes into view too, but instead of falling against a cold surface, my hand goes straight through. I am caught off guard and ends up falling completely in.

  I end up in a heap on the floor with a loud thump, one which startles Austin. He stands up from his chair beside my bed and becomes alert as he searches the room. His eyes scan right past me. He finds nothing, and his perfectly sculpted eyebrows draw together in confusion before he slowly sits back down.

  “Austin?” I call softly. I didn’t get a response. It’s he can’t hear or see me . I slowly walk up behind him and place my hand on his shoulder. The tenseness leaves, and his shoulders slump as a sigh of content comes out from his his lips. He can sense my presence. He just doesn’t know why or how.

  I lean down and press a gentle kiss to his cheek before moving over to stand above my body.

  “I’m coming home, darling,” I whisper before floating into the air and rejoining my body.

  I jolt up with a loud gasp of air, my breathing coming out in pants as the medical machines go crazy all around me. The beeping becomes unbearable until, finally, they just stop. A small smile leaves my lips as I feel like I could finally breathe again.

  “You’re awake,” comes the voice of my mate from beside me.

  I don’t waste any time in throwing myself off the bed and into his arms. He catches me with ease and holds me tight.

  “I was worried sick,” he mumbles into my hair then snuggles his face into my shoulder.

  “How long was I out?” was my scratchy reply, a horrible cough threatening to come outsince my throat is so dry.

  “A month.” His voice is quiet and thick with emotion as his eyes mist with tears. “The doctors couldn’t figure out what was wrong. They thought you’d never wake up.”

  While he talks, he places me back to the bed before handing me a glass of water. I gulp it down eagerly, the soreness in my throat already dissipating. Once I am done, I set the glass back down and pull him to sit in the bed with me.

  “Did you talk to my grandfather about it?”

  He’s a demon, so surely he could’ve told them what is happening.

  “He was just as stumped as us. He left a week after it happened, saying he was returning home to see if anyone there could help. We haven’t seen him since.” He shrugs his shoulders while he gazes back at me.

  Well, that is until his eyes widen and drift towards something behind me.

  “What?” I ask curiously as I peer over my back. As soon as I did, a smile takes over my face. My wings stayed.

  “Aren’t they beautiful?” I ask him as I look back towards him.

  He remains silent. His hand just strokes the feathers instead.

  “How?”

  “What do you mean? Weren’t they here while I was sleeping?”

  He simply shook his head no.

  “They were with me in my dream. Maybe they just followed me out?” Deciding it was a topic to research later, we move on.

  Austin goes to the doctors, and they did a routine check-up before declaring that I still need to stay overnight for observation. After that, Austin and I stayed up watching movies and talking about everything I missed over the last month.

  The next day, my family comes to visit me as Austin checks me out of the hospital. Austin’s Beta and Gamma visit as well. I give everyone hugs and made sure they are doing okay as well.

  I say goodbye to them and leave with my mate.

  On the drive home, I end up falling asleep. I am only awoken because Austin accidentally hits his head on the top of the car while pulling me out of the seat. A chuckle leaves my lips as he silently curses.

  “You’re quite clumsy, aren’t you alpha?” I tease while he playfully glares.

  With a push from his foot, the door slams shut and he begins leading us to the stairs of our private home.

  His body suddenly goes stiff and then he quits walking.

  A frown takes over my face as I stare at his rigid face. I turn my attention towards the living room where he is looking.

  There, stands my grandfather and father.

  “Who is that?” His tone is clipped and on edge as he stares at the mysterious man next to Zeke.

  I get why he is on edge.

  Lucifer gives off a powerful and dark vibe, but I know better than to be scared. He is my father after all.

  A giant smile takes over my face, and I eagerly squirm out of Austin’s arms. Once I am free, much to Austin’s distaste, I fling myself at my father and grandfather. They hug me back just as tightly.

  “I came as soon as Zeke told me what was going on,” my dad whispers.

  “By the time we got back though, you were already awake and gone from the hospital,” Zeke says with a small chuckle and shake of his head.

  “You had us worried,” my father playfully scolds.

  Austin clears his throat and we all face him

  “And who might this be?” He raises his brow at me as he impatiently taps his foot.

  “Um, Austin.”

  I walk over and grab his hand. I lead him back over to my father.

  “This is my dad, my real dad, Lucifer.”

  He looks confused so I quickly mind-link him, saying I’d explain later.

  “And Father, this is my mate, Austin.”

  EPILOGUE

  |celeste|

  Two weeks later

  “Alpha! Luna!” A disheveled young warrior says as he briskly walks up to me and Austin.

  “Young Mathews, what has you so scared?” I quickly ask as I pat his back gently as a way to comfort him.

  “We’ve found the traitor, Luna Celeste.”

  Austin’s worried face morphs into a serious demeanor as he straightens up. The young pup focuses on him instead.

  “Where are they?” His voice is deep and on the verge of a growl as he pulls me to him.

  “The dungeon, with Celeste’s father, Dean. But I must warn you. You’re not going to like what you see.”

  |celeste|

  One month later

  The sound of the judge’s gavel echoes across the Elders’ court room. Wolves who have gathered from all around area stand to address the head elder as he enters.

  “Sit, my brothers and sisters.” His voice is strong and full of authority as he takes his place among the elder council.

  “We’re here today to discuss the trial of former luna, Dianna Roman, of the Roman pack and mother to current Alpha, Austin Roman.”

  I grab hold of Austin’s hand in support as the elder’s guards bring in Austin’s mother. Austin stiffens at the sight of her.

  “Over the last month, we’ve reviewed the evidence brought forward by Alpha Roman and his pack and have now come to a verdict. Before we give our verdict, Alpha Austin has asked to further question the former luna. Austin, please come forward,” Elder Smith calls and I silently wish him good luck.

  “Why, mother, have you committed this treason against my pack?”

  He questions as he stands before her. Her face is nothing but an icy glare.

  “I did it for your pack. I don’t want to bring harm to it. That rogue….” She spits the word out with disgust as she stares at me. “…isn’t good for your pack, darling. She’s wanted by packs all over the country! Having her as your luna will only bring war and destruction. So, please, I beg of you, Austin. Forgive me, reject her, and find someone else to rule beside you.”

  She moves forward to grab Austin’s hands, but he pulls them away from her grip like she just burned him.

  “Don’t touch me!” he hisses. I watch as his father stiffens in the crowd and is forced to look away. “That rogue is my mate, and I love her! Let’s not forget you were once a rogue too, mother. You two may not have gone through the same difficulties, but that’s what makes her stronger than any other she
-wolf out there. What you did shall never be forgiven, and I wish it never came to this, but you forced my hand. I disown you as my mother and revoke all rights you had from being the former luna.”

  Austin makes his way back to me with an emotionless expression while his mother breaks down in tears behind him.

  “Elder Smith, you may continue,” I speak up when Austin makes no move to do so.

  “Thank you, Luna Celeste. As for Madam Roman’s comment about the current luna wanted by several packs, all alphas have been told to stop all searches for her after she so generously brought forth evidence against the wolves she harmed and even more. She won’t be completely off the hook for her crimes, but we understand why she did what she did.”

  I smile gratefully at the elders as they smile down at me and Austin.

  “Moving forth to the verdict on Dianna Roman… The elders of the high council have found you, Dianna Rose Roman, guilty of high treason. You are to spend the rest of your days in the Royal prison for turning against your luna and sending her and your Alpha to their deaths by working with rogues, witches, and demons. You will be given twenty minutes to say farewell to any friends and family willing to listen to you before you’re shipped to Ireland. There, Queen Alexis will sign the papers to seal your fate and show your husband to a home for mates with incarcerated family members. Guards! Take her away.”

  The second-high elder bangs the gavel once again and everyone stands. “You’re all dismissed.”

  |celeste|

  Four years later

  “Mama! Come quickly! Grandpa is here!” comes the excited voice of my three-year-old son, Damien.

  “One second, sweetie!” I call back as I pick up my crying two-year-old from her crib. Little Anastasia hates being alone for too long.

  I make my way down the stairs as quickly as I can with a giggling baby wiggling in my arms.

  “Dad!” I say happily as pull him in for a hug.

  “There’s my two favorite girls.” He chuckles as Anastasia makes grabby hands at him. He happily takes her from my hands, making silly faces as he does.