Wrath

I give up the moment I sense her leave this plane, and I finally let her go. I don’t deserve her. Gods know I blew every chance I had trying to own her instead of earning her. It doesn’t matter that I see that now, it’s too late.
The brothers have delivered my orb, though it’s useless now. I barely noticed their presence, pushing off their concern with threats I couldn’t even carry out in my state. Oison sensed the darkness inside me the moment his hand grasped my shoulder. I sent them on their way with a look of warning.
I’ve taken up drinking like it’s a sport. I’m presently on my back. The cold floor makes me feel as dead outside as I do inside. My body feels like it’s melting into the concrete, and I close my eyes, enjoying the numbness. When I open them back up, Rosa appears before me.
Even in my imagination she’s a goddess, so much natural beauty in a tight, scrumptious package.
“What the fuck are you doing?”
I laugh deliriously. This is too good. My subconscious has gotten every detail precise, including her attitude.
“So this is what kings do when they don’t get what they want? Lay down and slowly drink themselves to death… if you're expecting me to care, I don’t! I watched my mother waste away don’t think for one second I’ll squander my feelings on you!”
Wait a second, I don’t know about her mother… could it be that she’s really here?
“Your not a figment of my imagination?”
She rolls her eyes.
“As much as I wish I was, I’m not! And I need your help. So get your ass up and sober, fast! I’ll meet you in the kitchen.”
I don’t even care why she’s back, just that she is. Whatever she needs, I’m willing to give. Actually, I find this dominant side very sexy and I hope she keeps it.
I splash some water on my face and look in the mirror. I’ve seen better days. Though I don’t age, signs of wear line my face and glassy eyes stare back at me. I tie my hair back and realize my stubble has about two weeks’ growth and counting. As much as I’d like to freshen up, I have a feeling she wouldn’t appreciate me taking the time for it. What she came here for is important. The fact she’s back is proof enough. When I enter the kitchen, she’s standing over the sink eating bread Bertie insists on dropping off daily.
“Why did you come back?”
She jumps, juggling the bread in her hand; I apologize for startling her. When she straightens, shaking her head, I don’t know what to expect but what I hear floors me.
“How did you even know I was gone?”
Did she really think I wouldn’t notice?
“Wow, I’m not that heartless, the help is gone. I wouldn’t go that long without tending your needs.”
Something isn’t right. The way she’s looking at me has me stupefied.
“That long? It hasn’t even been a full twenty-four hours.”
Oh, no! What’s going on here?
“What method did you used to get here?”
I hope she says portals because if she doesn’t something very, very bad is happening. There’s only two things that can cause transport time shifts and one is the traveler using multiple portals and the second is unspeakable.
“I materialized! I can do that now.”
Fuck! Whatever her problems are, it’s going to be peanuts compared to this. I notice my thoughts are mine again. I feel fear, worry, pain, all of it. He took it away? The darkness is gone, completely.
“Aren’t you impressed? ”
They both speak at once and for a spit second I think I’m hallucinating, that I’ve finally lost it. Until I hear Rosa’s confused voice.
“Everest? But I watched you… die!”
She grips the counter as I stand between them, facing the devil himself. So my suspicions were right. This is one of the times I wish I was wrong, but it’s the only thing that makes sense. If an angel and devil occupy the same plane at the same time, that plane malfunctions in dangerous ways. They were never meant to be that close. Complete opposites don’t mix without catastrophe. Angels are workers permitted anywhere but the underworld. Lucifer is permitted nowhere. Unless… I wonder who would make a pact with the devil to permit him access on earth. He chuckles and begins to morph, changing forms to an older Latina woman. Rosa makes a mewling sound of pain behind me. I want to turn so badly but I don’t dare take my eyes from him, her, it.
“You can call me mommy dearest but my true name is Lucifer… I can take the face of anyone… who is dead.”
Her mewling turns to a full out cry of shock. I stay strong and watch his every moment. When Lucifer morphs again, it’s into a young boy, no older than nine. A slight glimpse of his authentic form is visible between the shifts. The innocent face he wears now doesn’t fool me. I know the danger that lurks beneath.
“What do you want?”
The little boy smiles and points to Rosa. I stiffen, taking a step forward.
“It’s not what I want, she needs me.”
I turn toward Rosa, who’s weeping but throwing daggers Lucifer’s way with very cold eyes.
“Your working with that creep, aren’t you? I want my friends back!”
I have no idea what she means. Then it dawns on me. Her friends, my friends, are in trouble, that’s why she’s here. I shove the disappointment deep down and focus on the immediate problem.
“I may be persuaded to help you, if we can strike a deal.”
I panic but keep my attention on the face of the little boy.
“Don’t do it, Rosa! He’s a master manipulator.”
That innocent face turns to me. His eyes bore into mine and he’s Everest again.
“Did I not follow through on my promise to you? As an added bonus, I purged the darkness that aided you, isn’t that exactly what you wanted?”
I smirk because I see the reasoning behind it.
“You only rook it back because you need every bit of power you can get. Otherwise, you would have used my body as a window into this world and any other I travel to. Including earth.”
He smiles, and it’s all teeth.
“Touché Wrath, you're smarter than you look, except… do you really think you can protect her? If I wanted, I could snap her neck before you could blink.”
Anger has my blood surging, black veins spread across my skin as my body readies to fight.
“Look at you all puffed up, like an alley cat!”
He moves toward Rosa, and I launch, coming up short. He freezes me in place. Try as I may, I can’t move. His power is unimaginably strong. I sweat and shake, trying to fight it. When I hear Rosa gasp, my pulse races with worry and all my regrets surface, doubling.
“Such a pretty thing you are. You want your friends, but what are you willing to sacrifice for them?”
I’ve never felt so helpless in all my existence. My hate for Lucifer runs deep. Rosa is quiet and I hold my breath, hoping she won’t make any deals.
“Wrath has made a promise he has yet to fulfill. Maybe you could fill two favours for one in return. Then Wrath would be in debt to you.”
My heart seizes on that sentence. I manage to flinch, and Lucifer chuckles.
“Oh, I think Wrath likes that very much.”
He’s fucking dead. I’ll kill him just for the suggestion alone.
“What do you want?”
No! Gods no! I push the words; don’t please, hoping there’s still some kind of connection between us. Even without the cuff, I still sense her.
“Its nothing really. I’ll grant you permission to enter my personally protected dimension and give you a real shot at getting your friends for one simple promise… your hand in marriage.”
I hear her laugh and I hope to gods that’s her way of saying yeah right.
“That’s it?”
Fuck no! please no! He’s tricking her. She doesn’t know she can’t leave, that she’ll be bound to his plane forever.
“Fine, I will marry you after I get my friends back and safe.”
A tear slips from my eye, and I stop fighting his power. It’s too late, I’ve lost.
“Very well, I will give you a little nudge to complete the task.”
I hear her gasp again, but this time it’s breathy, her angry growl I recognize follows and I can only imagine what his nudge consists of. Another tear slips and I collapse to the floor. I can sense he’s gone. I don’t even bother getting up; I sit on my knees with my back to her. Both our lives are over. I’m just the only one that realizes it.
“Get up!”
I don’t listen. My eyes clench tight and I pull an unsteady breath in and out.
“I need your help.”
I scoff at that; Ive always been useless, still am, and I can’t change what’s been done. It’s too late.
“please”,
Her vulnerable voice penetrates my self loathing, and I bring myself to face her. She needs to know.
“You have no idea what you agreed to… you will be bound to him. You will never be able to leave. Stuck in a lifeless plane where death is the better option.”
My pain and regret are living things. They coil around me like snakes, sucking the very air from my lungs.
“its worth it, to me.”
Her words are just above a whisper. She says it’s worth it, but I can hear her statement is unsure. The information has shocked her. It must have.
“You don’t mean that.”
Rosa looks up from her feet. Her determination is palpable.
“I do! They’re more of a family than mine ever were. I owe it to them… I wasn’t even there when they were captured, thanks to you. They’re the only people, species, whatever that has truly believed in me. Cared for me.”
Her words cut like a knife and a scream of anger rips from my throat. I make my way to her, tossing the chairs against the wall behind me as wood splatters in the air. I stop when my nose touches hers; she gulps but stands her ground. Gods, she’s maddening. Completely and utterly sexy, unattainably so.
“I care about you! Have cared about you. Before I even saw you, I wanted to protect you, cherished you… For fucksakes woman. I love you!”
I’m hollering now and my eyes feel wet. Hers are too, as anger and pain paint her expression.
“I love you so much it hurts. I want you more than I’ve ever wanted anything in my life and I don’t care that-”
She grasps my face and pushes her lips to mine, cutting my words off. I groan into her mouth, indulging myself in the passionate kiss. She pours her anger, sadness, and fear into me and I take it all, whatever she’ll give me. I hide my disappointment when she breaks away, only to be surprised when she rips her sweater off. My eyes widen further as her icy hands find their way under my shirt. I shrug the material off and grasp her hair to tilt her head back. She slowly opens her eyes. The need in them has me ready so fast my zipper cuts in to my sudden erection. I press my lips to hers, biting and sucking. When she grinds her wet heat over me, I drop down to her breasts and suck them through the thin fabric. She shutters in my arms. So responsive, I damn near come in my pants like an unskilled virgin. She does things to me that makes me question if I was ever happy, if I ever felt pleasure. Just from a simple kiss. Placing her on the counter, I remove her skin-tight jeans and look her over. The baby blue lace is innocent but alluring all the same, much like her.
“Please.”
I look up to see her panting as she bites her bottom lip. The image of her begging for my touch in such sweet anticipation has me releasing a band of semen In response. She watches as I reveal my thick length, her eyes following the bob as my heavy sac settles.
“Don’t worry, love, nothing could stop me from pleasuring you. I’ve dreamt of this moment so many times, taken you so many ways.”
Slipping my thumb behind the pretty lace, I’m rewarded with a hot wetness that makes my cock jump. Her eyes fixate on the pulsing shaft as she licks her lips. It near undoes me and another bead slips over the engorged head. I pick her up. She’s light in my arms, her muscles taught. I slowly slip her down my shaft, feeding it to her inch by agonizing inch. When I’ve sunken to the hilt, she wraps her legs around my waist and begins to ride me. My eyes open in delighted surprise. Her nails dig into my shoulders and I grip her plump cheeks in my hands, spreading them as I lift and grind her onto me, bucking my groin into her tight heat. Rosa’s screams of pleasure fill my head, making me dizzy with possession. I palm her, leaving marks no doubt, but it only seems to drive her desires. I’m taken back by her strength and beauty as pleasure courses through me. I can’t look away from her exhilarated expression. Her delicate breasts are exposed, the slight sway from my persistent thrusts making my mouth water with the desire to taste the hardened peaks. When I do, she grasps my hair, pulling me closer. Her nails scrape across my scalp and I nip her. Her wet core grips me in reward. I move my mouth to her other breast and repeat the action. She tightens around me and I have to push harder, faster, to get through. I can feel she’s close. Slipping my hand between us, I pinch her clit roughly, massaging it between my fingers. She screams, seizing. Still her muscles lock. I drop with the force of my release, crashing down on her. My groin pins her to the floor in a steady pump of my hips. I watch as her head thrashes and her hands clasp my hips. We’re both panting with the heady release we’ve shared, but the elation is short lived as reality comes crashing down. Our time together will be temporary…
A bitter anger clouds my victory. I’ve finally won her, but she’s not free anymore. As I prepare to fight for her friends, I also prepare to part from her. Forever!