Killing by Captivation: A Gods & Monsters Prequel (Gods & Monsters Trilogy Book 0)

by Isadora Brown

  But how? Why?

  And at that moment, he realized that there were some instances when he shouldn’t question his destiny. Why fight it when he trusted the universe? When he trusted God? He couldn’t stop the smile from slipping onto his face as he reached up and took a hold of Mandy’s offered hand. He still couldn’t believe that she was here, but he highly doubted he had ever been grateful for anything more than this moment.

  She was always saving him, he realized. One of these days, he would repay her in some way.

  A bright flash tainted his vision for only a moment, and everything he was familiar with. Instead, he ended up on a beach. It was private, isolated, and completely empty save for a woman and two small girls.

  Paul felt his heart stop.

  That couldn’t be…

  The woman turned and when she saw him, she waved her hand, beaming at him with the most breath-taking smile he had ever encountered, even from her. He couldn’t bring himself to move just yet, unsure if he was really there, if this was really true.

  He forced his eyes away from her and looked upon the two girls. The older one could be no more than six years of age, with ginger colored hair and fiery emerald eyes. The younger one had platinum colored hair, pure of any other color (for now), and had dark blue eyes. His heart stopped. These were Mandy’s children, children she had had with him. He was a father. He was a father!

  And that was when he had woken up.

  It had been a dream – all a dream. Paul wasn’t exactly sure if he should feel relieved or upset by this. On one hand, he hadn’t been in Hell, but on the other, Mandy hadn’t saved him either. Or, at least, they didn’t have children together. They hadn’t gone to the beach.

  He felt weak. Extremely weak. Closing his eyes, he tried to regain some sort of strength, but continuously failed at doing so. Was this what being a human felt like? Were humans really this weak or was it because he was just getting used to being human that he couldn’t tell at the moment?

  “Paul.” While the voice was familiar, it wasn’t the one he wanted to hear. However, he should be relieved it was Bruce who was greeting him rather than a number of demons or even Satan Himself. “It’s over.”

  Paul opened his mouth to ask what Bruce meant by that, but his mouth was so dry… However, Bruce seemed to understand what Paul was trying to say, and quickly filled Paul in all the details including what Mandy had done, the deal they had arranged with God’s angels, and the fact any fallen angel had the opportunity to become humans without worrying about going to Hell when they died unless they chose to live their life in a bad way.

  “Where’s Mandy?” Paul asked, his voice strained, but determined nonetheless.

  Bruce tilted his head in the corner of the room. Mandy was scrunched on what looked like an uncomfortable arm chair, asleep. However, she suddenly opened her tired eyes as though somehow, she knew that they had been staring at her, and when she saw Paul, that same breath-taking smile (however tainted with tiredness it might be) eclipsed her face, and without warning, she quickly stood and walked over to Paul before kneeling down.

  “You’re back,” she said, her eyes filled with joyful, unshed tears. “You came back to me. I thought I would never see you again alive and well, but you’re here. You came back!” This time, the tears started falling, but Mandy was too happy to care. She had Paul back, and that was all that mattered.

  Though Paul was still weak, he reached out and wrapped his arms around Mandy, urging her to join him on the bed, needing to feel her in his arms. “Always,” he assured her in a serious tone. Bruce had disappeared, knowing the couple needed time alone. “I’ll always come back to you.”

  “And I’ll always be waiting,” Mandy said.

  “No,” Paul corrected before gently placing a kiss on her cheek, kissing away a stray tear. “No, there’s no need to wait. You already have me. I’m yours. In this lifetime, and the next.”

  Epilogue

  It had only been the two of them on the Caribbean sand. She looked positively stunning in a simple white dress, her hair pulled into a side braid and her face nearly void of all makeup. She was an angel, simple as that; an angel that God had sent to him to save him from everything he was and to show him what a man he could be. And he; while Paul didn’t actually go all out in a tuxedo, he was wearing a very nice black and white suit, his hair as combed as it could be. And his eyes, well, they couldn’t seem to leave the vision his angel had presented him with.

  The pastor was there as well, and he read from Scripture, recited questions and anecdotes, and was altogether a genial man. And of course, both Mandy and Paul had recited their vows. Hers went along the line of love and fairytales and how he was her hero, her best friend, and her lover all rolled into one which made her the luckiest woman in the world. She promised fidelity and a kempt home, but couldn’t say the same for cooking nor could she promise decent singing in the shower. But come what may, she would love him for the rest of time. Paul’s was shorter than hers was, but conveyed everything he needed to convey in one simple sentence.

  “I wouldn’t trade anything in the world for the opportunity to die an old man in your arms.”

  Death might have been a little morbid to have brought up at a wedding, but Mandy understood what he meant by it. He was happy with her rather than to have lived forever without meeting her.

  Once they both agreed to love, honor and cherish, the pastor let them kiss, and then just like the wind, he disappeared. There were no witnesses though Bruce and Kelly were on the beach at a distance so the wedding itself would be valid. But they too disappeared when it was over, leaving Paul alone with his bride.

  Finally.

  The first thing Paul did was pull Mandy into another kiss, this one much deeper than their official wedding kiss. He would never tire of kissing Mandy. Her lips molded perfectly to his, almost as though they had been cut from the same clay, almost as though they had been truly made for each other. And who knew if such a thing weren’t true? Save for God, of course.

  During the kiss, Paul quickly leaned down and swooped Mandy in his arms, causing her to squeal in delight. He chuckled at her reaction, especially when she locked her arms around her neck and started heading to the water.

  “What are you doing?” Mandy asked as she watched them get closer and closer to the water. “No… Paul, I know exactly what you’re thinking and“ - Her lecture was interrupted by her own squeal as Paul walked in the water, deep enough to get the surface of her back wet. However, upon further inspection, the water wasn’t as cold as she originally thought it was, so when Paul tossed her in, she couldn’t be too mad at him. She sprung up and narrowed her eyes at him as she crossed her arms over her chest. “Oh, you are so dead, buddy.”

  “What’s this?” Paul asked, trying to keep the amused smile off of his face but failing quite miserably. “Already threatening your new husband with death? That is quite disappointing, and probably some sort of record.”

  If Paul was going to say anything else, he was faltered by Mandy, jumping at him and knocking him down in the water.

  Two days later, the newlyweds were standing in front of what looked like a mansion, located just a few feet away from the Caribbean beach where they had gotten married. The area was secluded, and the beach, private. It was their own slice of paradise.

  “Is this…” Mandy felt her voice trail off only because she couldn’t fathom that she would be living in such an extravagant home. Not only that, but on a beach and with the man of her dreams.

  Paul glanced downwards, interlacing his fingers with hers. His lips curled upwards and his pale blue eyes were filled with a deep sincerity that Mandy had never seen before. He nodded, squeezing her hand softly. “This is,” he said, answering her unasked question. “This is ours. Just for us.”

  “How did you get this place?” Mandy asked, staring at the place she was about to make a home. “It must have been ridiculously expensive…” She looked up at Paul with narrowed eyes. “Nothing
illegal, I hope.”

  “Oh,” Paul said, feigning hurt. He placed his hand over his heart. “You wound me, darling. Do you really think I learned absolutely nothing from our adventures together? Of course I purchased this completely and fully myself within the bounds of the law. Thank you so much for your faith in me.”

  “But you’re not going to tell me how you’ve acquired such an amazing dwelling,” Mandy stated rather than questioned, only because she knew Paul like she knew the back of her hand.

  “I feel as though, as a husband, I’m allowed a couple of secrets from my beautiful wife,” Paul said with a disarming smile.

  “You better watch yourself,” Mandy teased. “Your charm smile doesn’t work on me, or did you forget?”

  “I managed to marry you with it, so I think it works a teeny tiny bit,” Paul teased. Before Mandy could refute his claim, he quickly continued. “So. Don’t you want to go explore the dwelling? Don’t tell me you’re already sick of it. If you are, just say so, we can sell it and move.”

  “Let’s go,” Mandy said urgently, not wanting to relinquish her new home.

  Paul slid his hand in his pocket before pulling out his keys and then walking up to the door. Once he unlocked it, he opened the door, and after ushering Mandy in, closed the door behind him. The couple explored everything the two-story house could offer. Luckily, it was furnished so they didn’t have to buy furniture, and Paul had stocked the refrigerator without Mandy knowing. It was currently livable. They could move in right then if they wanted to. And they did.

  They looked at the spacey living room, the intimate dining room, the kitchen, the guest room, a den, the bathrooms, and after they ascended up the stairs, they checked the bedrooms, the closets, the bathrooms, and finally came to a stop on the balcony of the master bedroom. There was a beautiful view of the ocean so if they wanted to, they could watch the sun rise and set. And since the beach was private, they didn’t have to worry about whether or not they should be dressed one way or the other. Hell, if they wanted to, they could be absolutely naked.

  Currently, Mandy was leaning against the banister while Paul had his arms on either side of his wife, towering over her. For a long moment, they said absolutely nothing, simply staring at what the view had to offer them. This was now their life; solitude, togetherness, and love. There was no fear of being kidnapped by demons, no fear of displeasing God. They were now free to live their life however they wanted. They were safe and they had each other. There was really no need to ask for anything more.

  “This is amazing, Paul,” Mandy said sincerely, glancing at Paul from the corner of her eyes. “I guess I’ve always dreamed of living on a secluded beach in the Caribbean with the man I adore.”

  The words affected Paul more than Mandy would ever know, and though it was quite cliché, he felt quite elated despite the fact that he hadn’t had his wings for quite some time. “See,” Paul said in his soft-spoken voice before placing a chaste kiss on Mandy’s neck. She shivered, and Paul grinned that he still had the same effect on her as she had on him. “That’s good news,” he continued, caressing the tip of his nose against the column of her throat. “Because I would love nothing more than to start a family with you.”

  Mandy chuckled as Paul dropped his arms and wrapped them around her waist. “I’m glad,” she told him with a smile. “But there’s no need to rush. We have all the time in the world.”

  “No,” Paul said, shaking his head. “That’s not nearly enough time.”

  “Well,” Mandy said, turning in Paul’s arms so she could regard him with a devilish glint in her eyes. “If that’s the case then we should probably get started on breaking in the new house.”

  Paul felt his lips quirk up. He relished in the look on her face. “I adore the way you’re thinking, love,” he told her. “Where should we start?”

  “With the bedroom,” Mandy told him after thinking about it for a moment. “But we could always end somewhere else.”

  “True,” Paul agreed. “And we really do have all the time in the world.”

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