“No, they didn’t exist,” Lanier corrected, sitting back in the love seat, his hands steepled over his chest. “But they do now. Two of them.”
I sucked in a breath and blew it out as his statement sank in. Would they need to feed from Humans then? How bad was it? How did this happen?
I suddenly understood Annalise’s attitude and why she wanted me to check on Lanier before checking on her. She thought this was all her fault and figured that he was mad at her for changing him into something he didn’t want to be. But none of us knew how it happened; it might not have been her.
“Do we think this is Annalise’s fault? She told me to come check on you, as if she didn’t need checking on as well.” I narrowed my eyes on him. “As if she blamed herself.”
Lanier’s head snapped in my direction before he stood up. “Yes, it’s her fucking fault! Whose fault would it be, Cabe, if not hers?”
I stepped forward, getting in his face, with warning written all over my tone. “Calm the fuck down.”
“Cabriel, get out of my way,” he said through clenched teeth, his skin tone changing again before my eyes.
“No,” Quint added from his place in the corner of the couch. “We don’t know jack shit. You can’t go in there and make things worse.” He hadn’t moved, just continued staring at his hands as if he was out of place.
His energy felt different ever since Lanier and Anna left hours ago, like he was feeling left out or didn’t know what to do without the two of them in the same room. Even though he kept me from going after her, I could see that he was holding himself back too. If I had gone, he would have followed.
“What do you two propose we do then?” Lanier shouted. I prayed it didn’t wake Annalise. She didn’t need to hear us argue like this—especially when it was about her. It may have been two against one, but the one we were up against didn’t have a losing track record.
“I will talk to her when she wakes up,” I stated, trying to diffuse the situation. “She needs to know my history with her, and then I will try and get some information about how she’s feeling. We don’t know what this is. It doesn’t even make sense that she’s at fault here, she can’t possibly be that good of an actress. A week ago she didn’t even know that she was Nephilim. I need to talk to her; I know how to get through to her.” At least, I hoped I did. It was a solid plan in my head, but Quint then jumped up from the couch, unwavering decision in his eyes.
“No, I go in first. I talked to her the night I dropped off the invitation to Hellhound. I was cloaked, of course. She had no idea it was me, but she still talked—answered my questions. If I do it again, she might be more comfortable.”
My blood simmered beneath my skin. He spent actual time with her that night? She knew he was there? He had to be fucking joking. “You did what? You were supposed to drop off the invite and then leave!”
“Don’t fucking start with me, Cabe. You’ve had access to her for years. I saw her once, and now she’s everywhere. I can’t get rid of her. I look like I’m playing the kinky playmate, but I feel the same shit you two do. Lanier just took her ass out of here, fed from her, and changed the game on me. Now you want to go in and give her all kinds of reasons to fall for you first? No. Get the fuck outta here,” he nearly shouted, angrier than I’d ever seen him. “I’m going in there now, cloaked. When she wakes up and feels me, I’ll let the glamour drop and just talk to her. I’ll see what she tells me, but don’t you fucking dare interrupt. She needs time, and if she drank from Lanier, then we are working with some sort of dark magic. I am a fucking Demon; I drink dark magic for breakfast. Leave this to me, and do not interfere until I call for you.”
He stormed away from us, cloaking himself before he hit the stairs so all we saw was blank space where he once stood.
Lanier turned to me, shaking with rage. “I’m going out.”
“Where are you going?” I asked, already knowing.
“Where the fuck do you think I’m going?”
I sighed, hating the entire situation. Something told me that he would regret this decision. Annalise was too fragile, the bond between us all seemed to be a living thing. My feelings for her, toward her, teetered on the edge of sanity. Some of my feelings weren’t my own, and I was leaning more and more toward thinking she really was our mate. All of ours.
I was a mess when they were gone. I couldn’t stand Lanier for causing her confusion and insecurity. I wanted to shred him, and he was my brother, my best friend. This bond felt like it lived between us, with a mind of its own, but none of us were willing to look at it yet.
We wouldn’t until Lanier recognized it for what it was.
It was a twisted system we had, but Lanier always influenced our decisions. He made sure that we didn’t get into shit we couldn’t get out of, researched other options, ensured our safety, stuck to the plan—whatever it was—and he never steered us wrong.
But now…
He was leaving Anna here alone, scared and confused. The only person who understood what she was going through was leaving her to deal with it by herself. And to top it all off, he was going to find a girl. He was going to find anything with two legs and a pair of tits to attempt to fuck Annalise out of his system.
The bond wasn’t going to like that.
I left the room, knowing that tonight I could have killed both of my best friends. I wanted to. My beast was out of control, thrashing and wreaking havoc in my mind. He hated that both Lanier and Cabe had a connection to her that I lacked.
I had nothing but my own feelings. They chewed me up and spat me out confused and vulnerable.
I was a Demon, and the two of them were the Angels. They were the good guys, the ones who would be destined for her. She wouldn’t choose a Demon like me, someone she couldn’t relate to or understand. With them, she’d be able to do both.
It confused me because I felt like I already belonged to her, like she belonged to me, and when she left with Lanier…I went to war with myself. I couldn’t think past her safety.
It wasn’t normal, none of this was.
My beast claimed her, I wanted her, and I didn’t even know her.
I was spiraling.
I held the glamour as I entered Lanier’s room and nearly choked on the emotions that floated in the air. Anger, resentment, confusion, loneliness, uncertainty, fear.
It was a feast.
I walked forward and stood motionless beside the bed like a creepy fucking ghost, but she was awake, staring at the ceiling.
And she was breathtaking.
Still wearing my hoodie, her hands rested on the pillows above her head, her legs stretched out in a straight line. I examined her face, taking note of her high cheekbones, the curve of her lips, the tip of her nose, the way her eyelashes curled. I wanted to bathe in her scent—both sweet and spicy—she was flawless.
“Don’t just stand there and be a fucking creep, Quint. Lie down.”
I didn’t move, her voice stunning me into shocked silence.
She could feel me.
“Yes, I can feel you,” she replied to my inner thoughts, zero emotion in her voice, shocking me further. “I can’t read your mind, but it’s like all of a sudden, I’m always aware of where you are and how you’re feeling. When you were downstairs, I knew you were struggling with something, and I wanted to go down when it got really bad, but then I felt you start to come this way. I trailed your energy up here. No, it wasn’t like that earlier, and no, I have no idea how I’m able to do it. Now, just lie down.”