Angel of Retribution Ch. 06-11

Rowie gaped at the hatred she felt emanating from the blond, handsome vampire. His pale green eyes glittered with fury.

"Dante," a black female vampire next to him admonished, gripping his hand. Her bright, golden eyes regarded him silently and Rowie realized they must've been communicating telepathically. The female turned to Rowie, cool contempt in her eyes. "Our young sister doesn't know we've declared war on dragon kin."

Rowie gasped. "What?" She blinked looking at all of their faces. "Why?"

"They're dangerous, that's why." Another spoke, this time a bald man with piercing black eyes and tattoos running down the length of his sinewy arms.

Rowie snorted, and turned to Devon. "Are they for real?"

"You are to come back with us immediately. Your hundred year quarantine is not yet over."

Rowie gasped. "Hundred year what?"

Navar cleared his throat. "The newly turned must remain on Vildminoria otherwise we cannot protect them. Most beings fear us and hunt us still."

"We cannot allow thousands of years of trying to convince the galaxy we are not evil, mindless killers with a stupid newborn creating havoc for our own kind. When you learn restraint, perhaps we can allow you to leave the planet."

"Allow me?" Rowie felt her anger reach the boiling point. "When my brothers brought me to your planet, I didn't know I was a prisoner." Why didn't Gabe and Rafe tell her this? She looked pointedly at Navar. "I guess there goes your tour."

Navar steepled his fingers, elbows resting on the table. "You're not prohibited from the tour, Midnight Rose. You will have body guards around the clock." He smiled, making Rowie's skin crawl. "The fact that you are newborn and out in public makes a great statement about us. Beings will begin to trust us once more."

Rowie sneered, her gaze going over each and every one of them. Everything within her rebelled against what they were ordering her to do, but she had no choice. She couldn't stay on Alpha 7.

"As for your dragon lover," Dante spat the word dragon, "either you kill him or we will."

Rowie snarled, and would have sprinted across the table and torn the bastard's throat out, but Devon blocked her with his body. His lips pulled back from his fangs and black veins laced his face. She stared up into his infuriated demonic visage, eyes glowing like hellfire as they slanted to the blond vamp. Growls emanated from his throat.

"Nobody touches that dragon," Devon snarled.

Rowie looked back at the vampires around the table. They looked furious, making her smile. Nobody fucked around with Devon when his demon began to show.

Dante stood. "If he comes near another one of our kind, we will hunt him down and kill him."

"Remi has nothing to do with your God-damned war. He's not even a full breed dragon," Rowie spat.

"It doesn't matter. Dragon-kin has insulted us in the highest manner possible," Dante said, his body shaking with fury.

Rowie frowned, wondering what the hell a dragon could have done to piss off the entire vampire world.

Again, the black woman touched Dante's arm, trying to soothe him.

"What kind of insult?" Devon prodded, still holding onto Rowie, but turning slightly so he could face the vamps a little more.

This time the bald vampire with the tattoos spoke up. "One of the dragon princes' ate our queen."

Oh, shit.

"She is an immortal, so she survived the entire digestive process until he..." The black vampire looked at Dante when he began to snarl again.

"He crapped her out in front of the royal castle and just left her there," Dante finished in a fit of rage.

Both Rowie and Devon's jaw dropped.

Stupidity must be common in dragons—Devon said in her mind. She couldn't agree more.

"So, you see why you shouldn't consort with this..." The bald headed guy sniffed in distaste, "dragon of yours."

Rowie took a deep breath. It didn't matter really, because either way she couldn't be near him or the others for that matter, without succumbing to her bloodlust. She lowered her head, pain lancing through her. "You don't need to worry about that. I'll never go near him again."

Devon's hands gripped her tighter, making her look up into his face. The black veins had vanished, leaving his skin smooth and pale once more. His glowing blue eyes bore into hers, his expression stern.

"I need to talk to you in private." He turned to the vampire council and Navar to excused himself as he dragged Rowie out into the corridor.

Once the door had closed behind them, he stopped and turned to her. "You can't just go and not say anything to him."

Rowie scoffed, crossing her arms over her chest. "Did you not see what I did to him?"

"I'll shield him."

Rowie's anxiety raised a few notches. "He's not going to let me go."

"Reason with..." Devon frowned when one of her brows shot up. "Never mind." He looked away and shook his head. "He's going to keep going after you, Rowie."

"I know." She let her gaze drop to the gold Alpha Angel's insignia on Devon's left pectoral. Rowie loved the insufferable Remien Fyre, but she didn't want him hurt. Even if it killed her, she needed him to stop chasing her.

"He won't listen to anyone and I can't restrain him." Devon sieved his fingers through his jet-black mane with a frustrated huff.

"I'm going to have to... lie to him." Rowie looked back up at Devon's eyes. "I'm going to have to make him hate me."

"Good luck," he snorted.

Rowie knew exactly what he was thinking. Remi chased her incessantly in the past. Rowie insulted, ignored, ridiculed and when that hadn't worked even slapped him when he became a little too bold and still the weredragon had never let up his single minded determination to make Rowie his.

"Rowie," Devon began, "Don't make him hate you too much. Doctor Quinn is looking for a way to help us get you back."

Rowie shook her head. "There's no cure for the VMP145 virus."

Devon cupped her face in his big hands. "Baby, there's a cure for everything."

Rowie blinked back her tears. Oh, how she wanted to believe him

Chapter Nine

Red-gold sunlight poured in through fifty-foot glass wall that separated the living area of Doctor Quinn's condo from the balcony. The city skyline was clearly delineated before the setting sun, glass and steel sparkling as if lit by fire. The white carpeting muffled Rowie's footfalls as she approached the balcony doors, her entire body shaking.

A myriad of alien beings filled the adjacent balconies, and as Rowie stepped up to the doors, she noticed they were mostly female—their attention directed at the Remi. He paced back and forth, looking very agitated.

To her dismay, he was bare from the waist up, and wore a pair of white drawstring pants held up by nothing more than the sweet swell of his ass and bulging package between his thighs.

Rowie swallowed, letting her eyes take their fill of him before having to step out and pretend he didn't make her body ache.

The breeze toyed with the blood-red locks streaming down to a sharp V at his waist, peeks of his dragon tattoo showing through the thick strands. His sinews and muscles rolled and rippled with each stomping step he took across the marble-floored balcony. He looked like he was muttering to himself, sieved his fingers through his thick hair, and then leaned over the metal railing to the balcony, giving her his back.

The minute she opened the door and stepped out, he spun around. Her gaze was caught in the shimmering green of his. His lips parted as he began to smile.

Oh, god, I can't do his. But I've got to.

"Baby," he groaned, rushing to her.

Rowie panicked when he threw his arms around her, barely got a word out before his mouth crushed hers.

Remi's tongue speared into her mouth, licking every corner, heedless of her sharp fangs. The metal stud rubbed against her palette, her tongue her teeth. One of his hands cupped the back of her head, the other snaked down to grip her ass. He planted his bare feet to either side of hers, pushing the hard bulge of his erection into her.

Rowie almost came apart in his arms. Her fingers buried into his silky hair, she allowed him to arch her back, making her breasts press tighter against him.

Behind them, the female audience booed and hissed at her arrival.

Shit. What the Hell am I doing? I'm supposed to be breaking up with him, not making out.

Rowie pulled his hair, trying to get him to release her, but he only growled in lust and pressed his cock tighter into her belly. She cursed herself mentally, forgetting he liked pain. It turned him on more.

Remi, let me go—she projected into his mind.

Never—he snarled into hers.

Rowie gathered her power about herself and teleported away from him, closer to the railing of the balcony.

Remi stumbled forward, his head whipping around in search of her.

When his green-eyed gaze fell back on her, he bared his teeth and snarled.

"Stop acting like a caveman," she snapped, putting out her hand to stop him when he stalked to where she stood. "We need to talk."

"We need to fuck," he growled caging her against the railing.

"No." Rowie kept her palms firm against his hot chest. Her eyes darted to the silver hoops piercing his nipples and her mouth watered remembering how good they felt against her tongue.

Remi's wicked grin split his face from molar to molar, his glittering eyes narrowed down on her. He bent closer, taking a deep sniff, and growled like the beast he was. "Mine."

The sound of that feral declaration sent a thrill through her. She felt her nipples pearl and hoped he couldn't scent the liquid lust creaming from her. Her knees began to shake as she pressed her fingers deeper into the meaty pecs bulging beneath her palms. "No. Not yours," she corrected with a forced frown.

He gripped the breast that sported his brand possessively, bending so that his nose almost touched hers. "Mine," he growled between clenched teeth.

Fire started to curl up his arms, his hair stiffening into peaks half a second before a pair of large wings slipped out of his back and spread behind him.

Rowie gasped, and drew back. "Remi."

His irises bled out into the whites and his skin became dark red. "Bite me, Row. Drink me."

Rowie shook her head, feeling terror as his entire body expanded and grew within the blue-white fire he emanated. "Why are you shifting?"

"Drink." His voice was barely human, talons ripped into the metal of the railing, making it creak.

"No." Rowie teleported away again, desperately summoning Devon. He's losing it, and I haven't even told him I don't want to be with him anymore.

Remi roared at her and then looked around. She knew he was trying hard to keep the human side of himself conscious. His face changed a bit, making him look like a demon. When Remi shifted, his dragon side would take over almost completely.

Baby—she pleaded into his mind—please stay with me. Let's talk, baby. Don't let your dragon come out now. This balcony won't hold the weight. We'll both get hurt. Remi?

His eyes focused on her once more and the fire surrounding him receded. His features and body shrank back to normal and his skin lightened until it was only a flushed hue. Remi's red dragon wings were still spread behind his back, and his hair was stiff and shaped liked the beginnings of his crown of horns.

"I... won't hurt you," the dragon's voice growled, showing sharp teeth. "I love you."

"Then turn back into Remi, so we can talk. Please?"

***

She looked terrified. He didn't want her afraid of him. Rowie was right. They should talk. He needed to convince her his dragon's blood would cure her.

He shivered when his dragon's wings slipped back into his skin, but it didn't keep him from rushing back to her. He needed to feel her against him again.

"Rowie, I'd thought I'd lost you." His arms went around her again, but she remained unyielding. "I'm sorry I scared you, baby. I wasn't going to hurt you."

"I know, Rem," she sighed against his neck. "It's just... you don't really have allot of control over your dragon side."

He drew back and frowned at her. She'd never expressed that to him before. "I have total control."

She rolled her eyes. "No you don't. Every time you shift, if I'm not there to..."

She looked away. Remi smiled. "My beast recognizes you as its mistress. He obeys you." He ran his finger down the curve of her cheek. "I obey you."

He ducked his head to kiss her, but she turned away. Annoyance swept through him. Why was she acting so difficult again?

"We need to talk." She took a step back, looking down at her feet.

He didn't want to talk. Remi wanted to kiss her, lick her, rub himself all over her body and then bury himself balls deep into her. With a frustrated sigh, he released Rowie and crossed his arms over his chest. "Alright. Go on."

Rowie swallowed, her eyes darting everywhere but to his face. "I'm the new lead singer of Angel Of Retribution."

Angel Of Retribution. Remi suddenly remembered why Rafael and Gabriel's faces were so familiar. "Shit," he exclaimed hitting himself on the forehead. "They're the guitarists. Of course. I knew they looked familiar."

Rowie nodded. "Yeah. My brothers play for A-O-R."

"What happened to Myano?"

Rowie shrugged. "No one knows. He took off with his lover who knows where."

"Wow." Remi watched the way the breeze tossed one ebony curl against the white column of her throat. Fuck, she was beautiful... and all his. Then, her words sank in. "You're the new lead singer?"

"Yeah." She pulled the tantalizing lock of hair from across her throat and tossed it behind her shoulder. Still, she wouldn't meet his eyes. He really didn't like that. "We're going on tour for about a year, so it'll be really exciting."

"Yeah, well as long as I'm your personal body guard..."

"No."

"Why don't you look at me when you talk, damn-it," he snapped.

She scowled at him. He grinned, "See? Now that's better." He tipped his head to the side, putting his fists on his hips as a frown replaced his grin. "Now, why the fuck can't I be your personal body guard?"

"The entourage is nothing but vamps." She turned and strode away from him.

Remi narrowed his eyes, not liking the distance she was putting between them. "So now you'll have a dragon as part of the entourage. I really don't give a shit if I help out or not during the tour, but I'm not leaving your side. We're mated."

Her black eyes shot to his, anger simmering in their depts. "We are nothing. We fucked a few times. That's all. Really good sex."

Remi felt his lip curl and he tried not to snarl. "Should I rip your bodice from your body and show you the mark on your breast?" He failed. "Or better yet how about this?" He tapped the fang marks over his heart.

She shook her head with a derisive smirk. "That doesn't mean anything."

Rowie flinched when he teleported right against her. His hands gripped her arms and he had to remind himself to keep his rage under control. "It means something to me, mate. You're mine."

"Look," she spat, "I admit I'm attracted to you. I think Zak is fucking hot too. We fucked and he didn't go and brand my ass. Get over it, Remien Fyre. I have."

Remi sucked in a shocked breath. "What the hell are you saying, Row?"

"You're making more out of this than it really is." She tried to break free from his grip, and turned her face away when she found she couldn't. "I'm sorry if you... let yourself get feelings beyond a platonic fuck for me, but I just don't feel that way about you." Her refusal to meet his eyes when she spoke made him want to shake her.

"You told me you loved me," he whispered. God, he sounded pathetic to his own ears.

She closed her eyes and let out a rush of breath. "Remi, I love Zak, Devon, Seth, and Annie too. I tell them so all the time."

Remi let her go as if burned, and took a step away. Fuck. What was this horrid feeling in the center of his chest? Why was she saying this to him? Why was she implying he was just another casual fuck for her?

She looked back up at him and the pity he saw there made him take another step back. "I'm sorry, Remi. I never made you any promises. I didn't think you'd take things so seriously."

Remi's blood turned to ice. "Hey, don't worry about it. I didn't know I was dealing with a slut."

Rowie gasped, and her eyes filled with tears. He almost wanted to take back the hateful words, pull her into his arms and kiss her. Forget she'd ever told him...

Rowie slapped him, pink tears rolling down her cheeks. "Fucking bastard. You should talk, man-whore. I resisted having sex with you for years. You were the one who couldn't take no for an answer."

Remi clenched his teeth. Okay, so he used to be a man-whore, but that was before he laid eyes on her. Shit. He'd had nothing but the company of his hand for years, just waiting for her to come around. For nothing. For this.

He looked across to the other balconies in front of them. Remi had paced for nearly an hour and hadn't noticed the hundreds of females gathered there calling him.

A blue Gruesh girl smoothed her hands over her four breasts, shouting out "hey, baby. Forget that skank. I'll give you some good lovin'."

"Sweetheart," An orange-skinned Chidadent waved, " come on over. Forget her."

"We'll show you a good time, dragon boy," a pair of white-haired Merulians called to him. Remi couldn't tell if they were male or female. From what he'd heard, they could be both.

He looked back to Rowie, feeling his heart squeeze uncomfortably. They all wanted him... except the one he loved.

"Fine. I'm out of here," he hissed, turning on his heel and stalking back into the interior of the condo.

He ignored Devon, who stood just inside the balcony doors, and kept going until he was in the elevator. If he'd known his way around the condo he would have teleported down into the hangar. As it was, he had to stand inside the small square elevator and seethe with fury and pain until the doors finally hissed open. His Viper was a few paces from the elevator and he stomped his way to it.

"Where are you going?" Seth popped in next to Remi's Viper as Remi opened the top.

"To Hell," Remi snarled at the weretigri.

"Can we go with you?" Zak chimed in from behind him.

Remi turned, and before he could stop himself, swung at Zak.

The punch caught the six-foot-seven muscle-bound Alpha Angel by surprise, sending him sprawling to the floor with a bloody lip.

Zak clutched his mouth, staring at Remi with rounded sapphire blue eyes. "What the Hell was that for?" Shit. He didn't even look angry, just hurt. "What did I do?"

Remi jumped into his Viper, rolled the top shut and zipped away.

***

Rowie sobbed in Devon's arms. "He hates me now. I want to die."

He kissed the crown of her head, shushing her. "Don't say that. It'll all work out in the end. You'll see. Doctor Quinn will figure out how to... fix you and I'll talk to Rem. He loves you, Rowie. He just feels hurt. Geez. What did you tell him? His aura was almost black with pain."

Rowie cried harder, remembering the way he'd flinched back when she'd told him he was nothing but a casual fuck. She would never forget the hurt she saw in his beautiful green eyes, and then the cold fury.

"Row?"

She turned on hearing the sound of her brother's voice. Both Rafael and Gabriel rushed to her. Devon released her to them and she burrowed into Gabriel's chest. Rafael stroked her hair.

"So you know about the war with dragon kin?" Rafael sighed.

Rowie nodded, keeping her eyes closed, her nose pressed against Gabe's shirt.

"She just finished breaking up with Remi."

"The weredragon?" Gabe's voice rumbled, holding her tighter.