Page 18 of Fallen (Dark in You 7)

Why Viper had formed an MC club, Maddox didn't know. Maybe it was merely a cover. Maybe they liked the thought of being free. Or maybe it was an excuse for them to not have to fully blend in with society, which wouldn't be simple for them.

Maddox didn't ask, because he didn't particularly care. He did, however, wonder why a fallen archangel had turned up here. And since Raini would be arriving sometime within the next hour, he saw no need or sense in dancing around pleasantries. He preferred directness in any case.

Balancing his tumbler on the sofa's armrest, Maddox asked, "Why contact me?"

If Viper was offended by the lack of welcome, he didn't show it. "I won't insult your intelligence by asking if you're aware that several lairs of descendants have been killed over the past few months." He stretched his legs out in front of him. "Do you have any idea who's behind it?"

"No. But I'm sensing that you do."

A smile flirted with one corner of the president's mouth. "I'm sure you figured out for yourself that my brothers and I fell only recently."

"It was quite obvious. You all appeared out of nowhere."

"It caused quite a stir among the Earth-bound angels," said Viper, referring to those who were placed on Earth and forced to earn their way back to the upper realm—only then would they be granted their halo.

Maddox didn't know why that happened to some angels while others were halo-bearers from birth. Again, he didn't ask. Because, again, he didn't care. He just listened as Viper continued to speak.

"The Earth-bound tend to avoid us. I think they worry that associating with the Fallen will reflect badly on them. They'd be right in thinking that. The beings up above"—Viper shook his head— "they're never pleased when angelic breeds fall. It rarely happens nowadays, but eons ago? I think about two hundred fell. Possibly more."

Yes, Maddox had heard the stories.

"The beings upstairs didn't like it at all. They really didn't like that the Fallen spread the love and produced children with humans. And they really, really didn't like that some of them produced children with demons.

"Most of the Nephilim were hunted and killed by halo-bearers. Any children born from a fallen angel and a demon, however, were generally left alone. Because demons tend to react badly if someone harms their offspring, and they can do a lot of damage. No one wanted a war between the light and the dark—there'd be no winners, so the half-bloods were left alone. Which is why your breed eventually came into being. And yes, your existence galls the people upstairs."

Maddox felt his gaze narrow. "You think someone in the upper realm is no longer so happy to leave us be."

"They were never happy to leave you be. They simply knew better than to eradicate you."

"Why would anyone up there suddenly decide it was worth the risk?"