Casey shrugged, “No, but I think they can take the teaching of the book in and have the advantage. The book isn’t long, not the part they need. A few passages at most a few pages. Most of that book is filled with protective magic and those protections are what gives it the size, not the words contained within. So, if they will just wake up then they could, in theory, beat Miranda when she comes a calling. But, I don’t know how many she will bring with her and every person boosts her power so, it gets complicated. If she brings her seconds she could drain them dry while they are draining their people and in theory beat Craig and Kate, but afterward the clans would be weak from losing so many to a power drain that they would be vulnerable and no in their right mind would do that. Of course, that woman in not in her right mind.”
“Why didn’t your handling of the book trigger anything? For that matter, isn’t Trey’s lawyer a shifter? How did his handling not trigger anything? Yes Trey told me of the book, sort of.”
“I am not mated to a shifter and my family were the honorable keepers of the book because they created the book. I had the book wrapped up and bagged up and then boxed up so the skin of a shifter would not accidentally touch the book.” She grimaced before continuing, “They are coming around.” She motioned to the others.
Groans filled the air and the lightning diminished before finally dying out. The two wolves dancing around in the air split into four and slowly withdrew into their partners.
“Oh gods that hurt worse that killing Lieth. Sibeal, darling, sweetheart, wake up baby. Please darling, open your eyes.” Conall pulled himself upright then pulled his mate into his arms. He shot a glance at his daughter but turned his attention back to Sibeal when she moved.
“Is Kate alright?” she murmured?
“I don’t know, she looks fine, her breathing is steady and her mate looks like he survived. How do you feel?”
“Like someone beat me and then came back with friends and beat me some more. Baby?”
“Yes love?”
“We ran out of reserves too soon.” Sibeal turned worried eyes back to Kate before her eyes searched the room for Marcus. “Marcus, my Alpha, I am more sorry than words can say. I fear I could not protect the entire territory. Get our pack far from here and we will confront my mother alone when she comes calling. Too much power escaped me, I could feel it reach out. I fear we have hours at most before she arrives. She can not ignore what we have loosed upon the earth.”
“I kinda figured that out myself. The pack is evacuating even as we speak. What do you mean what you have loosed upon the earth. What exactly did you loose upon the earth?”
She turned worried eyes back to her daughter and whispered, “A power the world has not seen in hundreds of years.”
They watched as Kate and Craig regained consciousness.
“Fuck me, ow, dammit if you hit me one more time I swear I will find the biggest snow bank I can if I have to fucking build one and dump you head first in the snow. What the hell happened. Did anyone get the license plate of the truck that hit me?” Craig opened his eyes to find himself face to face with the golden wolf who had eyes dancing with fire. He yelped and slung himself sideways taking Kate with him to the floor.
Marcus covered his face with his hands, “We are so fucked.”
“Ow, Craig why did you throw me on the floor?”
“The damn golden wolf was right in my face. Sorry babe, instinct.”
“Craig? The golden wolf split back into two wolves and settled back inside of each of you. There is no wolf lurking around. You must be seeing things.”
Casey and Conall snickered before Conall’s laughter burst out, “I know what happened.” He turned to Craig, “Mate, let me give you a word of advice, never threaten my daughter. You can joke with her all you want, but that threat was real and your wolf knew it. You were stared down by your wolf because you gave a threat to your mate that you actually meant. Don’t feel bad. The damn copper wolf is the same way. Took me years to figure out what was going on. You were the only one who could see your wolf telling you to back down.”
“Damn man, you are fucked so bad if your wolf is not on your side.” Marcus burst into laughter at the thought of what Craig faced in the future. For a moment he almost changed his mind about dissolving the pack oath and expelling Craig and his mate from the pack. He could picture centuries of fun at Craig’s expense.
“Alright people, time to get serious. Kate, Craig, we have hours at most before Miranda comes calling and you have some studying to do. Get to it and tell me what you need from us to get rid of Miranda.”
Kate turned stricken eyes toward Marcus, “We don’t have hours. We don’t even have an hour. The clans must have been on the move long before I opened the book. I can feel great magic converging on this area from multiple points. I don’t know who, but I feel an awful lot of points of power moving this way. Marcus you need to get everyone away.”
“Most everyone should be headed away already.” Marcus took the time to send through the bond to all the pack, The clans are almost upon us, if anyone is still in the territory get gone now. Load up those snowmobiles and head up the mountain. Get off the roads, now. You have minutes at most. Go, now!
“The two of you open that damn book and read it now and figure shit out before the clans arrive.”
“You are too late you fucking cur. The clans have already arrived.” A voice snarled from the doorway before a golden skinned god with flashing gray eyes shoved the broken door down. He walked in the room followed by a small black dog. Casey whistled in appreciation when she saw the man. As he flung his blond hair around his eyes fell on Casey and he winked. “Sorry darlin, but I bat for the other team. Now where have I seen you before? You are no shifter.”
Another man peeked in the room, his black hair falling in waves around his face. “Who, oh that’s Casey, Angelica’s daughter. If you had gone to Italy with me last time you would have seen the painting of her hanging in the great hall of the villa. Hi Casey. Heard you mated a shifter. Not good.”
“Wait, I didn’t mate to a shifter, I mean I tried to find one but no way, it wasn’t me.”
“Then who…” Nathaniel started to say before a voice rang out.
“Uncle Nathaniel?”
Startled eyes swung toward the voice, “Merry? Oh my god, Thomas, it’s Merry! Shit get in here and close the door. Merry what the hell are you doing here? Where did you come from? I thought you were dead!”
“What door Nathaniel?”
“Oh my god Thomas did you hear me? Fuck the door. Merry is alive. Merry what are you doing here? Did you cause the, wait, what are you doing here? How did you get here? I saw your body. What is going on? Thomas, it’s Merry.”
“I know I heard you the first time. Hey Merry, how’s it going. You know you are in a shit ton of trouble right?”
“Come on we gotta get you out of here. Thomas help me.”
“Help you do what Nathaniel? Miranda will be here in a few minutes and, who is that?”
“Who?” Nathaniel looked where Thomas was pointing to a couple of the floor. “Uh Merry dearling? That one looks like a young version of you? Oh, shit say you didn’t? Oh shit you did. Thomas dammit help me.”
“Help you what? Oh shit what? Oh shit, Merry you didn’t?
“I feel like I walked into the twilight zone somehow.” Marcus snarled. “What the hell is the oh shits Merry didn’t what?”
“Have a child. Merry had a child. That is yours right Merry?” Nathaniel never took his eyes off Kate and Craig still laying on the floor. “Oh Merry love, why didn’t you come to me. You know I would have helped you.”
“Ira did come to you and you refused to help. What was the point in my coming to you. Nothing would have changed.”
“Oh Merry love, I had been working for years to get you free of your mother. I just needed more time. I never intended for you to take matters into your own hands. Is that,” he turned to glare at Casey, “you stole the golden book? Do you know how many years
I spent looking for that book to get Merry free? Where did you find it?”
“My family had the caring of it. They kept it hidden. Mother was trying to study it when Merry died. After that she hid it away again. When I left I took it with me. It took a few years of studying it but I finally figured out the secrets are not for any but a hybrid mated witch. So no matter how much studying anyone did of the book the secrets would only be revealed to someone like Kate and Craig. If Miranda had kept her nose out of shifter business the book would still be hidden away. But she messed up when she sent someone after me. I got the book and brought it to the only two people who can use it. And I would do it again a thousand times over. Your sister is insane and she doesn’t deserve to rule the clans.”
“Oh hell, Thomas call Sadie and tell her to get Angelica into hiding before Miranda sends someone after her. She plans on it anyway but since little Casey here just saved my niece’s life thanks to the book she hid I am inclined to let her live.”
“Alright but you know Miranda will be in any minute now so you need to figure out what we are going to do.”
Casey looked at Craig and Kate who had pulled themselves off the floor and were sitting watching the developments around them, “Well you heard the plan, open that book and get to reading. You only have minutes before Miranda arrives and rains hell down upon us. Hurry hurry, chop chop.” Casey sent another longing look toward Nathaniel and muttered, “Why do all the sexy ones always bat for the other team?”
Marcus heard her and snorted.
Females will be rare and safety hard to find.
No future will your race have.
Pack will turn on pack and brother against brother.
As your race destroys itself.
You race will dwindle and extinction will loom.
The safety you offer is but an illusion.
Where safety is not neither shall you have females and safety will be hard to find for your kind.
Chapter Twenty-two
“Seriously? All we need to do is touch her?” Craig stared at the book in disbelief.
“Yeah, good luck with that. You know, that kind of explains a lot. Now I understand why she always kept something between us. Like a desk, or half a room. She never once touched me in all the time I lived there with them. Okay, besides touching someone who threatens a, oh wait, Marcus, I bet that explains what happened to that doctor from the prison. You said he was in the room with my daughter when you found her. I bet you anything he laid his hands on her and the wolf drained him of what made him, well him. So what else does the book say?”
“Well, it says a lot sir but some of the important things are a bit beyond what we can manage in the time we have. Which Kate says just ran out. Miranda, or at least the most powerful power point which had been moving toward us just arrived. Guess it is time to see if we are as good as the book claims a hybrid mating can be.” He held out his arm for Kate to grab, “Come love, let’s go stomp ass and, ow, dammit, ow, stop hitting me or I am going to tell your mother. Hey, why don’t the wolf threaten you for hitting me. I think I got the shit end of this deal.” Craig laughed and dodged the little fist directed his way.
Nathaniel looked from the couple to his Merry, or Sibeal as everyone called her and raised his brows. She and her mate just shrugged. Conall muttered, “I did not introduce them. Matter of fact I did ask her if she was sure about that one. Seems it is too late though. Pity. He seems a bit, careless and kinda dumb. But what can we do, family and all.”
“Yes well, come bitches we have a war to win.” Nathaniel led the way outside and turned in the direction he could feel his sister. “Now remember, let me approach her first. We have to catch her unaware if we are to win. This is going to get dicey. Don’t forget she is linked through me and I can’t break that link so when things start going bad she is going to pull all she can from me. I will start trying to break the links I have but you will not have a lot of time to do what ever magic you can pull off. Ready?”
He heard murmured assents as he walked away leading the others to Miranda.
“Ah sister dear, there you are. Guess what I found out today?”
“The ones who need to die I hope.”
“Well, not exactly. I found out who is the smarter of the two Miranda’s, mother or daughter. Seems you sadly miscalculated your daughter.” He moved to the side. When Miranda saw who hid behind him she turned white. Then fire lashed from her hands at the couple standing side by side. The couple she buried three hundred years ago. Fury raged as she pulled from the clan. She didn’t notice Nathaniel drop to his knees as she yanked all the power she could control from the ones beneath her. While she was busy trying to kill her daughter and mate she never noticed the couple approaching from behind her. If she had been a little more caring of her clan members, and pulled a little less from them, one of them might have called out a warning. She never saw the hands reaching for her. She never saw the golden wolf rise from the couple. Nathaniel, blood pouring from his mouth smiled as he watched his sister’s fire die. He grinned in glee as he watched the drool form at her mouth as her face went slack. His last thought was of freedom.
***
Kate’s voice rang through the clearing, “And another thing I won’t put up with is this shifter against witch and witch against shifter attitude. Your loyalty is to me now, me and my mate. I suggest you take yourselves home and figure out where you think the clans should go from here. Pick some representatives to come to me. Because from this day forth I will not tolerate this better than thou attitude you people have going on. There are going to be some changes in the way the clans are run. So run along home and think on what I have said. If I find one of you threatening a pack member of mine, I will strip you of your magic and banish you from the clans. Oh I see surprise in your faces. Look at the pitiful excuse of your former clan leader and ask yourself if that is where you want to end up.”
Marcus stared around at the clan members still gathered in his territory. He expected a bigger fight. He expected more fire and flame. They had a few houses to replace but not one person in his pack had been injured beyond some minor burning. The scent of burning wood was heavy in the air and some buildings still burned but on the whole his pack and his territory had come through better than he expected. He had sent word through the pack of what had happened but forbid anyone return until the clan members were gone. Lots of protest had occurred over that ruling but his word was law. Which reminded him, if Craig had so much power he would not be able to stay. But Marcus was torn, and could not keep the words of Conall from ringing in his head, but what can we do, family and all?
Casey had been right. He no longer wanted to banish his family from his pack. Each and every member of his pack was family to him. The pack oath bonded them into a unit and he could not see how he could let Craig and the others stay but he could not fathom asking them to leave. Finally he decided to put the decision to a pack vote and mentally shelved the problem for the time being.
He and the others watched as the clan members came to Kate one by one and pledged their loyalty before they turned and left. When the last one had vanished from sight, he turned from the clearing and searched for Conall and Sibeal. He wanted to wait until Kate gave him the go ahead that the clan members were some distance away from the territory before he let his pack return but he couldn’t. Some of the pack had fled via snowmobile and it was too cold up on the mountain for them to stay out much longer. After Kate nodded to him he called though the pack bond for the others to return. He called Jaden and ordered the helicopters return and then tasked out calling the other Alpha’s to Jaden and went in search of Conall.
He found him in the house standing watch over his mate who lay with her head on Nathaniel’s chest crying. He motioned him to come outside. “He didn’t make it? How many other clan members died today? Do we need to go searching for bodies? Truthfully I wasn’t looking for bodies.” Marcus shook his head, “Damn.”
Conall shrugged, “Some bodies
scattered around the woods and between some of the houses. She drained quite a few before the kids overtook her. I don’t know how many. Set one of the teams to sniffing out the dead. We will ask Nathaniel what to do with them when he wakes again. His partner is the one who didn’t make it. He threw the last of himself toward Nathaniel when he saw him fall. Sibeal is upset, as you saw. She thought for centuries her uncle failed her only to find he was on her side from the beginning but was taking the cautious approach. I liked the man when I met him but Ira did try to get his help. Nathaniel was too wary of outside help though to trust in someone that much. Now just when he finds his niece again he loses his partner. War, even short and over quickly sucks balls.”
Marcus clapped him on the back, “That is does man, that it does. You stay here and figure out what to do with Nathaniel, he may be a great guy but he matches the description Trevor gave of the one of the destroyers of the Flanagan pack and bringer of the curse. I don't’ want the man in my territory.”
“I understand. Sibeal thinks he may have a clue to breaking the curse so once we get him on his feet we are going to see what we can do about that next.”
“So the curse didn’t fall with Miranda? I was hopeful. Oh well, we will do the best we can. It is all anyone can ask of us. Now lemme go find those bodies and get them in one place till we can figure out what to do with them.”
“Do you need my help?”
“No Conall, your mate needs you. Stay with her and I will get one of the teams together. I want to have them all gathered up before the children get back.” Marcus walked away calling through the pack bond to his team. He had some cleaning and thinking to do about the events of the day.
Chapter Twenty-three
Gammon and Mia were asleep when the phone rang. He reached for it noting the time as he did. Three in the morning, gods didn’t anyone sleep anymore. He was gone more than he was home lately with everything happening in the shifter world and as a result he was not in the best of moods when he answered the phone.
Miranda Page 11
