Defender's Blood Lexi's Trials: Book 7 Final Instalment of the Defender's Series

by A. K. Michaels

  Chapter 5

  Zach carried Alex in his arms as they exited the bathroom, both with huge smiles on their faces. He shouldn’t have been surprised when his little mate joined him in the shower, but he was and a very welcome one it turned out to be. They pleasured each other until both their skins tingled as they gasped for breath. He thought he loved her more at that moment than ever before. She knew how he was feeling after the horrendous mission they had endured and she made him feel loved and whole again.

  Alex nuzzled his neck as he carried her, “You’re not finished yet?” he laughed as one of her hands grasped his hair.

  She answered as she continued to place small nips along his skin. “Nope, not nearly.”

  Zach laughed and was just about to place her in their bed when they stilled, a voice breaking their intimate moment. “Mum, Dad! Are you in?”

  Conall. Zach sighed and Alex laughed before shouting, “Yes, we’re in, we’ll be through in a moment.”

  As Alex grabbed her robe Zach almost growled. “Our son’s timing sucks!”

  Alex laughed, pulling him after her as he tied his own robe. They found Conall in the lounge, pacing back and forth, worry clear on his face. All thoughts of sex leaving their minds at the sight. Alex moved forward quickly, worry now in her voice. “Conall, what’s wrong and where have you been? We’ve been trying to get a hold of you.”

  Conall ran his hand through his hair before stopping and looking at his parents. “I’ve been looking for something, or rather, someone. I felt something off at the hospital and I was a little worried. Then I felt it again at our apartment building and went in search of who I thought it was and...”

  Alex placed a hand on his arm, “Conall, stop, you’re not making sense. Start at the beginning, who or what did you feel and why are you so upset?”

  Zach sat down in his favourite seat, in the corner of one of the large sofas, indicating for Conall to sit down too. Alex moved over to perch on the edge of the sofa next to Zach, her eyes never leaving their son.

  Conall started pacing again, ignoring the offered seat. “I can’t sit still. Okay, at the hospital I ‘felt’ something, I thought it was one of the Angels that looked after us growing up. However, when they didn’t show themselves I worried a bit about it. They raised us so I didn’t think it strange that one would come and possibly congratulate Lexi and Michael. Then I realized they were purposefully hiding themselves and that kinda worried me. Later, at home, I felt it again so I went to the Angel realm and tried to find them and well I did and none of them said they had appeared down here. Then I noticed one was missing, Caim, his name is Caim, and he well, this is hard...”

  Zach was becoming alarmed and his tone showed it as he snapped. “For goodness sake, Conall, out with it. What about this Caim?”

  Conall looked over at his father, stared him straight in the eye as he continued. “Caim, well he kinda had a thing for Lexi. I don’t think he realized we could all see it, but we could. Michael stepped in and started to limit his time with us both, but especially with Lexi. It was obvious he wasn’t pleased but nothing was ever said about it and after a while he seemed to accept things. Especially Lexi’s feelings for Michael. He’s missing from the realm that Angels are usually in and nobody has seen him for a few days. I’m certain it was him that I felt and with him now missing I’m more than a little worried.”

  As Conall finally stopped pacing he turned his worried face to his parents. Zach almost snarled as he spoke. “Is there no way to find this Angel, Caim? Surely the others can locate him?”

  Conall shook his head, “No, there are an infinite amount of different realms, dad, if he doesn’t want to be found then he won’t be. I know folks expect the Boss to know everything but the simple truth is; he doesn’t. That’s why he has Angels to do a lot of his work and even they are not omnipotent, they are very powerful but if they don’t want to be found then they won’t be.”

  Conall started to pace again as Alex grabbed hold of one of Zach’s hands, he could feel her worry and her heart rate picking up. “Son, why are you worried though? Specifically what is it you think this Caim is going to do?”

  Alex held even tighter as their son stopped, turning to them, his green eyes staring at them. “I’m scared that Lexi’s pregnancy has tipped him over the edge. It was obvious he loved her, it was also obvious he didn’t like it when Michael and her started to get closer. Shit, dad, a jealous Angel on the loose is not something that’s good, on any level. I’m scared he’s going to do something. Whether that’s to Michael or Lexi, I have no idea but I feel it deep inside. He’s going to act on his feelings. That could be either his love for Lexi or his jealousy of Michael.”

  Alex jumped up, “I’m getting dressed and we’re going to see Lexi now. She needs to know about this so she can be forewarned.”

  Zach agreed, getting up and patting Conall’s shoulder before leaving the room. They were dressed and back with their son in moments. Alex was still fighting with her unruly hair as they returned. “Come on, let’s go talk to your sister.” Zach nodded to his son and they all moved appearing outside the apartment building Conall and Lexi lived in.

  As they moved towards the doorway one of Vlad’s guards walked out, holding the door open for them. “Thank you.” Alex said quietly as they went in.

  They all heard the guard muttering as he walked away. “Wish I could freaking do that!”

  Even in the circumstances Alex smiled, having heard those words or some just like it a whole load of times. Only their family having the ability to move around at a moments notice.

  Conall moved up the stairs first, quickly and quietly, his head turning to check if his parents were keeping up. Alex smiled as she stayed right on his tail, Zach next to her. Zach pushed a thought to her, ‘You think this is something to worry about?’

  Alex glanced at him, his eyes on hers, ‘Possibly, but we need to check with Michael, he’ll probably know more.’

  Zach nodded, those were his thoughts too. Conall held the stairway door open as they joined him. They all had only just entered the corridor when an inhuman roar invaded the entire space, making the hair on their necks stand up. Conall took off at breakneck speed, shouting as he went. “Michael!”

  Zach was next to react, his speed so fast no human eye could’ve possibly kept track. Alex on his heels as fear overtook her completely.

  Conall almost took the door off it’s hinges as he blasted through into his sister’s apartment. His voice full of fear as he screamed. “Michael! Lexi!”

  Zach pulled to a stop behind him as Alex bumped into him pushing him forwards. He caught himself before he impacted with Conall. The sight before them having their blood turn to ice.

  Michael was on his knees, his head in his hands, tears streaming down his perfect face. Alex moved passed them going to the large no-longer Angel, her hand grasping his shoulder. “Michael, what is it? Where’s Lexi? What’s going on?”

  Zach watched as the terror filled eyes of Michael found Alex’s, his mouth attempting to form words. He strode forward, stopping in front of the still powerful being. “Michael! Get a grip on yourself and tell us what the fuck is wrong. Where the hell is my daughter?”

  They all saw the struggle within as Michael pushed himself to his feet. “She’s gone. Someone took her and I’m pretty sure it was an Angel. I felt him a second before she disappeared.”

  Conall cursed. “Fuck! I fucking knew it! I’ll kill him, I swear to God I will kill him!”

  Alex looked between all three then back to Michael. “Michael, what can we do?” her voice low and scared.

  Michael stood up straight and promptly disappeared, leaving the three of them with open mouths. Conall seemed to come to his senses first, turning to his parents. “He’s probably gone to see if he can find anything out from the Angel realm. Waste of time seeing as I’ve already been there for most of the day. He’ll be back soon when he finds that out. Mum, dad, I don’t know what to do. I’ve tried ‘feeli
ng’ her and I can’t which means she’s been taken somewhere specifically to keep her hidden from us. I’m certain it’s Caim. There’s no other explanation that I can come up with. I’m gonna kill him when I get my hands on him! I swear it!”

  Zach placed a hand on his son’s shoulder. “Calm down, Conall, it won’t help Lexi if you’re going off half cocked. Now, first things first, do you think Caim will harm her?”

  Conall looked thoughtful for a few moments before shaking his head. “No, I don’t think so. He’s in love with her but that could change to hate pretty fast if she doesn’t go along with whatever plan he’s got into his head. We can only hope his love for her stays strong and he keeps her safe until we can find her.”

  Alex was the one now pacing, as she cursed quietly to herself, before she stopped and caught Zach’s eyes. “We need to find her. She’s pregnant and she’s going to be scared, Zach, she won’t know what’s happening. I know she’s powerful but is she as powerful as an Angel?”

  Zach moved quickly, closing the distance between them, taking her into his strong arms. “We’ll find her, meine Kleine, don’t worry, we’ll find her.”

  Zach wasn’t sure who he was trying to convince; his mate or himself. He held Alexina tight against him, feeling her tremble within his arms. Slowly she caught hold of herself, raising her eyes to his. She nodded her head and a steely look replaced her fear. “I know we will.” she whispered and pulled away slightly.

  Zach tried to think on what to do next but before he could grasp anything, Michael appeared back, and he was not alone. A huge Angel was with him and both had anger marring their perfection.

  Michael started talking before another breath could be taken. “Okay, so we’re pretty sure it’s Caim that has her. He’s taken her somewhere that they are hidden from us. The only way to find her is to travel among the different realms and see if we can sense her...”

  Alex stepped forward, frowning as she interrupted. “Michael, wait, what about the spell that she cast to link us to her? The one she did before we went to the Fairy realm. Surely if I call her she’ll hear me?”

  Michael cursed loudly, “Fuck! I forgot about that. How could I forget about something so important?”

  Conall moved forward, placing a hand on Michael’s shoulder as he greeted the large Angel. “Hello, Rashnu, how are you?”

  Zach and Alex watched as the huge being’s face split into a smile as he looked down at their son. “I am well, little Wolf, I hope you are too, apart from this trouble with Lexi, of course.”

  Conall returned the smile, “Yes, we’ve settled in nicely and I’ve even got work lined up. Though I’ve not fully decided on who I’ll work for, my parents or...”

  Michael growled an interruption. “Can we stop this? We have no idea what realm he’s taken Lexi to. Every single second we waste could be disastrous! It could be one where time moves differently to here. She could already have had our children by now! We have to move now and I mean now!”

  The last word out of his mouth was roared and the true realization of the trouble Lexi was in hit home. Alex let out a curse word as Zach readied himself for whatever may lie ahead. It wasn’t every day he wanted to rip an Angel’s heart out.

  *****

  Caim gazed intently as his love lay atop their bed. A bed he made purposefully for them. Large, with four posters, gossamer curtains floating in the breeze as he took every single inch of Lexi in. A sigh escaped his lips at what he knew he had to do, not liking the fact he would need to invade her mind and change her memories. It couldn’t be helped though, he had to make her think Michael was destroyed and she was here with him to keep her and the babies safe.

  It was a believable story, after all, her own mother almost lost her babies due to Demons so it wasn’t too far a stretch that they returned and decimated the town they lived in, with him appearing at the last minute to rescue Lexi. Caim knew her grief would be immense, not one person left alive that she cared about. However, if their love stood even a ghost of a chance then his little Angel had to think all was lost to her on earth.

  Caim steeled himself and sent his powers out, invading Lexi’s mind, body and soul. As he planted visions of chaos and destruction his heart ached as she tossed and turned, frowning, crying, tears running down her perfect face. As she started to thrash around on the bed he eased off, letting the scene turn to one final picture encompassing the destruction of those that she loved.

  As this last implanted memory made it’s way into her brain she screamed, her eyes flying open and sitting upright in the bed. Terror was in those beautiful grey orbs as she looked around her, confusion and fear in every pore of her being.

  Caim stepped forward, “It’s okay, little Angel, I’ve got you. You’re safe here. I won’t let anything harm you.”

  Lexi’s eyes turned in his direction, shock clear on her face. “Caim? What the hell’s going on and why the fuck am I here?”

  Chapter 6

  Lexi’s entire body was shaking, with fear, grief, panic, as she looked around her. She was in a lavish room, in a four poster bed that was enormous in the extreme. Flimsy curtains floating in the air around her as she thought, ‘Where the hell am I?’ then ‘That can’t be true, it just can’t be true!’

  A soft voice broke into her thoughts and she turned to see the Angel, Caim, standing at the side of the bed. Her stomach roiled with dread as she saw him, the words out of her mouth before she could even think. “Caim? What the hell’s going on and why the fuck am I here?”

  Caim sat down on the bed, reaching a hand out to her which she ignored. He smiled at her and in that smile she saw all the love and feelings she knew he had for her, before. ‘Holy shit,’ fluttered through her mind as she tried to sort out all the feelings attacking her.

  Caim looked disappointed that she didn’t take his hand but he let it fall to lie on the soft covers separating them. “I saved you. Demons found out about your babies and attacked without warning. I’m sorry, Lexi, but everyone is gone and this is the only place you’re safe. We must keep you hidden in case they try again. We have to keep you and the babies safe.”

  Lexi frowned, memories invading her thoughts. Blood, devastation, bodies littering the streets as she ran with Michael holding her hand. Suddenly his hand being ripped from hers as she stopped to find him. As she turned she saw him lying on the ground, bloody and broken.

  Her heart almost broke wide open as the sight of her love completely took over. Fresh tears started to fall from her eyes at the mere thought of never seeing him again. Her throat almost closed as she struggled to speak. “Conall? Mum, dad? Tatiana? Surely someone survived?”

  Caim looked sad as he shook his head. “No, I’m sorry. We were too late and everyone was killed. I only just managed to save you, Lexi. I’m truly sorry but you have to stay here, at least until the babies are born and you are strong again.”

  Lexi couldn’t believe what she was hearing. It couldn’t be possible that everyone was dead. Could it? She struggled to get off of the large bed, her legs shaky as she walked to a large window. Looking out she could see soft, white clouds floating past, almost within reach. “Where are we?” she asked quietly, trying to keep control of her emotions.

  Caim was suddenly at her side, his hand taking hold of one of hers, her skin almost crawled at the touch and she drew hers back sharply, clasping her arms around herself. She could feel his annoyance seeping from him as he spoke. “Somewhere safe and hidden. They won’t be able to find you here. I’ll make sure of it.”

  Somehow his words sounded ominous and certainly didn’t make her feel safe. Not one bit. She tried to sense her brother, their bond strong, but felt nothing. Not even a tingle of his life-force coming to her. Maybe Caim was right and everyone was dead. The thought brought fresh tears and she couldn’t stop them. Her entire body trembled as her grief started to hit her.

  Lexi turned and ran out of the bedroom, finding a staircase she ran full speed down and out the open door. She ran outside
and onto a large outcrop, running until she reached the end. A fleeting thought of continuing and throwing herself off the edge, until she remembered her babies.

  Sliding to a stop only feet from the end as Caim appeared, grasping her to his strong body. His wings moving forward and encompassing her within their embrace, the silky soft feathers bringing her some comfort.

  Caim held her close, one hand running up and down her back as he murmured down into her hair. “It’s okay, Lexi, I’ll keep you and the babies safe. I can get you anything you need or want, all you have to do is ask, little Angel. I’ll move heaven and earth to keep you safe.”

  Finally the full extent of what had happened overtook her and she clung to the one being she knew would keep her babies from harm. She felt her heart shatter into a million tiny pieces as she realized she would no longer see Michael or he see their babies. Lexi held on for dear life as her grief overtook her completely, her breaths caught in her throat so she felt as if she were drowning.

  Caim held her tighter as she cried uncontrollably. “It’s going to be okay, my little Angel. I’ll take care of you.”

  Lexi’s heart broke anew at the thought of her beautiful brother and her parents. ‘How could this have happened?’ she thought over and over, her mind not comprehending the depth of her loss. Caim continued to wrap his wings around her as she cried until she could cry no more. She had no idea how long they stood there on the precipice until finally Caim picked her up and carried her back inside the large mansion he had fashioned for her.

  Caim took her to the bedroom she had woken up in, placing her gently upon the satin comforter. “Sleep, Lexi, you need to rest.” he said as her eyes closed and she lapsed into a dreamless sleep.

  *****

  Caim smiled down at his sleeping beauty as his powers placed her into a deep slumber. Finally he had her to himself, without interference from the traitor, Michael, or her family. He knew that she would be devastated at the loss but he would be there to pick up the pieces and look after her. Caim sighed, knowing that she would grow to love him over time. He would pander to her every whim and make her smile again. He hoped that her love for him would grow quickly, before she was too far along in her pregnancy.