My eyes widen as the blood ran cold in my veins. I could feel my heart pounding in my chest; the sound of it crashing through my ears.

  My coworker took a menacing step towards me, taunting my fear. The laughter echoed off the alley walls and disappeared into the blackness. I was surrounded by seven guys in a dark alley with no escape. And what’s worse...they knew my secret.

  I tried again. Guys….a little help here…. Like NOW!

  Brilliant flashes of white light lit us up for a moment then all was plunged again into darkness. My eyes strained to adjust. The only light to see by was from the full moon overhead and the streetlight’s dim orange glow at the end of the alley.

  “Nobody messes with our girl.”

  Hope. I felt hope as soon as I heard the voices I had been longing for.

  Jackson grinned, looking them over in the moonlight. “It’s about time you joined the party. It just wouldn’t be fun without you here.”

  Cocky bastard. I thought.

  He snapped his fingers and pointed at me without taking his eyes off his opponents. “You. Shut it.”

  I frowned. What was with this guy? Just who was he and why did he know all our secrets?

  “To answer your incessant questions…” He made sure to put annoyed emphasis on the word incessant. “We are your boyfriends arch nemesis and eternal enemy. Let me formally introduce myself. I’m Jackson...a demon.” He bowed slightly with a haughty smirk.

  Sunhyeok and the rest of my boys looked scalding mad, ready to tear people apart.

  “Let her go! She has nothing to do with our fight.” Yoonhoo yelled.

  Jackson casually looked over at him. “On the contrary, she has everything to do with it. I want her. I know she is soon to be your mate, so it was laughable how easy it was to lure you here.” He looked over and winked it me.

  I think I’m going to puke.

  Jackson gave me a disapproving glare.

  Sunhyeok had been holding his hand out, holding back the wrath of the ones behind him, but now he let his hand drop to his side. He didn’t even have to say a word.

  Extending their wings, the angels lunged at the opposing team. Their movements were so quick I could barely make out what was happening. Some of the demon gang had already been knocked down.

  One of the demons appeared in front of me with a smirk. I gasped. He took a daunting step towards me.

  Suddenly Youngjo was in between me and the enemy, stopping the hand of the demon before he could grab me. He punched the guy in the face and kicked him away from me.

  “Gwenchana?” Youngjo turned to me, worried.

  I nodded, staying put with my back against the brick wall.

  My bodyguard joined the rest of the team in a split second and continued throwing punches.

  Yoonhoo and Jungha had teamed up against two of the demons. Jungha crouched down to miss a flying kick to his head. Yoonhoo flipped over him and took the opportunity to use Jungha’s back as leverage to launch himself feet first at the other guy, knocking him out in a single moment. With that distraction, Jungha was able to defeat the second one as well.

  Sunhyeok took on the fight against Jackson. I had never seen him so infuriated. He used his wings to propel himself at the demon leader. They tussled and I cringed at the sound of fist hitting bone.

Youngjo and Jungha joined their leader to fight against Jackson.

  Seongho was still busy with one last demon. He threw a punch and missed, giving the other guy the opening to get a shot at the maknae’s stomach. I winced, watching my baby fall to the ground clutching his middle in pain.

  Yoonhoo swooped in and roundhouse kicked the guy in the head, knocking him out cold. He pulled Seongho up by the arm and checked to see if he was ok. The maknae nodded and joined Yoonhoo and the rest to finish the battle.

  Jackson noticed that all his men were down and in that split second of distraction, Sunhyeok and Youngjo grabbed him, pulling him down on the ground. The leader had the demon in a chokehold while the others threw punches and kicks.

  Struggling to escape, Jackson clawed at Sunhyeok’s death grip around his neck. His eyes showed fear for once. They flitted over to me for a moment, staring back at me filled with anger, despair, and regret.

  Seongho stepped in front of me and pulled me against his chest, blocking me from view just as the life was drained out of the demon. He held me tight, holding my head into the crook of his shoulder, shielding me from the scene behind us. A blast of blue light ended the demon’s existence, exploding out like a supernova.

  I started to cry as the adrenaline wore off and shock took over. Yoonhoo appeared beside us. I felt his hand my hair, attempting to calm me down. His hand was shaking.

While Seongho and Yoonhoo consoled me, the rest took care of the bodies. Seongho my back lovingly, letting me use his shoulder as a tissue box.

  “Let’s go home.” Yoonhoo spoke quietly.

  The others arrived at my apartment a few minutes after we did.

  Sunhyeok was still worried. He stood in front of me, holding my face in his big hands, wiping away the tear stains. “You’re safe. I promise. We will always be here to protect you.”

  “Yea, after the Officiation our link will be inseparable and we will always know where you are and if you are in danger.” Holding my hand, Jungha smiled at me, hoping to cheer me up.

  I sniffled, taking in a shaky breath. My eyes were bloodshot from all the crying. My hands were still shaking from the tension.

  “Shhhh.” Sunhyeok pulled me into a tight embrace. “Everything’s ok now. You’re safe.”

  “Mianhae. Being an angel’s mate has risks. We should have told you. We didn’t think you would be in danger.” Beating himself up mentally, Youngjo looked at me with sincere apology in his eyes.

  “It’s...ok…” I sniffed, rubbing my eyes with my shirt sleeve. “Just don’t let it happen again.”

  “We promise.”

  The leader picked me up, carrying me into the bedroom. Setting me down, he held my hand and said, “Try to get some sleep. You don’t have to be scared anymore. We will stay here and protect you.” His warm hand cupped my cheek, giving me a bit of relief.

  The others appeared in the doorway behind him. I crawled into my bed, too drained to care that I was still wearing my work clothes.

The guys took up stations around the room; Sunhyeok next to me on the bed, Youngjo down by my feet, Yoonhoo on the floor beside my nightstand, Jungha in the chair beside my window, and Seongho at my desk. When I felt safe enough, I let sleep overtake me.