Power of the Fae (19 page)

W
e pull
onto the street a half a block down from the house, where the vampires saw the demons and witches. We plan to pick one of the homes to use for surveillance. Nick sent us with a few tiny cameras to set up in the neighborhood, and around the house, so that we can have constant footage.

A white Cadillac Escalade pulls up and parks a few parking spots in front of us. It must be Lina. My wolf is excited about seeing her again. Shit,
I’m
excited about seeing her again. I’m still pissed off at Malia for that stint she pulled the other night when I was in the shower. I didn’t even give her time to get dressed before throwing her out my room. She’s getting aggressive and short of banning her from our pack, I don’t know what to do with her. I couldn’t believe she had the nerve to try something like that, after I just told her that I didn’t want anything to do with her.

The only person that knows is Devyn. A scowl crosses my face as I remember after I swore him to secrecy, he laughed for about ten minutes straight when I told him about my problem. One would think that one brother could speak to another brother about women problems without being ridiculed. He thought that it was hilarious how the mighty has not only fallen in love, but has a wolf that won’t leave him alone.

After he quit laughing and smirking, he said that he thought it would be best if we banned her from the house. He will speak to her and tell her that she is no longer allowed to come to the house. The house staff will be apprised of the situation and will just be told that she is no longer welcomed. If she continues her aggressive pursuit of me then we will speak to her father before banning her from the pack out of respect. Her father has belonged to our pack since his birth, and he is a loyal member, and I would speak to him man to man before banishing his daughter.

Being away from Lina even for a few weeks has solidified my thoughts, and heart, and I will claim her as my mate. The talk with my mother helped me see that as a strong Alpha, I will need a strong woman to help complete me. Help me be a better Alpha to my pack. Lina holds all of those attributes. I can’t wait to put my mark on her to announce she’s mine to the pack and the world.

The passenger door opens on the Escalade and a very tall muscular Fae gets out. He has twin short swords strapped to his back and a gun strapped to his hip. I’ve never seen this Fae before; he must be one of the other Guardians. He is dressed in black cargo pants, a sleeveless black shirt with his hair braided in a single braid. He walks along the back of the truck to the other side, eyes roaming and seeming to memorize every aspect of the street. I already don’t get a good feel from him.

A growl escapes me, thinking of him in the close quarters of the truck with Lina. The Fae opens the other back door and Lina steps out the truck. A growl slips out again as he helps her out of the truck sliding her body against his, his hands remaining on her hips. The move is too intimate; he’s too familiar with her. He leans in close, whispering in her ear. I take a good look at her and almost swallow my tongue.

She has on skintight white leather pants with white knee-high, spiked heeled boots. She has on a red laced front corset top that ties in the front, skinny straps grace her shoulders with her hair pulled up in a tight bun on top of her head with only wisps hanging on the side and back of her head. From where I’m sitting in the passenger seat of the truck, I can easily make out her blood red lipstick. She stands outside the truck and looks in my direction. Our eyes meet and instantly my cock is so hard. It’s trying to drill a hole in my jeans.

“Holy shit!” Devyn whispers under his breath. Everyone’s eyes in the truck are glued to Lina. The faint smell of arousal from the other wolves fills the truck. My wolf snaps pushing my Alpha power out hitting everyone in the truck. They all quickly turn their eyes away from my woman.

My woman.

My mate
.

“She’s
mine
,” I growl. My wolf doesn’t want any other wolves lusting after her. This being the first time I have ever claimed a woman in the open, Dante’s eyes grow large as he connects my actions from before to right now and realization dawns in his eyes.

“Colin, I didn’t know! I’m sorry for all those comments. I didn’t know she was your mate!” Dante’ apologizes from the back seat.

I nod my head without taking my eyes off Lina. My aggression is coming out in waves that they all can feel as my wolf senses another male by my mate. All wolves know that it is a blessing to find your true mate, and that your true mate should be cherished and protected. And right now my mate has another man’s hands on her! Without a thought I jump out of the truck and stalk over to them. The sounds of doors slamming shut echo behind me.

The Fae smirks and moves himself in front of Lina. My wolf is livid and trying hard to come to the surface. I suppress the need to shift as I make my way to Lina. Azura’s guard driving the car steps out of the white truck.

“Get the fuck out of my way, Fae!” My voice comes out in a growl, as I look the muscular Guardian in the eyes.

“Fuck off, wolf!” He doesn’t budge from in front of Lina.

“Christian! Move!” Lina tries to pull the Guardian out of her way but is unsuccessful so she steps around him. His arm pulls her to his side. My hand quickly grabs his wrist. My grip tightens as we lock eyes.

“Get your fucking hand off me, wolf!” His eyes narrow as he closes the gap between us. Devyn, Dante and Alec move in closer behind me, willing to protect their Alpha and his mate.

“Enough you two! I’ve had enough of this male testosterone shit!” Lina yells at us. She stands in front of the Guardian and looks up at me. Even with her high-heeled boots, the top of her head only comes to my chin.

“He shouldn’t be putting his hands on you.” I gaze down into her dark emerald eyes that are blazing with anger.

“He was helping me out of the truck!” She stomps her foot and has her hands on her hips. The Guardian snorts and rolls his eyes.

“You got something to say Fae?” My anger is rolling off me in waves, my wolf is pacing, itching for a fight.

Just give me a reason!

“Yeah, my hands have been all over her body, many times,” the Guardian boasts with his arms crossed in front of his chest. Lina’s eyes almost pop out of her head. My fist crashes into the Guardian’s face before anyone can blink. Lina falls to the side as the Guardian and I trade blows. The Guardian is a dirty fighter, throwing blows, kicking and holding his own against me. I want blood; no one lays a hand on my woman.

Lina is yelling and cursing at the other wolves and the guard to break us up. Alec holds her as we break apart and circle each other. The Guardian swings again, I side step right and strike with my left hook, stunning the Guardian causing him to fall.

“That’s enough!” Lina breaks free from Alec and runs over to us. The Guardian gets up off the ground wiping his mouth, not taking his eyes off of me. My wolf is a little satisfied for drawing blood.

“What are you doing?” Lina looks at both of us with her hands up in the air.

“What the fuck is he talking about Lina?” I pin her down with a stare, breathing hard.

“Christian is a Guardian and my
ex
! We broke up more than six months ago!” I can feel the other wolves standing behind me collectively.

“If you would have given me a chance to introduce you, then you would have known that!” I feel about two feet tall as she lays into me. She turns to Christian, poking him in the chest. My wolf bristles as she touches him.

“And you! How dare you insinuate that we are still together! It’s your fault that we’re not together anymore!” she yells.

“Seriously, a wolf?” Christian exclaims, throwing his hands up in the air.

“Don’t even go there! You lost that right, Christian!” A hurt look passes through his eyes.

“Lina, can we speak privately?” I grab her arm dragging her over to my truck away from the others.

“What do you want?” Her eyes are shooting daggers.

“No one touches what is mine!” I try to pull her closer to me. It’s been a few weeks and her delicious scent is making me want to taste her. My cock is hard as concrete right now. I need to have her now but right now is not the time or the place.

“Am I yours?” She snatches her arm away. “Is Malia yours too?” She starts to walk away but I grab her arm and spin her back facing me. Christian starts towards us but Devyn and Alec block him from coming over.

“What is that supposed to mean?” Dread spreads through my stomach as I search her eyes. Her eyes are wide and I can see she is hurting. My thoughts are racing thinking back to
that
night. There is no way she was in the room. I had just gotten off the phone with her falling asleep. Only Malia and Devyn know about the other night and I know Devyn wouldn’t say anything.

“Melomouzor visited me the other night in my dreams and you know what he showed me?” She doesn’t wait for me to respond as tears form in her eyes. “He showed Malia, naked in
your
bedroom, heading into the shower with you!” A single tear escapes. I gather her close to me.

“Nothing happened, baby. I swear on all that I hold dear. She just came in my room. I threw her out as soon as she came in the bathroom!” I wipe the lone tear off of her face. She looks into my eyes searching for the truth. I’m desperate for her to believe me. I pour all the love and emotions that I have for her into my eyes, kissing her gently on the lips.

“I swear there is no other woman for me Lina. You are it!
You
are my mate! My body craves yours; I can’t stop thinking about you. You fill my thoughts day and night. That’s why I wanted us to talk when you got back. My wolf wants you, as do I. Malia was the past and will stay in the past. She has been dealt with. She has been banned from the house.” I pray she believes me. My wolf whines sensing her distress. I promise I will make it up to her for causing her to cry, the minute I get a chance.

“Oh.” She breathes as she stares at me wide-eyed.

“Is that why you haven’t accepted any of my calls or called me back?” She nods.

“We’ll talk later, promise?” I ask her. She nods again, sniffles and wipes her face.

“Just great, the guys just saw me cry!” She rolls her eyes as we chuckle. “We do need to talk. There was more to the dream the other night. Can you promise not to fight with Christian again? He can be an ass, but right now, he’s been appointed as my official body guard.” We start walking back over to the group; I grab her hand and entwine our fingers together, leading the way.

“By who?”

“My father.”

C
olin and Christian
agree to let bygones be bygones for my sake, or I promise to kick their asses, with my heels on. They both agree that my safety is priority number one. Their handshake is tense and I know Colin will not forget Christian’s comment. Colin wants us to split up in teams as we surround the house. But Christian refuses to leave my side, even with Colin shooting him daggers with his eyes. He calmly says he is not going with the other team.

Devyn, Dante and Alec run off together to start placing the cameras, that Nick needs placed, around the home, with the plan that they will cover the front of the house. Grandmother’s human driver Tim stays back with the two trucks to keep watch of the street. He has a small communicator that connects to Christian’s and my earpieces so that he can communicate with us. With the ruckus from Colin and Christian’s fight, I’m surprised we didn’t draw any attention, but I guess with us being in the rundown part of town, no one cares or even heard us.

“There’s a faint hint of sulfur in the air. It’s really weak. The demons aren’t here anymore.” Colin sniffs the air. Christian snorts watching Colin. I elbow him in the stomach and narrow my eyes at him warning him.

“Christian, can you sense if anyone is in the house?” Christian has a unique sense of being able to tell if someone is near. It comes in handy in battle, not being taken by surprise when the enemy is hidden. All of his multiple talents make him one of the deadliest Guardians that we have.

“No, no one is in the house. At least, no one alive that is. I don’t sense any heat signals coming from inside.” Christian moves in front of me to direct his senses at the house.

“Let’s go.” Colin grabs my hand and pulls me behind him with Christian right behind me. We quickly walk from the side of the garage across the broken up concrete driveway. The back porch wood is rotted out and it’s missing stairs. We slowly climb up the back porch stairs, trying not to make any noise. The door to the house isn’t locked. Colin pushes open the door slowly. There is no movement in the house. The stale musty air greets us as we slowly walk in the house.

The house is trashed, litter strewn everywhere, graffiti on the walls. Some of the floorboards are missing, causing us to have to watch where we step. The house rubs me the wrong way. Goosebumps form on my arms as I look around. We walk into a large kitchen. All of the appliances are missing, the cupboard doors are missing and the linoleum floor has been ripped up exposing the dirty wood planks.

“Energy has been expelled here.” My spidey senses are picking up a few spells that have been cast in this house. The energy traces are stronger in the large destroyed kitchen and the pull of energy is coming from down the hallway that leads away from the kitchen. My amulet is warming up against my chest letting me know to follow the trail of energy. Colin and Christian trail behind me as we head down the hallway. There is a bathroom and two bedrooms located across from each other at the end of the hallway.

The bedroom on the left is the place of origination of the energy. I step in the room trying not to touch anything and inform the guys not to touch anything as I look around.

“I believe this house is used as a portal.” I look at Colin and Christian as they watch me walk around the small room.

“From the Underworld?” Colin asks.

“Without casting my own spell, I would just assume so since the Vampires witnessed demons here. It’s not too often that a portal is located in the middle of a city but I would bet whoever opened the portal knew this would be a good place to create one.” I walk over to examine one of the walls that looks like it has burn marks on it. Power is radiating from the wall. The amulet’s warmth begins pulsing.

“So someone, who knows the history of this area, knew it was abandoned,” Christian said.

“Yes, someone who knows this area is abandoned near the inner city. Usually portals are opened in areas that are remote areas where there are no witnesses. The amount of energy that is expelled is substantial and can be picked up by other witches or Fae. So having one in the part of city that is abandoned is quite clever,” Lina says.

“Because the energy used by the city and the people here will mask some of the energy used to open a portal,” Christian finishes nodding his head.

“So it won’t stand out like it would if it was somewhere secluded,” Colin answers, understanding.

“There’s movement coming down the street.” Tim’s voice comes across the communicators. Colin’s sensitive hearing picks up the message too as we start out of the room.

“Copy that,” Christian responds into the communicator.

“Looks like a young male walking down the street. Five feet ten inches, brown hair, blue jeans, dirty t-shirt. He’s heading into a brick house three houses up and across the street from your location,” Tim’s voice crackles again.

“I just let Devyn and the others know. They just finished mounting all the cameras and are going over to check that house out,” Colin says. We walk into the living room where the windows and front door are boarded up. Sunlight streams through the cracks in between the boards.

“Let’s check out the rest of the house.” I figure before we leave the house we better take a look around and make sure there are no more surprises. We quickly go through the house and don’t find anything aside from the tons of garbage and junk left scattered around.

“Devyn has the boy. He wants us to come over to the house,” Colin says as we walk out the back door. We quickly make our way over to the house and walk up the front porch. This house is in just as bad of shape as the other house. We walk through the front door and notice that someone has been living in the house. Devyn, Dante and Alec have the teenager sitting in a recliner in the living room. Not much is in the living room; a rundown recliner, a wooden chair, a sleeping bag over in the corner on the floor.

“What’s going on?” Colin asks, eyeing the boy.

“This is Seth. He’s not saying much,” Dante speaks up, crossing his arms in front of his chest. The poor boy’s eyes are as big as saucers as he looks around the room; he gulps loud enough where I can hear him across the room. He must be petrified with abnormally large men glaring at him. All of the men are large, muscular and could snap his neck with a flick of their thumb. I step forward hoping not to seem threatening so I can get information out of him.

“Hi, Seth. My name is Arlina. But everyone calls me Lina,” I say gently as I make my way over to him, needing to gain his trust. His eyes catch mine and he relaxes a little.

“Hi,” he says, his eyes flickering to everyone else. I wave my hand signaling for the guys to move to the other side of the room. They grumble but move to the other side. I already know they won’t leave the house even if I ask.

“You mind if I ask you a few questions?” He shakes his head no, turning his eyes back to me.

“How old are you?” I ask pulling up the other chair to sit on.

“Nineteen.” My eyebrows shoot up. There is no way this boy is nineteen! He blushes slightly and mumbles, “Seventeen, but I’ll be eighteen next Tuesday!” His big brown eyes show that he’s telling the truth.

“Why are you living here?” I look around the house. It’s empty, dirty, but doable I guess if you don’t have a place to live.

“My foster mother was in love with her Jack, and my foster father liked to use his fists too much on me, so I left. I figured I’d be better off on my own than be a punching bag for him. I only have until next week then I’ll be eighteen.”

“Do they know where you are?”

“No, I doubt that they’ve reported me gone because then they won’t get a check for me if they do.” His upper lip curls up as his thoughts turn to something else.

“There is no one that you can turn to for help?” He shakes his head no, eyes still looking around the room at the guys. I feel bad for the kid. No kid should grow up without loving parents and a loving home.

“I never exactly fit in with anyone else. I’ve been through so many foster homes I’ve lost count. They all end up getting rid of me for one reason or another. No one wants me.” This kid is tugging at my heartstrings.

“Why would no one want you?”

“You wouldn’t understand.” He looks out the main window of the living room.

“Try me.”

He looks at me for a few seconds. “Things happen around me that can’t be explained,” he said slowly, his gaze flickers to me then the floor.

“Like what?” I lean forward in my chair.

“You wouldn’t believe me.” He sighs, shakes his head and sits back in the recliner.

“Kid, there isn’t much you can say that none of us would not believe,” Christian speaks up from where he is standing by the front door.

“You’re pretty,” he blurts out. Realizing he said that out loud, he turns beat red, still looking at the floor. A large grin spreads across my face. The guys snicker and I can hear a growl coming from across the room. I don’t have to look to know it’s Colin. Seth jumps at the inhuman growl, looking over my shoulder.

“Thank you! You’re quite handsome yourself. Now what types of things happen around you?”

“Things move without being touched or sometimes, I can cause the wind to shift and blow even if there is no wind outside.” He looks around the room as if waiting for us to laugh at him. It’s so quiet in the room that you can hear a pin drop.

“Really?” I look over at Christian and motion him over. He comes to stand at my side.

“Can you do it at will or does it happen when you’re emotional. Like when you’re mad?” Christian asks.

“Both.” Christian and I look at each other then look back at Seth. We both know what this means. I have a feeling that Seth is not fully human.

“Do you know who your real parents are?” I ask gently. He shakes his head.

“My mom didn’t put my father’s name on my birth certificate and she died when I was around three. I don’t really remember her.”

“This is Christian. He’s a good friend of mine. He can do some weird things too. Actually all of us can.” Seth’s eyes grow wide again as he looks up Christian, taking in his large size.

“What can you do?” he asks me shyly.

“You promise not to freak out?” He nods his head quickly. I flash out of the room into the kitchen. The guys are chuckling and laugh at Seth hollering and jumping so hard he tipped the recliner back on the floor.

“I showed you mine, now show me yours,” I say with a large grin as I stroll back into the living room.

S
eth has been living
in the house for about three months, and has seen people go in and out of the portal house. He didn’t pay much attention to the people, he would hide, so no one would notice him. He would hear loud noises coming from the house but never went over there. The electricity to his house is still on for some reason and he is able to put a hot plate in the kitchen and cook small meals for himself. He works as a bagger at the local grocery store so he is able to afford a little food, plus he can get food for cheap from his job.

After he calmed down after my flashing demonstration he let Christian touch him. Christian has the capability to detect if someone has Fae blood in them. Christian believes that Seth is half human and half Fae. His mother must have been human and his father Fae. I called my grandmother and informed her. She invited him to our house. Christian called Keegan and explained to him what we discovered. He insisted too, that Seth comes to the house and that he will speak to Seth and will try to explain about Faery. Seth agreed to go back to my grandmother’s house to meet with my brother and Grandmother. For a seventeen year old he is very mature and open-minded about only being half human. We have Tim take him to my grandmother’s house.

Colin has been speaking with Nick and updating him that we have a house we can set up surveillance in. Nick confirms that all the cameras that are mounted are all working and he is able to capture video of the neighborhood. Twenty minutes, later a truck shows up with a wolf driving that I haven’t met yet. The guys are busy unloading it and Colin helps direct where everything needs to go in the house. They want to hurry and get everything set up before it starts getting dark, in case any of the witches or demons comes back to the portal house.

“So you and the Alpha, huh?” Christian says in my ear as he stands behind me. I am standing at the front window watching the guys unload the truck with the equipment Nick sent over. I’m not exactly dressed to help unload equipment.

“Yeah.” I look over at my shoulder at him, wondering where this is going.

“Lina, I swear I never messed with any of those girls.” I put up my hand to stop him. I didn’t want to get into this again with him. Especially here at the house with Colin in the vicinity possibly hearing our whole conversation.

“It doesn’t matter anymore, Christian.”

“It matters to me!” His eyes search mine as I turn towards him.

“I’m with Colin now, Christian. I need you to respect that, please?”

“Lina, baby. All I’ve wanted was for us to sit down and talk this out. Don’t shut me out. Give me another chance, please. I still love you.” He moves closer to me, his blue eyes plead with me. I don’t even know what to say right now. I’ve never seen him willing to put his emotions out like this before.

“I will always love you, Christian, but I found that I couldn’t trust you. I cannot be in a relationship with someone I can’t trust. There can be no us anymore, I’m with Colin.”

“I’ll wait, Lina. I’ll always be here for you.” He moves closer tucking a strand of hair behind my ear, trailing the back of his hand down my cheek.

I know he cares for me in his own way and I hope that he can respect my wishes. Colin comes back in the house scowling, sensing that something just passed between Christian and me. Colin stalks over to us grabbing my arm, dragging me into the kitchen. He pushes me up against the wall grabbing my face.

“You’re mine,” he hisses as his mouth covers mine in a hard, punishing kiss as if marking me as his.

“I can’t stand the thought of his hands on you!” he says in between trailing kisses to my neck.