Chapter 11(Raziel) I didn’t say much when Ambrosia was talking, but I never really do. I’m more of a stay in the background and assess the situation type of person. However, no assessment was to my liking. The fact that Ambrosia was able to control us was really bothering me. What fucking type of magic could she possess that would allow that? No other supernatural creature could even touch our magic… Well, maybe besides a Pyromancer. But even they couldn’t control us. It only meant one thing… If she changed sides for whatever reason, we were fucked. I wanted to say she would never do that. I could see the way she looked at my brother anytime he stepped foot in the room. The longing glances, the way she hung on his every word… The way she shined when she was sitting in his lap. Everything she did was to ensure that he was happy. There was no doubt she loved him. Pet or not. I knew how strong love could be first hand. I just hoped that it
Chapter 12I was definitely interested as I sat back in my seat kicking my feet up on the chair in front of me. So my theory was right… The reel played on to show Andres destroying the physical Pandora's Box and Ambrosia dying with its destruction. I’ll give it to whoever sent me these outcomes, they were nothing if not thorough. I watched my brother, Rowen, run to Ambrosia’s dying body, taking her into his arms. I could see and hear his pain through his facial expressions and his stammered words. I could then feel the pain in his chest to my very core. I watched as he lost the most important woman in his life. I watched as she faded before his eyes and there was nothing any of us could do to stop it. His desperation reminded me deeply of parts of his Human life. While Rowen never lost anyone dear to him like my other brothers, Rowen never had anyone in his life to lose. That same despair he felt, the dame despair I was feeling now, was all too familiar when I recalled his Human lif
Chapter 13I shot out of my dreamwalk in a flurry of confusion before realizing what had just happened. What the hell? Why would he come to me? I mean, I suppose I know why... He told me why, but what was his endgame? It seemed like he wanted to help us, but why would he want that when it ultimately meant his demise? I looked around and realized it was already daylight and Rayne wasn’t in bed. I heard the shower going so I got up out of bed and headed in there. How the hell did I not hear her get up? I was the lightest sleeper ever. I must have really been deep in that dreamwalk. I shed my basketball shorts and opened the glass enclosure, stepping inside with my mate. I wrapped my arms around her from behind. “Good morning, darling.” I purred in her ear. She turned around and wrapped her arms around my neck, pressing her lips against mine. “Good morning.” She said against my lips. I pulled away so I could look at her. “God, you’re so fucking beautiful.” I murmured and I kissed her a
Chapter 14I arrived at Rowen's just as Ramses, Katrina, and Jade arrived. I took a seat in the armchair in Rowen’s sitting room. I had become rather fond of that spot. It was the ideal spot for me to be able to see everyone at an optimum angle. For someone who preferred to watch and listen, it was the ideal place to do so. The thoughts of what I saw in my dreamwalk last night were haunting me. How exactly was I going to get the point across that Ambrosia had to kill Dominik… Honestly, I knew she wouldn’t do it, leaving it to me. Always leaving it up to me... Ramses left Katrina and Jade with me in the sitting room, and he walked upstairs where I assume Rowen was. Neither Katrina or Jade said much, but I could feel Jade’s eyes on me. I looked up and met her gaze which she only held for a few moments before looking away. I snickered in my mind. Silly Humans. But I couldn’t blame her, she couldn’t help it. I turned to Katrina who looked over at me at the same time. “How is Kember?” I
Chapter 15(Ramses)Once we were back to Katrina’s house she went into the back room to start gathering supplies. I had no idea how she planned to reach the other Keeper, but they must have some sort of way to communicate. I knew she needed him in order to get to the Box, but I didn’t know just what it all entailed. I took a seat on her couch, pulling Jade down with me. She instantly switched her position and straddled me. “You seem stressed, and your eyes are going back to bronze, why don’t you feed? You’ll feel better.” She said. Just then I noticed my fangs were a little itchy and trying to unsheathe themselves. I did need to feed. I had been so distracted it had been a minute. I traced my fingers along Jade's neck for no reason really, I already knew exactly where I was going to bite her. I wrapped my fingers through her hair and pulled her closer to me, forcing her head back so I could get a good angle at her neck. Then sank my fangs in. She was right, the bloodrush was just wh
Chapter 16We had been walking for what seemed like ages when we finally reached a cliff. Looking down off the edge I could see the waves of the ocean crashing into the jagged rocks below. Over to the right there was a small space where you could walk down on some makeshift steps. They took you around the side of the cliff, but I couldn't see where they ended up. There was no railing and the steps were rickety. I wasn't worried about myself, but Katrina wouldn't survive a fall from this high. I kept my eye on her the entire way, but it seemed as if she had done this a time or two. Something about the way she maneuvered between the steps, missing the ones that seemed to be in the worst condition gave me that clue. My nerves calmed as we made our way down the cliff and I could see an opening towards the bottom. It looked like it opened into a cave system, however at high tide it looked like the cave would be flooded. This could be a disaster waiting to happen. Once we got down inside
Chapter 17Just the feeling of magic and awe created by the Box was enough to make a sane man go insane. It was like a magnetic pull, forcing you to reach for it. I, however, knew better than to touch something I didn’t understand. This was not my Box to touch, so my hands were tied. Thayne, on the other hand, wasn’t so lucky. He reached out for it, and the second he touched it, his whole body became engulfed in a blue flame. My eyes widened as I watched the Box drain him of his very life force. I could hear him shrieking in agony and watched, as what looked like his soul, be sucked from his body. It looked insanely painful and sounded even worse. Then when the Box was done, it threw his depleted body straight down into the fissure. I instantly panicked and locked eyes with Katrina. She just smiled at me as tears started to run down her face. “No, no, no!” I shouted and I had only taken one step before she grabbed the box and slammed it straight down onto the rock below her. The bla
Chapter 18I grumbled to myself, noting that my tears were still fucking falling as I wrapped the Box in a small black cloth that was at my feet, before shoving it into the bag. I swung the bag over my shoulder, and just as I did the ground started to shake and rumble again. I scooped Katrina's body from the floor. The water had washed some of the blood out of her hair and it was now dripping down the front of me. I didn’t even care. I held her close as the cave groaned and the rocks moved underneath me. I noticed the fissure started to close. After a few moments, the tectonic activity ceased, and the fissure had closed completely. It looked as if it had never been there, and I couldn't help but notice the only thing left was a small scar looking blemish in the rocks. So lightly engraved that a naked eye wouldn’t even see it. The tears had stopped at this point and I was angry. So fucking angry. Angry at myself for letting her do this. Angry at her for doing this. Angry at Thayne fo
Chapter 49Ambrosia placed the six of us around the small altar style setup she had with the mushrooms and the lake water from her room, plus a few other tools. Once we were all exactly where she wanted us, she started speaking in that Archaic Fae language that no one but Azrael could understand. She kept chanting a series of sentences and she mixed the mushrooms she had previously crushed up, into the lakewater, and then drank some. She passed it to Raziel who was closest to her. He followed suit, and passed it to Raphael, who was next to him. We passed the jar until everyone of the six of us had ingested some. Then Ambrosia stood and turned her hand palm up, but this time she summoned the amulet instead of her Box. Once she had the amulet floating just above her hand she clasped both hands over it and started chanting something entirely different than what she started with. It was still in the Archaic Fae language, so I had no idea what she was saying, but the amulet in her hand w
Chapter 48(Rowen) I could hear everything Ambrosia was saying, and of course, I heard when she said that Azrael and I should speak to one another. As much as I despised that dirty Angel nowadays, I didn't always feel this way. Believe it or not, we were friends once. I had the feeling that if we never got past this it would be a miserable rest of our lives. Neither of us can die, and we were both clearly in love with the same woman. Ambrosia left the room with a snicker on her lips, and I figured it was now or never. "You know that this is going to be a long rest of our lives when none of us can die." I said, and I saw Azrael smile. "You don't have to worry. I do not plan to pursue Ambrosia. I know she belongs to you, and for the first time, I will respect that." He said. I was taken aback, I couldn't believe he said that. He definitely has grown in the last millennia. "I'm speechless. I didn't expect you to say that." I replied honestly. “I’m sure there is a lot you wouldn’t exp
Chapter 47When morning came, Rowen and I got ready for the day and ate breakfast, before he mind linked his brother's and Nico. I had to go to my realm to get Azrael, but that wouldn't take long. The meeting was set for noon, and everyone so far was down to come discuss the amulet. I had told Rowen to keep my idea and re-forming The Keepers a secret. I wanted to tell them all myself. We had discussed the ritual and the process in depth while we waited. I think it was more of me going through it out loud, than actually discussing it, but it helped at least. This was nerve wracking, and I couldn’t afford to mess things up. When it was finally close enough for me to go to my realm and get Azrael, I kissed Rowen goodbye. I knew I would see him again in a few minutes, but still. I would never get enough of this man. I called my Box forward and touched it, transporting me to my realm. This time though, it transported me to Hilda’s. It was night time and Azrael was on the couch watching a
Chapter 46(Ambrosia) I left my realm feeling powerful. Like I was in charge, but in essence I was. I was in control of an entire realm. The feeling of being Pandora never really set in, but after what Azrael did, it was starting too. It made me think about the way the creature of the night treated me while I was there. And I noticed that while I was there with Azrael, the creatures didn't bother us. It had to be because I am Pandora now, and there is a different level of respect and magic that comes with the title. I had never been anything my whole life, just a Human who’s family made a stupid mistake and caused my life to be a living hell until I was purchased by Rowen. I had never been a leader, never been in charge of anything before. And now I had my own realm, and an Archangel to help protect it. It made me wonder if we should build an army of sorts, train warriors to protect our realm. I realized also that we could send anyone to my realm to live there. It didn't have to be
Chapter 45(Azrael)I could see a spark of fear flash through Demitri’s eyes as I sauntered towards him in my full form. The last time I spoke with him was the day he did the ritual that split me in two. Andres and I then promptly killed him afterwards, but apparently, he didn’t die. I knew that he was the head of The Others. He wasn’t just a Vampire either, no… He was a Vampire/Witch Hybrid but it didn't end there. He was an enhanced Vampire/Witch Hybrid. He was more powerful than a regular Hybrid due to the enhancements, but he was still able to be killed. So, this had me wondering what exactly those enhancements did to enable him to have survived the brutal slaughter he endured at the hands of myself and my brother. I will tell you, we were not kind… And we definitely didn’t leave anything behind. His magic was powerful, I will give him that. “You, of all people, should know that I'm a little harder to kill than that…” Demitri said, with a sly smile. “I know this now, but you wil
Chapter 44I looked up at Azrael, noting that his chocolate brown hair was falling beautifully on his face, before speaking what was on my mind. “We have been looking for The Others for a while now. The whole reason any of this even happened was because Katrina fell in love with Rowen, and gave him the amulet for safekeeping. However, she didn’t tell him what it was, he just thought it was a necklace. Well, Rowens mate of 176 years was working with The Others the entire time they were together… Once he found out a few months ago, he killed her. That’s what started this whole thing. He put the amulet on me, not realizing it could transport me if I were in danger. The Others tried to capture me, causing the amulet to send me here for safe keeping. He’s been hunting The Others ever since. We have succeeded in killing one of them, and then ransacked a warehouse, eliminating a bigger crew… But we know they have numbers that we don’t even realize. It's exhausting, honestly.” I explained. A
Chapter 43"I want to merge my pack lands and your coven lands." She said, and then paused, giving me a second to comprehend her ask. "Merge them? As in make them one and the same, rather than divided?" I asked, mostly clarifying if that is indeed what she meant. She nodded. I knew she could hear my thoughts, my doubts at the alliance holding, my surprise that she would try to take on this big of a task. But I also knew she could feel my absolute pride in her for taking a step and trying to make changes that no one has ever done before her. "I know it has never been done. I know that every species has their own lands and they usually stick to their own kind, at least for the most part… But Beta Sean's twins are Hybrids. And they have to hide their abilities from everyone because of the old ways. The old rules are terrible but followed still, and no children should ever have to deal with that. If I was able to successfully merge the pack and your covens, can you imagine the strength w
Chapter 42(Raziel)“I miss you too, darling. We have been pouring over these files for hours and still have nothing. This was a waste of time, but we couldn’t leave any stone unturned. Get some rest, I will be home as soon as I can.” I purred to Rayne through the mind link, before returning to my stack of paperwork. I took both of my hands, rubbing them over my face and into my hair as I sat up straighter trying to assess the mound of papers in front of me. It had been hours and still, we had come up with nothing. The Others were as careful as they were clever when hiding shit. The only thing we found was proof that they were hireable hitmen. Besides that, these papers were nothing more than receipts and money laundering documentation. All illegal as hell, but nothing that could help us figure out their plans or locate the rest of them. Taking out one of their buildings was like crashing a car of someone who owns ten more. A small dent in their status and that was it. It was infuri
Chapter 41I wandered upstairs to my room to change. I was still wearing the funky 90s outfit that I had on from my closet back home. I knew Rowen was not that impressed with the style. He would rather have something modern on me, and rose gold, of course. I carefully removed each piece of clothing, hanging them back up in my closet together before picking out something else to wear instead. I grabbed a rose gold sundress and threw it on. I probably should have washed my other clothes before hanging them after everything I did while I was wearing them. But I decided it could wait. For now, it made me feel better to just see them hanging next to my other set that I was wearing when I came back here for the first time. It was like a small piece of home resided here, and it helped calm the nagging pull, if only just the slightest bit. My thoughts of Pandora’s Box, of my Box, flooded through my mind as I reminisced. I had just left, I hadn’t even been gone that long but, honestly, it fe