Chapter 2
Chapter Two
Angelo
Damn it.
She’d been having dreams about Balthazar. Just like I was.
My jaw clenched as I stared out at the Christmas lights blinking across the Quarter, their cheerful glow a mockery of the darkness coiling in my gut.
This wasn’t a coincidence. It couldn’t be.
But how? How was that bastard reaching us from hell, from inside a cage designed to hold even the most powerful demons?
Unless the cage was failing. Unless he was finding a way out.
My mind raced through every horrible reason Balthazar would want our baby—a vessel, a sacrifice, a key to his freedom, leverage against me or Serenity, a source of power from royal vampire and half-angel blood.
None of them were good. All of them made my blood run cold in a way nothing had in centuries.
I’d promised her no one would hurt our child. I’d meant it. I would rip apart hell itself before I let Balthazar touch either of them.
Serenity shifted in my arms, her hand splaying protectively over her belly even in sleep. So brave. So fierce. And so vulnerable right now, carrying our child, trusting me to keep them safe.
I couldn’t tell her about my dreams. Not yet. Not when she was already terrified, already carrying enough weight. She’d want to fight, to protect our baby herself, and I couldn’t—wouldn’t—let her put herself in danger. Not like this. Not pregnant.
I pressed another kiss to her hair, breathing in her scent: jasmine and something uniquely hers that always calmed the monster in me.
From now on, she would be guarded. Every moment. I’d double the security, call in every favor, alert my most trusted enforcers. No one would get close to her or our baby.
And I’d find out what the hell Balthazar was planning before he could make his move.
Dawn was peeking over the horizon. I carried Serenity back to our bed and placed a blanket over her. She shifted and grumbled, “What are you doing?”
I kissed her on the lips. “Just sleep, amore.”
I picked up my phone and called Enzo.
“Yeah, boss?” He sounded tired and it was early in the morning, but I didn’t give a shit.
“Get to my room now.”
“Now?”
“You’re not asking me to repeat myself, are you? Get Dimitri as well.”
He groaned. “I’ll be there.”
I cracked open the door to the hallway and paced back and forth, my bare feet silent on the hardwood.
Within moments, Dimitri and Enzo appeared in the doorway.
Neither of them looked happy—Dimitri’s dark hair was even more disheveled than usual, and Enzo wore only sleep pants, his expression thunderous.
But I wasn’t in the mood to apologize for pulling them away from their mates right before dawn.
“We have a problem with Balthazar.”
Their sleepy irritation vanished instantly. Dimitri’s jaw tightened, his easy charm dropping away to reveal something cold and deadly beneath. Enzo’s hands curled into fists at his sides.
Balthazar had wreaked havoc on all of us. Left scars that went deeper than flesh.
“He’s in a cage in hell, right?” Dimitri said, his voice flat. “Please tell me he’s still in that cage.”
I stopped pacing and met his gaze. “Serenity’s having dreams about him. Nightmares where he comes for the baby.”
“Just Serenity?” Enzo’s eyes narrowed, reading me too easily. Bastard always could see right through people.
I said nothing, which was answer enough.
“Fuck.” Dimitri dragged a hand through his hair, then leaned against the doorframe with deceptive casualness.
But I could see the tension in his shoulders, the way his fingers drummed against his arm—a tell that he was already thinking three steps ahead.
“So we’re both having demon daddy issues.
How very therapeutic. Should we start a support group? ”
“We need to find out if he’s still in the cage,” I said.
Dimitri pushed off the doorframe, his casual pose dropping.
“Right. Because popping down to hell for a welfare check is so simple. We just need to find someone stupid enough—or powerful enough—to make the trip.” He paused, a dark smile crossing his face.
“I’m assuming you have someone in mind, or did you wake us up just to share your feelings? ”
Enzo rubbed his chin, his enforcer mind already working through the logistics. “We need a witch. That’s what you’re thinking?”
I nodded.
“Tinker Bell,” Enzo said, and it wasn’t a question.
I shrugged. There was no other option, not really. “She’s the most powerful. Bring her to me.”
Dimitri’s eyes widened. “Now? You want us to drag Tinker Bell out of bed—“ He glanced toward the window where the sky was just beginning to lighten with predawn gray. “We’d better bring coffee, or she’s liable to turn us both into frogs.”
Enzo glanced down the hallway toward where Serenity slept peacefully in our bed. “What about Serenity’s midwife—Prudence? Should we bring her as well?”
I considered it for a moment. Prudence had been nothing but professional since Serenity started seeing her, highly recommended by Tinker Bell herself. And if Serenity woke up to find witches in the house discussing demon threats, she’d need someone to reassure her about the baby’s safety.
“Bring her too.” I crossed my arms, my mind already running through everything that needed to be done.
“Serenity may need something to help her relax—herbs, a calming spell, whatever Prudence recommends. The baby’s due any day now, and I don’t want anything to go wrong.
” My voice hardened. “I sure as hell don’t want that bastard’s energy anywhere near my house.
I want this entire place warded. Every window, every door, every possible entry point.
If Balthazar is reaching out through dreams, we cut off every other avenue he might use. ”
Enzo nodded, already cataloging what would need to be done. “I’ll have the perimeter reinforced as well. Double the guards.”
“Triple them,” I said flatly.
“Great. Two pissed-off witches before dawn,” Dimitri grumbled, but he was already heading for the door. “At least Prudence is usually cheerful. Maybe she’ll balance out Tinker Bell’s morning rage.”
“Dimitri,” I called after him. He paused, glancing back. “Make it clear this is urgent. Life or death.”
His smirk faded entirely. “Got it, boss.”
I quickly got dressed, never taking my eyes off Serenity’s sleeping form. I couldn’t leave her alone for a single minute. Not now. Not with Balthazar reaching through dreams like poison seeping through cracks.
If Tinker Bell couldn’t figure out whether Balthazar was locked up in his cage, maybe Serenity could contact her father, Raphael.
An archangel would definitely know what was happening in hell.
They had spies everywhere, eyes in every dark corner of the underworld.
Raphael wouldn’t want his only child—or his grandchild—whisked away to damnation.
Though asking Raphael for help meant admitting I couldn’t protect my own mate. My pride burned at the thought, but I’d swallow it. I’d beg if I had to.
I sat on the edge of the bed, watching Serenity sleep.
She was so beautiful with her blonde hair cascading over the pillow, her hand resting protectively on her swollen belly even in sleep.
The rising sun caught the golden strands, making her look almost ethereal—my angel, literally and figuratively.
I didn’t think it was possible that she could be even more beautiful, but being pregnant with my child—a child I never thought I could have, a child I didn’t deserve—made her even more lovely, more precious.
How many centuries had I walked this earth believing I was incapable of creating life? A monster who could only destroy, only take. And then she came into my world like a storm, fierce and brilliant and impossible, and gave me everything I’d stopped letting myself want.
A family. A future. Hope.
My hand hovered over her belly, not quite touching, afraid somehow that I’d wake her. Or worse—that this was all a dream and I’d wake to find myself alone again, the way I’d been for so long before her.
The baby moved beneath her skin, a small ripple of life, and my throat tightened.
It would rip my heart out if I lost either one of them. No—it would destroy me completely. I’d survived centuries of darkness, of violence, of being a monster. But losing them? I wouldn’t survive that. Wouldn’t want to.
I had to keep them safe. No matter what it cost. No matter who I had to destroy. No matter how many deals I had to make or lines I had to cross.
Even if it meant becoming the very monster I’d desperately tried not to be around her.