Chapter 107 Book 1 Epilogue
KAZIEL
I awaken to soft lips peppering kisses on my back.
"Happy birthday," Danika murmurs against my skin.
I smile into the pillow, still half-asleep and sore from yesterday's workout in a way I deeply regret this morning. I shift slightly, about to roll over—
And then something launches onto my back like a cannonball.
"PAPAAAA!"
The air punches out of my lungs.
"Oof—"
Azalea, my seven-year-old, bounces again, giggling uncontrollably. "Wake up! Wake up! It's your biiiiirthday!"
I groan dramatically, clutching my lower back. "Oh—oh no. That's it. That's the one. I'm down."
Danika freezes, and so does my daughter.
"Oh my God," Danika gasps, her hands immediately on my shoulders. "Kaz? Are you okay?"
I manage a peek at them and let out a dramatic sound. "Tell the kids... I loved them."
Azalea's eyes go wide. "Mama?"
The bedroom door slams open, and my eldest son storms in, looking very suspicious.
"What did you do?" he demands, pointing directly at his sister.
"I just bounced!" Azalea squeaks. "Like always!"
"I TOLD you," Azren says grimly, "he's fragile."
I peek through one eye.
Fragile???
The nerve of this boy.
Danika is hovering now, panic written all over her face. "You were sore yesterday," she says softly. "You said your back—"
I clutch my side again and groan louder. Azren narrows his blue eyes then. He's only thirteen, and he already makes me want to send him off for adoption.
"...He's faking," he says flatly.
Danika hesitates. "Are you?"
I burst out laughing, rolling onto my back with a wince that's only half fake.
"I'm not injured," I admit. "But I am very sore, and I saw an opportunity."
Azalea shrieks with outrage. "PAPA!"
Azren throws his hands up. "I KNEW IT."
Danika slaps my chest lightly, laughing and exasperated all at once. "You scared us!"
Only then do I notice Levi at the foot of my bed, writing on the sole of my foot with a marker. He freezes when he sees me, grinning sheepishly as I arch a brow at him. He's only one year older than his sister, and they are constantly fighting. I guess he decided to transfer his aggression onto my foot today.
Azalea scrambles onto my stomach and plants her hands on her hips. "You are NOT allowed to die on your birthday."
"Duly noted," I reply solemnly.
Danika leans down and kisses me properly this time. "Happy birthday, babe."
I pull her closer, kissing her forehead. "Thank you, sweetheart.”
Azren clears his throat loudly. "Okay, but can we do the thing now?"
"What thing?" I ask.
"The thing where we pretend you didn't just emotionally traumatize us and go eat breakfast," he says.
Ah...this boy.
....
Breakfast is... a lot.
Pancakes slightly burnt on one side. Eggs overdone. Candles stuck into something that might be a waffle. Wait...is that a cake?
Azalea insists on sitting in my lap. Levi, who is already too cool for 'childish stuff,' slides a card across the table without looking at me. Azren watches my reaction closely as if he's waiting to see who won. I'm not sure what the competition is about, though.
Danika sets a plate in front of me.
"You didn't have to do all this," I say.
She smiles. "Yes, we did."
I open the cards. Crooked letters. Stick figures. One suspiciously mature message from Levi. Azalea's is mostly glitter and hearts and the word "PAPA" written seventeen times.
My throat tightens.
Azren watches me carefully. "Are you okay, Dad?"
I nod, swallowing. "Yeah. Just…thinking."
"About what?" Azalea asks, her mouth full of pancake.
I look around the table. At my wife. At my children. At the noise and mess.
"How lucky I am," I say.
Danika reaches for my hand, and Azren looks away, pretending not to care. Levi smirks. And my sunshine princess beams.
Gods help me, I wouldn't trade this for eternity.
....
The cemetery is quiet, the sky a deep grey. It's about to rain, I can tell. Danika walks beside me, her fingers linked with mine. In her other hand is a messy bundle of wildflowers with too many colors and uneven stems. Azalea had picked them herself and declared them perfect.
"They're not wrong," Dani had said, smiling.
We stop in front of the headstone, and my chest tightens.
I kneel slowly, setting the white lilies in my hand down at the base of the stone. Dani crouches beside me, her hand warm and steady on my shoulder.
For a long moment, I can't speak. It's not because I don't have words. It's because I have too many.
"I'm here," I finally say. "I came back."
I swallow past the lump in my throat.
"There's something I need to say," I continue, my voice low. "And I need to say it honestly."
I look at the name carved into stone.
"You deserved your son," I say. "And you didn't get him."
My throat tightens painfully.
"He was a good boy," I whisper. "He loved you. He would've protected you with his life. And I—"
I exhale shakily.
"I took his body."
A cool breeze ruffles my hair.
"I didn't ask," I admit. "I didn't give him a choice the way I should have. I was desperate. I was made to survive, not to be kind."
My hands curl into fists.
"I know that's unforgivable."
Danika's grip tightens, but she doesn't interrupt. She lets me do this.
"I tried," I continue hoarsely. "I tried to honor him. I carried his memories. His love for you. His rage. His grief. I let them shape me. I became... something better than what I was."
Tears blur my vision.
"But that doesn't erase what I took."
I bow my head.
"I am sorry," I whisper. "For stealing his life and failing to protect you."
My voice cracks.
"I loved you too," I admit. "Not as a mother, but as the woman who raised the boy who gave me the first glimpse of humanity."
Dani moves closer, resting her forehead against my temple.
"She knows," she murmurs. "She's always known."
I release a shaky breath.
"I made it," I say softly, my voice steadier. "Not because I deserved to, but because I learned how."
I glance at Dani, then back at the stone.
"I found love," I say. "Real love. The kind that changes you. She saved me. Over and over again."
Dani smiles through her tears.
"We have children," I add softly. "Three. They laugh loudly. They love fiercely. They're safe."
I wipe at the tear that escapes, my hand shaking.
"I wish you could've seen that," I say. "I wish you could've known that something good came out of all of this."
Dani pulls a small cupcake from her coat pocket and sets it beside the flowers.
"Today's his birthday, Mother. He wants you to know that he's living a good life. So, rest well and watch over us," she whispers.
I close my eyes, letting myself relax. I don't... I don't have to feel guilty anymore, right?
When we finally walk away, my chest still aches, but it's not hollow anymore. Some apologies don't undo the past. They just make the future possible.
Dani hooks her arm around mine and kisses my cheek.
"Let's go home, babe."
If I am a monster, then I am hers. And I have never belonged to anything else completely.
…
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❤️❤️
And there we have it. The end of book one. I enjoyed writing it so much. I hope you guys loved it. Please do me a favor and leave me your kind reviews.
It will let me know, how you feel about this work of mine🥹
Book Two is about Azren's story.
INTRO:
“I don’t make love, Angel. I fuck. Hard.” A cry slips from my lips as he thrusts deep into me, his massive cock filling me up.
“So you’re a fuck boy,” I gasp, letting out a loud moan.
He crashes his lips again mine. “Wrong. Your fuck boy.”
…
On a terrible night, Noelle catches the eye of her mate, Azren, the CEO of the company where she works as a cleaner, ending up in a reckless one night stand with him.
He is a tribrid with blood on his hands and a heart he refuses to acknowledge.
He saved her once. Now he wants her in ways he shouldn’t.
She sees the angel buried beneath his darkness. He sees temptation he cannot afford, because loving her means defying her arranged bond to a notorious dark Alpha… and unleashing the violence he barely keeps contained.
Now they’re trapped in a not-so-fake-marriage with very real obsession. As Azren’s darkness looms over them, one truth becomes unavoidable:
Angels rarely ever survive this cruel world. They fall. And when they do, they burn everything in their wake.
Will they be able to survive the ugly tempest? Or will they fall into the abyss of desire?
Warning: This story contains explicit sexual scenes, power exchange dynamics, anorexia, morally black characters, possessive and obsessive behavior, abduction/captivity, and intense adult themes. Reader discretion is strongly advised. Recommended for adults 18+ only.