Defiant Destiny Ch. 08

Hello everyone, and welcome back to another installment of Defiant Destiny. I wanted to express a huge thank you to LiterKnight for helping me edit my work. Her keen eye and grammatical knowledge has been a blessing <3

Enjoy the chapter!

***Dante***

I was thoroughly pissed off. With another deep sigh I again rummaged through my wardrobe. Where on Earth did I leave that fucking tie... I owned just one, and I absolutely hated it. Every time I needed to wear it, it was for some occasion I really didn't want to attend. Like today - I had an important meeting with the people from my trust fund who required an update on the proceedings with the factory.

In the comfort of my bedroom I didn't bother to suppress my angry growls. I loathed having to go to this meeting and, despite the fact that they were always friendly and cordial, I hated the people from the trust fund with a soul-consuming passion.

After some more growling and sighing I finally located a small black box in the back of my wardrobe. Suddenly I remembered I had stowed the tie in there after...

I stared hard at the box in my hands. It was a little dusty from not having opened it in nine years.

Almost ten years now actually.

My heart rate shot up and part of me didn't want to open the box. With a shaky hand I slowly opened the cover. Inside the box I saw the elusive black tie, neatly folded, but seeing the item next to it entombed my racing heart in ice and sent a heavy shiver down my back.

It was a tiny, dried flower. A daisy - my mother's favorite.

For their funeral I had asked the florist to fill the bouquet on my mother's coffin with those dainty white flowers. He politely objected, claiming it was a weed, and suggested something else instead, but I didn't care. My mother had loved that flower for its simplicity and abundance.

The day before the funeral I had spent hours combing meadows to gather enough of them for the florist to create a beautiful bouquet. A sad smile crept upon my face as I swallowed the lump in my throat - she would have loved it.

Tenderly, I grasped the small flower with trembling fingers. I took this one from the bouquet just before they lowered my parents into the ground.

My vision became blurry with unshed tears and I closed my eyes, needing a few deep breaths to clear my mind and bury my grief deep down inside. I didn't know how other people did it, but I sucked at mourning - I didn't know how to deal with the death of my parents. Even today, nearly ten years after their passing, I still found myself emotionally paralyzed at the mere memory of their funeral.

Reverently, I placed the flower back next to the tie into the box and clumsily closed the lid with shaking hands. Rummaging around again in my wardrobe I looked for the deepest, darkest corner I could find and almost threw the box there, swallowing away my tears. I still wasn't ready to face my grief. I knew it was wrong of me, but I didn't know how to handle it, so I tucked it away. Again.

A soft touch on my shoulder made me jump. I turned around and saw a teary eyed Cyrea gaze into my eyes. She wore a classy business suit and looked as beautiful as ever. My wonderful soulmate had insisted on coming with me to the meeting today, and for the life of me I couldn't understand why, but when I gazed into her compassionate eyes, I understood - she knew I was not looking forward to this meeting, and it seemed my clever mate had a keener perception of why than I did.

"Oh, Dante..." Cyrea whispered and gathered me in her arms.

I fought to keep the tears at bay, panting hard, while her sweet caresses broke down the wall around me I so anxiously tried to rebuild.

I tightly wrapped my arms around my mate, almost crushing her in my desperation to have her close to me, to let her proximity and scent soothe me as it always did.

Slowly, breath by shaking breath, and caress after soothing caress, my labored breathing returned to normal and my death grip on her hair softened. I buried my face in her neck, letting the last of my tears wet her curls.

"Death is an important part of nature's cycle, as grief is an important part of living. Do not hide from this pain, my love," she spoke softly.

I took one last deep breath of her neck, letting her scent reach the deepest corners of my lungs and released her from my embrace with steady hands, my wall rebuilt. I briefly glanced at her deep blue eyes and blinked away the final remnants of tears from mine. My hands found their way into her soft curls, fidgeting with them as I thought of words to prolong my procrastination.

"Thank you for coming with me this morning," I finally said, my voice sounding more balanced than I felt. "Are you ready to go?" I asked, occupying my eyes with the way her curls twirled around my fingers, not ready to face her gaze.

I couldn't see her reaction. I didn't want to. I knew she would be disappointed at me for hiding from my grief. I turned around to grab an official looking jacket from my wardrobe and closed the wardrobe door.

Fuck the tie.

"Yes, I'm ready," Cyrea's voice came from behind me, and she silently took my hand.

"I'm here for you, my love, don't forget that..." she whispered.

My heart swelled with love for her.

"I know... Thank you..." I replied, and together we headed outside in silence.

The meeting went fine. It always did. The people were friendly and enthusiastic about the proceedings. There was a slight issue with the funding, but that was solved easily enough. Cyrea's presence helped more than I could have anticipated. Both for my emotional support, and for unintentionally distracting some of the men and women at the meeting. Talking business became so much easier when members of the other party were gawking at your succubus' cleavage.

***Isabel***

My thundering heartbeat was so loud I could barely hear the soft whisperings of the angel whose breath was tickling my ear. Oh, this was marvelous, absolutely marvelous! My eyes glided along the interior of my lavish office as my mind diligently processed every word that the baritone voice mumbled in my ears as he droned on with his report.

Mated... Alexis was mated! And not just to anyone, but to the Valkyrie! She had taken more than a few angels' lives and was a high value target for every God fearing angel. But, how did they meet? Why was she on Earth?

Each and every whispered word seemed to add another electric tingle of excitement in my belly and I found it increasingly harder not to bounce up and down like a juvenile human.

The voice had fallen silent, the report was finished. I leaned back in my desk chair and rested my hands on the cool leather arm rests, letting my fingertips caress the soft texture as my mind quickly processed all I had been told. A slow, venomous grin spread on my face - Samuel would be livid, his power would be a marvelous sight to behold, and his justice... oh, his justice would be brutal. Brutal and just.

With the corresponding poise of an immortal of my stature I managed to wipe the grin from my face before turning to the angel at my side. He was patiently waiting, his confident eyes expecting a well earned compliment.

"Well done, Andrew. Excellent work, as always," I commended him, and watched him try to hide his pride at his exemplary performance.

'Oh, Andrew... Sweet Andrew... I know very well you cannot resist the temptation of pride, but it's alright - you are too useful to me to report you to Samuel,' I thought, knowing I could never utter those words aloud.

"I need more details on why the Valkyrie is here on Earth. Uncover that for me, and I will ensure you are duly rewarded for your effort," I dismissed him, and traced his departing form with my eyes, noting the slight bounce in his step as he exited my office into the chapel hall.

I turned to my computer monitors and entered my password to reveal a map of the city on which several glowing dots lit up. My angelic spies. Some were moving, most were stationary. I watched the dot labeled "Andrew" move around in the chapel that housed my office, along with three other dots. Despite humanity's fickle and tiring existence, their invention of GPS-tracking was heaven sent.

My eyes glided along the other dots posted across the city. I quickly located another dot that I had been keenly following - the one labeled "Paula". She and Andrew were my best and their information had caused more than a few glorious reactions from Samuel when I relayed their findings.

This time I had sent her to gather all the information she could about a demon called "Dante". He was a rather peculiar demon, some sort of never seen before anomaly. From what we had uncovered, this Dante was mated to two succubi and was a good friend of Alexis. He was also putting tremendous effort in remodeling the old factory he resided in, and my instincts told me he was up to no good.

After Andrew returns to me and I have gathered enough information, I could go and inform Samuel about the recent occurrences. I felt my heart rate pick up again at the thought. With a deep sigh I once again lost myself in vivid fantasies of how he would react upon hearing the news I would bring him.

Samuel's power and his drive for justice would be glorious to behold. His flaming sword would light up the sky in all its righteous fury and Samuel would impose long overdue justice on that farce that once was his fellow Gatekeeper. He would swoop down with unparalleled grace, his celestial sword splitting the clouds during his descent and his divine retribution would rain down on...

...the dot moved. I clenched my fists in barely contained excitement and trembled in delight. Paula was coming back.

***Dante***

Five more days had passed. Five more days filled with worries and doubt, colored by the echoes of that all-consuming feeling of dread that my omen flooded me with.

I was restlessly pacing the factory hall. The pale moonlight shone down through the huge stained glass windows into the hall, casting the floor in muted colors. Daylight would bathe the room in abundant colors and if you'd look closely, you could then even see the inlaid demonic and angelic silhouettes being cast on the floor. Specks of dust peacefully floated through the air, like miniature fireflies in this quiet night. No sound was to be heard, except for my nervous pacing.

I sighed, again, and sat down at one of the booths. The soft synthetic leather creaked in its newness when I rested my back against the cushions. I stared blankly into the factory hall. The workers had left yesterday, their work finished. In any other situation I would have loved to enjoy the intricate wooden carvings on the bar, or discover hidden details in the huge stained windows, but I just couldn't right now. Heck, in any other situation I would be pleasantly asleep next to my ladies, but not tonight. Memories of that soul wrenching omen a few days ago kept dominating my mind, making that restless feeling in my legs re-emerge, so I got up and started pacing. Again.

Cyrea had assured me multiple times that Alexis and Eir were fine. I believed her. I did. It was just - my messages weren't being delivered to Alexis's phone and when I tried to call him, the call still didn't connect. If he was fine, then why was he unreachable? It didn't sit right with me. Was I just being overprotective?

With another sigh I stopped pacing and found my eyes drawn to the vague silhouette of the moon behind the huge stained glass windows. My demon stirred. He was remarkably protective for a demon and I felt his eagerness to fly out under the cover of night to check up on Alexis and Eir. I gazed in the general direction of our bedroom, where I could feel Cyrea and Layla sleep peacefully. Cyrea would not appreciate it if I disregarded her (multiple) reassurances, but I couldn't stand it anymore. I needed to know for myself that my friends were fine.

Silently, I made my way up to the roof and breathed in the cool night air. Closing my eyes, I listened to the humming of traffic below and relished in the feel of the evening breeze on my skin. I took off my shirt, dropped it to the floor and unfurled my wings in the dark, smiling when the wind caressed them so softly, almost urging me to take flight. I opened my eyes and scoured the city skyline, easily spotting Alexis's apartment tower in the distance. Jumping high, I strongly beat my wings and within seconds I soared above the city, completely invisible to the people below.

I loved flying. I loved how the wind whooshing past my ears drowned out nearly all sound in this quiet night, except for the sound of my flapping wings. If not for my anxiously beating heart and the worry fueling my wings, this would have been a wonderfully relaxing experience.

My wings quickly brought me towards Alexis's apartment. I circled it a few times and couldn't help the relieved sigh and happy smile when I sensed Alexis and Eir sleeping soundly beneath me, a vague remnant of lust surrounding them. I had finally confirmed that both of them were indeed fine, and I felt like I could relax for the first time in days.

I immediately decided not to inform Cyrea of my little trip to check up on them - her "I told you so!" would be fierce, no doubt. Best to let sleeping succubi lie.

With a firm flap of my wings I headed home, but decided to take the scenic detour on my way back. The feel of the wind beneath my wings was like an aphrodisiac that surprised me with its delight each and every time. Its pull was hard to resist and I decided I should go out for a nighttime aerial trip more often.

The wind carried me to the edge of the city where the moon cast its pale glow on the deserted streets. Suddenly a somewhat familiar angelic presence came within reach of my senses and my demon became increasingly alert as we approached it - like a dog sitting up straight after hearing a suspicious noise. Before I had a chance to wonder why this angel would cause my demon to wake, I noticed something wrong with the angel.

My demon became increasingly antsy and I adjusted course to check it out. Gearing towards the angel, I quickly found myself flying above the very edge of town - an area that neither I, nor my fellow citizens had any reason to visit for it was utterly deserted and derelict, ever since a large fire destroyed this section years ago. Empty, blackened buildings dotted the barren streets below me, and the lack of light from broken street lights effortlessly blended in with the pitch black of the nearby desert at night. I couldn't detect a single soul in the vicinity, save for the angel and three demonic presences near it.

The angel was moving - fast - with the demons right behind her. That couldn't be good.

My demon growled menacingly in my mind and became surprisingly protective of this angel, wordlessly demanding me to rush after her and make sure she was alright.

"Don't worry, I'll check it out," I mumbled. Strange... Usually he couldn't care less about other random immortals.

I wondered why my demon was so protective of this angel, but my thoughts were disrupted by a muffled female scream that echoed through the empty streets. Instantly, I remembered - this was the angel I saved from that incubus a while back.

My demon roared his recognition in my mind and urged me to fly faster.

Rounding the corner of a tall building I looked down to see the angel getting smacked in the face by one of the incubi. She fell to the floor with a paine wail and clutched her cheek that had split open. Her blood seeped through her fingers and dripped on her dirty, tattered white dress.

The moment the scent of that angel's fear reached my nose, my demon went absolutely livid. Her subsequent panicked cries threw him into a mindless rage, and he started bashing at my insides, roaring to be let out so he could brutally dismember the assailing incubi.

His unexpected ferocity made me lose my balance midair and I almost crashed into a wall trying to keep him underneath my skin.

"NO!" I called out to him, using all of my willpower to reel him in and tried to regain some stability midair. "She was terrified to learn I was a demon last time. We must NOT escalate her fear. Guide me - strengthen me - but do not take over. Please! Trust me on this," I urged him desperately, hoping he could somehow hear and understand me.

The bashing died down.

My demon's boiling rage reduced to a contained simmer.

The menacing roars were gone and for a moment, the only thing I heard was the beating of my wings.

"Fine..." he then growled in a low, gravelly voice, speaking to me for the first time ever. "Hurt them... Make them suffer..." he added menacingly. Then, as if he had flicked a switch, I felt his strength flow through me. Every fiber, every nerve ending seemed to be humming with energy.

I was momentarily stunned by this sudden turn in his behavior, and of the power that coursed through me. For the first time since my transformation, I felt like my demon and I were finally seeing eye to eye instead of butting heads all the time. Now that I didn't have to spend so much energy keeping him in check, I was actually a little surprised at the amount of strength that flowed through me. My eyes zoned in on the assailing incubi below me and I eagerly flexed my claws.

"Don't worry, I will," I replied to my demon with a growl and swooped down towards the incubi.

One of the incubi shoved the terrified angel to the floor and immediately dove on top of her. He shredded her dress and ripped off his pants, his hard cock pointing menacingly at his victim. She screamed again when he quickly covered her body with his, jabbing his cock forcefully at her legs that she desperately tried to keep closed.

Her horrified scream made my blood boil and with a roar I crashed into the assailing incubus from above, knocking him off of the angel. Like a shrieking ragdoll he flew through the air and landed across the street, bleeding and unconscious.

I turned around and saw the other two incubi dive upon the angel now that their fellow rapist was gone. They seemed strangely oblivious to their partner in crime having vanished and only had eyes for the terrified angel. She was on her back, desperately trying to crawl away from them, kicking frantically at the incubi to keep them at bay.

"What the..." I growled in confusion. How did they not notice their fellow incubus had been reduced to an unconscious, bleeding heap of a demon?

I rushed up to the remaining two from behind, grabbing one by the neck and tossing roughly him to the side. The other one I kicked in the stomach, launching him into the wall. The hard impact and ensuing broken bones didn't appear to faze him and he limped back to the angel, his manic eyes seeing only her. The other incubus had regained his footing and also made his way back to the angel. They were panting profusely, drool dripping down their chin, dragging their bloodied and broken limbs along and leaving a blood trail on the floor.

"What the fuck..." I uttered, casting a surprised glance at the angel. She had the same barely healed cuts all over her skin as last time. Exactly the same cuts. A chill traveled down my spine. These weren't fresh wounds, but scars! Impossible... Angels could not be scarred... Could they?

Frantic panting and mumbling came from behind and I turned around to see two manic incubi coming towards us. Like crazed, limping zombies they solely focused on the angel, not even realizing they bumped in to me on their way to reach her. My demon growled anxiously, his confusion mirrored by mine.

The incubi slumped past me with their hard cocks pointing towards the angel. I grabbed both by their necks, lifting them up clean from the ground. They were still trying to limp towards the angel, not even registering they weren't standing on the floor anymore, pulling on my body to try and move themselves closer to the woman.