by Jana Leigh
Her mates came to her side and she grabbed their hands and squeezed. She felt their power flow through them. It was comforting. Her father came to her mother, put his arm around her shoulders, and smiled at Lacy.
“Let"s go make a plan to kick some witch ass.” Timothy said and grinned.
They all laughed, it let out the tension that had been surrounding them. She took a deep breath and then followed her parents to the entrance of the hotel. She was surprised at the activity in the lobby. There were people milling around everywhere. She knew none of them, although some looked a little familiar, like maybe they had been in her store at one time or another.
Her mother walked to the desk and announced their arrival. The woman who was behind the desk jumped and quickly pulled out papers for them to sign. They were in their room in minutes. She had never been treated so well at a hotel.
They spent only a few moments in their room, getting things arranged and then they returned to the lobby. Her mother and father called a meeting upon their arrival and she did not want to be late.
The woman at the desk nervously directed them to the door on the far side of the lobby.
When they entered, she once again gasped at the amount of people that had showed up.
She shifted from one foot to the other nervously. Shawn was the one who spotted her parents and pulled her behind him so they could join them.
She looked around curiously and wondered what kind of shifters they were. She could see that many of them had brought their mate; she could see the connection between them. One couple in the back drew her gaze. She could see the connection was weak.
She wasn"t sure if they were destined mates or not. The woman did not look happy about being here and the man ignored her sighs of frustration. She was going to have to talk to them soon.
Her mother clapped her hands as she approached and the room fell silent. Everyone looked at her and then began to take their seats. There were at least a hundred people in the room, including around twelve men she assumed were from the Denver Pack. They stood in the back of the room leaning against the wall with their arms folded.
Her father stepped forward and raised his hands. “Welcome, and thank you for coming.
As you know, we have a situation with the New Council. This is my daughter, Lacy; she is one of the Chosen. We were just made aware of the New Council a week ago. I admit that we have been in hiding before then.”
A man entered the room and drew her attention. He was tall and had the essence of power surrounding him. Whoever he was, he was a leader. “Oliver.” Her mother cried out, ran to the man, and hugged him.
“Adele, Timothy, so glad to find you safe and sound.” The older man said and Lacy remembered who he was. The Alpha of the Old Council. The one whose child was kidnapped. Several other men followed them behind. She could feel the amount of power they all had. They must be the Old Council she thought and watched curiously as her mother greeted them all.
Her father stood and waited for the men to approach and come to the front of the room.
He shook hands with Oliver and then nodded to the rest of the men and indicated places for them to sit at the front of the room.
Before the older man took his seat though, he approached Lacy. Her mates growled and stepped in front of her. She was surprised they would do that in a room full of people who were supposed to be allies.
Oliver held up his hands and stepped back. “Sorry, boys. Forgot what newly mated shifters are like. I just wanted to introduce myself to Lacy. She was one of the few Chosen I never met.”
Sevi and Shawn raised their noses, sniffed, with one last warning growl they stepped to the side, pulled Lacy in between them, and held her tight. Another show of dominance and Lacy was having none of it. She was their mate, not their property. She shook off their arms and stepped forward looking back at the twins and glaring.
“Hello.” She said quietly and held out a hand.
The older man grasped it, pulled her a little closer, and gave her a quick hug. “My Jo is going to love you.” He laughed and stepped back. “She hates it when her mate gets growly too. But I suspect it is only going to get worse for at least the next nine months.
Congratulations. You are quick.”
Lacy frowned and put her hand to her stomach. The rest of the room saw the gesture and she heard people whispering and gasping in surprise. Lacy had not wanted anyone to know just yet, hell she was like three days pregnant. Damn shifters.
Adele came to her side again and smiled as she out her arm around her. “Is everyone here now?” She said pleasantly.
“No, we are waiting for a few stragglers. My Beta was out of town, as were a few more of the Old Council members. They were following up on leads to the Chosen. They were trying to find help from them, some way to get inside.” Oliver said.
Adele nodded and said, “Well I think we can move along. We can"t wait much longer.
The witch who is leading the Rogues coven is unstable and dangerous. The sooner we take care of her, the easier it will be for the New Council to resume its search. My daughter is ready and willing to take her place on the Council.” Oliver nodded and stepped back to take a seat. Her father cleared his throat again and began to speak. “As I was saying. We decided to take Lacy into hiding when the child was kidnapped. We thought it was best with the powers that Lacy has, we did not want her to be used by anyone. As you can imagine she was shocked. However, her mates were the ones to find her, and that helped with the surprise. She is now claimed by her mates and has taken her powers.”
Adele then spoke up. “The woman we believe is responsible for the spell surrounding the New Council"s compound is very dangerous. She was a member of our coven a long time ago. Sabrina had a bright future in our coven, but she was unhappy with the rules that we established. We would not allow a witch to use her powers for personal gain.
She was very vocal about what she wanted. After many arguments, she took five of the coven members and struck out on her own to establish her own coven. Sabrina was certainly powerful enough to do that. We told her that if she crossed a line; her powers would never be the same. By that time, the darkness had begun to take over. We saw a different side to her. One that scared us.”
Timothy put his arm around his spouse and kissed her on the head. “We did what we could but you know as well as I do that people have free will. Sabrina wanted the finer things in life without having to work for them. We tracked her for a while, but lost her when she was in California. The Rogues obviously found her. The spell around the compound sounds like a protective spell used to contain people rather than protect. It is very hard to break. No one from inside is able to leave and no one from the outside gets in. I suspect that they are waiting until they have their people in place and they will lower the shield and attack. Since the people on the inside have no clue when it will be, they are at a disadvantage. We are going to have to surprise them and break the spell while we protect the compound. They may be expecting us. We were attacked in New Orleans the night we left.”
Oliver stood and said, “By who?”
“We don"t know, but if I met him again I would be able to identify his power. He was a shifter, a wolf. That is all we know for sure. And he wanted Lacy, for what we are not sure, but it felt personal.” Timothy said.
Oliver frowned and then sat back down and nodded. The rest of the meeting was dedicated to making plans for who was going to go where. They pulled out a map and tried to see the best place for Sabrina to be hiding. They were pretty confident she was in a city that was closer. She would have to be to hold a spell for that long. It would take a lot of concentration. They also assumed the rest of the coven would be with her. She would need to take breaks, and she would allow the coven to help her. Lacy wondered if they could find a time when they switched people, if it was enough for them to weaken the spell.
Adele and Lacy discussed the possibilities and soon the rest of the room had been assigned jobs and were in small
groups planning what they were going to do. Oliver approached Lacy and Adele, bowed his head in respect, and then said, “Forgive me for interrupting. Lacy, it had to be said. You are one of the Chosen and must be protected at all costs. I think you should wait here with guards while we free the New Council.” Lacy frowned and looked at her mother who was grinning. She knew what was coming.
“Sir, I appreciate your offer but that is not my place. I don"t know what the rest of the Chosen do, but I will not sit and be guarded while my parents and mates are out defending me. I can take care of myself.” She growled and sent a burst of magic in his direction.
Oliver"s eyes widened and then he bowed again. “I assumed wrong and I apologize.
Wow, you pack quite a punch there, little one.”
Adele laughed and hugged her daughter. “She sure does. I think she will make a perfect addition to the Council, don"t you?”
Oliver laughed and then said, “Oh yes, wait till she gets together with Cami and the rest of the females, and they are a force to be reckoned with as it is. With each female that joins them, they become more and more powerful.”
Lacy nodded and let her hackles down; she would never let her family fight without her.
It was not even a possibility. She looked at her mates who were talking to the men from the Denver Pack. Apparently, they knew a few of them, and were trying to get an update about what was going on.
Chapter 16
Quin and Jaden sat in the meeting room with the Council members discussing what their plan of action was going to be. Quin knew they could not remain trapped for much longer in the compound. People were becoming restless and frightened. Worried they were never going to get out.
Yesterday they held a Pack meeting and discussed the feelings of all the members. The consensus had been that they were starting to doubt the Chosen one"s power. That was not acceptable. Quin had not wanted to be harsh with the Pack, but he exerted his strength to let them know he remained the Alpha of the Pack.
Devon and Darien were planning an attempt to break out of the compound. They discovered the spell weakened at times. The cloud had shown signs of clearing a few times a day. They thought maybe a few of the Enforcers could get out and find whoever was holding them here.
Cami started hitting him in the shoulder. “What, baby?” He said gruffly and turned to his mate. She had been pissed last night at the Pack. They questioned his ability to lead and she had stood up for him. So much so at one point Tey and Jaden had to pick her up and remove her from the meeting. Cloe had been just as pissed and kept asking for her weapon. The pregnancy hormones were running rampant. Ruby had eaten all the jalapenos in the house and demanded that her mates go and ask all the other Pack members if they had any.
“Look.” She whispered excitedly and pointed to Blaine who was staring off into space.
His mates were holding his hands and whispering softly to him. He was having a vision.
Thank the Gods; maybe they would catch a break.
They all sat silently and waited for Blaine to come out of his trance. It may have only been moments but it felt like a lifetime to them. They had been waiting for this. Blaine shook his head as if to clear it and then he leaned against his mates. They continued whispering for a few minutes before finally addressing the table.
“My brothers have returned. It"s a little hazy what they vision showed, but they brought a lot of people with them. Including the witches. They are planning on attacking in the morning. We have to be ready to help.” Blaine said quickly.
Quin nodded and looked at Devon. “Well?”
“No problem, my men are bored. They will be ready.” Devon said and stood up. He kissed his mates and then left the room. Cloe stood and followed with her mate"s right behind her.
Reggie stood and said, “Fanfuckingtastic. We need more jalapenos.” Ruby slapped him upside the head and laughed while Levi stood and said, “I will get the people gathered in the main house. No one will be outside when this happens. The rest of them quickly made plans on what they were assigned to do and the room emptied except for everyone but Quin and Sid.
“So, when are we gonna tell them?” Quin said casually.
“I have to talk to Casey and Devon first. It has not been the right time. When this is over and we are safe, I will talk to them. Then I will talk to my brothers. They are all aware that we are going to have to explain to the Council. I"m just worried about my mates. I never meant to hide this from them, my brothers and I never knew. We just got the letter from my aunt. I swear I would have told them otherwise.” Sid said quietly.
“They will understand. I wish we would have known this a long time ago though. It would have made at least finding one of the Chosen easy.” Quin said quietly. “Even if she is human.”
Chapter 17
Lacy was ready. Her mates and she had taken a nap and rejuvenated themselves. They sat in the room and waited for her parents to come and get them. Before they left the meeting earlier, a group of shifters was sent on a scouting mission. When they returned it had been with some good news. They had found where the Rogues were basing themselves out of. But they couldn"t tell if the witch was there.
Lacy and her mother planned on driving separately from her father. He was going in first to see if the Sabrina was there, he could handle her, at least for a while. Enough time so Lacy and Adele could get there. They were worried though the witch was not at the farmhouse they found. If she wasn"t, she could get a warning call. Lacy and her mother were going to stay back in case they needed to use a finding spell quickly. They had thought about trying it already but it would have alerted Sabrina, she would have felt the spell.
Shawn and Sevi were going in with the other shifters to raid the farm house. They insisted on going because they knew the area. Shawn and Sevi were going to take the shifters in the back way. Hopefully the Rogues did not have a guard on the back road.
“I wish we were going together.” She whispered and held onto their hands tightly.
“Sweetheart, we will be ok. You and your mother will have ten men with you to protect you. I don"t want you thinking about taking any chances.” Shawn said and kissed her forehead.
“Yeah, if we find out you put yourself in danger, your pretty ass will be sore for a week,” Sevi said sternly.
“Seriously? You are threatening to spank me? Now?” She laughed.
“Yep, if it will make you remember to be careful.” Shawn said just as someone knocked on the door.
Her parents stood at the door with serious expressions on their faces. Sevi had answered the door and stepped back frowning. Adele and Timothy walked into the room, took their daughter in their arms, and held her tightly. Her mates were confused about what was going on. They waited for a few moments before stepping closer. They wanted to find out what happened.
“Adele?” Sevi said softly.
“Oh, sorry Sevi, Shawn, we were caught up for a moment. Lacy, we came to tell you something. I am so sorry to have to tell you that your store was burned down to the ground last night. The coven called, nothing was saved. We are so sorry.” Adele said.
Lacy sat back on the bed stunned. Her store, her pride, and joy, gone? She took a deep breath and then looked at her parents and then her mates. Tears formed in her eyes and she refused to let them fall. She had to be strong, today was the day she would help take these bastards down. Then she would worry about her store.
“When do we leave?” She said with determination.
Her father smiled sadly and then said, “A few minutes. Honey, we know how much the store meant to you.”
“Yes, it did. However, I am starting a new chapter in my life. The old one is truly closed.
We will take care of Sabrina today and worry about the rest later. It looks like I have a lot of shopping to do though. Seems they wanted to make sure that they destroyed everything I own.” She said and sniffed before standing and shaking her head. Willing the thoughts to leave. She had to focus. Lacy could not be distrac
ted today.
Her mates came, gave her a quick hug, kiss, and then whispered, “Don"t worry, honey, it will be fun replacing all of you underwear.” Sevi said.
She blushed and laughed. Leave it to Sevi to lighten the mood. She hugged them again and then turned to her parents. She was ready, she only hoped that they all returned safe after this was all over.
The group made their way down to the lobby of the hotel where everyone was preparing to leave. Oliver was standing with a few new men and Lacy and her parents walked over. Oliver introduced the men and then said, “Braden and Joshua were detained.
Both of them are trying to meet us. Hopefully they will make it in time. They both found out more information.”
Timothy nodded and then stepped back. Lacy and her mates were the ones who would be in charge. They were part of the New Council. It was hard for her parents to allow their daughter to go into harm"s way. But it was her destiny.
Lacy stepped forward and said loudly, “As we talked about last night. My mother and I will remain a few miles behind to make sure that none of the witches are hiding. We have radios to keep in contact. When we take down the spell, be ready to defend the Pack compound. Sevi and Shawn will alert their brother and the rest of the Council once we can get in.”
Everyone grumbled and agreed. She turned to her mates again and pulled them off to the side. “I swear to you that if you get even a scratch on either of you, I will be pissed.”
“Same goes for you, little one. Remember what we said, your ass will be red if you get hurt.” Shawn said and kissed her soundly. Once he released her, Sevi took his place.
“We love you.” He whispered before kissing her.
“I love you both too. Come back to me.” She said and touched both of their faces and then turned to her parents who were also saying goodbye.
The men that were going to be with them were standing off to the side. Lacy had met them last night and she was confident they would protect her mother and her. She nodded at the leader and then took her mother"s hand and walked out into the cool morning air.
