Redemption (The Extinct Race Series Book 4)

by Michelle Farrell

  “RUN NOW!” Claudia screamed as they all took off into the forest and the concussion of the explosion sent them flying. They all quickly recovered and ran as fast as they could back to the farm. Once they reached the farm the man was standing there with his mouth hanging open.

  “What time is it here?” Claudia asked

  “Well it’s summer so the sun doesn’t really set. It’s four in the morning.” He replied

  Claudia did the math in her head and quickly realized it would be the perfect time to call Charles. She reached her hand out and the man handed her the phone. Excitement buzzed in her ears as she dialed the one number she memorized so long ago and hoped that he hadn’t changed it.

  Chapter 8

  The Phone Call

  The shrilling ringing of Charles’s personal cell phone interrupted the sparring match he was having with Sebastian. He tried to ignore it as they were in a series of moves that neither had tried before and Sebastian was getting the upper hand on him. He looked over near his things and saw John watching the sparring.

  “John you mind grabbing that for me?” Charles mumbled as he changed positions.

  “Hello? Uncle Charles’s phone this is John what can I do for you?” John laughed out into the phone.

  “John? You said your name was John? And you said Uncle Charles?” the woman on the other line asked in a shocked voice.

  “Yes my name is John and Charles is my Uncle. Who is this?” John asked curiously back at the woman.

  “John …John my sweet little baby” the woman was some sobbing as John listened getting even more confused. “You’re alive!”

  “Who is this?” John asked a little scared now.

  “Claudia. Your mother.” She replied and John dropped the phone.

  Charles stood as he heard the squealing coming out of the phone. When John dropped the phone and looked like a ghost was on the other line it worried him. “Who is that John?”

  “C-C-Claudia. My mother, she said she was my mother.” John stuttered out.

  “What?” Charles ran forward and grabbed the phone. “Claudia?”

  “Oh Charles you have him? Is it really my John?” Claudia asked

  “Yes it is him. He is an amazing young man. He found his mate and the poor sap is seventeen forever now. Where are you? I will come get you!” John was elated that his sister was alive.

  “We are in Alaska at a farm. The farm belongs to a man that has been watching the camp those half-bloods lived at. We just blew it up. How soon can you come?” Claudia asked

  “What do you mean we? How many of you are there?” Charles asked

  “There are seven of us total. Charles what has been happening? I have been held prisoner here for the last eighteen years. One couple, they are Water Dragons. They have been here for twenty. The Fire ones nineteen years and the last is an Earth couple they have been with us for seven years. They want to go find their kids Charles. The Earth Couple had a twelve year old boy and they have no clue where he is. The other ones had to leave theirs at birth.” Claudia explained

  “What are the names of their Children?” Charles asked

  “What do names matter Charles? They want to leave and find them.” Claudia snapped at her brother.

  “Just ask them please?” Charles said with a smile knowing that he was about to make some people very happy.

  The phone was covered and he heard muffled voices. A moment Claudia came back on. “The Fire couple has a daughter they named her Alexandria. The Earth couple has a boy and his name is Quinn. The Water couple has a boy named Oliver.” She told him.

  “That is what I thought. I am on my way to you all. Their children are here and safe with their mates. Now who did the man work for?” Charles asked

  The phone went muffled again as Claudia told the others. Charles heard mothers scream and the fathers cry. He then heard some rustling and then a muffled conversation. “He said he worked for a couple named Durand but the location was provided by an Emery and Kendal? Does that help you?” Claudia asked.

  “More than you know dear sister. I will fill you all in once I have you again. Now stay tight we are on our way.” Charles told her and they hung up the phone shortly after. John was still white as a ghost as he sat there staring off into space. “You ok John?” Charles asked him.

  “Was that really her?” John asked

  “That was definitely her! And we have a surprise for a few others.” Charles told him.

  “Whose ashes were on the deck then? I was found in one pile and there was another.” John wondered aloud

  “I am not sure and only she could know. Now we need to go tell Kaiden and tell Kevin to get the jet ready. Do you want to go with me to get her?” Charles asked his nephew.

  “Hell yeah, more than you know!” John’s color came rushing back to him as he stood up and then took off towards the lunch area.

  Charles followed him out and found everyone looking at John oddly. First he walked over to Kevin and made Kevin follow him over to Kendal and Emery. He got the location of the farm and then told Kevin to get a jet ready to leave right away. Charles also reminded him to put the proper coordinates in. This was going to be a quick in and out mission. Charles then walked over to Kaiden and Zoe and pulled them away from everyone else. He wanted to keep the surprise to himself about the parents. He was going to tell Kaiden and Zoe but he didn’t want them to tell anyone else.

  “What’s going on Charles? What the hell is wrong with John?” Zoe asked

  “Well he just spoke to his mother for the first time.” Charles stated and both Kaiden and Zoe looked at him like he grew another head.

  “What do you mean?” Kaiden asked

  “I mean she escaped some confine with six others, three couples. You know how we couldn’t feel Marcus? I am thinking they were in something similar. Anyway Claudia and the others escaped and I am going to get them. Oh and these couples are parents. Their children are Alex, Quinn and Oliver. I want you to keep this quiet. I am going to take Charles with me but only because he spoke to her. If he hadn’t I wouldn’t tell him either.” Charles explained.

  “Oh they are going to be so surprised. We will stay quiet. You know I love surprises. Now it is going to take you about what fourteen hours? Ok Kaiden and I will wait for you at the normal spot. Just be very careful when you land. We don’t know when he will be here and if he has people looking for us. Hurry back Charles and be safe.” Zoe smiled and gave Charles a huge hug.

  Once they were boarded and the jet took off John paced the aisle. He was lost in his head and the smile on his face was something Tia only saw once in a blue moon. Hope was there though and knew the feeling well herself. She remembered well seeing her mother and father for the first time that day. The same day her life changed for the better. Tia sat with Charles as she was not letting her mate go anywhere alone. Especially now, he was with her the day she met her parents and she wanted to be there for him when he was reunited with his mom.

  Kevin took the fastest jet they had out of the two and was landing in a small field near the farm hours later. As soon as the plane landed John shot out the door and ran to the Pulls he felt only a short distance away. Tia and Charles were a bit shocked at his departure from the plane and scrambled out to follow him.

  John blindly ran until he saw a woman that could only be his mother and she was running towards him too. They collided into each other and they wept as they held one another. Tia watched as six more people walked out of the forest and she could tell right away what John was keeping a huge secret. It wasn’t only John’s mother that lived.

  Charles ran to his sister and swept her into a huge bear hug. Tia gestured for the three couples to get on the plane as they passed she introduced herself and they did also. When Charles was done he walked into the jet and introduced himself. John and Claudia took a bit longer but eventually made their way to the plane.

  “Mom, this is Tia, my mate.” John introduced them. “Tia this is my mom, Claudia.” He had t
he biggest smile Tia had ever seen plastered on his face. Pure pride and joy only a child could have for their parent. Much the same was on her face for her son.

  “Oh you are a gorgeous little thing. Thank you for taking care of my boy.” Claudia boasted and then hugged Tia.

  “I am so glad to meet you. I know you guys want to continue this but there are three kids who we have a surprise for. John didn’t tell anyone who we were getting. He just told us that it was you.” Tia smiled and ushered them inside. She was happy to meet Claudia but she didn’t feel safe here.

  “Oh! Well let’s get going then.” Claudia said as she ran into the jet and sat next to her brother. Tia and John took the seat across from them.

  As soon as the jet was in the air the questions started. Everyone wanted to know what was happening. Some knew a little bit but no one truly knew anything. They had been locked in cages for so long the only ones who really knew anything were Marie and Julio. They were only there for seven years.

  John explained the gist of Aldrich and what they were doing in Ireland. He assured them that all their questions would be answered as soon as they landed and had breakfast. After that most fell asleep and didn’t wake until the jet landed in the open field right before the border. Charles opened the door when they came to a stop and Kaiden and Zoe walked into the jet.

  Charles explained why they had stopped and what needed to happen before they could enter. No one had a problem and soon the group as one took a knee and swore fealty. Charles went to the door to close it and thought it odd that he did not feel Ada’s Pull.

  “Did Ada leave the field?” Charles asked

  “She must have. We didn’t feel it either when we walked out.” Kaiden said as he sat and the jet rolled forward into the border of their land. Parking the jet right next to the other in the small airfield.

  Chapter 9

  Feeling Lost

  Ada woke in the dead of night. She wasn’t sure how long she had been out and only remembered snippets of what had happened to her. She remembered being told to wait in this field. She remembered running for the field and then an excruciating pain forcing her to move faster. So fast that she couldn’t keep up and the pain had caused her to pass out.

  She doesn’t remember anything else. What she does remember is dropping Aldrich off at school and then going to the market for something. She just didn’t know what that something was. Now she was in a field in the middle of nowhere and was wearing strange clothing.

  Why was she is pants? Only men wore pants. Her father was going to beat her when he saw her in these clothes. That she knew as fact. She also knew he was going to beat her for being gone so long and she wasn’t even sure how long that was. She felt different though. Stronger and more herself, she felt one with her Dragon that was usually asleep inside her.

  She stood and looked around the field she was in. There was absolutely nothing here for hundreds of miles around. There was an ocean and rolling hills behind her that led to a large mountain. There was also a forest that she could see but nothing was familiar to her. This scared her more than being alone and in men’s clothing.

  She ripped the clothing from her body and concentrated on the new feelings inside her. She felt a calm but burning sensation and felt a ripple rip through her skin. She looked down and saw the grass but she seemed to grow ten feet as she was now a lot higher off the ground. She began to panic and turned around. A tail was behind her and that scared her even more and she began to run from it. As she ran she realized that the tail was attached. She lifted a hand and saw it was a claw. She screamed but a roar ripped from her throat instead. She quickly shut her mouth.

  She thought on everything she knew. You needed your soul mate to turn. You could only turn after sex and she was still a virgin. How was she a Dragon? Something happened to her but she couldn’t remember anything. She pondered this a moment. She was away from her father and the beatings. She was away from the mean little boy that Aldrich turned into and she was free. Somehow she was a Dragon without a soul mate and frankly that was fine with her. She knew men would treat her just like her Papa did and she didn’t want to live like that.

  She could start over. She could find a Sect and join them and never have to go back to the nastiness she knew her home to be. She didn’t have to cook and clean and waste her life waiting on her father anymore. She could start over and that was the best feeling she had ever felt. Ada made her mind up she was going to fly far away and be free. She knew she didn’t have anything and that didn’t matter to her.

  Ada took off into the sky. She flew in circles for a while dipping low and then shooting back up into the sky. She then got a good distance into the sky and hovered there picking a direction. To her left was a mountain that looked peaceful and to her right was nothing but farm land and fields. In front of her was the ocean and behind her were lots of lights. Flying towards the mountain looked like the best thing. She could find a cave and hide there during the day. She picked up the clothing she had discarded and headed towards the mountain.

  She got closer and closer and then ran into some invisible wall. The uncontrollable urge to go home overcame every thought in her head. She has to get home. But the way home is through the mountain. She tries again and the urge to come home overwhelms her even more. Her Dragon takes off towards the ocean and she flies in the direction only her Dragon knows, home.

  Ada flew high in the clouds knowing she has to stay hidden. She feels no Pull of any other Dragon and she passed over lands she has never seen before. She can see though that things have changed. Tall buildings dominate most areas and some areas are all farm land. There are strange black roads that lead all over with little object with lights in front and in back of them were moving on them.

  The sun has started to peak over the clouds and the sky turns a lovely shade of blue. Ada keeps in the clouds as she passes over all these strange lands. The hours pass and she starts to feel tired and weak. Not to mention very hungry. She finds a mountain area and as fast as she can she shoots for it. She quickly finds a cave and runs inside it. She shifts back to her human skin and dresses back into the strange clothing that she had on once before. Once she is dressed she walks out of the cave to look for some food.

  Below the cave she sees that there is a farm not too far away. Ada climbs down the mountain and runs to the farm. On the very edge is a line of trees that are full of ripe fruits she hasn’t seen before. She plucks them from the trees and fills them in her shirt and hands. She knows she is not far from her home in Germany. So she decided to go back to the cave and sleep the day off. Ada knows that it is probably safer at night to travel. She walks slowly filling herself with the fruit she got. There is extra for when she wakes up tonight. She will be able to eat again before she takes flight.

  The overwhelming need to get home was still in her and her brain seems to be acting on auto pilot. All she could think about was home and the fastest way to get there. It was like a mantra in her head. Home..Home..Home..Home. That is all she could think of as she got to the cave. It was a small cave but she knew she could shift inside of it and her Dragon would fit. That was what was important to her. She lies on the stone floor and quickly fell asleep. Her dreams were filled with visions of her home and the surrounding area. The small homes and the markets that were near her home were all that she dreamt of.

  When she woke the sun was falling and sunset had come. She watched they sky and ate the fruit she had gotten earlier in the day. When night finally came upon her she once again got naked and bundled the clothing up. She concentrated on her Dragon once more and soon the ripple feeling ran over her skin and she opened her eyes. She grabbed the clothing into her claw stepped to the mouth of the cave taking off into the air.

  She flew in the clouds again and was over the ocean again shortly after she took flight. A few hours later she saw land and was quickly approaching it. She was now only a few hours from her home and she felt relief at the thought. When she flew into Germany the feeli
ng of needing to get home left her and she was unsure of where she was. She knew she didn’t want to come back here. This was the worst place she could have come and she didn’t even know why she had come. Confusion once again overwhelmed her.

  She flew south wanting to get away from this horrid land. After a few hours more she knew the sun was about to come up. She scrambled trying to locate a place to hide. She pushed herself more and more. An hour later she felt the Pull. It was a familiar one and she knew it was her little brother Aldrich. But there were lots of other Pulls with him. That was odd to her because he was only a little boy and there were no other Dragons near her home. The other Pulls were weak compared to the one she knew so well. She had to get away though she did not want to go back. She did not want to go back to the beatings and serving her father’s every whim.

  Ada turned herself around to go west and then a red Dragon appeared before her grabbing her tail in his mouth. She knew it was Aldrich by the Pull of it but she wondered how that could be, he was only a boy. The Dragon pulled on her tail and brought her down with him. She tried to fly away but he was much stronger. The Dragon landed and tossed her to the ground. Then he grabbed her with his front claws. He did something to her because the next thing she knew she was back in her human form looking up at a Dragon. The Dragon cocked his head to the side like a confused dog would. He stared at her a long time before a man stood before her. Ada thought there was no way that this could be Aldrich.

  The man smiled.

  “Well well well, if it isn’t my whore sister. You look exactly how I remember you Ada.” The man sneered.

  “Aldrich?” Ada whispered “You’re old.”

  “Well that is what happens in eighty years Ada. You left me seventy eight years ago.” Aldrich sneered at her again.

  “What? I just dropped you off at school and went to the market for something! I don’t remember anything after that.” She winced at Aldrich confusion overwhelming her once more.