Kade looked at his father-in-law, there of course was something he was hiding, how this would affect them in the future was unsure, however, Victor and Vivi had never asked them for anything except this, and it seemed like this was important. He turned to Gio and said.
“You were planning to try to get into the facility to recover any books they may have, right?” Kade asked and Gio nodded instantly.
“We are, but like I told you, the security is going to be more difficult. Plus, trying to get people out of there instead of books, could make this trickier. There is going to have to be back up somewhere to help get these people out since we don’t know what kind of shape they are in. Hope can pop in and out of places, but that many times? It would be to taxing on her and I don’t think it would work for more than two or three times before she was unable to do any more. We also have no idea what kind of condition these people are in, if it is anything like Ari, then we are going to have an issue.”
“We need a cloak to get a group of people inside without detection, which means we need a witch, a powerful one. To do this, we need to make sure we have everything prepared right down to the last contingency or we will fail. Then I am not sure what will happen to them anyway,” Calli said.
“I would need to have a bigger triage ready for them, as well as more staff to help. With the possibility of this many people coming to us at the same time, I will need to get a lot of stuff sorted,” Cherri said and then Rissa added.
“And with this many people escaping from a facility, there is also the possibility the Ulfer will hunt them, it could lead them right to here, then what? We don’t have the capability to guard all of the parameters, we could be looking at a fight right here that we are not prepared for, the people who are here are skittish, we can’t afford to hide them all, they have already been abused by the Ulfer in some way or another.”
The room was silent as everyone began to think of a way they could do what was needed. Phillip and Pilar looked at one another, Pilar shook her head and Phillip nodded, no one in the room knew what they were communicating, Rissa was the one who caught her mate’s gesture.
“What?” Rissa snapped, glaring at her mate. “Before you open your mouth at all, can you please for the love of God not spout a bunch of bullshit that you will be sorry for later, because honest to God, I am going to kick your ass if you do.”
Phillip rolled his eyes. “You all know before I came here, we traveled, me and my group.”
Syd spoke, “We did, everywhere, hiding.”
“Anyway, the larger we get and the closer we are to the Prentiss, the more likely they are going to find us. Even though this land is protected—there are other lands that have protection as well. Older and stronger than what we have here,” Phillip said.
“What are you thinking?” Calli said softly.
Phillip looked at Pilar again who nodded reluctantly and said, “Returning to where it all started.”
Chapter Three
Why the hell was he supposed to be here? Mak thought as he looked around the wooded area. He was seriously getting sick and tired of his powers telling him to go here and there, help this person and that person, he knew there was a purpose, because his dreams told him so. Although this is the first time it had told him he was supposed to be laying between two large rocks, which covered him completely unless someone stood over him.
Mak looked around and made sure he was by himself, just his luck he could have picked up a fucking tail since he was currently smack dab in the middle of enemy territory waiting for what? Something he dreamed of last night.
That was how his powers worked, he dreamed of the past, the present, or the future. They were accurate, and they were very real, so much so, that sometimes it freaked him out. But he did what he had to do, and when his dreams told him to go somewhere, he went. Mostly because the last time he didn’t and blew off a dream, something happened, and it was bad, but he couldn’t think about that right now.
Mak had been wandering for a long time by himself, it sucked, he was done, he really wished his dreams would take him to his mates, because at least then he would have someone to be with, someone to share this shit with. Sometimes it could be overwhelming.
He heard the crack of a branch being stepped on and he froze. Shit, he hoped he hadn’t been discovered, because that would seriously suck. Holding his breath, he listened for the next movement. A shuffle of leaves told him that whoever it was, was currently about ten feet to his north, and to his south was open land, there was nowhere to run. Damn it, he did what he was supposed to do and it led him right to here.
“Shhhh,” he heard a female whisper and the hair on his arm stood straight up, what the hell?
“I am being quiet, damn it,” a male voice hissed. “We are only supposed to be checking on the guard situation, we are too close. Especially when we have someone with a size fifteen shoe who doesn’t seem to understand the whole sneaking thing.”
“My feet are not that big,” an older woman’s voice said. “And I am coming with you wherever you go, if there is a chance for me to help, or get a message to the prisoners, I am going to do it.”
“Ma,” yet another woman whispered. “How the hell are you going to get a message to someone who is being held captive? We are out here, and you are not getting caught to get information.”
“I will tell you later,” the older woman snapped.
“Later,” the younger woman sneered. “Everything is later with you.”
“Shhh,” the woman whose voice made him shiver. “Seriously, I am going to kick your ass if you don’t shut the fuck up.”
“Someone needs a hug,” the younger woman whispered.
Mak grinned, he wondered who these women were, so he moved his head up slightly and saw the group of people who were staring at the building he had already tagged as the place he was supposed to be watching. It was heavily guarded, and he had been laying here for hours watching the shift changes as well as the route each guard took when they did their rounds. Where he currently hid was well outside the area that was heavily patrolled, which was at least something, especially at this point when he had visitors.
He looked at the group, but his eyes were drawn to one woman with golden blond hair and a fucking sexy as sin body she had covered in all black. Shit, she was like a wet dream. The man standing next to her, although he had slightly different coloring with darker hair and skin, he looked slightly like her.
There was a movement to the rear and Mak stared as a man came into view. Holy shit, he had black hair, built like a Greek god, and was wearing all black as well. IF the two had been standing next to each other, they would have made the perfect sexy badass couple.
Mak was a hybrid: vampire, dragon shifter, and human made up his DNA. Because of his dragon, he could scent his mates, and damned if he didn’t just find them. Mak grinned and then looked to the woman again. She had stiffened and he turned and looked at where she was staring.
An SUV had pulled up, Mak looked closely at the people who were exiting the vehicle. He recognized one of them, the female, he had seen her in his dreams, and strangely enough, he hadn’t identified her. He had only seen her twice, both in fleeting snapshots that flew through his head. Neither one had been a situation that made sense, so he had forgotten about it until now. Who was she?
“Fuck the whore is here,” the blonde woman said.
Okay, well she was a whore, at least that was established.
“Shit, we need to get them out of there soon, if she finds out who they are, all of us are in danger,” the older woman hissed.
“We don’t have enough people with us right now to do a damn thing,” the man who looked like the blonde said.
“Come on,” the younger woman said. “We need to get back and plan, this has turned into something we need to deal with immediately. If we are going to shake this shit up, with the whore involved, we need to have a plan to get the fuck away from here. She is too close.”
Mak
frowned and then looked at the group as they slowly moved backward. Should he follow? Looking back at the SUV once again, wondering if he should stay and get more intel for the group and then approach them, or what. Shit, he thought and then moved silently to stand, he was following, those were his mates, and he needed to be with them.
Making his way slowly he watched the group, they were a mixture of shifters and magical beings. They were quiet and careful and he was impressed. He could see a wall ahead, although it was magically protected, another thing he could see. Slowly he moved behind a tree and waited, one by one the people disappeared into the wall. Very cool bit of magic, he thought and then waited. He would try to follow, although he was sure he wouldn’t get through and would set off an alarm, at least he hoped so.
Mak turned and leaned against the tree, and grinned, his mates, he had finally found them. What could be better, he wondered just as something dropped from the tree he was standing under and his arms were pulled back forcefully around the trunk of the tree, essentially making him immobile.
The blonde stood before him looking vicious, it was so fucking adorable. She swung her leg around and kicked him in the stomach, and that was when he didn’t find her so cute anymore. Whoever was holding him tightened their hold, and from the scent, it would be his other mate, as he went to bend over, probably to lose what little lunch he had eaten, in order to hold him upright for the blonde cutie to punch him once…twice…three times in the face. Damn, she was strong; he liked that in a woman.
“Who the fuck are you and why did you follow us?” she snarled, finally stopping beating the shit out of him long enough to ask the question.
Mak went to open his mouth but she shook her head. “Never mind, I don’t give a shit. We could kill you right here and now and no one would know.”
His other mate stepped out to the side and Mak grinned, surely one of them would take a moment and realize who the hell he was. The man kicked his knee swiftly and Mak cried out, he heard the crunch. Shit he broke his leg. Seriously, his mates beat the shit out of him and broke his leg, what the hell was wrong with them!
“Get his other leg and then we can drag him inside and make him tell us what we want to know,” the man said and Mak groaned.
“Stop,” the only word Mak could get out.
The blonde woman laughed and said, “Sure we will, as soon as you tell us everything we want to know.”
“I am your mate,” Mak said and then his head slumped because the pain took over and he passed out.
*****
“You beat the shit out of your mate and broke his leg?” Cherri said, laughing. Rissa and Calli were also there and Hope glared at them, they were being bitches she decided.
“Listen, just fix him so we can question him,” Hope growled and the women burst out in laughter again.
Cherri shook her head and then looked at Hope again. “If I do, can you refrain from kicking his ass again so I don’t have to do this twice?”
Gio, who had been standing in the hallway, closed his eyes. Yeah, they were totally going to get shit about this. How were they supposed to know though, they were concentrating on getting back into the compound safely, Kade noticed someone following them so they had planned and carried out capturing him. What a clusterfuck.
He pushed away from the wall, walked into the medical room, and moved quickly enough to grab Hope as she lunged for Cherri who was grinning.
“Come on, it is too funny not to laugh at.”
“Fix him, NOW!” Hope yelled and everyone in the room froze.
“What the fuck?” Calli said slowly and then looked at Hope with wide eyes.
“What?” Hope snapped.
“Cherri, fix him now; Rissa, stay with her; you two in Kade’s office like right the fuck now,” Calli bellowed then pushed both Hope and Gio from the room and down the hall, right into her mates office without knocking. He was on the phone but Calli ignored it. “Sit,” she snapped and pointed to the two chairs and then went to her mate who was staring at her intently and grabbed the phone right out of his hands and threw it across the room. “We got a problem.”
Kade raised his eyebrows and said, “Yeah we do, I was talking to—”
“I don’t give a fuck who you were talking to. We have a situation and it needs to be dealt with, like now. Too much shit is flying around and we are missing information because we are so fucking wrapped up in the fucking bad guys, we are missing what is happening right under our own noses,” Calli snapped and Kade frowned deeper.
“What the hell are you talking about?” Kade yelled loudly.
“That right there is what I am talking about. When you yell, your Alpha voice comes out strong and the vibes are fucking fierce, they could bring any man to his knees if you were pissed off enough, well, at least any man who is weaker than you,” Calli snapped.
“Uh yeah, that is part of being an Alpha,” Kade said slowly, looking at her like she was nuts.
“Okay, all the drama aside, all the bullshit we have been through. Look at the basics right now. When we first met and had a meeting at my parents, Pilar gave my mother permission to tell her your family past even though she didn’t have the book, right?”
Kade frowned and nodded. “Yeah, Cami, Quin, and Jaden Gevaudan. But when I was adopted I was named Milgren, you know that is what I go by.”
Calli turned around and snapped at the now stunned looking Hope. “What the fuck is your name? The one you said when you introduced yourself to us?”
“Hope Gevaudan,” she whispered and Kade jerked his head back and stiffened.
“What the fuck?” Kade whispered.
“You were adopted?” Hope said slowly.
“Uh yeah,” Kade said hesitantly and he looked out the window, thinking. Hope was also thinking, biting her lip.
“Okay, come on now,” Calli snapped. “I really am not going to have to draw you a picture and everything, am I?”
“No,” Kade sighed and Calli sucked in a breath as her mate turned and looked at her with an emotion she had never seen before, like ever. It was a cross between longing and pain, her heart about broke when he walked around the desk and walked up to Hope and stared down at her intently without touching her.
Hope looked up at him and Calli could see the tears in her eyes, the woman whom she had dubbed with no heart was showing an emotion. Calli just stepped back to watch, her mate deserved this. Since they had been mated, he had never spoken of his adoptive family, ever. It was only in passing and mostly it was with a flat voice. Almost like he had never met them, like he was saying something rehearsed. Slowly she began to think back. Muther fucker, those bitches had some answering to do.
“Hope,” Kade said, almost painfully, and she nodded.
“Marcus Kade Gevaudan,” Hope whispered.
“Stephan?” Kade whispered.
“I don’t know,” Hope said and then threw her arms around her brother and sobbed.
Calli stood staring at the two. Her mate, who had wrapped his arms around his sister, and the woman whom she had not trusted at first. How could she have not seen it, the resemblance was obvious now.
“What the fuck is going on?” Kade growled. “Honestly, until this moment I knew that you were familiar, but I didn’t know why. Fuck, with all of ones we have been finding, I knew them on some level.”
“We grew up together,” Hope whispered and wiped a tear from her eye and then she turned and smiled at Calli. “Even you, I remember you.”
Calli frowned and looked at her and then shook her head. “I don’t yet, I mean, I get what you are saying, that we knew each other when we were growing up, but I just don’t remember yet.”
“Someone needs to explain what is going on. They told us we were descendants, which yeah it is the truth kinda. They should have told us the Chosen were our parents,” Kade snapped. “I want your mother and the others in the conference room now, they are to bring Ari, we are going to get to the fucking truth and that’s final. No more of this
bullshit we’ve got going on, they need to spill it.”
“You know they won’t talk if they don’t want to,” Calli snarled.
“I don’t care if we have to get the whips and chains out, they are gonna fucking talk. This shit ends now. We need to know what we are dealing with and fast. The people they want us to save, are they siblings?”
Calli growled and then nodded. “Yeah, we are going to make them talk. Go tell them to sedate the poor guy and we will talk to him later.”
Chapter Four
“We always knew there was a possibility of them finding out before it was time,” Ari whispered.
Vivi and Victor both nodded. “We did, but that doesn’t change the fact they cannot know all of it until the end, if they do, it will ruin everything.”
“How are we going to stop them from actually finding everything out?” Ari laughed and then grabbed his ribs. He was sore, and he didn’t want to think about what could be happening to the others he had left behind. It wasn’t acceptable that he had failed to protect her.
“We tell them what they need to know, and when all is said and done, they will not remember anyway. The spell will right all the wrongs we make now,” Vivi said confidently. “Besides, what choice do we have, the more that are found, the more likelihood they will realize who they are. We should at least give them that. Right now they think they are looking for strangers, they aren’t, they are looking for family, and it is high time they found out about that.”
“And the rest, what do we tell them about the Chosen?” Ari whispered and Vivi closed her eyes.
“What the records show,” Vivi said painfully. “It will hurt for now, but they will understand why we kept it from them. We had to make sure they were safe, it was our duty.”