ChapterEighteen
Angelina
Iloved my wings, and the sense of freedom I experienced flying high above the ground was sensational. When I launched myself from the window, I honestly didn’t know if I’d faceplant the ground or fly off. Luckily for me, I avoided the ground and headed high into the sky. Being with my mates and enjoying the freedom of such an act was exhilarating, and something I wanted to do on a regular basis.
“Guys, I’ve had a thought.”
Laughter filled my head. “Uh oh, does this include your body or something else?”
“Very funny, Luca. Something else, actually.”
The collective groan of my mates made me laugh. I headed for our living room and sat down. As usual, they sat at either side of me.
“What is it?” Luca asked.
“Now I have powers and wings, I think I need some help using them properly.”
“Like what?”
“Sounds stupid, but avoidance tactics. Demons fly too. What if I’m divebombed by one? I need to know how to get away quickly.”
“Would you like to try now?” Sal smiled.
“Please.”
We flew from the open window and headed for the deepest part of our land. We’d ensured we were invisible to the naked eye. Now I hovered above the trees, waiting for my instruction.
“I’m going to pretend to be Viktor. Luca will give you directions.”
I watched as Salvatore flew away from me.
“I want you to observe what I do, Angelina, then Salvatore will try the same moves. Watch and learn.”
I moved out of the way. Salvatore was heading for Luca at the speed of light. I thought he was going to crash straight into him. At the last minute, Luca shot high up into the sky, with Salvatore in hot pursuit. I watched as Luca evaded each lunge. Then he headed directly for the trees. The whoosh of wings reverberated around me. I could see them clearly with my heightened eyesight. How they didn’t hit any trees, I don’t know. Then Luca shot upwards from the trees with Sal right on his tail. I marvelled at how graceful they looked. They headed back to me.
“That was… that was incredible.” I was breathless, eyes wide in wonder.
“Sal is going to do the same with you. Be prepared. With your new powers, you have a built-in sonar device, much like a bat’s. Trust your instincts when you go through the trees. You won’t hit any, I promise.”
“I don’t know, Luca. What if my bat senses aren’t as good as yours?”
“Trust yourself. Most of it will be instinctive,” Sal promised before taking off once again.
My nerves were taking hold and I trembled. A hand gently squeezed my arm.
“Breathe. You’ve got this,” Luca assured me.
Then I saw him. Salvatore headed for me as Luca moved away. I could see him clearly now, eyes focused on me. I remembered he’d only been millimetres away from Luca before he’d flown away. He was almost upon me. My head faced the sky above. My wings were almost in the shape of a fighter plane’s wings. I flew as quickly as I could, heading for the higher sky like a rocket, the wind whistling around me as I sped higher.
Salvatore was hot on my heels. Thinking back to Luca’s tactics, I waited until he was within touching distance. I spread my wings wide, got out of his line of fire, and reversed on myself so I was diving headfirst towards the trees. The experience was exhilarating. The whoosh of air, the speed, the sheer power I felt coursing through my veins. Without thought for my safety, I headed inside the trees.
My God, I had never felt such power in my life. And just like a bat’s sonar, if I got too close to tree trunks, or large branches, my instincts told me to veer left, or veer right. I could hear Salvatore behind me. I kept going until I came out of the trees, my body shooting upwards, my amazing wings whistling. Like a missile, I flew up into the air. I let loose a triumphant roar as I hovered high in the sky, arms and wings outstretched, basking in my victory.
Salvatore and Luca stood on the ground below. Their eyes lifted towards me. I glided down to land gracefully between them.
“You are the most beautiful creature ever to walk this Earth. So powerful. So sexy.” Luca’s emotion-filled voice and glistening eyes made my heart thunder in my chest.
“Yes, brother, she is. You are amazing, Angelina. A true warrior in your own right,” Salvatore added, tears shimmering in his eyes as well.
“I felt it too. The strength, the instinctiveness of each action. It was like a key turning in a lock, releasing my powers.” My cheeks flushed at my words and my tears fell.
We shared passion-fuelled kisses. I attempted not to think about why I was now a Hybrid and what my role would be. It was my understanding that, after reading more information in the Hybrid bible as I’d come to call it, my role was a demon hunter of sorts. My duty was to protect the humans and any other good supernatural beings who lived within the boundaries of our territory. And if called upon, we’d assist others of our kind if they had a demon problem. Wow, this was going to be a huge learning curve. But after my ‘flying lesson’ my confidence was soaring.
It was beginning to grow light outside our bedroom window. After my impromptu lesson, and flying around the house and grounds, we’d come back to bed and made love. We’d fallen asleep in our usual position of me in the middle, with the guys nuzzled up close to me.
I wondered when I’d see Diane again. As much as I loved my mates, I wanted some girl time now. She and Michael were probably waiting to hear from us that everything was okay. Becoming restless, I untangled myself and headed for a shower.
“Where are you going?” Salvatore asked. Jesus, their Italian accents hit me right between the legs each time they spoke.
A wickedly sleepy chuckle rumbled from him. “Good to know.”
“Behave. I need to shower, and I want to see Diane and Michael. They must be worried by now.”
“But it’s only six a.m.,” Luca complained.
“You two stay and rest a while longer. I’ll go and fix breakfast, and you can come down a little later while I go to visit Diane.”
They sat up in bed, and I could feel their heated gazes burn right through me, grazing my skin as if they were physically touching me.
“I think we’d both rather you stayed in bed and let us fix you for a while longer.”
“Luca, will you just stop it?” Although, as I said the words, I could feel lust burn my veins and my fangs broke through my gums.
“Come on, bella. You know you want to. Plus, we can sense your hunger to feed from us. We want to taste you again too.”
Luca’s words had me heading back for the bed. I could see their fangs gleaming in the half-light.
“Okay,” I murmured, my voice sounding seductive to my own ears. “Then we can shower, make breakfast together, and go see Diane and Michael.”
“Good girl,” Luca murmured while I crawled up the bed to wriggle between them. “You know it makes sense.”
And as their fangs sank into my flesh, I allowed myself to become lost in the haze of passion yet again.
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