by Dawn, Maira
Bre came into the kitchen and looked over at Jesse. "You want something to eat or drink?"
"No," Jesse mumbled.
She nodded and opened the refrigerator, pulling out sandwich ingredients. After plating it, she added some of the never-ending supply of chips left in this world, along with two fresh-baked cookies. After pouring a tall glass of tea, she brought it over to him and sat it on the coffee table in front of him.
Jesse looked at it with disdain. "I ain't eatin' that."
"Don't get all growly and rude because you're worried," Bre said sternly.
"Don't act like you’re a mom. You ain't but a couple years older than me."
"Four."
"Who stinkin’ cares?"
Bre rolled her eyes. "I'm not momming you.” She waved at his appearance. “You're a mess, and I figured you haven't eaten. Eat it, don't eat it. It's up to you."
She plopped in the chair across from him.
Jesse scoffed, and rolled over, turning his back to her. But the deep aroma of roast beef wafted over him, and his stomach roared, letting him know it wanted the meal.
Now.
Jesse sighed, flopped over, and sat up. He picked up the sandwich and ignoring Bre's amused glance, bit into it. Before he knew it, the plate was clean. He slumped back into the couch.
"Are you okay?" Bre asked.
The best Jesse could do was to shrug.
"Your dad will heal. He's strong, and you got here in time." When he didn't look at her, she asked, "Where are they? Are they okay?"
"Taken."
Jesse glanced up when Wade entered the room.
"Taken where?" his uncle asked.
"They took Mom and Kelsey, but Reed and Spencer are following them."
Wade and Bre paled at the news. "Come on, Dylan's awake. Might as well talk this all out with him."
Jesse followed him down the hall. At Dylan's room, he peeked around the corner before entering. While the sick man looked far from healthy, there was a spark that had been missing earlier.
"Dad!" Jesse rushed to his side.
"Hey, Son," Dylan croaked out, patting Jesse's back as he leaned in to hug him. "I'm happy to see you safe."
"Oh, Dad, it's Mom and Kelsey. I tried. I didn't know—" Dylan’s arms tightened around him, and the man went still. Jesse laid his head on Dylan's bed and sobbed. "She's gone. They're gone. I tried to think of what you'd do, but there wasn't—wasn't a move to make."
Wade and Dylan exchanged a heavy glance. Dylan rubbed Jesse's back. "It's okay, boy," he said. “Sometimes there’s not. I know you did all you could. Now settle and tell us what happened."
Jesse lifted his head and scrubbed his sleeve across his eyes. He told them the whole story, start to finish, wiping at tears as he went. At the end, he mumbled, "I don't care if Mom thinks all this," he waved his hand around his face, "is good for us. I think it's a pain in the butt. Stayin’ tough is a whole lot easier."
The men grunted their agreement.
"We need a plan here," Dylan said, pushing himself up. After a few unsuccessful tries, he grimaced and sank back into the bed. "I want out of this bed."
"I know, brother, but you've a few days of recovery here. You should've seen yourself a few hours ago. It was sickening."
Dylan barked out a laugh, holding his side as he did so. "Thanks, bro."
"Well, I don't ever wanna see you like that again. So you're gonna stay here until you’re well. Me and the boys'll go after the others. Sounds like it'll be easy enough to find Reed and Spencer. If we can catch up to them, it'll just be another hop and step to this Jack character."
Dylan nodded but punched the bed in his frustration. "I'm havin’ a hard time staying behind."
Wade thumped Dylan's shoulder. "We'll find her." He turned to Jesse. "You stay here too, kid."
"No, I'm comin’.”
Wade shook his head. "You've been through enough today."
"I'm comin’. I don't want you to miss where Jack took them. It'd mess everything all up."
"Kid, it ain't likely that's gonna happen—"
"I'm comin’ with ya! I need to make this right. That Jack needs to be taught he can't just go taking people whenever he wants.”
Dylan shot a look at Wade. “The boy's going. But Jesse, you did everything you could. This ain't on you. It's not, no matter what happens. You hear me?"
"I know. But what I think and what I feel are two different things."
"You remember what I said, ya hear?"
Jesse nodded. "I will, sir."
Dylan turned to Wade. "Keep him away from any gunfire. The boy is aching for payback, and he'll be stupid. Tie him down if need be but keep him safe."
"You know I will, brother."
"If you ain't back by the time I'm strong enough to get out of this bed, I'm coming after you."
"I plan on it."
Jesse and the men looked at each other. In their glances was all the affection they had for each other, along with the gravity of the situation. It was enough.
Wade and Jesse left the room and walked out of the house. Jesse threw a glance over his shoulder. If only Dylan could come with them. But that was impossible. It was Wade and him for now.
Jesse looked up. And apparently, half the camp.
While they had been inside, men and women had gathered, including those that had just come home with Wade. They leaned against the porch rails, milled in the yard, and sat on cars. They all looked at Wade with expectation.
Wade stopped and stared. "Y'all comin'?"
Joe stepped forward. "You bet. One, ain't no one going to mess with our people, and we just sit on our hands about it. And two, ain't no one going to let Dylan lose Skye, or Jesse lose his momma. That ain't right." He took a step forward. "We're strong. It's time to show we don't just sit here and take this.”
Jesse felt the glow of revenge grow brighter.
Hold on, Mom and Kelsey. We're comin’.
Then End
Stay tuned for the dramatic conclusion of the series in Book 5 to be released this year. To keep up to date, you can turn a few pages and sign up for my newsletter (and get a free book) or check on Amazon.
In the meantime, if you haven’t read Seabound: The Beginning or Seabound: The Atlantis Cure, I highly recommend that. They will tie back into the series in Book 5.
Turn a few pages for a preview of Seabound: The Beginning.
Also by Maira Dawn
Sanctuary’s Aggression Series in order of release:
Sanctuary’s Aggression
The Road: Sanctuary’s Aggression 2
The Climb: Sanctuary’s Aggression 3
Sanctuary’s Aggression Box Set - Books 1-3
The Girl: Kelsey’s Story - Sanctuary’s Aggression Novelette
SeaBound: The Beginning Prequel 1
SeaBound: The Atlantis Cure Prequel 2
The Trial: Sanctuary’s Aggression 4
Sanctuary’s Aggression 5 - coming soon!
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About the Author
This is Maira Dawn’s third book in the Sanctuary’s Aggression Series. Maira first wrote on Wattpad and quickly developed a large following. Sanctuary’s Aggression hit #1 on Wattpad in Science Fiction, Pandemic and other categories. The series is now being released on Amazon and has hit Amazon’s top
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Seabound: The Beginning Prologue
The hallway was quiet when Sonora stepped out into it. Her eyes adjusted to the muted lighting, taking in the friendly shadows it created on the sage green walls and the ancestral portraits hanging in intervals along the smooth surface. Sonora breathed the scent of flowers filling the air from the garden on the other side of the corridor. Maybe they would help calm her.
Sonora pulled the guestroom door shut, hoping the guests could sleep after everything they'd been through.
If one only knew the end at the beginning. If she had known, if Sonora's visitors had known, what this year would bring, would they have acted differently? Of course. They all would have.
They had taken care of everything. How had things gone so wrong? How many people were still left up there? How much of her beloved little town, Seaside, still stood? She should ask, but was afraid of the answer.
Sonora took in another deep breath and shook her head. A person couldn’t know, couldn’t plan for the bad things coming their way… or the good for that matter, either. Her eyes lingered on the hall as she thought back to the time when she hadn't known any of this existed, hadn't known he existed. The person she was before this would've thought it was a fantasy. If someone had confided it to her, Sonora would have thought them delusional.
The door ahead of her clicked opened and a handsome man stepped through. Hearing Sonora's footsteps padding toward him, he looked up and smiled that gorgeous grin he saved just for her.
Sonora returned it with one of her own as she recalled the beginning of this strange story.
Seabound: The Beginning Chapter 1
The Smack
Sonora stopped, letting her restless eyes search for that small sliver of blue ocean she could sometimes see from this window if the wind blew the trees in the right direction. Dirty dishes clanged in the bin she dropped on her next messy table, causing a few customers to look her way.
There it was. Sonora let out a slow breath, and the tension in her shoulders eased. The ocean was Sonora's one and only true love. Not the beach, as many people would say, but the sea itself with its many moods and mysterious creatures. Its familiar motion a comfort and its secret ways a fascination. It was her life's dream to have a career in discovering its depths.
She blew out a sigh stirring the blonde hair straying from her ponytail and wiped her arm across her glistening forehead. And she was stuck in this dead-end job.
Sonora plopped a rag onto the diner table and started to scrub. It wasn't so bad, as far as restaurant work went. As the trendiest café in town, it offered the best tips. But four days of double shifts, covering for her co-workers, had given her a massive headache and the clamor of the place wasn't making it any better. Sonora put the back of her hand to her forehead. This epic-proportions head pain wasn't going anywhere. After hauling the bin to its spot in the noisy kitchen, she took a minute to swig down a couple more pills and some water before her next order was up.
Sonora pulled the dishes onto her tray, making sure they would be to her customer's satisfaction. Was this job it then? She could hardly bear it now. She'd be a disaster in a decade or two, and it wasn't likely to be a beautiful one!
What had happened to her detailed, inventive plan for college. It needed to be resourceful because her parents had regretfully informed her that money was short, and they wouldn't be able to pay for her schooling. Then somehow financing hadn’t come through.
So, her plan changed to this. Becoming a server at the highest paying cafe on this stretch of Carolina coast and saving for classes for one year to help toward college loans. But when she tried to apply, the classes were full. Since then, it seemed a vicious cycle. As soon as Sonora appeared to have a decent amount of money saved, she'd lose it to car troubles or other expenses. If that didn't happen, the classes she needed would be full. After more than a year of this, Sonora was close to giving up on her dream of becoming a marine biologist.
She looked around the busy restaurant, her heart sinking. This might indeed be the rest of her life. Her head jerked up as Bob, the chef and owner, bellowed out her nickname for another order pick-up. This time Sonora rushed to the window, even though she preferred going into the kitchen.
She sighed. The food sat closer to the kitchen side than the restaurant side, making her bend under the upper shelf and too close to a neighboring table.
A hard smack to her backside startled Sonora, causing her to hit her head on the bottom of the shelf. Sonora jerked herself upright, she stiffly turned to the table of the offender and glared at a group of snickering college boys.
"Hey, sorry about that," one of them confessed, shrugging his shoulders nonchalantly. "I couldn't help myself. But don't worry, I'll give you a big tip. Make up for my offensive behavior." He drew out the last two words to continue the entertainment for his friends. It worked. Sonora felt the steam rise in her as their snickers turned into roaring laughter.
It wasn't the first time a customer had misbehaved, and Sonora was sure it wouldn't be the last. That was what angered her. Her glare left the table to find many curious stares from the patrons.
"Sunny!" Bob called again, reminding her of the order sitting in the window. Their order.
Her body tightened, and her headache spiked. "I can't," she whispered before saying aloud. "I just can't."
"What did you say?" Bob asked, looking clueless. His eyes narrowed as he strained to hear over the clatter he created.
"I can't stay here and play nice with these Cretans!"
"What?" Bob inquired, looking from the amused young men to his waitress as she threw out her arm and raced for the door, apologizing to the other servers as she rushed by them.
Sonora shook, pushed beyond her limits. Maybe she was just so beyond tired, perhaps it was the realization she'd be a waitress for life, but she cracked. After reaching the front doors, Sonora yelled loud enough for everyone to hear, "I'm sorry, Bob, but I cannot deal with such rude, sexist idiots today!"
She half-ran to her car, wrenching open the blue driver's door before falling into the seat. Sonora slammed the key at the ignition and hit home on the third try. She looked at the cafe's windows only to find the wide eyes of the customers, some amused and some sympathetic, following her.
She slumped and laid her head on the steering wheel. This couldn't be it for her. It just couldn't be. She gave herself a minute, then lifted her head and straightened in her seat.
After putting the car in drive, Sonora sniffed the salt air. She needed to sink below the waves, just for a little while. A smile tugged at her mouth as she pointed the car down the hill toward the beach.
Seabound: The Beginning Chapter 2
Tormentors
Ian's footsteps thudded over the hard pavement of the full parking lot. He shot a glance over his shoulder. The men chasing him were doing better than he would have guessed. They'd been panting within a minute of giving pursuit.
Ian wasn't all that surprised when they drew their guns and started to fire. Ian heard the zip of one, then two bullets go by him. He ducked behind a large, blue truck and leaned back against the tire.
A bullet clinked, bouncing on the hard surface beside Ian. He clenched his fist. No, not bullets, tranquilizer darts. They didn't want him dead. They wanted him alive. To take him apart, see what he was made of. Ian's heart pounded twice against his sternum as a warning to drag in another breath. Only a small one, he reminded himself, the oxygen-rich air would make him dizzy.
Adrenaline-fueled, Ian wove through the parked cars, using them as shields. Up
ahead, the trail split, the left side heading down to the beach. The other up to the ocean overlook, to the cliff they called Spire.
More people were on the Spire path. That cemented Ian's decision. Surely, they wouldn't fire into their own people.
Ian stopped behind a van and shielded himself from another spray of darts. He quickly pulled off his t-shirt, jeans, and shoes, leaving only the swimwear he wore under it. Ian's brilliant clan tattoo caught the sun and gleamed, causing more than a few curious glances. Or perhaps, it was the sheen of his skin. It always shimmered in the sun more than theirs did.
Moving from the relative safety of the truck, he sprinted up the cliff path. The popping of the gunshots continued behind Ian as he pushed through a large group of people. Ian shook his head. So, they would shoot into a crowd. Apparently, the goons thought the worst that would happen was that some citizen would take a long nap.
Ian's bare feet dug deeper into the rocky soil as he worked for more speed. Worse than a nap would happen to him. Ian’s stomach churned as an image of his friend's broken body floating on the waves flashed through his mind. He shoved it away. There was no time to dwell on that now.
People screamed as they ran for cover. One dark-haired woman stumbled and fell, unconscious. A yellow-tipped dart stuck out of her neck.
Ian's eyes narrowed. Isare! Tormenters. They feared nothing, that's how much they wanted him.
Ian felt exposed as he sped along the bare path. The trail was wider than a truck, and the men could easily see him now that most of the people had found safety.
