Free Gabriel's Hope (#1, Rhyn Eternal) by Lizzy Ford Page A

safety. It cannot purposely kill its mate.
    “I …no. Son of a bitch.” He was quiet for a moment, broiling internally. “None of my dealers can either, if I can’t be directly involved in her death.”
    “Did you read the file?”
    Gabe gave him a cold look.
    “You couldn’t get past the pictures, could you?” Rhyn asked. “I didn’t think so. If I saw Katie with another man, there would be nothing left of this world.”
    “I spent thousands of years and broke the Code twice. The past few months, I’ve come close to breaking it hundreds of times to keep the underworld from shutting down. Now, I know what I should do by Immortal law. I saw the mark with my own eyes. I knew what it meant. And I walked away. I didn’t even try. I have an obligation, Rhyn. To the lost souls, to the underworld, to a woman I want to hate,” Gabe finished. “I’m failing every one of them.”
    “I did a shit ton of damage trying not to be Katie’s mate. She wouldn’t have survived, if not for you, Gabe. From the beginning, you were willing to do what I couldn’t,” Rhyn said. “You didn’t fail me. You won’t fail the underworld or her .”
    Gabe listened. He’d watched over Katie every night for months while she and Rhyn struggled to find their paths. He’d helped build the bridge between the two who were sworn together as mates after they barely learned each others’ names. He’d talked Rhyn off the ledge a million times then defied past-Death to protect Katie. He’d done it for the people he cared about as much as out of his sense of honor. He did what was right. He always did, no matter what the personal cost.
    “What is wrong with me?” he muttered, furious at himself. Somewhere along the past few months, he lost his way. He didn’t even know what the right thing to do was anymore. He’d caught himself creeping closer and closer to breaking Immortal Codes.
    “She’s human now. She can’t do to you what she used to,” Rhyn said at the silence. “I mean, the deity we knew would never dye her hair the color of a water sprite’s.”
    Or paint her face blue, Gabriel added.
    “She’s yours by Immortal law, which means you’re fucked. I know that much. I can’t help you much with any of these things.” Rhyn motioned to the souls. “I figured you’d freak out. I’ve got Immortals keeping an eye on her. The demons want her bad, but they’re waiting for something.”
    “The demons are stealing my souls, too. I can’t figure out how they’re beating us.”
    “Their activity is off the charts. It’s my responsibility to monitor and deter them in the mortal world,” Rhyn said. “I’m as fucked as you. The Council is a mess. My dear half-brother Erik went into hiding and hasn’t been seen in weeks, leaving his part of the world completely exposed. We’re still trying to recover from the demon raids last fall. We lost so many Immortals, Gabe. I destroy shit. That’s what I do. But even I can’t keep up with the demons. I’m the only one who can track them, and only when I’m close enough to kill them.”
    “We’ve both got issues,” Gabriel said.
    “Kiki keeps telling me Andre would’ve figured this out by now,” Rhyn continued. “You know how fucking annoying that is?”
    “Oh, yeah,” Gabe smiled. “I get that a lot, too.”
    “I know one thing for sure: the Immortal mood beast that is my mate is the only reason I’m making it through this. Pick your battles, Gabe. You won’t win this one, so give up now.”
    Gabe sensed Rhyn’s words came from an enormous amount of thought. The Immortal had the temper of a demon, the power of a deity and the self control of a child. His bond to Katie tempered what was otherwise a disaster of epic proportions. That he’d grown a little more thoughtful and a little less reactive in how he handled adversity impressed Gabe.
    It didn’t mean Gabriel was ready to swallow the reality of being bound to the woman who tortured him. Not yet.
    “She’s