by Lia Davis
"Tell me which part is inaccurate." The Secretary tented his fingers and narrowed his eyes.
"First of all, we saved what we could of your ship and you are more welcome to have it back once you return the one you stole from us. Regarding your crew members, as far as we are concerned, they took an unfortunate swim." Julian chuckled. "It was very stormy that night."
Secretary Girard pursed his lips.
"Also let's make one thing perfectly clear." Julian motioned toward her. "You are not dealing with two, but three Lykans, one who happens to be pregnant. If we don't get our mate off this Island within the next hour so we can properly take care of her, you will not only have every wolf tearing your town apart, but every island who is not part of your Federation will come to our aid. Alyssa Galen-Chalis is a heroine and ally in every sense of the word, and don't think for one second all of those you have outcast won't rally to her side."
Alyssa Galen-Chalis. A new name. She gasped. Funny what she heard out of Julian's entire speech. In the course of a few hours she had somehow become a member of a different species, acquired two mates, or what she would call husbands, and was a mother-to-be. Her life was handed to her except for one thing.
"A Lykan." Secretary Girard shook his head. "Your father should be glad he's not alive to witness your betrayal."
She opened her mouth, but both her mates held their hands out in front of her, shielding her. In the Lykan world she was expected to remain quiet, but she was still a human.
"I suggest you don't speak to her, look at her or mention her, unless you want to be shredded and fed to the animals." Porter literally bared his fangs.
The Aktrosian guards all stepped forward.
"Porter." Julian pointed at him. "They don't want to know the truth, they are too terrified of the teddy bears who swore to protect them from the big bad wolves. They choose to forget their past as did we. If I were the bears I would beg for us to be let off the island with no incident."
"I suggest you back down. Your mate knows what we're capable of." The Secretary hissed out the threat.
"I thought we made it very clear you are not even to acknowledge her." Both of Julian's arms shifted into claws.
Out of the corner of her eye, she spied a flash of silver, an injection, and she jumped up out of her chair. "Stop this!"
Julian, Porter and Secretary Girard all stood.
She took her time looking at each one of them. "You know what? This is not what my father envisioned at all. But right now I think he would be very proud of me." The sick heat overtook her once more and she broke into a sweat, but rather than wallow in it, she let it fuel her. The symptoms were a sign of life, not death. She reached into the waistband of her pants, revealing the two antidote injections Porter and Julian brought with them.
"You hold the proof of your treason right in your hand." Senator Girard laughed.
"Treason is a crime against one's country. As has been pointed out, I am a citizen of Lykos, and as a Lykan and as my father's daughter, I will tell you that your Antiamorphis injections are now null and void. We have the antidote and we will be distributing it to anyone who wants access." She lifted her chin.
"We will." Julian nodded and tilted his head over to her. "We will?"
"Yes, we are against chemical inhibition and my offspring will not live in a world where that is a threat." She kept her focus on her one-time boss.
"Rather than that world, I suppose you would rather bring them up in the disease infested trap you will call home." Secretary Girard put his hands flat on the desk and leaned over. "You exposed an entire population to a deadly disease."
Porter and Julian stayed close by her sides.
"Not a chance." Everything became perfectly clear and she stepped toward him. "You have a cure or I would have never made it to this office."
"There are only males present." He hardened his voice.
"Males are carriers. You have a wife and a daughter." She crossed her arms. "We are now here looking for a cure. Ally or enemy that is in blatant violation of every law in the world. If you thought one my mates or I were infected with an incurable deadly disease we wouldn't be alive. I want the medicine produced or I will report Anthros to the World Council."
"There would be no point killing you since the sheer act of mating with these shifters will have you dead soon anyway." A small smile crossed over his face.
"That is what the Aktrosians want you to believe." At last she picked up the Lykan papers and slapped them on the desk in front of the Secretary. "Propaganda, rhetoric and fear has guided the humans since that one unfortunate death."
"Not fatal. Not even close. Special care needs to be taken, but it is not a death sentence, just like how pyrexosis is no longer a death sentence." She turned through the pages, spreading out old pamphlets and documents. "These were created and distributed by the Aktrosians for the humans when they first offered their protective services. They systematically worked to create of fear of the Lykans."
Without saying a word, Secretary Girard stared down at the papers.
"This pamphlet describes how to decontaminate your home if a Lykan has entered. While this one describes what to do if you suspect you have seen a wolf shifter." She lifted another yellowed paper. "I particularly liked this one for children explaining how the Aktrosians are our friends. No wonder we have teddy bears." In that particular pamphlet the bears were illustrated to resemble the stuffed toys children loved.
"This means nothing." The Secretary reached for one of the papers but stopped. "They were trying to protect us."
"How about this?" She started another pile of documents. "Records of live births, successful Lykan and human unions. If you follow the family trees, it seems to me there is a lot of intermingling, even in part of your wife's ancestry."
The Secretary didn't move.
"It has long been known that the Aktrosians cannot mate with humans or any other species. Throughout the decades the have tried and failed to build their own super species, and not for the sake of love or advancement, but for a takeover." Again she produced the needed proof. "When they saw how the Lykans and the Humans meshed they went to work to destroy the union out of fear they would be left behind. In turn, they systematically entrenched themselves on Anthros the only way they could."
Several of the guards inched in. One lifted a weapon.
"Many lives have been lost due to their experiments. In truth, no human and no other species has ever survived mating with an Aktrosian." She winced at some of the photographs.
Secretary Girard cleared his throat and wiped his brow.
"They were most afraid of this." At last she unfolded an oversized page to reveal a map, a plan to build a beautiful island oasis between the Lykans and the humans. "They would have rather destroyed a species, and kept another one under their thumb then allow progress to take place, progess that would have changed history."
She and the Secretary faced each other. "The Lykans aren't the enemy."
Secretary Girard glanced around the room and turned to his aide.
The aide walked over to the back door of the office and threw it open.
Human law enforcement flooded the room. In strong armor and weapons at the ready, they barged in, surrounding all of them.
The Aktrosians charged toward the humans.
"Take Alyssa!" Julian thrust her toward Porter, grabbed a chair and crashed it over one of the bears before it pounced.
A different Aktrosian grabbed Julian from behind.
Her heart seized and she screamed, but before the bear as much ripped her mate’s shirt, he shifted his hand, and swiped at the enemy. With a roar, the bear released him and covered his face where Julian’s claws did their damage.
Alongside the humans, and partly in shifted form, Julian corralled the Aktrosians and rid them of their weapons while Porter obeyed and protected her.
"Get the Aktrosians out of here. Detain them until further notice! Use no chemical inhibition." Secretary Girard y
elled out. "Leave the Lykans…all three of them."
With guns pointed at the Aktrosians heads, at last the humans led them out.
Only when the door closed did Porter let go of her. Julian joined them and they each took their turn to inspect her.
"I suppose I am in violation of Code 843, but I think you needed it." Julian’s claws morphed back into hands and he let out a low chuckle.
Once more she found herself face to face with Secretary Girard, and she waited. At this point in the negotiation it was best to remain silent.
"The cure, as much as you need, will be waiting with your ship." He returned to his seat. "If you need any other supplies, we will provide them."
She bit her lip to hold back the cheers she wanted to let loose.
"We appreciate that." Julian held his hand out. "If you require any assistance with the Aktrosians, we are also happy to send some your way."
The Secretary shook his hand and Porter's hand.
"I would like to start a dialogue between Anthros and Lykos." She took her first full breath since the meeting began.
"So now you are setting up formal negotiations?" Senator Girard gave her a slight smile.
"She is our Ambassador." Julian took her hand.
"She has full authority." Porter put his arm around her.
"Well then Ambassador Galen-Chalis from Lykos, I do believe your father would be proud." The Secretary stood and patted her shoulder.
"I think he would have been proud of all three of us." She smiled between her two mates. Every piece was in place. "We are one."
Epilogue
"You are a vision." Noah held his hand out.
Once more, Alyssa peeked in the mirror, with the way her eyes shined there was no need for makeup. Porter and Julian didn't like it anyway. "How long will they glow?" She adjusted the wreath of flowers around her head and took his hand.
"You carry Lykans, Lykan blood now runs through you. You are one of us, they will glow like the others." He patted her hand and guided her over to a chest. " As the unifying force not only between islands, but between two important pack members, you are a bridge. You and your mates will go down in history."
The elder was exactly the mentor they all needed, and in the few days since arriving at her new home, he had taken her under his wing. While she couldn't shift and didn't have super senses like the shifters, Noah schooled her in being a Lykan.
"This is for you." He unlocked the chest and took out what appeard to be a white fur stole and wrapped it around her shoulders. "A bit of symbolism to mark this glorious event. In you heart you are Lykan, this pelt is from our ancestors, from a time long before Anthros and Lykos were enemies. We take on a human form, we are all interconnected."
She smiled at the meaning behind his words. Though she would never morph into a wolf, in his eyes she was indeed one of them. "This is beautiful." The soft fur molded around her.
"It suits you." He took her arm and guided her through the den, stopping before the exit. "This is a special union, unique not only in number, but in species, the way life should be."
"I can't thank you enough for everything." She leaned in and gave Noah a hug. The elder had begun to fill a hole in her heart left after her father passed
"While I would love to extend this moment, I fear there are two males who would like to see their mate." He patted her back and led her outside.
They made their way up to the ridge of a hill with the city as their backdrop and the sea setting the stage.
Lykos possessed a beauty all its own. Simple structures celebrated the landscape rather than trying to overcome it as in Anthros. With Julian as their Alpha, and she and Porter by his side, they would grow and unify the islands, exactly what her father envisioned. Already, moves were made to bring Lykos and several other islands into the Okeanos Federation. Lykan guards had been deployed to Anthros to help with the Aktrosian situation. The cure for pyrexosis worked, Julian's and Porter's mission was successful in saving many lives. She prayed that one day the plans drafted between the Lykans and the humans all those decades ago could be come a reality.
"Take a look, by the time your offspring are standing here everything will be different." Noah swiped his arm across the space.
She gasped at the scene in front of her.
The males and females of Lykos held golden candles matching her dress, lighting the path to her mates.
"You get to do this once, take your time." Noah walked ahead.
She followed, glancing at the ones who accepted her and took her in as one of their own, and smiling especially at the little ones who shifted without warning. She would have her hands full with her offspring.
As she made her way to a clearing surrounded by a ring of flowers and candles, she looked up and her breath caught. Her mates might look like humans, but most humans would indeed die to look like them and be with them, and she had not one but two.
Porter kissed her first, a possessive kiss, one that told her she belonged to him. He pulled back and Julian took over. His kiss more passionate. Between the two of them her heart fluttered. She didn't think she would ever get used to the fact these males wanted her, but at last she believed it.
Noah cleared his throat. "Are you ready?'
They stayed close together and clasped hands, creating a circle.
In unison they recited their vows, slightly altered for their unique circumstances.
"Every heart searches for its mates,
With the two of you I have found mine,
In you I see the impossible,
There is hope, there is infinity.
Our pasts will merge into our future,
We are bound.
For us drawn together,
We are now pieces of three.”
The power of the words remained in the air. They stayed in their private circle for a moment. At last they were truly together.
"You know our little island?" Porter squeezed her hand. "Remember when I promised we would return?"
She never thought she would see it again and held her breath.
"Lykos claimed it. It's ours. Our first official trip will be to assess our find, and maybe just a bit of what the humans call a honeymoon." Julian's voice shook with excitement. "We took it upon ourselves to name it."
She glanced between them.
"It will be known as Alyssum," Porter whispered. "You are unique, its only fitting an island should be named after you."
Speechless, she she blinked the tears out of her eyes.
"Remember I once told you never to be afraid of anything that is endless?" Julian pressed the back of her hand to his lips.
She nodded.
"Then you never need fear anything, because our love for you is endless." Porter pressed her hand to his heart. "You healed the healer."
"I love you both, forever." She took her time giving each of them a kiss. Every one of her dreams were realized.
"It's time to face your public," Noah laughed. "There is enough time to be alone later."
They turned to their guests and she took her place between them.
The crowd raised their candles and applauded.
Yes, she had found her place.
About the Author
Kim Carmichael began writing twelve years ago when her love of happy endings inspired her to create her own. She has a weakness for bad boys and techno geeks, and married her own computer whiz after he proved he could keep her all her gadgets running. When not writing, she can usually be found slathered in sunscreen trolling Los Angeles and helping top doctors build their practices.
www.kimcarmichaelnovels.com
Alpha Squad: Boot Camp
Lorelei Moone
Chapter 1
It started as a rather ordinary day in September. Eric King, who had led the London branch of the New Alliance, found himself with not much else to do but to flip through TV channels at home. Ever since the big reveal earlier in the year, the New Alliance had been struggling to remain rele
vant, and the only real work that had come along was PR related. That was not something Eric was good at.
He—like most bears—was more comfortable outside of the limelight.
So he found himself alone on the sofa, watching the news, which had grown increasingly unnerving over the last few weeks. They kept repeating the same images of seemingly ordinary people—shifters just like him—pouring into makeshift camps in Dover. His heart grew heavy at the sight.
They had done this. The New Alliance, under Henry's leadership, had orchestrated the events that had led up to this mess.
They were lucky with how things had gone down in the UK; the human government seemed to be willing to accept the shifters as part of their citizenry.
But not every country had followed the same approach. That was the reason so many of their kind were now trying to relocate.
France had implemented a mandatory registration policy for all shifters, and The Netherlands had a similar law up for vote in an upcoming referendum. People—humans and shifters alike—were scared of what the future would bring.
The camera panned across the latest group of arrivals: a family of five, scanning their surroundings as they disembarked the ferry that had brought them across the Channel. The children seemed to not realize why they had come across; it was still all a big adventure for them. But the mother's face couldn't disguise the uncertainty she must be feeling.
In her eyes, Eric saw his very own mother, when an unfortunate and badly timed shift on his part had forced them to abandon their hometown of York and find refuge in London when he was only thirteen.
Looking at him and his younger brother now, nobody would be able to guess that they weren't native to Greenwich, East London, where they'd moved to at that time. They'd adopted the local culture flawlessly, down to the right accent and the same dress sense everyone in their age group seemed to follow. They'd done everything they could to avoid standing out.
