“You’ve got to let me go to him. I’m telling you he’s in trouble.” Ten of his infamous rums under his belt and Zagan was feeling no pain. With Haures hovering at his back, he’d stormed Lucifer’s office determined to find his mate.
“There’s still another twenty minutes on the clock.” Lucifer looked completely unruffled. “I’m sure he’ll be back when he said he would be.”
“He’s in trouble, don’t you get it? I felt pain, heat, anger and fear. Damn it, I was sitting in the spirit bar. Listen to me. Those feelings had to be coming from my mate.”
“That’s so interesting,” Lucifer leaned back in his chair, twirling a pencil between his fingers. “Gabriel mentioned something about Botis feeling discomfort when Raziel got shot by that lunatic at the Vatican archives. You must have a similar bond with the sweet Anael.”
“I don’t give a fuck what happened between Botis and Raziel, I have to go to Anael. He needs me!”
“I don’t see the harm in waiting another,” Lucifer glanced up at the clock on his wall, “seventeen minutes now.”
“I swear boss, if one hair is harmed on my precious’s head, I’ll…I’ll….”
“You’ll do what?” Lucifer’s lips twitched in a facsimile of a smile, but the lump in Zagan’s stomach got bigger. “No one’s allowed to touch me and I defy you to even try. King you may be, but I rule all who belong down here, you included.”
“You heartless, evil, son-of-a-bitch.” Zagan’s nostrils flared. “This is just a fucking game to you, isn’t it? Pair us up with true mates so you can have your little confabs with Gabriel. Only he’s not here this time, so you decided to push the boundaries and see if Head Office will release the Archangel sooner. Well, I’ve got news for you. Head Office doesn’t give a damn what you want. This is about me and the man I love more than life. The man who holds my soul in the palm of his sweet hand. The angel who I’d willingly give my very existence for….”
“I get it. You love him. You’ll die for him, blah, blah, blah.” Lucifer swung his legs off the table and rested his elbows there instead. “That’s perfect. Exactly what I was aiming for. I oversaw a true mating all by myself, without Gabriel’s interference. Woo hoo. He’s going to be so pissed when he finds out, but of course, he won’t be able to show it. This is delicious. Better than I hoped for.”
“If Anael’s hurt it won’t be just Gabriel who’s pissed,” Zagan warned.
“Oh, that.” Lucifer waved his hand. “As if I haven’t been keeping an eye on what’s going on. He will be here in five, four, three, two, one. Ta da.”
The light in the office suddenly got incredibly bright as not one, but two angels and a demon suddenly appeared in Lucifer’s inner sanctum. Raziel cradling a bedraggled Anael in his arms while Botis had what looked like a burned wolf shifter draped over his shoulder.
“You!” Raziel caught Zagan’s eyes and glared. “Where were you when one of my angels was being burned alive in the basement of your club?”
“Arguing with him,” Zagan pointed to Lucifer who was watching the entire scene with a bemused look on his face. “Trying to get permission to leave the realm and be with my mate, which is where I am supposed to be forever more.”
“This is your doing?” Raziel’s glare turned in Lucifer’s direction.
“Not me.” Lucifer chuckled. “I didn’t set the fire. I didn’t marry that stupid dickhead Botis is carrying around like a backpack. I didn’t refuse and insult the Lady Zoltus who planned on killing Anael so she could get her hands on Zagan’s legions. None of this is my fault.”
“Let me take him, please?” Zagan’s fingers itched to hold his precious again. Anael’s skin was as pale as his hair. There were smudges of soot over his face and clothes. What was worse was his brilliant blue eyes were closed, not even opening in response to Zagan’s voice.
“I intend on speaking to Head Office about your restrictions the moment I’ve finished dealing with Lucifer here,” Raziel said as he gently handed Anael over. “The whole point of this mating system is so that angels and demons protect each other. Lucifer had no right to come between you and no right to assume Anael or any of my angels would stay down here when they have valuable work to do on earth. I’ve healed his leg which was the worst damage, but he’ll still be bruised for a while.”
“Glad I’m not mated,” Haures said, peering over Zagan’s shoulder at Anael who was now resting on Zagan’s chest. Zagan had forgotten he was even in the office. “Sure, he is a pretty wee thing though. I can see why you want to protect him. He’s too slender for my tastes but still….”
“Do not finish that sentence,” Zagan warned swinging Anael away from Haures’s stares. “I’m taking him topside,” he added to Lucifer. “I take it my travel ban is lifted for now?”
“Of course,” Lucifer waved them off, ignoring Raziel who was working himself up into a complete fury. “I’ll see you later.”
Not if I see you first. Releasing his wings, Zagan focused his mind on the elaborate bathtub in his earth home. It was the perfect place to help tend to his mate and pamper him the way a loved one truly deserved. With a brief nod to Haures and Botis, Zagan disappeared.
/~/~/~/~/
“Oh, this is heavenly,” Anael groaned as he slowly opened his eyes and stretched his legs in the warm water, his back supported on a chest he knew well. Then his memories came flooding back, and he turned to see his mate staring at him with an expression he didn’t recognize. “Zagan. You’re here. But Zoltus…what…why…how did you…?”
“Shush, precious,” Zagan said his voice low and full of gravel. “All in good time. How are you feeling? You’ve got some nasty bruising there.”
“They’re nothing. They’ll heal by tomorrow.” Anael turned in Zagan’s arms, almost unable to believe his mate was with him. Sure, the wolf shifter said the woman used Photoshop to trick him, but Anael had no way of knowing his mate wasn’t in danger. “I thought I was saving you,” he admitted as his cheeks heated. “She sent me a text. I don’t even know how she got my number. The picture she sent was of you tied up. You had a gag in your mouth and her hands…her hands….”
Anael broke off as the memories threatened to swamp him. He’d tried to be brave. He wanted to save his mate. “You need cell phone service down there,” he wailed, tears falling down his cheeks. “I thought you were captured.”
“It won’t happen again,” Zagan said firmly. “I won’t leave your side again no matter what Lucifer says.”
“I don’t want you getting into trouble, but I have to do my job.” Anael clung to Zagan like a limpet. His mind was splintering in a dozen directions and the only certainty he had was Zagan’s hard body beneath him. “I can’t help who I am or what I do. My powers are useless unless I’m among humans. I was made for this. I have to do this.”
“Hey, hey, hey.” Zagan’s blunt finger landed square on Anael’s lips. “Where’s all this coming from? I never said I didn’t want you to do your job and precious, normally my going with you wouldn’t be an issue. It’s just Lucifer’s got some bee in his bonnet about Gabriel. I guess he figured if Head Office saw you were in mortal danger, they’d bring Gabriel back from wherever he was to save you.”
“And instead I called Raziel. I couldn’t leave that man there – Zoltus’s consort. I tried to put out the fire myself, but I wasn’t strong enough. I tried to zap him out of there, but I wasn’t strong enough.” Anael cried harder as another thought hit the side of his head. “And your bar. Your precious bar. It’ll be ruined.”
“Precious, that bar was a dump. A fire was the best thing that could’ve happened to it. Besides, it’s insured for far more than it’s worth.” Zagan’s fingers were gently combing through his hair. “And as for not being strong enough – please tell me you’re joking. If any of my men; hell, even if I were faced with the same situation you were in, I’d have hightailed it out of there and let the damn shifter become a crispy cracker. Don’t you know how incredible you are with your huge and generous heart?”
“You really think so?” Anael felt stupid the moment he asked. Zagan would never say anything he didn’t mean. “I’d walk through the hell pits for you.”
“And I love you too.” Anael’s heart swelled at hearing that tiny phrase. Not only had Zagan understood the meaning behind his words, but had returned them without prompting. When his demon leaned forward, his intent clear, Anael was more than happy to meet him halfway.