Defender's Blood The Return (An Urban Fantasy)

by A. K. Michaels

  Alex was excited – she hoped they could save this boy Adam and catch Daniel at the same time. She went over to Zach and sat on his lap – he looked surprised – they normally were all business in the office.

  Dmitri coughed then left and Alex planted a kiss on Zach's lips. His mouth opened and took her tongue in and then she pulled away. “Now that, Mrs Smith, was nice – to what do I owe the pleasure?” Zach asked.

  Alex laughed - “God every time I hear that I think it's false – Mr and Mrs Smith! Anyway I digress – Tatiana was here Zach – with herbs to help my nightmares?” she finished with an upturned lip and he squirmed.

  “Now Alexina don't be mad – I've been worried – the nightmares are getting worse and I can't bear to see you suffer …...” Alex interrupted Zach - “I know hon – I was a little mad at first but Tatiana put me in my place – so thank you.” Alex finished and hugged him tight.

  Zach relaxed – that had gone way better than he had even hoped!

  Zach patted Alex's behind – none too gently and stood up - “Come on – we've got work to do, places to be, a kid to save and a fucker to catch – in other words – we're busy!” and he placed Alex on her feet. She took his hand as they walked out of the room.

  Chapter 6

  Vlad had managed to get a wealth of information - “Thank goodness for social media sites – Adam's got a few and all are open – so I've got his school, after school activities, names of his friends etc etc etc – more than enough for us to track him.” Vlad told them all.

  Zach was pleased - “Good – this will make our job a lot easier – though if we could get it so can Daniel. We really need to be alert guys – I'm going to get James and the plane down there – we don't know how many more are involved. I want to make sure we can get them all back here.” Zach said and turned to his desk to grab the phone.

  James answered immediately and Zach spoke - “James – I'm not sure if you know about the job we're on a the moment but we'll need you and the plane.......... yea that's right........... I know........we're all mad too.............ok.............Vlad will send you the details – ok – see you soon.” Zach replaced the phone on his desk and turned to the rest of them.

  “Yea he's heard – everyone seems to know Daniel is involved and everyone is angry – I don't think I've ever heard that tone from James before – I hope he doesn't bloody kill Daniel – I could just see him throwing him out of the plane at thirty thousand feet!” Zach was half smiling – that vision was actually quite a good one!

  Alex spoke up - “Don't be silly – if anything he would just beat him up a bit – the plane would decompress if he opened the door that high!” Alex grinned showing that she was just having a laugh – though she thought she was probably right!

  Vlad wrote down a lot of information and faxed it over to James – there was a fax on the plane so he would get it when he was readying for take off. Of course Lisa would be with him – they went everywhere together!

  Alex handed Dmitri some paperwork - “Can you take this to Donna – I want it typed up and sent to Thadius – we want to keep him in the loop.” she said and Dmitri scowled but didn't say anything and left the room.

  Vlad smirked – Alex saw it and poked him in the ribs - “What? Do you know what's going on with those two? Dmitri has been acting real strange.” she whispered.

  Vlad closed the door over - “I noticed it when he brought Donna and the kids back – I could kinda sense something – if I didn't know better I would say they were attracted to each other but you know Dmitri – he hasn't had a relationship since his mate died. Says it would be dishonouring her or some such.” Vlad finished and Zach was surprised – Dmitri and Donna? No way!

  Alex on the other hand could so see those two together – so she would just have to see if she could help cupid along! Not now though – when this mission was over – yup – she was definitely going to do her best!

  Dmitri walked into his office and over to Donna - “Alex said to give you this she wants it typed and sent over to Thadius.” he said and held out the folder. Donna smiled up at him and god she looked lovely – he found himself starting to smile in return then forced it from his face.

  She put her hand out to take the folder and promptly dropped it – papers scattering everywhere! Her face flushed scarlet – she was such a klutz!

  Donna jumped up and tried to grab all the bits of paper and Dmitri bent down to help – well he couldn't just turn and leave, could he?

  Donna was breathless as she spoke - “Oh I'm so sorry Dmitri – it's ok I'll get them.” Her voice was a bit shaky – she was extremely nervous in his presence and was embarrassed. Dmitri continued helping – christ how many bits of paper were there in the folder? It seemed like there were thousands!

  The inevitable happened and they both reached for the same bit of paper – fingers touching.

  Dmitri pulled back as if he had been burned! The spark that he had felt on first meeting Donna was there – like an electrical current – and it scared him – he didn't know what it was!

  Donna gasped – she had felt it too but the way that Dmitri had pulled back – well that embarrassed her all the more. It was obvious he didn't just not like her – it seemed as if she repulsed him! Tears sprang to her eyes and she lowered her head, not wanting him to see.

  Dmitri might not have seen the tears but he knew they were there and he felt awful. This female had never done anything to him and he was making her feel so bad that it brought her to tears! What the hell was he going to do?

  His life for a very long time had been lived with a code of honour, protecting and saving innocents. That's how he had came into contact with Donna in the first place – rescuing her from an abusive mate. The strength that she had shown had touched him and he had shied away. He wasn't going to sully the memory of his mate.

  Now – well he just felt bad - “I'm sorry Donna, truly sorry if I'm making you feel awkward or anything – I'll try not to be so ….so...” and he couldn't find the word he wanted.

  Donna looked up through her hair - “Cold? Distant? As if you hate me?” Donna said and each word hit Dmitri like a blow!

  Shit, Dmitri thought, was that how she thought of him – as if he hated her? He didn't hate her – he hated the way she made him feel – but he didn't know how to say that so he just nodded and left the room.

  Donna picked the last of the paperwork up and got back to work. She refused to wipe her tears from her eyes - because if she did she was admitting how much it had hurt. Her wolf was lying whining and Donna told it to 'shut the hell up'!

  Dmitri walked back through to the other office and noticed the door was now closed – he opened it and walked in. Everything went silent and Dmitri guessed they had been talking about him. Was his behaviour so obvious?

  Everyone moved at once – starting to get ready – weapons about their bodies and dark clothing. Alex watched Zach – god he was magnificent – a fabulous specimen of a male. Her thoughts turned lustful and Zach looked over. He smirked at her and sent a thought her way - 'For goodness sake wench – stop it or I won't be able to concentrate! Later meine Kleine – later.' and she smiled back – hoping this mission didn't take long.

  Vlad spoke - “Ok – we've got everything we need – Zach I've got a map here and a picture of the car hire office – can you get us behind it? We don't want to just pop up on the street – be our luck some guy with a pacemaker would be going by and collapse in full cardiac arrest!” Vlad joked and Zach smiled - “Yea I should be able to do that – come on I'm feeling antsy – I need to be working.” Zach finished and waited on the map and picture.

  Once he had them in front of him he nodded - “Ok – Vlad you're first.” Zach said and took hold of Vlad's arm and moved him. They appeared right behind the building and Zach just let go of Vlad and moved again. Next Dmitri appeared and after one more move Alex was standing next to them.

  Vlad was taking deep breaths – he was the on
ly one who wasn't used to this mode of transportation so his stomach roiled a bit. After another few breaths he was fine and they all walked to the front of the building and entered to get their cars.

  The paperwork went quickly and soon they were on their way – one car headed to the school and one to the home of the boy named Adam.

  Alex and Zach had the home and they pulled up and parked on the opposite side of the street and one house down.

  It was a nice little detached house – complete with a white picket fence. Alex joked - “I thought that was just in poems and songs as such – I didn't know folk actually had those fences.” and Zach laughed - “Well some do – though not as many as you would think. Looks like our boy is on his way home – look.” he said and pointed – a teenage boy was coming down the street. Alex checked her paperwork – a photo from one of his social media sites – yes it was him.

  Zach kept a close eye on the boy and the street – Alex called Vlad - “Vlad – he's here – just going into his house now. I'll phone if he goes back out.” and she hung up – they didn't really have time or inclination for idle talk.

  Alex checked her paperwork – noting that the boy should've been at football practice? Why was he here when he should've still been at school? She wasn't sure but at least they knew where he was now.

  Vlad drove in the direction of where Zach and Alex were – Dmitri quiet at his side. He hoped his friend could get over his grief and move on – Donna would be a good match for him – if only Dmitri could see it.

  Dmitri sat in the car and his mind was wandering – he was thinking of Finn – Donna's oldest boy – he had kind of taken him under his wing when he brought him back to Unity. The young man had been full of anger at his father and he needed to focus that anger into something useful.

  Dmitri trained with him twice a week – teaching him to fight and to control his feelings. Finn was a great kid and he was thinking about going to college – though he was also thinking about joining the Guards! Dmitri wasn't sure what Donna would prefer? For Finn to leave to go to college or stay and train as a Guard – maybe he should ask her – see what her thoughts on the matter were.

  Finn's younger brother Declan was only coming up to thirteen – but showing signs of wanting to join in the training sessions. Maybe he should ask Donna if she thought he was too young? Yea – that's what he would do – she was their mother after all. That decision made he tried to get his mind back onto the mission.

  Dmitri looked out the car window and realised that they had parked. Vlad opened the door and spoke - “Stay here – I'm just going to check with Zach what he wants to do.” and he was gone. Dmitri sat waiting – watching Vlad go towards the car that Zach and Alex were in. When Vlad reached it he opened the back door and slid in.

  “So – what's the plan?” Vlad asked and Zach replied - “We'll just keep watch for now – according to his schedule he should've been at football practice for a while yet. We'll play it by ear – see what happens.” Zach said all the while keeping his eyes on the house that Adam had entered.

  A second later the boy appeared – dressed casually and a skateboard in his hands. Zach started the car - “Ok Vlad – we'll tag team the tail – we'll go first. We need to keep him in sight at all times. Go.” Zach ordered and Vlad slid out and jogged back to his car.

  Zach followed slowly – although Adam was going pretty fast on that skateboard! After about fifteen minutes a large skateboard park came into view. Vlad was overtaking their car to take over the tail and a white van drew up next to the boy.

  Zach knew immediately what was going to happen so he put his foot down and raced to get in front of the van. Vlad's vehicle fishtailed at the rear of the van – making sure it couldn't move.

  The side door on the van had been thrown open and Daniel had jumped out – he was going towards Adam – who was totally oblivious – and Zach got out the car in less than a second. Just as Daniel reached out to grab Adam Zach tackled him – both ending up on the ground. Alex was out of the car and in the front of the van – the driver was Kate!

  Kate was crying – she looked terrible – dirty, bruised and very underfed – she was nothing but skin and bone! Alex looked at the side mirror and saw Vlad, Zach and Dmitri grabbing Daniel – who was not coming quietly.

  Kate was sobbing now and Alex could hear some words - “Thank god thank god thank god.” the shewolf was saying over and over.

  Alex placed a hand on her arm and Kate flinched - “I'm not going to hurt you Kate but you need to come with us.” Alex told her and Kate nodded. Alex reached over and took the keys out of the van before going round to where Daniel was being held.

  “Dmitri – Kate's in the van – she's not looking good – go bring her.” Alex said and the Russian moved quickly. Alex stood in front of Daniel – he had blood on his face so she guessed Zach and Vlad had got a few hits in – whether they were needed or not!

  She smiled up at him - “So Daniel – we got your message – what was it again? Oh yea – you were going to fuck me til I bleed and kill me – something like that wasn't it?” Alex asked and the look of hate on Daniel's face was clear for anyone to see.

  Alex moved in closer – letting her fangs come out - “Want to try Daniel? I think I would really like you to try.” she spat out at him and Daniel's shock was evident.

  “What the fuck – you're a fucking vamp? What Zach? Was she not enough for you being human you had to turn her?!” Daniel laughed – and Zach punched him square on the jaw!

  Daniel fell down and Alex reached down and dragged him up by the front of his shirt – slamming him into the side of the van. “Now now Daniel – you know how protective Zach is – you better watch that mouth of yours. If not I may just have to remove every one of your teeth you dipshit!” Alex finished and kneed him in the groin – the roar of pain was music to her ears!

  Dmitri appeared with Kate and both Zach and Vlad were shocked at the state of her. “Please – can you take it off?” Kate whimpered and Alex moved over to her.

  “What? Take what off Kate?” Alex asked and Kate whimpered again - “Silver – my neck and ankles and one round my waist – please it hurts real bad.” the wolf said. Alex looked – sure enough she could see silver round her neck – Alex pulled a pair of gloves out of her pocket and put them on.

  Then she started to remove the deadly metal from Kate – the skin beneath was burned and festering – the smell was awful – she needed to see a doc. The wound around her middle was the worst – the chain being tight and had dug in deep – puss and blood seeping down towards her jeans. Alex nearly gagged – the wounds had been there a long time and had never been cleaned – the pain must've been horrendous!

  As soon as the silver was removed Kate collapsed – back into Dmitri's arms and he lifted her easily. Alex turned round and delivered a swift, hard, powerful kick to Daniel's stomach – her anger was up and she wanted to kill him!

  Zach grabbed her – he could feel her emotions and the thoughts going through his mate's head – shit – she was going to kill Daniel! As soon as Zach's arms encircled her she relaxed – her mate's touch calming her.

  Vlad pulled Daniel to his feet - “Right Zach – what do you want to do? Move or use the plane?”

  “Got a couple questions first – Daniel – who was going to take the organ out?” Zach was glaring at the wolf as he spoke.

  “Fuck you!” Daniel whimpered – hurting from that last kick from Alex!

  “Kate?” Alex asked the woman in Dmitri's arms – Kate looked from Alex to Daniel, fear evident on her face.

  “Kate – don't worry about Daniel – give us the information – did Daniel take another Doctor?” Alex's tone was firm and her words were not formed as a question but a command.

  Kate shook her head - “No – if he got the boy he was going to go get another one later, he had one picked out, but no he doesn't have anyone else.”

  Daniel snarled in Kate's direction and she
shrank into Dmitri's arms, scared silly of her mate.

  Zach looked at Kate - “I don't think I should move Kate – I think we will all use the plane – tie him up in the back of the van – Alex you stay in there with him in case he tries anything. Kate you too – in the back. I'll drive the van to the airstrip – it's small and quiet – Vlad, Dmitri – you two take the car's back to the hire place and grab a taxi to the airstrip. We'll then all go back on the jet – it's not too far so won't take long. Then this piece of shit is going to see Thadius.” Zach finished and everyone was already moving.

  Dmitri placed Kate in the rear of the van and Vlad picked Daniel up – and threw him in – moving in after him to tie him up. Once he had him secure he shouted out – “Alex – give me that silver – let's see how he likes it.” and she did.

  Vlad placed the silver on his hands, feet and neck and Daniel winced in pain. Vlad's hands were stinging from being in contact with the metal but he didn't care – seeing Daniel suffering was worth it. It was a sight they all took a perverse joy in seeing, the wolf in pain.

  Zach jumped up into the driver's seat and Alex handed him the keys then sat back down in the back – keeping a close eye on Daniel. Kate was lying gasping and she looked to be in great pain. Zach drove off and they were on their way to the plane.

  Alex pulled her phone out and dialled James' number - “James – we're on our way – be there soon......yes we've got him..... ok see you in a bit.” and she hung up. Zach nodded acknowledging the call.