Butterscotch Souls: The Morningstar Series: Book 4
Butterscotch Souls – Chapter 6

I woke up the next morning with the sun shining in the my face. Rolling over I expected to wrap my arm around my beautiful mate but the bed was empty.

My eyes snapped open to confirm that I was alone. I didn’t have to get up to know that I am alone in the hotel room. My mates scent is still strong though so I hurriedly got up and threw on the jeans I had on last night.

Throwing the shirt over my head I stromed out of the room bare foot.

My eyes scanned everywhere looking for Epperly.

“Mr. Morningstar, good morning. Is there something I can help you with?” The lady at the front desk asked me.

She was giving me a strange look, probably because I looked like a mad man.

“Uhm, did a girl recently leave here? She has long black hair and golden eyes.”

The lady gave me a wide eyed look.

“Contacts.” I answered her unasked question. “She would have been wearing dark skinny jeans and a black tank top.” I rushed out.

“Nope, haven’t seen her.” The lady said.

She’s lying though. Her heartbeat picked up.

I narrowed my eyes at her and decided to use compulsion to make this faster.

“You lied. Did you see the girl?” I asked again.

“Yes.” The lady answered in a dreamy tone.

“When?” I asked angrily.

“A couple of hours ago.” She told me.

I sighed.

f**k.

A couple hours ago means I wouldn’t be able to track her like this. Sighing, I thanked the lady and went back to my room. This time I dressed in fresh clothes, light colored jeans and a white V-neck shirt.

I grabbed my wallet and room key before leaving again. She had to go back to work eventually right?

Skipping the walk, I teleported to the ally next to the bar and then walked in. The place is damn near empty. No mate in sight either.

s**t.

Good thing I was willing to wait all f*****g day if I had to. I can’t believe she left me. That I let her leave me. Kohen was growling and whining in my head. He’s desperate to get back to our mate.

Before I could even sit down Sam came around the corner. His eyes connected with mine and he glared at me. Uhmmmm…?

“You.” He seethed at me.

I looked all around but no one else was by me.

“Me?” I asked with a brow raised.

“Yes you. What the f**k did you do with Epperly?” He asked angrily.

“Uhm, what?” I asked confused.

“Epperly. The girl you left here with last night.” Sam said.

I frowned, now getting angry.

“I know who the f**k you’re talking about. Don’t talk to me like she’s just some girl.” I said dangerously.

“What did you do to her?” Sam asked again, still seething.

I looked him up and down.

“I’m not sure you really want the details friend.” I said snidely.

Sam rolled his eyes at me.

“Don’t get lippy with me boy. Epperly has been renting the apartment above the bar for over two months. She leaves here with you last night, and this morning I find out that she ran off. What did you do to her?” He asked me again.

Ran off?

“She… ran away?” I asked.

Sam crossed his arms over his chest.

“Yeah, she f*****g did.” He said.

Something isn’t right.

Why would she just leave me after the night we shared? I thought that she felt the pull too. Was I wrong?

No, my gut told me it was something else.

I looked up at Sam again. Looks like I will be compelling a lot of people today. Sam’s eyes glazed over and his arms fell to his sides.

“Tell me everything you know about Epperly.” I ordered.

“Epperly Jones,” He started.

“Jones?” I asked and he nodded. That sounds fake.

“Continue.” I ordered.

“She showed up here a little over two months ago asking for a job. I told her about the place above the bar and offered it to her when she started asking about places to rent.” He told me.

“So she isn’t from around here?” I asked.

“No.” Sam answered.

“What else do you know?” I asked.

“It seemed like she had a past that she was running from. I didn’t ask too many questions. I’ve seen kids like her come in here before that we were running from something.” He said.

“She was a polite little thing but could kick a*s if the customers got too handsy.”

Pride swelled in my chest. At least I know she can handle herself against other humans.

“That’s all I know really.” He said.

I nodded to him. So, my mate is running from something, or someone. But who?

f**k.

Now I wish that I would have explained who I was first. I just got so excited to finally have my mate. I thought with my d**k instead of my head. And now my mate was gone. I could have protected her. No one in the universe would be able to touch her a*s long as she’s with me.

“Let me see the apartment.” I ordered.

Sam turned and started walking immediately. I followed behind him and up a set of stairs. There was a small hallway and Sam opened the first door on the left. I turned to him while we stood in the doorway.

“You can go back down now Sam. I will be down when I am done.” I told him.

Sam nodded and went back down the stairs. I walked into the apartment and my mates scent of jasmine and rain hit me like a train.

f**k, I already miss her.

Kohen whined in my head in agreement.

I spent a full hour searching all over the apartment. Nothing. I f*****g found nothing.

My girl didn’t leave a f*****g trace of her existence here. Part of me was proud that she knew how to cover her tracks so well. While another part of me wondered how she had come to learn how to do that.

Was she in that much danger? Did she leave because of me?

Deciding to take action I teleported back to my hotel room and grabbed my bag. It’s full of all kinds of witchy things that I could possibly need. I teleported back to the apartment and started to pull out items.

Candles, chalk, herbs, and my mortar. Mixing up some of the herbs and my b***d in the mortar, I drew a pentagram on the floor, circled four candles around me and light them, then I sat in the middle of the pentagram. I closed my eyes and tried to focus on Epperly’s face. I needed to find her now.

Images of her popped into my head but they were disoriented and faint.

I frowned.

How is that possible? It didn’t make sense. She is my mate and has my temporary marks. I should be able to find her easily. So, why can’t I?

Over the next two hours I tried everything that I possibly could think of. Nothing worked. Every image was too quick or too fuzzy for me to see anything else.

Hopelessness swirled in my stomach. This could not be happening to me. I finally found her, and then I lost her.

I was sitting on the floor still, lost in deep thought when I felt a strange sensation fall over me. Someone is here. Someone powerful.

I cleaned up my stuff and erased the pentagram. Just when I had stood up and slung my bag over my shoulder the door burst open.

Two men walked in, one was holding a beat up Sam. One of the men had dark brown hair that was in a low ponytail down his back. He’s dressed in jeans and a black hoodie.

The other man had golden blonde hair that was in a manbun at the back of his head. He was dressed similarly with jeans and a light gray hoodie. I recognized them immediately.

“Morningstar.” The blonde greeted with fake friendliness.

I narrowed my eyes at them.

“Uriel. Haniel.” I greeted the twins with malice.

This was not the first encounter I have had with the twins.

The first time I met them was only a couple of years ago. I was with Grandpa for the summer, of my own choice. He and I had went on a few missions even though I wasn’t old enough to yet. We ran into these clowns and had quite the battle. A battle that Grandpa and I won.

The twins are Angels that work for the Gods. You might think that angels are only under one God, my grandfather’s father, but that isn’t the case. All Gods can create angels if they are powerful enough.

The twins are Angels that work for the Gods. You might think that angels are only under one God, my grandfather’s father, but that isn’t the case. All Gods can create angels if they are powerful enough.

These two are mercenaries. They hunt down whoevever their God tells them to. When they faught Grandpa and me I heard they had gotten into a lot of trouble.

Afterall, Lucifer is a God himself. And one of the most powerful Gods. The twins could have started a war for attacking us.

“Didn’t expect a Morningstar to be here.” Uriel said, the blonde.

Haniel smiled and dropped Sam, who fell in a heep on the ground.

“What are the two of you doing here?” I asked them.

Uriel shrugged. “We are on vacation, just sight seeing.” He said with a smirk.

“Sight seeing? In Fort Benton, Montana.” I said skeptical.

Fuckers are full of s**t.

Uriel shrugged as he walked into the room. “We might be looking for somebody.” He told me.

So they are who I was sent here for. I rolled my eyes. If only I had known. I would have sought them out immediately and kicked their asses.

“Who?” I asked.

“Just someone the Gods are looking for.” Uriel said nonchalantly.

I narrowed my eyes at him.

“Well, your search ends now.” I said to him.

Haniel glared at me.

“We do not bow down to you Morningstar.” He gritted out.

I turned my eyes to him and I knew they were glowing orange.

“You will if I want you to.” I said dangerously.

“Whoa, let’s all calm down.” Uriel said to us.

I turned my head to him.

“There are no Gods or Demigods here. You two have no buiness being here.” I warned.

Uriel gave me his best fake smile. “Of course. But we will look around for ourselves.” He said walking back to his brother.

“The two of you will leave this town right the f**k now and never return.” I ordered them.

Uriel laughed. “And what makes yo-“

He was interrupted when I sped through the room and pinned him to the wall by his neck. Haniel rushed to his brother and I used his panic to grab his arm and break it. The bone stuck out from his forearm but he didn’t scream out in pain, just fell to the ground.

“The two of you seem to think I’m playing games here.” I said to the two of them.

Then I grabbed Haniel’s hair and bounced his head off the wall. His head started to bleed and I dropped Uriel. Dragging Haniel up by his throat I licked the b***d from his head.

“Angel b***d always tastes so devine.” I told them and then threw Haniel on the floor with his brother, who was still gasping for air.

“If the two of you don’t leave right the f**k now I think I might have you for lunch.” I told them.

“You cannot stop the Gods from getting what they want Morningstar!” Haniel seethed at me.

I laughed and crouched down to look them in the face.

“Silly angels.” I said amused before my face went stone cold.

“I am a f*****g God.” I said dangerously. “Who were you after here?” I asked them.

Neither of them seemed to want to answer, so I sighed heavily.

“We gonna do this the hard way or the easy way?” I asked.

Again, neither of them answered.

“Hard way it is then.” I said.

I grabbed Haniel by his arm that is broken and dragged him to where I had dropped my bag. He cried out in pain at first but quickly stopped. I tossed him on the floor and pulled a vial of black liquid from my bag. Bending down to his level I showed him the vial.

“Do you know what this is?” I asked him.

Haniel looked at the vial then me but he didn’t answer. I could tell by the look in his eyes that he knew what it was. But since he didn’t want to admit that, I decided to explain it out loud for them both.

“This is something that is specifically made to torture Angels. Once I force this inside of your system, you are going to wish I did kill you. You won’t recover for weeks, possibly months. Well…” I trailed off.

“That would be the case had this been made by a normal witch. But this,” I held up the vial for both of them to see. “This one was made by my little sister. She has a thing for potions. Not to mention that she is a God herself.”

“Demidevil.” Uriel spit out.

“Excuse me?” I asked with a brow raised.

“You and your disgusting siblings are not Gods. You are Demidevils. No one among the Gods respects any of the Morningstars.” He spat out with a laugh.

I walked over to him and crouched down.

“Oh my, how our hearts are breaking.” I smiled wickedly at him.

“Tell me Uriel, what must my family do to gain respect from your leaders? Kill their warriors perhaps?” I asked with an evil grin.

“Killing us will only put you in hotter water with the Gods.” Haniel spat from behind me.

I stood up and smiled at him.

“Perfect.” I said excitedly. “Because not one of us gives a flying f**k about any of you or your Gods.” I said.

“Tell me who you were looking for and I will let you walk out of here without this in your systems.” I offered them while shaking the vial in the air.

The twins shared a look that told me they were not willing to give up easily.

“If you give us that then we won’t be able to talk anyways.” Uriel said.

I laughed. “Well it’s a good thing that I can save this for last then isn’t it?”

Pure fear struck both of their faces. Using my magic I pinned Uriel to the floor so he couldn’t move. Walking over to Sam I spilled some of my b***d into his mouth. A moment later his eyes fluttered open.

“Wh-what happened?” He asked.

When his eyes connected with mine I compelled him.

“You don’t remember meeting me, or the two of them.” I said pointing at the twins. “Go downstairs and continue like this is a normal day.” I told him.

Sam nodded and got to his feet. Once he disappeared I shut the door and turned back to the twins. Haniel was glaring at me and I chuckled.

“Ya know, it’s funny to me that you and your Gods hate my family so much. You call us evil yet you are the one that beat up an innocent man.” I said.

“Your family has killed many people in your years. Your grandfather corrupts innocent souls to fill his cages in Hell.” Haniel spat at me.

I laughed lowly.

“Lucifer doesn’t need to corrupt people. Especially when even Angels are not innocent.” I said to him.

I reached out and snatched Haniels arm that was not broken. He struggled against me but it was of no use. I’m stronger then them. Being a Tribrid had its perks I had to admit. Gods might be challenges for us but Angels?

Yeah right.

Turning my head to Uriel I broke one of Haniel’s fingers, and then another and another, until all five of his digits were broken. Haniel fought back his screams but I didn’t care. Uriel was the weaker one. I was just going to torture his twin brother until he finally spoke.

I wonder how long that will take.

*********************************************

An hour later and I had nearly broken every bone in Haniel’s body. There were a few times that Uriel looked like he wanted to talk but Haniel had stopped him. At this point I was forced to move on to more extreme measures.

It also didn’t help that I was in agony over my mate leaving. The pain of having my soul ripped in half was devastating. Kohen had abondoned me before the twins had even shown up. I didn’t blame him, but I was angry. And I was taking it out on these fuckers.

Pulling out a pair of pilers I grabbed Haniels hand and looked up at Uriel. He was staring at me in horror and I raised a brow at him. Without saying a word or breaking eye contact I ripped two finger nails from Haniel’s body.

He screamed in pain.

“Still not going to talk huh?” I asked Uriel.

“I will never talk.” He spat out at me, literally this time.

I rolled my eyes.

“This is getting boring Uriel. If you aren’t going to talk then I am just going to eat your brother. I’m starving anyways.” I said with a shrug.

I picked Haniel up and his head lolled to the side. Gripping his hair I extended my fangs. I wasn’t lying when I said that Angel b***d was delicious, it really is. Just when I was about to bite down Uriel shouted.

“Stop!”

And I did.

“Ready to talk now?” I asked amused.

Uriel nodded and I tossed his brother to the side. I walked to Uriel and squatted down in from of him. He was being pinned down by his throat to the floor.

“How does it feel to be so helpless?” I asked him. “I wonder if your other victims felt that way.” I said.

Uriel scoffed.

“You are one to talk Morningstar. Look at what you’ve done!” He shouted at me.

“Oh, it’s always evil when it’s happening to you.” I fake pouted at him. “Cut the bullshit Uriel. I know about you and your brother. I’ve heard about what the two of you have done to innocent supernaturals.” I told him.

Uriels jaw tightened.

“We did what we had to do for our God. We are soldiers.” He said it like it was an excuse.

“Is that not what I am doing?” I asked.

“Now talk.” I demanded.

Uriel glared at me for a moment before I sighed and allowed him to sit up.

“Who are you looking for?” I asked again.

“We don’t know.” He told me.

I laughed.

“Lying to me will result in the end of you and your twin.” I told him.

“I’m not lying.” Uriel gritted out. “We were sent here to look for someone. We were told that we would know them when we saw them.” He said.

I inspected him for a moment, he isn’t lying.

“How would you know?” I asked.

Uriel shrugged.

“They said that this persons power would be immense and we would know immediately that they are the one.” He told me.

“Did they mention if this person is a boy or a girl?” I asked.

“No.” Uriel said softly.

“Do you know what they are?” I asked.

“No.” He answered.

“Hmm.” I hummed thoughfully. “Is there anything that you do know?” I asked.

“The only other thing I know is that they must be good at hiding because several of us have been sent in search for whoever it is.” He said.

“Huh. The Gods must want this person badly.” I said.

Uriel nodded.

“Do you know why?” I asked.

“They didn’t tell us much but we had strict orders not to kill this person.” He said.

I frowned.

That’s odd. All of the Gods and Demigods that were being hunted were being killed or threatened in the very least. As far as we knew none of the ones hunting them had orders to bring them back alive.

This was new. Or maybe the person they were looking for wasn’t a God at all.

“Is the person you’re looking for still here?” I asked.

Uriel shrugged.

“We have no idea.” He said.

I nodded.

“Good. Looks like I’ll find them first.” I said as I stood up.

“You can’t leave us here.” Uriel argued.

“Oh I can and I will.” I said. “But don’t worry, I’ll be leaving you both a parting gift.” I said with a wicked smile.

I poured a few drops of the vial into Haniel’s mouth before forcing Uriel to down the rest.

“If you two survive my sisters potion, you will be welcomed back by your God as heros. Good luck.” I said chuckling.

On my way out I compelled Sam to not go upstairs for a few days. I called Tia on my walk back to the hotel and explained what I had found, though I left out meeting my mate. As soon as I get home I will find her. I have to find her.

Once I had checked out of the hotel room I searched the town for a bit. After hours of searching and not finding anything of use, I teleported home. Tia wanted to see me for an in person update. I went straight to her office to explain everything.

“Hmmm. What do you think they were looking for?” She asked me.

“I have no idea but I don’t think it was a God or a Demigod. I think it was someone else.” I told her.

“Do you know what God Uriel and Haniel work for?” My older sister asked me.

I shook my head. “No, but I am sure Grandpa does.” I said.

Tia looked me up and down for a moment.

“You met them before.” It wasn’t a question but I answered anyways.

“Yes, a few years ago with Grandpa.” I answered her.

“Was it hard to get them to talk?” She asked.

“Was it hard to take them down? No. Was it hard to get them to say anything? Yes. I had to break nearly all the bones of one of them and tear some finger nails off before Uriel finally spoke.” I told her.

“And you think that Uriel told you everything?” She asked skeptical.

I shook my head.

“No. I don’t trust them at all. They were probably still hiding something. Hopefully with Kee’s potion they’ll think twice about that next time.” I said.

“If there is a next time.” Max mumbled.

I nodded to my brother-in-law.

“Is that all? May I go?” I asked a little more rudely than I intended.

Tia and Max both inspected me for a moment. It was clear they were having a private conversation. I was growing more and more annoyed the longer they made me wait. I have things to do, a mate to find. Kohen was still silent and disconnected from me and I didn’t like it.

My wolf has never left me. He’s been by my side since I first heard him when I was six. Our first shift was a year later. He and I were as close as any werewolf pair could be, and now he was gone.

The pain of losing his mate right after we found her was too much for him. I just wish he didn’t leave me alone to deal with this pain.

“What is going on with you Ambrose?” Tia asked me.

“Nothing.” I answered with a shrug.

Tia and Max shared another look.

“Uhm, forgive me for overstepping Ambrose but you’re lying.” Max said. “We can both tell that something is wrong, your wolf isn’t present within you like normal.” He told me.

I furrowed my brow.

“I didn’t know you could tell something like that.” I said.

Max shrugged.

“Neither did I. Seems my powers grow everyday.” He said.

“So, what is it Ambrose?” Tia pushed.

I sighed. “I met my mate while I was there.” I said.

Tia and Max both gave me a surprised look.

“That’s…. great isn’t it?” Max asked.

“Where is she?” Tia asked before I could answer Max’s questions.

“It would have been great. If she didn’t disappear the next day.” I stated.

“What?” Tia asked.

I sighed. “I took her back to my hotel room and we….uhm, well, you know.” I said awkwardly, not that either of them cared.

“The next morning I woke up and she was gone.” I said.

“You didn’t mark her that night?” Tia asked me incredulously.

I frowned at her.

“You didn’t even tell Max for f*****g weeks that he was your mate!” I said angrily.

“That was different.” She argued.

I rolled my eyes.

“Okay okay you two.” Max said. “You couldn’t find her the next day?” He asked.

I shook my head and explained to them what had happened.

“I have no idea what to do now.” I stated sadly.

“We will help. She is somewhere and one of us will find her.” Tia said confidently.

I nodded my head to her. She was right. We would find her.

We had to find her.