Club Angel's Kiss

My hand swiped across my cheek, catching a trivet of tears as they fell from my eyes. Another sob escaped my throat. My body convulsed with the force of it, making me shake more than before.

I hugged my knees to my chest, slowly rocking back and forth.

My sanity was questionable at this point. I had been crying for the longest time, hours at the least, finally releasing my feelings and fear for the fight later tonight.

Yesterday passed much too quickly. Only six hours remained until my “army” set off to the slaughter house, and it was really wearing on every part of me.

Thankfully, no one had come to check on me yet. I had no desire to explain my tears, to explain why I hadn’t slept or eaten all day. Or even been downstairs. I couldn’t force myself to look at Zacky or my vampires.

I sobbed again, covering my face with my hands.

All I wished was for this to be over. I wanted tomorrow morning to hit, and wake up to the sun shining brightly through the window with Zacky laying beside me, watching me sleep, like so many mornings before.

But I had a very distinct feeling that wouldn’t happen.

Everything would no doubt be different.

I didn’t want anything to be different! Home life had been the same for three months. I had it just the way I wanted, as normal as life in a vampire coven could get. Designed purely around the kids to make them the happiest.

Why did all my hard work have to be shattered?

Why?

I yanked a pillow off my bed and pressed it against my face. A screech ripped from my mouth. The pillow blocked the majority of the loud sound, but nothing could block all of the blood curdling sound.

Once I was finished, I dropped the pillow to the floor beside me.

I leaned my head backwards onto the wall, tears dripping down my neck. My throat ached now. The pain only made me wail harder.

I was on the verge of hysterics. And I didn’t know how to calm myself.

“Z-Za-Z-Zacky!” I yelled shakily.

The door flew open moments later. Zacky barged inside, rushing to where I sat on the cold floor beside the bed. He lowered himself beside me.

“Amber, stop crying.” He pulled me onto his lap. “I told you everything will be alright. Why are you freaking out?”

“Y-You’re going to die,” I stuttered. “Someone is-is going to die, I know it.”

Zacky disagreed. “No one is going to die, especially me. Didn’t we have this conversation yesterday? I thought you were okay with this.”

“I l-lied.” I laid my head on his shoulder.

Zacky sighed and leaned his head on mine.

“Sweetheart, it is okay. I won’t allow anything to happen.”

“You can’t control who gets attacked,” I muttered. “You can barely control if you get attacked. Those vampires are really strong, and what if Drakkar gets a weapon? You won’t stand a chance.”

“Stop.”

I removed my head from underneath Zacky’s. I looked at him questioningly.

He smiled.

If only I could smile back.

“Do I need to tell you again?”

“No, spare me.” I raised my head. “So, how long until you leave?”

Zacky raised an eyebrow. “You don’t already know?”

Oh, I knew.

Six hours and eleven minutes. I also knew how many seconds were left, and how many minutes six hours made up. Three hundred seventy one minutes and thirty four seconds, but my instincts told me not to tell him that.

Just act oblivious. I wouldn’t want to make him worry over my obsessive behavior and thoughts over the fight.

No.

Bad idea.

“No.” I shook my head. “How long?”

“Six hours.”

Really? I had no idea. A short laughed burst from my mouth. Quickly, I cut it off with my hand, my eyes widening.

My sanity was no nonexistent. There was no hope of getting it back now that I was laughing at my own insane, unstable thoughts.

“What’s so funny?” Zacky asked.

“Nothing, nothing.”

Zacky gently lifted my onto the bed and stood up. He stared at me with inspecting eyes for several moments. Finally, he sighed.

“I have to go talk to Draegan about something,” he explained.

That something had to do with the fight, naturally.

“I’ll be right back. Do not start crying again, I beg you. I will only be gone a minute.”

“Okay.” I laid down, my head resting on the nearest fluffy pillow.

Zacky left the room.

I turned my eyes to the wall.

Six hours. They would leave at eleven PM, and try to arrive by midnight. Their main goal was to catch them off guard, but would it work?

The others might have found out by now. And what if they found out Adam called me? He would be the first to die. Conversing with the enemy was against all rules, no doubt.

I let out a cry and shook my head roughly, trying to force all worries from my mind.

“No need to worry,” I assured myself. “It’ll be okay, Amber. No worrying. You’re going to give yourself an ulcer.”

By the smallest degree, I managed to calm myself. Tears kept falling onto the pillowcase, but they were gradually beginning to stop.

I flipped onto my back and stared at the white ceiling above. My eyes searched, finding pictures in the etched designs.

The first thing my keen eyes spotted was a heart, perfectly shaped and the right proportions on both sides.

My lips turned up in a half smile.

A heart. How fitting for this bedroom. How fitting for every room in the entire house.

Slowly, I pulled my fingers through my hair.

Everything will be fine.

The feeling that everything would in fact be alright was already starting to sink in. I hoped it would be here to stay.

Even after everyone left.

“You have made your point, Johnny! Now shut up and leave me alone.”

I closed my eyes and sighed in defeat. How could I keep the feeling of firm hope when my babysitters were at each other’s throats constantly? It would be quite the challenge, for sure.

“I was simply trying to state something! For your own good, Chalice!”

“I said you made your point. Now, go away before I rip your throat out!”

I grabbed the pillow I screamed into and pressed it over my ears.

“Stop fighting, stop fighting,” I whispered.

“DAMMIT! You are so infuriating, you know that, right?!” Chalice kept going.

“Fully aware.”

I threw my pillow to the floor and flung myself out of the bed. I hurried over to the door, grabbed the knob, and pushed it open.

I poked my head out into the platform of the staircase.

“Chalice, Johnny, stop fighting!” I yelled. “Tonight is going to be hell if you two don’t freaking stop.”

Silence fell on the house.

I stared down the stairs to the second floor.

“Sorry, my Queen. We will behave!” Chalice finally called back.

I smiled. “Thank you, Chal!”

I leaned back into my room, quietly closing the door.

The yelling stopped, but I knew for a solid fact that tonight would be no different than the harsh words they had just shared.

Tonight could even be worse.

I slumped against the wall beside the door.

At least the kids would be asleep for the night. They wouldn’t have to deal or listen to them scream at each other, and possibly murder one another.

Ah, that would be one hell of a story to tell everyone when they came back from the fight.

Something knocked against the door.

I glanced to my side. “Zack?”

“Yes, love?” He opened the door and smiled brightly. “Are you better now?”

“Yes.” I slid my arms around his neck. “I’ve come to terms with it, I think. Except tonight is going to suck without you, honey. Chalice and Johnny fight constantly. How am I supposed to deal with that?”

“Tell them to shut up.”

Zack put his hand on my waist and lifted me slightly, so that my feet were on top of his shoes. He then wrapped his arms around my torso.

He kissed me gently.

“Can I have this dance, Amber?” he whispered, pulling his lips away.

I nodded. “You may, my King.”

With fluent talent, he spun us across the room, moving gracefully in a slow dance, our bodies pressed together.

I couldn’t help but smile.

“This is like a military ball,” I whispered, running my hand over Zacky’s neck.

“Really?”

“Mhm. You know, the formal party where women see their soldier husbands off to war. They share their last dances before they go fight.” That sounded terrible…

Zacky laughed. “Does that mean you’ll stand on the widow walk, waiting for me?”

I nodded.

Because I no doubt would.

/ - / - / - /

How could this be real?

Everything was like a movie. The similarity was almost uncanny.

Watching everyone saying goodbye to their loved ones.

Jett and Brian were cooing over Lavender, kissing her and whispering that they loved her and would be back soon. But I could hear the sound of fear in Jett’s voice. The doubt she had in her statement was quite evident, to my ears at least.

Rave and Jimmy held Joel closely. Rave said things resembling that of Jett’s soft words to her son. Jimmy stood behind his mate, his hand on her shoulder, watching the faces the toddler was making.

I felt sick gazing at the little families. The emotions raging through my heart almost made me double over.

Instead, I pressed my hand to my throat and rested my hip against the staircase banister. The wood railing bent and groaned with the sudden exchange of weight.

What little self-composure I had before vanished as I looked to my own family. Daniel stood on the floor in front of Zacky, staring up at him with wide, glistening eyes. Zacky stared right back.

Neither said a word, but the tense sensations filling the air around them could practically be seen floating in the air, hovering around them.

“Papa,” Daniel whimpered. “Papa!”

Zacky scooped Daniel into his arms and secured him to his chest. Daniel slumped against his shoulder, sobs emanating from his small, shaking body.

I pressed my lips tightly together. I tried not to make a sound. I tried to ignore the tears stinging behind my eyes.

“Daniel, don’t cry,” Zacky whispered, patting our son’s back. “I’ll be home before the morning. Remember our promise?”

Daniel nodded feebly. “You promised to be the one who wakes me up tomorrow. But what if you don’t come home?!”

“I will, too, come home.” Zacky looked directly at me.

I turned my eyes to the ground.

He made me promise not to cry, so I wouldn’t. Or, if I did, I would wait until they left or simply hide the fact that I was in fact bawling. He would never be any the wiser.

“And I will be the one to wake you up. I’ll be the first face you see after you have sweet dreams, okay?” Zacky planted a kiss on Daniel’s cheek. “Can you promise me something else?”

“What?” Daniel sniffled.

“You need to watch Mama while I’m gone. Make sure she doesn’t cry or overreact for any reason.”

“I promise.”

Zacky set Daniel on the ground. The moment his feet touched the ground, Daniel rushed to the couch and buried his face in one of the white pillows.

I carefully peeked at my mate through my hair. Zacky was walking toward me; he was only mere feet from where I stood. Quickly, I composed myself, wiping the small tears from my eyelashes.

Zack traveled speedily across the room. I soon felt his hands grab my hips, and he plucked me right off the stairs. I went limp.

He held me like a small baby to his torso.

Eventually I hugged my arms around his neck and straightened up. My feet found the ground. I stood.

“You’re the last goodbye,” Zack muttered. “It’s almost time to leave, love.”

“I know.” A knot clenched in the depths of my stomach. I felt like throwing up, so I slid one of my arms away from Zack’s neck and pressed it underneath my ribs.

Zack leaned his forehead onto mine. His mouth resided inches from my own. My heart slowly began to race.

“Does that mean I can have a goodbye kiss?”

I didn’t need to ask. By the time the last word left my lips, he was already moving in for the kiss.

My worries disappeared.

We shared a powerful kiss. I could almost feel the power pumping through us as my arms went back around his neck and our tongues pressed together.

I half expected one of the others to clear their throats or tell us to get a room, but the coven remained wafted in silence. Everyone must have known how much this goodbye between Zack and I meant to both of us, how much it should mean to the entire group of vampires.

This could possibly the last time their queen had a mate, another ruler to help with the orders and the vampires…

Their king’s fate hung in limbo somewhere over Clark’s Slaughter House. Would he die? Would he not live long enough to see Daniel become six? Seven? An adult?

I clutched him closer. Zack pushed his hips flushed against mine. My bones punctured against his stone-like ones, sending a strange mix of excitement and pain coursing through my body.

Zack evidently felt the same. He ripped away from my lips, his mouth finding its way to my ear. A low grunt filled my senses, and I could just see him grinning from ear to ear.

I shook my head. With as much effort as I could muster, I pushed him backwards.

“A goodbye kiss,” Obsidian murmured from the front door. “It was like watching a low budget porno from the eighties.”

Zack whipped around on his heel. “Shut up.”

Obsidian raised his hands, grinning. “I speak nothing but the truth, bud. You can’t condemn me for being an honest person, now can you?”

What a smart ass.

Zacky stared sternly at him for several minutes before pointing his index finger toward the door. “Alright, troops. Is everyone ready to ship out and end the danger to our Queen and children?”

Several “whoops” and excited “yeahs” filled the air.

Jett, much as I expected, didn’t say a thing in response. She curled Lavender into the crook of her arm and kissed her on the top of the head repeatedly.

I took a few quick steps forward. Slowly, I extended my hands in the direction of the beautiful baby girl.

Jett stared at me. Her eyes clouded over with intense, sad emotions, but she handed Lavender over, nonetheless. I coiled the baby against my chest, all the while watching her paranoid mother who never took her eyes off me or Lavender.

I felt nervous.

She would be distracted at the fight. Her mind would constantly be thinking about her baby back safely at home. Slipping up was out of the question. Death was no option, and if her mind was on other things, she was as good as dead.

I gave a deft glance to Brian. He caught my eye. I nodded my head to Jett, mouthing, “Watch her” silently.

She didn’t notice the warning.

Brian slipped his arm around his mate’s waist and urged her to come closer. She obeyed, burying her face in his shirt.

I sighed.

Rave stalked her way over to me. She, too, out held Joel, who I took into my free arm and placed him on my hip. Rave planted a last kiss on his cheek.

“Bye bye, sweet-pants.” She wiggled her fingers at him and went back to the others.

“Bye bye, Mommy-y-y-y!” Joel waved his hand frantically toward Rave. “Bye bye, Daddy!”

Rave turned her back on him, facing the door.

Zacky pushed his way through the thick group of vampires. He reached the door, grabbed the knob, and pushed it open. Darkness flooded inside from the nighttime beyond the mansion.

“This is it,” I heard him breathe. “Everyone ready?”

Another wave of agreements waved through the group.

I turned around, looking at the couch. Daniel still sat on the plush cushions, but he was staring out the door instead of having his gaze blocked by the pillow. Tear streaks stained his cheeks.

“Sweetheart,” I whispered, “are you ready for bed? You look awful.”

Daniel nodded.

The sound of the door clicking closed behind me sounded. My heart dropped into my stomach, my chest ached.

I smiled. “Then let’s go upstairs. It’s passed Lavender and Joel’s bedtime anyway.”

Daniel rushed to me and grabbed my hand tightly.

I glanced over my shoulder at Chalice and Johnny. “I’m going to put the kids upstairs, okay? Would someone like to guard them?”

Johnny raised his hand.

My lip twitched.

Chalice gave me an apologetic look. “I guess I’ll sit in your room with you, my Queen,” she proposed. She turned to Johnny. “But I will be checking in on you and the kids at regular intervals.”

Johnny rolled his eyes.

I leapt into action, rushing Daniel up the stairs to the second floor and into the third door on the left. My sore eyes were greeted with bright white walls and two cribs and a child bed.

“You just had to make this night even worse for her, didn’t you? Can you not tell she is killing herself from the inside out with the worry of this fight?”

I walked to the pink crib and nestled Lavender under the layers of blankets. From there, I moved to the yellow and green crib and sat Joel inside.

He glanced up at me, his bright eyes wide. “Mommy and Daddy gone?”

“Yes, Mommy and Daddy are gone.” I leaned against the crib bars. “They’ll be home soon, though. Before you even know it.” I poked his tiny nose with the tip of my finger.

He seemed content with the answer, thankfully. He laid down on his pillow, and I raised his blanket over his small body.

“I know she’s upset. I just didn’t know vampires still had fucking PMS, Chalice.”

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

Daniel nestled into the warm confines of his bed. I walked to his side and knelt down on the carpeted floor, raking my hand over his soft hair.

“Have sweet dreams.” I kissed his temple. “I’ll be up--”

“Can you stay in here with me?” His words surprised me. Was he scared?

“Of course. But why? Are you scared?” I hoisted myself up and plopped down on the side of the mattress.

Daniel shook his head. “I don’t want to be alone until Daddy comes home.”

“Okay.” I kicked off my shoes. “Although I don’t know how comfortable this will be, sweetie. Your bed is small; I’m not so small.”

“Yes, you are!”

I giggled, scooting backwards and laying myself under the covers. My back pressed against the wall.

Daniel scooted closer. I draped my arm around his frail waist.

Time passed quickly.

I don’t know how long I laid in the tiny bed, listening to the war between Chalice and Johnny continue and staring at the back of Daniel’s head.

But, at some point, I fell into a dreamless, dark sleep.