Chapter 5: Situations

Fallon

              Trepidation overwhelms me as I look at the beautiful woman who has just fallen lifeless into my arms.

              Closing the door, I carry her into my home and lay her on one of the couches. It’s not the first time I’ve brought Bree into my home while she’s unconscious, but this time it’s not because I rendered her so to keep her safe.

              Gazing down at her, I notice that her face is flushed, and her body is covered in sweat. Without a thought, I rest my hand against her cheek. A moan escapes her lips, and her body arches suggestively at the contact. Her skin is burning up.

              Stepping back, I go to the door and listen to any sounds.

              Without another word, I grab my sword and step out of the door.

I look around, keeping my focus on my surroundings, but nothing stands out. After a couple of minutes, I step back into my living room and examine my unexpected visitor. Her shoes are missing, and her dress is soiled and torn in several places. Leaning close, I see that there are scratches and bruises on her shins and thighs.

              Enraged, I lift her in my arms and carry her to my room. Bree does not stir once. Being as discrete as I can, I slip one of my shirts across her body and carefully slip off her dress. Once I’m done, I attend to her injuries with a magic healing spell. Her cuts and bruises vanish within seconds, but she still looks like she has been through a frightening situation.

              Seeing her fragile frame in such a state makes me so angry that I have to step out of the room and take a walk around my home to gain some semblance of control. I resist blaming myself for not ensuring that someone was watching her while I took time for myself. I bloody hate that she got hurt after I left her unprotected for the first time in a long time.

              Who could have hurt her?

              Who was she talking about?

I guess I’ll find out as soon as she wakes up.

              Unfortunately, she doesn’t awaken until morning, and I spend the whole night fretting.

              Unwilling to leave her side, I change into comfortable shorts and a tank top, pull up a chair, and keep watch over her for the rest of the night. Keeping my sword close, I survey the area with my senses in case someone is coming after her.

              Moonlight casts shadows across her prone form, but I can see her very clearly. I can’t understand why she’s here of all places. You’d think that after the way we parted ways, she’d avoid seeing me again.

              Yet, I can’t say that I’m not experiencing mixed feelings at seeing her again. It’s been a while, and my heart is beating wildly against my chest as I take her in. I feel like a man in the desert who has found an oasis after thirsting for water for a long time.

              Come morning, I rise from my perch and inspect the parameter of my home.

              Bree is standing in the kitchen, her hair loose around her shoulders and my shirt falling to her knees. The black shirt drapes across her body, emphasizing one soft, bare shoulder, firm breasts, a narrow waist, and rounded hips.  However, it’s her long, athletic legs that catch my attention. She reminds me of a ballerina.

              “Fallon? How…what happened?” She rubs her temple with a look of confusion.

              Stepping closer, I run my gaze across her healed body. “Do you not recall why you are here?” I ask.

              Her hooded eyes look around the room as if trying to grasp an unattainable memory. Her blue eyes look like the clearest ocean, and the sun beats down on her golden hair. Blinking rapidly, she shuffles to one of the kitchen chairs and flops down.

              “I…” she puffs out a breath. “Oh, Jesus!” she shoots up from the chair, a look of horror rising on her face. Placing her palms on her face, she paces back and forth and mutters. “What have I done? Oh my god.”

              “You said someone was following you before you fell unconscious in my arms. Who was following you?” I ask.

              All of the remaining colors drain from her face. “You’re not going to like my response.” She cringes. “You’re going to get mad at me.”

              Taking a deep breath, I cross my arms in front of my chest and calmly mutter. “Just tell me, Bree.”

              For a moment, I think she’s not going to answer. But when she does, rage, like I’ve never felt, overwhelms me.

              “You see…I…I went on a…” she swallows. “I went on a date, and this guy, who wasn’t a guy, but I should have known that because of this ring…” she raises her hand and shows me a ring on her finger as she continues to explain.

              However, I stopped listening as soon as she said she went on a date.

              My jaw ticks as I move closer and stare her down. I know that I should understand her response, but I can’t help the anger that rushes through every fiber of my being. It’s only when I’m around Bree that I feel such a slew of emotions. Emotions that I have difficulty controlling around her─jealousy being one. “Are you serious!? What the bloody hell were you thinking? Did you ever consider what would have happened if he had not turned out to be human? How can you be so reckless? Or did you change your mind about baring the Erue child?”

              Her lips pucker as her panic turns to anger.

              “Do you honestly think that I went on a date with the intent to seduce a supernatural man?” She waves the ring in front of my eyes again. “This was supposed to tell me if there were any supernatural beings around. Amara and I tested it, and it worked before. I didn’t expect that it would fail.”

              I glare at the ring before I turn my wrath on her.

              “Are you telling me that you and an amateur witch came up with this idiotic plan?”

              Her brow furrows. “Amara is very powerful and─.”

              I cut her off. “Be that as it may, Amara has only been aware of her powers for a very short amount of time. She’s barely experienced enough to know about the supernatural world. Because if she did, she’d know that not all creatures out there are supernatural!” He grits out.

              As I pace in front of her, she tries to come up with a valid argument.

              “I don’t understand. I thought all non-humans were supernatural?”

              I shake my head, making my hair flutter across my broad shoulders. Her lips tighten as she raises her hand in front of me, and I close my eyes, searching for patience. “Wait, it isn’t working. Why isn’t it working on you?” she asks, her eyes becoming horrified as she takes in the ring’s dull surface.

               Desire flutters inside my belly as I take in her beautiful face. 

              “Supernaturals are a different species born on earth. They are more like humans but with heightened powers. In fact, most were humans before they became what they are. Some creatures are not supernatural. Some can be considered aliens from other worlds or dimensions and true Angels… Angels not born on earth are not of this earth. They are a whole different species created by the Creator before humans existed. Other than the physical similarities between both species, we are very different. Humans, angels, and most demons have souls. But some do not.”

              Bree looks down at her hands, then back at me and mutters. “But supernatural beings have souls, and so do angels? I mean, supernaturals mate with human soulmates. Look at Mikhail and his brothers…and you.”

              My eyes become shadowy as I gaze back at her. “Yes, Angels have souls and can breed with humans. However, I am not like Mikhail and Kell. Kell was born of a human and Angel mating, and Mikhail was born of a demon and Angel. That’s why the ring works on them. The ring glows for them because demons are also a species created on earth. But my mother, Lilith, the castoff wife of Adam, was not a human nor a demon.”

              “But she was, Lilith. Wasn’t she human? Doesn’t that mean you have a soul like a human too?” She insists.

              I shake his head. “That’s a misconception. Lilith was never complete because of Adam’s rejection. Unlike Eve, Lilith was not created from Adam’s ribs. She never had the opportunity to receive a soul, and once she was cast off, she absorbed evil to fill that void. Lilith is the embodiment of evil, and my father is the king of hell. He’s not a demon. He’s a former disgraced fallen archangel. The created made sure that my father’s soul was tainted and fractured before he cast him out.”  

              She looks so solemn as she processes this truth.

              “I am not human, and I’m not a demon, Bree. I was born in my mother’s kingdom─the Nether. The Nether is a purgatory for dead supernaturals who have no soul. A place where soulless creatures like me are trapped. Because of that, I have no true soul. The only way my father could get me out of there was if he gave me a piece of his already fractured soul, which he did.” I lift her hand up and wave the dull ring in front of her. “This is why this ring doesn’t glow for me. The fragment that Lucifer granted me only works as a tether.”

              She gives the dull gem a horrified look and gasps. “What have I done?”

              Tears gather in her eyes as the implications of my words continue to dig into her mind. “But if your father had a soul, wouldn’t it have meant you’d have one too?”

              My lip tilts with a sarcastic snicker. “You see, if you have a soul, you have a chance for redemption and can go to heaven. The last thing the Creator wants is for Lucifer’s son to go to heaven without finding some way to earn his way in. That is why the Creator fractured Lucifer’s soul and why I am still considered soulless even with a small fragment. Think of it as a medicine that stifles symptoms of a disease that cannot be healed without an actual cure. The Creator wanted to prevent Lucifer from returning to heaven. However, before the Creator cast Lucifer out, he proscribed anything created by him from being born with a soul. However, he wasn’t completely unreasonable. My soul exists somewhere and waits for me to find a way to earn it.” I stop there, unwilling to explain that she might be the key for me gaining my soul. I don’t think either of us is ready for that conversation.

              “What? That’s not fair at all. No one else has had to earn their soul.” She mumbles angrily.

              I shrug in reply. “I’ve learned to accept my fate. Now, let’s get back to the matter at hand. Who was the creature you went on this date with?”

              At my words, she becomes defensive again. “It’s not like I did it on purpose. I thought I was on a date with a human man.”

              My silver eyes narrow with suspicion. “I thought you said you weren’t going to risk mating with a male?”

              She shrugs her shoulders. “I didn’t plan on it at first. But then, Creighton and the others agree that the prophecy underscores that the child would have to be born of a supernatural male. The Creator would never name a human his champion. All of the Seer’s scriptures clearly state that the male will not be human, so I took a chance.”

              Bree takes a defensive step back and gives me a determined stare. “I mean, I’m a grown woman, Fallon. I can’t live like this. I need to have a life and experience love. How can I do that if I can’t be with someone?”

              My face tightens with emotion, but I don’t say a word for a moment. In fact, the more that I think about it, the more my expression becomes stonier. “You want to have sex?”

              Heat creeps up her face at my blunt tone. Of course, that’s what she wants, but she’s not going to admit to it.

              “It’s not just about that.” She stomps her foot and points her hands to her chest. “I’m a human being. And like any other human, I desire intimacy. Is it so wrong for me to feel this way?”

              I shake my head. Of course, it’s not wrong for her to feel that way. I’m just not sure if I’m comfortable with the idea.

              “Enough stalling, Bree.” I reprimand her. I’m not completely oblivious to the fact that she has yet to tell me who she went on her date with. “What did the creature look like, and did he give you his name?”

              She wrings her hands and bites her plump lower lip. “He had some kind of scaly red armor that looked like fire, and he had a helmet and golden wings. He told me to call him Angelo.”

              My brow furrows. I’ve never heard of a creature who had armor made of red scales. And the fact that he called himself Angelo is either a play on what he is, or he’s mocking her.

              “Did he say anything to you? Anything about you being the Erue?”

              She shakes her head. “No, he just said he wanted to taste me, which would have been sexy if it didn’t sound so threatening. He never mentioned the Erue’s.”

              Taking a deep breath, I slide my finger across my chin and look at her. She looks weary and upset. Seeing that there’s nothing that I can do at the moment, I move toward the stairs. “That’s good, at least. I’ve never heard of such a creature, but I’ll ask father if he might know. He might have just been hunting for prey, and you were readily available. For now, I’ll take you home and stay there to make sure the creature didn’t follow you.”

              She gives me an affronted look. “I don’t need you to babysit me again, Fallon. Like you said, he might have just been looking for easy prey. I mean, he didn’t mention anything relating to who I am.”

              Teeth gritted; I tighten my fists and take a couple of calming breaths. “Regardless of that, I will make sure it’s safe before I leave you to your own devices. Considering your bloody track record so far, I wouldn’t put it past you to find yourself in a similar situation again.”

              She opens her lips to argue further, but at my determined expression, she relents and follows me upstairs. “I need to change.”

              I don’t reply as I lead her to my room. There’s plenty enough time for our silent war to continue later.