A window opened on the windshield like one I see through my glasses. In this one, we saw a view from above the Smart Car with two black pickup trucks trailing us and one in front. A fourth was pulling up to the side of our vehicle.
“That doesn’t look good,” I said.
“I swear, if those cunt blocking fucks are here to attack us, I’m going to tear off their heads and shit down their throats,” Nick said.
Amy spoke through the car once more. “Nick, there is a message coming in.”
“From who?”
“See for yourself.”
A new window appeared on the windshield. We got a closeup look at Miranda tapping on the camera. “Is this thing on?”
“Miranda?” I said.
My wolf jumped back and yipped in surprise. Tabitha, standing behind Miranda, covered her mouth and giggled.
“Don’t do that, Terry,” Miranda said.
“Sorry, Miranda. We have a situation here so you might have to make it quick.”
“That’s why I’m calling. Tabitha’s phone rang again. The surrounding vehicles are your father and his people. He says to follow the led vehicle.”
“I thought we would meet up with him later. What happened?” I asked.
“He said it couldn’t wait. That’s all I know, Terry.”
“I guess we’re meeting now then. Thanks, Miranda.”
“We’re on our way, Terry,” Tabitha shouted.
“Ok, love, see you soon.”
Miranda ran her finger across her neck and the window closed. Looking over, I saw Nick giving me the stink eye. “What?” I asked.
“You owe me, Terry. I want three more orgasms than the four I had planned already.” She crossed her arms and gave me a look that said she dared me to argue.
“You got it, Nick.” I smiled.
“Amy, follow the vehicle in front of us,” Nick said. “Take up a position higher up so we can see else is coming.”
“Moving now, Nick. Stay safe.”
“Maybe there is time for a quicky,” Nick said. She started pulling off her pants when we felt the car slow. “What the hell?”
“The lead vehicle is slowing and has its blinker on,” Amy said.
“Of course it does.”
We followed the lead truck into an empty parking lot. The ground next to it looked to have been a building’s foundation with cables and pipes sticking up out of the ground.
“Sorry, Nick. I will make it up to you.”
“Yeah, yeah. Let’s get this over with.” With that, Nick left the car, and button her pants.
As I stepped out a tall black-haired woman stepped out of the vehicle behind us. She came straight over to me and held out her hand. “The name is Roo,” she said in a thick Australian accent. “You must be Terrence.” She said as we shook.
“Just Terry, please. Is my father here?” I asked.
“Follow me, please.” She turned and walked back to the vehicle she came out of. Roo opened the back passenger door and waved me in. “Just you.”
“The hell with that!” Nick shouted. “He goes nowhere without me.”
“He goes in the truck without you,” Roo said.
“Over my…”
“It’s all right, Roo. Let her in.” Came the deep voice I remembered from childhood.
“Yes, sir.” Roo turned to Nick. “If you would.” She waved us both in.
My father was the only person in the back. The SUV didn’t have a trunk. Instead, it was arranged like a limo with two bench seats facing each other. One face the front and the other the rear of the vehicle. My father smiled and waved to the seat facing the back opposite of him.
“It is good to see you, Terry. It’s been…”
“A long time,” I interrupted. “What do you want?”
“I know you are disappointed,” he held up his hands stopping my next words, “And you have every right to be. Before you tell me where to stick it and storm off, please hear me out. You and your Tua are in danger.”
“From what?” I asked. “Arnold and his pack? I already know that.”
“What?” His brow furrowed in confusion. “Who is Arnold?”
“Local werewolf pack leader. My first Tua was his until she decided otherwise. Anyway, if that’s not what you mean then what?”
“There is a war coming, Terry. A woman, a Tuatha, by the name of Acashia is coming for us all.”
“What do you mean by, us all?” I asked.
“Tuatha, Terry. It’s inherited, passed on from father to son and mother to daughter. That is how you are Tuatha. Somehow Acashia has discovered a way to strip Tuatha of their power and make herself more powerful. She has a pack over a thousand strong. For her, that’s not enough. Acashia is always hungry.”
“And how would she know about me?” I asked.
My father sat back and looked me over before answering. “I see you have a bracelet, but not the twin. Do you have it?”
“Twin?”
“So no. The bracelet comes in pairs. One cannot exist without the other. You need to find it. What about a ring?” He raised his hand, and I saw the dreaded ring that made me hurt my dragon. He chuckled. “I can see that you have come across a ring. Don’t be so quick to dismiss the ring. It may be a little distasteful at first, but the power it will give you is well worth stepping out of your comfort zone.” He sat forward and steepled his fingers. “There is a third artifact, a pendant worn around the neck. It is not as plentiful as the bracelets or rings. The only one I have seen is the one Acashia wears. If you can find one of those, then she cannot stop you, but, she’ll be drawn to you.. Power calls to power. Once you gain the power you need to fight Acashia, she will feel it and come running. It’s a bit of a double-edged sword.”
“And if I never heard of her would she still be coming?” I asked.
“Yes, we all felt the awakening of a new Tuatha. You are known, but only I know who you are. I want it to stay that way,” my father said.
“But…”
“No more questions. My presence is placing you in danger. I have to leave in order to keep your location hidden. I know you have questions, so I will leave two of my most trusted advisors and warriors to help.”
“Not sure I want your help,” I said as I crossed my arms.
“I understand, Terry. You have to understand that I left in order to keep you safe. If I stayed you and your mother would have been in grave danger.”
“My mother is dead, dad. In case you didn’t know,” I snapped.
“I know.” He lowered his eyes and looked at the floor of the truck. “I’m sorry about that, and about not being here for you. But my hands were tied. If I was in your life, Acashia would have ended up in your life. That would not have ended well for you, Terry.”
“We could have worked something out.”
“We don’t have time to argue. I’m sorry it had to be like this, but it does. Go now and take Roo and Riley with you.”
The door opened and Roo stood there with her eyebrow raised. “We must leave now. Acashia’s agents will not be far behind.”
“I have questions,” I snapped.
“Roo will answer them, but if you stay you put your Tua at risk. If not for your safety, do it for them,” my father said.
I let out along sigh. If this Acashia was as powerful as he said then I couldn’t afford to put my Tua in her crosshairs.
“Wish I could say it was good to see you, dad.” I left the vehicle before he could respond.
The rear driver’s side door of the lead vehicle opened. Roo stepped in front of me and walked to the open door. She stood there looking at me expectantly. I let out another sigh and climbed in.
A short woman with brown hair and green eyes was inside. She smiled at me and waved to the seat next to her. “Hi, I’m Riley, It’s a pleasure to meet you, Terry.” Like Roo, this woman had an Australian accent.
“Same,” I said as I slid over so Nick could scoot in next to me. “So, Australia is where my dad ha
s been hiding?” I asked.
The short woman’s eyes went wide, and she looked to her taller counterpart. “Roo, how did he figure it out? Is he physic?”
Roo let out a long sigh and rubbed the bridge of her nose. “No dear, he figured that out because we’re from Australia. You just confirmed it for him.”
“Oh. That means he’s just smart. Got it.”
“These two are weird,” Nick thought to me.
“I don’t know if we should judge them already,” I replied.
“Are we really going to take them back with us?”
It was a good question. I didn’t trust my father, not after leaving us to fend for ourselves when I was a kid. However, if what he said were true, I would need his Tua to fill us in and maybe help us prepare to survive. That was the most important thing for me, keeping my Tua safe. Since I was not alone, we were never alone; I knew how to answer this question. I pulled.
The darkness surrounded me and a second later Nick, Miranda, Tabitha, and even Izzy were there. I heard my dragon roar in the distance but didn’t see Cassie anywhere.
“What’s up, Terry?” Tabitha asked.
“We have a situation I need your help with,” I said, then I continued to explain everything that happened. Starting with my fight with Nick at my side. I ended the story with Roo and Riley giving us a lift home.
“I can feel the animosity you have toward your father,” Miranda said. “But if these two women can help us get ready to deal with this Acashia woman, I say bring them.”
“I agree,” Tabitha said. “Something tells me that if your father could get my cell number he probably already knew where we live.”
“That seems plausible,” Izzy said. She was pale and looked weak. My heart ached at seeing her like this.
“So we should continue and bring our new friends?” I asked.
My Tua all agreed with this plan so I went with it. They were right in thinking we needed to make sure we did everything we could to keep our little family safe. “Okay, we will be there soon.”
I released all my Tua except Izzy. I needed to know how she was doing. “How are you, Izzy?” I asked.
“That’s why you kept me here?”
“Yes, I hadn’t heard anything about how you are doing. Were you hurt bad?”
“I was, and whatever they put on their bullets was keeping me from healing. Liz knew what the stuff was and could neutralize it. I’m healing now, but it’s taking time. Anything else, Gringo?”
I chuckled. “No, that was all I wanted to know.”
Both Roo and Riley were looking at me when I returned to the real world. They shared a look then turned their eyes back to me.
“What?” I asked.
“Nothing,” Roo said.
Soon after we pulled up to a house, I didn’t recognize.
Chapter 10
The garage door rolled up as we approached and Tabitha stood in the garage by the door leading into the house. To see her I had to twist around in my seat. She smiled and waved as we approached. The windows of the truck were tinted dark, and I was sure she couldn’t see me so she must have sensed me.
“Hi, Tabitha.” I thought to my serpent.
“Hey, Terry. I’m glad your back.”
“Me too. Where are we?”
“The other house that leads into the underground structure,” she replied.
The truck lurched to a stop and doors opened. My serpent welcomed me home with open arms. As we embraced she whispered. In my ear. “These are the new chicks?”
“Oh right,” I said stepping out of her the hug. “We will go over that in a few minutes. I want to talk to everyone at once though. Can you arrange for a place for us to meet and discuss the situation?”
“Sure thing. There are a couple conference rooms. I’ll take you right to it. You want to send a message to the girls and have them meet us?”
“I’ll do that.”
Tabitha set a quick pace staying far enough ahead of us I could see her ass switch from side to side. The view was all the more pleasant given she wore skin-tight jeans and a snug fitting tank top. Several times I caught her sneaking a peek back to make sure I was looking. Between the display in front of me, and what almost happened in the smart car I was ready to go to our bedroom and retire for the night with my Tua.
“Here we are,” Tabitha said as she turned and pointed to an open door. “Waiting room is in here, if you two ladies would be so kind as to wait inside?”
“Please do not keep us waiting for long,” Roo said.
“Are there snacks?” Riley asked. “I’m hungry.”
“We will get you some food after the meeting and introduced to all my Tua,” I said.
“Promise?”
“You have my word, Riley. Keeping someone from food is a torture beyond my level of cruelty.”
Roo shared a wide-eyed glance with Riley that only lasted for a second. Long enough for me to catch it and act like I saw nothing. It was catalogued and stored in the braincase for later study.
“We will be here when you are ready for us,” Roo said. She took Riley by the hand and lead her into the waiting room.
“I hope there is a T.V.,” Riley said.
Tabitha turned and walked away before I could hear if Roo answered. Not far down the hall from the waiting room, Tabitha stopped at a closed door. She opened it and waved us in. I let Nick go in before me then followed her in with Tabitha coming in last.
“You should sit here at the head of the table.” My serpent took my arm and guided me to the seat she wanted me in. “The others coming?”
“Oh crap. Sorry. I was distracted and forgot to ask them to come. I’ll do it now.”
While I sent out the mental call for all Tua on deck, Nick and Tabitha sat. My serpent’s cheeks took on a red hue, and I felt shame and excitement coming from her. Of all my Tua, she was the biggest mystery. She seemed shy, but then she would do things I wouldn’t expect a shy person to do.
“We’re here,” Miranda said as she led Izzy, Liz, and Cassie into the conference room.
My heart jump with joy at seeing my turtle up and looking healthy. Standing, I walked to her and pulled her into a tight hug.
“Hey, Gringo, watch the threads,” Izzy snapped. She didn’t pull away though. Her arms stayed down at her sides, but she didn’t pull away.
“How are you feeling?” I asked as I let go and stepped back giving her space. Wouldn’t due to push her too hard.
“I was great until some big oaf squeezed the crap out of me.”
“Don’t worry, dear,” Miranda said from her seat next to mine. “We have extra panties for you.”
“Funny, Chica. Funny.” She looked back to me. “To answer your question, I’m doing well.”
“I’m really glad to hear it. Have a seat.”
“I could tell from nearly being squeezed to death.” Izzy went to the closest chair and sat. “Thanks for coming to get me and saving everyone.” She thought to me.
“You are never alone, Izzy. Don’t forget that.” She didn’t respond.
“Your new computer gave us a live feed from your glasses,” Miranda said.
“We saw it all. The question is what are we going to do with those two chicks in the other room?” Nick asked.
“We should kill em,” Cassie growled.
All heads turned to look down the table at my dragon. She offered an apologetic smile and shrugged.
“Ohhh… kay,” Miranda said. Since that motion is on the table I would like to suggest one of my own. I think we take them in, take care of them, and find out everything we can about this Acashia. And Terry needs to wine and dine them until they become pack. There are no Aussie Lycans anywhere around here. This is a rare opportunity.”
“I’m starting to think you see Tua as Pokemon cards,” I said with a chuckle.
Miranda slammed her hand on the table and gave me a stern look. “Gotta have me all,” she said in a deadpan voice.
The room was silent
for all of two seconds then we all laughed.
“Seriously, we need to go with some of Miranda’s plan and find out what Acashia’s deal is.”
“Just some of my plan?” She batted her eyelashes as she asked.
Truth be told, Miranda has never steered me wrong. Her insistence that I gather a pack has gotten some wonderful people to be a part of my life. And there is the fact that I am stronger and faster than I ever have been with room to grow. My life is infinitely better because of Miranda.
“I… we will see how things go with Roo and Riley. Let’s get to know them better before making an offer like that.”
“You mean the way you got to know us first before getting us naked in your pervy space?” Izzy asked.
“That is so not fair,” I mumbled. In response my Tua laughed, even Izzy joined in.
“Let’s welcome our new friends,” I said.
“I took the liberty of getting them,” Amy said over the speakers in the room. “Remote 1 is leading them here now.”
The door opened after she, or it, finished speaking.
“I hope we’re not interrupting,” Roo said as she peeked her head in. “The buzzy bot here said we should follow it. Said you guys were expecting us.”
“Please, come in and have a seat,” I said rising and pointing to two empty chairs. “Everyone, this is Roo and Riley.” I pointed to each of my Tua and introduced them.
“Hi everyone, It’s really great to be here,” Riley said. “I’m a Dropbear, and Roo is a Kangaroo. That’s why we call her Roo.” Riley looked down to her arm where I could see writing in black pen but couldn’t make out what they said from where I was.
“Oh, right, something personal about me,” she mumbled to herself before looking back up and smiling. “I like to snowboard, and ski, but the board is better. Chinese food is my absolute fav, and I can’t stand Vegemite.” She curtsied and thanked us before taking a seat next to Roo.
The Kangaroo looked at me with apologetic eyes and shook her head.
“Hey, Roo.” Riley elbowed her companion. “Aren’t you going to introduce yourself?”
“Hi, I’m Roo.” She waved then gave Riley a look daring her to say more.
“Who the fuck is Acashia?” Nick asked.
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