Chapter 15

Isaac

" I 'm not sure this is a good idea," Luke murmurs, uncertainly lacing his words.

"We've been down here for weeks, Luke. Weeks. I need to know. I want to hear it from the man himself. Don't you want to know what really happened to our moms?"

Abby swears her dad had nothing to do with our mothers' deaths. And I want to believe her, but it's hard when you've been told something else your whole life. My dad would go into endless fits of rage, going on and on about how Lucifer killed our mothers out of some sort of hateful revenge because my dad and the other archangels were God's favorites and Lucifer hated them because he was cast away like garbage.

It was so easy to believe, it didn't seem so far-fetched at the time. He is the king of Hell after all. A man who's supposed to be nothing but pure evil.

Yet I've seen nothing to warrant that title. At least not with my own eyes. I haven't seen much of Hell, and was advised not to leave the castle grounds for our own safety, but even Hell isn't as bad as I thought it was going to be.

"Of course, I do. But also, Abby's dad scares the shit out of me," Luke mutters. "What's stopping him from snapping his fingers and poof, we're gone."

"If he wanted us dead, he would have killed us a long time ago," Noah sighs. "And he wouldn't do that because that would upset Abby, and Abby is the most important thing in his life. He wouldn't risk having her hate him." Not with just reconciling their strained relationship after he wouldn't get Zed out of the pool of souls for her. I'm even pissed about that. She could have fucking died, and he did nothing but let her risk her life.

The last few weeks have been weird. Trying to find ways to keep ourselves entertained has been a challenge. With Abby putting all of her focus on bringing Zed back, and then spending time with him in the prison, we haven't seen much of her.

It's selfish of me to say this, after everything we've put her through, but I miss her. I need her. We need her. And we're trying hard to be there for her, be what she needs, but fuck... it's like we all finally put the bad things behind us and were able to start new, then everything came crashing down around us.

I'm not resenting the fact that Zed died. Watching him die was one of the most horrific things I've ever witnessed or felt, but it's like one thing after another with us. When will it be our time to be happy, to start our lives together?

Will Zed ever be the same again? Or will he be this odd version he is now? Do I try to get to know him as he is now, or do I wait until he's back to his old self and then work on our relationship?

There's so many questions, things left unanswered, that it's driving me fucking crazy. But the one thing I can do right now, is get answers about our mothers' deaths.

With Frankie giving us directions before we left, we're easily able to find Lucifer's study. I guess this is where they've been spending most of their time. Kind of feel bad for the man. He gets a mate, then finds out she's mated to a whole group of people. Including my stepmom. Yeah, I'm not even going to try to get into the weird-ass connections we all seem to have now.

"Wait!" Luke rushes forward as I'm about to knock. "Maybe we should go back. He hates us. He has to hate us, right? We put his daughter through so much bullshit. I'd hate us too!"

"Luke," Noah barks. "It's going to be fine."

The door swings open, and all three of our heads swing in his direction. "What do you want?" He narrows his eyes at the three of us.

"We want to talk to you." I look him in the eye.

"I've been pretending you three don't exist. So, I'd rather not." He cocks a brow.

"That's fine. We'll be going now." Luke turns to leave, but Noah grabs him by his shirt and pulls him back.

"Stay," Noah mutters.

"Lucy, hunny, is that Isaac?" Megan's voice sounds from behind him. "Oh, let him in. Please! I've been wanting to talk to him. So has Veronica."

Lucifer sighs, jaw grinding. "I don't give a fuck what that witch wants," he mutters to himself. "Listen here, you little shits. The only reason I'm letting you in is because I don't know how to say no to my goddess of a mate. Veronica can fuck right off for all I care."

"Lucy!" Megan scolds.

"Shit," he whispers, and I try not to smile. I do, but god, it's so weird to see the Devil pussy whipped.

He steps to the side and lets us in.

"What do you want?" he asks again once we're all inside.

"He's the one who brought us here. I didn't want to come. I didn't want to bother you, Your Highness" Luke rambles, bowing when he says the last words. He completely threw me under the bus. I love that man but god, sometimes he can be a little pussy when it comes to Abby's dad.

"Stop ass kissing. It's unbecoming," Lucifer growls.

"We don't want to take up any more of your time than we have to," I chime in, shoving my hands in my pockets. "You don't like us. We understand. What we did to Abby, it was fucked up. It was cruel. We're sorry, so fucking sorry. We regret everything we've done, and we will spend the rest of our lives trying to make up for our mistakes. There's no excuse for our behavior. But the fact is, we are her mates and we're not going anywhere. We love her with everything that we are."

"I'm aware of all this," he sighs in annoyance. "And I've come to accept the fact you're here to stay whether I like it or not. And trust me, I don't. I don't have to like you to accept you. But that doesn't answer my question. Why are you here?"

"Because we want to know what really happened with our mothers," Noah answers the question, and I see Veronica get up from where she's sitting, slowly making her way over like she wants to know too.

"Ah, yes. Abby told me you've grown up believing I'm the reason your mothers are dead."

"And you're not?" I ask.

"No," he states with a firm shake of his head once. "What has your father told you to make you believe it's all my fault?"

I clear my throat, shifting from one foot to the other. "He told me that you hated him, hated that God loved him and the others more than you. That you killed our mothers out of anger as petty revenge. Wanted to make them hurt for having everything you've always wanted."

Lucifer snorts. "Of course he did," he sighs, shaking his head. "I'm sorry about your mothers. They're foolish to think that I care enough about them to seek such cruel revenge. Do I hate your fathers? Yes. Despise them really, for many reasons. But not enough to kill three innocent women. Your mothers were killed by Demons, and for that I'm sorry. And they were punished for the part they played in their deaths. But it was not at my request or demand. They were rogue demons doing what demons do. But again, I did not have anything to do with it."

"But the demons are under your control. You let them go. You let them kill."

He narrows his eyes at me. "I didn't let them do anything. Demons come and go as they please for the most part. If they cause too much trouble, draw too much attention, I intervene. And I did."

"After they died!" I shout, my fist balling at my side in frustration.

"Isaac," Veronica says softly, stepping forward.

I know what this woman has done to Abby, the hurt she caused. But I know my father, he wasn't a good man. If he treated me, his son, the way he did, I don't want to know what he did to Veronica. Abby might hate her, but I don't. She's always been there for me, for the guys. She's been a mother figure to me for a long time now.

So when she wraps her arms around me, I can't help but hug her back.

"I'm so sorry your father fed you so many lies. I tried. I tried so hard to keep him away, to keep him busy and his focus off of you." She lets me go, cupping my face. She gives me a watery smile. "I never wanted you to hurt, to be on the receiving end of his anger. What he did to me..." Tears spill from her eyes. "I'd never wish that on anyone. I'm so sorry he hurt you."

"He hurt you too," I say through clenched teeth, nostrils flaring. Part of me wishes he was still alive so I could kill him myself. Only I wouldn't be strong enough to do it.

She nods, wiping at her eyes. Megan moves to stand at her side, her face filled with worry for her mate.

"I'm sorry I didn't know sooner," I whisper.

"I'm glad." She gives me a sad smile. "You shouldn't have had to worry about stuff like that."

"I could have stopped him, protected you," I insist, but we both know I would have tried and gotten nowhere. He was bigger and stronger than me.

"Everything is okay now," she says, but I'm not sure she's convinced on that one. "I'm free of him. We all are."

"Thanks to Abby."

She smiles wide with a shaky laugh. "She's amazing, isn't she?"

"She is. Powerful, stunning, loving, loyal... she's the best person I've ever met. And I mean that. She's better than me, better than them." I shoot my mates a grin. "Sorry."

"You're only speaking the truth," Luke chuckles.

"What Abby has been through, the things she had to do to protect us, we don't deserve her."

"No, you fucking don't," Lucifer mutters somewhere behind me. Megan shoots him a glare.

"How is she?" Veronica asks, chewing on her lower lip.

"She's... staying strong. Zed has been her main priority for a while. She's been through a lot with him."

"And I owe her everything for bringing my boy back." Megan smiles. "But don't think for a moment that Zed means any more to her than you three do. That goes for Frankie and Leo too. I see the way she looks at all of you. You're just as much a part of her heart and soul as he is. I know for a fact she would have done the same thing if one of you were down there."

Deep down, I know this. But there will always be a small part of me that thinks she still hates me for everything I've done. But that's my own insecurity that I need to work through.

Hearing it from someone else, someone like Megan, Zed's mom, it means a lot.

"You know, I wish I reached out while you were growing up," she says, sadness lacing her words. "I would have loved to have you over, to have you grow up alongside Zed."

Why do I wish she didn't say that? Because fuck, it hurts that it wasn't our reality.

"My dad would never have allowed it. I was a fucking dick, and I probably wouldn't have given you all a second glance." I'm not proud to admit it. "But I'm glad things are different now."

"Me too. As for Zed, don't wait. Get to know him now, and if he ever does get his memory back, then he will see that you stuck by his side through it all." Megan smiles.

I nod my head and lick my lips. "Yeah." I turn to Veronica. "Once everything has died down, I'll talk to Abby, make sure she has a conversation with you."

"You don't have to do that. I'm sure I'm the last person she wants to talk to." Veronica gives a forced laugh, waving me off.

"I'll talk to her," I insist.

"Thank you," she says genuinely.

I give her a hug and turn to Megan. "Veronica has been nothing but good to me. I'm glad she's finally with someone who will treat her right."

A snort sounds from behind us.

"Do you have something to say, Lucy?" Megan asks.

"You mean the fact that I treated her like a fucking queen and it wasn't good enough?" he growls.

Yeah, this isn't something that I want to get involved in. Veronica's face fills with shame as she looks his way. I see the love there. I'm sure it never left. Being fated mates isn't something you can just forget about.

"We're gonna go," I say, giving them a wave. I turn to Abby's dad. "Thanks for answering our question."

"I'm sorry about your mothers. I really am. And I'm glad your father is dead."

"So am I." I nod. "I don't think I'll ever be able to thank your daughter enough."

"I wish I was the one to save her from that. Has it affected her?"

"No." I shake my head. I don't think it has. Maybe if she killed a less deserving person. But I know for a fact Abby felt no guilt because he killed her mate. He had to die.

"Good." He nods. "Now, go. Take care of my daughter. If you hurt her, I'll make sure I hide your bodies and souls somewhere she can't find you." He narrows his eyes at me.

"Let's go." Luke grabs my hand and yanks me towards the door.

Abby's dad just laughs, like he's amused with himself. That man is a little scary, not going to lie.

"That wasn't so bad," Noah comments as we head back.

"Oh yeah, no totally." Luke lets out a breath. He looks at me. "You didn't see the murderous look in his eyes as he stared us down while you were talking to Veronica. He wants us dead. So dead."

"He's not going to kill us." I laugh, wrapping my arm around his shoulder.

"How much longer until we can go home? We have Zed back, shouldn't we be leaving?" Luke asks.

"I don't know." The smile fades from my face. "I think we need to have a talk with her."

"Can we kidnap her for the night?" Noah asks, surprising me. He has a look of vulnerability on his face.

We stop walking. "Noah." I step forward, grabbing the back of his head and look him in the eyes. "Do you need some time with our mate?"

"Yes," he whispers. "It's stupid, I know, but I feel like I have this ache in my chest. I know we've been giving her the time and space because of everything with Zed. But I need her too."

"Hey," Abby's voice has all of our heads snapping over to see her standing there. Her eyes are wide, face heavy with guilt.

She's over to us in three big strides. I step to the side and allow her to grab Noah's face and kiss him.

He sighs, wrapping his arms around her. They kiss until they're out of breath before breaking apart. "I'm so sorry," she whispers. "I'm so sorry I've been so busy. I didn't mean to hurt you, to make you feel unwanted or neglected."

"You didn't," Luke tries to reassure.

"Yeah, I did. All of you. I've been so wrapped up in Zed that I was blinded. You didn't deserve that. And I'm sorry."

"Abby," I try but she shakes her head.

"Don't make excuses for me. Please." She smiles at us. "I love you all so fucking much, and I've missed you so damn bad."

Luke and I step forward, wrapping our arms around the two of them. Having all my mates like this, I didn't know I needed it so badly until now.

"I think it's about time we go home."

"Thank fuck," Luke groans, and we all burst out laughing.

"First night back, I'm all yours." She leans up to kiss Noah, then Luke, then me. I hold her to me, kissing her long and hard.

"I can't fucking wait."