Chapter 7

CHAPTER SEVEN

AZIEL

I couldn't hand off my cousin right away. My uncle was busy, and I knew Dante's brothers would just cause trouble for me without their father's direct orders. I already had a plan for what to say. Since they already saw me as weak, I'd point out that Dante needed a stronger hand or he'd get kicked out of school. I doubted I'd get much disagreement on that.

Aside from feeding him, I mostly stayed away from Dante. I was still too pissed to look at him. I dropped him off with Athena Saturday afternoon without a word to him and flew to where Maya and Isla's wedding was being held. I'd almost forgotten about it, but I figured I'd make an appearance and check in with my friends before heading to meet my uncle that night.

I'd expected someone to say something about my recent absence. I never normally went that long without seeing my friends. But with Dante at home, I was avoiding them to keep them safe. I thought for sure Felix would've said something at the very least. He always got pissed when people ditched out on our weekly poker game. But no one said a word about it. They acknowledged me, smiled and complimented the suit I was wearing, but no one said anything about me avoiding them. It was like they didn't even notice. Which was probably true. Everyone but Hendrix was mated now, and I saw his eyes locked on a red-haired human more than once as the night wore on.

Hendrix checked in with me, but the conversation was short and he seemed distracted with the human and his kid. They all had their people. It hurt more than I'd expected, watching them move on without me. We used to be close. I never used to go more than a few days without hanging out with one of them or all of them. But maybe this was a good sign. I'd held off escaping from my family because I didn't want to leave my friends. My absence wouldn't affect them in the slightest. Now seemed like the perfect time to leave.

I stayed until after the ceremony before teleporting back to Athena's place. I normally met her at the farmer's market, but it was closed by now and I knew where she lived. I knocked on the door, opening it without waiting for a response. She was ancient and didn't want to have to come open the door every time I showed up.

She was sitting in her living room in front of her fireplace, her eyes glazed like she wasn't quite there. I knew better than to interrupt her, so I sat beside her and waited. I could see Dante sitting on the bed in the guest room, his head hung low, but I ignored him for now. I needed to tell Athena I was leaving and then I'd bring him to meet his dad. If I wanted to survive, I needed a bag packed and a plan in place.

After a moment, Athena blinked and turned toward me slowly. "You're making a mistake."

After this many years, it didn't surprise me anymore that she saw right through my plans. I sighed.

"I don't have any other choice. I can't keep doing this."

"What about–"

"It's handled. I have someone set to deal with it. It's better that I stop going there so often anyway. I don't want to draw attention."

"Aziel…" she trailed off, shaking her head slowly. "I've been in your life for years. You have trusted in my counsel before. If you would let me, I'd like to give you a reading. If the spirits agree with your plan, I won't argue with them."

I didn't want to, but I also didn't want to dismiss her. Currently, she was the only person who cared enough to argue with me. I dipped my chin to acknowledge her and followed her when she stood and headed down the hallway. When we passed the room Dante was in, he curled in on himself, ignoring me completely. Probably still pissed I was bringing him to his dad.

We moved to a small greenhouse attached to the kitchen, surrounded by plants with the sky stretched out overhead through the windows. Close to nature but safe from the elements. There was a small table in the middle covered in multicolored cloth and an empty bowl in the center. I sat in front of it while Athena puttered around, grabbing random plants and objects from around the room. She sat across from me, dropping them into the bowl.

"If you would."

I huffed out a breath, shaking my head as I tapped the bowl. The contents lit up like kindling and the room filled with smoke, blocking out everything around us. Athena's eyes shifted back and forth, her brow furrowing slightly.

"You're making a mistake."

I rolled my eyes. "You're just saying that because you don't want me to run."

She made a tsk sound, slapping my hand roughly. "Silence yourself, Azzy. I am doing no such thing. Now, pay attention."

Sometimes, how she interacted with me made me smile. She didn't have an ounce of fear of me or my family name. To her, I was still that little boy hiding under her table and stealing cookies when I thought she wasn't looking. It took years for me to realize she put the cookies there on purpose so I could get to them.

Her expression turned serious again, her eyes narrowed as she tried to decipher what she was seeing.

"Your path will split soon. In both, you will endure pain and suffering, but only one will grant you true freedom. You need to make the right choice."

"Let me guess. The path that you want me to take says I need to stay here."

Her expression flattened for a second, annoyed, before she continued. "Should you wish to follow the right path, seek out the white tiger. Your destiny lies with them. You were not born to hurt people, Aziel. You were born to protect. Protect them with your life."

She was being really convoluted. I had no idea what she was talking about. I didn't know any white tiger shifters. I wasn't even sure they existed. And she said they. Was she using gender-neutral terms, or was there more than one white tiger? And how exactly would protecting them help me? Either way, I was going to get hurt.

Irritated, I waved away the smoke in my face. "Anything else?"

She sighed, the smoke dissipating with her annoyance. "You have always been a stubborn child. Yes, there is something else. The boy you brought to me."

"Dante."

She nodded once. "Should you follow your plan to hand him back to his family, his path ends early."

That made me stiffen. "You– No. They wouldn't kill him. He's just a kid. And he could be useful in the future."

"There is more he isn't telling you. As desperate as he is to prove himself, his path will never lead him where he wishes to go. They will not see him as their equal. He is much like you in that regard. Your protection is the only thing keeping him alive."

A string of expletives escaped me, my hands clenching at my sides. I wanted her to be lying, saying I had to take him so I wouldn't be able to leave. But Athena had never lied to me before. Even when she was unhappy with my plans, she told me the truth. And I wasn't that heartless. If Dante died because I was too selfish to keep him with me, I'd never forgive myself.

Shoving to my feet, I roared out my frustration. The windows rattled in their frames, the lights flickered, and all the noise from the wildlife outside went silent. Athena approached me slowly, moving to stand beside me, her eyes focused out the window.

"I'm sorry. I can feel how badly you want to escape. But that wasn't in your father's future, and it's not in yours. You'll need to approach this differently. Take the boy to see what his future will be if he continues to fight his responsibilities. And keep your eyes open, Aziel. The choice of which path you'll take will be upon you before you know it."

With a heavy sigh, I let my shoulders slump. "Athena… "

She put her hand on my arm, her smile sad. "I know, Azzy. I wish I could let you do as you wish. But I love you, you know that. I only want what's best for you."

Defeated, I kissed her cheek and headed to where Dante was waiting. He sat unmoving on the edge of that bed, the same defeat I felt written clearly across his face. I sat beside him, taking a moment to breathe.

"I don't… I don't wanna go live with him. He hates me," he murmured, his voice wobbly.

"If he finds out you got kicked out of the school he wants you in, you might not have a choice. He'll say you'll be controlled better with a firmer hand and take you from me. I've been trying to tell you, but–"

"I'll do better. I promise. I just… Please don't send me away."

He sounded so heartbroken, and for the first time, he let an emotion other than anger fuel his words. Tears spilled down his cheeks, and he scrubbed at them roughly to hide them. Putting my arm around him, I pulled him against my side, hugging him lightly. I waited for him to lash out like he normally would, but he surprised me when he threw his arms around my waist and hugged me tight. My resolve shattered completely, and I knew I'd be doing what Athena said. I'd stay to protect the broken little boy who wouldn't survive on his own. I'd do for him what Athena did for me, keeping him safe while showing him how to survive our family. I had no other choice.

"Okay. I'll let you stay with me. But there's something you need to see first. I've warned you about what will happen if you disobey your dad. What he's done so far is child's play to what he is capable of. I'm going to show you what will happen if you can't get it together. I'll do everything I can to protect you, but you need to know what will happen to both of us if I fail."

He looked worried, and he should be. My uncle was twisted, and he didn't care about the consequences of his actions. I believed him when Dante said he wanted to stay with me, but I needed to make it clear what would happen if either of us failed. We followed orders to survive. To Dante, it was just a concept. A promise of pain was enough to get him to listen. But he needed to see the consequences of disobedience. I was going to show him my biggest secret. I could only hope it didn't bite me in the ass later.