Dark Angel Ch 10

Before anyone reads on, I just need to let you know that this chapter isn't finished. I had promised to post it today and didn't want to go back on my word. I didn't finish it because I have lost my cat, and though it might seem like something trivial, it has me completely heartbroken. I'll try to finish it next weekend and once again I am truly sorry, but I just can't function right now.

*

After a while, Eriel and Natanael went down into their cabin to put some pants and boots on. Remien Fyre tapped his foot impatiently on the floor of the helm, a frown growing on his countenance as each second ticked by.

He puffed out an aggravated breath. "Exactly how long is it to Megdoluc?"

Seth cleared his throat. "At the speed we're moving? About two day cycles."

Remi shot up from his seat with a roar, the green of his eyes filling up the white as his irises expanded. "No," he snarled, his voice savage.

"Calm," was all Devon said.

The red weredragon spun to glare at his commander, his chest heaving part in rage-part in panic. "I need to feed Row. The babies drain her blood."

Ashriel winced. "Blood?"

Remi ran a hand through his unruly of hair. "They're blood dragons." He swung around frowning at Ashriel. "Like me. They nurse from her breasts, but they're ravenous little devils." He turned to Devon, this time with a pleading look in his eyes. "Rowie needs to feed from me. They'll drain her and make her...her blood lust will re-awaken."

Devon frowned, his finger tapping his lips. "Seth, can you keep this flying bucket of bolts together?"

Seth arched a brow. "Planning on speeding things up a bit?"

Devon nodded, his glowing gaze bright.

Ashriel snorted. "But won't that help the Master Guardians after your dragon home in on your power signature?"

"They're already following us," Devon replied, his voice sounding as if he were daydreaming, eyes unfocused. Remi got the same strange look before snapping out of it to growl viciously.

Ashriel looked out through the glass shield of the starcruiser, even though he knew he'd never see the ships that followed them. A shiver went up his spine as the presence of power skittered around him.

"They won't attack. They want the others. They want all of us," Seth said.

"Devon took a deep breath, his eyes closing momentarily. "They know we know."

Ashriel raised one brow, his eyes going over each of their faces. He heard the whispers in his mind. They were communicating to each other telepathically.

Devon suddenly stood and stood next to Seth. Remi came up on the other side of Devon.

Curiosity assailed Ashriel as he watched Devon take both Seth and Remi hands in his.

A wash of power rolled over Ashriel, making him suck in his breath. He felt sick at once and blinked in confusion when the view outside the glass distorted. The vacuum of space and all its uncountable stars turned into a soup of distortion. It was a horrifying sight and Ashriel had to close his eyes to block it out. His body felt strange, as if his very physical being was disintegrating, turning into...unstable matter.

"Stop," he finally shouted, his voice echoing in the terrible silence surrounding them.

Hands cupped his face and he opened his eyes to behold the fiery visage of Devon. Once again, the Alpha Angels' commander glowed like an ethereal being, the light blinding and to Ashriel's shock, so did Seth and Remi.

The light was too bright and he had to close his eyes, fearing he'd go blind otherwise.

Devon's hands caressed his face. "It'll be alright, Ash."

"Shit," Remi shouted, "We're headed for the funnel."

Ashriel's eyes snapped wide open. He only knew of one funnel on Megdoluc, and it led to the gates of Hell.

They hit hard. The ice cracked and the black waters of the abyss swallowed the starcruiser whole. Still, Ashriel felt the craft hurtling forward at incredible speed.

The three Alpha Angels were no longer glowing. Everything was now dark around him. He tried in vain to see where they were headed, but it was hard.

"They're trying to follow," Devon said and then cursed. "Tenacious bastards. They'll kill themselves."

"Are we still descending?" Ashriel gasped, his heart hammering loudly. "You're taking us straight down to the gates."

"Fear not, Ashriel," Devon murmured.

Light began to glow ahead, and Ashriel began to feel disorientated again. Gripping the armrests of his chair, he clenched his teeth and groaned, feeling as if they were shooting straight up, but that was impossible. They had been descending—hadn't they?

The starcruiser's nose broke the thick layer of ice, shattering it like glass. Through the glass shields of the helm, the skies of Megdoluc boiled with reddish-black clouds. Not far from where they'd broken through the surface, a mega volcano blew a column of fire into the stratosphere. Devils flew by the thousands in the sky, making Ashriel's feathers ruffle in agitation. His hand itched to feel his sword and he stared at the unclean creatures the way a predator watches prey.

The starcruiser wobbled unsteadily in the air as the winds buffeted and batted it, tossing it around like a little leaf caught in a storm.

Seth dipped the craft and headed straight toward a cliff face. Ashriel squeezed the arm rests of his chair in a death grip as they struck the ground and bounced a few times before coming to a halt in a pool of water at the base of a water fall.

"Hell, Seth," Ashriel cursed. "You are the worst pilot I have ever had the displeasure of flying with."

"Thank you," Seth replied rising from his seat. "Hurry. Let's go."

Again, Ashriel felt confused. They'd crash landed on the surface of Megdoluc. The winds outside, aside from being one hundred percent poison, were raging so hard, he was surprised it wasn't lifting the craft again.

Regardless, he followed the others down the ramps to slosh into the icy water of a pool. He watched Seth and Remi run into the waterfall, followed by Natanael and Eriel. Devon turned and held his hand out.

"Come-on, Ash. I need to close this portal quickly."

Devon gripped his arm, and Ashriel gasped when he was propelled through the water. The sensation of falling had him beating his wings. Still his hands and knees hit a pale grey floor hard enough for him to wince.

He stared in bewilderment at his wet reflection in the shine of the floor. His hair dripped making an ever-growing puddle around him. Looking up, he blinked in astonishment at the tall glass walls with a view of a setting sun over an ocean. Beams of metal ran up at least three stories. Behind him was a fireplace with a high mantle. A mirror reflected the opposite side of the large room, showing three floors of balconies. Everything was white, metal and glass. They were in Davariel and Luciel's old mansion.

Devon's booted legs blocked his view as he bent to offer Ashriel a hand up.

"What the hell just happened?" Ashriel asked, feeling like his head was still spinning.

"We ditched our tails."

Ashriel only blinked at him. They'd managed to evade the Master Guardians intent on capturing them, but what about all the reapers on Alpha 7... and Anniel?

He turned when he heard a woman exclaiming in joy and turned to watch Rowie Enoray run into Remi's arms.

A few reapers appeared on the higher balconies, along with others he did not recognize.

"What's going on here?" Ashriel asked.

"Some of them were here when we arrived. Families from when my father and mother resided here. I didn't have the heart to turn them out. This is the only home they've known."

Ashriel turned back to Devon. These people were the descendants of Davariel's followers. They were still waiting for him to return.

He swallowed and turned to see the red-haired weredragon falling to his knees as his mate wrapped her arms and legs around him. Her face was buried in his neck, her fangs deep in his throat. Even from twenty paces away, Ashriel heard her deep gulps as she drank her lover's blood. Remi's half-dragon's wings popped through the flesh of his back and he growled in pleasure as his mate fed from him.

"Come with me," Devon said walking toward a stairwell at the other side of the cavernous chamber.

The sun cast a reddish golden glow through the glass walls. The large mansion had barely any furniture. As Devon and he passed various rooms, some held bare mattresses on the floors and a few trunks.

"Where are we going?" Ashriel asked.

"You'll see," Devon answered.

They entered a room at the end of a long glass corridor. A large bed was set up in the very center of the room where Devon's golden weredragon and his very pregnant mate lay.

The girl was propped on big pillows and Zachariel massaged one of her legs.

He looked over his shoulder as Ashriel and Devon made their way across the room.

"This was their room."

Ashriel did not need to ask whom Devon meant. The sweet scent of Davariel's essence still lingered in the air...even after over three hundred years.

On the other side of the room was a glass partition that led to a grand bathroom. More ceiling to glass walls showed the beauty of the beach below. The sinks were along one solid wall, but there were no mirrors. The counters were made of white stone and the floors were still the same pale shade of grey as the rest of the house. In the very center of the bathroom was a black-bottomed pool, filled with steaming water.

Ashriel watched Devon circle the pool once, whispering low.

Ashriel narrowed his eyes and looked down. Through the wavering water an image began to form. He could see what looked like a ceiling with softly glowing recessed lighting.

"Go in, but head first. Hold your breath for a few seconds until the air feels dry." Devon touched his arm as Ashriel frowned at him. "Don't look to the sides."

Ashriel pulled his shoulders back. Devon treated him as if he'd never traversed portals before.

Ashriel crouched and drew closer to the pool. Placing his hands on the edge, he closed his eyes and let himself tip forward. The water was warm and wrapped around his body like a lover's embrace. The sense of disorientation was momentary, and all too soon he found himself floundering out of a pool of water in his old quarters in Alpha 7.

Dragging himself out of the smaller bathroom, he walked soaking wet through the hygiene room and stepped into his hygiene unit. Blue rays engulfed him immediately, leaving his skin and wings dry and fresh.

He turned to look at the pool he'd just crawled out of. The water still rippled, but no one had followed him. Peering into it, he saw Devon had closed the portal once more.

Anniel took deep breaths and listened as she lay on her bed in her quarters in Alpha 7. Zachariel was whispering endearments to Alluna. He'd lifted her foot to his mouth, kissing and sucking each toe, making her wriggle and clutch at the sheets beneath her. Even though she was heavy with her pregnancy, her core still clenched at the sight of him.

"Master, that tickles," she cried out.

Anniel smiled. Yes. Zachariel was very sexy with his super buff body and ultra long blond hair.

Zak chuckled and kissed his way down Alluna's leg, the scent of her arousal making his mouth water.

Anniel blocked them out as much as she could, not wanting to invade their intimate moment, but ran headlong telepathically into Remi and Rowie.

Her fangs were buried deep in his neck and the sweet taste of blood filled her ravenous mouth. His scent filled her nostrils and the feel of his hard body beneath her had her dry humping the hard ridge of male flesh bulging through his leather pants.

Remi arched his neck until his back ached, enjoying the pleasure of her bite and the feel of her ripe breasts pressing against him. He wanted to fuck so badly, but knew she needed to feed his sons first.

And you promised you'd fix my eyes—Anniel thought, doing her best not to let her body react to the surge of lust riding the couple hard. Her mouth watered, regardless, and her skin twitched, her inner beast wanting to lap up some of the weredragon's blood too.

Anniel snarled, and steeled her hips from thrusting like Rowie's, as her mind filled with the images of her friend fisting Remi's fiery mane. The scent of cinnamon, spice and blood filled her nostrils.

It was moments like this that made it difficult for them to keep their hands to each other. The feelings would become confused and there had been many times when the temptation to fall all together in a heap of...

Love. Baby, I love you—Remi cried out feeling on the verge of coming in his pants. His hips thrust in tandem to Rowie's rocking hips. He grabbed her ass and Anniel gasped, feeling as if he were groping her.

She distanced herself from them and sighed sullenly.

Loneliness assailed her.

Her thoughts went to Ashriel.

Hearing and feeling the others sharing their bodies made her own body respond.

Her hands reached up to cup her breasts. Ashriel. He was already aboard Alpha 7. She sensed him.

She closed her eyes and imagined his shiny, dark brown hair, how it spilled through her fingers like water, his scent when she pressed her face to his thick neck, the living warmth of his beautiful jet-black wings. Her dark angel's blazing storm-colored eyes and powerful build terrified all who looked upon him, but Ashriel's heavenly beauty took her breath away.

Her teeth dented her lower lip, wishing it was his mouth she bit instead, so lush and full. It was a shame he was always frowning. He'd looked so devastating when he laughed the night they'd made love in the storage level of Natanael's starcruiser.

He'd been so intense, so passionate.

Sometime during that long sleep cycle, they'd conceived the tiny little girl inside her belly.

Anniel's feelings of lust turned into a maternal warmth that had tears springing to her eyes.

Before she felt the tender hands that touched her cheeks, the scent of wind and rain let her know Devon had come into her rooms.

The bed dipped with his weight and the heat of his body pressed over half of hers. He kissed each of her eyes and finally her nose.

She smiled, keeping her eyes closed. "Alluna is almost ready."

"Yes. Pretty soon we'll have three little dragonesses running amok with the rest of the hoard of children aboard Alpha 7."

Anniel lifted one of her hands and stroked her fingers through the satin of his hair. He was still her pretty baby.

Devon chuckled at her musings, his hands sliding to her belly as his lips playing over her closed lids.

She giggled when his tongue darted out to lick her lashes, thinking at him—ew, really?

He only chuckled in reply.

"What of the Vildminorian Master Guardians after Rem and Row's babies?" she asked.

"They'll never find us'" Devon assured her. "All our children will be safe, Anniel. I promise."

She sighed when he slid down and placed his head over her belly, as if listening to her child.

They stayed that way for a while, with her absently stroking his hair.

She was lulled, almost asleep, when Ashriel's scent teased her nose.

She sat up with a gasp, almost knocking Devon to the floor.

Two things shocked her immediately. The first was that she could see. The second was the look of rage on Ashriel's face as he stared daggers at her and Devon.

Too late, she realized what it must look like to him with her lying there naked and Devon sprawled out over her, one long-fingered pale hand curved over her rounded belly, the other against the side of her thigh.

"What are you doing?" Ashriel hissed.

She opened her mouth, but it was Devon who spoke first.

"Remi was busy, so I came to fix her eyes."

Devon straightened, his hand leaving her belly, the jet silk of his hair sliding over her bare skin in a loving caress. She actually heard Ashriel clenching his teeth tight enough to shatter as his eyes blazed with fury from across the room.

Devon turned to look back down at Anniel and actually smirked, making her wince. The brat. He was enjoying Ashriel's jealousy.

Devon brushed his lips on her cheek before he stood. "Guess I'd better leave."

Ashriel narrowed his eyes more. His furious gaze followed Devon as he walked toward the doorway. Fear had Anniel holding her breath when every feather on Ashriel's black wings lifted and his brows drew together so close they were practically touching. His nostrils flared and his eyes seemed to glow, glued, as they were to Devon's approach. Every muscle on his god-like body was taut, prepared.

For a moment, she thought he would unsheathe his sword and try to hurt Dev. Her body tensed and she sat up straighter on the bed.

The movement drew Ashriel's scorching stare. It made her wince, the intensity of those inhuman eyes. At least they were still silver, not pitch black in kill mode.

Devon slipped by him, unharmed, as Ashriel and Anniel continued their stare-down.

The front door to her quarters swished closed softly, letting her know Devon made it out safely. Ashriel hadn't torn him to pieces or turned him into a pile of ash from Ashriel's reaper's powers.

Poor Devon. They hadn't been doing anything wrong. Just cuddling like they always did since they were children. Suddenly, Anniel got really mad. He couldn't just walk into her quarters and act all possessive. She was a free woman after all. He'd never asked her to be his mate. And she wasn't going to force the issue just because he got her pregnant. Besides, he'd questioned the baby's paternity and was probably still bent on leaving Alpha 7...just like Garethiel.

Hurt zinged through her.

Frowning, she pulled one corner of the fuchsia sheets strewn over her bed to cover her breasts.

"How dare you," was all she could think of saying.

Without warning, Ashriel stomped over to her and yanked the sheet away making her gasp in shock.

"Do not cover yourself from me after letting another touch you," he snarled, crawling over her. "I have seen and tasted ever inch of your body and a part of me grows inside you." His hand cupped her belly and her traitorous daughter flipped around in obvious glee at her daddy's touch.

They both froze.

"Oh, God," he choked out, obviously overwhelmed from emotion.

Her anger melted away at the sight of tears shimmering in his eyes. A lump wedged in her throat and her hand covered his as her baby rolled in her belly again.

It was like a surreal dream, feeling life within her again when a few days ago she'd been empty, her heart bereft with the pain of her missing son.

Gareth.

He was alive.

Her tears flowed freely now, and she fisted Ashriel's silken hair to pull him down for a passionate kiss.

Her tongue shot past his lips, making him moan, all jealousy and anger forgotten in that moment of magic. She savored his heavenly taste, breathed in his angelic scent, smiling when his wings began to fan harder. Anniel was sure she'd feel his cock straining against the front of his pants if she were to slide her hand against his fly.

Reluctantly releasing him, she whispered a mere inch from his lips, "I've got to go back to Rhylos and convince Gareth to come home."

All the elation he'd been feeling took a nosedive into the seventh circle of Hell. Go back?

His eyes raked down her naked form, snagging along the way on her big, round, chocolate tipped breasts before settling on the amazing evidence of his virility rounding her stomach.

It was only when his wings struck the low ceiling, that he realized he'd spread them out fully. Wincing, he retracted them until they lay against his back. He didn't even bother trying to unruffled them. He was too agitated to concentrate on making his feathers lay flat.

"Anniel, that's too dangerous," he snapped.

Wrong tone.

Her half lidded eyes and soft smile transformed into a frown, her green-gold eyes flashing in irritation. "I'm pregnant not handicapped, Ashriel. I'm only going to see my child."