THEN:
Dean woke up in the middle of the night needing to go to the bathroom. Afterwards, he exited the bathroom walking towards Mara's door. He took a peek inside and saw her sleeping soundly on her side. Dean also glanced at the night table next to her bed. He nodded in satisfaction that she drank some of the water in the glass. Feeling useful, he knew she would wake up with a dry mouth. Kuryiel warned him that Mara's revived body will go under stress circulating blood since her heart had stopped when she was dead. The angel made it clear to him that Mara will be feeling dehydrated later. Dean closed the door and walked back to his room. He lay back on the bed with his hands behind his head staring up at the ceiling. His thoughts were of Mara and the questions he had to ask her in the morning. Most important he wanted to make sure she was alright. He will never forget lifting her dead body in his arms feeling helpless and enraged. The guilt of putting her life in danger was almost overwhelming. Dean did whatever he could to fight the goddess off of Mara. He closed his eyes and will himself to go to sleep. Before he finally drifted off his last thoughts of Mara was the hug she gave him. He will never forget the way her soft body was press against him and the wisp of her silky auburn hair brushing the left side of Dean's face.
NOW:
Kuryiel opened Mara's bedroom door using her angel mojo. She walked inside holding a tray of food in her hands. Mara woke hearing footsteps and sat up in bed. "Oh thank you for bringing something to eat." She stared at the tray on her lap covered with eggs, bacon and toast with a cup of hot tea.
Kuryiel sat on the edge of the bed and smiled. "You need nourishment but nothing too heavy." She placed her hand on Mara's right leg. "I am so sorry about what happened yesterday. Cas and I tried to control the pain level we could not eliminate all the pain."
Mara patted Kuryiel's hand. "Both of you did your best and I am grateful that you brought me back. I was not ready to die." She took a bite of her scrambled eggs. The flavor felt vivid and she enjoyed the food she had in her mouth. It made her feel alive to do something as simple as eating. "Have you seen Dean this morning?" Mara asked wondering how he was doing.
"I have not seen Dean yet. He was worried acting a mother hen watching over you most of the evening." Kuryiel said with smirk.
"Oh really! I think I did sense him in the room when I was sleeping. He was even sweet to leave me water to drink later when I woke up briefly. I hope he will stop by sometime this morning." Mara scanned Dean's whereabouts and sensed him in the garage. "He must be working on his car again. I swear that must be a form of Prozac for him because I never knew a guy that was so obsessed with cars." She chuckled.
Kuryiel smiled at the comments. "I think you are correct in your observation. Dean has a habit tinkering on his car when he feels frustrated or something heavy on his mind. Well, it's better than his old drinking habit he used to have in the past."
"I did pick up faint images of him in a drunken stupor a while ago when I was scanning his memories." Mara admitted. "The feeling is definitely mutual about being glad he stopped binge drinking."
Kuryiel's smile changed to a look of concern. "You should tell him about your ability Mara. It's not right to probe in his mind without his permission."
"I understand but if he finds out he may take it as a threat and I don't want to be kicked out of here. I will leave eventually since I have to go back to the agency but right now just want to get to know him." The auburn hair woman explained. The angel crossed her arms in disagreement. Mara interjected. "Alright I will tell him but not right now. Let me get to know him first and I will tell him in the near future. Could you do that for me?" She looked pleadingly at Kuryiel.
Kuryiel gave her a look of disapproval and shook her head. "Ok for now but don't let this go on too long. I will tell him if you don't. You are right. Dean will not feel comfortable if he knows you can get inside his head. Be discreet please."
Mara smiled. "I will keep my word. In reality, I am afraid he may get uncomfortable being around me in close quarters if he knows. On the flipside, he may only see that I would be useful to him on monster hunts but my chances of getting personal in the future would end indefinitely. This is what I want to prevent if possible." She sighed looking at the pretty angel sitting on her bed. "So what do you and Cas have planned for today?"
Kuryiel pushed the glass of orange juice toward Mara to take a sip. "We are going to locate another archangel that is hiding on earth. This one will be very useful in our mission. Cas is trying to gather information from the other angels of the whereabouts.
Mara took a sip of the beverage and set the glass down. "What's the archangel's name?"
"His name is Pravuil. He is the record keeper of heaven. No matter if he is in heaven or on Earth he has all knowledge of what goes on in there. We need him to get information what Metatron is doing to the souls in heaven. We also need to find out if he has any records of the souls that are stuck in limbo. Metatron changed his plans to band future souls from entering heaven. We need answers of why he would do this. " Kuryiel explained.
"I wish I can come with you to meet this archangel. I would like to ask him if he has my family in his records." Mara looked down at the necklace that is gleaming off from her pajama shirt.
Kuryiel patted her hand. "There is no doubt your family is in the records. If you like I will ask him after we recruit Pravuil on our mission."
The auburn haired woman sadly smiled. "You don't have to do that for me. I know they are in heaven. It's been five years since they died. "
"I understand and when you are strong enough I will take you with us when we meet angels in other locations. It might be an enlightening experience for you." The angel told her with good cheer.
"Thanks. You have been so kind to me and I am really grateful. I know you have to leave soon so I will not hold you up. I will tell Dean eventually about my abilities. It's the least I can do since you have done so much for me." Mara took a bite of her bacon.
Kuryiel stood up and walked to the bedroom door. She opened the door and paused. "No matter what happens it has to be done soon. I know you will follow through."
Dean voice startled Mara. "Follow through to what?" He stood in the doorway looking at the two women.
Kuryiel answered in a nonchalant tone. "We were discussing about women issues."
Dean glanced at one woman then the other. He knew they were talking about something more than women issues but he was not going to push them to explain. "Ok. Um.. Mara how are you feeling?"
Mara finished the food on her plate. "I still feel a bit tired but I am glad I'm alive. Kuryiel was even kind enough to remove the bruises. I am so lucky that we have angels on our side. Otherwise I would be taking a dirt nap about now." She solemnly smiled.
Dean did not find the remark a bit humorous. "For one I am relieved that Kuryiel brought you back. I would have had to live with knowing I was responsible of your death."
Mara opened her mouth to speak but Kuryiel quickly distracted her by picking up the tray of the empty plate and glass. "I would be deeply sad if you died and went to limbo land. I feel for the other souls that are stuck there for now."
"What is this limbo land?" Mara asked.
The walked over to the door. "Metatron decided to block some of the souls from entering heaven. I don't know if he is blocking all the souls or particular ones. Castiel and I will try to contact a couple of reapers to find out. Some has to be done soon. If the souls stay there too long they might turn into mad demons.
Dean crossed his arms in anger. "That bastard is causing suffering at every angle. You are right Kuryiel we have to stop him soon."
"Don't worry Dean I will stop him. I promise that much. Mara please get some rest. I will see you later when I return. We need a strong woman like you to help out the Dean and Sam." Kuryiel left the room heading to the kitchen.
"We'll see about that Angel." Dean closed the bedroom door.
Mara glanced at Dean sad face. She wanted to say it was her choice to come with the guys on their monster hunt. "Dean it was not your fault. I am alive and breathing so it's ok. It's nothing to fester over. Anyway, where is Sam?" Mara changed the subject before it became an argument.
Dean glared at her dismissing the conversation. "Sam is researching on another hunt." Mara's eyes lit up in curiosity. Dean shook his head. "Sorry lady you are out on this one. Maybe it's for the best that we will not use your skills for future hunts."
Mara pulled the covers back and walked over to Dean. She stood directly in front of him with a scowl on her face. Her tan eyes beamed angrily at him she pushed her forefinger at his chest repeatedly to each word she said. "Listen mister I did not go through years of hunting werewolves down and fought them over a handful of times. To add, I also had to deal with criminals for my job. I will be damned if I let you stop me if I decide to hunt with you jerks. Until you tell me to get lost and leave this place, don't tell me what I can't do. You hear?"
Dean looked down at the auburn hair woman pushing her finger at his chest in a chastising manner. He did not expect her to react like this. It kind of annoyed him and excited him at the same time. "Ok fine, if you get hurt don't say I did not give you a chance to back out of this. I am not trying to bruise your shapeshifting and whatever else ego you have but—" She interrupted him in mid-sentence.
"It's Mai Dean! It's Mai. I am part shapeshifter and Mai. Not whatever else." She huffed standing there in front of him. She wanted to wring his neck for getting her frustrated.
"Sorry… Mai woman. Listen I am not trying to step on your toes or tick you off. I want you to be safe and alive Mara." Dean lifted the part of the necklace with the two rings combined. "I want to make sure you will be able to use these one day." His green eyes was sincere . "I could not live with myself if I had to bury you knowing your legacy died because of me."
Mara took one more step and put her arms around Dean's neck. "Dean I will not let myself be put in that position again. If it makes you feel better I promise I will fulfill my parent's legacy and will rings will be used again someday.
Dean hugged her tightly back. He almost groaned feeling her soft warm body pressed against him. "Get some rest Mara. I will check on you later." Dean stepped away before a certain body part respond to having her against him. He stepped away from her and watched her walk back towards her bed. As soon as Mara got under the covers again Dean opened the door. Before he walked out, "Just want you to know something. Believe it or not Sam found information about your people in our library."
Ok. Could you have Sam stop by I want to see that book. It would be interesting to find out what the Men of Letters is that what they are called?" Mara asked. Dean nodded. She continued. "Ok. What they wrote in the book. Could you do that for me?"
Sure, I'll have Sam stop by to talk to you about it. Get some rest and I will see you in a little while. I might even eat dinner with you." Dean paused hesitating " If you don't mind."
Mara tucked a pillow behind her. "Of course I don't mind. You can hang out with me until I fall asleep if you want."
Dean smiled to her response. "Ok. I will see you later." He shut the door and walked away with a stupid grin on his face. He saw Sam walking towards the bookshelf in the right side of the library.
Sam heard footsteps and turned around to see Dean approaching him. "How is Mara doing? I know you stopped by her room because you have this weird smile on your face."
Dean feigned dismay. "I don't have a weird smile. Can't I be happy to see someone? Especially when she practically died in front of me?"
"Yeah I guess. I feel bad about it too so don't think you were the only one responsible." Sam walked to the library table and took a seat.
"I understand man but it's still on me since I was leading the hunt." Dean sat next Sam.
Sam gave his brother a sideways glance and scratched his head. "Uh bro, you were not leading this hunt. I found this case so it was basically mine. "
"Ok you're right but I still feel responsible for her. If she died." Dean paused for a second "Permanently. It was someone else in my charge that died and I don't think I can handle another death because we are hunters." He rubbed his face with his hands in frustration.
"Dean you can't carry everything on your shoulders. It's going to eat you alive like it did the last time. Remember? You went on a drinking binge for months. It got to the point I could not stand being around you. Man, you got past this and Mara is alive and breathing." Sam patted Dean on the back.
Dean sighed "I know."
Sam heard his brother's frustration in his tone. "Anyway, I think she affected you a lot more than some of the others. Just admit it bro she got under that hood of yours and cause your ticker to beat a bit faster than usual." Sam grinned. "Just let me know when I can rent out a tux when the time comes."
Dean sputtered in surprise. "What? Aw come on it's not like that. Yeah she's a hot woman but I don't have feelings for her." He got up evading his eyes from his little brother. "There will be no need for a tux because I am not getting married period."
Sam snickered as he watched Dean walk quickly away. He knew his brother liked Mara but he will not admit it. "He is going back to his baby for solitude". Sam thought as he turned on his laptop from sleep mode. He knew one day Dean will be staying the night in Mara's room since they are attracted to each other.
Sam shook his head and started surfing online. There was a buzzing sound coming from his cell phone. He picked up the device to and there was a notification from Dean. He opened the messenger to read the text on the small screen.
Mara returned to her bedroom from taking a nice hot shower. She was still exhausted from the night before but it felt good to have the hot water soothing her body. It made her feel alive to enjoy the warmth. Drying her hair with a thin towel she sat in clean pajamas thinking about Dean. She hoped he remembered that Sam will talk to her about what he discovered from the Men of Letter Journals. Mara sighed placing the towel over a chair to dry and walked over to the bed. As soon as she got under the covers she heard a small knock at the door. "Come in."
Sam opened the door and peaked his head in. "Is this a good time?"
"Sure. I was expecting you." She waved her hand for him to come inside the room.
Sam walked in wearing a flannel shirt and Jeans. He grabbed a chair on the right side of the room and took a seat. "How are you feeling?"
Mara shrugged. "I am feeling ok in spite of being dead almost twenty-four hours ago." She noticed the book in Sam's left hand. "Oh good Dean remembered what I asked from you. I guess he has a decent memory after all."
The man sitting next to Mara chuckled. "Yeah and we had a small discussion about you and he practically ran away."
Her eyebrow shot up in question. "What did you guys talk about?" She quickly scanned his thoughts and got her answer.
Sam cleared his throat. "It's nothing important." He quickly said and changed the subject. "Dean texted me what you wanted and here is the journal. It has some good information about your people. I guess one member from the Men of Letters must have hung out with one of your people and recorded everything he could about them." Sam handed the book to Mara.
She took it gently out of his hands. The journal book was in good condition and she flipped pages to find the section about the Mai. She read what seem to be five minutes. "You're right one of the men must have interacted with my people for a while. He learned a lot and even got information regarding the sterile Mai males."
Sam sat back in his chair and smiled. "Well we have proof you guys existed. I am going to make it my goal to read all the books in the library. It's a possibility there are more species and monsters out there that Dean and I never encountered."
"You are right. I have encountered some creatures good and evil. Later when I am fully recovered we can sit down and I can tell you what I have seen. I have a feeling it's more than you guys ran into besides goddesses." She involuntary rubbed her right hand over the book.
Sam one eye lifted in question. "When the Goddess attacked you how come you did not shape shift?"
"I tried but somehow she managed to block my abilities. It felt pretty unnerving not to be able to control my body. I never had an experience like that in my life. It's something I will never forget." Talking about the goddess made Mara feel weary. "Sam I need to sleep a little more. Could you come back later? I am still worn out from all that happened."
Sam rose from the chair and placed it where it belonged. "Sure. You get some rest and I will catch up with you later." He walked to the door. "Oh yeah I will answer the question by saying Dean has a little crush. He never met a woman as tough as you. Dean had girlfriends that were close but it was years ago. I think you surpassed all the women that he knew." Sam shut the door behind him and walked toward the kitchen.
Mara ran her fingers through her damp hair and thought about what Sam said a moment before he left her room. He read his thoughts and found every word he said true. She wanted to know the story behind the women he mentioned. Especially curious about the girlfriends Dean had that compared to her. Reaching her hand over to the night table she grabbed a barrette and put her hair in a high pony tail. Before she drifted off to sleep, she faintly scanned Dean's thoughts as she envisioned him working on his car for solace.
Mara slept six more hours. She opened her eyes when she heard the door opened to see Sam walk in with a tray in his hands. She rubbed sleep from her eyes and sat up in bed. "Thanks Sam. The food looks good."
"I hope you like this." He placed the tray on her lap so she can start eating Mara looked down to see a place that had slices of roast, mash potatoes and steamed broccoli. A large cup of hot tea was placed at the corner of her plate with a small bowl of chocolate pudding.
"I know I'll enjoy eating this." Dean walked in Mara's room with a plate of food in one hand and a bottle of beer in the other.
The auburn hair woman glanced over at Dean setting his food on the dresser. He walked to the door and grabbed a tray table leaning against the doorframe. Dean finally sat down next to Mara listening to their conversation. "Did Kuriel and Castiel return from their trip?"
Sam nodded his head. "They both are um…..freshing up. That's what Kuryiel told me when she pulled Cas by the hand into her bedroom. They probably will have a late dinner."
Mara chuckled trying to imagine what the two angels going at it. She placed her napkin high on her lap. "Sam, thank you for bringing me dinner. I know you are hungry so go eat dinner."
Sam leaned against the dresser. "It's no problem, really. I am glad you are recovering quickly and don't worry. You will join us on a hunt soon." He ignored Dean's glare of disagreement. "So enjoy your meal and I will come by later." Sam left the room.
Dean sat in the chair and placed his napkin in his shirt. Mara giggled thinking he was a big kid doing such a thing. "What's the matter?" Dean asked pretending to look offended "You never seen someone tuck their napkin in the front of their shirt?"
Mara swallowed a bite of the mash potatoes. "Yeah I have. Little kids sitting high chairs about to be fed by their mothers. Not a grown man. The jury still is out regarding you." She joked.
"Humph, you like to talk junk don't you? That's ok there will be a time I will get you back. Ask Sam I can dish it out pretty good." Dean said with a challenging grin.
Mara laughed with a gleam in her eyes. "Bring it on. I am a patient person." They resumed their eating for a while. She took in every feature of his handsome face and especially his deep green eyes. It was like looking into a pool that is not clear but only reflects out what is seen. Mara knew he can hide his feelings from the world. She asked him one question that would open a doorway to his inner thoughts. "How come you don't have a girlfriend Dean?"
Dean sputtered and coughed from his drink when heard the question. He was caught off guard. "What?"
Mara glanced at him with a fork full of food near her mouth. "You heard me. Why?"
He cleared his throat feeling instantly uncomfortable. "I don't have time to be in a relationship right now."
"Come on Dean you have to give me a better reason than that. I know there's got to be some hunters around that are married or at least have someone they can go to for comfort." She placed her fork back on her tray.
Dean sighed. "Alright it true for some. As for me, I don't want to risk anyone's life by being involved with me. I had close relationships before and it cost me dearly."
Mara moved her tray to the side and slid to the edge of the bed near the sad green eyed man. "What did it cost you?" He did not respond to her question. She quickly scanned his mind and saw an image of two women. One was a brunette very fair skinned woman named Lisa. The second was a mixed race brunette woman named Cassie. Both ladies were beauties in their own unique way. With lightning speed Mara accessed his history of each relationship and how it ended. Lisa was the last woman to be involved with him but at a cost of having her memory of Dean wiped clean. The other woman named Cassie decided not to be in a relationship as long as he was a hunter.
Dean turned his head to the side observing the strange look on Mara's face as she used the last moments of absorbing the devastation of his feelings losing each woman. "Mara are you ok?" Dean gruffly asked looking concerned and a little suspicious.
She stared past him for a few seconds and then closed her eyes to prevent Dean from wondering what she is doing. "You did not deserve to lose both of them." Mara whispered softly.
Dean inhaled not believing what he just heard. "How did she…." he thought as he grasped her left upper arm. "Mara do you hear me? What did you mean about both of them?"
The woman sitting across from him slightly shook her head as if she was snapping out of a trance. Mara felt a slight pain from Dean's grip. She looked at his hand squeezing her upper arm. "What are you doing? You are hurting me." She used her fingers to pry his hand loose.
Dean let her go and rose from his seat to place the tray on the dresser. "Mara did you hear my question? What did you mean when you said the both of them? Did Sam tell you about my past relationships?" Dean was upset that Sam talked to her about his personal history.
Mara eyes widen in dismay. "No, Sam did not tell me anything. I assumed you have been hurt by more than one woman that made you so distant and cut off from any females." She rubbed her newly sore arm and silently thanked herself for instantly thinking of an excuse to cover the real reason she had accidently responded to his thoughts.
Dean's face expressed relief. "Oh. I thought that Sam opened his big mouth." He sat back down on the small chair.
She crossed her arms shaking her head. "Haven't you heard of women's intuition? We are very perceptive with it comes to relationship disasters. I have seen a few broke down due to FBI agents having no work and personal life balance. There is a high divorce rate of people working in that field. I hoped people working as a hunter would not have similar results." She moved back on the bed. "Quick thinking Mara." She thought to herself wishing she did not have to lie to Dean.
"I did not know that." Dean replied kind of surprised by her comment. "I guess if there is any danger to a job it's hard to find someone that will stick by your side. They will always be afraid of that dreadful phone call or visit to get the info that your loved one is dead. I would not wish any woman I care for to go through something like that. It would be selfish to expect someone to stay under those circumstances."
Mara nodded her head. "I understand." Inside herself she thought "Everyone deserves to have someone to come home to and feel comfort in a warm embrace. To have someone to provide moments of joy and peace of mind even for a few hours is better than endless loneness." She wanted to say this to Dean but it would be pointless since he will disagree no matter what she said. Mara reached over and picked up the pudding that was left as dessert. She brought the spoon in her mouth and moaned a little tasting the rich smoothness of the chocolate. "Sam really did a good job making this." She changed the subject to lighten the mood in the room.
Dean walked over to the dresser and picked up his uneaten dessert. He wanted to ask Mara about the incident with the goddess but he felt that Mara needed some more time to heal. Dean returned to the chair and interjected. "Sam always had been a good cook. I don't know how he got the talent or the time to fix good food." They both sat in silence eating the last part of the meal lost in their own thoughts.
In Kuryiel's bedroom, Castiel was nibbling on his angel's neck as the rocked his hips against hers. She moaned softly as she caressed his back in gentle strokes as his muscles moved and contracted under her hands. Kuryiel was lost in the feeling of having Castiel touching her and she felt in the near future her time will be short. She wanted to have all the opportunities to make love to Castiel before the final battle will begin. Kuryiel knew it will be a few more months down the road to defeat Metatron in death. Until then, she will cherish every private moment loving him with every kiss and lovemaking so he will remember everything for the rest of his existence. "Cas." She softly said as she nuzzled his soft hair on the left side of his head.
Castiel moved in a rhythm that Kuryiel loved knowing it will bring her to climax soon. He relished every sound coming from her throat. She moved her pelvis in response to his thrusting making the sheets rustle around them in soft waves. The blue eyed man slid his fingers into her hair as he moved his mouth to her soft lips. They kissed passionately enjoying every sensation of warmth of each other's bodies. Cas moaned as his strokes were making her pulse inside as her second orgasm approached. He heard a long moan coming from Kuryiel as she whispered Enochian words in husky tone. It sounded beautifully smooth from her lips as if she spoke it as a current language.
Instantly, his member became super sensitive to every movement inside her. Castiel closed his eyes and threw his head back groaning. He heard a small chuckle beneath him. "Hey that was pretty impish of you angel lady." He whispered softly to her. He bent his head down to look at her smiling face. Castiel had to slow his movements from the fervency of his body responding to each thrust. He stroked her temples, softly kissed her lips and smiled sweetly at the lovely angel under him knowing the next half hour will be very intense.
To Be Continued...
on Chapter 17
