I've been working on this chapter sporadically for the past month, but it's been hard to find the time to sit and write. The whole story is kind of in my head. It just starts pouring out whenever I sit and open the laptop. I'm just trying to divide my time with my family obligations. My daughter might be moving in with me again, so this might very well be the last book I write, because my family demands a lot of my time. I do love writing, but I love my family even more. Hope everyone understands. I'm not saying for sure this is the end because there are so many characters in this universe that deserve a story, but let's see how things turn out. Hope you enjoy chapter 2.
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CHAPTER TWO
He'd been avoiding going back to Alpha 7. The others by now had probably scattered except Devon and whoever was accompanying him on his leg of the mission. He gathered more info and shared with the others via their telepathic link.
Zak informed him that Amaranth had been hanging around the station, asking about his whereabouts, but that she'd finally given up and left.
Seth swirled the glass full of amber liquid. The low reddish gold lights of the club made the drink glow like fire which brought to mind another fire...Ama's hair. Unlike Remi's hair, which was a true deep blood-red, Amaranth's glossy locks were red-orange with licks of gold running through its subtly wavy length. Her eyes were as bright and grey as any reapers except she a had star-shaped section of a paler silver around her pupils. What fascinated him most was the light peppering of freckles across the tops of her cheeks and nose. He'd kissed every one once, reverently...when she was just using him for information.
Slamming down the untouched drink, he spun on his heel and headed out of the smoke filled dive and out into the muggy night of the planet he was currently on, some backwater place he'd soon forget. Some of the streetwalkers beckoned him, but he ignored them and hopped into his Viper.
In mere seconds he was out of the planet's atmosphere, the stars turning into a swirling soup around him.
He didn't usually indulge in overusing his powers, but he let out a breath and searched for Amaranth's essence. She was on Seraphia, on the night side of the planet.
As he approached, he felt the shimmering waves of awareness from their Master Guardians.
The transport halted as he realized his stupidity.
What would be his excuse for slipping onto the surface? She'd be informed he'd landed, and Alpha Angel's were restricted from landing on Seraphia.
He could see the planet's slow rotation in his mind's eye, though, at the moment, its star was but a pinprick amidst trillions of other sparkling stars.
Within a few hours he would be leaving and had no idea when he'd be back, if ever. Devon would tell him where their new home would be once they rescued the clone.
He should turn back to Alpha 7. It might very well be their last night there...but he couldn't bring himself to move farther away from Seraphia. He might never see her again. Even if it was still light miles away, it comforted him to know she was there. Going back to the station would mean having to bear hearing and feeling the others with their mates and families, while he had no one. Though he'd shared his body with countless willing bodies, he'd never found release. He'd pretended so the others wouldn't harass him, especially Remi. He'd done what Amaranth had nonchalantly ordered him to do, and had hated himself and the act so much, he'd gone back to being celibate a few years ago. Everyone was caught up with their lovers and children, they no longer noticed him. All the better.
Seth settled back in his transport to get more comfortable. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and let his spirit free into the realm of dreams.
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"They're getting ready to shoot him down."
Amaranth wanted to not give a damn, but that was the third time one of the fledgling reapers had come to tell her that an Alpha Angel's Viper had been spotted on the outskirts of their solar system. Their Master Guardians were under strict orders to vaporize any of them were they to come near their planet. It didn't matter that now there was plenty of doubt as to whether or not they'd been involved in the war. They were still considered a threat to all creation.
Pain made her chest ache. She hadn't believed any of it, searched desperately to prove all the rumors false, but...
Taking a deep breath, she stomped out of her rooms in the reapers fortress and headed to where her Fire chariot was stationed.
In mere minutes, with the help of one of Seraphia's Master Guardians, she was approaching the black Viper floating out in space.
There were no markings, identifying the occupant, but she knew who was inside. After days of waiting for him to show up at Alpha 7, now he shows up at her doorstep practically. She tried not to let the fact that the last time she saw him, he'd left Haddasha on the arms of a pair of female Greis. Frowning, she squashed the bitter waves of jealousy that pierced her heart.
Alright, Romeo, what gives? This is extreme even for you—she projected her thoughts.
Only silence greeted her.
Giving a disdainful snort, she used her tracking beam and began hauling the viper along with her.
The high priests and priestesses were going to be livid with her but at this point she was beyond caring. She wasn't leaving Seth out here to be shot down...Not that she thought they'd actually be able to land a shot.
He was so quiet, though. Her fear began to rise as she lowered her craft on the dark side of the planet, near her childhood home.
The stars above glittered as she exited her transport and headed toward Seth's.
Using a bit of her magic, knowing that he'd never blocked her access to him, she made the top of the Viper open for her.
Her breath caught in her throat.
He lay on his back, eyes closed...asleep.
His uniform hugged his lean muscled body like a glove. Everything within the craft was black, making the shock of white hair all the more noticeable.
Unable to help herself, she reached out and stroked his silky hair. Unlike the other male Alpha Angles, Seth preferred to wear his locks short. It was cut in long layers, though, that fell into his eyes and draped his neck. Only once had she seen him with it waist length. The first time she'd seen him, it was cropped so short, it was almost non-existent.
He'd been so different then, so shy, so sweet...so innocent. A virgin.
Memories of seeing him tied to a stone alter, a vampiress riding his loins, taking from Amaranth the privilege of being his first lover.
It hadn't been his fault, of course. He was about to be sacrificed as a virginal offering and the vampire had decided to ruin the plan for the fallen angels in charge of opening Hell's gate.
She'd been ready to forgive him after thinking about it for some time. When she'd finally been able to approach Seth, to talk and apologize for calling him a two-bit man whore, his aura...his once pristine aura had been smeared and dirty with even more lovers taint. When she looked upon him in horror, he'd sneered at her, opening his arms and...
Seth gripped her hand and rolled her beneath him, shocking her back to the present. Amaranth already held a dagger at the ready at his throat.
"Now is that any way to greet the man of your life?" he purred.
That sound. She hated it. It made her belly quiver and her toes curl. "Don't you wish you were," she scoffed and then wrinkled her nose. "Ew. Get off. You smell of liquor."
He ignored the knife poised at his jugular and nuzzled her neck, his purrs growing louder—God.
"I thought you liked it when I drank myself stupid for you."
Amaranth tossed her knife away and pushed at his thick shoulders. The brute was hard as steel. "You don't need to drink to be stupid."
Seth chuckled and snuggled closer.
Amaranth squealed in indignation. "Gah—get that thing off me."
He pressed the thing she was talking about harder into her hip before releasing her.
Amaranth scrambled out of his Viper, glaring at him as he sat up grinning at her.
He was grinning. Seth rarely ever smiled. But even as she gaped at the rare sight, it frayed around the edges before he finally sighed and raked a hand through that baby-fine hair. His eyes looked haunted.
