When I noticed Lucifer was gone, I immediately knew who had him. The same stupid demon lord who took every single Angel I'd ever had.

Dantalion. The bast**d wouldn't leave me alone. You could say we were "friends". He was always a real nuisance. But Dantalion's power prevented me from ever getting rid of him. 

Whatever body part he touches, he could bring back any pain that had ever been inflicted on it. It was a reenactment of that event, and even brought back the memories associated with the pain. I kept him around because he was a great torturer. For some reason, he found great pleasure in hurt my Angels, because they were always so pampered during their time in the mortal world. He thought it was funny to "search" their bodies until he found at least one body part that caused them pain. 

But Lucifer... he was different. Not only had he been hurt almost daily, but those injuries were probably more severe than they appeared on the surface. They also came with a lot of emotional baggage. What really set Lucifer apart from my other Angels was that he was my mate. 

He was mine. And I was beyond angry that Dantalion had laid a hand on him. 

I arrived at his mansion with a snap of my fingers, ignoring the servants that rushed to assist me. I threw my coat at them, then stormed over to his cellar. It was where he kept all of his victims. 

I threw the door open, angry to see Lucifer cowering away, topless, and chained to the wall. Dantalion turned to face me, looking very pleased with himself. 

"," I growled out. 

"Satan! Where'd you get this one from? He's... f*cking amazing!" He said giddily. I rolled my eyes and walked straight past him to Lucifer. He was looking up at me with eyes that swam with gratitude. He was very compliant when I lifted him up, wrapping his legs around my torso and his arms snaked around my neck. He hid his face there, not that I was complaining. 

"What'd you do to him Dantalion?" I asked, my annoyance and anger levels going down once Lucifer was safely in my arms. 

Dantalion looked delighted that I had asked. "I touched his face, and felt that his been slapped. A lot. With the occasional black eye and split lip. Then his neck. He's been choked, or suffocated multiple times before. Then his arm has been broken a surprising amount of times. And that scar on his chest..."

I looked at him sharply. "You touched it?"

"Of course I did," he said without a hint of remorse. 

I could only sigh and walk out of the disgusting room. He followed, chattering happily. 

"So I heard a few mortals were dragged down here. Got anything interesting? You know I've been looking for someone to suit my... needs. Can I see them?" He asked. 

Xavier flashed through my mind. "Actually, there is one of them I'm sure you'd be happy with. But he's still mortal."

Dantalion shrugged. "What's he going to be?"

"I'm not sure... I was thinking either a vampire or shifter. Really, it's his choice," I replied.

Before leaving, I flicked my wrist, blowing up the bottom portion of his mansion, including the chambers. Just childish retaliation. Dantalion sighed, but it didn't deter him from following me. I teleported straight to my place, taking extra effort to make sure Lucifer didn't become a fried jumble of guts. Dantalion appeared next to me. 

"You know your way around. Keep yourself entertained, but do intrude into anyone's room again. The last maid killed herself after you left," I warned.

Dantalion laughed. "Aww, was I that bad?"

I frowned. "No, she said she couldn't live without you." Disturbed, I carried Lucifer back to his room. At some point, he had fallen back asleep. The after-effects of Dantalion's powers were too much for him. I set him on his bed, where he was immediately surrounded by the dogs. Keberos stayed by me. 

He followed me as I headed toward the three mortal's who had very big decisions to make. 

I stopped by Xavier's room first, because I wanted him gone. I wasn't trying to be rude, but have mortals just hanging out in my castle was insulting. I knocked on his door. He peeked out hesitantly.

"Have you decided yet?" I asked. 

"Um... yes. I want to be a werewolf, cause I love dogs... That's okay, right?" 

I nodded. "There will be a medic here later to inject you with the right serum," I explained, watching as he absorbed all the information like a sponge. 

"W-will it hurt?" He asked meekly. 

I didn't respond. "I'll be back to check on you later." Of course it would hurt. It would probably be one of the worse pains of his life. 

I moved on to Keven's room, which was right next to Xaviers. The teen opened his door with expectant eyes. 

"I know what I want to be," he said confidently.

"Do you?" I asked.

He nodded. "I want to be a forest nymph."

I was surprised. Keven wasn't petite or what you'd call delicate. He was pretty big for a kid his age, almost as tall as I was. He was also pretty muscled. "Why?"

He shrugged. "It just seems like a really peaceful way to live."

I told him the same as I told Xavier. "There will be a medic here the injection for you. Afterward, I'll come and check on you, then send you off with someone who'll take you to the forest."

He only nodded before closing his door. 

Moving on, I came to Madelin's door. She opened her door before I even knock. I'll admit, I was a little impressed. 

"I want to be a mermaid. Please," she added.

She sounded sure so I didn't press it. She closed the door before I could offer an explanation, cutting me off. 

I turned on my heel and left their wing. "What a b*itch... I like her," I chuckled to myself. 

An explosion from the kitchen made me internally groan. Even from another level, Dantalion's obnoxious laughter still reached my ears. 

"Another baby to babysit... great," I muttered sarcastically. Dantalion appeared in front of me, still grinning. 

"You're going to need a new head chef. You said not to enter bedrooms. You never said I couldn't do it in another room," Dantalion said slyly. 

I let out an exasperated groan. "Whatever. The human I told you about chose werewolf, so you'll have to deal with that."

Dantalion's smile dimmed significantly. "You know I hate those mutts. They're so big... not cute at all."

"Oh well. Guess its karma for f*cking my chef," I replied smugly.