The Angel Trap

by Michelle Madow

  It didn’t take long to gather them in the yard. The moon wasn’t out, making it a darker night than most, and I looked around to double check that everyone was there. They were.

  The Montgomery pack was large—there were twenty-six of us in all, which was why we needed such a large complex to house all of us. An average pack had between six to ten members. Anything larger than that usually resulted in more than one alpha. When that happened, the pack would split.

  The Montgomery pack was the strongest in the country, so even the most dominant of our members submitted to me. No one wanted to leave a pack as powerful as ours. Large packs had drama, yes, but I never failed to keep them in line.

  “I’m sure you’re wondering why I’ve woken you in the middle of the night,” I said, and a chorus of nods showed me that yes, they were.

  I stepped atop a large slab of rock, ready to say what I’d rehearsed many times leading up to this moment.

  “As you know, dark times are ahead.” I looked around at all of them, my tone grave and serious. “Hundreds of demons have been released from Hell—creatures with powers greater than any supernatural on Earth can comprehend. As shifters, we’re strong, but our powers are no match to the demons. It won’t be long until the demons take their place on the top of the food chain and eliminate all supernaturals that try to defy them. Our time as the apex predator has sadly reached its end.”

  Unhappy grumbling sounded from the crowd, concern flashing in the eyes of my pack mates.

  I held out my hands to silence them, and they watched me expectantly. “I know this isn’t what you expected to hear,” I said. “The truth isn’t always easy to swallow. However, as your alpha, I take my duty to protect each and every one of you seriously—your lives are as precious to me as my own. For weeks, I’ve been searching for a way to ensure our safety. And tonight, I’m pleased to tell you that I’ve found the solution—an alliance that guarantees the Montgomery pack will remain alive and protected in the times to come.”

  I paused to scan their eyes, pleased to find them watching me breathlessly, waiting for me to continue.

  “Actually, it’s fairer to say that this alliance found me.” I chuckled, pretending that this part was unrehearsed. “Last week, when I imprinted on the woman who will soon become my mate.”

  On cue, Azazel teleported in with Mara.

  She stood beside me, flanked on the other side by Azazel. Lavinia had also teleported in with Sage, although the two of them stood off to the side, so they wouldn’t steal my thunder.

  Gasps erupted from the crowd, and my two strongest men shifted and rushed at Azazel.

  “Stop!” I commanded, but I was too late.

  In seconds, Azazel reached for his sword and beheaded them, leaving their corpses bleeding out at our feet.

  The moment they died, their bonds to the pack broke and chills rushed to my bones.

  I glanced down at their bodies in horror. I hadn’t given Azazel permission to kill members of my pack.

  He was supposed to want them alive. The men who were dead at our feet were future numbers who would have been on our side.

  “Why did you do that?” I asked Azazel, shocked.

  “They tried to attack me,” he said simply. “You saw.”

  “They didn’t have a chance to understand what I’d done for them—what you were offering them.” I clenched my fists, furious at him for killing my pack mates—and his future alliance—so callously. “They didn’t know what they were doing. Once they knew, they would have apologized. They would have been on our side.”

  If my plea affected the greater demon at all, I couldn’t tell. He just stared at me emptily, and then looked out at the members of my pack.

  Most of them gazed up at him in horror. Two women held onto each other in tears—the mates of the men who had died.

  The men Azazel had murdered.

  “Let them serve as an example.” Azazel stepped up and pointed at the bodies at his feet, his voice echoing throughout the yard. “You will listen to what your alpha has to say,” he commanded. “Flint has made an alliance that will keep you alive. You have no idea how lucky you are to be part of the Montgomery pack. But if you don’t hear him out—if you react like these two did—you’re not going to remain alive for long enough to hear about this incredible opportunity you’re being offered. Understood?”

  Seeing Azazel destroy two of our strongest warriors so easily must have scared the rest of my pack into submission, because they remained silent.

  “Fantastic.” Azazel smiled and looked to me. “Flint, please continue.”

  I continued on to tell them all about Mara. She stood strong next to me the entire time, despite numerous pack members looking at her in disgust and disdain. As I told the story, the disgust lessened on some of their faces, but not all.

  I hated seeing them look at her like that. I wanted them to see her beauty as much as I did.

  They would. Once the blood binding ceremony was complete, they would.

  “I’m the first shifter to imprint outside of our species,” I finished, looking out at them in pride. “This is not a coincidence. It’s a sign. A sign that I—Flint, the alpha of the Montgomery pack, the strongest pack in the country—is meant to make this alliance. You saw Azazel’s power just now!” I glanced down at the two dead men at my feet, my stomach churning at how their deaths were coming in handy. But I didn’t let it show. Because I’d do anything to show my pack the truth, even if that meant using the death of our two strongest men to help them understand. “Once the blood binding ceremony is complete, we’ll protect Azazel, and we’ll be under his protection. We’ll be invincible! After the war, we won’t just survive—we’ll thrive!” I raised my fist into the air at the end, punctuating the finale of my speech and looking into the eyes of each of my pack mates to get my message across.

  By now, a few of them were smiling and nodding. But when I reached Sage, she was watching me like I was a total stranger.

  I clenched my fist tighter, refusing to let her get to me. Under the complacent potion, she would go through with this. She was going to get Azazel’s protection whether she wanted it or not.

  But we didn’t have complacent potion for anyone else. So I looked away from my sister and refocused on the rest of my pack, determined to get all of them to understand. Determined to save them.

  I refused to have any more casualties like the two men at my feet.

  “I’ve brought this opportunity straight to our doorstep.” I lowered my voice, more serious now than ever. “I did this for you—for our pack. I’m your alpha, and this alliance with Azazel is my choice. More than that—it’s fate’s choice, by having me imprint on Mara. So now, I ask—will you follow me? Will you complete the blood binding ceremony with me today to commit to Azazel and make our pack stronger than it’s ever been before?”

  Most of them chorused yes. Even the ones who looked scared.

  Three of them who were standing to the side of the pack—a husband, a woman, and their child—shifted and made a run for it.

  They didn’t get far before colliding with an invisible barrier. The perimeter spell.

  The woman—Joanie—shifted back into human form and banged her fists against the barrier. “No!” she screamed. “Let us out! We won’t tell anyone what you’re doing. Just please—let us go.”

  Her husband Kevin and son Michael shifted into human form while she was talking. Kevin placed a hand lovingly on her shoulder, and she wrapped an arm protectively around her child.

  She looked to me, as if I was still the one in charge here.

  I wished I could tell them that Azazel would give them another chance.

  But I knew the greater demon better than that. I also knew their fate wasn’t in my hands. Not anymore.

  Azazel teleported over to them in an instant. Before I could blink, he ripped Kevin’s head off his shoulders and dropped it to the ground like a bowling ball.

  Joanie fell to her knees and wailed. She
was one of the most submissive wolves in the pack. She wouldn’t try to fight.

  “You’re just going to stand by and watch him do this to us?” She looked at our pack mates standing before me and pointed to Azazel. “We’re your pack. We deserve better than this… monster.” She looked up at Azazel when she said the final word, her eyes blazing with hatred.

  Azazel shoved his hand into her chest and yanked out her still-beating heart.

  Her eyes went blank and she collapsed to the ground. No one said a word as they watched her fall. The silence weighed down heavy upon us, like a blanket.

  A blanket of fear.

  Next, the greater demon turned to Michael.

  The boy trembled, looking down at what remained of his parents in shock.

  I knew what he was going through. The tragedy was so recent that it still hadn’t had time to settle in… it didn’t feel real to him yet. There was no saying what he’d do now.

  I held my breath, preparing for the worst.

  Azazel let go of Joanie’s bloody heart, letting it fall to the ground next to Michael’s feet. “Did you truly want to flee and reject this great opportunity I’m giving you?” he asked, backing the boy against the edge of the boundary. “Or were you just following your parents and doing what they said?”

  Michael looked to me in fear. The boy was only eight years old. With his parents gone, he was looking to me—his alpha—for guidance.

  I gave him a single nod, hoping he understood what he needed to do to survive.

  Michael swallowed and looked back up at the great demon towering before him. “I… was following my parents.” His voice shook, and he stared up at Azazel in terror. “I’m sorry.”

  Azazel said nothing. He just studied the boy, as if he was waiting for something else.

  Everyone was silent. I could barely breathe as I waited for what Azazel was going to do next.

  “Your Grace,” Azazel corrected him. “You’ll call me Your Grace.”

  Michael lowered his eyes, blinking away tears. “Your Grace,” he repeated. “I’m sorry, Your Grace.”

  After what felt like the longest few seconds of my life, Azazel grinned. “Fantastic.” He reached for Michael’s hand and led him—well, more like dragged him—back to the rest of the pack. Once they reached us, he held up their joined hands in victory and said, “It’s time for the blood binding ceremony to begin!”

  Sage

  I stood by Lavinia’s side the entire time my brother addressed our pack, trapped in my own body by the complacent potion. I couldn’t speak. I couldn’t move.

  All I could do was watch in horror.

  Azazel led Michael back to the pack, and the young boy’s eyes were empty in shock and terror.

  At the sight of him, all of my hope that this might somehow stop was sucked out of me. Flint had somehow convinced the pack to buy into his crazy belief that we were meant to enter into this alliance with a demon. And for those who hadn’t drank the “team up with demons Kool-Aid,” Azazel had literally terrified them into submission.

  The beginning of the end of the world was happening, and I was just standing there watching it.

  With so much going on, no one paid me any attention. Thanks to my silence, my pack mates must have assumed I supported Flint’s decision.

  Stupid complacent potion.

  Time was running out. Under this potion, Flint could command me to take part in the blood binding spell. I didn’t know what a blood binding spell with a demon was like, but it couldn’t be good.

  The last thing I wanted was to be bound to Azazel.

  What would happen to me if I were forced to go through with it?

  I didn’t know, and I didn’t want to find out. But I couldn’t fight. I couldn’t speak. Even if I could, what could I do? Azazel was powerful beyond belief. If I spoke out against him, he’d kill me. If I ran, I’d crash into the perimeter spell. And then he’d kill me.

  The only way out of this was death.

  I needed help. If only I could just get the cloaking ring off my finger. Then maybe someone—hopefully Thomas or Noah—would be able to locate me and do something.

  I tried to push past the complacent potion and reach for the ring. But just like every time before, nothing happened.

  I needed to fight harder. So, staring at Azazel, I let all my hatred for him bubble to the surface. His red eyes shined with evil as he surveyed the pack, his hand still holding onto the boy’s.

  This monster was taking everything from me. My brother, my pack, my freedom—they were all going to be gone. And it was all because of Azazel.

  I couldn’t let that happen. Especially because I’d just gotten what I’d craved for so long—I’d imprinted. And not just on anyone. I’d imprinted on Thomas. The man who’d owned my heart for so many years.

  My future with him was being snatched away from me before I’d gotten a chance to taste it.

  If only the imprint bond worked across far distances. Then I could reach out to Thomas, tell him where I was, and he could do something to help.

  Unfortunately, communication through an imprint bond only worked when you could see the other person. Anything further required a full out mate bond.

  Thomas could only find me if he could track me. And I refused to let the kiss we’d had a few hours ago be our last.

  With that thought, my hand started to move toward my cloaking ring. Slowly, as to not catch Lavinia’s attention, but it moved. Soon, I was sliding the ring off my finger, forcing my expression to remain neutral as I dropped it to the ground next to my feet.

  I glanced at Lavinia to see if she’d noticed. She hadn’t. She was completely focused on Azazel. Apparently she was so convinced that I’d be unable to fight the complacent potion that she was barely paying me any attention.

  Freedom burst forth from my chest.

  With the cloaking ring removed, Thomas would be able to find me.

  Fighting against the potion had taken all my energy, but I’d done what I could. Hope wasn’t lost.

  “Lavinia.” Azazel looked at the witch and smiled in anticipation. “Bring forth the goblet. Sage, come stand next to your brother. It’s time for us to form a circle so the blood binding ceremony can begin.”

  Sage

  Of course, I did as Azazel instructed and walked to stand beside Flint. The complacent potion gave me no other choice.

  Even if I could still fight against the potion—which I couldn’t, since every bit of my energy had been used to take that ring off—I didn’t want to die. Now that I’d imprinted on Thomas, I had too much to live for. Especially now that he’d be able to track me.

  Lavinia walked behind a nearby tree and pulled out a large pewter goblet and a matching dagger. She must have stowed it there when she’d cast the perimeter spell and prepared the grounds for the ceremony.

  The dark witch approached Azazel, holding the goblet and dagger out before him. “Your Grace.” She stared up at him, her eyes gleaming with anticipation. “We start with your blood.”

  Azazel took the dagger and carved a vertical gash along his forearm. Such a cut would have mortally wounded a human—but he didn’t even grimace. He just held his arm above the goblet and allowed his blood to seep from his body and flow into the chalice.

  “Enough,” Lavinia said once he’d given so much blood that the goblet must have been halfway full.

  Azazel pulled his arm away, the gash knitting itself together. In seconds, the wound was healed.

  Lavinia took the dagger. Holding both it and the goblet, she turned to Flint, who was standing proudly by Azazel’s side. “I won’t need as much blood from you and the members of your pack,” she said. “Only a drop. Use the dagger and take the blood from your palm.”

  Flint did as instructed, allowing a drop of his blood to fall into the goblet. Then he handed the dagger to me.

  I stared at the weapon in my hand, dread filling my soul.

  “Go on, Sage,” Lavinia purred, stroking the goblet. “It’s j
ust one drop.”

  I glanced around the circle. For the first time tonight, everyone’s eyes were on me.

  Not one of those pairs of eyes shined with hope. They were either scared or resolved.

  I never would have believed that the Montgomery pack could have been beaten into such submission if I wasn’t here to witness it myself.

  If Azazel could do this to us, what were the demons going to do to the supernaturals all over the world?

  It hurt my heart to think about it. If the Earth Angel and her army didn’t start doing something soon… we were doomed.

  “Sage.” Flint seethed. “Cut your palm with the dagger and add a drop of your blood to the goblet. Now.”

  The complacent potion took hold of the command, and my body started acting on its own. I pricked my palm with the dagger, held it over the goblet, and allowed a drop of my blood to fall into the chalice.

  I choked down a cry, understanding why complacent potion was illegal. No one should be allowed to control another person like this. Ever.

  “Perfect.” Lavinia took the dagger from me and continued around the circle, collecting drops of blood from each member of the Montgomery pack. The only person who didn’t participate in the ceremony was Mara. Once Lavinia made her way back to Azazel, she brought the chalice into the center of the circle and added her own blood to the mix.

  Then she reached into the inside pocket of her jacket and pulled out a vial. “Lastly, the blood of someone I’ve recently killed,” she said with a chilling smile, uncapping the vial and dumping its contents into the chalice.

  When the vial was empty, she tossed it to the ground and used both hands to hold the goblet in front of her. She stared into it and started chanting in Latin.

  The wind whipped around us, and a silver glow surrounded the goblet, growing larger and larger as she chanted. Eventually, the light radiated out to fill the entire circle, bathing us in its chilling glow. When I breathed in, coldness filled me to the bone. It was like I could feel the evil of the spell all the way down to my soul.