Page 116 of Starborn Husbands

CHAPTERTWENTY-ONE

Treyu

Something explodes in my head and my chest at the same time. I claw at my own skin. Wood slides against wood and the warm earthy smell of black licorice fills my nostrils.Myrrh.Merrick. Merrick smells like myrrh.

His wings. That’s what his wings smell like sometimes. There’s a silky-feathered brush against my skin, and another whiff of myrrh. Merrick’s wings cradle me protectively, just enough to offer comfort.

“I can’t …” I gasp. “Can’t … can’t breathe.”

“I know, c’mere.”

Merrick’s wing gathers me onto his lap, strong fingers rip my shirt open, and then a smooth hand lies flat against my bare chest. Warm tingles seep from him to me, slowing my heart rate until my head’s lolling on his shoulder.

“You just wanted me close to you,” I slur.

“I won’t deny it.” He runs fingers through my hair and over my undercut. “You ready to hear more or is that enough for today?”

“You could tell me the world was about to explode, and I wouldn’t care right now. Your angel juice is the shit.”

He nods over the top of my head to his dad.

“One of your enlightenment contracts was with your mother, but to get that contract, your life on Earth was hard.”

“Sounds like a terrible enlightenment journey. Especially if I’m not gonna remember it enough to be enlightened by it.” There’s a lot that goes into an enlightenment journey. For Pleiadians, they’re organized through the Guild. Your soul family often plays a part, like characters in a play. Some offer to be your best friend, some your worst enemy.

Others are assigned without choice based on what’s best for your enlightenment.

“From what I know,” Erick says. “You were in love. You had kids. You were happy for most of it, until you weren’t.”

Wait till I tell Zhang I was in love. I can too love. Just not while hanging onto my mommy guilt. But, see Treyu hallmark. I don’t let shit go, so that’s never going to happen. Guess I really won’t be falling in love with anyone.

“And then what?”

“The whole idea of an enlightenment journey is to have faith in the journey, you’re not supposed to know you’re on one. Faith got twisted into a religious thing by humans, but all it really is, is belief without proof. You have to believe you’re taken care of without evidence.”

“Yeah, duh,” I say, playing with Merrick’s hair. Gods, am I high. If I can’t drink anymore, I’m gonna need a ton of this shit. Angel juice doesn’t count as booze, right?

“Some souls are stronger than others.”

“You saying I have a strong soul, Erick?”

“I’ll allow your appellation slip a pass while you’re high on angel juice. It’s pretty rad, eh? And yeah, your soul is strong. You spent a lot of your human life feeling like you didn’t fit in, wanting to save the world. All that led to what happened to you.”

“What happened to me?”

“You wanna tell him, son?”

“You just don’t want him to rip your nuts off.” Merrick sighs. “Fine. Do you remember what I asked my father?”

“You want to mate with me.” Which for the record, sounds kinda gross.

“Uh-huh. I can only mate with a divine creature, Treyu.”

“Then why would you…? Oh shit.” I’m not high enough to not figure that out. “I’m an angel? Me?”

“No. Well, yes, but no,” Erick says. “Look, it’s a point of controversy?—”

“And contention between you and Father,” Merrick says.