Angel of Retribution Ch. 17-Epilogue

The Gorogundt swallowed visibly and then scowled. He still stepped aside regardless of his angry frown. As they passed him, Remi turned and stuck his tongue out at the ugly creature.

The Gorogundt growled.

"Knock it off, Fyre," Seth hissed through clenched teeth.

Next to him, Amaranth snickered. "Oh don't be such a tight ass, Sethaliel. Leave him be."

Remi felt Seth wince. "What? You're siding with Fyre? I don't believe it."

"I'm on no one's side," she replied, sounded tired.

Their boots echoed in the empty corridor and as soon as they entered a large atrium, Seth dropped Remi and pinned the girl to a wall.

Remi might have protested, but the sight of Seth's lean body pushing into the female's curves had him backing up for a better view. Holy shit. About time Seth grew a pair.

"How about me, Amaranth? Am I included in your generalization of no one?"

Her breath was coming heavier, be it from her shock Seth had manhandled her against the wall, or she was getting a little hot and bothered from the feel of him pressed to her.

Remi clasped his claws over his snout, afraid of emitting an enthusiastic squeak as her eyes dropped to Seth's mouth. She swallowed and licked her lips making Seth groan.

Why the fuck was he not kissing her already? Remi would have had his tongue down Rowie's throat by now and his hands cupped over her breasts. Geez. He was seriously going to have to give this idiot some lessons in seduction.

"Seth," she sighed, and turned her face away.

Lick her neck-lick her neck-lick her neck. Remi yanked his horns and bit his tongue against the squawk threatening to bubble up from his throat.

"Amaranth, do you hate me now that I'm not as pure as you?"

What? Why was he asking such a stupid question?

"That's a stupid question, Sethaliel."

Thank you. Remi threw up his hands with a frustrated huff.

"If Liara hadn't mounted you, we'd all be dead... or at least in a losing battle against Lucifer and his minions."

"Amaranth, I want to be with you," Seth whispered leaning in closer.

Remi crept a little to the right to see if he was finally kissing her.

Their lips were but a breath apart, their chest crushing against each other with each labored breath.

"Seth, I... I"

Remi thought he'd pass out from emotion when the tip of Seth's tongue traced her lower lip. Amaranth trembled, closing her eyes.

Seth sealed his mouth over hers and they began to devour each other.

Remi did a little dance, biting his tongue to keep quiet. Now all the little shit had to do was open his fly, peel that girl's pants down, and plow her.

Nothing got a girl better than a good fuck. Her heart was yours if you made her come until she begged for mercy.

But Seth didn't open his fly. He didn't even roll his hips against Amaranth so she could feel him, let her know the size of male she had vying for her affections. He just kissed her... kissed her like he was dying, drowning, and she was the only one who could save him.

She tore her mouth away, both panting. Hell, Remi was panting.

"Seth, please." He kept his nose pressed against her cheek, eyes closed, just breathing her in. "You're a sweet boy—"

Remi cringed at the word boy. If the weretigri had stuck that huge dick of his in her, she wouldn't be referring to him as boy now.

Her fingers eased out of Seth's fine white hair, her palms bracing against his chest. "We can't think of ourselves. There's more danger to our realm than you realize."

"We can fight it together," he pleaded. "Amaranth, I don't know if what I feel is love. We've known each other for such a little time, but..."

Amaranth laughed, low and without humor. "You're still almost a child, Seth."

Remi fell on his haunches, and then to his mortification he watched Seth step away. The idiot should have really given it to her then, not step away.

Seth dropped his coat, making Remi feel a glimmer of hope for him. The weretigri stood there, chiseled body bare from the waist up, save for the laser gun holster he had strapped across his chest.

"A child, Amaranth?"

Remi's heart leaped up to his throat when Seth finally began fumbling with his belt and zipper to his pants. Amaranth's eyes widened.

"Stop. What are you doing?"

Seth shoved his pants down a bit. "Showing you my peepee," he snarled.

Remi wanted to howl with laughter. His tail beat the floor in excitement.

Seth gripped her hand and shoved it on his cock. "Tell me I'm a child now."

Amaranth's face was flushed, yet she stared deep into his eyes, her expression hard. "You are a child. You think just because your cock is long and thick that makes you a man, Sethaliel? Or that forcing me to take it into my hand is going to make me open my legs to you like a weak-willed female?"

"Don't you feel anything for me," he whispered. "Am I so cursed, that no one..."

He stopped talking. Remi could see his throat swallowing convulsively and knew that Seth was fighting tears.

Shit.

Seth jerked away and shoved his stiff prick back into his pants. His platinum bangs hid his eyes and he zipped and buckled himself back up.

"Seth," she placed her hand on his shoulder and he flinched away from her touch. "I care about you, and what I feel for you is special, but I have a mission I need to complete and I need to continue as high priestess to fulfill it."

"Right," Seth deadpanned.

"Besides, your kind shouldn't fixate on the first female—"

"My kind?" Seth whipped back so quick he looked like a blur. "Specify what you mean by my kind?"

He crowded her but she stood her ground, pulled her shoulders back as her wings spread behind her.

Breathtaking.

"Edenian." Her eyes ran over him, before meeting his eyes boldly.

Seth leaned in closer, so that their lips almost touched. "You think you're better than me?"

Her eyes blazed and nostrils flared. Amaranth didn't back down. "Don't put words in my mouth," she snapped. "I said no such thing. You were born and raised in the Edenian solar system. Your customs are different from Seraphia's. I know it is highly encouraged for young males to indulge in sexuality and gain..." She licked her lips, "... gain experience before settling down."

Seth took one step back, and barked out an astonished laugh. "Am I hearing you right? You want me to get more experience?"

Amaranth turned away, her body rigid. "Perhaps you need to live a little more, Sethaliel, before you go making life altering choices." She took a deep breath and swung around to face him. "After what happened in that Hellish realm, I now see that I shouldn't take my vocation lightly. There aren't many reapers left after Davariel almost killed us all three hundred and thirty years ago." A shiver went through her and her eyes watered a bit.

Set frowned. "Did... did you know him?"

Amaranth licked her lips and stared at her boots. Her breasts expanded under the straps that barely covered them and her eyes slowly rose to Seth's. "I... I was in love with him."

Remi slapped his claws over his snout.

Game over. Who the Hell could compete against the most beautiful humanoid ever created—Davariel of Angelos, the legendary fallen angel.

***

Seth turned on his heel, scooped Remi up, and strode out of the atrium.

"Wait," Amaranth called out after him.

Remi tried to look back at her, but Seth shifted his hold on him, putting Remi's wings against his chest so Remi faced forward.

Seth's body jerked after a few steps. Amaranth gripped his biceps and forced him to face her.

"Why are you angry?" she said, her brows furrowed.

Remi looked up to see the blank expression on the were's face. He knew that expression well. It was the one Seth used to cover up he was hurt.

"I'm not angry." Seth's tone lacked emotion. He blinked his pale blue eyes, his breath steady.

Remi turned back to Amaranth to see her frown. She licked her lips again, a slight flush staining her cheeks and let her gaze fall on Remi once more. "I was going to try to reverse the spell. Why were you walking away?"

Seth put Remi on the floor again and stepped back without a word.

Amaranth looked at Seth for a few seconds, nibbling the corner of her lip. Her long fingers flexed on the hilt of her sword repeatedly until, with a deep sigh, she began walking in a circle around Remi. Remi heard her whisper words, too low for him to catch.

An orb of blue light surrounded the reaper and Remi. Amaranth touched the tip of her sword against Remi's head.

"Beings of light, beings of night, hear my song, hear my plight. Reverse this wrong, make it right."

Remi closed his eyes, crossed his talons, and held his breath. Amaranth repeated the prayer three times and then went into a litany of angelical names.

Shit. This better work. I can't spend the rest of my life as a tiny dragon. What will my kids think?

"I hear him."

Seth's astonished voice broke through Remi's random thoughts. Words—I'm thinking in words again.

He opened his eyes and mouth to thank Amaranth, but a loud squawk erupted—not only that, he was in his dragon form and only two feet tall... still.

Remi growled. This sucks.

Amaranth's brows drew together. She placed the sword on his head again and said different words, different angelical names.

His skin itched and burned, everything around him shrank. Amaranth's eyes rounded, and then she was running.

"Shit," Seth called out. "Stop it. Can you stop it?"

The room grew extremely tight around Remi's body and he did his best to pull his wings and tail in.

Ouchy.

Amaranth blurted out spell after spell. Remi ended up with his snout pressed against the atrium glass. Beyond the glass, a few space cruisers pulled in closer, lights blinking. He imagined his image being live streamed across the galaxy. A giant dragon stuck in Stargazers' atrium. One more to add to the growing collection of Alpha 7's Angels mishaps.

One transport drew right up to his face. Not knowing what else to do, he grinned and waggled the tip of his tail that was wedged between the glass and his left nostril. Damn. Devon was going to be pissed.

The sensation of his stomach bottoming out preceded the room yawning out around him. He thought of Alice in Wonderland and hoped this time he wasn't made so small they'd have to view him with a nanoscope.

His skin itched, and the sensation of cold made him shiver. Everything swam before his eyes, making him close them just before he fell to his knees... his knees!

His hands hit the floor, and the sensation of the whole room spinning made him want to throw up. Remi panted open mouthed, reining in the need to spew the contents of his stomach. He doubted Seth and Amaranth would find the half-digested carcass of a Borgerwersh rodent appealing.

"You did it, Amaranth," Seth said in awe.

Remi opened his eyes and grinned at his hands. The black tribal tattoos wove their way from the backs of his hands up his forearms, and another circled each biceps. Rising to his knees, he ran his hands up his torso, skimming past the piercings around his belly button, with its black sun inked around it as well, to touch the two silver hoops in his nipples. He grinned with pride. His beautiful body was back to normal.

"Thank you." Remi looked up at Amaranth. The reaper was gaping at him.

"You must like pain," was all she said after letting her eyes go over him twice.

Remi did a second check. He still had the wings spreading over his groin, Rowie's Toy in angelic sigils on his cock, a full dragon inked around his left leg, clutching his hip, and the tattoo of a snake wrapped around his left foot and ankle.

Remi cupped his balls, feeling their weight and nodded. "Everything's here."

"Wow, except for that huge bald spot in the middle of your head," Amaranth pointed.

Remi gasped, his hands flying to his precious hair. His fingers sank into nothing but thick shaggy layers.

Amaranth snickered. He gave her a half smile. "You gotta sense of humor." He nodded. "I like that."

Her face glowed pink, her eyes darting back to Seth before settling on Remi again.

Remi's grin spread. "You're going to be really good for old sour-puss here."

Amaranth's smile vanished, her eyes going round, but the blush intensified.

***

The interview didn't go very smooth, much to Navar's dismay. It seemed that the vid of Rowie and Remi's blatant sexual escapade in Liara and Marinia's room aboard the star freighter had gone viral. The entire galaxy was abuzz. Everyone wanted to know who the red-haired hunk was.

Rowie rolled her eyes. Remi was now officially a galactic sex symbol. If they only saw him now... transformed into a two-foot miniature dragon.

Poor baby.

Navar had whisked her back aboard AOR's star freighter. Her com-unit was blipping when she walked into her room.

Rowie hit the button to open the link and Seth's face appeared onscreen.

"Where's Remi," she blurted the minute she saw him.

Seth frowned. "Well, hello to you too."

"Seth."

He rolled his eyes. "He's fine. I took the tape off his maw."

Seth remained looking off to the side and didn't say another word.

"Seth, where is he?"

Seth scratched the back of his neck. "Uh... hmm..."

Rowie's eyes widened, her heart speeding up even as her stomach fell to her feet. "Seth?"

Seth looked back up into the screen, blue eyes wide. "Remi," he nodded, "yeah, Rem... uh, Amaranth tried to reverse the spell."

Again he clammed up biting his lips this time.

"Shit, Seth. What the hell happened to my Remi?"

He winced, looking guilty. "Err... well..." he closed his eyes for a few seconds then snapped them open, "Gotta go. Devon's here."

Rowie gasped, her hands flying to the screen as if she could reach in and grab Seth to shake him. "What happened to Remi? Damn-it, Seth! Don't you dare go without telling me what happened."

"Don't worry. Everything's under control."

The screen went blank and Rowie's mouth went round.

***

Remi grinned as he lounged out on a couch in the com-room. Seth shook his head at him

"She really looked torn up, man."

Remi shrugged. "She'll live."

Devon strode into the room, his glowing gaze falling on Remi. "Glad to see you're back."

Remi's eyes narrowed. Dev didn't seem as ecstatic as he should be.

"I have something I need to show you and Zak." His gaze turned to Seth as well. "You too."

Zak walked in, eyes still sleepy, stifling a yawn with his fist. "What's up?"

"Have a seat." Devon pulled a crystal orb from his pocket. "Ashriel gave me this."

He strode over to the crystal-vid replicator and set the crystal orb on the little concave pad.

The crystal glowed for a moment and then the scene of a beautiful ocean appeared before them. Reapers were swooping down into the water, dropping their clothing onto the stark white sand before diving into the oncoming waves.

"Look at them," a feminine voice laughed. "They look like children."

Remi gasped when a gold and red dragon joined the frolicking reapers in the sea.

"Rem," Zak began next to him, "Was that you?"

Remi shook his head. It looked an awful lot like the dragon he'd encountered on Vildminoria.

Whoever was recording the scene, panned to her left and focused on a platinum haired weretigri. His white tresses reached the middle of his back and he watched the beach scene sullenly.

"Seshmel, why don't you join them?"

The young male were scowled and his resemblance to Seth struck Remi.

"I don't want to be anywhere near that damned red dragon."

Remi cocked a brow at that comment from the were.

To Remi's left, Seth leaned forward, his mouth gaping.

"Oh, Seshmel, Remuel doesn't mean anything by his teasing."

Remuel?

The crystal-vid scene panned back out to the beach and one of the reapers swooped back toward the sand. A lone man was running down the slope.

Remi's breath froze in his throat. The man's hair was long, streaked a thousand shades of shimmering gold. The sun radiated off the golden strands making it glow. His muscles rippled showing the healthy perfection of a male in his prime.

The scene zoomed in and Remi's jaw dropped when he realized that the reaper that had turned back was none other than Eriel. Eriel laughed as he swooped down and grasped the blond god-like male under his arms. He tipped his head back to laugh up at Eriel.

Remi, as well as Seth and Zak jumped up from their seats.

"Holy, shit," they exclaimed in unison.

Seth pointed at the retreating two figures as they disappeared into a wave, "is that... is that who..."

"Davariel," a woman screeched. "Dava! Oh, my God! I'm gonna kill that randy reaper!"

The scene switched to a nursery. Two thirds of the room was nothing but ceiling to floor glass, the only wall had a holographic picture of moving clouds over a bright blue sky.

"And here we have little Devon and Lucien," the same female voice as before cooed, zooming in on a cradle that held two infants."

"Jesus," Zak whispered next to Remi.

Remi looked at Devon. His commander stood by silently, a look of pain on his face and eyes welled up with tears.

Laughter drew Remi's attention back to the crystal --vid scene. This time there was a large dinner table filled with reapers, weretigris and werewolves. Remi's eyes widened when he saw a raven-haired vampire kissing the hand of one of the werewolf females, to his right sat a golden haired man who looked allot like Zak and to his left sat...

"Is that my..." Remi began pointing to the red-haired man chugging down a bottle of Black Death whiskey.

"Your father," Devon finished for him. "All of our fathers, actually. And there's Anniel when she was a baby."

Sitting in Seshmel's lap was Annie. She looked no older than a year or two.

"It gets better," Devon sighed.

Remi wasn't sure if the word better was exactly what he would have called the next devastating scene that popped out of the crystal-vid.

Seth covered his eyes and groaned, Zak gasped and covered his mouth, Remi grabbed his suddenly too hot ears. His ears always became really hot when he was extremely embarrassed—and in that moment he wanted to crawl under the couch and never come out.

It was an all out orgy, involving reapers, weredragons, weretigris, and werewolves alike. In the midst of the writhing bodies were their fathers, Davariel, and Luciel.

"Oh, shit," Seth gasped.

Zak coughed, face flaming, "Damn."

Remi winced and then looked away, unable to witness anymore. Devon strode over to the crystal-vid replicator and turned it off.

All was silent for a moment, the shocking scenes replaying in Remi's mind over and over.

He jumped to his feet, glaring at Devon, Zak, and Seth. "I am not—" Remi stressed with a snarl—"fucking any of you. I don't give a shit what our dads did."

Seth shook his head vehemently and Zak mumbled a "hell no" in agreement.

Devon cocked a brow. "Your fathers didn't have a tendency toward bisexuality. It was my father's cambion influence that made them act the way they did."

Remi's face flamed remembering the night of the inauguration ball for the tour and Iliel. With a gulp, he cast Zak a sideways glance and their eyes met for a brief second. Zak's face was beet red.

They both turned away from each other simultaneously.

Aw-hell.

When Remi looked back up at Devon, he was regarding them with a knowing smile.

Remi squirmed. Shit.

With a second gulp, he sank a little lower in his seat. God-damn-it.

Devon sighed. "I know where Drakken is."

That shifted Remi's train of thought. "Rowie's father?"

Devon nodded. "He was arrested and charged with conspiracy to Davariel's reign of terror and sentenced to life on a Mercurian prison back in the Edenian solar system."