Page 10 of Unbroken

"Exquisite. A true Nephilim. It's been a long time since I've felt power like yours." He leans in and takes a deep breath, sniffing me, and it makes my skin crawl for him to be this close. I'm all kinds of uncomfortable but I keep my face neutral, I will give nothing away.

My father growls and so do my Tethers and Mate. "Luc, you need to step away from her now."

The air shifts around us as a knife passes the side of my face, aiming for him. Lucifer catches the knife before it hits its target; his face. He holds it up between his thumb and forefinger. His eyes glance behind me and I know he is looking at Ty. I can feel Ty's fury. I can feel them all, and instead of the joy I should be feeling to be reunited with them, all I feel is their dread and foreboding.

"Son, your anger is warranted, but so predictable.” Lucifer closes his fist around the knife and I watch it crumble to dust in his hands. Ty growls in response. “But I can work with it. All of it," he says as he eyes all three of them like he’s won the lottery. Lucifer laughs and claps his hands, turning his attention back to me once more.

"If they are your sons, then where the hell have you been all their lives?" I ask, my own fury mirroring Ty's, Rodyn's, and Trys's. I can feel their eyes on my back, but their burning gazes are only for him.

"You can ask your own sire the same question, can you not?" Lucifer counters. Bishop waves his hand and a wave of power washes over us, knocking out the shield I'd managed to place around them when I first arrived. He storms across the room.

"Enough, Luc, you don—"

I hold my hand up and my father goes quiet. I guess that is a win in itself because his mouth parts as if he is going to continue but he closes it slowly. "This isn't about Bishop and me. We have a shit ton to work through, but I'm talking about you." I point my finger toward Lucifer, and he watches the movement with mild amusement. I guess he's never had someone talk to him this way without them losing their lives over it. Well, fucking tough, I've died once, and it isn’t happening again any time soon.

"You're bold, child. Very bold. But they are my sons. I made a—" he stops what he was going to say and shakes his head. Lucifer lets go of my hair that he was playing with absentmindedly. "What matters is that I am here now. I didn't mean to be so dramatic. You know what? Yes, yes I did. I wanted to test their strength and power, that's all." He holds up his hands in surrender, not only to me but to them as well. He steps back and spreads his arms wide.

"They need to come with me," he says matter-of-factly. "This is the only way. They are too far gone to stay here. Until I can aid them in controlling who and what they are." He looks over my shoulder again, talking to them. As if reading my mind, Rook’s arms wrap around my waist, clutching onto me tightly and pulling me back to his chest. I let him usher me away from Lucifer, and they all release a deep breath of relief. Hey, I wasn't going to let him hurt me, but if it makes them feel better that I am no longer within his reach, then I'll oblige.

"If you knew we were your sons, shouldn't you have come to us sooner?" Rodyn walks around from the other side of the dining table to stand beside Bishop. I try not to look surprised by the ease they all have around each other but it seems while I was out, a lot happened.

In the midst of all the chaos that I can't help walking into at every waking moment, I close my eyes and search for my other Mate. Tuning out the conversation in front of me, I focus on my Tethers and bonds and follow the ties that bind us together. Knowing Lyrik, he is probably dealing with the fallout of whatever happened after I literally died. I find Esme easily but there are so many emotions flowing from her Tether to mine that I feel bombarded by them. Why is she afraid? But then there's lust and maybe even love. I quickly move away from her, seeking out my Incubus, but when I find him, my eyes open wide and I turn around to Rook, trying to keep my voice down, but who am I kidding, there is no secrecy amongst Supernaturals.

"Where is Lyrik?" I ask in a hushed voice, determined to keep this between us.

Lucifer tsks from the other side of the room. "It seems in your absence your faithful Incubus has been neglected." He laughs again. If I knew how I did what I did earlier to knock him on his ass, I'd happily do it again.

"What do you mean?" I ask, stepping out of Rooks reach, then turning in a circle to look at everyone in the room. "What is he talking about?" I rub my chest as the bond between Lyrik and I feels fragile. There's a sense of wildness about his emotions, anger, lust, and hunger.

"He hasn't fed, sunshine," Trys says as he grabs hold of my hand and yanks me toward him. He wraps me in his arms and holds me so tight it feels as if we were about to become one. "He needs you. You should go to him before I steal you for myself," he whispers in my ear. "I thought you were gone, baby. I thought I lost you forever, sunshine. I must admit, because I would never lie to you, I wanted to kill Marcus," he says calmly, and for a moment I can't help but smile because this is why I love this man. Of course, that would be his first thought. He is who he is without shame. But at the mention of Marcus's name, I think about my dad, who is still yet to be put to rest, and my mother, who is trapped behind enemy lines with Michael who is doing God knows what to her.

"I love you, Trys," I say, planting a kiss on his chest as he squeezes me tight.

"Always, sunshine. Always," he replies, kissing my forehead and making me melt further into him.

"This is all very touching," Lucifer states as Ty comes to a stop beside Rodyn. It's like everyone in the room is moving around strategically, positioning themselves protectively around me in case something bad was to happen. I am not surprised by their reactions, I would be just as protective if anyone of them died on me and suddenly awakened after, well, I don't know how long I've been out, but I get it.

"I will give you a few days, my sons, but you will come to my palace. We’ll make it a celebration. You need my blood to regulate your Demonic side. Very simple process, really. I will not be Master Yoda-ing you, but I would hope you would want to learn more from me. There is much we need to discuss, and I can help you with your little anger management problem, with a few drops of my blood. I mean you no harm, I pinky promise." He tucks his wings tight behind his back trying to appear less threatening, like that would actually work.

"Why should we trust you?" Ty asks as Lucifer holds out Ty's rematerialized knife to him. Ty takes it from his fingers, and it disappears from view with a sleight of hand trick. He is definitely going to have to teach me how to do that.

"I'm your sire. I would never harm such a high-priced investment," Lucifer says with nonchalance, as if they are commodities instead of Supernatural beings, and my hackles rise.

"Investments? Are you shitting me? How do you expect them to want to seek out your help if you are referring to them as such?" I say in exasperation. The nerve of this Demon.

"What do you think you are, Miss Jones?" Lucifer replies.

"Luc, if you say another word to my daughter about things you know nothing about, we are going to have a problem. Micah is not, nor will she ever be, something I created out of a planned vengeance against Michael or anyone else," Bishop growls, stepping in front of Rodyn and Ty, as if to protect them from their father. Lucifer rolls his eyes. Ha. The Devil rolled his eyes. The mundaneness of the action has me wishing for narwhal slippers and a bowl of popcorn. I look up at Trys and he meets my eyes, smiling as if he can read my mind.

"Give them a chance to think about what you've offered, which, in my opinion, isn't much, but you can't expect them to just follow you blindly," Bishops says, continuing to protect my Tethers as if Lucifer will whisk them away without their consent.

"I wouldn't have this problem if she hadn't kept them from me!" Lucifer shouts, but Bishop stands there like this is just your everyday kind of behavior from Lucifer.

"Our mother?" Rodyn chimes in with a thoughtful look on his face. His perfectly shaped eyebrows lift, and lips purse in disbelief, making him appear hotter than he already is for some reason. Wait, is he wearing shorts? Focus, Micah.

"I would hardly call her our mother," Trys says beside me, and I can't help but hold him tighter even though I know he doesn't need me to. Headmistress Larrieux is definitely non-mother material. I mean, she poisoned one of her sons for crying out loud.

"You're saying she kept us hidden from you?" Ty asks, tilting his head in confusion. "How can a Witch hide from the Devil?"

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