Chapter 54: Chapter Five

Cassius

My body was hot and cold all at once. It was an odd feeling, like my face was burning up, but the rest of my body had a chill. Maybe I was dying. Hah, wouldn’t that be part of Sariel’s cruel trick?

Give me thirty days but kill me before I can even attempt to do anything.

I was doing a hell of a job—of pushing her away, that was.

Every single time I opened my mouth it was like I lost complete control over what I should say and just blurted out things that I knew caused pain.

My thoughts were jumbled—when I’d been immortal I was able to compartmentalize, to attack each problem, find a solution, and then deal with the next.

Being overwhelmed was never an issue because it never occurred.

But in that car, driving toward Ethan’s, I was so overcome with—life that it was hard to breathe, hard to keep my thoughts straight.

It didn’t help that I was ninety-nine percent sure I had internal bleeding and would have trouble getting out of bed in the morning.

I wanted to claim her.

Yet I worried she’d resent me.

I wanted to help her.

And at the same time a part of me was fearful of what she was capable of, even as I was fully aware of how weak I was.

And then her scent would suddenly invade the car and I was lost again to a wave of lust for her—something I’d never in my life experienced until now—because I had no power to push it away.

When I had been a Dark One, I was able to recognize the lust for what it was and shove it away to the furthest recess of my mind. But ignoring the Siren’s call had been manageable, never easy.

And now? I shook my head. Impossible. The air was filled with her scent; my arm still tingled where she’d left her fingerprints.

Damn it, she could have easily marked me; she was the equivalent of a superhero who’d just discovered they had supernatural powers.

She sighed.

I held my breath. Afraid I’d do something stupid.

As a human it was damn near impossible to ignore anything—hell, even her breathing had me leaning toward her, just wishing she’d turn her head so I could kiss her.

That wasn’t the way to win her over—a sneak attack.

At this rate I was going to die before anything even started.

“Home sweet home,” Stephanie said it like a curse as she pulled the car to a stop in front of Ethan’s compound and turned off the car. “This should be… interesting.”

The ice that had formed across her beautiful skin was receding—good, at least she’d calmed down enough not to kill both of us.

“And here they come,” Stephanie muttered, then pushed open the car door leaving me in silence as I watched Ethan, Mason, and Genesis approach, followed at a distance by Alex, Stephanie’s brother, who I assumed was still pissed off at me on account that I told Stephanie the truth about her heritage.

Slowly, I unbuckled my seatbelt, opened the car door, and stood.

The talking that had been animated only seconds before I stood ceased altogether.

I didn’t lift my head.

Didn’t acknowledge anyone at all, simply stared at the ground and walked, only stopping when I saw a pair of black boots step in my way. Slowly, I looked up and into Ethan’s flashing green eyes.

“You smell…” He blinked, sniffing the air around us, then eyes wide, took a big step backward. “Hell, that’s not good.”

“Baths,” Mason growled and walked toward me. “You should try one Dark—” His face paled as he joined Ethan.

I turned to Alex, waiting for his reaction to be the same. It was normal—typical, for an immortal to give a human, at least a male human, a wide berth.

They had no use for male humans, and our history wasn’t necessarily a pleasant one all things considered.

My scent reminded them of the wars fought.

The wars lost.

The wars yet to come.

The kings that had sworn fealty to us only to hunt us later.

It would be hardest for them since they were the oldest, old enough to have been involved in many of the great battles that nearly wiped out both the humans and immortals.

Alex tilted his head, his eyes held mild amusement. “My, my, how the mighty have fallen.”

In response, I had such a strong desire to run my fist through his mouth, that my hands shook. It would only end in blood—my blood—being spilled. Therefore, I chose not to do anything.

A complete first for me, I’d always been a man of action.

“Get it?” He walked closer and elbowed me.

“Because technically you were like a Fallen Angel with your half blood, only now you’re just…” He shrugged. “Human.”

He wrapped his arm around me, pulling me tight against him, not enough to hurt me but enough to remind me that I was yet again on the low end of the food chain.

His ability to snap me in half wasn’t lost on me at all—it was humbling, and irritating as hell. “I imagine there’s a story here, care to tell it?”

“Care to go to hell?” I countered.

“Super.” He nodded. “You’ve been cursed to humanity, and yet you still have that chipper attitude…”

“Cassius?” Genesis interrupted. “You look…”

“Rough.” Mason coughed. “He looks rough.”

I sighed, “As much as I love family reunions, can we please take this inside? I’m cold.”

The minute the words left my mouth I felt weak.

And ashamed of my weakness, so much so that I felt my cheeks heat again. Shit, I didn’t like this, not one bit. How the hell was I supposed to win over Stephanie when I had nothing to offer her?

No protection.

Only weakness.

I was beginning to realize I hadn’t made a deal with an Angel, but the Devil, and I was going to end up paying with my life.