“They don’t,” Julian answers. “Angels aren’t meant to die, and we only do when we are killed.”
“What happens then?”
“Nothing. We’re just…gone.”
I park my Jeep in the heated garage and unbuckle my seatbelt. “You have to go, don’t you?” I ask Julian, wishing he could come inside and hang out for a bit before Lucas and I leave for Chicago.
“Yes. While the attention is off you for the time being, we still need to be cautious, Callie. The more talk there is in the underworld about the Nephilim, the more of a risk it is that you will be found.”
“Right. Because being the Queen of Hell and having demons want to kill me, kidnap me, or possess me isn’t enough to worry about. I have murderous family members sharpening their angel-daggers.”
“I’m sorry,” he says with a frown.
“It’s not your fault,” I tell him.
“I know,” he says. “I am sorry you have to deal with it. It’s not right, and I wish the others could meet you and see you the way I see you.”
“It would be pretty nice to be accepted by at least one part of my biological family. Speaking of that, did you know my mother was a Satanist?”
“No, I didn’t.” He tips his head. “Michael told me he was sent to earth to save your mother. I thought he meant save her from an accident or disease. But what if—”
“He was sent to save her from selling her soul,” I finish, and Julian nods.
“How did you find out she was a Satanist?”
“Tabatha told me,” I start. “She said she recognized her from the photo and went back and double-checked, since Callista isn’t a common name. She’d heard of a witch named Callista Lancaster who was excommunicated from her coven for practicing dark magic. Turns out it was my mom, but hey, I know her last name now, and if I wanted to low-key stalk that side of my family, I probably can. Tabatha also said the coven was one of the founding covens in America, and they still reside on the East Coast.”
“Lancaster,” Julian says to himself, brows furrowing as he thinks. “Callie, I think you’re related to Marie Lancaster, the witch who ended the War of Light and Dark.”
Chapter 10
“No way,” I shoot back. “Marie Lancaster is a legend.”
“She is,” Julian agrees. “How much about the war do you know?”
“We learned about it in school.” I push my hair back, sitting up a little straighter. “The vampires raged a war against the witches because they were angry we could walk in the light and the dark. They were jealous of our powers, too, and tried to turn witches into vampires in hopes they would harness our powers for their own use. Overnight, the vampires turned an entire village and doubled their army. All hope seemed lost until Marie was able to summon light—” I cut off, remembering something I overheard Eliza say months ago.
Marie’s power was lent to her by a god, and that’s how she was able to summon something strong and powerful enough to burn all those vampires and sacrifice herself in the process. Being able to summon white light isn’t something most witches should be able to, yet it’s something I’ve always been able to do.
Because I’m not a full witch.
The white light that I summon, which usually burns so hot it takes on a bluish hue, is the same light Michael summons.
“Michael gave the power, didn’t he?”
“Yes.”
“Holy shit.” I lean back against my seat, eyes wide and lips parted in shock. “Why?” I finally ask.
“At that time, many witches were still worshiping Lucifer, thinking they needed him to have their powers. Your father wanted to show that it wasn’t true. He gave Marie the power, but unfortunately, she died in the process before too many others were made aware. But if you recall, it wasn’t long after that covens started breaking away from dark practices.”
“Holy shit,” I repeat, too stunned to say anything else.
“That is why I think you’re related to her. If your mother was a descendant from that particular line, she strayed from the path Michael tried to set Marie on. Maybe…maybe Lucifer was trying to get back at Michael for taking away his followers. I don’t know for sure, but it would make sense and could be why he was sent to save your mother from Satanism.”
“It would, and it would explain why my mom’s family cut her out and tried to make it look like she didn’t exist. The line of those Lancaster witches is very proud of its heritage. I’ve heard they’re kinda stuck up about it, actually. But it would be a huge shame on the family name to know one of their own was practicing Satanism.” I let my head fall against the headrest. “Damn.”
“They’d probably be proud to have a Nephilim in the family,” Julian says seriously.
I turn to him, amusement on my face, and smile. “You know, that’s the nicest compliment I’ve gotten in a while.”
Julian returns my smile. “I suppose it is a good compliment.”
“Thanks for not wanting to kill me like the rest of the angels.”
“They’re mistaken.”
“Totally.” I turn the Jeep off. “When will I see you again?”
“I’m not sure.”
“Will you see my dad anytime soon?”
“Yes,” Julian says. “I haven’t reported back to him in a while, so I’m due to.”
“If possible, can you tell him I know about my mom and the whole worshiping Lucifer thing and I’d really love a detailed explanation over coffee someday? Soon. Someday soon.”
“I will relay the message, but know he won’t come until it’s safe.”
“I know. It’s sucks, but I know. Thanks, Julian. And if you have time to just hang out, you know I’d like that. We could see a movie or something normal.”
He smiles. “And I would like that. I hear movie theater popcorn is good.”
“It is! And look at you, learning more about the human world.”
“I won’t feed you candles anymore. Or lotion, which also smells good.”
I laugh. “I’d appreciate that. And now that I’m talking about food, I’m hungry. You can’t come in at all?”
“I should get back before I’m noticed,” he says, and I remember he said he was able to slip away unnoticed, which means he probably shouldn’t be here.
“Okay. Be careful doing whatever it is you do.”
“You too, Callie.”
I hug him goodbye, and he disappears in a whoosh. I gather my purse and phone and get out of the car. The garage will be connected to the house eventually, but we had the contractors focus on finishing the house so we could move in. The breezeway that connects the garage to the house will also lead to the pool house, and since the pool isn’t going in until the ground thaws later this year, the breezeway hasn’t been completed yet. Still, actually having a heated garage is a game changer for me since I’ve parked outside since I’ve owned a car.
I hurry into the house, chilled again by the time I get inside.
“Honey, I’m home!” I call, closing the door behind me. Scarlet lumbers forward, and my familiars are all in the little mudroom, waiting for me. “I missed you, too,” I tell them as I take my boots off. “You guys hungry? What do you want to eat?”
Binx meows and rubs against my legs. I take my coat off, toss it on the hall tree, and pick him up, kissing his furry head as I walk into the kitchen. I put him on the counter right as Lucas walks in.
“You look nice,” I tell him, wiggling my eyebrows. He’s wearing a suit that’s pretty much begging me to rip it off his muscular body.
“So do you.” He speeds forward and takes me in his arms, one hand landing on my belly.
“I think I felt the baby move today,” I tell him as I hook my hands around his neck. “Or maybe it was gas. Something like a fluttery feeling.”
“You’re far enough along to start feeling the baby.” He puts his lips to my neck, and I close my eyes, desire flooding through me. Yes, that suit is definitely coming off before we leave the house for dinner.<
br />
“I’m far enough along to start looking pregnant, too,” I tell him. “I caught Betty looking at my stomach a few times, so I told her. What a weird conversation that was.”
“I like people knowing I knocked you up.” He nuzzles his face into my neck.
“It’s getting obvious now.” I run a hand down his chest. “People will look at me and know you laid me down and fucked me. That your cock pushed inside my tight pussy and—”
Lucas cuts me off, kissing me in a fury of passion. Scrambling, I untuck his shirt. Lucas steps forward, holding onto me as I step back so I don’t fall. Sweeping my hands up, I take the top button of his shirt between my fingers, desperate to get him naked.
His tongue pushes into my mouth, and he cups my face as he kisses me deeply, bunching up my dress with his other hand. He breaks away once my dress is up around my waist, looking at my swollen belly.
“You are so beautiful,” he breathes.
“I’m glad you think so.” I lean against the counter behind me, feeling the cold quartz bite into my exposed skin. Lucas drops to his knees, kissing my stomach and then slipping his fingers into the waist of my leggings. Slowly, he pulls them down. I watch him, taking my lip between my teeth, hardly able to stand the waiting.
He kisses his way up my bare thigh, and I shiver from both his touch and the cold. He pulls my leggings all the way off and then stands, looking at me with so much intensity it makes my knees weak. Drawing his fangs, he pulls me to him, and my stomach presses against him. He moves one hand to the back of my head, taking a fistful of my hair. He pulls my head to the side and puts his mouth to my neck, fangs sinking into my skin with no warning. I cry out, eyes fluttering shut as he sucks hard, pulling the blood from my body. He won’t take much, I know, but the thought of my blood coursing through his veins turns me on.
My lips part, and I let out a moan when he sucks harder. It’s such a weird sensation, feeling my blood leave my body, and one I’ve grown to very much like. Lucas suddenly pulls himself away, knowing he needs to stop before he takes too much from me, which is easy to do right now since I’m pregnant. It doesn’t take a lot for me to feel weak from the blood loss, and we both know taking too much could hurt me and the baby.
Lucas goes to wipe the blood off his lips, but I stop him, fingers settling on his cheek. I turn his face to mine and kiss him, tasting my blood on his lips. Lucas groans, advancing and pinning me between his large body and the counter. My own blood smears over my lips, and Lucas licks it off, cock getting hard as he licks my blood off me.
Blood slowly trickles down from the two bite wounds on my neck, and Lucas goes back to it, licking and sucking once more before putting his fingers over the wound, applying pressure until the wound clots, which, lucky for me, happens much faster than the average human.
I bring one hand up to his and stare into his beautiful blue eyes. I look at him and see so much more than a vampire, so much more than a cold-blooded killer. He’s the man I love, the one who defied all odds and made me fall for him despite how hard I tried not to. He’s always seen me for exactly what I am and has never once held it against me. My magic, my power, it’s part of who I am, and Lucas accepted it from the start. The fact that I can be dangerous turned him on instead of scaring him away.
Overcome with need, I cast my eyes down and use magic to undo his pants. Lucas grunts with desire and shuffles back, looking down and watching me telekinetically strip him bare. Unable to wait any longer, he picks me up and carries me into the living room. We fall together on the couch, and he settles between my legs, wet tip of his cock rubbing against me.
“I want you,” I groan, and Lucas wastes no time. He brings one hand down, fingers wrapping around this thick shaft, and rubs the tip of his cock, which is gleaming with precum, against my clit. My eyes flutter shut once more, and I arch my back, giving him better access. I rock my hips along with him and come not long after, pussy spasming from the intensity of the orgasm. I push Lucas away, body on overdrive, but he ignores me and parts my legs wider so he can enter me.
“Oh, fuck,” I moan, feeling the same desperation coil up inside me all over again. I bend one leg up and wrap it around Lucas. I’m still reeling from the first orgasm while on the cusp of another. Lucas kisses me as he fucks me, and I hook my other leg around him, hanging on tight as he fucks me hard and fast.
“I’m so close,” I whimper, knowing he is, too. Vampires, unlike humans, can come and then be ready for action right away. There’s no rest and recovery period, but there’s something so transcendent when we come at the same time. I’m well aware how rare that is, and I’m even more aware of how lucky I am to be able to achieve an orgasm from vaginal penetration at all.
Lucas knows what he’s doing, and we work so fucking well together.
“I know, my love,” he groans and starts fucking me harder, rocking the whole couch. My head lolls back and my lips part, entire body trembling. Then he flips us over, putting me on top of him. It takes a few seconds to get situated, but now that my hands are on his shoulders and I’m riding him hard, I know I’m just about there, ready to come for the second time, and it’s going to be just as intense as the first time.
Lucas knows it, too, and brings a hand down so one of his fingers sweeps against my clit as I bounce up and down. It’s almost too much, and his cock rubs against my G-spot at the same time as he rubs my clit, and combined together, it’s a total shock to my system. I come so hard wetness spills from me, and Lucas clamps his hands on my waist, turned on even more from the mess I’ve made. He pushes in balls deep, coming right along with me.
“We’re good at that,” I pant, feeling Lucas’s cock pulse inside me.
“We are.” He kisses me, and I taste my blood on his lips. Resting his forehead against mine, Lucas waits a beat before pulling out. He moves to the floor, leaving me lying on the couch, and rests his head against my stomach.
“Her heartbeat is strong,” he tells me. I bring a hand down to his head, tangling his curls between my fingers. “I’m sure it was our daughter you felt today.”
I smile. “I hope so. It’s a weird feeling.”
“I can only imagine.”
I feebly extend a hand, landing on top of Lucas’s head. “I really like the curls,” I tell him. Vampires’ hair grows much slower than humans, and it’s taken nearly nine months to see this change in Lucas’s thick brown locks. “I don’t want you to cut your hair anytime soon.”
“If you like it, I’ll keep it long.”
“Not too long, but I do like being able to do this.” I rake my fingers through his hair, finding it absolutely adorable that the ends of his hair have started to curl now that it’s getting longer.
“I like that, too.”
I look down and see Lucas’s eyes flutter shut.
“Are we both going to fall asleep and miss dinner?” I ask, definitely okay if we do.
“No, I want to take you out and show you off. I’ll make the world jealous you’re with me and not them.”
“Funny, I think the same thing when people see you with me.”
“You are so incredible, my love.”
“Julian said something similar.” I shiver and reach for the blanket on the back of the couch.
“Julian?” Lucas questions, sitting up and looking at me. “You didn’t tell me you saw Julian.”
“You didn’t really give me a chance before you stripped me and had sex with me.”
“Are you complaining?”
“Hah, no,” I say and rake my fingers through his hair again. “He appeared in the car for a whole ten minutes when I was driving home from the store. Basically, nothing has changed, the angels believe that Bael killed Remiel, but they’re blaming Lucifer for letting him out on purpose, which is bullshit. Lucifer wasn’t responsible for that at all.” I close my eyes and let out a breath, not wanting to get all worked up. I’m still riding on the bliss that follows an intense orgasm, but times two.
“And he thinks I
might be related to Marie Lancaster.”
Lucas jerks his head up, brows furrowing. “You’re serious?”
“I am.” I shiver again, and it hits me all at once how different Lucas and I are. He loves me and I love him, and there is nothing that will get between us or keep us apart, but he is a vampire, and the bite wounds on my neck prove it. “So, story time,” I start and tighten the blanket around myself. Lucas moves up, perching on the edge of the couch next to me. “You know how it was rumored Marie got power lent to her?”
“I do.”
“Well, it turns out the rumors were right, and Michael was the one who gave her the power.”
“Fuck.”
“That was pretty much my reaction,” I say. “And there’s more. Julian said Michael told him he was sent here to save my mother. He thought it meant save her from certain death, but we think it meant to save her soul before she sold it to Lucifer. Her last name was Lancaster, which didn’t mean much at first. There are a lot of witches with that last name since the Lancasters were some of the first witch settlers in the new world and all, but for Michael to be sent to save her, it makes sense, doesn’t it?”
“It does.”
“You’re not going to look at me any different now, right?”
“Because you might have descended from the very witch who killed most of the vampires?”
“Yeah,” I say with a wince.
“No, Callie, I’m not. I don’t care if your mother came from space. You are my wife, the mother of my child, and the love of my afterlife. Nothing will ever change how I see or feel about you.” He rests his forehead against mine. “I love you more and more each and every day, if you consider that a change.”
“Maybe a little,” I say softly, knowing I’m close to crying.
“Do you want to rest?” He slowly gets up. I stripped him of his pants, but not of his suit jacket and shirt, and seeing him standing in front of me, with his shirt unbuttoned and the expensive jacket still on, reminds me of our desperation to tangle together.
Reign of Night (The Thorne Hill Series Book 7) Page 9
