Dealing With the Devil(Freya Series Book 4)

Armed with their new-found strength, the Lycan soldiers fought amazingly and finally took control of the south-east of England. As the war had lasted for a long and exhausting four years, many of the soldiers had secretly taken the Celtic women as their lovers. A few of the Celtic women became pregnant by the Lycan soldiers and some of them bore Lycan children. Selene was the first Lycan child to be born. As Selene grew up, she lived a fairly normal life, but on a night when the moon was at its fullest, she shifted into her Lycan form. While hunting through the woods she came across a bright white light and curiously followed it. Bent down by the river and splashing the cool water over his face, was an archangel.

“That was the night I met, Azael,” she beamed an enormous smile at me, as she remembered the first time, she'd met him. “He was the most magnificent creature I had ever seen. I watched him in curiosity while he splashed the river’s water on his face. I had forgotten that I was in my Lycan form, so when he finally stood up, he startled at the sight of me,” she explained and as she reached the end of her sentence her smile faded, sadness replacing its once prominent place on her face. I stayed quiet as I listened to her story, I was beyond hooked and completely fascinated by her.

“I took off running into the woods and as I ran with Azael hot on my heels, the morning sun began to rise and shine delicately through the trees. Eventually my Lycan speed began to fade, as my imminent shift back to my human form approached,” she paused for a breath, and then continued, “my speed dwindled, as did my stamina and I had to rest against a tree to catch my breath. As I did, I began to shift and collapsed to the floor with the pain.”

I was beyond invested in her story, I felt like I should have been sitting there taking notes for the hunters history journals. This stuff was a once in a lifetime opportunity to hear and I didn't want to miss a single word.

“I startled when I awoke from my shift. I was completely naked and being carried through the woods by this stunning man. He had long dark hair and the most amazing golden-brown eyes. His body was gorgeous, he had no shirt on and I felt an enormous heat radiating off of him as my skin rested against his,” she spoke so softly as she described Azael to me, she even bit her lip when she imagined him and I blushed red hot with embarrassment.

“He asked me where I lived, then carried me all the way home. We had some dirty looks and glares as we walked through my village. Once we walked past the people, I could hear gasps and whispers about his wings. I truly didn't care though, I was like a princess in our community, so no one dared question me. I was used to doing what I wanted, when I wanted,” she said with a proud tone and a giggle at the end.

That definitely explained a few things, she was basically born a princess. She was the first born of her kind and then she became a Goddess, before becoming the mother to two of the world’s strongest species, how could she not be cocky and feel above everyone else. I slid down the log and rested my back on it while I sat on the woodland floor. Selene stood up and sat on the floor beside me. She looked out into the woods and continued her story,

“When we reached my home, he placed me on the bed. He didn't speak a word, but right at that moment in time, words were not needed. That was the first time we slept together. The connection we had was beyond this world. He left that night, but then returned to me every night after, for two whole weeks. They were the best two weeks of my entire life,” she said with such happiness in her voice.

She sat there silent for a moment and I glanced up, her expression did not match her previous tone. She looked a mix of sad and angry.

“My family forbid me from seeing him, they told me that he was a monstrosity. I couldn't believe my father of all people, had the cheek to use that word. He was the King of Lycans for Christ sake, he wasn't exactly the epitome of the perfect or normal human being, now was he? Oh, and when the archangels found out about our relationship, they were even worse. They told Azael, that if he didn't cease his relationship with me, he would be cast out of heaven for eternity,” she said with pure anger in her voice.

I gasped and shook my head. I couldn't believe that their story was doomed from the beginning. It was like something out of a tragic romance novel.

“We did try to stay away from each other, but our connection and love for one another was too strong. Azael still came to see me every single night. He made me feel so special, like I was the only one in the world that mattered. He called me his Luna and I called him my morning star. Then when the moon was at its biggest again, I shifted and ran off into the woods on my usual hunt. I sprinted to the riverbank where Azael usually met me, but he wasn't there. I laid down on the floor and waited for him,” she paused, then took in a deep breath, then exhaled. “Suddenly the sky turned crimson red. Lightning bolted through the red clouds and thunder boomed and clapped louder than I'd ever heard before. It was so deep and violent that I thought the world was ripping apart at the seams.”

My eyes grew wide when she described the scene, I could imagine everything that she was saying to me.

“A final lightning bolt shot out of the crimson clouds and reached towards the river. It was so bright that I had to hold my arms up to my face to shield my eyes. An enormous crack boomed through the air, followed by a catastrophic splash and a wave the size of a house hurled towards me. I scurried backwards as fast as I could, but the wave caught me and swept me back with it as it returned to the river. I tried my best to keep my head above the water, but I kept being dragged below the surface,” she paused while she took in another breath. She sighed as she remembered that night.

“I must have passed out, because when I awoke, it was morning. I was back in my human form and cradled in Azael's arms. I hugged him tighter than I ever thought was possible. I was so happy to see him. He laid me down and we made love on the bank of the river.”

She stood up and walked over to a tree, then slid down the tree, with a sad and defeated look on her face. I guessed that the next part of the story wasn't going to be a 'we lived happily ever after' kind of ending.

“When we finished, Azael was different, he was usually so loving and kind, but now he was distant. He would have usually carried me home and embraced me throughout the night. That wasn't to happen that night, or any other night, ever again. Azael told me that, that night would be the last time I would ever see him. I didn't understand why and I tried to beg him to stay, but he cruelly laughed in my face and told me that he could never settle for just one woman. I couldn't believe what he was saying.” She lowered her head and I watched as the tears rolled down her cheeks. I couldn’t believe I was seeing this vulnerable side to her. I didn't even know the woman had a heart beating within her chest.

“As I sat there naked and heartbroken on the riverbank, Azael fanned out his wings. Their usual brilliant white color was now an ashen gray and half of his wings were either black and singed at the ends, or completely burnt off and missing. I scanned up his body in shock and when I glanced at his eyes, I scurried backwards in fear. The golden-brown beautiful eyes that normally stared back at me, were now a piercing crimson red,” she said in a low and monotone voice. I think it broke her heart a little as she relived that night.

She sighed heavily, then told me of how Azael had been cast out of heaven and was now a fallen angel. He had lost his soul and any love that he'd once felt for Selene. It kind of reminded me of how Tristan had lost all of his love for Freya once he found his mate. Selene went on to explain that as her punishment for disobeying her father, he had prayed to their Roman Gods and the Gods had decided to banish her to the moon. There she was to spend an eternity alone. What they didn't realize was that on the night that Azael was cast out of heaven, Selene became pregnant to the fallen angel.

“I was in my new realm, scared, alone and eight months pregnant. When I went into labor it was the scariest thing I'd ever been through. Hours went by and at certain points the pain was so unbearable, that I wished for death to take me. Eventually I managed to bring my son Marik into my world. He looked just like an angel. He had dark blonde hair and stunning deep blue eyes,” she said with a huge beaming smile on her face.

I could tell just by looking at her, that her son meant the absolute world to her. She then smiled even wider, as she continued,

“A few moments of pure peace washed over me, then the pain started up again. I panicked and thought that something was terribly wrong, then I felt the sudden urge to push again, so I did. That was when I brought my second son, Traian into the world. He looked so much like Azael, he had a full head of jet-black hair and golden hazel eyes. I felt complete with my two sons, who were then contently sleeping in my arms.”

My heart melted while I watched her beam with love and pride for her boys. She went on to explain that as the boys grew she knew that they were very special. By the time they were teenagers their abilities were beginning to show themselves. Marik could shift into the form of a wolf at will. He was kind and loving. He wanted nothing more than to go to earth and find someone to fall in love with. Traian on the other hand was feisty and had a cruel streak. Selene explained that he was a lot like his father, after he had lost his soul. She had a hard time controlling him and he kept trying to attack his brother and her.

One day, just after their sixteenth birthday, Traian had completely lost control. She described it like how Evan was with his blood lust. She had to break up a fight between the two boys and that was the first time that Traian had extended his fangs. He sank his fangs into his mother’s wrist and nearly bled her dry. Her voice became low, barely above a whisper and she rubbed her wrist as she nervously recounted that day. I looked down at her wrist and I could see a scar. It was two tiny puncture marks and she frantically scratched at them.

“I managed to fight Traian off, but when I looked into his eyes, they were as black as coal and they had his father’s crimson red glow to them. I panicked and knew I had to keep Marik and myself safe. I had no choice and I instantly cast my own son out of the moon realm, letting him loose on the earth. He went on a bloodthirsty rampage and before long, he had an entire brood of vampires, following him around like a King.”

She scratched even harder at the scars on her wrist, and they began to bleed. Tiny streams of blood ran from the puncture marks and dropped down onto the dirt. I furrowed my brow as she continued in a frantic and panicked voice.

“Shortly after casting him out, I got sick. Marik was beside himself and thought I was going to die. When I came around from the fever, all I could think of was blood. I could hear Marik's heart pounding and the noise of it was deafening. I couldn't stand it, I could smell his blood and hear it pumping through his veins. I knew I didn't want to hurt him, but I couldn't help myself. That's when... That's when I...” Selene stuttered, then burst into tears.

I got up onto my knees and crawled as fast as I could towards her, she was delirious and mumbling to herself. I went to touch her, but she lunged forwards and hissed at me. Her eyes were raven black and had the crimson red glow. With her fangs extended she screamed out the name Marik, then vanished into thin air.