8. Mal

Can you please make him go away? she begged me. I can't right now.

Her panicked expression broke my heart. I felt caught in the middle between them, unable to let her hurt. I took her hand and squeezed it once, so she knew I heard her through the mindlink.

"Diana has some tests coming up, and she needs her rest," I lied to Desmond. I'm going to meet you in our barrack ASAP. Make sure the guys are there.

Desmond's golden eyes lit up, and his shadows swirled around him again before dissolving around the room. He put the cannoli on the side table, and leaned in, looking her dead in the eye. "I will love you until the sun falls from the sky and we're plunged into the darkness. Until the seas dry up, and the mountains crumble. Because that's what we have together—eternity. Take all the time you need, dollface. I'll be waiting."

Without waiting for a response from her, he faded out. Diana seemed shellshocked, but I wasn't sure why. Did she expect them to just take her rejection lying down? All four of them would fight for her until they ceased to exist. They've proven that time after time. If she wanted to sever ties with them, she needed to prepare for pushback.

"I'll talk with them about giving you some space at the barrack." She sank into my embrace, and I took several moments to enjoy her softness. Once her breathing leveled out

"Thank you," she whispered in my ear before I faded away.

The minute I materialized into the barrack, I smelled their fear and despair hanging in the air. All four of them were in knots about Diana, which served them right. They royally fucked up and this time the damage may have been permanent. Before they bombarded me with questions, I fed off their fear and anxiety, taking the deepest pull from Ares. His fear tasted herby and sharp. Delicious.

"I needed that," Bash said before cracking his neck.

"I'm never going to pass up a free power boost. Between all of you I should have a decent source for a while…" I had to hold my eye roll back.

"Desmond told us how you railroaded him," Ares sulked. "He was our Trojan horse. Diana is probably the least angry with him, so we agreed he'd pave the way in, see how bad the damage is, and then we'd make a plan on how to win her back."

The least angry? How could immortal beings be so clueless?

"I'm going to be real with you all, so turn your brains on and pay attention. She wants to be left alone. Give her space. She's considering ending things with you four."

The vibe in the room changed in an instant. A tidal wave of fear, sadness, anger, and magical energy swirled in the air, so cloying that it made my mouth water. Bash got up, and paced the room, his anger clouding around him.

"I can't be without her. I claimed her—she's mine," he growled as black veins spidered across his face. His horns broke free from the crown of his head and spiraled back.

"What," Ares breathed. He wasn't angry, just scared. I had never seen the God of War so messed up. He rocked back and forth in his chair, smoke billowing from his ears like a chimney stack. "No. No, she can't do that…"

"Absolutely the fuck not." Desmond's voice sounded like rolling thunder. He lost his cool so badly he fully shifted, breaking the couch that he, Ares, and Azazel shared under his hulking red frame. "Fuck, sorry."

Desmond's shadows went haywire, weaving through the room and multiplying by the minute, like black dye moving through water. Azazel closed his eyes as a beam of light flowed from his open palm and spread to all four corners of the room, forcing the black wisps of smoke to dissipate. The frown on his face was so uncharacteristic of him. He seemed to be a man defeated, resigned to Diana throwing him away. He was the only one of the four who wasn't angry or scared.

There were a few moments of silence before Ares vaulted from the couch, getting right in my face. He grabbed my shoulders. "Mal, you need to help us fix this! Please! I can't live without her."

They all looked at me expectantly, waiting for my answer. I was torn. The six of us were a family, dysfunction and all. But could we move past everything, start over again?

"I'm not sure if I can. You didn't see her break down. You weren't holding her while she cried herself to sleep every night. You didn't have to beg her to get out of bed or eat. She was a shell of herself, and she's still healing. All the pain you caused broke my heart, too, because I had to watch her suffer. I can't let her get hurt like that again."

"I didn't realize we hurt you…" Bash trailed off.

"Yeah, you usually don't think of how your actions impact others. That's the entire issue here. If you four can prove to me that you're serious about being better men, I'll help you win her back. But I'm telling you right now, I won't help you cross her boundaries or disrespect her." I meant it. I refused to put her in any more pain.

Desmond crossed the room, then wrapped me in a hug. His scent surrounded me and even after everything that happened, his arms still felt like home. "Thank you for being there for her."

"There's nowhere else I'd rather be than by her side," I confessed, taken aback by his affection and gratitude. Desmond wasn't the warmest, fuzziest of the four of us. He wasn't Bash's level of cold, but he kept his feelings close to the vest.

"At first, I was so mad you left with her. You got to be with her and I didn't…I missed you both. Then I realized she needed you…because of the awful shit we did." Ares teared up as he wrapped Desmond and I in his big, hairy arms. His body heat was a humid summer air swirling around me.

"I'm not going down without a fight. I'll do whatever it takes to keep what's mine," Bash promised us all as he reluctantly joined our hug.

I searched for Azazel, finding him in the same spot on the intact end of the couch. "I don't think there's any hope for me. I shattered her trust beyond repair, and she deserved better. I'm still giving this war one hundred percent… Whatever way she needs me, I'll be there for her."

Ares broke free from our man-hug, then lifted Azazel to his feet. He gripped his shoulders and stared into his honey eyes.

"If the world ended tomorrow, would you regret not chasing her?" He demanded.

"Ares, it's pointless," Azazel responded. "You saw how it ended…"

"No, don't think about it. If Red attacked the compound again—decimated the entire thing and ended us right here and now—would you regret not making things right? You're her compass, Feathers. She needs you!"

Azazel wiped the tears in his eyes. Ares brought him into a hug, resting his chin on top of Azazel's head. "Yes. I already regret every day we've been apart."

"That settles it then. You four need to make a plan for how you're going to win her back."

"No, the five of us are going to make a plan," Desmond corrected me. "I understand where you're coming from, but we don't work unless it's a team effort. I won't lose her, or you. We need you, Mal."

I sighed, knowing that I was caught in a catch-22. After several moments of silence spent contemplating my options, I realized that without my help, they were bound to make it worse. Their expectant, anxious gazes were the final nail in my coffin.

"Okay, where do we start?"

Their ideas were…garbage.After hours of brainstorming, we didn't get very far. Ares wanted to bombard her with love and affection, giving her no space or room to breathe. He called it "Operation Greek Glue". I shot that down immediately, because it would only push her away. Bash wanted to trespass into her dreams, and subliminally influence her decision to give us another chance. He was the only one who didn't understand how his plan was a gross invasion of her privacy.

"Both of your plans are too much." I took a sip of the Cherry Coke I grabbed from the fridge.

"Diana is a cat, you can't force her to do anything," Desmond explained to us. "If you do, she'll scratch your eye out. If we keep a consistent presence around her day in and day out and be on our best behavior, she'll come around on her own."

"Add in waiting on her hand and foot, and you're onto something," Azazel added.

"Or she'll act aloof toward us because like a cat, she doesn't actually need us," Bash grumbled.

"What about a grand gesture?" Ares suggested. "I've always wanted to flashmob her. Maybe throw her a welcome back party? Or whisk her off to a private island vacation," he mused.

"We can table that as a backup idea," Azazel offered, patting Ares' shoulder. Ares gave him a hug, and I realized how touchy feely they've been since I got here… Interesting.

A knock at the door interrupted our planning.

"It's Judas," Bash huffed in exasperation. "Fuck off, you twat."

"Let me in, fuckers. I have news about your lady," he teased through the door in a mocking voice.

Desmond must have lifted the fade wards, because Judas materialized into the room a few seconds later. "Judas."

"No ‘Hello, how are you, my favorite vampire bestie?" He pretended to be hurt. "You wound me."

"Just spill, what's going on?" Bash snapped. The entire room, minus our vampire bestie, was on edge.

"Well, you didn't hear it from me, but I just got out of a meeting with Daddy Lucifer…and guess who requested her own barrack? Diana."

"There goes your plan," I quipped to Desmond.

"Were you all plotting without me?" Judas asked as he sat in the empty love seat. "Rude."

"You better fucking deny her request," Ares growled.

Judas laughed, his bright eyes filled with mirth. "I told them we may not have room, and that I'd have to check availability versus the incoming reinforcement troops we have arriving this week. I'll put off her moving as long as I can, but if Lucifer pushes for it, I can't deny him for too long…"

"She belongs here with us, and I'm fucking sick and tired of her pushing us away!" Bash shouted as he raked his fingers through his hair.

"You and me both. As I've told you before, your antics upset Angela, which negatively impacts me," he huffed as he pulled and twirled a curl of his hair. "It's hard to woo someone who's worried sick about whether or not her niece is safe."

"Well instead of complaining, why not help us plan? We can kill two birds with one stone," Desmond's tone was a step above annoyed.

"So remind me again, you acted like your usual asshole self by not sharing pertinent information with her, Ares tried to knock her up, Bash knew about Ares' plan and was an accessory, and Azazel knew her mom wasn't dead and didn't tell her? Did I miss anything?" Judas summarized as he leaned back into the chair and crossed one leg over the other. His matching cream linen pants and shirt with blue detailing screamed Cult Leader.

"Yep," Azazel agreed, his tone sullen.

"My sire always told me—if you dig a ditch, put a body in it. You four dug your holes especially deep so you need to fill them up with something big," Judas said.

"Which means…?" Bash trailed off.

"It means you need to find a way to fix the damage you've caused," he explained, as if he was talking to a child. "For fuck's sake, I keep forgetting that your posh British accent doesn't mean you're an intelligent lifeform—you just sound smart."

Bash sent a gust of wind that swirled around Judas' curly hair, flipping it askew before it slapped him across the face.

"So, you're saying a grand gesture?!" Ares practically shouted as he bounced up and down with barely contained energy.

"Yeah, but a useful one. Something that sets it right, not a stupid flashmob." Judas' smile reached from ear to ear as he watched Ares' face fall. "I knew you'd want to do a flashmob…"

"Okay, so for me that means continuing my search for ways to reanimate her mom," Azazel said.

"I'm sticking to my plan, whether she moves out or not. Consistent presence, cat treatment." Desmond's voice was firm with resolve.

Judas rolled his eyes, switching his attention from Desmond to the rest of us.

Bash sighed, then cracked his neck while he mulled something over in his thoughts. "I'm not quite sure how to fix us, but I'll think of something…"

"I'm going to be the best boyfriend, period. I'll be there for her, day in and day out," Ares announced confidently.

"That may not be enough, but it's a start. Well, I'll let you losers scheme on. My girl is waiting for me…" Judas' smug face made their anger swirl around the room.

As he faded out, the rest of us looked at each other. None of them seemed confident in our ability to win Diana back, but only time would tell.