“So, what do you suggest we do about it?” Kai asked, finally adding his participation to the group.
“As far as I can see, there are only a few options,” Evander interjected, not letting Michael respond.
All eyes turned to him.
“One, we let the child be born. Roll the dice, as they say, and take no action. Two, we contain Merri?—”
The second my name left his lips, fury shot through me. There was absolutely no way anyone, let alone a dickless angel, as Remi liked to say, was going to make decisions about my future or body. That part of my life was over.
From the time my true nature emerged, people thought they could tell me what to do, and I’d let them because I’d been so scared I hadn’t known better. And that somehow translated to me becoming a passenger in my entire life. I’d allowed Lilith to make all the decisions, and that led me to the horsemen attempting to do the same. But no longer.
The only person who got to decide what I did or didn’t do was me.
So, disrespectfully, fuck all of them.
“No!” Shooting to my feet, I stared at Evander, anger making my voice harsh.
“What did you say?” This from Michael, a warning in his tone.
“I know where this is going. What you’re all going to want to do. You don’t get to decide what happens to my body.”
“We cannot risk the entire human race for one child,” Michael said.
“You tried to make us walk that path before, and it did not end well. I suggest you learn from your mistakes,” Caleb said, his eyes bright with barely restrained emotion.
“We don’t kill innocents,” Kingston added, just as fiercely.
“If you think you’re going to take a single step toward Merri and not come up against the wrath of the four of us?—”
“Five,” Lucifer said with an aggrieved sigh.
“—you’d better think again,” Malice continued, rising to his feet and stepping in front of me. “No one is going to take another child from me.”
My eyes flicked to Pan in time to catch him sitting up a bit straighter. With his demon face, it was harder to pick up on fleeting emotions, but I could read them just fine with my succubus skills, and right now he was filled with pride and respect as he stared at his father.
“I think we’re all getting ahead of ourselves,” Lilith said. “No decision needs to be made this second.”
“The longer this goes on unchecked, the more dire and limited our options,” Michael pressed.
“Michael,” Gabriel said with a sigh. “Just let it go. You’re not going to win this argument.”
On and on it went, more voices chiming in with no one considering my thoughts or feelings or the fact that I’d already said they weren’t going to make my decisions for me. So without a word, I started for the door. They could talk all they wanted; it wasn't going to change a damn thing.
“Where do you think you are going?” Michael snarled.
“Well, since no one here seems interested in my opinion, I figured I’d just leave you to it and go make my own plan. You know, since it’s my fucking body and my opinion is the only one that matters.”
“You tell ’em, girlypop,” Moira cheered as I retreated. “Fuck the patriarchy!”
Chaos
I allowedMerri a ten-second head start before unceremoniously removing myself from the conversation andfollowing. There was no world in which I’d watch her walk away from us again. Nor would I force her to make important, life-altering decisions on her own. Unless that was what she truly wanted. From here on out, we were in this together.
Malice was so close I could practically feel his breath on my neck as he followed, and I knew without looking that the others were right behind him. We’d only just gotten her back, and I don’t think any of us were comfortable with her being out of sight, especially when she was so obviously upset. The last time that happened, she’d left us. And now she was pregnant. That development only added to my protective instincts.
“Anyone else think it’s weird Lucifer stayed behind after being such a fucking pick-me boy the last couple of days?” Sin asked from a few steps behind me.
“Who fucking cares?” I growled.
