Chapter 28 — Just when I’ve found my happiness

Mikhail:

“Azazel, what are you doing here?” I ask.

Azazel’s lips tighten into slits as he gazes around cagily. “We have a problem, mate. Have you seen the news?”

I shake my head. “No, why?”

Sighing, Azazel walks to the living room and turns on the Television. A nondescript news anchor appears on the screen. Today on the news, a local boy, Travis Gentry, was found strangled in a garbage can near an uptown club. Travis Gentry was a football cornerback for the Arcata High Angels. Right now, the local police are calling for foul play. However, in a bizarre turn of events, witnesses have stepped up to say that Mr. Gentry was killed by a winged creature. We join you live with Jane Carlson at the club Garden of Eden…

My brow furrows with confusion as I listen to the report. Travis is dead. I can’t believe it. I turn to Azazel and Alex, who is giving me an odd look. “What are you looking at me for? I didn’t do it. Travis was an asshole, but I wouldn’t kill him.”

Azazel shakes his head. “It’s not about whether you did it, mate. People at the club saw you threatening him. You held him by his neck and told him you’d kill him if he ever touched Nevaeh again. It doesn’t matter if it was an empty threat because now he’s dead.”

“What do I do?” I ask.

Azazel sifts his fingers through his hair and paces in place. “Don’t you see, Mikhail? This is what the council is looking for. There were several supernatural beings there who witnessed the whole scene. This is beyond not good.”

The realization of what this means hits me at that moment. “The council is going to come for me, isn’t it?”

Alex and Azazel nod their heads. My head spins with the possibilities of what might happen. “What will they do to me?”

Both men frown with consternation before they reply. “Right now, there is no proof that you did it other than witness testimony stating that you threatened the boy. Because of that, they’ll take you into the council hall for holding until they come to a decision. However, with Lukan in the mix, there might already be proof. If that’s the case, they’ll take you into the triad and sentence you right away. More than likely, Lukan will be the one to execute you.”

Nevaeh tightens her arms around me with a horrified cry. “No, no, they can’t do that. You didn’t kill Travis. I was with you all night. We’ll…we’ll just tell them that you were with me…” She mutters through a heart-wrenching sob.

Holding her close, I kiss her head. “No, we can’t. The council can never find out about you. It will only put you and my family in danger, princess. You know that the council will take me having a mate as an act of defiance. They’ll kill you.”

Tears stream down her face as she pulls away from my arms and faces me. “Then, we’ll run away.”

I shake my head. A part of me is happy that she’d run away with me. But I also know that it would be pointless. There’s nowhere that we can run that the council wouldn’t find us. They’d track us to the ends of the earth and make us pay dearly for making them chase us.

“No, princess, we can’t run away. If we do, they will hurt Alex and my brothers. It wouldn’t be fair to make them run with me. It would ruin their lives too.”

Her tears break my heart, but I can’t give in. “I have no other choice. I have to go with them.”

Azazel’s eyes glow with fury. “Maybe there’s something else we can do. Maybe I…I can tell them it was me. I can tell them I killed Travis.”

I shake my head at his generosity. “No, Azazel, Lukan has it out for me, and he won’t take any substitutions now that he has a reason to take me. Plus, I’m sure all the evidence will point to me being the one who killed Travis. What I need for you to do is take care of Nevaeh and my family.”

He shakes his head, but I stare him down. He must see that I’m telling the truth. He has to see that there’s no other way.

His nostrils flare, and his chest heaves with rage, but he eventually stands down.

“Fine, but I’m calling my contact. There has to be something that can tie Lukan to this. It’s just too coincidental.”

Without another word, he reaches for his cell phone. Unfortunately, he doesn’t have time to make the call because the doorbell rings. At the sound, everyone freezes in place, alarm coating their expressions because there’s no doubt that the council has arrived.

Jaw tight, I wipe Nevaeh’s tears and kiss her temple. “Listen, princess, I need you to go to Alex’s office and stay there until either Alex or Azazel tell you to come out. I don’t want any of the Council members to see you.”

Nevaeh clings tightly to my arm, but I manage to pull her away and into the safety of Azazel’s grip. “Take her!”

Azazel nods and pulls her hesitant body up the stairs.

Once they’re gone, I turn back to Alex. “Where are the boys?” “They’re at the movies. They should be out for a couple of hours.”

I nod my head, grateful that my brothers will not be here to see me taken away.

I glance at the door then back at Alex. His eyes are dim, and his lips are curled into a grimace. “I’m sorry, Mikhail. I should have protected you better.”

I shake my head. “No, Alex, don’t say that. You saved us and gave us a home. You are the father I never had, and I can never repay you for all that you’ve done for us.”

Alex pulls me into his arms and pats my back. “We won’t let you die, Mikhail. Azazel and I will find a way to help you.”

The doorbell rings again, pulling us out of our reverie. Clearing my throat, I step back and straighten my clothes. “Time to see the Council.”

Alex nods but doesn’t say a word. However, his eyes reflect his misery as he waits for me to open the door. Councilmember Corbin James, Gadriel Saint, and Lukan Garron are standing on our front porch. The men look grim and austere as they gaze upon us. “Mikhail Cross, on behalf of the Supernatural Council, you are being remanded under the charge of murdering the human boy, Travis Gentry. Please step forward and release your wings.”

I step forward and release my wings with flutter as each man takes a position to restrain them. Gadriel stands behind me and places a chain around my wings with a click. The chain is spelled to keep supernatural beings with wings grounded. Only a council member can remove it.

Lukan steps forward and searches the room suspiciously, which instantly puts me on edge. “I smell a human here.”

The bastard knows that Nevaeh is here. Sneering, he turns to Alex. “Are you hiding a human here, Alexander?”

Alex shakes his head. “Why would we hide a human, Lukan?”

Gadriel and Corbin look around, but Lukan is undeterred. “Bring the human forward, Alexander.”

Alex's brow furrows, but he doesn’t argue as he makes his way to the office. After a minute, he comes back with Nevaeh in tow. I want to rant. I want to tear each man apart as they gaze upon her. Regret weighs heavily on me at that moment. I knew I should have kept away from her. And because of me, she’s in danger.

I try to keep a neutral expression when Nevaeh steps into the room. Thankfully, she’s no longer crying. Instead, she looks on coldly as she looks at the men.

Smiling gleefully, Lukan steps forward and runs his eyes appraisingly over her body. I want to rip his eyes when his expression becomes lascivious. “Well, well, well. Do you see the glow around her? She’s not just a human, but a demon mate too.”

His lips quirk into a snicker as he faces the other councilmen. “It looks like we have a demon mate in our hands here, boys. And the only demon in this house is Mr. Cross.” He stares into my eyes as he emphasizes his point.

“Did you mark a human without the council’s permission, Mr. Cross?” He mumbles with a sneer.

I don’t answer, but I don’t need to. Lukan has already made up his mind, and arguing with him will only make things worse. All I can do right now is hope that Azazel will step in and defuse the situation.

Lukan gives the men a self-satisfied smirk before he turns to Nevaeh. “It looks like we’ll have to take her with us to the Council too.”

Before he reaches for Nevaeh, Azazel steps into the room. His eyes are glowing, and his fangs are out. “What in the bloody hell do you think you’re doing touching my mate?”

Lukan gives Azazel a surprised glare, then chuckles maliciously.

Frowning, Gadriel walks up to Azazel and mutters, “Azazel, what are you doing here?”

Azazel gives the council members a disrespectful scowl and pulls Nevaeh into his embrace. “Not that it’s any of your bloody business, but I’m selling my Hellcat to Alexander. He showed interest in it a couple of weeks ago, and I was in the market, so I brought my lady here to get one last ride before it exchanged hands.”

Lukan’s expression sours as he tries to find a way to discredit Azazel’s claim. “Really?” He says in a disbelieving tone.

Azazel’s eyes narrow as he takes a threatening stance. I’m grateful that even when he’s angry, he keeps a protective arm around Nevaeh’s shoulder. “Do you fancy that I’m lying, mate?”

Lukan takes a hesitant step back, which I can tell by his annoyed frown that he didn’t mean to do. Even someone as powerful as Lukan can instinctually understand that messing with Azazel would be a mistake.

“Of course not, but you have to understand that a hybrid mating with a human is a serious matter which the Council cannot overlook. Which is why it would behoove you to provide proof that you are, in fact, this girl’s mate as opposed to Mr. Cross.” Lukan states woodenly.

Azazel looks at Nevaeh, who up to then has been trying to be invisible. “I’m sorry, luv, fancy showing these wankers your mark?” Nevaeh nods her head evenly. However, she doesn’t move away from Azazel.

Smiling gently, Azazel pulls her chest closer to his and lowers the string of her dress. I’m grateful that he maintains her modesty as he turns her to the council members and reveals her mark. Once the men have seen the obvious mark, Azazel adjusts her dress and lifts his own shirt to reveal a similar mark. “Is that proof enough for the Council?”

Gadriel looks at Lukan and nods his head. “We apologize for the intrusion, my lady. The proof of your mark is good enough.”

Azazel sneers in reply. “Now, what in the bloody hell is the Council doing here anyway? Last I heard, the Council didn’t pay house calls to boys.”

Lukan’s face flushes with rage. His eyes are bulging, and his teeth are clenched so tightly that if he clenches them harder, his teeth might break off. “This boy has been charged with murder.” He points his finger in my direction accusingly before he gestures to the door. “Now, if you don’t mind, we’d like to be on our way.”

He doesn’t like that he has been thwarted. Unfortunately, there is nothing else he can do without coming off as unbiased because I’d imagine he’d have beaten me to a pulp if the other Council members hadn’t been present.

“Come with us, Mr. Cross.” Gadriel mutter evenly. I nod my head and step forward without any argument. I notice that Nevaeh tries to move closer, but Azazel keeps her in his grip and pulls her closer.

I want to tell her that everything is going to be fine, but I can’t. All I can do at that moment is give Azazel a grateful nod before I’m led out of the door. I just hope that this will not be the last time that I see the girl I love.