When Godric simply stared at me, visibly at a loss for any explanation, I tore away from his gaze and rushed downstairs. Pam had to sidestep to get out of my way. "Well excuse me," she grumbled. I ignored her, deciding that I had bigger things to worry about. I went straight for the cabinet, throwing it open. About five or so of the bottles that Elissa had shown me remained. The rest had disappeared. "What the fuck?" I gaped.

"What happened to my dishes?" Eric questioned. "If you didn't like them, I would have gladly gotten a new set." I turned to face him, discovering that he had a handful of broken dishes.

"Where did you get that?"

"Outside—"

I was out the door before he could process the rest of his sentence. As I looked around outside, I heard him exchanging words with Godric and Pam. They were all worried that I had gone certifiably insane. I'm not that much of a psychopath. I swear.

A small rock caught my eye. I picked it up, studying it. Though it was small, it gave off a tangible heat, instantly warming me. The gemstone had a light pink color. It perplexed me. Eventually I wandered back into the house. All three vampires were standing there staring at me. Godric looked concerned. Eric looked torn between amusement and irritation at having found his dishes in pieces. And Pam just looked annoyed with her arms crossed.

"What?"

"I think I speak for all of us when I say that I want to know what the fuck is going on," Pam offered in response.

"I have no idea," I replied with a frown. "Anyone know what this is?"

Pam rolled her eyes, holding out her hand. I handed it to her, watching as she inspected it. Handing it back, she replied: "Morganite."

I wrinkled my nose. What the hell was Morganite? Just as I was about to question this, Michael walked in the door. "Oh, uh, hey what's up?" he attempted lamely.

"Was there a woman in the house today?" Eric questioned, his ice blue eyes narrowed dangerously. Michael looked at him, confusion crossing his face. I let my guard down, listening intently to his thoughts. They were blank.

"He was glamoured." My voice held nothing but pure awe. Vampires couldn't glamour the supernatural—what the hell was Elissa. If that was even her name. I doubted that it was, honestly. That was probably just the most logical choice. Right?

"No, I wasn't," Michael protested, searching his mind for any recollection of it. When he couldn't remember, his face fell. His eyes landed on the two eldest vampires. "What could have done this?"

"A Fae can glamour even us," Godric mused, his eyes flicking to Eric. The Viking's face registered astonishment.

"You don't think," he began, trailing off in disbelief.

"I do."

"Think what?" Pam asked, pure irritation in her voice.

"What did Elissa look like?"

"Rather tall, her hair was dark but it was beginning to grey, and her eyes were nearly silver," I recollected. "Why? What's going on?"

"The vials." Eric grabbed one and handed it to him. Godric opened it to study it cautiously. "Michael, come here, please." Michael obediently stood before Godric. "May I?"

Despite looking like he earnestly wanted to refuse, the unknown shifter nodded. Godric flicked his nail against Michael's skin, causing small droplets of blood to form. Eric didn't bat an eye, but Pam suddenly looked slightly uncomfortable. Godric poured a few drops from the bottle on Michael's wound. It healed instantly, just as mine had.

"Faerie tears," Godric confirmed. "This woman only appears during the day?" I nodded. "I believe she may be a relative of yours."

"As in faerie relative?" I questioned.

"Yes."

"You don't think she's working for Edgington, do you?"

"No," Eric disagreed. "Faeries and vampires do not work together. It would end rather grievously for both sides."

"Okay, forgive me, I'm pretty ignorant about faerie things. Other than the fact that we're telepaths. And a few other oddities." They stared at me. "Jackson is pretty ignorant on faerie culture."

"He's not alone in that. Faeries don't exactly like sharing their secrets."

"Even I do not know much more than you have mentioned," Godric nodded. I held up the Morganite.

"Then what the fuck is this?" Pam opened her mouth to speak and I shot her a look. "And I don't mean what it's called. I mean, what does it do? Why is it here? And why the fuck is it so warm?"

Godric winced almost imperceptibly. It dawned on me that I wasn't the only one dealing with the backlash of my emotions any more. He could easily feel them through both the claim and his blood that was inside me. With a great effort, I calmed my anger to a dull simmer. Then again, he was probably also sending some sort of calming effect through the bond. But I'd much rather think it was all my doing. Werewolves. We're prideful little things.

I had been so wrapped up in my musings about Godric that I had failed to notice that Michael suddenly looked rather nervous. His eyes were glued to the little rock in my hand. I cocked an eyebrow at him. He knew something. And he was going to speak. "Okay, whatever the fuck you are, spill it," I narrowed my gaze at him. "Who is Elissa?"

The man visibly jumped, staring at me in shock and confusion. "Elissa? I do not recall meeting anyone—"

Before anyone could stop me, a low growl escaped from my throat and my arm was pressed against my bodyguard's throat. I knew from the way that he was staring at my eyes that they were that gleaming, golden yellow that werewolves possess when their anger overrides human emotions. Or when they're about to shift into their wolf form. Right now, it was a mixture of both for me. I very badly wanted to shift and rip out his intestines and eat them. He was proving my suspicions about him to be correct—and doing nothing to help the slightly stir crazy pull I felt from the moon.

Godric easily came and pried me off of Michael, holding me firmly against him, my arms crossed helplessly over my chest. I could have yelled, kicked, and otherwise struggled to break free but I knew it would be useless. Even younger vampires were known to quite easily win fights against full-blooded werewolves. They out power us. That's all there is to it. (But don't tell a werewolf this. They'll vehemently deny it. We possess hubris to an extreme fault in most cases. I like to think that the heavy dose of fae blood in me balances that out. But that could also just be my pride talking. It's a real Catch-22 situation, here.)

"Look, it's not that simple," Michael began. Before I could even contemplate trying to break out of Godric's vice-like grip, Eric was pushing the shifter against the wall with such force that I was surprised he wasn't going through it. Pam actually looked vaguely interested in the events unfolding.

"You have lied to me," Eric said calmly, though I could feel the chill that laced his voice. It sent a shiver down my spine, causing Godric to pull me closer to him as a source of comfort. A brief thought flitted through my mind, wondering how on earth I had been lucky enough to land a guy like him. He quite easily defied most standards set by men. In a very good way. "You've seen what I do to people who lie to me."

"Trust me, it's not pretty," Pam volunteered. "And it would be such a shame to mess up that pretty little face of yours."

Despite the pressure being exerted upon his face, he frowned. "You would be surprised what illusions walk amongst you," he replied. Eric growled, pushing his face against the wall until there was an audible crack and the dry wall spider-webbed up to about a foot from where Michael's head had indented it.

"That's not an acceptable answer," Eric replied simply.

"He won't be any use to us dead," Godric mused with a frown.

"He's not really any use to us alive, either." More pressure. "If you were a mortal, you would be dead by now." Without any further warning, Eric bashed Michael's head against the corner of the expensive marble countertop. I couldn't suppress the surprised squeak that flew from my mouth. His blue eyes glazed over, his mouth slack, as he sagged to the floor. Dead weight. Blood began to pour from his head, collecting in a crimson pool on the snow white floor.

"I warned you," Pam rolled her eyes. The blood slowly began retreating within Michael's head. That dull, white film disappeared from his eyes. And life popped back into his face as he stood up, cracking his neck back into place. "What the fuck?"

My thoughts exactly, Pam. I stared with my jaw slack.

"Well, I guess I have to explain that," Michael admitted. He turned to Eric. "Nicely played, Mr. Northman. I knew you were persistent and reckless—but I underestimated you." I noticed that there was a slight shift to his voice. The tone was far more official. The tone of someone who was used to being in access to a higher power. Before I could finish that thought, he looked me in the face. "Do you believe in God, Miss Herveaux?"

That wasn't the question I was expecting. "Not exactly," I answered honestly. "I do not believe in a Christian god, if that is what you're referring to."

"That is but one of many gods," he nodded approvingly. "Angels?"

"A possibility." A wry smile cracked his face.

"What does that have to do with anything?" Godric inquired, his brows furrowed. His patience was tiring. I grasped at his arm with the little leverage I could gain from my constriction. His restraint loosened, allowing me to freely offer a small form of comfort.

"Morganite is a gemstone often used by those of supernatural nature to make contact with angels and other divine beings," Michael ignored him. "It is very often used by practitioners of the craft or faeries bearing some alignment to the element of water." I shifted impatiently. "In this case, I believe that it was an aid for this Alice—"

"Elissa," I corrected.

"—to glamour me." The information sunk in.

"You're an angel?"

"An archangel, if we're going to be technical about it."

"You're the Michael?"

"I suppose so."

"Wha—ho—whe—huh—why?"

"Why am I here?"

I nodded.

"I have been sent as protection for you." I stared at him doubtfully.

"You expect me to believe that I'm important enough to warrant the protection of an angel sent by some god?"

"No, because that is untrue. We are more concerned about how you will effect the world and its fate. You were supposed to be with Marc the night that he was abducted." The memory of that night flashed to the forefront of my mind.

"We had gotten in a fight that night. Usually I didn't let that interfere with our plans, but Debbie had put Alcide in a pretty foul mood," I recalled. "So I went over to his house for the night." Marc had never known where I was that night. Being a telepath had taught me how to shut people out—emotionally, mentally, and supernaturally.

"He never knew where you were that night," Michael nodded. "Had you stayed with him that evening, you would not be standing here today. Russell's men would have drained you from sheer excitement." Godric growled, clearly displeased with that information. "Your fate changed moments before these events were set to carry out. And, consequently, it changed the fates of many others. But we do not know why. There is some information that not even the gods are privy to."

"I'm still lost as to why you're protecting me," I frowned. "I mean, I get that fate changing is probably a pretty big deal to people who are so used to having absolute control—but it can't be that big of a deal."

"Bigger than you can see right now." He frowned. "I cannot tell you any more." He glanced at Eric. "I am sorry that I deceived you, Mr. Northman, but I was under orders. Hopefully you understand."

"I suppose that I don't have a choice," Eric replied evenly, stuffing his hands in his pockets. "Just keep in mind that torturing immortals is a favorite past time of mine."

The archangel cracked a smile. "I will keep that in mind."

Thank you so much to ozlady80 for reviewing EVERY chapter within such a short period of time! Made my morning to wake up to so many notifications. :)

Also, thank you Jupiter Water Goddess, downbelowgirl, treewitch703, and OrangePlasticGummyBear for taking the time to review as well! (Especially those of you who are continuing to review as the story progresses.) Cliche, yes, but all of you are helping to keep my very ADD riddled mind focused on completing this.

More revelations and confrontations to come with the next chapter. ;)

~ Lynn