Free Hell's Gates (Urban Fantasy) by Celia Kyle, Lauren Creed Page A

half into Hell’s Chapel before a hairy hand grabbed the collar of his jacket and hauled him back out the door.
    I rushed outside just in time to see Sam being hurled across the parking lot. Standing beside the door, slightly hunched from throwing my mate out of the bar, was one of my dads—Papa Al.
    I glanced out of the corner of my eye and watched as the fallen angel Samkiel flared his midnight wings to stop his momentum. He quickly retracted them so he landed on his feet on the asphalt.
    “Papa Al,” I let out a frustrated sigh and rubbed a hand down my face. “How many times do I have to tell you I don’t need you to beat up my exes?”
    I knew the sound of my mate’s footsteps, the sound of him slowly walking, and knew he was heading back toward me. Great.
    I glared at Sam and muttered, “I can do that by myself.”
    Papa Al planted himself in front of me so that I stared at his broad back. “Helene told me about what’s been going on. I’ve been watching the bar.”
    I rolled my eyes. “And you didn’t do anything when I had to kick out my customers?”
    He shrugged and I watched as fur slipped out of his skin to cover the back of his neck. “I figured you had that under control.”
    Sam didn’t even slow as he approached. “Caith, I’m serious. This is important.”
    I remembered that raspy voice, raised in pleasure, deep and smoky when he teased me.
    Papa Al thrust a hairy paw against Sam’s chest, pushing him back. I didn’t know if he thought I couldn’t handle my mate on my own, or if this was just his way of being overprotective. He always had been a tiny bit extra feral where my boyfriends were concerned.
    “She doesn’t need any help from you, Fallen.” Papa Al’s voice was filled with his beast’s growl.
    “Papa Al.” I tried not to let my frustration fill my voice. Under different circumstances, I would have thrown down with my dad as quickly as I would with any dem or tween causing shit in Orlando. But I had too much else on my mind to deal with my father and my ex-ish acting all macho in the parking lot.
    Papa Al glanced over his shoulder, keeping one eye on Sam. “He’s dangerous. He shouldn’t be around you.”
    He shouldn’t be around anyone, really.
    Sam clenched his fists, taking sharp breaths through clenched teeth. “Out of the way, old man.”
    The red in his eyes flashed brighter, flames flickering in the orbs. I knew that look. The darkness within him was threatening to take control, to act on the impulses swirling around in my mate’s mind. And I had no idea how dark his mind had gotten. It was a slippery slope, and I knew the longer he went without the grace of the light from Oh High, the harder it would be for him to remember the difference between right and wrong. The harder it would be for him to control his darker urges.
    I didn’t want to believe that one of the people I loved most could really be a danger to me, but I realized I had no idea. This being wasn’t my Sam. He was a completely different person.
    That truth didn’t soothe the wolf’s need for its mate, though. Evil or not, he smelled the same and that was enough for the beast.
    Papa Al didn’t back down. “You think I’m going to let you near her? The way you are right now?” The are you smoking crack was implied. “Look at yourself.”
    Sam pulled his fist back as if he was about to throw a punch and then froze. He stared at his fist.
    We all stared at his fist, at the burning light coming from within and the scent of sulfur that came along for the ride. There was nothing holy or righteous about what he was prepared to do. I knew that look. I’d grown up struggling with it myself. He’d called on Hell, ready to release the unending fires on my father.
    And I knew that would only draw him farther down the dark path he’d started so long ago.
    Part of me wanted to take Sam in my arms. I’d stroke his head and comfort him, help him through the anger that burned his veins and that dark