Four months.

Four months until I turn eighteen.

The mere thought of how little time I have until then puts a lump in my throat. It's always in the back of my mind, lingering, waiting for a chance to riddle my thoughts with questions I don't have the answers to.

What if I die? What if I live? What if I lose my soul? What will happen to Gabriel if don't make it?

It may be for the best if I don't make it. I'd just be gone. No more running and hiding. The angels would no longer be able to spread lies about the abomination that a nephilim created.

Living through my birthday and gaining my full power could mean I lose my soul, my humanity. At just the snap of my fingers, I would be capable of wiping out the entire human race and not feeling a smidge of guilt. At that point, the angels lies would become true. I could truly be the end of the world if I lose my soul. I would have to be killed. I would have to die at the hand of the person I'm closest to, since he's the only one strong enough to do it. But I know him too well, Gabriel would fight for me until the end of time if he had too. How could I ever convince him that he needs to kill me?

It seems that now there are more pro's to dying then there are to living.

I let out a long sigh and tighten my right hand around the steering wheel. The windows are cracked open only slightly, just enough for a soft cool breeze to blow a few stray strands of hair away from my face. The low hum of the engine fills the silence as I enter my seventh straight hour of driving. I don't mind, It gives me time to myself, time to think.

I revel in beautiful moments like this; moments where it's just me and my thoughts.

A gust of air blows through the car, originating from my right. I don't need to look to know what it came from, which made me quickly realize that my time alone has ended.

In my peripherals, I can see that suddenly the passenger seat is no longer empty, but now occupied by a familiar person. I remain unaffected by his presence as he runs a hand through his ear-length blonde hair and huffs out a breath.

Gabriel's bright blue eyes flicker from the road, to me.

"Teleporting would have been much faster," he comments after a moment of silence.

He already knows why I prefer driving. In fact, it's a conversation we've had far too many times, but I understand why he's against it. He doesn't like it when I spent too much time dwelling on my thoughts.

"You know I would rather drive," I respond curtly, not wanting to talk about it again.

I can feel the worry radiating off of him like an aura, making the air in the car feel heavy. I'm worried too. With my birthday getting closer and closer we seem to drift further apart, constantly getting lost in our sullen thoughts.

Gabriel is all that I have left, the only person in this godforsaken world that I love and trust. I doubt that I've ever directly told him that, but he knows. He's always been there for me, not just as a father figure, but as a mentor and a best friend.

"She would have loved to come back here again. To see you here," he says suddenly. His voice is heavy with emotion as he looks fondly at the road ahead of us. "I'll never understand what it was about this one place that she enjoyed so much."

My chest tightens as memories of her flash through my head. It's been years since I've last seen even a picture of my mother, but her face is etched into my mind. Her hair was slightly lighter than mine but just as straight and long. My eyes are almost identical to hers; fiery pools of amber. From a distance, they look like any other light brown eyes but up close they're like another world, made with the color of amaretto and light earthy tones. Mine often hold anger and can appear much more sinister than hers ever did. She was gentle and compassionate, yet strong and always held her ground. I'm sure she's the reason I grew up to be so stubborn.

"It's peaceful," I say softly.

I look at him for a moment, recognizing the pain in his eyes and the small sad smile on his face.

I clear my throat and shift in my seat, indicating a topic change. "What happened in London? Are they still looking for me over there?" I ask, my voice hardening.

He nods. "They're determined, I'll give them that."

"They're idiots," I say with a scoff. "It'll take them a while to find me again."

"We should still be careful, just in case. There were dozens of angels looking this time," he warns. "I know you hate running from them but-" he starts to say.

I cut him off, "No, it's fine. I understand."

If I fought against the angels I could potentially start a war with all of heaven. It would only end bloody and in heartache, solidifying their ideas that i'm nothing more than a cold hearted killer.

"We've still got at least an hour until we reach the cabin, if it really is as far from town as you say it is." My voice cuts through the growing silence.

"Trust me, it's far. At a higher elevation too," he says, chuckling lightly. "You'll like it."

The car stays comfortably silent as we get closer to Aacanon. It's a small town with an even smaller population. Completely surrounded by a dense forest in the middle of nowhere, most people don't even know it exists. This is where I will spend possibly my last few months. I've waited to come here until I was sure I could really enjoy it. I find it ironic that even after years of traveling over the whole world, a small secluded cabin in the middle of the woods will, without a doubt, be my favorite place. Of course that's mostly because of her. She didn't get to spend nearly enough time here, but she loved it nonetheless.

My brows pull together and my nostrils flare as a faint scent suddenly makes its way into the car, hidden in the breeze. Its hardly noticeable, but it smells of spices and musk, which is slightly different than the usual earthy aroma.

A shift in the air makes me tense immediately. There's something powerful here. Sitting straighter, I roll the windows the rest of the way up.

"You feel that?" I ask quietly, my eyes rapidly searching the dense, dark forest covering both sides of the road while the car moves steadily.

"Yeah, something's here," Gabriel says slowly as his face scrunches up in confusion.

My ears perk up at the sound of loud booming thuds, coming from deep in the forest on either side of the road that are strong enough to make the ground shake. My mind races as I try to think of an explanation, but the only thing that comes to mind are angels.

"There's no way they found us already," I mutter under my breath, more to myself than Gabriel.

Gabriel shakes his head in bewilderment as I ease my foot off the gas and let the car slow down. It's clear something is running straight for us and at this rate, it won't take them very long. It draws closer to the road and I stop the car to wait fearlessly. My power burns under my skin and grows around me, preparing for a fight. When the thuds near the road, not too far in front of us, they slow to a stop and I wait with anticipation. Listening closely i'm able to pick up a few rapid, strong heartbeats in the edge of the woods.

Slowly, a massive jet black wolf emerges from the left side with its head low, ears flat, and its lips lifted into a snarl, displaying large canines. Standing as tall as a horse, it's unnaturally big with paws significantly larger than my own hands and long, sharp claws that could rip just about anything to shreds. Dark blue eyes are glaring menacingly at our car. Power radiates off of it in waves, different than anything I've felt before. It's authoritative and demands your respect.

A wolf with blonde fur and yellow eyes strides out of the forest, following behind the first one. There is a certain air of femininity surrounding it that the black wolf lacks. I watch silently, a little stunned but mostly curious, as another wolf walks out, this time from the right side. It's smaller than the others, with light gray fur, but it displays the same amount of aggression.

None of them are quite as big as the thick black wolf and its obvious he is their leader as they stand behind him. My eyes analyze each one of them as they come to a stop, emitting low vicious growls.