Fragments

by Aya DeAniege

  “You might say the same things, but he puts it in different terms. From an outside perspective.”

  “True. But how do you claim a G14 without breaking them?”

  “I don’t know. I’m just hoping he does.”

  Chapter Sixteen

  At some point, I fell asleep. When I was awoken later by Gerrid gently nudging me, he announced that we had been called to lunch in the dining room. He helped me shower and changed the dressing on my wound.

  To get to lunch, we went a different way than before. I got the feeling we were taken through clean hallways to the dining room. We showed up just as an Alpha was setting his satchel bag on the table.

  The stranger looked like Alex. He shared that same hair colour and eyes, even his face was reminiscent of Alex’s younger photos.

  And Rachel hadn’t noticed? She should have. If she had paid attention even a little bit in school, she would have recognized him right away.

  “Gerrid,” he said.

  “Morgan,” Gerrid said.

  Morgan turned to Abraham and nodded stiffly. “Abraham.”

  “Morgan.”

  “I was told this was a working lunch,” Morgan said as he reached for his satchel.

  “I wasn’t,” Gerrid said, pulling out his phone. “Oh, if I had bothered to check my network notifications, I would have known and brought my tablet. He wanted the women here, though.”

  Morgan pulled his satchel off the table suddenly and set it on the floor beside his chair. Rachel slipped around us and went straight for Morgan. The pair hugged, wrapped up in one another’s arms, but only for a moment. Rachel was too shy to do more than that in public.

  Then she pulled away and rejoined me.

  We sat at the table and waited. Another stranger walked in, Theo was his name and he introduced himself just the same as Morgan and Gerrid had greeted one another. But only to the Alphas, then he sat and pulled out a tablet of his own. When Blane entered, the same thing happened, then with Peter trailing along behind him.

  Peter took a seat beside Abraham and stared openly at me.

  “Peter is joining us?” Abraham asked.

  “I asked him to for two reasons. The first and most important being security. The second was to see his reaction to the sisters. Peter?”

  “That one is different than that one,” Peter said.

  “He means Rebecca is different from Rachel,” Blane said.

  “Only you could translate that for us,” Abraham muttered.

  “Which is why I did it. I’ve been attacked, and my Doms have allowed Alphas into my territory who are plotting against me. While you might not help me for that reason, you may because this all was started over Rachel and Rebecca being outed. They want the girls dead.”

  “Where’s Penelope, if this is so important?” Theo asked.

  “Laying with her feet above her head,” Blane said. “She thinks it will help conception.”

  “I’m sorry, my family is at risk because some men have their panties in a bunch?” Theo asked.

  “Yes,” Blane said. “Oh, Rebecca, this is your Uncle Theo. He and your father were brothers. Matt is also your uncle, but not by blood. Of course, the Alphas don’t know that. Only those here know. It will spread no further than that.”

  “I thought Penelope was Matt’s niece,” I said.

  Rachel seemed to have left out the part where Matt was our uncle. She had told me that the Alphas owed a debt to our father, but not that we were that intimately related to the household of Blane.

  “She is,” Blane said. “Which makes her your cousin by marriage.”

  “My problem with this is that we have men attacking women,” Abraham said. “I realize there is always dissent when it comes to changes, and women above Alphas is a big change. They only accepted the female Alphas because Daniella and Penelope are especially violent for Alphas. Women who are not Alphas should not need to be bloody or violent for the men to back off.”

  “They’ve not had a whiff of either of them,” Blane said. “Several Doms got a good sniff of Rachel. After the masquerade they all smelled Rebecca. She had her hands on all of them before she made her choice. Now, those Doms haven’t caused problems, but they want me out of the way. In doing so, they allowed the women to be put into harm’s way. That cannot stand.”

  “Are you going to throw another masquerade?” Morgan asked, shifting uncomfortably.

  After a moment of thought, I wondered if that was an uncomfortable shift, or if Morgan was excited. The other Alphas at the table seemed to shift in a very similar manner.

  “No, I’ve called them all here with a bloody invitation,” Blane said.

  “What’s a bloody invitation?” Morgan asked Theo.

  “They are mentioned through history and may vary from Alpha to Alpha. Blane, what did you choose?”

  “I cut the heads off the ones who attacked us and nailed the invitation to their foreheads, then had them shipped out. Expedited in sealed boxes. The Alphas won’t smell it until they open the box, at which point it will unravel so they cannot possibly hide from it.”

  There was a little, frightened sound. It wasn’t until everyone, including Rachel, turned to me that I realized that sound had come from me. I looked down at my lap as Gerrid set a hand gently on my shoulder and gave my temple a kiss.

  “Uh, I apologize, Rebecca. I will watch my words more closely from now on,” Blane said gently.

  “I realize you say they’re special, but enough to apologize?” Theo asked.

  “Blood may not be effected,” Gerrid said.

  “We aren’t related by blood,” Theo said.

  “Theo didn’t exactly like his mother,” Blane countered, then turned toward my uncle. “Rebecca gives off the same hormone as an Alpha’s mother. That which a breeder gives off after giving birth, which causes her son to bond with her and protect her throughout his life.”

  “For all Alphas?” Theo asked.

  “Most likely, yes, just not you, maybe?”

  “It may not be your mother at fault for that, but perhaps the fact that you are related to them” Gerrid said. “An Alpha and his son only bond through experience, the same could be true for women like they are. If you did bond otherwise, you’d spoil them, much like you would your own mother.”

  “We’re not blood related,” Rachel said.

  “But an Alpha who adopts a daughter will treat her as his own blood,” Blane said. “Children can be adopted into a household. It’s possible Theo recognizes you as blood, even as he understands that you are not.”

  Theo considered, then made a little noise. “Morgan, my niece was bred against her will. I’ve been told the man who did it is still alive. Why are you suffering a rapist to live?”

  “My Dom commands it for the safety of the companions and breeders he broke. Until we know for certain, we can’t—what’s that look for?”

  “I thought you were the Dom,” Theo countered.

  “No, Rachel is the Dom,” Morgan said with a finger jabbed toward her. “She broke Owen and, in doing so, took over his area by our laws.”

  Theo’s eyes went wide. He turned slowly to Rachel, looking her up and down, then turned to Blane stiffly. He made a sound at the Master as if questioning his sanity.

  Blane shrugged.

  “During the attack, I did not help her in any fashion. The ones I allowed to live were those that saw her in action. Or more of, related how this woman appeared out of thin air and slaughtered their companions as they watched. One even related some madness about Rachel laying hands on a friend and commanding that friend to kill the others. It took three of them to take him down.”

  Theo’s mouth fell open. The colour drained from his face as he forced his mouth shut and turned his attention to the plate before him.

  “That’s barely trained. We’ve had about, what, a week with her?” Blane asked as Theo twitched, but kept focused on that plate. “Yes, and, what was it you told me when I tried to say something, Abraham?” />
  “Now you know how normal people feel when you tell them tales of your executions,” Abraham countered.

  “I believe it was something like that. My reputation is cemented. They know that a Dom swept through my halls and murdered the intruders. Doms should protect their Masters, not the other way around. I just need to come up with a way to reward her for her so called loyalty.”

  “So called?” Rachel asked.

  “If I thought you were loyal, we’d be eating steak and you’d have a knife,” Blane countered.

  As if on cue, or because he knew his servants well enough, the door opened and several servants entered with food. They set before each of us a piece of fish with a grain and some sort of green thing I didn’t recognize. I looked up as Blane looked around the table smugly. He had a steak before him.

  “Hey,” Abraham said.

  “If you got one someone else would complain about being fair,” Blane said, then he glanced at Matt, who just seemed to stare at his plate.

  “He napped,” Abraham said quietly.

  “Tell me, Peter,” I said as I picked up my fork. “Do you have companions?”

  “Yes, three,” Peter said. “Abraham gifted me an A, and I found two C’s on my own.”

  “What’s that mean?” I asked.

  “I am a very blessed Alpha,” he said.

  “Have you bred yet?”

  Peter glanced down the table nervously at Blane, then looked at me as I brought food to my mouth. He watched my fork move back to my plate and seemed nervous about the action. I turned to Blane, who, upon making eye contact with me, picked up his fork. Then I turned back to Peter.

  “Well?” I asked.

  “No, not yet,” he said.

  “You should move in with Blane. He’s about to breed. You should do the same. Alphas raised together are more likely to be stable, I think someone told me that once.”

  “That is very true,” Blane said. “But Peter has a job.”

  “I, uh, I do. What’s going on?”

  “What do you mean?” Blane asked.

  “She ate before you did. I’ve been smacked around for doing as much,” Peter said. “You’ve flung things at Abraham. Gerrid had a broken nose, and I’m certain Morgan’s been physically assaulted on more than one occasion, but this woman can eat without permission?”

  “Go sniff the side of her head.”

  “Seriously?” I asked.

  “Seriously,” Blane said.

  Peter stood and grumbled all the way around the table. He bent and sniffed my temple. There was the sniff, then another. He straightened and bent to the other side, giving it a sniff as well.

  “What is that?”

  “I told you, Mother,” Blane said.

  “My mother didn’t smell like that,” Peter said, moving back around the table to his seat.

  “Your mother isn’t a carrier,” Blane responded.

  “That’s possible?” Rachel asked.

  “She probably carried it as a recessive trait,” Blane said. “Alpha and a body do have a pretty high chance of making an Alpha under the right circumstances. Let’s face it, we’ve been doing it for centuries. Both parents being a carrier guarantees it. Just, treat her like you would your mother.”

  “My mother usually waits to eat at my table, out of deference to me.”

  “I didn’t have a mother. If she wants to eat first, she can eat first.”

  “You shouldn’t spoil her too much, or she’ll get fat,” Peter said.

  “I’m not a cat,” I protested.

  Blane made a sound at the back of his throat, but didn’t seem concerned about the fact that Peter had just talked about me as if I were some sort of pet. A companion could be referred to as a pet, perhaps, but not me.

  “My Doms will be here tomorrow night. I expect they will bring small armies with them. I am inviting you all to participate in the bloodbath. Except Matt, he’s going to be in the safe room again, this time with Rachel, Rebecca, and several bottles of wine.”

  “Fuck that,” Rachel snapped. “You don’t invite all your Doms and then leave me out of it.”

  “Someone has to look after Matt,” Blane said. “You know I don’t like him drinking alone.”

  “You can’t make a point of inviting all your Doms and then leave me out of it!”

  “And I will be there,” I said.

  “No,” Gerrid said desperately.

  I turned to him, then looked across the table at Theo. He was watching Gerrid. For far too long, he kept his focus on the younger Alpha, then he looked to me, looking me over. He turned to Rachel and seemed to do the same.

  “I strongly advised Patrick to teach you two to fight, did he?”

  “Yes, he did,” Rachel said.

  “It’s worse than that,” Blane said.

  “How can it be worse?” Theo asked.

  “They can make themselves invisible to Alphas. Little trick, we’re like T-rex.”

  “Have short little arms and are extinct?” Theo countered.

  “We can’t see it if it doesn’t move.”

  “The T-rex thing is a myth. You know that, right?” Theo asked. “You’re a scientist, I should hope you know that.”

  “Of course, I know that it was a myth, or story, or whatever, but it’s a good way to tell it,” Blane said.

  Theo considered, then shrugged.

  “Oh no, it’s worse than that,” Rachel said. “We also dance and somehow you all just sort of malfunction when that happens. Except Gerrid. He just jumped right on in there.”

  “If Rachel is the Dom, it makes sense that she is there, but the problem with Rebecca was dealt with,” Theo said.

  “They want me dead, the problem is not dealt with,” I snapped.

  Morgan opened his satchel and pulled out a tablet.

  “Uh, yeah, it’s not dealt with. The Alphas may be upset by the reports that I’m required to submit every six hours.”

  “Haven’t been reading them,” Blane said with a shake of his head.

  “You’ve been busy and if I had something overly important, I’d flag you,” Morgan said. “I’ve gotten through the last of the children. Turns out only the three that had been registered were Alphas, the rest are companions except three, which if I’m right,” he set the tablet on the table and slid it to Blane. “A set of twins and a single boy born in the last seven months or so, I’m not familiar with Rebecca’s genetic profile but the only set of twins were hers, right? That was what we decided.”

  “It was,” Blane said, picking up the tablet and scrolling through some things. “Looks right, but we should have it tested in a lab to be certain.”

  “Great, I don’t know what they are, so I brought it to you. I think proto-Alpha. They’re carriers, that much I know.”

  “Again, I’d leave it for a lab test. Gerrid, you’re more familiar with this. Does Rebecca have her phone?”

  “No,” I said.

  Rachel produced her phone and held it out to Gerrid. “Go snooping and, Rebecca or not, you’ll regret being alive.”

  “Got it,” Gerrid said, taking the phone from her.

  “Log into file sixty-seven dash five beta.”

  Gerrid made a sound and brought it up. He seemed to be scrolling through something as I continued eating my meal. He made another sound and pulled out his phone.

  “Can I send you something? I’ve seen this part before, but I want a second opinion.”

  “Sure.”

  The two exchanged some sort of information that I didn’t understand. Blane pulled the file up on his tablet as everyone else began eating.

  “Uh, this is…”

  “Yup.”

  Blane looked at Abraham, then to Gerrid. “How did you get this?”

  “Don’t fuck me, if you don’t want me to have access to your genetic material,” Gerrid said.

  Abraham, across the table, choked on a bit of food. He ended up getting up and leaving the room, he was coughing so much. Peter stood and fol
lowed him out. I watched the pair leave, then turned to Blane.

  “It’s there, isn’t it?” Gerrid asked.

  “It is,” Blane said. “We knew the potential was there for this, we just didn’t think. I mean, all three have it. That’s statistically impossible, even if we ignore Owen’s genetics.”

  “Doesn’t mean all three will become like that, only that they hold the potential for it,” Gerrid said.

  “Hold what?” Morgan asked, taking the tablet from Blane. “Why are you looking at my genetics?”

  “Not yours,” Blane said, snatching the tablet back from Morgan. “Unless there’s something you aren’t sharing, you’ve not accidentally donated to Gerrid’s collection.”

  “True, so who’s is that?” Morgan asked.

  “No one who concerns you,” Blane said.

  “The coding we were looking at before you did whatever you did,” Gerrid said in a grumbling fashion to Morgan, “was a specific sequence that Abraham and Paul both had. Until they reach a certain age, that bit of code draws Alphas to them. Paul and Abraham were both slim, little things.”

  “Oh, but how he moaned,” Blane said. “Amazing sex.”

  “Once a physical trigger happens, they go under a change. Physical stimulus can turn on or off certain genetic markers. Enough salt, not enough nutrients growing up, that type of thing. We don’t know the trigger for this because we’ve only seen it in a couple of Alphas and it’s rarely triggered. It’s more like a recessive representation of the gene.”

  “But you just had my genetics up,” Morgan said.

  “To hide the actual sequence, stop prying,” Blane said. “Just because Gerrid has it, doesn’t mean you get it too.”

  That’s not what he just said.

  I wasn’t about to voice that part out loud, however. Even still addled as I was from the morning’s activities, I knew better than to point out the lie in public. It would be best to ask Blane about it in private, rather than air it at the lunch table while he held a sharp knife.

  “My children carry this sequence, you mean,” I said.

  “Yes,” Blane said. “All three of them. We have nothing else to compare it to. Alphas weren’t allowed multiple children often. Paul was a single child, so was Abraham. We have no idea if all the siblings inherit it, or just certain ones.”