When Kane and Undertaker finally turned and left, their footsteps fading down the hall, I let out a quiet breath I didn’t realize I’d been holding. My gaze shifted back to Cody, who was still standing a few feet away. The expression on his face made me pause—eyebrows drawn together, mouth slightly open, like he was trying to figure out if he’d just imagined what he saw. “I have never seen Kane and Undertaker have a soft spot before,” he said slowly, like he was still trying to wrap his head around it.
I smirked and leaned back against the pillows. “Guess I’m just irresistible like that. Works on grumpy legends too. You should be taking notes.”
That earned me one of his signature half-smiles, followed by a laugh that made his shoulders shake. “You’re something else, you know that?”
“Yeah, I’ve heard that a few times,” I replied, tossing him a playful wink. Before we could keep the teasing going, a knock at the door drew our attention. A doctor stepped in, clipboard in hand, giving me that quick once-over. After checking my vitals and asking a few routine questions, he scribbled something down and said, “Well, you’re good to go if you’re feeling up to it.”
“Music to my ears,” I said, swinging my legs over the bed.
Cody stood automatically, like he was ready to catch me if I so much as wobbled. “Easy, sis,” he murmured.
I shot him a small smile. “Relax, I’m not made of glass.” Then I turned to the doctor. “Thanks, doc. I’ll try not to make your job harder in the near future.”
He chuckled before leaving, and a moment later Cody and I stepped out into the hallway. Waiting just outside were Jey, Bianca, Randy, and Knight. Their faces lit up when they saw me. “Hey,” I greeted softly, feeling a little guilty for making them worry. “Sorry about earlier.”
Knight shook his head with a small grin, resting a big hand on my shoulder. “Nothing to be sorry about—you didn’t hurt anyone.”
Jey’s voice chimed in from the side, all playful energy. “Except for Solo’s crew. Bet they’ll think twice before messing with you again.”
That got a laugh out of me. “Please, they’ll probably start crossing the street if they see me coming.”
“Good,” Jey said with a grin. “Makes my job easier.”
Bianca reached over to give me a quick squeeze, Randy just gave me his quiet nod of approval, and I realized right then how lucky I was. These people weren’t just coworkers—they were family. And after the day I’d had, that meant everything. We started walking together, the noise of the arena humming somewhere deeper in the building. Cody kept pace beside me, his arm brushing mine every so often—his way of reminding me he was there, like he was keeping count of every step I took. “You know,” he said after a beat, “You’ve got that same… presence as your brothers. The kind that makes people think twice before crossing you.”
I glanced at him sideways. “Is that your nice way of saying I’m intimidating?”
He grinned. “If the boot fits.”
I nudged him with my elbow. “Careful, champ. I’ve been known to humble Rhodes boys before.”
He chuckled, shaking his head, but there was something in his eyes—pride, maybe, or just relief—that made me feel warmer than I’d admit.
The next morning, I padded out from my bedroom into the living space of my RV, still rubbing the sleep from my eyes and expecting to see… well, nothing except maybe the coffee pot waiting for me. Instead, I froze. Sitting on my couch like he owned it—like he owned me—was a tall, broad-shouldered man in a dark tailored suit. Black leather gloves covered his hands, a gleam of silver cufflinks catching the faint morning light. His olive-toned skin looked untouched by age, his thick black hair still immaculate, his dark brown eyes fixed on me with a lazy, knowing stare.
My father.
My stomach dropped like I’d been sucker-punched. He was supposed to be in jail. I immediately squared my shoulders, instincts snapping into place. “How the hell did you get here?” My voice came out sharper than I intended. “Better question—why are you here?”
He smiled, slow and wolfish, like my unease was the punchline to his private joke. “I go where I want, little Crywing. You know that. I just came to thank you… for giving me the prison experience.”
I blinked at him, my grip tightening on the back of the chair beside me. “That’s… what?”
He leaned back, like he was settling in for storytime. “I had fun in there. Played a few pranks on the guards. Made some… friends.” His eyes glittered. “And maybe—just maybe—I scared one or two of them to death. Literally.”
The words hit like a slap, but I refused to give him the satisfaction of looking rattled. Instead, I smirked and crossed my arms. “If I believed you, I’d almost think you came just to share that. But that can’t be the only reason you’re here.”
He clutched his chest dramatically, his smile never faltering. “What, I can’t drop in on my only daughter now and then?”
“Not unless you’ve been lobotomized,” I shot back.
A low chuckle escaped him before his expression shifted—still amused, but sharper now. “I also came to congratulate you.”
That threw me off. “Congratulate me for what?”
“For finally discovering your true form,” he said smoothly. “All those years of training I put you through… it’s finally paying off.”
The back of my neck prickled. “What do you mean? You never trained me for anything. All you ever did was yell at me and beat me just for existing!”
He tilted his head, feigning surprise. “You really haven’t figured it out yet?”
Before I could answer, he rose from the couch and—without a sound—shifted. His eyes became molten gold, glowing faintly like heated metal fresh from the forge. Black horns, curved and ridged with faint red cracks, spiraled back from his temples, each vein-like fissure pulsing as though alive. His skin stayed human-shaped but thin crimson fissures glimmered under the surface, as if something molten churned beneath, waiting to erupt. The air around him thickened, warmer, carrying the faint, suffocating scent of smoke and ash.
I gasped despite myself, my heart thundering. He smirked. “That’s right. I’m a demon… and so are you.”
The floor seemed to tilt beneath me. “No,” I breathed, shaking my head. “No, that’s not—”
“—possible?” he finished for me, his tone dripping with mock sympathy. “I tried to tell you before. You just didn’t want to listen.” He let his eyes rake over me, slow and deliberate. “You really are just as stupid as your mother.”
The fear curdled into rage in an instant. I lunged at him, my hands curling into fists—
—and he vanished in a cloud of smoke, reappearing behind me so fast I nearly stumbled forward. “You’ve got spirit,” he murmured behind my ear, his voice deep and venomous. “At least Kane and Undertaker’s mother had the guts to stand up to me… instead of running away like your mother.”
I froze. My breath caught in my throat. “What did you just say?”
His smile widened, the cruelest I’d ever seen it. “You heard me.”
Before I could demand answers, before I could even move, he dissolved into smoke again—this time gone for good, at least for now but I had a feeling I’d see him again. I stood there in the thick, fading scent of ash, my fists trembling, my mind spinning. My father’s words clung to me like soot. Demon. Just like him. And now… this thing about Kane and Undertaker’s mother. I wasn’t sure what terrified me more—the truth I’d just seen, or the possibility that he was right about me.
I moved without thinking, pacing from one end of the narrow aisle to the other. Boots scuffing against the vinyl floor. Hands flexing, clenching, releasing. My breaths came too fast, too shallow, like my chest was wrapped in barbed wire. Every word he’d said was replaying in my head, sharper each time, twisting like a knife. The RV felt smaller with each lap I made. The walls—warm beige with dark wood trim—seemed to close in.
My duffel sat by the kitchenette, half-zipped, but I couldn’t stand still long enough to touch it.
“Breathe, Angel. Just breathe,” I whispered to myself, but my voice cracked on my own name. I pressed a hand to my chest, feeling my heart jackhammer against my palm. My father’s face—his smirk, his tone, the way he made it sound like all of this was inevitable—kept flashing in my mind. My throat burned. I wanted to scream, but the sound wouldn’t come. Instead, I stopped by the small table, gripping its edge so hard my knuckles went white. The edges dug into my skin, grounding me just enough to keep from collapsing.
But then the panic hit harder—like my body was trying to eject all the adrenaline at once. I stumbled back toward the couch, practically falling into it. My knee bounced restlessly. I rubbed my face, dragging my hands down until I felt my nails scrape lightly at my skin. I hated how shaky I felt. I hated that he still had this kind of power over me. And worst of all, I hated that a part of me—deep, buried, and ugly—still wanted his approval for whatever weird reason.
The RV suddenly felt too quiet again. My ears rang, my vision swam for a moment, and I found myself gripping the throw pillow on the couch like it was a lifeline. I didn’t even hear the knock at the door until it came a second time—louder. “Angel?” Cody’s voice carried through, a little worried, a little confused. “You in there?”
I froze mid-pace, breath still uneven, fingers twitching at my sides. My chest felt like it was caving in, each inhale ragged no matter how much I tried to steady it. I squeezed my eyes shut, fighting to pull myself together, but all that came out of me was a shaky, broken, “Y-yeah.”
The door creaked open, and then he was there—Cody, his eyes scanning me instantly like he’d been expecting trouble. I must’ve looked a wreck: hair a mess,still in my pajamas, skin pale, eyes red and swollen. I hated that he was seeing me like this. “Angel…” His voice softened in a way that cut right through me. In the next breath, he was at my side, pulling me into a hug without hesitation. I collapsed into his chest like I’d been waiting for that exact moment. My arms wrapped tight around him, and before I even realized it, the tears were back. Hot and relentless. I buried my face against him, clutching the fabric of his shirt like it was the only thing keeping me standing.
Cody didn’t say a word. He just held me. His arms were firm around my shoulders, his hand rubbing gently up and down my back as I cried against him. The silence wasn’t heavy, though—it was safe. A quiet that told me I didn’t need to explain myself right away. That I didn’t need to be strong. Not here. Not with him. After a few minutes, the storm inside me calmed enough that I could breathe again. I sniffled, pulled back just slightly, and swiped at my face with the sleeve of my pajama shirt. My voice cracked when I finally spoke. “I’m okay,” I whispered. A lie that felt flimsy even as it left my mouth. “I… I just woke up from a really bad nightmare, that’s all.”
Cody leaned back just enough to look at me. His eyes narrowed, not harsh but searching, like he didn’t quite buy it. He always saw through me more than anyone else. Still, he didn’t call me out. Not yet. “You wanna talk about it?” he asked gently.
I shook my head quickly. “No. Just you being here is enough.” My lips tugged into a small, fragile smile. “Thank you, Cody.”
For a second, his expression softened into something that almost made me break again. He pulled me back into another hug, this one brief but grounding. “Anytime,” he murmured. “Always.”
When he stepped back, he gave my shoulder a reassuring squeeze. “Me, Jey, Bianca, Randy, and Knight are hitting the gym in a bit. We’ll wait for you, alright?”
I nodded, forcing my voice steady. “Yeah. I’ll be out in a few.”
“Good.” He lingered, like he wanted to press me further, then finally gave me one last small smile and slipped out, shutting the door gently behind him. The second he was gone, the RV felt too quiet. Too big. I let out a long breath and turned back to the small mirror above the counter. My reflection stared back at me—eyes still glassy, cheeks blotched. I put on my usual gym clothes. Grey tank top, sweatpants. I grabbed the white hoodie I always wore, the one with the golden halo printed on the front, and paused. My fingers hovered over the fabric. The symbol stared back at me like it knew.
My father’s words echoed in my head, sharp and merciless: “I’m a demon, and so are you.”
The weight of it crashed over me all over again. My throat tightened, and tears threatened to rise, but I blinked hard and forced them down. I couldn’t lose it again. Not now. Not when Cody and the others were waiting. I took a deep breath, swiped at my eyes one more time, and pulled the hoodie over my head, burying the golden halo against my chest.
Keep it together, I told myself. They don’t need to know.
And with that lie stitched into my hoodie, I grabbed my bag and headed for the door.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPcDfb9Gx02
and then Add to home screen.