Page 1 of Hazel's Choice
Prologue
Hazel
Sometimes when I’m bored, I like to open my senses to the vibration of the universe and see where it takes me. There was a time not too long ago when my dads only let me hunt when they were around to supervise, but once they saw how capable I am, they slowly backed off.
Okay, it’s more like I turned eighteen and started escaping with no warning.
Siphoning is a gift when you want to disappear without anyone being able to stop you. All I have to do is imagine a place, and the universe pulls me there.
I used to assume I could only travel places I’ve been, at least until I picked up on “the pull.” That’s what one of my dads calls it. It’s basically the overwhelming urge to follow a trail to whatever the universe wants me to find. Most of the time, it’s something heinous playing out, but that’s just my lot in life.
Sure, I see some terrible shit, but whatever I stumble upon ends up facing something even worse…
Me.
The woman’s cries draw me through the woods outside of a town I’m unfamiliar with. Her terror claws at my chest, dragging me along with haste.
Sexual desire sits heavy in the air, but it’s the tainted kind. There was a point in time when I might have questioned whether this was some type of consensual interaction. I understand better how to differentiate what I’m picking up on now.
There are situations that might appear to be something they’re not, like a pre-discussed primal chase, for example. In that case, established rules would need to be respected. Outside of that, there might be fighting or struggling or even use of the wordno.
That type of situation is one I would not intervene in.
Luckily, Knight has never shied away from discussing what I would consider uncomfortable matters. He and Wraith might be my fathers, but they’re also my teachers. They’ve worked hard to ensure I understand when to intervene and when to mind my own business. Otherwise, I might devour someone innocent, and that’s the kind of mistake that can’t be taken back.
My powers are unimaginable to most, but I keep them on a tight leash to prevent ruining anyone’s life unnecessarily.
My mind stays focused on following the terrified woman’s vibration pattern, and my magic pulls me forward in a mass of black shadows that are invisible to the naked eye.
I land next to a sprawling oak tree and lean against the bark as my equilibrium catches up. The musty smell of aging leaves combines with the fresh scent of the night air, making something completely unique.
Is that an angel?
My head tilts.
That would behighlyunusual in the human realm.
Damn, it is.
The shock of feathers stretched behind him means he’s either an angel or a sentinel, but I’ve never seen a sentinel with that shade of bright white wings.
Sentinels are the offspring of Heaven, basically half angel and half whatever species the angel chose to procreate with. Their wings give them away. They’re never pure white like a full-blooded angel, instead being some color on the spectrum between cream and black.
The assailant leans over the struggling woman, and the sneer on his face makes my fists clench.
If he is an angel, you should go for backup.
It would only take an extra minute or two to pop back home and ask my dads for help, but I’m hesitant to do that. Even in that swift amount of time, that asshole could do immeasurable damage to her psyche.
He keeps himself floating in the air, using his wings as leverage while he traps her arms above her head with one hand. It’s what he does with the other that causes a hiss of air to leave my lips.
My monster has been judging souls since before I could walk. Something in my magic or my demon genetics has always known who to target. Now that I’m older, there’s an aspect of free will, but I’m actually less likely to judge a murderer irredeemable than I am a rapist.
This slimeball doesn’t have any goodness left in him.
So much for angels being the saviors of humanity while demonkind is looked down on. Ignoring that can of worms, I step from the shadows and fully form on their plane of existence.
My mouth waters.
