Unkillable (Monsters Series #1) (Wattys2014)

Part 1: Jesse: Prologue: Death's Door

I stood over the dead body of my beloved Colonel with tears in my eyes. His porcelain skin gleamed in the light, despite the dirt and war paint. His dark hair was matted with dirt and blood from the battlefield. I couldn’t believe he was dead; that I would never hear his sweet voice again. I sobbed into his chest.

For the next few minutes, I planned my suicide, just in case it became unbearable to live without him. I would go outside on the battlefield and let myself be shot by the Holy Men. They aren’t as nice as they sound.

Then, I felt someone stroking my head. I looked up.

Angel’s kind eyes like smooth black glass were staring down at me, concerned.

“What’s wrong, ma vie?” he whispered, his voice like a silver flute, the voice that always sends shivers down my spine.

I gasped in blissful disbelief. I embraced and kissed the amazingly impossible man who I love. He smelled like a mixture of lavender, blood, and gunpowder. I was getting dirt, blood, and war paint all over myself, but I didn’t care. My husband was alive after getting shot in the chest. Twice! I was blissfully content in his strong, loving arms. He was alive. He was alive!

I felt Avalis burning a hole in my back, along with all the other cadets. Even Alonzo couldn’t help but smile at our loving display.

“Having fun with your Colonel of Love, Jess?” Alonzo sneered jokingly.

Angel and I just rolled our eyes. For a while, we only stared at each other. His rich, obsidian eyes had always made my heart melt into a puddle. His soft, ruby lips were always curled into a sideways smirk.

A Holy Man would say he was too effeminate to be a soldier, let alone a colonel, but that prejudice worked to his advantage. In Angel’s first battle, they were actually laughing; that was only until he shot five men with a single bullet. They were scared stiff ever since.

Not only that, my dearest Angel has something the Holy Men’s colonel, Damien, could never even dream of in a million years.

My Angel can never die.

“You knew I wasn’t going to die, Jesse,” Angel whispered in my ear.

“Yes, but it still scares me; what if something went wrong, and you couldn’t heal? What if you really did die? Then I’d have to take care of Beth all by myself, and...”

Angel put one finger on my lips gingerly.

“Listen to me, mon cher.” Angel whispered, holding my chin in his hand, “I will never, ever leave you without a fight, Jesse. Never!”

We held each other as the memory of our first meeting took over my mind.