I would feel Cassius — I'd felt him before when he'd taken one of my mates, knew the way it felt when my blood turned to ice in my veins.
"Stephanie?" Alex's eyes narrowed. "Your neck."
Growling, I pushed away from both men and slammed her against the granite countertop, tilting her next to the side so severely I was surprised her head hadn't come off.
"No." Hands shaking, I stepped away. "No."
Stephanie rubbed her neck; tears streamed down her face. "What? What's happening?"
Her eyes were still white.
"Did you see… it?"
"See what?" She was nearing hysterics. "Something knocked me out, and when I woke up, she was gone!"
"The archangel," I said in a hushed tone. "You wear his mark."
Stephanie's horrified gaze met mine as she started vigorously rubbing the spot I'd just discovered. It was small, white, and had the appearance of a snowflake tattoo. It would have been beautiful if it hadn't been a mark of death.
"No." She hugged her arms to herself. "I'm so sorry. I thought we were safe. We should have been safe."
"Can you track her?" Mason growled next to me, his body trembling with the need to change and tear something limb from limb.
"Yes," I said in a voice I didn't recognize. "But it may be too late. I'm strong enough to fight him, to distract him, not strong enough to defeat him alone."
The room fell silent.
Pride kept me from saying his name.
But my love for her trumped everything.
So in that moment at my kitchen table, I closed my eyes and uttered a plea — to my greatest enemy.
"Cassius," I whispered, "help."
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
Genesis
MY TONGUE FELT LIKE SANDPAPER IN the roof of my mouth. When I tried to lick my lips, it was like someone had dehydrated me then handed me peanut butter.
I tried moving my lips. They were heavy, pressed together.
"You won't speak."
I blinked my eyes open. Having already thought they were open, I was surprised when I saw a blinding light appear in front of me then fade into the darkness surrounding my body.
"I allow you to speak after you've earned it." It was the same man or angel as before. His feathers were now fully visible; pieces of every color of the rainbow shimmered from the large wings, though his seemed to favor purples and blues. It seemed like that should be significant, the colors, but I couldn't talk, so instead I stared, knowing I probably wouldn't ever see anything like it in my entire life.
I wanted to be afraid.
And I was.
&nbs
p; But I was also fascinated by the sheer beauty of the archangel in front of me. Long white hair, which should have looked stupid and old, created an ethereal effect around his sculpted face. His eyes were a bluish-white, more aqua than anything, and his mere presence filled up the entire room.
"Are you afraid?" He tilted his head to the side, his eyes studying me for a reaction.