Page 33 of Hazel’s Choice (A Monstrous World: Next Gen)

Chapter Thirty-One

Zephyr

T he first thing that comes into focus is Hazel’s face. She’s concerned, possibly terrified, and it makes my chest ache. No, actually, there’s a distinct pain in my ribs outside of the worry I feel for Hazel. It’s not unbearable, more like a minor discomfort.

The second image that I spot is Annex’s goofy smile as he peers at me over Hazel’s shoulder. “Good to see you’re alive, mate.”

“I’m about to burst into tears.” Hazel pats my chest. “Please say something.”

I wrap my arm around her lower back, pulling her on top of me. “I’m alive? How? The pain…”

“We tethered your soul to Hazel’s,” a demon with short dark hair says.

“That’s Wraith. He’s a reaper.” Hazel hikes a thumb over her shoulder in the opposite direction toward a man with shoulder-length blond hair.

“That’s Knight. He’s a sin eater. My mom forced my sister out of the room, but she’s around here somewhere.

Mom is a blood witch. Reaper plus sin eater plus blood witch equals devourer.

” She shrugs. “Or that’s how they got me. ”

I hadn’t had time to wonder about her origins, but it is good information to have. As soon as she stopped time and transformed, it clicked.

Reapers and sin eaters have no way of going undetected by my kind. We’re always able to sense them, but the only time I’ve been able to detect Hazel’s true nature is when she’s devouring or on the verge of it.

The universe gave her kind the ultimate layer of protection, allowing them to hide in plain sight.

“What happened after Nathaniel severed my connection to Oathkeeper?” I ask, my voice strangely hoarse.

“It wasn’t just your link to Oathkeeper. He cut your connection to the angelic divine at the same time,” Hazel whispers. “Then you scared the hell out of me and Annex. And I didn’t know what else to do, so I brought you to my family.”

That makes sense.

Without access to other harvesters, the next closest thing would be a reaper.

Hazel kisses my cheek. “I’m so glad you’re okay.”

I frown as she climbs off me, but Annex extends a hand, helping me sit up. They each take a seat on either side of me, and it’s comforting to have them both so close when I have no idea what’s happening.

“I’m afraid I’m still having trouble comprehending what happened. I should be in agony right now,” I say, shaking my head.

An angel isn’t always cut off from the angelic divine when they fall, but they always lose access to any gilded weapons. Based on the crime, the council will vote on whether it’s necessary to cut their connection to the source, but that call never should have fallen to Nathaniel.

That asshole knew I was only offering Oathkeeper.

He had no reason to cut my link to the angelic divine.

Nothing outside of spite.

I have no trouble believing what Hazel said is true. I’m just genuinely confused how I’m alive and not in agony if that truly happened.

“As I was saying,” Wraith says, “your soul was in shock. It needed to be tethered. Nadia?—”

“That’s my mom,” Hazel cuts in, grabbing my hand and wrapping her fingers in mine.

“Yes,” Wraith agrees. “Nadia helped us tether your soul to Hazel. Don’t worry, there are no negative side effects.

Knight and I are similarly tethered to Hazel’s mother.

Blood witches truly are one of the more mysterious gifts from the universe, and Hazel has just enough blood magic that the process went off smoothly.

Binding you to Truthseeker was slightly more complicated?—”

“Tell him about the baby bird analogy,” the sin eater says, laughing.

“Dad,” Hazel says, her voice lined in warning. “Don’t worry about that. Knight thinks everything is funny.”

“It is hilarious, but you’re right. It’s probably too soon.” Knight winks at Hazel and steps over, grabbing a box from the floor. He moves closer, handing it to me. “Here you are. Consider it a bonding gift.” His head swivels to Annex. “We’ll have to owe you one for next time.”

Annex laughs as I take the box with the hand not wrapped in Hazel’s.

“You needed a conduit to fuel your magic.” Wraith nods to the box. “And we only had one weapon not bonded to its owner.”

“Go on.” Hazel nods, squeezing my hand.

I lift the lid to find…

The tiniest dagger I’ve ever seen.

My fingers buzz as I slide them over the cool metal.

“It’s demonic in nature,” I say absently. “But I feel the pull to it the same way I did with Oathkeeper.”

“You should be able to store it in the ether,” Wraith says. “At the very least, it will keep you from starving.”

“We know the guy that made it,” Knight says. “If it works for you, we’ll see what we can do about having him forge something more appropriately sized.”

“Hazel can always stop time to give you an advantage against your adversary,” Wraith says.

“Come on, man.” Annex bumps my shoulder with his. “Your new dads are trying. Give them something…”

My eyes widen as my sleepy mind catches up.

I drop the box on Hazel’s lap and stand, but I’m wobbly.

Annex hits his feet, wrapping his tail around my side as he tosses his arm around my shoulder.

“I would bow at the waist, but I’m afraid I would hit the floor,” I tell Hazel’s fathers, dipping my head in a show of respect. “It’s a pleasure to meet you. Thank you for your assistance in saving me.”

Hazel climbs off the couch and stands at my side. “Say nice things to my mate.”

“I saved his life. That was nice,” Wraith says, keeping a completely straight face.

“Yeah, that’s probably all you’re going to get from him.” Knight holds out a hand. “Welcome to the family.”

Hazel siphons us back to the house in Black Cove.

We land in her bedroom, and she immediately bolts for the bathroom.

“Be right back. It’s an emergency.”

“Ahh, that’s right. Her uterus is still trying to kill her.” Annex chuckles. “You’re still healing, anyway.”

I frown, squinting and trying to determine what the hell he’s talking about.

“It’s probably better to put off the sexcapades for another few days.

Come along, angel. Let me get you tucked into bed so your mate doesn’t worry,” Annex says, guiding me to the edge of the mattress.

He helps me get settled—even removing my boots—and glances at the small bedside table.

“Fuck. I was definitely supposed to check in at Rut tonight.” He pulls the blanket over my chest. “I’ll be back. Tell Hazel not to worry.”

The incubus disappears in a smoky cloud of shadows, and I shake my head. It’s possible that’s true, but he could have simply said he was going to give me a few minutes to talk to Hazel. She and I need to clear the air.

I wince as my mind helpfully replays some of the things I said before I knew she was the creature.

Fuck. My. Life.

I called her a creature.

I’m still mentally beating the hell out of myself when Hazel exits the bathroom. She’s clad in that same set of soft rubber duck pajamas, and I frown, realizing Annex tucked me into bed in my jeans and ripped shirt.

I toss the blanket back as Hazel stops at the edge of the bed.

“I’m beat, but I should probably change,” I admit. She smiles, running a hand down my front. Everything except my boxers disappears. “Thank you.”

She proceeds to climb over my chest, settling on the mattress next to me. “We should probably talk, huh?”

I’m not sure where it originates, but an unexpected bark of laughter spills from my lips.

I stretch my arm out, and she scoots closer until her head rests on my bare chest. “I called you a creature. I’m surprised you didn’t devour me right then and there.”

Hazel laughs, running her hand over my stomach. “Are you kidding? The first time you walked into Spellbound, I was about to pee myself. I’d never come face-to-face with an archangel.”

“I’m sorry for the turmoil that I’ve caused you.

” It’s the truth, and I’m genuinely baffled how I never sensed something more, even after our bonding.

Perhaps that’s untrue. I sensed immense power, but her demonic sides hide themselves well.

Her aura and soul tethers also failed to signal there’s more to Hazel than meets the eye.

The universe gave her many added protections to ensure her survival, and I find that fascinating.

“Me too,” she whispers. “Do you want to hear about what happened when I found your friend?”

My lips blow together with the force of my exhale. “I believe I have the basics, but I would like it if we could get out of the habit of calling Levi a friend. Even the bits of information that I learned from Simon and Josiah painted a grim picture.”

“I can understand that,” Hazel says softly.

“My monster led me to the forest that night. The woman was terrified. He wasn’t salvageable.

His soul was too corrupted to come back from.

” Her misery filters through the bond, and it’s the first clear hint that I’ve gotten since waking.

My system must have been in shock, thus blocking everything outside of essential functions.

“I trust your judgment,” I tell her truthfully.

“I never gave much thought to who might grieve those I’ve devoured.” She sighs. “If nothing else, I think I’ve learned more about compassion.”

“I hate that I caused you to feel remorse over doing what you were called to do. That was unfair.”

“Ehh, the universe isn’t fair, but I got you and Annex out of the deal. That seems like a pretty good trade to me.”

“Indeed,” I agree.

Annex siphons into the room, landing behind Hazel. He smirks at me over her shoulder and runs his clawed fingers down her arm. “Aww. You two look exhausted. Does this mean we get to have our first real cuddle pile as a pack?”

“That sounds good,” Hazel says, snuggling deeper into her pillow.

“No secrets does feel nice.” Annex stretches a hand over, squeezing my shoulder. “Right, Zeph?”

I believe that might be the first time he’s called me by a nickname that wasn’t stick-in-the-mud or angel. It seems things truly are looking up between us.

“It really does.” I’m not sure where we’ll settle after Black Cove, but we have eternity to explore and grow. And I can’t wait to see what the future holds.