Page 80 of Alastair

“Admit it. You love it.”

“I’ll admit no such thing.” Though, my heart definitely warmed at the thought.

After washing and drying off, we crawled back into bed. He hadn’t agreed to stay the whole night, but by the way he held on to me, head on my chest, he clearly held no complaints. I didn’t either.

I had waited for Alastair for thousands of years. And as I held him, hearing his slow breaths as he drifted off to sleep, I knew every second had been worth it.

Chapter Thirteen

Alastair

Golden light filtered into the room, chasing away the shadow of night. I had woken long before daybreak but found the bed too tempting to leave. Well, more specifically, the angelinthe bed.

Lazarus slept soundly beside me, his breaths slow and deep as he lay on his stomach, face turned toward me on the pillow. The rays of morning sun shone on the deep scars on his back.

I lightly traced them, wondering how many more would be added because of me. Because of us surrendering to our soul mate connection.

“He chose us,”Pride whispered.

The sudden influx of flutters in my stomach caused my next breath to shake. Lazarus had not only chosen me despite the possible fallout with the council, but he had given himself to me—shown me a side of him he’d never shown to anyone else.

I wanted him. For much longer than just one night. However, I hadn’t been able to get the words out last night when he’d asked what I wanted. Having sex with him was answer enough in my mind. Casual hookups had never been my preference. Part of it was because of my sin. Only those worthy enough could bed me.

And no one was more worthy than the sleeping angel beside me. Confessing it was a lot harder than it should’ve been. Things were too new. Too uncertain.

Expelling another shaky breath, I pressed my face against the warm skin of his bicep, gave him a light kiss, then stood from the bed, found my pants, and left the room. The kitchen looked out across the stretch of glimmering ocean. Areas of the water were still dark as the sun hadn’t risen high enough in the sky to flood it with golden light.

I started water for tea before exploring the pantry. I wasn’t hungry, but Raiden nagged me quite frequently for forgetting to eat breakfast. “Ya gotta have more than tea,”he’d always tell me. “Your body needs fuel.”

What my body needed was less stress. Eating was the last thing on my mind when I had so much riding on my shoulders. But to spare myself a future lecture from my mother hen of a brother, I grabbed a box of oats from the pantry and decided to make oatmeal. Enough for two.

“Sup,”Castor said telepathically.

“I’m surprised you’re awake this early,”I responded.

“Kyo woke me for some mornin’ loving.”

My nose crinkled.“I don’t need details.”

“Yeah, just like I don’t need details about your night with the angel.”

“I didn’t plan on giving them.”I started to prepare breakfast. I was a decent cook, though putting my pride aside, no one was better than Raiden.“Did you need something, or are you merely being a pest?”

“Well, this pest has an update from King Butt-wad,”Castor said. The “butt-wad” in question being his brother-in-law.“His friend has some intel about why Lucifer was in Shibuya.”

I paused at the stove.“And?”

“Apparently, Lucifer was meeting with the leader of the local tengu clan,”he responded.“Shin, Tatsuya’s friend, picked up the tengu’s scent at Shibuya Crossing, where Dargan said Lucifer’s trail went cold.”

“Why would Lucifer be meeting with a tengu?”

“Shin doesn’t know for sure, but he suspects a bargain was struck.”

Tengu were mischievous winged creatures from Japanese folklore, many of whom were extraordinary swordsmen. As yokai—or spirits, sometimes demonic—many of them enjoyed causing mayhem and even inciting wars among humankind. Which made them a perfect ally for Lucifer and his dark army.

My feeling of defeat from the previous day resurfaced. Lucifer’s army was growing while ours was stagnant. No direction. No certainties.

“I’ll tell Lazarus about it.”