Defender's Blood The Turning (An Urban Fantasy)

by A. K. Michaels

  When everyone was inside, Lisa sat on a sofa with Alex beside her. Zach and James were standing. Well, James wasn’t standing, he was pacing back and forth, and Zach and Alex could feel the anger in him.

  Zach was the one to speak first. “So what’s going on, why are you so angry and why is Lisa crying?”

  James paced some more before taking a deep breath to steady himself. “Her father’s back. He suspects something’s up and hit her mother! Her brother had to pull him off her fucking mother! What kind of male hits their mate?”

  Lisa laughed softly. Everyone looked at her and she blushed. “Sorry.”

  James looked at her and seemed to calm a bit. “In anger – why would a male hit his mate in anger? He needs a fucking punch in the face!”

  Alex could see James getting worked up and that wouldn’t do anybody any good.

  “Okay James, you need to calm down a bit. It’s Lisa isn’t it?” Lisa nodded. “Okay Lisa, firstly, are you okay, do you want a drink or something?”

  Lisa shook her head. “No thanks – I’m just scared. I know my dad can be a bit heavy-handed but I’m more scared he realises it’s me and not my mom. If he does he’ll make sure I’m locked away somewhere away from here, so James couldn’t find me. He did that with his Beta’s daughter, she wanted to marry a human and of course her dad had said no. Before anything else could be said or done, my dad had her taken away ... she didn’t come back for months and she was never the same. He’ll do that to me, shit I need to get away – now!”

  Her panic was rising again and Alex calmed her down. She looked at Zach. “What do you think we should do?”

  “Hell if I know!” he said.

  James then went on to tell them what Lisa’s mother had said about whisking Lisa away.

  “So is that what you want to do?” Alex asked both of them. Lisa was nodding her head ‘yes’ and James was shaking his head ‘no’.

  Alex looked at James with an eyebrow raised and Zach smiled, that was a sight he had seen often and it usually meant she was going to get her own way. “Why not, James?”

  He growled “You know me – I don’t like underhand stuff, open and honest is usually the best way. What if I just went down and spoke to him?”

  Lisa started sobbing harder. “No please, don’t do that!” she hiccupped and tried to continue. “Please James, you need to trust me on this, you wouldn’t get out the house and I would be away before you could blink. I know my dad. Please, please trust me on this?”

  Her plea was hard to hear, Alex’s heart went out to her. “James – I think you may need to do as she asks. I know you are a strong Vamp but you can’t take on a whole Pack of Wolves. Plus what if Lisa or her mother got caught up in it and got hurt? Hey? How would you feel if that happened?” Alex’s voice was low, serious.

  James punched the wall and roared!

  Alex carried on, “My point has been made, I think?” she said to him and raised an eyebrow again.

  James nodded, his mind made up. “Okay, how do we do this? I can’t just drive past the gate with Lisa sitting in the jeep, even if she bent down they would smell her. How do we get her off the Pack land?”

  Alex’s mind was whirling, how could they do it? “What about cross-country? Could you two make your way cross-country and then get to the main road, away from the Pack land? We could pick you up or something?”

  Lisa was shaking her head. “I don’t think so, it’s pretty far. I would want to stay away completely from the Pack. Right now any one of them could smell my fear and know something was wrong – they would take me straight to my dad. I’m not sure we would make it.”

  Zach sighed. How could they do this? “If it wasn’t so close to Alex turning, I would move you – but I’m sorry, I don’t feel comfortable leaving her now, just in case. We don’t need to just get you off though, we need to make sure you get away properly. Lisa, how far is the airstrip? Could you both make it there?”

  Lisa thought about it. “Maybe. I did it before when I went to meet James. There’s only a corner of Pack land that we would need to go over. The rest is not ours and our Wolves don’t tend to go there, what with hunting … the humans hunt in that area,” she finished.

  “What!” James shouted. “You went across land in your Wolf form that humans hunt in? Why would you do that?”

  She smiled up at him. “’Cause I wanted to see you, James. I didn’t think of the danger, I just ran at full speed.”

  Zach asked “Lisa, could the two of you make it to the airstrip? Yes or no? If yes, how long would it take you?”

  Lisa looked thoughtful before she answered “Yes – if we left just before meal time, in about a half hour or so, I think we could. Most everyone stops what they are doing for the main meal, even the guards. It would take about an hour or hour and a quarter from here.”

  Zach nodded and took his phone out, he pressed a number. “Vlad, I need your help with something.”

  His friend answered instantly. “What do you need, Zach? Tell me and it’s done.”

  Zach smiled, it was nice to have friends like his – they would do almost anything for each other.

  “Okay Vlad, I’ve got a story to tell you but before I do, get the jet in the air and to the airstrip in Canada – it will be picking up two for the return journey.”

  Zach heard Vlad shouting orders and a minute later he was back on the line. “What’s going on, Zach? Are you and Alex coming back?”

  “No, Alex has got through all three stages but she still needs to learn how to control her abilities, and by the way – they are vast! No, we will be here for a little while longer. It’s not us, it’s James …”

  “What? What’s wrong with James!”

  “If you would shut up a minute I’ll tell you! Okay, here’s the short version. James has met his mate – she’s a Wolf named Lisa. However, Lisa is the Alpha’s daughter and he won’t let her mate with a Vamp. Daddy’s back from the battle and decided something was off so promptly slapped his wife about trying to find out what it was. Lisa ran – she’s here with us and we need to get them off this land and back to Unity before the full Pack is after them.”

  Vlad was laughing. Zach wasn’t amused. “Vlad, this isn’t a laughing matter – it’s serious!”

  “I know I know, but James finding himself a little Wolf … that’s the best news I’ve heard in a long, long time!”

  James shouted “She ain’t no little Wolf, she’s huge in her Wolf form, Vlad. Wait till you see her!” Lisa was smiling – her mate sounded proud of her!

  Vlad continued “Do you want any Guards on the jet, just in case?”

  Zach thought about it. “I think that’s a good idea, one or two – just in case.”

  Vlad shouted more orders. “Okay Zach, that’s it organised. ETA of the plane will be in about two hours, so tell them to get their backsides moving.”

  Zach released a long breath – he knew he could count on Vlad. “Okay, thanks. How’s the twins?”

  “Oh they are just peachy, Zach. I can’t wait for Irina to have ours – it’s really put me in the mood to be a dad!”

  Zach wanted to be there but knew he had to wait. Alex needed to harness her powers properly, if not she could hurt herself or someone else. “Okay Vlad, thanks. I’ll get these two on the run now – see you soon. Give the babies a kiss from me and their mom.”

  His voice was a little sad as he spoke. Alex had tears in her eyes – she really wanted to get home!

  Zach hung up the phone. “Okay, the plane will be there in two hours. Stay here for a little bit. James, go and change – you’re going to be running, my friend, and you should wear something better on your feet.”

  After James had changed into his combat boots and grabbed some water, he held his hand out to Lisa. “Come on, we better get a move on. Zach, Alex – thanks. Come home soon, you two.”

  Alex stood up and hugged him tight. “Thank you James. You helped Zach a lot, and I’ll be home as soon as I can – I want my
babies,” she said with more than one tear in her eyes. Zach just nodded and clasped his hand.

  They went outside and watched as Lisa changed to Wolf. Alex’s eyes went wide – dear God she was huge!

  Zach laughed. “I know, she’s something isn’t she?” he said.

  Alex nodded. Lisa’s Wolf was beautiful and large and strong. She hoped they made it without any trouble.

  Chapter 16

  James kept pace with the Wolf at his side. He could move so much faster, but he stayed close to Lisa. The going was rough and he had to watch his step, he didn’t want to fall and break a bloody leg. They ran and ran, eating up the miles. They were nearing the airstrip when something hit his senses.

  What was that? He put his hand down to stop the Wolf and she stilled at his side. He cocked his head, listening, trying to figure out what had alerted him. Then he heard it – a ways back – Wolves. More than one, shit more than a few. They had their scent.

  He bent down. “Lisa, they’re after us, I can hear them. We need to move, can you go faster?” he asked. The huge Wolf moved her head in the affirmative. He nodded and said “Go!”

  They took off. James was still nowhere near his maximum speed but they were going quicker than they had been.

  He could feel the stress rolling off of the Wolf – she was scared! He spoke to her as they ran. “It’s okay, Lisa, I won’t let anything happen to you. Just keep running, honey – go as fast as you can, push yourself more. You can do it, I know you can.” The Wolf upped her speed and James kept pace with her easily.

  They were nearing the airstrip and he heard the jet. He would know the sound anywhere – he had flown it for long enough. A fleeting thought went through his head: wonder who’s flying her, they’ve made good time! There were several pilots – Vlad had taken lessons and could probably do it in a pinch – but there were several more qualified than Vlad.

  He saw the airstrip. It wasn’t too far and it was all downhill. As they picked up a little speed going downwards, he saw his jet land. Not quite as smooth as when he flew it, but he didn’t give a damn.

  The howls from behind were nearer – too near. How had they closed the distance between them? He could hear Lisa whining, she was scared. “It’s okay, come on, we’re nearly there,” he coaxed her on.

  As soon as the jet had stopped, the doors flew open and half a dozen of the elite squad dropped out, Vlad and Dmitri included. James sighed – thank God – as they broke out of the woods.

  They ran on towards the plane and he heard the Wolves close, too close. He didn’t look behind and kept telling Lisa to move, quicker, hurry.

  James knew they were probably in trouble when he saw Vlad, Dmitri and two more running towards them. The other two he knew, not well but enough to know they were Wolves. He didn’t know Dmitri either, but knew OF him and his reputation. The men changed while running towards them, their Wolves both jet black. Oh yeah, James thought, they’re brothers.

  The Wolves were very large and came running straight for them. Vlad and Dmitri got to them first, their speed far faster than the Wolves. He heard Dmitri call “Get her to change – NOW!”

  James shouted “Lisa change, now, quickly!” She did so midstride and continued on running in human form.

  Not for long, as Dmitri scooped her up in his massive arms and ran full speed to the plane. James was flagging and couldn’t quite keep up with Dmitri, but did run a helluva lot faster than he had been up till that point. He heard Vlad roar at their Wolves “Plane now!” and then Vlad was at his side.

  James looked over at a weird sound and saw Vlad laughing his head off while running. “What the fuck are you laughing at?” James managed to get out.

  Vlad turned his head. “Why, the chase my friend, the chase – this is great!” Vlad upped his speed and beat James to the jet.

  James didn’t stop but jumped up the stairs and into the plane, where Dmitri was just putting down a very tired and out of breath Lisa. James moved forward and grabbed her tight. The next minute Vlad was in and knocking on the cockpit door. “Better get us out of here, Peter,” he shouted.

  The next instant the two brother-Wolves jumped through the door, and Vlad got the stairs up and the door closed in an instant. Just as Vlad turned the lock on the door, there was a loud thud – one of the Wolves had literally jumped at the door as if it thought it could break through. The plane started moving and the roaring of the Wolves was clearly heard above the engines of the jet.

  Lisa clung to him tightly. She was shaking – he knew the adrenaline pumping through her body was to blame. He held her tight and stroked her back. “It’s okay, hon, we’re safe, we’re on our way home,” James said in a soothing, calming voice – and soon she smiled up at him.

  “Are we? Are we safe?” she asked and James nodded down at her. He bent his head and kissed her and she moaned into his mouth. There were several loud coughs and they pulled apart – forgetting where they were!

  Vlad was still smiling as he came forward. “Hi there, I’m Vlad, nice to meet you.” Lisa shook his hand.

  James grabbed Vlad. “Thank you, my friend – I thought they had us there.”

  Vlad nodded. “Yeah James, they were right on your tail, my man, that was close. So do you care to introduce us to your …?”

  “Mate – this is my mate. Her name’s Lisa.” James turned and smiled at everyone.

  Dmitri was the first to react. “Hi James, hi Lisa, it’s very nice to meet you.” His Russian accent was evident and Lisa smiled up at this huge hunk of a man who had carried her as if she weighed nothing at all. The two Wolves had changed back to human form. Both came and said ‘hello’ before sitting down at the table and taking out a pack of cards.

  Vlad spoke again, all business this time. “Okay James, so what’s the plan? Obviously you didn’t get away without Lisa’s Alpha knowing, so what’re you going to do?”

  Lisa was near tears. “He’ll come after me,” she said in a whisper.

  James pulled her close and moved so they sat on one of the sofas. Vlad and Dmitri sat opposite them. “So what do you think? Will he come to Unity?” James asked.

  “I’m not sure James, he will definitely try and get me back before we’re mated. I know that,” she replied quietly.

  Vlad smirked and James saw it. He stood up and put a hand out to Lisa. “Come with me, my Wolf.”

  She took his hand. Where was he planning on taking her? They were on a bloody plane!

  James moved to the rear of the compartment they were in and opened the door. Lisa heard Vlad laughing. What was he laughing about? Then James was opening another door and pulling her through. It was a bedroom!

  “James! No we can’t, there are people through there!” she squealed, as his intentions became clear.

  He turned her into him and said “Do you want to be my mate or not?”

  She nodded her head. “Of course I do … but James, they’ll know what we’re doing!”

  James smiled. “Yes they will, and I’m going to make you scream Lisa – very loud!” James’s voice had gone that low husky sexy way that just made her … well, made her wet.

  James started to undress her and she could smell the sweat on her body. “James – ew – we’re both all smelly and sweaty,” she whined.

  James continued to undress her, taking his time. Their times together before this had been in the woods or somesuch and they hadn’t really taken the time to truly get to know each other’s bodies. “Don’t worry, we’re going to have a shower to start and then we will use the bed. Then you are going to be my mate, Lisa.”

  When she was naked, James stripped down and his arousal was there for her to see in all its glory. He took her hand and led her to the shower. He turned it on and held her close for a minute until the water came through nice and warm. Then he took her into the shower and started to lather her up. She giggled as he tickled her in places that shouldn’t be tickled! He made no move to take her in the shower. She was squirming about under his minis
trations and couldn’t wait to get to the bed.

  When they were both clean, he dried her body with a fluffy towel then led her to the bed. He kissed her deeply, her lying beneath him all clean, slightly wet in places, and he could smell her arousal.

  His voice was barely a whisper. “Oh my, Lisa … I think you’re ready. Turn over, you know my favourite position, babe.”

  She turned over onto all fours and wiggled her behind. “Oh so you’re being naughty already?” he asked her and she smiled over her shoulder at him. He raised an eyebrow at her and she nodded! Fuck! He gave her a slap on her behind and then immediately followed it with a rub – then again. Each time he did it, he could smell her scent getting stronger! It was driving him wild.

  He rubbed her behind again and spoke – low, commanding, sexy as hell. “Head down, hands behind your back, both of them!” She complied instantly and he grabbed her hands in one of his, locking them and her in that position. He moved himself into position and entered her … slowly, not nearly as hard as he would normally enter a female. She gasped and he tightened his grip on her wrists. She was totally immobile and she couldn’t comprehend the feelings it was eliciting in her! Jeez, she wasn’t going to last!

  James continued slowly and she moaned. “What was that, Lisa?” he asked.

  Her voice was muffled as her face was in the pillow. “Faster James, faster!”

  James went a little bit faster but still not hard … softly. She moaned again louder. “What, Lisa?”

  She whimpered “James – please – you know – please!”

  James was watching her behind moving each time he pushed in. “No Lisa, tell me, what is it?” and his voice was barely making it past his throat.

  “Fuck James – faster, harder – you know – please!”

  So he obliged and she hit her first climax almost immediately. He released her wrists and grabbed onto her hips, going hard and fast and his seed erupted in her.