Grai's Game (First Wave)

by Mikayla Lane

  “He wants no secrets from you. If you choose to see vids of his torture by his father, then you shall. If you choose to see all the details on every company and person associated with us, then you shall. I will hide nothing from you; you have but to ask.” Cristali said honestly, unflinching at the penetrating stare of the most powerful man on Valendra. She was surprised when Ivint just chuckled.

  “I expected no less. However, I do not wish to see painful details of a past that is his to share and not mine to take from him. I believe he deserves more respect than that or my people wouldn’t be here.”

  “What I want is for you to go over every single thing, there is about this town and its proposed defenses with Lagor and myself. I want Lagor to go through it and determine what technology we have that could be used or modified to enhance the security measures you already have in place.”

  “Then you’re going to explain to me about how towns work here on Earth, what challenges we will face, what other plans are in place, what has already been accomplished and what needs to be done. Are you ok with that?” Ivint asked Cristali with a gentle smile.

  Cristali gave him a bright smile. She hadn’t expected the High Councilor to be so kind or wise, and her opinion of him rose.

  “I think we can manage a crash course for you in the next eight hours Sir.” Cristali said, grinning at Lagor’s smile and nod of agreement.

  “Good!” Ivint said, clapping his hands together. “Then let’s get started!”

  *****

  Grai slid silently into the bed beside Tricia, trying his best not to awaken her. The dark circles he had seen under her eyes attested to how tired she was. He was going to talk to Megan and Maggie later about giving her some extra help with Tristan, so she could get more rest.

  He knew that she was taking the majority of the responsibility of Tristan’s care on herself, and it was beginning to take a hefty toll on her. He laid his head on his pillow and let out a heavy sigh as he drew her into his arms and breathed in her scent. Her long, dark hair tickled his nose.

  He didn’t deserve her. He knew that. It was the Relian part of him that was selfish enough to keep her, even though he knew she deserved better than he could give her. However, he didn’t have the strength to let her go. To let his son go.

  Grai felt her stirring, before she snuggled deeper into his arms. “When did you get back baby? Was everything ok?” Tricia mumbled sleepily.

  “We got back a few hours ago and just finished debrief with the High Councilor. He wants to visit the town later. Go back to sleep with me.” Grai said, unable to hide his excitement. He hoped it would distract Tricia from thinking about Bratan; he didn’t want to disturb her with that news when she needed more sleep.

  “That’s wonderful news baby!” Tricia said waking more fully at the news and turning in his arms to face him. It was everything they had hoped for, worked so hard to make happen. He’d sacrificed so much to give this to his people, and she was happy for him and proud of him at the same time.

  “What is wrong?” Tricia asked looking into his swirling gold eyes. He couldn’t hide the concern in them from her. Beast or no beast, they were still mated and bonded even if she didn’t have the Ator-Ma to prove it, and she knew something was wrong.

  “Let’s get some sleep and we can talk about everything later.” Grai said closing his eyes and pulling her head into his shoulder, so she couldn’t look at him. Or see the guilt in his eyes that he felt at the loss of Bratan and the villagers. There was plenty of time later for her to learn of his failure.

  Tricia didn’t have to look at him to feel his guilt, to know that something bad had happened to their friend Bratan and as usual, Grai blamed himself.

  Pulling away from him, Tricia leaned up to stare down into his face. The room she kept dimly lit, in order to easily check on Tristan, allowed her to see the stress and worry lines in his handsome face.

  “What happened?” She asked, her voice strong and determined. Letting him know that she wasn’t going to let it go until he talked to her.

  “You need rest. We have time for this later, my love.” Grai said trying to gently pull her back down beside him.

  “No, you need rest! You are the one who never sleeps, so don’t try to lecture me. Now tell me what happened, and then we can go to sleep.” Tricia sad with even more determination.

  She knew if he didn’t talk about it, he would obsess about it for hours… alone. Beating himself up the whole time. She wouldn’t allow it to happen this time. Not when she could help him.

  With a heavy sigh, Grai finally explained to her what they had found at the village, minus the horrific details, and the fate of Bratan.

  “Oh Grai! I’m so sorry.” Tricia said, cupping his cheek in her hand before placing a gentle kiss on his lips.

  Grai laid there quietly, his mind running through the events at the village, until he realized Tricia was tapping his cheek with her hand.

  “Hey! Stop that! Do not go into your own mind when I am sitting right here. Grai, you can’t blame yourself for this. You’ve never had access to the labs or a way to kill the dark ones on the ships.”

  “You are the only reason more innocent lives haven’t been lost to them. The reason so many who escaped the ships were caught and killed. Stop baby, please don’t blame yourself.” Tricia said cupping his cheeks with both hands and forcing him to look at her.

  Seeing that she wasn’t making much headway, she changed tactics. “What happened that made Ivint want to go to the town?” She asked.

  Grai explained the events that occurred in the conference room. He couldn’t keep the excitement out of his voice when he mentioned the Sibiox and the Tezarian’s that would soon be joining their ranks.

  “Oh my God, Grai! That’s… incredible! That’s… BIG! Grai, we never expected that! You hoped for the Valendrans, and you end up with Tezarian’s and Sibiox too? Wow! Just… Wow!” Tricia had gotten out of the bed and had started pacing the room. It wasn’t just Grai’s excitement rushing over her as much as her own and the possibilities that opened up for their people.

  Grai leaned up and rested his hand on his head as he watched his love pace beside the bed. He could feel her quick mind working through the information. She was a brilliant lawyer and an incredibly smart woman, so he knew she realized what this would mean for their people.

  He loved watching her long, lean body as she paced beside the bed. Her light-brown hair hanging haphazardly in her pony tail, her perfect porcelain skin glowing in the dim lighting in the room. Her light brown eyes shimmered with happiness.

  “Grai do you have any idea what you’ve accomplished? You’ve pulled off the impossible!” Tricia said jumping up before leaning down to give him a loud kiss, before twirling back around to pace. Grai just chuckled.

  “Yes, I did think a little bit about that.” Grai added with a smile. He scooted back from the edge of the bed and patted the empty space beside him, hoping to drag her back to bed, his body screaming at him for sleep.

  Tricia gave him a bright smile and slid into the bed. She’d no sooner hit the sheets, and he rolled her over to the other side of him. Unwilling to let her be between, he and the door even down here where it was more secure than any of their locations.

  Covering her with the blankets, he curled his body around hers and kissed the side of her neck. “We can speak later, my love. Go back to sleep.” He whispered, before checking the status of his people through the Shengari’ one last time and closing his eyes.

  Tricia laid beside him quietly, listening to his breathing even out as he finally succumbed to sleep. She settled herself more comfortably, trying not to wake him. She knew if she tried to leave the bed now, that he would get up with her, and he needed his sleep.

  Stifling her own yawn, she thought again about the news of the Sibiox and Tezarian’s. Help. They finally had help. Someone other than her mate who could help him run things, to help bear the burden of keeping so many safe, well and alive.

&nbs
p; Although she did wonder why Ivint had not offered the Valendran help yet. From what she had learned of him though, she assumed that he wanted to see things for himself. Verify that Grai wasn’t lying to them or setting a trap for his people. He wasn’t stupid, and he took the safety of his people seriously.

  Considering who sired her mate, she could well understand why the Valendran leader was still hesitant to offer his support. However, she had no doubt that eventually he would give it. How could he not?

  Her mate and his people were more than worthy of it. More than worthy of their respect. Not just because Grai had saved their collective asses more than once over the last hundred years, but because he was a worthy man. A good man. And a good leader.

  Tricia had no doubt that they would soon be moving to Dillon, Texas. With an interesting entourage of Tezarian’s, Sibiox and Valendrans joining their already diverse and unusual group.

  Tricia smiled at the thought of raising Tristan in a normal home. Being able to take him to the neighborhood park without worrying that one of Dagog’s people would see them and sense Tristan’s beast and figure out who he was.

  Finally being able to live with Grai without fear of discovery. As a real family for once. And having more time to spend together! Damn if that wasn’t something that she’d been hoping for since the day she met him!

  Yeah, this was BIG; she thought with a smile as she drifted off to sleep beside her mate.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Ivint stared at the small children and their rapid chatter that reminded him a little of Traze.

  “That is a beautiful cat!”

  “What kind is it?”

  “Is it a wild cat?”

  “A baby panther?” The chorus of questions from the little boy and two girls who were walking down the street with their mother, made Ivint smile. It was such a bucolic scene to be strolling down the sidewalk in the middle of a town like this; Ivint thought to himself. So… normal.

  Keeping with the story that Grai had used to explain their presence to the town’s people, Ivint squatted down in order to look less intimidating to the small ones before answering.

  “Gibly is a Sibiox. He’s found in our native land of Sweden. He’s a very friendly animal.” Ivint assured them.

  Gibly walked over to the children and to prove his friendly nature; he nuzzled and cuddled up to them until he had them in a fit of giggles and full of more questions.

  “Can we have one?”

  “Are you bringing more with you?”

  “Where did you get such a beautiful collar for him?”

  Ivint just grinned and stood, while Grai shook hands with their mother.

  “How are you and Bryan doing with the gas station, Mary? Is there anything you need?” Grai asked the mother of the children.

  Ivint watched as Grai listened intently to the woman’s response and out of all the wonderful things she had said about how well they were doing, Grai picked up on the things she didn’t say or tried to downplay.

  “So the companies are still not willing to extend you the credit for the amount of fuel that we need?” Grai asked with no censure in his voice.

  Mary sighed and looked at her feet, nodding her head. “We can get small amounts but not enough to fully supply the station yet. Our credit…” Mary’s voice trailed off, knowing she didn’t have to explain their terrible credit problems to Grai. They had already done that when he approached them about investing in their gas station to keep it open.

  “Hey… that’s not a problem. You’re dealing with the same company we use at the main building right?” At Mary’s nod, Grai pulled out a normal cell phone and hit one of the numbers on his speed dial.

  “John? It’s Grai. You know what I’ve got going on here in Texas right? Yeah right, we do work well together. Or I thought we did.” Grai said with disappointment tinging his voice. There was a pause while Ivint heard little wisps of what the person on the other end of the line was telling Grai.

  “Well, I can’t have you supplying my facilities but not supplying the station in town. We can’t have only one place to fuel…” Grai paused, listening to John.

  “I’m a partner in their station. The success of this new venture is very important to me.” There was another pause, and Ivint smiled to himself at the subtle way Grai had handled the problem.

  “I’m very glad to hear that John. That’s wonderful. I really appreciate your helping me on this. Absolutely! Give my best to your wife and kids. Bye.” Grai hung up the phone and turned back to Mary.

  “They will be here this afternoon to completely fill the storage tanks and will arrive regularly to keep them full. Other than that small problem, how are you guys doing?” Grai asked, truly concerned for the well-being of the people.

  Ivint listened with half an ear to the conversation that Grai was having with the woman and her children, and he walked a little farther down the street, away from the group.

  He breathed in the fresh, clean air and studied the ring of mountains that surrounded the town. Grai had been right; this place was perfect. The townspeople were welcoming and accepting of the strangers among them. Strategically, they couldn’t ask for an easier place to defend. And it was normal.

  Normal by Earth standards in this part of the world anyway. However, exactly what their people needed. Quiet, tree-lined streets and sidewalks. Neat homes that could easily accommodate families, neighbors and friends.

  There were schools and parks for the children, lakes for swimming and recreation, running and hiking trails, shops that just needed owners… the mayor of the town had been very thorough in his narrative, Ivint thought with a smile, looking around again.

  The mayor and the town were obviously very happy to welcome the new owners of the town and were trying to make a good impression on them. They didn’t need to try very hard. It was easy to see the advantages of bringing their people here.

  “It’s much more impressive than I expected it to be.” Baldy said walking up behind the High Councilor, not wanting him too far away from the rest of the group that had come to see the town for themselves.

  Ivint turned to the warrior with a smile. “Yes, it is. Much more than I expected as well. Would you raise your son here?” Ivint asked taking Baldy by surprise.

  Balduen looked around and sighed, knowing the decision was no longer his own after Dare took one look at the place. Looking up he saw her in an animated conversation with the mayor’s wife over the park they had visited earlier.

  “I don’t think I will have much say in the matter. But if I did have a say, I would feel better about raising him here than any of the other locations we have or know of on this planet.” Baldy admitted grudgingly.

  Ivint just chuckled at him and continued down the street, deep in thought. Balduen followed closely behind. After the hours Ivint had spent with Cristali and Lagor and then seeing the town himself, Ivint was more torn that he was before he had come here.

  Things would have been much easier for him if this had been a bad idea, instead of the fantastic one it truly was; he thought with a sigh. Grai planned this place perfectly. Everything they needed to protect and defend their people was here. In plain sight.

  “There is not a place up here that we can’t see someone coming for miles. From the air or the ground. It’s like they built the town in a crater in the top of the mountain.”

  “There’s only the four-lane road up and down the mountain, and it’s so far off the main highway that we won’t get very many strangers coming through.” Reven reported to Ivint through the Shengari’. Ivint grinned at how clearly he could now hear and use the Shengari’. They had come a long way since Scaden first encountered this planet again.

  “And with the scramblers in place?” Ivint asked.

  “Nothing would come within a hundred miles without us being able to identify and neutralize the threat before they got anywhere near the town.” Reven said, unable to keep his admiration of the location out of his voice.

  I
vint just nodded to himself; it was the same conclusion he had come to a few hours ago. He had just wanted Reven and the Tezarian’s to verify his own opinion. Dread and Viper had voiced the same thoughts an hour earlier when they had finished traversing the other ridges along the town.

  Ivint stopped and turned to head back to Grai, Dare, Banatar and Risk. Continuing to look around wouldn’t change the opinion he had already formed regarding the viability of bringing their people there.

  Their people, he thought looking at Grai. He’d never thought he would live to see the day when he would look at a Relian and consider living and working beside them. Or be as impressed by one as much as he was with Grai and his brothers.

  So much had happened. And there was so much more going on, on this planet that he was unaware of. So many complexities that he was having a hard time understanding it all. It amazed him that Grai had such an iron gripped handle on everything.

  That was another problem in itself. He could well understand Grai’s need to handle everything by himself while he played the dual roles necessary to hide his actions from his father and Dagog.

  However, if any form of alliance or coalition of forces were to happen, he would not only have to share the burdens but all the secrets and information as well. Ivint wasn’t sure if those were conditions that Grai would be willing to meet.

  Grai was understandably reticent about certain aspects regarding his activities on the planet. Ivint could also understand why. If he did not agree to an alliance, Grai wouldn’t have compromised all of his people or locations. The young warrior was very intelligent. Which was another problem in itself.

  With Grai’s knowledge of the planet, how the government and religious systems worked, even his ability to create large corporations and live among the humans was an advantage that even Banatar didn’t have because they had always thought the answer was to hide.