Watcher Exposed: Dark Angels Paranormal Romance (Watchers of the Gray Book 8)

by JL Madore

“But he’s immortal and will be fine, right?” Bo asked.

  Raphael tilted his head from side to side. “Possibly. And perhaps if he’s fine this time, the seizures might still worsen as time passes.”

  “So, what’s the answer?”

  “I will ask milady to unlock his transition early. I believe once his Nephilim side is released, his powers will be absorbed properly and the seizures will stop.”

  “And if they don’t?” Seth asked.

  Raphael frowned. “Your healer, Drina, and I agree, if he continues to suffer these episodes, there will be irreparable damage to his mind.”

  “Damage that would repair itself once he transitions,” Bo said. “Once his healing kicks in, his mind would heal, right?”

  Raph shook his head. “I don’t believe so. No.”

  Cue another round of cursing.

  Hark felt the loss of Ren’s warmth the moment she pulled away from his side. “I’m going to go sit with him.”

  Hark nodded and stopped Raphael from commenting. “She is the Cherubim who Lady Divinity asked to accompany Ringo. Not the female Michael put in charge of him—who drugged him—and not Michael himself.”

  “Yeah,” Seth snapped. “What’s with him invading our home and taking him without a word? You can’t seriously think us unfit to raise him after this stellar show of parenting, can you?”

  “I have no opinion on the matter one way or the other.”

  “So, you weren’t involved in the decision? It’s not an Archangel thing?”

  “No,” Zander said, glaring at the Prince of Virtues. “This stinks of my sire. This is Michael’s doing.”

  Seth shrugged. “So, what does Michael want with him?”

  “I don’t suppose that’s your concern,” Raphael said.

  Zander cracked his knuckles, his wings twitching. “Seth’s right. That fucker came into our home without invitation and took the boy without permission or consent.”

  Raphael shrugged. “He need not answer to you.”

  “But he will answer to me,” Lady Divinity said, appearing in their midst. In leather pants and jacket, with her ebony hair tied up and pinned with daggers, she looked as much the warrior as any of them. “Take me to the boy.”

  “At once, Milady.” Raphael bowed his head and guided her inside.

  Ren had barely taken a seat at Ringo’s bedside when Lady Divinity swept inside, looking furious. As the warriors dropped to a knee, Ren rose to her feet and dropped her chin. “Milady. I’m so sorry. I failed you.”

  She gestured for the warriors to rise and went straight for Ringo. “You did no such thing, child. Having the boy spirited away by one of my envoys was beyond the scope of your ability. You found him and got him the help he needed.”

  Lady Divinity took Ringo’s hand.

  Drina and Kyrian stepped back from the examination table. And another of Hark’s brothers—a dark-haired one with a goatee—gently squeezed Ren’s shoulders and shifted her back with him. “Give her space to work, ’kay?”

  Ren, watched as Lady Divinity brushed a loving hand over his forehead. “The poor child. His mind and body are at war with what he is destined to be.”

  “Yes, Milady.” Raphael stood on the opposite side of the exam table from her, hands clutched behind his back. “I believe unlocking his Nephilim genes will solve the problem. His human side is too weak to sustain the magnitude of his gifts.”

  Ringo remained so still. He hadn’t regained consciousness, even after the seizure ended. Ren worried the longer he stayed that way, the worse the damage might be.

  Lady Divinity continued to pass her hands over Ringo. A soft, golden glow emanated from his body as she examined him without touch. “There’s something beyond his gifts at play here. What is altering his system?”

  The goateed Watcher spoke, his tone hard and violent. “Michael had a Seraph consort drug him. Supposedly to relax him enough to unleash his creativity.”

  She blinked, the furrow in her brow something Ren rarely ever saw. “Has this child ever had difficulty expressing his creativity?”

  “Never,” Danel snapped.

  “With the boy’s health already compromised, what possible reason would Michael have to do such a thing?”

  “I cannot say. Michael had no right to take him, to drug him, or to decide anything about him. He barely knows the boy. We are his family.”

  Her frown softened. “Family. That’s not a word I would’ve expected to come from you, Danel.”

  He shrugged. “The past year has been transformative.”

  She continued her work, glancing up at the males gathered. “You truly have become a family unit, haven’t you?”

  Danel nodded, the sides of his mouth tugging up in a quirky smile as he looked at his brothers. “We’re a bit dysfunctional and hotheaded at times, but yes. It’s like nothing any of us ever imagined.” He pointed to Ringo lying there, deathly still. “Ringo is part of that. He is ours. He belongs with us.”

  “He’s an amazing boy,” Kyrian added. “We all love him. If it be your will, please help him.”

  Lady Divinity raised her palms and a moment later, she sat in a club chair with Ringo in her lap. Shifting his body so his legs hung over the side of her knee and his upper body rested against her chest, she tucked his head against her shoulder and brushed his floppy black hair from his eyes.

  Ren watched as the golden glow grew. It pulsed and expanded until it encompassed both of them. The magical cocoon grew brighter until she was forced to look away. The energy in the air prickled against her skin and smelled like serenity—if serenity had a smell.

  The healing intensity of Lady Divinity’s power reached inside her. It washed away the ache of a sister who might never understand her flaws, the insecurity that she was unworthy, and mended all the scars to her soul that she’d gathered through her life.

  Everything within her felt better, stronger, whole.

  When the glow finally dimmed, Ren studied the looks of surprise on the other faces in the room. Danel and Kyrian both looked lighter. That’s how she felt too.

  Lady Divinity stroked Ringo’s cheek as his whiskey-gold eyes flickered open. “Enough excitement for you for one day, young warrior.”

  “Hey, kid,” Danel said, dropping to one knee. “Glad to see you awake.”

  “Yeah,” Kyrian said, closing in. “You had us worried, little brother.”

  Lady Divinity smiled and looked to her. “Take care of him, and I shall visit shortly to ensure all is well.”

  And with that, they were all back at the ranch.

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  Once Danel was sure Ringo was okay and resting in his room, he beat feet straight to his suite. It had been too long since he simply held his family and told them he loved them. He found Sunshine playing Hungry, Hungry Hippos with Ronnie, and Rascal on the floor chasing a white marble that got away on them. He dropped to the plush carpet and opened his arms.

  “Daddy!” Sunshine squealed, jumping up to run into his lap. He buried his face in his daughter’s long blonde locks and breathed her in. The gray furball stopped batting a playing piece to toddle over for an ear rub.

  “What trouble are my beautiful girls getting into tonight?”

  Ronnie put the dice down and pressed her hand to his cheek. “We’re smart enough to stay out of trouble. Don’t want Daddy and the uncles after us, do we, Sunshine?”

  Sunshine shook her head, and her locks swung like golden ropes around her face. “When I’s bad, Uncle Bo tickles and Seth eats me up.”

  With Sunshine in his arms, he stood up and extended his hand out for Ronnie. “I call a family timeout.”

  “Is everything all right?” He read the worry in his mate’s eyes and knew it was for Ringo.

  He chucked Sunshine onto their big bed and climbed up after her. “All is right in the world, and everyone is where they should be—for now, at least. I need a minute to soak it all in and live in this moment.”

  “Fine by me,” R
onnie said, jumping onto the bed and crawling to the other side of their little girl. They sandwiched Sunshine between them, and he settled with them in his arms.

  Breathing deeply, he counted his many blessings.

  This was what he lived for. These two, tiny, loving blondies who looked enough alike that Sunshine could pass as their biological child. Zander’s lawyers were working on making it official, and though the human legal system was slow, it looked like clear sailing.

  He and Ronnie were legally her foster parents now and in the process of a private adoption.

  The three of them snuggled and caught up on the happenings in the house until his stomach growled, and he knew he had to get to dinner and spend the night with his head in the books. There was more to Michael’s interest in Ringo, and he was determined to find it and expose the fucker.

  Ronnie drew a gentle finger across his brow, studying his eyes. “What’s with you, broody? You seem . . .”

  “Grateful,” he finished for her. “Grateful for my girls, my little brother’s health, and our family.”

  Sunshine nodded. “Me too, and for Rascal.”

  Ronnie chuckled. “Me too, and for Rascal.”

  He kissed them both on the forehead before rolling off the bed. “I gotta shower and get ready to work, but tomorrow afternoon, when we’re all rested and raring to go, I’m calling a jammie-day-love-in with my girls.”

  “Yay!” Sunshine cheered, pumping her little fists into the air. “What we doin’?”

  “Movies, treats, dollies, tea parties, the works.”

  “The works!” Sunshine shouted, jumping on the bed.

  “It’s a date.” Ronnie rolled off the bed to follow him to the bathroom door. She met his lips with the warmth they always held. “You need any help in the shower, or is it all business and straight downstairs?”

  Heat rushed through his veins. His attention flipped like a switch. One second, he was all about the family unit, the next, he was growing hard and wanted to drop to his knees and go down on his mate.

  “What about the hippos? Aren’t they still hungry?”

  Ronnie arched a brow. “No. That’s me.”

  He growled and tilted his head into the bathroom. “Then by all means, make it happen.”

  “Sunshine, sweetie,” Ronnie said, waggling her beautiful brows. “Austin wondered if you wanted to help her make supper for the family tonight. It’s a lot for her, you know, with Niobi and all the preparations.”

  “Cooking? Yes! Can I?”

  They both nodded and laughed as their little bundle of Sunshine happiness shot out the door.

  “Careful on the stairs,” Ronnie called down the hall. “Hold the railing.” She closed their bedroom door, pulled her shirt over her head, and tossed it at him.

  He caught it with ease and backed into their massive ensuite. “Well, now. Aren’t you in a mood. Eager to see your man cleaned up, are you?”

  “Yeah,” Ronnie said, unzipping her pants and shimmying them off her hips as she closed the distance. “You’re looking dirty tonight. You feeling dirty, broody?”

  His beast let off a growl. “Yep. Very dirty.”

  Hark stayed home to work with Danel and stay out of the public eye during the hours of patrol. He thought, at first, he’d feel left behind. He’d been part of the team for centuries, but his exposure made it impossible for him to be out on the streets for the time being. But, instead of feeling left out, he was content to watch over Ren, Ringo, and the household while helping Danel try to figure out what the fuck Michael was up to.

  “How are they doing?” Danel asked as he returned from his third trip upstairs.

  “Good,” he said, shrugging. “Apologies, I’m having trouble keeping my head in these texts.”

  Danel chuckled. “I get it. The first few weeks of mating sent us all for a loop. It’s a complete rewiring of our basic protocols: everything shifts from daemons to your mate, your beast pulls at you, your body’s on fire . . .”

  “It’s a lot.”

  Danel sipped his fifth coffee of the night and smiled. For his birthday last month, Ronnie bought him the same machine they used in the cafe where she used to serve him. The Persian was addicted to the stuff, and the blend from that particular cafe had him going back every night for a year.

  In hindsight, maybe part of him was addicted to his barista even then. Who knew how these things worked?

  “And you’re solid?”

  Hark raised a brow. “TMI, Persian.”

  Danel choked on his java and flashed him a dirty look. “Fuck. I didn’t mean that. I meant, you and Ren, the mating, the dating, it’s going good?”

  “Yeah. Sorry. I’m a bit preoccupied with the other.”

  Danel chuckled. “I remember that too. For good or bad, that part of things never eases. One smile. One look. One sigh. That’s all it takes, and you’ll be right there and ready to service her every need. It’s crazy.”

  “I have no frame of reference with females, but yeah, I think everything’s going great.”

  Danel nodded but didn’t look convinced.

  Hark’s beast took offense. “What? You know something I don’t?”

  Danel shook his head. “No. Just wondering about your transition. You two seemed to embrace things solidly from the get-go. Just wondering what was holding back the wings.”

  He hadn’t thought about it. Yeah, sure, he’d thought about it, but it had only been a few days. “I love her. I’m sure about that. I don’t know why I haven’t transitioned. What set it off for you?”

  “Finding out that Ronnie wasn’t going to die, that she was in remission because of my healing ability.”

  “Aww, the life-saving super-spunk.”

  Danel laughed. “You know it.”

  Hark thought about his situation. “I don’t know. I’m all-in. So’s Ren. We’re still getting to know each other, but we’re happy and on the right track.”

  Danel went back to focusing on the texts and tomes stacked on the war room table. “Not to worry. It’ll happen.”

  The ring of the doorbell had the two of them looking at each other and moving for the door. The double gates kept humans out. The security alarms weren’t tripped. So, who was ding-donging?

  He and his brothers all had biological access through the scanners in the vestibule.

  Austin popped her head out of the kitchen, looking just as curious, but Danel waved her and Sunshine back inside. “Don’t let those cookies burn, Sunshine.”

  “Brownies, Daddy,” she called after him.

  When they got to the main entrance, Danel checked the view screen to the camera. “Well, I’ll be damned.”

  Zander waited until his brothers were in place before he struck up the convo. The intel they’d gotten after Dwayne’s shooting the night before led them to a dilapidated subway station condemned and closed down a decade earlier. Seth and Phoenix were entering in from the north exit, he and Kyrian were on the south, and Bo and Brennus were each closing in, walking the rail line from opposite ends. These fuckers were as good as caught.

  “How long do we gotta hide down here?” a male asked inside. His question echoed off the tile walls, and Zander made a mental note to keep things quiet.

  “We’re not hiding,” Linsale said, looking up from a book he was reading on a rat-chewed couch. “We’re waiting out the danger of discovery.”

  Ha. Nope. Sucks to be you, Rugaru.

  “Sounds like hiding,” Rugaru number two said.

  Yeah, Zander thought so too.

  “I ain’t afraid of those winged assholes,” a third man chimed in.

  Then you’re stupid, Zander thought.

  “Then you’re stupid,” Linsale said.

  “No. You’re stupid,” number two came back with.

  “Uh-huh,” Linsale said. “My point made.”

  Zander tore himself away from the stimulating conversation and scrolled through the group text. Intel was being added as his brothers settled in on all sides.
Between all their vantage points, they counted nine bad guys and two females servicing them. Easy enough.

  Except, lately, nothing was as easy as it seemed.

  Those aren’t just mixed-blood concubines, Phoenix’s text read. I’m picking up dark powers emanating from them.

  What are we thinking? Z texted back.

  Aswang, Brennus added. Best guess.

  Aswang? Are they our witch-whammy bitches?

  Could be, Brennus answered. Watch yer backs, boys.

  On three. Zander hit send and shoved his phone into the back pocket of his jeans. Kyrian led the charge, and as the count terminated, they surged in with a mass invasion.

  Rugaru assholes scrambled like startled rats.

  Shots fired. Daggers unsheathed.

  The enemy might have fooled them with those clone projections in the warehouse, but this was the real deal. Time to end this. Zander moved in hard and fast on Linsale.

  Taking out the leader destabilized the group.

  Obviously, the Rugaru leader had the same thought in mind in reverse, but whatevs. Zander wasn’t going to lose, so what the enemy thought was irrelevant.

  Kyrian got his groove on taking out a hairy beast on his right, while the Egyptian twins pushed in hard and fast. This was what they were bred for, and they were extraordinary at what they did.

  Zander was proud to call them his men.

  A rancid burn of foul play coated his tongue as his skin tingled with magic. He winced and fought through it, keeping his peepers on his direct opponent. Linsale’s skill meant he couldn’t allow himself to get distracted.

  Besides, if Storme’s spell held true—

  The scream of one of the dark witches was music to his ears. He spun on a deflection and glanced over to see one of the Aswang down and the second female racing to her aid.

  The bitch who tried to spell them was covered in welts and bleeding from her eyes.

  Zander chuckled. “Point goes to the wives.”

  There were a few grunting laughs as the fight went on.

  People often thought of fights as long, drawn-out tests of strength and stamina. In truth, most are over in minutes. When you had skilled, preternatural opponents, that might double, but unless it was an all-out war, not much longer than that.