"I did what was necessary," he said with no change in his intonation or expression.
"You did what was right." Annie refused to allow him to brush aside his heroism. He'd been a boy with such old eyes, and he'd done what was right. From what she'd learned of the Psy since becoming part of DarkRiver, she knew that choice would've cost him.
Under Silence, a telekinetic child would've been strictly supervised . . . and likely tortured in an effort to teach him control. "You were a hero that day," she said through a throat gone raw. "I will never ever forget what you did."
Zach pressed a kiss to her temple. "Thank you for saving my mate," he said to Kaleb afterward. "I've wanted to say that to Annie's 'boy with the cardinal eyes' for a long time."
Kaleb inclined his head very slightly. "There is no debt," he said, as if he'd tried to work out why she'd approached him and come up with that answer.
Smiling, she wiped away her tears. "I know. You're a good person."
"I believe you'd be one of two people on the planet who'd say that. The other one is the woman changelings would describe as my mate, so she's understandably biased."
That made her laugh wetly while Zach grinned. "Can't say the man's not honest." He rubbed her lower back. "You want to tell him or shall I?"
"I want to." Touching her fingers to her baby's, she said, "This is our son, Rowan." She looked up to hold Kaleb's eyes. "I'd like to use your name as his middle name." Without Kaleb, she wouldn't be here, wouldn't have a mate and a son. It was important to her to honor the act of courage of the boy he'd been in a way that made him part of her family.
Kaleb took several seconds to reply. "Are you sure you want him linked to me?" he asked at last.
"Yes." She knew what the world saw when they looked at Kaleb Krychek, but she saw the hurt boy who'd nonetheless thought of others. She was glad, so glad that he'd found joy, that he'd found love. "You will always be a part of our family, and I hope you'll accept that invitation in the spirit it's given."
Kaleb's eyes left hers, found his mate's, and Annie had the sense he was talking to her. When he looked back at her, he said, "Thank you."
"We'll send you our details, in case you'd like to visit." She didn't think Kaleb Krychek was the visiting-babies-and-friends kind of man, but he was family now and would be treated as such. "I hope you come."
"Yes," Zach added. "You'll be welcome."
*
AFTER Kaleb inclined his head in acknowledgment of the DarkRiver couple's offer, the male--Zach--began to coax his mate to head back to her seat. Having noticed how heavily Annie leaned on the cane and was now leaning against her mate, Kaleb said, "Would you like a lift?"
They both stared at him before grinning in concert. It was Zach who said, "Why the hell not?"
It took less than a heartbeat. He could see the destination and they were standing in front of him. Even as Annie opened her mouth to speak, the couple and their baby found themselves by the comfortably cushioned wicker chair from where Annie had walked over. Laughing, the couple waved at him before Zach helped Annie into her seat, then handed the infant to her.
An infant named Rowan Kaleb Quinn.
That was the first time I exercised my own free will, he said to Sahara as his heart walked toward him, a woman of about five two in a strapless gown the color of ripe cherries that set off the warm shade of her skin. She'd chosen the black-on-black suit he wore, caressing her fingers over his pectoral muscles before she buttoned up his shirt.
I glimpsed news of the train derailment on the comm screen, he told her, saw that a small girl was trapped underneath all that twisted metal. A child just like him, hurt and broken. So I snapped the chains on my mind and for a small fraction of time, I was free and I was doing something good.
Flowing into his arms, Sahara looked up at him with eyes that had always seen him for exactly who he was--a man who lived in the gray but who loved her with every dark corner of his soul. "You were being true to yourself." She spread her hand over his heart. "Even in the horror, you found the will and had the courage to fight for what was right."
He brushed his hand over her hair. Here, with the changelings, such contact between mates was accepted--expected even. They were a highly tactile race, and while Kaleb would've found that strange before Sahara came into his life, she'd long ago taught him the value of a touch given in affection and love.
Let's be young and happy today, Kaleb. Sahara's mind speaking to his, her telepathic voice poignant with memories of all the celebrations they'd missed, all the pain they'd survived. Like we were in that market in Istanbul. Forget about everything else for one night.
Kaleb was always on alert for threats, but that didn't mean he'd deny Sahara. If she asked for the moon, he'd find a way to lay it at her feet. Anything you want.
The catastrophic problem with the Net would still be there tomorrow, as would the Consortium's machinations and the politics of the powerful and dangerous.
Will you dance with me? The charms on Sahara's bracelet clinked against one another as she lifted her arms to link them around his neck, her love for him proud and open.
Deep inside, even the part of him that was the void, merciless and dark and broken, knew happiness, knew joy. You're the dancer. But he took her into his arms and they moved to the rhythm of the slow, romantic song the band was playing. Kaleb knew it was romantic because Sahara whispered that to him while stealing a kiss.
Her hair was soft, carrying the fresh scent of her shampoo. He'd washed her hair for her in the shower earlier that day, after which he'd demanded payment for his work in kisses. With her, he could be young, could be the boy with whom she'd fallen in love before the world tore them apart.
No one interrupted them for that song or the next. But on the third . . .
"Hi, Mr. Krychek!"
Kaleb glanced down to find himself looking into the face of a child of about five or six, the boy's dark hair messy silk. "Hello."
"Zach said you teleported him!" The boy was all but jumping up and down. "Can you teleport me?"
Do you think he has any idea I'm considered a deadly threat by most individuals on the planet?
Nope. Sahara's eyes laughed at him. He thinks you're a new toy.
It cost Kaleb nothing to teleport the child to the far side of the compound. He could hear the boy's excited cry from here. "Perhaps we should leave before he tells all his small friends."
Weaving her fingers through his, Sahara tugged him forward. "Come speak to the adults. They'll make sure the children behave."
Kaleb found himself next to Judd not long afterward, Sahara having led him to the man who was his friend. "You two talk," she said. "I haven't had a chance to catch up with Faith yet."
"Do you get asked to be a personal teleporter?" Kaleb asked Judd after Sahara blew him a kiss and began to weave her way through the crowd to find her cousin.
"Yes." A slight smile from the former Arrow. "Even though I occasionally dump them in the lake."
"I probably shouldn't do the same as I'm a guest, and over half the people here are still certain I'm going to kill them at any moment."
"True." Judd nodded toward Annie and Zach. "Saw you talking. You know them?"
"Yes. From a lifetime ago." He realized he'd never told Judd of the childhood incident, did so now. "She's going to give her child Kaleb as a middle name." He still wasn't sure how he felt about that.
Judd's expression turned solemn. "An honor and an invitation."
"Yes." Kaleb saw a child running toward them, teleported the girl right next to her elders--who grabbed her by the shoulders and made her sit down to eat at a picnic table. "It appears I'm gathering even more . . . people."
"People?" Judd shook his head. "I think you mean family."
"Sahara is my family."
"She's the center, yes, but a family is a living organism. It grows in many directions. Like Xavier's Nina--she's now part of our family, too." Judd's eyes followed a pair of leopard cubs who'd snuck under
the food table and were attempting to pull down the tablecloth. A tiny panther cub stood on this side of the table and looked at them with an inquisitive expression on its face.
A second later, the leopard cubs found themselves in front of a tall brunette dressed in a fitted gown of shimmering bronze. She looked down at their startled faces, then located Judd in the clearing and called out, "What did they do?"
Judd pointed to the tablecloth they hadn't quite managed to dislodge.
Hands on her hips, the brunette scowled down at the cubs who were now both sitting up in an attentive pose. "You do realize I could punish you by saying no more dessert this entire party?"
Flopping onto their fronts, the cubs hid their eyes using their paws.
Kaleb could see the brunette struggling not to smile.
Going down on her haunches, she lifted the cubs by the scruffs of their necks. "That was a very naughty thing to do," she said sternly. "I'm going to give you a pass because it's a celebration but any more naughtiness and I'm taking you home and making you Brussels sprouts for dinner."
The cubs' mouths fell open.
"Yes," she said in that same stern tone. "Brussels sprouts, with spinach for dessert. Now, will you be good?"
Two quick nods.
"Hmm. I'll be watching." Setting down the chastened cubs, she managed to keep a straight face until they were far enough away that they didn't see her grin as she came over to Judd and Kaleb. "People keep telling me they'll get into less mischief as they get older, but I swear they're just getting smarter about their naughtiness."
"They know they're safe," Kaleb found himself saying. "It gives them the freedom to push boundaries."
The brunette, who he'd identified as the DarkRiver healer, Tamsyn Ryder, nodded. "I know, but I'm already starting to dread their teenage years. I have visions of jetcycles and climbing up girls' walls at night." Affection colored every word. "Knowing the two of them, they'll work together to steal ladders to scale those walls."
Kaleb didn't understand children, especially not children like this. He understood Arrow children the best. But he could also see why Aden was working so hard to reform the very foundation of Arrow society. It had to do with love and with trust.
The kind of love and trust that had him teleporting his mate away from Faith without warning ten minutes later.
"Kaleb!" His name had barely cleared her lips when he teleported them into the forest.
"Are you kidnapping me?" Sahara scowled at him but stayed flush against his body.
"We never finished our dance."
Sahara's response was soft, her eyes holding a thousand dreams. "We never will. This dance we're in, it's forever."
Good.
Chapter 56
SPOTTING KIT ON the far edge of the celebration, Lucas pressed a kiss to the temple of the sleeping pupcub in his arms before passing the child's small, warm weight to his doting grandfather. He then made his way directly to the young soldier. There was a look in Kit's eyes that the panther in him well understood.
"When are you leaving?" he asked the man he'd watched grow from babe to youth to this soldier who had earned his deepest trust.
Kit blew out a breath. "I thought, tonight." A half smile. "Hopefully no one will notice with all the excitement, and I'll be long gone by then."
Lucas knew why Kit wanted to go without telling anyone--leopards understood the need to roam, but Kit was a child of the pack and many would miss him desperately. Especially the cubs. "You've spoken to the children?" Julian and Roman, in particular, considered Kit a big brother.
"I told them I'm going on an adventure." Kit shoved a hand through his hair, his eyes holding a deeply feline curiosity. "How did you know?"
Lucas just shook his head. He was alpha--a good alpha always knew the heartbeat of his pack, and he'd known for a while that Kit was restless and straining at his skin. He needed to stretch himself, explore the wider world, even more so than most leopards because Kit had the scent of a future alpha.
That wasn't, however, what made a true alpha. Being alpha took an ability to love with a depth that included each and every person under the alpha's care; it also required a temperament that fostered trust in the bonds of pack. Rough or sophisticated, growly or warm, each alpha was unique, but the best alphas had both those qualities.
So did Kit.
Any pack he founded would be strong, would endure. Lucas had seen the young male come into himself over the past year. Already, his peers looked to him for leadership; when it came time for him to strike out on his own, he'd have sentinels ready to back him and build a pack with him.
That time, however, was in the future. For now, Kit remained a child of DarkRiver heading out into the world, to roam as his leopard demanded. "Be wild," Lucas said with a smile. "Explore everything you want to explore. Run hard, play hard, find your skin." Tugging the boy close, Lucas hugged him tight.
Kit hugged him back as fiercely. "I need to roam," he whispered, "but I'll miss everyone."
"Roaming doesn't mean disappearing," Lucas reminded him when they drew apart. "Stay in touch and meet up with packmates who are roaming in the same areas. You can discover who you are without turning loner. I have a feeling Cory and Nico are nearly ready to roam, too, so you might run into them sooner rather than later."
Relief colored Kit's features. Lucas understood. Their nature was dual--the solitary leopard and the social human. It was at this stage of life, a point that came at a different time for each one of them, that the leopard became more ascendant than the human. However, they remained changeling. Being totally solitary wasn't a natural choice.
"Look after Rina," Kit said, then laughed and closed his hand over the dog tags that hung from his neck. "She'd kill me if she heard me say that, but--"
"I get it." Rina and Kit had become a tight unit after the deaths of both their parents. "I'll make sure she doesn't get into too much trouble." Rina had done her roaming and though her edgy tendencies remained, that was part of her personality and nothing Lucas would try to crush. All he'd asked from her was discipline. "Go. Roam."
Kit's grin was wild, his eyes turning leopard. Shifting on his heel without further words, he faded into the trees, a young leopard heading out to explore the world.
"I'll miss him," said a familiar female voice from behind Lucas, slender arms sliding around his body as she pressed her cheek to his back.
He closed his hand over one of Sascha's. "I know, kitten, but it's how we grow." Sascha found it hard each time one of their young adults left the pack; her instinct as an E was to hold her family together, keep them safe and happy. Consciously, she knew the majority of leopards needed to roam to settle into their adult skins, to be truly happy, but that didn't lessen her worry at watching them go. "He'll come back."
"But he might leave again one day, more permanently."
"Yes." There was a high chance that, bonded as closely as he was to DarkRiver and Lucas, Kit would offer to remain in the pack as one of Lucas's sentinels. But should Kit make that offer, Lucas would decline it. Not because he didn't want Kit's strength and loyalty beside him, but because he knew Kit was meant to lead his own pack--he was one of the most promising young alphas Lucas had ever known.
Lucas would do him a disservice if he didn't push him to be all that he could be.
"Often," he said to his mate, "our chicks have to leave the nest to find their wings." Turning, he wrapped his arms around her. "That doesn't mean they aren't still ours. Even when Kit leaves DarkRiver, he'll still be one of us."
Sascha nodded, took a breath. "I'm trying not to think of Naya going off on her own one day in the future."
Chuckling, Lucas nuzzled her. "Kitten, our cub isn't going anywhere anytime soon." Not to roam and not because she'd been stolen away by enemies.
Lucas would protect his child to the death. If Pax Marshall proved to have been the mastermind behind Naya's planned abduction, Lucas would take vengeance against the Psy male. And if it turned out that Pa
x had been set up, then Lucas would go after the shadowy figures pulling the strings of what could've been a deadly game.
"But Naya will eventually go off roaming," Sascha insisted and, a scowl on her features, said, "Do you know what Jamie did while he was away? Race cars at dangerously high speeds, make friends with bears who got him drunk every day of the week--"
"You gotta watch bears. They can drink anyone under the table."
"Stop laughing." She pushed at his shoulders. "I'm not sure how he made it back in one piece, especially after he decided to go deep-sea diving. What cat does that?"
"Jamie's always been a law unto himself." Lucas shuddered at the idea of being submerged that far in the deep. "Did you notice the weirdest change?"
When Sascha frowned and looked around for the male Lucas had just promoted to sentinel alongside fellow former senior soldier, Desiree, Lucas said, "His hair's the color he was born with." It happened to be a rich chocolate brown.
Sascha's eyes widened. "I didn't realize. But he feels all right."
He knew she meant that in the empathic sense. "Well," he said, nipping and sucking at her lips in a teasing kiss, "when a cat takes up deep-sea diving, changing hair colors probably isn't very exciting anymore."
Sascha's laughter drew the attention of one of the cubs who hadn't yet given in to exhaustion. Normally, they'd all be down by now, but since it was a special occasion, he and Hawke had relaxed the rules. Catching Roman in her arms, the boy in human form and miraculously dressed in the same clothes he'd arrived in--which meant he'd actually cached his clothes pre-shift--Sascha hefted him up.
"Oof," she said as she settled him on her hip. "Did you eat an entire cake?"
Roman's eyes widened. "I shared with Jules and Issy and Dai and Naya."
"Well, that's all right then." Sascha kissed him on the cheek, and Roman put his head on her shoulder.
He was asleep by the time they reached the other side of the pack circle. Seeing them, Nathan reached out to take his son into his arms. Rome didn't wake, sleeping with the carefree abandon of a child who knew he was safe and loved.
After pressing a kiss to his son's silky black hair, Nathan caught Lucas's gaze and angled his head to the left. Lucas looked in that direction to see a pile of cubs and pups, Naya included, fast asleep on a soft blanket someone had laid out. Two little girls lay in human form amongst the furry bodies: Noor, and Aneca, one of Teijan's pack.