Warrior

by Rose Wynters

  Anna opened her eyes and gasped. Shayne quickly forgot about the exchange between Ian and Arch as he helped her up. At the moment, she was all that mattered.

  HER EYES FOCUSED ON Arch. “You,” she gasped, staring at him in wonderment. “You sent me back. I remember you. You were just in my dreams.”

  Arch nodded. “It needed to be done.”

  “Your voice,” she said, watching him intently. “I’ve heard it before, haven’t I? You're the one who carried me back home after I got lost in Alaska.”

  Without replying, he handed her a journal. Opening the first page, Anna recognized her mother’s flowery handwriting. She looked at him with a question in her eyes.

  “Iris left that journal in my safekeeping for you,” he said, solemnly. “I believe it will answer most of the questions you have. She called me that night when you were missing and asked for my help. She was a good person. I got there as quickly as I could.”

  Tears filled her eyes. Holding the journal gently, she looked down and asked, “Is she happy?”

  “She is completely happy and at peace,” Arch responded, in a serious tone of voice. “She will be for an eternity. She doesn't blame you for her death, Anna. She knows it's not your burden to bear, so you need to let that go. Where she is at, there is no sorrow, pain, or fear. There is only joy. Given the choice, she wouldn’t want to return here.”

  “If anyone knows about this, it's Arch,” Shayne told her, when Arch fell silent. “Arch is an angel. He's also the one who sent me to you.”

  A sob escaped her lips, as Anna finally felt at peace with her mother's death. “Thank you for that,” she sniffled. Thinking about the ways Arch had influenced her life, without her even knowing him, was mind boggling. She filed it away to ponder on later.

  “Well, this certainly explains why you've been avoiding me,” Shayne said, with a petulant twist to his lips. His arms crossed as he glared at Arch. “You were worried she'd recognize you, weren't you?”

  Arch's lips twisted, as if he were holding back a grin. “Aw, poor baby,” he crooned, a mischievous glint in his blue eyes. “Did I hurt the wee little baby's feelings?”

  Shayne snorted. Anna grinned at their banter.

  Anna was startled when suddenly another man appeared next to Ian. He was tall like the others, dirty and disheveled, with a fierce expression on his face.

  “What the hell, Germael?” Ian growled. “You almost landed on me.” He stopped, grimaced, and added, “Just the thought of that makes me want to puke. Yuck.”

  Germael elbowed Ian and snapped, “Get out of my way. You need to learn how to address your betters. You're not worth my time, worm.”

  With a little more elbowing and shoving, they finally decided to stand side by side, with sullen expressions on their faces.

  Shayne squatted down next to Anna and said in a low voice, “Don't be afraid. Germael is another angel, and this is the way they travel around from place to place.”

  “Can you do that?” Anna whispered.

  Shayne shook his head and stood back up.

  Germael looked at Arch and got straight to the point when he said, “Some escaped.”

  Arch closed his eyes and sighed. Then he replied, “I suspect we both expected they would. We know what this means.”

  Germael nodded, a solemn expression on his face.

  “Before I leave, there is one more important matter we need to settle,” Arch said, changing the subject.

  “Oh, great,” Ian groaned. “Now what?”

  “Do you love this man enough to be tied to him for an eternity?” Arch asked Anna, ignoring Ian. “I have to warn you, he’s a total bear in the mornings.”

  “Excuse me!” Shayne sputtered, shaking his head. “Now you're proposing for me, Arch? I prefer to make my own damned marriage proposal, thank you very much.”

  Shayne dropped down on one knee, as he took Anna's left hand. With his other hand, he pulled out a small jewelry box and flipped it open with his thumb. Inside, a ring glistened in the light.

  Anna gasped. Her heart thudded in anticipation. She lifted her eyes to his face.

  “Things have moved fast between us since we met. So have my feelings,” Shayne continued, his eyes holding hers. “But I guess when things are right, they just do. That dress wasn't the only thing I bought you that day. I already knew there was no way I'd willingly let you walk out of my life.” Both of them grinned.

  “So, I have to ask. Do you love me enough to be tied to me for an eternity?”

  Arch made a strangled sound in the back of his throat. When Shayne glanced at him, he smiled, angelically.

  Shayne looked back at her, a question in his eyes. Anna smiled, her own eyes filled with tears. “Without a doubt,” she said, her words filled with the sincerity she felt. “I couldn’t imagine my life without you. Not anymore. Not ever.”

  Shayne pulled her to him and kissed her before sliding the ring on her finger. Then Arch said the words that would bind them together for an eternity as he married them. The circle was now complete, body and soul. Never would one be without the other. It went beyond a simple marriage. They were immortal. They were eternal.

  It was an awe-inspiring feeling for Anna. Passion overcame them, and they kissed.

  “Well,” Arch said, clearing his throat. “That’s my cue to leave.” He prepared to disappear.

  “Wait,” Ian yelled, a panicked expression on his face. He raced over to Arch. “Take me with you!” It was clear to all that the last thing he wanted was to be left with the two lovebirds.

  Arch chuckled. “It won’t seem so bad when it’s your turn.” Ian turned white and gawked at Arch a second before they disappeared. Germael nodded at them and left as well, just as quietly as he had arrived.

  Shayne laughed and said, “You know, I've never felt so incredible. I have a wonderful woman who will be with me for an eternity, and she's also the hottest piece to ever walk the world.” He winked at her and released a happy sigh. “I'm a lucky, lucky man.”

  Anna was happier than words could describe, and she shared in his joy. But when she thought about Arch, she wasn't at peace. “I didn’t get a chance to really talk to Arch,” she told Shayne. “I thanked him, but I don't feel it's enough. I died, but he gave me another chance. I’m not even sure there are enough words to express my gratitude for what he’s done, but I'd like to try.”

  She clasped the journal in her hands. Later on, she would read it, and she felt hopeful she would get the answers she needed. Anna was certain her mother had thought ahead, and because of that, she’d learn her mother's full history and secrets. Secrets she hadn't been aware of, until Arch's revelations.

  Anna offered up a quick prayer of thanks for the multitude of blessings she'd received. Her life could have taken a very different turn. She was blessed, and she knew it.

  Shayne picked her up and swung her around with a laugh. His joy was infectious. “Don’t worry,” he responded, staring down at her with a grin. “We’ll be seeing a lot more of Arch in the future. But for now, it's honeymoon time.”

  Epilogue

  THREE MONTHS LATER...

  Anna collapsed next to Shayne, her body still trembling from the powerful orgasm that had rippled through her only moments before. He grinned at her arrogantly, his smile full of pure male satisfaction. He knew the effect he had on her body, and he loved every moment of it.

  Anna definitely wasn’t the same innocent woman she had been months before. Shayne had thoroughly initiated her into sexual pleasure, and she couldn’t be happier. He was an excellent teacher.

  She snuggled into his side, as he wrapped his arm around her. Both of them enjoyed the contact, and there was nowhere else they’d rather be. He loved and adored her in a way she would have never believed possible, and she knew that beyond a doubt. Her husband.

  “I love you,” she said, simply. “Thank you for loving me.” Her eyes filled with tears. “I wish my mom could have lived long enough to see me this happy.”


  Shayne's eyes were soft. “I know, baby,” he murmured. He ran his hand gently across her back. “I would have loved to have met her. You're everything to me. You know this. It hurts me to see you this sad. I grieve when you do.”

  Anna kissed him on his chin. “I just wish she would have told me about her past when she was still alive. It hurts me to think that she was afraid to tell me. I could have reassured her,” Anna continued, emotion choking her. “Nobody had a better mother than me.”

  It took her a while to build up the courage to read the journal Iris had left with Arch. Eventually, she did, though. It was what Iris had wanted her to do, and the reason she wrote it to start with. Anna had learned of her origins, and everything fell into place. Iris had spent her childhood in an orphanage, never knowing her natural parents. Upon turning eighteen, she’d been released and sent out into the world, with only a hundred dollars to her name.

  Her life hadn’t prepared Iris for the world she was sent into. In the end, Iris went the path that many young women had gone before her, and she allowed herself to be seduced by a smooth-talking, older man. He had promised her everything she could have ever wanted, including security. But soon, she had learned that his security came with a price tag she wasn't willing to pay. The man she slept with had sold his soul, and he wanted a woman to provide him with a child to fulfill that debt.

  After vowing to never see him again, Iris had been stunned to learn she was pregnant. Knowing what would happen to her unborn child if he found out about it, Iris had gone on the run and never looked back. To her dying day, she'd never forgiven herself for being tricked into bedding a man so evil.

  Over the years, Iris had experienced a lot of guilt that Anna didn’t have the things that other children did, like designer clothes and a rich home. She'd loved her daughter so much that she felt she only deserved the very best of everything. The cabin in Alaska had been an answered prayer to the woman who only wanted to provide her daughter with security.

  If only Iris would have known how much she appreciated her. Iris had been the type of mother Anna hoped she could one day be. She felt very lucky to have experienced the deep love she’d received from her—and from Shayne.

  The most surprising revelation in the journal had been about Arch. He’d been a significant part of Iris' life without Anna ever realizing it. Arch had walked out of the darkness one night in Denver and changed the course of their very lives forever.

  The journal didn’t tell all of the details, but Arch had offered Iris a loan and somehow convinced her to take it. He was the one to set them up in Alaska. He'd also convinced Iris to submit one of her horror stories to a publishing house, leading to her writing career. Anna cringed to think of where they might have ended up, had Arch not stepped into their lives when he did. Without Arch and his angelic interventions, Anna wouldn’t even be alive.

  Shayne lifted her face and dried her eyes, pulling her from her musings. “Iris knew it, baby. She knew how much you loved and appreciated her. I have no doubt of that, and neither should you.”

  He held her close until the heartache passed.

  THE LOVE THEY FELT for each other was enduring and everlasting. Neither one of them knew what the future had in store for them, but they were confident they could make it as long as they were together. The years would pass, but the fire between them would never go out. It was a love that would withstand time, tragedy, and the Armageddon.

  The ethereal being smiled, pleased with the outcome. The two were a big part of his plans for the future, as were the offspring they would one day have. They were joined together forever, as he wanted. His plan had come to fruition.

  His smile faded, as he pondered the state of the world he had created. Armageddon was going to get bloody, as Hell made its last attempts to take control, and all of his players weren’t in place. Hell's plan for Anna had been foiled, but that didn't mean they were giving up. His nemesis would never stop.

  Lucifer was determined to make a stand that would affect humanity for an eternity. It wasn't going to be pretty for the world, and not many would see it for what it was—until it was too late for them.

  He floated away from the room, his thoughts already on his next move. Hell had set its sights on New Orleans, and it was essential he secure the area as soon as possible. Good would prevail over evil, but the process wouldn't be easy for the humans caught in the crossfire.

  He soared up into the sky, as the world moved into the next chain of events.