SAVAGE AS HELL

THE DEMON ACADEMY: BOOK THREE

G. BAILEY

CONTENTS

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Description

Prologue

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Epilogue

Note From The Author.

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Savage as Hell © 2019 G. Bailey

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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

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DESCRIPTION

This academy is going to hell…

There can only be one king of hell and only one fallen angel to hold the title. I didn’t know that until my angel fell into hell for me. Morgan challenges the current king, with the whole of DA brought to hell to watch. The winner not only gets the title, but he also gets control of everything hell holds.

Including me.

I just hope my angel doesn’t lose too much of himself to save me in the end.

I won’t let him. I can’t.

With my wolf, my demon princes and my angel, I should be able to survive hell. Right?

Once the fallen fall, they must never rise again…

18+ RH and the final book in The Demon Academy Series.

PROLOGUE

MORGAN

“What happens when an angel falls into hell?” I enquire, leaning back in my desk, causing my chair to scrape across the stone floor. Jonathon nudges my side, begging me to stop asking the teacher questions. He would rather get through the class as quickly as possible, and I wouldn’t.

I want to know everything about being an angel. Everything. Master Gabriel turns back to look at me and the class, crossing his arms over his white shawl as we all await his answer.

Pursing his lips, he leans on the edge of the desk. “Your wings will burn away and your soul will change in a manner that cannot be explained even in this world of magic you find yourself in. It is forbidden for angels to enter hell, no matter the reason, no matter the cause. Once you fall, you cannot ever rise as the angel you were. It is a fate worse than death.”

“Lucifer leaves hell all of the time, so that doesn’t make sense,” Jonathon adds.

“I do not mean in that way. Your soul can never leave hell, even if your body does. We all treat ourselves like our bodies are more important, but your soul is everything. A taint of that darkness would destroy you,” he pauses. “Lucifer couldn’t leave hell in the beginning, not until he found a way. I’m sure that is a secret Lucifer would not share with anyone.”

“Good thing none of us would ever go into hell then,” Isabella Louton jokes from the row behind me.

“I would never. Not for anything,” I add in.

“Have any of you boys been in love?” Master Gabriel asks, and there is a resounding chorus of nos. All of us died before we turned twenty-one, and I doubt anyone in here is much older. There wasn’t much time in our lives for real love. “Lucifer fell for love, and it is a power like none other. Does he regret his decision? I suspect so, but if it was true love, I doubt he does. Magic and power are only two of the most powerful things in this world. Love is the third and, without doubt, the most alluring. Do not promise things you cannot judge in this moment, only make the decision in your mind that there is a great price for falling.”

I muse on the idea for a moment. “If someone truly loved you, they would not want you to fall.”

“What if it was not their choice?” he asks, and the bells ring to signal the end of class. “We will discuss this further in our next lesson.”

“Blessed be the angels,” I say with the rest of the students as I stand up, my thoughts lingering on the idea of a fallen angel.

It sounds like a fate worse than death.

1

THE WELCOME COMMITTEE OF HELL SUCKS

F ire flickers and spits across my skin, not quite burning me but feeling like I’m seconds away from it as I suck in a deep breath that feels like fire. The heat from hard, rocky ground I’m lying on itches my back, but I don’t move. I can’t. I stare up at the entrance to hell, the empty tunnel of fire that spirals up so high, seeming like it never ends as fire burns constantly. I’m in the one place I never wanted to be, but I wouldn’t have regretted it, not once.

That is until Morgan followed me.

Why did he do it? The answer flickers through my mind even when I don’t want to admit the real reason, the answer I know is true. Saving Sera’s soul and life was worth coming to hell, knowing I am going to figure out a way to escape my marriage promise, but with Morgan losing his wings, I didn’t pay the worst price. I sit up slowly, feeling every inch of my body resisting the movement like there are a million stone cats sitting on me. Rubbing the dust and ash from my crusty eyes, I see that I’m in a cage made of bones that I refuse to touch, and there are dozens of cages all around me of the same make. Totally gross. Some hang off the walls, some have people in them that seem in a coma-like state, and others have nothing more than dust and bones rattling around. Strangely, there is a breeze which is almost cold, cooling down my skin as I try to remember how I got in this cage in the first place.

Surely there is more to hell than this room?

I just remember falling and then seeing Morgan following me through the portal into hell before it slammed shut. I don’t think I could ever forget seeing his wings burn away or hearing the screams that he made, but everything after that is just blank. I touch the side of my head where it briefly stings like an old injury as I stand up, and my fingers graze against the horns in my hair. Lifting my hands, I see my fingers are rigidly tipped and black down to my hands. My clothes have seen better days, and I’m literally covered in dust and ash.

At least I think it’s ash and not ground up bones.

I’m telling myself it is ash. Ash.

“Shit, I need to get out of here,” I mumble to myself, hoping my demon will talk to me. I must be in my demon body down here, so surely she is here to help. Where the hell is she? I close my eyes and try to talk to her in my mind, but after a long pause, I realise she isn’t there anymore.

Perhaps she hates me now because of the choice I made. Perhaps hell bonds our souls or something. I know hell does something to young demons—it’s why The Demon Academy is on earth and not down here. But what has it done to me?

Sera is alive, and I won’t ever regret that. I just can’t.

Hearing footsteps, I look up to see a shadow walking towards my cage just before the light highlights his bright blond hair, bright green eyes and stupid smirk in a posh suit that looks out of place here. “Ah, my queen is awake. Will you behave if I let you out?”

“You call me your queen and yet you lock me up. Seems like you can’t make your mind up, Lucifer,” I reply, crossing my arms and holding my chin up high. He will not beat me down or intimidate me into doing anything for him or even agreeing with him. We both stare each other down for a long time, and every second he smiles like this is all some messed-up game.

It sure isn’t going to be a messed-up game when his new queen stabs him in his useless heart.

With a long, over the top sigh, he finally says, “You still haven’t answered my question.”

And I’m not going to, asshole. “Where is Morgan?”

“Recovering from his fall,” Lucifer answers, his smug ass face suggesting he is happy to tell me that because he knows it’s not what I want to hear.

“Where is Morgan exactly?” I practically growl.

“I won’t kill him, if that is what you are concerned about,” Lucifer muses, stepping forward further into the light caused by the fires above, holding keys in his hands that clink against each other. “Once he comes into his full power, I will absorb it and then kill him. He has about twenty-four hours, but do not think I’m going to let you see your lover, Alexandria.”

Rushing forward, I grip the bars as desperation takes over me. “You c-can’t—”

“Morgan doesn’t matter, Alexandria. We have a mating ceremony to prepare for. After all, you made me a deal, and you can’t break a deal with the devil,” he says, flashing me a grin.

I stare into his empty eyes, my heart feeling like it has been smashed into a dozen pieces as I start to realise I might not have a way to save Morgan. My game plan was to kill Lucifer at the first chance I got, but how can I kill him before he gets a chance to kill Morgan? My game plan might have taken me years. Gritting my teeth, I try to hold in a scream that wants to escape. “I. Know.” After he smiles at me, he unlocks the cage door and pushes the door open, the keys disappearing in red smoke.

“Come on. I want to show you our castle and home.” The devil holds his hand out, and I glare at him, shoving his hand out of the way as I walk out of the cage. Step one, escape the cage. Step two, save Morgan. Step three, kill Lucifer.

I can do this…but first I need to find Morgan. I turn to look back at Lucifer who is strolling behind me like he is attached on a piece of string I want to cut lose.

“Where are we?” I ask him. I might as well get information on hell while I’m here.

“This is the first section of hell, where we keep the newcomers, of course.”

“Of course. It’s super inviting,” I sarcastically mutter. “How many sections of hell are there?”

“Eleven. An odd number, I know,” he comments, like it’s something he has thought about a lot.

“Which section is Morgan on?” I ask.

“He is in my castle on section eight, where I will take you if you ever stop talking. Come along.” Lucifer walks across the rocky ground, and I don’t have a choice but to follow him as I try to make a plan to get myself out of this situation. At the other side of the cavern are four sets of shiny black doors. They are super modern for…hell. I cross my arms, feeling sweat trickling down the back of my neck as Lucifer presses a button on the side of the middle doors. The doors make a bing noise as they open to reveal a small room.

“Is this a lift? In hell?” I stupidly ask, as it’s clearly a lift… I just didn’t expect it.

“Why are you surprised? Did you expect hell to be rocks and fire demons running around naked?” he asks as we both step inside.

“Was it ever like that?” I reply, actually curious.

“Before I got here, yes. I made hell civilised,” he proudly comments. “It is now everything the human world needs.”

“And you made yourself king as payment,” I remind him. He isn’t a saint who did it all for free. I hate how DA all but worships this monster. He is selfish, and he has never done anything that wasn’t for himself.

“We all take a price for our actions, Alexandria. Your price was a half breed mutt’s life,” he reminds me.

“Her name is Serafin, and no matter what her blood makes her, she is worth any price.”

“We will see how many years it takes you to regret the price you promised. I believe it won’t be many,” he says, and he laughs, pressing one of the eight buttons on the side. If there are eleven sections, then why aren’t there more number buttons?

“Do you regret much, Lucifer?” I muse, stopping him laughing all together. “I think you’ve made worse decisions than I ever have, and you have nothing more than hell full of disloyal subjects to show for it.” His hand smacks across my face, slamming me into the back of the lift, and I tumble to the floor. Lucifer doesn’t look down at me as I hold my throbbing cheek, tasting blood in my mouth from where I bit my cheek. The lift goes down, making butterflies flutter in my stomach even as it feels like my cheek is healing super quickly. Must be a hell gift.

The black glass doors do little to hide the city as it comes into view in the blink of an eye. A city in hell, full of demons, who knew? High rise towers fill the main part of the city, made of pure black stone with black windows. The tops are shaped like spears, stretching into the fire covered ceiling. There are hundreds, if not thousands, of little stone houses around the centre of the city, and beyond that is acres of red leaved trees of all different sizes.

Hell is beautiful.

“Look at my kingdom of hell, Alexandria, and tell me if I regret anything.”

2

CAT FOR LUCK, MOTHER FOR LOVE?

JAVIER

“Has she woken up yet?” Nikoli’s question is more of a demand than anything else. I peel my gaze away from Sera lying on Lexi’s bed, to where he stood in the doorway, his shadow hanging over me from the light behind him. I gently place Sera’s pale hand down before getting up and walking over to him, tugging the door shut behind me. Sera’s life might have been saved, but her soul needs to recover. Or that’s what one of the cooky teachers here told me when they came and checked up on her as I asked them to. After Eike threatened to kill all the teachers and hang their hearts around Sera to help her heal, they quickly came to our aid.

I don’t think my best friend would have done that. At least, hopefully not.

“What do you think? She died, she needs time to heal,” I all but growl at him as he walks away from me into Lexi’s living room. It still smells like her in here, and everything in this place makes me want to hit something. Glancing at Nikoli, I realise he is as fucked up as I am without Lexi here. This apartment smells of her, settling me and my wolf a little inch away from losing our shit and trying to dig our way down into hell to get our mate back. Closing my hands into fists, I push my wolf as far back as I can, knowing shifting and letting him take control would be very bad for everyone.

And it wouldn’t get Lexi back.

Lexi saved my sister at the price of her own life, the price of going to hell and god knows what else she gave up. I love her more for it, but I hate that there was no other way and that Lucifer has her now. She is my mate, my soul, my everything in this world, and I knew it the second I broke into her apartment and she stood up to me like I wasn’t an alpha wolf she should have been scared of.

Lexi isn’t scared of anything, or she never shows that emotion to anyone, and right now I need to be the same. To be strong and make a decent plan with these demons she loves to get her back.

“The fucking useless headmaster says hell is banned to everyone and all portals have been locked from the inside. He doesn’t have a way to help us get in,” Nikoli explains. Claus punches the wall, setting it on fire a little before he stalks away to pace in front of the window where he has been for a long time.

“I told you how to get into hell, but you have all ignored me,” a voice cuts into the silence, and we all turn to look at her sitting on the counter.

“Because your way is fucking crazy, Mother,” Claus shouts at the cat. How this cat is their mother, I don’t want to know. Either way, the twins have serious mummy issues going on that is making the tension far worse. “In fact, don’t talk, or I’m throwing you out the window over the cliff like I should have done when we got back here. Maybe you can shift into a fish and swim the fuck away.”

“Maybe she is right…” I drawl, remembering the cat’s advice she tried to give us when we first got here.

“Lilith suggested using an angel to open a portal to hell. Unfortunately, our only angel friend just jumped into hell before the gate closed in our faces,” Nikoli reminds me. “I doubt a fallen angel inside hell is going to be any use. We will be lucky if Morgan isn’t fighting Lucifer, and Lexi doesn’t get caught in the middle before we get there.”

“I have an angel friend you can trust. He is a friend of Alexandria’s and Morgan’s. He will help her,” the cat-demon mother suggests.

Claus and Nikoli look at each other for a long pause before Claus speaks. “And how do you suggest we contact him, Mother?”

“Angels don’t leave calling cards,” Nick adds.

“I will get him for you. Be right back.” The cat runs out of the room as Eike storms in holding new blankets for Sera, followed by an older demon I don’t know, who closes the door. Eike pats my shoulder as he passes me and heads straight to Sera to change her blanket as she keeps sweating so much that they need constantly changing. Apparently Eike can sense her wolf trying to shift, but her human side isn’t having it without a full moon, and that’s why she is like this. Until she wakes and calms her wolf, this is just going to continue.

“Mr. Bisgaard, what can we do for you?” Nikoli asks, in a not too friendly way either.

“Wolves are not allowed in The Demon Academy any longer. I am here to request you remove them all,” he demands, holding his head high, but he betrays himself when he glances at me in disgust. Fucking demons.

I cross my arms, baring my teeth as I growl. “You can try removing me and see what happens, teacher.”

“Claus, Nikoli, your father demanded—”

“Let’s just make this clear.” Claus walks right up to the teacher, interrupting his sentence mid-way. “We own this academy now, not you. If you do one fucking thing to annoy us, my father will be the least of your worries, because you will be hanging off the top of the academy with your heart missing. Get out of this room and do your fucking job.” His eyes glow green, his hands changing colour as he threatens his headmaster for me and Sera and Eike.

I see why Lexi likes these two now. Almost.

“Y-yes,” the headmaster babbles before running out of the room, slamming the door shut.

“Where is Lexi, and what did she do?” We all turn at Sera’s soft voice. I take two steps, tugging her into my arms. Thank fuck she has woken up.

“Lexi made a deal with the devil to save your life,” I whisper to her, feeling her body shaking in my arms and the sob caught in her throat. “Don’t you dare say you’re sorry, because no one is, and I know Lexi isn’t.”

“What?” Sera’s voice is soft and full of shock. She looks up at me, and I nod, knowing she loves Lexi as much as we all do. Except Eike. I can just about deal with these demons and the now fallen angel being in Lexi’s life. After a few tears fall down her cheeks, she holds her head high, steeling her gaze on me before looking at the twins and then back to Eike who stands a few feet away, watching Sera too closely for my liking.

“Then how are we getting Lexi back?” she asks, putting her hands on her hips.

“We are waiting on a cat…” I answer, and Sera looks at me like I’ve gone mad.

“Wait? A cat? Which cat?” Sera asks, crossing her arms and looking between us all. “Someone better start explaining everything right now. My best friend is in a lot of trouble, and I am not letting her face it alone,” she demands. “I will go to hell and kill Lucifer myself if that’s what Lexi needs.”

“Yes, madam, we like that idea. We should discuss it more as we wait for my mother,” Claus smirks, and I glare at him and then Eike, who I catch staring at Sera like a lovesick puppy.

“What does your mother have to do with the cat?” Sera asks, super confused. As Sera goes to stand with the twins, chatting away with them about how Amethyst is their mother, I feel Lexi’s presence missing like a hole in my chest.

Nothing is right without Lexi here…and nothing ever will be.

3

LOVE IS AS BITTER COLD AS DESPERATION IN THE END.

I  peel myself off the floor as the lift stops on a level below the city, and this place is just as beautiful as the city of hell seems to be. Sitting at the back of the cavern is a massive black castle with spiralling towers, red stained glass windows that stretch from the ground floor to the highest floors. The castle is surrounded by an impressive garden, filled with every kind of red plant and tree you could imagine, perfectly existing down here. In the middle of the garden is a row of water fountains with red water, at least I hope it’s water, and small little streams run from them down the sides of the black stone pathways.

I nearly jump out of my skin as three men appear out of nowhere, and they look a little like Hellers, but they wear long red cloaks instead of black ones, and they don’t have hoods that cover their faces. Instead, they are painted black with a strange symbol drawn onto their foreheads, and their eyes never open, making me wonder if they actually do at all. I feel Lucifer’s eyes on me every single second I take to look around, and I wonder if he wants me to say something. Like, oh I love the place you are going to lock me up in forever. Cute flowers!

“Why are these Hellers like this?” My question seems to finally get him to look away from me and towards the waiting Heller.

“These are a special brand of Hellers; they are the loyal guards of hell. They are personally chosen by me,” Lucifer explains. “They once simply protected the gates of hell, and then I promoted them, so to speak.”

I nod, crossing my arms. “What is that on their forehead?”

“It’s my mark,” Lucifer simply states.

“But why?” I ask.

He looks down at me like I’m a bug he wants to squish, and he grins. “The symbol forbade them from talking, from communicating with anyone that isn’t me. It’s the perfect way to keep them loyal. The spell also makes it impossible to open their eyes, yet they can see much more than they ever could due to magic.”

“That’s cruel,” I whisper, looking at the Heller and feeling deeply sorry for him.

“Hell isn’t a fairy tale, little Alexandria. Now come along, you need to see your home, and I have a wedding to plan. Are you not as excited as me?”

I don’t answer that, mainly because I don’t feel like being hit again. My cheek still throbs, and where I’ve bitten the inside of my mouth hurts like a bitch. Lucifer all but prances down the footpath at my side, and I keep my mind busy with ways I’m going to kill this motherfucker.

“What are on the other sections of hell?” I ask, and he reaches out, grabbing my elbow in his grip.

“Let’s just say every section above this one and including this one, you are allowed on. If you go to the lower floors, I will lock you up quicker than you can blink,” he warns me, tightening his grip to emphasise how serious he is, I suspect, before he lets me go.

“Understood,” I bite out.

“Remember, little Alexandria, if you don’t hold up your end of the deal, I will go to earth and rip the half breed mutt to tiny pieces. Then I will bring little bits of her back here for you,” he almost sweetly warns. My heart tightens because this is the problem; he knows I love Sera. She is a sister to me, my best friend, and she is pure and everything good the world needs.

And right now, she is a weakness that Lucifer can hold over me.

“I never said I wouldn’t hold up my end of the deal, Lucifer. You are jumping to conclusions without proof,” I say.

“It’s the way you look at me. You want to kill me, but alas, that is not something I can allow to happen,” he comments. “You look at me as Lilith did the second she realised who I actually am.” That’s interesting.

“Why do you want me as your mate? You could have anyone, but choosing me means you will never have someone that loves you,” I ask.

“I want you because you are the only other being that can touch souls and own them. That is all you need to know,” he explains to me. “And I quite like you, Miss Alexandria Cameron. You are sarcastic, beautiful and powerful…I may love you one day.”

Gulping down the disgust burning in my throat, I ask, “So I’m not your true mate?”

He laughs low and long. “No, Lilith was always that, and she knew it. It was her angel blood, the blood of the first angel in hell that made demons to begin with. The angels will never admit that, but they know where demons came from in the beginning, which makes angels and demons true mates more often than not. I remember the day I saw Lilith, I was looking after a human charge, and she was the human’s date. Lilith could project herself into humans’ bodies for a day and live their lives, but she could not escape hell, so I went to hell for her and permanently opened the gates.”

“Then why would you tell me that I am your true mate? Why would the stone say I am the queen like it did when we first met?”

“I told you that to mess with my sons. I can see mates, and I know who yours are, and the stone was correct in some sense. You are my sons’ true mate, and that does make you royalty and a queen as they are the princes of hell. I know Nikoli saw through my lie, but Claus was always the stupid one,” he says with a slight chuckle that sets off everything protective in me.

“Claus is not stupid, he just loves you, or at least he did before this,” I bite out, but Lucifer only finds it funny.

“Anyone who loves me when I beat them regularly is stupid, Alexandria. Now, I know how Nikoli has taken you as his mate, but do not worry, part of our wedding ceremony will mean cutting your previous matings from your soul,” he states, and it takes a few seconds for me to cut through my angry haze and realise what he just implied.

“No,” I shake my head, stepping back. He reaches out, wrapping his hands around my shoulders, and pulls me closer to him. His sickly sweet breath brushes against my cheek as he leans in.

“Don’t worry, Alexandria. Losing your mate will make you go insane, and in your insanity, I will be your only saviour, your only link to your mind. You won’t even remember Nikoli’s name,” he all but whispers.

“You’re insane,” I gasp.

“Then you’re joining the club soon. Won’t that be fun?” He lets me go, and I force myself to hold my head high as he stares down at me. “I do like how strong you are. It’s very alluring, like a breath of fresh air. Ah, if the gods were kinder, you would have been my soul mate instead of that silly demon.”

“Where is Morgan?” I demand, needing to change the subject, needing to see Morgan and know he is okay more than anything in this world right now.

Lucifer stares at me for a long moment, and only then do I notice how deathly silent it is in here. There isn’t an animal making a noise, there isn’t a drift of wind. There is just silence, and I know I hate it already. “Come.” I jog to catch up with Lucifer as he walks to the doors of the castle, which are held open by four of the red Hellers, or that’s what I’m calling them. They are like zombies as we pass them to enter a giant dome of a room. Other than a spiral staircase in the centre of the room, it is just glass walls in a circle with a few glass doors heading off down corridors that I can see through the glass. Lucifer doesn’t give me a second to really look around as he walks to the staircase and starts heading up. I follow him up, passing three levels before he steps off the staircase, and I freeze as I get to the top.

“Morgan,” my voice cracks as I stare at the angel I’m in love with, or what is left of him. Morgan floats in the middle of the room, red energy slowly snaking its way into his soul like beams of red light. The beams cover him, soaking into his skin, and he is completely out of it. Before I can step forward, Lucifer places his hand on my shoulder, and I itch to shove him away. “Don’t touch, it will kill you.”

“His name is Morgan,” I bite out. “And he will never, ever hurt me.”

“I don’t care. In a few days, he will finish his entrance to hell and wake up to find me standing over him, a dagger in his heart,” Lucifer so carelessly explains as my knees feel weak and my heart beats so loudly in my chest I’m scared it’s going to smack its way out of my chest.

I can’t lose Morgan…not like this. Never.

“NO!” I scream, pushing Lucifer’s hand away and trying to run to him. I don’t get far before Lucifer wraps his arms around me, feeling impossibly strong as he grips my throat, cutting off my air supply. I try to scream and fight as I feel myself passing out, but seconds later my body gives up, even when my mind and heart only want to fight.

4

A CAT AND ANGEL ARE UNLIKELY FRIENDS…

CLAUS

I  watch as Amethyst—aka our mother—jumps from rock to rock on the cliff as the sea sprays water across my cheek, and the air is bitterly cold as she comes to a sudden stop. With The Demon Academy towering in the distance, the night making the sky look like an endless field of stars, and the moonlight casting the only real light over us like a blanket, it’s hard not to hope to see Lexi soon.

I have to save her, if not for the idiot I was for months when my father came back, if not for the fact Lexi deserves a million times better mate than me, then for the pure fact I’m completely in love with her. I close my eyes just briefly, long enough to tug an image of her into my head. Long, silky brown hair cascading down her back as her bright blue eyes lock onto mine, her hands resting on her hips as her bow-shaped lips tilt up. I want to reach out and kiss her, like I want to every second I’m with Lexi. But soon the image snaps away like a photo disappearing into my memories, and I’m back on the cliff, waiting for an angel to help us save Lexi.

“You best not be betraying us, Mother,” Nick coldly warns, and at this point, I don’t blame him. Lexi is gone, and we are all fucking idiots because we should have protected her and, at the end of the day, we didn’t. Our father is going to make her his mate as soon as possible, and it’s not that simple. Nick and I know our father won’t want to share Lexi, so he will sever the bonds Lexi has already made with Nick and Javier.

And that will destroy her so there is no one left to save. I know my evil as hell father wants that, but my bat shit crazy mother? I’m not sure what she wants. No one matter what she is doing here and how she is helping us, she is still the woman who, in a pure jealous rage, killed the parents who brought us up. I won’t ever forgive her for that, no matter what her reasoning might have been. I can see she has been good to Lexi, and that is the only reason I haven’t tried to kill her.

She is still the woman who left us with humans in the first place. What kind of mother does that and then kills the people she trusted with her babies? It doesn’t make an ounce of sense, and it never has.

I sense the angel before he appears in a blast of white, pure light that knocks all of us onto our asses. Damn light angels and their protective light barrier shit. I grip the cold mossy rock under me as I pick myself up and turn to the angel who is almost floating in the air even though his wings are down.

He must be old and extremely powerful; figures Mother knows him.

“Morgan is fallen, is he not?” the angel questions, and to my surprise, there is pain in his voice, more pain than what comes from just losing a random angel to hell. No, this angel was Morgan’s friend, which doesn’t make a lot of sense, considering Morgan was punished by his kind to work at DA. I always assumed he had no angel friends and no interest in the world that literally threw him away for whatever reason. I look between Javier and Nick as they pick themselves up, all of us not expecting him to have known that yet, and the surprise is clear on our faces.

“You know Morgan fell into hell for Lexi?” Nick questions. “How is that possible?”

“I am old enough to sense great changes in the magic of the world, and a fallen angel is a great change indeed. I did warn Morgan that his mate would send him to hell, but he did not listen.” He pauses and clears his throat. “The above worlds have lost a great angel, but perhaps hell has gained a real king for once in its many, many years. My name is Master Gabriel, one of the original ten angels of The Angel Academy, and I believe you need my help if our cat friend is right.”

“Wait a second,” Nick grumbles. “Mate?”

“Yes, Alexandria is Morgan’s true mate, and Morgan is well aware of it and has been for a long time. As you all know, Alexandria is angel blessed, and if she died, she might become a type of angel never seen before,” he explains to us. Fuck, this is more complicated than any of us have gotten our heads around. “Death would not be a kindness to Alexandria. You three must protect her from it.”

“Lexi isn’t dead, she is in hell with Morgan. We need to get there, and that’s why we need your help.” Javier is the first one to get his head around this all. I think Nick and I need a second to realise we are stuck with the angel as well as the wolf.

“I am aware of why you need me here, wolf. It seems Alexandria Cameron has made not only two princes of hell give up their title to fight their father, but she has also made an angel fall to hell and an alpha wolf happily give up his pack,” Gabriel muses. “Isn’t love a strange but powerful tool in a world full of magic?”

Tilting my lips up, I almost laugh. “And I’m fairly sure I can speak for everyone here when I say we would give up the world for Lexi. The whole fucking world.”

“So are you going to help us?” Javier asks, his tone colder than I’ve ever heard it. “Or are you going to stand in our way and find out what happens to those that do?”

“Of course I will help you, you need not threaten me. Alexandria wants you three, and you are her chosen. It does not matter my opinion on such.” He holds his head up. “The two other wolves must stay on earth; one is too weak to travel, and the other is an alpha whose pack needs him alive, or there will be chaos.”

“They are staying here,” Javier agrees, glancing back across the rocks and up to the academy where Eike and Serafin are standing on a balcony, watching. Sera wanted to come with us, but Javier convinced her it wouldn’t be safe, and Lexi needs us all focused on her instead of protecting Sera. Eike wasn’t about to let her go anyway. I’m nearly certain that he is in love with Javier’s sister…and Javier doesn’t have a fucking clue. Fingers crossed I’m there to see that disaster waiting to happen play out.

“I ask a favour from you,” Gabriel states. Of course his help comes with a catch.

“Sure, you are doing something for us,” I answer.

“I need you to warn Alexandria of the truth,” he tells us, and he lowers his head. “When angel blessed enter hell, they can never leave for the mark will take their soul. Alexandria can never leave hell now, or it will be a true death for her.”

“There must be a loophole around that—” I start off, but he stops me by holding his hand up.

“I have seen three angel blessed leave hell, and every one has known a death so painful that they wished they never did. The light above does not give second chances, and the same fate will meet Morgan if he leaves. They are forever trapped there, I am sorry,” he tells us. Fuck.

“Thank you for the warning,” Mother says, and the angel bows his head at her.

“The debt I owed you, consort of hell, is paid.” The angel moves his gaze from her to us. “Are you ready?” The angel holds his hand out at his side, facing the cliff. A hole burns into existence, opening a portal to hell that is begging us to jump in. Nick and Javier don’t wait, jumping into the portal with only a wave at the angel. Mother jumps in next, and I move to the portal edge, looking back at the angel.

“Thank you,” I tell him.

“Do not thank me for such a simple request. If Alexandria and Morgan want redemption, it can be found in the light. Remember that, prince of hell, and go.” I nod, his words floating around my head as I jump into the portal and fall into hell.

5

FML, THERE IS AN INDESTRUCTIBLE WEDDING DRESS

Stretching my fingers out, I feel the satin sheets under my hands as I blink my eyes open a few times to the dimly lit room. Right in front of me is a large stained glass window, the red glass painted into the shape of angel wings that are held in the middle of the sky full of clouds and stars behind them. I’ve been trapped in here for two days, only seeing random red Hellers as they bring me food, which I’ve thrown back at them. God knows where Lucifer has disappeared to, but I have a bad feeling he is planning a wedding.

Our wedding.

I’d rather die than marry that asshole, but I’m clueless on how I’m going to escape here first, as right now it is looking impossible. Sitting up, I rub my dry eyes that don’t have any more tears left to fall as I stare at the glass still. It’s the most beautiful thing I’ve seen in this castle, reminding me that even in our most desperate times, the beauty of the world doesn’t fall away as if it is nothing. But I can’t save Morgan in here, and I’m worried nothing can. What if all that power makes Morgan as insane as Lucifer?

What if Lucifer was once just a normal angel until he walked into hell? And hell itself made Lucifer a total monster? Shaking my head because these thoughts are not going to do anything good for me, I get off the stupidly large bed and walk to the window, peeking out through the glass to the gardens outside.

It really is beautiful here. But no matter how pretty it is, I need to escape here sooner rather than later. Maybe if I can just get Morgan out of hell, he might be alright? Hopefully, anyway. I don’t have another plan in mind. As I stare out the window, I wonder again if this is the room Claus and Nikoli were born in. It certainly must be the castle. I miss them and Javier and Sera almost as much as I miss my parents. I rub my chest as even thinking of them cuts so deep, hurting me because I know their souls are down here, and I need to say goodbye to them.

That’s the only good thing that will come of this place. I will get much needed closure with my parents and kill the monster responsible for their deaths.

I glance back at my new bedroom. The king-sized bed with deep red satin sheets takes up the most space. There is a dresser filled with red silk gowns that I’m never wearing, and I’m sticking to my school uniform even though it’s beginning to smell. There is a fireplace that I tried to climb up and out of, but it’s too narrow to climb. Other than the bathroom across the hall, which I’m escorted to, there isn’t much to help me escape. I’ve tried blasting the door with holy fire, and it’s done little other than make a burn mark.

Suddenly, I hear something smack into the door, and I uncross my arms, walking over just as the door opens and a red Heller’s body smacks onto the floor. I look up, and for a second, I don’t believe my eyes as Javier, Nick, Claus and a woman I don’t know quickly rush into the room. Covered in ash and dust and their clothes slightly burnt, they couldn’t look better to me. My heart pounds as we stare at each other, none of us knowing who exactly should speak first or if words will fix anything at all.

“Get the guard in before someone sees us,” the softly spoken woman demands, and I drag my eyes from my guys to look at her. Bright purple eyes watch me as she tucks her wavy black hair behind her ears. She has a choker collar on with a strange green gem in the middle that almost glows, and she is very beautiful and, I suspect, around our age. I know she is a demon, but there is something different about her. My guys clearly trust her as they soon get to work. Javier drags the guard into the room before Nick shuts the door, and they all look at me once more. I don’t know which one of us moves first, but in seconds, I’m in Nick’s arms before I’m passed to Claus and then Javier.

“Are you okay?” Javier asks, cupping my cheeks with his hands for a second. Nick’s hand rests on the small of my back, and Claus pushes Javier’s right arm away so he can stand right next to me. Javier growls a little, but to my surprise, he doesn’t tell Claus to fuck off as he lowers his hand and smiles at me.

“Define okay. Wait, who is this?” I ask, waving a hand to the woman in a very revealing tight black dress. I stare at her bright purple eyes, her long black hair and perfect features again. Oddly, she looks like my cat.

“My full name is Lilith Amethyst, consort of the king of hell, and we have been friends a long time, Lexi,” she tells me. My world seems to spin for a brief second as I realise who she is and how I’ve been betrayed. No. No. No.

“No,” I mutter a few times out loud when I meant to say them in my head, stepping back, but Nick wraps his arm around my back, holding me in place.

“It’s going to be okay,” he whispers to me. But how in hell can it be?

My cat is a fucking person? I got undressed in front of her a million times and fed her. Oh my actual god. I cleaned a person’s hairballs up off my bed and let her in the bathroom when I’ve been showering.

I’ve even taken her to the vets where they took her temperature in a really fucked-up way, and now I know she is a person.

Oh my actual god, this can’t be happening.

“I couldn’t tell you who I was, but your parents knew. They knew because they asked me to watch over you when you began to come of demon age,” she tells me. “I also was around a lot in my human form when you were a child and kept taking people’s souls by accident. Your parents used to drug you to stop it happening, but then I helped them. My link to Lucifer means I can slightly control soul touching gifts into not working for a short time, but it was enough to stop a ten-year-old who didn’t know what they were doing. Your mum wiped your memories with a vampire’s help, and then eventually you needed me around a lot more to help you control it all.”

“A vampire?” Javier mutters. “I thought they were extinct.”

“Not when you know exactly where to look,” Amethyst replies. “And Leo Cameron had a very good vampire friend who helped for a little money.”

“Your mum was my cat?” I ask Nick and Claus, though there are a million different questions I want to ask right now.

“It’s all kinds of fucked up, I know,” Nick mutters. “But this is why we never saw her at the academy. She hid because her sons would recognise her in a heartbeat.”

“You lied to me. You used me, and what did you want?” I snap at Amethyst.

“To keep you safe. I promise that’s all—” she pleads, holding her hands up.

“Don’t believe a word she says. You know what she did to our human parents, and we have not forgotten,” Claus adds in. “I wouldn’t believe a word she comes up with.”

“I didn’t hurt them! It was your father’s doing! Ask him what actually happened that day!” Amethyst shouts, the hurt in her voice makes me question the truth a little bit.

“Father wouldn’t have killed them, and you were there! It couldn’t have been him!” Nick growls.

“Like your father didn’t tie me up in chains and take my newborns without me even getting to say goodbye?” she humourlessly laughs. “You don’t know how truly evil your father is. I’m his true mate, and he broke me in a million pieces, but I am not an ounce of how messed up he is. I swear on my life, I did not kill your human parents, and I never would have done. Ask your father what happened to them and then decide who is the liar.”

“We need to make a plan and get out of this castle,” Javier interrupts. “I’m sorry, but the family drama does need to wait.”

“Not without me. You are not going anywhere with my bride,” Lucifer casually comments, stepping into the room. None of us can move quickly enough to stop him as he clicks his fingers, making spheres of red light appear around each of us, pushing Nick away from me. I slam my hands across the sphere which does nothing more than amuse Lucifer. Lucifer clicks his tongue, walking over to the sphere of red light Lilith is held in, and she has crawled back as far as away as she can, fear gleaming in her eyes. I hardly hear the shouts from Nick, Claus or Javier as I stare, frozen, at Lilith and Lucifer.

He once loved her, and he made her like this…fearful of him. Scared. Alone.

Lucifer’s eyes never stray from her. “Lilith, have you been getting into trouble, dear?”

“Fuck you,” she spits out. A big part of me wants to jump in front of her, to protect her even though she has been a lying little cat.

“Back to kitty form you go. This time, you can learn to shut up, as all that talking doesn’t do you any good,” Lucifer growls, placing his hand on the sphere which disappears with Lilith. Dammit, I’m worried about her now. Why would my parents trust her to be so close to me?

“As for you three, you can wait in the royal prison with the rest of the fun creatures I lock up down there. Good luck surviving.”

“NO!” Claus shouts, but before I can even blink, their spheres are gone with them, leaving me alone once again with Lucifer. He clicks his fingers, and my sphere disappears into red embers that float around me, and I gently land on the floor.

“Let them go, Lucifer,” I ask him. “They only came here to save me, but they don’t deserve to die for that.”

“I brought you something,” he answers with a cruel smile. Lucifer steps out of the room and comes back with a long white dress. A fucking stunning wedding dress that I want to burn into millions of pieces.

As I take a step back, my voice is far shakier than I want it to be. “I’m not wearing that.”

“Tomorrow morning, we are getting married and you will wear this. I now have three prizes to kill if you dare betray me,” he warns.

“You wouldn’t kill Claus and Nikoli. They are your children,” I say.

He tuts as he walks to the bed, laying the dress down almost lovingly. “My sons betrayed me, and I no longer care for their existence. Besides, our children will be far more loyal.”

“You’re insane. I’d rather stab myself than marry you,” I spit out.

“I don’t care about your opinion, and you won’t get close enough to a weapon for that to be an issue. Sleep well, my beautiful bride. Tomorrow is a big day.”

Lucifer disappears in red smoke, taking the passed-out guard with him, and the doors slam themselves shut on cue a second later.

I walk to the bed and pick the dress up. Using my holy fire, I set it on fire and watch as it burns on the bed for a moment before the magic material just fixes itself, putting out the fire. I scream as I throw it across the room, and I fall to my knees, a sob escaping my lips, because I can’t pretend I’m strong anymore. I’m trapped.

I’m never going to be able to escape this.

Once the wedding is over, I can do one thing that will make sure Lucifer doesn’t win.

I will find a way to die.

6

CHALLENGE ACCEPTED

“Don’t say I don’t get you presents, my bride.” I don’t turn to look at Lucifer as I stare at myself in the mirror, the white dress fitting me almost too perfectly. The dress is a classic style with a sweetheart neckline and layers of satin that fall to the ground. As I stare at myself on my wedding day, for the first time ever, I’m thankful my parents aren’t here. I wouldn’t want my mum to see me like this, in this dress. I remember a conversation I had with her once about what I would wear on my wedding day in the future, and I jokingly said I’d wear a black dress and make my man wear white instead. She chuckled and held my hand, telling me that no matter what I wore, I’d be beautiful because I’d be happy.

But right now, I don’t think I look beautiful, I look broken and beaten. Trying to distract myself from feeling Lucifer’s eyes on me, I glance at my straight, long locks of brown hair. I’ve left my hair down, though I miss my normal appearance and less of my demon one. My demon has all but disappeared from my mind, but she feels like she is with me, dreading our fate as much as I am.

“You are pretty in that shit dress, though your hair is messy.” I turn around to see Amethyst—wait, Lilith—sitting on my bed in her cat form. Her appearance is somewhat comforting to see until I remember who she is and how she has betrayed me. I look to the door, which is held open by Hellers, and Lucifer is gone.

After today, I will be lucky to ever get rid of him.

“Want to help me jump off this castle?” I ask.

Amethyst lifts her paw and starts licking it. It’s super weird to watch now I know she is a person. She is basically licking her arm in front of me. “Dying won’t let you escape here. The healers can fix anything, so we need a better plan.” Tugging my dress skirt up in my hands, I walk to the door and just pause in the doorframe.

“You betrayed me,” I whisper.

“No, I stayed with you, and I’ve always been here. If I told you who I was, there is no way you would have trusted me,” she adds in. “Little lies and one big lie about who I am kept you safe.”

I cross my arms and turn my head back, eying her carefully. “I don’t trust you.”

“Your mum and dad did,” she purrs.

“Don’t bring them up to me! I can’t believe a word you say, and I don’t trust you to tell me the truth!” I blurt out. “I’ve always seen you as family, my last bit of family left that hell and Lucifer hasn’t taken from me, but it turns out you were nothing but more hell to start with!”

“You’re right, Alexandria. I’m from hell, but so were your parents and they made mistakes. We all have made mistakes somewhere along the line. I just want you to trust me to protect you and my sons. That is all I want. I see you as a daughter, whether you like it or not,” she all but shouts in my head. “Now I can’t shift back or speak out loud, and only those with my blood can hear my thoughts. Before you ask, your mum gave you my blood to help me teach you some control when you lost your temper. I guess it’s back to the good old days where I talk to you in your mind and you pretend you don’t hear me.” I’m not sure which emotion wins, disgust or shock. Either way, I just can deal with her anymore.

“The good old days included me cleaning up your hairballs. Why did you have to cough them up on my bed?” I ask, needing to know that answer.

Amethyst lifts her head, making her eyes all wide and cute. “Because you didn’t feed me. In my cat form, I’m always hungry.”

I purse my lips, dropping my arms. “I don’t know what to say to you.”

“King Lucifer is waiting,” a Heller snaps, standing in the middle of the doorway. Amethyst hisses at him as she jumps off the bed, and he looks a tiny bit scared for a second.

“The Hellers here are rude, do ignore them, or I can kill them for you if you want.” I stare at her, not totally sure if she’s kidding or not. “You have a wedding from hell to attend.”

Shaking my hands out, I try to stay strong. “I can’t do this.”

“It’s a bond, nothing more. I won’t let you forget yourself, Lexi,” Amethyst tells me.

“Forgetting your Claus and Nikoli’s mum sounds nice right about now,” I reply.

“Maybe I’ll forget to remind you of that. I do love your belly rubs,” she purrs as I step forward, and my lips tilt up for a brief second before the fear creeps back in.

My palms sweat as I follow the Heller out of my room and down the corridor to the stairs. We go up the stairs, one by one, as I try to focus on them and not the fact I’m walking to my doom. Jumping off the castle sounds more and more appealing with every step I take. The stairs head right up to the roof of the castle that is so high it almost touches the fire covered ceiling, and I can feel the heat from it as I look around the garden up here. The roof is covered in flowers, dozens of different kinds in rows, except for the path in front of me that leads to where Lucifer is standing in a white suit.

Acting all innocent, the crazy asshole.

Next to him is a Heller, at least I think it’s a Heller, in a white cloak that almost shines. His hands are the only part of him not covered, I notice as I walk over and stand opposite Lucifer.

Brushing her body against my legs, Amethyst purrs before hissing at Lucifer as she walks to the side, whispering to me. “Remember something, Alexandria, he will be weaker when he is linked to you. This bond is one of blood, and it is eternal. One day, this will make it possible to kill him.”

A tear runs down my cheek as I look down at Amethyst, just for a moment. “And me.”

“Are you ready, my love?” Lucifer asks, reaching out and grabbing my wrist just as the whole castle shakes. I fall to the ground, rolling into the flowers as I try to stop myself. The shaking quickly comes to a stop, and I pull myself up as do Lucifer and Amethyst. Lucifer takes one step towards me, but someone else’s voice stops him.

“Alexandria Cameron belongs to me, and as a fallen angel, I challenge the king of hell for his title.”

7

DA IS GOING TO HELL

T  here is utter silence as I turn to see Morgan standing at the top of the stairs. His black hair is wild, falling all over his face, and under his locks, I can see his bright forest green eyes as they call to me. His shirt is gone as red energy burns from every groove and muscle of his chest.

He looks out of control.

And my crazy heart demands I run to him. Before I get a chance, Lucifer’s hand wraps around my wrist, tight enough to hurt. Tight enough his nails dig into my skin as I instantly try to fight him. In less than two moves, he has my other wrist in his grip, and he is holding me against his chest, his heavy breath moving strands of hair across my cheek. “Tut, tut. I never said you could leave.”

“Give her to me.” Morgan’s statement is cold, empty of any emotions and oh so angry. I shiver as I try to find the right words to say to him, to tell him I’m okay even when I’m not. Seeing Morgan alive, even like this, fills me with a hope I didn’t have until this second.

“Remind Lucifer that it is a rule of hell, literally written on the walls of the soul pit, that any fallen angel can challenge the king of hell for his title. There is a fighting ceremony that must take place,” Amethyst quickly tells me as Lucifer and Morgan stare each other down.

“I will kick you out of hell, you damn fucking cat, if you say another word into her head,” Lucifer roars, and Amethyst quickly moves closer to Morgan who doesn’t look her way.

“She is right, though. You have to accept Morgan’s challenge, and that means you can’t take me as your queen. I promised to marry the king of hell, as I’m meant to be the queen of hell, and until we know who will be king, you don’t get me,” I all but growl at Lucifer, pulling my wrists out of his grip, even though I’m aware he is letting me go. The second I’m free, I run to Morgan, only pausing when I’m near as he looks at me. “Morgan?” I nervously ask, and he holds his hand out for me. I don’t hesitate as I slide my hand in his, and the red glow slowly disappears, though his eyes still don’t seem to know who I am. Fear creeps into me as I stare at Morgan, a fear of who and what is going on in his soul. Did becoming fallen change him somehow?

“Fine. Hell has been boring for a long time now. A challenge is just what the demons need,” Lucifer says, acting like he came up with this whole idea. “We might as well make this a family and mutt reunion.” Lucifer closes his eyes, and three spheres appear over the flowers before disappearing, dropping Claus, Nick and Javier down to the ground. They all get up at once, covered in dirt and green stuff that looks like blood, and each of them seem ready for a fight before they see Morgan and me.

“Hey, guys. Turns out there is a battle for hell and the title of king on the order,” I say, filling them in as best I can. Nick’s eyebrows rise as he looks at Morgan, Claus just laughs, and Javier doesn’t seem to have a clue what is going on.

“Right…” Nick drily comments, looking between his father and Morgan. “And the winner gets you?”

“Yeah,” I answer, and even though he doesn’t look impressed by it, it’s a better solution than his father.

“I have another idea to make this occasion so much more. Just watch,” Lucifer says with an all-knowing smile, but in a fucking creepy way, before closing his eyes and floating into the air as he glows red. It feels like the entire world shakes, knocking us all over, even though Morgan holds onto me this time as we slam into the metal gates of the staircase. I bury my head in his chest as loud banging noises fill our ears, and the sound of metal screeching cuts my ears. When it stops a long time later, dust burns my eyes as Morgan helps me stand up with him, and I trace my gaze around to check on Claus, Nick, Javier and Amethyst who all seem to be fine. Even the Hellers are standing up like nothing happened. What the fuck was that? We walk forward, right to the edge of the roof where Lucifer is standing, the others walking over to stand next to us.

“The Demon Academy has come to hell!” Lucifer claps as he shouts, like that’s the best thing since sliced bread. But the sound of screaming cuts into the silence, and then there is more screaming until I feel like it will never end.

“Who is screaming?” I ask no one in particular. Morgan pulls me away from the edge, holding me to his chest.

“Don’t look,” Claus softly warns me. “Some things you can forget and others you cannot.”

“Young demons, it’s a shame not all of them can handle being in hell. Better they die now than later, that’s what I say,” Lucifer says, filling me in on why Morgan has pulled me away and why Claus said I shouldn’t look.

Lifting my head, trying to block out the sounds of screaming, I meet Lucifer’s gaze. “You’re a fucking monster.”

“Go and take your temporary freedom, Alexandria. Don’t push my tolerance of your guests here, or I will kill them all,” he warns me. “I do not need a teenager to tell me who I am and who I am not.”

“Father—” Nick starts.

“Get out of my castle and go live in the academy. You can tell everyone there how they are going to be witnesses to the greatest battle hell has ever seen.”

Morgan turns me away before I can say anything else to him, and my list is ever growing.

“We will kill him one day,” Javier growls as he gets to my side. I look back at Claus and Nick as they walk after us, Amethyst following right behind.

I don’t know how we could kill him here…but one thing is for sure. I won’t let him kill Morgan or anyone I love ever again.

8

I WANT MY ANGEL BACK

I  stare up at the tall towers of the academy, and how they just miss the top of this level of hell, grazing across the stone and fire up there. The fire flickers across the towers, making them almost seem like they are on fire, but it’s just the light. The glass once held inside them has shattered into pieces, along with a few dozen doors that have fallen off the hinges, and the entire castle doesn’t look quite level over the trees and flowers it crushed. The glass has fallen all around the academy, smothering the once beautiful garden into nothing more than a mess. Right by the door is the reason we have all stopped in our tracks, and none of us has yet to figure out what to say.

There is a pile of student bodies, some covered in blood, some half changed into their demon forms—and it didn’t work. Some have clearly died from the glass falling or something hurting them as Lucifer moved the academy to hell. Mr. Bisgaard suddenly appears in the doorway, fully shifted into his demon form with large white horns that curl around his ears, but the rest of him looks pretty much the same as he did, down to his teacher uniform. Mr. Bisgaard drags another two bodies out and dumps them on the pile before going back inside, never once looking back at us.

“This is my fault,” Morgan whispers, sounding so broken and lost that it hurts me to even hear him speak for the first time since we left the roof. I sharply turn to him at my side, wondering what exactly the best words are to say. I’ve never been good at talking, especially not about emotions. I couldn’t even talk about losing my parents, and to this day, I haven’t really accepted that they aren’t going to come back into my life. I certainly haven’t accepted Morgan nearly killed himself to try and save me, and he might be killed by Lucifer because of his claim to a throne I know he doesn’t really want. That neither of us wants. Add in the denial over my cat being my mates’ actual mother, and I suck at deep conversations and talking about emotions. Morgan doesn’t give me a chance before he walks off into the academy, and no one knows what to do. Amethyst doesn’t care as she runs off into the academy, likely to hide somewhere, as right now she is a problem we don’t want to talk about.

“We are going to bury the bodies, Lex,” Nikoli finally says, stroking my hand with his. “And then get a shower or something.” Looking up at him, I sadly smile as he leans down, making sure his words can’t be heard. “You should go after Morgan. He needs a level head to fight this, and we can all talk about a plan later tonight.”

Looking at both Claus and Javier, who is undoing the buttons on his shirt oddly enough, I ask, “Are you sure you can do this without me? I’m happy to help.”

“Our dad did this, we should fix it,” Claus answers, disgust leaking out of every word before he clears his throat. “And Morgan needs you, and we need Morgan to keep you safe.”

Javier smiles as he drops his shirt to the ground, and I try not to stare. Try. I mean he is ridiculously attractive with a shirt, and without? Yeah, it’s hard not to stare at my mate. “My wolf is a damn good digger. Together, it shouldn’t take us long.”

“Is Sera okay?” I ask him, walking over, and he tugs me closer, wrapping his arms around me. I feel Nick’s and Claus’s eyes on us as Javier kisses me softly, still somehow making me weak in the knees in the blink of an eye.

Pulling back, he smirks at my no doubt red cheeks. “Sera wrote you a letter, and she is okay. You saved her life…I don’t know how to thank you for it.” He pulls out a folded letter from his pocket and slides it into my hand.

“Sera doesn’t deserve to die; it was an easy choice,” I say as he lets me go, and I itch to just go back into his arms.

“Still, you saved my sister.” The sentence hangs between us. “And we can talk about this all in a bit. Find that angel before he does something stupid.”

“Thanks,” I say. Claus kisses my cheek before I walk away, and I only look back once just in time to see Javier shift into his large brown wolf. The twins talk to the wolf like they’ve known each other years while they likely make a plan for the bodies. I try not to look at the students as I pass by, but I can’t help it. My heart pangs with guilt and sorrow as I recognise a lot of my class members and realise how their lives have been cut short before their time. Anger almost consumes me as I shake, just endlessly glancing from one face to another, knowing their souls are trapped in hell with Lucifer as the one who took them.

“I’m so sorry for your loss, and I hope your souls have found peace,” I whisper, feeling tears trickling down my cheeks.

“Just kill the bastard that did this,” Maggie whispers, stepping out to stand at my side. Turning my head, I see that Maggie has shifted into her demon form, and it really suits her. Long black horns stretch out of her head, mixing with her curly blonde hair that falls in waves down to her stomach. Her glowing red eyes lock onto mine with a passion as she pulls something out of her pocket and hands a familiar red glowing necklace in front of me.

“How did you get that?” I ask, accepting it from her. The second I touch it, I feel like a bucket of cold water is chucked over me, and I gasp, shaking from it as I notice my hands have returned to normal. I reach up and feel my hair, seeing that it’s the same.

“Lucky you, you can keep your human form down here with that. It won’t interrupt your powers either. If anything, it will help keep your control. Now go and do your magic alluring shit with Morgan as he looks broken, and I don’t like seeing my friend that way,” she instructs me.

“Friend?” I ask.

“Just don’t hurt him, or I will personally rip you to shreds,” she warns me. “I’m not stupid anymore. Life is too short, and in our world, stupid people in love with someone who doesn’t love them are going to die. I want someone who will jump into hell for me, just like Morgan did for you.”

“I won’t hurt him, I can’t,” I admit to her, placing my hand on her arm for just a second. “And believe it or not, I can be a friend to you if you want, and you do deserve a man who would do anything for you.”

“Friends with the soon to be the queen bitch of hell.” She smiles. “I like it.” I chuckle as she walks off to help Claus, Nikoli and Javier as they continue to dig holes for the bodies. Turning away, I head inside the academy to find my angel.

AFTER SEARCHING ALL our rooms for Morgan and quickly getting changed, I decide to check the library next before checking the other classrooms. Heading up the stairs, I shouldn’t be surprised when I feel him near just before I step into the library where he is sitting on the floor, his head bowed with his hair completely covering his eyes. I carefully step over the books littered everywhere and make my way to sit opposite him, reminding me of our many lessons in this room.

“Talk to me,” I softly ask, hoping he will tell me anything, anything at all, so I can find a way to comfort him. He doesn’t reply after a long pause, and I reach out, gently holding my hand over his joined ones. “Thank you for jumping into hell for me. Thank you isn’t a big enough thing to say, but it’s all I have…you lost your wings for me.”

“I lost my wings for my soul mate, which is you, Alexandria Cameron. I knew it from the second I looked into your eyes, but I couldn’t admit it to myself. In another world, you would have been an angel, and then you would have known exactly who I was to you. In this world, you’re a demon and angel blessed and everything else that makes you complicated. I do not regret falling into hell for you, because I know something you don’t,” he whispers to me and finally lifts his head to meet my eyes. “Angel blessed can never leave hell, and I will never live in a world without you in it.”

“What?” I whisper, tears pricking my eyes at how damn romantic he can be without even trying. “I can’t leave. Ever?”

“Ever. We are both immortal and stuck here. I can only leave if you do, and you can’t. It’s a situation we will have to find a way to deal with, but it’s not the worst part,” he warns me.

“What’s worse?” I almost chuckle. Laughing about being trapped in hell is much better than crying about it. I’m going to miss earth and all the little things that make it so amazing. I can’t see how hell could ever compare.

“The power streaming through my body, feeding me from this place. I understand why Lucifer has lost his mind now,” he all but whispers. “Death, pain and cruelty is itching at my soul far worse than it ever did when I was a dark angel.”

“Can we stop the power?” I ask. I refuse to let him go.

“The power comes from the trapped souls here. Many years ago, souls used to travel through hell and then up to the sky where they could find peace. Only the souls who truly sinned would find themselves stuck here to live out a payment for their sins. Lucifer caged the souls up, forever collecting them and gaining untold power which I am now tapping into,” he pauses. “And it’s going to destroy everything about me, making me just like him.”

Anger fills me as I reach forward and cup Morgan’s face with my hands, forcing him to really look at me.

“Morgan, I will never let that happen. I will find a way to release the souls—I can touch them, remember? We will figure out a way to save you and then a way to get out of hell. We are not ever giving up,” I firmly tell him. “Now where the fuck is my teacher, my Morgan who damn well is stronger than Lucifer? Find him, I miss him, and then get him to fight with me. We do not give up, you taught me that.”

“Then we won’t give up.” He looks up, and for a second, I see the real Morgan. My Morgan.

“Never,” I whisper before I kiss him. He holds me close to him on his lap, kissing me softly as we try to forget where we are, try to forget everything but each other.

Morgan is my soul mate, and I won’t let his soul go.

9

TIME TO GO BOOK HUNTING

“How is he?” Claus asks as I step out of my apartment, where I left Morgan sleeping on my bed before I took a much-needed shower. Somehow, no doubt because of magic, everything in the academy is working as usual when I suspected it wouldn’t. I smooth down my clean uniform, feeling somewhat odd for wearing it, as Claus steps closer, wrapping his arms around me. I hold him tightly, smelling his fresh cotton shirt and feeling how his hair is still damp from his shower like me.

“Not good. We need to have a group meeting,” I admit, rolling my hands up his chest.

“I do hope I am invited,” my uncle comments, and I turn to see him standing at the end of the corridor, half covered by the shadows. Claus keeps me close to him as we walk over, and Uncle Harry softly smiles my way. “I see my necklace has come in use, but every other warning I gave did not. Have you realised falling into hell was the death of your demon side yet?”

“Warnings do little to protect me against Lucifer and no, I didn’t know that. Do you have an angel killing sword as my next gift, by any chance?” I ask. Worth asking, I think.

“Angels die like any other creature. I find stabbing or removing their hearts is the trick,” he replies, surprising me. I didn’t ever think of my uncle as a fighter, let alone someone who actually could make jokes. I hope he is joking, anyway. I stare at him for a long second until I realise why I’m staring. He looks like my mum, and damn does that hurt.

“As much as this conversation is interesting, we should take it somewhere private,” Claus gently suggests, his hand rubbing my back ever so softly.

“Agreed. You mate is a smart one,” Uncle Harry comments, and I grin at Claus, who looks mighty proud. I notice how he isn’t in his demon form either, but I don’t see any kind of jewellery on him to stop the change. I wonder if it’s his half angel side that gives him more control.

“I will go and find the others. Why don’t you take your uncle to your apartment, and I will bring everyone here?” Claus suggests.

I lean up, kissing him softly. “Okay.”

Claus heads off, and I turn around, walking down the corridor and opening my door. I head inside, and Uncle Harry follows, closing the door behind him. We both go and sit on the sofa and chair, a strange and a little awkward silence hanging over us until Amethyst strolls into the room. She jumps on my lap, like I don’t remember who it actually is, and has the cheek to innocently purr.

Uncle Harry smiles at Amethyst, with almost a guilty glint in his eyes. “Uncle Harry, have you met Lilith?” I enquire.

“Yes, we are well acquainted,” Uncle Harry murmurs.

“You knew?” I ask. “And never once did you think to tell me?”

“Well, yes, but she is nothing but another layer of protection for you. Protection your parents wanted, and I am not one to judge their choices,” he replies.

“Told you so,” Amethyst purrs.

“Is there anything else you’ve forgotten to tell me?” I ask while we are discussing secrets.

“Not that I can think of in this second,” he muses.

“Lucky for you, I need your help, so I can’t be mad at you,” I mutter.

“You can be mad and still need my help, Alexandria,” Uncle Harry all but chuckles. “Would you like a drink? I could sure use one.”

“No, thanks,” I answer as he gets up and heads to the kitchen.

“Your uncle is one fine demon, with one fine—” Amethyst starts off.

“Enough. I’m already scarred for life by my memories of treating you like a cat, I don’t need to be scarred by your love interests either,” I warn her. “And also, do not walk in on my mates in the shower ever again. I will be seriously pissed if you do that again.”

“I am part cat, you know that. My soul and the cat’s are the same, yes, but when I am like this, I feel more animal than demon,” she tells me. “But I will admit that the view in the shower was perfect.”

“Good for you, you crazy cat,” I mutter, knowing it is not worth arguing with her right in this second.

“I’m sure your sexy wolf feels the same,” she tells me, and I try not to talk to her anymore, wishing she would get up off my lap as she settles down and curls up in a ball. I have my mates’ mother on my lap…sleeping. This is just so weird. Thankfully, the door opens as Uncle Harry comes to sit back down, and in walk Claus, Nick and Javier. Their presence makes me instantly more relaxed as they come into the room and sit around me. Claus and Nick sit on either side of me, eying their mother on my lap like I’m holding a snake. Javier rests against the arm of the sofa, next to Nick, and all of them turn to look at Uncle Harry at the same time I do.

“What is it you need, Alexandria? I will help you however I can,” he states.

“Morgan is tapped into the power of the souls of hell. The souls Lucifer has trapped here to gain power and make him as strong as he is. I want to know how I can free them so that not only is Morgan safe but Lucifer is vulnerable,” I explain, and there is silence following my statement. I want to add in that I’m not joking when Uncle Harry looks at me like I’ve just said some all-time big joke.

“Free the souls of hell?” Uncle Harry all but coughs out. “Free the souls?”

“Wow, you certainly chose a big mission,” Nick states. “We can’t free them until Morgan battles Lucifer for the title, because then Lucifer would beat Morgan. Morgan needs the power to win, and then we can do your plan.”

“Is it even possible? Everyone knows the souls are forever trapped here and belong to Lucifer,” Claus adds in to no one in particular before looking at me. “But if it’s not possible, we will figure out a way. You know I’m on your team, no matter if the team has an impossible mission that might—wait, will—get us all killed.”

“In reality, it might be possible, but the gate around the souls is a fortress of magic and curses. To touch it would be a death sentence,” Uncle Harry explains. “And the entrance section above it has more Hellers than anywhere else. All of the Hellers are trained to protect the gate of souls with their lives, and it will be a bloodbath.”

“We can take you to the final level of hell, but we can’t break the spell on the gates. Lucifer doesn’t let anyone near the souls, and he doesn’t go in there himself,” Nick adds. “As for the Hellers, spiking their drinks will knock them out. The idiots all drink from the same water source, and I know a hell fairy that will make us a nice potion.”

“A hell fairy?” I eye Nick, wondering if he just made that up as I’ve never heard of it.

“Hell fairies are tiny little bugs that live in the fires above the city. They do not talk to anyone they don’t want to, and they make many drugs,” Nick shares.

“Drugs that are fun for parties, with nearly zero side effects. You could say me and Nick were their best customers a few years back,” Claus mutters. “Until father decided we couldn’t stay in hell anymore and kicked us out.”

Not knowing what to say to that, I look to Uncle Harry who still seems very interested in the hell fairy thing. Clearing my throat, I get Uncle Harry to finally snap out of it and look at me before he asks, “What can we do then to get the souls free?”

“I won’t let Morgan die or go crazy because of the souls. If I can get inside, I can touch the souls and release them,” I say, knowing I can do it if I can just get close enough. I feel like it’s the right thing to do, or it might get me killed. Either way, it’s a risk only I can take because I’m the only one like Lucifer that we know of. I glance at Javier, who is silent in all this, always observing though. I wonder what he is thinking about.

“You don’t understand how many souls are in there. Touching all those souls at once to release them would kill you, Lexi,” Claus gently tells me. “We would have to do it slowly, a few hundred at a time.”

“And Lucifer might notice that,” Javier finally talks, “and then kill us and lock her up. We can give him a big distraction,” Javier comments with a wolfly grin.

“Fine, we have a plan once the gate is down. Do you remember your parents talked about a book that you should find? The one with answers?” Uncle Harry asks.

“In the letter they left me, sure,” I reply, leaning forward.

“Right, well I found out that the book belongs to the Tales people, a race of fairy tale descendants, but I do not know how we can contact them,” Uncle Harry claims. “I do know that your parents spent their entire lives researching a way to protect you from this power or a way to control the way you connect with souls. The book has to be important, I am sure of it. My sister said it held all the answers we ever sought about you, but she didn’t have time to find the tales in the end.”

“I know,” Amethyst all but smugly claims. “They live on a protected island not far from where The Demon Academy’s island is. You should travel north, give or take, and I have a charm that will take you through their magical barrier. Why don’t you tell my sons? I’m certain Lucifer has made it so my blood spell doesn’t work on them. They can’t hear me, or they are ignoring me.” I stare open mouthed at her before I realise not everyone can hear her anymore.

“Amethyst knows where to find them, but Lucifer made it so she can’t speak,” I explain.

“I thought it was a bit too quiet,” Claus replies.

“I have a fix for that!” Uncle Harry proudly comments and starts searching his pockets. After a long pause, he pulls out a silver chain and walks over to Amethyst, sliding it around her neck and hooking the end through the loop.

“Thank you, Harry. You always were a kind demon friend,” Amethyst says out loud this time and then explains her information to everyone.

“I want to know what this book says. We should go,” Nick states.

“I can’t leave, ever, and I can’t ask any of you to go,” I remind them, after filling them in on the whole trapped in hell information that apparently they already knew because Gabriel told them.

“But we need this book, and I’m good with people. I will go and take Sera and Eike with me. The three of us should be able to talk them out of killing us on sight,” Javier interrupts. “The twins can protect you with Morgan when he is up and about until I’m back.” Nick and Claus look like they want to say something sarcastic, but I give them a look that suggests they don’t.

“Thank you,” I tell Javier, and it reminds me I haven’t opened Sera’s letter yet.

“If you get them to help, then use this,” Uncle Harry comments, pulling out two identical silver rings with a black stone embedded in it. “They are like projectors, allowing anyone to see each other no matter where.”

“You’re like the jewellery demon. Where do you even get this stuff?” Nick asks as Javier takes one of the rings, and I take the other.

“I literally own a magical jewellery shop down here in hell. You should come and see. Family discount will be applied, of course,” he says, smiling at me.

“One more problem, Lucifer has blocked the doors of hell,” Nick reminds us.

“Oh, I have a mirror in my shop that will take you to the island on which The Demon Academy resides. Its magic can’t be detected by Lucifer, I’m certain of it,” Uncle Harry replies.

“We have a speed boat in the pack, so once I’m there, it shouldn’t take us long to travel to the tales island and hope they will help us,” Javier explains, standing up.

“You need to tell them the new queen of hell is offering an alliance for help,” I say, picking Amethyst up as I stand, and I place her back on the sofa between her sons. “Because one way or another, I am going to be queen, and I will be vengeful to anyone who betrays me if this all goes wrong.”

“I like the queen,” Amethyst whispers to her sons, and they both just glare at her. “She is badass.”

“I will tell them, but hopefully, they might just help,” Javier comments with a small smile, standing up and walking to me. “I’m going to be okay.”

“Right, well that’s my cue to leave. The mirror only works in the morning when the fire sun of hell changes to blue. You will find my shop on street eighty, right in the middle of the city. See you tomorrow,” my uncle says before bursting into green flames, disappearing without another word.

“Lucifer has called us for a family dinner, just us three and Lilith. You should spend the night with Javier before he has to go, and we will be back here later,” Nick explains. “I don’t want you around Lucifer any more than you need to be.”

“Do you think it’s safe for you to go to a meal with him?” I ask.

“I won’t allow him to hurt my sons. Come along,” Amethyst comments, jumping off the sofa and heading to the door, where she waits. Nick kisses my cheek before walking away and Claus tugs me to him, kissing me a lot more passionately, enough to make my cheeks burn as he lets me go. “Have a good night and don’t worry. We can handle our father.”

I watch them leave, linking my fingers with Javier as I hold back the words I want to say.

The twins have no idea what kind of monster they are going to dinner with.

10

I FINALLY UNDERSTAND WHY RED RIDING HOOD FOLLOWED THE WOLF IN THE WOODS

“How is Sera? Eike?” I ask Javier as we walk around the remaining gardens, ducking around tree branches that hang low and somehow block out the light from the fire above. I’ve noticed how the fire changes colour in the days I’ve been here. In the morning, it almost looks blue, and then it turns to orange throughout the day and finally to an almost red colour as night comes. It’s not like the sun on earth, but it’s something else, and I possibly could get used to it and my fate trapped down here. I look back at the two castles filling the cavern, how one looks like it’s meant to be here, and the other really does not. The Demon Academy should be on earth, but god knows how we are going to get it back after all this.

Javier tugs me closer, using his one hand to carry the basket full of food we made before we headed out for some fresh air. Not that the air in hell is fresh exactly, it’s more like desert weather, the lack of humidity at least. I think back to Sera’s letter, how she spoke of missing me so much and how she wishes I find some happiness down here. She spoke of how grateful she was I saved her life, but she felt perhaps I shouldn’t have because there is such a big price to pay for it. Then she told me she would be so mad if the guys didn’t figure out a way to save me. There wasn’t much more, unless her constant talking about Eike is counted, which it’s not. I can see those two ending up together, because there is a fine line between someone annoying you to the point of hating and loving them.

Kissing the side of my head, Javier murmurs. “She misses you as much as she is mad at you for giving up everything to save her life. For once, me and my sister were in agreement.”

“When you see her…just because I might not get to see her outside of hell, just tell her to live the life I saved. No holding back, no waiting,” I ask of him. He frowns, almost like he can tell I’m talking about Eike. Sera should just tell him she likes him, because I’m nearly certain Eike isn’t the same loser in an inn that I first met, the wolf running from everything. He has become alpha and changed everything because Sera simply asked. You don’t do stuff like that unless it’s for a good reason.

“Is that how you want to live now?” he asks, rubbing my hand with his thumb.

“Yes,” I gently tell him, locking my eyes on his just as we come across a clear part of grass between four trees. Javier sits down first, tugging me into the gap between his legs. Resting my head back on his chest, he wraps his arms around me, and for a moment, we can just be two teenagers in love. Nothing more, nothing less. We don’t have an angel to save, we aren’t trapped in hell, we aren’t worrying about every little detail of a future we can’t control.

It’s just Javier and me, being us. A wolf and a demon that really should never be together, but we are.

“When this is all over, I’m going to knock that castle down and build you a better one,” he randomly states.

“Can you actually build a castle?” I muse. “I mean, that’s something you haven’t told me if you can.”

He laughs, and I feel his chest vibrate against my back with it. “No, but I’m good at building. I’ve re-built several of the pack houses, and I was always fixing stuff. A castle will take me a few years, but it could be our home, and we will have a long time to live in it.”

“You don’t have to stay in hell because I’m stuck here,” I remind him. “This is my price, I don’t expect you to pay it with me. Your family is on earth; Sera is there and your pack.”

“Lexi, there isn’t anywhere else I’d rather be than right here with you,” he tells me. “Turn around, look at me.” I move only my knees and turn around, letting him tug me onto his lap, holding me close to him. “As a kid, all I was ever trained to think about and love was being alpha to a pack of wolves. Those wolves never let me close to them. They saw me as a leader who had to do something for them, so they always wanted something from me. Never once did they truly just accept who I am. Sera and Eike were the closest I had ever come in my life to having someone who just wanted me. Just me, in their lives, and then I met you. I was a dick to you, I pushed you away, and I expected you to hate me as much as everyone else did, but you didn’t. Lex, you just wanted me, just me and, fuck, you stole my heart. So no, there is nothing more and nowhere else I want than to be right here with you for the rest of our lives together. I’m going to fight for you, I’m going to love you so fucking much you will never, ever think you aren’t loved, and most of all, I will always, always be here.”

I don’t think I move for a few seconds. The only thing I can do is hear my own heart beating in my chest and feel a tear rolling down my cheek, hitting my lips and disappearing as I taste the salt. When I move, I can only press my lips to his, and he fully accepts my kiss, groaning as his tongue finds mine. His large hands caress up my thighs until he finds my core and pushes my panties to the side. I moan, arching my back as his thumb finds my clit at the same time he sinks two fingers inside me, feeling how wet I am for him.

“Fuck, so wet and tight. You’re driving me mad, Lexi.” I can’t reply to him as he lays me down on the grass, removing his fingers and looking down at me like a mad man lost in lust.

And I want nothing more than for him to be inside me. I lean up and kiss him as I undo his trousers, and he kicks them off. He tugs his shirt off as I push my panties down my legs, and he rests on top of me.

“I want to see you come,” he tells me, kneeling between my legs and pushing my skirt up. Javier doesn’t give me a second to even breathe before his tongue is slipping between my folds and finding my clit, slowing licking and nipping me closer to an orgasm. He slides two fingers back inside me before sliding them in and out in the same rhythm as his tongue flicks across my clit. Glmy hands into his hair, I tug his head up and push him back onto the grass, moving myself on top of him.

“I want you inside me as I come,” I say as I feel him pressing into my core.

“Then ride me and come,” he instructs, his eyes burning with desire. I reach down between us and guide him inside me, loving how he fills me up, every single inch of him, like no one else can. I roll my hips as he undoes my shirt and pulls my bra down. He leans up, flicking his tongue over one of my nipples while his fingers play with the other as I ride him harder and faster, feeling myself getting so close to coming. I grab his hair again, lifting his head up to me and kissing him harshly as I explode into a million pieces, crashing into an orgasm that rocks me to my core, and I don’t notice anything or any noises that escape my lips. Grabbing my hips, Javier thrusts into me two times before he spills himself inside me, and we both fall back onto the grass, breathless. I chuckle with a big smile on my lips as I look at my mate.

“I like being in control with you,” I admit. I never thought I’d be this…confident with him, but it feels right, and I don’t want to ever stop doing this.

“Fuck, I like it too. Can we do that again before I have to leave?” he asks.

“Maybe,” I tease, and he tugs me on top of him, kissing me as I feel him growing hard under me not soon after. Javier is right, with him at my side, I will never not be loved.

11

USUALLY PEOPLE SAY JUMP BEFORE THEY PUSH YOU OFF…BUT NOT NIKOLI

J umping down on the sofa next to me, Claus and Nick squish me between them with matching smiles before Claus talks. “I had an idea.”

Closing my book on fallen angels, I look towards him. “Oh, an idea you both had?”

“Well, since Morgan is moody and won’t talk to anyone, Javier is gone, and you’ve been sitting in here all day reading, we are going to take you out into the city you’ve never even seen,” Claus says with a big grin.

“Morgan isn’t moody, he is just struggling to control his powers,” I comment…though Claus and Nikoli do have a point. He isn’t in the best of moods at any time of the day now.

“Morgan is sitting on top of the castle, staring at the sky,” Nick comments. “Though I sent some of the other teachers up there to talk with him. Maybe they can cheer him up.”

“He won’t let me, that’s for sure,” I mutter, feeling a sharp pain in my chest. Ever since he woke up last night, he has ignored everything I’ve said to him, and then he left to sit on the roof. The three times I’ve been up to see him and bring him food, he simply told me he isn’t ready to talk to anyone and today is a bad day.

And every second, I feel like I’m losing him.

“Go and get a pretty dress on,” Claus suggests, bumping my shoulder and taking my book from me. Rolling my eyes, I head to my room and spend the next ten minutes choosing a tight, knee-length silky black dress with a slit up to my thigh. Wearing sexy dark red lipstick, my favourite Victoria’s Secret perfume, and black heels, I head back into the living room as I let my hair down from the messy bun I had it in. It falls around me in waves as Nick and Claus see me, and both of them stand up at the same time. They stare in what I can only describe as awe as I walk to them, and they both take my hand.

“You look incredible, Lexi,” Nikoli tells me.

“Incredible isn’t a good enough description. Tonight, we are going to show you everything and share you every bit of the way,” he seductively says. Or maybe I’m hearing more than what he is offering?

“Share me? You know I’m not a dessert, right?” I joke.

“Depends, I do like eating dessert,” Claus says, grinning at me, and I roll my eyes at him.

Whacking his brother on the back of his head, Nick looks down at me. “In all seriousness, we are travelling by holy fire. It won’t hurt you, but sometimes it feels odd. You ready?”

“Yeah, and then you can teach me how to travel with holy fire,” I ask, because that looks seriously cool.

“It’s not teachable exactly. You have to just do it and hope you end up in the right place. It took us about ten times to get it right,” Claus tries to explain. “We will practice another time.”

“Ready?” Nick asks, and I nod just as everything feels like it’s freezing cold, and bright green light flashes into my eyes. I hang on tightly to Nick’s and Claus’s hands until it stops, and I open my eyes to see we are on a cliff, looking over the city of hell.

“Rex! Where is my favourite kitty?” I turn at Claus’s voice as he walks into a cave and suddenly there is a giant ginger cat with white wings. I stumble back as Nick holds onto my hand tightly and wraps an arm around me to stop me going anywhere.

“This is our familiar,” he tells me, and I try not to be nervous as I take in their familiar’s large teeth that look too sharp, or the big eyes that seem to be locked onto Claus.

“He is huge, like the size of a bus!” I harshly whisper, and then I catch the cat’s attention. Rex runs at us at full speed, somehow just stopping in front of Nick and rubbing his giant head against Nick’s chest and then mine.

“Cool, he likes you,” Claus states. “Now hop on, Rex is going to drop us in the nightclub. The entrance is in the sky.”

Before I can ask a million questions about why the entrance of a nightclub is in the sky and why we need to ride a flying cat there, Nick is lifting me by my waist and throwing me on Rex’s back, letting Claus catch me. I wrap myself like a monkey around Claus as Nikoli climbs on in front of me, pressing his back into mine. “Hold on,” Claus whispers to me, almost laughing.

Jackass. Air gets caught in my throat, stopping me from screaming as Rex runs and jumps off the cliff, smoothly gliding his way across the city like it’s nothing at all. My stomach feels like it’s fallen out somewhere along the way as Rex takes turn after turn around the high towers of the city before getting to one of them and stopping right next to it.

“We need to jump. Don’t worry,” Nick whispers to me, turning himself around and picking me up as I’m utterly terrified.

“What do you mean ‘don’t worry’? You just said we need to frigging jump!” I all but screech, and the dickhead just smiles before shoving me off Rex’s back. This time, I do scream as I fall, and suddenly white light surrounds me, like a tunnel, gliding me down until I roll out onto a soft carpet, with flashing lights trailing across the ceiling of the room I’m in. Blasting music fills my ears, so loud that I can’t focus as I sit up in the dimly lit room and look around.

It’s a hidden nightclub. With a falling entrance. I’m going to kill the twins for this one. The twins come down the tunnel in style—of course they do—landing with grace and standing up smoothly. It’s only then they notice I’m still sitting on my ass, and Claus tries not to smile as Nick offers me a hand, picking me up with a small grin. Pressing my body into Nick’s, I ask, “Next time, can we go somewhere we can just walk into?”

“No,” he tells me, wrapping his arm around my waist and leading me into the crowd of dancers. After a few seconds, I realise the twins are good dancers.

Wait, more than good. They move their bodies in a sexy way, all the time keeping me in the middle of them, never once commenting on how I’m not as coordinated as they are. Claus’s lips move to my neck, where he presses a gentle kiss as his hands move to rest on my hips. Turning me around, Claus kisses me as the music blasts away in the background and the world falls away. I’m aware Nick can see us, I’m aware we are in a nightclub full of demons, and not a single part of me really cares about any of that. I just want to lose myself in this moment, this part of my life when I can truly just be free with two of the guys I’m in love with.

We dance a few more songs before we are all out of breath and need a drink. Claus and Nick hold onto my hands as they lead me through the dancers and to one of the bars in the room. We all slide onto stools as Claus calls the bartender over.

“Claus, my man! It’s fucking good to see your pretty face down here,” a waiter with bright purple hair and big golden eyes says. He is short, just coming above the bar, and he has a strange tartan suit on that feels like it’s from the 1950s. “Tell me the rumours are true and it’s free drinks on the house.”

“It’s always free drinks for the princes of hell,” Claus replies with a cheeky grin, and they both laugh. “I’d like to introduce you to someone, Peter. This is Alexandria Cameron, soon to be queen of hell.”

“Shit, your majesty—”

“It’s cool. Nice to meet you, Peter,” I say, offering my hand to him over the bar, which he takes and kisses the back of before Nick pulls my arm away.

“Ah, I see how it is,” Peter says, winking at me as Nick leans in closer, not giving one shit about his possessive move. Peter picks up a microphone and grins. “Now, the queen of hell is in the house. Drinks are free!”

The crowd cheers and rushes to the bar, and Peter gets to work offering us drink after drink as I meet a dozen people I will never remember the name of.

For one night, we get to be normal-ish teenagers, and it’s just what I needed.

“DEMON DRINKS ARE UNFAIR. They give you a hangover like an hour after drinking one,” I whisper as I tip toe into the lounge in one of the twins’ shirts and little else.

“I did warn you. Hold on,” Claus says, rushing into the kitchen of the flat we are in. Nick is passed out, sleeping in the bedroom, and Claus was sitting on the couch, looking out the window until I came in. The window here is massive, stretching across the one wall, and we are so high up in one of the high rises that the view over the city of hell is stunning. Taking it all in, I sit on the couch and pull the fluffy white blanket over me.

Claus comes back a few minutes later with a steaming drink in a purple cup, which he hands to me before sitting at my side. He rests his arm around my back as he tugs the blanket over his lap, his thigh pressing into mine. I can’t help but stare at Claus, the way his black hair is so dark, yet the blond tips clash with the lights of the city, brightening his face up. His green and purple eyes have always fascinated me with the way they clash yet look like they were always meant to be that way.

A perfect mix of danger and beauty in one precarious boy. My heart never stood a chance when it came to Claus Lucifer.

“Is this your flat?” I ask before blowing on the drink to cool it.

“Yes, this is our flat when we are in hell. Our father never lets us stay more than a week at a time,” he explains to me as I sip the drink, and then I keep drinking as it tastes amazing. Before I’ve realised it, my hangover is gone as is the drink.

“I wonder why,” I ask as I put the cup down. “And thank you for the drink. I needed it.”

“Oh, I know. It’s because we gain power while we are down here. Our demon side can’t help it in some respect,” he explains to me, and I guess that makes sense. Lucifer wouldn’t want his sons to challenge him. He has hardly taken Morgan’s challenge well. The entire city of hell is buzzing with news of the fight and how the arena has been opened up, and thousands of seats are being made as the arena is updated. The news just makes me itchy, and the fact Lucifer just sits on his roof, watching us constantly like the stalker he is.

“Show me your demon side,” I suddenly ask Claus.

“If I do that, my demon will want to mate, and I don’t know how you feel about that,” he warns, but a deeper part of me just gets excited.

“Don’t you?” I ask, swinging my legs over Claus, and he grips my hips. “I chose you as my mate a long time ago, and it’s not going to change anytime soon. Plus, my demon can play too.” I reach to the back of my neck and unclip my necklace before taking it off and letting it fall to the floor as my demon side takes over my body and appearance. When I look back, Claus has changed before my eyes. His black hair is now blond, and two black horns with symbols on them stretch out of his head, curling around his ears before facing up. His eyes are completely green, and his nails dig into my skin as he leans closer.

“Kiss me because you love me, my mate,” Claus beckons me with his softly spoken demand.

Without needing to think about it, I kiss him as he rips a line down my shirt, letting it fall off me onto the sofa. His hands tear the rest of my clothes off before he lays me down on the sofa and then takes his clothes off. I lean up, taking his hard cock into my hand, carefully keeping my long nails out of the way, and slowly stroking him, enjoying the groans of bliss escaping his lips. With more control than I have, he makes his hand turn back to normal before cupping me, and slowly sliding a finger inside me. His thumb finds my clit as we enjoy each other, and my back arches off the sofa.

Both of our controls last very little time at all before he’s removing his hand and replacing it with his cock. He glides into me as he lies down on top of me, and I moan as I wrap my legs around him. With guided pleasure, he thrusts in and out of me, and my nails graze down his back as I edge nearer to the orgasm that is so close. His teeth graze my neck, and just as I tighten around him, crashing into my orgasm, he bites down, making the pain and pleasure sweetly mix together as our mating bond slams into us. He fills me with his come as we complete our mating, and I cry out from the pure, perfect pleasure of the moment. My arm burns at the same time Claus swears under his breath, pulling out of me and shifting back. I look down to see a third horse appearing on my arm, and I’m not even shocked anymore.

“Nick told me about this, but we need to find out why,” Claus comments, gesturing to our new horse markings before picking me up and taking my arm in his hand, pressing a sweet kiss near the horse.

“Are you two coming to bed?” Nick’s voice echoes around the room, and we both look over to him. Claus pulls his gaze to me and slowly runs his finger across my lips.

“Want to go to bed, beautiful?” he asks. Keeping my eyes on Nick, I kiss Claus’s finger and grin.

“Always, but I’m not tired,” I honestly reply.

“Neither am I,” Nick replies with his own smirk as I stand up, completely naked, and walk my way past him into their bedroom, where I learn two mates are better than one.

12

THE ROMANCE AWARD GOES TO MR. MORGANACH

Darting to the left, I briefly miss Claus’s strike before I spin around him and kick him in the back, sending him flying across the mat. He rolls to a stop, looking up with a deadly grin that falls when Nick blows the whistle, and Claus sees his foot is outside the white ring. Biting my lip, I try to hold in a chuckle as I run my eyes over my mate’s sweat-covered shirt that is sticking to his muscular body a little too well.

“You’re getting too good at this,” Claus comments as some of the students clap. Before I even glance at the door, I know he is here. Morgan walks in, every footstep making the students all but rush to be out of his way. Nick and Claus move close to me, doing the opposite of every smart person in here.

“You could never beat me. Want to try?” Morgan asks, crossing his arms against his tight grey shirt. I can’t read his expression or who exactly Morgan is being right in this second. He is lost once again, but if this is how he wants to play, then sure.

I’ve played the games of angels and demons for a while now, and so far, I’ve never wanted to stop. Nick takes two steps right in front of Morgan, and they both stare each other down.

“If you hurt her, fallen angel or not, I will fucking kill you,” Nick warns. Claus leans down, very slowly pressing his lips to my cheek before straightening up. He doesn’t need to say anything to Morgan, his body language is saying every word for him.

“Noted,” Morgan replies. Nick throws his sword to Morgan before kissing my cheek and walking off. The entire room empties, and Claus and Nick are the last ones to leave, slamming the doors shut.

“Seems someone wants us to be alone,” Morgan drawls.

With a smile, I tilt my head to the side. “I like my teacher alone time.”

“I’m not a teacher anymore,” he replies with a small smirk.

“Depends if you’re going to teach me anything today, doesn’t it?” I ask, teasing him a little bit.

“Are we going to talk all day, or are you going to show me what you’ve learnt?” he asks, sounding bored. With a low chuckle, I nod my head and try to push back my worry about Morgan keeping his feelings locked up a little too tightly in his chest.

I’m not going to let him take them out on me this time though. He has done far too much of that in the past, and if we are going to have a future where he is telling me the truth about being his mate, then we need to find a healthy way to deal with our emotions. Morgan hits first, and I block him, feeling the rattle of the power of his hit against my sword all the way down my arm. Using my speed, I jump around to his side and try to catch him off guard, only he is smarter than that, and for the next five minutes, he blocks me time and time again. I sense the second he is on the offensive, as he changes suit from blocking to attacking. I hold him off the best I can, though he is far more skilled than I am, and by the time he knocks the sword out of my grasp, I’m breathing heavily and a thin line of sweat is crawling down the back of my sports bra. Morgan holds the sword up, pressing the tip into the middle of my chest as I freeze.

“You won’t hurt me. You regret every single time you’ve lost your temper before this moment. I’ve forgiven you for it, and you hate that about me. You hate that I forgive you time and time again. You hate that I love you and I’ve already forgiven you for anything you’ve done in the past,” I say, knowing every single word is true.

“I don’t hate you, and that is the problem. It’s always been the problem.” He steps closer as he lowers the sword before throwing it away. He cups my cheeks with his hands, and I reach up, brushing away a few locks of his hair so I can really see his eyes.

Forest green. Beautiful enough to get lost in, just like a forest I’d wander through as a kid. Only I’m not a kid lost in a forest now, I’m a woman who has chosen where she wants to stay and get lost in forever.

“I don’t see it as a problem, more of a solution, because I’ve always felt the same way,” I whisper, and he leans closer, our lips an inch away from each other. I can almost taste his peppermint breath, and I long to lean in, to see how he really tastes.

“I worry that I can’t protect you from myself. If you’re my mate, you are trapped with me,” he honestly tells me. Honest. Hopeful. Regretful. It’s all there in bucket loads, and damn I love it.

I love him.

“Then let me in the cage, because I want to be there, and I damn well can protect myself,” I tell him, and then I kiss him, letting all my frustration and love pour into every kiss, every swipe of my lips against his. He groans, his hands sliding from my cheeks into my hair, before roughly pulling me closer to him. His body presses into mine, his hardness presses into my stomach with every battle of lips against mine. Morgan lets me go only to take my hand and lead me out the room and into the shower rooms behind the gym. He locks the door before switching the shower on and kissing me, not bothering to remove my clothes as he pushes me against the shower room wall. The hot water sprays down on us as I rip his shirt open, and he pushes his shorts down. He leans back, letting me see all of him in the water, the droplets running down his chest. His black hair is such a contrast to the rest of him, and yet it makes him so handsome. His cock is hard and longer than I’m used to, but it’s Morgan’s eyes I struggle to look away from.

He loves me. I can see it. No matter how messed up our lives might become and how crazy our past is, it doesn’t matter. Love is tricky, especially for an angel and a demon.

But it is oh so worth every bit of it. I tug my sports bra off before pushing down my leggings and panties in one go, leaving them on the floor as I let Morgan really see me.

“You are fucking beautiful, Alexandria,” he tells me before lowering himself to his knees in front of me, bowing his head. “Will you take me as your mate? I promise to always protect you, to never let you down and to forever love you, Alexandria Cameron.”

“It was always a yes,” I tell him, and he looks up at me. For the first time, I see something he hasn’t shown me since falling to hell.

Hope.

His hands grip my hips as he moves forward, and I part my legs just as he parts my lips, and his tongue finds my clit. I moan, my head falling back onto the wall as he controls me effortlessly, his fingers gripping my ass as I’m lost in the sensation, so close to the brink of pleasure. Just before I come, he stops, and I try not to pout as he kisses his way up my stomach, taking time to fondle and caress my nipples before he picks me up. Slamming his lips on mine, he slides into me, filling me up in the best way. His thrusts become unforgiving as he drives into me, his lips controlling mine, his body feeling like he is taking my soul. It doesn’t take long before I’m crashing into an orgasm, the pleasure making my back arch into him and moans escape my lips that echo around the room.

The second Morgan finishes, I feel the mating bond snapping into place as he spills into me. I moan into his mouth as our connection snaps into place, and I feel closer to Morgan than ever before. A few seconds later, a burning pain blisters on my arm, and I’m not too surprised to see Morgan lift his arm as a horse tattoo burns its place into his wrist.

“You don’t look surprised,” Morgan notes as I lift my arm, seeing there are now four horses in a line down my wrist.

“I don’t know what it means, but it happens with mating,” I explain, and he nods, lowering me to the floor. After we shower off, we find some towels and hang our clothes up before heading to the sauna in the back. Morgan tugs me with him as he lies down on the benches, the warm steam filling the room. “Are you okay with me having four mates?”

“Claus, Nikoli and the wolf are tolerable,” Morgan mumbles. “I’ve known they would be in your life for a long time. I may not have liked it, but now it is more protection for the queen of hell. That I cannot argue with.”

“You might need to call him Javier once in a while,” I chuckle.

“We will see,” Morgan replies, and I laugh. We are both comfortable enough to lie down, breathing in the mint smelling area as we relax for a long time, and I happily listen to Morgan’s heart beating.

“Tell me why you were in DA in the first place. You’ve never told me your truth when I’ve given you everything, told you everything,” I whisper, tracing a circle on his chest. “I want, no I need, to know everything about my mate, because secrets in this world do nothing but get us killed.”

“On the same day I died, so did a boy called Jonathon Smith. He loved his human life, but his angel life… Well, you can say he didn’t enjoy it half as much. Either way, we became best friends in a short amount of time, and later on he became my angel partner when he became a light angel and I chose the dark. Light and dark angels have to choose each other, and we make a bond to protect each other no matter what,” he explains to me, and I can tell from the tone alone he really cared about this guy.

“Sounds romantic,” I tease, though he takes it seriously.

“Romance is banned from a bonding between light and dark, we are told that in the early days,” he explains to me. “So is romance between light and dark angels.”

“What happened to Jonathon?” I ask as we are getting off topic, something I’m sure Morgan is good at doing.

“I killed him, and I don’t regret it,” he whispers, but the sentence sounds loud in this room.

“Why?” I ask, because there has to be a good reason. Morgan only kills for a reason, and we both know it.

“Jonathan and I were in our last year of The Angel Academy, working our asses off to pass our exams and start our lives. For us to be free for the first time since we both died and became angels. Jonathon became distant from me, didn’t come to training, didn’t want anything to do with finishing the last year, so one night I followed him. He had found a portal to earth where he was going with a few other students, a few other dark angels, to be exact. I went after them, where the portal took us to some place in Central America, and that’s when I learnt what my best friend was really like.” He pauses, and I feel scared to breathe as he tells me this. “They had beautiful teenage girls there, dozens of them locked up like animals, and it was clear they had been drugging them with angel power to do what they wanted. See, humans can be persuaded with our powers to do what we want, good or bad, and it’s addictive for them. Too much, and you find a human will be in love with you and do anything for you. Anything. Even if they don’t really want that in their souls. The magic is too alluring.”

“Oh my god,” I whisper, disgust burning in my throat.

“I beat the shit out of the other angels, before confronting my best friend. Jonathon tried to explain to me that it was all a bit of fun and that he didn’t kidnap these girls, he just wanted to try being human for once. He was insane with lies, and I saw what he had a become: a monster. I saw the evil in his heart, and before I could stop him, he set fire to the room, killing the girls in an instant. In that fire, I ripped my best friend’s heart out and watched him die before giving myself up,” he admits to me. I lean up, making sure he can see me as I reply. “The others escaped in my grief, but later they were found.”

“You did the right thing. You shouldn’t have been punished for that,” I firmly tell him. Angel law is messed up, nearly as bad as our laws.

“It’s forbidden for angels to kill other angels. It taints the killer’s soul, so I had to be punished. The only reason I wasn’t sentenced to a final death was because Master Gabriel stood up for me and worked out a deal where I got a lesser sentence for helping them find the other angels involved,” he explains to me. “He is the only angel who agreed with your statement that I was right. Many see it like I should have brought Jonathon in for the leaders to judge.”

“The angel laws are messed up,” I tell him, lying back down.

“They also led me to you, and even if I lose myself down here, I will never wish for anything else,” he admits to me. “Falling is said to be a curse, but I’ve found happiness in it that I didn’t know could be found.”

“Have I ever told you how romantic you are?” I ask.

“Not romantic, just honest,” he deadpans.

“With you, that means romantic,” I tease.

“Alexandria Cameron, I love you,” he tells me and leans down, kissing me hard enough for me to forget our past, the fear of our future and just enjoy our now.

Lifting up so I can look into his eyes, I tell him, “I love you.” And I say it meaning every one of those treasured three words.

13

TALES FULL OF TROUBLE

JAVIER

“I  know wolves are meant to like water, but this is taking the piss,” I say as we swim to the shore after our boat decided it would be a good fucking time to crash into rocks and sink. Eike and Sera can’t hear my grumbles as we swim against the harsh waves in the fucking freezing water until we get to the rocky shore and pull ourselves up. I help Eike up last, and we all lie on the smooth rock, staring up at the night sky above us and the millions of stars.

I hope we have the right island, or I swear I’m going to lose my shit.

“W-we sh-should get into warm cl-clothes before we freeze,” Sera mumbles out, and it snaps me out of it. We are on the shores of a dangerous race of magical beings, and we need to get our shit together before they notice us here. Climbing to my feet, I help Sera stand, and Eike stretches as he pulls his waterproof bag off his back.

“Now who was right about using a waterproof bag to pack our spare clothes?” Eike proudly says, holding his bag in the air. Just then, a big wave crashes into us, knocking us all to our feet, and when I wipe my eyes, Eike and Sera on the floor.

And the bag is in the fucking sea.

“You’re an idiot, you know that?” I tell Eike, standing up once more. Eike grumbles along with me as Sera ignores us all and heads into the forest, mumbling about how we both are idiots. Eike and I rush to keep up with Sera, and I try to listen out for any danger, but it’s silent here so far. We get into the tree line just as I feel something weird.

Fear.

It crawls over my skin as Sera throws herself into Eike’s arms, and he kisses her forehead, almost like they are together.

“I will protect you. I will always protect you,” Eike tells her, and I push the strange fearful feeling aside as I realise something far worse.

“You two are dating, aren’t you?” I demand. Eike pushes Sera behind him, but she keeps her eyes on me all the time.

“Yes, I love him. It’s always been Eike, even when we didn’t know it,” she explains to me. “But why am I so scared of everything? I feel like we should run away, but I know it’s not real. It just feels real.”

“It’s some fucked-up magic,” I growl, looking around us. “Almost as fucked-up as my best friend, who sleeps around with girls like they are nothing more than toys, dating my sister!”

“Sera isn’t like any other girl; we both know that, and it’s not just dating. I’ve asked Sera to be my mate, my alpha female to the pack, and she has accepted,” he all but roars at me, and I’m actually shocked into silence. Eike has been my best friend since before I can remember. He was the one that got me ice to press against the broken bones my father gave me, he was the one that made me laugh when I thought that would be impossible, and he was always the one that I went to when things weren’t good.

I told Eike about Lexi and how I knew she was my mate. He was the one that suggested I spend more time with her and let my wolf’s urge to cook her food and protect her take over. He was right, of course, but I don’t know how to accept that he loves my sister. I never saw it coming, not once. I’d joked about it before, but it was always that, a joke.

“The pack won’t accept it, not easily. That’s what I told you when you asked, Eike,” Sera replies, and I smile. Maybe there is hope yet.

“You basically said yes, and fuck the pack. They will accept you, or they can deal with me,” Eike growls. “You are my mate, and I’m tired of letting other people control us.” Well, there goes my hope.

“I’m only half—” she counters.

“You are full everything, Sera. I don’t ever want to hear that shit about your blood again, because it’s never mattered to me, and it will not matter to the pack. I saw you die, and I couldn’t protect you, and it made me realise that I never want to be in that situation again. I never want to lose you; you are my everything. You are strong, kind, sweet and totally beautiful, and I love you. That’s what is important,” he firmly tells her, moving to cup her face. Fuck, even I can’t argue with that.

“I love you too, Eike,” she softly replies. I sigh, rubbing my wet face as I turn around and sense something in the woods, but I’m not sure where it’s coming from. Within seconds, the trees are full of ravens, sitting on every branch, weighing the trees down as they creak in the wind.

“As sweet as this is, I sense a problem coming in,” I interrupt, not having a clue how to process them. Putting Sera in the middle of us, Eike and I look around as we smell someone getting closer. Suddenly, there is blue dust falling from the sky, surrounding us like a blanket and a yawn escapes my lips.

“W-what is it?” Eike asks around a yawn. As my eyes close, I swear I see a woman with raven wings and blue dust covered hands.

“WHO ARE YOU?” a woman asks as I blink my eyes open and see I’m in a cage on my own. I crawl to my feet, searching for my sister and Eike, sensing them nearby. The woman is about my age with long brown hair and bright brown eyes, and is wearing modern clothes. I sense something bird-like about her as well as a sweet smell I can’t quite place. In fact, this whole place stinks of that sweet smell, making me suspect it is how fairy tales scent.

“If you’ve hurt my sister—” I growl, grabbing the bars of my cage.

“Your sister is sleeping in the cage next to you. We won’t hurt her unless you give us reason to,” a guy says, coming to the woman’s side and wrapping an arm around her. He smells like that sickly sweet fairy tale stuff, and it doesn’t take a genius to figure out they are mated. “My name is Tobias Dormiens, and this is my mate, Madilynn Dormiens. We are two of the leaders here, and you are trespassing on the Lost Time Island. Now who are you?”

“And why do you smell like wet dog?” another guy asks, coming into view as he leans on a wall outside the cage.

“Oisin, that’s rude,” Madilynn tells him, arching her neck to look up at another one of her mates. At least, I suspect.

“My name is Javier, my sister is called Sera, and the other wolf is Eike. He’s the alpha of the wolves,” I explain to them, getting the feeling they don’t know much about the world outside their own race, being that we don’t know much about them either. Eike asked around the pack before we left, and there wasn’t much to find out. The Tales are an exclusive race and like to keep themselves hidden. It’s pretty smart, considering the world around them. I’m a little confused why there is someone so young in charge, but she doesn’t seem that young when I meet her gaze. Life makes me people grow up quickly after all.

“What wolves?” Tobias asks.

“We know you are descendants of fairy tales, and my kind are wolf shifters. We are here to make you a deal,” I offer.

“A deal with the wolves sounds dangerous. What deal could you possibly offer when it seems like we have your leaders in cages?” Madilynn counters with a raised eyebrow, and it soon becomes clear who is the actual leader.

Crossing my arms, I smirk. “I’m the mate of the queen of hell, yeah the literal hell in which every soul goes to no matter how good they are. The queen of hell wants your help in exchange for an alliance.”

“I don’t believe him,” Oisin adds when they have been silent a long time.

“How can we know you’re telling us the truth?” Madilynn asks me.

“Do you want to risk it?” I ask with a smirk still on my lips, crossing my arms.

“What does your queen want exactly?” Tobias asks instead.

“A book. It’s old, meant to be the original tales book. Alexandria wishes only to see it for an answer her parents promised it would hold,” I explain to them. “I don’t think she is asking much from you, and we will give much in return if you ever need help. You can’t say your people are protected enough that they never will need help.”

“We may be able to help,” Madilynn finally says. Smart girl.

“What race is your girlfriend in order to be the queen of hell?” Oisin asks.

“A demon,” I reply, seeing the fear flash in his eyes.

“Demons are real?” Tobias asks with wide eyes. “Any other races we should know about?”

“You help us and perhaps I could tell you,” I counter. Tobias, Madilynn and Oisin look between each other before she looks to me.

“Decisions are made with the entire council. We will call a council meeting, and until then, our people will bring you food and warm clothing. Do not fight them, or the deal is off before it is even started and I will drop your sleeping asses into the sea you came from,” she warns.

“Understood,” I reply. “I believe you and my Alexandria will get along just fine.”

“Possibly,” Madilynn replies before walking off with Tobias and Oisin going with her.

I believe we just met the queen of the fairy tales.

And I hope to fucking god she helps us.

14

IT’S A SMALL, SMALL WORLD

“T  hank you, this is gorgeous,” I say to the demon in the small clothing shop Claus and Nikoli have brought me to. Amethyst is here too, sitting in the corner, watching us all. The twins are pretending she isn’t here when she clearly is, but I’m not sure how to get them to talk to her. I suspect she didn’t kill their human parents, but I can’t prove it, and Amethyst won’t talk to me about it. She says she is waiting for the twins to ask. Clearing my head, I smooth my hands down the black leather jacket that hangs nicely over my jeans and simple white top.

“It suits you,” Amethyst tells me.

“It is free for the queen. I will go and get you a pair of boots that match the jacket,” the small old demon comments with a big smile before walking to the back of the shop.

“Did you want to go and visit your grandmother?” Nikoli asks as I sit on a bench near the clothes. I received an invite from my grandmother to her house yesterday, but I just don’t know how to see her.

It was hard enough to see Uncle Harry, and he was actually there at the hearing. I guess the only question I have is why my grandmother didn’t come to the hearing in the first place.

“Alright, we can go there next,” I suggest. “But first, why don’t we all talk about how Lilith clearly didn’t kill your parents and Lucifer did. Now that I know Amethyst is Lilith…I just don’t think she did it.”

There’s a long pause between us all as Claus and Nikoli look between each other, and I wonder if I’ve gone too far. I shouldn’t have gotten involved. Maybe now is a good time to use holy fire to travel away, even if it sends me to the fire sun of hell. It would be warmer than in here. “Did you kill our parents?” I’m surprised when Claus asks, his voice tired, but he still asks.

“No. I swear on my life, on your lives, I did not hurt them. After Lucifer took you from me as small babies, I spent years trapped in cat form, travelling earth, looking for you. After about six years, I met Alexandria’s parents, and they offered to help me look if I helped them with Alexandria, so I stayed near them, helped when they needed it. One day, a portal opened in front of me, and I went through it to find your parents already dead, and my curse lifted so I could be in human form, but I was set up. Lucifer laughed like it was all some joke, and I was horrified. He took you two once again before I could explain and locked me in cat form, which has taken me years to learn how to escape for even a few minutes. I moved in with Alexandria, hoping I could at least protect one of the children in my life, even if it wasn’t my twins,” Amethyst confesses.

“That’s so sad,” I whisper into the silence just as the ring on my finger starts to burn against my hand, and I gasp, holding it out as a light projects out of the ring, making the entire one wall look like a movie screen or a window into another place.

“Javier!” I say, seeing him first, and then I glance to his right to see a woman I almost recognise. I stare at her for a long second, hardly noticing the other four guys in the room or the fact Sera and Eike aren’t there.

“I know you,” the woman says, studying me for a moment. “I remember now! At the arcades!”

“You’re the girl with all the boyfriends!” I gasp.

“I still have all the boyfriends and the keyring! It’s on my keys to the safe, but I likely shouldn’t have told you that,” she drifts off when the stern looking guy next to her shakes his head. “I’m Madi, if you don’t remember. This is Oisin, Tobias, Noah, Knox and Warren.”

“My name is Lexi, and this is Claus and Nikoli, my mates, as well as Javier,” I add in, and she winks at me.

“A few boyfriends is contagious, right?” she asks, and I can’t help but laugh.

“Right,” I chuckle before remembering who I’m speaking to and getting my head on track. “Did Javier explain the deal I’m offering?” I ask.

“Yes, he did, and we will happily help you in exchange for an alliance with the queen of hell,” she adds in, turning on her serious tone as well. As if I met the queen of the fairy tales in my local arcade before I even got dropped into this mad world.

“You will have my alliance and promise to help you in any future war if you need it. It will be a permanent agreement between our people,” I say.

“Are angels real, because I’m not sure if Javier is pissing with me,” the one called Oisin randomly asks.

“They are real, our father is a fallen angel,” Claus replies. “But don’t trust the wolf on anything else.”

“Fuck you, demon,” Javier playfully growls.

“Guys, we need to see the book, remember?” I interrupt as Madi groans.

“Oh yes, it’s here. I will warn you, the book has its own mind and doesn’t help us often,” Madi explains, moving aside to show me an ancient looking book on the table. Madi opens it, and a hologram of a cat bursts out the pages, walking around in a circle of blue smoke before sitting down.

“Not more cats,” I hear Javier mutter and most of the people in the room look at him like he is crazy.

“Why do you call me?” the book asks. “Your parents were wrong, I am not the solution to your life. You must find that in your heart. It is already there, and your parents should have trusted you to figure it out.” I try not to let that hurt me, but god it really does because she is right.

“I called you, my name is—”

“Alexandria Cameron, true queen of hell with her four chosen kings. You will receive many, many titles over your reign, and hell will become the most powerful city in any world,” she tells me. “You are the first interesting person I’ve met in many years.”

“Thanks for that insult,” Madi grumbles.

“Good to know,” I mutter, feeling my cheeks go a little red. “I actually wanted to know how to release the trapped souls in hell to save my mate.”

“It can be done…but not without a price. Find the four Equus ille to protect your body and soul. With them, you can save them all. Without them, you will fall to a fate worse than death. Goodbye.” With that, the book self-closes with a loud slam.

“What does Equus ille mean?” I ask into the silence.

“It sounds Latin, and I’m not good at Latin,” Nick states.

“I can find out the meaning. It’s not a word I am familiar with,” the guy called Warren says. “We will send the answer back with your wolves.”

“Thank you,” I bow my head in respect.

“Maybe when you have time and your mates are safe, we could go out somewhere to get to know each other?” Madi asks.

“Or you could come to the city of hell? It’s pretty cool down here,” I counter, knowing I can’t leave.

“Send me an invite,” Madi winks. “And good luck, Lexi. Thank you for this alliance.” The picture disappears, and I sit back on the bench, feeling a little like the book didn’t help us at all.

There is an odd silence that takes over us all, and I look at the twins to see their attention is fixed on the cat sat by the door, watching the demons walk past in the street. They look like normal people, not demons in hell.

Then again, Amethyst looks like a normal cat. Sigh.

“It will take time…but you never lost your twins. We are here and you are our mother,” Claus says, looking back at his brother who nods in agreement. I love how they are simply in agreement with each other.

I love how they have found a way to move forward.

“You were always our mother,” Nikoli adds. Amethyst jumps on his lap and Claus strokes her head as they all look at me. One problem fixed…only about a hundred left to go.

15

POPCORN, A DEMON AND A WOLF

“Hello, Grandmother,” I say, holding Nick’s hand in mine and trying not to feel awkward that my grandmother is the same age as me. She holds the door to her small little red brick house that has small flowerpots outside, and it is so normal, even for hell. Her eyes are puffy like she has been crying a lot, and she has baggy clothes on her small frame, which is a contrast from the last time I saw her.

“I would invite you in, but I can’t,” she says, and I frown. She invited me here. “See, you look like him, my dear son, and you look like her, the woman who got him killed.”

“Why didn’t you come to the trial?” I ask.

“I knew he would die, and I couldn’t watch,” she admits to me. I want to tell her that she could have come and just been there for her son and granddaughter, but I don’t see the point.

“Okay, but why invite me here? You know what I look like,” I ask with a sigh. “Can’t we just talk?”

“I’m just sorry. Maybe in time,” she says before slamming the door in my face, and I hear her soft crying on the other side.

“Come on, let’s go,” Nick softly tells me, wrapping an arm around my shoulders and tugging me closer. Holy fire burns around us as he moves us to the academy, right outside the doors.

“Hello, stranger,” Lela’s voice drifts to me from where she is stood by the graves, flowers in her hands. She has put a single purple flower on each of the graves and is clearly making her way through them all.

“How are you?” I ask, taking in her demon appearance. Silver hair, silver horns, and she looks badass. I wouldn’t expect less though.

“Coping, but I wish they would make better ice cream here,” she says, placing another flower down. “Your wolf just got back and went to your room. Thought you’d like to know.”

“Thanks and see you around,” I tell Lela, who smiles softly at me. Nick holds me close as we head into the academy, and right by the horrible statue of Lucifer is the man himself. He is leaning against the statue, talking to Javier who is shaking with anger.

I run to Javier with Nick and take his hand. Nick steps slightly in front of Javier and me as he talks to his father. My eyes stay locked on Javier’s as they speak.

“Why are you here? Don’t you have your own castle to be in?” Nick asks.

“The battle is tomorrow, and then I get my bride. If you are nice to me, I might let her see you afterwards. Never know, she might even remember your name,” Lucifer laughs. “Possibly.”

Before Nick can reply, Lucifer disappears in holy fire, and we all breathe a sigh of relief.

“How close were you to trying to kill him, on a scale of one to ten?” Nick asks Javier.

“About ten fucking million, give or take,” he answers.

“I’m impressed,” Nick replies with a laugh.

“Why don’t we go back to my room and watch some movies? I will even cook popcorn,” I suggest, wanting a break from today.

“Technically you don’t ‘cook’ popcorn, you pop it,” Nick, being the cocky asshole, has to say. I nudge his shoulder as we head back to our room.

“Did you ever find out what the Latin word meant from the book?” I ask as we get close to my door.

“Yeah, it meant something about horses and men,” Javier says, and I look down at my arm, where the horses are literally drawn on me.

It can’t be a coincidence.

But what the hell does it mean?

16

A FIGHT TO REMEMBER

Every footstep we take towards the arena in the middle of the city makes my heart pound that much louder, making me want to take Morgan and drag him away from here. The cheering of the thousands of demons in the seats surrounding the arena is so loud that it hurts my ears, although the pain is somewhat welcome as it distracts me from the crippling fear controlling me. Morgan looks down at me the second we stop opposite Lucifer, and I lean up, kissing him for the whole world to see whose side I am on.

I want to help him fight Lucifer…but I can’t without breaking the rules of hell. For some reason, I get my crown by just being here, but Morgan has to fight to the death for his.

And for me.

If he loses…I don’t know what I’m going to do past trying to kill Lucifer.

I don’t need to say anything to Morgan as I let his hand go and walk across the arena, straight to where Javier, Claus and Nikoli are waiting. Amethyst is sitting on the edge of the only empty seat, and I pick her up, putting her on my lap as I sit on the stone seat.

“Are you ready for this?” Amethyst asks me in my head, her voice clear over the roars of the crowds of demons sitting behind us. Meeting Nick’s, then Claus’s and finally Javier’s eyes, I know in my heart that we are ready for anything.

And so is Morgan. God, I hope he is.

“Never. I’m never ready to see one of my mates fight without me at their side,” I admit, because my previous idea of being ready was all made up.

I’m not this brave.

I have too much to lose. I have them to lose.

“When this is over, we will all live together and figure out how to make a home in hell,” Javier tells me.

“Does that mean you are friends now?” I ask, looking between my mates.

“My wolf doesn’t want to rip them to pieces, if that’s what you mean,” Javier explains. It means he likes them, I’m sure of it.

“Not exactly, but it means we are on our way to a shared bedroom, so I’m happy,” I grin.

“If you snore, wolf, I’m kicking you out to the couch,” Nick adds in.

“Same applies to you both,” Javier grumbles, almost amused. The smile dies from my lips as I look back at Morgan, who is talking to Lucifer, and I can’t hear their conversation. Whatever Lucifer is saying is not doing Morgan any good. Red energy is blasting out of the ground, swirling around Morgan like a storm waiting to explode. Lucifer hits first, slamming his fist into Morgan’s cheek, and Morgan hardly moves. He grabs Lucifer’s arm, and red energy blasts dust everywhere into a cloud that hits us. I have to close my eyes as I try to hide from the dust. I cover my eyes, only seeing flashes of red light every so often in the dust before it clears.

Lucifer is under Morgan, who is cutting into his face with his fists covered in red energy. Blood splatters everywhere, covering them both as Lucifer suddenly gets the upper ground and shoots Morgan across the arena with a blast of red light. I blink harshly as Morgan gets up, spitting out blood onto the floor. His right arm looks in bad shape as it hangs at his side, and the rest of him isn’t doing better.

Lucifer doesn’t wait as he picks up two swords and throws one at Morgan. Morgan catches the blade with his hand, letting it cut him before gripping the handle. They run at each other in pure passion before expertly fighting each other. The way Morgan handles his sword lets me know every time we have fought in the past, he has been taking it easy on me. Every so often, they cut each other, blood spraying onto the stone below them. Morgan manages to knock Lucifer’s sword out of his hand, but Lucifer catches Morgan’s sword and crushes it into ash with red energy. They go at each other again with their fists, but Morgan is struggling, the red energy Lucifer is giving off is too much for him to fight off on his own.

“He is losing,” I gasp, standing up as Amethyst jumps off my lap. Morgan struggles against Lucifer’s iron tight grip, both of them smothered in each other’s blood, both of them consumed with red power to the point they are lost in it.

I doubt either of them even knows anyone is watching or who they are.

“I have to stop this,” I say, knowing there is only one way to make this fight better, to get Morgan back even though it’s a big risk. I run to the side, only to have Nick catch me, grabbing my arm and pulling me back to him.

“What are you doing?” he demands.

“Stay here, and the moment you sense the souls are going, help Morgan kill Lucifer. If I don’t take the power from them both, they will kill each other before this is over,” I firmly say, my mind made up.

“The souls will—”

“Hurt me, that’s all. I won’t take them all, just enough to lower the power in here. Just enough to make sure Morgan has a fighting chance of saving his soul,” I demand. “And even if it means us helping him kill Lucifer.”

“I’m coming with you to fight the Hellers,” Javier firmly states. “The twins can deal with Morgan and their father.”

“Go,” Claus says, though he doesn’t look remotely happy about it. Taking Javier’s hand, we run outside of the arena, and I pull him to a stop.

“We are going to use holy fire to travel there. I’ve never done it to the right place, and I haven’t seen the souls gate, but we don’t have a choice. Do you trust me?” I ask Javier, and he steps into my space and gently kisses me.

“I trust you,” he tells me.

“Don’t think you’re going without me, either. I can be of help,” Amethyst says, and I turn to see her in human form, walking over to us in a long black dress which has a long cape attached to the shoulders, covered in black feathers. “And I can use holy fire to take us straight to the entrance. I will make a shield to stop the Hellers, and any Heller that manages to get through, the wolf can kill.”

“How are you in human form?” I ask, trying not to stare at how pretty she is. I think she is prettiest person I’ve ever seen.

“If I told you that pushing Lucifer’s magic away and using my own magic is killing me, would you tell me to stop it? As I would not,” she answers, giving me the answer I wanted, but at the same time, it hurts me to know what she is doing.

“Thank you,” I say, actually meaning it. She offers me a hand, and with Javier’s arm around my waist, I take her hand and we are consumed in holy fire, burning over our bodies until there is nothing but green fire. We reappear on stone ground in a brightly lit up room, and I hear them right away. Letting go of Javier’s and Lilith’s hands, I stare up at the gold barrel shaped dome in front of me, with the souls trapped inside. The dome is made of lines of actual gold in swirls and crosses all around it, and there is only one small staircase of steps leading to the door. I scream as a million voices slam into my mind, and they all say only one thing.

“Set us free, our queen.”

17

FREE IS A WORD EVERY SOUL SHOULD KNOW

“Set us free, our queen.” I cry out from the pain as I try to push their voices from my mind as Javier helps me stand. “Free us. Free us.” The voices never stop as I hold my head, the pain never seeming to end, even when I start to feel the souls. The souls are all red, bouncing around like balls of light trapped in a cage. They never touch each other, but they violently slam against the walls of the dome, no doubt hoping to escape.

Does Lucifer hear and feel them too?

Can he ignore them somehow?

A lifetime, millions of souls worth of pain, is in that dome, and it’s so wrong. Souls are not a way to gain power, they are not for hell and Lucifer to hold like a toy. Tears fall down my cheeks as I hear their pain, their desperation to be free and find another life beyond what they have right now. I stare for a little longer, knowing that my parents are two of the souls in there, trapped, and I wish we had more time so I could speak to them.

So I could tell them how much I love them and wish they were alive.

How I don’t blame them for anything because my childhood was happy.

“Go, Lexi! I can’t hold them back forever!” Amethyst shouts at me, and I finally turn back to see her holding up a wall of blue flames, the power incredible considering she is usually a cat. The wall is thick, but I can still see the hundreds of Hellers on the other side, fighting their way through, blasting their power against the other side. I don’t have a clue how long she can hold it, but I don’t want to find out.

“I’m going to shift. Do not do anything that hurts yourself,” Javier warns me, taking off his shirt and jeans. I only stare, not being able to keep that promise now I’ve felt their pain. The souls must be free, and I know that I’m meant to be the one to free them.

“I love you,” I whisper to him as he shifts, not sure if he hears me at all. Turning away, I start walking up the steps, feeling more emotions from the souls, more voices, more pain. So much pain. The gate to the dome swings open when I get to the top step, like the world itself wants me to do this. I feel like this was what I was born for, the reason for my existence in this world.

For all the pain.

For all my loss.

I have to do this because only I can. The first step into the dome is painful as hundreds, if not thousands, of souls slam into my body like a wave in the sea.

And the waves never stop.

Crying out in the worst pain I’ve ever felt in my life, my feet leave the ground as soul after soul touches every part of my body before they rise up and disappear through the ceiling.

They are free, and their joy crashes into my own soul like a beacon of hope.

And it makes it worth the soul crushing pain, how every inch of my body feels like it is being cut into a million pieces, never to return to normal.

Wave after wave of souls crash into me until I can’t take the pain anymore, until it hurts so much I know I’m going to die from this. It’s too much, and I can’t let go.

I thought I could, I thought I could step out, but it’s impossible. Through my screams, I hear a voice just before I open my eyes to see Javier floating in front of me, covered in red light that pushes away the souls. His hand takes mine, and dozens of red horses float out of his chest and run around us, pushing back some of the souls so I can breathe. It doesn’t work for long, the horses aren’t powerful enough. My head all but snaps back as the souls hit me harder, begging to get free.

And the worst part? It isn’t their fault.

“Go to her! I will stop Lucifer! Save Alexandria before it’s too late!” I hear Amethyst desperately shouting in pain, and I turn my head, hearing Javier’s screams of pain right by me. Morgan, Nick and Claus step into the dome, and to my surprise, their eyes all glow the same red colour before they float up, surrounding me. They all clasp their hands together with Javier, like they know what to do, leaving me in the middle of them as what seems like millions of glowing horses run out of their chests in a stream of different colours, and run around me, protecting me like a blanket. The souls attack me slowly now, the horses stopping them from taking over my soul, but the damage is too late.

As the last soul floats into my chest, bouncing off me and heading up to the sky, I feel myself falling, crashing onto the stone, the world fading to black.

18

THE GOOD NEVER FIND DEATH ALONE

“I  should have done this a long fucking time ago. I am Lilith, mother to the princes of hell, and you took that from me! You took everything because you’re my mate and you could never see that you had everything you deserved. You took too much, you became too evil, and now…well, now you will pay for it!” Am shouts, her voice dripping with disdain and pain. I blink my tear-filled eyes open, seeing an empty dome above me. Every inch of my body hurts as I sit up and find all my mates around me. I crawl to Morgan first, just as he is nearest, and feel his pulse on his neck. He is alive, and as I glance at them all, I see their chests rising every so often.

A cruel laugh distracts my attention, and I look over to the horror in front of me. Amethyst and Lucifer are surrounded by dozens of Hellers’ bodies, their blood splatted across the walls. Amethyst and Lucifer are fighting with swords and holy fire, and Amethyst is damn good. She knocks Lucifer back until he hits a wall. He picks himself up, wiping blood from his lip, and he stares at the blood on his hand like it’s a wonder. “Do you think you’re a challenge for me, dear mate?”

“Try me! There isn’t anything I wouldn’t do to protect my family from you!” she screams back, charging at him. The world seems to slow down as Lucifer grabs Amethyst’s throat and slams his sword into her stomach at the same time she slams a dagger into his chest, right into his heart. They both stare at each other in shock as I scramble to my feet and run as fast I can to Amethyst. Lucifer laughs as he falls to the side and then goes silent before his body starts to burn into bits of red dust that float around the ceiling. I fall to Amethyst’s side as she coughs on blood and lifts her hand, placing it on my cheek, wiping away the tears there.

“We will get a healer. Just hold on,” I plead with her, holding her hand. “The twins aren’t awake yet, and they need to—”

“We are here,” Nick says from behind me, and I look up to see him and Claus rushing over, crashing to their knees on the other side of Amethyst. “Mum…we didn’t have any time. Not really.”

Tears fall down her cheeks as she coughs on more blood. I feel Morgan’s and Javier’s hands on my shoulders as I sob, knowing I’m not ready to lose her. Neither are the twins. Amethyst looks between the twins and me before she smiles. A pure, brilliant smile. “T-time is worth lit-little when I have your love.” Her head falls to the side as her hand slips from my cheek. Claus and Nick hold each other as I burst into tears. Morgan and Javier hold me as I try to cope with letting Amethyst go, because I never got to tell her she was like a second mother to me.

And I loved her so damn much. Amethyst didn’t deserve this ending, she really, really didn’t. I crawl around to the twins, who let me in the middle of them as we hold each other. Claus kisses my forehead as we all mourn their mother.

“Lex, look,” Javier says, and the guys let me go a little in time to see a green orb of light float out of Amethyst’s chest. It hovers in the air for a second, and I reach a hand out, laying my palm flat. The orb lands on my hand, and I feel all of her love, her pure happiness at being free.

“She is happy,” Nick gasps, and I know he can feel it too.

“And for the first time in her life, she is free.” My words echo around the room as I lift my hand and let Amethyst’s soul go, letting her float off into the ceiling before disappearing.

19

SIX MONTHS LATER…

“T  he kings and queen of hell have an important announcement.” The speaker’s voice echoes throughout hell, no part of it missing the magical voice. I stand on the new balcony of Lucifer’s improved castle. Over the last six months, Javier and a bunch of demons he found have made the castle our home, re-fitting nearly the entire place and making it far more modern than it has ever been. In the six months, Morgan made himself king alongside Javier, Claus and Nikoli.

And I took my place as queen of hell. Once we made ourselves the royals in a small private ceremony, we somehow got control over the doors of hell like we had always known how to open them. The first thing we did was send the teachers and students of DA back to earth for the time being, along with a bunch of builders to build a new DA. We decided, for their final year, students can live in DA in hell, making the academy not completely useless down here.

“I, King Morganach the First, announce The Demon Academy is officially open. Anyone that wishes for their children to attend, please contact our staff. For the first time in thousands of years, attending DA is not a requirement. If you wish to homeschool your children, you may,” his voice booms, and we hear the cheers of the people not long after. We had hoped this would be a new law they would like.

“May the new students of DA have a good few years,” I say, ending the conversation. Morgan lifts my hand, kissing the back ever so softly as the magic cuts off.

“I have a surprise for you,” Javier says from where he is leaning against the wall. Nick and Claus wink at me at the same time, and I frown.

“What kind of surprise?” I ask them all. “The last surprise was a hot tub in the gardens and that was great until your familiar tried to get in it with us and almost set the garden on fire.”

“I didn’t think cats liked water until that point,” Claus mutters. “Anyway, the water in the hot tub put out the fires, so no harm done. And I’ve moved the hot tub now and told him not to do that again.”

“I’m surprised it still works,” Nick adds.

“Back to the surprise, guys,” Javier reminds them. “Go and open the door, Lex.”

“Alright,” I say, letting go of Morgan’s hand and walking to the door. I push open the door that leads to our lounge, and I freeze, a big smile blasting onto my lips.

“I missed you,” Sera says, her hand held by Eike, who is her new mate. I run to her at the same time she runs to me, and we crash into each other. I hold her close as tears fall down my cheeks, and I can’t stop them.

“I missed you more, Miss Alpha Female of the pack,” I whisper to her, and she laughs.

Her laugh just makes me happy as I pull back to see her glowing cheeks and the very visible wolf marking on her neck. It’s just like the one on my arm, but hers has a purple glow to it. “Says the queen of hell!”

“You’re pregnant!” Javier grumbles, not sounding impressed. With wide eyes, I stare at my best friend as she nods her head. Eike wraps his arms around her waist, placing his hands over her stomach for a second.

“It was a surprise from our mating night,” Sera explains as Eike lets her go and looks to Javier.

“And we are very happy. The pack is over the moon,” Eike explains, and to my surprise, Javier hugs his best friend before telling him how happy he is.

“Surprisingly, they loved the new treaty with the royals of hell, and it made them accept me more as their alpha female as they know I helped come up with the idea,” Sera tells us, reminding me of one of the first deals we made as royals. The wolves are free of any contract they had with Lucifer, and instead, all half breed wolves are now to be fully accepted by the packs as members. The deal was made that wolves are now welcome in hell, with Javier as their alpha.

And they are welcome to leave any time they like.

Javier now has a pack of a few hundred wolves, and it makes this place more of a home for him than it ever has been before.

“I’m so happy for you, Sera,” I say, feeling excited. “I’m going to be a brilliant auntie!”

“We are coming to hell every three months for two weeks. We have found amazing betas that are happy to run the pack for those two weeks. I don’t want to be away from my best friend and brother, so I hope you don’t mind,” she tells me, and it’s the best thing I’ve heard in months. I’ve missed her so much.

“Don’t mind?” I laugh. “That is the best news I’ve heard in ages.”

“This one is lucky—” Sera pauses as Morgan walks over and places his hand on her arm, which glows red for a small second. Morgan nods as he steps back.

“I sensed something. You are carrying twins, both girls,” Morgan explains, reminding us all that he has strange powers as a fallen angel that we are just finding out about. It’s all new to us, but we are getting better at figuring it all out.

“Oh my gosh,” Sera says, tears falling down her cheeks as Eike turns her to him and kisses her.

“I don’t need to see that and be scarred for life,” Javier grumbles. He grabs Eike’s arm and starts dragging him out the room, both of them play fighting with each other.

“We will leave you with your best friend,” Morgan states, coming over and kissing me softly. “Come and find us later,” Nick suggests with a devilish grin, which Claus agrees with.

“Always,” I answer as they all walk out, and I stare at my bestie, feeling strange that she is here after so much has happened.

“I don’t know what to say first,” she laughs.

“Me neither. How about, what are you going to name your daughters?” I ask, hooking my arm in hers as we go back out to the balcony, sitting down and looking over the beautiful gardens surrounding the two castles.

“I don’t know about first names, but for a middle name, one should have the name of the queen who saved her mum,” she suggests, and I grin at her.

“Sera, you are my best friend, that’s enough,” I remind her.

“Possibly. Now tell me, what is it like living in hell with four mates?” she asks, wagging her eyebrows. “Except anything to do with my brother, because gross.”

“I thought I’d hate it here, but in the last six months, I’ve grown to really love this place. It is different from earth, yes, but it has its own strengths,” I add in.

“But you still miss home,” she gently says.

“I wish I could go back to the church, just to feel close to my family and Amethyst again. I don’t have anything from there to hold onto, and that church feels like it’s the only part of my family left,” I admit to her something I’ve not told anyone else.

“I’m sorry you didn’t get to say goodbye,” she says.

“Me too, Sera,” I whisper, and my best friend holds my hand, a promise to be there through the storms of emotions I will one day learn how to deal with. Looking down into the gardens, I see my mates with a football, setting up goals with Eike.

Whatever the storm, we have each other.

20

A DREAM I WILL NEVER FORGET

C rashing into a soul shaking orgasm, I roll my hips faster, riding Claus as hard and fast as I can as my nails dig into his chest. We have all been enjoying ourselves for the last few hours, taking turns finding our pleasure and working my body into orgasm after orgasm until my legs feel as weak as they do now. He groans as he finishes, his come filling me up as he finishes. Nick kisses my neck as I slide to the side and roll onto my back, looking up at him as he kneels between my legs. Nick isn’t one for words as he covers my body with his and slides inside me, and my back arches from the pleasure his thick and hard cock causes. Nick slams into me hard and fast, never giving me a chance to do anything but accept him. Morgan moves to my side, replacing where Claus was and kisses me as my hand wraps around his cock. He groans into my mouth as I work him as hard as Nick is fucking my body. An orgasm surprises me, sending shockwaves of pleasure through my body as Nick fucks me hard until he comes around the same time Morgan spills into my hand. We all fall back onto the bed, and I wish Javier was here, but he is on earth, taking his sister back with Eike and getting some things from his old home.

“I don’t know about you three, but I’m tired, and we have a list of things to do tomorrow,” Nick says, resting back.

“We should get some sleep, and then we can have fun in the shower in the morning. What do you think?” Morgan asks me, and I grin. That sounds like a fun morning wake up in our massively large shower.

“I’m going to shower now, go to sleep though,” Claus says as he covers us up with a blanket, and I curl up into Morgan’s chest, with Nick’s arms around my waist, and I slowly drift off to sleep.

A white light blasts into my eyes soon after I’m sure I fell asleep. When I open my eyes, I’m standing in what seems like a cloud, and I’m in a long white dress, my hair falling around my shoulders. I look up at the four lights that slowly form the shape of humans with wings.

Angels.

The middle angel is the only one I recognise as he comes into view. Master Gabriel.

“Is this a dream?” I ask.

“In a way,” Gabriel answers. “It is good to see you well, Queen Alexandria Cameron.”

“It’s still Lexi to my friends,” I reply, and he laughs, nodding his head.

“This is a formal meeting and should be held as such,” a female angel states from Gabriel’s side, and he sighs.

“Very well,” he answers her before looking at me. “Welcome to the tribunal of angels, Queen Alexandria Cameron. We have called you to us for a brief discussion.”

“What about?” I ask, crossing my arms and feeling a little threatened for the first time. “If the angels wished to speak to me, a letter would have been better.”

“The Great Light has blessed us with a message for you,” he tells me.

“The Great Light?” I enquire.

“Our leader,” the snooty woman answers. “The message is clear, and we are simply the carriers of the message.”

“Queen Alexandria Cameron, you gave up a great deal to perform an act of courage when you freed the souls trapped in hell. This act changed the world,” Gabriel starts off. “The Great Light was taken aback by your act, a great good brought to the world by a demon nonetheless.”

“It was the right thing to do,” I say firmly. I’m never regretting my choice that night.

“Yes, it was, and it deserves a reward, which we are here to give you,” Master Gabriel tells me.

“A reward from angels?” I ask. “I don’t want anything except an alliance between the angels and demons. I’ve heard a rumour that angel blessings are nothing but a curse, and in my life, that is true.”

“That will never happen, I’m afraid. Demons and angels cannot be on the same side; it is forbidden,” the woman tells me, though Gabriel doesn’t seem that agreeable with her.

“Why?” I ask, crossing my arms.

“We are not here to discuss this,” the woman warns.

“Then what are we here to discuss if we have no alliance?” I counter.

“The reward is a few moments with your parents’ souls. We can’t give you much time, but it will be enough to truly say goodbye and sense their peace,” Gabriel tells me, and my arms drop in shock. Can they really do that? It would be everything, but the world I live in has taught me nothing comes for free.

“What is the cost?” I ask.

“Nothing. We swear on the light that it is a free gift to you,” Gabriel says, and I actually believe him.

“And there is one more reward,” the woman reminds Gabriel.

“Ah yes. As an angel blessed, your soul rightly belongs to The Great Light, but in this one case, he has decided to let you have one day every six months where it does not,” he tells me.

“What does that mean?” I ask, not understanding this gift.

“That you will be free to go to earth one day every six months. Only for twenty-four hours, but that is your gift,” he tells me, and relief settles into me. Two days of freedom a year.

“Thank you,” I say, meaning it.

“We will leave you with your parents. Good luck with your life, Queen Alexandria Cameron. May you reign for many years and show us a race of demons we may one day be friends with,” Gabriel tells me, bowing his head.

“Have a good life, Master Gabriel. I know Morgan thinks of you often,” I say, bowing back.

“Tell him I think of him too,” Gabriel comments before he and the other angels start to fade away, leaving nothing but clouds around me. I wrap my arms around myself, wondering if the angels were having some cruel joke by telling me I could see my parents.

“Alexandria,” my mum’s clear voice rings out behind me, and I turn around, freezing at the sight of them right in front of me. My mum is wearing a long white dress like mine, her bright eyes are paler than usual, and she smiles so widely as I stare. Dad is wearing his typical Christmas jumper I’ve always loved, covered in little Santa faces, and black trousers. His glasses hide the emotions in his eyes a little until I step closer.

“It’s not Christmas, dad,” I chuckle.

“You see us as you want to see us, Lex,” dad says, his familiar voice rolling over me as I forgot how much I longed to hear it.

“Are you happy, Lexi?” mum asks me, and I reach out, wanting to touch her, but she backs away. “We are just souls, not real anymore. I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay. I just wanted to see you, that’s enough,” I honestly tell her. “I’m happy and loved. So loved. I wish you could meet my mates.” I pause in my rambling. “I wanted to tell you how much I love you both and wish I could have saved you from that ending. I want to tell you I don’t blame you for not telling me about being a demon and everything else. I loved my childhood, and you gave me Amethyst. She was family, and I miss her too.”

“We love you more than you could know until you have a child of your own. We never once regretted our choice to give you a human upbringing, a kind one, far from the world you now live in,” she gently tells me.

“Thank you,” I whisper, tears falling down my cheek into my mouth. “Thank you so much.”

“We don’t have much more time…but I love you, my beautiful daughter. Make sure your mates know I’m watching them, and if they mess up, they will have a ghost haunting them,” dad warns, and mum laughs with me through our tears.

“And you should know we are always with you. There is nowhere we won’t follow until it is your time to join us, our precious daughter,” mum says, her voice much more of an echo as she starts to fade away.

Wiping my tears away, I wish I could hug them. “We will see each other again.”

“In heaven, we will find you.” They reach for each other as mum softly speaks, and then they are gone and the clouds fall into nothing but dust as I close my eyes.

BYE, mum and dad.

EPILOGUE

TEN YEARS LATER.

“Do you think that boy is flirting with my daughter?” Eike asks me, leaning back in his seat, a permanent frown etched onto his face. I chuckle, following his gaze to where Ria, one of Eike and Sera’s twin girls is indeed talking to a boy about the same age as her.

“I think she is a little young for flirting,” I counter. “Perhaps he is just asking her for information on which ride is the best to go on next.”

“It’s Disneyland, all the rides are the best,” Eike growls before stomping off towards his daughter, only to be caught by Sera halfway, and she distracts him with a kiss.

“Eww, mummy, they are always kissing!” I hear my daughter’s melodic voice, and I stand up, turning around to see her walking to me with her hands in Claus’s and Nick’s. Amethyst Cameron is five years old, a bundle of trouble, and has every single man in her life wrapped around her finger. She has thick black hair, bright blue eyes that are lighter than mine, and a button nose that is so cute.

“They are still doing it. Yucky,” my other daughter comments as she runs around the twins and Amethyst, with Morgan and Javier chasing after her. Irene Cameron, named after my mum, is every bit like my mum in so many ways it usually brings a tear to my eyes. My identical twin girls are a bundle of trouble, just like their dad who we actually don’t know who that is yet.

And we don’t care.

“Why don’t we go and jump on them?” Ronnie asks, coming around me and grinning at the twins. Ronnie is nine, one of Sera’s twins and named after Eike’s mother. With all these girls in our family, I’m almost thankful I have four mates to protect them.

The girls might not be so thankful when it comes to any of them trying to date.

“Yay! Let’s go!” Amethyst shouts, fist pumping the air, before running off with Irene running right after her, holding Ronnie’s hand. Morgan laughs as he wraps his arms around my waist, holding me to him as we enjoy the real sunlight and being out of hell for our one day every six months. Grinning, I watch as the twins barge into Sera and Eike, who picks them up like monkeys and runs around with them as they laugh. Ronnie hugs her mum, and it’s just a perfect picture for a second.

“How are you so tanned when you spend all your time in hell?” Madi asks, stepping in front of me with a larger than life bump under her top.

“Says the fairy tale who actually lives on earth in the sunlight where they have beaches yet is paler than life,” I reply, laughing as I tug her into a hug, and her mates start talking to mine. Surprisingly, they get along really well. Warren and Javier both love sports, and their conversations never seem to end. Oisin and Noah get along with Claus and Nick as they discuss everything magical, including the pranks they love to play. Morgan, Knox and Tobias all seem to have some understanding over practice fighting, as that’s where they always seem to be when we look for them.

“Come and sit with me. I wanted to talk to you about something,” Madi says, rather more serious than she usually is. I hook my arm in hers as we walk over to a bench a little away from our families.

“What’s up?” I ask.

“When I met you and found out demons and angels where real, it reminded me of something a goddess once told me as I killed her,” she tells me, and I remember the story she told me of the fight her people had with an insane goddess. Apparently, they actually time travelled, and that is mad to think about.

“The batshit crazy goddess you once told me about?” I ask.

“Yeah, that one,” she replies, nodding her head and placing her hand on her bump. “She said, ‘The skies will fall with angels, and demons will rise to power. War is coming, and peace will be no more. Death is a promise to all those who treat angels like gods.” And I wondered if it was your war with hell that would see this come true, but as more time passes, I know it wasn’t meant for you.”

“Hell and heaven, two worlds apart but still there. Where the angels don’t control is not at peace and never will be. Demons will not be their slaves. Angels do see themselves as gods and refuse to acknowledge an alliance with us, even when I’ve offered many times. I would never make war with them without a due reason though,” I explain. “I hope one day we can see eye to eye. For our children’s sake.”

“Why would angels fall from the sky?” she asks.

“They wouldn’t fall…not unless they were dead,” I gently comment.

“This conversation is scaring me, but we must be ready just in case,” she says, her eyes drifting over our family as her hand holds her bump. “We have a lot to protect.”

“That we do,” I reply, leaning into my friend. “If there is going to be war, we will be ready, but for now, why don’t we enjoy whatever rides you’re allowed on?”

“That means only the boat ride,” she laughs, standing up and freezing as water pours out between her legs onto the ground. Her wide eyes meet mine as we both know what that means. “The baby is coming.”

NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR.

Hello my lovely readers.

Thank you, thank you, thank you!! I hope you enjoyed the third part to The Demon Academy Series. Don’t worry, that won’t be the end of this world. Starting next year, there will be a series called The Angel Academy that follows this world a few years later.

Follow this link to read The Angel Academy… link.

A big thank you to my family and everyone that supported me with this book! Thank you to my wonderful Pack Leaders for everything. <3

Especially Helayna and Mads! They are my life savers.

I forgot to thank Frani Nickerson for naming one special cat in this series.

You’re all amazing and I couldn’t do this without you guys.

Happy Reading!! G. xoxo

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The Missing Wolf. Find out more…

22

THE ANGEL ACADEMY

CHAPTER ONE

“Y ou have popcorn in your hair, did you know that?” the spirit I’m pretending I can’t see asks me for the fourth time, his form flickering in and out like a broken lightbulb. He continues to put his hand through my hair, even though we are both aware he can’t actually touch me. Between the gaping hole in his chest and the old-fashioned clothes, I suspect he has been here a long time and he has no intention of leaving anytime soon. I knew it was a bad idea to try this place when the cinema in our town was closed. New places always mean new ghosts.

But I wanted one date. Just one normal date where the weird fact I can see ghosts and talk to them doesn’t bother me, but of course, that didn’t happen. Finally, the movie, which I have no clue what happened in, finishes and the end credits roll down the screen. My poor date stares at me hopefully, and I’m pretty sure he is thinking I’m the worst date ever. Jordan O’Moran is a cute guy with messy red hair, blue eyes that pop, and soft looking lips. Not that I would know what they feel like, considering the ghost hasn’t left me alone, and touching someone else’s skin means trouble when a ghost is around. I stand up and tap the shoulder of Riley Becker, my best friend in the entire world and the only one who knows my secret.

Well, the only one that knows my secret and believes me. My therapist is proof of how crackers my mum and dad think I am. Currently Riley’s tongue is diving down Mandy Maguire’s neck, so he hasn’t noticed me. For a second, I’m jealous of Riley. He gets to be a normal eighteen-year-old. They both snap out of it at the same time, and Riley stands up, brushing a hand through his wispy blond hair that is all over the place, with questioning eyes.

“Code ten,” I whisper to him as we walk through the seats, and Riley looks back at me, nodding once.

“Wanna come back to mine, Riley? My parents work night shifts, so they won’t be home,” Mandy asks when we get outside. I think the only legit reason Riley asked her out is because she tells the entire school about her empty house and low ambitions. Riley towers over us both with his lanky six-foot form, and Mandy looks up at him so lovingly. That is until Riley talks.

“I can’t. I promised my bestie I’d stay over at hers while her parents are working away. Sorry, another time maybe?” he replies, and Mandy’s blue eyes flicker over to me, pure annoyance flashing in them. My mum always says eyes are the windows to the soul, and I’m certain Mandy’s soul is thinking of ways to get rid of mine.

“Can I come back to yours?” Jordan asks me, touching my arm. I practically jump away from him, and he looks so confused. Poor guy, for a moment, I actually forgot he was still here. I glance down the empty street outside the cinema, smelling the piles of rubbish by the side of the road, hearing nothing but very distant cars and an owl hunting somewhere in the nearby fields. Thankfully, the chill from the ghost is gone, and he isn’t following. Score. About ten years ago, this town would have been full of people; the cinema would have dozens of people leaving it, but now there is no one but us. Most people live in the big cities these days, and only the rich get to live in the towns, with their kids, of course, like us. Fortunately, my mum and dad are saints with their dozens of charities and thousands of homes they have bought and given to people in need. When I turn twenty-one and finish college, I’m going to help them and hopefully set up my own charity with Riley. That’s the game plan anyway.

“Mandy, you live down Tuckers Lane, right? Why don’t you take Jordan back with you as he lives close by?” Riley speaks for me when I don’t say a word.

Mandy and Jordan look between me and Riley before they both blurt out the same question at the exact same time. “Is there something going on between you two?”

“Nope,” I say with a chuckle, and Riley sighs, wrapping his arm around my shoulders.

“Poor Katy couldn’t handle me if she tried,” he cheekily replies, resting his head on top of mine.

“Plus, he is a brother to me; we literally grew up in each other’s houses,” I remind Mandy and Jordan. Riley and I… It just isn’t like that.

“Right…” Jordan mutters and walks off with Mandy following behind him, tugging her short skirt down so her ass doesn’t pop out. Jordan grins at Mandy, and she steps a little closer as she laughs at something he said.

“Our dates are totally going to bang tonight, aren’t they?” I ask Riley, who grins down at me.

“Totally,” he replies and laughs. His laugh makes me feel better about ruining his night. The date was over for me the second the ghost sensed me, like they all do, and decided to try and get me to talk to him all night.

“We suck at dates,” I mumble, feeling guilty as I tuck a strand of my wavy blonde hair behind my ear.

“Well, I could have been sucked, but our ghost friend ruined that. What happened?” he replies, and I screw my face up.

“One, gross,” I mutter. “And two, the ghost just hovered in front of me throughout the whole movie, trying to pick popcorn out of my hair but failing. I couldn’t see the movie,” I explain. Riley leans down and picks some of the popcorn caught up in my curly blonde locks that bounce around everywhere. Dad always joked that he fell in love with my mum because of her curly blonde hair and how he could always store his snacks in there and she wouldn’t know. I push my waist-length hair behind my back and out of Riley’s hand, sighing.

“That’s shit, Katy, has the ghost not moved on?” he asks me, looking around, not that he can see them. Sometimes the ghosts are strong enough that Riley can feel the coldness, the feel of death as I call it.

“There’s a light near him, but he doesn’t look at it like the ones who are going to move on,” I explain, as that’s really the only way to describe the light. Some ghosts have a light nearby, and many of them spend days staring at the light before going into it and disappearing. Others have a swirling black circle near them, and they are forever running from it. I gather the light is what some people call heaven, and the dark must be hell.

Or some version of it.

I think true hell is in the minds of the lost souls with nowhere to go…forever trapped, watching the world go by.

“You want to drive?” Riley asks, holding his keys in the air, the shiny Iron Man helmet keyring hanging inches away from my fingers. I won him that keyring when we were twelve and his dad took me, Riley and Riley’s younger sister to Blackpool.

That was the only good part of the trip…turns out Blackpool has a lot of ghosts.

“Really?” I snap the keys out of his hand and run through the car park, pressing the button to open the car doors. Riley’s red Land Rover sits in the corner of the lot, and I climb into the driver’s seat, messing with the seat height as Riley gets in. I love Riley’s car; it’s so much better than the tiny pink Mini Cooper that my parents got me.

I hate pink for starters, but I couldn’t tell my parents that. They went to so much effort to find me the car in the first place.

“See, I knew this would put a smile on your face,” Riley comments, knocking my shoulder with his, and I grin at him. Riley just gets me. I start the car up and change the gears as we leave the car park and head down the empty country road to home. The Lake District is beautiful, but it’s miles between anything out here. I leave my full beam lights on as Riley turns the radio station on, making me shift my eyes to his birthmark on his wrist, the one that looks like angel wings. I have one nearly exactly like it on the inside of my thigh, but mine is a lot bigger, taking up nearly all my thigh. Riley’ jokes that we were destined to be best friends, and who knows, maybe he was right.

“Are you going to ask Jordan out again?” Riley asks, relaxing back in his seat.

“Nope. We both are on summer break, but it’s nearly September,” I remind him. Riley has certainly had his summer fun, while I’ve been in my house, mainly reading. I think back to the book I left half read earlier today, a paranormal romance about—

“What book are you thinking about?”

“How do you know I was thinking about a book?”

“Because I know you, Katy—” Anything Riley was going to say is lost as the car harshly bumps into something, and the world seems to slow down. With wide eyes, I grip the steering wheel tightly in my hand and scream as the car seems to float for a moment. In the silence, in the moment where I’m sure I’m floating, I reach for my best friend.

And then everything goes black.

FOLLOW this link to read The Angel Academy… link.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

G. Bailey is a USA Today and international bestselling author of books that are filled with everything from dragons to pirates. Plus, fantasy worlds and breath-taking adventures.

G. Bailey is from the very rainy U.K. where she lives with her husband, two children, three cheeky dogs and one cat who rules them all.

A few random facts about her…

She loves tea. (She may be a little obsessed but what Brit isn’t?)

Chocolate and Harry Potter marathons are her jam.

She owns way too many notebooks and random pens.

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Table of Contents

Title Page

Contents

Join Bailey’s Pack to chat with me!

Copyright

The Series

Description

Prologue

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Epilogue

Note From The Author.

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21. The Missing Wolf

22. The Angel Academy

About the Author