by Maggie Walsh
“We are a small group of a certain breed, which as you have mentioned, not many even give thought to, so how can we possibly be the salvation for all paranormals?” Dell asked.
Councilman Darby sat forward and met Dell’s gaze, then Ridge’s, and continued where Councilman Vale left off. “Because of your location, as well as your numbers and strength. As Julius discussed with you, there are some in our world that are not happy with the way the Council is leading our people. They believe that the prophecy of the Reckoning and the Purge is a made up scare tactic of the Council to try to keep everyone in line. This all began about a hundred years ago, when a few of these groups got together and decided that they thought it was time for the paranormal race to stand together and fight against the humans and take over. They want a full-on war with the humans, killing as many as they can and enslaving those who surrender, or are left behind after the war. We can’t let that happen. Yes, it sucks that our kind can’t come out of hiding and live among the humans peacefully, yet it is how we have always lived, and may have to continue to live for a long time. We have been fighting this war since it started and at times have gained ground, but at other times we have fallen behind. These factions are beginning to get the upper hand and their numbers have been increasing, no matter how hard we have been trying to stop them.”
“As I said when we first met, Dell, my nest and I, as well as a great many others, have been right there on the front lines of this war trying our hardest to break up these factions and stop them,” Julius picked up where Councilman Darby left off. “It hasn’t been easy work, but it is necessary, and I for one will not stop as long as I have breath within me. The things these...animals, excuse the pun, are doing to our kind, their own kind, as well as humans, are unforgivable, and they must be stopped. I can’t tell you the number of people my nest and I have personally rescued, forget what the others who are doing this work have done as well. With each year we have hope that all we have done is make a difference. That the sacrifices we make are worth it, and we’re actually getting ahead of these fuckers, but then we come upon a group and the horrors we see... would break your heart. Our people are suffering greatly. It is the reason I, and others like me who work for the Council, have agreed to have our good names tarnished and everyone made to believe that we are the bad guys.”
Dell’s heart clenched hearing Julius speak so passionately about what was going on in their world that he and the others in the region have been so blind to. It made him want to join the cause and do whatever he could to help. “You’re right that we have had no idea of what has been going on in the rest of the world. Unfortunately, living where we do, just surviving has been our main focus, but now that I know, I can’t just turn my back on it. Councilman, you said that the Council was planning on approaching us at some point in regards to this, so what is it that you want from us?”
Councilman Vane sighed as he ran a hand down his face, then replied, “All the paranormals we have been rescuing have nowhere to go once we have them. Some have stayed with their rescuers, pledging to help, like Fane and Oberon have done with Julius. They have given over their lives for the cause to help others who are in the same situation they had been in, but there are so many others that can’t. The horrors that they have endured are just too much for them. Some have spent many years learning how to pick up the pieces and go on with their lives, while others haven’t been able to. The Council has set up a remote refuge for the most extreme cases, for them to live out the rest of their lives if need be, but the ones who are in between, the ones who have fought to regain their lives, but don’t want or can’t join the cause, need somewhere to go.”
“What about their birth packs or nests or wherever they come from? Can’t they return there?” Caleb asked.
Councilman Vale’s eyes filled with sadness as he looked to Caleb, and replied, “Unfortunately, most can’t, because it was their leaders who put them in that horrible situation to begin with. Many of our kind have sold their own people to these sick bastards.”
Dell heard the quick intake of breath from a few around him, and felt the press of Jude’s leg against his, alerting him that Jude was tense. He could feel the rage rolling off Jude, but was proud of the man for holding his tongue and just listening. There was a lot Dell wanted to say, but he also remained quiet. He needed to hear everything they had to say, then he would ask whatever questions he had, and move on from there.
“How can people do that to their own kind? Don’t they know that they are sentencing these poor people to hell? All of these paranormals you're talking about can’t be criminals themselves, so I’m assuming many are innocents?” Caleb asked, the anger apparent in his voice.
“Yes, they do know and they don’t care,” Councilman Darby replied. “And you are correct, Alpha Mate Heart, some of these individuals are considered criminals, but the vast majority of them are innocents. These rebellious groups have their hands in all kinds of illegal activities, and most of their members are the worst of their kind, of our kind. The human governments know of them and try very hard to find and stop them, but they have no idea that they are paranormals, and because they are paranormals and these organizations are run by paranormals, humans don’t stand a chance in stopping them. That’s why the Council has our own undercover operatives, like Julius. He and his nest have been a huge asset to our cause. They have taken thousands of guns out of the hands of this rebel organization, as well as a countless amount of drugs, and have rescued many.”
“I’m guessing that Silvan has something to do with all of this,” Dell surmised, catching everyone's attention.
Julius met his gaze and Dell could see respect in his eyes. Julius smirked at him as he replied, “You would be right, Dell. From the start I knew I liked you. You’re smart and right to the point, which is as I told you, I appreciate, so I will respect you and in turn do the same. These rebels are organized. There are two men that sit on the top of the chain that all the others answer to. One of those being Elvir Delchev. He and his group are one of the top producers for their cause. Delchev is the one who is in charge of the paranormal black market. He is a very powerful man and has a very long reach, but as I said, even he answers to someone, or in this case two someones. We have clawed and scratched our way up to get to the top. Delchev is the highest we have been able to reach. I have done many things in my work for the Council to get to this point and I can’t stop now. We’re close to getting the names of the men in charge. Once we do that, we’ll hunt down their location and work on getting our foot in the door with them, then finally attack from the top.”
“Fuck,” Fane hissed under his breath.
Dell flicked his gaze to the man and saw Fane clench his jaw, his eyes filled with rage. The pieces were starting to come together for him. “So that’s why Silvan is your second,” Dell stated. “And why you asked me not to touch him, or allow Fane to take his rightful retribution.”
Julius nodded as he looked to Fane, his eyes showing his regret. “Yes.” Julius looked back to him and met Dell’s gaze. “My nest and I have worked for many years to get our foot in the door with Delchev. Long before we rescued Fane, Oberon, and the others with them, Timor Delchev—who everyone knows as Silvan Thoran—is the only son of Elvir Delchev. It’s a cover name for him because of who his father is. There are many out there that would love to get their hands on Silvan to use against Elvir, to control him or take him out so they can take his place.”
“So, that’s the promise you made to his father and why Silvan is your second,” Fane stated as he moved closer. “None of us could ever figure out why you would put such a sick weasel in his position.”
Julius looked back to Fane, and replied, “Yes. As you know I have known Cyrian for many years. Since he was a teen actually. He was good friends with a son of my former second, Wilson. Cyrian and Kelly were the best of friends, and because of that he spent a good length of time within my nest, and due to his connection to Kelly, he was under my protectio
n. One day I received a very surprising phone call.” Julius turned his attention to Lady Salle and gave her a gentle smile, which she returned and tilted her head in acknowledgement.
“Anyone who showed kindness to my son and did whatever he could to protect him was a friend of mine,” Lady Salle added as she looked at Julius fondly, then turned her gaze to each of them. Once it met Dell’s she stopped on him. “As you know my coven is the strongest, and one of the reasons why is that I have a member that has... shall we say special abilities. This person can see things. They have visions of the past, the present, and the future. Some would say they are a prophet, but it’s not as glorious as that. This person, and I say person because it is my job to protect them always, which means to also not let it be known whether they are male or female. Anyway, my... let’s say seer, came to me one day all upset, and told me of a vision about Leader Valerian. In this vision they saw everything in his life, from his birth to his death. Some of the things they saw were very eye opening, like his work for the Council, and some things were disturbing. Because of how good he had been to my Cyrian, I felt obliged to warn him of a few things.”
“Unbeknownst to me, Abigail had also been working for the Council for many years. And because of our conversation, we went to the Council together to discuss these visions and what they meant for our kind and all the work that we have all been doing,” Julius explained.
“One of those visions showed Julius meeting with Delchev, and things did not go very well. Someone within Julius’s nest had sold him out, and informed the leader of a band of these rebels that Julius and his nest were secretly working for the Council, then this person had gone to Delchev with the information. Thank the gods for that vision, because it enabled us to take that person out before they could get to that leader and then to Delchev,” Lady Salle said.
“So that enabled you to meet with this Delchev?” Ridge inquired.
“Yes. Because we stopped the traitor before he could speak to anyone, the meeting I had set up with Delchev took place, and it went better than I expected,” Julius said. “During our discussions, Timor... Silvan, had come into the room very upset about someone not doing as he said, and he demanded his father kill the person for disrespecting him. Instantly, I knew the little shit was an elitist piece of garbage, and I wanted to strangle him myself. Elvir excused himself and took Silvan from the room, then returned a few minutes later apologizing for his son’s youthful inexperience. You don’t know how badly I wanted to scoff at that and call the kid out for being a spoiled brat, but I held my tongue. In the meantime, Elvir was frustrated with Silvan and let it be known to me. I don’t know whether it was out of a momentary loss of composure, or if he was just fed up with having to deal with his son, but the man started talking about not having any hope for Silvan’s future. That’s when I saw my opening. Elvir told me about his people’s frustration over Silvan, and how he was afraid one of them would kill his son, so I offered my protection. Not that I wanted to have to deal with the little brat, but I knew I could use it to our advantage and show Elvir that he could trust me. So, I took Silvan in, we changed his name, and I have been protecting him since. Everything was working out fine until Elvir called one day demanding my people show his son more respect. The little asshole had called his father, complaining about how no one in my nest took him seriously. So, after a lot of contemplation, and an agreement with Wilson, we came up with a plan. Wilson went to stay with Lady Salle and her coven and would continue his work from there, deep undercover,” Julius explained.
“So, he’s not dead?” Fane asked, surprise evident in his voice.
Julius looked to him, his gaze apologetic, and replied, “No. Wilson and Kelly are both fine. We came up with a story that Wilson had been killed in one of our rescue missions, and that Kelly was so distraught over his father's loss that he took off. Cyrian has known, of course, because he still sees Kelly at the coven when he visits, but other than that, I didn’t let anyone in my clan know the truth. I didn’t want to risk Wilson or Kelly’s lives, or that of anyone in Abigail’s coven. Then, I made Silvan my second and demanded my nest treat him with the respect due to his position. I know a lot of people weren’t happy about it, but they would do whatever I asked of them.”
“So, I’m guessing that appeased this Delchev guy?” Ridge inquired.
Julius looked to Ridge, his jaw tight and his eyes now filled with anger. “For a while. Until Silvan whined about something else.”
“And what was that?” Dell asked.
Julius sighed heavily as he looked to Lady Salle. She nodded and Julius returned his attention to him. “His mate.”
CHAPTER 10
Fane
To say he was floored by Julius’ announcement was an understatement. He and the rest of Julius’ nest had always wondered how the asshole had gotten the position of second, and why they had never been able to retrieve Wilson’s body after that mission, but they knew better than to question Julius. Everyone in the nest respected and trusted Julius completely, so they kept those questions to themselves, or spoke in private and in hushed whispers. But a mate? How the hell was Julius able to promise that? And a true mate? Fane was confused.
“His mate? How could you make such a promise with so few of our kind finding their true mates? Even with the Reckoning and the Purge and more of our kind finding their true ones all the time, it would still be impossible for you to make such a promise,” Ridge argued.
“Unless you have a way of doing that,” Dell stated, his voice calm—too calm as far as Fane was concerned. He could hear the suspicion and coldness in Dell’s voice.
Julius gave Dell one of those shit-eating grins of his that Fane knew would mean there would be a moment when Julius would drop another bomb. Fane held his breath, afraid of what it may be, and how the two formidable alphas would take it. “Not exactly, but…” Julius flicked his gaze to Lady Salle then back to Dell, “...we do have ways of making people think they have found their true one.”
Motherfucking hell! He knew there was a bomb coming, but Fane had no idea that would be it. The knowledge that some out there could trick people into thinking they found their true mate was scarier than anything Fane had ever heard before.
Curses coming from around the table brought him out of his thoughts and Fane focused back on the gathering. Dell, Caleb, Ridge, and Jude all looked beyond pissed, and Fane couldn’t blame them. The ramifications of what Julius had just declared could have far-reaching consequences.
“I think you need to explain that statement as fast as you can, before these meetings are over and I have my men escort you off my lands faster than you can blink,” Dell threatened through clenched teeth.
Julius held up his hands and looked to the two Council members, then to Lady Salle for help. She gave him a strained smile, then turned her attention toward Dell. “That is my doing, Dell, but with a good reason, and I can promise you it has only ever been done twice, and both times only because of dire need. To keep the alliance that Julius had worked so hard for with Delchev, the Council discussed what should be done. Once, a very long time ago, my mother was able to cast a mating spell that was also to help the Council with something similar. When they asked me if I could do the spell, I was reluctant, because, one, I am the only one still alive who can perform the spell, and, two, because the only way the spell will work is if it is used on someone of my blood,” she confessed.
Gasps rang out through the room as what Lady Salle was actually saying dawned on all of them. Cyrian was Silvan’s mate. Well, supposedly. From day one everyone had felt bad for the cute young witch for being stuck with Silvan, but now to find out about this. Did that mean that Lady Salle and the Council had... whored out her own son?
Lady Salle looked to all of them with eyes full of sadness, and Fane could see tears brim her eyes. “I can see from all of your reactions that you understand my meaning. Yes, I used the spell on my own child, but not without his permission. I could never do that to my ba
by.” A tear escaped and rolled down her cheek, and the witch looked down.
Dell reached across the table and placed his hand gently over Lady Salle’s. She looked up and met his gaze with her watery one, and Fane could see her bottom lip tremble slightly. “Thank you for telling us that, Abigail. I know that was hard for you. We don’t know you enough yet to know why you would do that, but I’m thankful you did. My impression of you is that of a wonderful woman, who cares about not only her people, but all paranormal kind. And a mother who loves her son with all her heart, so it was disturbing hearing you say you would do that to your own.”
“I agree with Dell. Thank you, Abigail. I’m sure there is more to this story, and I think we need to hear it,” Ridge said softly.
Julius reached out and took her other hand, then turned back to the alphas and continued, “One of my members had found their true mate and Silvan raged on about how unfair it was for someone like that to be blessed in finding his mate while he hadn’t. He thought that because of who he was, that he should be the one to find his true one before any other. Silvan thinks he’s a fucking king because of who his father is and the rest of us are beneath him, even me. It’s the reason why he ignores all my rules and does as he pleases, which sets a very bad example for my people, but I need to try to keep the little shit happy, so that I can continue to work with Delchev and, hopefully, get him to trust me enough to confide in me about who the men are that control all of this. When he went whining to his father about this other person finding their true mate, Elvir called me and said that it was good news that someone in my nest had found their true mate, because that meant that I and my people were blessed by the gods, and that because one had found their mate that meant others would. Elvir believed that it meant there was a better chance of his son finding his own true mate, so that when the Reckoning and the Purge came, Silvan would be saved.”
