Defiant Destiny Ch. 10

"Our angel has blessed us..." he grumbled happily in my mind.

"Oh really, how so?" I managed to growl my reply, feverishly scratching an itch I still couldn't reach.

A wicked chuckle echoed in my mind, so ominous it made me halt my movements.

"Shift..." he merely suggested.

The somewhat evil tone of his voice both made me cautious and curious as to what he was so happy about.

I closed my eyes, took a deep breath and focused on shifting into my demonic form. Instantly the itch disappeared and I breathed a deep sigh of relief.

Wait... Breathing felt different... My chest felt tighter somehow.

I frowned in confusion and opened my eyes to look down. My breath hitched in my throat at the sight that greeted me.

My body was completely covered in scales - thin armor-like scales. What on Earth? My surprised gaze drifted to Aurora's astonished one then back to my body. I raised my arm to look at my new demonic skin and was actually astounded by its raw beauty - the core of each scale started out with my skin color, bleeding into the same dark coloring of my wings and ended in a subtle golden colored tip. They seemed to cover my entire body, even completely covering and hiding my cock, though leaving my face largely uncovered.

Well then, so that was what I felt.

Experimentally, I scratched and poked my new scales with my claws. Nothing. No damage, no pain, just the feeling of slight pressure on my skin. Wow... Unbelievable. A breathless laugh burst out from my chest. Unbelievable... My claws couldn't pierce that, not even scratch it!

My surprised gasp warped into a growl, fuelled by my demon's enthusiastic roars inside my mind - he was particularly over the moon at this new development.

I looked over to Aurora, who was taking all of this in with a wondrous smile on her beautiful face. She came up to me and let her slender fingers glide across my skin. My eyes were glued to her delicate fingers as they skimmed my skin - I could feel her light touch remarkably well despite my body's new rough and scaly surface.

"You have protected me many times now, Dante. It pleases me immensely that my soul shall protect you too," she said reverently. Her eyes followed the way her fingers slowly cascaded over my scales.

I took her hands in mine and placed a kiss on her fingers.

"And I am thoroughly grateful for it," I replied with a genuine smile and pulled her in for a loving kiss.

Aurora sighed happily into the kiss and leaned into my embrace, making our wings bump into each other. She mewled and purred into the kiss, leisurely dragging her fingers across my skin and scales. The feel of Aurora's fingers caressing the human skin of my jaw, then continuing downwards towards my demonic scales felt equally strange and normal at the same time.

"How do you feel?" I asked her mentally, testing out our new bond. Aurora broke the kiss in surprise when she heard my voice in her head, but then her eyes lit up and the most wonderful smile framed her beautiful face.

"I feel wonderful," she replied with a dreamy look in her eyes. "I feel strong... So much stronger! And free..." she whispered overjoyed.

I smiled and looked into her happy, black eyes.

Wait. Black?

"Your irises have turned black," I said.

Aurora's eyebrows shot up in surprise, her wide eyes carrying a clearly baffled expression, despite the pitch blackness of her irises. She then half scoffed, half giggled.

"Oh, I don't mind, really. I actually kind of like that I look different now. I definitely feel different. I no longer fee like that terrified, helpless little angel that constantly lived in fear of being raped again," she said strongly.

Her eyes softened and I felt immense gratitude flow through our bond. "You have given me a new chance. A new life. Thank you," she whispered and leaned in for another soft kiss.

I let my demonic form recede and gathered her in my arms into a loving embrace. Her soft feathers tickled my back and I dragged my fingers across the markings my soul made on her back. Aurora swooned into my kiss, making me smile.

"I'm happy for you, my dear. I really hope you'll be able to live your life the way you want to from now on..." I murmured in her mind.

I released her lips and let my fingers slide through her feathers.

"But don't thank me just yet... You don't even know if it worked..." I tried to warn her.

Aurora took a last glimpse at her blackened wings and let them recede too. She dreamily traced a finger across one of my markings on her lower back.

"Don't worry. I know," she mused with a smile. "And I am eager to get to know Cyrea and Layla better too. I feel horrible for my soul having clouded their minds earlier," she added with a sad and guilty tone.

"Don't worry about that. Cyrea told you herself that both Layla and her do not blame you," I replied while gazing up at the sun that was nearing its highest point in the sky. I sighed.

"We'll have to wait for nightfall before we can go back to them though. We are way too far from the city to reach it on foot during daytime."

Way too naked too, I reckoned.

I heard a giggle come from my left, followed by the splashing sounds of water.

"No matter!" Aurora called out to me. "I'm sure we can entertain ourselves in this place for a few hours," she called out with a wink before diving into the water.

Astounded, I watched her naked form swim underwater. Did she just flirt with me?

I chuckled and could not suppress the intense pride I felt - I was amazed how quickly she seemed in touch with her sexuality and how her self confidence was boosted by her added strength. I chuckled and waded into the water after her. Having a horny, strong demon fused into your soul must have helped.

***

Aurora and I enjoyed a leisurely day at the mountain lake - we swam, talked and made love a few times. I never could have guessed how having a partial demonic soul could heal a wounded angel.

Time flew and before long we were enjoying the sunset where the last red and pink clouds diluted into the dark of the night. The first stars dotted the night sky and the moon peeked over the horizon. We were sitting on the comfortable moss near the lake when I felt Aurora's heart beat pick up next to me. I glanced over to her and found her staring hard at the stars.

"Are you nervous to see if it worked?" I guessed, looking her over to find her appear to be remarkably calm despite her elevated heart beat.

Aurora turned to me, her jaw and eyes determined.

"No," she replied. She swallowed hard and wrapped her arms tightly around her pulled up knees. "There's someone I'd like to see before we go back to Layla and Cyrea though. If that's alright with you," she said tersely and continued to stare at the stars in silence, clenching her fists.

"Sure," I replied, sensing some sort of lingering pain. I stood up and held out my hand to her. "Let's go then."

Aurora looked at me with a somewhat confused look.

"Oh, but you don't need to join me if you don't want to. I don't want to burden you with my petty issues..." she mumbled.

I smiled at her. "It would prove me a poor protector if I'd leave you to your own devices now..." I replied. "I just want to make sure you're safe. If you'll let me."

Aurora smiled shyly and relaxed.

"Thank you..." she said softly.

I wondered who she wanted to see right after her transformation. Ah well, we'd see soon enough.

I smiled and watched her naked form get up from the moss and found something nagging at me. Ah, yes - social etiquette - we were stark naked.

"How about we first stop at the factory to pick up some clothes? My ladies and me keep some clothes up in a stash on the roof," I proposed.

Aurora looked down at her naked form and nodded her approval.

We spread our wings and took off into the nearly cloudless night, soaring towards the city. Above us, the stars twinkled brightly now that the sun had disappeared from the sky, while below us the city sparkled and moved beneath us. The only sounds we heard were the beating of our wings and the comforting hazy buzz of the city below us. Once in a while I heard Aurora gasp as she kept being astounded by her newfound night vision.

'Being part demon definitely has its perks,' I remembered with a smirk.

We quickly located the factory and the stash of clothes I kept in a box near the ventilation units. Fortunately my ladies kept some women's sport clothing in there too, so Aurora wasn't stuck with oversized men's clothing. With the both of us wearing sweatpants and holding a t-shirt in our hands we took to the skies again with Aurora leading the way.

My angel guided us across the city and I quickly recognized where we were - this was the deserted area where I ran into her and saved her from those three incubi a few days ago. I grew increasingly curious where we were going while Aurora grew increasingly anxious - even if I couldn't hear her elevated heart beat, her tension copiously spilled over through our bond.

Aurora quickly located what she was looking for - a gated chapel near the edge of town. We landed in a dark alley nearby to dress ourselves before walking out into the street.

Upon exiting the alley we practically bumped into two incubi on the pavement. Aurora tensed, reflexively taking half a step back, but instantly recovered herself. A warning growl rose from her chest as she clenched her fists and stared venomously at the incubi, wordlessly warning them not to come any closer.

Seeing two incubi near Aurora reflexively triggered my protective instincts. Without thinking I stepped in between Aurora and the incubi, growling viciously at them to make it absolutely clear - she was mine, and they'd have to go through me first.

The incubi had spotted Aurora and gazed at her with wide eyes, surprise practically dripping from their faces upon hearing her growl. Yet, when I blocked their view of my angel, they stumbled backwards with a surprised gasp. Their gaze traveled over my body with exceptional bewilderment. I could tell they wanted to approach me, but everything in my stance screamed at them to back off.

Aurora stepped out from behind me and walked up to the incubi.

"Fuck off!" she growled furiously at them.

The incubi's eyes kept shifting from Aurora to me, confusion pouring out of their every pore, and after some hesitation they continued their way, occasionally looking back towards us.

I watched the demons as they walked away from us and shifted my gaze to my fierce angel. Her fists were clenched in anger, muscles tensed and ready to pounce. From the slight bulges on her upper lip, I could tell her fangs had come out of their hiding place inside her mouth.

My gaze drew back to the incubi as they rounded the corner and disappeared from sight. Their reaction upon seeing me struck me as odd - demons never paid me any mind whenever they'd meet me. As far as I knew, they couldn't tell I was a demon at all, so they always dismissed me as human. That definitely wasn't the case just now. Curious.

Aurora sighed deeply and slowly. It was a specific type of sigh I recognized like no other - that one was to calm down her demonic side now that the danger had passed. After another similar sigh she turned to me, a remnant of anger still visible in her pitch black eyes.

I was very proud of her - her fierce and fearless demeanor was a complete turnaround compared to the last time I met her in this part of town. The blending of our souls had brought her astounding strength and confidence - the terrified, trembling angel who was surrounded by a constant perfume of fear was nowhere to be found anymore.

"Well done," I complimented her, letting my pride for her spill over through our bond.

Aurora blinked a few times in confusion as if she had suddenly realized what had happened. I smiled and placed a kiss on her hair, feeling the muscles in her body tremble with the remnants of adrenaline in her blood.

My brave angel's eyes went wide with joyous surprise and she clasped her hand in front of her open mouth. Her breath rushed out in a surprised gasp.

"I stood up to them! And I even growled at them!" she squealed, almost giddy.

Her eyes trailed to the spot the incubi were standing moments ago.

"Wow..." she giggled and looked at me with pure happiness. "I wasn't afraid, not even for a moment..." she whispered reverently.

Aurora crashed into my arms, nuzzling her nose into my neck and wrapping her arms around me. I pulled her close to me in my embrace and deeply inhaled her scent, Aurora's corresponding sigh of happiness bringing a smile to my face.

"It worked. The incubi didn't go crazy when they saw you," I said.

Aurora's happiness spilled over through our bond and she smothered my lips with an enthusiastic kiss.

"I know! I'm so relieved..." she sighed in my mind.

My hands traveled through her hair along her scalp as my tongue sought out hers. Aurora mewled softly in the kiss and it made me smile. I had quickly discovered she thoroughly enjoyed these soft, loving kisses, and I had every intention of indulging her when I could.

"Me too," I replied.

After a while, Aurora broke the kiss, looking at me with a delightful sparkle in her eye and licked her lips. Her eyes shyly skitted away as an adorable blush appeared on her cheeks.

"I'd love to try and see how Cyrea and Layla will react to seeing my soul..." she murmured, her blush deepening.

I chuckled and suppressed my demon who went ballistic at the thought of having all three ladies in our bed. The mental images he was flooding me with weren't helpful right now.

"I'm sure it's mutual, my dear," I replied.

Aurora giggled, then took a big sigh and turned her gaze towards the chapel walls in the distance.

"First things first," she sighed and, despite her tremendous display of bravery moments ago, I heard her heartbeat pick up as she nervously clenched and unclenched her fists.

I followed her gaze and pressed a reassuring kiss on her hair.

"Let's go," I replied.

***Aurora***

We continued down along the pavement towards the chapel at the end of the street light lit road, but despite that chapel being my goal here, I hardly even noticed it looming in the distance.

A wondrous, unbelieving smile was cemented on my face, straining the muscles in my blushing cheeks. The residual adrenaline in my veins made my steps a little bouncier than usual - I stood up to them! I couldn't believe it - I protected myself!

My soul did not make them insane anymore - I could... I could live a normal life now. Oh, the joy and the relief coursing through my veins was nothing short of exhilarating, straining the muscles in my cheeks even further as my smile intensified.

I glanced at Dante walking next to me, his heavy footsteps like a steady, comforting bassline to the rhythm of my ecstatic heart. I could feel his pride and love for me, and I basked in its comforting warmth. I walked a little closer to him, making our arms rub against each other in our tread and smiled even wider when he promptly draped his arm around me to pull me close to his warm chest.

A deep, content sigh slowly passed my lips as I rubbed my face against his chest, the rhythm of our steps making my head bob up and down against him. The night was silent, save for our footsteps echoing in the empty streets. The cold night air clung to my skin, but all I could feel was Dante's warmth seeping into my body, down to my very soul. I was at peace. I was home.

From where my head rested on Dante's chest, I could see some of the golden markings on his skin peeking out from underneath his clothes. Humans couldn't see it of course - just like they could not detect the rest of our etheric attributes - but to the immortals it was like a golden beacon. 'The mark of an angel' it was called - curiously whispered about in hushed voices by my fellow angels, envied and respected by demons - it showed the world that its bearer was special, trustworthy somehow.

My thoughts were disrupted when we reached the thick brick wall gating off the chapel from the common, outside world. The cold, unyielding masonry was shallowly lit by the streetlights behind us. My eyes trailed the familiar cracks in the stone, making my mind wander to the many times I limped through these gates in search of shelter. Visual memories of me covered in dried blood and semen, begging for the angels to aid me swirled up from my subconscious, threatening to cripple me as they had always done.

But not anymore. A powerful wave of anger crashed through my body, obliterating the fear that threatened to nestle in my bones.

With steady hands I pushed open the thick wooden door, pleasantly surprised by the ease with which it swung open due to my amplified strength. My gaze rose up to the chapel sitting at the top of the stairs. My life would have been very different if the angels from this chapel had chosen to take me in, where I could help others, but no - their refusal to shelter me turned me into the opposite of what I could have been. Their ruthless rejection led me straight into the arms of a demon who freed me from the burden of purity and the agony of unavoidable sin. I wasn't alone anymore - I was loved - and I was thrilled to inform them as such.

The wooden gate fell closed behind us as we ascended the steps towards the chapel, my resolve and vindication strengthening with each step. I glanced at Dante climbing the steps beside me. His eyes were scanning the building, concentration deepening his frown. He shook his head and I saw his eyes briefly flare up with his demonic coloring.

"Are you alright?" I asked him tentatively.

Dante turned to me with a stern gaze, a remnant of flames in his eyes before they turned into his regular gray again. He took a deep breath and turned his gaze back to stare at the chapel.

"My demon wants to kill the angels that hurt you," he grumbled. Dante took another deep breath and his nostrils flared angrily as he slowly released it.

"Oh..." I replied softly.

"Yes, and he's rather adamant about it too..." Dante mumbled.

I gazed up at the chapel where I could sense five angelic presences inside, the same that had always manned this chapel. The same that had always shut me out.

The thought of their demise by Dante's hands didn't appall me half as much as it should...

I swallowed hard. That thought should appall me. I had always considered myself to be a peaceful person, and a peaceful person would never entertain such a thought. I swallowed hard again.

Or welcome it...

Was this the result of having a partly demonic soul? That I now had less issues with killing people? Again, the thought didn't terrify me as much as it should, though its realization did.

I stopped to look at Dante - if there ever was an expert on becoming a demon, it'd be him.

"Have you ever... killed someone? Since becoming a demon?" I asked tentatively.

Dante stopped mid step and turned to me with his fists clenched tightly. His gray eyes immediately snapped to mine, staring hard at me.

"No. Never," he said strongly, taking a deep breath while his eyes briefly flared up in flames. "And I never will," he added with a soft growl, though I had the feeling that remark wasn't directed at me.

I took a deep breath, secretly relieved that being part demon didn't make you a murderer, and smiled at him.

"You're a protector, Dante - not a killer," I complimented him.

Dante chuckled.

"Yeah, well, I keep having to remind my demon of that," he sighed, bringing his hand up to rub his neck.

Dante was silent for a moment, but then his eyes drew back to mine, carrying a wicked sparkle this time round.

"I'm not opposed to kicking their ass though, if they try and hurt you..." he said softly, though I could hear his demon rumble in his voice.