by Lucy Kelly
So Laura benefitted in return. She was walking now with the help of a cane and hoped to be able to lose even that small amount of assistance soon. She and Alex took slow walks in the woods every day, Maggie had prescribed exercise as being good for the babies. For now Laura was allowing her to be a little autocratic. If it got to be too much, she would just override the programming.
She understood all their fussing was how they showed her they loved her.
Epilogue
It was the second week in July, Laura and Alex were hosting a barbeque. The porch was filled with about twenty shifters from the local packs as well as a few of the shifters they had invited to live in the underground facility.
Laura had gotten bored with calling it the “underground facility” and started calling it Moleville, because of all the tunnels. Lola’s brother, Lars, and sister, Lila, had arrived and brought some Barbegazi with him. The Barbegazi were snow dwellers and normally didn’t come out of their tunnels until after the temps dropped below freezing, usually sleeping during the warmer seasons, kind of like a reverse hibernation. They also preferred the higher elevations, like the Yeti. However, when they heard Frieda had come to the mountain, a small family had decided to emigrate, joining Lars and Lila on the journey over.
They quickly made themselves at home in Moleville and were currently taking care of any tunneling needed. Marshall immediately hired them to work at the ski resort during the winter. They could travel at high speeds over the snow and even had the ability to ride an avalanche. They would be wonderful additions to the ski patrol.
The barbeque was going well, Alex’s parents had arrived the previous week. She loved how his mom called him Sasha, which was the traditional Russian nickname for men named Alexander. She had started calling him Sasha too, she felt it made her one of the family and Alex didn’t seem to mind. He loved hearing her say his name, especially in the throes of passion. She remembered when she had first met Bella, Alex’s mom.
“Alex, how come you don’t take better care of your mate? She’s limping! Come to me, katushka, I will take care of you,” she said. As a Kodiak bear shifter she was also a big woman, standing six feet tall in her stocking feet. She wrapped Laura up in her arms and squeezed her tight. Now she knew where the expression ‘bear hug’ came from!
“You are too skinny. I will make pelmeni, Russian dumplings, you have to take care of your babies, katushka!” she had scolded. When Laura had explained about her wheelchair and learning to walk again, she got more hugs and kisses. It was wonderful!
Today it was hot and called for casual. For the first time in her life Laura felt she had legs worthy of showing off. Her muscle tone was well defined and her legs no longer looked skeletal, though they were still very slim. She wore cuffed shorts in poppy red and a white shirt with a sequined American flag on the front. Mara had given it to her as a gift for the 4th of July party they’d had. With blue flip-flops on her feet, she was sitting on Alex’s lap and feeding him potato salad.
“I’m going to go inside and check to see if Lola made some more lemonade. It’s nearly as popular as the beer,” she said, giving her mate a quick kiss as she got up.
Alex enjoyed the view as she walked away. While she wasn’t showing, and wouldn’t be for another couple of months, he was already looking forward to seeing her waddle around, her belly round with their cubs. He was enjoying the pleasant daydream when the perimeter guards alerted them to a strange vehicle coming up the road.
Since Laura’s house was the only one on the road, they had posted it as private property where it met the highway. There were always shifters roaming the nearby woods.
Jason, one of Laura’s guards, stood up from his chair and picked up his walkie-talkie. “What’s the make and model of the car? We’ll run the plates,” he asked.
“There are several males in the vehicle it has a rental sticker in the window. They look to be human. I think Alpha Laura’s family has arrived,” said the guard at the road. He set up a howl and the shifters in the woods went on alert and started converging on the road and more specifically, the path up to the house. They were still unseen by human eyes, and alert for any possible danger.
In the oversized SUV they had rented, seven Donahue men were preparing to convince Laura to come home. Unfortunately, in all the time they were looking for her, none of them had thought about what would happen if she refused. They were all so accustomed to her being their easy-going daughter and sister. Now they realized the amount of work she had put in to moving away. The sheriff had mentioned the house had been built from the ground up to her specifications.
After traipsing all over the state, they were surprised to find her in this tiny rural community. There were more animals per square acre than humans. If they only knew!
“She can’t plan on living here through the winter. She’d be too isolated. Maybe that’s why she originally planned to have us come for her birthday and stay through Thanksgiving? So she could come home with us then?” asked Evan from the rear seat.
“It snows as early as October in this part of the state. You make a good point about the weather though. We can use that argument on her,” said Josh.
They continued to discuss possible means of persuasion as their brother, Aaron, navigated the twisty mountain roads. When he made the turn onto San Miguel Road Steven called out, “Hey, did you see that? I think I actually saw a bear behind that tree at the turn. Do you think the wildlife could be dangerous?”
“She only goes outside at night too. They could take her unaware, she’d be totally defenseless,” added Benji.
By the time the men reached the end of the road, they had strengthened their resolve to convince Laura to come back to Maryland. They were surprised to see cars parked at the end of the road. Did Laura have guests?
“It’s that boyfriend she told us about. He’s probably got a bunch of freeloading friends hanging out at Laura’s house,” growled Aaron.
“She’s too naïve to know when she’s being taken advantage of,” put in Steven as Aaron parked and they all exited the Suburban.
Laura’s father was the only one not talking. Like always, he was concerned for his daughter’s future. An asset as valuable as Laura, the NSA and other agencies were going to want to keep track of her. So far he’d been able to keep them at bay, using every inch of his own clout. It wouldn’t last for long. She was unique in her ability to take random pieces of information and work up not only a viable theory, but a highly accurate one.
He had never told her the puzzles he’d given her to keep her from becoming bored were live scenarios. She’d already saved lives, preventing two terrorist attacks. He not only wanted her back home, he needed her there.
They all started walking up the curving wooden plank walkway that followed beside an ingenious tram system they couldn’t help but admire. Laura had really gone all out.
Now and then they heard some rustling in the bushes but when one of them would look to the side of the path, all they saw were trees and bushes. Had they looked up a little higher, they might have noticed the mountain lion standing on a branch overhead, ready to pounce at the first sign of a threat.
Another curve in the path and the house came in to sight. As did the large group of people gathered on the wide front porch. The wall of windows along the front of the house was a shock, they hadn’t expected that of Laura.
Doug Donahue was focused on finding his daughter and he didn’t see her amongst the people gathered on the porch. A thump behind them caused them all to either spin around or look over their shoulders.
A large cougar had dropped on to the walkway behind them and was slowly walking forward. Out of the trees came a black bear, three wolves, a bobcat, and a cheetah. A cheetah?
“What the fuck is going on,” whispered Steven. None of his brothers answered him.
“Let’s go up to the house. None of the people there are screaming and running, the animals must be tame. Leave it to Laura to have animals on her pro
perty,” said Aaron.
If the men walked a little faster, well that was only to be expected. Walking up the stairs most of the people stood and moved back behind a round table, which held four men and two women. One of the men and one of the women were obviously an older couple. They had the look of people that had been together for years.
“You must be Laura’s father and brothers. We’ve been expecting you. You know Wes, our local sheriff?” Alex said, gesturing to one of the standing men with his hand.
“Who are you, Doctor Doolittle?” snarled Aaron.
Before anything else could be said by any other party and tempers could flare out of control, the front door of the house opened.
“You’re here!” shouted Laura as she stepped into the sun and saw her family for the first time in months. “I was going to text you directions but Wes told me he had already given them to you. And you seemed to be having so much fun looking for me. Did you all have a nice vacation? This is beautiful country isn’t it?” she said.
The smile had dropped from her face as her father and brothers just stood there staring at her. Finally, Doug Donahue found his voice.
“You’re walking! And you’re in the sun! You can’t be my Laura,” he said.
“Long story, Dad, but yes, I’m Laura. Almost healed up,” she said, waving the cane. She stepped over to the table and sat down in Alex’s lap again.
“Sasha, honey, did you introduce everyone?” she asked.
Aaron took one step forward, an angry look on his face. He wanted to confront the man who currently had his hands all over his baby sister. Before he could take a second step, the cougar moved in front of him and started rubbing its jaw along his leg. He immediately froze even as he fought the urge to bury his hands deep in the golden fur. He’d never been so close to a wild animal this large before. Or even a tame one, as this one seemed to be.
“Oh look, Marsha really likes you,” said a voice from the door. Looking over at the little old woman, emphasis on the little, who came out of the house, he got another shock. The cart behind her seemed to be moving under its own steam. It was laden with pitchers of lemonade, beer, and glasses. Evan’s manners kicked in and he leaped forward to help with the cart.
Doug hadn’t seen anything happening around him, he was still concentrating on his daughter. He didn’t even notice the tears running down his cheeks.
Laura got up from Alex’s lap and walked over to give her father a hug. “Why don’t we go inside? We can have a private visit. My friends won’t mind. The party is going to last all day,” she suggested.
She wasn’t surprised to see Marsha follow her brother into the house. Frieda leaned down as they passed by. “He’s just perfect for you, dear, a strong alpha. You’ve chosen well.”
Laura had some whispered words of her own for her mate, “Did you notice, my brother, Evan, could see Lola and Lila, I wonder what that means,” she said before stepping inside to introduce her new family to her old one.
Books by Lucy Kelly
Nephilim Series
HeVan Sent
Between HeVan and Hell
HeVans to Becky
HeVanly Christmas
Gateway to HeVan
Match Made in HeVan
HeVan Earth
The Changelings
Laura’s Secret
Time Travel Series – Coming Soon
I would love to hear from you!
Website: http://www.authorlucykelly.com/
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Email: [email protected]
Excerpt from HeVan Sent
Nephilim Series Book One
by Lucy Kelly
Ishnam, Supreme Queen of the planet HeVan, turned away from the window and slowly made her way back to her bed. She could feel the poison wending its way through her body. She only had a few hours left now. Still, she had time to finish one last act to prevent her enemies from succeeding in all of their traitorous plans.
She looked around her room; it wasn’t overly opulent, for a room in the palace. She gave in to a show of grandeur in the throne room, with its mirrored walls and gold and red tapestries framing the windows. Beautiful crystal chandeliers hung from the tall ceilings, lighting every corner. The marble floors had a plush red runner leading up to the ornately carved gold throne. It sat on a dais, with three steps leading up to it.
The throne had been in her family for centuries; it had been a gift from the people, but she’d always thought it was horribly uncomfortable. Her Ankida had ruled by her side so she’d had three additional chairs carved out of hardwood. They had been inlaid with rare woods and precious metals from every province on HeVan. She’d personally selected the cushions covered in the colors of her House. At least they could sit comfortably while she handled matters of State. She often requested their opinion on various problems and had found their counsel to be wise. She missed them with her whole being.
Here in her bedroom, only the size of twenty feet by twenty feet indicated wealth. The bed was large enough for her and her three mates to sleep comfortably. She reached over and picked up the pillow next to her and breathed in the scent of her Ankida, barely lingering there. Her heart broke a little more at the loss; she would be with them soon.
She looked over at the curved, wide couch where they all sat together so many times. It was covered in white and gold brocade, with beautiful multi-colored pillows for added comfort. She remembered lounging there in the mornings with her Ankida, having their breakfast, or in the evenings during story time with the children.
News had arrived about her successor ─ her only daughter was missing and presumed dead, her ship tossed into hyperspace by a jump gate malfunction. She suspected this accident was also no accident. Now, since she herself was facing death, she realized the betrayal went further than even she had realized.
The Queens of HeVan had been blessed with a special gift. They shared a link with the planet HeVan itself, as well as with the people, keeping the world in balance. This power affected all aspects of life on HeVan. The Supreme Queen, known as the Nam-Nin, was the physical representation of Mother Earth for them all.
Only the Queen knew the secret place from where the first Nam-Nin had joined with HeVan and received the power to link all living things together and keep the planet in harmonious balance. As Queen Ishnam lay back in her bed, she decided she wasn’t beaten yet. The power she held had been passed from mother to daughter in an unbroken line going back for millennia. The location of the place of Joining was passed along in the same way, lest it be forgotten.
She thought back to a month ago. Merél, her friend and confidant for many years, came to her and told her the time to pass her powers was approaching.
Merél was a powerful Seer of the present and past. On rare occasions, usually regarding things of great importance to their people, she would get a vision of the future. One such vision, she said, had prompted her to speak with the Queen.
Ishnam knew now Merél had not really had a vision. Yet, Merél’s warning had caused the Queen to make the one decision which would give the planet hope and allow Ishnam to pass from this world with less fear for the future of her people.
At the time, still believing in her friend, Queen Ishnam wasted no time. Her three Ankida had recently been killed in an explosion. Her grief was great; she thought her own end would come soon. Her only daughter, Tamiel, was scheduled to leave for an Interstellar Conference. She should already have left but delayed her departure due to a volcanic eruption in the northern region. So the Queen took advantage of the delay to take her daughter into her private chambers.
Her power, which linked her to the planet, she passed on to her daughter that very day. The action she had taken and the one she would take now would, with the blessings of the Goddess, save her people. Since she’d received word her daughter’s ship had malfunctioned while traveling in hyperspace, she began putting her plans in motion.
Queen Ishna
m, known as the Nam-Nin to her people, was also dying. It was another betrayal.
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