"Course I'm right." She turned up the music and started singing at the top of her lungs.
By the time we'd made it downtown, we only had a few hours until I had to be at work.
Shopping with Stephanie was like an Olympic sport. She took me from store to store, tossing clothes in my empty arms and ordering me to try them on before I'd even told her I liked them.
She knew my style well. Not fussy, comfortable — but cute. I tried on several pairs of jeans, bomber jackets, shirts, boots — the list went on and on. I needed more coffee if I was going to make it through the rest of the day without passing out.
Or maybe I just needed Ethan.
He would be nice too.
"Hey!" Stephanie knocked on the door to the dressing room. "Hurry up in there. We only have a few more minutes."
I rolled my eyes and stared at my reflection. "Can I ask why you put me in a black evening gown?"
"Because!" She laughed. "Ethan will want to show you off."
"Fine." I pressed the heavily beaded fabric against my stomach. It was strapless and ridiculously heavy. Black with silver beading cascaded from floor to ceiling, it seemed.
I was like a walking pageant queen. "Stephanie, I don't think I like this."
No answer.
"Stephanie?"
With a sigh, I opened the door. Words died on my lips.
"Hello." His white eyes matched his long white hair. He tilted his head to the side as if examining me. "Come."
I stepped back and shook my head. "Where's Stephanie."
"Come." He held out his hand. His body was massive, bigger than Cassius and Ethan combined. He stood at least eight feet tall. Why was no one else running and screaming? He was beautiful, but it was a deadly type of beautiful. I don't know how, but I knew if I touched him, I'd die.
When he ducked into the dressing room, I gasped, covering my mouth.
Wings. He had wings.
Gold feathers that appeared then vanished right in front of me.
Ethan! My mind screamed.
Cassius… he could read my thoughts; he was powerful enough. I started yelling for him in my head, hoping he was tracking me, hoping in vain he would be able to find my scent. There was no way I was escaping the immortal in front of me.
"You're an archangel," I whispered.
"And you're the human."
Not a human. The human.
I gulped. "Please don't make me go with you."
His smile widened. "Are you afraid?"
It felt like a test.
I didn't know what to say.
I opened my mouth to yell no, but it was like he'd stolen the words from my lips. His head tilted back. "Come."
I shook my head, forcing myself to breathe, to not give into the fear that threatened to choke me.
"Come, or I kill your vampire. Your choice."
My throat released. "Don't!"
"So you'll come?" He seemed pleased.
"Just don't hurt him."
"You have my word. It won't be me who hurts your mate."
I nodded and reached out, touching my hand to his. And my world faded to white.
Ethan
"So things seem to be progressing nicely." Alex smirked over his morning coffee.
Ignoring him, I rolled my eyes and continued reading the paper. I was just about to put it down and grab my keys so that I could finish what I needed to do for the day and find an excuse to stop at the bookstore, when pain sliced through my chest.
My knees buckled as I reached for the table to steady myself.
"Ethan?" Alex was immediately by my side.
My blood boiled, turning to acid beneath my skin as the room started to spin. "Something's wrong."
"Sit down."
I pushed him away.
Mason was soon at my other side.
The door to the house opened, and Stephanie appeared right in front of us. "Ethan, I tried to—"
Our eyes met.
Hers were white.
"What. Have. You. Done." I roared, the heat in my blood searing every rational thought in my body.
Stephanie held up her hands and took a step back. "Nothing. I did nothing. I woke up, and she was gone!"
Alex cursed. "Cassius."
"No," I repeated. "It isn't Cassius."
I would feel Cassius — I'd felt him before when he'd taken one of my mates, knew the way it felt when my blood turned to ice in my veins.
"Stephanie?" Alex's eyes narrowed. "Your neck."
Growling, I pushed away from both men and slammed her against the granite countertop, tilting her next to the side so severely I was surprised her head hadn't come off.
"No." Hands shaking, I stepped away. "No."
Stephanie rubbed her neck; tears streamed down her face. "What? What's happening?"
Her eyes were still white.
"Did you see… it?"
"See what?" She was nearing hysterics. "Something knocked me out, and when I woke up, she was gone!"
"The archangel," I said in a hushed tone. "You wear his mark."
Stephanie's horrified gaze met mine as she started vigorously rubbing the spot I'd just discovered. It was small, white, and had the appearance of a snowflake tattoo. It would have been beautiful if it hadn't been a mark of death.