Angel Kin

“I like to see how the humans interpret their own history.”

“Writing down notes in the margins about how wrong they are

accomplishes nothing.”

“Neither does watching the
 
My Cat from Hell
 
on Animal Planet,

or
 
Tanked
, but you do with a curious frequency.”

Dex snorted. “It’s educational.”

“Riiiiiight…If we had a cat from hell, I’d be inclined to agree with  you. However, since we are currently pet-less…”

“We have a kitten, thank you very much. Miss Kitty is a little fluff  ball from hell. Wait until you meet her.”

“That isn’t even our cat! It belongs to the three additions we’ve  apparently adopted.”

“Doesn’t matter. It counts. It lives here with us for the time

being.”

“Doesn’t count.”

“Does, too.”

“Does not!”

Madigan just laughed at the pair of them. “I’ll be right back.” He turned on his heels and disappeared out the doorway and into the hall.

Dex turned toward Yuri, a serious look replacing the joking one that had been on his face the moment before. He’d obviously wanted to put Madigan at ease before sending him from the room. The fierce protectiveness Dex felt toward the smaller man made Yuri happy. He loved how his men loved each other.

“Madigan loves you very much,” Dex said.

“I know,” Yuri said, firm in the belief for the first time.

“Sometimes I just forget that.” He sighed, leaning his head down on  Dex’s thigh. “How is everyone?”

Dex gave a shrug. “Cross is getting better. His strength still isn’t  where it needs to be for travel. Bren has taken over a lot of his

responsibilities as far as guard shifts go. Michel is worrying himself  sick over everyone and still hissing in the three refugees’ direction  every time they walk into a room, but they’ve actually been quite

helpful. The green-winged Fallen has been slipping in and out of the  house for supplies since the rest of us are so clearly targets. Madigan  seems to have really bonded with the other nephilim and his lover. I  think their human sides have given them something to relate to.”

“Are we still planning on leaving for the sanctuary town? I know  that was the plan the last time I spoke to Cross, but I wasn’t sure if we  were going ahead with that, all things considered.” He’d spoken  surprisingly little to his lovers in the week since his injury. The first  few days he’d slept constantly, and now that he was more aware, it  seemed that they were busy making plans and didn’t have quite  enough time to keep him updated. It was frustrating to say the least.

Dex nodded. “That is still the plan so far as I know. Madigan’s  father had that SUV that Cross requested delivered yesterday. The  plan is to have two guardians and the nephilims with our belongings  in the car while the rest of us fly overhead and keep an eye on things.  We’re going midday, hopefully when the hunters will be reluctant to  draw attention to themselves. We should arrive within a few hours,

request sanctuary from the town’s council, and then go to the  residence that Marius already has set up. We’ll stay there a couple  days until we can find a house of our own and make ourselves a place.  Marius says the real estate market is booming among immortals  because of the town’s reputation for having zero crime and a very  calm populace. ”

“That’s great news, actually. That means we might be able to give  Madigan some permanence. He seems to want a home with us more  than anything,” Yuri said, nuzzling the firm thigh below his cheek.  All of his lovers were in such fine form. It was hard to concentrate on

much when they were in touching proximity.

“Agreed. He’s said as much.” Dex paused. “Do you think that he  really wants a wedding ceremony like Marius and his mates are  having?”

Yuri shrugged and instantly regretted the action. He hissed  through his teeth and counted backward from ten until he could

breathe through the pain. “I don’t know, but I think it would be  something to bring up with everyone when we get to the sanctuary  town. Once we’re somewhere stable enough…”

Dex began petting his cheek, and Yuri rubbed against him, but the  look on his face was thoughtful and seemed a million miles away.  From once, Yuri didn’t think he was talking to someone else that no  one could hear. “Perhaps. I’m just worried that Madigan will still be  reluctant to tell his mother. I mean, while our families attending  would be a wonderful opportunity for Madigan to meet some more  angels who are not going to judge him for being nephilim, I worry  that he will lose his human connection if he keeps our relationship  from his mother for too long. From what I understand of their  relationship, they’re very close.”

“When he’s ready, he will tell her. It has been hell for him these  past months. We’ve got to give him a little bit of a break to adjust to  us. After all, we had time to get used to the ideas of angels and wars  and people trying to kill him.” Yuri defended Madigan the best he  could. Despite having his own hang-ups about Madigan being  unwilling to tell his mother about his lovers, Yuri truly believed that  Madigan would come into his own given enough time and  acknowledge them.

Dex smiled and looked down at him. “You know, Yuri, I do care

for you. I love you dearly.”

“I know,” Yuri said, smiling in return. “I just wish I was better  already. I don’t mean to be a grouch.”

“All good, lover.” Dex winked. “I’ll take it out on your ass at a  later date.”

The statement sent a bolt of lust right through Yuri’s cock, making it twitch against the comforter. “Damn tease,” he cursed as his body pulsed. This no-sex thing was killing him!

The sound of returning footsteps had Yuri turning his head toward the door. Madigan came staggering through the door with a huge box that was almost as big as he was.

“How many”—He paused, panted—“books”—he paused again— “did you order?” Madigan asked in a strangled voice. He hefted the  box onto the floor by the bed and nearly collapsed on top of it.

“I’m sorry, Madigan,” Dex apologized, looking supremely guilt  ridden. “I didn’t think about how heavy it was.”

“I would hate to get the bill for those damn things,” Madigan said,  pointing to the monstrosity and throwing a glare at Yuri. “Honestly,  you really should get an e-reader. For Christ’s sake, Yuri, you’re  junking up my room with all your damn books.”

“The one-click option is my weakness,” Yuri said, grinning  completely unapologetically. “Don’t be all pissy at me when Dex was  the one who made you carry the box.”

Dex snorted. “Thank you for throwing me under the bus, Yuriel.”

“Any time, love.”

Madigan rolled his eyes. “You both suck.”

“Yes,” Dex said automatically.

“Very well in fact,” Yuri added.

Madigan sighed. “I give up.”

Chapter Two

After Yuri was secure with his NFL sports magazines and the dozen or so books he’d ordered, Madigan made his way down the stairs toward the living room. When he and Dex had gone to check on their patient, they’d left the entire lot of angels down here watching

some B-rated horror movie.

When they rounded the corner into the living room, everyone was exactly where he’d left them. There was a different movie playing on the screen, but Cross was still sitting on the couch. Bren was still lying against him with his feet in Michel’s lap. Bren had been increasingly affectionate as the week had worn on.

The clinginess was most likely a reaction against the trauma they’d all been through. Cross especially got most of his fussing.  Madigan guessed that made sense considering Bren had basically been helpless as Cross had died in the driver’s seat of the car, right in front of him. While Madigan hadn’t witnessed it personally because he’d been trapped in the circle of Yuri’s wings at the time, the reactions of the other angels and the silence of the corpse had been enough to give Madigan nightmares.

Cross was the first to look up. “How was he, Madigan?”

“He’s in a better mood now. He was brooding like a character from a teen movie when we first got up there.” Madigan took a seat on the floor directly in front of the couch his lovers sat on. Dex joined him. “The isolation is killing him.”

“That’s odd,” Marius spoke. The green-haired, green-winged angel had been a huge help in the days since coming home from the car accident. Marius and his two lovers were sharing the other couch,

snuggled up in a similar fashion. “I’ve never known Yuri to be like  that. Most of the time his lovers complain that he wants to be left  alone so much.” The Fallen angel’s eyes regarded them, and a slow  grin came onto his face. “Being angel bound is definitely a lifealtering experience, huh?”

“I imagine it’s more intense for a true angel,” Michel quipped,  glaring slightly at the Fallen. Since it was his job to fight demons and  Fallen on the earth’s plane, it made sense that he was so reluctant to  like Marius. It did not make sense to Madigan why, after everything  that Marius had done, Michel would continue to be hostile. Though,  Michel’s hostility was easing somewhat when it came to Erik and  Levi, Marius’s nephilim and human lovers, which Madigan supposed

was progress.

“Trust me, Michel. My bond with my lovers is just as intense as  that of any ‘true angel.’” A thread of annoyance laced Marius’s  words.

Madigan decided he had better interfere before things escalated.  “The point is, one of us needs to sleep with him at night, every night, until he gets better. He feels that the bond is strained, and so he’s miserable.”

“You all have only had it for a few weeks, so that makes sense.  The bond is a fragile thing in the beginning. It might be best if you  spend as much time as possible with him. A weakness in the link  could lead to trouble,” Levi spoke up from his position between his  two lovers. “I read about it in the
 
UCNM
.”

“What the hell is that?” Madigan wondered.

“It’s this book that the Fallen have written,” Levi began.

“Be quiet, Levi,” Marius snapped. Levi’s eyes widened in shock  and filled with hurt almost instantly. Erik growled in Marius’s  direction, and Marius cupped his cheek in apology. “I’m sorry, baby. I  didn’t mean to yell. It’s just that that book isn’t supposed to be  bandied about to angels. It was written for the Fallen, remember?”

Levi nodded. “Yeah. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to say something I shouldn’t have. It’s just they’re our friends—”

“Temporary allies, baby,” Marius interrupted. “They don’t like us very much.”

“That’s not true!” Madigan protested. “I think of you as my friends.” He motioned to the whole couch. “I wouldn’t be baking your wedding cake if I didn’t consider you guys that.” He looked over his shoulder at the stubborn statue that was Michel. “
Some
 
of us just need

to learn to back off just a teeny bit and relax.”

Michel’s jaw ticked. “I need some fresh air.” He gently put Bren’s  legs off of his lap and pushed himself up from the couch before  stalking from the room. The front door slammed, and Madigan  sighed. He would never understand all the quirks and triggers that his  angels had. He loved them all dearly, but they had the weirdest things  that bothered them. He supposed it was from being warriors and  guardians. Whenever something could potentially, no matter how  small the potential, affect Madigan, they all became unreasonable  Neanderthals.

“Marius, surely it’s not that big of a secret. I’m a nephilim, for  pity’s sake. Who am I going to report you to?” Madigan asked. He  was fascinated with all the things he was learning about the new  world he’d been thrown into. His lovers probably got sick of being  pestered for information, but he just couldn’t seem to help himself.