Firestorm

Authors Note: I won't be getting an editor for this story until it is completed. This story is a slow burn. I appreciate the readers I have; let's go on this journey, and I hope you won't be too disappointed.

Grandior Coven: Home of Alisa Grandior.

Caspian shielded his cousins as his aunt swung the steel spoon over his back, Christian was older, but Caspian was stronger and held him back to prevent his cousin from taken a single blow.

A particularly vicious blow had him stumbling; Leigh screamed his pain a second later.

"Now, aunty, how pathetic are you. If you wanted a pound of my flesh, then come and take it." Daemon called from the doorway. His bored expression was almost taunting. He knew she was afraid of him, needed a little motivation to go after her actual target.

**

Caspian's eyes locked onto one of the female visitors; if looks could wound, he would be bleeding. The younger female beside her was quiet in her observation, watchful and assessing. The smile she displayed was nothing friendly—a mask.

His wolf moved to hug the older female; Caspian's brows furrowed at the claim because she was not his despite the gnawing in his gut that said otherwise. Desire still ran hot in his vein, and he forced himself to snuff the flame before it consumed him.

"Nikki!" Micah exclaimed in greeting as she tightened her arms. The female's features resembled Micah's. The same delicate bones, although the female had pretty blue-green eyes, Micah's was the palest shamrock green that reminded him of stained glass.

As he watched them, Micah sucked in a breath as her body stiffing, and he fought the irrational urge to go to her. Her anger still a sharp blade. The emotions flowing from all three females had his discomfort rising. Except he was sure if he took his eyes off Micah, she might disappear from his sight. That was unacceptable.

The woman Micah had identified as Nikki released Micah from the embrace and shot him another venom-filled stare in accusation.

"Come in." He instructed, turning and striding toward the Dining area; the room had a round-edge table that allowed for easy conversation. He wanted to know why they were there, at the front door, instead of stealing Micah away in the night.

Once the women were seated, they chatted among themselves as if he was invisible.

"You healed a shifter in the middle of a cage fight!" Nikki growled a clear reprimand. Then, a frown firmly in place, she moved towards Micah and healed the injuries. Seraph, then, Caspian noted.

Micah showed no remorse for her actions. "He was tainted, close to turning rogue; you can't expect me to do nothing." She had no sense of self-preservation. Her heart was too soft. Caspian would have to keep that in mind; a strange protectiveness for the shifter tightened his chest.

Caspian sighed, hadn't expected the complication that was Micah; she was contradictory. It was impossible to predict her actions, actions of a warrior with a healer's heart.

"If healing is too risky, wouldn't it be easier just to kill him?" the question from the girl with cerulean blue eyes flecked with silver, eyes no human could have.

"Because Killing is easy, it's choosing to heal that takes true courage, Keally," Micah spoke gently to the girl, watching her absorb the information like a sponge.

Caspian leaned back into his chair and glanced at the clock hanging on the wall.

His cell rang, pulling it from his pocket, glancing at the screen, "Christian?"

"I suppose Nikkara has already arrived." He heard his cousin say.

"Thanks for informing me," Sarcasm coating his words. Nikkara was a name he was familiar with, the Seraph Regional of Narine, "Hold on a minute." Caspian walked away from the room to signal for a servant to ensure they inform him immediately if the women tried to leave.

He then went up the stairs towards the quietest room in the house, the gallery. Once he was at a safe distance out of earshot, he lifted the cell phone, "Chris, why is she here? And what was her relationship with Micah?"

"With the hybrid...none that I'm aware of, but I'll find out."

"They are blood-related," Caspian said, taking a seat in front of the large window that was bathed in moonlight, "Since that isn't the reason you called, what is?"

"Daemon's fighters are considered high-risk. Rogues generally fall into Seraph jurisdiction, and the body count keeps rising." Daemon's past was like a dark shadow that refused to release him. Yet, Daemon was also family, his responsibility, his to protect and to end if needed.

"Where is he?" Daemon hadn't returned to the house with Micah.

"Lab. He had a forensic workup done on the latest kill." Caspian knew Daemon kept Christian at arm's length; he also knew Christian had a way of learning every hidden detail with effortless charm, a natural-born charisma that had gotten him in trouble as a youth.

"Get him here." He had no desire to face a Seraph Regional. Backup, even having Daemon as backup sounded better than having none.

"He's on his way. Do you need me?" Christian was the negotiator of the family, managed to earn his degree despite the challenge, despite the cost, which had nothing to do with money.

"No, I'll call if needed, but you have an ETA on Daemon?"

"He just left the lab, on his ways, say 10, 15 minutes."

"Thanks, Chris"

He ended the call and returned to the dining room, finding Micah perched on the table, a smile curling her lips as she faces the other women. He hadn't seen her that relaxed, found himself pleased. But, if they had come to collect her, he questioned whether he was capable of letting go.

"I hate to interrupt, but is this a formal visit?"

Nikkara looked at him. "Formal and informal both, once Daemon arrives, we can discuss the matter of the pile of dead bodies left at his doorstep." Her anger was a bitter kind of resentment. She was smart enough to conclude that Daemon was the recipient of morbid gifts and may not have been the cause. Nevertheless, Caspian was still unsure of how much responsibility Daemon held in the killings.

Micah slid off the table; his attention shifted, was immediately captured by her almost sensual movements. She had a way about her, one that drew him.

"I want you to tell me why?" Micah asked, brushing the red strains of her hair through her fingers.

He smirked. Micah thought she had the upper hand now that she had someone in her corner, "I needed a fighter that was exotic enough to draw attention."

"So you needed a juicy worm to dangle to satisfy some big wigs," Keally commented, looking amused at the situation.

"Why a Seraph hybrid?" Micah asked caught him off-guard. He hadn't thought of that when he had explicitly requested a Seraph Hybrid. It was a rarity that fit the script perfectly.

"No reason," He replied, sounding not entirely convincing-even to himself. However, he would store that question away for later.

A server brought in refreshments to Micah's delight. She chewed on her full bottom lip. His focus was entirely on the way her teeth tugged the fullness before wetting it with her tongue.

Keally cleared her throat, amusement shining in the eyes of the youth, "Get a room."

"Oh shush!" Micah threw a biscuit aimed at her teens head. Keally caught the projectile and took a bite, her fun stalled with the sound of Daemon's arrival.

*

Micah enjoyed being in familiar company. When Daemon arrived, Nikkara was ready for blood while, Keally had a sweet smile painted on her face. She used her smile like a shield, but playfulness was shining in her eyes when Micah looked at her. Maybe the teen had finally settled and gotten over her rebellious streak.

"I didn't expect you to bring a child." Daemon sounded perplexed as he directed the question to Nikkara. Keally looked at him and rolled her eyes. He held several files tucked under his arm, placed one in front of each of them, and left the rest in the centre of the table.

"Who I am accompanied by is my business," Nikkara voice had an edge of steel, and Micah couldn't say she wasn't impressed, "Now tell me who is killing rogues."

"We are making progress with the investigation..."

"That wasn't the answer I was looking for; I was hoping your people were competent enough to provide me with...more." Nikkara didn't hide her dislike for the vampire.

"I hate to disappoint, but that is all we have." The grit in his voice was enough to tell her he didn't like the idea any more than Nikkara.

"I knew you liked getting your hands dirty, but this Daemon...this is too much." Micah's flinched, actually felt a little lousy for letting her cousin berate Daemon. But, on the other hand, she knew Nikkara was allowing some of her anger out, directing it at the vampire for holding Micah captive. Nikkara's reaction somehow seemed a little excessive, and her target highly specific.

"And I am confident that your hands are squeaky clean?" He replied sarcastically—a flash of fangs. That was the first show of emotion Caspian's cousin had displayed she had met him, and she wondered just how empaths functioned.

"No...But at least I don't actively look for ways to dig into the filth of this world to darken my soul more than it already is." She hissed, seeming to strike a nerve when Daemon's eyes flecked crimson, his control slipping further. As cold as Daemon first seem, Nikkara had a gift of drawing out his raw emotion.

"Can we get to the matter at hand without the back and forth," Caspian interjected, his ice-blue eyes shifting from Daemon to Nikkara. "I didn't think you interacted that frequently."

"We don't!" Both Nikkara and Daemon answered at the same time.

Keally laughed, "Chill Nikki, I'll handle this," She flipped through the file closest to her, "The blood work and toxicology show an excessive amount of sedative in the victims. And unfortunately, there is also a substantial amount of blood that is missing."

"They didn't bleed out where we found out, blood splatter or the lack thereof. So I have people searching, but no leads yet." Daemon's voice back to the glacial tone, his eyes remained red.

"So, you fed Dustin some make-believe story while you have a killer targeting your fighters." Keally rolled her eyes, "Male's are so immature."

Micah swallowed her laughter, knew that this was Keally's revenge on Daemon for calling her a child. "So back to me being bait", her purpose was to draw out a killer interest.

It was a simple plan. One that Micah would have agreed to if asked, "stupid male." She muttered. She grabbed a file closest to her and flipped through the contents. The victim was a slim male, deep gashes on his throat. She could leave and never look back; it was tempting, so damned alluring.

"I won't stay here," She commented as she read through the file, "But I will help. Since you have already gotten me involved, might as well finish what you started." She couldn't leave, not until the killer was found.

"Good, but it would be more convenient if you available at a moment's notice." There was an edge to his voice when Caspian spoke. His muscles tensed, visible veins protruding on his neck.

"No," Micah said. She needed some distance to think. Some part of her craved the closeness she was afforded by sharing the same house as Caspian, but shifters were tactile by nature, and although being mixed gave her a higher tolerance to isolation, she still craved the contact.

"The commute to Northlin is a long one. If you are serious about assisting, I suggest you find somewhere closer to reside." Daemon offered. Micah felt her heart drop; she missed her people, but they would understand her reasons if she provided them.

"You can stay with me if you sure about staying, although I suggest you call home."

"I will be back bright and early."

"Really." Caspian mocked, his lips curling at the corners.

Sure, she would rather sleep in, but she would cooperate when needed, "I will be here at a reasonable time." Daemon raised an eyebrow in apparent disbelief, "I will!"She growled.

"Sure, babe, I believe you," Nikkara added, her throat bobbing, swallowing down her laughter.

"Yee of little faith."

*

Micah was late, but she was well-rested. She had curled up to Nikkara during the night; her flat had been spacious and comfortable. Warm, rich browns and bronze colours had her relaxed within minutes, with little treasures that she had gathered that marked the place as hers. Nikkara made a pretty decent home for herself. Micah tugged at the wet towel that wrapped her hair, catching the clothing as it fell away from the wet strains. She smelled her hair and sighed; the pink grapefruit shampoo and conditioner was a lovely surprise. Nikkara had damned good taste. The sweet citrus scent was one of few she could tolerate. She had been sweaty, with blood getting in the strains of her red hair, so she was grateful for the opportunity to clean herself up.

Micah reached for the phone Nikkara had given her. It was an older model with essential functions that took blurry pictures, but she was grateful. She dialled and inwardly cringed when she heard the voice of the women on the other end of the call.

"Hello."

"Hi Kiki," She paused when she heard the gasp that was replaced by a feral growl, "You can't kill me; you love me too much!" Micah quickly added.

"You lucky I love you. Avery is chopping at the bit to go to Narine and drag you back home." Avery was Kiara's most senior Beta. He probably had a lecture waiting locked and loaded.

"How did you figure out where I was?" It wasn't that surprising as Kiki's informants consisted of everything shifter with breath in their lungs, although the tiny female preferred a more aggressive form of persuasion.

"I may have threatened draughts and hurricanes to any regions that didn't supply me with your location. But, you wouldn't believe how compliant Prime Alpha's could be once the skies darkened a little."

"Why you got to make things so complicated, you could pull rank and make them bow, but then again, you always liked a little violence." Kiara was royalty, held enough power to order absolute obedience. Micah licked her lips, wetting them before biting down on her lower lip, "I have news, complications of my own."

"All ears," Kiara replied.

"Caspian is my destined mate, "A sharp intake of breath from the other line as Micah continued, "I didn't plan to sink so deep, but I wanted to know him, stupid freaking instinctive drive to understand just why fate thought we were a perfect match, and flip sakes Kiki, I think Fate fucked up."

Kiara laughed, "Take it from someone who knows; sometimes we don't know what we need. Take all the time you need to figure it out; text me occasionally, ok?" Micah had left out a few details; she was bait for a serial killer, a major one. Nevertheless, she was strong enough to dig herself out of the pit she had landed in, well, with a little bit of help from Nikkara.

"Thanks, Kiki."

"You always have a home to return to; remember that." Micah's heart ached in her chest as she smiled with the comfort of having people who will always welcome her with open arms. But for an orphan who liked to steal. Anything shiny, little treasures drew her like a magpie, so stealing candy from Kiki had become her substitute.

Caspian always smelled sweet; maybe she could empty his pockets in search of treasure. She doubted that he would be easy prey, but that just had her heart racing a little bit faster.

"If you waste more time anymore, I think we are going to have vampires breaking down my door." Nikkara walked into the room and sat down on her bed. Micah leaned back, placing some of her weight on the dresser

"Patience is a virtue," Not that Micah valued that particular virtue as she had none herself, "Plus, let them wait, and I need to borrow some clothes."

Nikkara walked to her closet, pulled out a pair of jeans and a pretty white formal long-sleeved shirt, turned to her drawers, and tossed a bra and a tong with the tag still attached out onto the bed with the rest of the clothes, "The is a driver downstairs, he's been waiting for three hours, and I switched off my cell."

"What's your deal with Daemon," Micah asked as she took the tong and jeans and pulled them on; it was a slightly looser fit than what she was used to, but nothing a belt couldn't fix.

"Nada, he just rubs me that wrong way," Micah arched her brow as the vague response. But then, she clicked her tongue; she wasn't about to badger her cousin.

"I shouldn't keep the bloodsuckers waiting." Micah smiled as she tucked in the shirt and secured the belt on her waist.

*

The pissed expression on Caspian's face was worth the extra time Micah had spent; his eyes travelled over her body. He may have been the empath, but she could read his lust like a blazing neon sign. He was standing near a building, and judging from the way people dressed around them, the building had housed commercial offices. She spotted a map in the middle of the ground floor. She read the names of companies, her eyes settling on one, in particular, Black pharmaceuticals and laboratories.

"Miss me much?" Micah said as she moved toward the vampire. He wore dark navy suit pants and a plain shirt as her eyes roamed over his body.

"You look..." She started, "very..." She couldn't exactly say that she wanted to rip his clothes off to determine if he looked just as good with nothing on like she thought.

"Good," She settled on the safest possible compliment. Caspian narrowed his brows but smiled as he entered the building. Micah was going to have to find a way to block his damned empathy. Caspian flashed an ID card to the receptionist, who paled before scrambling to make a call.

"So, are you going to tell me what we are doing here or going make me go through Nikki to get the info?" Because she would, Nikkara had jurisdiction since rogues were involved and losing Seraph support in a Seraph dominant region wouldn't be wise on his part.

"We are here to see a body; I've taken over the investigation, and Daemon will be taking a back seat on this one." Micha frowned; it was usually how Caspian and Daemon alternate control as if it was a natural dance between them.

"So did Daemon adjudicated power to you, or is it just for this investigation?" It was rare for a Regional to concede power. Caspian was about to respond when the receptionist interrupted.

"Mr Black, please go up; they are aware of your visit." She handed him a black access card with platinum etching. He pocketed the card in his breast pocket, and Micah smiled. Her fingers were already itching at the challenge, even if he didn't know he had thrown down the gauntlet.

"I wanna know why everyone is anti-Daemon; besides the ice-cold personality, I don't think he is that bad. Why did you take over the investigation?" He didn't seem evil, although evil took many forms.

"He was formerly removed from any involvement in the investigation."

"By who?" She asked; Nikkara didn't like Daemon but to go to the extent of having the Regional Council force his hand.

"The Vampire Royal Council," Caspian announced. Micah froze, staring at his back. That was unexpected; Royal councils rarely involved themselves in regional issues.

As Caspian approached an elevator, Micah smiled as she twisted forward, fell against his side, and watched as he sidestepped her and watched as she hit the floor. She landed on her knees, her palms shielding her face, "Wow, how chivalrous." She said as she whipped around to glare at him.

"Shifters don't trip, although that little show was pretty entertaining." He was grinning, which had her turning all shades of red. Caspian folded his arms, did not attempt to offer her a hand up, "What the heck did I expect." She hissed, and to her surprise, he finally extended an arm and offered her assistance. Reaching out, she propelled herself forward until her body grazed his.