Chapter Nine
That…had been one scary situation. Cody never wanted to experience anything like that again. He had basically screamed at a living, breathing mountain. A giant who could have crushed him. He was still trembling, but Killian had backed off, glaring at Raziel but keeping his expression neutral with Cody.
Honestly, he had no clue why Raziel had thrown him to the floor then froze, staring Ethan directly in his eyes.
And he was still currently squatting there, reminding Cody of a life-like statue. It was eerie as hell, and he had an urge to poke his mate.
Stewart paced, wringing his hands. Killian looked volatile, and Quinton appeared to be on guard, like he knew something wasn’t right.
Cody wasn’t sure where everyone else had gone.
All he knew was no one was getting anywhere near Raziel. Even if he had to take on bear shifters.
He really, really prayed it didn’t come to that. I’m too young to get pulverized .
When his phone in his back pocket rang, Cody nearly jumped out of his skin. The ringing echoed in the silence of the room, making it sound more ominous than the catchy tune assigned to his dad’s name.
“Hello,”
Cody whispered when he answered.
“Why are we whispering?”
his dad asked. “Is he asleep?”
Cody frowned. “Who?”
“The guy you’re hiding from me and your mom.”
His dad kept talking low. “Your mom just asked me to call and invite you two to dinner.”
His dad really was a dog with a bone. Cody looked at Raziel, who was still in the same posture, and imagined him at the dinner table, drinking out of the juice container and stealing food from the center basket. He wasn’t sure his mate would ever fit in, considering the gruff way he talked sometimes and his intimidating height.
“If we survive this battle, sure.”
He ran his fingers through his mate’s soft hair, needing to feel connected in some way, but also hoping it wasn’t a distraction from whatever mind-meld thing Raziel was doing with his son.
“I’ll never understand video games,”
his dad huffed. “I just don’t see the fun in playing for endless hours when you could be doing more constructive things with your life.”
That was such a dad response.
“So, who are you two battling, what are the stakes, and what’s his name?”
“We’re battling evil angels who want divine secrets for some power grab, and a child is at stake.”
His dad grunted. “Aren’t they always evil? Those people who make the games need to find different hostages and leave kids out of it.”
“I totally agree about the kids.”
He glanced at Ethan, who simply stood there looking into his dad’s eyes. Now that he had the chance, Cody studied the two.
They held a shocking resemblance. Both had the same green eyes, same chin, same eyebrows. Raziel’s genes were strong. The two of them were also beautiful, in an angelic sort of way.
“Well, luckily the invite is for tomorrow, kiddo. Should I tell your mom you guys are coming?”
If we’re not dead. “Count us in.”
“Shall we set a very large place for him or average?”
Cody rolled his eyes. “Do you want to know his eye color for the retina scanner you don’t own?”
Which would be impossible if Raziel’s eyes went all swirly on them.
“Nope,”
his dad answered, sounding pleased he’d “guessed”
the reason why Cody had been acting strange. “Just his shoe size for the place mat by the front door.”
He glanced at Raziel’s feet, secretly smiling. “You might want to set another mat down.”
Killian chuckled. How had Cody forgotten shifters had exceptional hearing? He glared at the bear when the guy looked his way. Killian held his hands up as if to say he would mind his own business.
Why did Cody seriously doubt that?
His dad laughed. “All men brag.”
It definitely wasn’t a brag. “Okay. So, what time?”
“Six good for you guys?”
Perfect if Cody wasn’t deceased or rotting in an angelic jail cell. “Yep.”
“And son?”
“Hmm?”
He played with a few strands, wrapping them around his finger.
“You didn’t tell me his name. Your mom will kill me if I don’t give her one. And don’t even ask me to make one up. You know she can see right through that. Besides, your mom told me you think he’s an angel. We’ll see how nice he is.”
Cody chuckled. Even though he was twenty-nine, it was nice to know his dad had his back. Both parents did. “It’s Raziel.”
No sooner had he said his mate’s name than Raziel yanked his head back, coming out of the trance he’d been in.
Unfortunately, his hair was still curled around Cody’s finger, and he couldn’t get it uncurled fast enough. Raziel exploded to his feet with a deep, savage snarl. He reached behind him and gripped Cody’s arm in a bruising hold that made him cry out and drop his phone.
Quinton and Killian burst across the room, bearing down on Raziel. Cody froze, his stomach clenching. They weren’t charging at him, but it sure felt like they were. They were two massive predators who could crush him without breaking stride. Fear rooted him to the spot, his heart slamming against his ribs, as he stared at the unrelenting wall of fury hurtling his way.
“He’s your mate!”
Quinton thundered, wrapping his beefy arm around Raziel’s neck.
“No!”
Out of nowhere, Cody heard a shout and realized Zymore had returned.
At the moment, Cody was too busy trying not to let an angel kill him. The ferocious sounds Raziel made said his chances of survival were slim.
“Everyone just back away from him,”
Zymore instructed. “Give him room so he doesn’t think he’s under attack.”
“Not if he’s about to hurt his mate.”
Quinton bared his canines, his arm still poised, ready to take Raziel down.
“Bashar used to keep him in chains. Right now, he thinks Cody’s finger tugging on his hair is one of the chains.”
Zymore had his hands held up, palms out, standing in a half-crouched position.
Stewart raced to grab Ethan when the toddler ran, but the kid was fast and clung to Raziel’s leg, refusing to let go. “No hurt!”
“Stop!”
Killian’s shouted command caused his mate to freeze. “Don’t move any closer,”
he said deliberately.
Stewart glared at Ethan. “Get your little butt over here right now, mister.”
He pointed to the spot in front of him.
Cody remained completely still, listening to his father shouting from the phone he dropped. He hoped that by staying as immobile as Stewart, his mate would be able to snap out of whatever nightmare was gripping him. Raziel’s animalistic sounds echoed through the room, but Cody couldn’t see his face from where he was trapped behind him.
Turning his head, Cody shot Zymore a glare, partially blaming him for this situation. Chains? They hadn’t been used because the angel was a danger.
It had been a strategic move meant to inflict psychological torture.
And unfortunately, it had worked all too well.
Fury boiled inside him, mixed with a desperate need to wrap his mate in his arms. “Or maybe it’s your presence that’s causing this. Your foul, treacherous stench is keeping him trapped in this nightmare. Get the fuck out!”
Zymore’s gaze flicked between Cody and Raziel, then he slowly backed out of the room just as Ryker returned. But that still left Raziel in a panicked, wild state.
“It’s me,”
he said in a soothing tone, reaching up as carefully as he could to unwind the hair without triggering his mate again. “You’re acting like Duchess now. Only one traumatized creature is allowed to live in our home at a time. You don’t expect me to coddle both of you, do you?”
That wasn’t working, so Cody thought of something else that might while remembering not to move. Raziel hadn’t completely calmed-—he was breathing heavy, and he still had a tight grip on Cody’s arm—but the attack had stopped. “You have a cute little boy. Didn’t you tell me he was three? I think you’re just jealous because he can say my name clearly.”
The pressure on his arm began to ease.
“Right now, he’s hugging your leg, trying to defend you against everyone who wants to help.”
When he unwound the hair from his finger and eased his hand down, he paused midway, praying he wasn’t making a mistake.
“If you calm down, Ethan can let go.”
He slid his hand over his mate’s arm. His heart was breaking at the small whimpers escaping Raziel. “It’s me, Cody. Ethan is attached to your leg. The bear family is here for you too, Raziel. You’re not alone in this. Not anymore. My mom and dad even invited us over for dinner tomorrow. My mom’s a pretty good cook, and my dad is a good guy, if you can look past his awful jokes.”
Pain lacerated Raziel’s face.
“It was just my finger tangled in your hair.”
Cody slid his hand down the length of Raziel’s arm, the pads of his fingers traveling over hard muscles and thick veins. He leaned in closer, his voice barely a whisper so no one else could hear. “You just claimed me upstairs, and I want more. But I can’t have more of you if you don’t come back to me.”
He watched as the tension in Raziel’s shoulders slowly relaxed, but he wasn’t there yet. Cody was about to say more when Ethan spoke up.
“Son!”
Raziel’s shoulders slumped, and a sob caught in this throat. He turned and yanked Cody into his arm, using the other to hold Ethan to him.
“It’s okay.”
Cody soothed his hair, careful not to get it tangled on his fingers. “Just need you back with me.”
He saw Killian’s jaw clench. Cody gave him a look that said he dared the bear to come any closer. He didn’t care if the guy was upset that Ethan knew the truth. It was about damn time, and right now, Raziel was more important than Killian’s anger.
“You with me?”
He pulled back to gaze into Raziel’s eyes.
“Yes.”
He buried his face in Cody’s neck, inhaling deeply, his arm around Cody’s waist.
“Son?”
“Yes, Ethan, Raziel is your father,”
Stewart said then glared at Killian. “He’s going to eventually find out, and I don’t want to lie to him.”
Killian grunted but didn’t look happy. Cody understood the man’s need to protect Ethan, to protect Stewart from the devastation of having Ethan taken away from him.
But Raziel had given his word, and Cody believed his mate would honor it.
Raziel pulled away then lowered to one knee. “You are my son, Ethan.”
Cody had never seen so much pride and gut-wrenching pain flow through someone at the same time. It radiated off Raziel, as if the weight of that single admission was both his redemption and his undoing.
Ethan stared at him with wide, curious eyes, his tiny hands clutching the air as if trying to grasp the enormity of those words. Raziel seemed to crack, revealing a fragile core that had been hidden beneath so much pain.
It was a moment Cody would never forget. Not because of the words spoken but because of what they meant. Raziel wasn’t just a powerful being or a broken angel. He was a father. A protector. A man who had fought through hell, literally and figuratively, to stand here and claim what was his, even if he hadn’t known Ethan existed. He was here.
And Ethan, in his innocence, reached forward, his voice a whisper filled with awe. “You fudder?”
Raziel choked on a sob that came out as a laugh then nodded, his head bowed in both reverence and regret. “Yes, Ethan.”
Cody’s chest constricted as if trying to contain something too large. He didn’t know whether to cry, smile, or wrap them both in his arms. The depth of love and heartbreak in Raziel’s voice was enough to unravel him, and he could only imagine what Ethan was feeling.
But as Ethan stepped closer, small hands touching Raziel’s bearded face, Cody knew. This wasn’t just a moment for Raziel. It was a moment for Ethan too. A child finding the missing piece of his world.
Ethan kissed Raziel’s nose. “I stay whiff Uncuh Stewalulu. Lub Uncuh Kill.”
To his right, Cody heard a sob wrenched from Stewart’s throat and a hard, throat-clearing from Killian.
Raziel wasn’t there to tear them apart. He was there to heal. He kissed Ethan’s nose with a watery smile. “Yes… son. It’s better that you stay with them. But I’m a part of your life now.”
He touched the bear clutched in Ethan’s small arm. “All you have to do is whisper my name to the bear and I’ll be here, okay?”
“Fudder?”
A bark of laughter escaped Raziel. “Yes, fudder.”
“I stay whiff Uncuh Kill. You pay whiff me.”
Was Ethan asking Raziel to be his playmate? It was the cutest thing Cody had ever witnessed. Then Ethan looked up, and Cody smiled at him.
“Hi, kiddo.”
“Coby.”
He grinned. “You pay whiff me?”
He hunkered down to Ethan’s level. “I work with animals. Do you like animals?”
“I da bear,”
Ethan snarled.
Cutest kid ever. “If I have to work and you want to play, ask one of your uncles to bring you, okay?”
Crap, Cody was getting emotional as well. The toddler was wrapping him around his finger.
Raziel rose to his feet. “We have a problem.”
When Cody stood, he saw tears in Stewart’s eyes, but Killian, Quinton, and Ryker weren’t without their own.
“What problem?”
Quinton asked, his brows furrowed.
“There’s a Sollis dwelling inside Ethan’s head. It’s the reason I told him to pull me in there. Ethan said Cody’s name too perfectly. It was taunting me.”
“What’s a Sollis, and how did it get in his head?”
Stewart asked in alarm.
“ No one really knows how it enters the mind, but it’s an unnatural, parasitic entity that is not inherently part of an angel or Nephilim but can grow within them under certain conditions, slowly eating away at their mind.”
“But he’s just a toddler!”
Killian argued, rage and fear clear in his voice. “He’s not evil!”
“No, he’s not.”
Raziel shook his head, glanced at Ryker, then down at Ethan. “This usually happens in adults, angels who’ve fallen from grace. I have no idea how one grew inside a child’s mind, which makes me believe it was put there intentionally, and only now do I understand its purpose.”
“How?”
Stewart squatted, curling his arm around his nephew then started to rub his back. “How did it get there? Who put it there?”
Lowering to his knees again, Raziel turned Ethan to face him, causing Stewart’s arm to fall away. “Son, do you mind if I look inside your very handsome head?”
“I thought vanity was a sin,”
Killian interjected.
Raziel stared daggers at him.
The bear shifter held up his hands, palms out. “I’m not trying to pick a fight. I genuinely want to know.”
In that moment, Cody saw a little kid peeking out of Killian, like he’d had a silly side to him before he’d taken on the responsibility of being an uncle.
“He is handsome,”
Raziel huffed then gave his son his attention. “Can I take a look to see if we can find out?”
“Why haven’t you done it already?”
Ryker asked. “I was told you’ve been creeping around their house.”
Raziel clenched his jaw, as if to stop himself from saying something.
“Can the bullshit.”
Cody scowled, tired of them taking shots at his mate. “I think we have more important things to worry about.”
“Can boo-sip.”
Ethan growled at Ryker.
Oh crap. Cody glanced wide-eyed at Stewart. “I’m so sorry. I have a huge potty mouth.”
Jesus fucking Christ. Cody was corrupting a child. His mother would be so proud. His eyes grew wider. He really did need to clean up his mouth.
“Welcome to the club.”
Stewart smiled. “Just don’t teach him anything else, okay? I’m still trying to get him to stop saying the choice words Killian taught him.”
Killian simply grinned, as if proud of the fact. Until Stewart gently elbowed him with a hard glare, causing his mate’s smile to vanish.
“Okay, quiet everyone. I need to concentrate,”
Raziel said to them, staring Ethan in his eyes. “It’s not polite to hover, Nate. You can come in.”
Nate slipped into the room and right into Ryker’s arms. “I don’t get out much, so anything going on, I’m curious.”
“That wasn’t the quiet I was asking for.”
Nate curled in his lips as Ryker looked at Raziel as if he wanted to slug him. There was a high level of testosterone in the room. It was giving Cody a solid headache.
Raziel cupped Ethan’s face and closed his eyes. Then he opened them. “I forgot an important step.”
“What?”
Cody asked.
Raziel winked at Ethan, who tried his best to wink back but only managed to smash his eyes closed.
“We’ll work on it, buddy.”
It was the cutest darn thing.
He watched as Raziel closed his eyes and grew still. Then his fingers began to glow, just like his chest had glowed when he’d claimed Cody. The light didn’t hurt Ethan. In fact, the toddler touched Raziel’s fingers, clearly fascinated by it.
Slowly, Raziel lifted his hand and touched his glowing fingers to Ethan’s head, his eyes flickering rapidly under closed lids. As he probed the toddler’s mind, Ethan touched his father’s handsome face and then playfully ran his tiny fingers through his long hair. With a giggle, he tugged at the short beard framing his face.
A soft smile curved Raziel’s lips. “Hold still, amoretto .”
The angel had been wrong. Watching Raziel now, Cody saw the truth. It wasn’t that Raziel didn’t know how to love—it was that he didn’t realize he already did. The tenderness in his touch, the soft smile gracing his lips as Ethan giggled and played with his hair, spoke louder than any words ever could. Raziel had love in abundance, more than enough to give Ethan everything he deserved—and so much more.
The smile faltered as Raziel opened his eyes. He stared at Ethan, and then his gaze flicked to Cody before it settled on Stewart. “Carol put it there.”