Angel of Retribution Ch. 06-11

Rowie froze, her eyes snapping open. She struggled to roll the dead weight of a man... Blood-red hair...

"R-Remi?"

He fell with a limp thud onto the floor, his flaccid cock sliding out of her. A flood of semen spilled from within her. Rowie began to shake. He looked so pale—too pale. His lush lips were devoid of any color, as white as the rest of his flesh. She brushed his hair back and saw the scars from the first time she'd bitten him, over his heart, and the two gaping holes on his neck now.

Fear was like an icy hand, gripping her by the throat.

"Baby?" She patted his cheek. He was still warm, but didn't move. Opening one eye, she saw the pupil nearly obliterated the green. He wasn't breathing, she couldn't hear his heart. "Remi," she screamed, shaking him. When that didn't work, she desperately summoned Devon, shrieking at the top of her lungs.

Remi was dead.

Chapter Eight

Bright white light surrounded him, making it difficult to open his eyes, even though he wanted to see where the hell he was.

Fuck. Did I get my ass caught in another black hole?

Remien's whole body felt strange, as if he had prickly bugs crawling all over his skin. He found he did not enjoy this sensation.

What the hell happened?

He turned his head, a weak moan sighing from his lips.

"Remi?"

He forced his lids to peel away from his burning eyes. Shit. What the hell was this awful sensation? Blinking, his eyes felt like they were made of sandpaper. Angel looked down at him, her long platinum tresses framing her childlike face. Remien licked his lips, grimacing. His tongue felt like cardboard.

"Crazy man," she chided, shaking her head. "We thought we'd lost you for sure." Angel pouted, eyes staring at a lock of his hair she was wrapping around one of her fingers. "Doctor Quinn is taking care of Rowie. She's beside herself with grief, thinking she'd killed you."

Rowie?

It all came back to him; flying to Vildminoria, finding her in a castle, naked on the floor, hands buried between her legs, writhing, and screaming his name in a frenzy of lust.

He'd taken her, like the beast he is, and she'd bitten him, marked him a second time.

Remi shuddered, remembering the bliss.

He put his hand against his neck, feeling weak, and just... strange.

He closed his eyes against the unpleasant glare in the room. "What the hell's wrong with me?" His voice came out in a hoarse croak.

"We all gave you blood—except Devon, of course."

His eyes dragged back open with a frown. "We?"

"Yes. Zak, Seth, Annie, and me," she replied with a nod, her wide blue eyes looking straight into his.

Remi grimaced. "Oh, God. I've got weretigri blood running inside of me? I think I'm gonna puke."

Angel frowned. "But you needed it. Rowie drank you dry."

Remi ignored her and struggled to sit up. "Where is she? I need to go to her." All he needed to do was shift into dragon form and he'd be well again. The increased dragon's blood would dilute the foreign blood in him. Rowie could drink directly from his beast. It wouldn't hurt what it acknowledged as its'-their mistress. The benefits of his pure dragon's blood would definitely put her virus in remission, if not cure it completely.

Angel gripped his arms. "Wait. You shouldn't get up."

Remi frowned, pinning her with his stare. "Why not?"

Her lips moved without making a sound as her hands fluttered.

"Just as I thought," Remi snorted, and resumed his efforts to sit up.

"Remi, you're too weak to stand and..." her face grew pale. She closed her eyes and to his horror, swayed forward before gripping the edge of the bed he lay upon.

He gasped and gripped her arms. "Maybe you should lay down, Angie."

She was trembling when she crawled next to him. Letting his arms go around her as he laid back down, he rubbed one of her arms. "Dizzy spell?"

She nodded, curling against him, her head resting against his shoulder and fist nestled in the middle of his chest. "I... I always feel ill, and weak." Remi's brow shot up at the sound of a little sniffle. "Devon won't let me spar with him anymore, and I've gotten so..." another sniffle, and then she broke down crying, "so fat."

Remi rolled his still dried out eyes, and pulled her tighter against him. "You're not fat."

"I am too," she sobbed. "You said so yourself. I'm fat."

"You're pregnant." Remi smiled and opened his palm over her rounded belly. "Beautifully pregnant. Don't worry, though. You're not going to be alone in this state. Even though," he pursed his lips, running his hands over her rounded belly, "you've gotten big awfully fast. I wonder how much longer you've got to go."

Angel looked up at him, red-nosed, her eyes rimmed with wet lashes. "What do you mean I'm not going to be alone in this state?"

Remi's grin grew wider. "Oh, I definitely plan on getting my Rowie very pregnant." He frowned, looking around. "That is-if she stops running from me. You'd think she was afraid of my dick." He gave her his most suggestive leer. "It's not that huge, is it Angel?"

Angel blushed, but didn't back away from his blatant flirting. One of her brows drew up and she gave him a sly grin back. "Devon is bigger than—"

"Hey," Remi snapped with a frown, "Dev's like-what...six-foot-ten? My rod's almost as big as his is and I'm seven inches shorter than he is. So technically mine is bigger." One of her brows drew up and she slid him a sideways glance, so he clarified, "If I were seven inches bigger all over, imagine how big I'd be down there. It'd be a few more inches too." He gave her his famous molar-to-molar grin with a wink, "inches, baby."

Angel paled. "That would be absurd. What would you do with something that long? Surely you'd never be able to bed a normal humanoid, never mind walk comfortably."

Remi bark out a hoarse laugh from his parched throat. "Angel, you're so innocent." He kissed her forehead, and then looked around the room again. They weren't in one of Alpha 7's quarters. The room they were in was shaped like a bubble, with metal beams spreading out from a central point in the top of the dome. White walls that shimmered like glass enclosed them, a long, shaggy, deep-green rug covered the floor.

"Where are we?"

***

Devon cocooned her in his power to keep her from scenting Doctor Quinn's blood, but she could still hear the juicy sound of his heartbeat... and Devon's too. Her mouth watered regardless.

"Breathe, Rowie," Devon urged in a soft, soothing tone. He leaned over her, the black veil of his hair spilled over his shoulders to frame his devastatingly beautiful face.

She pulled air into her lungs, then let it out. Clenching her fists, she resisted pulling him down to drive her fangs into the column of his pale throat.

He smiled. "You wouldn't like my taste. I still have traces of demon blood in me." The inhuman glow of his electric-blue eyes attested to that as well as the stark white of his flesh.

Rowie's heart stuttered again, as if trying to restart itself. It would beat for a few seconds then seize, tormenting her. She realized her heart had started beating again when Devon walked through the mirror in her suite of rooms at the Vildminorian castle. Using the demon spells he'd sworn never to use again had saved Remi's life.

"Asshole," she closed her eyes and swore under her breath, vowing to throttle the insipid weredragon for being so stupid to come unprotected before her. God, he'd tasted so...

Rowie whimpered, opening her eyes again to see Devon's chagrined expression. "Oh, Dev, I didn't mean you." She put her fingers up to her temples and shuddered when her heart galloped again then lurched to a halt. Rowie groaned. "I feel sick. Is it because of the amount of blood I ingested? I've never gorged like that before." She felt her face heat with shame. Heat with Remien Fyre's blood coursing through her veins. She almost wanted to bite herself just to taste the sweet spill of it again.

"Doctor Quinn is monitoring your bios now."

Rowie turned to where he glanced to see a man, in his late forties with white hair, tapping out directives on the virtual computer screen in the next room. A glass wall separated the next room from the small, plain, white room she was in now.

Doctor Quinn looked up, his eyes wide as he scratched his chin, and then turned back to the controls of his computer.

"You've got to talk to Remi, Row."

Rowie looked back up at Devon. "Talk?" she frowned. "One doesn't talk with that conceited prick. He only has one thing on his mind." To her mortification, a little more of Remi's semen seeped from her still sensitive core. The scent of fire and cinnamon filling the room. Her breast tingled again and she rubbed at it angrily. "Why does this damned thing burn so much?"

Devon grinned. "He branded you." At her growl of anger, Devon winced, and pulled away, his smile vanishing. "The venom makes you want to reject the advances of other males."

Rowie's brows shot up. "What the fuck?" Devon took another wary step back. "Tell me you're joking?" she seethed.

Devon pursed his lips, eyes wide as he shook his dark head slowly, from side to side.

Rowie jerked upright, her fists balled, fangs bared. "That stupid... conceited... son-of-a..." she screamed in outrage, "asshole. How dare he brand me. I never consented to..." she screamed again, hitting the mattress of the med-unit beneath her.

"But, Rowie, you-"

"Remove it," she demanded, tossing off the soft grey robe draped over her, baring herself to Devon's surprised gaze.

His face turned scarlet as he shook his head vehemently. "You don't mean that."

"I sure as hell do." she grabbed his hand and slammed it over her bare breast. "Erase it."

Devon snatched his hand away. "No." She snarled at him, making him frown. "That just isn't done, Rowie. I want no part of it." He slashed his hand through the air, eyes flashing. "He'd hate me just as much as I'd hate him if he ever took Angel from me." Devon wrapped his arms around himself with a pained grimace and shudder. He turned tortured eyes to her. "I love Remi. I couldn't bear his hatred. If you feel anything for me, don't ask me this."

A light tapping on the glass drew their attention before she could speak.

Zak stood at the glass motioning to Devon. Their eyes met for a moment and she felt the sizzle of power around her. They were communicating telepathically. Devon nodded and walked out at a brisk pace without uttering another word.

Rowie let her eyes drink in the sight of Zak and all his bulging musculature. He grinned like a mischievous schoolboy and sauntered up to the glass. Dimples appeared in his cheeks, becoming more prominent when he pressed his puckered lips to the glass for a kiss. He was too adorable.

With a smile, she slid off the examining table, readjusting her robe, and indulged him by giving him a peck on the other side of the glass.

"When are you coming back home, Row?" He pressed his forehead against the glass, misting the pane with his breath when he sighed. "We all miss you."

She bit her lip to keep from breaking into tears. Her fingers itched to grip the heavy braid that hung over his shoulder to his waist. "Miss you too, Blondie."

"Annie and Seth are just outside. Is it okay if they come in too?"

Rowie's eyes widened. Not trusting her voice, she bobbed her head, her curls bouncing as eager as she felt.

Zak smiled as the door opened and Annie came running in.

"Ragweed," Annie burst in, laughing even as tears slid from her amber eyes.

Rowie laughed at Annie's use of that annoying nickname. "Hey, bubble-butt," she countered teasingly.

Annie pressed her hands against the glass right over Rowie's. How she wished she could hug her Alpha Angel sister.

Rowie's smile wavered as she let her gaze sweep over Anniel. She looked so much thinner, obviously still mourning the loss of her child. "How've you been?"

Annie wiped her tears with the back of her hand. "Coping." She nodded, her smile apologetic. "And you?"

Rowie looked down, then lifted her hands with a shrug. "I'm... not myself lately."

Annie pressed her lips into a tight smile and nodded. "I see. You look so beautiful, Row."

Rowie let out a bitter laugh. "Yeah. That's how I lure my prey." At Annie's chagrined look, she added a hasty, "sorry. This just takes a little getting used to that's all."

Seth peered around Annie's shoulder, hands shoved into his pockets, his lower lip caught between his teeth.

"Kitty-cat," she cooed before remembering he hated that babyish nickname.

He blushed, and stepped up to the glass. Oh, how she wanted to hold him, cover his sweet face with butterfly kisses. The black of his Master Guardian's uniform complemented his fair complexion and silvery white hair beautifully. It also made his pale blue eyes more prominent in his angelic face. He looked taller, more filled out. "God, Seth. You're all grown already."

His cheeks grew pinker. "Zak's been letting me work out with him."

Rowie smiled. "It shows."

The hint of a smile touched the corners of his mouth, and he stuck his chest out with masculine pride.

Rowie looked at their faces. "How's Angel?"

"Huge," Zak chuckled, then sobered, "just don't tell her that."

Seth snorted. "Makes her cry every time. Women." He shook his head.

Annie rolled her eyes. "You guys just don't understand what it's like." She made a grimace of pain, her eyes welling up. Annie looked down and put her hands over her flat belly. "I know I'll never forget."

Rowie felt her pain. "Annie, Gareth most likely had a full life. He grew into a man and probably had a family of his own. Maybe one of the boys could help you track his descendents down. There has to be something about Gareth in the old Edenian archives."

Annie looked at her with pained eyes. "Anything that had to do with weres or half breeds was erased from all Edenian databases."

Rowie had to clench her teeth to keep from growling in fury. Edenia was her home solar system, but she despised the entire government system that ruled it.

Seth wandered away to stand next to Doctor Quinn, who still poured over readings on the computer screen. The door opened and Devon stepped in again, grim faced.

"Visiting time over," he said in a soft tone. "I need to take Rowie out of here." His glowing blue gaze cut to her. "Row, there are some people here that insist on seeing you."

Rowie began to shake her head, panicking. "Devon, I can't. I can't control myself."

"They're vampires, Row. Vildminoria's Master Guardians, a few members of the Vildminorian council, and a very angry vamp called Navar."

Rowie blinked in confusion. Why were they here for her? Navar she could understand, but the Master Guardians? She closed her eyes, feeling fear skitter through her for Remi. He'd snuck down into the planet without permission. Was that a big deal for them? On some planets, it was a fault punishable by death.

Devon led her out of the med unit room, keeping her cocooned in a bubble of power that kept her from perceiving the scent of the others..

They're not happy," he said as they approached an elevator at the end of the corridor.

She barely noticed the grey marbled walls and floors bare of any type of decoration.

What's going on, Dev? Why are these people here to see me?"

He took a deep breath and didn't speak until they were inside the elevator. "Do you know who Imo is?"

Rowie frowned. "Of course. He's the lead guitarist of Draconius Imorteus." She smiled. "Did you know their names put together spell out the name of their band."

Instead of smiling, he remained grave, worrying the corner of his lip.

"Dev, spit it out already."

He looked away from her, wetting his lips. She felt the elevator begin to ascend. Taking a deep breath, he finally turned to her. "Imo disappeared."

Rowie gasped, staring at him in disbelief. "W-what do you mean, disappeared?"

Devon pushed his hands into the pockets of his black uniform pants, staring at his booted feet. "The Master Guardians felt a surge of power on the planet's surface. They're blaming Rem and me for Imo's disappearance."

"But that's stupid. He's not here. Can't they feel his life force?" Inwardly, she cursed never having honed those skills herself.

"Portals were opened. He could be in any other dimension."

"But," her brows furrowed, searching Devon's face. He continued to avoid looking right into her eyes, "only a divine angel or a demon can open portals... and you."

"I know." His jet hair slid further forward when he dipped his head lower, covering his face from her searching eyes.

The elevator came to a halt, but she stepped right up to his chest to look up into his face. "Remi's a weredragon, not an angel or demon."

"They still think he's involved... aside from other issues they have against him. They didn't go into too much with me, but what they did say made me uncomfortable." He looked right into Rowie's eyes now. "Did you know he was..." Devon hesitated, "a blood whore?"

Rowie winced. She remembered having gone after him the night they were rescued from the suspended animation orbs they'd been trapped in for three hundred years. The others had been suspicious of him being the culprit for their imprisonment. Rowie had found him in a pleasure bar... letting a male vampire drink from him.

"Shit."

Devon frowned. "Why didn't you tell me?"

Rowie stepped back, looking away from him this time. "I only caught him once. It was the night we were rescued from Utuduo."

Devon made a grimace of distaste. "Why would he do that?"

Rowie shook her head with a roll of her eyes. "Who the hell knows what goes in that head of his."

They walked together in silence. Doctor Quinn's home was beautiful. Set on the artificial planet of Angeloria, a refuge for retired Master Guardians, it spanned various levels. The lower, more isolated levels were used for research with a small staff of scientists and the uppermost two levels were his living quarters.

The floor they were on now had an open living, dining, and food preparation area. Floor to ceiling glass panes opened to an expansive balcony overlooking an impressive metropolis spread out around the floating building. Artificial sunlight poured in trough the windows making Rowie cringe. She hadn't seen strong sunlight in months and it made her eyes water. Doctor Quinn also warned her that her new physiology made her skin allergic to direct sunlight.

Devon drew her into his arm as they walked toward another corridor through the dining room, trying to block the glare of the light from her. Rowie clung to his big body and smiled when he pressed a kiss to the top of her head.

"I miss all of you," she sighed over the lump in her throat, the sound of his heartbeat lulling her. It sounded loud and thundering to her vampire ears.

"We all miss you too, baby," his deep voice murmured in near her ear.

They reached the end of the second corridor and entered through a pair of double doors into a conference room.

The walls were a light grey with ornate wall sconces casting a soft glow around the room with no windows. The flooring was the same grey marble as the corridors in the research area and a long glossy black table dominated the center of the room. Sitting around the table were ten vampires, dressed in black and looking livid.

Rowie raised one brow, regarding them each with what she hoped was a defiant glare. No one accused her family of foul play.

Devon made the introductions and then pulled out a chair for her to sit, taking the one next to her.

She took a deep breath, about to ask why they wanted to see her, when one of the vampires leaned over, his fangs bared in rage. "You reek of dragon's blood. Did you at least drain the vile creature to death."