Page 61 of Vampire Visions

Raguel would be waiting for me to inform him of this week's changes. The archangel of justice and vengeance had been keeping tabs on Sloane for most of her life, knowing the Fates had destined her to be victorious over him in the future. He couldn’t understand that all the shit he was stirring up was causing Sloane to fulfil her destiny quicker than it was prophesied. She was the granddaughter of his enemy, and she was what stood between him ending his grudge with Lucifer.

He’d come to me at my lowest point, offering redemption for my wrongs. A fair trade, he’d called it, and I’d accepted. At the time, I had nothing to lose and everything to gain. That was before I knew that Sloane was my mate. Raguel expected me to turn her over to him so he could deal justice for Lucifer’s past actions through her. Actions from thousands of years ago.

Raguel had hinted that he’d tried to catch Samuel, but couldn’t. He’d outright told me that he thought Sloane would be the easier target, and now that I knew her, I wanted to laugh at him. Instead, I’d been feeding him false information, sprinkling the top with bits of truth. Researching her had given me enough to keep him satisfied, but his power of premonition was uncanny. I had to watch my words when speaking with him, even if it was by email.

From what I could see, Sloane didn’t know her Sight was an angel-gifted power, adding extra abilities on top of the vampiric visions that she’d probably had before. I wondered what other gifts she may have been given, but I wasn’t ready to ask. I didn’t want to know anything deep or meaningful about her yet, because if I didn’t know, then I wouldn’t have to tell Raguel. Vampires weren’t the only supernaturals that could play with your mind.

The distance I was trying to keep between us was eating at me. I knew she wouldn’t understand it if I didn’t tell her, but I couldn’t. Not here. The Underworld would be the safest place to explain everything to her, so I just had to buy myself a bit more time. As soon as Raguel didn’t have his eyes on me, I’d tell her everything. And I’d beg for forgiveness from the Devil herself.

Having Sloane in my life was a good thing that I didn’t deserve, wrapped in one perfect package. I knew now that my reward was getting to know her, having time to spend with her before it was snatched away. The reward was also my punishment, but it went beyond that. It would be death by Raguel as well, and knowing that I’d been the one to hurt my mate beyond repair. My poor choices would cause her pain, and so would the angel. Both went hand in hand. Both were my doing.

That punishment was all too real. I’d accepted a dirty deal with a vengeful angel, and the consequences were catching up to me. They’d be right on top of me soon. I couldn’t fight off the inevitable anymore.

Just a little longer.

Then everything would be okay.

I had hope and patience and time to make it right.

As long as she heard it from my mouth and not my mind, I felt like I could explain things so she would understand. I could fix the trust between us before I really broke it. If we could stand together, then Raguel wouldn’t have a chance at killing us. If we didn’t… He'd kill us both. I mean, he’d kill me for sure, and he’d put his all into Sloane.

I couldn’t dwell on it anymore. There was nothing I could do about it until we made it to the Underworld. I’d sent him an email earlier today, but I hadn’t finished it. I needed to send it tonight, then I would have a week before he expected another. Would it be horrible of me to hope we went straight to Hell? The Devil was the only thing that could save me now. And if she did, I’d worship the fucking ground she walked on.

The short answer to my problems was that I needed to stop acting like an eejit. I was good at screwing shit up, though. That’s what put me in a heap of trouble to begin with. I’d grown from my past mistakes, now I needed to grow from my current ones.

I took my time going back outside, trepidation coursing through me at the thought of their questions. I stopped just inside the door, out of their sight but still within hearing distance. Their conversation had eased into a neutral topic, one that I didn’t mind joining in on.

“She smells like the cherry blossoms that grow in the Underworld to me. I don’t know what you mean by ‘snow’. Does it even have a scent?” Stone was asking Vaughn.

“Neither of those is what she smells like to me,” York confessed with a shrug of his shoulders.

Vaughn leaned forward in his chair, placing his elbows on the table. “What does she smell like to you, then?”

York narrowed his eyes as he thought about how to explain his answer. “Like the forests in the Druid’s realm. Sweet and earthy.”

“The wildflower meadows in the Slievenacloy Nature Reserve,” I answered as I walked out, even though the question wasn’t directed toward me.

“I don’t know what that means, Palmer,” Novak stated. “But peaches.”

Briggs shook his head, a smile curling his lips up. “She smells like pine and the wild, untouched wilderness. You guys don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Okay,” Grim cut in. “And what do each of you translate those scents to? Call me curious, but they have to mean something to you.”

I furrowed my brows, studying my hands. “Home.” The thought was aloud, but the guys all agreed.

“This has been an odd conversation to listen to,” Jack mused to Grim.

Briggs huffed. “Just wait until you have a mate. I’ve had more strange conversations in the last week than I have in my entire life.”

I saw Jack scrunch his face up, and Grim squeezed his arm, giving the hellstead a half smile. “Hard subject matter?” I inquired.

Grim turned to me, rocking his head from side to side. “Difficult, but not offensive.”

Jack sighed, seeming indifferent to the subject. “Unless we magically find our mate on all the trips we take with Sloane, then it’s just Grim and me until we're found. I’m perfectly happy with that.”

Sloane appeared in the doorway, cheeks pink from exertion. “What about me?”

“They were talking about how you smell.” Jack deflected the topic back to us with ease.