“Thana love, what does Azrael mean?” Raphael looks scared and his eyes plead with me for the whole truth.
Sighing deeply, I pace the rooftop, trying to put the words together I need to say. Before I start speaking, my other two mates arrive looking equally as concerned. “You know how nephilim are created. Either an angel or a fallen sire a child with a human.”
My mates nod along as I start the conversation off with common knowledge.
“My father is Nyx, son of Samael. He took more after my grandfather’s darker rites.” Tears threaten to break free.
“Like me, my grandfather has a duality. He is considered the executioner of the most high. Depending on which faith you consult, he is considered both good and evil.” I use my sleeve to wipe away my tears.
“Thana, my love,” Raphael speaks softly; his gentle tone soothing my nerves. “Do you also know Samael’s wings are gray like yours? He can easily overpower all of the archangels if he wishes it.”
I turn slowly to face my mates and sigh softly.
“You are nothing like your father or grandfather.”
I nod, listening to him as he kisses me lovingly on my temple before passing me off to my other mates. “Don’t worry about tonight's shift; go find our wayward number four,” Raphael says with a smile. I give him a short kiss, then run to the roof edge and jump off.
Maybe Raphael is right, and I shouldn’t let my lineage affect who I want to be. The flight to Club Dread is rather short and anticlimactic. Once I land, I run my hands down my scrubs and change my clothing to that of my dark angel garb. The black wedding gown looks very goth and vampire-like, which seems to be the favored style here. I change alter it slightly by removing the sleeves. My tattoos are on full display; the black and gray art stands out against my creamy, pale skin. As I approach the bouncer at the front door, I notice he’s a dark nephilim. This will be easier than I expected.
The bouncer’s eyes roam over my curvy form and get stuck staring at my ample breasts that are almost bubbling out of the top of my dress. Finally, his eyes raise to meet my pale gray ones, and I smirk and change how I'm standing so my back is to the line that’s forming behind me. My eyes blacken immediately, and the minute he sees the darkness within me, he lets me into the club.
The music booms and vibrates through every fiber of my being. I move with purpose through the crowd, stopping suddenly at familiar face. Azrael is actually in the club waiting for his son’s performance. Casually, I stroke the raven on my lower forearm, releasing him from my body. I send him on a mission to get Azrael’s attention without me yelling. My raven perches on Azrael’s shoulder, and he turns in the direction my familiar had motioned. Azrael waves me over, and I comply, not wanting to keep my father-in-law waiting. “I’m glad to see you here, Thana; actually, I’m shocked your other mates let you out without a babysitter.” He pokes my side playfully.
“They know who my grandfather is; I highly doubt they will be so panicked from now on,” I say.
“It’s about time you own your legacy,” his stance screams pride. A slight raise of his chin in the direction of the stage catches my attention.
I turn to watch for movement and whom do I see moving around in the darkness: missing mate number four, Cyrus. He’s doing a soundcheck, preparing to go through his band's set for the evening. Azrael hands me a flyer with the setlist, and I’m shocked to see most of the songs I love on the list. Azrael gives me a knowing wink, pretty much answering my unspoken question. Cyrus changed the band's set to my favorite songs since the Mate Trials.
The lights blaze to life on stage, and Cyrus looks like a rock god; the leather and chains look is really hot on him. A woman throws her thong on stage, and it lands at Cyrus’s feet. He glances down at the offending item before he looks back at the woman. “Sorry, love, my girl would rip you to shreds in a heartbeat.” Cyrus promptly kicks the thong into the crowd.
Here I was worried about him whoring around since he seemed to not want anything to do with me. Instead, he’s more faithful than most men in the same position of power that he currently holds. The opening cords to Familiar Taste of Poison by ‘Hailstorm’ fills the room, silencing the crowd.
Azrael smiles at me and takes hold of me tightly. We phase from where we were standing to the side of the stage. “Unfurl your wings, Thana, and trust me.”
I obey him immediately just before he thrusts a microphone in my hand then shoves me out on stage at the start of the chorus.
I belt out the power cord of the song's first chorus, and Cyrus spins to face me. He seems stunned as he walks towards me. Our voices harmonize and sound like we’ve done this a million times before. We caress each other's cheeks with our free hands; each line, our faces get closer together as we sing. I spin away when we hit the part of the song where I sing that I don’t want to be saved. At this point, I flex my wings looking up into his chocolate eyes. In the song's last lines, he grabs me around the waist and holds me flush to him. He sings the last part alone; I’m mesmerized by the amount of passion in his tone.
After the last note is uttered, he kisses me passionately, dipping me backward in a romantic embrace. He stands me up and whispers in my ear to pick the next song for them to do.
I choose The in-between by ‘In this Moment.’ He winks at me and gets the band to play the song as I walk forward. Little does the crowd know that this song fits me perfectly. The crowd sings along with me, clearly thinking my wings are a prop. It's now that I notice my other mates in the crowd. I sing the song putting all my frustration and pain into the lyrics, leaving it all on the stage. Every time I say in-between, I spread my wings wide to make the word pop.
The darkness within me is clawing at my insides, wanting out even just for a little bit. So, when I say hell, I let the darkness seep out of my pores to swirl around me. Towards the end of the song, I move to stand before Cyrus. As I sing, my hands move over his shirt's fabric and my nails slice it to ribbons. I lean forward and playfully nip at his bottom lip before walking off stage towards his dad. Cyrus, on the other hand, stands there dumbfounded staring at me. I guess he didn’t think I had it in me to fight for what's mine.
Next to Azrael, my other mates stand staring at me in varying states of shock over my performance. “What?” I hug Azrael briefly before going to snuggle in with each of my mates.
I just finish hugging Gage when I’m ripped away from him and spun to face Cyrus. There’s a hunger in his eyes that matches the pounding of my heart.
“I—”
I place a single finger over his lips to silence him. “If you’re going to reject me again, do it in private. I don’t want to die from embarrassment tonight.” I shake my head before taking a play out of Azrael's playbook and disappearing in a wisp of smoke.
I don’t bother going back to Raphael’s nest after leaving everyone at the club. Instead, I go for a flight around the outskirts of the city. Raphael said that I needed to pick a nest for all of us to live in at some point. He was more than happy to offer the loft he lives in but, it's not me. It’s not my style to be more accurate. It’s nice, but it doesn’t feel like it’s my home.
After hours of flying, I happen upon a circular house on the side of the mountain overlooking the valley below. The house is wrapped in cedar planks and left natural. Metal rails adorn each level wrapping around the entire house’s three balconies. Circling the building slowly, I land in front of the double cedar doors. As I peer through the partial stained glass along the side of the doors, I can see realtor brochures along with business cards. Upon closer inspection, the house appears to be completely empty.
I take a look around, making sure the house is as isolated as I first assumed. Once I am sure I’m alone, I phase into the house and start to explore it. The majority of materials that were used in building the house are naturally sourced. Everything from the raw oak stairs to the solid marble flooring makes me feel at peace. Christian would be pleased, the hours he spent trying to teach me about Feng Shui must
have paid off. The geometry in this place screams Feng Shui. You can feel the harmony within the house; the positive energy and flow are incredible. I’m walking through the layout of the house and I’m falling in love with every step I take. I found my nest. This is absolutely it!
I pull my cell phone out and call all four mates at once. One by one, they answer, and I have all four of them on video chat. “Okay, I’m sorry I vanished, but I found my nest!” I practically scream, bouncing up and down as I spin the camera around to show them the interior.
“Thana, I need you to stop bouncing and tell us where you are,” Raphael says calmly, trying to be the voice of reason.
I walk out onto the balcony, then fly up onto the roof and show them my surroundings. “I’m honestly not sure. I followed my gut here.”
Cyrus shakes his head and rolls his eyes. “I know exactly where she is. Remember the round house on Glacier Peak I showed you guys?” Cyrus keeps that arrogant smirk firmly plastered on his plump lips. “Thana, is there a giant Norse raven in bronze in the center of the tiles in the middle of the house?”
Furrowing my brows, I glide down to the balcony and walk back inside to find the dead center of the house. “Yes, it's right here!” I flip the camera again to show the guys the ornate raven in the tiles. I flip the camera back to face me.
“Can we please get it? I feel so at peace here; it called to me.” My anxiety is through the roof, thinking that the other three mates will shoot the idea down because Cyrus found it first.
“Let’s consider the nest Thana found. You know a nest calls to the female when her time starts to draw close,” Christian says quietly, almost with a reverence to his voice. The other three mates murmur their agreements then the video cuts out.
I’m truly confused by half of that conversation. Instead of dwelling on my questions, I wander the house, checking every room out. While I’m standing in what I want to be the master bedroom, I sense the guys approaching. I run through the house and back down to the balcony and throw the doors open, letting them fly right in.
Christian’s hands fly up and cover his mouth as he spins in a slow circle looking at the house's interior layout. “Tsuma, it’s perfect. The house is in perfect harmony.” He immediately drops into a deep bow before Cyrus.
“Forgive me, brother, you were correct; this is the perfect nest for Thana.” Cyrus accepts his apology, and they hug it out.
“Tsuma?” I arch an eyebrow looking at Christian, and it's Cyrus that answers me.
“Literal translation is wife or mate.” Cyrus rolls his eyes and heads towards the balcony.
“Why do you always leave?” I ask as tears threaten to break. It hurts even more, knowing he had picked this place out long before I found it. “Cy, please stay,” I say, half on a sob.
“You don’t need me,” That harsh mask he used to wear at the hospital slips over him, hiding his emotions.
“You have the three light stooges to chase after you like puppies.” He smirks, shaking his head.
“I’m the literal outcast in the family. Have your sweet little angel babies; I won’t darken your door anymore.” A single blood tear rolls down his caramel skin just before he roughly wipes it away. Without so much as a backward glance, he runs and jumps off the balcony taking flight into the night.
I feel sick watching my fourth mate leave. My stomach is in knots, and my heart feels like it's being crushed in someone's hand. It’s hard to breathe, and I feel lightheaded as I stare out into the night sky, hoping against hope that Cyrus returns. I must really look pathetic staring off into the black of night, hoping for him to return. Deep down, I know he’ll come back. It's just a question of when.
~Cyrus~
Flapping my wings furiously, I put as much distance between myself and the others. Every time I do something positive, one of those light motherfuckers gets credit for it. Don’t get me started on Thana; she’s got a darkness within her that calls to me like a siren. Hundreds of years without feeling a single thing for anyone, and now here she is, flipping my world upside down. I remember the pain in my mother's eyes every time my dad took another female to bed because he could. I swore right then and there to never let anyone in; I don’t want to end up like my mom.
Just as the sun rises, I arrive at my destination. Landing softly under the weeping willow tree, I walk over to my mother's headstone. Resting a hand on the cold black marble, I kneel beside it and lower my head. “I wish you were here. You’d tell me what to do.” Exhaling slowly, I touch the raven on my forearm, calling for my father.
“Boy, you have your mate in tears again! What the hell is wrong with you?” Azrael screams at me. I look up, and he has that usual judging look on his face. Kind of like I’m no higher than the shit on his shoe. His rage is palpable, it’s almost suffocating the way the air starts to electrify around him.
“What’s wrong with me? For fuck’s sake, Dad, that list is a mile long!” I smirk as I look back at mom’s headstone. “You know you’re the reason I’m having issues with Thana. She’s too fucking good for a wicked-hearted bastard like me.” My fingertips trace mom's name cut in the marble.
“Your mom was too good for me too. But there’s a huge difference.” Azrael sits next to me and rests a hand on my shoulder. “Your birth mom wasn’t my mate. The urge to only please her didn’t exist.” Azrael shakes his head. “I was a shit husband and an even worse father. I can’t change the past, but I can save Thana from your mother’s fate.” Azrael stands and walks to the bench nearby.
“What do you mean? What’s wrong with Thana?” I practically roar, feeling defensive and more protective than usual. My heart thunders, each contraction hitting with the force of a sledgehammer. Panic makes my skin crawl as I think about what horrible thing may be happening to Thana.
“You don’t get it. She needs your darkness to balance out all the light from the other three idiots. She’ll eventually die without you.” Azrael gives me a pitying look. “Her soul will in a sense be strangled by all of the holy light from them. Given who her grandfather is, she needs you to bring balance.” He smirks then adjusts his jacket. “Given who your old man is, she only needs one dark nephilim to balance things out.” Azrael sits down and leans back studying me, his signature smirks plays on his thin lips.
His last line catches me off guard. “Who’s her grandfather?” Dad finally has information I don’t have access to. My insides become a nervous mess as I question as to why her grandfather is important.
“Samael,” he says dropping the mother of all bombs in my lap. He uttered the name of the destroyer, the one archangel that is darkness and light embodied. The one being that could give The Almighty a run for his money. My mate, my dark angel—once she comes fully into her powers—can be a real threat to the balance.
“You’re joking, right, Dad? Tell me you’re joking.” Just her bloodline puts Thana in danger. Which makes me think that her mates weren’t chosen for her haphazardly. The Almighty set the wheels in motion for some grand scheme that only he is privy to. Just like the overgrown child the dark nephilim take him for, he’s playing a game of chess with our lives. I look over my shoulder in the direction I just flew from and contemplate heading back immediately.
“I wish I were. There’s talks in the darkness that if you don’t claim her by the blood moon that others will petition to be her mate.” Dad shakes his head slowly. “Every single bond has at least one dark nephilim; it's how balance is kept.”
My harsh words that I had uttered in anguish hit me like a ton of bricks. What have I done?
“Shit…” Roughly, I drag my hands through my hair. The blood moon is less than a month away, and if I can’t get her to forgive me, we will be in one hell of a battle. I’ve been such a selfish fuck I didn’t once think about how my actions could affect Thana. My gut tells me the vilest dark nephilim will petition to take my place at Thana's side; consent would be the last thing they seek from her. All I can picture is them attacking our nest and taking her b
y force and making her their mate as painfully as possible.
“Instead of pacing like a fool, do something!” My father roars at me. “You can’t let her die or be stolen.” Inky blackness surrounds him and for once he looks like the epitome of death itself. His power rolls off him like waves in the ocean during a tropical storm. Each surge from him hits me full force almost to the point of knocking me off my feet.
I steel myself and tap into my powers, and finally I can stand fast against his raging storm. Smirking, I look back at my father and shake my head. “For once, we agree on something.” Without hesitation, I take off, heading back to Thana. Hopefully, she can forgive me.
Each flap of my wings gets me one step closer to my mate’s side. My mind races as I prepare myself for the massive amount of groveling that I know is head of me. About three blocks away from our nest I land and walk into the nearest coffee shop and grab a cup of Thana’s favorite brew.
I’ve been stealing her coffee for years, so I know it like the back of my hand. Three shots of espresso, caramel, mocha and almond milk blended. In the last hundred years her coffee has slightly varied—mostly because it was a happy accident to discover the blend. The aroma from the coffee instantly evokes memories of all the times I watched her during her shifts. Staring down at the cup in my hand I’m so lost in thought I don’t notice whoever it is that sneaks up on me until it’s too late. An intense pain floods my system and my head spins. The world around me becomes blurry as I stagger away from what I perceive as the source of pain. I make it into the alley beside the coffee shop and stare in disbelief at who’s standing before me, then everything goes black.
It’s been two weeks since I last saw Cyrus. To be perfectly honest, I’m almost ready to give up hope of home returning to me. My other mates are trying so hard to fill the void his absence has left. They take me flying and out to dinner at places I’ve never thought of going to. The biggest and best surprise happened last week. We bought the nest I want, and I’ve spent my days and nights decorating it.
Discovered: The Dark Angel Chronicles Page 9
