Chapter 11

Kellan

I 've been expecting The Others to send their little minions after me but doing it immediately after I shared such a special moment with my pet has me annoyed at their presence. The two of them prompt me to take us to a location where we can have a more private conversation, so I bring us to the cemetery. I find it all too fitting that this was the first place I truly defied their masters.

I eye them with annoyance as they take their stance in front of me. "Angel, demon, care to tell me why you're interrupting my duties? I have souls to collect."

The demon chuckles at my attempt to be coy. "Don't play stupid with us, reaper. You know why we're here. You couldn't resist getting your dick wet, so we were sent to warn you."

The angel looks over at me, sympathy filling their eyes. "It's forbidden. Death is not supposed to find companionship in the souls he leads."

"I am aware of what is expected of me," I tell them.

"You are to be neutral. You are not to interfere with a soul's purpose. Inserting yourself into her path could potentially lead to her eternal damnation," the angel tries to tell me.

"Me inserting myself into her path will not lead anywhere because she is staying with me."

"You can't be serious." The demon raises a brow at me. "You truly think you'll get to keep her? That's not how this works, and you know that. She will end up with one of us, and you'll go back to carrying out your pathetic existence alone."

"There is balance for a reason," the angel tries to argue.

"I don't give a fuck about balance anymore. Tell your God and Devil that Lena is mine. I won't allow either of you to take her from me."

"This will have further repercussions if you continue down this path," the angel tells me, their eyes full of concern.

The demon takes a step toward me. "You didn't actually catch feelings for this human, did you? Death with feelings? I didn't think you were even capable of real emotions."

"That's enough," the angel tells him before looking back at me. "If you insist on continuing with your decision, there will be serious consequences. Consider this your warning."

"Heard, loud and clear, but I'm not going to stop. You two run back and tell The Others they need to make an exception. You preach of balance, correct? Even Death deserves a companion. That is balance."

They look at me quizzically before glancing back at one another and disappearing without any further conversation. That went about as well as it could have.

I've been assertive with my intentions, and I don't plan on budging. My only hope is that they are considered. Lena is mine. She is not going anywhere. They will have to pry her out of my cold, dead hands first.

Fuck their rules. I won't keep lying to her anymore, at least not about who I really am. I've been nervous about how receptive she would be and what consequences may come from it. What it really comes down to is if I'm willing to risk everything for her, I need to make sure I am even something she would want.

I'm not sure how to tell her about my realm or her connection to me and it. I suppose I will start by showing her my true form before diving deeper into the technicalities of everything else.

A familiar sound rings in my ears. I need to get some work in. Having those unexpected visitors put me behind, and I have a whole list of souls to collect before getting back to my girl. I'm hoping to get there before she wakes up in the morning. I don't want her to think I've slipped out in the night like I'm ashamed to be with her. Then, I will tell her everything bit by bit.

Most of the souls I encountered tonight didn't give me any issues. I popped in, they grabbed my hand for comfort or walked alongside me, and we moved on. This last soul is proving to be a bit difficult. It's a middle-aged man who appears to be clinging to something near his hospital bed.

A woman sits next to the bed with tears running down her face. She is gripping onto his hand as if it would end her to let him go. She is screaming as people run into the room to try and revive him. His time is up, and I have appeared to collect him, but he refuses to come with me.

His soul moves around the room in an attempt to comfort the woman who seems distraught over the possibility of losing him. Before I interacted with Lena, this scene wouldn't have affected me, but I find myself feeling sympathy for the two of them. I find myself hesitating to try and give the doctors a few extra moments to reconnect his soul to his body.

"We must go," I say. I never speak to them, but for some reason, I want to comfort him.

"I can't leave her yet," he says, as the doctors place a machine on his chest and his body surges upward.

She screams from the corner of the room, and again, I hesitate. This isn't like me at all. Lena changed the way I see the parting of two lovers, so I grant him more time. His body jolts on the bed again, and his soul reunites with it. Just like that, his clock is reset, and it is no longer his time.

When his eyes open in his body, he looks to the corner of the room where I stand and mouths, "Thank you," as if I did it intentionally. I stand there watching for a moment, his eyes never leaving mine as his wife leaps toward him, grateful he is still alive. I feel a twinge in my chest and understand fully what love is in this moment. Because he saw my true form and I didn't take him, he will be tethered to me until we meet again. Surprisingly, I'm okay with that. I nod at him and disappear in a smoky haze.

Now that my work is caught up, I reappear in the bathroom of her apartment in an attempt to keep her from seeing me right away. A gasp from the corner of the room has me turning, face to face, with the girl who has my entire being in a chokehold.

She sits there on the toilet, frozen in place, her eyes as wide as saucers. She blinks a few times, shaking her head, and then locks her eyes back on me. She takes in the entirety of my form, glancing first at the shadowy tendrils that float in the smoky air along my lower half. Her eyes trail up higher to my cloaked center and then to each of my shadowy arms with tendrils spiraling from them.

When her gaze lands on my green eyes, she pauses. Her brows furrow and she tilts her head to the side, almost as though she recognizes me. No, there is no way she would be able to discern that.

After wiping, she stands from the toilet, pulls up her panties, and turns to flush it before walking to the sink to wash her hands. She glances over her shoulder at me again to see if I am still there but doesn't appear to be frightened. She simply goes on with completing her task.

I've never had a human react to me like this. Generally, they emit some sort of fear or concern in my presence. It is not normal for someone to be so comfortable around death. Their instincts tell them they should be anxious even at the idea of me.

She grabs the towel hanging next to the sink to dry her hands and then turns to face me. Again, her eyes meet mine, and they are filled with curiosity. She takes a step toward me, and I find myself riddled with anxiety. With every movement of her closing the distance between us, the anticipation only grows .

Finally, she stops in front of me, staring directly into my eyes, and places a hand on my shadow form. The smoke billows out around her hand before enveloping it. She watches as her hand disappears into the darkness of my being. I can tell she is confused over being able to press her skin against me but still having the shadowy smoke floating around it.

She closes her eyes for a moment, just feeling where our bodies connect. I am still standing here frozen, unsure of what to do. I intended to show her my shadow form, but it was after I had spoken to her. I didn't want it to happen this way, with her unprepared. I suppose I could dissipate. I could leave her here to question if what she saw was real, but that would only delay the inevitable.

My tendrils float around her body, pulling her closer to me. Her touching me in my true form has only intensified the way I feel for her. She glances down at the tendril on her hip, and her breath hitches.

I lock eyes with her again, watching the way she is studying me. Why is she not afraid? Does she know what death means? Does she understand the finality of it all? Is she hoping that I will take her and bring her peace? I am completely taken aback by her reaction, so much so that I just continue to stand there like a fool.

"Kellan?" she questions, and I almost burst at the seams. It takes everything in me to register that I'm not imagining it.