Chapter 171: Chapter Thirty-Five

Serenity

“It’s only a few days.” Mason took one look at my bag and smirked, the corners of his eyes crinkling as he watched me with interest.

“What?” I looked down at the duffle bag Hope had given me that morning. “This isn’t mine.”

“It has your name on the tag.” He grinned wider.

I huffed out a breath. “Hope gave it to me.”

“Likely story.” Aggravating wolf! “That’s enough clothes for a few weeks.”

“Well I would have gone back to my apartment, but somebody wouldn’t let me.” I gave him a challenging glare.

His smile fell. “My job is to protect you. I still don’t know who’s after you. If they can track you because you return, no, you won’t be seeing your apartment anytime soon. Everything you need is here.”

I crossed my arms. “I can’t just hide forever.”

“We’re not hiding.” His jaw flinched. “There’s a war, Serenity, and I can’t focus on leading my people, on even meeting with them, if I think for one second you aren’t safe.”

His eyes blazed blue as his chest rose and fell.

Even now, I wondered if he realized that his right hand was more claw than man, that the heat emitting from him was anything but normal, but he didn’t seem to notice.

His eyes had laser-like focus, and it was all on me.

I nodded. “You’re right. I’m sorry.”

“Damn it.” He turned around as if he was frustrated then stomped up to me and slammed me against the wall, his hands cupping my head so I didn’t get hurt. “I don’t want you to be sorry. I don’t want to order you around. I just—” Pain laced his eyes as he searched my face. “—I will not lose you.”

He didn’t even say can, as if it was an option.

It was a vow. An oath.

“I won’t.” He devoured my mouth, sucking the life out of my body as his hands palmed my ass, one talon digging a bit into my flesh. “I won’t.” He growled again against my mouth.

I pulled back. “I promise, Mason.”

He still looked worried as I slid down the wall out of his arms then side-stepped him and grabbed my bag. “So how do we do this?”

“What?” His confused expression was priceless.

“This.” I waved my hands around. “Does Cassius just fly us over there?”

He barked out a laugh. “Well, typically, we take a plane, but maybe Cassius wouldn’t mind a little transport…”

“Drop dead,” came Cassius’s voice, and then he was in the room, arms crossed, expression haunted. “First class not good enough for you? Private plane? Name it, and I’ll see it done.”

My eyes widened with each word that came out.

Mason just shrugged. “She wants to fly.”

I grinned at the idea.

“I’m not flying you to Scotland,” Cassius rolled his eyes, looking more human than I’d seen him in weeks. His dark hair went white as he sighed and opened up his arms as wings appeared, and then he muttered out a “Damn wolf…” before nodding to me and saying, “Touch a feather.”

“Really?” I tried to play it cool, but I’d been wanting to touch his feathers, to feel the texture between my fingers for days. “Any feather?”

“Or all of them.” Cassius grinned.

Mason growled like there was something I didn’t know about touching the feathers.

I took a step forward and reached out to one of the plumes that curved down the wing; it shuddered under my grasp then wrapped its velvety tentacles around my finger and pulsed with my heart.

It was warm. It felt… like heaven, like I never wanted to let go.

“She’s going to ask to touch them all the time now,” Mason grumbled.

“She’s very gentle.” Cassius winked at me. I knew he was trying to make Mason irritated, which proved true when Mason gripped one of the feathers with one hand and smacked Cassius with the other.

I gasped.

Was that allowed?

Hitting an archangel?

Hitting Cassius? Basically, the king of the entire immortal race?

Cassius simply smirked and then nodded. “Now. That’s settled. Let’s go.”

“Wait!” I said in a panicked voice. “Do I have to do anything?”

Both of them stared at me like I was an idiot.

I glared. “You know, like hold my breath… close my eyes…”

“It will be seconds,” Cassius said gently, “Just enjoy the ride.” He looked over to Mason and grinned widely. “I know I will.”

“That’s enough,” Mason growled as Cassius’s laughter filled the room, his eyes completely white as his wings curved around us.

And just like that.

I was weightless.