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He was alive. I’d deduced as much from how I was feeling, but having the evidenceliterallyinside of you was trippy.
I hadn't even realized I’d started sobbing until I felt my wolf take a step back and allow me to take the wheel again.
He really was alive. And he was happy to have me.
My resolve strengthened even as my sobbing turned into uncontrollable hiccups.
The car slowed, but didn’t stop. I hoped Johnny didn’t think I’d broken. I would have laughed, if I wasn’t so overwhelmed. I had too much to live for now that Sariel and I had accepted each other.
I was going into the lion’s den. I didn’t care what I had to do to ensure we both got out alive, but I was prepared to do anything.
18
A SACRIFICE
Aria
The Ambrose Estate was teeming with wolves.
The guard at the gate had changed between my last visit and now. This new one wasn’t nearly as friendly; he was a colossal fallen-blood wolf that had been squeezed into a too-tight black Henley and cargo pants tucked into thick-soled combat boots. He had gun holsters strapped to one thigh, the waist of his pants, and his shoulders, and wore those ugly aviator Ray-Bans that, in my express opinion, only Tom Cruise could make look good.
He looked like a mercenary, too.
When he let us through the gates, I spotted others in similar get-ups littered across the property. Azazel had amped up security.
I wondered if these were wolves from the Bastille Pack, if these were Tyler’s wolves, and if they were, had Azazel funded them? Were they armed with silver bullets? Did they really think this was necessary to stave off little ol’ me? Or was I missing something?
Johnny pulled the car into the circular drive, and we were immediately surrounded by wolves. The scent of a single fallen-blood wolf would be enough to curdle anyone’s stomach; being surrounded by them was like being in the pits of decomposition hell.
I gagged. I couldn’t help it. And I began to apologize on reflex. “Sorry—”
“Shut up and get out of the car with your hands up,” one of them growled. “You too, Hart. Hands where I can see them.”
None of them had pulled their guns on us, but I followed their instructions and let them drag me out of the car with my cuffed hands held where they could see them.
I considered the building anew from my wolf’s perspective. She was unimpressed, but she could smell Sariel nearby, which was enough to settle her into compliance. She was still a little woozy and unsettled from experiencing the withdrawals, but she was alert.
Iwas alert.Wewere alert.
I could smell Credence and Lucy in the house, but they weren’t close to Sariel and Azazel. Previously, I couldn’t smell nor sense anything from the fallen angel, but now, I could. He smelled like petrichor, rotten citrus fruits, and faint myrrh.
I could sense something in him, too. To my surprise and terror, I realized that I could actually feel every wolf on the property. I could sense them in the same way I could sense several plants whose roots had become entangled, and the birds who flitted around looking for nest material. Since they were a natural part of existence, they were open to me.
Azazel felt like yawning darkness. There was a void within him, and in that void was something that set my teeth on edge and made my wolf shake out her fur. He felt cold and vacant and powerful, incredibly powerful. I couldn’t imagine him needing help from a lowly, slimy wolf like Tyler, but the saying about oneman not being an island might also be true of nearly immortal fallen angels. I wouldn’t know better.
“Easy, fellas,” Tyler interrupted. “The boss is waiting on them. These are our specially invited guests.”
Johnny’s expression was unreadable as Tyler got close enough to him that their noses would have touched, were Johnny not taller than him. “Mila and Billy’s brat,” he said. “All grown up and working with the devil, eh?”
Johnny clenched his jaw so hard, I heard his teeth pop. Tyler laughed in his face. “Your daddy must be rolling in his fucking grave,” he continued. “That goody-two-shoes sonofabitch.”
Johnny twitched towards Tyler, and the fallen-blood wolf’s grin grew feral. Several growls came from around u; I almost foolishly moved to protect Johnny.
The red of Tyler’s eyes swirled dangerously around his iris. From this close, I could see that his eyes were gray from this angle, but appeared to be a very light blue when the light caught in them.
“Get inside before I send you to meet your parents, Hart,” he huffed out an amused breath.
Johnny hesitated for only a second, while Tyler motioned to one of his wolves to grab me.
