Page 29 of Claimed By Her Monsters

"Hmm? Hey, Atticus. Your scars.”

The other two archangels focused on their Alpha, who still remained shirtless but wore a white pair of pants.

I figured he’d worn little since it was hot wherever we were and it was probably easier to be shirtless to summon his wings.

I had to wear a dress with a low back dip so if my wings did make an appearance— which they did —it wouldn’t be as troublesome.

"Our Theia decided my body deserved to be rid of such imperfections,” Atticus quietly admitted as he smiled at Arthur before giving nodding glances to Sawyer and Cornelius to acknowledge them. “Haven’t been so comfortable shirtless in a long while.”

“But we met with you being a naked god in the middle of the forest,” I acknowledged the obvious.

He rolled his eyes at my commentary before he answered, “My pride when I embody my Alpha wolf persona is a bit different versus when I embody the angel side,” he confessed. “As a wolf, they were battle scars that proved I’d endured a lot to reach my rank of power in the pack. As an angel, they felt like flaws that would only hinder my chances of getting back into Heaven one day.”

He shrugged but continued to hold my hand.

“It’s crazy how powerful the mind can be when your self-esteem and confidence aren’t stable.”

He tugged me over so I could greet the others with quick hugs, then we all turned to the man in black, who rose and admired each of us.

“Welcome to my secret oasis,” he greeted as he raised his arms to make the welcoming extra dramatic. “I’m rather pleased to have my daughter and the Four Horsemen in my presence. Know that this is a sacred and private dimension that I’m not particularly eager to disclose to too many individuals, especially to men who are supposedly my enemy, but this is an exception.”

“Thank you?” I wasn’t sure if that was the right thing to say, but I followed with, “I don’t really recall how we got here.”

“Ah, yes. It would make sense for you to deal with a bit of memory loss after slamming into tainted waters head-on. Though, your lover did a good job of saving you before my summoned ass managed to get you out of that wretched swamp.”

He shook his head as though the reminder disturbed him.

“You’d think after so many suicidal and accidental deaths, the humans would request the Goddess of Light’s and Goddess of Water’s aid to clean up that sewage mess,” he muttered more to himself as he crossed his arms over his chest. “Then again, their whole world is collapsing thanks to their ignorance, so I’m not surprised in the slightest.”

Returning his attention to us, he smirked.

“You summoned me, child,” he acknowledged. “Though, it looks like I would have come down anyways seeing as you’re partially unclaimed.”

“Partial unclaimed,” I whispered. “Wait. I thought you made a deal with the humans or something?”

“Oh?” He looked intrigued as he tilted his head to the side. “And what sort of deal could the humans of all races make with me, Lucifer Morningstar, that would be so grand that I’d accept it?”

“I don’t know,” I admitted with a pout of my lips before words left my mouth without me even thinking about it. “Maybe Danica has been working with them and the Forbidden village to disturb the balance of the goddesses by killing Athena and taking her body to be offered as a sacrifice that would forcible summon your presence since she’s an unclaimed goddess and thus pinning you to the human realm and in their domain so you’ll have no choice but to go manic and destroy the world until God Almighty himself has to awaken the Four Horsemen’s true roles and ignite the beginning of the end for all of mankind.”

All eyes landed on me as I took a breath and let it out.

“Which means everyone’s fucked.”

Their silence matched with their gawking expression made me realize I’d just seen a shit ton of craziness.

“Um…” I looked to Atticus, who wasn’t spared from being stunned by my rambling. “Did I do that whole Seer thing again?”

“Yes,” he answered. “And I think you just solved all our problems.”

“What?”

“That’s why Danica’s been obsessed with killing Athena,” he stressed. “The end game revolves around summoning Lucifer and encouraging the end of the world.”

“What benefit would Danica get?” Sawyer questioned.

“And wait. With what Ness said, doesn’t that reveal that the village who stole Nerissa as a baby from Athena is actually working with Danica?”

“Fuck, you’re right,” Cornelius whispered. “But what would they get out of it? Their dark gods are connected with Nerissa, not Athena.”

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