Page 17

Audrey

W e’re just getting ready for bed two days later when all our phones go off at once.

“No,” I whine, already having crawled into the bed and snuggled up with Cassian. “Please tell me that’s not what I think it is.”

Wraith chuckles as he comes to stand at the end of the bed with his phone in hand. “Sorry, trouble. Lucifer has called a war council meeting, which means someone has an idea.”

I pull the pillow over my head and scream into it. I’m tired and ready for bed, but who the fuck knows when I’ll be able to if my dad has called a meeting.

Feeling slightly better, I pull the pillow off my face as there’s a knock on the door—likely Nex .

“I need coffee and lots of it if you want me to make it through a meeting.”

My mates chuckle, and I flip them off.

“I’ll get coffee going. We can bring a couple of thermoses with us,” Nex says, and I lean up on my elbows to look at him.

Unlike the rest of us, he’s still fully dressed and looks sinfully handsome as he adjusts his glasses.

Warmth rushes through my core before I tear my eyes away from him.

Fucking mate bond.

It’s not happy that I’ve been pushing Nex away. It hurts when I don’t see him, and I want it to stop, but I’m not willing to forgive him yet—no matter how hard he’s been working.

Every morning, he makes sure breakfast is ready for all of us before he runs off to class. He makes sure to make mine and Brenden’s coffee, leaving it sitting beside plates of our favorite foods, but he never tries to eat with us. I’m not sure if I’m grateful or annoyed by this.

Let’s be real. Everything about Nex confuses the fuck out of me.

Every couple of days, he pops home during his lunch break to bring me food, and Brenden says he’s been doing the same to him—just bringing the food to his classroom since that’s where he is. He never tries to talk to either of us, just hands us the food before leaving once more.

Then there are the care packages he’s been leaving for me and Brenden, filled with bath bombs, movies for us to watch, packages of AB negative blood—Brenden’s favorite when he’s not feeding from me—plus so much more.

I’ve had new leather pants, shorts, and skirts just appear out of nowhere and since none of my mates are claiming the gifts, that only leaves Nex.

Especially since new graphic tees in Brenden’s size also keep appearing.

He’s doing what we asked, staying away from us—kind of—but making sure we’re taken care of, and I just don’t know how I feel about it.

Part of me wishes he would just disappear so I never have to think of him, but I know that’s not possible. If our bond is giving me this many problems when I see him two to three times a day, how bad would it be if I didn’t see him at all?

And he’s stupidly hot, and that doesn’t help at all.

“Come on, little mate. We need to get dressed. As much fun as it would be to see your dad’s face if you showed up wearing nothing but my shirt, I don’t think that’s what you want.”

I allow Cassian to pull me out of the bed as I wrinkle my nose. As if I’d show up to see my parents without at least putting on panties first. If we’d gotten the message much later, I probably would’ve been naked. Because getting into bed for us usually means sex.

As soon as my feet hit the floor, Brenden is there with clothes for me. I shoot him a grateful smile, sighing when he helps me get dressed too.

Fates above, I love my mates.

It’s not that I can’t get dressed by myself or that they think they have to do it for me. They like helping me do things—including getting dressed, which is the opposite of what most men want to do with women.

Sure, they want to undress me, too, but that’s not all they want from me.

I’ve never had men who cared for me like they do.

I don’t know if it’s the fact that we’re fated mates or if it’s just who they are as people, but they genuinely want to help me in any way they can.

It’s sweet, but I could see it getting to be too much if they did it all the time.

Which is why I don’t always let them help me, and they back off immediately.

They really are my perfect mates.

After I finish dressing, I throw my long hair up into a messy bun and turn back to my mates. “Are we ready?”

Of course, my stomach decides to let out a loud growl just then.

“Here.” Nex shoves a warm sandwich into my hand before passing one to Brenden and then my other mates. “I figured a breakfast sandwich would help keep anyone from getting too hungry, and I have two thermoses of coffee as well.”

I step forward, ready to throw myself into his arms for his thoughtfulness. Then I remember that’s not the relationship we have and why we don’t. I pull up short and nod. “Thank you.”

“Of course.” He nods, eyes averted.

I take a bite of my sandwich, waving over Cassian and Brenden, who each grab a hold of me before I step us into the shadows and then into the war council room.

Everyone is already seated around the table, many of them with sleepy gazes. I take my seat as my other mates step out of the shadows and join us .

“Good, I’m glad everyone could make it on such short notice.” Lucifer cocks an eyebrow at me, and I flip him off. If he wants us here quickly, then he should call meetings during the day.

He just chuckles. “Hecate and Wren have been working together to comb through both of their memories, and they think they have an idea of what his plan might be. Ladies? The stage is yours.”

When they both stand up, I realize Wren was sitting between Hecate and my mom instead of at this end of the table, like she usually does.

“So, umm…” Wren looks around the table, her nervousness clear for all to see.

“I remembered a conversation I had with Michael shortly after we got married. He wasn’t happy with the house we were living in at the time, and there wasn’t anything that met his standards in Leyton.

He almost bit my head off when I suggested we look at some of the other cities in the area.

He insisted we needed to live in Leyton.

I didn’t really think much of it at the time.

It’s not like I wanted to move away from Mom or Audrey, so I just never brought it up again, and then we found ou r house. ”

Hecate offers her a soft smile. “Which led me to do some research on Leyton. Are any of you aware that the city is built on top of some of the most powerful ley lines? Not just that, but the three strongest ones intersect in the center of downtown. I think this is why Michael spent so long in Leyton and why there were so many witch covens there. They were all drawn to the power of the ley lines. They probably played a part in whatever spell Michael cast when he sacrificed Audrey and Wren.”

“Do you think that’s where he’ll attack?” Lucifer asks, and she nods.

She glances around the table, making sure we’re all paying attention.

“It makes the most sense. He spent however many years living there. He would’ve been able to learn the lay of the land, and it’s a highly populated city by both humans and supernaturals.

If he wanted to make a statement that he was coming for them, it’s probably one of the best places he could.

It’ll make the angels stronger, but it can also make our forces stronger.

I have a spell that I plan to weave into an amulet for as many of our people as I can.

It’ll pull on the power of the ley lines and allow us to use it. ”

“I’m glad that we’ve finally figured out the where,” Thanatos admits. “But we still need to figure out when.”

Wren grins. “We’re actually pretty sure we know that, too.

After Hecate found out about the ley lines, we got to thinking about what else he could try to use in his favor.

That’s when I remembered Michael’s obsession with the moon and astrology.

It seemed at odds with who he was as a person, but everyone believes in something, so I just figured that’s what it was. ”

“With that new information,” Hecate continues, “we started looking into different aspects of astrology, but especially the moon. We believe he’ll attack on either a new moon or a full moon.

The full moon brings illumination and clarity.

It symbolizes release and closure, completion, and abundance.

All things that Michael wants. Wren, why don’t you explain about the new moon? ”

“The new moon signifies a fresh start, a time for introspection, and the potential of new beginnings. It’s also a time for setting intentions and manifesting desires.

” I’m not sure I’ve ever seen Wren more excited as she explains all of this to the room.

It’s a good look. “Once again, these are things Michael would see as a positive.”

Nyx nods slowly, considering her fellow god and my sister. “I can see why you’ve brought this to our attention. Remind me, when is the next new moon and full moon?”

Wren grimaces at the question. “The new moon is in two days. The last full moon was the day he told us he’d attack within the month. We believe he’ll choose the new moon because why wouldn’t he have just attacked that day if he wanted a full moon?”

“So we have two days to come up with a game plan?” Erebus asks with a grimace of his own. “Less than that, actually, since it’s already so late.”

Lucifer nods. “I agree with Hecate and Wren, for what it’s worth. That’s why I called you all in so quickly. We don’t have much time, and we’re not leaving this room until we have a plan in place.”

Fuck. There goes my sleep, but I know Lucifer is right. Sacrificing some sleep so we can figure out how to defeat the angels and save the mortals is nothing in the grand scheme of things .

I just don’t know how much I’ll have to contribute to the conversation.

Everyone starts throwing out ideas, and we get to work. I pour myself a cup of coffee and down it before making another.

It seems nearly impossible, but I know we’ll figure this out.