Page 19 of The Wolf

God is a woman, huh?

“And what should I call you?”

“Satan is fine. I, too, have many names, though. Some call me Horus, others Apollo, but the old world knew me as Baal. Maybe you can come up with something fresh?”

I grow more confused by a second. “Um, that doesn’t make any sense.”

“Similarly to Lilith, it depends on the region where the myths originated. After the fall of Babylon, people began to speak in different languages, migrating to various parts of the world, and that’s how the word-of-mouth discrepancies came to be, which added to the later confusion. However, it’s not as complicated as it appears. At the end of the day, they all are the same stories describing the same events. The Ancient Serpent fell to be reborn in flesh and became the ruler of this world—thanks to her magic. It’s a much longer tale, but she betrayed me, and my mortal life eventually ended. The Leviathan, the Dragon, or simply the Beast, is my immortal form.”

“Not a winged goat with a pitchfork?” I joke.

He laughs, tossing his head back, and the sound is like an angel singing… which I suppose is precisely what it is.

I get serious again. “And byfather, you mean…”

“Your creator,” he finishes nonchalantly.

“God?” My eyes almost fall out of their orbits.

“It’s a title. Titles can be subjective,” he nuances. “But yes, my father loves to create, then move to a different project when things don’t go as planned. Yet, mankind is self-absorbed enough to believe they are the only ones in the entire universe.”

I chew on my bottom lip as his words sink in before I ask, “Are you really more of an alien then?”

“What’s the definition of an alien?”

“I don’t know… um, an extraterrestrial being?”

“Then I suppose that’s who I am.”

My brain feels like scrambled eggs while I try to fit the puzzle pieces together. It doesn’t help that he’s so ambiguous.

“Can I ask how you got that ultimate rebel label stuck to you?”

“After I defied nature by mating with Lilith, there was a war in heaven.” His eyes get completely blank and he sighs heavily as though with regret. “A third of the angels fell with me like burning stars dropping from the sky, and my brothers took human wives. We lived peacefully among mankind and we slowly taught them everything we knew. We became their gods—or the alien race, if you will—that came to illuminate them. The biblical scriptures call us fallen angels, the history Anunnaki, and we can be found in every ancient religion—whether it’s the Egyptian, Norse, or Greek pantheon, me and my brothers are deities people worshipped.”

It all makes logical sense, but my cognitive dissonance kicks in, and I try to reject what I’m hearing as the truth.

“So, you’ve seen it all?” I ponder.

“There was a rise of technology and knowledge in these days. The Nephilim race was soon born, the offspring of our kind and human women, more commonly known as the Giants. Those were the dark times with lawlessness and much bloodshed as we fought against them. Many beasts were also created during that time. My father’s wrath came next, and the Great Flood was upon the face of the earth. Mostly everything got destroyed, but we had hidden our civilizations underground. And although some of the Nephilim also prevailed, their numbers lessened significantly, no longer posing a threat to us. But their departed spirits turned into demons, who still haunt the earth to this day. Then, began the rebuilding of the new world and the birth of government tyranny. The rest is history.”

I stay quiet, trying to gather all the information. A week ago, I was just a girl who found a stray dog, and now, I’m having a tea party with Satan over gossip, minus the actual tea.

There’s a certain clarity that comes with new revelations, but I feel so emotionally drained that I can’t think straight.

“I don’t care about humans,” he says out of the blue, breaking the silence. “I simply don’t respect them. The universe was a much better place before their creation, and I mean it with absolutely no offense to you, Julia. But it pains even me to watch all the suffering happening in the world of mortals. I may not get along with my father, but I know that’s not how he intended things to go. No surprise he left, and people love to blame me for that. I only showed humans the truth of how they are not alone. They did this to themselves. All for power to have a dominion over this earth that’s not even theirs.” He stops, the anger paints over his immaculate face. His frustration is palpable, and I can’t help but feel a sense of kinship with him. “The only goat I am is a scapegoat, but the true devil is within them. Because look what they’ve done over the centuries. Who sacrifices their children in fire for good fortune? You certainly don’t see us monsters doing this, do you? But they killed off most of the beasts. Well, they killed each other in wars, too. They even killed their own god. And now, they’re killing the planet itself.”

“That’s… deep,” I whisper, more to myself.

“Something for you to think about,” his words seem like a challenge and a gift wrapped in one. I realize that this encounter is changing me, my eyes open to a reality that is far more complex than I ever imagined. He’s so incredibly wise that I could listen to his melodic voice for hours. His every stance is intriguing and thought-provoking. I never would have thought he, of all beings, would evoke such a strong need to reflect.

“Don’t be angry with Alexander. He can be overprotective, but he means well,” he tells me, circling back to the beginning of our conversation. And there’s no doubt he’s a loyal friend. “It’s a heavy burden to carry the crown, especially now that he’s found you. He cares about the state of this world so much—to a greater extent than any of us. It’s even more significant to him now, withyou in the picture, to ensure a safe future for the family he wants to build with you.”

A tear rolls down my cheek, and a lump grows in my throat, tight and heavy like a stone. He’s right. I’m so lucky Alex found me, yet here I am, wasting our time pouting when the future is so uncertain. It’s natural to be scared—my life is about to change in ways I can’t yet comprehend, but the important part is that we have each other. And we owe it to none other than him.

“Thank you for helping in Michigan,” I mutter, grateful to be here. “I know you didn’t do it for me, but still, we wouldn’t have made it without you.”

“Absolutely. I’ll take any opportunity to kill some humans.” He winks at me, standing up. I glare at him, and he quickly adds, “Just kidding! Remember this—I’m only a villain because people needed one.” He leaves on that note, his playful banter lightens the ache in my heart just a little.

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