Page 31 of Tainted Wings

Chapter 11

Abby

“Well then,” I say,stepping out of the sexy man sandwich, needing room to breathe. “Zed, any chance you wanna tell me what that was all about?”

His mood changes, and he looks pissed. “Just my stupid ex who can’t take a hint.”

“I didn’t know she was your ex,” I say.

“How would you?” he asks, narrowing his eyes. “Do you know her?”

“Umm...” I say, biting my lip. “Not officially?”

“What does that mean?” he questions, raising one of his brows.

“Well, I’ve seen her coming and going. Always to and from Isaac’s room.” Oh, that was not the right thing to say. His face morphs into a mask of fury.

“That fucking prick. Of course, he’s fucking my ex. Why am I not surprised?” he snarls.

“Zed. What is going on? How do you know Isaac?”

He lets out a frustrated sigh, running his hand through his raven black hair. “Come inside, I’ll tell you everything.”

We follow him into the house. It’s small and cramped, but it looks a lot cleaner inside than you would think based on how it looks from the outside. He takes a seat on the couch. I sit next to him, and Leo takes the chair.

“My life... it’s kind of complicated,” Zed states.

“You know I don’t care about any of that, right? Where you come from or who your parents are, doesn’t matter to me.”

He lets out a humorless chuckle. “Funny you say that.” He closes his eyes, putting his head against the back of the couch before opening them again and turning his head to look at me. “Isaac is my half brother.”

My eyes go so fucking wide, I’m surprised they are still in my skull. “I’m sorry... what?” I ask, blinking at him, wondering if my ears are working correctly.

“Yeah. It’s fucked up if you ask me.” He lets out a breath, reaching up to run a hand through his raven hair again.

“How?” I ask, my mind still stunned.

“We have the same dad,” he says, sounding like it almost pains him to say it. “No, scratch that. We were both made from the same sperm donor because that man was never a dad. He knows about me, has my whole life, but he doesn't care. He left my mom, met Isaac’s mom, got married then knocked her up. He’s tried sending money to help out, but we want nothing to do with his pity money.”

“Why would he do that? What happened with him and your mom?”

“They were fated mates. Or I should say, are since the bond is for life, even if it was not cemented. He met my mom, they touched, found out they were mated, and they fell in love. He never made it official because he was God's right-hand man. He saw my mom in secret for a while, but in the end he picked his place with God over my mom. My mom is a Dark Angel, and he's the highest ranking Pure Blood. He didn’t want to sully his reputation or bloodline. So he rejected my mom and left her for someone from high society. Little did he know, he left something behind.”

My heart hurts for him. He might be trying to act like it doesn't bother him, but I can see the pain in his eyes every time he mentions his mother.

“He might be a well respected angel, but he’s a fucking shit parent. He cares more about his status than his kids. You would think God would frown upon that, wouldn't you? Have you even met Michael yet?”

I shake my head. “No. I’ve been there for months and nothing.”

“My point exactly. All of them. None of their fathers give a shit, they only care about their God.”

“Zed,” I say, moving to straddle his lap and taking his handsome face into my hands. “I’m sorry our parents suck. We each had a parent who chose the Pure Blood life over their kids, I know how you feel. But do you know what you do have?” I brush my lips lightly across his.

His hands grip my hips, holding me to him in a possessive move. “What?” he breathes, sounding like he's trying to restrain himself from flipping me over onto this couch and having his way with me.

“You have me.”

He growls, his hand finding my head as he pulls me down to crush his lips to mine. With each kiss, I know deep in my soul this was all meant to be, and I was foolish to think I could ever deny it for a moment.

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