Page 108 of His To Claim

“And who was it that shot him? Who was this partner of yours?” Stephan asks.

“Chandler Wolfe,” she says nonchalantly, and I gasp in horror.

My heart falls as I see two men carrying a beaten and bloody Chaz, throwing him on the ground in front of the group.

“This is the man who killed my father?” Malcolm asks her, furiously as he steps toward Chaz.

But gent Servite is the one to answer. “Yes, this is him.”

“And how do we know she is telling the truth?” Stephan asks, and the look in his eyes as he glares at Lilith is the only reason I’m siding with him.

“You dare question me?!” my mother shouts out, appalled that they would question the legitimacy of a damn criminal and pathological liar like her.

“No need to get ecstatic, Lilith. He confessed willingly. Well, after a few blows,” Servite says like it’s the most normal thing to talk about beating someone and bile rises to my throat.

“And why is it you so willingly gave him up? Were you not in a relationship with him?” Headmaster Servite asks her.

“He was a means to an end, he meant nothing to me,” Lilith sneers, and her admission makes me sick. A means to an end. That’s exactly what I said about Ace. I knew we were the same.

Stephan paces back and forth. “What are we going to do now?”

“You all will retreat to your homes as if tonight never happened. We had a small intimate dinner to celebrate my nephew’s new relationship, and everyone went on their merry way. I’ll handle the rest,” Agent Servite assures them and they all nod in agreement.

“And the girl?” Malcolm asks, turning to him.

“She’s mine to handle.”

At his order, Headmaster Servite, Malcolm Smoak, and Stephan Silver retreat to the house but not before Stephan turns to my mother one last time.

“It’s good to see you again, Lilith,” he says with a grin. “I must say though, as beautiful as you still are, that daughter of yours is a work of art. Like nothing I’ve ever seen before.”

She scoffs and glares at him, and he retreats laughing.

My body is frozen looking down at the scene in front of me. My mother is standing beside Agent Servite with Chaz bloody and beaten kneeling in front of them. I suddenly see Ace emerge from the pool house with another man dressed in black, wearing a red hooded cloak. I can’t see his face but notice it’s painted like a skeleton, the same way Ace and the Horsemen had theirs painted the night of the Saints and Sinners party.

Maybe it’s one of the other three.

They walk over to where the others stand, and for a moment everyone is silent. I see Ace raise his arm out, and I squint my eyes to see what he’s holding in his hand. A gun. He’s pointing a gun straight at Chaz’s head.

Right as I try to react to what is happening in front of me, I hear a loud bang as Chaz’s lifeless body falls to the ground right before my eyes.

I scream louder than I have before and suddenly all eyes turn to me. Tears spilling out of my eyes with no end in sight. Ace’s face looks mortified as he sees me watching them. Agent Servite and Lilith grin widely at me and the fourth figure’s face remains impassive. I scream again as large, strong arms wrap around me gripping me tight as I kick and scream, trying to squirm free.

I hear Bass and Beck arguing about how they need to keep me quiet. “It will be all over soon sweet angel. Your eyes are too pure to see the evil that lies before us,” Bass whisper’s in my ear.

Suddenly, Alek comes to stand in front of me graspingsomething in his hand. “Sorry, love, it will only sting a little,” he says with a wide grin before piercing my arm with something sharp.

A sudden cold sensation emanates through me as my body weakens, and my vision gives out. That’s the last thing I remember before it all goes dark.

Epilogue

SCARLETT

Over the course of my first three months at Servite Academy I know one thing is certain. The devil is real. I’ve seen him. He’s as real as real can be. Flesh and blood, yet untouchable. He walks among us, a king amongst his disciples. And he’s not at all what you’d expect.

He’s not a crimson god, nor does he have crooked horns, and least of all a piercing tail. He’s a beautiful, charming, alluring, and magnetic creature. Everything you’d ever dream of, just out of reach. Because he was once God’s favorite child. And he will always have been first, a fallen angel.

No, this devil among us is tall, blonde, eyes a stormy, ocean blue. Like the sky on a cloudy day right before the storm is about to ravage the earth. Like the ocean it’s ravaged leaving uncontrollable waves in its wake. He’s tattooed and dangerous. A king in his own right, but the prince of darkness, nonetheless. He’s the embodiment of chaos, power, and destruction. Capable of showingyou immense pleasure as he drives you into madness with nothing but the calloused touch of his palms.

But you see, I have an advantage. One thing he isn’t aware of. Deep down, under the corrupted, tainted, and corroded parts, I am still an angel. I am both hellfire and holy water. Little does he know he trained me for this. I walked through the steeled gates of hell, and although I might have dented my halo and torn off my wings, I survived. The fire deep within my rotten core burned brighter than his flames that swore to consume me. I played with fire, and it felt good; besides, no one, not even he’d expect an angel to set his world on fire.

You’ve seen me descend to the deepest, darkest depths of hell’s inferno, now watch me rise.

The holy ground will burn at my feet.

To Be Continued

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