EPILOGUE
Perfect ending or a new beginning?
Nevaeh
W ith a content sigh, I shuffle back to sit between Angel’s legs and press my back against his chest. Resting my head on his broad, naked shoulder, I breathe in the freshwater scent of the waterfall.
It’s been long weeks of constant work and meetings, so this morning, Angel woke me up with his sweet kisses and surprised me by organizing a relaxing day with just the two of us. Sunbathing on the roof of the Horsemen castle is the perfect way to rekindle the romance a ton of paperwork had started to ruin.
After the madness that unfolded in the supernatural world, the King of Hell finally had enough and decided it was time to tighten the reins on his creations.
Not long after the Tetrad kingdom defeated its enemy, Uncle Lucifer formed an elite force to keep an eye out for inter-species conflicts and help de-escalate them. He wanted what happened between the Horsemen and the Crescent Coven to be a once-in-a-lifetime kind of event.
Two days after we finished rebuilding the kingdom, Elias Azrael, the Angel of Death came for a visit.
As the elected head of The Diablo Towers, the supernatural peacekeeping force, he wanted us to know that the Horsemen almost making the witches extinct was not ideal. He didn't exactly come to reprimand us, and let’s be honest even if he did, it’s not like they can say much when it comes to the Horsemen.
We are not obliged to follow their rules, but Angel was still more than happy to participate in any plans the Diablo Towers had to make our world safer and harmonious.
Anxo assured the Archangel that The Tetrad kingdom wasn't planning to wage any more wars and that world domination was not in our five-year plan. When he left, it was clear by his relief that Elias didn’t want to prepare for doomsday a week into his new job.
I think it’s safe to say my first year as a free citizen has been chaotic, to put it lightly. After rebuilding the kingdom and dealing with the repercussions of the war, it’s good to feel this blissful calm with no lingering threats.
The urge to be closer to my mate makes me turn and straddle Angel’s hips. I have to brace myself before I slide down to trace the V just above his swimming trunk with my tongue. They’re still wet from when Angel tried to teach me to swim in the pool on the second floor before giving up and carrying me to the rooftop.
It takes all my inner strength to drag my eyes from the hard lines on his stomach to his chest and then his eyes. I’m not surprised to find them filled with never-ending love as his arms wrap around me protectively.
Huffing, I ask, “Are you tired of me already?”
The warmth in his eyes is immediately replaced with something dark, fueled by his lust. Good. Now I have his complete attention.
“You haven’t kissed me in twelve whole minutes. I don’t like how you’re not obsessing over me.” I’m not ashamed to admit the tiny bikini I’m wearing dampens dramatically when his lips quirk up slightly.
Tsking, Angel shakes his head in mock disappointment. “How awful of me. Come here sweetheart, let me make it up to you.”
Gently cupping my face, he pecks my lips before peppering feather-light kisses to my eyelids, cheeks, and chin. Finally, his hand grabs the back of my neck to catch my lips in a passionate kiss that makes it harder to suppress my need for him.
“So pretty,” Angel murmurs against my lips.
My fingers have a mind of their own, as they trace his spine before tangling in his curls. When his tongue brushes against mine, I tug on his hair to keep him in place. The harsh pulls makes Angel groan, and his hips buck up on instinct. When his hardness hits my throbbing core, I don’t waste any time, rubbing myself against the evident bulge.
A sound escapes the back of my throat when our grinding creates a soothing friction for my ache, and Angel takes that chance to devour my mouth with his tongue. With a hand on my hip, he helps me set a rhythm that serves us both.
I pull his hair and use the little gap between to gasp out, “More Angel, I need more. I need you .”
His warm mouth finds my neck, teasing me by leaving slow wet kisses and sucking softly. I’m a second away from begging him to stop this torture when he senses my impatience.
His hands on my hip grip me firmly to hold me steady as he covers my collarbone and upper chest with kisses.
Growing frustrated with my bra, Angel tears the bikini top before tossing it away. My nerves light up with fire when his mouth finally wraps around my breast, sucking and biting my nipple.
When I stop grinding, too overwhelmed with thinking what's about to come, Angel spanks my ass hard enough that my hips start moving against him, desperately.
“One more,” I can never imagine being like this for anyone but him. With Angel, I'm at his mercy to do whatever he wants. Hearing my plea, Angel chuckles before alternating between my ass cheeks, using the smacks to motivate my hips to grind harder.
Five more bittersweet stings and I’m panting from the lack of oxygen in my lungs and the lack of his fingers inside me, but thankfully, I don’t have to ask for more.
After thoroughly giving my breasts his attention and leaving marks all over my chest, Angel leans back to admire his masterpiece. The hand previously gripping my boobs in a death grip snakes to my bottoms, cupping me through the unwanted barrier between us.
With his eyes fixed on mine, Angel looks for signs if I want to stop, but he won’t find any.
I want this. I want him. Desperately.
Leaning forward, I catch his lips in a needy kiss full of clashing teeth and sucking his bottom lip into my mouth. I rub myself on his palm, making my decision loud and clear.
Grinning at my eagerness, Angel pushes my panties aside before his fingers dive into me with one quick thrust.
Angel doesn’t slow down the pace as his face buries in my neck, sucking and biting at the skin to push me closer to my release. My walls start to throb painfully, seeking the orgasm his fingers are nudging me towards.
Wrapping his free hand around my throat, Angel pushes me back until he can see my flushed cheeks and the hickeys covering my chest. Bringing my lips an inch from his, Angel demands, “Come for me, baby.”
The growl in his words is enough to push me over the edge. I’m pretty sure I’m screaming something, but all I hear is my own heartbeat in my head.
Slowly coming back to present, my body falls limp and I slump over his shoulder. Angel keeps moving his fingers in and out of me in gentle movements to stretch my orgasm, only for it to trigger another smaller one.
Angel chuckles when I grumble about him finally pulling his fingers out of me. With my head resting on his shoulder, I gape when he brings the fingers that were just inside me to his mouth and suck them clean.
I thought I was done for the day, but the renewed faint throbbing between my thighs says otherwise.
Pushing my head off his shoulders, I hold his warm cheeks to kiss him. I taste myself on his tongue as his hands run all over me, softly massaging my muscles .
Taking control of the kiss, I let my hands slip down to trace the lines heading south, and that’s when Angel realizes just how far I want to go.
“More, sweetheart?”
With our bodies pressed together, I can see how hard Angel is trying to hold back, but there's a lick of hope and anticipation in his eyes until I whisper a soft, please .
Angel swiftly turns us around to hover over me and carefully lays me on the towel on the floor. Kissing my nose, he asks, “Want to go back to our room, sweetheart? I don’t think this is how you imagined your first time.”
I smile at his worry, “No, this is perfect. Everything with you always is.”
I never wanted the candles and rose petals on the bed, anyway. I’m perfectly content, wrapped in my mate's arms and surrounded by him in every sense of the word.
“And what about you? This is your first time too, you know.”
Angel chuckles and ducks to bite my cheek. “I get to devour you, baby. This is already a dream come true.”
I giggle and get comfortable when Angel asks again if I’m sacrificing some fantasy because of the heat of the moment. Resting his doubts to bed, I bring him in for a sweet kiss and wrap my legs around his waist.
Angel breathes into the kiss, and I feel his heart running a mile a minute. Good to know he is a little nervous, too. Sitting back on his knees, Angel removes his trunks and throws them near my bottoms, the ones he tore to pieces like a caveman.
Fuck. I know I’ve seen him before, and I’ve had him in my hands and mouth, but thinking about him inside me is a different story.
“There’s no way that will fit.”
I don’t realize I’ve said it out loud instead of the safety of my crazy mind until Angel throws his head back with a boisterous laugh that rumbles in his chest.
It takes him a minute to calm down, and his smile is nothing short of amazement when he looks down at me. “You were made for me, sweetheart. I promise it’ll fit.”
Hovering over me, Angel cages me between his arms. His greedy hands explore my curves, and I lose myself in the sparks his touch brings, but when his hard-on rubs my clit, the nerves kick in.
Angel doesn’t let me clamp up or overthink about the potential pain. Massaging my hips, he kisses me passionately and I'm distracted long enough that I only react to the little sting when he is already half inside me, slowly sliding in instead of forcing his way.
I whimper when Angel fully drives in, and his thickness pulses against my walls. I’m vibrating with need, which only makes me lock around him to keep him in place. I don’t ease up until I hear a groan mixed with a growl on top of me.
Thinking he is in pain, I look up only to see nothing but pleasure on Angel's face. Resting his forehead on mine, Angel fights the urge to move. His green eyes are darkened with need and I don't realize I'm squeezing around him until Angel hisses.
“You're killing me, sweetheart,” Angel rasps before slowly pulling out. Sealing our lips together, I moan when he pushes back in with one long thrust.
The pain slowly fades, only coming in short spasms every time Angel thrusts into me, but the pleasure overcomes the slight sting. With every breath Angel takes next to my ear, I lose the ability to think about anything else but him.
My arms loop around his back, gripping his shoulders tighter with every thrust. Angel speeds up, adding more power behind each movement until he is thrusting in and out of me hard enough to make every inch of my body vibrate.
I want to drag myself away from this intense feeling and not move a muscle at the same time. With his damp forehead on mine, Angel lifts my right leg to rest over his shoulder and moves into me closer.
“Look at you. So perfect, sweetheart. Such a good girl, taking me so perfectly. You were made for me, weren’t you, baby?”
I lose my head when Angel hits that one spot that drives me wild and start chanting, ‘Don’t stop’ and ‘Keep going’. By the smirk that refuses to leave his lips, I know Angel is enjoying how I'm falling apart for him.
I’m afraid I will split in two if he goes any harder, but that doesn't stop my mouth from asking him for more. Desperate to not have even an inch separating us, Angel lifts both my legs over his shoulder so he can press his chest against the back of my thighs.
The change in position makes me scream out in pleasure, and I’m suddenly grateful we’re alone in the castle.
“Eyes on me, sweet girl. Look at me when I make you scream my name.”
Fuck. Angel's dirty words are my weakness.
I open my eyes with great strength because his dick pulsing and pushing in and out of me in such desperate thrusts makes me want to squeeze them shut from the intense sensation.
The moment our eyes connect, I feel a sharp sting in my chest. My palms get warmer, and the need to bring his face closer becomes unbearable. Holding both sides of his face, I let the sudden rush of warmth flow from me to Angel, making him moan into my mouth.
When I break the kiss, a beautiful sight awaits me.
My gold essence is circling my mate. The shimmering golden smoke is dancing over his skin, making him look even more angelic. The patterns on Angel's skin twirl and shift to add another story to his life and Angel's eyes flash a powerful shade of gold that makes my heart skip.
His essence, the shade of pale sunrise, comes to play and brushes on every part of my skin Angel is not touching. Even when our Divines have joined the moment, Angel doesn’t let his intensity falter or keep his hands from clutching onto me.
“My sweetheart. My mate. Look at how much I crave you. Even my Divine can’t get enough of you.”
When his thumb suddenly presses on my clit, my eyes fall shut once again, and I gasp in surprise. The next time my eyes open, I’m mildly disappointed to see everything is back to normal like I dreamt about our Divine fusing together.
“I can feel you squeezing, baby. Will you come for me? Let me feel you coat my dick in your sweetness.”
If I could talk, I would warn him just how close I am, but my breath hitches when he unexpectedly pinches my clit, throwing me off the edge with nothing but his name on my lips.
His uneven thrusts don’t stop, prolonging my release, and just when I’m coming back to earth, Angel starts rubbing my clit in slow, lazy circles.
“Too… much,” I croak. My hand blindly finds his wrist to hold onto, but I don’t make him stop.
“Want me to stop, sweet girl?” Angel asks smugly. He knows I have no intention of stopping him. His thrusts get harder, but his rhythm is uneven and sloppy, so I know he is close too.
“No— a h fuck !” I breathlessly moan as he thrusts two more times before hitting that sweet spot again. The second time I cum is much stronger and Angel follows me this time. I feel his warm release fill me up and stretch my orgasm to its limit.
After carefully lowering my legs, Angel falls on top of me. It’s hard to catch my breath with his dick still buried deep inside me, but Angel refuses to move. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t gripping him just as tightly, not wanting to be empty of him yet.
Nuzzling his head between my breasts, Angel kisses the one closer to his mouth, making me shudder at the feeling. I run my fingers through his hair, scratching his scalp softly while the other lightly traces his back, healing the scratches I made.
As long as I’m around, I refuse to let him feel any pain. He has scared my demons away and tended to my pain—emotional and physical. Angel makes me feel confident in myself and believe I’m worthy of being loved and appreciated by him, so the least I can do is heal his wounds for the rest of our lives .
Angel clings to me like a warm, heavy blanket. His soft breaths tickle my skin. Giving my boobs one last kiss, Angel takes my lips for a soft kiss.
Leaning on his elbow, Angel softly brushes my hair out of my face. “I swear to love you for as long as I breathe, and long after that.”
There was a time when the adoration in his eyes as he talked about loving me made me shy away, but now I revel in his eyes on me. Now, I want to be showered in his kind words and sweet kisses all the time.
Giving back is easy with Angel. The way he loves me, not reciprocating is practically impossible.
“I love you more.”
His smile brightens when I say it back, and he leans to kiss me again, only to stop short when I wince.
That doesn’t feel too good.
“It hurts that bad, huh? I’m so sorry, baby; I got carried away being inside you for the first time. I should’ve been more gentle.”
His face morphs into guilt, whereas I’m thinking how to tell him that even if he went ape shit crazy, I wouldn’t have minded. Not one bit.
I bite my lip, thinking about all the ways I can have him now when Angel breaks my train of thought.
“You dirty-dirty woman, you’re thinking about doing it again, aren’t you.”
“Maybe,” I shrug innocently.
Chuckling, he smacks a loud kiss on my lips. “Come on, let me give you a warm bath first. It’ll help with the tenderness.”
Angel lifts me slowly with my legs clutching his waist and arms around his neck. Snatching the towel from a chair beside him, he wraps it around us. The towel is big enough to cover our naked bodies and the fact that he is still inside me... long after we are done.
He is totally obsessed with me.
“You’re not sore? ”
“Nope.”
I huff and bite his neck. “No fair.”
Angel picks up the towel that was under us and neatly folds it with one hand and on the way to our room, throws it in a bin along with my ruined bikini set.
“So, when’s the wedding?”
Seiji’s sudden appearance startles us, and I shriek loudly. Angel grips the towel tighter so we don’t accidentally flash him.
“How do you keep showing up out of nowhere?” Angel grunts at our intruder for ruining our peace after such strenuous activities. Maybe Angel needs another round if he still has the energy to be irritated.
“I was thinking of chocolate whiskey cake with salted caramel drizzle. Clearly, I’m in charge of decoration because, let’s be honest, I do it best.” Completely ignoring how Angel is dancing on the line of fury, Seiji continues listing details about our wedding that he has been planning from the second day we met.
I interfere before Angel decides today is the day he finally kills Seiji. “Princess… I’m kind of naked under here.”
“Oh, yeah, understood. I'll leave. But everyone will be here soon for brunch, so no more hanky-panky!” He shouts, running the other way.
As soon as Seiji disappears, I pepper Angel’s neck with kisses so he'll drop the urge to throw stuff. What actually works is reminding him of the relaxing bath he promised me.
Was that all we did in the privacy of our bathroom?
Maybe. Maybe not.
An hour later, I walk down the stairs with Angel’s fingers intertwined in mine, excited for weekend family brunch.
After Jackson was officially inducted into the kingdom, Seiji moved into the Famine castle with him, so a weekend brunch was the perfect excuse to stay close.
It was a shock to his parents when Jackson was introduced because Seiji waited until after the battle to tell the kingdom and his parents about finding his mate.
He wanted everyone to know firsthand that Jackson wasn’t anything like the others of his kind we dealt with. When the warlock took our side and killed people of his own kind because he knew what was right, he easily won everyone’s trust and love.
On the day of his move, I even baked a cake for the couple, but it somehow exploded. I had to clean a lot of icing from so many places. And before I could try again, Angel banned me from the kitchen, and everyone backed him up. It was a minor incident, so banning me was a bit dramatic.
It was just cake … that exploded … and might've hit Harvey in the face… it was also a little bit rock solid.
Like I said, a bit overdramatic.
But it’s been fun watching Seiji and Jackson grow closer. Since Jackson is so quiet and emotionally mature, it’s interesting to see him come out of his shell while simultaneously grounding Seiji. They are polar opposites, but they fit together so perfectly it feels like they’ve known each other for years instead of weeks.
Talking about couples, the other new couple has become the kingdom’s most favorite gossip topic.
We all know Papa is essentially a goof, so he loves embarrassing Hazel and riling her up every chance he gets with his antics. They both play pranks on each other all the time, and it usually ends with one of them drawing a weapon, but not being able to do shit because of their bond.
Because of them, the Tetrad kingdom has its own drama/comedy show, and they love it. Especially when Hazel comes on top of their friendly feud. Papa was a troublemaker growing up, so there are a lot of elders who enjoy his ass getting roasted.
Walking into the dining room with Angel, I look for monkey first. Finding my boy, I ruffle his hair and bend to kiss his head. “Breakfast?”
“Yes, please.”
“Pizza?” I whisper .
“Duh,” his reply makes me chuckle, and I secretly serve him a slice without Angel noticing.
Monkey might still be rigid around strangers, but he has grown out of his shell in our time here. He is spoiled with affection, and I can see the way he’s getting used to being the center of attention.
They don’t see it yet, but I know the signs of a sassy kid, and this little werewolf spends way too much time around me not to have an attitude.
After August came back from staying with Uncle Elijah and his mate, he wouldn’t stop blubbering about how much fun he had. The King of Hell fell face first for my toddler’s charm... which reminds me I need to have a talk with Papa about his friend.
It's high time Uncle Elijah stopped sending over presents. I mean, what is my kiddo supposed to do with an ancient sword twice his size?
“Sweetheart, finish your juice, please,” Angel pushes my glass closer without looking away from his conversation with Grace. When I make a face at the glass full of green things, Harvey quickly swaps his empty glass with mine before anyone can see.
“This is why you're my favorite best friend.”
I knew it was coming. Harvey swats my head as soon as the words come out of my mouth.
“I'm your only best friend.”
He adds an extra spoonful of pasta to my plate to make up for the disgusting juice he saved me from.
I love my dumbass.
“Thanks for sharing,” Hazel snatches the cupcake from Papa’s plate, who turns to glare at his mate, but before it can turn into a fight, Jackson drops a new one before Papa.
There's no doubt that it was greatly appreciated when Jackson joined Grace and Angel as the peacekeepers in our group. With additional troublemakers, we needed extra peacekeepers .
“So good, mama.” August smiles up at me before going back to humming and enjoying his food.
At this moment, surrounded by the people I’ve come to love as family, teasing and laughing with and at each other, instead of letting myself surrender to this peace, I’m waiting for that one pull that will unravel this flawless vision of my life and force make me go back to the darkness I was once used to.
I’m hoping with every fiber of my being that this dream won’t end because even if all of this is a lie, it’s a lie I want to live forever. To have this peace forever, grow old and closer to my dysfunctional family without worrying about losing it all.
But every great story has to tackle a few bumps before the happily ever after, right?