by Karen DuBose
Coming around the bend is a demon. I can tell he has smelled them. His nose is in the air, walking toward them. My nerve endings are on fire to do something to protect them.
The demon is getting closer to them and they don’t even sense him. How can they not know he is about to be on them any second.
Just as I thought they were going to die, Kira hears something. She is about to shift, when a demon I didn’t even see grabs her and sticks its claws into her back-- Killing her on the spot.
Bruno turns around to see what was going on and he shifts to kill the demon, but the other demon they didn’t see gets on his back and sticks her claws right through his neck, killing him as well.
Chapter Twenty-Four
I jump up off Kiernan and run. All I could see is their death. Justice emerges and is enraged. I hear Kiernan asking me what is happening. All I can think to do right now is to kill those demons who killed my family.
“Love, what do you sense?”
A roar rips through me, I can’t focus on anything but killing those demons.
“They killed Kira and Bruno. I will kill each and every one of those demons.”
I feel his confusion cascade through me.
“Love, Kira, and Bruno are not dead. They are right over there.”
I whip around to see them standing there looking as confused as everyone else. A whimper comes out of my dragon’s muzzle.
“Kira, Bruno!” I don’t think I just rush over to them. As soon as they are close to me, I shift back and wrap my arms around them.
“Don’t you ever go off on your own.”
Kira pulls away from me still confused. “We didn’t go anywhere. We told you we wouldn’t. What’s wrong?”
The nightmare felt so real. How, why did I have it? I step away from them to figure out why I had such a horrible dream.
Kiernan darts over to me and takes me into his arms. He is shaking. Why is he shaking? I stare up at him to find it wasn’t him who was shaking it’s me.
“Dariya, what’s going on?”
Tear streak my face. I try to talk but all that came out is whimpers. I look over to my best friend and the dam breaks. Instead of talking I open their links and show them the nightmare that keeps playing in my head over and over again.
Kiernan pulls me away to look at me. “It was a nightmare. They are fine. They would never do that to you. Look, she is standing right there. She is safe.”
Safe.
Kira slowly walks over to me, like she is afraid I will lose it. “I’m right here. I would never take off on you like that. I may be stubborn, but you know deep down that I’m not that stupid.”
I stare up at her like she is a dream. That all of this is a dream I’m conjuring in my head to make the pain stop. To keep my sanity.
She bends down to my level. I don’t remember sitting down. “I promise you I’m real. This isn’t a dream. The nightmare was just that-- a nightmare it wasn’t real. Don’t make me bitch slap you to prove it.”
I knew right then that she is here alive and it was all just a nightmare. I reach for her and hug her with all my might.
“C-a-n’t brea-the.”
I didn’t care if she couldn’t breathe; she was here alive. I held on to her like my lifecycle depended on it.
I feel her tapping my arm, I just ignored it. I don’t know who pried my arms away from her, but my temper flared. I’m about to attack the person when I see Bruno wrap his arms around her protectively. Kira was holding her throat to get some air into her lungs.
I leap up and go to her. Bruno pushes her behind him. I glare at him.
“I’m not going to hurt her….again. I didn’t mean to in the first place.”
Kira comes out from behind him and pats his chest to let him know she is ok.
“I’m sorry. That nightmare felt so real. I can’t ever lose you like that.” I point to both of them. “If either one of you pulls some shit like that, I will bring you back to life just to kill you myself.”
Kira places her hands on her hips. “Listen here, missy! You know me better than that. I’m not going on a suicide mission. Ok! So, we are, but not with just two people.”
I bring her into my arms again and grab Bruno in the process and hug them both. I didn’t squeeze them to death this time.
“I know you wouldn’t. I’m sorry.” Right then I hear Runes cry out.
I let them go to search for her. I know what that cry is and she is uncomfortable.
I see her dragon trying to soothe her, but she doesn’t want him right this minute. He still doesn’t have a name. We will have to remedy that soon.
She sees me and lifts her chubby hands in the air and goos. I snatch her up and swing her around. Her little laugh brings light back into me, chasing the darkness away.
“Hello, little one. Are you ready for the day to begin?”
Those mesmerizing mix match eyes stare up at me with joy. I plant a kiss on her little nose and walk back to the pack. They’re all gathered there because of my outburst. I need to apologize to them, I didn’t mean to scare them all.
Walking out of the tree line, I hear them all yell surprise. I look up to see floaters and pennants flapping in the breeze. I’m stunned for a minute until my mom comes around Kira with a huge kuchen in her hands that reads congratulations across it.
“What is this?” I ask, still stunned.
Kira comes up to me and brings her arm around my shoulders. Runes tries to go to her so I let her. Kira wraps her up in her arms and smiles down at her.
Without taking her eyes off her she says, “We all wanted to do something special for you. Since we didn’t get to give you a party after this little one was born, we thought we would do it now before all hell breaks loose.”
I’m choked up. They did all of this for me. “Thank you!”
Mom smiles at me. “It’s nothing fancy, but we did what we could considering what is going on.”
I look around at everyone. Even the newly mates have gathered around. “This is perfect.”
Going over to the newly mated, I give them each a hug. Knox and Zora are first to receive a hug, then Delfina and Cicero, Errol and Kia, Vera and Brody, Aidian, and Desiray, and last but not least Brice and Clover.
“I’m so happy for you guys, but I told you guys not to rush. We had this.”
They all chuckle at me. Brody wraps his big arm over my shoulder. “Trust me we didn’t rush. We wouldn’t miss this party for the world. Come on let’s go celebrate that amazing and beautiful little girl.”
We walk back toward the center of everyone. I’m overjoyed. This time though I don’t cry. Mom brings over the huge kuchen and places it on a somewhat flat boulder.
“Before I cut this kuchen I want to say how proud I am of you. Thank you for making me a gigi. I thought for sure you were never going to let anyone inside that heart of yours. I thank the Source every day that Kiernan has come into your life and for everyone here that broke down her walls to allow love back into her.”
I reach for her and give her a huge hug. “I thank the Source every day as well. I never knew what I was missing out on.”
I turn to my pack and look at all their faces. “Thank you! Here’s to family!”
I raise the kuchen in the air. Since we didn’t have tumblers to drink out of, I did what I could.
I hand it back to my mom. She doesn’t hesitate to cut into it and start serving it out. I step back to watch. It has become one of my favorite things; watching them interact as a huge family.
“I know that look. I’m glad you let me into your walls without me having to break them down.”
I lean against Kiernan’s chest and exhale. “I’m still debating if I want to kick you out or not.”
The rumble of his laugh shakes me. Bringing his arms around me, he lays his chin on my head. “You couldn’t live without me.”
I snort. “Is that a fact?”
He nods his head. “Yep, you would be lost without me.”
&
nbsp; “If you say so, but I think it’s the other way around.”
“This is true. There is no way I could live without you. I don’t intend to either.”
I turn around in his arms and wrap myself around him. Bringing his lips down so I could taste them. The moment I do the heat that has been simmering for so long explodes. I let out a moan as he picks me up. Wrapping my legs around him he pushes us up against a tree.
His hands wander over my still clothed body making me agitated that they are still on me.
“Love, as much as I want to, Runes will be wanting you soon.”
Breathless I say, “We have a few minutes. Besides, my mom will make sure she gets a little something to eat.”
His brows frown. “Are you sure?”
I raise my own eyebrow up at him. “I’m sure.”
With that, he whisks us away far from the others but not far enough that we can’t get to them fast enough.
He lays me down and this time he rips my clothes off me leaving them in shreds next to me. All I could do was gasp at the sudden temperature change.
He doesn’t take long to get undressed himself. Once he does, he lays half on top of me so not to have all his weight on me. He gazes into my eyes before he captures my lips once more.
At this moment with him, the world could be crashing around us and I wouldn’t care.
****
After an hour of lovemaking, I feel lighter. My body demands more, but we both know Runes is hungry. We don’t want her to wait any longer than she needs to.
We lay there just a few more minutes holding each other. I take a deep breath in and let it out. “We have to go. As much as I wish we could stay here for the rest of our lifecycle. We can’t.”
He grumbles next me still holding me to him. I laugh at him and shove his arms away.
“Get up grumpy our daughter is waiting for us.”
He gives me a lazy smile and winks at me. “I guess you’re going to need my shirt until we can get you some more clothes.”
I roll my eyes at him. “I guess I deserve that one. We are even now.”
His smile turns wicked. “Oh, we aren’t even close to being even, Love.”
I snatch his shirt off the ground and pull it over my head. “Oh, is that so. We will just have to see won’t we.”
He sits up and gawks at me. “You know you keep talking like that you will never leave this spot because there is so much more, I want to pay you back for.”
I smirk at him. “Well, if this is the reward I get for things I do to you, I will make sure I do more.”
He shakes his head and grabs his pants, pulling them on. With a disappointed sigh, I reach his side. “Ready?”
He loops his arm around my shoulder and kisses my forehead. “Not really, but let’s go.”
As we walk back, I can hear the laughter from my pack. I look up at Kiernan and he just shrugs his shoulders.
Stepping out of the tree line, I see Runes in the middle of them all. She is laying on a blanket with her arms in the air. I can see a bubble floating above her.
I hear her hiccup and more bubbles float above her. When I reach the outer circle of the pack, I see why they are laughing. Every time she hiccups more bubbles floats from her little mouth.
She is giggling at it. I walk in between Brody and Veda and pick Runes up. “Are you being a silly little girl?”
Her giggles make my heart happy. “Are you ready to eat?”
She sends me an image of my boob and I laugh. “Ok. I get the picture little one. Come on let’s get that belly of yours full.”
Kiernan and I walk around a giant boulder that will separate us from everyone else, but still be in hearing shot of everything. I cradle her in my arms and prepare to feed her.
“You know you can come to feed her out here. We would never disrespect you that way. What you are doing is natural and none of us would stare at you. I feel like a wall has been built and I don’t like it,” I hear Rome say.
I glance up at Kiernan and he is wearing a smile. “I will go get you some pants and a blanket. Be back in a flash.”
“Are you ok with this little one?”
Her eyes twinkled up at me giving me my answer. I’m nervous to be feeding her in front of them. I mean I did when the females in my pack were in the room, but never in front of the males.
“Here you go, Love. You can cover yourself with the blanket if you want to.”
I hand him Runes so I could get the pants on. I debate if I should cover her up or not. She likes to look around awhile she feeds. We will just see what happens when we get out there.
“Ok. Let’s join the pack.”
He gives me a courageous smile. I couldn’t help but smile back at him. He takes my hand and leads me to the others. Walking around the boulder I get a strange feeling in my stomach.
I don’t know what it is, maybe nerves. They all smile at me and give me nods. I nod back and sit next to Kira and Bruno.
“That’s better. We don’t like you having to isolate yourself from us,” Rome says as he looks at Keva with so much love it makes me smile.
“Alright let’s not make her feel uncomfortable. What’s the plan?” Kiernan asks.
They get to business as I start to feed Runes. Without the blanket. I know they would never stare at me. I don’t know why I was so nervous, to begin with.
The plan was simple. I love simple plans. Eight of us are to check out the Valley while the others circle the outskirts of it. The more eyes we have the better. I don’t want my nightmare to come true.
Runes is to stay with mom and Oceana. She can get her out of there quickly, along with her dragon.
We are going to have to name him. I don’t like calling him a dragon.
When Runes is done feeding, we will head out. I’d rather get this all done before the Elders find us. We would never survive if they join the demons. I doubt they will, they would probably look down at us at the highest peak to watch us all die.
Runes falls asleep after she feeds. Which is a good thing. We have a long few days ahead of us. From what Bruno says it’s a two-day hike to get to the outer edge.
Chapter Twenty-Five
The last day in a half has taken a toll on me. I don’t let the others know just how bad. I guess my body just needs to get used to doing physical workouts. I’m starting to get a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach. What if I’m too weak to fight them?
Kira scares the hell out of me when she taps me on the shoulder. I jump two feet in the air. “Sorry. Didn’t mean to scare you. I was wondering when you plan on telling us you need a break?”
My brows frown. “Why would I ask that?”
“It’s clear to everyone here that you are exhausted. We know what you have been through and as much as you want to pretend you can handle all of this, we all know you can’t. We should stop here and rest for the night. I don’t want to hear, “no” as an answer.” She puts her hand in my face.
Did she just really do that? I roll my eyes and push her hand away from me. “Fine. You’re right, I’m not used to this anymore. I just need to get back into shape. That’s all.”
She gave me an I doubt it look. “Hey, I’m still the same person I was before all this crap happened. I will be fine.” I look around to see who wants to train with me. Someone who won’t hold back. “Keva! You want to spar with me?”
Kira let’s out a frustrated sigh. “We are stopping so you can rest not so you can drain yourself even more.”
I turn to her with my eyebrow raised. “Thank you for your concern, but I need to practice or I will not be any help to you. It’s been months since I was able to do anything. I expected you to support me and not mother hen me.”
Her jaw drops open. She quickly recovers. “You’re right. I’m sorry. By all means, exert yourself even more.”
She walks away from me. I know I was a little harsh, but her telling me I should take it easy isn’t going to help me. Not when we are so close to them. If they are ev
en there.
Going toward Keva, I shake my head. “Are you ready?”
She glances at me then to Kira who is now as far away from me as she can be.
“Are you sure you want to do this?”
I try not to let my frustration show. “Yes, the sooner the better.”
She shrugs her shoulders and walks over to the only open area we have. I follow her twisting my neck from left to right. I’m not going to lie and say I’m nervous. I just hope I remember what I’ve learned.
She walks to the other side and faces me. I send up a small prayer to the Source. Here goes nothing.
I get into my fighting stance. I nod at her to tell her I’m ready. In a blur, she comes at me.
I let myself go into my training. I block her attempt at kicking me square in the face. She likes fighting dirty. This is going to be fun.
Whirling around to get away from her next attack, I grab her arm swinging her backward. Making her land hard on the ground. She quickly gets up and runs at me.
I wait for the last second. Rolling and ducking out of the way, I jump back up and kick her in the back.
She turns and looks at me with a smirk. Laughing at her, I bring my hand up beckon her to come at me. She doesn’t waste time.
We are at it for a good hour before Kiernan and Rome make us quit. I frown at him. He comes up to me and kisses the wrinkles of my frown away.
“I love watching you fight, but we need to rest. Tomorrow is going to be…. Hopefully a successful but draining day.”
I let out a defeated sigh. “Yeah ok. Just so you know I was just warming up.”
He laughs that sexy deep laugh I love so much. “I know you were, babe. I know.”
He tucks me into his side and I can feel sleep wanting to pull me into its clutches. I let out a huge yawn as we walk to a spot to sleep. I can feel his shoulder shake from his chuckles he is trying to hold back.
I elbow him in the ribs making him laugh. “You know you have to sleep with me.”
“I’m well aware, Love.”
