Galen

Fucking hell. My head hurts, and everything smells like … cows? Where the hell am I? Sariel has released me, but something tells me he didn’t want to. I’m in the middle of nowhere, blood in my mouth, my clothes torn, and a bright-as-fuck light shining on me. As I come to my senses, I see straw, splintered wood surrounding me, and, fuck, a large piece of what looks like some kind of farming tool embedded in my thigh. My car is the source of the light. Its nose is sticking halfway through the side of this barn I’m in, a person-sized hole in the windshield.

First things first, I need to get this metal out of my leg. Pain the likes of which I’ve never felt shoots straight to my brain as I pull. “Jesus and all the saints,” I bite out. The wound starts healing almost instantly thanks to Reese’s blood. The thought of her makes me ache. He made me leave her. He made me break her heart. It would have been a mercy for him to keep me in the dark, but he wanted me to know. The fucker.

I stand as soon as my leg will support me. Racking my brain, I try to remember how I got here. All I get are flashes. Sariel speeding along the narrow dirt road. Me taking control and being knocked back. Him yelling at me, telling me I’ve ruined everything. He was wild, out of control, and pissed beyond belief.

“Galen?” Devin calls as he steps through the wreckage. “Fuck, what a damn mess.”

Snapping my gaze to him, I heave a sigh of relief. “I don’t really know what happened,” I admit.

Cocking an eyebrow, he chuckles. “It looks like you plowed through a fucking barn.”

“Sariel,” I start, but he holds up a hand.

“I know. We both know it wasn’t you.” He closes the distance between us and stares at me. “But it’s you now.”

I nod. “How did you find me? Where’s Reese?”

The tips of his ears go pink as though he’s embarrassed by something. Leaning in, I can smell her on him. Rage boils in me. He’s had her. The unbelievable arse. “I can’t believe you. You’ve fucking had her. You tasted her. I can smell her all over you.”

He takes a step back. “Wait, hang on…”

“Did you make her come? She tastes like honey and wine. I bet you’ve never had anything like her.” My accusation is acid, burning just as much as the betrayal in my heart.

“You’re a fucking idiot, you know that?”

“I can’t believe she’d let you—” I stop, a horrifying feeling of dread taking hold. “She didn’t let you. You took her blood without asking. I’ll fucking kill you.”

I launch myself at him, but he just stands there, ready for me. In one moment, he’s in my murderous path; the next, he’s got me on the ground, knee pressed into my back and my arm pulled behind me.

“Let me go so I can destroy you,” I growl.

“No way, lover boy. I didn’t have her without her permission. She asked me to.”

I feel sick. A wave of cold nausea rolls over me. She asked? She wanted him. Had it really been that easy to let me go? “What? She’d never betray me like that.”

“Think of it less like a betrayal and more of a sacrifice. It was only so I could track you. You still have her blood in you. Not to mention she’s pregnant with your kid.”

“Sariel’s,” I correct him.

He shrugs. “Whatever. Now come on. We have to get back to her. She’s alone at the house. I don’t like it.”

I follow, leaving the wrecked car as it sits. Jealousy courses through me as I sense Reese’s blood on Devin, but I push it aside. I don’t know how long I have until Sariel breaks back through my walls, but I have to make sure Reese knows I’ll never willingly leave her.

An uneasy feeling takes hold in my gut when we arrive at the cottage. The house blazes with light from every window, and a strange scent coasts on the breeze.

“Who is that?” I ask.

Devin smiles. “Andrea.”

The hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. We can’t bloody well stay hidden if he’s telling people where we are. “What? You told her we’re here?”

“We need help, Galen. She’s the only one who knows more about Watchers than you do. She’s been around longer than both of us.”

He’s right. I learned more from her in a few hours spent at her home than I had from any time with Sariel. He’s a withholding SOB.

A yelp comes from the house, and I’m inside in less time than it takes to blink. “Reese? Reese? Where are you?”

A string of curses spills out of the kitchen, and I turn the corner to find her on the floor, a broom and dustpan in her hands. Andrea stands over her, holding a towel as tomato sauce spreads across the tile. From her spot on the ground, Reese stares up at me, her lashes brimming with tears. Hurt flashes through her before she masks the emotion and nods at me, looking back down at the mess she’s cleaning.

I kneel, picking the pieces of broken glass out of the sauce and dropping it into the dustpan. We work silently, and I know Sariel has wounded something between us. She can’t trust that I am who I say, not anymore.

“Well, this is sufficiently awkward,” Andrea says, tossing the towel at me before walking away. “I’m going to get something to eat. I can’t handle the angst.” I hear her murmuring to Devin and wait for them to head out of the house.

After the sauce and glass are cleaned up, Reese and I stare at each other. Her lips are turned down in a frown as she takes me in.

“I know it wasn’t you, but he did such a good job.”

Shaking my head, I move closer to her, but she takes a step back. It kills me. “I’ll never leave you. Not by choice.”

“I let Devin feed from me.”

Defiance shines. She’s daring me to be angry.

Offering her a curt nod, I move about the kitchen, continuing where she left off as she prepared her dinner. “I almost killed him when I smelled you on him.”

A sharp intake of breath is all I get from her.

“Did it feel as good as it does with me?” I hate myself for asking, but I need to know.

“It was awful. Painful.”

As much as I hate knowing she’d been hurt, pride swells in me.

“He’ll never touch me again.” I can hear the finality in her statement. “Neither will Sariel. You can tell him that.”

At the sound of his name, he claws at me.

* * *

Reese

I’m cramping. My back aches, making it hard for me to sit still as we watch a silly movie—Galen’s futile attempt to distract me from the furious shit storm that is our life.

“Ugh,” I groan. This hurts, really hurts. Then it dawns on me, this is what Trisha had told me a miscarriage feels like. It’s like getting your period, but you know it shouldn’t be happening. She’d said the pain was like the worst menstrual cramps she’d ever had.

“Are you okay over there?” Galen asks from the other end of the couch. He stares at me cautiously.

“Just, uncomfortable.” I wince as another cramp takes hold. A sinking feeling grows in the pit of my stomach. “I’ll be right back.”

I shoot up, walking with purpose to the bathroom. As soon as I close the door, I throw the lock and pull down my pants and underwear, expecting blood. Nothing. The cramping continues as I sit on the toilet, waiting. Is this a blessing? I feel terrible even thinking it. But part of me, a big part of me, doesn’t want anything to do with Sariel. Standing, I pull up my pants and wash my hands. As I stare at myself in the mirror, sharp pain ripples through my abdomen, and I can’t muffle my cry. I whimper, doubling over and clutching my knees until my knuckles turn white.

A knock at the door has me panicking. I don’t want anyone to see me like this. “Go away.” My voice is strangled, tight with pain.

“A ghra? What’s happening?”

I cry out again. This time, a tear escapes my eye. Oh God. I’m dying. This incubus baby is going to kill me. The door bursts open, wood splintering as the door frame breaks, and Galen stands tense and fearful, taking up the entire doorway. Twisting and pulling in my pelvis sends me to the floor, writhing in agony. My hands fly to my belly, pressing as I try to keep the pain at bay.

“Sariel. I need Sariel,” I pant, hoping the fallen angel will be able to help me.

Galen shakes his head. “No. He can’t be allowed to take over again. I don’t know if I can come back.”

My tears flow freely now, the pain making me clench my teeth. I nod through the anguish, squeezing my eyes tightly shut. A scream tears from my throat as another wave of agony burns in my belly. Galen’s hand holds mine, a strong force connecting me to what I love most, helping me remember why I’m here in the first place.

“What do we have here? Need me now, huh?” Sariel’s nondescript accent sends a chill over my skin. My back stiffens, and I stare into his silver irises.

“What’s happening to me?” I can’t keep the sob at bay.

He places a hand on my belly, going very still. “The baby is fine. I can hear a heartbeat.”

“Fine? Then why do I feel like I’m being ripped in two?”

“He needs you to feed him.”

“What?”

“His father is a vampire. You’ve given your blood to everyone lately. You’re too weak to nourish the baby, so he’s taking it out on you. He needs you to take from Galen. Replenish your stores, so to speak.”

I shake my head. “You’re his father.”

At that, his eyes flash, angry and resentful. “Nope. I’m afraid I’m not. This is like a fucking daytime talk show.”

“So, this is Galen’s baby?” I ask, dumbfounded.

Sariel blows out an exasperated breath. “Do I really need to say it again?”

“How is that possible?”

He shrugs. “I don’t know. Maybe the moon is in line with Venus and you ovulated on the third Tuesday of the vernal equinox. Who knows? Be thankful and don’t question the miracles life hands you. That’s why my Father stopped making them obvious in the first place.”

Another cramp spreads through me, and I grab his wrist, biting down as hard as I can.

“Ouch,” he complains, pulling his arm back and using his own teeth to break the skin. “Here. You don’t have to maul me.”

I suck, drawing deep and not giving a damn about what I’m doing. I’m having Galen’s baby. Galen. This changes so much for us. My head starts to spin as the euphoric sensation of Galen’s blood takes hold. I love him and he loves me, we’re going to have a child together, and Sariel? Well, we’ll cross that bridge when we get there.

“Okay, that’s enough.” Sariel pulls me off him and strokes my hair.

I sit on the floor, panting with the rush his blood gave me. Anxiety takes hold in the pit of my stomach as a thought hits me. “If Galen is his father, does that mean the baby is going to be a vampire?”

Pressing his palm to my belly as he had earlier, he closes his eyes and his brow furrows. “No.”

“But why did I need to feed?”

“I’m not sure. He’s not a vampire, but he’s not entirely human. Vampires aren’t born, they’re made. But, in your case, you may have to replenish your blood if you frequently donate yours twice in one night.”

“No. I don’t plan to do that ever again.”

Reaching out to caress my cheek, he stares at me as if searching for something, but he doesn’t speak.

“If I’m not having your baby, how can I be your soul mate?”

He shakes his head, sadness hiding behind his expression. “You can’t.”

The cramping has stopped, and now I’m left with a sore and swollen feeling in my lower belly. “So … what does that mean for you?”

“I suppose I’ll go dormant. I can’t leave Galen without killing him. Maybe he’ll live out your days with you and eventually let me take over. Or not. I can’t be sure.”

“What changed? Why did you come back?”

He laughs. “Our Galen is a stubborn bastard. He fought me every step of the way when I left you. The stupid ass caused me to crash the car into a barn. Went flying through the windshield and landed in a hay bale. After that, I realized he wasn’t going to give you up no matter how hard I tried.”

A wave of pride washes over me. Galen thinks I’m worth fighting for.

“There’s no way you can move to another body?” I ask. It’s not fair that he’ll have to spend the rest of my life waiting. Watching. I shudder at the thought.

Shaking his head, he helps me to my feet, walking us slowly out of the bathroom. “I can do what I need to, but not without killing Galen in the process.” He looks me over as he settles me on the couch, his face a mask of arrogant confidence. “I’ve survived two millennia without her. What’s seventy more years?”

Unable to stop myself, I place one hand over his cheek. “I’m sorry I couldn’t be her.”

Tears shimmer, on the cusp of falling down his cheeks, and I watch as he’s momentarily overcome with emotion. Clearing his throat, he recovers his composure and smiles. “Let’s get your lover back here, huh? I think you’ve got some stuff to discuss.”

I wrap my arms around him and hold him tight. “Thank you, Sariel.”

With a kiss pressed to the crown of my head, he sighs and Galen comes back to me. I pull back, staring into irises that are again so dark, they’re almost black.

“Did you hear all that?” I ask.

His gaze is trained on my belly, his pained look making my heart lurch. I guess he heard.

“It’s mine. I can’t believe this.” A soft break in his voice makes my chest ache.

Taking his hand, I place it over the place our child grows. “Us. This is just us.”

He smiles at me, beaming with pride. “Whatever else happens, this makes me happier than I’ve been in a hundred years.”

I want to cry. Cry for the joy evident in his expression, for the love in his smile, and for the pain he felt thinking Sariel was the father for so long. But most of all, I want to cry for Sariel and the knowledge that he’ll sacrifice his own happiness for Galen.

Damn, but the angel really wasn’t that bad after all.

* * *

Sariel

There. I’ve done my good deed for the day. They’re going to be together. It makes me feel good, but at the same time, a desperation so strong takes hold in me, I’m tempted to hide away and go dormant for the rest of Galen’s preternaturally long life. If I do that, though, I’ll leave them vulnerable to Gadriel. I can’t leave. Not entirely.

Closing my consciousness off, I drift back to memories of my love. Her wide, dark eyes stared at me as I held myself over her, entering her for the first time. My soul cried out to be with her, a deep ache that wouldn’t be soothed. We moved together, the only sound in the small room our breaths, harsh in the quiet surrounding us. I remember the texture of her long hair, its strands varying shades of brown and gold that glistened in the sunlight.

Oh, sunlight. I haven’t seen the glow of the sun’s rays in thousands of years. I gave everything to be with her the moment I saw her. I knew as soon as we began making love that she was worth leaving Heaven. She was my heaven. Tension built in me, coiling and growing as indescribable pleasure raced through me. She cried out, clutching my back, and I spilled everything I had into her. The instant I found my release, He struck me down. My wings, beautiful, strong wings, were cut from me, and my body was made mortal. Pain lanced through me, making me cry out in agony. She didn’t know what I was, not until He revealed me to her. Instead of fear, she met my gaze with adoration. She was my soul mate.

I whisper her name, pulling myself back from the memory.

Selah.