Shackled (The Lord Series) by Carlos
374. Olivia - Asa II

The guest room is next to Spencer's room, which calms my anxiety. Grandma Khloe brings me a pair of her pajamas to wear for the night. After I change in the bathroom, I sit on the bed next to my grandma. A brush is in her lap. "Do you remember when you were little that I used to braid your hair before you went to bed?" I nod before a big knot in my throat prevents me from speaking. She starts to brush my hair.

After she braids my hair, I touch my stomach. "If I have a girl this time, you will have to brush her hair every night." I face her. "I missed you so terribly," I say and bury my face into her chest, like I did when I was little. Tears run down my cheeks while I tell her everything that has happened to me. She listens to me patiently, her hands gently stroking my head and back.

When I am done, Grandma makes me look at her. Her eyes are red from crying. Whipping my tears away, she says, "If I had suspected what your father did to you, I would have fought tooth and nail to get you out." She seems to hesitate a bit before asking, "Tyson told me he hurt you. If you want to get away from him, you only need to say the word and Jon will deal with him."

"If you had asked me in December, I would have begged you and Grandpa to take me far away from Tyson and the others." The tips of my fingers trace the scars on my right arm. "I was so depressed I tried to take my life several times. Jasper, then Ansel found me in time. They were the first to love me, to make me want to live. Being together with them wasn't a decision I made lightly. They proved to me they wanted a life with me. I let go of the pain, the suffering, the torment they put me through and embraced them completely. I wasn't lying when I said that I love them. They make me feel *alive*. Without them, I feel like I can't breathe."

Grandma hugs me. "I am so happy you found happiness, Olivia."

She has no idea how happy I am. It feels surreal. Like a dream.

We spend the following hours speaking, until Granpa Jon comes looking for us. "Ansel is back. He said we have to leave tonight."

"And go where, Jon?" Grandma Khloe asks.

"Ansel thinks we should leave Malta," Grandpa Jon answers.

"Our belongings are on the other island. At least we have our passports and wallets with us. But Ansel has yet to explain things," I say.

The three of us go to Grandpa's office, where my men are.

Ansel is watching out the window but turns his head around when he hears us entering. Our gaze lock. "Whatever happens, whatever you hear, remember I love you." He sounds like he has been sentenced to death. "What did you do?" Rueben asks.

Mose snorts.

Ansel keeps talking to me, "That I swore allegiance to you." He rubs his temples. "Maybe it is time I reveal who I am."

I blink. "Did you lie about being my guardian?"

I don't care if he lied as long as he's on my side. But if Ansel is not my guardian, I wonder where the real one is.

Ansel hesitates before slowly shaking his head. "It's...complicated. I am your guardian, but...only because I chose so."

Tyson and Rueben narrow their eyes. "You said you were born as a guardian and have a spear behind your right ear. Did you lie?" Tyson growls.

"Yes and no." Ansel runs his fingers through his hair.

The doorbell rings, and we ignore it because who can be at this hour?

"When I decided to follow you in this world, I had to give up on something." He laughs bitterly. "Who would have thought that Pandora would have protected this world so well against the Nephilim army?" Ansel's wings come forth. "While you and the others turned to Abandon, the Archangel who guards the entrance to this world, I used my power to do the same. I didn't realize how much it would cost me. I was angry for a long time, even blaming you for losing the glory I once had. But at least I had a body, not like you, who was forced to start life from zero. My body wasn't perfect as in the beginning, as I became mortal due to the protection Pandora put around this world, but I didn't mind.

"In my search for you, I often found solace in an abandoned monastery a few states away from here. Sometime later, a woman and an infant came to life there. For the first two years, she spent most of her time cleaning the place, making it ideal for the child to grow. I think she knew I was spying on her, but she let me be since I wasn't a threat to her and the child.

"After his second birthday, the woman started teaching him about his duty, of why he was born. Imagine my shock when I learned he was the Guardian, the one whose entire life was dedicated to protecting the heir of Pandora. I knew it was you. How could it not have been you when you were...one of God's most amazing creations?

"I kept watching the child, wanting to know where you were. In my mind, you were still Erelah, the archangel who has been my mortal enemy in another world." Erelah.

For some reason, the name evokes strong feelings inside me.

Ansel keeps talking. "Soon after the child turned five, a rattlesnake bit him. There was no time to take him to the hospital. The only way to save him was for him to become me and me to become him. Thus, Ansel came to be." Tyson and the others pull me behind them. "What the fuck are you?"

A voice I haven't heard before comes from behind me. "He is Samael, the general of the Nephilims."

**My editor finally shuffled the chapters of the novella so their are not in the middle of Bought anymore. The next update will be in two days.**