Alpha Ch. 08

"How did you get in here?"

Baal laughed softly and turned to face her. He had ditched his suit jacket but kept his waist coat on. His tie was loosened, the top button of his shirt undone and his sleeves were rolled up to his elbows. He held a drink in his hand and his strange eyes roamed over her body.

"You don't seem surprised to see me." His deep voice washed over her and she felt a tugging low in her stomach. pushing the feeling away she shrugged one shoulder.

"We left with some questions unanswered earlier. I'm just surprised it took you this long to get here."

Baal laughed again but this time it sounded forced. "Family matters took over but I'm all yours now."

Baal stepped towards her but she shook her head. Taking a step backwards she kept the distance between them and forced her breathing to remain steady. Something about this mans presence made her uneasy, she didn't understand why she felt this way around him.

"Do you remember me?" Baal asked softly and Ealasaid nodded before she even had a chance to think about her answer.

"I think so. How is that possible?"

"Because from the moment you were born I have been with you. I watched you grow, struggle, fight. Every moment I was there with you."

Ealasaid shook her head slightly in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"When Calan had you and you were too tired to fight back anymore, I was the part of you that kept going. When you were sleeping on the streets and heard footsteps in the dark, I was the one that kept the creatures away. When you were in the Order and couldn't bring yourself to keep going, I was the one who dragged you forward."

Baal felt a weight lift from his chest as he told her the truth after all of these years. Reaching out to touch her cheek he felt the shock of electricity run through him and took a steadying breath.

"I have been with you through everything. Even when you decided to come to America, I was the flip of the coin." Baal felt her tense under his hand and her bright eyes clouded in confusion.

"What are you saying?"

"I knew you would perish, whither into nothingness, if you stayed in Scotland. You were born to be more than you ever would have been there, I couldn't sit back and watch you throw your life away before you had even seen it."

"Why didn't you help?" Ealasaid fought through the confusion in her mind to find her next question. "If you could see everything then why didn't you help me?"

"It was part of my punishment." Baal's voice was dark and Ealasaid shivered at the sound.

"Punishment?" She asked and Baal looked at her with an unreadable expression.

"I guess I should start at the beginning." Baal moved to sit on the sofa and patted the space beside him. Tentatively she sat beside him and he leant back. Crossing his long legs, he rested the hand that held his drink on his knee while his other arm stretched along the back of the sofa. His fingers toyed with the stray curls that fell from her bun and she felt herself relaxing.

"It started with a woman. Back in the beginning when everything was new and Lucifer was still Gods favourite Angel, there was a woman named Lilith. God loved her more than any other creation and doted upon her but she loved another."

"Lucifer?" Ealasaid asked and Baal nodded. His eyes were fixed on her and there was a soft expression on his face. She felt herself shiver under the heat in his gaze but forced down the confusing feelings.

"Lilith loved Lucifer more than life itself. That's why when God gave her a choice of staying with him and having eternal life or choosing Lucifer and dying for her choice, she chose Lucifer. She would rather die than have her Mate think that she didn't love him."

"God killed her?" Ealasaid asked in horror.

"He took her from the world and banished Lucifer to Hell. Ever since then Demons have been punished. When they find their Mates they are hunted by the Holy Guard, an army of Angels trained from childhood to destroy any Demon that finds their happiness. The war was meant to stop all of that." Baal spoke clearly, allowing her to take in everything he was saying.

"Is that why you fell?" She asked.

"Ipos and I fought alongside the Demons in the war. We believed that no one should be punished for falling in love. When we failed we were thrown from our place in Heaven."

"Did it hurt?" She couldn't help but ask.

"It was excruciating." Baal's voice held no emotion as he thought back on his fall from Heaven.

Ealasaid immediately regretted saying anything. "I'm sorry. You don't have to tell me about that."

"No it's OK. It happened countless years ago, I've come to terms with what we did."

"What happened after the war?"

"Ipos and I were given control of Hell. Lucifer is an old man now, he had lived a long life filled with suffering and grief. When he learnt of what we had done he rewarded us with what we both wanted the most." Baal paused and sipped his drink.

"What was that?" Ealasaid prodded for more information.

"Ipos wanted freedom. We were always watched in Heaven, always expected to be more than we were. We came from an important family and that added a lot of pressure to us. We had to be perfect all the damn time. In Hell we were feared, respected. Ipos finally allowed himself to let go of all the expectations that our parents put on him. It was wonderful to see him so free."

"And what did you want?" Ealasaid turned her body towards him and Baal pulled her legs to rest across his lap.

"I wanted power. I was made the King of Hell; I had control over everything. I chose the suffering that they endured and got to watch every second. I heard them beg and I chose what happened. It was all I ever wanted."

Ealasaid shivered at his confession. His voice had taken on a coldness and she could hear the ambition there.

"Did you like hearing it?"

"The suffering?" Baal asked and Ealasaid nodded. "I lived for it. It was like the sweetest music. The most beautiful thing I had ever heard, until I heard your voice."

"Were you happy in Hell?" Ealasaid moved closer without even thinking. Baal exuded a warmth as he sat beside her and for a moment she forgot that she was speaking with the King of Hell.

"For a while but then the Angels reared their heads. They were unhappy with us for siding with the Demons and decided to do something about it. They punished us."

"Falling from Heaven wasn't punishment enough?" She asked.

"Apparently not. They wanted something more."

"What did they do?"

"For me they showed me you. They showed me a beautiful creature that could give me a lifetime of happiness and then made me watch you suffer while I could do nothing. They made me watch you fall in love with another man and stopped me from getting involved until it was too late."

Ealasaid placed her glass on the table, took hold of his hand and grasped it between both of her own. Bringing it to her lips she kissed his knuckles and looked deeply into his eyes.

"You did do something. You helped me more than you know. I felt you there every time I wanted to give up, I just didn't know who you were."

Baal stroked her palm with his thumb. The feeling of her skin against his was all he had dreamt of and he found himself loosing focus of what he was saying.

"What happened to Anton?"

"He met Ahmet." Baal sighed as he remembered what had happened to his brother.

"Who is Ahmet?"

"Ahmet was a boy, a perfect boy who stole the heart of the Prince of Hell. He was young, innocent, beautiful." Baal shook his head slightly as he spoke. "He was everything Ipos had ever wanted and everything that would have destroyed him."

"Why?" Ealasaid couldn't help but press Baal for more information. She finally had a chance to know more about Anton and she wanted as much as she could get.

"Ahmet was below us, in every way. He was from nothing, had nothing to offer and no family name or line to speak of. It was the story of the Prince who fell in love with the pauper."

Ealasaid raised an eyebrow in disgust. "So because he was below you he wasn't good enough for Anton? Are you really so deluded that you think class is an issue when two people are in love?"

"No sweet girl Ahmet wasn't in love, not with my brother at least. He was in love with the power being with Ipos would grant him. He didn't see a man, he saw a way to elevate himself and he would have thrown Ipos aside the second he got what he wanted. I wasn't about to sit back and watch my little brother be made a fool out of." Baal held her hand tighter without thinking. The memory of his anger was creeping back into his chest and he forced himself to remain calm.

"What did you do?"

"I did what anyone would do when there was a threat to their family. I eliminated the threat."

"But what if Ahmet did love Anton?" Ealasaid asked.

"He didn't. I was given a choice by the Angels. Sit by and watch my brother be torn apart and never recover; or step in and have my brother think I was a monster. Ipos would have never recovered from what Ahmet was going to do to him and I couldn't have lived with myself if I had let it happen. I would rather have him not understand the choice I was given and hate me than watch him loose all the love he could ever give. I know he could be happy again and I wanted to give him that chance, even if it meant I couldn't be part of it."

"That was your punishment." Ealasaid spoke softly.

"My life is my punishment." Baal smiled and for the first time Ealasaid could see the sadness in his eyes.

She moved closer to him and held him tightly around the waist. Her head rested on his chest and he laughed in surprise. Sliding his arm around her shoulders he stroked her upper arm with his thumb and looked down at the top of her head. He could feel the slight tremors that she tried to suppress and frowned.

"Are you crying for me?" He asked incredulously.

She shook her head but he heard a small sniff. "No. I just feel bad."

"Why?"

"Because you gave up everything for other people and still you're punished for it. That's so unfair."

"I had to fight, for the Demons and my brother. I still fight for them now."

"But you're alone. How is that fair?" She nestled closer enjoying the warmth of his skin and the feeling of his strong arms around her.

"I'm not alone, I have you."

"Why didn't you come to me before? Why is now the first time?" She looked up and met his eyes again.

"I couldn't. I had to wait for you to open the doorway. It took all of my power to do what little I could, I could never cross over to you before now but then you came to me. It was like seeing spring after the longest winter." He said and took a moment to study her face carefully. He still couldn't believe she was with him, in his arms.

"You'll leave too. Everyone leaves, you'll leave too." She buried her face back in his chest refusing to let him see the tears in her eyes.

"I'll leave when you ask me to go. Until then we have work to do." He stood suddenly and she slid down his body until her feet touched the floor. Baal looked over the top of her head at the sun that was beginning to rise.

"I haven't seen a sunrise since the war." He seemed to forget where he was and held her close to his chest. The hand that held his glass hung at his side and his other hand played with her hair absentmindedly.

"You haven't?" Ealasaid looked up into his face again. His eyes looked almost human as he watched the warm light creeping through the window.

"There are no days or nights in Hell. No sun, no moon, no stars. Just grey."

They stood in silence as the sun rose. For the first time in months Ealasaid felt completely at peace. She knew she had only just met this man but his presence had been with her for her entire life. She remembered his warmth from the cold nights she had spent of the streets and locked in the Order. She wasn't thinking about Drago and where he might be. She wasn't thinking about Oana and Daddy and the threat they brought. She was simply enjoying the strong arm around her and the warmth of the sun as it rose up her back.

"He will come back." Baal finally spoke again making her jump.

"I know he will." She stepped back from him and tucked the loose curls from her bun behind her ears.

"He will come back but it will bring you great pain."

Instantly she became defensive and stepped back again putting more distance between them. Folding her arms, she cocked her hip and narrowed her eyes into a scowl.

"And what the fuck is that supposed to mean?" As always her accent had grown stronger in her anger and her bright eyes flashed dangerously.

"I have seen what you want. You have always dreamt of a family of your own. You see him rocking your child to sleep, singing lullabies and playing the perfect father and husband. He will give you all of this but do you really think that two of the most powerful creatures to ever exist would be permitted to breed?"

"I don't," Ealasaid started but Baal cut her off.

"Your children would be like nothing the world has ever seen or will ever see again. You will be hunted every second for the rest of your lives, never allowed to live in peace, always looking over your shoulder for the next attack. Even when you are gone your children will live in fear of being hunted, do you want that?"

"I'll kill anything that tries to hurt my family. I am Fae, you think there is anything that I cannot beat?" Ealasaid drew herself up taller as she spoke.

"No but I know they will never stop. There will always be more and soon you will grow tired. Tired of running, you'll never feel safe again. Do you want to put yourself through that, put your Pack through that? Think how many will give their lives to help you after all you have done for them."

"I would never ask them to."

"You wouldn't need to ask. They would give their lives at the first sign of you being in danger. Are you saying you would be able to live with yourself after that?"

"Stop." Ealasaid's voice was quieter, less confident and Baal pushed on.

"Could you do that to your children? Condemn them to a life of fear and running from invisible threats that they will never escape from."

"Why are you doing this?" Ealasaid held herself around the waist and she shrank into herself.

Baal dropped his glass to the floor and Ealasaid jumped as it shattered. He stepped forward until there was less than an inch between their bodies and held her arms tightly. Pulling her up until she stretched onto her tiptoes he bent his knees to bring his face close to hers.

"Because you mean everything to me. I have watched you grow and watched you overcome everything, I cannot sit by and watch you struggle anymore. I need you to know what staying with Drago will mean for you."

"But he means everything to me." Ealasaid said quietly and heard Baal's sigh.

He released his grip on her and stepped back putting the space between them again. He nodded and pushed his long dreaded hair back from his face.

"Then I will do all I can to protect you both and your family when it happens. You have me until I can fight no more."

Ealasaid didn't know what to do. She wanted to hug him tightly to her, wanted wrap herself around him and thank him for everything he had done but she couldn't find the words. In the end she didn't have to. Baal gently took her chin between his forefinger and thumb and pressed a sweet, lingering kiss to her lips. She felt her knees go weak even as guilt gripped her stomach at the thought of Drago.

"Come on. We have work to do before the Senior Agents sniff out the supernatural power couple. They'll be after you now; we have to make sure that you are all prepared."

"How do we do that?" Ealasaid asked.

Baal smirked and stroked her lower lip with his thumb. "Leave it to me, I'm going to be your very own guardian Angel."

*

Nix stood in the en suite bathroom of the bedroom she shared with Corban as a turmoil raged in her stomach. Looking up she caught sight of her face in the mirror and couldn't help but laugh at what she saw. There was a flush to her cheeks, a brightness to her blue eyes and her blonde hair was tousled.

From behind her she heard the door to the bedroom close and Corban's footsteps coming towards her. Turning she walked back into the bedroom and locked eyes with her Mate.

"What's that look for?" Corban asked with a laugh and sank down onto the edge of the bed.

Nix moved to stand in front of him and rested her hands on his thighs. Bending over she kissed him and felt him smile against her lips.

"What have you done girl?" He couldn't help the grin spreading across his face.

"Why do you always think I've done something naughty?" She asked teasingly.

Corban grabbed her thighs and pulled her to straddle his legs with her knees on the bed. She held his neck, her fingers stroking his black hair as she stared into his green eyes. They had grasped her from the moment she had met him, they shone out of his face but as you got closer they turned to a bright yellow around the pupil.

"Are you telling me you haven't done anything naughty?" He chuckled.

"I'm pregnant."

Corban went silent. His eyes flashed and his face was unreadable.

"You're pregnant?" He asked and Nix nodded.

"Yeah. Is that OK?" She was suddenly nervous.

Corban crushed her to his chest and kissed her passionately. Her eyes widened in surprise before sliding closed on a moan as she arched her back pressing herself closer to him. His hands smoothed down her back to grab her ass and he pulled back to look into her face.

"Of course it's OK, it's more than OK. We're going to have another baby."

"I know but with everything with Drago and Eala. The merging of the Packs. Abrielle and Lothair. I just don't know if now is the best time you know?"

Corban cut her off with another kiss. Nix felt all of her worries disappear as they always did when she was with Corban.

"When are our lives ever simple? There will always be something going on and always some trouble coming for us. You really think that Drago won't be happy. You think that Eala won't be completely ecstatic? You've seen how she is with the pups; you won't have to raise a finger until the little pup is here with her around."

"You think?" Nix asked but already she was feeling better.

"When am I ever wrong?" Before Nix could answer, Corban kissed her again and heard her laugh against his lips. "Don't answer that."

His large hands held her ass and he moved her slowly in his lap. Her eyes closed and he nudged her chin until her head rolled back baring her neck to him. His lips played over her skin and she felt goosebumps erupt over her body. Even after all these year Corban could make her feel like a crazy young pup with the softest touch.

"The kids are downstairs; we probably have an hour before they get bored of the TV." Corban whispered into her ear.

"An hour? Well we should make the most of it. With four it will be even harder to get time to ourselves." Nix threw back in an amused tone.

Corban laughed and turned to drop her onto her back on the bed. She wore a tiny silk nightie and he gazed at her body beneath him. Her nipples were already hard and pressed against the fabric. He felt his cock grow hard, tenting his pyjama trousers and he heard Nix's laugh.

"Good to know I still have that effect on you." Gently she pressed the ball of her foot against his thigh and began to rub slowly up and down.

Corban's hands clenched into fists and he gritted his teeth. "I don't think there will ever be a time you don't affect me."

Nix smiled smugly and softly brushed her foot over the front of his trousers. The slight friction sent a jolt through him and he couldn't help the growl that rumbled through his chest. She laughed again and pressed her foot against his erection. Slowly she rubbed along his length until he pushed her foot aside and dropped to his knees in front of her.