“What are you doing?” Jaxson asks me as I throw my dagger, and it lands perfectly in the next target. It’s been a day since my mum died, and I don’t know what I’m doing. Dabriel decided to put off seeing the angels until tonight, and I haven’t spoken to any of them. I can’t speak about it because it will make it more real. It will make it more heart-breaking that my parents have been killed by my grandfather. That my entire family is dead except for him. Him. The evil son of a bitch that hides in his castle and gets his demons to do his handiwork. Everything he has taken from me just continues to add up, he was destroying my life before I was even born. He was destroying everything before the prophecy was even spoken from my grandmother’s lips.

“Do you need me to answer that?” I ask sarcastically, and he glares at me. I ignore him and pick up two more daggers, throwing them into the target and landing them perfectly on either side of the first dagger. I imagine the evil, red eyes as I walks over to the target and pull out the daggers. I see the eyes of everyone who is training in the room on me, but I ignore them. I can’t deal with being their queen right now; being the reasonable one. Death, just more death, and what else will be left, in the end, if I don’t kill him?

“Out, everyone, now,” he shouts in the training room, and the twenty or so wolves, witches, and vampires quickly run out the door at Jaxson’s growly words.

“You didn’t need to do that,” I mutter, and he chuckles as I put the daggers down on the bench and turn my back to him.

“Fight me, like we used to,” he tells me, and I look over my shoulder, only seconds before he charges at me. I move at the last second, dodging his attack and spin around, running at his back. He turns and blocks my hit, and I slam my leg into his side. He grabs my hip and slams me onto the floor, and I knock his legs out from under him. He slams onto the floor next to me, and I roll onto him, holding his arms down.

“I’ve always liked you on top,” he says as we both breathe heavily, and I lean down, kissing him. Jaxson groans slightly and flips us over as he deepens the kiss, pressing himself into me.

“No sex, we need to talk, lass,” he tells me as he breaks away but keeps me trapped under him.

“I don’t want to talk,” I say, looking to the side, and he grabs my chin, gently pulling my face to look at him.

“I get it. You want to fuck and kill and do anything to forget what happened. We are far more alike than I want to admit, lass. I know you feel guilty, you feel like everyone you love has died, and you have lost that last part of your parents,” he says, his tone growing gentler with each word.

“I lost my mum, my sister, and my brother, and I wanted to destroy everything because of that. But I didn’t, you know why?”

“Why?” I ask quietly.

“Because I had family left to fight for. You have us; your mates. And Alex, who is like a sister to you. You have so much to fight for. We will be at your side; there to make sure we don’t lose anyone else,” he tells me, and his words crack some kind of barrier I’ve held onto since my mum died. I burst into tears, and he sits up, pulling me onto his lap.

“You cry now and let it out. Then you are going to hold your head high and walk out that door, and be their queen. They are all scared and need their queen to be strong,” he whispers to me.

“With you at my side,” I whisper.

“I will always be at your side, Winter,” he tells me, and gently kisses my forehead.

* * *

“Everything okay?” Wyatt asks as he walks into my bedroom where I’m putting my belt full of daggers on. Wyatt’s blonde hair is as long as when we first met, and his jaw is freshly shaven. Somehow, just dressed in smart, black trousers and a white shirt that is slightly undone, he couldn’t look more powerful with the massive sword strapped to his hip. He couldn’t look more like the vampire king he is meant to be.

“I’m sorry I shut you out, after mum,” I say, my voice cracking a little.

“Winter, you can shut me out, throw those daggers at me, or, in general, just ignore me, and I will still be here for you,” he tells me, and I chuckle.

“You would catch the daggers anyway.”

“True,” he smirks.

“We have angels to go see,” I say and walk over, leaning up to kiss him gently.

“I’m proud of you,” he tells me, and I nod, letting myself have this moment with him before pulling away. Wyatt takes my hand as he leads us down the corridor. The door at the end opens, and Freddy walks out, followed by a boy I’ve not seen before. He has wavy, black hair, with what looks like red tips in his fringe. I can’t tell what he is, but he seems almost familiar to me. I spend way too long meeting the boy’s eyes before pulling my own eyes away.

“Winter,” Freddy says when he notices me and runs over.

I hug him, and I’m a little surprised when Wyatt says, “Son, who’s your friend?” I know Freddy is his son, yet it’s still strange to hear him say that.

“Josh, come here,” Lucifer says as he walks down the corridor towards us.

“Is Josh your son?” I ask Lucifer when he places a hand on Josh’s shoulder and Josh looks over at me. The bright-blue eyes are so familiar and clash against the tips of red in his hair.

“Yes,” he replies tensely.

“So, you’re an angel? Sorry, for a second I thought you might be something else,” I tell Josh who just crosses his arms and looks at his dad. Josh looks a lot like his dad, I can tell he is going to break some hearts when he’s older, much like I can see Freddy doing. The two of them should be locked away from girls.

“Yeah, Dad, why is that?” Josh asks, his voice dripping with sarcasm. Josh and Lucifer seem to share a look before looking back at us again.

“Angels do not get their wings until their sixteenth birthday, and that is why,” Lucifer answers, but Josh surprises me by laughing loudly.

“Any kind are welcome here, you don’t need to hide anything from us,” I tell Lucifer.

“Nah, it’s more the issue that my step mum and half-brothers wouldn’t be happy with anyone knowing my secrets, right Dad?” Josh says.

“Let’s go,” Lucifer demands, and I watch as they both walk away.

“Your friend is odd.”

“He’s a half,” Freddy tells me, shocking me a little bit, but some part of me knows the truth in his words as I look over at Josh before he walks out of the corridor.

“Half what?” I ask, knowing I was right, and there is something strange about that boy.

“He doesn’t know. His dad won’t tell him, but he was living with humans until recently,” Freddy tells me.

“I’m going to find Mich,” Freddy says, reminding me of the deaf wolf that Freddy made friends with. Seems they are still friends.

“Is Mich a half, too?” I ask Freddy, just having a feeling.

“Yes. His dad was a witch, how did you know?”

“A feeling,” I say, and Freddy hugs me before walking away.

“Keep an eye on who you make friends with, son,” Wyatt tells him, and he turns around at the end of the corridor.

“Careful, you’re starting to sound nice, vamp,” Freddy laughs before walking away, and I look up at Wyatt who is trying not to laugh as he watches where Freddy was. They are very alike.

“It’s weird you have a child, a child that’s not mine,” I blurt out my thoughts, and then cough realising what I just said.

“Does it bother you?”

“Sometimes, I’m jealous of Demi, that she had your love first. That she had your children first, and then I realise I’m jealous of someone who is dead. I just can’t help how I feel,” I admit, what I’ve never really said to him. He takes my hand and leads us out onto the balcony, and shuts the glass doors behind us. I look over the woods from the balcony, the very place that reminds me of my first date with Atti and loving the pots of flowers someone has placed out here.

“What I felt for Demi . . . well, I never want to admit it to Freddy, but it wasn’t love. I know that now, but back then, I didn’t. It was lust and tiredness of everyone in my home that was so fake towards me. The countless vampires my father tried to make me mate to. The countless humans and vampires I watched him kill. It was just a chance to be happy. I know this because I never felt for her, an ounce of what I feel for you. Nothing in my life compares to how I feel for you, you’re so much more, Winter,” he says gently, his dark eyes willing me to believe him.

“I don’t want you to just say that,” I whisper.

“I’m not. You will understand one day soon that I love you so much that I would die for you. I would do anything to keep you safe,” he tells me and looks away, watching something out in the skies. I know how he feels because I would do the same for him, but more. I would do anything to just have a life with him, with my other mates. I feel like every one of them ran away with my heart the moment we met, and I wouldn’t ever chase them for it. It’s theirs.

“You won’t have to die for me, no one will,” I say firmly.

“You mean the prophecy?” he asks, and I nod as he steps in front of me, then I look up at him.

“Someone might die, Winter, and you need to accept that, but it won’t be you,” he says and tilts my chin with his finger and gently kisses me.

“The last sentence of the prophecy was ‘Her saviour will die when the choice is made’. I don’t have an idea who that is, but it can’t come true. There has been too much loss,” I whisper the end part.

“Then we will make sure that part doesn’t come true, but we have an entire race of angels to win over first, My Queen,” he tells me and gently kisses my forehead as he pulls me to him. I rest my head on his chest, and relax in the safety of his arms.

“Are you going to announce your place as king soon?” I ask Wyatt after we wordlessly hold each other for a long time, the cold wind blowing around us, but it doesn’t matter as everything feels safe in his arms.

“Before the war I will, and I will announce Freddy as my heir. He is already heir to the wolf throne, but it will give him extra protection. Is that okay with you?” he asks, and I love him more for asking me. Not that he needs to, I would do anything to keep Freddy safe.

“Yes. I see him as family. I hope one day he sees me like that, too,” I reply.

“He already does, Winter. It’s how he looks at you, you two were drawn to each other from the very start,” he says and lets me go. He walks over and opens the door. I look back at the sun setting over the sky, and the way it sends oranges and reds across the sky. It’s so beautiful, like the peace before the storm.