Chapter 188: My Angel | 081

AZREN

"Az?" Noelle whispers against my chest.

We're both lying in bed, curled against each other, naked.

Her full breasts press against my side, one leg thrown over mine, and every slow drag of her nails sends sparks straight down my spine.

"Won't you tell me what's wrong?" she whispers, pressing a soft kiss right over my heart.

I close my eyes.

The text from the Werewolf Corps is still sizzling in my mind.

'We found a way. Fewer complications. Be at the coordinates in three days, at midnight.'

It sounds too clean. Too easy. After everything, the runes, the pain, and the constant games, I don't trust clean and easy. It smells like a trap. A pretty box wrapped in hope, waiting to snap shut on my neck.

I'm not afraid of dying.

I've danced with death so many times it feels like an old, bitter lover. But the thought of leaving Noelle behind? Of her waking up one morning to a cold bed and a world that wants to use her Light until it burns her out?

That terrifies me.

"I got a message," I finally say, my arm tightening around her waist. "From the Corps. They claim they have a way to seal the veil. A ritual that requires less blood and less sacrifice."

She lifts her head, her amber eyes searching mine. "That's... good, right?"

I sigh. "It could be. Or it could be the final nail in my coffin. I don't know anymore."

Noelle is quiet for a moment. Then she shifts, crawling higher until she's straddling my waist, her hands framing my face. Her hair falls around us like a curtain.

"I'm going with you," she says.

My chest tightens.

"Angel—"

"No," she cuts in, her voice firm but gentle. "Wherever you go, I go. If it's a trap, we face it together. If it's real... then we end this nightmare together. I'm not letting you walk into hell alone again."

Fuck.

I stare up at her, this beautiful, stubborn woman who crawled into my darkness and decided to stay. My throat burns.

I pull her down and kiss her slowly, deeply, pouring everything I can't say into it. When we part, I rest my forehead against hers.

"Thank you," I whisper, my voice cracking. "For coming into my life."

She smiles against my lips, soft and sweet, and kisses me once more.

We stay like that for a long time with her on top of me, my hands stroking up and down her bare back.

Eventually her breathing evens out.

I'm exhausted. Bone-deep, soul-deep tired. These past weeks have been draining me dry. Especially with the runes, the withdrawal, the constant fear of losing her, and the voices that never shut up. Depression is creeping back in like an old friend, wrapping cold fingers around my throat.

I just want the nightmares to end.

I tighten my arms around her and bury my face in her hair, breathing in the scent of cherry blossoms.

'Just a little longer,' I think. 'Hold on for her.'

Even if I have to drag myself through hell one last time.

...

The underground cells beneath the estate are cold, silent, reeking of old blood and damp stone.

Cameron walks on my left, Jake on my right. Both of them keep stealing glances at me like I might collapse any second. It's starting to piss me off.

"You look tired, Alpha," Cam finally says, his voice low. "Like you haven't slept in weeks."

I don't answer right away. My boots echo against the concrete floor as we descend the last flight of stairs.

Jake doesn't hold back.

"I remember how bad it used to get," he says. "The depression. The days you wouldn't speak. I'm not watching that shit happen to you again, man. Not while we still have a chance to end this."

I stop walking. They both stop with me.

I turn to face them.

"I'm fine," I lie. "The runes have quieted. Noelle... she helps. More than you know."

Jake stares at me for a long second, then he snorts.

"Screw it. Boys' night tonight. You, me, and Cam. No excuses. You can't say no."

I let out a weak laugh, the sound rusty in my throat. "You're really going to force your alpha into a boys' night?"

"Damn right I am," Jake grins, clapping a hand on my shoulder. "We'll drink, we'll talk shit, and if you start spiralling, I'll sit on you until you stop."

Cam chuckles. "I'm in. Someone needs to make sure you eat something other than your wife."

I shake my head, but a small, genuine smile tugs at my lips nonetheless. They don't look at me with pity. Thank fuck for that. Instead, Jake grins like a shark, and Cam bumps my fist.

"That's our Alpha," Cam says. "Let's go remind this piece of shit why he should stay afraid."

We reach the reinforced cell at the end of the corridor. Haden, or whatever body he's currently wearing, is chained to a metal chair in the centre of the room, looking far too smug for someone in his state.

The second he sees me, he sneers.

"Are you here to gloat, Lakewood?"

Jake silently sets a chair down right in front of Haden's cell and gestures for me to sit like I'm a king about to hold court. I drop into it, my legs spread, staring at the bastard who tried to touch what's mine.

I tilt my head.

"What was the plan, Haden?" I ask calmly. "Why did you need to breed Noelle so badly?"

Haden's grin widens, blood already crusted at the corner of his mouth from earlier.

"I wanted armies," he spits. "Armies of golden wolves. Heirs that could rule—"

I scoff, cutting him off.

"So you thought she was a fucking chicken? Some breeding sow you could pump out pups for your pathetic empire?"

Haden throws his head back and laughs.

"That little whore? She spread her legs so easily for me and moaned like a bitch in heat while I—"

I smile, letting the demonic energy uncoil from the pit of my stomach. Black veins spread across my arms as I push my aura through the bars.

Haden screams.

His body convulses in the chair, his back arching so hard I hear bones crack. Smoke rises from his skin as I burn his soul from the inside out. Blood pours from his mouth, his nose, and his eyes in floods.

He thrashes harder, shrieking in agony as my flames consume him from within. The sound is music. Pure, beautiful music.

Jake and Cam stand behind me in silence, watching.

When Haden finally slumps forward, still alive but barely, whimpering and twitching, I lean back in the chair and exhale slowly.

"Keep him breathing," I tell them without turning around. "I'm not done with him yet. Get the witch. We take out his essence tonight.

I stand up, rolling my shoulders.

Boys' night suddenly sounds like a very good idea.

"Where's my mother?" Haden croaks just as I turn to leave.

"Why? Did you think Mommy's going to save you? If you beg nicely I just might let you meet her..." I smile. "In the afterlife, of course."

Then I start walking away, Cam and Jake following behind me.

Cam speaks first. "So... you don't need permission from your wife for boys' night?"

I wince.

Jake immediately starts laughing like the traitor he is. "Oh shit. He forgot. Big bad alpha forgot to ask wifey for permission."

"Shut the fuck up," I growl. But they're right.

I pull out my phone carefully. My thumb hovers over Noelle's name. Jake and Cam lean in like they're watching a horror movie, both visibly tense.

Cam whispers, "If she says no—

"She won't," Jake mutters.

I roll my eyes, hitting 'call'. It rings once before her sweet voice answers.

"Baby?" Noelle sounds sleepy and soft. "Everything okay?"

I clear my throat. My two idiots are staring at me like I'm about to defuse a bomb with my teeth.

"Hey, Angel," I start, trying to sound casual and failing miserably. "So... hypothetically... if I wanted to do a very innocent, very calm boys' night with Jake and Cam... would that be... something you'd be... open to?"

There's a moment of silence.

Then Noelle's voice goes dangerously sweet. "Boys' night?"

Jake mouths. "We're fucked," behind his hand.

"Yes," I say, wincing again. "Just... drinks. Talking. No strippers. No fighting. Probably. Maybe."

Cam looks like he's praying.

Noelle hums. "And where exactly is this innocent boys' night happening?"

I scratch the back of my neck. "Cam's place. We were going to just...hang out."

Jake slaps a hand over his face.

Noelle is quiet for three terrifying seconds. Then she bursts out laughing.

"Oh my God, you're actually asking for permission like a good little husband," she teases, clearly enjoying this way too much. "This is adorable. Are Jake and Cam standing there sweating right now?"

I glance at them. Both are nodding aggressively.

"Yes," I admit miserably.

"Put me on speaker."

I do.

"Hi, boys," Noelle says cheerfully. "So you want to steal my husband for boys' night after he almost died not too long ago?"

Jake clears his throat. "We'll bring him back in one piece, Luna. Promise."

"Fine," she finally says, amusement thick in her voice. "You can have him. But I have conditions."

All three of us straighten like soldiers.

"First," she continues, "no letting him drink until he eats actual food. Second, if he starts acting weird, one of you calls me immediately. Third... send me pictures of him smiling. I want proof he's actually relaxing."

Jake grins like an idiot. "We can do that."

"And Azren?" Her voice drops into that soft, dangerous tone that always makes my cock twitch. "If you come back drunk and horny at 4 a.m., you're sleeping on the couch. I don't care how pretty you look when you're drunk."

I rub my face. "Yes, ma'am."

The two traitors next to me are silently dying of laughter.

"Good boys," Noelle purrs. "Have fun. Love you, babe."

"Love you too," I mutter, my cheeks burning as I hang up.

Cam is wheezing. "Oh, she's got you wrapped around her finger."

I flip them both off, but I'm smiling despite myself.

"Laugh it up," I say. "At least I have a wife who lets me go out. You two are still single and miserable."