Distraction

Gabriel stepped through the bedroom door to find Afton leaning against the wall. His friend took one look at him and shook his head. 

"Go wait for me in the breakfast room. I want to check the blade." Afton told him quickly. When his friend went to protest, he stopped him. "She won't see me, and you know I won't look at her." 

Gabriel nodded after a moment and headed down the hall. Afton joined him a few minutes later as he slid his angel blade back in its sheath. 

Gabriel watched as Afton looked him over critically. "You look like hell. Are you okay?" 

"I lost control over the claim urge." Gabriel said his voice raspy. 

"Yeah, I wasn't going to talk to you until tomorrow, but your emotions were screaming panic. I figured I better check on you." Afton explained as he poured them each a glass of whiskey. Handing one to Gabriel he sat down. 

Gabriel took a drink of the whiskey feeling the sharpness of his teeth recede back to normal. "I would have claimed her if you had not come by." 

"Then I apologize for interrupting." Afton began... 

"Not by choice, the claim drive is overpowering. It was forcing me to do it. I am very glad you distracted me, Afton." Gabriel told his friend. Afton acknowledged Gabriel's words with a nod. 

"What did the blade tell you?" Gabriel asked his friend. "Did the blade glow blue?" That was the expected outcome as it would mean Megan had trace amounts of angelic grace in her blood. 

"Well, it glowed as expected but unfortunately didn't glow blue. I did a lot of research and found a great many things out earlier today, Gabriel." Afton sighed anticipating the next question. 

"What color did it glow?" Gabriel asked feeling trepidation. 

"Purple-ish..." Afton said popping his tongue at the end of the word he left hanging. 

Gabriel banged his head against his hand. "You have got to be kidding me!" He exclaimed unhappily. 

"Afraid not, my friend. Do you want to hear about this tonight or go back to bed? Though to tell you the truth, I think Megan is asleep." Afton asked. 

"I think it might be best to just hear it now." Gabriel said reluctantly. 

"The Enochian Database had something wrong, and I was able to track down the truth. Micheal the Nephilim's father wasn't Condia it was Cardias. The same Cardias imprisoned in Salvi for trying to build a Nephilim army. He fathered something like fourteen Nephilim before they caught on to him." Afton explained. Salvi was an extreme super-max prison for the most dangerous criminals from across the multitude of heavens and supernatural world. Gabriel took a large drink of his whiskey. 

Afton took a gulp before continuing. "Micheal was supposed to be Cardias's general and there was a reason for that. Micheal's grandmother was born after a brutal attack on his great-grandmother resulted in a pregnancy that was hushed up. Micheal's mother was suspected to be at a third Limon and that blood has filtered through the generations. Giving Megan both trace amounts of demon blood and angelic grace." 

Limon's were creature that were more than fifty percent human and the rest demon ancestry. More than fifty percent demon ancestry and the creature were something else entirely. 

"Fuck..." Gabriel hissed. "What does that mean for the claim? Did you find anything on the claim. What happens when I inevitably ingest her blood? Will that tip the scales for me?" 

"Woah... Slow down... I am still looking into it but maybe avoid claiming her for a few days until I find some answers." Afton suggested in a soothing voice. 

Gabriel barked out a laugh. "Easier said than done. This claim has a mind of its own. I'm barely holding on here." 

"I remember that..." Afton said his expression far away. 

Gabriel glanced at Afton sadly. Losing a soulmate was the worst thing that could happen to a Nephilim, angel, or any of the supernatural races. It was only through sheer determination for revenge that the other man still functioned. Looking after Gabriel helped but not much. It was the promise of meeting out pain that kept Afton going when the nights got long. His friend was extremely mentally strong and that kept him focused during the day. But fifty years was a long time to wait for vengeance and Gabriel knew it was taxing on his friend. 

Gabriel knew better than to bring it up and after a moment Afton snapped out of his memory. 

"I will go look into that for a bit. I doubt I'll sleep much tonight anyway." Afton said standing. Gabriel stood as well and both men finished their drinks. 

"Thank you for doing all of this." Gabriel told his friend clapping him on the back. Afton gave Gabriel a quick smile before heading back downstairs. Gabriel sighed, heading back to the bedroom. 

Gabriel stepped into the room quietly and crept on soft feet to the bed. Megan was curled on her side sound asleep. He grabbed some pajama pants and went into the bathroom to take a shower. He washed trying to keep his thoughts clear but couldn't help wondering what the heavens were thinking giving him a soulmate with even trace amounts of demon blood. His whole existence was balanced on a knife's edge though, what was one more thing? 

He thought about how close he had come to the claim tonight. Gabriel hadn't known something could take him over so completely that his will was superseded like that. If Afton hadn't come along these questions would already be answered for good or bad. Gabriel realized it was important to be more careful where he put his mouth and nose. 

Gabriel needed to be especially careful with his nose. The sex pheromones put out at that club had been all-consuming. He hadn't been able to get away from it all night. Then Megan's pheromones were like nothing he had ever experienced. It was like it was imprinting on his brain and he couldn't think around it. The haze he had been in had gotten stronger until without realizing it, he had lost control. 

Gabriel dried off and pulled on his pajama pants before walking into the bedroom and climbing into bed. He slid his body over against Megan and kissed her on the shoulder before wrapping an arm around her and laying down to attempt to sleep. He was shocked at how quickly this was becoming essential to ending his day. Gabriel breathed in the scent of her hair feeling himself relax. Everything would be okay. It just had to be because he couldn't see how he could give this up.