Chapter 31

They needed answers.

She needed answers.

She was in danger.....

Her heart pounded behind her ribs. The overwhelming sensation of their presence behind her as she faced Maddox  left her feeling uneasy. Nervous.

She grabbed Maddox's arm.

"I don't want to do this without you, " she whispered, tears trailed down her cheeks.

His eyes were glowing red in the moonlight with Kodas presence at the surface. He cupped her face gently and rubbed her tears away slowly with the pads of his thumb.

"You're not. I promise. I'm not going anywhere," She shivered hearing his distorted alpha voice filled with warning then his gaze fell on the four-winged warriors standing behind her at a distance.

She lowered her gaze and nodded, rubbing her cheeks into his palms.

She turned slowly to face them.

The warmth at her back was her assurance that he wasn't leaving her side. He stated that much the moment the Archangels  landed in the forest.

Somewhere in the back of her mind she could hear Mia. But she was more intuned with Maddox's reassuring words.

She stood there for sometime watching Michael and Raphael in a heated discussion before he abruptly turned away from Michael.

A comforting warmth spread over her as Raphael slowly approached her. It was settling the nervous fear within her. Her gaze lifted to his.

It was strange. Sadness clouded his features as he stopped before her. She could sense and feel grief, melancholy and sadness. So much sadness that she felt the urge to reach up to him.

And she did.

Out of all the Archangels, he was the only one that ever showed her patience and understanding. Leniency with her awkward ways.

It was different.

His gaze suddenly turned rheumy, watery and red. He reached for her hands and held them in his. Such a gesture struck her as odd.

The air around them quieted. It slowly grew tense that her skin prickled.

His eyes took on a vibrant glow as he stared at their joined hands and a single tear fell down his cheek.

He shook his head. A smile that didn't reach his eyes formed on his lips.

"You look so much like her, " he whispered.

She frowned then in confusion and looked at him.

"Raph-!, " Michael called to him in warning once again.

He shook his head; ignoring his brother. He needed to do this.

They fought and argued about all of this for centuries. Until only moments ago before they had landed, he had told Gabriel and Uriel everything. The truth that ate away at his heart for so long. With so much anger and hurt, he remembered that day as if it happened only yesterday.

"Artemis?" Michael shouted as he paced.

"What have you done? Have you lost your mind?" He turned to face Raphael.

"We are in love. "

"No. No. No. Rapha. You can't do this. It has to end, " Michael gave him an angry glare as he continued to pace.

"I. Love. Her., YOU.. can't do this to me, " Raphael argued.

"It's out of my hands, the elders already know. You know it is forbidden."

"She is not a human."

"Nor is she of our kind. Understand what this could mean. She is the daughter of a deity beyond our realm. They know nothing of our existence."

Raphael lowered his gaze. Guilt colored his cheeks.

"Tell me...you did not reveal yourself?"

He slowly looked at Michael who in turn got even angrier.

"For this purpose, we are not to go beyond the barriers." Michael continued to shout.

He stood and listened to the rules set forth by the elders and his father. And everylast one was broken.

~Do not reveal yourself to the mortals.

~Do not teach them of divination.

~Do not show your wings.

~Do not...mate with them.

And there was so many more, but none of it mattered to him when he was with her.

Artemis. His Artemis.

"You must return to our realm at once, " Michael said dismissing Raphaels astonished gaze. He turned to walk away.

"I can not, " Raphael shook his head.

Michael paused.

"Why?"

An eerie silence followed. As he turned to face Raphael. The eerie sensation that something wasn't right, sent a shiver up Michaels spine.

"Raphael, why?"

He swallowed before turning to face Michael.

"She is having my child."

***

The moment it became evident that she was having his child, Sentrys were sent to retrieve her.

She was under close watch. But during that time in his realm, he took care of her even though it was frowned upon. Then when it was time, he watched in awe as the love of his life, strained in agony and pain and brought forth their child. Then seconds later, he watched in horror, as the vibrant life from her eyes dimmed and her life drained from her body.

He begged them to help her. But there was nothing to be done. He wailed and shouted; enraged until they took her body away.

He was left alone holding Hannah.

Desolate and inconsolable, he was barely aware of the Angels that came and took Hannah away. Days had passed as he listened numbly to his punishment for what he had done.

He was forbidden from leaving the realm or having any contact with his child.

As the years passed he slowly recovered and from afar, he monitored and watched her. They all did.

He blinked. His eyes suddenly focused on her wan, compelling eyes that looked so much like her mothers, as she gazed up at him in askance as she waited for him to continue.

He swallowed at the lump in his throat as images of Artemis grazed his mind. His heart constricted tightly in his chest with so much pain.

"Your mother-, " he began and paused as her fingers suddenly pulled away from his.

Shock formed on her face. Maddox stepped close to her side.

" --and I...loved each other very much, " he choked out.

"My...moth---?" Confusion threaded her brow.

"That's not possible. I am Seraphim, we aren't--- " A violent rush of air left her lungs as it dawned on her then.

Maddox was at her side.

"You're my father?" Disbelief and confusion were battling for equal ground.

Maddox stood tensely at her side as he felt it all in waves.

Dejection

Hurt

Betrayal

Raphael looked at her pleadingly

in silence waiting  for her to process the information.

"This is not true. You are lying." She blurted out.

He shook his head.

"How many times have you passed me by and not mentioned it. Why did you not tell me?" She screamed in anger.

Tears ran down her face as she confronted him.

"Hannah, baby, " Maddox tried to calm her but it was useless.

She was infuriated.

Her words were cutting like a blade, cutting and carving out Raphael's soul.

There was nothing Maddox could do to curtail this nightmare his mate was going through.

He tried again and embraced her.

"I think it's best if you all leave, " he ordered pulling her away.

"No, " she refused to move.

" You will explain this right now!" Her fists were balled at her side.

A slight glow began in her fingers as she faced Raphael with daggers in her tear-filled eyes.

"Stand down fledgling, " Uriel stepped forward.

Immediately tension was thickening in the air around them. A prickling sensation was forming on Maddox's skin. His hackles slowly beginning to rise as Gabriel slowly placed his hands on the hilt of his sword.

"Hannah, I am so sorry, " Raphael lowered his face to hide the pain.

"Sorry!" She croaked out trembling.

Maddox tried to pull her away.

Fear of the unknown had everyone around the two ready for a standoff.

"I do not accept your apology, " she cried out.

"Stop it, Hannah!" Michael yelled, clearing the space between them.

"It wasn't his fault that he was not there for you. It was mine. I forbade him."

Anger had her so wound up she couldn't see passed it as she defiantly took on the giant archangel before her with more cruel words. She began to glow in anger. A mixture of her shifting and angelic powers forming at the surface.

"Hannah!" Maddox growled out in warning.

Michael stared down at her, bewildered.

"I am your uncle."

"I have no uncle." Her voice quivered.

"None of you are anything to me, " She shook her head and staggered back in exhaustion.

She slowly turned away and walked off not looking back. It left an ache in Maddox's chest with the urge to follow her but deep down he knew she needed the space.

He turned to look at them, sadness marred their features.

It was hard not to hide how much her actions and words hurt.

Even on a battle-hardened Arch Angel like Michael.

******

😭😭😭😭

Here we go my lovelies....

Was it sad enough?

I wanted this to be more dramatic.

Tell me what you think.