The Sun God Diaries

Malachi’s POV

I sat down with my pen. Finished. A small smile full of relief branded my face as I turn in my first AP Economics exam to the waiting tutor (a fatherly former Beta werefox) as he nods in approval. “Looks like you’ve properly studied for the first exam, Your Grace,” he told me. “Your fathers will be pleased. But I will be looking over the exam to make sure that my hopes are not wasted.”

“Trust me, Mr. Nassau,” I replied, grateful to see Mrs. Yanez come in with lunch on hand. “I made sure to study when I wasn’t training with my godfathers or practicing my royal lessons.”

“We shall see, then.” Mr. Nassau gave me a sheet of paper. “We’ll be going over the terms of macroeconomics in the supernatural business world, so read chapters five and six and complete the assessment questions by the day after tomorrow.”

“Yes, sir,” I replied as I watched the older man leave. “Well, it looks like my study load isn’t going to be any easier than I expected.”

“Well, it never pays to slack off, Malachi,” my godmother commented, setting down my lunch of baked ziti and spinach salad. “And I heard that you had a good time with the first four Alpha boys: Damien, Isaiah, Ian, and Vincent. They must be making sure that you’re treated right.”

“Mama Yesenia, they know that their friendship with my brothers is too valuable just to be ruined by being total jackasses,” I drawled. “If they did that, then you know that they would join my fathers and the Beta triplets in skinning the Magnificent Eight alive and presenting me their heads on eight silver platters- each head with a big red apple in his mouth.”

“You got that right,” Mrs. Yanez replied, “but how are you really taking things with them bonded to you, Malachi? I know that you’re also juggling homeschool and online classes as well as preparing to be a royal prince, but you seem to be glowing these days.”

Am I, readers?

I mean, I seem to enjoy my lessons more and being academically and athletically pushed to the next level. And each day that I prepare for my dates makes my supernatural sides content. “I’m just taking things one day at a time,” was all I could say at the moment. “I mean, we know that I’m still holding on to my V-Card until my heat and mating season begins, so we’re not being too reckless or anything. I’m just worried that something might go wrong or-”

“Breathe, chico,” Mrs. Yanez told me softly. “Nothing wrong has happened yet. As you said, you can only take things one day at a time and just trust yourself. There’s no need to rush things and you’re living life like a teenager ought to.”

“Thanks.”

Just then, the door swung open to reveal Miles and Josiah (two of the Beta triplets) walking in with the former carrying a shoebox and the latter handing me a small bouquet of roses that was accompanied by a small card. “Special delivery for our brother,” Miles commented.

“Read the card,” Josiah told me eagerly. “It’s regarding your third date tonight.”

I nodded, taking the card from the small bouquet and opening it.

Malachi.

Please join my twin cousin and me for a private skating session at the local ice rink.

Come as your angel Salgiel or your demon Haman. Dinner will be catered.

Dress code: warm attire with your accompanied ice skates.

Wilmore Skating Arena, 7 p.m.

-Ivan and Nathaniel.

I smiled as I was presented with an elegant pair of ice skates in white, the skates in particular looking as if they were brand-new and recently bought. “Looks like I’m skating with the angel and demon,” I commented, already transforming into my Black-American angel. “And boy, I do hope that they know that I took skating lessons with Aunt Valentina.”

Mrs. Yanez laughed heartily. “I bet you’ll make their mouths drop with your skating routine,” she agreed. “I would pay to see that.”

That gave me an idea. “Wanna come along with me?”

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

Later that evening, I was slipping into my ice skates while sitting at the side of the large skating rink, the crisp and cold air thick with excitement as I saw Mr. and Mrs. Yanez happily skating away as they locked arms. Pauly, on the other hand, was struggling to keep his balance and not look like a fool as Ivan and Nathaniel themselves were sending me teasing winks. “Are you ready?” Nathaniel asked me.

“I’m ready,” I commented, finishing up tying the laces before I slowly glided to the middle of the rink where my Alpha angel and his Alpha demon cousin were waiting for me. “I must say that you two gentlemen really pulled out the stops for today’s date.”

“Nothing but the best for our love,” Nathaniel commented, his amber eyes glowing gold as he looked up and down at my all-white ensemble by Perry Ellis. “And you look like the archangels above have fashioned you out of the clouds from the skies.”

“So beautiful,” Ivan added, his eyes glowing purple. “Baby boy, my demon Apollyon is wanting to mount you where you stand, but we’re both conscious of you holding out until your heat. So for now, we’re dreaming of the day.”

I’ll bet he is, readers.

“Wanna get started with teaching you some skating tips and tricks?” Nathaniel commented. “Ivan and I are pretty competitive and won a lot of competitions back in the day.”

I smirked, sending a nod towards the now-retreating Yanez family as they took their seats in the stands. “Well, I may have taken a few lessons from Aunt Valentina herself back when I was a kid,” I remarked, skating around the twins before launching into a perfect triple-axel jump that was followed by a triple-toe loop. “And she always commented that I was her best student.”

The look on the Alpha teens’ faces was priceless, their jaws dropped low. “What the-” Ivan began.

“Language,” barked Pauly from the side, though he and his parents were vainly keeping a straight face as Mrs. Yanez was laughing her behind off.

“Step aside boys,” I told the twins as I took to the center of the rink. “I’m going to show y’all how it’s done.”

And for the next three minutes, I performed a decadently beautiful free-skating performance to Miley Cyrus’ “See You Again” with three more triple axels, a quadruple jump that could make Nathan Chen and Adam Rippon look like amateurs. The thrill of skating always made my spirits fly high as I always wanted to be the next Surya Bonaly (I even added a backflip in her honor) or even the greatest ice skaters known to man. Abaddon and Azrael always said that skating was for wimps, but even they could admit that I could skate around them and their cliques of bad boys any day.

Tonya Harding would have been proud. And as for Nancy Kerrigan? She can eat her heart out.

The skating performance finished, I went back to the side of the rink where the twins were applauding like crazy as Mr. Yanez was finished filming the performance. “That was epic,” Ivan replied. “Dude, Kerrigan would be gagging over this. You could’ve given her a run for her money if you tried.”

Damn right.

Too soon it was time for dinner, the five of us enjoying a catered dinner from a local steakhouse as we all laughed, joked, and even talked about our futures. And I learned that most of the angels and demons were closely related as either cousins or siblings. Some of them were also mates that served as conduits of the supernatural souls and guarded the void between life and the afterlife. And both Nathaniel and Ivan were trained from an early age to take up their leaderships very seriously that often led to combat training between the two of them- just like Quentin and Francisco. Their secret of having a solid bond as a family? “We never go to bed angry at each other and we always made up before the sun is set,” Nathaniel had told me. “No matter how different Ivan and I are, we’re still family.”

As soon as the Yanez clan excused themselves, the twins turned to me with hopeful looks in their eyes. “We love you, Malachi DuBauer,” Ivan commented. “And we’ll do all we can to make sure that you are loved from now until the end of time.”

I smiled, ignoring the golden tear that seeped down my dark-chocolate brown face. “I love you guys, too,” I said in my thick Southern accent. I leaned forward and lightly kissed both brothers on the lips that had the whole arena full of gold lights. “I love you two and your friends. I’m glad that you’re my mates.”

The three of us smiled faintly just as a nearby waiter came to my side. “A note came for you, Your Grace,” he said to me as he handed me a small envelope. I took it, assuming it was a letter from my parents reminding me of my curfew.

Your Grace.

Keep away from MY boyfriends.

This is your first warning.

Next time, I won’t be so nice.

-A.V.C.

My heart dropped. “Who is sending me this?” I asked. “And why is she calling you guys your boyfriends?”

Nathaniel took the letter, rereading it as he and his brother frowned. “She’s still not backing down,” he said angrily. To me, “We need to talk to your parents and brothers. It’s our stalker who’s been watching us from afar since we began high school, Malachi. And before you ask, no we didn’t sleep with her. She’s a lovelorn harlot who won’t take ‘no’ for an answer.”

Oh, goodie gumdrops. It looks like a bitch is out for my blood all because I ’stole her men.” My family is not going to like this.