The screeching sound that comes from above us sounds like a combination between the howl of a wolf, the cry of some kind of bird of prey, and a woman’s scream. We look up and there are seven of these…things. They have the body of a woman, looking heavily pregnant and near giving birth, talons for feet and wings like a giant eagle, and the head of an enormous rabid jackal. But the belly is actually full of the babies and men that they’ve eaten. They are wearing what looks like a skull bikini, a skull covering each breast and her vulva. It’s fucking weird and looks very uncomfortable. In their hands, each carries one knife made of fire and another made of ice. The Lamashtu. The seven aspects of the Mesapotamian Goddess of evil. Think Hecate, but in seven different bodies instead of sharing the same body. And when I say that she was evil, I mean EVIL. Evil just for evil’s sake. One of the few goddesses in all of the various pantheons who didn’t have a reason to be evil. S

It is killing me to wait here with the gods while my mates are all in three different spots right now. I’m so agitated and distracted by this fact that my winged shoes are making me float about a foot off of the ground. Josefina is with her parents, fighting near the front lines. What I hate is that she doesn’t have any powers to fight with. She’s just got her strength and skills as a warrior and a wolf. Thank fuck that the wolves take fighting seriously, so she has a ton of skill. But that only helps me feel just a little bit of relief. She is definitely the mate that I’m most worried about. But then there’s Alexander. He and his twin are escorting Nathan to get to Nyx so that he can kill her and the child in her stomach. Hecate had told us that Nyx is in labor starting this morning. So they have to get to her quickly. Of course, that means finding the right time to get past the enemy army ahead of the rest of our allies and then fight whoever Lucifer has guarding the

All three of us see the Morning star leaving the palace and stepping onto the field with the angels and we know that time is running out. We have to hurry and get to Nyx and sever her bond with Lucifer so that he is weak enough for them to kill him. No one else seems to be guarding the castle, at lest not on our side. I can see that demons and gods are getting into ranks and preparing to get onto the battlefield. The problem is, they’re too slow. The angels are already hear. They have breached the walls that surround the castle, their armor and very skin gleaming, their swords and battle axe’s, and spears coated in the multiple colors of blood that each of these evil beings possess. “We need to get inside while they’re all occupied,” Rowen says as we run towards the gates. “And before anyone comes in as reinforcements.” “Anyone see how to get the gates open?” Alexander says, his eyes rapidly taking in the structure in front of us.

A parent should never have to bury their child. Ever. Even though Nyx wasn’t of our blood or even of our species, she was just as much our child as Jared, Summer, and Chris. Even though she was only with us for a less than a year, she was our pup. And this is the worst pain that I’ve ever experienced, aside from the pain of losing Charlie. I stand with Kayla, Brandon, Jared, Summer, Rowen, Chris, and Esteban. Little Lilianna sits on Chris’s lap, the two year old not understanding what is happening. Neither do the triplets, Nixon, Natalie, and Nolan. Each are sitting with the parent that they seem to gravitate to the most: Nixon with her little hands trying to wipe the tears from Kayla’s face, Natalie in my arms and giving me hugs and kisses to try to comfort me, and Nolan sitting stoically in Brandon’s arms though he has his hands wraps around his father’s fingers. No, our pups don’t know what has happened, but they know that something is wrong. Nathan stands on Kayla’s othe

So much pain. Those fucking angels! They killed my mate. They killed MY CHILD! And then they tried to kill me. I had enough power left within me in order teleport away from them to the edge of Tartarus. But I was bleeding heavily from a wound that eviscerated my stomach and just missed my heart. Otherwise, I would have died right then and there. I used all the power that I had left to make my way through the cyclopses, the hydra, the river of fire. And then I make my way down the labyrinthine walkways, looking for my first love. Only she will have the power to heal me. Only she will have the power to bring me back to what I was before. I don’t know how long it took for me to get to her. How much blood flowed from my body. How much pain I felt. How low I had to get. I laid on the ground, covered in dirt, dehydrated, and weak. And then I feel someone push me with their foot.