Chapter Twenty-Eight

If you had told me that I would be actively seeking a confrontation with Rowan two days ago, I would have laughed.

Today, I was annoyed.

Granted, the palace was a massive place and it was actually pretty easy to get lost in the endless hallways. Luckily, the personal touches made it easier to distinguish where I was. Usually the artwork was a good indicator. If I got near one of the kitchens, I'd start to see more food art or family photos of meals.

It was actually kind of fun to wander around and see what work belonged to who.

I definitely remembered passing a photo of Cain's homemade cinnamon rolls a couple times, though, so I definitely just did a whole circle.

I sighed, turning and heading for the garden where the others had gathered.

Rowan was hard to track down. I never bumped into him in the halls or any of the rooms. When I asked Yiuwa, he simply told me he wasn't comfortable sharing that information right now. He sincerely meant it and his apology, so I really couldn't be mad at him for protecting Rowan's privacy, but goddamn it, was it that hard to get an audience with him?

Just what the fuck did my bonk to the head do that made him insolate so hard?

Yiuwa had relayed my apology, but nothing aside from that. And I could tell it bothered him too.

I gave up for the day.

He apparently really didn't want to be bothered so all I could do was go along with his wishes.

For now.

I wasn't sure exactly what made me want to even try. The goal hadn't been to get close to anyone. Even Wren was supposed to have a boundary, but obviously that didn't go as planned and neither had anything else at this point.

Maybe it was seeing Elias with Theo.

Obviously I didn't want Rowan to force himself to make a relationship between us, nor did I expect him to spend family fun days with me.

But I liked the clear air between Elias and Theo. And I liked what I was seeing from Adonis so far.

He was clearly hesitant and I had to keep reminding myself he wasn't doing it with cruel intentions. I didn't know the details, but I had heard some stories here and there.

To say Adonis's upbringing was bleak was an understatement.

So it was understandable. Thankfully Theo was there to explain everything to Elias. Adonis wasn't always a fan of how honest Theo was, but I think it went a long way in helping Elias understand.

His behavior towards Adonis was changing quickly from fear to gentleness.

The same gentleness Theo displayed with him.

And that warmed my heart.

I didn't expect anything flowery like that with Rowan, but I at least wanted to extend an invitation to try talking.

And maybe a part of me was afraid, I realized looking back on my conversation with Hades about Rowan.

There was bitterness when he talked about Rowan. I didn't want to feel like that, thousands of years later, letting it damage my mental health in the process.

Forcing a relationship wouldn't work either, though. So until Rowan, I guess all I could do was let him know I was around.

Too bad he's never fucking around.

Luckily my agitation with it faded when I came outside to the sound of laughter bubbling over the foliage. I came around to the family seating area, which was a partially covered stone patio with a little cooking area that sizzled the smell of seasoned meat in the air.

Theo was sitting in the grass with Elias, their rock collection spread out between them as they went through and picked out specific ones. Sitting on a small stone halfway nearby was Adonis and Niki, sharing a beer and discussing the most recent tech releases.

The Cousins — Amenti, Daphne May, Floki, Keros, Holly, Lumen, Hadrian— were all spread out in nearby lawn chairs across from my family—

Ah. Well, I suppose at this point they were all my family, weren't they?

Three, Niko, Five, Six, Seven, and Kali sat across from them, laughing at some insane treasure hunting story Floki was sharing.

Raven, Deveraux, Akin, Alaric, Stanton, stood nearby in their own gossip circle that looked mostly like laughter and relentless teasing of Dev.

It was a little surreal and I came to a slow stop to absorb everything.

The very air around us felt light-hearted and friendly. I couldn't remember ever feeling such absolute calm in my life.

In my chest, Darling was only a soft content purring, like even he was loving all of the good vibes.

Was this what life was like outside the compound?

I mean, yeah, sure, we still had a huge fucking war looming over our shoulders, but to still find some moment of peace like this in the midst of such danger?

I suddenly felt like a massive weight was slipping off my shoulders as I breathed out a soft sigh.

"What's wrong?" I blinked and turned to see Wren at my side giving me a curious stare with those big brown eyes. I smiled faintly, reaching up to brush my knuckles by his cheek. His eyelids fluttered a little, lips parting in a soft inhale.

"Nothing yet," I replied, then leaned in to give him a kiss on the cheek as he blinked, then arched a brow at me.

"Why'd that sound so ominous?" He asked. I smiled.

"Let's just enjoy the afternoon," I answered, reaching up to take the bowl in his hands, but he immediately yanked it out of my grasp, making me scowl at his warning glare.

"Hades said no heavy lifting until you can use your arm properly," he warned. I grinned, raising my new arm to give him my middle finger, which made him roll his eyes.

"It's a bowl of potatoes, Wren, not Three's ego," I assured, making him laugh.

"I heard that," Three said as he came over to toss me a pair of tongs, which I caught perfectly with my new hand the moment the instinct hit me. Three smirked and Wren grimaced, then cut Three a glare that was met with an eye roll.

"It's a pair of tongs, dude."

"Okay, but stop throwing shit."

"Burgers need flipping?" I asked Three, who nodded eagerly, his argument with Wren forgotten at the prospect of food. Wren shook his head, but followed Three and I over to the grill.

"So this is a normal thing in the mortal realm?" I asked, turning the burgers as Wren supervised.

"Burgers are mostly an American thing," Wren replied, his arms folded over his chest, "But grilling meat outdoors is universal. Every culture does it. We're using my dad's stuff and he's a huge fan of American barbecues."

"What makes it American?" Three asked, picking up a bottle of thick dark sauce and giving it a curious sniff.

"High fructose corn syrup," Wren deadpanned, making Three scowl in confusion while I actually got the joke and laughed, "Ah, but also Americans really like to play with their barbecued foods. My dad is always trying to make his burgers special at the party."

"Are we talking about Stanton or Alaric?" I asked dryly. Three and Wren snorted in unison, so they sounded exactly the same and resulted in more laughter.

"Stanton," Wren assured as he sobered, "He lived in the United States for a long time. He really liked their atmosphere, so he still does a lot of what they do."

"Wait, Americans are from the United States? I thought they were just mortals from America," Three said with a scowl.

"Oh, I was just born there," Wren said immediately with his hand up as if to stop our curiosity, "I grew up in Hell. I don't remember anything from my time in the mortal realm, aside from the desert and I gotta say, Death Valley? Zero out of ten stars for me, thanks." Three burst out laughing and I grinned at him as he gave us a cheeky smile before pointing at the grill to indicate I pay attention.

"So, Hadrian mentioned you got scouted by an agent in Elysium," Wren said, looking up at Three, who immediately looked uncomfortable at the attention for some reason, "That's gotta feel good. Have you called him to set up a meeting?" Three averted his eyes.

"Uh, no, I think I'm gonna take some classes instead," he said. I looked up to stare at him, because I was wondering if I heard that right.

Three was not a good student. It wasn't necessarily for lack of trying, his mathematics scores were always in the top five, but he didn't have the patience for sitting in a classroom full of people. He didn't have the attention span.

"Oh? Hades said you guys didn't have to jump on that now," Wren said with a shrug, "Hera's still a threat and until we hear something from Heaven, we should consider them hostile right now too."

"What're a bunch of chickens gonna do?" Three asked dryly.

"I gotta remember that one," Niko said as he approached us. Wren shook his head as he gave Niko a plate and a bun. Niko scowled at it, clearly never having had a burger, or at least one like this.

"Angels are nothing to scoff at," Alaric said, taking Three's plate from him and Three just frowned as Alaric seemed to be fixing him a plate without even realizing he was doing it, "There's a reason Yhwhwa's been able to keep intruders out. Michael is more than just a pretty face."

"Ask Raven," Deveraux said, joining us at the grill to get a plate, "Michael and him got tangled up a couple times and one time nearly killed him." He thrust his thumb at his husband, Raven, who frowned.

"He didn't, though. That was the weird part."

"Are you saying he hesitated on purpose?" I asked. Raven glanced at me.

"No, but... I mean, I don't want to make any accusations that could get him in trouble," he admitted with an arched brow, his expression saying he wondered why he even cared, but he frowned after a moment, then shook his head, "I don't know. Angels that hesitate are dead angels. I don't think he'd risk it."

"Risk what?" Three asked. Raven frowned.

"Michael received direct orders from Yhwhwa to subdue me by any means necessary. Death would be his first instinct, but he stopped just short of it. It was never addressed so I figured he did what Yhwhwa wanted. Because Michael wouldn't ignore a direct order from Yhwhwa."

"How does Michael feel about being involved in this Mother shit?" Alaric asked dryly.

"He's been quiet," Stanton pointed out as he came over to take a beer out of the mini fridge, passing one back to Niki and Adonis, "I've seen him in the kitchen near the guest wing, but that's about it. And you know what a ray of sunshine he is in the morning."

"Uh, no, actually," Alaric said with an arched brow as Stanton grinned at him, "I don't usually wake up and see Michael first thing."

"Speaking of poor suckers, how's Xiphrus holding up being under the same roof as all his kids, Michael, and Hades?" Stanton asked, looking at me. I blinked, then glanced over where Kali was laughing with Amenti and Daphne May while they shared some beers.

"Uhh. I haven't really had a chance to track him down yet. I was kind of preoccupied with Rowan," I admitted, making Stanton blink and look at me, "Have you seen him lately?" Stanton sighed, looking annoyed as he draped an arm over Alaric's shoulders as he handed Three his plate.

"Probably hiding. He hides when he's overwhelmed so don't take it personally. Plus he's been kinda off since the whole thing with Ryk. I think it was a nasty wake up call he wasn't expecting."

"Wake up call?" I asked. Alaric rolled his eyes.

"Stanton, stop talking shit."

"What? It's not shit. He's been all over Hades since he had Ryk. That's backwards as fuck. Ryk's the impressive one. He got Hades's brains and Rowan's love for people, so he's actually nice. Hades likes living in his little dark corner."

"What makes you think he likes it?" I asked, amused that Stanton seemed to think he knew Hades pretty well. Rowan too.

"Why else would he do it? If he didn't like it, it seems like he'd be doing something about it aside from making everyone miserable over it."

"Stanton, come on," Alaric said, more sternly this time and added a thump to Stanton's chest. Stanton rolled his eyes.

"Nah, I'll back off when he quits torturing Ro. The guy can't even pick himself up and move on with Hades constantly cracking him in the ribs."

"Okay, then take it to Hades, not our family meal."

"I've had exactly two blunts and three beers. I'm no longer family friendly. I am Death."

"Your dad is weird," I said, turning to Three, who looked up from where he was moaning into a burger. I raised an eyebrow and he just shrugged and went back to almost making out with that meat and cheese combo. I looked at Wren, but he was just shaking his head.

"Don't encourage him," Wren said flatly, "He'll go on an ego trip."

"How can I have an ego when people keep popping my bubble?" Stanton asked incredulously.

"Isn't ego a food?" I heard Elias ask Theo nearby, which resulted in Theo laughing.

"Close, but that's an eggo," came Theo's delighted laugh.

"What's it got to do with bubbles?"

"Uh, I gotta be honest, kid, the guy is crossfaded as shit," Theo said, making Elias scowl in confusion, "Why don't we leave those guys to talk shit and go on a walk?"

"Okay!"

Luckily our group dispersed with Alaric taking Stanton away to sober up a little. I managed to finish a couple burgers before I noticed Wren refreshing some of the side dishes.

I was up and at his side in seconds to take some of the glassware so it didn't fall. He scowled, then paused when he realized it was me practically wrapped around him to hold the glass trays in his hands. He relaxed, a small smile gracing his lips.

We headed back into the palace through the patio doors that opened into a large, but cozy kitchen. Sitting nearby on a pile of crates was a black cat, licking her hind leg, pausing to watch us as we entered.

"That explains a lot," I said, staring at the cat that slowly narrowed its eyes, like it felt the incoming judgment, "No wonder Hades is fuckin' weird. He's a cat person." Wren rolled his eyes as he walked by the cat to give her a little pat on the head. She straightened on the crates, watching us with a tail that flipped back and forth.

"He's actually more of a dog person," Wren said as he went to refill the sides and I stood nearby, eyeing the cat that clearly didn't trust me either, "Stevie keeps the rats out is all." I raised an eyebrow as the cat slowly crouched down on the crates, never once looking away from me and I grimaced, because it sort of reminded me of the way a tiger looked at its next meal.

What gave a housecat the right to look so evil?

"Well, she's doing a terrible job," I said, turning to Wren, who was scowling at the counter, "She let Niko in." Wren snorted and laughed at that. I smirked, coming over and leading with my palm against his hip. I pulled myself up behind him so I could put my arms around his waist.

"You still grumpy he snitched on you for sneaking out?" Wren asked with an amused smile. I shrugged, dipping my head down so I could kiss the mating mark hiding under his ear. He breathed out a long sigh as I nibbled my way down his neck.

"Just a little."

"Mm."

"Hey."

"Hm?"

"It's been a minute since you've fed."

"Okay, but the kitchen is off limits," Wren said dryly, reaching back to grab a handful of my hair and giving it a warning tug. I smirked at that, leaving my hand to hesitate at the lip of his jeans. His breath hitched.

"Not the kitchen," he repeated. I smiled, stroking the sensitive skin just above his groin.

"I don't know if I can wait," I murmured, brushing my lips against that mark again and I could feel Darling salivating for more.

I wanted more.

Wren groaned. He pushed away from the counter, in turn pushing me back. I raised an eyebrow, then smirked as he took me by the hand and took me to a nearby powder room.

The lock clicked shut behind us before Wren spun around, pushing me back against the sink. I caught myself on the porcelain as he immediately started on my belt. My breath left me in a gasp as our lips met in a rough kiss.

I groaned as he undid my belt and let it drop, snapping the zipper down and reaching in front with one hand. His other hand slid up and down my back under my shirt. The movements were feverish, but not panicked.

We were hungry.

While it was nice to be surrounded by family, the desperation for some privacy was reaching a limit.

"Jasper, I want to taste you," Wren purred against my lips and I moaned at the thought. I wouldn't have imagined he'd suggest a blowjob, but I had a feeling right from the get-go that Wren liked a lot more than he let on.

He peered up at me with those warm brown eyes and all I could do was nod. He smiled, giving me a little peck on the lips before he began to kiss his way down my chest and stomach.

I watched, reaching back with my new arm to support myself on the sink as I sank my other hand into Wren's soft silky hair.

I clenched my teeth as Wren's mouth came around me a second later. I hissed, because it felt way better than I could have imagined. Warm, hot, wet, and he gave me a cute little moan that made my toes curl. His lips stretched wide to accommodate me, and every so often he'd pull back to shower me with wet kisses from tip to sac.

"Ahh, fuck, Wren," I moaned, tilting my head back. Wren peered up at me, his dark eyes hooded, his lips wet with me. He dragged his tongue along the underside of me as I felt the tingle of release coming to a peak.

Wren swept his hand that was at my back down, shoving my jeans down the rest of the way to the floor. He gripped my ass tight, inching his finger between my cheeks, and pausing for a moment, like he was waiting for permission to continue.

"Don't stop," I growled, leaning back against the sink and tilting my hips to give him better access. Wren's eyes glimmered before he closed them and obeyed the command.

He pressed a finger in and I hissed, glancing up at the ceiling for a second. I couldn't remember the last time I had anything go in there. Definitely had to be with Milo.

And judging from how easy his wet finger slipped in, he was using lube. Or so I thought, because there was a sudden hot intensity as he pressed his finger deeper inside.

I groaned, grabbing the sink to keep from falling to the floor. I came in such a sudden rush that I ended up buckling to the floor anyway. Wren helped me slide down to the floor.

"You taste so good," Wren moaned, sitting back on his knees as he swept my cum off his chin and fingers with his tongue.

"You're so cute," I muttered, watching him clean up my mess before staring at me through hooded eyes.

"Wanna go back to the room? I still have your collar," he added under his breath. I nodded frantically and we both scrambled to clean up the mess before ditching the party.

We started to head back with the sides and to let everyone know we were ducking out for the rest of the evening.

Only, the moment we came out onto the patio, a pulse of magic shot through the air. It was such a powerful rift that everyone on the patio went still and silent for a whole minute.

"Theo," Adonis said, turning to where Theo had returned with Elias, who had immediately gone to Theo's side to nervously look around. Theo snapped out of his frozen state to nod. He turned to Elias.

"Hey, let's head inside for a few. Sounds like Grandpa Hades has some unwanted guests," Theo said, making Elias blink and stare at him in bewilderment. I don't know what shocked him more, Theo's calm tone or the fact that he called Hades grandpa. I would've laughed if I didn't suddenly have a sinking feeling in my gut.

"Everyone inside," Alaric announced, making everyone grumble and complain, "We'll fight about it later. Asses inside or grilled alongside the burgers."

"Burgers or chicken?" Niko asked. Everyone stared at him and he stared back.

"What? I'm not dumb. I've felt angel energy before," he said, then stretched his arms up over his head before folding his hands behind his head, "Nah, Alaric is right. Let's head inside, gang. Time to meet the other half of our fucking problems." Alaric did not look pleased with that, but Raven was suddenly at his side and taking his arm, making his brother scowl at him.

"Don't, this involves them too," he said, making Alaric glare at him in dismay, "I'm not saying put them in danger... I'm saying we're going with them too. If anyone touches a hair on my daughter's head, I want to be there to bury them in the bowels of Gehenna." Alaric stared at him, then glanced over where Five was standing nearby with Kali, who smiled in relief at Raven's defense.

Five looked startled, looked at Kali, who gave her a little elbow in the arm. Five flushed.

"Mmm, yeah, nope," Niki said, setting his beer aside and cracking his knuckles as he led the way into the kitchen and through to the hallway, the rest of us just following, "I have to do my job, which would be to greet any and all guests to the property." Of course, nobody was going to let him go alone, so as a group, we headed to the source of the magic, which had been redirected to the main hall.

As we approached the main hall, though, and came around the corner, that sinking sensation in my stomach started to grow.

Inside, a large unfriendly group of winged angels were gathered together, and it looked like they were armed to the teeth, from staffs to enchanted bows. Their wings fluttered and flicked in response to the immediate tension our presence garnered. It was very much a clear statement of war and we all sort of stumbled to a stop, except Niki, who managed to put on his professional face without a lick of fear as he entered the room.

"Normally our guests knock at the front door, so forgive my lack of formal greeting," Niki greeted them. One of the angels in front stepped forward to address him. He was tall, lean, and handsome with massive wings, and he had a bunch of colorful looking ribbons tied around his throat, meaning he was an angel of higher standing.

"Niki, don't play right now," the angel said. Niki stared at him. It was wild to see Niki go from friendly and playful with the rest of us and suddenly go very cold facing this angel.

"Oh, I'm not playing, Gabriel. I don't find anything funny about a bunch of cockerels strutting their shit in my home," he replied. Niko gave a low, impressed whistle as he came over to stand near Niki. He looked at Gabriel, who stiffened at the sight of Niko. He looked like he was about to tell him off, but another angel came to stand beside Gabriel, glaring down his nose at us.

He was tall, abnormally tall, but he was built slender and lean with long dark hair that he had coiled up into a tight bun, save for a few loose strands framing a sharp, angular face. He was pretty, but in a sinister way. The same way a snake was, and it was a little odd for an angel to look so pretty, yet so goddamn evil.

"Gabriel, don't waste your time with petty conversation," he scolded, putting his hand in front of Gabriel, almost like he was pushing him back and Gabriel glared at him, moving to grab his hand, but the new angel switched to grab the front of Gabriel's jacket, "And don't waste my time arguing. This assignment is, and always has been, mine." Gabriel gritted his teeth, but said nothing as the angel turned to pin Niko with a stare and Niko looked back at him curiously, clearly not recognizing the guy.

"It has recently come to the attention of Heaven that one of you has committed a great sin," he started, then paused and chuckled a little, like he was embarrassed, "Ah, sorry, that doesn't narrow it down, does it? Rather, we're looking for someone who has specifically committed the sin of murdering an angel." Niko stared at him.

"Yeah? Cuz it's recently come to our attention that you motherfuckers have been murdering fucking babies for thousands of years," he stated. You could've heard a pin drop with the silence that followed. The angel stared at Niko for the longest time, then smiled faintly, clearly amused by Niko's rebuttal.

"Yes, and unfortunately, it looks like we missed a few," he replied with an emptiness that was unbefitting for an angel. Niko smirked, like it didn't surprise him.

"You're about to miss more than a few," he threw back. The angel gave an annoyed laugh.

"You really have to have the last word, don't you?"

"Maybe if you'd shut the fuck up, we wouldn't have to talk at all," Niko offered.

"How about you send forward the angel killer and we'll consider not killing the rest of you slowly and painfully?" The angel returned and Niko made a gesture with his hands that meant he was fed up with the guy.

"Watch it," Stanton said, coming forward as the angel paused to stare at him, "Yhwhwa and I have a deal, and that includes keeping his paws off my family."

"Perhaps your family should have thought about that before they betrayed our Lord," the angel answered snidely, "Now, must we start blasting away at all of you one by one until there's no one left?" Stanton narrowed his eyes and I watched a black orb of magic start to form in his palm, meaning he was done talking. The angel reacted immediately, sending out a blast of magic to hit him, but it broke into shattered pieces on the floor before turning to dust and blowing away.

"Don't touch me," Stanton sneered and flung the orb out at the angel, who flung his arm up and a blue glittery shield flew up and caught the blast, but just barely. It left a nasty scorch mark, both on the shield, and as it dropped, it had burned away a bit of the angel's sleeve. He shook his sleeve out as Stanton glared at him.

"That was a warning shot," Stanton added darkly, "Try that again and next time you'll get a lot more than a wardrobe malfunction." The angel narrowed his eyes and looked back at Stanton.

"Enough," someone said and we turned to see Michael coming through the gathered group with Xiphrus and Hades. I was a little caught off guard seeing them all together, considering these were Michael's people. Hades didn't look at all pleased to have them in his home, judging from the way his jaw ticced. Xiphrus also seemed prickled, gone with the friendliness he'd revealed to Kali a few days ago and now I could see exactly why the legends about him were whispered in fear.

"Michael," the angel greeted, "I didn't realize you had already arrived ahead of us." The way he said it made it sound like Michael was in on the heist, but one look at Michael revealed that was not the case. Hades and Xiphrus tensed a little, but not in mistrust. They looked at Michael, but he didn't react to the comment.

"Jeremiel, you do realize that trespassing on enemy grounds with weapons drawn, launching attacks at allies, is a call for war," Michael said with a calm the rest of us didn't feel. Jeremiel stared at him.

"But, of course," he said, making Michael narrow his eyes, "Don't tell me you're here genuinely enjoying your time with these pagans," when Michael didn't answer after that long pause, Jeremiel's smile began to fade until he was giving Michael a cold stare, "I knew letting that demon into our midst was a bad idea." He flicked his eyes at Xiphrus, who clenched his teeth, but didn't say anything.

"Father sent you here," Michael said after a moment and Jeremiel looked back at him, "This has nothing to do with Bethany dying. You honestly expect me to believe that Father would avenge the death of a traitor? By sending you here, he's showing me exactly what he wants out of this visit."

Jeremiel gave him a cold stare.

"Antichrists are not allowed to survive to adulthood, Michael," he said emptily, "You know that more than anyone." Without warning, he launched another attack, this time aiming right for Michael, who didn't even have to move. Xiphrus deflected the attack back at the angels, but this time they caught it as a group and sent it up into the ceiling. Rocks and bits of wood exploded from the ceiling and rained down on us, but nobody made a move afterwards.

"Things change," Michael answered through clenched teeth.

Jeremiel scoffed.

"Monsters don't, Michael," he said with a chuckle, "You've seen the damage an antichrist can do. You've seen the damage that their Beasts can do." I blinked at that. A strange tugging sensation in the back of my mind. It was like something he said was familiar, but I wasn't sure how until I realized what he said.

Their Beasts?

"I've also seen that prophecies can turn out differently," Michael responded tightly, "They don't have to be our enemy. Not anymore." Jeremiel stared at him. He blinked a few times, then looked at Gabriel, who was staring at Michael as well. Michael still managed to keep his chin up, his expression one of haughty disdain for them, despite the judgmental stares.

"How incredibly disappointing," Jeremiel murmured, "Michael. Of all people. Our strongest warrior. Charmed by a demon, charmed by an antichrist. I would have never expected this. Father is going to find your betrayal to be too much, Michael." Michael's eyes darkened.

"How dare you question my loyalty when you stand here with weapons in your hands."

"Consider those your final words as the former Commander of His Lord's Heavenly army," Jeremiel said with a nod and Gabriel stared at him, his eyes wide, like he couldn't believe what he was hearing. He snapped his head back around to stare at Michael anxiously.

"Michael, don't do this," he said, making Michael glance at him, "Just come back. Xiphrus still has a chance to work things out with Father, but don't do this—"

"You expect me to believe that Father will let me return with Xiphrus now?" Michael asked. Gabriel swallowed thickly, couldn't answer. He just stepped back and Michael's expression softened for a moment. He wasn't mad at Gabriel, didn't hate him, but when his eyes went back to Jeremiel, they sharpened.

"I'm going to ask you one more time," Michael said, taking a step forward and several of the angels lifted their weapons and conjured their magic in preparation for an attack. In response, Xiphrus bared his fangs and his eyes flashed red. In my chest, I felt Darling snarl and rise up from whatever nap he was taking. My stomach even growled for a second. Beside me, I watched Seven tremble a little, his eyes flashing red and his fangs elongating. His Beast was responding to ours, responding to the threat.

My eyes swung around to Kali, who was standing on my other side. Her eyes were flashing back and forth between red and blue. She reached up to press her hands against her temples, but I reached up and took her hand away. She looked at me nervously.

"Let her get pissed," I muttered, feeling my fangs start to drop. Kali stared at me, surprised, then groaned a little and flexed her fingers, her claws starting to push through her nail beds. I glanced over where Michael was keeping a close eye on Jeremiel, but I knew he was watching Xiphrus and Kali in his peripheral.

"Get the fuck out," Michael ordered.

Jeremiel glared at him.

"Fuck," he cursed abruptly, dropping his pretty frou-frou angel act, he actually stomped his foot for a moment before looking at Michael with a smirk, "It's always the pretty ones." He thrust his hand out and sent an attack swirling at Michael again, but this time, Xiphrus grabbed that thing and fucking bounced it like a basketball before whipping it around at one of the angels, who barely managed to dodge it. That had another angel coming after us from the side, but I moved fast and darted out to grab the angel up under the arms before he could react.

I swung him around and slammed him into the floor, throwing my claws back over my head to gain momentum before dragging them forward. The angel shrieked as I sliced through his uniform and through his chest, blood spraying like a fountain. I could hear more commotion starting around me as I cursed, watching my vision fill with red until I couldn't see the different faces or hear the different voices around me.

For a moment, I was frozen in panic.

Darling was salivating. He wanted to rip into the guy at our feet, pluck everyone bone out of his body and lick it clean before crunching down on it like a fucking french fry. The bloodlust was so abrupt that it almost brought me to my knees.

A second later, I felt someone's hands on my face, tilting my face up and I groaned, blinking through the red, but I couldn't make out who's face was in mine. I was mostly shocked that anyone would dare to grab my face when it was like this. I could feel that all my teeth had plopped out and been replaced with the jagged rows of fucking shark teeth that were Darling's signature tool.

But, strangely, through the haze, I could hear... Milo's voice...?

"Baby, look at me, come on. Look at me." I looked up again and I swore I was looking at Milo, swore I was hearing his voice. I wanted to speak, but Darling had no concept of language. All we could do was growl and click. That was enough for Milo, because he cooed as if he loved what Darling had to say. He stroked my cheeks.

"Darling, baby, Jasper's in trouble. Be gentle with him. You can be kind of scary sometimes," he murmured, then smiled, "Baby, this is it. This is where things start changing. Don't let them put it aside. Don't let them ignore it. Don't let them ignore us. Don't let them ignore the thousands of us who never made it to where we are. Don't let them do this to our future babies." I blinked, feeling tears welling up in my eyes as I breathlessly tried to gain control of my body to respond, but Darling was just sitting there on his knees, letting Milo hold him as the blur of fighting faded into the background.

"Show them what happens when you fuck with us," Milo whispered, then leaned forward and pressed his lips to my forehead before he smiled faintly, "Darling. Feed."

I sucked in a sharp breath as the bloodlust surged inside me and I lunged to my feet, moving for an angel that was lunging at Milo from behind. I caught him around the waist and threw him down, kicking down into his jaw and snapping his head up. He went to blast me off, but I spun out of the way in time to swing my leg around, kicking around angel in the gut and sending him flying back to get fucking mutilated.

It took me a moment to realize the Beast that had caught that particular angel was Seven. He slammed that angel into the wall hard, grabbing him by the head and stuffing his face right through the drywall and between the studs. An angel came at him from behind with the intention to flip him over into the fireplace, but he didn't get a chance when Xiphrus's Beast was there to grab him up and literally rip him in half.

Blood splattered to the floor, spraying everywhere as Xiphrus swung around to face Jeremiel, who was taking a few surprised steps back, like he hadn't been expecting that level of carnage right off the bat, and so raw too.

In fact, as I stood up to face Jeremiel, I realized the other Beasts in the room were doing the same, all of us growling and ready for the fucker to make one wrong move. He stared at us, stared at Michael, who didn't break his gaze from him for a second.

"How are you controlling them," Jeremiel demanded immediately. Michael stared at him.

"You don't control Beasts."

"Then what the fuck—"

"You tame them," Michael stated, holding his hand out to Xiphrus, who immediately came to his side to take it, holding it to his cheek with a sigh, "Unfortunately, we never bothered to do that because the only species capable of training them were the antichrists." Jeremiel's eyes widened and he looked at Michael, who shook his head slowly, then gestured to where Wren and Niko were standing side-by-side, facing Jeremiel.

"Yeah, hi, remember us, buddy?" Niko asked. Jeremiel looked at Wren, who smiled slowly. Except it wasn't Wren's smile. I recognized that tinge of lunacy that belonged solely to my Milo.

"Did you think I was just going to kill Bethany and call it good," Milo asked, making Jeremiel stiffen, "Did you think Bethany was my endgame? Of course you did. Pin the blame on the dumb needy bitch and try to slip away. You angels are so good at that."

"No," Jeremiel said immediately, looking at Michael, "No, you cannot allow them to live, Michael, this is insanity— they are called antichrists for a reason—"

"Did you think we came up with that cheesy fucking name," Niko asked, making Jeremiel glare at him, "Your dad is the one who called us antichrists, not history, bitch."

"Nephilim," Hades spoke up, standing beside Michael and wiping away a smudge of blood on his cheek, "Otherwise known as antichrists, or more appropriately referred to as Atisalum. They are only created when a god and an angel have a child together. They become a whole new species altogether. They were originally created with the intention to soothe the Beast curse. They were created for the sole purpose of taming Beasts, and Beasts became completely indebted to them. The problem is those angels were technically fallen angels, so when Yhwhwa found out they were shacking up with gods, he realized he had to stop them from creating this new species. What better way to do that then to tell everyone there's an evil antichrist set on destroying Heaven, so we gotta kill them all as babies?"

"Hold up, is that why Hera has a fucking hard-on for Beasts and antichrists?" Three demanded, looking at Niko, who smirked at his wording.

"Hera found out through fiddling with Beast DNA that the Atisalum existed and it made her realize that their combined forces make them one of the most powerful forces in existence. If she could get her hands on the perfect Beast and the perfect Atisalum, she'd have, what she felt in her eyes, was the most perfect child."

"So, what, she played Russian Roulette with our genetics?" Five managed, touching her shoulders anxiously.

"What about those of us who didn't survive? What about those of us who didn't get the superhero powers?" Three demanded.

"Failures in her experimentation," Kali muttered, making him glance at her as she glared at the floor, "Anyone who didn't display Beast traits or anti— ah, Atisalum traits, were cast aside to use as foot soldiers in her war against Hades."

"Cannon fodder," Niko offered, despite a scowl from Wren, or Milo, or whoever the fuck was standing there now because I was confused and Darling was getting restless.

"He's going to see this as betrayal," Jeremiel said, turning to Michael again.

"If he wants to discuss it, then we can discuss it at the next United Pantheons meeting," Michael replied, making Jeremiel tense, "Because I think this problem is going to involve more than just us." Jeremiel didn't stick around, much to Darling's displeasure. And Milo's. Because he frowned as Jeremiel vanished to deliver Michael's message.

With the immediate danger subsiding, I suddenly felt strangely drained. It was like all of my energy was sapped and I was sinking toward the floor.

"Milo?" I mumbled, feeling my teeth falling out as Darling decided to retreat under the weight of exhaustion. Wren blinked and dropped his arms, running over to me now and dropping in front of me to cup my face when I started to slump to the floor.

"Jasper? Are you okay?" He murmured.

"Did I eat anybody?"

"No... Ah, not entirely."

"My tummy hurts."

"I know," Wren said softly, then pulled me against his shoulder and patted me on the back, "Just go to sleep for now. I'll deal with everything else."

"Mkay, but—"

"Go to sleep, darling."