Defender's Blood The Return (An Urban Fantasy)

by A. K. Michaels

  For a long long time a small portion of their salaries would be taken and placed in a central account – investments were made – and the results were astronomical. Buying into new things and technology was always a big earner. Living for as long as they did waiting on a return for years wasn't a problem. Being in on the ground floor of things such as electricity, railways, weapons, computers, planes, and even such mundane things as glue, paper, pens, sticky tape – the list was endless and their returns were enormous!

  A small portion went into the upkeep of the town – the salaries etc – and still the returns they got back were huge. Although money was not a huge concern for most of them – it was still nice to have it – if he wanted a new BMW he bought it. If he wanted to fly first class to anywhere – he flew it. So did much of the rest of them.

  Mostly tho they were happy to live an insulated life away from humans and all their infighting, greed and jealousy – taking what they needed and leaving the rest. He was going to make sure Donna and the kids got everything they needed and so much more!

  Chapter 18

  Alex was enjoying a glass of her favourite rose wine – Zinfandel – while Zach finished cooking. The twins were over for dinner and it had became more or less a nightly thing – Zach had passed off most of the outstanding missions to his other teams – wanting to spend time at home.

  He wanted to get to know as much as he could about his children and their 'hunting', to say he was intrigued and more than a little worried was putting it mildly. Alex was the same but she was more interested in getting to know the children – without the information of their hunting – it seemed to scare her a little. Zach could understand – but he had been a powerful being for a long time – he was desperate to know about these Fallen – and what kind of threat they posed!

  He was listening to them talking – Conall had come out of his shell a little – not quite so quiet! Lexi was her usual bubbly self – so confident and full of fun! She was a joy to be around and always made him laugh. “So Conall was like – 'Hi – what's your name?' and the girl just looked at him – as if he was from outer space or something – she couldn't even get an answer out!” Lexi laughed loudly and punched her brother on the arm! “Stop it Lexi – I was just trying to be friendly – that's all.” Conall retorted and Lexi smirked - “Yea right! It had nothing to do with the tight little top she was wearing – or the short skirt?!” Conall blushed – and Zach came to his rescue.

  He moved over - “Dinner will be ready soon – so how's the hunting going?” and Lexi sobered immediately - “Well there's one we're trying to track – but we keep missing him – we don't know how. He's very powerful – and we don't think he's alone.” she replied and Conall looked – what? - pensive?

  Conall opened his mouth to speak and Michael appeared – stopping him from saying what he was going to. “I think you should rest now.” Michael said and Alex stood up - “Right Michael – we need to get some rules – you do NOT just appear in our home – ok! Unless it is a dire emergency – the kids are visiting with their parents – you do not get to just appear and order them to bed! They are not children!” she spat out – his actions had been annoying her more and more. The hold the Angel seemed to have over her children made her more than a little angry!

  Lexi stood up - “Mum – it's ok – he's just looking out for us.” she tried to appease her mother – her mum looked like she was fuming! “No Lexi – stop! You are always making excuses for him – this is my house – my rules – he has no say in it – none whatsoever!” Alex said forcefully. Lexi stepped back – jeez her mum was really angry!

  Zach got in on the conversation - “Lexi your mother is right.” he said while staring at Michael. The Angel's large silver and white wings seemed to flutter – Zach always thought it showed when the Angel was upset or angry – his face a mask of something that looked like contempt!

  Conall spoke up - “Michael – we'll have dinner then go straight home – ok?” he said but the tone he used was not one of asking – he was telling Michael. The Angel's wings fluttered again and he disappeared – not uttering another word.

  Lexi sighed - “Great! You've annoyed him – you know what that means Conall!” she said and Conall didn't get a chance to answer – Alex cutting in - “What? What exactly does that mean Lexi?” she asked and her daughter shrugged - “It's nothing mum – just that Michael will take us for training – very hard training! I was looking forward to a nice long bath with that bubble stuff you got me – now Michael will whisk us away and thrash us rotten!” Lexi finished and sat back down.

  Alex looked at Zach – neither of them liked this situation - “So is Michael your sort of boss or what?” Zach asked and Conall looked at his father - “Sort of – up til now we've just done what he has said – now we're here – well it's kind of annoying! I know we've a job to do – and trust me we train hard – and we move as soon as we're aware of any Fallen – but Michael seems to be more uptight – well that's the impression I get.” Conall finished and Lexi sighed – heavily.

  Alex looked at her - “What?” she asked Lexi who kept her eyes on her nails – as if they were the most important thing in the world! Finally Lexi replied - “Michael's been good with us – he brought us up – he would never hurt us – he cares for us – and well I just think you all give him a hard time – just for being who he is – an Angel.” she finished defiantly and Alex's mouth fell open.

  Zach started plating up the food - “It's not that Lexi – you have to remember that your mother and I have had dealings with Michael since well before you two were born. He would give us bits of information – not the whole picture – sometimes it caused us problems. The truth is I don't think we really trust him.” Zach said and Lexi's face went red!

  “WHAT?! He is a bloody Angel – if you can't trust an Angel who the hell can you trust!” she all but shouted. Alex took over - “Lexi – firstly don't shout at your father – secondly – are the Fallen not Angels?” Alex asked and Lexi very gently nodded - “Yes exactly Lexi – you and Conall are HUNTING Angels – so do you trust them?” Alex asked and Lexi once more lowered her eyes and shook her head.

  “See – Lexi – things are never cut and dried – we have past experience of Michael – I'm just saying he needs to know he can't just pop in here any time he wants and boss you two about – I'm pretty sure that's our job.” Alex said – trying to joke about things – lighten the mood a little.

  Conall moved nearer to Lexi and put his arm around her shoulder - “Lexi – I know you care a lot for Michael – but sometimes, just sometimes, I want to just be Conall – not a hunter – not someone that Michael or his brothers can just order about. Sometimes I just want to chill – here in our parents house. Is that so bad?” he asked his sister and she smiled at him - “Of course not Conall – I just don't like it when you all gang up on Michael – that's all.” she said and Alex once more thought on her suspicions of the feelings between Lexi and Michael!

  Conall hugged Lexi once more then let her go - “Ok – no more talk of Angels – any Angels – let's just enjoy dinner.” he said and Zach placed the plates in front of everyone - “So Lexi – who is this 'girl' Conall tried to talk to?” Zach asked and Conall frowned – to Lexi's smile - “Oh I don't know her name – I think she was a wolf – she was young tho – only about sixteen. She was so tongue tied I felt sorry for her – she was scarlet! Conall didn't know what to do – I found it very funny.” Lexi told them and Conall just ate his food – trying not to let anyone see the blush that had came across his own face!

  They ate in silence for a few minutes and Lexi seemed to relax a bit - “So how is that lady – Donna is is?” Lexi asked. Alex smiled - “Oh she's fine – you saved her life Lexi – that's some gift you have.” she said to her daughter.

  Lexi seemed uncomfortable - “Yes – I sometimes feel – I don't know how to put it – it's a lot of responsibility.” she finished and Alex thought on all that their children
could do – it was a lot on such young shoulders. “As long as you use your gifts for good then that's all we would ask of you both.” Zach said and Alex was in total agreement. “I have to say Michael and his brothers have done a good job with you – we're very proud of you both.” Alex said and she was sure she saw a tear in Lexi's eye. She pretended not to notice – as did Zach.

  After dinner they moved through to the living room - “Zach, why don't you play something?” Alex asked and Lexi clapped her hands - “Yes – dad – I've seen the piano – so it's you that plays?” she asked and Zach got up – he moved to the piano in the little room off the living room and kitchen. It was really supposed to be a small dining room but he had his large piano set up there.

  He had a half smile on his face - “Yes it's me that plays – I've played for as long as I can remember.” he told his children. Alex was beaming - “He's so good – wait til you hear him.” she cooed. “I'm just going to play a selection – give you a taste of different kinds of music – then if you like something you can download it – if you have mp3's that is.” he advised. Conall nodded - “Yea – we kind of came across some ages ago – tho we don't have a lot on them – we didn't have a computer where we were.” he said and they all sat back to listen to Zach play.

  Lexi was amazed at how well her father played – he merged lots of different music genres effortlessly and she realised that she liked it all. She looked at her mum who sat listening – a serene look on her face. She understood how Zach's playing could do that – she herself felt like totally relaxing back into the sofa and closing her eyes!

  After a good hour of constant playing Zach finished and came back into the room - “Well? What ones did you like?” he asked and both Conall and Lexi spoke at once - “All of them!” and Alex laughed – Lexi went on - “Can you maybe write some down and we can go to the library and use one of their computers?” she asked and Alex advised - “You can do it here – any time – there's several laptops lying around – next time you're over I'll get one out and we can go through it. Just make sure you bring your mp3's with you – in fact you won't even need them – I'm sure the phones Zach got you will be able to download music. We'll do it next time – ok?” Alex finished and both Lexi and Conall had smiles on their faces - “That'd be great mum – thanks.” Lexi said.

  Conall stood up - “Ok – come on Lexi – time to face the music – pardon the pun!” he quipped and Lexi got up slowly. “Ok – we'll see you tomorrow – bye.” she said and Conall gave a quick “bye” and they both moved – disappearing from the living room.

  “Shit! It's so not fair I'm the only one that can't do that!” Alex cursed – Zach laughed – it felt a bit weird having children who could do something that not many other's, if any, could do such as he did!

  “Come on meine Kleine – I'll make it up to you.” Zach said and took Alex's hand – raising her from the sofa – he pulled her behind him towards their bedroom. “Well I'm so upset about it you're really going to have to work hard!” she told him and the chuckle that came from his throat was unique to him – it was part laugh part growl and a huge part of pure lust! She became moist before he even opened their bedroom door!

  Chapter 19

  James and Lisa arrived home the next day – Donna had texted that morning – her cycle was finished but asked if Lisa could keep the kids until the evening. Lisa said that was ok and smiled to herself – she could only guess at the reason – and that reason, she was sure, was Dmitri!

  Both Lisa and James were pleased – for both Donna and Dmitri! Lisa was happy that her brothers would have such a good, strong, alpha male, as a role model. Dmitri was a strong vampire – old and powerful – but pure of heart. His deadliness only came to the fore whilst dealing with wrongdoing and he was very good at his job!

  At other times he was quite quiet, reserved even, and James told Lisa that he very rarely lost his temper – and only when faced with the worst of circumstances! A cool, calm, good, male, was just what her brothers needed. She was impressed with the way he had helped Finn and was sure he would be a great help to her mom with the rest of the kids.

  They went to the diner for a late lunch – they had decided not to stop on the way home – the food was always good at the diner plus James would feel anxious going anywhere with people about he didn't know. As they parked and got the kids out James spied Zach's jeep – when they entered they saw him and Alex and went over to say hi.

  As Lisa got the kids settled James was talking to Zach - “That was a nasty business with Kade?” he said and a look of anger crossed Zach's features. “Yes – it was – if Dmitri hadn't returned I'm pretty sure Donna would be dead – don't let the kids know that tho.” Zach said and Alex gave him an elbow in the ribs - “Zach – keep it down – they're wolves – super hearing and all that!” she stage whispered. “Sorry.” Zach replied.

  James went on - “Yea I kinda came to that conclusion myself – I'm sure Lisa has too – tho she's not dwelling on it. It was weird when she was telling them – they thought it was Dmitri that had died and they were devastated! When they realised he was fine and it was Kade who had died they were all relieved!” he told his friends. Alex nodded - “I can see that – Dmitri was their rescuer – plus he's a good guy – they must sense it.” she said – both Zach and James agreed.

  Lisa shouted on James so he said “Goodbye” - just as he turned Alex spoke - “James – do you two want to come over at dinner time tonight? The twins will be there – we would like you to meet them.” she said and James answered - “Sure – I know Lisa is dying to meet them. We'll pop over once we've dropped the kids off. See you then.” and he turned and walked away.

  Alex watched him as he joined Lisa and the smile that the young wolf gave her mate gave Alex a lovely feeling - “She's so good for him – he's changed so much Zach.” she said. Zach followed her gaze - “Yes I know – it's almost like having the old James back – only better.” he said and they watched as James organised the boys who had become a little noisy. Within seconds of James arriving at the booth the boys were sitting, quietly, behaving themselves. He had a way with them – and it was nice to see.

  After they had left the Diner, Zach and Alex went back to their office – there was a case that was waiting for them to go over. They got a text from Dmitri to say both he and Donna would be back at work the next day. Alex thought it was a bit soon for Donna and told Dmitri so – he replied that she said she would feel better being near him! Alex could understand that completely so left it at that. As she finished her texting she heard Zach sigh – his thoughts came into her mind – he was confused, angry, upset!

  She moved over and stood behind him, massaging his shoulders. “What's wrong?” she asked and her mate replied - “It's a case in Vegas – there's a club that a lot of Supers frequent – plus a lot of humans wanting to taste the 'wild side' as this email puts it. Seemingly girls who have gone to the club are going missing. Apparently, they are going off with a vamp – and then get reported missing – the local Council have hauled his ass in but he says he leaves them alive and well. There's no direct proof he is doing anything wrong – the locals can't send any more of their guys to the club to watch him – he knows them all. They're asking us to step in – what do you think?” Zach finished and Alex asked - “How many girls have gone missing?” she asked.

  “Twelve so far. However, only about half of that have definitely been seen in his company. Plus Vegas is Sin City after all – maybe something else happened to them.” Zach said and Alex mulled it over. “I think we should go – not just us two – stay for a bit – see if we can see what's going on.” she finished and Zach turned his head back and up to look at her - “Well we'll need to sort it out – I'll reply and say we're thinking about it. If they have a leak I don't want him tipped off. Then we can see about who we want to take with us.” Zach said and hit the reply button on the email.

  Once he had finished he closed down his computer and stood u
p - “Come on wife – let's get home – remember James and Lisa are popping round later.” Zach said and Alex got up - “Ok – I'll help you if you want?” she asked and Zach looked at her in a very strange way - “Uhm no – that's ok – I can manage.” he mumbled.

  “What? I'm not THAT bad in the kitchen!” she retorted. Zach took her hand and pulled her after him - “Sorry darling – but yes you are – you even burn toast!” he wisecracked and just as Alex was about to give him a scathing reply he turned quickly, pulled her to him and kissed her deeply. All thoughts of anger at him was gone – she realised that had been the point!

  When he pulled back from her he lay his forehead against hers - “Sorry – but I think we should keep to me being the one that cooks.” he said and she smiled - “Ok my vampire – tho I don't know how I'm going to learn if you don't teach me!” she remarked.

  Zach straightened and they started walking again – as they got to the the jeep Zach spoke again - “Ok – one day a week I'll try to teach you – ok?” he said and she responded - “Well don't go mad! Once a month – ok? It's not as if we're going to be short on time, vampire.” and he chuckled - “Ok – once a month – we'll start off simple and take it from there. Tonight tho – I'm doing the cooking!” and they got in the vehicle and drove home.

  Alex had a long shower while Zach was preparing the food – she took extra care getting ready, pulling on silk stockings and matching suspender belt. The bra that went with it made her breasts more perky, a little larger and she smiled thinking about Zach's reaction when he realised what she had on. She pulled on a simple shift dress – she didn't want to be too obvious! She applied some make up and lipstick and tried to do something with her mane of curls – as usual it was wild and she tried to tame it – unsuccessfully! After running her hands through it one last time she gave up and went through to the kitchen.