What the hell is happening? That was not my brother. I knew Lincoln wouldn’t hurt him, but why the hell was he holding his sword at him?

I climbed onto the stage, and Lincoln’s gaze shifted to me. “What’s wrong?” I asked in a low voice.

Raphael still had my brother pinned, and I could tell it was taking great effort, his arms shook as the muscles flexed. My brother jerked, trying to slip free, but Raphael laid more of his weight on him and strengthened his hold.

Lincoln looked out over the crowd and kept his voice low. “He’s a pack animal. When pack animals shift for the first time, they’re consumed with the need to hunt. He’ll wipe out half this crowd if we can’t get an alpha here soon.”

What. The. Fuck.

I swayed on my feet, looking down at my little brother. He was huge, almost as big as Luke’s bear, and it was clear now that Raphael was using all of his angelic strength to hold him.

An oversized wolf with demonic powers that wants to hunt humans. Awesome.

“Mikey?” I knelt down and tried to meet his eyes.

The growl that ripped from his throat, as he jerked his head in my direction, had tears lining my eyes. He’d wriggled his head free from Raphael, and was now snapping his teeth in my direction like a rabid dog.

“I can’t hold him much longer.” Raphael confessed through gritted teeth.

Oh. My. God.

‘Pull me out,’ Sera instructed.

‘What? No way. I’m not hurting my brother.’

‘Pull me out. We won’t seriously hurt him, but we might have to keep him from mauling the crowd,’ she told me.

I pulled Sera out, and Lincoln dropped his sword. He wrestled onto Mikey’s back half, trying to hold him down. Raphael was becoming weaker; every time my brother thrashed, he gained more way.

“Where’s Clark!” Lincoln roared to someone offstage. I kept my eyes on my brother, while I wondered who the hell this Clark guy was.

“He’s coming!” a voice called back.

Mikey ripped free then. In one thrust, he rolled out of Raphael’s and Lincoln’s grasps, and then stood with his back to the demons, who’d been watching keenly the entire time.

“Evacuate the building,” Lincoln ordered a Fallen Army guard, who was standing offstage with a gun in his hand.

“We’ll take him off your hands,” the demon sitting with Grim informed us, winking.

“Screw you,” I snapped at the ugly demon.

Mikey had his head down and was glaring at me with those freaky yellow eyes.

“Mikey. It’s me, Bri,” I told him.

Movement to my left pulled my attention, but not enough to take my eyes off my brother.

“I can stun him if he lunges. It’ll wear off quick, but it might help in the short run,” Shea said as magic crackled at her palms.

I was trying to keep the tears at bay. My poor brother had been taken over by a monster.

‘Let her,’ Sera instructed me.

Turning my head slightly to my best friend, I nodded to Shea.

An Abrus demon I didn’t know stepped closer. “He could learn more about his powers at Tainted Academy,” he cooed.

I pivoted my body to him, Sera raised and glowing in my hand. “I will cut you if you go near my brother.”

The demon scowled at me and took a step closer as if to threaten me.

I’d never seen Raphael with a weapon until right then. He tore across the space, blindingly fast, with a twelve-inch golden dagger in his hands. His wings flapped earnestly, causing a gust of wind to pick up my hair.

“He’s a free soul. And free souls are mine to protect.” Raphael’s voice was so deep and menacing, I barely recognized it.

The demon cowed, taking a step back with his head lowered, and that’s when Mikey lunged. Not for me, or Raphael, but for the demon.

Without uttering a word, Shea threw an orange fiery ball at Mikey’s right shoulder. My brother howled as if in pain, hitting the ground. Limp. He’d dropped twelve inches from the Abrus demon.

“Shea!” I snapped.

“It’s just a stun spell. He’ll be—” She didn’t finish her sentence because Mikey stood once more, a bit wobbly, and shaking his head as if to clear his thoughts.

Shit.

I really, really, really didn’t want to kick my brother’s ass.

“If he lunges for me again, I’m putting him down!” the demon roared, smoke billowing from his ears.

I took one step into the demons’ black-tiled side of the stage, and Sera pulsed a bright white light from her blade, sharp and quick. “Touch my brother and I will end your life!” My wings popped out of my back, and I heard some in the crowd gasp.

The demon’s gaze went to my chest, and upon seeing the symbol there, he grinned. “You’ve got Lucifer’s temper.”

The comment was like a kick to the stomach. Did I? Was I like Lucifer?

I staggered backward and lowered my dagger slightly.

Mikey growled again and lowered his front end, sticking his hind legs into the air, preparing to pounce.

“Freeze!” a deep male voice boomed behind me. Mikey whined, lowering his bottom half, and going fully flat onto the ground.

I spun around to see a tall man in his early thirties leap onto the stage. His hair was chocolate brown, and fell in wild wisps around his face. He was stacked with muscles, like a linebacker, and his eyes were… haunting. They glowed an eerie honey color. He kept his eyes on my brother with each step he took.

This must be Clark.

“That’s my brother,” I told him. “Can you help him?”

He didn’t take his eyes off Mikey. “That’s up to him.”

The alpha moved within a few feet from Mikey and my brother started to growl. Towering over him, Clark crossed his arms, and leaned forward. “Submit,” he growled in a voice that was only half human.

Mikey’s lips peeled back as his growl grew louder and he held the alpha’s gaze.

Oh God. What does this mean?

Clark bent on one knee, shoving his face right in my brother’s, and I stopped breathing.

“You will submit to me, or I cannot help you,” he declared.

Holy Shit. My brother was going to rip his face off, I was sure of it.

A few more seconds into the stare-down and Mikey’s growl turned to a whine, his amber eyes falling to Clark’s shoes. Then my brother lowered his head and rolled onto his back, exposing his belly.

Clark’s meaty hand reached out and grabbed the scruff of my brother’s neck, shaking it. “Good pup. Let’s go,” he barked and stood.

“What? Where are you going?” My voice trembled as Mikey rose to a standing position and stood at Clark’s side.

Clark’s honey-colored eyes flicked to me for the first time, and I felt a physical power wash over me.

“I’m taking him to my land. I’ll teach him to hunt deer and calm his thirst for the kill. When I’m satisfied he won’t hurt a human, I’ll send him to school,” the alpha declared.

Umm, what the hell did he just say?

“Can’t you just force him to change back to human? Then he won’t hurt anyone.” Right? I was kicking myself for not paying much attention, during the week we spoke about Beast Shifters in my fallen history class. I figured everyone was like Luke—shift, kick some demon ass, shift back.

Clark shook his head. “He won’t be able to change back until he’s quenched his thirst for the hunt.”

A strangled gasp reached us, and I turned to see my mother listening in on our conversation.

Oh great.

“Well, can I visit him?” I called out. He was walking away with my brother on his heels.

“Maybe,” he called back.

My eyes flew to Lincoln, who just shrugged.

There were a cluster of men and women waiting by the door for Clark. When he neared, they bowed their heads, and stepped out of the way to let him pass. After he and my brother were out of sight, they pulled in the rear and left behind him. They were like a freaking cult.

‘Or a wolf pack,’ Sera offered.

I didn’t need a dose of her logic right then. My heart was hammering in my chest.

“Well, that wasn’t ideal, but Clark will take good care of him,” Raphael offered.

The archangel was standing now, dagger sheathed, and wings down calmly at his sides.

What a crazy day.

But ‘not ideal’?

My brother was stuck as a monster, and had just gone to live with some dude I’d never heard of for God knew how long.

“Extremely not ideal,” I told him, then went to comfort my mother.

If life would stop shitting on me, that would be great.

Chapter Five

I’d left the Awakening ceremony early to drive my mom back, and assure her that I would take care of Mikey. That this Clark guy was someone we could trust, and everything would be okay. Lincoln told me to let myself into his trailer and wait for him, that he’d wrap up his duties at the ceremony and meet me there.

I let myself in, and after fifteen minutes I was bored off my ass.

‘Let’s snoop,’ Sera offered.

I chuckled. ‘Oh my God, how are you an angel’s blade?’

‘Good question. They probably messed up when they made me. That’s why I got sent to Earth.’

My chest vibrated as I laughed again. ‘Wait, are you saying I’m only worthy of a reject infinity weapon?’

‘Did you just call me a reject?’ she retorted.

A grin lit up my face and momentarily all of my worries washed away.

‘What’s that little poetry book?’ Sera pressed.

My eyes flicked to the brown leather-bound book in front of me and I shook my head.

‘No way. That’s messed up,’ I told my blade.

‘They’re just poems. It’s not like a journal,’ Sera pressed harder.

I groaned. ‘Fine, one look. Because I’m bored and curious what he writes in there.’

On nights that I studied over there, he would scribble in the book and play his guitar.