It would seem I have missed the company of the lad more than even I was aware, his ethereal presence seeming to bring some sense of completeness to myself as the violet of my gaze continued to appraise and appreciate his snowy form, the Angel Mark of our bloodline born boldly upon his shoulders and contrasting almost daringly with the blue eyes of his mother. If only Azrael could be his twin in more than just looks. Even so, the point I am making is that I am pleased at his return, more so then I will ever willingly admit to, for such a thing would be disastrously out of character and he would desire to hear it even less then I would desire to say it. A true male, even if he had inherited my obsessive need for cleanliness and appreciation of all things hygienic. I could have worse traits now couldn’t I? As the boy spoke once more I nodded, white fangs gleaming in wicked delight at the easy banter between us.

“Indeed, they never have, nor ever will rival us- yet letting them think so is truly an amusing sport. I take great pleasure in it. After all, standing things up and knocking them down is one of the oldest and yet most….pleasing games.”

I chuckled once more, tail waving, the implication of the words surely clear enough, true though, as far as I was concerned. Baphomet was no true King in my opinion, yet letting him think he was, standing him up as one was utterly entertaining and though I personally hadn’t gotten the joy of knocking him down the idea was much the same. I never was a very nice guy. Then again, these are merely my own considerations, I am sure his pack of relatives believed he was very special indeed, if not short lived. Laughter hissed from Letum’s lips as we sat, my mood significantly brightened by the presence of my son, after all, Devil has been absent of late though rumours of the death of a child of his have reached my ears these days past- I shall have to find him sooner or later, no one should be…..alone in that kind of grief, it does things to a man, believe me, I know. I shifted a moment, uncomfortable in these thoughts before Letum spoke again, the boy wisely doing no more than nod at the reprimand I offered before turning the conversation to business once more, eyes finding his own.

“What I am truly curious to see, is what kind of a wolf will follow a male alpha- who has taken another male for his mate. I cared not for Wailing, the fool never stopped talking and he disrespected Isola on her own land yet at least he did not suffer some bizarre gender confusion over what he should mate with.”

Where I come from this…..is unheard of, our laws do not even speak of it for it is simply not known. A male and a male? Nature does not intend such a thing and while, perhaps such a thing would be tolerable buried deep inside some other pack, to have such wolves leading? I am not amused. Then again, I hardly like anyone so maybe it isn’t surprising, even so I turned my gaze to my son again, curious as to his reaction to such. My agitation on this matter was soon soothed by talk of Zeivah, even the mention of her name apparently enough to calm myself in one way or another, though the matters at hand were delicate still, my words smooth, calm, concise as I attempted to explain my…..feelings on the matter, Letum having the dignity to simply sit and listen, sharing this moment between him and myself as I turned my gaze to venture out across the pack land. I smiled softly, distantly.

“For as long as I live, Letum, I will never forget her, never stop wanting her….or stop waiting. Your Mother was not a wolfess easily forgotten and yes, it did and still does. Oswin is beautiful and after so much death it was refreshing to bring some life to my den once more. You and your siblings are grown, I……needed to be needed and Oswin gives me that.”

I shrugged almost nonchalantly, as if such words were not nearly so deep as truly they were, the barest slither of one of my deeper fears exposed for just a moment. Needing to be needed. I was getting older, so were my children, in time- they wouldn’t need me at all and I had no intention of living that long, living to become useless. My gaze shifted slightly, features hardening at the mention of Azrael, a beloved child, truly and yet one (so apparently like myself) that I could not see eye to eye with and surely never would, one eye flicking back towards Letum as he spoke of his Brother with a surprising….care. Hmm, maybe Letum does hold more affection for his siblings then I believed.

“I was taken from my Mother younger then him.”

It was a passing musing and no more yet one that stated clearly that Azrael had no true excuse for his…behaviour. Honestly, that boy alone would be the death of me. I merely nodded to Letum’s words, sure that he would seek his younger brother at some point and decide upon the matter for himself, his thoughts turned now to the curse of imprinting as I chuckled lightly.

“I do not believe he had a choice, truly. She is his soul and the bond….it is stronger now, far more powerful then I have ever seen after the fall of the sky. It is…everything, a blessing and a curse all at once, but you are right to stray from it, it will only bring you pain the end. When Andromeda was stolen, Azrael was fractured, the boy…agitates me and yet even I…..felt for him in the pain he was in. It was a sinful thing and……Malina?”

I paused mid-sentence, confusion touching my features as I lifted the violet of my eyes to his own, seeking the truth within them. His attraction to Malina? When had this occurred? I blinked, somewhat taken off guard by such a thing….although….really in retrospect such a match was by no means undesirable. Both were trained in the Art, by default, the blood of both considered clean in such a manner, the angel within Letum enough to add purity to any pups born from the acceptable breeding of Malina, not angelic no, but passable by her acceptance among us. Ha….I’m surprised I hadn’t pressed for it sooner, though I hardly wished either of them to be considering mate hood or pups just yet. I couldn’t help but allow a somewhat teasing grin to touch my features, one eye lifting in vague amusement.

“Malina you say? Surely you can’t detest her all that much if you have an attraction to her, in fact, I think you have rather good taste, she would make a suitable partner given her skill in the Art, though really, I must ask, how has she taken your….advances?”

I would not at all be surprised if his answer to such a thing was ‘she bit my face’, Malina never really had seemed to get on with him. This would be a highly amusing day I was sure.





h e y e l
The Original Angel