Page 27 of Secrets in the Shadow

Raziel stood there, his presence a storm bottled into human form. His dark, furious glare was fixed on the two men as if they were the only thing holding him back from unleashing destruction. Cody’s breath hitched, the world tilting under his feet.

The memory of Raziel’s touch—heat and dominance pressed against the cold wall of his living room—rushed back with an intensity that left him trembling.

His pulse thudded painfully in his ears as he took in Raziel’s taut frame, his powerful shoulders, and the dangerous tension coiling in every line of his body. But it wasn’t just his commanding stance or the fire in his eyes that undid Cody. It was the knowledge, raw and undeniable, that this man was his mate.

The connection hit like a tidal wave, threatening to pull him under. His heart ached, not with fear, but with the weight of an emotion too vast to name. Raziel’s beauty wasn’t just physical. It was everything—the strength in his resolve, the fury blazing in his gaze, the wild, untamable energy that seemed to ripple through the room. Cody’s knees felt weak, his breath faltered, his very soul reaching for something it had only just realized it was missing.

For a brief, dizzying moment, he wasn’t sure if he was terrified, enamored, or completely undone. All he knew was that Raziel, his mate, was inescapable, and Cody never wanted to escape.

“What in the fuck is the deal with people popping into my nephew’s bedroom?” the smaller man—which was a joke since both men we’re humongous—snarled at Cody and Zymore.

The longer the day went on, the more it deteriorated. He was afraid to find out what would happen in an hour. Imprisonment in a heavenly jail cell?

Raziel spun, took one look at Zymore, and the hold the angel had on Cody’s arm, and lost it. He closed the distance and slammed his fist so hard into Zymore’s jaw that the blow should have shattered his face.

No way in hell Cody was letting them fight right next to him. He scrambled across the room, taking his chance with the two strangers.

“Tell me what’s going on,” the larger of the two asked in a gentler tone while Raziel and Zymore tried to rip each other apart.

The smaller of the two strangers jumped into the fray, shouting about killing them for tearing up Ethan’s bedroom.

So, his mate had a son. Cody would love to meet him. He thought kids were a hoot.

“Raziel is my mate,” he said quickly, praying the guy beat the brakes off of Zymore as he explained what happened at his house and why Raziel had attacked the long-winded idiot.

“And Zymore thinks he has a chance in hell of making up for it?” the larger one asked.

Cody thought it funny the guy had said “chance in hell.”

“I’m Quinton Everhart, by the way. And the guy driving his fist into Zymore’s side is my son Killian.”

Cody shook the outstretched hand and introduced himself. “Just so you know, I didn’t mean to bring this chaos here. I simply demanded Zymore take me to Raziel.”

Killian lifted Zymore into the air, but before he could power-slam him, the angel vanished then reappeared behind him, only for Raziel to manifest two swords. His mate’s expression looked carved from fury itself, a living monument to wrath as he drove the blades toward Zymore.

“You would do well to save your energy for the real threat heading your way,” Zymore warned.

If he had “popped” Cody here, why hadn’t Bashar shown up yet? It had been at least twenty minutes since Zymore said Raziel and his son had been discovered. If angels had the ability to travel that fast, what was keeping him?

“Why hasn’t Bashar shown up already?” Cody asked the question out loud to no one in particular.

It made Raziel and Zymore look his way. Cody gazed directly at his mate, his throat tightening at the memory of what the angel had endured. The longing in Raziel’s green eyes was unmistakable, an unspoken ache that mirrored his own, as if they were both desperate to close the distance between them.

“I’m sorry you were dragged into this.” Raziel looked torn. “All of you.” He glanced at Killian. “Especially Ethan.”

To hell with this. Cody rushed across the room. Raziel’s swords instantly vanished before his mate curled his strong arms around him.

As soon as he was cocooned in them, the deep ache he’d felt at Raziel’s absence dissipated. One more reason to believe the angel really was his mate.

“You’re in trouble for not telling me we’re mates,” he murmured against Raziel’s chest.

“Really?” The angel snarled. Cody looked up to see him glaring at Zymore. “How was that your place to tell him?”

“You’ve been stalking him for two days,” Zymore shot back. “You’ve had plenty of time to explain things.”

Wait… “You were stalking my stalker?”

Raziel’s arms loosened, and then he stepped away from Cody. “How did you even find me?”

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