“You could have come to the plant.” Ted wasn’t looking at her. He’d fixed his gaze on something behind her desk.
“Hmm. I hadn’t thought of that. So many people come and go, I don’t ever consider leaving. But yes. I will go with you now and you can show me the plant.”
“Why?” Ted asked skeptically.
“Because, if you’re going to be the mayor’s husband, I need to know more of what you do.” She leaned toward him trying to gauge his reaction.
He sat stone-faced, frozen in place. He barely breathed. His lips trembled as he finally opened his mouth to speak. “But I’m not going to be the mayor’s husband.”
“Listen, Ted. I want to be straight forward with you. You can’t imagine what it's like to watch your husband grow old and die. I won’t go through that again. I want the company of one who won’t die on me. In this, there is no choice. You are a good-looking man, Ted. You and I together. Once you explore it, you’ll see that it makes perfect sense, that it is logical. You can work in the power plant as usual. You can go on your adventures with Terry Henry. I won’t hold you back from anything that you do. You may not think you need someone, but you do, Ted. Like your wolf pack needs you, you need someone as well, someone who isn’t going to die on you, no matter how old you live to be.” Felicity finished her speech and relaxed, crossing her arms under her breasts and standing elegantly before her desk.
At least he was thinking about it.
Or she’d made him catatonic. She couldn’t quite tell.
***
“I want to join the FDG,” Kae told Marcie. She crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes at him. She stood in the small kitchen of their small home on the western side of North Chicago. The livestock farms were nearby and when the winds shifted from the west, the smell was almost enough to chase them away. Thankfully, that was a rare occasion. Mostly the breezes came off the lake.
Kae bounced William on his knee. The little man would stand, but his one-year-old legs wouldn’t hold him up for long. He had yet to take his first step, but they expected it would be soon. Mary Ellen was playing outside where they could see her.
“Oh, really,” Marcie answered. “You want to make me the dutiful housewife. What if I told you that I wanted to join and you needed to raise the kids by yourself?”
“But you don’t want to join,” he replied. She was very much like her mother in some ways and completely different in others. Every day of his life with her was both interesting and worth living. He wouldn’t have it any other way.
“I’m making a point!” she declared loudly, uncrossing her arms and ramming her fists into her side as she threw her shoulders back.
Kaeden knew enough about women and his wife in particular to recognize that tone of voice as the no-win scenario. He was in the dog house. His was to tread carefully with the right words as he worked to extricate himself.
“You are so beautiful! I can’t imagine leaving you behind,” he said smoothly.
“Oh, really,” she repeated, unconvinced of his sincerity.
“Really. If you wanted to join, I would support you one hundred percent!”
She smiled evilly, taking Kae by surprise. “Then we’ll both sign up,” she declared triumphantly.
Kae sat there with his mouth open, having lost a battle he hadn’t known he’d been fighting. William wondered why the bouncing had stopped and started to whine.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Lake Michigan
Terry reclined against the side of the boat. He held the tiller in his naked lap. The sun beat down, not drying the sweat from his body. Char was sitting on the other side of the boat, smiling and caressing the side of Terry’s leg with one toe.
She was naked too, but not covered in sweat. The Werewolf’s body temperature was abnormally high. She liked it cool outside, but could stand the heat without the show that her husband liked to put on.
“My, oh my,” Terry said loud enough to be heard over the waves slapping against the hull. “I don’t know how I can love you more with each and every passing day.”
Char’s purple eyes sparkled in the daylight. The sun danced within the waves around the small sailboat. Their world was about the two of them, lovers on the open sea, no one around to bother them. It was the epitome of peace and freedom.
Terry threw his head back and sighed long and loud. With his eyes closed, he smiled at the sky and drank in the sunshine.
A buzzing sounded from the clothes piled within the seat storage. Terry leaned forward, put his feet on the deck, and pulled out the communication device. His smile gone, he looked at Char as he answered.
“Akio-sama,” Terry said, frowning.
“Terry-san, I hope I didn’t catch you at an inopportune time,” Akio replied smoothly.
Ten minutes ago would have been inopportune, Terry thought and almost started to laugh. “Not at all. Char and I have the sailboat out on the lake. It is a beautiful day here, Akio-sama.”
“A day that is meant to be enjoyed,” Akio replied. Terry waited; Akio never called to make small talk. “We have found a Forsaken in the vicinity of San Francisco who has ordered a group in Germany to increase their numbers to three hundred within ten years.”
“Three hundred? We can’t let that happen, but you already know that,” Terry said, his mind starting to churn. “San Francisco? Do you know anything else about the Forsaken there? We can fire up the pod and be there early tomorrow morning, arriving at their bedtime,” Terry suggested.
“We don’t have any more information than that. We intercepted a communication between the two. If you haven’t been to the new San Francisco, it is recovering rapidly from the quakes and the turmoil. Trade with Japan is robust, Terry-san,” Akio added.
Char took her clothes out and started to get dressed. Terry watched her, not growing tired of seeing her magnificence.
“I’d like to conduct a reconnaissance of San Francisco. Is there anything we should watch out for?” Terry asked.
“The Forsaken is called Mister Smith, but I believe he is of Chinese descent, maybe from the Sacred Clan. He was talking with the New Schwabenland group. They have crossed us before. Your pod is Schwabenland construction delivered by the Sacred Clan,” Akio responded.
“Yanmei was Sacred Clan and Mister Smith was responsible for Kirkus,” Terry said without thinking. “We will take a group to San Francisco and see what we can learn. No one will know that we were ever there. We will find this Mister Smith. I have a personal bone to pick with that one.”
Char held Terry’s clothes out to him.
“Please wait for me, Terry-san. I have a proposal and a need.” Akio signed off without waiting for a reply.
“Ten years,” Terry said, putting his pants on first, shifting his weight expertly to keep from falling. “Mister Smith. Kirkus planted that seed in my mind. That asshat created Kirkus and who knows how many others. I want to personally kill him. I want to see him suffer, and then I want to see him die.”
“What do you think Akio’s proposal will be?” Char wondered, trying to keep Terry from diving too deeply into the rabbit hole.
“I’ve stopped trying to figure him out. I’m sure it will be something that moves us closer to eliminating the Forsaken, so I’m all for it.” Terry pulled Char close and hugged her fiercely. “I’m ready to go kill me some Forsaken. What about you, lover?”
“Me, too,” she answered with a smile, purple eyes sparkling. Terry’s flashed red for only a moment, before he grabbed the tiller and prepared the turn the nose of the sailboat through the wind and take her home.
Char dove across the boat, landing on her husband, where she bit his chest hard enough to draw blood. She started tugging at his unbuttoned shirt, working to undo the work that he had just done to get dressed.
“I guess there’s no rush to get back,” he said softly.
North Chicago
Kimber looked at her husband. Auburn looked back, smiling, his white teeth standing out against his dar
k features.
“What?” he asked, reaching for her. She danced away from him.
“My brother and Marcie are joining the FDG,” she said flatly.
Auburn’s smile evaporated. He turned away to look out the window at one of the larger pastures of the Weathers ranch. Part of the herd grazed close to the fence. The grasses were tall this summer and it was bright out, but not as hot as years past. He hoped the worst of the harsh weather was behind them. His parents had told him what it was like in the before time.
He hoped he lived long enough to see that again—green fields, trees, and animals. He’d lived in the heart of the wasteland, on a trickle of water that they called a river.
Auburn remembered only bits and pieces of a time long before. His older brothers remembered much more, including the pain of living there. They gave their younger siblings a hard time for not having suffered more. Auburn knew they were jealous that the youngest of them suffered the least and now thrived with the rest.
“I hope they do well,” Auburn muttered.
“I’m going too,” Kim said softly.
Auburn had expected that from the first day he met Kimber. He was surprised when she turned eighteen and wanted to move west with him, to a homestead bordering the family ranch.
He’d been as happy as a man could be with her, but he always knew that something was missing.
He wasn’t surprised that she finally surrendered to the Walton family business.
“Does your dad know?” Auburn asked.
“No. Not about either of us, but he’ll find out soon enough.” She moved close, but he faced away, continued looking out the window. Kim wrapped her arms around his waist and hugged him from behind. His was the firm, lean body of a man who worked hard for a living.
“I thought we were going to have kids,” he whispered. He was raised in a large family and hoped that he’d be blessed with five or six little ones. They’d learn all there was to know about livestock and the ranch. He’d raise them so he and Kim could retire while they were still young enough to enjoy it.
His parents had taught him that in this new world, it was the parents’ responsibility to take care of the children, just until the children could return the favor. Auburn had never been old enough, but his brothers, Clemson and Alabama, had been. They took care of Claire and Antioch as much as possible, even taking turns living with them in their quarters close to the diner.
Claire Weathers loved the diner and the fact that they named it in her honor. She had wanted to start a restaurant ever since Felicity planted the seed at Terry and Char’s wedding.
Communal dining had been critical for survival when the community moved to North Chicago. Claire had made it about more than just getting sustenance. She made it about eating well. She showed the people what it meant to be a family. She adopted every person who walked through those doors.
All of it was made possible by Terry Henry Walton and his Force de Guerre.
“Mom said we would owe your father for the rest of our lives for what he did for our family, how he protected us and gave us the ability to support ourselves and others, too. If you want to join, I’m behind you, but then, come home to me while we’re still young enough to survive our kids,” Auburn said, turning to hold Kimber tightly. She purred into his chest.
“I think we’ll get weekends off,” she said, looking up at him, her face set. “Every minute I have free, I’ll be here, although I may be tired. I grew up seeing those workouts. I think married life has made me soft!”
Auburn smiled. He didn’t think she was soft in that sense. She was lean and hard, just like him; well-toned, just like him. They usually never sat down, except to eat, and then they collapsed into bed.
“I wonder if the two munchkins are coming to stay here?” Auburn asked, keeping an arm over Kim’s shoulders as he returned to looking out the window. He referred to Kim’s niece and nephew as the munchkins, because they were a little shorter than the average Weathers child, but every bit as spunky.
“Maybe, so what will you do if they ask?” she wondered.
“I’ll practice on them, so if I make any mistakes, we hand them back over and get it right with our kids!” he quipped.
***
“I think you’ve been drafted,” Cory said.
“What’s that mean?” Ramses said innocently.
“It means you’re going to FDG training.” She cocked her head, appreciating the lines of his face. She reached a finger to his eyebrow and smoothed the hairs, then drew a line down the side of his face.
He did the same thing, tracing her silver streak of hair, then playing with her wolf ear.
“Stop it,” she whispered.
“No,” he replied before pulling her face to his. She didn’t resist. They kissed, long and slow, each with a hand cupping the other’s face. They sat on the ground, in the middle of the park, in a world where only they existed.
Cory was shocked back to the present when she heard an argument nearby. When she realized who it was, she rolled her eyes and shook her head.
Her father was pointing in her direction, trying to make his case about something called a nunnery, but her mother was having none of it. Cory stood and pulled Ramses to his feet. She took his hand and strode boldly to her parents. Ramses tried to resist, but Cory yanked his arm forward. He staggered along a half-step behind her.
They stopped arguing when Cory approached. She looked at them. “Did you two just have sex?” Cory demanded, glaring at her parents. Terry couldn’t reply.
Char appreciated the effort, seeing her husband speechless. “Not as far as you know, dear,” she replied. “Ramses, I hope you can join us for dinner. We didn’t catch any fish, but one of the fleet shared a few from their catch, so we were going to grill on the beach. I hope you can make it because you are always welcome at our table.”
She turned to face Terry, who had finally closed his mouth. “Always,” she reiterated.
“Always,” he repeated softly.
Cory smiled widely, showing her perfect teeth. Her eyes glowed blue as usual. She looked up at Ramses and pulled his face to hers for a quick kiss. “We’ll clean them for you and meet you on the beach!” she said in a singing voice, grabbing the bucket that had been sitting on the ground behind her parents and running ahead.
Ramses stayed where he was.
Terry closed his eyes. “Don’t you think she’s worth running after?” he said.
“Yes, sir,” Ramses replied softly before high-tailing it out of there.
“That wasn’t so hard, was it?” Char punched him in the shoulder. “He seems like a good man, TH. She could do a lot worse, you know.” The park had emptied, leaving Terry and Char alone. “We showed her what love is all about. Is it wrong that she wants a piece of that for herself?”
“No. I thought I was ready, but I wasn’t. Don’t hold that against me.” Terry blew out a breath and then sucked on his teeth.
“The only thing I’m going to hold against you is my hot Werewolf body,” Char teased as she snuggled close to Terry. He nuzzled her neck, caressing it with his lips when he caught a movement out of the corner of his eye.
“Ah, the wayward youth!” he said, pointing with a head nod. Char turned to see Kim, Kae, their partners, and the two kids purposefully walking across the park. “I think we’re going to need some more fish.”
CHAPTER EIGHT
North Chicago, the shore of Lake Michigan
They would have had enough fish if Clovis hadn’t gotten two of them. With one look, Char sent Cordelia running to Claire’s Diner for replacements. That left Ramses alone with the family. Terry licked his lips while his daughter’s suitor looked around wildly.
“Cory tells us you want to join the FDG?” Terry said without preamble.
“We’ve talked about it, but I’m not sure,” he replied, trying to meet the colonel’s penetrating gaze. Terry’s blue eyes seemed to bore through the young man. He crossed his arms defensively.
; “We are,” Kae said, standing up and speaking boldly. “Marcie and I are joining.”
“I am, too,” Kimber stood up, looking questioningly at the young man who was trying to woo her sister.
“Looks like you’ve got some competition, young man,” Terry said in his colonel’s voice.
“If Cory is going to join, I guess it won’t be a problem,” he replied softly.
“Cory is the group’s healer,” Char told him. Her tone carried a sharp edge. “That means that she works separately from the warriors.”
“That’s it! Into the water with him, and he stays there until he comes to his senses.” Terry nodded to his kids. Kim and Kae circled the small fire. Ramses backpedaled, but was way too slow.
Kim and Kae seized Ramses’s arms while Auburn grabbed his legs. He tried to kick, but Marcie punched him in the stomach hard enough to make Terry wince. They lugged Ramses to the water’s edge and swung him back and forth until the count of three when they let go, launching him into the gentle waves.
He flailed mightily as he flew through the air, but it didn’t change the outcome. He splashed down, going completely under before finding his footing and standing up, spluttering.
Kim and Auburn, Kae and Marcie, and Terry and Char laughed. Ramses shoulders sagged in defeat and humiliation. Terry handed Mary Ellen to Char, balancing both the kids in her lap as she wondered what Terry was going to do.
“Stand aside,” he ordered. He stomped past the two couples and went into the water.
“Follow me,” he told Ramses. Terry continued into the lake until it was too deep to stand. He treaded water and waited. The young man wasn’t used to the water and struggled to stay afloat. Terry moved closer to shore so Ramses could stand.
“The Force de Guerre is my baby. I established it to protect the people of New Boulder by creating a defensive boundary based on offensive action. What I’m saying is that the FDG has always been a preemptive strike force. To hit them before they hit us takes training, a god awful amount of training. We have to be faster and stronger than anyone we go up against, because we’re hitting them in their house, where they will fight harder to defend it. We have some incredible weaponry, but that is minor compared to the weapon of the mind. We build warriors in the FDG. Any one of them can operate independently and do what needs to be done to accomplish the mission. This is what you will be joining. There’s no maybe to it. Do you get me?”
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