Page 1 of Guarded
Prologue
NOAH
Nox had all the subtlety and timing of a wrecking ball.
“We think one of you is Jeremiah’s fated mate.”
Naturally, this proclamation unleashed chaos. There we were, outside the compound and preparing to defend Ezekiel and his human mate against one of the most corrupt Heavenly angels, andthiswas the moment Nox chose to drop this knowledge.
Honestly, I wasn’t even surprised—not because he was a demon. Iwasn’t as narrow minded as some of the other archangels who made up our unit. The Seraphim were God’s most elite soldiers, and I was proud to count myself among them.
However, that didn’t mean they weren’t judgemental. The animosity between angels and demons ran deep, sparked by a war that had happened long before my time. By angelic standards, I was young. Being only part way through my sixth century, I was practically a child compared to my peers.
Not that you’d know it, given how they were all yelling over each other.
“How do you know?”
“Who?”
“Wait, you’ve kept this quiet all along?”
“What the fuck?”
I sighed internally. I hadn’t been with the Seraphim long, but they already had my loyalty. There wasn’t a shadow of doubt in my mind that being part of this unit was preferable to Juniper by several thousand miles.
Mainly because of the difference in leadership. The others in Juniper…I missed them. For centuries, they’d been my family.
Now they were strangers.
I wasn’t lonely. The Seraphim had taken me into their fold without blinking an eye. Their kindness and acceptance were beyond anything I’d expected.
That didn’t mean they didn’t annoy me sometimes. Especially the twins—they had a special knack for speaking when they shouldn’t and wriggling under the skin of whoever they were talking to. If that was an enemy, it was great.
Around the rest of us…not so much.
I didn’t know who Jeremiah was, other than being Nox’s demonic friend, nor did I care. Unlike some of the others, I hadn’t really thought much about who my fated mate might be. It’d be nice, I supposed, to have someone I knew was destined to be mine. To not have to constantly wonder where their affections lay, or to hide our relationship in the shadows.
I’d had enough of that withLyleto last me several immortal lifetimes.
At least with your fated mate, there’d be a pull towards them. A reassurance that they were meant for you. The other half of your soul.
It sounded great, but I didn’t mind if it took another hundred years to find them. So long as they truly wanted me, that was all I was concerned about.
Ezekiel cut them all off with a sharp whistle, probably thanks to the pained expression on Sam’s face. Along with OCD, Sam struggled with sensory processing disorder. Recently we’d all been making more of an effort to be considerate of our noise levels and his triggers.
The mere idea that a fated mate might be about to appear had them forgetting everything.
Typical with this lot, really. Skilled warriors they were, tactful they were not. Still, I was growing to love them like brothers.
And, like brothers, I wanted to give a few of them a wallop occasionally.
I was always careful to hold my powers back slightly, especially during trivial arguments. I’d given them enough of a display of my capabilities the day they’d hired me. Even that hadn’t been the full extent of my power though. I hadn’t touched the depths of it in a long time.
Hopefully, I’d never need to again. Others might think having a power like mine was a positive, something to be proud of.
In truth, it terrified me. If I ever lost control of it, if I crossed that line you couldn’t come back from, I could kill hundreds. Thousands. Not only that, but if anyone learned the true extent of what I was capable of, they wouldn’t love me for it.
They’d hunt me. What better bragging rights than being able to claim you’d executed someone as powerful as me?
