by Leeda Vada
“Yes, it is.”
“Why did she send you? Why didn’t my mother come herself?”
“Her physical body no longer exists, Malaida, so she has to use mine,” Calli informed her. “Is that okay?”
“I guess,” Malaida replied, sounding unsure.
Her grip on Calli’s hand tightened. “I’m a little scared. “What do you know about Heaven?”
“I have a brother there. His name is Nathan. He will be with the others who come to meet you. You can’t help but notice him,” Calli said, a smile on her face. “He is one handsome dude, if I say so myself. And he is fierce, though you won’t need a protector where you will be. I also have another fierce friend there. Her name is Aegea, and she is an Amazonian princess. You’ll recognize her easily. She will have fiery, red hair and will be dressed in a shimmering white uniform, carrying a half-crescent shield.”
“It’s getting cold.”
Calli leaned over Malaida, blocking her view of the others who had come to assist. Canaan, several members of Smoke Team, Apollo, and several of the Alphas had gathered. Malaida seemed unaware of the others or the several blankets they placed over her.
“I’m scared.”
“If a tree had fallen on me, I would be scared too,” Calli assured her.
“Not you,” Malaida countered. “You fought those Troopers and saved the baby.”
Calli was taken aback for a moment, surprised the young girl knew about the video. “Oh, I fooled you too,” she said, lightly stroking her forehead. “I was scared the whole time.”
“I don’t believe you. You’re just saying that to make me feel better.”
Calli noticed that Malaida’s voice was getting weaker. “I was a lot like you are now, little one. I was as scared as you are—maybe more so—but I tried to hide it. It seems I did a good job too.”
“How did you do it?”
“There were spirits with me who kept the fear at bay.”
“What does ‘at bay’ mean”?
“It means that I had people there helping me be brave.”
Malaida’s eyes started to widen in fear, and she began gasping for air. She realized that she was talking to Calli, but she wasn’t using her lips. She’d wanted to use her lips, but they wouldn’t move.
“Don’t worry,” Calli assured her, squeezing her hand and bending to kiss her forehead. “Your spiritual self is talking to my spiritual self.”
“Are you dying too?”
“No, it isn’t my turn yet, but your mother is using her spirit to allow mine to communicate with you.”
“My mother?”
“Yes, she is here, using my body to hold yours. To comfort you, so this new journey you’re on won’t be so frightening.”
“Can you let her talk to me, now?”
“I’m sorry, but I can’t do that. She would have to leave my body to do that, and she needs my physical form to hug your body close until the journey is complete. Let yourself feel her love. Concentrate on the warmth of my skin, the slow beat of my heart, and the sound of my voice. Close your eyes. Can you feel her?”
“I guess,” Malaida replied, hesitantly. “I’m not sure.”
“That’s okay. Trust me. She’s here,” Calli assured her. “And when you’re ready, you can go to her.”
“How will I know when I’m ready?”
“You will feel so good. You will not be afraid anymore. Instead, you will feel safe. You will be excited about seeing your mother. You will be curious about who else you will see in the other world,” Calli promised her.
“Some people you know and some new people, like my brother my friend. They will now be your friends too. At that moment you will give your physical body permission to stop breathing and allow your spiritual self to leave and go to your mother.”
“Are you sure that my mother will be there waiting for me?”
“Surer than I am of anything in my life, Malaida. No one loves you the way a mother loves you. There is nothing a child can ever do that will lessen that love. Nothing! I know that with absolute certainty. Despite all the mistakes I have made in my life—and I’m sure you have heard of many of them—my mother Laura still loves me. Her love has allowed me to control my fear, and it has given me the courage to keep going to do the things I needed to do. Your mother’s love for you is no different. Her love was what allowed you to be brave before when you had troubles, and her love is allowing you to be brave right now.”
“But I’m not being brave right now,” Malaida protested.
“I beg to differ, little one,” Calli protested. “You are the bravest person in the world. I have never been with anyone courageous enough to face death with the strength you are showing right now. I am honored that God and your mom chose me to be here with you as you prepare to join her.”
Malaida’s skin was ice cold to the touch. Calli lay her face against the child’s ear and hugged her tight.
“It’s okay,” she whispered in her ear. “Think of a time when she was holding you against her, so close that you could hear her heart beating and feel the warmth of her body.” Calli paused.
All the observers stilled.
After several moments she asked, “Do you see her?”
Then, a faint smile, the softest of whispers, “Yes.”
Calli tightened her hold, lay her head on the little girl’s chest, and wept quietly. She felt Canaan’s strong hand on her back.
A few moments later, Malaida took her last breath. Calli held her, continuing to whisper words of love and encouragement.
No one else approached. She lost track of time. On some level, she was aware of the voices around her.
“During the fireworks, one of the rockets had gone off course last night and landed near the base of a large oak tree, weakening the root system. Unaware of what had happened, the set-up team did not re-check the wires for stability before the sky exercises this afternoon. The weight of so many acrobats caused the roots to give way and the tree to fall.”
“Calli, we’ll take care of things from here,” said Zuri from her position just behind Canaan’s shoulders.
As halting sobs began to escape her, warm, muscled arms tightened around her shoulders, and she was pulled against a wall of strength.
“It’s time, sweetheart,” Canaan whispered against her ear. “Let her go.”
#
Cognizant of the scheduled departure of convention delegates in the morrow, officials wanted to honor the young trainee before they left. The Snow team and the Alpha wives worked overnight to arrange a funeral service for the young orphan.
At sunrise, Warriors from all ten Canid packs stood shoulder to shoulder, filling the courtyard. As the ancient Were anthem played in the background, Zuri led her fellow Flames up the steps of the hastily constructed funeral pyre.
As tradition dictated, Malaida’s body was cremated. Her ashes were placed in a large balloon-like structure. At Zuri’s release, it rose over the heads of the assembled mourners.
When it reached six feet, the notes of the anthem swelled to a crescendo. The Smoke team fired simultaneous shots, and six arrows pierced the translucent membrane.
The Warriors dropped to their knees and Malaida’s ashes rained down on the shoulders of all who had gathered to honor her young life.
Chapter Thirty-Eight
One year later
“I am having second thoughts about spreading our forces so thin,” Apollo commented as he and Belen lay in bed after a morning bout of lovemaking.
Though Belen was not ovulating, she was experiencing denning, one of the effects of Etrus that visited all mated females bi-monthly, whether the female was breeding or not. The husbands remained close by to help the women navigate the emotional rollercoaster of Etrus, which was one of the reasons Apollo had remained on site.
Most Warrior units were on training and recruiting missions or tracking Hound of God operatives that had simultaneously attacked Canid outposts in Serbia, Japan, and South Africa.
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br /> Though wives sometimes accompanied their mates on missions, Apollo would not risk taking Belen into a possible war zone or any area where violence was a possibility. In fact, all senior male members of the Powhatan Council were at Bakari: Apollo, Duncan, Odin, and their wives.
The attack came at 8:30, before many of the community had reached their work sites.
When the alarm sounded signaling the approach of unidentified aircraft, Apollo flicked his comm to confer with Odin and Duncan. Their first concern was securing the women and children in the highest security location, a bunker two hundred feet below the Alpha house.
Parents and Enforcers had just begun the evacuation from residences when the first bombs dropped. Only a third of the children from the rehabilitation center were out when the building was hit. Hungry flames reached for the remaining infants as attendees tried to get them to safety.
Using tanks, Enforcers rolled into the burning structure and pulled children and their caretakers into the vehicles. The invaders struck the Wolf Star garage, the Alpha House, the Infirmary, and the Warrior barracks.
The backup air system activated. Missiles targeted and destroyed invading aircraft. Debris rained down on the campus of the compound, killing and maiming both Canid and humans trying to escape the flames.
Odin commanded his second Warrior squad to the rehab center to help with the children.
The others were dispatched to the infirmary to assist any patients who were not ambulatory. Apollo’s Shielders kept busy ensuring that the first family females and children were on their way to the bunker. After completing that task, they were to secure the facility against entry by any unauthorized personnel.
The emergency facility featured the facade of an abandoned, multi-level warehouse, but it hid a subterranean cave world of the most advanced technological, scientific, and weapons security systems in the modern world.
Similar in concept to old-fashioned air raid shelters, the bunkers were above ground backed up against the Baker Mountains in hollowed-out areas, accessible only through underground tunnels that had been dug during the height of the lucrative kyanite mining operation that was the foundation of the Cumberland nation’s enormous wealth.
There were three levels, each life-sustaining in its own right, and each system was equipped with the provisions necessary to meet medical, nutritional, air, hygiene, and defensive needs.
Only Council family members and mated females were allowed on the bottom level. Level Two housed all other women and children, both human and Canid, and the first level was for all support personnel, human and Canid, involved in maintaining the integrity of the facility. All military forces remained above ground to deflect any attempts to breach the bunker.
By the time the missile attack had been contained, eighty percent of the buildings in Bakari had been seriously damaged or destroyed. Apollo lay seriously wounded, knocked unconscious when a wall of the infirmary collapsed on him while he was carrying a newly injured patient to one of the subterranean support vehicles.
As soon as word of Apollo’s condition reached him, Duncan alerted Canaan at Bodark, his New York headquarters. “Bakari’s under attack. Your dad’s been wounded. We need you.”
“I’m on my way,” Canaan assured him.
#
Apollo was in the satellite hospital on the lowest floor of the subterranean bunker. Canaan approached Apollo’s bedside. Folding the weeping Belen into his arms, he said, “It’s going to be okay, mom.”
“He is so still, Canaan,” she whispered, clinging to him. “I can’t get him to wake up.”
“He will,” Canaan comforted her. “Give him a minute.”
“It’s been over seven hours already,” she sobbed. “That’s too long.”
“Dad has a head of steel. It takes longer for it to mend than that of normal men,” Canaan joked.
Belen frowned at her son, giving his arm a quick shot.
“Where are the children?” Canaan asked, directing his query to Duncan.
“Most are here safe in the bunker. We lost some. We’re waiting on a count now.”
Canaan cursed.
“We need you, son,” his mother pleaded. “You’re going to stay, aren’t you?”
“Of course,” Canaan soothed.
“Where’s Calli?”
“She’s on her way. I was at Bodark when Duncan called. Calli was at home in Aragon.”
“Good. She’s safe there.”
“Yes, but I want her here. Khan and Rand are escorting her in.”
#
When Calli stepped from the elevator several hours later, all present turned to look as Canaan walked to embrace his mate. Belen froze in shock. All eyes in the room followed hers to focus on Calli’s abdomen.
Her daughter-in-law was pregnant, six months or more by the size of her distended abdomen. Belen looked from one to the other of Canaan’s team members who were present. None of them looked surprised. Her nephew, Dakota, showed no emotion as he met his aunt’s gaze.
It was clear to Belen that they had known of Calli’s pregnancy and had deliberately kept it a secret from the Council. She was furious.
After all her talk of a truce, Calli had kept this secret. It took all her strength not to let the disappointment and resentment show in her face. How could Canaan have kept this news from her and Apollo? Surely, Apollo had not known. If he had, he would have told her. Mates did not keep secrets from each other.
Feeling numerous pairs of eyes on her, she pulled herself together and walked over to greet the embracing couple. “How wonderful for both of you,” she said, squeezing Canaan’s arm. “This will make your father so happy. The news can’t help but speed up his recovery.”
Duncan whispered in his son’s ear, “I see that fealty is not a problem for you, Khan. The problem is who gets to benefit from that loyalty. I’m glad you found someone worthy of it,” he said sarcastically, signaling his Stealth team to follow him into the elevator.
Chapter Thirty-Nine
It had been a week since the attack. During the initial stages of Apollo’s recovery—mainly the three days he had been unable to be on his feet for any length of time—he had transferred Power of Attorney to Canaan for all major decisions. Though Canid healed quickly, Apollo’s injuries had been so extensive that his body was taking longer than expected.
Duncan, concerned about the security implications of Calli’s pregnancy and after meeting with Odin and Dakota, had instituted extra levels of security. He feared that those elements in the Canid community who had vehemently opposed Calli and Canaan’s union would stop at nothing to prevent the birth of their child.
Belen had been hurt at the secrecy surrounding the pregnancy, but Duncan understood the precautions Canaan had taken. If Calli had been Duncan’s mate, he would also have taken steps to protect her and the child.
Calli had suffered enough. Her conception was a miracle—a second chance for the continuation of the Powhatan nascent line—only available through Apollo’s blood. Of Apollo’s offspring, only Canaan possessed the nascent blood, which is why Calli’s survival as his mate was such a priority. Only one in a hundred carried the gene. To have it in their Alpha line was a blessing for the Cumberland Nation.
#
The silence in the kitchen was awkward, the air rife with things unsaid.
“Calli, we didn’t just show up for Canaan. We were there for you too,” Tamby told her sister-in-law.
Calli placed the steaming cup of white chocolate mocha on the small table in the breakfast nook. “Are you sure about that, Tamby?”
Calli took a seat across from her sister-in-law. “I don’t recall another instance where you just showed up for me,” she said, blowing on the drink before taking a sip.
“True. But I can say the same for you.” Tamby caught and held her gaze. “I don’t want to fight with you. I know that being back in Bakari is uncomfortable for you. This place holds some very unpleasant memories for you. Can’t you let some of them go?”
Reaching for Calli’s hand, Tamby continued, “For Canaan’s sake? I have never seen him so happy. He smiles now. He even laughs. It has been so long since I have heard his laughter that I forgot what it sounded like. He loves you so much, and I know you love him. For his sake, can’t we all start again, not just for him but also for the child you carry? I’m so excited. Jonathan will be my first nephew.” She smiled, “Can you see me as an aunt?”
“I know you are right, Tamby. I am trying. I want Jonathan to know his family, all of them. All my memories of Bakari are not negative ones. I remember making raisin biscuits with your mom at the table when she would gather a group of us girls to make holiday treats for the patients in the rehab center. She made us feel very special.”
Calli quickly suppressed the sadness and longing that appeared in her face, but not before Tamby noticed. She placed her cup in the sink. “Jonathan will help me make new memories. He is our new beginning. And I think you will make an awesome aunt,” she added, returning Tamby’s smile as she headed upstairs.
Tamby remained at the table, holding her cup of country peach tea at her chin. She pondered the likelihood of Calli being able to put behind her the pain of her last year at Bakari.
Tamby had been careful not to bring up the relationship between Calli and her mother. She wondered if even the miracle of a new baby could heal that wounded relationship.
#
Later that evening, the females of the family gathered in the private family recreation room to enjoy an impromptu baby shower for Calli.
Still waiting on Laura, who was running late from her job at the rehab center, Calli had yet to start opening presents. The unexpected arrival of ten recently rescued infants had meant that Laura, as director, had the task of calling in additional workers to process the babies as quickly as possible.
The shower attendees had just finished a round of “Pin-the-tail-on-Canaan’s Butt” and were laughing uproariously. Nia was red-faced, as she had just pinned the caricature of Canaan in a very inappropriate place.
It was several moments before anyone noticed Calli’s distress. She was grabbing at her neck with both hands, trying to get something out of her throat.
