The Lion And I

(2) Part 1: The Lion - The Past

Obsidian

I hadn’t been able to go back to sleep after the nightmare. I hadn’t been able to go back to our shared room either, too wound up. I had been stagnant for too long. I needed to get all of this pent up energy out somehow.

And so I went to the training arena, found Ryn and fought. I knew I didn’t have to hold back with him. We battled it out with swords and when we disarmed each other, we fought hand to hand. By the end of it, I was sure we had suffered many small abrasions and would sport many bruises.

Now I was sitting with Raphael in his little lab. It had been several days since the big fight with Victor, Balthazar and Ezekiel. Even though we had been victorious, it was hard to bask in the afterglow of the win. So much had happened. So much had been lost. The battle had been the final blow to an old, outdated leadership with its poisonous ideals.

The win seemed almost hollow somehow.

I should be happy. I should be grateful. Ickarous had delivered the great news about the reformation of the demon laws; he had even gifted the original signed angelic document to me. My people were finally free. They no longer had to cower in fear. They were finally able to roam the earth and soar through the skies with the same rights as every other immortal.

Well, perhaps not right this very instant.

The immortal world was in chaos at the moment after suffering through the nightmare Victor had cast across the immortal lands. The evil vampire had tried annihilating an entire race of immortals known as half breeds. Initially, it had started out as a vendetta against one immortal half breed who had crossed him, Ulysses Erickson. From what I understood, Ulysses had used his controller powers to rewrite the mind of Victor’s mate, Raina, after Ulysses’s twin brother, Michael, fell in love with her.

Due to some kind of genetic fallacy in half breeds, they were under an unknown time constraint to find a mate. If that inherent internal clock ran out and the half breed immortal didn’t find a mate, that individual would fall into violence and malevolence. The half breed would turn dark and become the stuff of mortal nightmares.

Since Michael and Ulysses were both hybrid half breeds, they were not exempt from this fallacy. So, when Michael showed interest in Raina, Ulysses didn’t care that Raina was Victor’s true mate. He didn’t care about anyone other than saving his quickly deteriorating brother.

Initially, when Raina told Victor her feelings had changed, the vampire believed her. He believed they weren’t true mates and did his best to be happy for his beloved friend, Michael. Once everything settled, Victor faded into the background until a maid with a conscience confessed what she had witnessed Ulysses do, and that’s when all hell broke loose.

Victor demanded penance! He demanded blood. Initially, he was determined to take Ulysses before the council and strip him of everything. The unfortunate reality though, was that no matter what Victor did, it would never bring Raina back to him. Once a mate’s bond was formed between two individuals, there was no going back.

So, Victor allowed Ulysses to bargain his way out of being taken before the council. Instead of being stripped of his title and being defamed and embarrassed in front of the entire immortal world, Ulysses agreed to give Raina’s first born to Victor. The only request Victor insisted upon, was that the child had to have the infamous Erickson controller gene.

In order to accomplish this, Ulysses had to copulate with Raina himself since his brother, Michael, lacked the controller gene. When Raina became pregnant, she was gifted with twins. From word of mouth, Victor told Ulysses to give him the stronger of the twins.

Once Celeste was born and was squandered off to Victor, he raised her alone in a small concrete room several stories below his mansion. No one, other than himself and Ulysses, knew about her. She had grown up alone for most of her life, relying only on Victor for any comfort and love. Though, I doubted he had given her much attention other than to manipulate and use her wants and desires to force her to do his bidding with the promise of love as the prize.

It was a miracle, to say the least, that she hadn’t fallen into the same evil tendencies as the man who raised her. Perhaps, that was in part due to Constance’s Hell Mary to save her sister. Constance had ensured upon Celeste’s release from Victor's care that she was surrounded by those big hearted, softies of hers she always seemed to be surrounded by, like Gabriel, Nikolai and Erwin. Constance made sure Celeste was handled with tenderness and care. She made sure her sister—who had been raised on a poisoned love—was shown true love and adoration.

We all got lucky when Celeste chose Constance instead of Victor.

Trauma bonds were a real thing, yet somehow, Constance pulled her sister’s loyalty to her.

Despite Celeste’s loyalties being shifted, Victor captured her and forced her compliance to complete his agenda against the half breeds. She ended up being forced to help him wage a hopeless genocidal war against them, which included the deconstruction and ruination of the Immortal Councils.

Victor’s long-term goals had been to rid the world of the genetically defected half breeds and reconstruct the corrupted Immortal Councils to fit his wants and desires. He had been successful in one of his endeavors: destroying the councils. The fall out of this had also exposed the Angelic Council and their immoral corruption. In the end, the archangels and their Angelic Council also fell when one of their own, Camael, released the evil and vile prisoners that had been locked in purgatory—a place archangels kept evil souls they deemed were still an asset to them.

Therefore, all sources of immortal law and order had been fractured. Which meant if my people tried to come out now, it wouldn’t end well.

So, I was forced to keep the good news to myself for the foreseeable future until Constance and Ickarous reestablished the new councils.

Even so, when the new councils were put into place, I knew it wouldn’t be that easy. I knew there would still be dark days ahead as the immortal world adjusted to these new laws. I knew there would be those who opposed and retaliated, those who would still murder my kind because they were too stuck in their own ways. At least, when that happened, we would be able to fight back legally. We would be able to defend ourselves without fear of being hung for such actions.

“Obsidian?” Raphael’s sharp voice pulled me out of my reverie and I snapped to attention.

“Yes?”

The damn healer smirked. His violet eyes fairly piercing me to my soul. His long white hair was pulled back into a loose bun at the base of his neck. Whisps of hair fell around his face and eyes. “How is Celeste doing?”

“What do you mean? Has she not come back for her checkup?”

“She hasn’t been back to see me since the day after that whole travesty happened.”

I sighed heavily, pinching the bridge of my nose, a soft growl escaping my chest.

Celeste and Constance ended up trading bodies early on for several reasons. The main one was to keep Victor in the dark about Constance’s survival. Anyway, when they switched bodies, Constance’s body was pregnant and Celeste ended up carrying her sister’s twins till their untimely birth.

It was a miracle they all made it out alive, Celeste included. The maniacal archangel, Ezekiel, had tried killing the twins while they were still inside Celeste. Which, in turn, injured her in the process. I don’t think I would ever be able to get the terrifying sight of her, flayed open, blood pouring out of her while Gabriel and Raphael worked to save the infants, out of my mind. It was a sight I prayed I would never have to be privy to again.

Luckily, everyone survived the debacle, but Raphael was watching them all closely to ensure they weren’t suffering from the side effects of his healing powers, or to make sure he hadn’t missed some internal damage.

“I will make sure to bring her your way tomorrow.” I stated, making a mental note to discuss her avoidance of seeing Raphael with her when I saw her again.

“Tomorrow?” He asked. “You guys got a hot date tonight?”

“I don’t know,” I said honestly. “Nikolai is leaving today and I don’t know how she’s going to take it. I thought I would see if there was something she would like to do, to help cheer her up.”

Truthfully, I wasn’t so much worried about the physical wounds. Raphael was the best healer in the world. If I was being honest, I was more afraid of the unseen emotional and mental wounds Celeste was surely suffering from. The ones that no one could see, but were far more devastating. They were the ones that were the silent killers.

Raphael nodded. “That should be fine.”

“Do you have a lot of appointments tomorrow?”

He shook his head before turning to his wall of crazy tech and microscopes. While there were other healers in the compound, he was the best. He was on a rotation with the other healers and this was his week to see to those seeking medical help. “No, I don’t. Just give me a heads up before you come.”

“Of course. When don’t I?”

Raphael’s burst of laughter ripped through the silence. “Sure, you give me a heads up. But it’s usually a second before you burst into my space.”

“You never told me when I should give you a heads up,” I replied innocently.

A few choice words were said by the healer. “You’re such an adolescent sometimes.”

“Aren’t we all?”

“Speak for your freaking self!”

“One last thing,” I said, turning back to him.

Raphael faced me, unamused.

“How is Constance?”

“As healthy as a horse,” was his annoyed response.

“I’m not talking about her recovery from the fight. I’m talking about her in general.” When Constance traded bodies with Celeste, she ended up splitting her soul which is something most immortals cannot accomplish. Splitting a soul was usually a demonic trait due to the soul’s characteristics. Raphael ended up having to fuse part of a demon’s soul with Constance’s in order for her to survive.

To understand the significance, and the utter complexity of this feat, demon’s blood was a naturally occurring poison for all other walks of life. In fusing the demon’s soul with Constance’s, it ultimately altered Constance’s DNA. Raphael worked tirelessly to find the loopholes in order for her to exist, especially since before the infusion with the demon’s soul, she was already a genetic anomaly with vampire, werewolf and human mixed together.

While she had survived many months without issue, I couldn’t help but continue to worry that her body would slowly destroy itself over time. While I wanted to say I was only concerned for Constance’s health because she was important to Celeste, I couldn’t lie. She was also important to me. I owed her a lot. Ultimately, she was the one who made sure the demon laws were changed. Without her, none of this would have been possible.

Plus, the brat had grown on me. Much like Gabriel had grown on Celeste. Our relationship—Gabriel’s, Constance’s, Celeste’s and mine—wasn’t something you saw everyday. However, our disjointed family was everything I’d ever needed and wanted. It healed wounds I never knew I had, and fulfilled needs I never thought existed.

“So far, so good.” His head jerked to one of his scopes. “I’ve got some samples of her blood to analyze. The only thing that is odd, though, is that her physical characteristics when she shifts haven’t meshed. None of her vampiric traits or werewolf traits are intermixing. Though, the demonic traits could be dominant due to how I had to configure her DNA. Eventually, she may start expressing them. Other than that, she’s healthy.”

That was reassuring.

“Now, get out of here devil,” Raphael growled. While he sounded rather brisk, I knew he was teasing. Our history was nearly as old as we were.

When I made my way back to my apartments in the underground demon stronghold, I noticed Celeste pacing just inside the entranceway to my wing. I stayed hidden in the shadows, wondering what had her so agitated. She wasn’t giving much indication about what was causing her such distress. That was, until Nikolai appeared with bags in hand.

The wolf was just now leaving?

I thought he was supposed to be gone a while ago.

“I'm sorry," Celeste’s sobs tore at my heartstrings as she addressed the Russian wolf. I fought against the urge to go to her and hold her in the safety of my arms. "For everything I said to you." Nikolai had been Constance’s inside spy. He had infiltrated Victor’s ranks and had played his part so well, he had fooled everyone. So, I could only assume she was talking about something that had happened between them during that time when they had been together in Victor’s underground prison.

"Little one, it is not your fault. You didn't know. I was never mad at your words or hurt by you. Do not carry this unnecessary guilt around with you, okay? I'm just glad you are safe and alive. I'm glad you survived Victor and Balthazar. Now, it is time to forgive yourself, Celeste. It is time to heal and move on."

I was glad someone else, other than myself, was saying this to her. Well, I hadn’t quite broached this yet, but it would be a constant reiteration as she worked through her past trauma and guilt. Yes, she did have a great support system. However, it was up to her if she decided to lean on them or not.

"When will you be back?" She asked, expertly shifting the conversation.

Nikolai allowed it, though an audible sigh could be heard. "I don't know, little one. But I am just a phone call away. Or, if you ask your sister nicely, I'm sure she would let you use our bond to reach out to me directly."

While I wasn’t bonded to Celeste, I could nearly feel the guilt coming off of her in waves. Whatever meaning there was under those words, it was causing her immense pain. I had to wonder if there was a wolf out there somewhere that had been genetically bonded to her, just as Nikolai had been genetically bonded to Constance.

"Hey," Nikolai gently said. "I don't mind a blood bond, Celeste. But that is something you will need to discuss with Obsidian."

"He isn't my master," she snapped back, anger in her tone. She was defensive over this. So much of her life had been held under Victor’s thumb. She hadn’t been allowed outside of her small room until she was well into her twenties. It was going to be hard for her to understand that in a relationship, there would be instances when we would have to agree upon a decision together. "I am master of my own body. Why should he have any say over my actions?"

I heard the wolf’s amusement. "Keep up that mentality," he stated proudly, and I had to agree with him. That spunk indicated she wasn’t entirely broken. If I had any say in the matter, I would be trying my best to encourage that spunkiness to grow. "And, you are right. He shouldn't have any say in that. But there is a respect between mates that you need to remember. If you want him to respect your boundaries, you will need to respect his. And I don't know if he is okay with us forming a blood bond."

Damn! The wolf had a way with words! No wonder Constance adored him. I was glad he hadn’t entirely pummeled her feelings on this matter. While they said their final goodbyes, I made sure to sneak around the corner so the wolf wouldn’t know I had been eavesdropping. When he was gone, I made my way back in and found Celeste pacing the entranceway again.

I couldn’t deny my jealousy over the fact there was an obvious thing between them, but I figured there was something else that was driving her need to be bonded with him. When the wolf left, I decided to make my presence known and broach the subject of her desire to be bonded with Nikolai.

"You know, I have a newfound respect for that Russian wolf."

She started, whipping around to face me. In her gaze, I saw the instant attraction she had for me as her eyes took me in from head to toe. While she perused me, I allowed my gaze to move over her. She was small, the top of her head barely coming to my collarbone. Her long blond hair, more suited for Constance, hung around her hips. Her hazel eyes sparkled with so much wariness that was tinged with hope. When her teeth sank into her lip, I was tempted to lean down and kiss her. Somehow, I refrained.

I felt her nervousness and decided to address it. "Celeste? Look at me.”

She shook her head.

Okay. “Why won't you look up at me bunty?"

"Bunty?" She snorted, her gaze swinging up to mine with some attitude. She hadn’t heard the endearment before, which was what I was relying on.

"Yes. It means little lamb." Her pinched expression made me want to laugh. "What is bothering you?"

It took some coaxing before she finally blurted, "Are you upset with me?" Her entire body tensed, as if waiting for some kind of outburst from me. Again, not surprising seeing as how she had been treated by Victor. Though, I was more surprised by her intuition. Had she known I was eavesdropping all along?

"Why would I be upset?"

"About Nikolai," she stated on a whisper between clenched teeth.

“About you wanting to make a bond with him?” When she didn’t answer, I continued in an even and calm tone. "I'm not upset, Celeste. However, he was right to deny you such a request. I am not comfortable with you making a blood bond with anyone but myself, Gabriel or Constance."

I felt the instant flare in anger and the tears that formed in her eyes. I expected her to explode, to yell at me, to say anything. But, she stubbornly remained silent.

"Talk to me, bunty," I encouraged. When she shook her head, I pressed, "I know you're upset. Let it out."

When I tried to press her again, she whispered brokenly, "Please, don't."

"Don't what?"

"I don't want to talk about it."

"Well I do." I held firm, my tone still calm. I wasn’t annoyed or upset by her avoidance of this uncomfortable subject. This reaction of hers was something she had learned in order to survive Victor. It was a trauma response. "I'm not trying to control you, Celeste," I said gently. "There are reasons why I don't want you to make a blood bond with him. Yet."

Her shocked gaze snapped up to mine at that ‘yet’. There was hope and wariness there, as if she was expecting there to be conditions in order to gain what she wanted.

“I will respect your wishes, Celeste. If you aren't ready to talk now, that's okay. I'll wait. I'll give you some time and space, but know I will not wait for long. I will not let this get swept under the rug. Work out what you need to in your mind. I'll give you a day. Two at most. After that, I will approach you again and I will not let you wiggle your way out of an explanation. I want you to trust me, and I know trust is something that you won't be able to give easily. However, if you do not allow me opportunities to gain your trust, I will not be able to earn it. I want you to be comfortable lying every worry, every anger, everything that makes you upset on me even if it involves me. I don’t have to like what you say, so don’t feel like you have to mince words. I want you to rest assured that I will not respond violently, as I presume Victor did. Please, do not compare me to Victor. Do not group me in with him when I have not been given a chance to prove myself worthy of your love and trust. Do not just assume I will respond like he did."

After a moment of deliberation, she nodded. But that was all. Silence was her trauma response. Going along with whatever was said was how she survived.

I sighed heavily but was determined not to end this day on a bad note. “Is there anything you would like to do?" I asked, knowing we had some time just to ourselves today.

"Aren't you busy?" Most would have taken this question negatively, but I knew she hadn’t meant it by the way her tone expressed it. "I-I mean you are the d-demon l-lord," she stuttered, back tracking, realizing how her question sounded.

"I'm free, bunty. The duties of the stronghold are carried by many. Do not worry about those, for they are not yours to carry," I explained. At least not yet. When she became my mate and was ready to take on the responsibilities of the stronghold, I would teach her those duties. As for now, she just needed to focus on recovering.

She looked thoughtful for a few moments before she said, "There is one thing I want to do. Could you...Would you take me flying?" Her gaze remained glued to the floor as she asked me this. Her nervous shifting and wringing of her hands indicating she wasn't used to asking for anything she wanted.

This… This was a very simple request. One I would be glad to do with her whenever she wanted. I couldn’t stop the big toothy grin from spreading across my face. When she glanced up at me, she noticed my smile and some of the tension eased from her shoulders.

"It would be my pleasure," I said warmly, reaching out to scoop her up in my arms before teleporting us out of the stronghold. However, as we stood on the rocks above the entrance to the stronghold, I decided I would extend our flight a little and take her into the city where she could go shopping. I knew Victor had never truly given her anything for herself. She didn’t have anything to her name as far as I knew. Nothing for her person. All her clothes were her sister’s. She had no possessions that I was aware of. So, I decided it was time for her to express herself. For her to choose whatever her heart desired. It was past time for her to have things that were only hers.

Right as I was about to shift into my demon form so we could take flight, another figure morphed next to me. It was Ryn. “Sir. There’s a werewolf pack in the meadow.” He started nervously, his gaze moving from mine to Celeste and back.

“Have Raph deal with them,” I ordered without thought, without thinking about his silent external cues. “I’m sure the immortal world is aware by now that we are harboring the immortal half breeds we saved from Victor,” I began. “They are most likely looking for a relative.”

It was all presumption. There hadn’t been any immortals looking for survivors yet, though I was sure the search would pick up soon.

“Sir. This involves Celeste.” He stated, still hesitant. Nervous. It was then I realize how nervous he truly was. Ryn was one of those very stoic beings who rarely showed emotion. This was abnormal.

“Have they announced themselves?” I asked directly, stepping in front of Celeste as if I could somehow protect her from whatever Ryn was about to lay down on us.

He nodded. “They are the clan Ivanov.”

I felt her instant reaction and knew she knew this wolf clan. Turning to her, I was about to demand an explanation. However, Ryn beat me to the punch.

“They claim she was promised to their son, Masuka, before birth. They made a pact with Ulysses Erickson on his behalf. Blood was exchanged between Masuka and her while she was in the womb. They are demanding she uphold her end of this pact.”

So, she had a pre-chosen mate just like Constance? My gaze moved to study her. Curiously, she was stock still and had the fear of God in her gaze. I really didn't like that look in her eyes and it made me want to whisk her away. Constance could take care of whatever this was. She had figured it out with her pre-chosen mate, Nikolai. Before I could act on my intentions, Constance's voice filled my mind.

"Obsidian. I need you to bring Celeste down here please."

Obstinantly, I wanted to tell her to go f**k off. I didn't have to do anything she asked. I was the freaking Demon Lord for heaven's sake! However, something in her tone made me pause. She was just as protective of her twin sister, if not moreso. She wouldn't ask this lightly, especially if she knew it would possibly hurt Celeste. Sighing heavily I told Ryn to go back to the meadow and that I would meet him down there momentarily. Once we were alone, I caught and held Celeste's gaze. "Is there anything I should know before we go down there?" I asked a little too forcefully.

I could see her working up the courage to get past the lump in her throat. Her tongue darted out nervously to wet her dry lips. "Masuka, the wolf I was pre-destined to mate with, is dead because of me."

I didn't believe that for one second. She had been secreted away at birth. Victor, the vampire she was sold to, wouldn't have allowed any form of contact with the outside world. Let alone the werewolf she was pre-mated to in the womb. However, their bond could have driven the young wolf mad. Mad enough to take his own life, or drive him over the edge into the darkness that we immortals sometimes lost ourselves to.

What I was worried about was what Masuka's family would want. Would they demand payment in blood? Would they demand her death? Or would they want something else? She had been promised to Masuka. Blood had been exchanged. In cases where the promised mate died, usually a relative--a brother or cousin--was chosen to take the promised mate's place.

Those hazel eyes of hers dropped, her shoulders drooped and I knew whatever she was carrying around was crushing her slowly. "Thank you, Celeste, for sharing that. I know it is hard to share such heavy burdens. Though, I will say I do not believe you killed him." Her head snapped back up and before she could argue, I interrupted her. "Regardless of what happens down there, know I will not let them take you away. You are under my protection, mated or not. You are safe here and you will continue to be safe."

Her bottom lip trembled. I knew she wanted to believe me so badly. I could feel that hope glistening inside of her, though she quickly tamped it down. Those eyes of hers clouded over and she once again wilted. I knew it was going to take time for her to be able to believe me, though it was still hard seeing my words couldn't comfort her now. "Come bunty. Let's get this over with so we can still go on that flight you asked for." I held out my hand, praying she wouldn't leave me hanging. My heart nearly tripped when her small hand tentatively took mine. She was so small compared to me. And felt so fragile, like porceline.

Without another word, I teleported us straight to the meadow. There we were confronted by two opposing sides. Constance and her following. Opposite them was Masuka's werewolf pack. Constance felt us first and she glanced over, her eyes connecting with mine. In their depths I could see the warning. I wasn't going to like whatever this measly wolf pack had to say.

"We didn't come empty handed," the alpha of the pack barked, completely oblivious to our entrance. I kept a protective arm around Celeste's waist and pushed her slightly behind me, keeping us both hidden in the shadows of the trees. I could already feel her anxiety skyrocketing. I wanted to know what they had to say first. The alpha pulled out a rolled parchment and announced, "We have the council's signed documents, bound by blood, that state if anything happened to Masuka before they were mated, she would be mated to another of our choosing. She belongs to us and we have come to claim what is ours!"