Fighting Secrets: Unbreakable Series, Book 2

by D. R. Bohannon

I rest my head on his shoulder and place my hand over his heart. Closing my eyes, I wait for the images to appear. There I am laughing in the meadow, Tyler’s favorite memory of me. Then the image changes and I see Angela standing in front of me. Only it’s not in my perspective. It’s in Tyler’s. The familiar twinge of pain in my wrists reminds me of the cuffs she created. The more you struggle, the tighter they will get. I swallow hard, hoping to clear the knot in my throat. In her hands, she holds the orange liquid she used before on Tyler.

  “Tell me where she is?” Angela smiles, “You can’t protect her forever.”

  “She won’t need to be protected forever,” Tyler says.

  “Have it your way.”

  Angela inserts the needle into Tyler’s arm and presses the plunger down. “She will not stop us. We know she’ll come for you and when she does, we’ll be ready.”

  “That’s enough.” Tyler removes his hand from my heart and the image fades away. I know he doesn’t want me to see him suffer or feel the pain he felt. Still, I’ve witnessed him go through it once before. That image is still burned into my mind.

  “I will always need you, Tyler.”

  “I need you more than you need me,” he says.

  “I can’t imagine why.”

  “Don’t go down that road.” Tyler pauses, “The road to self-doubt is a dark one. I know you can do this, Kris.”

  It’s quiet except for the occasional crack and pop noise coming from the fire. I stare up at the stars and wonder if my family members are watching over me. What a wonderful life it would be to live among the stars. To shine brightly in the darkness. To be the glimmer of hope. Everyone here believes I’m their glimmer of hope. I just don’t see it. How can I be when everyone close to me ends up getting hurt or killed?

  Tyler begins to snore and since I can’t sleep, I decide to go for a walk. Leaving my weapons behind, I head into the woods. To be alone, more than anything. I get to the fallen tree where Tyler and I were when Sarah’s screams of labor pain startled us. I sit with my back pressed up against the tree. I pull my knees into my chest, and my arms are resting on my knees.

  I know better than to go off on my own. Yet, it seems like the only way I will be able to let it all out. My body trembles uncontrollably with every sob. I let go and allow myself to mourn my family. I want this to be over. I never asked to be anyone’s hero. I never wanted anyone to die for me. My sobs are quiet but intense. I cry until I don’t have any more energy to produce tears.

  A stick breaks by the weight of someone’s foot. I rise quickly and am instantly ready to fight. I pull my hand up close to my face.

  “It’s just me, baby girl.” My mom’s voice is quiet.

  “What are you doing?”

  “Checking on you.” She hugs me tight. “I know this is a lot for you.”

  “I’m tougher than I look.” I sit on the tree trunk. “Why didn’t you tell me about my destiny?”

  “I didn’t think it would ever come about.” She takes a seat next to me. “I hoped it wouldn’t. What mother would wish this sort of strain on her own child?”

  She’s right. I wouldn’t want to think about my daughter or son having to be in the position I’m in. I don’t want to push her that much. She’s lost her family too. I want her to hold me and tell me everything will be okay. I want her to hum me that all familiar tune. I know she can’t do that. She can’t make everything okay.

  “I don’t want anyone else to die.” I sigh. “For me.”

  “Unfortunately, my dear, we don’t have a say in that.” She touches the amulet on the necklace around my neck. “Their fate has already been written and there isn’t anything any of us can do to change it.”

  “Did you know all of this was going to happen? That our family was going to die?” I ask.

  My mom is silent and I wonder if I’ve crossed a line. Do I have a right to ask her such questions when she’s tried so hard to protect me in her own way? I put my hand on hers. “Mom, tell me the truth.”

  “I didn’t know the extent of the vision. I stopped paying attention to the signs years ago. Your grandmother warned me.” She wipes a tear from her cheek. “It was too much, and I refused to believe any of this would transpire.” Her tears intensify. “I’m truly sorry, Kristina.”

  I nod and pat my leg. My mom rests her head in my lap, and I’ve taken over her normal role of comforting. I can’t cry anymore. I have nothing else to cry out. Instead, I listen to my own mothers’ cries. I hold her tight, feeling every tremble her body makes as she lets it all go. I know she needs me just as much as I need her. I want to be angry with her for not preparing me for this journey, but I can’t.

  I don’t know how long my mom and I stay in the woods alone. A part of me doesn’t care and the other worries it will alarm Tyler that I’m gone if he wakes up. My mom wipes the last tears from her eyes. At least the final ones for now. She sits up and embraces me in a hug.

  “I just want you to know I’m proud of you, baby girl.” Her voice catches. “Your dad and I are proud of you.” The words pull at my heart even more. It gives me more stamina to hear her say she is proud of me. I know she knew I needed to hear it.

  “Thanks, mom,” I say, squeezing her hand. “We should get back to camp.”

  My mom nods and we make our way back together. Hand in hand. Having her here with me helps me feel stronger. She has always been a big supporter in my life and that will never change. I know that.

  ◆◆◆

  I awake at dawn to Tyler rubbing my arm. My face is wet and I know I’ve cried in my sleep. He smiles sympathetically. I smile back but keep to myself. I know he wants to help me, but I don’t even know how to help myself through this.

  “Why don’t you sleep a little longer?” he asks.

  “It wouldn’t do any good,” I say, sitting up.

  “Kris, you’ve been through a lot.”

  “It doesn’t change the job ahead of us.”

  Tyler leans forward and puts his palm to my heart.

  I close my eyes and see my family. Sam falling from the rock wall to his death. Dad and Janet screaming while getting beat in the hallway back at headquarters while I could not save them. Meadow’s tiny body being held in Sarah’s arms. Jason being killed by my own hand. Nothing but a trail of death follows me.

  I push his hand from my heart. “Stop. I don’t want to see it anymore.”

  “Don’t blame yourself.” Tyler holds my face in his hands.

  “But isn’t that everyone’s fate?” My vision is blurry from tears. “We all die in the end.”

  “Only our bodies are mortal.”

  “What the hell does that even mean?” My voice is harsher than I intend.

  “Our souls are immortal. They live on after our bodies cannot.” Tyler whispers in my ear. “Meadow.”

  It’s true. I’ve seen Meadow in my dreams. I just thought it was because she was supernatural. My Grandmother Louisa, too.

  “They are still fighting with you, Kris. We are ALL still fighting with you.”

  SNEAK PEEK!

  Unbreakable Series

  Praised By Magic, Book 3

  Chapter 1

  Tyler

  I lean my shoulder against a tree a few feet away from Kris. She sits on the ground with her arms resting on her knees, poking the fire in front of her. I wish I could take her pain away. I remember the pain I felt when I lost my parents in a terrible car accident. The one I walked away from with little more than a scratch. The guilt I carried from being the lone survivor was and still is overwhelming. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to be alive, but I missed my parents and longed for their guidance in my life. If they would’ve survived, maybe my sister, Mykala, wouldn’t have gone off the deep end. Ever since their passing, she has been a handful. I did my best as her big brother to keep her out of trouble, but it didn’t work. I hoped she would come around and make the right decisions, but she didn’t. She picked Angela’s side. Not ours. A part of me worries for her because
she is my family and my blood, but the other accepts her choice and pushes me to move forward without her.

  I want to hold Kris and tell her everything is going to be all right, but I can’t do that. She knows better. My heart aches for her and her mother, Molly. I don’t understand why the world works as it does. Death is inevitable for everyone, yet it is a shock to our system when it happens.

  I shift my weight back onto my feet. I can’t take it anymore. The healer in me drives my feet forward to her. I can’t take seeing Kris this way. I have to help her, even if it’s in a little way. I kneel behind her. She leans back and rests against my chest. I wrap my arms around her. Her body feels like skin and bones against mine. She’s tense and I can’t say I blame her. When I hold her like this, I know it brings her relief. I’ve felt it many times before. I keep her hugged tight against me until I feel her body calm.

  “Do you need me to do anything?” I kiss her head and release my grip.

  She stirs the fire more. “I’m okay.”

  I know she isn’t okay but okay is her go to word when she doesn’t want to talk about it. I only hope I have made a minor difference in making her feel better.

  “Danger is lurking. Do you feel it?” Sarah’s thoughts enter my mind. I look to my left to see her looking at me from the main camp area.

  I nod.

  The other shifter’s attention is also directed toward me. Best keep it to ourselves for now. I don’t think Kris is up to fight anything but her own thoughts right now. I don’t want to add to her suffering.

  They continue to be alert. I can see it in the way they stand. It is subtle enough. The non-shifters in the group remain unalarmed.

  ◆◆◆

  Kris sits with her back against a tree, staring at the creek in front of her. Her focus is intense; she doesn’t move or blink. The last time I saw her like this was after she found out her oldest brother, Sam, had been killed by Angela. It took all I had to bring her out of that, and now she is right back there again. I keep my distance but keep my eye on her. Sarah stands by my side.

  “Why don’t you go to her?” Sarah asks.

  “She doesn’t want attention.” I sigh. “We have to get food in her. Water wouldn’t hurt either.”

  “I’ll get her something.” Sarah nudges me forward. “Go to her.”

  I start towards Kris. My hands shake and my mind searches for something to say when I get to her. I come up with nothing. There aren’t any words. I stand in front of her and watch the silent tears fall from her puffy, dark-circled eyes.

  “Kris.” My voice is gentle.

  She looks up at me. My heart and body ache with the urge to help her, but I stay still. I want her to be the one to invite me in. I don’t want to intrude any more than I already have. She extends her arms out and I follow her lead. I sit close to her, holding her. That’s really all I can do.

  “I have to get over this.” Her voice trembles.

  “It isn’t something to just get over.” I kiss her forehead, “but we mustn’t let it consume us.”

  One of the main mottos of Arrowhead Headquarters Don’t let the pain consume you. Through pain and vulnerability are where we grow the most. Kris has had a lot to deal with, in a very short amount of time. All of this just thrown at her without warning. She’s the strongest person I know, aside from Sarah. Both of them could take on the world. Although, I doubt either of them realizes it.

  The first time I saw Kris on the airplane. Of course, all prearranged by Angela. I knew I was supposed to encounter her, but I didn’t know how much the pull of fate had on us. It was already prophesied by Kris’s grandmother, Louisa. She spoke to my grandfather after he healed her with his shamanic powers. Your grandson will meet a girl whom he will have to protect until the time comes for her to protect herself and humanity. I found the message on a note in my grandfather’s house a few years back. I didn’t know it to be true until I met Kris. The connection we share is no coincidence. Our love runs deep and the powers we possess shouldn’t be underestimated. Kris doesn’t know just how strong and powerful she is.

  “My head hurts.” She rubs her temple.

  “You need to eat something.” Sarah hands Kris a cup. “It’s broth.”

  I hadn’t noticed Sarah walk up. My own thoughts had me oblivious to anyone other than Kris.

  “Thank you.” Kris takes a sip.

  “I was afraid to give you something big.” Sarah sits beside her. “I didn’t know if your stomach would tolerate it.”

  I know she wouldn’t have eaten anything. The broth at least helps hydrate her and gives a little bit of nourishment. I wonder if I should find Molly, but I think they both need their time to grieve in their own way.

  Kris sips at the broth until it is gone. She hands the cup back to Sarah. I know Kris is tired. Grief is heavy, and it has its own way of taking everything out of you.

  “Do you want to go lay down in the tent?” I ask.

  Kris shakes her head, “I want to stay under the stars.”

  The stars have always been calming to her. Nature is where she feels at home, and it is one of the many things I love about her.

  “Then lie down with me here.”

  I know she won’t argue with me. She needs to relax. I lay back with one arm extended out. Kris half lays, half falls against me. I hung her tight against my side. She rests her head on my chest and soon falls asleep.

  Sarah sits a few feet away. Her thoughts enter my head. You two are sweet together. She smiles.

  I’d do anything for her. I say, rubbing the back of Kris’s hand with my thumb. I’d die for her if it meant she would be free from all of this.

  Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that. She would be lost without you.

  She may be lost without me, but she would make it through. I say, looking at Sarah.

  You guys need each other to make it through this. Sarah pauses. I know you feel guilty for what has happened to her family and that you’ve somehow let her down.

  I shouldn’t have brought her to headquarters. All that did was deliver her and her family into the agency’s hands.

  Ty, none of this is your fault.

  Yes, it is. I promised I would protect her and all I have done is hurt her.

  I can assure you Kris doesn’t see it that way.

  I look down at Kris resting peacefully next to me. She may not see it that way, but it doesn’t keep me from feeling guilty for the parts I’ve played in hurting her. I still don’t know everything that is going on, nor do I understand it.

  Sarah stands and shoots a reassuring smile my way before heading back to Neimiah who is at the main campsite about fifty yards away. I made Kris and me a temporary camp. It is a little ways away from the others to give her privacy. Since all of us shifters can communicate telepathically, we don’t have to remain together to know what is going on around us.

  My biggest fear is something will happen to Kris and I won’t be able to get to her. I won’t be able to live in a world without her. I know we can’t stay here like this forever. We will have to deal with the task at hand, stopping Angela and the agency. The world isn’t as it once was. Hate has taken over the minds and hearts of many. Kris will have to fight. I can’t protect her from that. I wish I could, but I’ve helped her as much as I can. The rest will be up to her. But, for now, she is safe in my arms.

  ◆◆◆

  Day turns in to night and Kris remains asleep. I stay still. Afraid to wake her. I know she hasn’t been sleeping well, if at all. My mind wanders off, recalling the day we spent in the meadow by my house at the photoshoot. Her confident, strong, country girl heart. Her laugh and her smile. That smile continues to make my heart skip a beat. Her beauty is beyond skin deep. It is within her soul and radiates through her. The sun’s bright rays pale compared to the light she possesses. Even now, looking at her, broken down, I still see the light. As long as that light still shines, there is hope.