by Mikayla Lane
“Why is that bad?” Deanna asked, wondering why the brothers looked so stressed.
“He dragged Tristan there and is waiting for us. Dad knows something went down, but because he’s not a Dranovian, we have to lie to him,” Haruki replied.
All of the brothers looked to Mikal, hoping he’d know what they should do about their dad and protect their baby brother from trouble at the same time.
Mikal ran a hand over his bald head then folded his arms across his chest.
“I will speak to Father,” he said in a voice that told the brothers to let it go at that.
“No way. I found the place, I should help,” Haruki said, refusing to budge.
“We can’t tell him anything about the place. You all know that right?” Shane added, his head down.
Everyone nodded their heads, and Haruki looked over at Deanna.
“You can’t say anything about the pyramid to anyone. Ever. Can you do that?” Haruki asked.
He was hoping like hell they wouldn’t have to do some mind trick to keep from outing their secret.
“I’d never do anything to hurt you,” Deanna promised.
“Good enough for me,” he whispered back and kissed her cheek.
“Fuck! He knows we’re coming back and he’s heading into the hangar. Look alive guys!” Mikal warned.
“Dad’s on the warpath!” Shane said and pretended to duck and cover.
“You guys hid Trick and Dread, right?” Haruki asked, looking around the ship for the Tezarians. “Are they still passed out?”
“Oh fuck me running and sideways,” Shane said and slapped a hand over his face.
Mikal’s white eyes glowed a little brighter as he looked over at Shane.
“Tell me you had them transported like I asked before we left the mountain,” Mikal growled.
“We can’t turn around now, Dad’s looking right at us. We’re landing in 5, 4, 3 . . .” Deacon called out.
Deanna braced herself for a bump that never came, but no one moved either. Suddenly the door was wrenched open so hard she jumped and cowered against Haruki’s side as a large man stormed onto the ship with dark eyes blazing with fury. He was followed by several seriously angry men who blocked anyone from exiting the ship.
“Where the fuck are our brothers?” Drago demanded.
“What he said!” Mirage added.
“You’ve gone too damn far this time!” Grai boomed out. “Where the hell are the Tezarians and what the fuck is going on?”
Ainsley was awakened by the noise, and she held a finger to her lips when Dante looked at her, then she disappeared.
“Father, we need to talk,” Mikal said, moving to stand in front of Grai.
“Let them out, Dad. No one is going anywhere,” Chris called from outside the ship.
Deanna looked around the ship at the brave and heroic men who were leveled by a sharp look from their father and she bravely stood and walked over to the intimidating man.
“Hi, I’m Deanna Bostik. I’m the one who caused all the trouble when Haruki had to rescue me,” she said, her voice trembling only a little.
The angry expression left Grai’s face when he looked at Deanna. He took her small hand in his own and smiled down at her.
“You are Haruki’s mate,” he said matter of factly. “I am glad to meet you. If you step outside the transport, my daughter can help you get settled.”
Deanna pulled her hand from Grai’s warm grasp and shook her head.
“Thank you, but I’ll stay with Haruki,” she said before turning back to sit.
“Our brothers?” Drago growled.
“Grai!” Ainsley squealed in fake surprise as she pretended to wake up. “Did you hear?”
“Come here, little one,” Grai said and opened his arms.
Ainsley ran down the aisle and threw herself into his arms, not bothering to port.
“It didn’t take one of these idiots to officially adopt you for me to know you’re my grandchild,” he whispered as he held her close.
“Our brothers,” Drago growled again.
Ainsley looked over at Drago in surprise.
“You mean Trick and Dread? They’re asleep in the back,” Ainsley said, looking confused.
“Asleep?” Drago asked incredulously.
“They were knocked out when the battle broke out with Mike and his men,” Shane said, leaving out the details.
“My brother?” Drago asked in doubt.
“No fucking way,” Mirage agreed.
“Everything happened so fast!” Deanna said. “Haruki was shot and dying, and Mike’s men used some weird weapon that struck the two big guys and they hit the ground hard.”
Grai raised a brow at Haruki, who just shrugged a shoulder.
“Bullshit,” Drago said as he pushed past everyone to get to the back of the ship followed by Mir.
Moments later, Trick and Dread were being carried off the transport by their brothers. Drago turned at the doorway and glared at Mikal.
“This isn’t done,” he snarled before he stormed off.
“Ainsley, honey, please take Deanna to meet your aunts,” Grai said, folding his arms across his chest.
“I’ll stay,” Deanna replied, taking Haruki’s hand.
“You want to do this with her here?” Grai asked Haruki.
“Honey, go meet the rest of the family,” Haruki suggested, knowing by the look on his dad’s face this was going to be bad.
“No. You stayed with me when things went to hell, I’m not leaving you,” Deanna argued, refusing to budge.
A small, dark-haired boy walked onto the ship, and Deanna was mesmerized by the complex movements of his fingers in the air around him.
“Tristan, you go back out there and wait for me,” Grai ordered the boy.
“That’s Tristan?” Deanna blurted out in shock.
There’s no way that adorable child is the light bringer who wrecked that mountain, she thought.
Several of the brothers groaned, knowing they were busted now.
“Gods be damned! I knew it!” Grai roared.
Chapter Twenty-One
Deanna stared nervously at Haruki’s father while the man appeared to have a meltdown. She wasn’t surprised when Haruki pulled her behind his back but was stunned when the brothers all passed her behind their backs. Suddenly, half a dozen brothers were standing between her and their angry father.
Another man came out of the cockpit area of the craft and moved to stand in front of her as well. With a grateful sigh, Deanna climbed onto the nearest seat so she could see what was happening.
Her eyes were immediately drawn to the small boy whose fingers flew through the air as if to a song only he could hear. Shimmering sparkles danced in the air from his fingers, and she watched in amazement as he began to grow until he stood taller than his father.
“He’s got wings!” she shrieked in awe.
The brothers chuckled, and Tristan shot her a grin and a wink before he turned to his father.
“Dad, I love you more than you can fathom, but this is one thing you aren’t meant to control or know,” Tristan said then grabbed his father in a hug.
Moments later, Grai collapsed in Tristan’s arms, and he gently lowered Grai to a row of seats.
“Oh bro, what the fuck!” Shane said, freaking out.
“He’s just asleep and will remain that way. I will take care of his memories. He will only recall a mission you had in Alaska, and you did a great job, and it’s over,” Tristan assured his brothers.
“That’s great until Dread or one of the Tezarians remind him,” Luca said.
“When I leave, their memories will be only of Haruki going on a mission. They will never know Dread and Trick left,” Tristan said. “Now where is my new sister?”
The brothers parted in the aisle, leaving a path to Deanna. She honestly thought she’d be afraid, but found herself walking towards Tristan until she stood in front of him.
“We aren’t real formal around he
re,” Tristan said and pulled Deanna into a hug.
“Oh! They’re so soft!” Deanna whispered when she felt the wings on his back.
Tristan laughed and pulled away from her.
“You’re definitely going to fit right in,” he teased her before looking over at Haruki. “Take her away for a day or two, but make sure you return for the Consecration. You all have to be there for that.”
“I think I can handle those orders,” Haruki said with a laugh before he hugged Tristan.
Haruki turned to Deanna and held out his hand.
“Will you trust me?” he asked.
“Always,” she said as she put her hand in his and let him pull her out of the ship.
They barely reached the ground when he had to catch her before she face planted on the ground.
“Oh! I’m sorry!” she said, still looking around at the massive hangar they were in and not paying attention to her feet. “Where are we?”
“Washington D.C. The capital of corruption, greed, and home to us!” Angel shouted and threw her arms around Deanna. “I’m Angel, the sister of those 23 heathens.”
Suddenly Deanna was being passed around a bunch of women and other brothers until she was dizzy. There was no way in hell she was going to remember who was who.
“Get her out of here,” Chris said and gently pushed Deanna into Haruki’s arms.
“Finally!” Haruki said with a huff. “Where’s my daughter?”
“I’m staying with them while you’re gone so I can finish our new place!” Ainsley said excitedly. “I want to surprise you both!”
“Aww!” Deanna said and hugged the girl. “You’re so sweet. I’ll bet whatever you do will be wonderful.”
Ainsley hugged Deanna back and grinned up at her.
“Now take my Dad outta here,” she said.
“I would if I knew where to go,” Deanna replied with a wink.
“I got that covered,” Haruki said.
He took Deanna’s hand and led her towards a small ship that looked like those triangle shaped craft in the UFO videos online.
Before she could protest or ask where they were going, was strapped inside and the ship was shooting up in the sky at breakneck speeds. She grabbed hold of the armrests and held on for dear life until Haruki leveled them out.
“Where do you want to go?” he asked, turning in his seat to grin at her.
“What? I thought you knew where we were going?” she shot back, more nervous than she cared to admit.
“I have a few places in mind, but thought I should at least ask where you’d like to go first,” Haruki said.
“What are my options?” Deanna replied, wondering where they could go on a ship like this one.
“We can tour the planets or go to any country. We have compounds on every continent,” Haruki offered.
“The planets? You mean, like take a spin around Saturn?” she teased, feeling giddy with excitement.
Haruki laughed and nodded his head.
“Yeah, we can take a spin around the planets and spend the night on my uncle’s ship, the Devil’s Destroyer. Koda is my Dad’s brother and a fantastic guy. His ship is one of the most incredible I’ve ever seen,” Haruki said, pride in his uncle reflected in his voice.
“You know, most kid’s brag about their dad’s expensive car or house, you can brag about an uncle with a freaking UFO and a brother who has wings!” she said with a laugh, unable to believe they were even having this conversation.
“Did you really think someone as unique and smart as you should settle for a mundane mate?” Haruki said.
“Mate . . . I have to say that after hearing it so much over the last few days, it doesn’t sound nearly as scary as it did at first,” Deanna admitted with a blush.
“Hold on,” Haruki warned her as they left Earth’s atmosphere. “Artificial gravity in 3, 2, 1. There, you can walk around now if you want.”
“And miss this view?” Deanna whispered as she stared at the moon and stars around them. “It’s more beautiful than I ever imagined. What direction is the tri-worlds?”
Haruki started tapping something on a panel in front of him, then swung the ship around to face the other direction.
“That way,” Haruki said and pointed towards the Sirius star system.
“Past Sirius?” she asked.
“Yeah. It’s hard to believe we were just there only hours ago,” he said with a shake of his head.
“I swear I had to pinch myself a dozen times just to make sure I wasn’t dreaming or dead!” Deanna admitted with a laugh.
“So did I,” Haruki agreed.
A comfortable silence had passed between them before Deanna turned to Haruki.
“Maybe we can go to the other ship now? I could really use a shower and comfortable bed,” she admitted.
“I’m so glad you said that. We’ve been heading there since we left Earth,” Haruki said with a grin.
“Pretty confident were you?” she teased.
“Pretty tired and figured you were too,” he teased back.
“I’m starving too! I noticed you didn’t eat anything on Dranar either,” Deanna said, impressing him with her situational awareness.
“I was ready to stop you if you tried. Maybe next time I’ll give it a go. After that Scilian drink I wasn’t sure we should tempt fate,” Haruki said.
“Incoming Dranovian craft, this is the Devil’s Destroyer. Identify,” echoed through the ship.
“Koda! It’s Haruki. I need a place to hide with my new mate for a night or two,” he said and grinned over at Deanna.
“Congratulations! Does Grai know? Surely he would have told me by now,” Koda muttered the last.
“I left it to my brothers to break the news to him,” Haruki said, hoping his uncle would believe the lie.
“Well come on in! I’ll have Emily get one of our best quarters prepared for you and give you all the privacy you need! You better introduce us to her before you hide, though,” Koda said with a laugh. “Proceed to docking bay four-alpha-two.”
“How the hell do our satellites not see that thing?” Deanna asked in amazement.
The ship they were approaching began to block out the stars the closer they got to it.
“It’s cloaked. The only reason we can see it is that Koda designed the screens on our ships to be able to see anything hidden by cloaking technology. I told you, he’s a genius,” Haruki said with pride.
Deanna was so amazed she unbuckled her restraints and stood to get a closer look at the massive ship they were entering. Her hands were plastered to the screen and her eyes darted around the well-lit tunnel as they glided slowly through a long expanse of metal.
“Sit for the airlock,” Haruki warned her as they approached a huge metal door with lights flashing all around it.
Deanna sat but leaned forward in her seat as they passed through the large door. When she moved to stand again, Haruki held his arm out and shook his head.
“There’s two more for decontamination and security,” he warned her.
“Security?” she asked as they passed through another metal door.
“It checks for foreign electronic devices. It prevents someone from bringing something damaging on board through human technology,” he explained.
“Like what?” Deanna asked, curious what could harm such an advanced race.
“Tracking or spyware apps, explosive devices, miscellaneous other potential threats,” Haruki said with a grin as if it was nothing to have to worry about such things.
“What happens if something is found during a security check?” Deanna asked, thankful she had no devices to bring with her.
“Most can be rendered inactive where they are and removed when we land. Others would require quarantine to be handled. There’s never been a security issue on one of our ships. My brothers and I are far too careful. Trust me,” Haruki assured her, sensing her increased nervousness.
Deanna shook her head and smiled at him.
“I
don’t know why I’m worrying, I’d have been dead two days ago if it wasn’t for you,” she said, then blushed and turned to look out at the last door.
“I can say the same about you and Alderic. My track record is like 2-2 right now,” he said with a laugh.
“Is your life normally as chaotic and crazy as it’s been the last few days?” she asked.
Haruki sighed heavily as he followed the lights leading him to where he needed to park the ship.
“It’s kind of like in fits and starts. We do a lot of research before we execute a mission and that means a lot of downtimes. You’ve heard mention of a Dark Prime. This guy can only be compared to pure evil. We’re hunting him and his associates,” Haruki admitted.
“Mike was one of those associates wasn’t he?” she asked, already knowing the answer.
“Yeah, he was,” Haruki said. “We also got leads on several more, including the Speaker of the House. That means more research and downtime.”
“But the missions are always dangerous aren’t they?” Deanna said, not really needing the answer.
“The people we fight are dangerous, but things don’t usually go as bad as they did this last time either. We’ve been doing this a long time, and we’re usually really good at this. The whole pyramid thing threw us on this one. I can’t promise you it will be easy, but doing the right thing never is,” he said, hoping like hell she’d understand.
“So the women stay home with the kids while you go out and try to save the world?” Deanna asked, crossing her arms over her chest.
“Have you met my sister?” Haruki asked in shock. “Or Lara, the leader of the Prime? Damn, the guys only wish they could keep them protected and out of trouble! Hell, my own daughter got caught up in the last mission and saved my brother, Chris, from killing himself along with the Dark Prime. I have no delusions that you won’t want to be involved somehow when you figure it all out, and I have no intention of stopping you.”
“Are you serious? You’d give me guns and let me fight?” she challenged, not sure if she believed it.
Haruki parked the craft and shut down the engines and other systems before he pulled her out of her seat and led her to the hatch.
“I’d give you the best damn guns and armor we can make or find, and I’d fight right beside you if that’s what you wanted. But, that’s not what you want, is it?” he teased. “You just want to know you can.”
