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Archangel's Desire
Archangel's Desire
Archangel's Desire
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Archangel's Desire

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Raven Black is no martyr, but she has a secret she deems worth protecting. Placed into the care of Zadkiel, the Archangel of Mercy, Raven Black tries with all her might and main to hide her deadly secret. It’s difficult to know who to trust or who to confide in, but Raven knows she’s unwilling to be exploited to get the Archangels’ greatest enemy. She seals her lips, refusing to speak and enduring the ensuing torture in silence.
After centuries of nothing but duty, Zadkiel is tormented by the hellhound Raven. The closer he gets to her, the more he discovers about this lethal beauty. With each passing moment an uncontrollable desire is awakened, and with it an ancient evil is provoked.
When he discovers her secret, Zadkiel must choose between all of mankind and the woman he has come to love. Can he save her in time, or will his failure bring forth the end of days?

LanguageEnglish
PublisherKaren Swart
Release dateApr 30, 2015
ISBN9781311604903
Archangel's Desire
Author

Karen Swart

Karen Swart is the bestselling author of the spellbinding young adult series - The Kasadya Hellhound Series. Her novels have won awards in the Best YA Paranormal and Best YA Fantasy categories of Book Junkies Choice Awards. Born and raised South African, Karen spends her time with her family and writing her next novel. You can learn more about Karen, her love of books and all her upcoming books at authorkarenswart.com or http://facebook.com/authorkarenswart. Sign up for her newsletter and receive exclusive content and giveaways - http://eepurl.com/bh0dmz

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    Book preview

    Archangel's Desire - Karen Swart

    Archangel’s Desire

    Archangels’ # 1

    By Karen Swart

    @2015 Karen Swart

    Smashwords edition

    Copyrights

    All rights reserved. Published by Karen Swart. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without written permission from the publisher.

    Copyright 2015

    Edited by Blue Butterfly Editing

    Cover by Janine Fourie

    Dedication

    To everyone who have supported me through all of my writing madness.

    Acknowledgements

    Thank you to my amazing fans for all their support, I couldn’t do this without you guys. To my beta readers and editor a huge thank you.

    Prologue

    There was once a battle in the heavens, and an archangel was cast out with his followers. He became the devil and his followers the demons that infested earth with their presence. God, not surrendering His precious loved ones, used the fallen angels who cried out their regret and created an army of His own. They became the fallen, fighting for every human’s life on earth. But He also created a fierce creature, one that would be known as destruction itself. He created the hellhound.

    My name is Raven, and I am a hellhound descended, created to destroy demons. At a young age, my parents were murdered by my enemy. I spent the next two years on the street, fighting for my own life. Rescued, I joined the fallen force and fought back, only to discover that I was doomed for eternity.

    My trip down to hell to save our first arch fallen, ended up a real fucking treat. What I found down there wasn’t fear, it wasn’t retribution, it wasn’t destiny. I found my mate, in the form of my enemy. Fear that I would be used or outcast, I have told no one that the very devil was my mate. I locked the secret away inside me, and endured a hell of my own making. But my resolve to end my own life was about to be tested to the limit. The Archangel Zadkiel wasn’t going to make it easy for me. No, instead, he was going to make sure to test every boundary I have.

    Chapter 1

    Raven

    I sat on the bench and watched my old team train. Our leader, Kasadya, the first arch fallen, was teaching them how to use the energy around them and create g-force punches. Strong and powerful punches that could send a crowd backward.

    That’s it, Nanini. Just feel the energy around you and suck it up into your fist.

    I wasn’t allowed to train with them anymore, not even go out to hunt with them. But as the months passed by, I felt a need to further distance myself from them. It was the only way to keep them from finding out the truth, and as long as they don’t find out the truth, I will be able to protect them. Something was coming. That was as clear as the fucking daylight. And it was coming straight for me. It was for the best. My friends had already suffered enough. Especially Kasadya.

    She once welcomed me like a sister. I wasn’t going to repay her with more trouble. It was my problem. I’d deal with it. The air shifted to my left and I turned my head to see who was shifting in. The first archangel in history, Chax, Archangel of Wrath, was walking towards me. On his left side was another archangel. Strong muscles bounced with each step he took. His tall frame would be intimidating to most, but I had seen worse. His pitch black eyes were piercing into mine. My breath caught in my throat. I had seen such eyes before. The last time I saw them, they promised pain, a lot of it. I forced my body to lock down and stand my ground, though everything inside me was screaming for me to run, to save myself from those pitch black eyes.

    They marched towards me, determinedly. And I lifted my chin, challenging them to come and fucking try me.

    I’d messed up a few nights ago and was now being delivered into this archangel’s care. Apparently he was going to save me. Fucking please, my only salvation was death, and I needed a demon to do that. But with the fallen now turning demons and not fighting them anymore, it was pretty hard to get one to do it. That was what happened a few nights ago. I ditched my team and went looking for a fight. What I didn’t know was that the hellhound inside me wasn’t going to allow a demon to kill her. Yes, my life was a mess.

    The archangels stopped before me. Up close, I got a face full of my new problem. His darkish brown hair descended down his shoulders and back. I had to say that he was bloody hot as hell. A powerful jawline accompanied some amazingly good looking features you only get to see on cover models. His black eyes bore into mine, forcing me to keep looking into them. My heart decided to skip a few beats and I was trying not to show the effect those eyes had on me.

    Raven, this is Zadkiel. Chax decided to save the situation.

    I nodded but didn’t feel like giving him a proper greeting. Thanks to the asshole downstairs, contact with males have become… dangerous. Goosebumps broke out all over me, last night’s torture now vivid in my mind.

    Shit! Not fucking going there!

    You will be living with him for a while. He is going to try and see if we can’t find a solution for your problems, Chax continued when he saw that I wasn’t going to jump up and down with excitement.

    Chax, I would like to talk to Raven first, if you guys don’t mind, Kasadya requested, walking up to us.

    Of course. We will be waiting there, Chax replied, all serious.

    The dude has a real problem with expressing himself, except when it was with his mate, Kasadya. Then he goes all teenage boy and shit.

    I watched them walk away and stand a few yards from us. Zadkiel was still piercing me with his eyes. This was going to end badly; I could just feel it.

    Raven? Kasadya asked for my attention.

    I forced myself to look away from the male and faced her. Yes.

    I…I am begging you to come back to us. I don’t know what’s going on with you, but we need you. I need you, Raven.

    My heart thumped wildly in my chest. I wanted to hold her and tell her everything was going to be okay. But it would be a lie. It wasn’t going to be okay. I knew he was coming for me, and I knew that it was going to be the end of me. He wasn’t going to kill me; that would be too easy for the fucker. He was going to make sure that I suffered for an eternity.

    How many times have I wanted to ask her to kill me? To end my torture and the future that was coming to hunt me down? I knew she wouldn’t.

    I’ll try, Kas, was my only reply. I hated lying to her, but she would just hone my ass here until I did say it.

    The big sister I never had, then finally found, only to be lost again.

    I hate my fucking life.

    Raven, please, she pleaded again, and this time, I could see tears forming in her eyes. I wasn’t ready for this. There was no way in hell I was going to break down. I couldn’t afford it. He was always there, always watching me, waiting for me to be vulnerable. I won’t make it easy for him. If he comes, I will fight to the very end!

    I get it, Kas, I replied, getting up and grabbing my bag.

    I walked away from her, refusing to look behind me or say goodbye. Because this is what is was, goodbye. I would never be coming back. All I had to do was piss of an archangel, and he would end it all.

    I reached Chax and Zadkiel and stopped, waiting for my next orders.

    Raven, this is your last chance. Don’t fail, Chax warned me.

    I almost burst out laughing. Whoop fucking do!

    Indeed, I replied, giving him his own famous reply.

    Zadkiel stepped forward and offered me his hand. His black eyes watched me intently, waiting for me to mess up. This might actually be easier than I thought. I placed my hand in his, and he shifted us.

    The place we landed in looked like something from the hell zone. I turned my head, taking in what I could only place as some sort of old dungeon. My foot hit something and my eyes dropped to the object. Covered by dust and dirt was a human skull, or, well, half of it anyway. Just great, it was a dungeon. I looked back up and found those piercing black eyes on me again. Squaring my shoulders, I regarded him as he judged my reaction to his home, if you could call it that.

    Your room is this way. He indicated for me to follow him.

    I followed through a small passage, encaged by rugged stone walls. The air inside here was musky and old, making me cough a few times. The dirt floor wasn’t making things any easier; with each step, dust filtered up towards us. After what seemed like hours struggling inside a maze, he finally stopped at a stone arch and stepped aside to face me.

    This is yours. Get unpacked and ready to go out in five, he finished and walked away.

    My eyes stayed on his retreating form, watching him bend down a little to be able to walk into the new passage. Soon darkness enveloped him and he was gone. I swallowed and turned to look at the stone arch. There was no sign of a room anywhere; it was just a stone arch. Could the archangel have gone mad? By the look of things, that might actually be the case. My eyes caught the engraved letters in the stone arch, forcing me to step closer to observe them. It was Latin, very old Latin, and I had a hard time trying to make out what the words were. Although, as if by some miracle, there was enough sunlight in this cavern to show me what is going on around me, it was still too dark to make out all the words.

    With no other option, I shifted to my hellhound form. With her more advanced eyesight, I was able to read the words. "What is done, must now be undone. What is hidden, now be revealed," I read aloud. The arch started to rattle and the screech of rock against rock greeted me. The arch was some sort of portal, a modern room being revealed inside it. Finally when the entire room was visible, the screeching stopped. I looked at the room, and then at the stone arch. Trusting strange objects had become really problematic for me lately. With a deep breath, I stepped inside the arch and my feet touched soft carpet on the other side. Fully submerged into the room, I looked back at the arch. The screeching started up again as the ‘door’ closed. Well, that was unnerving. I walked over to the bed and dropped my bag on it. Turning around, I surveyed the room. It wasn’t as cozy as the room I shared with Abby back in Exsilium, but it wasn’t a dungeon. There was a small closet to my left, and a small bathroom to my right. But no windows. At least there was electricity inside, the ambient light casting shadows around every corner. I sat down on the bed and closed my eyes, praying once again. All I needed was one push into the right direction, just one glimpse of any hope.

    I was eighteen; I didn’t want to die, not yet anyway. I wanted to live and see the world. Find the right guy and settle down. I wanted what any other girl wanted, a chance to live. But not with him, never. Why me? Why couldn’t it have been someone else, a fucking demon perhaps? But pairing a fallen and its enemy together? That was just beyond sick! The burn of sulfur in my nose told me it was time to open my eyes and start moving. It’s the only warning I have before my mind is invaded by the asshole.

    "Mmm… your blood smells divine today, my Raven." I froze in place, my heart jumping into overdrive. It slammed into my ribcage, and a knot formed in my throat. Stay calm, just stay calm.

    Go away, I all but begged.

    His sickening laughter was my only response.

    I am not your mate, and I will never be. I looked around, trying to remain in control of my mind. The moment I slip, he will take over and start punishing me.

    "Agreed. My mate would never have betrayed me like that. You will pay for that, little Raven. You will pay…" His voice drifted off.

    Shit.

    I needed to stay awake. I couldn’t give him another go at me. I moved to my bag and grabbed the zipper. Prying it open, I grabbed a black tank top and dropped it on the bed. There was no time for a fresh bath, but I could at least make sure my tank was fresh. Pulling off my tank top, I let it drop to the floor. Cool air caressed my skin, sending goosebumps all over it. I bent down to grab the new top, yanking it open enough to pull over my head. The moment I had it just above my head, I froze dead. My skin tingled with awareness. I wasn’t alone. Slowly, I turned around, searching for the pair of eyes that I could feel on me. With the momentum, I slowly pulled the tank over my head and chest.

    There, in the ‘door’ of the stone arch, I found the eyes looking at me. Magnetic eyes traveled over me, surveying every inch of me and creating havoc inside me. He slowly brought his eyes back to mine as I swallowed the lump caught in my throat. No other male had ever made me feel so uncomfortable, well, except for the asshole. Zadkiel had a great talent to do just that. Stepping into my room, he looked around, searching. And then those eyes came to rest on me again. I felt another presence. Who was here? His deep voice vibrated down my spine, sending my already beating heart into another frenzy. How the hell does he know?

    No one was here, I all but croaked out.

    He didn’t move an inch, didn’t nod, and just stared. Butterflies broke out over my stomach, making me clench to keep them at bay. The dark pools in his eyes started to swirl around like a wormhole in the water. Transfixed, I couldn’t look away.

    I see, well then… He moved past me and grabbed my bag. He then turned around and grabbed my arm roughly. I wasn’t standing in the small room anymore. Instead I was standing in a huge room, filled with modern furnishings and styled like it belonged in some home decor book. Everything had a smooth edge, no hard corners. Just smooth, and …. Black. Bummer. That just ruined it. He released my arm and dropped my bag on a huge double bed taking up all the space in the room. Suddenly my brain made the connection and I backed off quickly, jamming my back into the wall behind me.

    What are you doing?

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