Evernight Publishing

www.evernightpublishing.com

Copyright© 2013 Erin M. Leaf

ISBN: 978-1-77130-654-6

Cover Artist: Sour Cherry Designs

Editor: JS Cook

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

WARNING: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. No
part of this book may be used or reproduced electronically or in print without written permission,
except in the case of brief quotations embodied in reviews.

This is a work of fiction. All names, characters, and places are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual
events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

DEDICATION

For those who welcome love in the teeth of fear.

ANGEL’S HONOR

Angel Shifters, 1

Erin M. Leaf

Copyright © 2013

Chapter One

“I have to go where? Are you crazy?” Raphael said to his brother. He was already annoyed at

having to fly up here to the mountains where Suriel had holed up for the past year, but then to have his
brother flat-out order him to go to Castle Archangel? To live for a year? Raphael was not amused.

“It’s important,” Suriel said mildly, pouring water from a battered pewter pitcher into a glass.

He handed it to Raphael.

Raphael stared at his brother, at the glass, and then put the water down on the rough wooden

table set just inside the cave’s entrance. “You really are insane. I knew it would happen eventually.
No one can live in a cave for a year and not go crazy.” He waved his hand around. “I mean, look at it
in here! You’ve got, hmm. Grey walls. More grey walls. And oh! A sleeping bag!”

Suriel sighed, pouring another glass of water for himself.
Annoyed by his younger brother’s dramatics, no doubt, Raphael thought, not feeling very

sympathetic. Although, his brother did look more tired than usual. That worried him.

“I still don’t see why you can’t meditate at home. Why hide out in a cave? You’re probably not

sleeping. Are you sleeping?” Raphael asked him, just to be even more annoying.

“You know damn well why I had to go ‘hide out in a cave’ as you put it, so very many times.

And no, of course I haven’t been sleeping well. I live in a cave.” Suriel’s tone was dry. He took a sip
of water before continuing. “That doesn’t change what I know. You have to go down to Seneca Lake.”

“Why?” Raphael asked flatly, not liking his brother’s intransigence. He didn’t want to go to

Seneca Lake. He didn’t want to go anywhere near Castle Archangel. Their leader, Samael, lived
there. Samael was not a nice person.

He sipped his water, frustrated, because he did know why Suriel had fled to the mountains to

live in a cave. Last year his brother had changed a lot, growing into a power that hadn’t been seen in
the People in thousands of years. If it had been anyone but his beloved older sibling, he would have
been frightened of the implications, if not the man. As it was, he could never be afraid of Suriel.
They’d grown up together. They cared too much for each other.

“Look, it’s just a feeling I have, but it’s a strong feeling.” Suriel ran his hands through his dark

hair. His light grey eyes looked almost blue in the dim light of the cave. “There’s something you need
to do there. Something important.” He walked to the cave’s mouth and looked out over the valley.

“Something is going to change for the People.”

Raphael shivered. He had no shirt on and it was mid-winter. He looked down at his arms. The

light brown mark of his genetic legacy was etched into his skin: flowing lines and feathers. When he
shifted into his angel form, his wings were a light brown, very ordinary among the people. He didn’t
see why he, of all people, had to go to the seat of the Archangel’s power. It sounded like a bad idea.
Shouldn’t Suriel go instead? He could command the winds.

“You have to trust me, Raphael,” Suriel said quietly. “I feel a storm coming. Every time I fly,

the winds ruffle through my wings, whispering danger, danger.”

Raphael tucked his hands in his armpits, more than a little freaked out. He didn’t know what the

hell his brother was talking about.

“I wouldn’t send you there if it wasn’t vital. You know that.” Suriel rubbed the back of his neck

tiredly. “I know that Samael has no regard for us or our family, or anyone, for that matter. You have to
go anyway.”

“Samael is evil,” Raphael said. He didn’t trust the so-called leader of the People. For as long

as he’d been alive, angels had been dying. Car accidents. Disease. Old age. Random sicknesses. And
their birth rate was non-existent these days. Samael’s reckless leadership hadn’t helped. His
arrogance and lack of foresight had led to clashes and misunderstandings with the humans. His abuse
of the People had led many of them to flee their traditional homes near Castle Archangel.

His brother just looked at him. Everything Raphael had said, Suriel already knew. And he was

asking Raphael to go anyway. Dammit. Suriel was gifted. He had powers Raphael didn’t understand.
He trusted him, but more importantly he loved him deeply.

“When do I have to go?” he asked, resigned. It didn’t matter that he thought his brother was

losing his mind up here. He knew Suriel wouldn’t ask him to do this if he wasn’t certain it was
necessary. He stood up, walking over to his brother.

“As soon as you can. I don’t know what’s going to happen, but you have to be ready,” Suriel

replied, relief coloring his voice.

“I suppose I could collect more of our oral history,” Raphael said, thinking aloud. “It would

help my thesis to have a more complete set of myths for my dissertation.” He rolled his shoulders,
trying to get rid of some of the tension he’d begun to feel the moment he landed on the cliff’s edge and
caught sight of his brother’s face. Suriel was worried. And when the first sorcerer born to the People
in eons was worried, that meant that there was definitely something to be worried about.

“Thank you,” Suriel said, pulling Raphael into a rough embrace.
Raphael hugged him back. “You have to promise me that you’ll come down from the mountain

sometime, though. I worry about you up here, all alone. If I’m gone, no one will come and bug you to
rejoin the living. You’ll turn into a real hermit instead of a fake one.”

Suriel stepped back and smiled. “I will come down. When it’s time.”
Raphael rolled his eyes. “‘When it’s time,’” he mocked in a light voice. “For God’s sake, why

the hell are you always so cryptic?”

Suriel laughed. “It’s fun.”
“It’s annoying.”
“Older brothers are supposed to be annoying,” Suriel said.
Raphael snorted. “Mom is going to have a fit when I tell her where I’m going.”
“Mom will understand,” Suriel said.
Raphael gave him a disgusted look and walked outside. The small ledge just beyond the cave’s

mouth was slick with melting ice. He grimaced as the cold wind hit his torso. He shifted quickly,

willing his wings to release. When he was in angel form, he didn’t feel the cold as much. Just before
he was about to leap into the air, Suriel’s hand touched his shoulder. Raphael looked back.

“It won’t be all bad, I promise. I think you will find that change is not always disastrous.”
Raphael frowned. “The past tells us otherwise. Don’t try and sell me on your ridiculous

optimism.”

Suriel stepped back, a sudden grin chasing across his face. “Optimism is good for the soul. And

who knows? Maybe you’ll meet a cute guy down there. Not all change is bad.”

Raphael huffed. “Only you would torment me with that possibility,” he muttered as he launched

off the face of the mountain.

Chapter Two

Gabriel woke, skin hot and achy. Instinctively, he rolled over and away from the sunlight, but it

didn’t help. He was still hot. He forced open his eyes, battling the urge to shift, and stared up at the
ceiling of his room, feeling a strange sense of foreboding. Had he dreamed badly? He couldn’t
remember. Was he still dreaming now? He hadn’t had so little control over his wings since he’d been
a boy. He rolled again, onto his back, grunting as the ache in his body abruptly intensified, and then
just as suddenly disappeared. What the hell was going on?

He lifted his arm, looking at his skin as he tried to figure out what was happening. When the

faint tracing of his genetic legacy morphed from barely noticeable pale brown to deepest black before
his eyes, he gasped. He shoved his hand into the sunlight, but the feathers and lines drawn into his
skin didn’t fade. Didn’t change back to brown.

“Dear God,” he murmured, sitting up abruptly. The sheet fell to his waist as he stared at

himself. The heat he’d felt was gone, but he barely noticed. His chest was bare—none of the People
slept with clothes on if they could help it. Outside, the sun brightened as it slipped fully above the
horizon, lighting his room with gold. Inside, deep in his heart, he knew the time he’d feared, hoped
for, and worried about had finally come. He’d had twenty years of wondering if what his father had
once whispered to him in the middle of the night was true. Now, suddenly, his father’s promise had
become real. As an eight-year old boy, he’d wanted to believe his father. As an adult, he’d known
that what his dad had said to him could have been just a father’s way of reassuring his child that good
always wins over evil. What his dad hadn’t explained was that evil could not be vanquished without
a fight. Gabriel did not relish that thought.

He stood up and padded to the dresser, his only clothing a pair of loose boxers. The lines on his

skin stretched up over his arms and down his back. The humans he’d met assumed he’d had elaborate
tattoos inked onto his skin, but they weren’t. Every one of the People had been born like this. And
every single one of his own formerly pale brown marks was now ebony. Ebony tipped with gold. He
looked for another few seconds, then shook his head. He had to see if what he suspected was true.

Clenching his fists, he loosened the tight band of control in the center of his body and let go. Air

wafted through the room as his wings unfolded from his body and stretched out, almost too large to fit
in the small space. He stared at them in the mirror, trepidation and joy twining in his gut as the gold-
tipped ebony feathers rustled in the glass. He swallowed, fists still tight. Maybe I really am still
asleep, he thought, and then the door to his bedroom opened without warning.

“Gabriel! Do you want to come flying with me?” his sister barged in, clearly expecting to wake

him. She came to an abrupt halt as soon as she saw him in front of the mirror. “Oh my God!” She
stared. “Oh my God,” she repeated, this time in a whisper.

He folded his wings, but did not shift back to human. He turned to her, not sure whether he

should feel happy or upset. Not sure what she would say. He really, really wished he wasn’t wearing
his underwear. His sister would tease him about that for years to come, he knew it.

“Oh my God,” she repeated, staring fixedly at his wings.
“You keep saying that,” he managed, voice low.
“Gabriel, your wings,” she breathed, coming closer. She reached out a tentative hand and he

flinched.

“Sorry, sorry,” she said, dropping her arm down, afraid to upset him, he could tell. He never

wanted his sister afraid of him, not for any reason. He grabbed her fingers and brought them to his
wings, letting her trail her palm down the edges.

“They’re real,” she said. Her eyes were wide.
Gabriel nodded, glancing back into the mirror. What had been pale brown eyes, so like his

mother’s, were now more gold than brown. He stared at himself, trying to wrap his mind around what
had happened. His hair was still short, still ordinary. He was still six feet tall. Muscular. Inside,
though, everything felt different.

“You knew this was coming, didn’t you?” Ariel asked softly. She let her hands fall. Gabriel’s

eyes tracked her arms. Her marks were still light brown, barely visible. When she shifted, her wings
would spread behind her, brown with traces of white at the tips, perfectly framing her heart-shaped
face and kind blue eyes.

His own wings were no longer so comforting or normal.
He sighed. “I suspected. Dad told me it might happen.”
“How the hell would he know?” she asked. “He never said anything to me.”
Gabriel decided to tell her about that night when he was eight. “When I was little, I had

nightmares all the time. One night, Dad came in to help me get back to sleep, and he told me a story
about our family. He said we used to be the leaders of the People before Samael’s forbears wrested it
away from one of our ancestors. He said that he suspected we’d be leaders again.” He shook his
head. “It was just a story he told, to make me feel better. I’d been dreaming about demons.” He turned
away from her, stomach roiling as he remembered those distant nightmares. “He didn’t mean anything
by it, but I always felt different, after that night. I don’t know how to explain it.”

Ariel pressed her lips together. “This is a good thing.” She sounded like she was trying to

convince herself. “Samael needs to be deposed. We all know it. We’ve known it for years.”

His wings fluttered without him consciously moving them and he had to concentrate to get them

to settle. Thinking about their leader made anger trickle through his gut. Samael had been abusing
their trust for years and everyone knew it, but overthrowing their hereditary leader was not as simple
as holding an election.

“I know,” he said eventually. “The People are dying.” This was true. They’d been losing

people for years. Fewer of them were being born and many of their Old Ones were fading away,
flying into the mist in despair.

She looked at him. “Not anymore they aren’t.”
He felt her words in his bones and looked once again into the mirror. He knew what she was

implying. There was no way to hide this. God had given him His favor and Gabriel couldn’t refuse it,
not when it meant he could help the People survive. Thrive. He spread his wings, the ebony flashing
dark and strong in the early dawn light. “No. They aren’t.”

****
Raphael stood in the clearing, shaking. He clenched his bare toes around the rock and clenched

his fists, too, as though that would help. He was in the middle of a valley, in the midst of an ancient
rock field just after dawn. He’d gone flying alone before the sun rose, like usual, but as soon as the
light had peeked over the horizon and touched his wings, he’d felt the change.

He reached out and scooped up the long edge of his left primary, pulling it over to look at the

feathers again. “Dear God,” he murmured, hardly able to believe what he was seeing. What had been
ordinary dark brown wings, common among the People, had changed to snow white feathers tipped
with gold. He let them fall and hugged himself, shivering. He knew what this meant. This was why

Suriel, damn him, had sent him here. He wondered if his brother had known his ‘feeling’ would take
this form, or if he had just trusted that his magic was true. Whatever the case, Raphael had the
evidence of his body to prove that his brother was correct, as usual. Raphael was an Omega.

“Except I’m not a woman,” he said aloud. “So this makes no sense.”
He’d come to study the People’s origin at the seat of their primary clan six months ago. He was

a graduate student. A historian. He’d been raised in Maine, by a small clan of angels, close-knit but
isolated, and never expected to have the opportunity to study with the archangels, but when Suriel had
told him he had to go, he listened. He rubbed his hands over his face and looked up at the sky.
“Remember why you’re here,” he said to himself.

Ever since the disastrous revelation of their existence among the humans a little over thirty

years ago, the People had been alternatively worshipped and vilified. Raphael simply wanted to
document their history as a sentient people, parallel to the humans. Of course, nothing was ever that
simple.

“And somehow, I’m supposed to become the mate of their leader?” he said, hoping the words

would seem less preposterous spoken aloud than in the silence of his mind. They weren’t. He
extended his wings, letting the feathers unruffle in the light breeze.

“White wings, healer of minds. Omega,” he muttered the old saying. “Ebony wings, leader of

angels. Alpha.” He deliberately untwisted his arms and stretched, wings reaching out to the winds.
His feet left the rock and he floated as the People’s magic filled his bones and lifted him up. “What
the fuck,” he said, letting a rising thermal carrying him higher. “The leader of the people is gay?
That’s impossible.” He’d never heard of such a thing, not in all the oral stories, nor in the scrolls, nor
in the carvings of their sacred spaces. The true leader was always a man, mated to a woman.

He twisted in the air, swooping back down to the rock field. His landing was rough, but he

didn’t care. Around him, the forest woke, birds and small mammals rustling among the leaves and
branches. He stood there, contemplating Samael, the current leader. No. No a thousand times. That
man was not his mate. The man was evil. Even if Raphael was truly Omega, the leader’s destined
mate, he refused to even contemplate touching Samael, let alone tying himself to the man for eternity.
“Just because I’m gay, that doesn’t mean I’m weak or lacking free will,” he said aloud. He crouched
down and leaped up, letting the air carry him to the skies.

Chapter Three

Gabriel flew, relieved that this, at least, was the same. The ridgeline below him was the same

one he’d been flying along since he was a boy. His sister, Ariel, was near, swooping ecstatically on
the wind, and that, too, was the same. They’d been flying together their whole lives. What wasn’t the
same was his increased stamina. He had more strength. He could go higher and still breathe. The
magic of the People was strangely luminous—when he closed his eyes, he could feel the air currents
with his skin, but he could feel even more now. Flying had never been so effortless, so joyful. He
grinned at Ariel and she smiled back, diving backwards and daring him to follow. He swooped down
after her, about to tickle her foot when her cell phone rang. The tension that had faded from his spine
slid right back into place at the base of his neck. He made a grumpy face at her.

She made a grumpy face back, slowing so that she could glide along a thermal. He shot past her,

irritated, then circled around.

“Really? You brought your phone with you?” he said as he flew back to her, slowing to match

her speed.

She grimaced apologetically, digging her cell out of the pocket of her shorts. “I always bring it

with me. I promised Mom,” she explained.

Gabriel sighed. “Of course.” His mom worried about them. She hadn’t asked him to bring his

phone, though, probably because he was a lot bigger and stronger than Ariel. Not much could damage
him. Ariel, however, was smaller, though no less tough. She just looked fragile.

She slid her finger across the display and answered the call. As she glided, she batted at

Gabriel’s leg absently as he flew back and forth in her path. “Hi Mom, what? No, we’re flying, like
we always do when it’s not pouring. Wait, what? Are you sure? You’re not joking?” She glanced at
Gabriel, eyes going suddenly somber. “Yeah, okay. We’ll be down in a sec.”

“What is it?” he asked, knowing he wasn’t going to like what she said.
“Mom says we need to get back. Samael is looking for you and he’s out for blood.”
****
Ten minutes later they spiraled down into the clearing in front of their old farmhouse. It had

been in the family for longer than he’d been alive. Longer than their father had been alive. Gabriel
had moved back in after his death five years ago and Ariel had never moved out. Their mom, Anahita,
needed them, and Gabriel wasn’t afraid to admit that he’d needed her and his sister, too. He’d been
twenty-three at the time, but even so, the hole his father left in their family hadn’t been easy to deal
with. Angels weren’t supposed to die so young. Historically, their lifespan had stretched across
several hundred years, but these days they only lived as long as the humans—maybe eighty or ninety
years, and no one knew why. When his father had been killed decades earlier than that, well…
Gabriel shook off the bad memories. His mother was okay. He was okay and so was Ariel. They
would always be there for each other. And Gabriel was lucky that he could do most of his work from
home. Business consulting was lucrative and irregular, but he enjoyed it. It augmented the family
inheritance and allowed him to spend as much time with his family as he wanted.

“Mom, what happened?” he asked, walking up to the porch. Her eyes were fixed on his wings.

Oh, right. She didn’t know about them yet. She does now, he told himself.

“Oh Gabriel,” she breathed, eyes filling. She reached out for him and he hugged her.

“It’s okay. I’m okay, Mom.” She felt so fragile to him. He was careful not to squeeze too hard.
“I know you’re okay. I’m just surprised,” she said, pulling back and smiling. “And happy for

you. Happy for our people.”

He grinned. “Oh.”
“So, what did Samael want?” Ariel asked sourly, stepping onto the porch behind him.
Anahita’s smile dropped away. “He told me that he was expelling Gabriel from the People, for

conduct unbecoming,” she said angrily. “He has no right.”

Ariel snorted. “No way. I’d like to see him try it,” she said, running a hand down Gabriel’s

wings.

He shivered and stepped away. “Don’t do that. It disturbs me. You know that.”
“You’re so sensitive.” Ariel rolled her eyes at him and then her face fell into the curiously taut

expression that told him she was about to shift. A moment later her light brown wings disappeared
and she stood there, an ordinary young woman in a pink halter top. “Where is Samael?” she asked her
mother.

“He said he’ll be here any moment,” Anahita answered. She traced the outline of her feathers

on her arms, light brown like Ariel’s, in the nervous tic she’d had since their father had passed.

“He’s coming here?” Gabriel asked, disbelievingly. “How dare he?” It was Samael’s direct

negligence that had killed his father. If he hadn’t been high and stupid and belligerent with an
unfriendly Angel-hating crowd of humans, their father wouldn’t have had to take the bullet meant for
him. Human and Angel relations were still somewhat strained, especially in the parts of the country
where the humans believed they were demons. He hated those little pockets of fanaticism. His wings
moved restlessly. He’d be damned if he’d shift them away though. He had nothing to hide.

His mother shrugged uneasily. “It’s his right to go where he pleases. You know that.”
Ariel pushed past Gabriel and stood on the edge of the porch, scanning the skies. “Not for much

longer.” Her voice was hard. When she didn’t see anything, she stalked over to the rocking chair and
snatched up her blouse.

“That may be true, but it is unwise to press him without due cause. Though, now that you are

marked as Alpha, I don’t think you’re going to be able to get him to listen to reason.” Anahita looked
at her son, eyes luminous. “Do you know who your mate is?”

Gabriel went still. He knew. He could feel the heat inside, building slowly. He thought about

the angel he’d met a few months ago, the man with the sky-blue eyes and ebony hair, then pushed the
image down. The last thing he wanted to do was get an erection in front of his mother, and the mating
urge was already nearing the point where he might not be able to control it. “I do know.” He rolled
his shoulders and shifted his wings back into his body, hoping that would help.

His mother waited. When she realized he wasn’t going to say anything more, she frowned.

“Who is she?”

Gabriel steeled himself. “Raphael.” The stunned silence from his mother and sister was

palpable. He could barely believe he’d just said it like that, aloud, like it was nothing. Like he hadn’t
just rewritten his entire life. But I owe my mate that. I owe him respect, and it would be cowardly to
deny him simply because he is male and I am frightened of what that might mean.

“What?” Ariel was back at his shoulder, her blouse hanging open over her halter. “Raphael?

The cute guy who came here to study our history?”

Gabriel pressed his lips together, then nodded curtly. He had no idea how his sister and mother

were going to react to the news that his mate was a man. The situation was unprecedented.

His sister’s eyes went wide. “Holy hell. Samael is going to shit a brick!” Her lips stretched

into a delighted smile. “This is awesome.”

Gabriel’s eyebrows lifted. “You don’t seem bothered that your brother’s mate will be male.”
“Are you kidding me? I could care less who you sleep with as long as he or she isn’t an asshole

and they treat you right. And Raphael is nice. I introduced you way back in February, remember?”
When he nodded, she continued. “We had coffee together just last week,” she said, surprising him.
Catching his confused look, she explained, “He wanted to know about Dad’s death.”

“Oh,” Gabriel said, not sure how he felt about that.
Ariel didn’t notice his consternation and went right on talking. “It’s the look on Samael’s face

I’m looking forward to.” She rubbed her hands together. “This is going to be fantastic. You are the
best big brother, ever.”

Gabriel pinched the bridge of his nose, avoiding her shining eyes. His sister hated Samael, but

wouldn’t tell him why, no matter how many times he’d asked. Seeing her so delighted was both a
curse and a relief. At least she doesn’t seem to mind that her brother is, apparently, gay. He wasn’t
certain himself how he could’ve been so mistaken all these years. He’d dated women, but had never
been able to open up his heart, not really. Now he knew why.

“Oh Gabriel,” his mother said softly. She touched his arm, fingers tracing his marks. “Are you

sure?”

He nodded. “I’m sure.”
“Raphael’s a nice boy,” she said, stepping back. “But I didn’t even know you’d met him.”
Gabriel lifted a shoulder. “I said, ‘Hello,’ once. When he first arrived.”
Ariel chuckled. “Oh boy.”
Gabriel gave her a disgusted look and she backed away from him to lean against the porch

wall, still grinning. When his mother’s face abruptly shifted from pleased into the neutral expression
he hated so much, he knew Samael had arrived. Tension ran down his spine as she looked past him,
saying nothing. Gabriel turned around, the hair on the nape of his neck ruffling. He made sure to put
his body between his mother and sister and their leader.

“Aren’t you going to greet your leader properly, Anahita?” Samael asked, ignoring Gabriel.

“Ariel?”

Gabriel’s mother didn’t respond. She hadn’t spoken to Samael since Gabriel’s dad had died.

Ariel cleared her throat and spat to the side. Gabriel didn’t even flinch. He knew she’d do something
offensive. She always did, but for the first time he wasn’t bothered by fear for her safety. He could
protect her now, even from Samael.

“Ah. The insubordination I’ve grown to expect. You really ought to do something about your

women, Gabriel. This disrespect towards the leader is unbecoming.” Samael’s fake smile moved
smoothly into a frown. “And I see you’ve managed to do something to your markings.” His eyes went
cold. “It is against our laws to tattoo over your genetic legacy.” He stared at Gabriel’s arms.

Gabriel didn’t speak. If Samael wanted to come all the way to his family’s house and make a

nuisance of himself, he wasn’t going to bother being polite.

“Have you nothing to say for yourself?” Samael asked. “What you’ve done is illegal,

punishable by lashing. Or worse.”

Gabriel scoffed. “You have no authority over me, Samael.”
Samael clenched his fists. The tracery of his markings glittered rust-red along his arms, the

color of blood. Of death. “I am your leader. My authority is absolute.”

“Not any more,” Gabriel said calmly. “And your authority was never meant to be absolute. The

People are not slaves.”

Samael’s wings burst forth abruptly, rustling in the air like wounded sparrows. “You dare

challenge me?”

Gabriel ignored his mother’s sharp inhalation and replied calmly, “I do.” He’d hoped,

absurdly, that Samael would step down peacefully, but now he realized that such optimism had been
misplaced. The man was power-mad, as always.

Samael’s eyes glittered. “You have no mate. You have no power. If you expect to live through

this, you are sadly mistaken. We will battle Saturday night, ten o’clock of the evening. And you will
submit, or die.”

Gabriel took a single step forward, arms loose at his side. He had nothing to hide. “My mate

will stand with me when we meet in the traditional circle. Yours will likely be drowning her sorrows
in liquor, as she has for years in the safety of her boudoir, to your shame. Tell me, who do you think
God will favor?” As his words echoed in the bright morning sunlight, he released his control and let
his newly ebon wings unfurl slowly, shifting so smoothly he didn’t even have to change his stance.
Power filled him and he welcomed it. It was time for the People to throw off the yoke of their
disintegration.

Samael’s face went purple with rage. “You dare color your wings? Blasphemy! For this, you

should die. God has turned his face from you, as you have turned from him,” he spouted senselessly.

Gabriel looked at his leader and felt only sadness. How had their People fallen into such

dishonor?

When Samael rose from the wilting grass under his feet, he looked at Anahita. “Prepare to

mourn your son. He has not long to live.” With that, he soared up and away.

Gabriel watched him until he was a speck in the distance and then he watched a little longer,

until the skies were clear.

“Of course he couldn’t even figure out that your wings are truly ebon. That you are Alpha.

What, did he think you’d dipped them in hair dye?” his sister scoffed, touching in between his
shoulder blades so lightly that for once, he felt soothed instead of annoyed.

“I suppose he thinks I dunked them in the bathtub or something,” he said, amused by the image.

“I can just see us with those flimsy plastic gloves, rubbing chemicals into my feathers, trying to go
punk.” He smiled at her.

Ariel laughed. “He’s such an idiot.”
“He’s an idiot with power,” their mother said tensely. “Meeting in the challenge circle isn’t a

joke.”

Gabriel turned to his mother, cupping her cheeks. He kissed her forehead, willing his

confidence to seep into her. “Change comes, especially when it’s least expected. Samael has
forgotten that lesson, if he ever knew it. He inherited everything from his father and has never had to
work for what he wants. He simply took, whenever the whim struck. He needs to be stopped before
our People are destroyed forever.”

“You can’t do it without your mate,” she said, twining her fingers with his. “You must claim

him. Soon as you can.”

“Mother is right. You must go talk to him, at least,” Ariel said, her laughter fading. “Are you

sure Raphael is the one? You haven’t even had a real conversation with him.”

Gabriel shifted back to human, then sat down on the porch steps. “I’m certain.” He looked out

over the rolling hills and down into the forest at the foot of their property. “I knew the moment I
watched him walk into Archangel Castle. He glanced at me and I knew he was important. I didn’t
know how or exactly what he would mean to me at the time, but I felt something.” He put his fist to his

heart.

“That was months ago,” his mother said, wary. “Why didn’t you say anything?”
He gave his mother a look. “Tell you that I’d just seen the man destined to be my mate? Right.

You would have thought me insane.”

“Only the ebon-winged leader of the People has a destined mate. Our Alpha and his Omega,”

Ariel murmured, sitting beside him. “Your wings didn’t manifest the color until this morning.”

Gabriel nodded. “Precisely.”
“That means that Raphael’s wings manifested white today, too.” Ariel slipped her hand into his.

“He is a historian. He knows what is happening,” she reassured him, sensing his worry.

“That doesn’t mean he will choose me in return,” Gabriel said quietly. “He could refuse.”
Ariel and his mother were silent for a long time, and then Anahita sat on his other side and put

her hand on his shoulder. “He will. If not for you, than for our People. The Angels of God need him to
heal our souls.”

Chapter Four

Raphael smiled at the small crowd of people gathered near the tree where he’d decided to sit.

This happened often. He’d come here with two of the People’s more curious students, talking about
their history and listening to their family stories. Loriel and Jeremiel were intelligent and polite, and
he really enjoyed spending time with them. So much of their culture was preserved in the stories
grandparents told the children that he always began with those. The two young angels had told him
most of the stories they knew, and now it was time for Raphael to return the favor. When some
humans wandered close, overhearing his explanations of the People’s origins, they sat down too,
listening respectfully. Raphael was only too happy to welcome them. The more that humans and
People mingled, the more understanding was fostered between the two species.

The fact that he doubted his mate would claim him in front of a crowd of mixed humans and

angels was a bonus. He’d be safe here. He wasn’t afraid, exactly, just a little uncertain. It’s okay to
feel a tiny amount of apprehension, he told himself, smiling at one of the older women who’d sat
down at the bench with her granddaughter. I’m not scared. I’m cautious, that’s all.

“So, you’re saying that the People have been here all along? Throughout human history?” the

woman asked him. “I suppose that’s where our beliefs about angels came from.”

He nodded. “Exactly. Obviously we have some abilities that humans don’t.” He gestured to the

markings on his arms. “We can fly. And in the past, that was a huge deal. Now, of course, there are
airplanes so the ability to fly isn’t as shocking as it used to be, but humans have gifts we don’t, too.
Our people have been intermingling cultures for longer than you realize.”

“We have gifts?” The old woman shook her head. “Like what? You can fly.” She pointed to his

arms. “We can’t. You can do everything we can, but we can’t do everything you can.”

“Technically, you can,” he said, grinning. “Airplanes, helicopters—” He glanced at a few teen

boys sitting in the grass. “Skateboards.”

The girl with the old woman laughed. “You’re avoiding my Gram’s point. You said that humans

have gifts you don’t. Like what?”

He smiled at her. “Your creativity. You have the ability to invent things. We would still be

languishing in caves if you hadn’t figured out how to build houses. We use all of your technology.”

The girl looked at him skeptically. “You’re saying you couldn’t invent anything? Not even a

simple machine?”

He shrugged. “We can, sort of. We have artists and mechanics and healers, but we are much

closer to our original nature than you humans. We get distracted by the sun and the winds.” He looked
up into the clear blue sky. “It’s hard to concentrate for longer than an hour. Our minds wander.” He
glanced back down at her. “We’re intelligent, but it’s like we all suffer from ADD. It’s difficult to
build a machine when you can only work on it for a couple hours a day.”

“Your brains are fundamentally different than ours, is that what you’re saying?” a young man

asked. He’d come over as soon as Raphael had arrived, ditching his friends and their Frisbee. It
wasn’t the first time, either. The other afternoons Raphael had spent here in the past few weeks this
same young man had shown up. Raphael knew he was a student, and he knew his name was Peter. He
also knew that Peter was hitting on him.

Not that it matters. He’s too young for me, he mused, thoughts going to the mate that destiny

had supposedly arranged for him. Who is it, I wonder? He couldn’t help obsessing over a man whose
face he didn’t know. In the back of his head, he hoped it was Gabriel. For some reason, even though
he’d never even had a conversation with the reclusive man, he’d immediately felt an attraction from
the moment he saw him. He knew Gabriel’s sister, Ariel. He’d even had coffee with her a few times
and managed to steer the conversation towards her brother and Gabriel sounded as honorable inside
as he was gorgeous outside. From their conversations, he knew their father had died tragically. You
have no idea if it’s him. Just because you thought he was hot is no reason to suspect he could be
your mate.

Peter flicked a clod of dirt at him, startling Raphael out of his reverie. “Huh. I can see what you

mean about short attention spans,” he teased.

Raphael chuckled. “Precisely.” He sure as hell wasn’t going to tell the kid that he was

distracted by thoughts of his unknown mate. All the humans would think he was crazy. They had no
idea the People had such instincts, for good reason. They hadn’t had a destined Alpha leader in over
three centuries. An Omega mate was a myth the People told little girls as a bedtime story. He could
hardly believe it himself, except every time he glanced at his skin the proof was in the faint white
tracery of his marks. He’d worn long sleeves today, despite the warm weather, to cover them up. He
hadn’t wanted to deal with any of the People seeing what had happened. There would be questions
and maybe even recriminations. Doing anything to the marks was a sign of dishonor. If they thought
he’d changed them himself… Well. He didn’t want to contemplate the consequences of that.

Peter smiled. Raphael smiled back, relieved the discussion so far had been interesting, but

safely set to topics with which he felt comfortable. Then Peter shocked him by pointing to Raphael’s
arms. “I thought your marks were brown, like all the People’s? Why are the lines on your arms white,
all of a sudden? Did you do something to them?”

Raphael looked down, startled. He’d inadvertently pushed up his sleeves in the afternoon heat,

dammit. He shoved them back down. “No. I didn’t do anything to my marks purposely. It’s against our
customs to change our genetic legacy,” he said slowly, angry with himself. Why hadn’t he been more
careful?

“I’ve never seen an angel with white markings before. Does that mean your wings are white?”

the girl sitting with her grandmother asked.

Raphael glanced at his students, Loriel and Jeremiel. They were staring at his arms as if they

could see through the cloth. They looked as disturbed as he felt. Most humans didn’t ask about their
wings. It was considered impolite.

“Only one angel’s wings are white,” Loriel said, her voice hushed. She stared at Raphael as if

he were a ghost.

“For real? Does that mean he’s special?” the girl asked, pointing at Raphael. She didn’t seem to

sense the undercurrents suddenly flowing beneath the conversation.

Raphael pursed his lips as he considered how to answer, trepidation tightening his gut.
“Only an Omega angel has white wings. A healer. The mate of our leader,” Jeremiel said.

“Except we already have a leader and he already has a mate.” He glanced at the humans. “You would
call her his wife. Sometimes we call our spouses our mates.”

Raphael looked at Jeremiel. He saw only worry in his face, not condemnation. He decided to

explain the history. “The Omega angel myth has been part of our earliest stories for centuries, but
there have been none in reality in hundreds of years, if ever. Most of our teachers believe the Omega
to be a mythic figure,” Raphael said.

“Clearly you’re not a myth,” Peter said, voice sure. He reached out and touched Raphael on his

knee. “You feel real to me. Very real.”

Raphael was about to slide his leg away when a low male voice spoke from behind him. “Do

not touch him uninvited. Not ever.”

Peter sat up hurriedly, paling as he stared past Raphael’s shoulder.
What the— Raphael thought, startled. Is that Gabriel? His heart knocked against his ribs and

his skin prickled as adrenaline shot through his system. He turned slowly, not sure what to expect.
When his eyes met Gabriel’s stormy gold gaze, he knew that God had decided his fate.

****
Gabriel resisted glaring at the boy who dared touch his mate, instead concentrating on meeting

Raphael’s eyes calmly. “Raphael,” he said, saying the name for the first time. When he’d met him
before, his sister had introduced them, but they hadn’t spoken.

“Gabriel,” Raphael replied, standing gracefully. He attempted a smile. “What brings you to my

afternoon storytelling session? Did Ariel tell you I’d be here?”

“She did.” He paused. “And I think you know why I’m here.” He didn’t look away, instead

letting his eyes take their fill of Raphael’s masculine beauty. His blue eyes were clear and intelligent
and his lean frame was muscular, but for some reason, when Gabriel took in the entire package, he
couldn’t think of a better word to describe his mate than mine. The possessiveness he felt startled
him. Raphael’s dark hair set off his eyes, like deepest night showcased the brightest stars. When he
flicked his gaze down to his mate’s arms, he frowned slightly, disappointed to see the long sleeves
covering up what he’d hoped were changed markings. He couldn’t possibly be wrong about this,
could he? God help him if he was.

Raphael narrowed his eyes, seemingly impatient with Gabriel’s indirect response. “I am not

some damsel in distress.”

Gabriel’s nostrils flared. “You want me to say it?” he asked quietly, controlling the instinctive

heat Raphael’s intransigence raised. He wasn’t angry, not precisely, but he was agitated. Restless.

Raphael nodded. “It won’t be real unless you speak it aloud. Let the wind hear.”
Gabriel took a deep breath and concentrated on the way the dirt shifted beneath his bare feet.

He listened to the air sighing over his shoulders. He glanced up at the infinite sky and let his mind
truly accept the knowledge of what he was about to do. When he looked back down, Raphael had
braced himself, putting a hand on the tree he’d been sitting against.

“I claim you as my Omega. My mate. My succor and healer. I claim you for our People, for our

honor.” Here he paused, trying to push words past the thundering of his heart. “And I claim you for
myself.” He spoke the last in a whisper, hoping to God that Raphael could hear him. He sensed the
people around them watching, mixed human and angel, and he despaired at having to do this in front
of them. He’d have preferred privacy. But perhaps the legitimacy of my claim will not be
questioned, because of the public nature of my action, he mused, trying to find the positive in the
most vulnerable moment of his life. Claiming a mate of the same sex is truly unprecedented. There
will be repercussions.

Raphael’s eyes flared, black on blue. “If your claim is valid, I will accept you as my Alpha. My

mate. My leader and shield, for the honor of our People.” He stepped away from the tree and began to
unbutton his shirt. “And I would be honored to claim you for myself.” He said that last quietly, so
only Gabriel could hear, hands trembling as he peeled off his shirt and flung it to the grass.

Reason lost the battle with instinct. Gabriel’s wings burst from his body like rain falls from a

thundercloud and he strode forward, not caring that humans had seen him shift. Let them look, a voice
in the back of his heat-clouded mind said. Let them see the Alpha claim his Omega. He reached out

and grabbed Raphael’s arms, fingers pressing into the silvery marks that traced up the shorter man’s
skin. Abruptly, Raphael’s wings sprang forth: blinding white, tipped with gold. Gabriel’s mouth
opened, but he couldn’t speak. Couldn’t breathe. They began to rise together, magic filling their
bodies as the mating instinct began to take them into the skies.

“Gabriel,” Raphael croaked, holding onto Gabriel as tightly as Gabriel held onto him.
“Shh,” he said, bringing him closer. Their legs tangled. They were so close he could feel

Raphael’s erection straining against his jeans. Gabriel moaned softly, hips jerking as a rising thermal
off the ridge suddenly lofted them thousands of feet into the air.

“My God.” Raphael looked dazed.
Gabriel knew how he felt. He leaned in and Raphael met him halfway, lips soft and warm and

perfect. When Raphael nibbled Gabriel’s mouth open, he groaned, unable to comprehend how such a
simple thing could make his entire body feel like it was on fire. He grabbed his Omega, pulling him
even closer. He couldn’t get close enough. The kiss turned feral, with Raphael ravaging his mouth,
tongue running over Gabriel’s lips desperately, and then they were falling.

Gabriel growled and turned them, wrapping his legs around Raphael’s thighs. He slid his hands

up Raphael’s shoulders, then down his wings, closing them. Raphael panicked, struggling, but Gabriel
held him fast. “No, don’t,” he said, but Raphael tore himself away, wings snapping open. They
flashed in the sun, taunting him. “Raphael!” Gabriel shouted, diving into a trough of cool air. He
picked up speed, whirling as he flew, then snapped his wings open at the last minute. He barreled into
Raphael and the two of them began to plummet to the ground.

Raphael arched his back, his cock sliding against Gabriel’s again, and again, but the ground

was rising too fast… Gabriel let go, pushing Raphael up so the magic would loft him into the sky
above. Raphael looked down at him, blue eyes wide, and then Gabriel opened his wings and caught
another warm wave, slowing his spiral. When Raphael turned, flying away, he followed, catching him
again once, twice, and thrice again until they were exhausted and drifting above the untouched forests
near Seneca Lake. Raphael squirmed, twisting and twisting again until he faced Gabriel.

Gabriel kissed him, desperate. Everything he ever thought he knew about sex and love and

desire paled in comparison to this flight. This claiming. “Raphael, you’re mine,” he murmured into
the other man’s throat. “My Omega.”

Raphael sighed and finally submitted. “My Alpha,” he whispered, hands in Gabriel’s hair.
Gabriel’s eyes pricked, from the wind or dust or something else, he wasn’t sure. He kissed

Raphael’s pulse point delicately, then leaned back.

“Off,” Raphael said. “Get these off.” Raphael was tugging at Gabriel’s jeans.
Gabriel gasped when his mate’s hand brushed his cock. “Yeah,” he said, voice cracking. He

leaned away a little more and Raphael managed to undo both of their pants. Gabriel concentrated on
holding them aloft, riding the thermal the day’s sunlight had gifted them, grateful for his new stamina.
Raphael stripped them quickly, tossing their pants away, and then he moved back against Gabriel’s
body, wrapping his legs around his hips. When their cocks touched, Gabriel moaned, sparks of
pleasure blinding him.

“Pay attention,” Raphael gasped when they dropped a few hundred feet. “You’ve got to keep us

up here.”

Gabriel caught the edge of the wind and carried them up even higher than before. He had no

idea where their clothes had landed and didn’t care. Raphael had his hands in Gabriel’s wings,
threading carefully through his coverts even as he flew. It made him shiver. The touch was so much
more sensual than anything he’d ever felt before. He would never give this man up. Never. Raphael

was his now, forever. He growled into his mate’s neck.

“Yeah, fuck, just like that,” Raphael muttered, hips moving.
Gabriel tucked his hands around Raphael’s ass, grinding them together. Raphael threw his head

back, moaning, then suddenly, shockingly, shut his wings down tight against his back.

“Jesus, Raphael, what are you doing?”
“I can’t help it,” his mate panted. “I can’t control it.” His cock throbbed against Gabriel’s.

“God. This is insane.”

Gabriel shuddered. He was holding them both in the sky and one wrong move would send them

to their deaths. “Fuck, Raphael. Fuck,” he said brokenly. He licked up Raphael’s neck, then sank his
teeth into his shoulder.

Raphael trembled. “Yeah, right there. Almost there, Gabriel.” He writhed in Gabriel’s arms,

hot and slick and incredible. “God!” he finally burst out, hips going still as his cock pulsed hotly
between them.

That was enough to send Gabriel over. He groaned, biting down as he climaxed, the pleasure so

intense he couldn’t see for a moment. His entire world narrowed down to Raphael: his smell, his
energy, his gorgeous wings, so white they blinded him. Gabriel held on tightly as they glided clumsily
for a few seconds, wobbling in the air until he could unclench his muscles. He caught the edge of the
winds barely keeping them steady and controlled their flight, shuddering in the aftereffects of the most
incredible orgasm of his life.

After a few moments, Raphael’s wings gently unfurled. Gabriel unknotted his fingers, sliding

down Raphael’s arms until they were holding hands. It was difficult to fly this way, but he didn’t
care.

“I guess that answers that question,” Raphael said, amusement threading through his voice.
“What question?” Gabriel asked. His voice was wrecked. Had he been screaming?
Raphael flicked a wing at him. “I’m really an Omega. That’s kind of insane.”
Gabriel smiled. “Well, I had no idea I was gay. How’s that for crazy?”
Raphael look of surprise was comical. “No idea?”
Gabriel lifted a shoulder. “What can I say, I’m a late bloomer.”
Raphael laughed and ran his hands down Gabriel’s wings again. “We’ll just have to make up

for lost time.”

Gabriel shivered at the sensuality of his mate putting hands on him like that. “God. Why does

that feel so good?” He looked down, guiding them closer to the ground.

Raphael leaned in, kissing him. “Our wings are sacred.”
Gabriel kissed him back passionately. “You are sacred to me, Raphael.”
Raphael broke the kiss, mouth wet as he looked at Gabriel. “I can’t believe this is real.”
“It’s very real,” Gabriel said, half-grimacing and half-smiling as he realized they were both

covered in spunk. “And I think we need a shower. It doesn’t get any more real than that.” He brought
them down into a careful landing. They were in the woods just outside his house.

“I hope no one saw that flight,” Raphael muttered, stepping back. “I never even imagined it was

possible to have sex while flying.” He grinned suddenly. “Hey! We’re part of the mile-high club
now.”

Gabriel groaned. “That’s not funny.”
“It totally is,” Raphael said, chuckling. He glanced around. “Where are we?”
“My house,” Gabriel said. He pointed through the trees.
“The house where your mother lives?”

The horror in Raphael’s voice made Gabriel chuckle. “Yes.”
“Oh dear God, this is totally not how I wanted to meet my mother-in-law,” he muttered, wiping

at his stomach. It didn’t help much. He smeared the mess around some more before giving up.

“Don’t worry. She’s not home right now.” Gabriel tugged him into the yard. He absolutely did

not find Raphael’s embarrassment cute. He eyed his mate, smiling.

“Okay, fine, but what about your sister? Ariel will tease us forever if she catches us like this.”
Gabriel stopped short, horror trickling down his spine. “Oh, crap.” Before they could take

another step, the front door slammed open. Gabriel looked at the porch reluctantly, already knowing
what he’d see. Sure enough, Ariel stood in front of the door, eyes wide and shocked. Damn, he
thought, cringing inside. He didn’t try and cover himself. It was already too late. Raphael ducked
behind him. He didn’t blame the man. His own cock had shriveled up and was even now futilely
trying to crawl inside his body.

“Holy shit, Gabriel! When you said you were going to claim your mate, I did not expect the two

of you to show up naked in the front yard!” Ariel shrieked.

Gabriel flinched. He had no idea his sister’s voice could go that high.
His mate sighed resignedly behind him. “‘Crap’ is not a strong enough word for what I’m

feeling right now.”

Chapter Five

Raphael leaned back in the kitchen chair, finally semi-relaxed. His borrowed sweatpants were

warm and comfy and smelled like Gabriel. That made him happy. He was eating a delicious bowl of
homemade chili. And his mate was smiling at him, seemingly not at all disturbed to have participated
in an incredible flight that included mid-air gay sex. Not having to deal with a sudden attack of I-
thought-I-was-straight panic was definitely high on Raphael’s list of things to be thankful for.

More importantly, aside from the initial freak-out she’d had on the porch, Ariel had been

incredibly nice and relaxed and kind about the entire Omega-mate-claiming thing. Gabriel hadn’t even
had to say anything to her to calm her down. As soon as she realized how embarrassed they were and
how loud she was being, she’d clapped a hand over her mouth and backed into the house. She’d
mumbled ‘sorry’ and fled to her room until he and Gabriel showered and dressed. Now, all three of
them were functioning comfortably under the illusion that she hadn’t seen either him or her brother
naked. He could totally get behind that kind of epic repression.

“So, are you nervous about the challenge thing?” Ariel asked him, sipping her water.
Raphael blinked, taken aback by the blunt question. What was she talking about? Challenge? He

frowned, thinking about Samael. He’d hoped they wouldn’t have to deal with him until they’d both
had a chance to settle into their mating. Something must have happened before Gabriel came to get
him at the park, dammit. Maybe his day wasn’t actually going to end as smoothly as he’d hoped. One
look at Ariel’s face told him that it definitely wasn’t. “What challenge thing?” He glanced at Gabriel
who glared at his sister.

“Ah, hell,” she said, quickly setting her water on the table. Some sloshed over the edge and she

pushed a napkin at it, trying to sop up the spill. “You didn’t tell him?” she asked her brother.

“No, I didn’t tell him,” Gabriel ground out. He glanced apologetically at Raphael. “Yet.”
Raphael carefully placed his spoon on the side of his plate. “Let me guess—you’re going to

challenge Samael for leadership of the People.” For some reason he felt like he couldn’t breathe
properly. Was it hot in here? The windows were open, though. The filmy curtains moved in the
breeze.

“Uh, not going to challenge,” Gabriel said quietly. “I already did. Sort of. We meet tomorrow

night at ten.”

Raphael frowned, not sure he understood. Tomorrow? He couldn’t be serious.
“Gabriel didn’t challenge him, per se,” Ariel explained earnestly. “Samael showed up here, all

pissed off. He’d heard rumors about Gabriel’s wings. When he saw the change, he freaked out.” She
reached out and clasped Raphael’s hand. “There was no choice.”

Raphael slid his hand away and stood up, pacing over to the window above the kitchen sink. “I

just got you and now I might lose you.” He whirled around, not sure if he was angry or frightened. “I
don’t want to lose you. Not so soon. Not ever.”

Gabriel walked over to him and cupped his face with his hands. “You won’t. I’m going to win.”

His body pressed into Raphael, strong and sure.

Raphael looked into Gabriel’s golden eyes, seeing nothing but confidence there. “You can’t

know that.”

“He can,” Ariel said, standing and walking over too. She slid an arm around Gabriel’s waist,

hugging him for a moment. “It’s long past time that the People had a good leader.” She gestured to
their legacy marks. “We haven’t had a true Alpha and Omega in centuries, if ever.” She touched
Raphael’s arm. “Now we have both. I know Samael is scared, I saw it in his face when he was here.
He knows he’s been a dictator, as was his father and grandfather before him. The People deserve
better. Surely, as a teacher, you know that. You’re the keeper of our history.”

Raphael swallowed hard. Everything she said was true. “Well, shit. When you put it that

way…” He trailed off.

Gabriel smiled at him. “We will win,” he repeated, kissing Raphael swiftly.
“My brother’s going to kill me,” Raphael muttered, smiling helplessly back.
“Your brother? You have a brother?” Ariel asked.
Raphael snorted. “He’s kind of reclusive.” He looked at Gabriel’s face. “Don’t worry, he’ll

accept you. Us. He’s not homophobic. I’ve been gay since birth. He used to beat up the kids who
picked on me when we were children.”

“I think I like your brother,” Gabriel said, moving next to Raphael.
“I hope you still feel that way after you meet him,” Raphael said, chuckling. “He can be a little

intense.”

“I’m an Alpha archangel. You are my Omega. I think together we can handle him.” Gabriel

chuckled.

Raphael shrugged, then decided to just get it over with. There was never any easy way to

mention his brother’s power. “He’s a sorcerer.”

Ariel paled. “Wait, what? That’s impossible.”
He raised his eyebrows at her. “So is this.” He traced his silvery marks.
“There’s no such thing as magic, not anymore,” she insisted. “God took that gift away from us.”
Raphael looked at Gabriel, sure of one thing even in the midst of his worry. “Things are

changing. And nothing is truly impossible.”

****
Early that evening, Raphael lounged against Gabriel, soaking up the fading sunlight. He’d taken

his Alpha home to the little cabin he rented on the edge of a state forest. It was secluded here. Quiet.
He’d chosen it for that very reason, knowing that the year he’d spend with the People’s preeminent
clan would test his ability to keep his mental balance. He needed to be alone to meditate, to absorb
the stories he was learning. He’d had no idea, back when he first came here at his brother’s request,
that he wouldn’t actually be leaving after his promised year was done.

“We’re going to live in the castle. Castle Archangel, the seat of our People in the new world,”

he said, idly tracing a finger up Gabriel’s chest. Neither of them wore shirts, but the warmth his mate
gave off kept him from growing chilled as the evening cooled down. “That’s going to be very weird.”
He shoved his toes under the blanket at the foot of the bed.

“Not as weird as realizing that you’d suddenly become Alpha. And that your destined mate was

a dude.” Gabriel laughed.

“A ‘dude?’” Raphael lifted his head, smiling. “Those words sound weird coming from your

mouth.”

“I can’t be the serious Alpha all the time,” Gabriel said, poking him.
Raphael squirmed, then his smile faded. “Does it freak you out? That I’m a man, I mean.”
His mate sighed. “It freaks me out that it doesn’t freak me out.” He rolled over, snuggling up

against Raphael as he pushed him into the mattress. “I ought to be completely weirded out by my
attraction to you, but instead when we’re close you just make me feel like I’ve come home.” He

kissed Raphael lightly, then nibbled down his jaw. “I’ve had a few girlfriends, but something was
always missing. We never really connected.” He pulled away and shrugged, smiling. “I don’t know
why it never occurred to me to date guys. I just never thought about it.”

Raphael bit his lip. “Maybe it’s not so much that you’re gay or straight as it is that you’re

Alpha. You have one destined mate. You’re our chosen leader, regardless of what happens at the
challenge. Your wings and strength show this. And as a species, our instincts are not human, much as
we pretend they are for convenience’s sake so we can get along in the world.” He paused, thinking.
“We haven’t had an Alpha in so long, it’s not as if we can ask what it feels like. Our oral histories
convey acts, not emotions.”

Gabriel’s smile faded. “Instinct. That’s what it felt like when I first saw you.”
“That was before the change, wasn’t it?”
Gabriel nodded.
“God chose us,” he said, feeling his gut tighten at the thought of such a responsibility. He ran his

hands down Gabriel’s back. “I suspected our People would be changing, years ago. When my
brother’s wings first began to turn to midnight blue.”

“He is a true sorcerer, then?” Gabriel asked.
Raphael nodded. “He has the power of the wind.”
“He will need to come here,” Gabriel murmured, obviously thinking of the future.
“He won’t like that. He’s holed himself up in a cave, in the middle of nowhere. ‘To study,’ he

says.”

Gabriel’s eyes flashed. “He will come.”
Raphael didn’t want to talk about his brother anymore. He didn’t want his mate and his brother

at odds, and he definitely didn’t want to think about it now. He slid a hand up Gabriel’s back,
relishing the feel of warm skin under his palms. The aerial sex was exhilarating, but he wanted more.
He wanted to see Gabriel’s face when he climaxed without being worried about crashing into the
ground. “Fuck me,” he said baldly. Hopefully that will distract him, he thought.

“Jesus, Raphael,” Gabriel muttered. His hands tightened around Raphael’s waist. “Are you

serious?”

“Yes,” Raphael said, insinuating a leg between Gabriel’s thighs. Their cocks brushed against

each other and he sucked in a sharp breath. “Yes, a thousand times yes.” He kissed his mate and
Gabriel groaned into his mouth, hands moving to his jeans. He rolled them again until Raphael was on
his back.

“Yeah, okay,” Gabriel muttered, stripping Raphael’s pants off and flinging them to the floor.
Raphael opened his legs, wanting Gabriel to see. He knew that in human terms, he and Gabriel

were moving too fast, but they didn’t have the time for slowness. He wanted to surrender to instinct.
He needed it.

“Fuck,” Gabriel growled. “You’re so beautiful.” He stroked up Raphael’s thigh, making him

shiver.

“You’re wearing too many clothes,” he said, tugging at Gabriel’s pants.
“Don’t move,” Gabriel said, standing up.
Raphael didn’t listen. The moment Gabriel rolled off the bed he leaned over to get lube and a

condom from his nightstand.

“That view is not helping.” Gabriel’s voice was ragged.
“Raphael grinned and settled onto his stomach. “You like my ass?”
Gabriel didn’t speak. Instead, he put both hands on Raphael’s cheeks, squeezing.

“I guess that’s a yes,” Raphael murmured, squirming when Gabriel’s palms pushed him down.

His cock dragged along the comforter with not nearly enough pressure. “Fuck me,” he said again,
suddenly too desperate to play. “I need you inside me.”

Gabriel groaned. “Let me get my pants off.”
Raphael turned his head, watching as his mate unzipped his jeans. He took his time, slowly

peeling the fabric down. Gabriel’s cock sprang out, hard and wet at the tip. He cupped his balls, then
jacked himself. Raphael shuddered. He had to taste. He scooted to the edge of the bed and coaxed
Gabriel closer. When his dick was bobbing right at Raphael’s mouth, he sucked him in, savoring the
musky sweetness of his Alpha.

“Christ, Raphael. What are you doing to me?” Gabriel sank both hands into Raphael’s hair.

“You look—” he broke off, shivering as Raphael tongued under the head.

He sucked, hard, then pulled off. “You taste good,” he said, hands going to Gabriel’s ass. He

licked up and down the shaft, then sucked him back in. When Gabriel’s cock bumped the back of his
throat, he relaxed, letting him slide down. Then he swallowed.

Gabriel’s hips jerked, hard. “Fuck!”
Raphael pulled back, smiling around the penis in his mouth. He brought his hand up and wet his

fingers, rubbing the vein along the shaft until he felt Gabriel’s knees buckle. He eased off and slipped
a finger down between his mate’s ass cheeks. To his surprise, Gabriel didn’t protest. Instead, he
widened his stance as much as he could with his jeans around his knees.

“Raphael, if you don’t stop, I’m going to come. And then I won’t be able to fuck you,” Gabriel

muttered, hands on Raphael’s shoulders. He was leaning over now, and not exactly stopping Raphael.

He teased around Gabriel’s hole. “Yes, you will,” he whispered against the cock near his

cheek. He slipped the tip of his finger inside Gabriel’s hole.

His Alpha moaned.
Raphael breathed deep, liking the way Gabriel smelled. “This is exactly what you’re going to

do to me,” he said. He teased his mate’s sensitive nerves, sliding his finger in and out, and then he
backed off, moving up the bed.

Gabriel stared at him, lust-drunk. Raphael grinned and uncapped the lube, squirting some on his

fingers. He lay back and opened his legs, reaching down to his hole. When he put one finger inside
himself, Gabriel’s eyes widened and he seemed to come to his senses. He stripped off his jeans and
ripped open the condom packet like a man possessed. When he’d sheathed himself, he crawled up the
bed, sensual and wild. He growled, yanking on Raphael’s hand.

“Yeah, Gabriel. Fuck me. Now.” Raphael threw his head back, arching his spine.
Gabriel sunk two fingers inside, no warning, no preparation. Raphael didn’t care. Instinct took

over where reason fled. He grunted, bearing down, and then Gabriel yanked on him, lifting his hips.
He lined up his cock and pushed inside with one smooth thrust, no mercy. “Omega,” he said, voice so
low Raphael almost didn’t recognize it.

Raphael panted, hands clenched around Gabriel’s arms. “Alpha,” he said. “I’m yours.”
Gabriel shivered, then he began to move, fucking Raphael like a man who’d lost every bit of his

civilized veneer. What was left was raw passion. Raphael braced his hands against the wall behind
the bed, legs wrapped around Gabriel’s hips. He felt like he was being cracked open and remade, and
he never wanted it to stop.

When he reached down to touch himself, Gabriel batted his hand away and curled his fingers

around his cock. Raphael cried out, his orgasm rolling through him so abruptly he couldn’t breathe.
Gabriel made a low sound in his throat, and then his wings shifted out of his body, covering them both

with darkness as he climaxed, too. His cock pulsed hard and Raphael spared a moment to wonder at
the lack of pain. When Gabriel lifted him up onto his thighs with an incredible feat of strength, he
gasped and then his wings, too, shifted from his body into the air. They stayed like that for a long
time.

“Raphael.” Gabriel was still trembling when he finally spoke. “Dear God.”
“Yeah,” Raphael said, tucking his head into Gabriel’s neck. “Don’t let go.”
“Never,” Gabriel vowed, holding tight.

Chapter Six

“You’d better win,” Raphael muttered as they walked up the driveway.
Gabriel rolled tension out of his shoulders. “I will,” he replied, wings ruffling in the light

breeze. “Stop worrying.” They’d flown to Archangel Castle from Raphael’s cabin after spending the
day together. They’d gone to sleep late and woken late. He hadn’t wanted to leave, especially not for
this. He felt like they’d barely had time to settle into their mating.

“Yeah, well, watch your back. Samael is not an honorable angel,” Raphael said, hand lightly

touching Gabriel’s arm for a moment.

Gabriel stopped. The woods around the clearing in front of the castle were quiet. Above them,

the full moon shone bright and strong, lighting the dark sky and ground below. The landscape looked
like something out of a dream. “I know he hasn’t been a good leader, but saying he is not honorable is
a different thing entirely,” he said.

Raphael nodded. “I know what I’m saying.” He looked away briefly, then met Gabriel’s eyes

steadily. “He didn’t want me to come here. He didn’t want me to study the People’s histories. He
tried to have me expelled.”

“Excommunication?” Gabriel sucked in a hard breath. “That’s insane.”
“Yes. He’s not rational. My mother was not amused. I came anyway, despite his threats and

given how unfounded they were, Samael had to back down or risk losing influence over some of the
younger angels, and if that happened, well. You understand.”

Gabriel did. If Samael lost too many of the younger ones, he risked an uprising. Ironically, his

desperation to hold onto power had him facing a challenge where he could lose not just his position,
but also his life.

Raphael continued. “I’m a teacher. A historian. We’ve been raised to respect those of us with

the skill to impart knowledge.” He pressed his lips together for a moment. “That’s partly why I am so
careful to avoid him. I don’t think I’ve set eyes on our esteemed leader since I first arrived,” he said
quietly. “Samael’s eyes tell the story of his empty soul, and reflect the absence of empathy. He is
evil.”

Gabriel considered what his Omega said. “You are a healer, and know what you see, but even

if you weren’t, I’d still believe you.”

Raphael frowned. “I am no healer.”
Gabriel smiled and started walking again. “You, of all angels, know what the myths say.”
“Not every story is rooted in truth, Gabriel.” Raphael sounded nervous.
“This one is.” Gabriel was sure of it. He ignored Raphael’s small huff of annoyance and

headed up the stone steps. It was nearly ten. They had no more time to spare.

****
“Oh my God, you cut it close, brother. I was worried,” Ariel said, walking with them through

the castle. They were in the main hallway that ran the length of the building, front to back. The grand
staircase loomed over their heads as they headed toward the private grounds at the rear of the castle.
They’d shifted back to full human when they’d entered as they usually did when going inside a house,
though this particular structure was more than large enough to hold them, wings and all.

Custom and habit. How they rule our lives, Gabriel mused, walking a little faster. The dim

lighting made it hard to see, but he’d been here a thousand times growing up, though admittedly not
often since his father died. He’d always loved this place. Samael didn’t deserve such a grand home.
But it’s not just his home, it’s the home of the People, he told himself, running a finger down the
wall as they walked. The wood paneling was as smooth and lovely as ever. At least their leader
hadn’t trashed the castle as he had their honor. Of course, he needs it to look grand for all those
photo ops he’s so fond of. Samael had a thing for human magazine articles and other publicity stunts.

“Mom didn’t come, by the way,” Ariel said suddenly.
Gabriel hadn’t expected her to. Castle Archangel was where his father had died. “I know.”
His sister shot him a sharp look, then seemed to think better of yelling at him. “Raphael’s

mother is here, though.” She glanced at Gabriel’s mate. “Nice lady.”

“Oh God,” Raphael said.
Gabriel smiled. “I’ve heard she’s opinionated.”
“You could say that again,” Raphael muttered under his breath.
Ariel laughed. “She wasn’t at all surprised to find out you’d mated to Gabriel.”
“Did you tell her?” Gabriel stopped just inside the doors that led outside. Candles burned in the

sconces on either side, casting flickering shadows on his sister and Raphael’s faces.

“No. She knew. She showed up here an hour ago and walked right over to me.” Her face

showed her confusion. “It was weird.”

Raphael huffed. “My brother probably told her everything.”
“Your brother sounds like a know-it-all,” Ariel teased.
Raphael grinned. “He’s older, so yeah, you could say that. Exactly five years older than me.”
Gabriel noted that he refrained from mentioning his brother’s power.
“That would make him, what, thirty? He’s exactly five years older than me, too.”
“Yes.” Raphael looked at Gabriel, cutting off any further questions. “Are you ready?”
Gabriel narrowed his eyes, thinking. Why didn’t Raphael want to talk about his brother?

Raphael held his gaze steadily.

“Gabriel?” Ariel slid her hand into his. “Are you okay?”
He nodded, pushing aside Raphael’s strange reticence about his brother. He had to focus on the

battle ahead of him and not be worrying about small family issues. “I am.” He settled himself. He had
only a minute left before the challenge.

Raphael pulled his head down and kissed him softly. “I am here for you, whatever happens.”
Gabriel smiled. “I know.” He hugged Ariel and pushed open the door.
****
Outside, all the People who lived in the area and a few from further away had gathered around

the large stone-paved circle that dominated the clearing. They had met here for centuries, ever since
angels had come to the new world, to discuss the People’s business, celebrate when possible, and
more grimly, to battle their enemies. When the enemy is your leader, it makes for a particularly
grim occasion to be standing here, Gabriel mused, waiting just at the edge of the worn stones.

“So. You have shown up with not even a second to spare,” Samael mocked, hands on his hips.

He stood in the center of the giant circle, shoulders back and belligerence in every line of his body.
His dull brown wings looked black in the light of the moon.

“I am not one to hurry toward rash business,” Gabriel replied mildly. “We do not have to fight.

You can still concede.” He held out his arms and walked forward. “My marks show God’s desire.”
The black lines along his skin were stark reminders of his change in status. As the people caught sight
of them, he heard murmuring. Not everyone believed the rumors, he realized. That wasn’t necessarily

a bad thing.

Samael scoffed. “Tattooing over your legacy is among our most abominable crimes. I am

appalled that you, Michael’s son, have done such a thing.”

The first, faint stirring of anger tickled down Gabriel’s spine. “You know I would do no such

thing. Do not seek to create crime where it does not exist. Our People know truth when it stares them
in the face.” He knew everyone would understand what he didn’t say: that Samael had been a cruel
and demanding leader all his life. His insistence on tithes above and beyond the ordinary to support
his lavish lifestyle was only the least of his crimes. There had been rumors of rapes and abuse among
the human servants. There had been whispers about how he treated his mate and other women. If the
People hadn’t had such strict customs about obeying their leaders, he would have been deposed years
ago.

No. Samael’s father, and his father’s father would have been deposed, he thought. The

People’s oldest traditions said that God would pick their Alpha, and he would be known by his ebon
wings. Unfortunately, there hadn’t been a true Alpha in untold years. Until now.

“I stand before you, newly changed,” Gabriel said, raising his voice and turning to the gathered

angels as he spoke. “I seek only to serve, to remember our most sacred customs, and to lead us into
this modern world with truth and honor. God has given me his blessing.” He lifted his arms, exposing
his markings. The moonlight clearly lit the tattoo-like feather marks sweeping up and over his
shoulders. “I ask for yours.”

The soft murmurings that had begun when Samael spoke grew louder.
“Defend yourself!” Samael shouted, snapping his wings open.
I guess he’s going to ignore the customary greeting of the challenger and challenged,

Gabriel thought, not surprised. He swiftly shifted, opening his wings into the cool air. The slight
breeze immediately caressed his feathers and he lifted gently from the ground.

Samael glared at him, and leaped. The flash of the knife was Gabriel’s only warning. He

twisted and Samael rushed past him. “You would use a blade in a challenge?” He spat to one side,
aware of everyone watching from the corner of his eye. “You dishonor our People.”

Samael turned. “This isn’t a true challenge. I can use any weapon I desire against a usurper. My

family has led the angels for centuries.”

“And our People have been in decline for centuries,” Gabriel retorted, then he crouched and

leapt into the air. Samael launched himself after him, wings beating furiously. Gabriel knew it was a
tactic to distract him from the knife Samael hid against his arm. He spun, wishing for the thermals that
made daytime flight so much easier, and dove for the ground. When Samael slashed at him, he
spiraled, then snapped his wings open just before he would’ve hit the stones. He touched down lightly
and then stood, wings stretched out. He didn’t have to wait long. Samael came barreling through the
air, fists first.

Gabriel dodged him, then grabbed his arm, yanking as he launched back into the skies. He

dragged Samael behind him but the other angel growled, tucking his legs in. Gabriel had to let go or
unbalance his flight. Samael laughed, then his hand snapped out again, catching Gabriel’s shoulder
with the knife. Gabriel gasped as pain shot through him.

“Give in now, and I won’t kill you,” Samael taunted, hovering just above Gabriel.
Gabriel glared defiantly as blood dripped down his arm. He knew everyone could see him

bleeding—the drops hit the pale stones below like grim pebbles. “I will not concede to a creature
who believes cheating is an honorable option.”

Samael’s face twisted with rage at the double insult. “I am an archangel! Not a thing. And honor

means nothing when a mere bodyguard’s son thinks he can take up violence against his leader.”

Gabriel’s anger washed over him, thankfully blurring the pain. How dare he mention his father!

Samael was the reason his father died. Don’t let your anger blind you, he reminded himself, waiting
for Samael’s next move. He didn’t have to wait long. The older angel descended in a flurry, feet first.
Gabriel grabbed Samael’s calves and heaved, sending him tumbling toward the ground. Gabriel
punched him in the face as he careened past, breaking a cheekbone. Samael cried out in agony, but at
the last minute managed to right himself and land on his feet. He stood in the circle’s center, smearing
Gabriel’s fallen blood into the stones with his toes, like an animal. He cupped his cheek with one
hand, not letting anyone see the damage.

“Come down and fight like the demon you are,” he called, gesturing theatrically with his free

arm. His voice was thick and wet. “Look! The People are waiting!” He used a toe to swipe across the
blood drops again. “See? You bleed like any other angel. You are no Alpha.”

Gabriel flew down slowly. His arm throbbed from the shoulder wound, and he worried that

he’d lose strength in it if the fight lasted much longer. That would be very bad. The same muscles that
ran through his arms were connected to his flight muscles. Being trapped on the ground was no way to
live. “If you were a true leader, you would recognize God’s work when you saw it,” he said as he
descended. He landed in front of Samael lightly, projecting cool strength. His father had taught him to
never let an enemy see weakness.

“God’s work?” Samael snorted. “You are delusional.” His eyes flicked to the side.
Gabriel cried out as a burning pain shot through his back. He fell to one knee, struggling to see

what had happened. Behind him, Raphael yelled, and there was a scuffle, but he was in too much pain
to focus. He made himself breathe through it, knowing he had to survive this. His People needed him,
now more than ever. When he looked up at Samael, the angel’s eyes glowed red. A terrible
foreboding filled Gabriel. Red was the color of demons.

“You cannot even watch your own back,” Samael mocked, spitting blood on Gabriel’s face.
Gabriel breathed deep, letting his purpose fill him. He no longer wanted to best Samael so he

could become leader. He no longer wanted it so he could keep Raphael as his mate. He didn’t want it
to avenge his father’s untimely death. He needed to stop Samael because the People could not survive
as a species if any of them had been demon-taken. Demons were anathema. The thought that Samael
could be possessed was more horrifying than death itself. This was why God had chosen marked him
as Alpha: to cleanse the angels of a taint none of them even knew had come to their door.

To hell with remaining calm, he thought, forcing himself to his feet. Something dragged at his

right wing and he groaned, but he stood up. Samael’s face twisted and he finally dropped the hand that
had been hiding his cheek. Gabriel saw that he’d broken Samael’s skull—the entire left side of his
face was caved in. In any normal angel, death would already have come. In Samael, it was simply
further proof that he was no longer of the People.

“You invalidate this challenge. By right of dishonor, I have already won. I am Alpha, and

leader of the Archangels, and of our People,” Gabriel said, walking forward. He ignored the
screaming pain in his back.

Samael howled his defiance and stood his ground.
Gabriel ignored the terror that he would never fly again. He ignored everything except the angel

in front of him. When he was within arms’ reach, Samael hissed and began to change. Gabriel had
been half-expecting it and was ready. He sent a quick prayer to God, then reached out abruptly and
snapped Samael’s neck, ignoring the scales that had already crawled over most of the fallen angel’s
body. They felt rough and burned his hands, but he didn’t let go until he was sure Samael was truly

gone. Something looked out at him from within the body, but then that, too, faded and the body went
dull, head flopping to the side. He let go and it fell to the ground with a wet thunk. Ozone scorched the
air.

Certainty filled Gabriel as he stepped back. That was a demon. Samael was truly possessed.

God was with him, even now, or he would not have survived this night. On the ground, Samael’s eyes
filmed over crimson instead of white, the mark of Hell. His wings had shifted from half-feathered to
entirely scaled.

“A demon,” someone in the crowd said. “May God, preserve us all.”
“God has already preserved us,” someone else said. “We have an Alpha who has saved the

People from disaster.”

Gabriel drew in a shuddering breath and stepped back further, not wanting to deal with the

angels looking toward him. Not yet. He couldn’t think properly anymore. The pain in his back
overwhelmed him and he staggered until someone pressed up tight against his uninjured side,
stabilizing him.

“Here, sit down,” Raphael said, his cool presence a balm to Gabriel’s senses. He let his mate

ease him to the ground.

“I’m never going to fly again, am I?” Despair shot through him.
“Not if I have anything to say about it,” Raphael muttered, laying his hands on Gabriel’s face.

“Look at me.”

Gabriel obeyed. At least they were alive. They had each other. That would be enough.
“Okay, none of that,” Raphael admonished him, somehow sensing his dark thoughts. “Listen to

me. Remember what it felt like to fly above the ridgeline? Warm thermal lifting you so high you
thought you could touch Heaven?”

Gabriel nodded. Of course he did. How could he forget that feeling? The only thing better than

flying like that was flying with his Omega by his side. “With you,” he forced out, voice cracking.

Raphael nodded, blue eyes intense. “Focus on how that feels.”
Gabriel had no idea what his lover was doing, but he didn’t care. His hands were cool. They

felt good. Astonishingly, his shoulder felt marginally better.

“Don’t look away, Gabriel,” Raphael said, his wings nearly luminescent in the moonlight. He

leaned closer, leaning his forehead against Gabriel’s. “I love you,” he whispered, intent and
purposeful.

Gabriel shivered, the last of the burning pain disappearing with a clap of sound he felt in his

bones rather than heard. It shivered through him like thunder and rain and wind all mixed up together,
but it happened so fast, he couldn’t understand it. He gasped and Raphael breathed with him, in and
out, in and out, until the sensation passed.

“What happened?” he croaked, struggling to sit up on his own.
Raphael helped him. “I healed you.” The tone of his voice conveyed his bemusement. “Which is

impossible, by the way.”

Gabriel stared at his mate. He felt good. He felt great, actually. He flicked his wings

experimentally, sighing when they moved normally and without pain. “Thank God. And thank you,” he
sighed, pulling Raphael into a rough hug. His mate hugged him back, just as tightly. “What happened
earlier, during the fight? I heard you yell.”

Raphael sighed heavily and stood up, dragging Gabriel with him. “Samael’s mate, Hania,

stabbed you in the back. She was on the sidelines, closer than anyone else except me. I grabbed her,
but too late. I’m so sorry she got close. I should’ve been watching.”

Gabriel grabbed him by the shoulders. “Stop it. You couldn’t have known she would do that.

And you healed me, my God, Raphael. That is a miracle,” he said, still incredulous over it.

“It is indeed a miracle,” a woman said, walking toward them. She had the same black hair and

blue eyes as Raphael. Gabriel’s mother walked just behind her, smiling with relief.

“Mom? I thought you weren’t coming?” Gabriel said, enfolding her in a hug.
She sniffed into his shoulder. “I couldn’t stay away.”
He nodded against her hair. Raphael was hugging his mother, too. When he eased back, Gabriel

made himself let go. “Mother, this is Raphael, my mate.”

“I am so happy to meet you, Omega,” his mother said.
Raphael smiled at her and took her outstretched hand. “The pleasure is mine.” He turned. “This

is my mother, Charmeine. Mother, this is my mate’s mother, Anahita.”

The two women smiled at each other. Gabriel was happy everyone was getting along, but he

had more pressing concerns than family greetings. “Where is Samael’s mate?” he asked.

“Ariel has her. Over by the steps.” Raphael pointed. “Your sister was fierce. After I got her off

you, she took her right out of my hands.” His eyes glittered with a combination of amusement and
satisfaction. “I like your sister.”

Gabriel smiled briefly. “Why am I not surprised,” he said to Raphael. He glanced at the crowd

of angels surrounding them. When they saw him looking, most bowed respectfully. He took a deep
breath. He was their Alpha, proven by right of challenge as well as through God’s marks. He would
get used to the responsibility. He had to. He found his sister. She stood over Hania, her face a
thundercloud.

“Time for my first judgment,” Gabriel said softly.
Raphael gave him a sympathetic look. “You are not alone.”
Gabriel nodded and walked over. When he reached the steps, he looked down at Hania. “You

interfered in a legal challenge combat.”

She shuddered, not meeting his eyes. “I had to! He told me he would cut me open if I didn’t.

That’s how the demons get inside.” She slid up her sleeves and Gabriel winced. A fine crisscross of
scars marred her wing marks.

Raphael crouched down and put a hand on her forehead. For a moment, he held his breath, then

he let it out and stood up. “She speaks the truth.”

Gabriel didn’t ask how Raphael knew this. The powers of an Omega were to be trusted

implicitly. Besides, he had a feeling his mate was going completely by instinct at this point.

“Do you wish to remain with the People?” Gabriel asked her. He could feel magic stirring in

his bones. Unfamiliar magic. He swallowed, letting it move through him. He sensed a greater power
directing the energy through him. This was the power an Alpha held over the angels who followed
him.

She shook her head. “I just want to go somewhere far away.” She began to cry, head bowed,

long hair sliding down over her shoulders.

Gabriel sighed. “Raphael?”
His Omega knew immediately what he wanted. “Let her go.”
Gabriel looked to his sister. She’d calmed down, thankfully, and now her face held only

sympathy. For some reason, her wings gave the impression of magic, too. She had a hint of midnight
blue shading along the dark brown of her feathers. “Let her go,” she said, adding weight to Raphael’s
advice.

Gabriel nodded slowly, then knelt down and put his hands on Hania’s head. If she had been

abused for years, she needed healing, not punishment, regardless of the crime she’d committed against
him. He steadied himself, feeling the People’s eyes on him as he made his pronouncement. “Hania, as
Alpha, I release you from the People. Go in peace. May God be with you.” A surge of electricity shot
through him and down his arms. Hania gasped. Before his eyes, she changed. Her scars disappeared,
but so did her marks.

“What have you done?” she asked, trembling. She stared at her arms.
Gabriel reared back, shocked.
“God has spoken,” Raphael whispered.
“You’ve taken my wings,” Hania said, her voice breaking. “I’m human.”
Gabriel swallowed. He hadn’t meant to do it. He couldn’t imagine a more horrible punishment.

He hadn’t meant to punish her at all, but then she looked up at him for the first time, eyes shining with
tears. “Thank you. Alpha, thank you.” She hurled herself at him. He barely had time to catch her
before she let go. “I’ve cursed my wings since the day I was mated to Samael, may he rot in Hell
forever. You’ve given me my deepest wish, and after I hurt you…” She trailed off, crying again.
“How can I ever repay you?”

Gabriel stepped back, troubled. “Just go. Live in peace.” He didn’t know what else to say.
She nodded, gathering herself. “I will. And I will tell everyone about your honorable actions.

God chose wisely.” She turned and ran into the castle.

“You did well,” Gabriel’s mother said, coming up behind him.
He shrugged, still uneasy. “I had no idea she wanted to become human.”
“She was far too damaged to continue as an angel. You had faith God would help you find the

right way. Raphael had faith and healed you. Our People have a new leader. For all the tragedy of this
night, it has concluded well.” She leaned into him, a warm, solid presence.

Gabriel turned to face the circle, careful not to dislodge his mother. She needed him right now.

It couldn’t have been easy to see he son fighting on the very ground where her husband had died. And
hell, he needed her, too. The People who’d come to see the challenge had gathered closer, waiting for
him to speak. He looked at Raphael for help, at a loss.

His Omega looked back at him steadily, then stepped forward. “You have all seen what

happened here tonight,” he said, raising his voice so everyone could hear. “Go home. Tell your
children. Your grandparents. Call the People who live far away and tell them that they have a new
leader, an Alpha, chosen by God.” He paused. “And tell them demons are among us. Be wary. Be
safe.”

Chapter Seven

“Well, that was exciting,” Raphael said, thinking the exact opposite. “A challenge, a fight.

Demons. Hey, I have a great idea. Let’s not ever do that again. Okay?” Gabriel flashed him a smile
that told him he agreed with Raphael’s sentiment.

Ariel laughed. “Sounds good to me.”
“You’ll need to interview all the angels who worked for Samael,” Raphael’s mother said,

sitting down at the table. They were in the castle’s cavernous kitchen. It was late enough that the
humans hired to cook for the angels had gone home for the day. Gabriel ate ravenously, his body
clearly trying to make up for the energy expended during the combat and the blood loss afterward.
Raphael took a big bite of his sandwich, still a little freaked out over being able to heal his Alpha.

“Tomorrow is soon enough for all that,” Gabriel said, picking up a cup. He took a sip of water.

“I’ll interview everyone who works in Archangel Castle tomorrow. Tonight I’m going to finish
eating, shower, and go to bed. I’ll probably sleep for an entire day.”

Raphael raised an eyebrow. Gabriel caught his look and he sat back, smirking a little. He’d be

with Gabriel during all of that. Enjoying it to the fullest. Sleep sounded like another great idea, he
decided.

“At least we have a true leader again,” Gabriel’s mother said, smiling at her son.
Raphael’s mother smiled too. “True.”
Raphael swallowed his bite of sandwich, still amazed that his mother had come. “Did Suriel

help you get here in time?”

She rolled her eyes at him. “Of course.”
“Suriel is starting to sound very intriguing,” Ariel said, flopping down into the seat next to him.
Raphael wondered what she meant by that. “I love him, but he’s a pain in the ass.”
“You should be nice to your brother,” his mother said. “He’s the reason you’re here. You

should be thanking him.”

“Thank Suriel? He’ll think I’ve lost my mind,” Raphael teased. His mother gave him a look and

he grinned. She was right. His brother was the one who’d told him he had to go study at Castle
Archangel. “Don’t worry, Mom. I’ll thank him next time I see him.”

“Which will be soon,” Gabriel said. “If he’s talented as you say, I think we need him to come.”
Raphael’s smile dropped away as he considered the implications of Samael’s possession.

According to the People’s history, where there was one demon, there were usually more. “I think
you’re right.”

“I knew Samael was evil, but I had no idea he’d been possessed,” Ariel said quietly. She

pushed her drink away from her with one finger, then idly played with the condensation forming on
the side of the glass. “I had no idea an angel could be possessed.”

“I suspected,” Gabriel’s mother said quietly. “When my husband died, I felt something on his

body. Something terribly evil.”

Gabriel stared at his mother. Raphael put a hand on his arm. He could feel his mate’s

consternation through his skin. “Why didn’t you ever say anything?”

She shrugged. “You were young. The evil dissipated after the burial ceremony. His soul was

free and nothing we could do would bring him back.”

“Still, if you knew there was something wrong…” Gabriel trailed off as Anahita shook her

head.

“You needed time. I needed time, Gabriel. We were all grieving. I didn’t have the mental

energy to consider the return of such evil.” She glanced at Ariel. “And I didn’t want your sister
worrying about it. She was very young, only twenty.” She took a deep breath. “Everything will be
changing now. It’s time to focus on bringing the People’s honor back to the fore.”

“Oh Mom,” Ariel said. “I was young, yes, but I would’ve managed.”
“I didn’t want you to have to ‘manage,’ Ariel. I wanted you to thrive,” Anahita said.
Ariel opened her mouth to say something, but then obviously thought the better of it, taking a sip

of her drink instead.

Raphael frowned slightly. Anahita seemed different, somehow. Stronger. As he looked at her,

he thought he saw some subtle shading along her legacy marks, similar to his brother Suriel’s, but then
she shifted and he decided it must be a trick of the light. There couldn’t be two sorcerers born to the
People in one generation, could there? He dismissed his speculation. He had enough to worry about
without letting his mind gallop over a crazy theory like that.

“Everything will be changing, but not until tomorrow. Which is why I need to get some sleep,”

Gabriel said, standing up. He put his empty plate in the sink.

Raphael stood too, cleaning up the debris from his snack. “I’m with him,” he said, jerking a

thumb at his mate.

Ariel chuckled. “You guys are such… guys.”
Raphael grinned. “What? You want us to act all lovey-dovey?” He made a kissing face at

Gabriel, who just stared back, all patient, strong Alpha. Raphael could tell he was laughing inside,
though. His eyes gave it away.

“Um, yuck. I think not,” Ariel said, standing up too. “I’m heading home. I know you picked out a

room for me here, but I’d rather wait to sleep here until I get my stuff and my own bed carted over.
It’ll feel less weird that way.”

Gabriel nodded. “What about you?” he asked his mother.
She stood. “I’ll go with your sister. I want to sleep in my own bed. See you in the morning,

dear.” She hugged him and the two women left after exchanging good-nights with Raphael’s mother.

“Will you be okay in your room?” he asked her.
She smiled at him. “I lived here before, you know. When I was a girl. My room was still empty

and not even dusty. I’ll be fine.”

Gabriel shot him a surprised look. “Oh. Raphael didn’t tell me that.”
“You’ve had a busy day,” she said, smiling at them both.
She has a point, Raphael thought. What with the demon and the mating flight and the fight.

Not to mention the discovery that I can heal Gabriel. “That’s true,” he said mildly, cutting her some
slack. “Well, I’m glad you’ll be comfortable, Mom.” He hoped she’d get the hint and go to bed. He
wanted to be alone with his mate.

“What he said,” Gabriel added, smiling.
“Thank you,” she replied, eyes twinkling. “Goodnight, boys. Sleep tight.” She didn’t budge

from her spot at the table.

Raphael unsuccessfully fought down a blush as he interpreted the look she gave him as

meaning: have fun with your handsome Alpha. There were definitely drawbacks to having such a
close-knit family. “Mom, you’re killing me here.” He reminded himself for the thousandth time that no
one ever died of embarrassment.

She laughed, clearly enjoying herself.

“Goodnight, Charmeine,” Gabriel said admirably evenly. Raphael was impressed. Gabriel had

just met her, she was technically his mother-in-law, and he still managed to maintain his composure.

His mother finally took pity on them. “See you tomorrow, dear.” She hugged him briefly and

headed out of the room smiling.

Raphael rubbed his face. “Sorry about my mother.”
Gabriel chuckled. “It’s fine. I like her.”
“She lives to torment her children,” Raphael said glumly.
“Isn’t that the prerogative of a parent?” Gabriel asked, tugging Raphael to his feet.
“Hmpf. She seems to enjoy it more than most.” Raphael let his Alpha tug him out of the kitchen.

“And she’s really good at it.”

“We’ll have to keep her and my mom as far apart as possible.” Gabriel mock-shuddered. “Can

you imagine what they could do together?”

Raphael shivered, and not in a good way. He had to change the subject before his masculinity

slunk away for good. “So,” he said as they walked up the long, broad staircase. “What room did you
pick out for us?”

Gabriel shook his head. “You’ll never believe me if I try and explain. Just wait until we get

there.”

Raphael pursed his lips, pausing on the stairs. “What do you mean?”
Gabriel tugged on his arm to start him moving again. “You’ll see.”
When they reached the second story, Gabriel led him down the hall. At the end, a large wooden

door he didn’t remember seeing before stood slightly ajar. The surface was crisscrossed in black and
white inlay, ebony and pearl. Admittedly, he hadn’t spent much time inside the castle, but he
would’ve remembered seeing such a distinctive door.

“Whoa,” Raphael said, stopping short. “Where did that come from?”
Gabriel snorted. “As soon as I walked up here earlier it appeared out of thin air.” He glanced

at Raphael. “You were making sandwiches.”

Raphael nodded slowly, still staring at the door. “Yeah. You said you were going to pick a

room for us. Wow.”

“It was locked. When I put my hand on it, it opened.” Gabriel pushed the door open further.

Inside was a large chamber with long windows set in the east wall. The giant bed in the center
dominated the space. All the window hangings and bedclothes were ancient, but perfectly preserved.

“What the fuck?” Raphael breathed, following his Alpha inside. “Is this for real?”
Gabriel sat on the bed, looking suddenly exhausted. “I always wondered why there seemed to

be more castle when you looked at it from the outside than from within. Seems there’s a special
chamber for the Alpha and Omega of the People.”

“This is crazy,” Raphael said, sitting down next to him. “And I’m exhausted. Maybe we’re both

dreaming.”

Gabriel snorted. “I don’t think so. Does this feel like you’re dreaming?” he asked, leaning over

and kissing Raphael thoroughly.

Raphael’s cock went from too-tired-to-fool-around to hell-yeah in two seconds. He groaned,

kissing back, then clambered on top of Gabriel, pinning him down so that his Alpha would know just
how much he needed him.

“I think we can worry about the strange appearing bedchamber tomorrow,” he said, kissing

Gabriel’s smile right off his face.

Gabriel growled, sliding his fingers into Raphael’s hair. “Yeah. Sounds like a plan,” he

murmured, kissing down Raphael’s jaw to his ear. “And I have some other plans I’m planning to
show you.”

Raphael groaned, this time from the lame bed talk. “Fuck the plan. Fuck all the plans. Time to

stop talking.”

Gabriel laughed, rolling them over until he was on top. “How about if I fuck you?”
Raphael closed his eyes, very much appreciating that particular plan. “Yes.”
Gabriel leaned down and bit at his neck, them moved down Raphael’s chest. He nibbled on a

nipple, then moved to the other when Raphael squirmed. “You like that?” he asked.

Raphael panted. “Yes.”
Gabriel smiled against his skin, his stubble scraping just enough to make Raphael gasp again.

“Good.”

Raphael chuckled breathlessly. “Great. We’re monosyllabic.”
“Shh,” Gabriel commanded, moving even further down. When he undid Raphael’s pants and

pulled out his cock, Raphael froze, surprised. He knew Gabriel had never blown another guy before.

“Careful with the sensitive equipment,” he said, watching Gabriel lick around the crown.
Gabriel bit down gently, just to torment him. “Be still.”
Raphael obeyed. He had to, or Gabriel’s teeth would nick him. “Oh God,” he muttered.
“No, not God. Your Alpha,” Gabriel said, then he sucked him into his mouth.
Raphael arched his spine, hips moving instinctively. Gabriel slung an arm across his hips,

holding him down. He licked and sucked and generally tormented Raphael until he was right at the
edge, and then he backed off. “No, don’t stop,” Raphael managed, but Gabriel ignored his pleas.

“Yeah, you definitely like that,” he said, grinning into Raphael’s skin.
Raphael grabbed him and hauled him up to kiss him. “You have entirely too many clothes on,”

he said, fumbling with Gabriel’s jeans. He couldn’t seem to get his fingers to cooperate. “Off. Take
them off,” he begged.

Gabriel stood up and slowly stripped. Raphael watched him, eyes roaming over his chest and

hips, then belatedly kicked off his own pants. “Come here,” he said, holding out a hand.

“So bossy. I like it.” Gabriel smiled and lay down beside him, running a hand down Raphael’s

body. “What do you want?”

Raphael looked at his mate. “This,” he said rolling into him. He was too tired for anything

complicated and Gabriel had gotten him so worked up he couldn’t think. He shifted against his mate
until he got their cocks tucked up against each other, groaning when he felt the solid heat of Gabriel’s
body soak into his bones. He began to move, hips gently rocking.

“Oh, Jesus. Yeah, this works,” Gabriel breathed. He slid his hands around Raphael’s ass and

hung on.

Raphael smiled and kissed him, moving faster. This wasn’t going to take long. When Gabriel

caught his lower lip between his teeth and bit down, he moaned, cock jerking as he climaxed. Gabriel
stiffened under him and then the hot flood of his own orgasm spread between them. Raphael went
boneless, tucking his face into Gabriel’s neck. He had no intention of moving. Ever.

After a moment, Gabriel prodded at him. Raphael protested, clinging. “Tired. Go to sleep.”
Gabriel said something and he felt his lover wiping at him with a soft… something, and then

sleep took him.

When Raphael woke up, the sun was shining in the room and Gabriel was smiling down at him.
“Good morning,” Raphael said, yawning sleepily. He rubbed his face.

“Yes, it is,” Gabriel said.
Raphael rolled his eyes. “Well, aren’t you smug.”
Gabriel’s smile faded a little. “I only have about five more minutes to be smug before the day’s

troubles barge in on us.”

“Ah hell,” Raphael murmured, sliding his arms around his Alpha. “You know we’ll figure

everything out.”

“The demon possession worries me.” Gabriel sighed.
“My brother will help us,” Raphael said.
Gabriel stroked a hand down Raphael’s back, lingering on the place where his wings shifted

out of his body. It felt great. “Mmm, good. Don’t stop.”

Gabriel chuckled, then his hands still, to Raphael’s protests. “Are you sure Suriel will be able

to help us?”

Raphael shrugged. “He’s the first sorcerer born to our People in two thousand years. I’m the

first Omega in modern history. I have no idea anymore what’s possible and what isn’t.”

Gabriel was silent for a long moment. “My sister’s energy has changed.”
That woke him up. Raphael lifted his head. “I thought I was seeing things.”
Gabriel shook his head. “No. I saw it too.”
“Legend says that for a sorcerer to be truly stable, he needs a mate. An equal. A sorceress. My

brother retreated to a cave to be alone and meditate. The power he commands is very unstable. I was
the only one who could visit him. He said I was soothing.” Raphael hated to say all this out loud, but
Gabriel needed to consider it. “Maybe your sister is his mate.” The implications of a demon among
them were too dangerous to ignore for any longer.

Gabriel’s face told Raphael he understood what he wasn’t saying.
“She’s my sister. If you’re trying to reassure me, you’re not doing a very good job.” Gabriel

tightened his arms.

“Let’s not pretend that Ariel is weak. She’s not,” Raphael said gently when Gabriel didn’t

speak. He, too, worried about the woman he’d come to know and like, but if God chose her, who was
he to deny it?

“If we need her, and she develops this power, she will have no choice. I know that,” Gabriel

let his eyes close, though he held onto Raphael even tighter.

“Like we had no choice?” Raphael asked.
“If I was asked, I would choose you anyway. Again and again. There is no one I’d rather be

with to face what’s coming,” Gabriel said clearly. “You’re my Omega. My destined mate. And most
importantly, my friend.”

Raphael looked at his lover. “You know my heart is yours.”
Gabriel nodded.
“Then, we will face what we have to, together,” Raphael said, kissing the man he never thought

he’d ever get to hold in his arms. “Forever.”

The End

www.erinmleaf.com

Other Books by Erin M. Leaf:

www.evernightpublishing.com/erin-m-leaf

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Evernight Publishing

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