Chapter Eighteen

 

THEA

 

Thea grew concerned when she didn’t see Cam for three days. Normally, he turned up at her apartment on a daily basis to train her. She tried not to think too much into it, but the longer she didn’t see him, the more she began to wonder if he was okay. What if he was hurt? How would she know or find out?

Her concern then turned to doubt about their relationship and the feelings she’d thought he’d been developing for her. She had certainly lost her heart to him but, as the days passed, she started to realize that any perceived affection she thought he’d had for her outside of their time in the bedroom was all down to her assumptions. She didn’t truly know how he felt about her—she hadn’t asked him. He could be off training another Nephilim for all she knew, getting into bed with the next girl he was supposed to protect. The thought made her heart heavy and her chest stir with despair.

After two weeks, the feeling of dread that had been building eclipsed her. It had happened again. After all of her promises that she wouldn’t allow herself to be vulnerable again, she had gotten swept up in the moment with Cam. Yes, he had left her with the apartment, clothes, and car, but she hadn’t been left with her heart intact or her dignity. In some way that was worse.

She had allowed him to affect her mood, her very being. She had discarded the independence she’d so fiercely protected and entered into an intense sexual relationship with him when she didn’t know where it was going. He never talked about a future with her, and she’d been too naive to ask. Angels don’t break hearts, right?

He had told her she was ready to fight. What if that was it, now? She had been trained like he promised. Why should he return?

Embracing her pain, Thea sought out the angel Cam had pointed out to her the night they’d gone out to identify demons. She was tired of waiting around in her apartment alone with nothing to do. Besides, he’d told her that she was ready and she felt ready. So she searched for Amriel where she’d first seen him.

At first, the Archangel had laughed and dismissed her when she asked for an assignment. Then he insisted she was crazy. She had no partner, neither a Nephilim nor an angel to fight with her. But Thea stuck with him all day, demanded that he give her something to do. As soon as she told him Cam had trained her he started to take her seriously, asking her questions about her training and experience. He couldn’t help her with how to locate Cam but seemed stunned that he had trained her. Finally, by the time the moon had made an appearance in the sky, he gave her her first target, a small, bemused smile on his face.

Thea found the demon hanging out near the entrance to a bar in one of the shittiest parts of the city, watching like a bouncer as human men and women went in and out of the dirty establishment. She hid partially behind a large dumpster to watch him. He was a Spectra, lower-class, one she could easily take out on her own. A nervous thrill shivered through her body just thinking about what she had to do. Being without Cam put her nerves on edge, somewhat, but she had to harden herself. She couldn’t be with him all the time, and clearly, with him leaving her, he didn’t want to be with her at all.

When she emerged from behind the dumpster, the Spectra noticed her and turned towards her. He was so predictable—as Cam had said about lower-class demons. She knew that he could see the pale glow that radiated off of her just like she could see his red aura. He began to stalk toward her and she moved around the corner, out of sight from the front of the bar and the people who stood outside smoking. She kept her head turned just enough to watch the demon move behind her out of the corner of her eye.

When they were alone, she turned around and in one swift movement unleashed a spike of energy that hit him square in the chest and knocked him over. She ran toward him. He was back on his feet within seconds and he lunged at Thea, swinging at her with a meaty fist. She dodged him easily and slammed her knuckles into both of his temples on either side of his head. The action dazed him, caught him off guard, and Thea kneed him in the stomach, knocking him down again. He tried to shoot off a ball of demonic energy but her shield was already up and it simply bounced off. She formed another spike and sent it straight at his throat. The force of it caved his neck in, snapping it nearly in two. Thea watched the demon’s body dissolve into a thick cloud of dust.

As she caught her breath, the Creator’s soothing expanded over her and she shuffled to lean against the moss-covered wall. It calmed her from the fight but didn’t make a dent in the feeling of loss, disappointment, and anger she held toward Cam. It faded and she checked her body in case she had been hit somewhere she hadn’t noticed. She seemed to be fine but her heart raced with adrenaline. She had loved the battle, though part of her was disappointed Cam hadn’t been there to see her fight with confidence for the first time. She tried not to think of him as she made her way back through the streets to get to her car.

She considered going to get another assignment, but it probably wasn’t a good idea for tonight. Instead, she went home, showered and got into bed, her mind racing and still on a high from her fight. She lay there, struggling with herself to keep Cam out of her head. It was useless, though, everywhere she looked she remembered him. He had brought her to orgasm in every room of the apartment. She fell asleep thinking about how nice it would be to lay in his arms, with his fingers running through her hair.

Over the next week, Thea took assignments every night. Sometimes, she took more than one, trying to keep herself busy and to practice all she had learned. She found that she immensely enjoyed fighting the demons, not only the peaceful feeling that she was rewarded with after the kill, but also the thrill of the chase and the fight. She also couldn’t help but remember how good it had been to fight with Cam by her side but pushed that thought away every time it rose.

Two weeks after starting her hunting, she returned home in the early hours of the morning to find him waiting for her, sitting on the chair in her living room. Thea froze when she saw him, anger and joy both rising in her simultaneously.

He rose from his seat, regarding her with those gorgeous stormy eyes. That gaze almost gave her pause, almost made her lose herself and go to him. Desire rose in her stronger than ever, but she held herself back with strict restraint. She wanted to rage at him for disappearing on her after he had told her explicitly that she wouldn’t have to stop seeing him.

“What are you doing here?” she asked coldly, clenching her hands into fists.

“Why are you just getting in?” he shot back, just as cold.

Her mouth almost dropped open at his blatant audacity. How dare he. “I can come and go as I please, Cam.”

“I thought we established that that is untrue.”

“I thought we’d established that I would continue to see you.” God, she sounded so needy and weak. She widened her stance and lifted her chin.

“Cut it out, Thea,” Cam warned, his voice rumbling. “I have not approved you to start hunting. I’m going to rip Amriel apart when I see him. He shouldn’t be giving you assignments. You’re putting yourself in danger for no reason.” He clenched his jaw, his eyes flashing. “You don’t even have a partner—it’s foolish and reckless.”

“Don’t treat me like I don’t know what I’m doing, Cam. I’m completely capable without you.”

“I can see that.” He gestured to a cut on her chest that she had gotten earlier.

It was just a scratch, but Thea knew it looked bad. She cursed herself for not healing it immediately before she came home, but she hadn’t considered that he might be there waiting for her. She had been so sure she wouldn’t see him again—although she had secretly hoped.

“It only takes one cut,” Cam said, his eyes blazing. “One wrong move, one wrong slip and you could die, Thea.”

“You told me I was ready.”

Cam scowled. “I know. But I’m not ready for you to start hunting yet.”

“Why?” Thea said, almost shouting. “So you can continue to fuck me while you pretend I need more training?”

He stepped toward her, a dangerous look on his face. “Yes. I want to continue to fuck you.”

Damn it. His gravelly voice made her pussy clench and flood with need. Her body was always betraying her when it came to him. Thea tried to keep her mind focused. “You used me. You fucked me, then disappeared for weeks without a word.”

“I did not use you.” His eyes narrowed. “I told you exactly where I was going and I came back. Time passes differently in the Angel Realm. It’s only been four days for me. Here, it’s been four weeks.”

“You never told me that.”

“Yes, I’m realizing that.”

His sarcasm grated on her and an agitated heat spread throughout her body. “You said you had a meeting.” She raised a brow. “A meeting takes four days?”

He looked away. “I had some unexpected things to deal with.”

Suspicion snaked into Thea’s stomach, quickly followed by an explosion of jealousy. “Like what? Another Nephilim to train and fuck? An angel you’re not done sleeping with? A mate?” She didn’t know when she began shouting but she couldn’t stop. “You made yourself my whole world and made me rely on you. And then you fucked off and left me sitting around waiting for you. I didn’t even know if you were alive! Well, you know what? I don’t. Fucking. Need you!”

Her anger seemed to cause a burst of energy all over her body and she gasped in shock.

Something changed in Cam’s gaze. He closed the gap between them in a flash, grabbing the back of her head and crushed his lips on hers. She tried to fight him, but his scent, his hands, his warmth felt so good, so familiar, so perfect. Her anger melted away. She moaned into his mouth and she leaned against him, the strange energy rushing around her body.

“You’re so beautiful,” Cam murmured.

Thea slowly pulled away, distracted by the rush of energy. It whipped around her, through her and above her head, making her feel out of control.

She looked down at her hands and bit her lip, worried. “Something’s happening to me.”