by Xander Jade
I scowled at him. “Did I not tell you to knock that shit off?”
He cackled. “Come, we have much to discuss.”
I followed him with my Inner Circle to a private spot.
“Okay, what’s up?”
“Some political bullshit, but the king sent them here to help with the raid. Lucky for them, we showed up. Sir Richard is still babbling about you being a traitor. The king sent men to Oakenshore too, but if you heard right, it still may not be enough. I’m not going to lie, Max, it worries me. I also found out that Estelle and Shea are there,” Gordon said.
“Shit, that changes things. Does Dick Face know why they are there?”
“Mom and Dad have been beside themselves with anguish about my disappearance. They are helping out in court. I also found out that my dickhead brother was arrested and stripped of his title and lands. I’m not sure what happened, but it must’ve been bad. …I should’ve gone back to let them know I’m okay.” Gordon shook his head.
I didn’t know what to say about his brother, the guy was an arrogant asshole, but I put my hands on his shoulders, trying to calm him down.
“It’s okay. We will leave at dawn and be there by the afternoon. I will personally push your ass into the castle keep and lock the fuckin doors. At that point, you’re on your own.”
He chuckled. “Thanks, my friend.”
I smiled and nodded to him.
“I’m going to check on my parents. You coming?”
“Wouldn’t miss it,” he said.
‘Reap, Herc, let’s go.’
I started walking and discussing the good times we’d had in BlackCrest. I noticed people on each side and behind us. I stopped, glanced around to find my Inner Circle, and some others surrounding me.
“Any particular reason why you guys are in this formation?”
“Your protection. We’re your personal guards,” Frank replied, smiling.
“Don’t say a word. It’s happening whether you like it or not,” Rachel responded.
I grumbled, “Fine. Have it your way. If it makes you feel better, then I won’t make a big deal out of it.”
We walked through the town, and found people lined up on the streets, staring at us. We just kept walking, and when I saw my parents’ house in the distance, I breathed a sigh of relief. People were outside watching us come up the road. I saw my girls with my parents, having some kind of conversation. My entourage came up and split when my mom sprinted. She stopped about five feet from me, tears streaming down her face, but had a hesitant smile.
“Max?”
“Hey Mom.”
That’s all it took before she flew over to hug me tight in a vise grip.
“My goddess, we’ve been so worried. We hadn’t heard from you and then we heard Gordon was missing. The king sent men down here to investigate. They’ve been looking for any evidence that he was still around. Then an army showed up and all this happened. I was delightfully surprised when Cassie showed up and started telling us about your adventures.”
I smiled. “Don’t listen to them, most of them aren’t true.”
“Oh, I’m certain all of them are true. Now, come inside and clean yourself up because you have a lot to explain, young man. Gordon, you too. I started dinner, but it looks like I’ll have to make more.”
And here we go.
“Mom, you don’t need to do that. We’ll provide for ourselves.”
“Nonsense, son, let your mom host this event, and we’ll discuss some things inside. I’ll have your father get Wade and Liv. They have been worried about you too.”
I nodded and told my entourage to take a break, which they didn’t. They set up a perimeter around my parent’s house. I walked over to my dad, he was shorter than me now, but I still wouldn’t mess with him. The man had blood on him, which meant he was involved in defending the town. Glad that he’s okay.
He took one look at me and grabbed me in a tight hug too. “Damn glad to see ya son!”
“It’s great to see you too, Dad.”
“It’s good to see you Gordon. We were worried when you went missing,” Dad said while shaking hands with him.
“It’s good to see you too, sir,” Gordon replied.
“Just to let you know, son. Your mom isn’t happy about being in the dark over your situation. She is quite upset that you have children and haven’t been around in months. I know you probably had a good reason for it, but don’t be surprised if she lashes out.”
I groaned and the two laughed.
“You gentleman go inside and get something to eat. I’ll be back shortly,” Dad said, and we went in to find the girls in the kitchen, helping mom out.
I smiled. Watching them in this environment was strange, but inspiring. They saw us come in and smiled. Each one came over to kiss me tenderly. I was very fortunate to have these girls in my life.
“Mom, is there anything we can do to help?”
“No son, your ladies and I have it handled.”
I laughed softly at that statement. She probably wanted to know how that happened. It wasn’t long before I heard loud footsteps coming our way. The door flew open and a female ran into the kitchen. I got up from the table and started walking towards her. Juls ran and jumped into my arms. I locked my arms around her and put her head on my shoulder. I could feel that she was crying by the way her body shook. I just held her until she stopped a few minutes later.
“Hey, Juls. I’m here. It’s okay.”
She sobbed out, “I was so worried about you. Everything is going crazy. Please don’t leave us again.”
“My sweet Juls, I have people counting on me, okay? I can’t abandon them but will try my best to come back to you. Come, I want you to meet my girls.”
I set her down, grabbed her hand, and walked over to the girls. I introduced them. They took to each other quickly and became fast friends. I smiled and made my way to the living room. We made small talk for a little while before hearing shouts outside and I knew the voices before those two came into the house. I stood up again, awaiting the inevitable. Wade and Liv came in, then saw me, and their jaws dropped.
“Max?” Liv asked tentatively and I nodded.
“Holy crap, Max! What happened to you? You look terrifying,” Wade said.
I opened my arms wide and they ran to me. I hugged my friends for what felt like hours. We didn’t talk, just the closeness was all we needed.
“You look great, but tell us how this happened,” Liv demanded.
“I will, but not until Dad returns. Come, I want you guys to meet my ladies.”
“Ladies? As in more than one?” Wade asked with a dumbstruck look.
I nodded and smiled at him. After the introductions were made, we waited a short time till dad came back to join us. All of us took a seat where we could eat and chat. It came to the point that my parents couldn’t wait anymore and demanded an explanation.
“Enough small talk. Your ladies have told us of your relationship, and some about what happened the last few months. I am quite upset about having grandchildren and not knowing it.” The three that came in late had no idea and were wide-eyed. “Now, explain with every detail, and leave nothing out,” Mom commanded. I glanced over to the girls and got nods from them.
“Okay, it started when we left here headed towards my lands…”
I gave them a summarized version of our journey over the past months. The girls joined in the conversation and told their experiences. Hours later we finished with our battle here. We didn’t talk about our couplings, but everything else was told, even that the elves were pregnant. Dad was in deep thought. Mom and Juls had tears in their eyes, and Wade and Liv had worried looks on their faces.
“Son, we have never been prouder than we are now,” Dad said. “What you’ve accomplished in this short amount of time is astounding.”
“I knew you were meant for greater things, but I had no idea this would happen. I’m speechless,” Mom responded.
“I haven’t do
ne much of anything. It’s the people around me that deserve the credit.”
“That may be son, but you’re the linchpin. You’ve started something there and it’s just going to get bigger.”
I sighed loudly. “I’m just trying to do what’s right." Everyone around the table was smiling at me. What the hell? “Why is everyone smiling at me?”
Wade spoke up, “Max, you’re a natural leader. You have an army waiting for your commands out there. But not just any army, it involves different races, and that’s something that hasn’t been done in a long time.”
“You also have some negotiation skills if you have orcs following you,” Dad answered.
I smiled and Gordon laughed loudly before he spoke, “If you had a seven-foot mammoth staring you down, giving an ultimatum: serve or die, I suppose you could say he has great negotiation skills.”
Everyone laughed at his statement, but I didn’t think it was funny, so I glared at him until he stopped. He stammered out, “Sorry.”
“Enough of this, let’s talk about something or someone else.”
“You better get used to it, son. People are already talking about your army coming to save us,” Dad advised. “Soon, everyone in the kingdom will know of your exploits.”
I groaned. “Fine, but we have more important items to speak of. We are leaving at dawn. You five,” I pointed to Mom, Juls, Dad, Wade, and Liv, “need to pack up what you can. I will provide an escort for you to SafeHaven. Wade and Liv, take your families with you.”
That set off a debate and arguments.
“We can’t just leave, son. We have our jobs to do here,” Mom said.
“What about our shops?” Dad asked.
“We don’t know if we can convince our families to go,” Wade said.
“Mom, Dad, this isn’t up for debate. Those dark ones are just a drop in the hat, and sooner or later, they will send more. I want you safely behind the walls of SafeHaven. You will have shops there. I have forges already there, and gardens started. We have mages that are helping to grow the herbs and food.”
“You have forges?” Dad asked.
“We can have shops there?” Mom questioned.
“Yes.”
They discussed it for a few minutes and agreed with me.
“Wade, Liv, I can’t make you do anything, but it would be safer if you went with my parents.”
“We’ll go, at least until it’s safe to come back. Convincing our families will be different though,” Wade replied.
“Mom, Dad, can you go and tell them they could have shops as well? Let them know the danger this town is in.”
“We will. Now, anything else that we should know about? We need to start packing now.”
I shook my head and they left.
“I need to get a security detail for them. Who’s coming with me?”
“I will,” Gordon replied.
“We will stay and help where we’re needed,” Cass answered.
I nodded and headed out of the house. I tracked down Sean, Rachel, and Marie.
“Guys, I need a security detail to travel back with a couple of families. One of them will be mine. I want them safe, and make sure they make it without any difficulty. They will be taking some wagons for their belongings.” I thought about it for a moment and decided on a plan. “We gained a hundred soldiers with the orcs we brought on, so send a platoon just to be safe.”
“Yes, Alpha. Everything is in order and set for early departure. The idiot knights they have guarding this town gave us shit until the baron busted his balls. The baron wanted to come see you, but we shut that down, advising we could take care of anything he needed. We told him you didn’t want to be interrupted,” Sean replied.
“Thank you for that. Anything else we need to worry about?”
“No sir but thank your mother for the meal. It was delicious,” Rachel said, and the others around agreed. I nodded and bid them goodnight.
“Gordon, let’s get some rest, we have a big day ahead of us.”
He nodded and we walked back to my parents’ house. After our goodnights, we went to sleep, hoping that we would be able to help the town of Oakenshore and that it wouldn’t succumb to the coming darkness. If we don’t arrive in time, then countless people will die or become slaves. Shit, that’s a lot of pressure. Hope we’re up to the challenge.
End of Book 2
Thanks for reading SafeHaven. If you enjoyed it, then please leave a review on Amazon.
If you want to drop a line, you can do that at: [email protected]
Facebook: Xander Jade
Books By This Author
A New Path: The Giseria Chronicles Book 1
Maximus Drago was out searching for supplies for his mother when he ends up in a fight for his life. Becoming injured he ends up saving a legendary creature, then bonds with it. After he heals he has no idea of what life has for him, but fate has decided on what he has to become.
The Traveler
Dominic is 26 years old and a graduate of MIT. He's an avid outdoorsman and likes to hunt. On one of his trips outdoors, he gets caught up in a storm and wakes up in another reality. One that has magic and fantastical creatures. Trying to cope with his new life, Dominic is given skills to help blend into society. The main item to remember is that females run this world.