1
I sit in the seat stunned while Malach is crouched in front of me.
“War?” I whisper, unsure I heard him right.
He simply nods and Lilith and Lucifer come rushing into the kitchen.
“You guys heard that, right?” Lilith asks in a panicked tone.
“What does this mean? What do we do?” I ask.
Malach finishes wrapping my wrist and pulls me up by the other one. “We need to get back to Hell to strategize a plan. That’s what they’re doing right now, and we need to do the same.”
I shake my head in disbelief. “I can’t keep running off when shit gets real. I have a life here.” I try to argue.
Malach’s eyes harden. “What life Roni. You don’t have any friends let alone family. Nothing is keeping you here.”
I rear back at his blunt response. Just because it’s true doesn’t make it hurt any less.
His eyes soften slightly before hardening and storming past me. “We leave in an hour.”
I feel tears mist my eyes, but I refuse to let them fall. Lucifer follows after Malach with a sympathetic smile. Lilith gently approaches me. “Is there anything you want to get before we leave?”
I nod and wipe the stray tear that fell on my cheek. “I want to get some of my parents’ stuff from the attic.”
She nods and links her arm with mine. “Let’s go get a box or two.”
I give her a grateful smile and she leads me out of the kitchen and up the stairs. Malach and Lucifer must be outside.
When we reach the top of the stairs we walk to the end of the hall and Lilith grabs the string for the attic and pulls the ladder down. We both climb the steps until we’re in the dusty space. There’re so many boxes and furniture covered with white sheets.
I walk over to the boxes that are labeled as Leslie and Jameson’s room. I kneel in front of them and start to sort through them. Lilith takes a seat on the opposite side of me and goes through the box closest to her.
I pull out clothes and shoes they left before we moved to Florida. I smile when I find when of Dad’s old Christmas sweaters and turn to show it to Lilith. “He used to wear this every year on Christmas day.”
She cringes before fixing her face and giving me a strained smile. “Cute?”
I laugh at her questioning tone and nod. “Yeah, my Mom got it for him as a joke and he loved how ugly it was that he decided he had to make a tradition out of it.”
She gives a genuine smile before going back into her box. “Looks like this is just a lot of journals from Leslie and maybe your grandmother.” She says while pulling one out and flipping through the pages.
My head snaps up from my box and I crawl over and pull the journal from her hands. “What?”
But I answer my own question when I read the date.
June 18, 2003
Today Mom and Dad told me and Jameson that we’re meant to be married when we’re of age in two years.
I couldn’t continue the entry. I closed it and take a deep breath. Lilith has concern lining her eyes, but I just shake my head with a small smile. “You were right.”
She tilts her head. “Do you want to take them?”
I think about it for a few seconds before nodding. “I know I’ll want to read them eventually.”
She nods her head once and grabs the ugly sweater and notebook from my hands putting them in the box with the others. “Anything else?”
I dig through the boxes for a few minutes before shaking my head.
Lilith carries the box downstairs. I’m following behind, feeling like this is the last time I’ll step foot in this house.
I know we’ll come back to earth when the time comes but I don’t think we’ll come back here. There’s no reason too. It’s going to be abandoned for the umpteenth time. I won’t be able to bring myself to sell it either.
We’re walking out the damaged front door. I close it as best I can, to help keep the weather out of the house.
Malach and Lucifer are smoking a joint in the driveway. We make our way over and Malach silently passes me the joint. I take a couple drags before holding it up to Lilith’s lips since her hands are full.
Lucifer goes to grab the box when she jerks it away from him with a scowl. “I got it.”
He holds his hands up defensively but doesn’t say anything.
Malach goes to grab my hand but I jerk it away from him. His eyes shine hurt but that’s the only indication of his emotions.
He growls under his breath. “Let’s go.”
I grab onto Lilith and we’re submerged in black smoke. Then we’re in Lucifer’s living room.
Malach stomps up the stairs to our room. I roll my eyes at his antics while Lilith walks up behind him with my box.
Bathory comes out from behind the curtain that leads to the throne room. When she sees me, she runs for me and puts her paws on my leg, trying to crawl up, meowing up at me. I hear Lucifer laugh at the scene.
“Someone missed you.”
I smile and nod while picking her up. “I missed her too.”
He nods his head towards the stairs. “Why don’t you go get cleaned up and I’ll make us dinner.”
I put Bathory down and realize I’m still in the white dress that Celeste put me in. Only now it’s ripped and covered in dirt and blood.
“Feed Bathory too?” I ask while making my way to the stairs.
“Of course.”
I pick my dress up with my good hand and slowly walk up the stairs. I’m feel the adrenaline start to leave my system and the pain comes in. My body feels like it’s been run over by an eighteen-wheeler.
I make it to my room where I hear Malach and Lilith talking.
I can’t help myself when I stop by the doorframe where they can’t see me and listen in.
“She’s been through a lot this last year Malach. Try to see where she’s coming from.” Lilith says softly.
He groans. “You don’t think I know that?”
“Seems like you don’t.” she states bluntly.
I decide to make my presence known and walk into the room.
Lilith plasters on a smile and places her hand on my shoulder as she walks by. “Take it easy on him.” she whispers before disappearing downstairs.
Malach’s sitting on the edge of the bed, watching me carefully. I nibble on my lip nervously, unsure of what to say.
“Do you want me to leave?”
I snap my eyes up and meet his. He looks exhausted. There’re bags under his eyes and his lips turned down into a frown.
I shrug. “I don’t know.”
Why is that our go to response when we’re talking about us?
He lets out a heavy sigh and nods while standing up. “I’ll let you shower.”
When he walks by, I place my hand on his chest, making him stop and look down at me curiously.
“I don’t want to be alone right now.” I eventually say before looking up at him.
He looks down at me and studies me for a few minutes before nodding and walking into the bathroom.
I hear the shower turn on and the rustling of his clothes. I strip out of mine, leaving it in a puddle at my feet and walk into the bathroom when the steam fills up the room. Malach is tying his hair up in all his glory. It takes everything in me to not stare at his member between his legs.
He walks over to unwrap my wrist. He silently opens the glass door and nods for me to get in. I do, walking past him and stand under the hot stream. My head is tipped down and I watch as the dirt and grim swirls down the drain.
The feelings of everything that happened, me killing multiple people and an angel hits me. I feel tears falling down my cheeks and I don’t even notice when Malach steps in and lifts my head to meet his eyes.
He leans down and kisses the tears from my face. Kissing every inch of my face before meeting my lips. I wrap my arms around his shoulders, and he picks me up with ease. We’re slow and deliberate with our lips and tongues.
I feel his cock bobbing against me, and I moan into his mouth. He groans in response to me grinding my hips into his and he pulls away enough to husk against my lips. “I don’t want to hurt you.”
I bite his lip hard in response. I let it go with a pop and his eyes darken. “Leave if you’re not going too.” I challenge. I’m in pain but the need to feel him inside me out ways the soreness of my body. I need to feel something good right now.
He seems at war with himself until he reaches around me and lines himself up with my entrance. When he feels how slick I already am he growls against my neck and bites it enough to draw blood before he slowly pushes inside me.
I throw my head back from feeling him stretching me open and I whimper when he’s fully inside me.
“You okay?” he asks in a shaky voice against my skin and licking the wound he created. He’s still restraining himself.
I move my hips against him and rub my clit against his abs with a moan. “If you’re not going to fuck me like you hate me, I’ll go get Luci-“ I’m effectively cut off when he pulls out and slams back into me.
I gasp and feel like I can’t breathe. He doesn’t stop. He fucks me slow but hard. Every punishing thrust makes the band in my lower belly build and I feel a smile crawl its way onto my face.
I meet his eyes through my half-lidded ones, and he looks animalistic. His lip curls up like Elvis Presley. “I’m the only one who gets to touch you, Little Mouse.”
I moan when he calls me that and he picks up his speed.
I hold onto him with everything I have. His one hand holding my thigh and the other reaches between us to rub my sensitive clit.
“I’m. Coming.” I pant out and feel myself explode. I cry out and my entire body shakes when he keeps rubbing me with his fingers. He moves his hand to the back of my neck where he squeezes and fucks me into the wall.
“No one can fuck you like I can.” He husks out before spilling into me.
His thrusts get jagged and he slumps against me in the shower.
I’m breathing heavily with him still inside me, holding his head to my shoulder while he catches his breath.
Without a word he pulls out gently, but I still wince from feeling empty and he sets me down. He silently cleans me and himself before turning off the water and climbing out with me on his heels.
He dries off quickly and wraps the towel around his waist before grabbing another and dries me off. He wraps the towel up under my arms before taking the wrap and sits me on the edge of the tub.
He’s concentrating on wrapping my wrist while I watch him. He’s careful and deliberate with his fingers, making sure not to hurt me.
“I want to go back to school.” I voice my inner thoughts. His head snaps up and his eyes harden.
“No.” he says with finality.
I stand pulling my hand from his hold and walk into the bedroom. “You’re not my father. You can’t tell me what to do.”
I hear him stomping in behind me as I walk to the dresser and pull-out shorts, a sweatshirt, underwear and socks.
“You willing to test that theory?” he husks against the back of my head.
I whirl around and shove him back. “Fuck you Malach. I had a life before I met you and I want to get back to it.”
I quickly get dressed and walk out of the room with him hot on my heels, still in his towel. “The angels and demons alike are going to be hunting for your soul now that war is on the horizon. It’s a death sentence.”
“I’ll take Lilith.” I say as I walk into the kitchen where Lucifer is hovering over the stove with Lilith by his side.
She snaps her head up at the mention of her name. “Where are we going?”
I smile at the fact that she’s already in and look back at Malach. “See. I’ll be fine and she can keep training me in the meantime.”
Malach sneers at Lilith before turning his attention back to me. “I can’t go with you. I need to stay here with the Kings and strategize a plan to defeat Mammon, you should be here for that since you’re the only one who can kill him.” He tilts his head to the side. “And are you even still enrolled in classes? Everyone assumes you’re missing.”
Lilith comes up next to me. “I took care of that actually. I emailed her school saying she had a family emergency and would be out for a while. They said they’d love to have her back when she’s ready.”
I cross my arms and look up at Malach with a smug smile. When he can’t argue that he scoffs and makes his way back to our room. “Fine. Go back and risk getting killed. Damning all of earth to the wrath of Mammon.” He then turns and walks out of the kitchen.
Lucifer speaks up from where he’s stirring dinner in a pot. “He’s right you know.”
Lilith glares at his back before facing me. “We’ll leave after dinner.”
