Fighting Heaven for Love (13 page)

Meg looked at the door Landon had just closed. The only ones left in the kitchen were Cynthia, Brody, Lexie, and herself. Everyone else had gone to face an adversary they had no hope of stopping just to protect her. She felt sick. If even one person was hurt trying to keep her safe she didn’t think she’d survive the guilt.

She pushed herself free of Brody’s arms and looked up at the demon. “You’re the weapon Aiden sent to protect me and all they’re letting you do is transport me away. You said you were stronger than a Nephilim.”

“I am, even if he’s accumulated extra powers.”

“Then you can fight him without getting hurt yourself?” Meg wanted Nick gone, but not at the expense of Brody’s life.

“I told them I could fight him, just not kill him. I can hurt him enough to buy us some time for Aiden to return with his weapon.” Meg liked the hint of pride and confidence she saw on Brody’s face. He wasn’t weak, he’d just been made to feel that way for far too long.

“Then let’s go hurt him, Brody.” Meg linked her arm through Brody’s and walked toward the door leading to the porch.

“My boys will die if you get killed, Meg. I can’t let you put yourself in danger like this.” Cynthia stepped in front of them, her expression grimly determined.

“You’re right,” Meg said. “But Brody can save them all. Your mate is out there, too.” Meg nodded at Brody and hoped she’d done the right thing as Brody disappeared.

Caleb watched the man walk up their drive. He looked out of place in his three-piece suit and dress shoes. He could detect no scent from him, but the malice pulsed off him in waves. He must have a way to shield his power when he wished to, because the air around them was now shimmering with it.

“Stay here and protect Meg,” he said to his pride, and stepped down to meet the Nephilim.

Brody appeared in front of him, the demon’s own power adding to the charge in the air. Roars shook the air further as Landon and Elliot bellowed behind him.

“Stand back please, Caleb. This is why Aiden sent me here.”

Caleb found himself stumbling away from Brody, but not because he’d intended to, he’d somehow been pushed away by the air itself.

“You don’t want to come any closer, Nephilim,” Brody said. He spread his legs and raised his shoulders.

Caleb turned toward a roar of pain to find Landon and Elliot frozen in their tracks as they strained to get closer to their mate.

“So the little pussycats have a pet demon,” Nicholas said. “You don’t know what I’ve become, demon. If you go now, I might not hunt you to the ends of the Earth to kill you after I’ve had my fill of the lovely Meg.”

Caleb felt the shift threaten to take him as his cat’s rage flowed through him. “Brody, let us help you.” He shivered with frustration at the restraints Brody had somehow placed on him.

The smaller man ignored both Caleb’s request and the roars of his furious mate’s. He stood his ground and held his hands out in front of his body, his palms facing upwards. Caleb gasped as a spark of fire ignited above Brody’s hands and grew into a ball of fire the size of a bale of hay in seconds.

In the next instant, Nicholas was screaming as the fire engulfed him. The fire appeared to have a sticky, lava-like consistency as Nicholas vainly pulled it from his body and shook it from his hands. He looked at Brody, his expression wrathful, before he vanished. His screams lingered for several seconds after he’d disappeared.

Brody took a deep breath before turning to face Caleb. “He isn’t dead, but I’ve hurt him. He’ll need to heal before he returns for Meg.” He had his head down, his eyes submissively on the ground. “I’m sorry for disobeying, Alpha. I was afraid he’d kill you.”

Caleb could see Brody’s shoulders rise as he flinched for the blow he expected Caleb to deliver. Caleb walked forward and clasped a hand firmly on Brody’s shoulder. “Thank you for ignoring me and protecting us all.” Caleb smiled when Brody finally raised his eyes to meet his. “We need to find out what else you can do so we can utilize you more effectively next time.”

Brody was then lifted from the ground and surrounded by two angry bears. “Like hell we will,” Landon said.

Caleb gave them some privacy and went to find his own mate to hold. She had some explaining to do. Brody didn’t take it upon himself to disobey Caleb and leave Meg unprotected.

When Caleb wrenched open the door to the kitchen, his mother stumbled outside, her hand holding firm to the door handle. He caught her before she fell and held her until she had her balance. “Were you trying to prevent Nicholas entering or Meg leaving?”

“Both actually,” Cynthia said. She walked past Caleb and kissed him on the cheek as she passed. “I need to see your father.” She kissed Lachlan and Prescott similarly as she went to her mate.

Meg wrapped her arms around his waist as soon as he entered the kitchen. Lexie wrapped her arms around his leg. “I’m sorry, Caleb. But Brody…”

“Was wasted just standing in here with you,” Caleb said, finishing Meg’s sentence. “He’s the only one who knows what sort of powers Nick has and can fight him. I was wrong to leave him out of the fight. Thank you, Meg.”

Caleb lifted Meg up by her ass and growled as she wrapped her arms and legs around him. He buried his face in her neck and breathed her scent into his lungs, soothing man and beast.

“We’re going to have to find out how quickly Nicholas can heal,” Lachlan said, “and prepare for his return.” Lachlan untangled Lexie from Caleb’s leg and picked her up, wiping the tears from her face.

“I don’t know what Brody threw at him, but it was not simply fire,” Prescott said. He came to stand behind Meg and pressed himself against her back. “I need you, Meg.”

Meg turned her head to kiss Prescott, her growl rumbled through Caleb and filled his cock instantly. They all needed Meg. But it would have to wait until they’d finally talked to Brody about what they could expect from Nicholas and what other powers their demon possessed.

Caleb had sorely underestimated both of their powers and he wouldn’t make that mistake again. If Brody had done as he’d ordered, Meg could very well be following them into death having lost all of her mates. He wouldn’t risk her life again through ignorance. He’d fully utilize the gift that Aiden had sent them and keep them all alive until the vampire arrived to help them.

* * * *

Meg sat on Prescott’s lap and held tight to each of her other mate’s hands. She was thankful they were all alive and would have gladly faced Caleb’s anger had he directed it her way. But he hadn’t. She had little experience with Alphas. Her leap had comprised of only four families of snow leopards, and the Alpha had really been one in name only. They’d pretty much run their own lives.

Caleb, on the other hand, was a powerful cat and a strong Alpha who garnered the respect and obedience of his entire pride. Be they bear, cat, or wolf, every member of the Pine Falls pride followed Caleb’s strong leadership. But today had shown Meg what a true Alpha was.

Caleb had admitted to his lapse in judgement and had immediately gone about rectifying it. He and his brothers were now grilling Brody on everything he could tell them about his kind and Nicholas’s.

Poor Brody had transported himself into the kitchen only seconds after her mates had entered it. He seemed mystified and overwhelmed by the attention he was receiving from the Damarin brothers. The two wolves who’d accompanied Landon had been joined by their brother Brayden and were highly amused by Brody’s discomfort.

“Back off.” Brody directed the words at Landon and Elliot, who had both stepped away from the wall they were leaning against when Brody rose from his chair. “I am quite capable of getting a cup of coffee for myself and I don’t intend to end up being the meat in a bear sandwich again.”

Lexie giggled and was led into the living room by Cynthia. “Why don’t we see what nice toys Brayden has brought from town for you, Lexie?”

Brayden had kindly brought them their purchases from the department store as they’d never had the chance to finish their shopping. Once Lexie had left the room and the Damarin brothers had finished growling, Brody began to explain his abilities.

“Nephilim and demons share the ability to manipulate the elements, but to varying degrees,” Brody said. “They are able to manipulate the air and their bodies to transport themselves, but can only travel much shorter distances than a demon can manage.”

“You said you needed to have been to the location before,” Caleb said, “which was why you drove here from your pack lands. Could you transport yourself to a room in Paris if you’d been there before?”

Brody tapped his lip as he contemplated his answer. “I’ve never tried. But I know my brother travels the world as easily as I travel between states. He took me to places all over the world. I can go to any of the places he’s already shown me. Our parents usually show us places all over the globe as reference points, so we never need to use planes. Jayce took me. Shall I try to go back to the Eiffel Tower?”

“No!” Landon and Elliot shouted. The identical twin bears both stared fixedly at Brody. Their dark eyes shone with fear.

Brody ignored them and kept his focus on Caleb. Meg watched the massive twins move silently across the room to stand behind Brody’s chair. She couldn’t blame them. She wouldn’t want any of her mates popping off to Paris.

“That’s not necessary,” Caleb said. “Can Nicholas travel such vast distances?”

“Definitely not. Even the most powerful Nephilim would only manage a journey of thirty miles or so at each step. He would have followed Meg’s scent trail here by car.”

“How fast will he heal from whatever that was you threw at him?” Prescott said. He kissed his mark on Meg’s neck and she shivered involuntarily at the erotic sensation it elicited. Prescott’s penis stirred to life beneath her buttocks and her pussy leaked in response.

“I super-heated oxygen to such a degree that it coalesced into a plasma-like ball of burning molecules. He will need a few days at the very least to regrow his skin.”

“Hopefully Aiden will be here by then,” Lachlan said. “Can Nicholas make a similar ball of fire?”

“No. His manipulation is rudimentary. He could split the ground and make a hole. I can melt solid rock. He can make a whirlpool in a lake. I could turn a lake into steam and make it vanish.”

Brody told them this with the same matter-of-fact tone that you would tell someone that breathing was easy. Not an iota of boastfulness or egotism crept into his explanation. “I’m glad we get to keep you,” Meg said.

“Keep me?” Brody looked stunned. “I don’t have to go back to the wolves?” He looked at Caleb with hope shining from his deep green eyes.

“You go nowhere,” Elliot said. He picked Brody up out of the chair and stood him on the ground between him and his brother. “I’ll kill anyone who tries to take you away.”

“Why do you care what happens to me?” Brody swiveled his head to look at both brothers in turn. “Is this because I’m here to protect Meg?”

Landon moaned and Elliot sighed. They both looked longingly at Brody before turning to Caleb. “Do demons have anything similar to what the shifters call a mate?” Caleb said.

“Not that I know of,” Brody said. He inhaled sharply and looked at Landon then Elliot. “I’d never encountered a bear shifter before, so didn’t recognize their scent. You don’t smell delicious just because you’re bears, do you?”

“No, little mate,” Landon said. “I’m sorry if our behavior has scared you.”

“We haven’t had time to explain it to you properly, baby,” Elliot said. He slowly reached for one of Brody’s hands and Meg found herself holding her breath as she waited for Brody’s reaction.

Brody met Elliot halfway and placed his smaller hand into Elliot’s. “Can we please go somewhere private so they can explain it now, Caleb?” Body said softly.

“I think we can spare you for an hour or two,” Caleb said, “but Brody needs to stay here with Meg until Nicholas is well and truly dead.”

“I agree,” Elliot said, “and we need to stay with our mate until such time as he is free to come and live with us.”

“My room is yours,” Lachlan said. “I’ll move everything I need into the master bedroom before you get back.” The three of them had disappeared before Lachlan had even finished speaking.

“I hope they didn’t go back to the bathroom,” Meg said. “It seems to be his go-to place.”

“He can go someplace else if he has,” Prescott said. “I need a shower after hanging from a cliff and I need my mate to help wash my back.”

Meg couldn’t help the girly squeal that erupted from her as Prescott tickled her and then threw her over his shoulder as he left the kitchen at a run. Her ribs still ached a little, but she was nearly fully healed from her ordeal with Nicholas. Mating had seemed to speed the process up even more than her innate shifter genetics.

“We have a house full of people,” Meg said by way of a protest. Prescott had her on her feet in the bathroom, which she was pleased to find empty of demons and bears, and her clothes shredded at her feet before he answered her.

“You’re mated to the pride Alpha. He can send them all away.” Prescott kissed her and she tore his T-shirt off him. She was desperate to feel his skin. She ran her hands down his smooth chest and stomach to the top of his sweatpants, the muscles flexed and bunched at her touch. He growled into their kiss as she reached into his pants to hold his hard length in her hands.