Serenity tried not to get sick. Her stomach turned, and vomit threatened to come up her throat, but she willed herself to stay calm. She had to stay calm because Wrath would come for her. She knew he would come for her. He would figure out something had happened when she didn’t return, and he would come for her.

He would save her.

But he needed to hurry, because the magic users in front of her had already started to drain her blood, and vial-by-vial, she was bleeding out. They had hooked up IVs to several of her veins, and she wondered how long they planned to keep her here.

How much would they take before they had enough and just killed her?

They weren’t going to transport her anywhere. That much was obvious. They would never be able to get her out of the hospital without being noticed, which meant they were going to kill her here.

They were going to kill her, and leave her body, and no one would ever know why she had died.

No one would ever know why she had been chosen, except for Wrath.

Wrath would know.

There was no ceremony, no black robes, no chanting. There was nothing that would indicate these were magic users except for the fact that they had tied her to a hospital bed, gagged her, and were draining her blood.

They spoke quietly to one another, obviously not wanting to draw the attention of the hospital workers. She shook her head. This wasn’t going to work.

“We’re lucky to have found her,” one of the women said. “You were right,” she smiled at a man who had blonde hair and grey eyes. “They are drawn to chapels.”

“Second one this month,” the man grinned, and Serenity’s heart sank. This wasn’t the first time they’d done this. This was a group of people who were hunting fallen angels. They were a group of people who weren’t afraid to kill to get what they wanted, and what they wanted was her blood.

“Are you sure about this?” A dark-skinned woman with bright pink hair stared at Serenity. “She looks pretty human to me.”

“Idiot,” the man shook his head. “Of course she’s human now. It’s the elements that remain in her blood we want. She might be human, but she wasn’t always, and we need this.” He held up a vial of her blood.

“It makes the spells more potent,” the other woman explained.

“I know,” the pink-haired woman said. “But just look at her. It’s kinda pathetic.”

“It was too easy,” the man agreed. He traced a finger over her angelic scars, and she closed her eyes. She wasn’t going to cry. It hurt so much, and her scars betrayed her pain. They weren’t magical, not really, but they hurt as her life force was slowly removed from her body.

She had been safe for so long, but now her safety was over.

Now she was going to be killed.

She kept her eyes closed, wishing for another world, wishing for another life.

“Lucky you noticed her sleeves sliding up,” the pink-haired woman, determined to talk, mentioned.

“When she reached for the chapel door, I saw them peeking out the bottom of her sleeves,” the man boasted. “Anyone else would have thought they were just tattoos. Not me.”

“That’s why you’re the best,” the other woman said, and Serenity felt sick all over again. He was obviously their leader, and the women were obsessed with him.

Come on, Wrath, she thought.

He would come for her, but would he be in time?

Would he figure out where to find her?

She knew he was good at protecting angels, but they were separated, and she had no way of telling him where she was. She had dropped her bracelet before they’d tied her wrists, but there was a chance he wouldn’t find it.

She couldn’t believe he wouldn’t.

She couldn’t lose faith.

Not in Wrath.

Not this time.

And then she heard it.

The others did, too.

The guards outside were talking loudly, and then they were silent.

“See what they’re doing, and tell them to keep it down,” the man said. One of the women nodded, and opened the door. Serenity’s eyes popped open and she saw him.

Her guardian.

He had come for her.

Wrath had come for her.

“You messed with the wrong woman,” he said, and he punched the first girl. She fell to the floor in an unconscious heap, and Serenity suddenly heard the loudspeakers from the hallway. There was a security alert. No one was leaving. They were looking for her.

They were looking for Serenity, and the building was on lockdown.

“Son-of-a-”

The man raised his gun, but Wrath was too quick. He kicked, knocking it down to the ground, and followed it up with a fast punch to the jaw. The man toppled over, and Wrath kicked the other woman as she tried to approach him. She screamed, but he hit her, too.

Soon they were both on the ground, groaning, and Wrath began to yell for help.

“Security!” He called. “I found her! I found her!” A nurse ran over to the doorway and her jaw dropped when she peeked inside. “Get security. Fast!” Wrath said. He was standing with one foot on the man’s back and he was watching to make sure the women didn’t get back up and try to escape. “Go!” Then he turned to Serenity and their eyes locked.

It was over.

It was all over.

He had come for her, saved her, and she knew he would always save her.

Within minutes, the police were in the room, handcuffing the magic users, reading them their rights, and unhooking Serenity from the IVs. She reached for Wrath and he wrapped his arms around her.

“Are you okay? Fuck, princess, tell me you’re okay.”

She began to cry, but she nodded through her tears.

“You saved me,” she whispered.

“I will always save you, Serenity. I will always protect you. Now and forever.”