Page 9 of Devoted

Fortunately, it hadn’t come to that. Their issue hadn’t been with Micah taking a mate, but with the fact that Nox was a demon. I mean, I got it, demons were literally on the oppositeside of the great divide. They were supposed to be our enemies, not our lovers. But that definition had already been blurred when one of our unit, Dimitri, had fallen. Like Micah, our former second had a demon as one of his fated mates. Not just any demon, but a son of Lucifer.

As a unit, we’d had to watch as one of our friends, one of ourfamily, walked away. The instant his wings turned black that day in Hell, we’d all known what it meant.

Dimitri had fallen. He was no longer a member of the Seraphim.

Coming to terms with that had been harder than I’d admitted to anyone. How could I declare I hated all demons when that title now applied to someone I loved as a brother?

Things only got more complicated when Micah and Nox fell in love. At first, I found Nox as irritating as all of his brethren. Truthfully, I couldn’t see the appeal at all.

But then I discovered what he’d done to protect Micah. How he’d learned what our leader had hidden from us formillennia.How far Nox had gone to avenge him.

From that moment on, Nox had my grudging respect. When we’d found out how he’d also been supporting Micah emotionally, helping him escape the burden of command he’d been carrying alone, that respect had only grown.

Didn’t mean I liked the fucker. He seemed to delight in pissing me off as much as the Seraphim did. But my dislike had nothing to do with the fact that he was a demon.

It was because he was a twat.

A twat who, nonetheless, made Micah happier than I’d ever seen him. And if anyone deserved happiness, it was Micah.

I should’ve seen how much Micah was struggling with his role. I should’ve fuckingknownhe wasn’t sharing everything with me. I should’ve pushed harder, insisted that he give me more responsibility.

I’d failed him in every possible way.

Guilt twinged as the angel in question pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed deeply. “Theo, I respect your viewpoint, but no. There’s no scenario in which we can change the boundaries without war breaking out as a result.”

Theo, one of the twins, crossed his arms with a huff. “I’m just saying, it could work.”

“No, it couldn’t.” Noah’s long purple hair swayed as he shook his head emphatically. “The Newsome Clan has held that land for centuries. Changing the boundaries will only exacerbate the issue.”

More debate broke out, voices rising as they battled to be heard. I wasn’t sure why deciding a minor boundary issue had been delegated to us in the first place. Probably to remind us of our place after our recent defiance—basically doing whatever the fuck Heaven ordered us to do.

I watched the argument in silence, trying to decide when to jump in. To be honest, I never really had much of a say as to when it would happen. Usually it was whenever my temper decided enough was enough. The others liked to say my red hair was an indication of the rage I carried.

In reality, it had been born in that chamber, countless centuries before.

This behaviour was pretty standard for our meetings. Noah might have been the newest member of the unit, but he’d slipped into Dimitri’s former spot as though he’d always been there.

His former spot, but not his role. That ‘pleasure’ was mine to claim. It made sense, really. I’d been unofficially acting as Micah’s second for a very long time. Even before Dimitri was mated, he’d often disappeared for weeks at a time, leaving a gaping void in the unit. I’d quietly stepped into his place, trying desperately to fill his shoes.

I thought I’d been doing okay, but it turned out my efforts had been in vain. When everything went down a few weeks ago, it hadn’t just been Micah’s love life that had been under the microscope, but his secrets too.

Namely, how much he needed help. That he needed me and the others to step up and carry the burden so he wasn’t doing it alone.

It was why I no longer protested about these meetings, instead typing up an agenda for Micah and trying to get everyone to stick to it. Rather than leaving the paperwork to him and Benji, I rocked up to the office at seven o’clock every morning, working silently alongside them until we were done for the day.

It was what had led to me downloading that game in the first place. Micah had always tried to encourage us to find a life outside of the unit. I hadn’t really been bothered before, but now he could ask me anything and I’d agree.

It wasn’t like playing a stupid game could make up for how I’d let Micah down, but it was a step in the right direction. Originally, I’d planned on playing it for a few hours just to say I’d tried. For decades, I’d mocked humanity for their addiction to technology, and now I was just as bad. I was completely addicted to the game.

Sure. It’s the game you’re addicted to.

I wasn’t sure whether all inner voices were sarcastic, but mine was.

Anyway, the point was, I was taking a different approach to most things in my life. I was determined to be better. For Micah. For the unit.

That wasn’t to say I was perfect. Far from it. But I wastrying. That had to count for something…

Right?

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