Free Broken (Book 1, The Watcher Chronicles, Paranormal Romance) by S.J. West

nondescript street with strange symbols which look oriental in origin on the side of buildings and street signs.  In quick succession, Mason phases us from one point to another forcing me to close my eyes in order to stop my empty stomach from churning uncontrollably.
    After a few minutes, I hear Mason say, “Jess?”
    Cautiously, I open my eyes only to find three Mason’s swimming in front of me.  My legs feel like jelly, and I know I can’t prevent my knees from buckling underneath me.
    Mason pulls my body in close to his before I am able to fall, acting as my center since my body has completely decided to betray me.
    “Sorry,” I say, grabbing the lapels of his wool coat with my hands and resting my forehead against his chest, trying to make my body stop quivering.
    “No,” Mason says, “I’m the one who’s sorry.  I shouldn’t have phased you so many times in a row.  The human body isn’t made to withstand travelling like that.  I should have known better.”
    I close my eyes to keep the world from spinning out of control and take deep breaths to calm my nerves.  Mason’s scent, woody with a hint of cinnamon, fills my senses and I feel more at ease.  One of Mason’s hands begins to rub my back in a soothing circular pattern which coaxes my body to relax against him.  The heat emanating from Mason’s body surrounds me like a warm blanket against my skin, making me feel something I’ve never felt in the arms of a man before: comfortable.
    I pull away, slowly releasing my death grip on his coat and raising my head off his chest.  When I look up at his face, I see confusion in Mason’s eyes and worry creasing his brow giving him a brooding look.  I slowly push away from him finding my legs are once again able to support me on their own.
    “Thanks,” I say, feeling embarrassed for needing his help in the first place.  Needing or asking for help from other people is something I don’t do very often.  After the disappearance of my parents, I quickly developed the philosophy that if you couldn’t do something yourself, perhaps it was something you shouldn’t be doing.  You couldn’t always count on other people to be there when you needed them.  The more you let yourself rely on others the more dependant you became on their help.  It was just a fact of life.
    I look around me and notice we are standing in an open field with nothing but grass and trees surrounding us.
    “Where are we?” I ask.
    “In the middle of nowhere, basically,” Mason says, clearly disappointed.  “Lucifer had his people help him cover his phase trail.  There were too many trails to follow so I chose some at random on the off chance we would hit the right one.”
    “What do you mean by his people?”
    “The angels who rebelled with him.  They were all sent here with Lucifer after the war in Heaven.  I believe my father hoped forcing them to live among humans would teach them why you’re so important to Him.  Unfortunately, I only know of one rebellion angel who actually learned that lesson.”
    “How was he able to learn not to hate us anymore?”
    “He fell in love with a human and made close bonds with others.”
    “Where is he?” I ask.  “Do you think he can help us?”
    “No, Will was allowed back into Heaven after he sacrificed himself in the last battle with Lucifer.  He gave up his life to give Lilly a chance to live.”
    “This Lilly must be someone special to have someone willingly die for her.”
    Mason’s eye s light up with joy, telling me Lilly is someone important to him too.  “She’s special to all of the Watchers.  We watch over her and would lay down our lives to protect her and her family if it came to that.  I doubt Lucifer will try to harm them since he knows Lilly is in direct contact with God, but sometimes Lucifer doesn’t think very clearly and lets his pride and jealousy rule his actions.”
    “So what do you guys do?  Take turns being with her?”
    “Not