Voices speaking human words that she knew, but didn’t want to believe. Her blood kin was hurt and alone.
“Let the blood of your granddaughter reach you, great one. We call to you. We need your help. She needs your help. Feel her past and present pain.”
She, King Jake and King Malcolm all felt and heard the pain, and they gasped as another wave of pain rushed through them. Queen Bracen could actually taste and smell the burning blood. She knew it was theirs but not. Tears filled her eyes as she looked up at her men before leaving the room to follow the voices, knowing her men were beside her as they always were.
* * *
Tabatha and Melody paced back and forth watching and waiting.
“How much longer do we have to wait? I swear I’m going to fry these assholes, and this Pysay is first on my damn list.”
“Easy, Tabby, they’re trying to find her.” Hoyt came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her as tears rolled down her cheeks.
“I’m going to have nightmares for weeks after this,” Melody cried, and turned into Shane’s arms.
Magic had been swirling around the room for 10 minutes, but nothing had happened yet. Wizard Drake stood, looking confused as he helped Randy up from where she was kneeling, staring at the cold bloody body of Shannon.
Then Shannon’s voice filled the room.
“Do not cry for me, my family. In the past two days I have felt loved like I have never felt before. You have all protected and cherished me. You are all my family. I only ask that if they don’t come, you will watch and help raise my children. They will be lost, and they need so much.”
“God damn it, Shannon, you promised us!” Tabatha growled as three lights flowed over her friend.
She grabbed on to Hoyt as everyone seemed to suck in their breath. This had to be the time to find out if they would welcome her or say goodbye to her. Tabatha wanted to shake the three beings and tell them to get a move on, because her dragon was getting a little pissed.
Tabatha knew they were all there watching Shannon, too, waiting. But then Shannon was lying on a blanket, no longer covered in blood, and Tabatha swore she could see the Shannon’s chest rising and falling. Tabatha’s legs shook as others whispered, watching Shannon wake.
* * *
Shannon didn’t hurt anymore and she could breath. They had done it. Now her life would start anew. She opened her eyes and saw a woman who had to be her grandmother staring down at her with tears in her eyes.
Shannon whispered in her head, hoping that her grandmother could hear her. “If you can hear me, understand me, block your thoughts from the ancient ones. Let them not know you are here with me. I can’t take any more pain right now, please. I will answer your questions when this is done.”
The woman nodded and looked up at her mates, as they all nodded to show they had understood.
“It is done. No one from the other realms can see or hear anything, in case there are traitors here. They know not where we are or that we speak to you, little one. We know you carry our blood, but how?”
“I’ll explain, but first I must ask you to help me remove this spell that still holds me. The ancient one named Selina, I believe, and others have done this to me. It has caused such pain, and the one who placed me here on Earth now wishes me dead, from what my dreams have shown me.” Shannon turned her head to the side and stared at Tabatha and Melody.
“Why don’t you two go sit down before you fall,” she said. “Thank you, Tabby, Melody, Randy and Drake. Without the four of you I’d be dead now.”
Shannon slowly pushed herself up to a sitting position. Her body was still stiff and her throat still sore, but both were healing. Melody and Tabatha rushed to her side and helped her sit up. The bed she was on was now clean, as were her clothes, but she still felt dirty knowing what was coming.
She ran her hand over her throat. “If you can remove it, you’ll have to get to her somehow and destroy her. She and her followers will never stop.” Her gaze met her grandmothers.
“How is Therbelenth? Is he safe?”
Tabatha growled. “He’s fine. I swear you have a heart as big as the ocean. If he was mine, he’d have no balls,” she grumbled. “You will not scare us like that again, Shannon.”
Shannon frowned. “I promise to try not to, but this isn’t over and you know it.” She looked over at three beings standing next to the bed: her real family. “I believe Selina is an ancient one that started this. At least this is what I’ve seen in my dreams, because she lets me know who has hurt me and why. This woman knows I am the next queen or whatever you call it, and that my soul mates and I will rule something big. I have part of each of the elders in me, I believe.” She sighed. “It’s all so confusing. Half the time I don’t know which parts of what I’ve seen are true or which are not.”
“I’ve been working this through so much, writing everything down. God, I sound like a damn freak. Anyway, some supreme dude has chosen me and my mates as the rulers,” she said, earning a snort from Melody.
“‘Supreme dude.’ God, I’m glad you are back,” Melody squeezed her hand.
“I love you too.” Shannon squeezed back. “But Selina wants her children to rule, not mine. You know who I am speaking of?” Shannon said, slowly squirming, wanting a damn shower. She scanned the room, not believing the amount of people there, including every member of Tabby and Melody’s families. Her family now.
Drake and Randy walked over.
“We are very mad at you, Princess. You sacrificed your life for all of us. You saved all of us on this planet. I didn’t realize what you were doing till it was too late, but we could not live without you, don’t you know that?” Drake said. He took her hand and leaned over to kiss it when Shannon heard the growl.
“There will be no touching her,” a man she had seen before in her dreams, Apollyon said. He entered the room with another man, Fallon. “We would have been here sooner, but we were blocked from entering here until a few moments ago.”
Shannon ignored them even though she knew they were of her mates. “Do you think Selina has figured out I’m on to her I know you all would have put your lives at risk, sacrificing them for me. I could not allow that. Plus, I have children to think about. I knew you would take care of them, raise them like they were your own. How could I not do it?”
Her grandfathers disappeared as Queen Bracen looked around the room, then at Drake and Randy.
“You all have risked much here and I thank you for protecting our granddaughter. I and so many of us were wrong to think that humans were beneath us. You have humbled us all. For this you will all be rewarded soon. My son—your father, Shannon—will contact you, Drake, to speak to you and see where your planet goes next.” Queen Bracen shook her head.
“Shannon, your parents are going to be furious,” she continued. “I don’t know how we’re going to stop them from waking everyone. Already, Wol-item and his kind are awake. But I will make sure this plant is protected. I promise you this, since it is the birthplace of our first grandchild. Please go home to your families, and we will take care of our family
Drake looked at her in shock, then bowed to the Queen as Randy and the others did.
Tabatha snorted and Shannon looked at her just in time to see Wol-item walk over to Queen Bracen. “It’s been a while since I’ve had the privilege. Welcome and thank you for healing my mate’s best friend.”
“Really? It’s strange how all of this has gone full circle with you and your mate, and now my granddaughter. Be alert, Wol-item. If they can’t get at Shannon, they will come for those she loves, including her family, until we can destroy the ones that started all of this.”
Shannon smiled when a puff of smoke came out of Wol-item’s nose. She could now see the dragon inside him. “So damn cool,” she whispered and glanced at Tabatha, and could also see the dragon inside her. “Of course, you too. Should have known.”
“Well Melody, it looks like you’re the normal one of us. You’re going to hav
e to slap us upside the head when we get out of hand.” Shannon winked at her friend, who shook her head.
“You’re going to rule worlds and you want me to slap your head? Are you out of your freaking mind?” Melody squeaked.
“Yes, I’m still the same person, Melody.” Shannon frowned. “You two are going to keep me grounded. I need that more than anything.”
Drake stepped away from the bed, slowly moving in front of her grandmother, watching Apollyon and Fallon. “We thank you for the gift, Queen Bracen. The rest will leave, but Randy and I will stay while you remove the spell. We know what will happen to Princess Shannon when you do and we want to be here for her.”
Everyone except for Drake and Randy got up, collected their things and left. They all would head for their homes, knowing that they had helped in saving the planet. Yet, Shannon knew her life was just beginning and she knew it would start with pain. She hoped she could handle it, but she knew there was no choice. She also hoped her newfound family would still accept her when they knew the truth of what had happened to her over the years.
“Okay, no one told us about this. Damn it, Shannon, what the hell is he talking about?” Tabatha growled as one of Shannon’s fathers showed up in the room.
“Easy there, Tabby. Maybe it would be best if….” Trace groaned as Tabby crossed her arms and glared at him.
“I’m not leaving. We will wait this out.” Tabatha turned and placed a kiss on Hoyt’s cheek. “You could get our reservations ready for Ireland, since that is where we’re going on our honeymoon.”
Hoyt snorted. “I’m not going anywhere. Now hush.”
Yes, her friends were something and she wouldn’t give them up for the world. Shannon knew what was to come as she turned her attention to Drake and Randy. “Do you really want to stay? You know what is going to happen. It’s not going to be pretty.”
“I wouldn’t be much of a friend if I didn’t stand next to my sister when she went through something like this. We will help you get through the pain, my little sister. Because you are our little sister. Just like your friends are family to you, so are we. You are our family and will always be no matter where you go.” With tears in her eyes, Randy stepped up and hugged her.
“We all would take your pain away if we could. We know you must face it, but you will never be alone,” Randy said as she pulled away. Drake reached out taking Randy into his arms while her grandmother touched Shannon’s shoulder squeezing.
“What damn pain? What is everyone talking about?” Apollyon asked as he and Fallon stepped up to the bed.
“It has to be,” Shannon said.
“First, I’m glad Wol-item took care of that pest that hurt you over the years or….” Her grandmother took a deep breath.
Shannon’s grandfathers appeared with a promise in their eyes that meant they would kill anyone who hurt their granddaughter.
“He is gone and I’d rather not talk of him anymore. As for the pain, I will endure it. This is what I believe will happen when you take the spell off me. I will relive everything that has happened to me for the last 43 years. I will remember things that I haven’t even dreamed of and I will be put through them again. That’s part of the spell. I must warn you now, Grandmother. I am not an innocent anymore. I never was except, for the first three months of my life. I believe that’s when my human so-called father started abusing me sexually. Thank God for therapy.” Shannon snorted and looked down at her hands as she sat there waiting for her grandmother to speak, to start to unwind the ancient spell on her. When Shannon didn’t hear the words, she looked up and she saw fire in each of her grandparents’ gazes. She knew her family was beside her.
“Is the ancient one taken care?” Shannon asked.
Chapter Six
Her grandmother nodded and began to remove the spell. From what Shannon could remember, there was not much to it: you just had to have the power behind you to remove it, and one could not remove it from oneself.
Moments after the spell was removed, Shannon’s breath was knocked out of her and she fell backward onto the bed. The physical abuse started: the punches, the burns, and so much more that Shannon couldn’t think, let alone remember much of it as her body once more took in the mountain of pain she had endured over the years.
This torment seemed too go on for hours, and her body was now scarred physically and emotionally. She had learned how to sort through these feelings, but she still felt raw inside as well as outside.
Shannon couldn’t speak; she couldn’t move. Her body was bloody and hurt once more. Her mind and heart felt as if they had splintered into a million pieces. As she flashed back to her past, she felt at least 27 different men-alien things, some so gross Shannon couldn’t’ help throwing up all she had in her stomach as they touched and hurt her as they abused her over the years.
When Shannon did open her eyes, her grandfathers were holding her grandmother. Her two mates who she knew of lay next to her on the bed, holding on to her. Randy and Drake stood off to the one side of her, while Tabatha, Melody and their men were at the foot of the bed.
Once more her bloody clothes disappeared and she now wore clean ones. Her body was healed, and she believed the power that had been taken from her over the years was where it belonged.
Shannon frowned as screams and growls pierced through the pain in her mind as she tried to figure who was hurting her now. The ground shook and everyone in the room looked toward her.
“It’s not me. Grandmother, I hear someone yelling in my head. Who is it? They’re crying.” Shannon’s voice cracked, almost not there from all the screaming she had done.
“This would be your family. My son, your father and his mates have woken and are now finding out what has happened to you. Each of them now hear your screams over the years as you pleaded with them to find you. They will be here soon, and if they are awake, the others will be waking soon also. Will you show us what happened to you to cause such pain?”
Shannon glanced as Randy and Drake, who nodded.
“You can do it. There is nothing to be ashamed of, little sister. You did nothing wrong. You did not ask for those things to happen to you. They were done to you. Show them to us; we all can help,” Drake said.
“Hey, remember, you were the strong one in school,” Tabatha said with a straight face, but tears were on her cheeks.
Shannon laughed. “I was how old?” she teased her friends, who smiled.
The room grew warm and five men and a woman with white hair and green eyes that were red from crying appeared.
Shannon knew that these were her parents. Her mother, Queen Jonia the Sun Goddess, was stunning. Shannon had her nose, and her hair from what she could tell. Her fathers all looked like the old warriors Shannon had seen in a textbook.
Jonia stepped forward, tears flowing down her cheeks. “You’re our baby? They took you from us. All those years we weren’t there to protect you,” she said, and her voice soothed Shannon’s soul.
Shannon didn’t know what to say. She glanced at Tabatha. Her friend must have known she was lost, because she stepped forward with Melody.
“Welcome. Shannon is one of our best friends. I don’t mean to be rude, but she needs to finish this thing that has plagued her. I know she can’t wait to get to know all of you. If I’m right she gets her big heart from her mother,” Tabatha said.
Jonia touched Tabatha’s cheek and smiled. “You are a fierce one, and I thank you for protecting my baby. We will wait to speak with my daughter.” She stepped back into her mates’ arms.
The name Zeus popped into Shannon’s head and she glanced at Fallon, then to Apollyon. Shannon knew that Zeus was the king of all the warriors, as well as her mate. He was in human appearance but he was big at seven feet tall. He was shirtless, revealing a 12-pack of abs to kill for. But there was no marking on his chest that should be there indicating he was mated as she believed would happen. Was he still with her? Shannon raised her eyes to her grandmother and spoke in her mind so that
her grandmother would be the only one to hear. She blocked out everyone’s voice but those of her family. They would know everything because she wanted them by her side always.
“Is he still with her, Grandmother? Are they still alive his so-called mate and her father?” Shannon showed her vision of what would happen if they were.
Her grandmother looked at Shannon and spoke in her mind, allowing Randy and Drake to hear also.
“She is dead, little one, but we didn’t know of the other, her father. We will find him and he will be taken care of, along with the others that have hurt you. You will not be hurt again. Yes, he knows she tricked him, and I don’t know how he feels. He hasn’t said much from what I’ve been told,” her grandmother said.
“Grandmother, her father, Zorke has the powers of some ancient who is related to him. The ancient doesn’t know what this evil man does with these powers he gives him. He hurt our other son, Grandmother. How old is my son and what is his name? Shannon asked, and Tabatha growled.
“Your son is a grown man, a warrior now and a very good one. I’m proud to talk about him. He was hurt by all of this but no one can find him yet. But we will. We will also find out what ancient is giving powers away when they shouldn’t.
“Shannon?” King Erickson, her father, asked appearing in the room. He was Queen Bracen’s son. She turned her head to look at him. He was big in his human form, so she knew he was big in his natural state. He walked around to where her grandfathers were standing next to them.
He was so handsome. His blond hair fell to his waist, and his eyes were black as coal. He leaned over and kissed his mother’s cheek. “Thank you for saving our daughter,” he said before turning his gaze back to Shannon.
“Show us your life, daughter, so we may understand what happened, please. We are all here for you.”
Shannon glanced over at her mates. They hadn’t moved or spoken, but they still held on to her.
“Before I show you anything, I want that promise from all of you!” Shannon looked right at her mates, then turned to Zeus.
The Heart’s Lost Souls: Part One: The Binding Page 4