AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I sat up and shook my head, pushing the thought away. “I can’t Lily. And I appreciate it, but when it comes down to it, I don’t matter. My happiness doesn't matter. I am a part of something bigger, something more important than… kisses. I need to earn my way back into Gabriel’s good graces so he recalls me to Heaven. It’s where I belong, Lily.”
She sighed. “If you say so, but I think you’re nuts.”
I reached out, this time laying my hand on hers as she had done to me. “But I would still like to be friends until I get there. It's new to me, and I can’t promise I’ll be a good one, but I… I like you.”
She grinned and the tension left the room. “Well, buckle up, angel cakes. Friendship with me comes with a side of sarcasm and unsolicited advice, but this one hell of a ride."
"Sounds... terrifying and complicated," I said, but I grinned back and the lightness in my chest told me it was a complication I was ready to embrace.
Chapter Eighteen
ALASTOR
The medical tent was stuffy from standing in the desert heat all day, but it was at least shading me from the baking early evening sun allowing my tortured skin a respite from the heat, if not the pain of the salt water that had practically dissolved half of it. But inside, my blood boiled hotter than hell itself as a certain infuriating angel turned her back on me and stalked out of the tent, despite my orders to come back with a taunt that I was out of my mind on drugs Carlisle had pumped into me. Yes, I had been given a decent dose, but I was fucking huge compared to a normal man, and my demon blood ran hotter too, often burning away the effect of drugs and even alcohol sadly, thoughwith a committed attempt, I could still get drunk. And did. Right now, I could really do with a fucking drink or ten.
"Dammit," I hissed, pushing off the cot with a grimace. The burns along my arms pulled tight, skin healing fast from my supernatural abilities, but hurting like hell. Every movement burned, but it beat lying in bed feeling useless and frustrated.
I paced the length of the tent, thinking about her. Disobedient. Defiant. Dangerously distracting.
"Alastor?" Theo's voice cut through the haze of my irritation. "You should be resting, man."
I hadn’t even heard him come in; I was so damn incensed.
"Resting? No. I need to keep moving right now." Actually, what I needed was a fucking punch bag, or maybe a few lengths of rope and a gag. That could work too. At least she’d have to stay in one place if I fucking tied her to something.
“Somehow, I don't think that would work,” Theo grinned, and I realised I’d spoken out loud.
"Steel chains would," I grumbled. “Fucking lability.”
“Who, Sariel? I wouldn’t go that far…”
"Of course, Sariel. She blatantly disregarded my orders." I clenched my fists, imagining the feel of something solid giving way under them—a wall, a door, anything to release this fury.
"Alastor, she was concerned—" Theo started, but I cut him off.
"Concerned? That doesn't give her the right to undermine me. I told her to stay put. If she can't follow simple instructions, she's off field duty. End of discussion."
The tent flap opened again, and I spun round to see if it was her coming back. It was Carlisle who froze at the sight of my face.
“I was just coming to check on you,” Carlisle said. “And I brought you a couple of bottles of water. I think your skin will heal fine if given time, but dehydration is more of a worry right now, and your body will need extra hydration to regrow the skin.”
I grabbed the bottle off him, yanked off the cap, and downed it, before slamming it down on the nearest table.
Carlisle raised his eyebrows and looked over at Theo. “Everything ok?” he asked.
“Everything’s fine,” I snapped. “I’m just pissed off that a member of my team deliberately disobeyed me this afternoon, putting everyone in danger.”
“It was hardly-” started Theo.
“I had everything under control. All she needed to do was get to the ledge and get the fuck out of the water. But no, she decided to distract the fucking thing when it went after you, even though I was right there about to handle it, and then when I got her out of that mess, she still swam back down. It was tight, sure, but handled."
“She saved me,” Theo said quietly. “Yeah, you were there under the water, but she couldn’t see that. She acted without thinking of herself to save me. And then she did the same for you. I, for one, am grateful for that. I don’t know many angels that would try and save a demon.”
“Oh, so you agree with what she did. Orders aren’t important now. When we go back down there, are you going to suddenly turn around and do whatever the fuck you want if you don’t agree with what I say? Cause that isn’t how a team works, Theo.”
“That’s not-”
"Your wolves go rogue and put other people in danger, are you just going to pat them on the head and say thank you?”
