As I sailed through the space, Lincoln popped off multiple shots, shooting over my head and into the hole. I hit the pile of cushions with a crash, the wind still knocked out of me as I let the weapons fall away from my body.

Loud yells and grunts rose up behind me, and I rolled off the pile of pillows to see the shrinking portal and the group of angry demons beyond it. My freaking calf muscle was on fire, but I knew better then to complain—if I did, Lincoln would probably shoot me.

One more stream of acid shot through the opening, and we all scrambled out of the way to dodge it. Then, the portal closed.

Slowly, every single person turned to look in my direction.

I held up Sera. “Got it.” I gave a nervous laugh.

Lincoln slowly stalked toward me, jaw clenched, eyes on me like a predator, and I knew in that moment that he was pissed as all hell. He leaned down to me and my heart thumped, but instead of helping me up, he reached for his blade and stood, sliding it into his sheath.

“Heal her leg,” he barked at Noah, then spun on his heel and left the room.

‘He’s mad at you. Like really mad at you.’ Sera’s voice, however annoying sometimes, was a welcome sound in my head. Just not right then.

‘Your knowledge of human emotions astounds me,’ I informed her.

‘Ew, sarcasm,’ Sera hissed.

Noah reached down and did help me up. “Let’s see what we’re dealing with.”

I looked at Shea, sweat still beading on her forehead, and reached for her hand. “You okay?”

She nodded, holding her stomach. “Just feel a bit ill. That place… it was hard to be there.”

“Yeah,” I lied. But it hadn’t been hard. It had felt a bit… heavy, but once I got used to it, I was fine.

Oh God, what’s wrong with me?

Chapter Thirteen

Lincoln ignored me on the bus ride back into Angel City, and it had me feeling like shit. I had to go in there or I never would have gotten Sera back. Yes, it was reckless, but it had all worked out in the end.

Finally, as the bus approached the school, Lincoln walked to the back row, where I was sitting alone, and slid next to me. Shea had intentionally left it open in hopes that he would.

He sat rigid, face forward. “How’s your leg?” he asked.

My heart melted a little at his concern. “Burns a lot, but at least it’s not bleeding anymore. Noah said it’ll scar.”

Lincoln nodded curtly, finally turning to look at me. “You sleeping over?”

It was a weekend. I always slept over on weekends. I had my Sunday family thing with Mikey and my mom the following day, but that didn’t mean I couldn’t sleep over.

“You’re pissed at me, so why do you want me to sleep over?” I hit him with the obvious truth.

He smirked a little. “Because I also love you, and I’m concerned about your leg—and your sanity—so I want to keep an eye on you. I’ll be sleeping on the couch.”

“Oh.” That hurt. Not the sanity part, because he said stuff like that all the time—that was actually our way of flirting, verbal jabs—but the part about sleeping on the couch hurt.

Still, I couldn’t say no. I needed to repair this between us. He was everything to me.

“Yeah. I’ll sleep over.” My voice was barely a whisper, but it was enough to be heard as he nodded again.

After the bus pulled up to the school, Lincoln thanked them all, and declared the mission a success. But I could see behind that fake glassy smile. He was so pissed, and I was surprised he hadn’t exploded on me yet.

I sensed a verbal ass-kicking when we got back to his place.

Sure enough, the moment he closed the door behind us, he spun on me. “Just tell me why. Why do you always put yourself in these life-threatening situations? Are you suicidal?”

That hurt. As someone who’d had dark thoughts every once in a while, I knew you didn’t just scream, “Are you suicidal?” in someone’s face.

“No. I love my life. I love you. But I love my family too. Shea was worth the risk. Mikey is worth the risk. My mother will be worth the risk. Sera—”

“Sera is a fucking knife!” He cut me off with a strangled yell.

‘I resent that,’ Sera said from my hip. I tried to ignore her.

“Yeah, she is to you, but she’s special to me. I love her, and I know that sounds crazy, but I also need her to free my mom. I’m powerful, but I’m not that powerful. I need her to protect my family. I made a risky call and I’m sorry. I didn’t grow up in Beverly Hills, with golden sunrays filtering through the breakfast window every morning, as we sat around and talked about angels. I’m from the hood, Lincoln!” I screamed, my hands shaking. “In the hood, we learn to survive at all costs. We take risks because they present themselves every day, and in my life? Family. Comes. First.”

I swear to God, if he challenged me, I would somehow breathe fire into his face, I was that livid.

His face fell. “What about me? Am I your family?”

And just like that, the wind fell from my sails and I was falling. Tears pricked my vision as I stepped closer to him. “Of course you are. You’re… I love you so much it hurts,” I told him.

He looked off at a blank wall. “And if you had gone into Hell tonight and hadn’t come back, do you know what that would have done to me? Knowing I couldn’t go after you? It would have killed me. I’d be dead.”

A huge gaping hole opened in my chest as his words slammed into me. I was his family. His only family.

“I’m sorry.” Okay, fine, I probably should have started with that.

He nodded and pulled me into his arms. His chin came over the top of my head, and I felt his warm breath coat my hair. “I can’t go through loss again. You understand?”

I did. I did it once with my father and I couldn’t do it again either.

I nodded. “I’m exhausted.” Pulling back, I met his eyes.

He glanced at the couch. “I’m just gonna watch some TV and crash out here. I need to shake this off.”

With a frown, I shook my head and shuffled into the bedroom to run a bath. Careful not to get my healing skin wet, I washed up quickly and brushed my teeth, slipping into bed. Lying there, lonely and unsure, I couldn’t fall asleep until 12:36 am. That was the moment Lincoln crept in, and slipped beside me, tucking me into his body.

The second my back rested against his warm chest, a contented sigh escaped me.

“I have plans for us, Brielle, and in order to enjoy them, you need to be alive,” he whispered into my hair.

I was too tired to respond, so I just nodded and drifted off into sleep.

Once I picked up my mother from Demon City, I drove us both out to Clark’s land. It was far, like almost into the war zone far, but still within Angel City. We’d been instructed to wear bright-colored clothing, and stay in our vehicle until Clark came out to greet us. I didn’t want to know why, I just wanted to see my brother. We’d also been instructed not to hug or touch Mikey unless he initiated physical contact. He was still fighting his urge to hunt, apparently. Another thing I really didn’t want to know about.

“My poor baby, living out in the woods like an animal,” my mother bemoaned as I drove up the long dirt driveway to Clark’s property.

“Well, he is an animal, Mom, and Clark was able to help him, so I think this is the best place for him,” I told her.

My brother was a wolf, my mom raised the dead, and I was Lucifer’s abomination. My family was messed up, but I’d just learned to accept it—unlike my mother.

She sighed. “Don’t hug him. That alpha man said not to hug my own son!”

That ‘alpha man’ is trying to save you from getting your head chewed off, I wanted to say, but thought better of it.

“It’s temporary, Mom. Once he gets full control, he’ll be at school with me, and then recruited into the army, making a good living.”

She nodded but was rubbing her palms against her jeans, which was her nervous gesture.

We passed a thicket of trees and then a house came into view. A group of houses, actually, all a mere ten feet apart.

“They live like a little cult,” my mom said, already judging the place.

I rolled my eyes. “Mom,” I warned in my big girl voice.

She shooed me away with one hand. “Fine. I’ll be open-minded.”

I nodded. That was all I’d asked of her before embarking on this trip.

I pulled up to the biggest house, assuming the alpha would take that, and put the car in park. Within seconds, the front door opened and Clark walked out, my brother was right behind him, next to some pretty black-haired girl. She looked my age but had a maturity about her.

As my brother came closer, I noticed he looked like he’d been on steroids or something. He was a beefcake now, and I really wanted to tease him about it but wouldn’t. At least not right away.

“All right, let’s get out.” I opened the door.

We stepped out gingerly, awkwardly standing before my brother as he stared at us with a pained smile.

“Hey, Mikey. Glad to see you not so furry,” I joked.

That caused him to smile, which showcased two large canine teeth pressing down on his bottom lip.

My mom gasped a little and covered it into an awkward cough. Mikey made no move to hug us, which hurt, but I understood he was dealing with some demons.

“I missed you,” Mom murmured.

He nodded. “Me too, Mom.”

Clark looked at the black-haired girl and nodded, before walking away without a word.

Weirdo.

“Doing okay?” the black-haired girl asked.

Mikey gave her a short nod. “This is Elise.”

She stepped forward and extended her hand. “I’m Michael’s sponsor. I help him… get acquainted.” She shook my mother’s hand, then mine.

My mom gave me one raised eyebrow. I knew the word ‘sponsor’ had her thinking of an alcoholic.

“Let’s sit.” Elise pointed at a picnic table that was off to the side of Clark’s house.