Page 43 of Roman

Declan held out his hand, wiggling his fingers for more M&M’s.Charlotte poured the rest of the pack into his hand, smirking at the way he threw his head back, pouring the whole handful into his mouth and chomping away.

“The pack in Germany is ancient, one of the first packs and settlements Lucian made,” he told her as he drove through the hills.

“Lucian?The angel with Roman back at the warehouse?”

Declan nodded, giving her a look.Charlotte thought he was finally realizing how much she didn’t know about everything.“Lucian is what you would call the first of our kind.He turned the first of us.They are the old ones; we call them Lycanthropes.They are purebloods.The strongest of our species.My brother fell in love with the daughter of the Lycanthrope that leads the pack in Germany.Their settlement has been a secret and untouched for thousands of years.Hidden away from the prying eyes of the world to keep the bloodline safe.Now, because of me, Tora and the demons know how to get there.”

Charlotte could see the torment in his eyes as they finally pulled through the gates and made their way up the driveway.“Declan, it’s not your fault.You must know that.You weren’t even conscious,” she told him as he parked the car in front of the mansion.

He gave a small shake of his head.“I was reckless and got caught.If I hadn’t, one of the oldest werewolf bloodlines in the world wouldn’t be in danger.Let alone the pack that lives here in Los Angeles.I fucked up, and I fucked up big time.”He got out of the car.

Charlotte followed him inside the mansion without saying a word.She could tell he was fighting some inner demons right now and didn’t want to add to his problems.Once inside, he made her a hot chocolate and then rummaged around in the kitchen.He found boxes of pepperoni and cheese Hot Pockets in the freezer and warmed them so they could eat.

She couldn’t help but smile at the odd sight of the two of them sitting at Roman’s marble table.They were both filthy, covered in dust and dried blood, eating Hot Pockets in silence.

“What are you smiling about?”Declan asked, devouring another one.He’d had six of them on his plate and had already demolished two of them.

“This,” she said, waving her hand back and forth between them.“Everything, really.Is it always like this?Is it always so chaotic and dangerous in your world?”

He shrugged.“Not all the time.But yes, I guess it is compared to the mortal world you’re used to.All the supernatural creatures have their own wars going on with each other.Old enemies and whatnot.Roman and the angels… it’s different, I guess.They’ve been fighting for so long.Longer than any of us have existed.They are trying to get home… back to the Heavens.”

Charlotte felt a pang in her chest at the thought of Roman leaving.She hadn’t thought about what the angels were doing here on Earth, why they were here.She remembered stories her Ya-Ya had told her about angels being kicked out of Heaven and punished to walk Earth for their misdeeds.But she had never paid much attention, always finding anything to do with The Bible and the stories quite boring.How she wished she could turn back time.Be with her grandmother again.Hear the stories she would tell.

“Will they leave one day?Get back into Heaven?”she asked.

Declan shrugged his shoulders again.“I don’t know.I don’t even know if it’s possible.But I learned a long time ago that in this world, anything is possible.”Then, he smiled at her, picking up another Hot Pocket.

“Declan, can I ask you something?”she said between bites.

“Sure.”

“Why are you so nice to me?You don’t even know me.”

With everything that had happened lately, he had been the only one who had been kind to her from the get-go.No hidden agenda to hurt her or kill her.He had simply tried to help her and wanted to keep her safe.

Declan stared at her silently for a moment, his deep blue eyes filled with sadness.Then he gave her a small smile.“You remind me of someone.I had a little sister once.Sadly, she’s gone now, but you remind me a lot of her.I guess it brings out my protective side.”He shrugged, shoving the rest of the Hot Pocket in his mouth.

Charlotte smiled at him, her heart hurt over his loss, but at the same time, she couldn’t help but be grateful for his kindness during what had been such an exhausting rollercoaster of a week.

“Thank you,” she simply said, and then they sat there, silently eating the rest of their food, both lost in their own thoughts.

15

Roman punched in the code on the keypad, making sure that the door leading down to the dungeon was securely locked.The two demons could wait till tomorrow.He was too tired and exhausted to question them.

He sighed, causing his ribs to ache.His thoughts moved to Charlotte, whom he’d ordered to have taken to his room.He would take no more chances with her safety.He’d watch over her himself from now on.

Roman thought of Charlotte waiting for him in his bedroom.The image of her beautiful form lying on his bed had heat bursting throughout his body.He liked the idea of her in his room, his desire screaming out for him to join her, but as usual, business came first.

He headed toward the other room where the fallen were waiting, sitting around the table.The angels who’d tried to help take down the Archdemon looked worse for wear, while the others didn’t have a scratch on them.

Roman took his seat at the table.

“Well, that was a bit of a shit show, wasn’t it,” Lucian complained as he took a sip of his rum and Coke.The side of his face was a blue and purple mess.

“The Archdemon’s strength is superior to ours.We’re lucky there was only one of them.Five of us could barely hold him down,” Maalik said, looking at the angels who were unharmed.

“Why was he there?”Phoenix asked, leaning back in his chair.“Not once in all these millennia has an Archdemon ever shown themselves.We didn’t even know they existed until recently.Don’t you think it’s odd that he was there?”

---