Aurora

I’m so confused. He wanted Ravna, but came here to work the things between us out. I thought he’d never come to see me again, but here he is, saying all the things I want to hear from him. Uriel said Ravna had held Cael in her dimension a year longer than me. In her world, it’s just an instant. I understand what really happened though that doesn’t make me feel less heartbroken.

Maybe they just kissed and Cael decided he didn’t like it. But maybe they did something more. Heaviness sits on my chest and two glasses on my tray wobble.

He is here and wants to talk to me. Maybe there’s hope.

Uriel has helped me a lot. He bought fake papers for me—a fake ID and insurance number— from some Irish mobster. I needed them, so I could start college. Yes, college, not primary or high school. Uriel said I was intelligent enough to start college and skip the rest. He comes three times a week and looks after my little treasure then. I’ve got a nice room in the attic of the Happy Stars Bar, and I live as a human girl would.

I serve two customers—an elderly couple, and go to the kitchen to hang my apron on the hook. Kate, the other waitress, is going to take over from me. She’s tying her apron behind her back.

“Have you seen those four gorgeous men at the table?” Kate asks as her green eyes gleam. “My God, the Viking is my every fantasy.” She leans towards me as her blonde bangs tickle my cheek. “They’re one percenters,” she whispers into my ear. “You know what that means?”

“They’re really bad men,” I whisper back and wink at her. “You’d better stay away from them.”

The cook, Adrian ‘Mac’ Lawson, shoots us a curios glance of his pale grey eyes from across the kitchen. He’s seventy, but look only fifty. He cooks delicious food.

Kate is twenty-five and she’s a single mom. A human mom. We go to the playground once a week as two humans would. She thinks I’m a bit weird, but she doesn’t suspect what I really am.

I attend a Sunday morning Mass every week, and I’ve been to confession. The priest told me to be good to other people, so I help Kate when she struggles with money. Uriel gives me a lot of money, and I don’t need that much, so I share it with Kate. I also deliver food to the bunch of gargoyles residing at the medieval church. They’re six orphans and the oldest of them is only eighteen, so I feed them three times a week. They hunt pests and eat them, but they love Mac’s dishes. They look a bit like me, but they are peaceful and vulnerable creatures. Lilith’s bastards love hunting them, so they hide inside churches, seeking safety in there.

“See you in three days,” I say and Kate kisses my cheek.

Yes, we’re friends. I can’t tell her many things about me, but we really enjoy each other’s company.

“See you,” Kate says.

I walk out of the kitchen and bounce off Cael. His blazing eyes fix on mine, and I feel like I’m drowning in the amber ocean.

“To the attic,” I mumble.

“Guide me.”

Cael

She starts climbing the wooden stairs, and I can only focus on her round little ass swaying with each step. I stifle the urge to squeeze that lush ass of hers with my hands. That might offend her.

We walk along a wide corridor and climb ten more steps. I’ve been here before. The boys from the Cold Storms MC allowed Gabriel and me to crash in when we got really drunk on one winter evening.

Aurora pushes a white door open and we walk into a narrow hall with white walls. It opens into a room that’s a mix of everything—a bedroom, a living room, a kitchen. Burt ‘Tank’ Tofaun is sitting in a flowery armchair. A cot stands next to him. He wakes up and waves his hand to me.

“Long time no see, Kyle,” Tank says, his voice raspy.

I can smell tobacco from him. He must have had a fag an hour ago. “You’re looking after my wife?”

“After your wife,” he says, rising to his feet, as his old bones click, “and your…” He nods several times as his eyes of a deep brown colour shoot lightning towards me.

My heart stops beating as my glance travels to the cot. I rush towards it and look down. A baby is sleeping inside.

Tank sneaks out of the apartment as Aurora stands beside me.

“His name is Kyle Junior,” Aurora says. “You were gone, and I had to name him, so I decided…”

I feel like I’m falling into a void. “I have a son.”

“He’s three months old.”

“He’s my son.”

“Of course, he’s your son.” There’s anger in Aurora’s voice.

Right. She must hate me, and I don’t even blame her. I married her, made her pregnant and then made her a single mom. That was all because of my morbid curiosity.

“Ravna said…I thought…” Aurora murmurs. “But I have him so…”

“Ravna forgot that the world changed. Everything changed. Wonders happen almost every day.”

Gabriel and Reagan for example. The archangels were never meant to start a family, yet this is happening.

I lean over the cot and pull my son into my arms. He squeaks and flashes me a smile. Yes, a fierce smile. He is a little warrior.

I bury him in my arms as love floods me. A sense of shame floods me. I fucked up. I failed my wife and my son.

“Can I see him from time to time?” I ask.

Aurora’s eyes darken. “Of course. You’re the father.”

“Can we have dinner together? Just you and me?”

“Of course. We should discuss all the arrangements.”

I need to be slow with her now. She’s hurt. Angry. Why would she not be?

I’m gonna seduce her. Make her love me again.

Because she loved me before I abandoned her, right?

Aurora

My heart crumbles into pieces. I bore his son.

But he doesn’t want me.

He hasn’t asked me to be his wife again or to go back to the Salvation Ghosts’ clubhouse with him. He must think I’m ugly and worthless.

Kyle Junior needs him, so I’m going to make our contacts as nice as possible.

“I could take him out for a walk tomorrow,” Cael says.

“Sure. At four?”

“At four.”

“Then Uriel could babysit him, and we could have dinner together.”

“Sure. I’m off tomorrow.”

He kisses the baby’s head and lays him in the cot. “See you tomorrow then.”

“See you.”

He bows his head and walks off.

Tears blind me.

No, I can’t allow myself to cry. My son needs a good and strong mother. I smooth a hand over the blanket wrapped around his tiny body and go to the kitchen to tidy it up. My apartment must always shine so that Cael will never think I’m untidy. He may want to take my son away from me if he thinks I’m not a good mother. That would be worse than being in the shadows.

Cael

I tumble into the clubhouse, and I can’t recall my way. I bounce off Gabriel.

“You okay?” he asks.

“I need a drink.”

Uriel tumbles into the bar. He grabs my shoulder.

“You made her cry, you fucking dick,” Uriel rumbles.

Rage fills my veins. I sweep my arm and punch him in the face. Blood gushes from his nose. He punches me back and stars twirl in my head.

“Out, you two,” Raphael rumbles behind me. “There are children in here, you morons.”

Gabriel shoves me towards the exit. I jerk my body back and shove Uriel. We clash. Raphael and Gabriel throw themselves at us and the four of us tumble down the stairs.

“You fucking touch my wife again, and I kill you,” I roar.

“Nobody’s gonna touch her,” Uriel rumbles. “Nobody has. I watch over her. For you, you fucking dick.”

I sweep my arm, but I punch nothing. “She is in love with you.”

“She’s the fuck what?” Uriel snaps.

“She didn’t want to talk to me,” I say. “And she doesn’t want me to be her husband.”

“I’m only a friend to her, you psycho,” Uriel says, sounding pissed off. “I’d never lay my hands on my brother’s wife.”

I sit down with my legs splayed as blood gushes from my nose and stains my jeans.

“So why doesn’t she want to be my wife any longer?” I yell.

Reagan stands on the third step with her baby against her chest. “I can talk to her.”

“Cael will deal with that,” Gabriel says. “Don’t worry about anything, baby. Go back to the bar.”

I see her grit her teeth, but she says nothing. I think Gabriel is too possessive about her, trying to shelter her from almost everything. Reagan disappears behind the door as he follows her.

“Have a drink, Cael,” Uriel says. “We’ll try to fix this.”

“But how?” I growl.

“Gabriel knows everything on the relationship,” Raphael says. “He’ll know what to do.”

Raised voices come to my ears. Right. Gabriel and Reagan are arguing and their kids start crying. Raphael grabs his own head in both his hands as Uriel grins.

“Home sweet home,” Uriel says.

I rise to my feet, go to the bathroom to wash my face and enter the bar. I grab Gabriel’s daughter as Uriel grabs his son.

“We’re taking the kids to the garden,” Uriel says as we exchange glances, “so you two can talk. As two normal people would talk, okay?”

Reagan and Gabriel shoot him dark glances. I sneak out and Uriel follows me.

“So, you like being an uncle?” I ask as I put Lily into the sandpit.

Uriel rocks the baby in the crook of his arm. “It’s funny and makes you want something more in life.”

Lily throws a handful of sand at me. Uriel looks at her sternly and she drops her head.

“Solly,” she squeaks and squats down.

Yes, Uriel is the darkest, the most brooding of us all, and it seems like he is a very good influence on Lily.

“Aurora,” I start.

“She never talks much.” He drops onto the bench and lays the baby Lucas on his lap. “We watched her for a few months, but it was clear that your bond fixed everything. She was so sad while she was around Reagan and Gabriel that I decided to show her the Happy Stars Bar.”

“She seems to be happy in there.”

“She’s not happy, Cael. Fix this. You two deserve happiness.”

My jaw drops open. Uriel has never been that emotional. My eyes sweep over the baby on his lap. Yes, being an uncle did him really good.

“Who would think?” Uriel says. “And the funniest thing is that we all enjoy this shit.”

Lily looks at him and scrunches up her nose. “Bad Uli.”

“Build your sandcastle,” Uriel says and Lily shudders. Lucas squeaks and he pulls the baby to his chest, joy shining in his dark eyes. He looks at me. “I’ll teach him how to hold the sword, you know.”

“Lily swold,” Lily says.

“Alright,” Uriel says. “We’ll get back to this conversation in ten years, you little green rat.”

Fucking hell. We’re really old.