Kore's Angel: Angel Shifters

by Serena Simpson

  “Why me? I am just one person; even if I were to become a female angel I would be alone. What can one person do to you?”

  He snarled and began to stalk her making a move for every move she made.

  “I’m just one person unless I’m just the first. Are there mates about to reveal themselves? Did I open the flood gates? If I become a mate, maybe even a female angel will that open the door for more to be revealed?”

  “You don’t become a mate, either you are or you’re not. You do become an angel, but I don’t plan for it to get that far.”

  She looked behind her. There were two doors, one that seemed to represent life. It was brightly colored, and joy seemed to emanate from it.

  The other was dark; she could almost feel death crawling over it.

  “Because you didn’t die, you get a chance on this plane to voice what you want. I suggest you choose death. It will be so much easier for you.” She was standing in between the two doors now. The light door was on her right, and the death door on her left. Her head moved back and forth as she looked at them both. Not knowing what to do, she opened the black door and flung her body into the void beyond it.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Eden opened her eyes to the sound of machines humming away in the background. A turn of her head told her she was in a hospital room. She raised her hand to make sure she wasn’t restrained. Once raised, she placed it on her chest feeling the steady beat of her heart. It had been such a risk choosing the death door.

  Her head shook wondering if the whole thing was a dream brought on by whatever medicine they gave her to make her better. She forced herself to try and sit before she remembered she was in a hospital bed, reaching out she raised the bed and felt better when she was no longer lying flat.

  She eyed the room noting that it was small and private. The blue walls were kind of tranquil. She picked up the remote that was on the cart next to her bed. Flipping on the television, she tried to forget the dream she had, but it felt too real to ignore. Reaching out, she picked up the Christmas bear that caught her eye; only Kore would have given her something so nice. She pressed it to her chest and felt better.

  As she stood between those two doors thinking of life and death. all the reasons she had to live crossed her mind. There were things, useless things like her car collection and jewelry all of which didn’t mean a thing to her anymore.

  Friends had crossed her mind, most of whom hadn’t come to see her when she got sick. There were a few, but she lived long enough that she should have more friends. Then there was Kore. He gave her every reason to fight for life, but the thought of him being hurt if Ha’cho killed her made her hesitate.

  Then there was the door itself. Which one should she pick? The choice looked so obvious it was a no brainer and that by itself made her wary. Her gut was screaming that Ha’cho had done a bait and switch with the doors. So, in the end, she went with her gut instead of what her eyes were telling her. She thanked her instincts. Where was Kore?

  She felt nervous, a little reckless not knowing where he was. You don’t need him she assured herself. No, but she wanted him by her side, forcing herself off the bed, she stood making her way to the bathroom.

  “Eden?”

  She felt a light caress on her mind and stopped, standing completely still in the middle of the room.

  “Kore?”

  “Easy love, I’ll explain it all. Makal said you would probably be able to leave today. I needed to go home and pick up the car so that when they wheel you out you have something to get into.”

  “Makal?”

  “He’s the doctor who saved your life as well as my brother.”

  She gave an easy smile when he said his brother. Which one was he in the pictures on his wall?

  “I’ll be there soon.”

  “All right.” She felt his gentle touch leave her mind as she made her way into the bathroom.

  I should be freaking out, she thought. If things were different, she would be, but her life had gone from boring to exciting with everyone chasing her. Her fiancé wanted her dead. Ha’cho wanted her dead, but Kore wanted her alive. He wanted to kiss and touch her, cherish her. Why should she be surprised that she could somehow communicate with him when Ha’cho tried to kill her when she was between life and death? The more she thought about it, the more she knew it happened.

  The bathroom held a toothbrush along with toothpaste and a brush for her hair. If she was dreaming at least, she had the things she needed. Once her teeth were cleaned and her hair was untangled, she walked out to see if there were clothes for her. She changed into a pair of jeans and the flannel shirt that she loved. They had both been hanging in the closet.

  Not wanting to sit on the bed, she sat in the recliner waiting for Kore. She picked up the Christmas bear he bought her and smiled. He could have bought her anything, but the bear was perfect. Only an angel could have beat it.

  The door opened and she looked over with a wide smile on her face thinking it was Kore. Instead there was a female with red hair and a wide smile on her face.

  “Oh my! It’s you. I thought someone famous was in here, but I never thought it would be the lost heiress.”

  “What are you doing in here?” Eden asked knowing there was no use in hiding now. “My room is private.”

  “Guess they should have posted guards at the door. Is there a reward for finding you? Your fiancé is offering a large reward.”

  “Stop.” She ducked out the door not paying attention to Eden’s desperate shouts.

  Kore materialized in the room.

  “What’s wrong? I felt your desperation.”

  “A nurse just came in; she’s going to call my fiancé.” Another male materialized in the room beside Kore.

  “This is my brother, Makal, and we’re getting you out of the hospital immediately.”

  She put on her boots and jacket and took the hat that Kore handed her. She signed the discharge paperwork that Makal handed her, and they walked out of the room and past the nurse who was on the phone calling the papers. The ride in the elevator was intense.

  The hospital was flooded with reporters as they walked out. She stayed close to Kore and kept her head down. When they reached the Jeep, she turned to Makal.

  “Thank you for saving my life. We have a huge turkey for Christmas, invite the whole family.”

  Kore opened his mouth, and she smiled.

  “Tell them Kore insists.” She closed the door and waited for Kore to get in.

  “I should have had a guard on the door,” he said as he pulled out of the lot.

  “It was bound to happen. Ha’cho is determined to kill me. What better way than to let my ex-fiancé get his hands on me.”

  “Did you say Ha’cho?”

  “Yeah, that’s what he told me to call him.” She was staring out the windows. It had snowed close to eight inches while she was in the hospital.

  The road conditions were icy, and there were mounds of snow everywhere.

  “What day is it?”

  “It’s Monday the twentieth.”

  “Five days until Christmas.” She moved over in her seat wishing she could get close enough to lay her head on Kore’s shoulder. Her hand came out to rub against his thigh. The contact made her feel better. “How did you find out Ha’cho’s name?”

  “He tried to kill me in the in between worlds. Not dead but not alive and able to make that choice. He wanted me to choose death. I’m sure he sent that woman into the room to find me. He thinks I’m going to be a female angel; he also admits killing all the females. I think the females either knew something or were going to find out something about him. He’s afraid I will discover that same information.”

  “Do you have any idea what it is?”

  “None. I also think if I do become an angel that will open the doorway for other mates to become angels.”

  “There are no other mates.”

  “Are you sure? When I said something about maybe being your mate, his
reply was there is no maybe, either you’re a mate or you’re not. That leads me to believe that there are more; they simply haven’t been revealed yet.”

  Kore pulled into the garage thinking about the possibilities of other mates being in the world. The thought of seeing his mate in the sky with wings on her back was enough to make his heart pound in gladness. The thought of seeing her in the sky with other female angels was enough to bring tears of joy to his eyes.

  “The first thing we have to do is make sure you're feeling all right. You were unconscious for quite a while.” He placed his hands around her waist and lifted her up and out the jeep.

  “Welcome home.” He dropped a kiss on her lips and led her into the house.

  “I missed being here.” She took off her coat and boots before making her way to the bedroom. The clothes came off, and she headed for the shower.

  When she was done, she put on her reindeer and hearts pajamas and made her way to the living room. Kore was sitting there with the lights off staring at the Christmas tree. She went over to him and sat on his lap snuggling close to him.

  This felt normal; a smile tugged at her mouth. It was like her whole life was leading up to this and she didn’t want to let it go. How was she supposed to reconcile two worlds that were so far apart?

  “What has you bothered?” She laid her head against his chest waiting for him to speak. She knew him now, better than she knew Marcus. She could see the worry in the way he was acting, in how tight his body was.

  He had something to tell her, and he didn’t think she would like it.

  “You were dying. You had the poison of a rare plant as well as a poisonous fish in your body. They cut it with a chemical to make your decline seem gradual. The combination is one that Makal says has never been seen before. He felt that maybe he could make an antidote eventually, but not in time to save your life.”

  He went silent his hand gently rubbing up and down her back.

  “Makal wants you to take it easy; although you're no longer dying you're not completely well yet. The cure takes time to circulate through your body. It will correct whatever damage was done, but you can’t overdo it, or you may pass out.”

  “All right, I’ll take it easy, but that’s not what has you worried. What was the cure since he wasn’t able to come up with an antidote?”

  The Christmas lights played on his face showing his lips tightening.

  Whatever it was he wasn’t happy about it.

  “It can’t be that bad.”

  “You’ll think it is.” He turned to look at the angel tree topper. She was beautiful; Eden had insisted they buy her. Now she looked a lot like Eden with curly auburn hair and eyes that glowed.

  “One of the reasons we don’t reveal ourselves to the world is that angels have healing properties in their bodies. An angel’s blood is said to be able to heal almost anything. There was nothing else I could do except give you my blood.”

  She nodded. “I would have agreed to a transfusion if I had been awake. I’m not upset.”

  “It wasn’t a transfusion.”

  “How did I…Eww did I drink your blood?”

  “You did.”

  “Well that’s gross, but honestly I read a lot so the concept is not foreign to me. I think I would have kicked up a fuss if I was awake but I’m still not mad about it. I’m alive; you saved my life a second time.”

  “We’re very careful about who we give our blood to. It creates a bond between the person who receives our blood and us. For the rest of my life, I will be able to feel them, know where they are; I will know if they are in danger. A stronger bond is created between mates. I can touch your mind and always will be able to. You will always be able to respond to me. If you were ever to give me your blood, then you would be able to touch my mind.

  I would never have given you my blood if your life didn’t depend on it.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  Eden didn’t know what to say, part of her wanted to tell him it was okay. Feeling his mind caressing hers made her feel wonderful for a little while. She no longer felt that way. Was he feeling guilty about giving her his blood or was the thought of always being linked to her repulsive to him? He knew there was a good chance she was leaving when she had a plan. Did he regret that he would always be able to talk to her? What about his insistence she was his mate?

  Kore’s head was bowed, not a look she favored on her strong angel. It also kept her from seeing his eyes. How was she supposed to know if he regretted what he had done because he thought she would be mad or if he simply regretted what he had done?

  She slid off his lap letting her gaze become entangled in the blinking lights of the tree; she stood mesmerized as her vision of happiness went down the drain. She was going to call it a night even if it wasn’t night. Her feet dragged across the floor as she made her way to the bedroom. A single silent tear fell, and she realized her heart was breaking. She couldn’t love him, could she? Not that it mattered. Yeah, it mattered.

  Flipping back the cover, she ran her hand over the sheets. They were new; they had picked them out together. His other sheets were white. She had almost laughed when she saw them. Where was the color she asked and he had just shrugged, but when they went shopping he took her into a store that sold nice sheets.

  It felt good to pick out the sheets together, just as good as it felt to buy the tree and decorations. He always made her feel good except for now. She placed the covers on her and rolled into a ball closing her eyes and hoping sleep would take her quickly.

  He waited until he was sure she had gone to sleep before he slipped into the bedroom. She was lying in the middle of the bed hunched into herself as if someone had hurt her. He hurt her, but he still didn’t understand how. Crawling onto the bed, he sat by her, his hand gently hovered over her cover clad body.

  “I never meant to hurt you, Eden. I knew tying you to me, giving you my blood was wrong. I clutched onto anything I could to make me think it was right. Saving your life is a biggie in my book. I couldn’t see you die. I would be lost if you weren’t in the world somewhere. I know you're leaving; you have this life that you loved before you met me. Now all you have to do is figure out how to get it back. I’m standing in your way, and I know it. The selfish part of me rejoiced when I had no choice but to give you blood. I know I’m losing you, but at least I’ll be able to feel you and know you’re all right.”

  He slipped under the cover and spooned her from behind, wrapping his arms around her before he closed his eyes.

  She never moved, keeping her eyes closed as she thought about the things he said.

  *~*~*~*

  She woke up to sun pouring through the blinds. Kore was sitting close to the window he had two chairs there as well as a small table. She got up and padded on silent feet to the bathroom, marveling at how quiet she was. Usually she made lots of noise, maybe this was a result of what she had gone through with Marcus.

  When she was finished, she came out and took a chair opposite him.

  “I think we need to talk.”

  He nodded his head but stayed silent.

  “You hurt me last night.” He opened his mouth but she raised a hand, and he stayed silent. “I think I was surprised by the depth of the hurt considering my ex-fiancé tried to kill me and honestly since he failed I’m not as traumatized as I thought I would be. I felt the pain from you like a knife in my heart.

  “I came up with all kinds of explanations for it. None of them good, but I told myself it is what it is. In the end, it wasn’t what I thought it was. I should have talked to you, demanded that you explain but I didn’t and you didn’t come after me.”

  “Eden, I don’t know what I said. I think you're mad at me because I

  made a connection with you that will never go away. I can understand that, it hurt, but who wants to be connected with someone they don’t want to share a future with.”

  She bowed her head feeling his pain deep in her heart, but she needed to address her conc
erns before they could begin to heal each other.

  “I believed you were upset because you had tied yourself to me. It sounded like you thought it was a mistake and the only reason you did it was to save my life.”

  “It is the only reason I did it.”

  She looked up and pain lanced through her heart. She went to rise, but he captured her and brought her struggling body to sit on his lap.

  “I would never take away your freedom of choice willingly; that’s what I did when I gave you my blood. You didn’t have a choice, but you would have died without it. I feel guilty for not being able to find a different way to handle the situation. We were out of time. If I had known when I met you, maybe Makal could have made an antidote but he’s not sure that would have been enough time. I want you to be connected to me but not without your agreement.”

  “I like being connected to you. If you had asked, I would have said yes although I may have balked at it for a while. The whole drinking your blood thing may have put me off at first, but eventually I’m sure I would have

  come around. The point is I’m not mad.”

  He ran his hand through her hair. “You amaze me.”

  “That’s how it should be.” She pressed her lips against his caressing his mouth until he opened wide. She slipped her tongue in loving the feel and taste of him. She devoured him, pulling his essence deeply into her as she felt her body go soft with desire for him.

  “Makal said you were to take it easy.”

  “Mmm, then you should love me and then make me a nice breakfast as I laze around on the couch in the living room.”

  “I knew all you wanted me for was my comfortable couch and cooking

  skills.”

  “You know me so well.” She stretched her neck out giving him plenty of room to kiss and lick her there.

  “I want to see.” His hands went down to the bottom of her pajama top and pulled it up her body revealing inch after inch of heated skin.

  He pulled the top off and nuzzled her neck again, his hands caressing up and down her back playing with her spine before he lightly drew his fingers across her back making her shiver. “You like making me hot.”