The Lion And I

(4) Part 1: The Lion - Flying

Celeste

"It would be in our best interest to be accommodating," Constance pressed. "They may be more open and willing for negotiations if they feel they are being heard. They lost their son, Obsidian. They are hurting."

"They want revenge, Constance," Obsidian stated pointedly. I agreed with him on this one. I knew I wouldn't feel safe if the Ivanov pack had such easy access to me and my family. What would keep them from doing something rash? From acting on such long-term pent-up emotions and rage? Masuka's final words to me before he died buzzed around in my head, tearing gaping holes into my heart once more. Obsidian glanced at me out of the corner of his eye, knowing there was something going on. I couldn't meet his gaze, scared that he would see straight through me to the sins I carried. "I will not give them exclusive access to Celeste or any of my people."

"Place them in the other stronghold then, with the half breeds." She suggested softly.

That was a good suggestion. Though, by the pinched expression on Obsidian's face, he wasn't fond of the idea either.

"And place a guard on them. That way we know what they are doing at all times and it gives them the opportunity to be able to reach out to us directly through the guard."

Obsidian sighed agitatedly, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Ryn!" he called out, turning to his third in command. I could feel Obsidian's deep rooted desire to just get away from the Ivanov clan.

"Yes sir!?" Ryn stepped forward.

"Please take the Ivanov pack to the half breed stronghold and find suitable accommodations for them for their stay. Then assign a few guards to them. That way they can easily send for Constance or I if there are any underlying issues or concerns."

Ryn nodded before shouting out some commands. The demon guards that were present in the meadow instantly started moving. A few of them stepped up next to Ryn as he moved to close the space between him and the Ivanov pack. They looked nervously at the approaching demons. However, they did not falter. Constance and Gabriel both stepped forward with the guard and spoke to the alpha, indicating they would be going with them to get them settled in and ease any other concerns they had.

With everything having been resolved for the moment, Obsidian teleported us back up to where we had been initially before we had been rudely interrupted. "You still want to go on that flight bunty?" he asked gently, his hand cupping the side of my face. My gaze slowly met his and in the depths of his gaze I could see hope there. My request to go flying earlier had seemed childish to me, yet he seemed rather excited about it.

I nodded my head, not really trusting my voice to remain steady and calm.

All I wanted to do was yell at how unfair this all was.

How could the Ivanov's just show up out of the blue and demand I uphold an agreement that should never have been conceived?

I'd gone from the frying pan and into the fire.

Or so that's how it felt.

My gaze was snagged by sudden movement as Obsidian stepped back to pull his shirt off over his head. My mouth was instantly dry as I took all of him in.

Yes, I had seen him naked.

Yes, I had taken my time to peruse him.

At first, I’d been self-conscious somehow, because I wasn’t used to seeing so much bare skin. Not that I hadn’t seen a naked man before, but Obsidian seemed so confident in his own skin. But, everytime he bared himself to me, I couldn't help but devour him all over again as if it was the first time.

It took a moment to realize the amused smirk and darkened gaze. Blushing, I looked away. In the few seconds I adverted my eyes, Obsidian shifted into his demonic form. He was beautiful and reminded me so much of Gabriel. Though, they were half brothers. It made sense they looked alike.

Obsidian's shoulder length black hair was pulled back into a loose bun. His broad shoulders fit the large set of black wings that spread out behind him. His intense, golden eyes were intent on me. While I couldn't see his back, I knew there was a large tribal tattoo. It was a mark put there by his father, to indicate his heritage. "Come." Obsidian held out his hand. There was no hesitation as I put my hand in his. I trusted him, more than I trusted anyone. Even myself.

***

I breathed in deeply, taking the brusque, clean air deep into my lungs and allowing it to sooth me. Ever since I’d been released from my underground prison, I’d been curious about the sky and the clouds and seeing the earth from such a vantage point.

Looking down over Obsidian's shoulder, I stared in awe at the landscape below. I saw miles and miles of land, some white, some grey, others tinged with browns. It was still winter here, but Obsidian had said soon the snow would melt and the land would be a patchwork of different colored flowers and grasses. That the land would be alive with animals and their new little babies. Hills. Mountains. Rivers and creeks would be like scribbles across the vast plains, valleys and mountains. And I couldn’t wait for spring to come.

My arms tightened slightly around Obsidian’s neck when a gust of wind caught him and jerked us around a little. One of his large, strong hands gripped my wrist reassuringly before we were once again soaring aimlessly. My chest was pressed comfortably against his back, his wings brushing my sides as they moved powerfully. Against my cheek, tendrils of his long soft black hair teased and tickled. I tucked my face into the slope of his shoulder and unabashedly breathed him in. He smelled amazing, better than anything I had ever smelled before. Though, that wasn’t saying much. I’d been locked in a small, concrete room buried far below the earth's surface for nearly my entire existence. I was still so naïve when it came to everything this big world had to offer.

I had never seen sunlight, never experienced all that nature had to offer, until I was put into Nikolai’s care. A small smile graced my lips as I remembered how Nikolai had taken me to Mystic and let me experience the sunrise for the first time. It had been magical. It had meant a lot to me. Nikolai was very considerate and kind, and my heart ached not only in his absence, but also ached for the bond I should have had with Masuka.

Just like Constance, I had been genetically bonded in the womb to a werewolf. As had been explained to me, Ulysses had attempted to genetically modify my sister and I in order to get around an-eons-old family curse. A curse that made every Erickson find their true mate in a demon. In a desperate attempt, Ulysses vetted and chose two powerful werewolf boys for my sister and I. Taking blood samples from all of us, even from Constance and I in the womb, Ulysses injected each of us—respectfully—with the other’s blood. Constance with Nikolai. And I with Masuka.

I remember the first time I connected with him when I was in my mother’s womb. It was fuzzy, blurry, but I remember being comforted by him. I remember loving him and feeling his love for me.

And I also remembered the birth and all the miserable years after…

I jerked as those terrible emotions and feelings ripped through me and the very present and real debacle I was in now that his family had come demanding I fulfill the oath that had been made.

Obsidian shifted under me and he turned to study me out of the corner of his eye, concern in his gaze.

“S-sorry,” was my instant response to that look.

“For what?”

I shook my head and he dropped it, thankfully.

Settling back down against Obsidian, I reveled in the feeling of his bare skin. Retracting one hand from around his shoulders, I deftly traced patterns along the bare skin of his back. For a while, I traced the outlines of the tribal tattoo. Sighing, I couldn’t help but feel like a child again because I was so far out of my element. It didn’t help that the man I was destined to love was so tall and broad… And masculine. I felt so small when I was with him. Not to mention, his ego and personality were just as big, if not bigger, than he was, which was daunting in and of itself. Especially when mine was so tiny and minuscule.

We barely knew each other! Most of our experiences with the other were when we connected in our dreams. And even then, we hadn’t really communicated with each other. Before this week, Obsidian and I had only been together twice before and only for a handful of minutes. In the past few days, I’d been around him a lot. However, most of that time we hadn't been alone. It was always with Constance, Gabriel, or the precious little twins.

Seriously, what could Obsidian possibly see in me that was worthy of him? He was a demon lord for goodness sakes! He had an entire race’s love and acceptance. I was sure there were other, more qualified women that were more than willing to become his mate. Women who would be worthy of being the mate to a very powerful individual. And here I was just a little broken girl who didn’t even know the first thing about herself, let alone the world.

Suddenly, the air shifted and in a blink, we were no longer in the sky. Obsidian had teleported us back down to earth. And, from the looks of it, we were in a small alleyway between several buildings.

My heart constricted. Were we okay? Had there been some danger nearby? My head swiveled around, looking for any signs of danger. I knew the demon laws had been reformed, and that technically, they were free to roam the earth like any other immortal. However, those laws hadn’t been implemented yet…

Obsidian was still in as much danger of being killed now as he had been before.

My request to go flying seemed so reckless and stupid now! Why had I asked for such a request?