by Jana Leigh
Chapter Six
“We need to lock down the compound,” Quin said grimly and looked around the table. “Something is going on, fucking up things. Seriously, we can’t afford to have everyone come back here like we planned. It would be better if they had somewhere else to go, so we at least had a backup ‘safe zone.’”
Mak leaned back and then said, “The cave?”
Jaden frowned and said, “Is the magic still active on the cave?”
Lagon rolled his eyes. “Of course it is, if the children go there, they will be safe. Plus, the magic Lacy and her coven added to it, makes the place perfect. It can expand to be whatever they need. As more people come, there will be more rooms opening.”
Sevi said, “Lacy made sure they would have whatever they needed without ever having to leave.”
Quin nodded, and then Mak said, “I will tell Marcus and Cassandra.”
“We need to figure out what the hell we need to do in order to stop this shit from getting worse,” Griff said.
Mak sighed and then shook his head. “I know this sucks, trust me I know, but you need to remember, I have been doing this a long time, decades, and if I could change something quickly, I would. I need to figure out what the very first thing was that screwed up our future, then I can work on trying to figure out how to change that. So far, I can only change things I see directly, which is making things hard. Plus, we need to consider the possibility, whatever happened to change the Chosen’s course had happened before I was born, which means, there is no way I can go back that far unless I find my sister.”
Gio leaned forward and nodded. “Milan is able to combine her gift with Mak’s and change anything in the past we can pinpoint.”
The room was silent as they all thought about what could possibly need to be changed. Nothing stood out. They had enemies. The Rogues who were now the Prentiss Agency were at the top of the list. They had been around for so long it could literally be anything that shifted their path.
“We need to find the real Prophecy; it’s the only thing we have never found. Even though we found Sol, we didn’t find who the person was that was to receive the scrolls. Plus, up until now if I am reading this correctly, you hadn’t known about the living ‘Firebirds,’ which in and of itself is a clue, because how did you not know?” Lennox said. “Lei is particularly pissed about that.”
Quin leaned back and looked around the room. “Okay, here is where we are at with all of this. Currently Mak, who is working his way through the evolution of the Chosen and the Senate, still has no idea what he needs to fix for us. And because of things changed back then by him, the Chosen have discovered Sol was missing, which he is a firebird, and should have been mated with Jo long before he was, at least that’s what I believe. Unfortunately for us, there are certain things we cannot tell Mak because it could change things even more. No, Mak, we never found the prophesy and there are things we can’t tell you that have happened until they happen. Because we have talked about this at great length, we want to help you figure this out; however, just remember too much knowledge could mess things up even more.”
Cassandra looked around the room and put her hands on her hips. “Okay, where is he?”
Marcus rolled his eyes. “You said four hours. It has only been three, maybe three and a half if you count the thirty minutes it took you to throw Lexie out in the snow bank.”
She swung back and glared at her mate. “She deserved it, and I was being nice giving him four hours. I am now not being nice because this is pissing me off. You all think I am batshit crazy because I know I was pregnant yesterday and now I am not.”
“Babe, no one said the words batshit crazy,” Marcus said calmly, and then Lexie raised her hand.
“I did, ‘cause she is acting like it. Also, because she has been batshit crazy since she was young.”
Marcus turned and glared at her and then pointed to Lexie’s mates and snapped, “Control her.”
Simon snorted. “Yeah right.”
Hope and Gio walked into the room, and Cassandra swung around and said, “Where is he?”
Hope held up her hands and said, “Bitch, do not start with me. I have been trying to help, dammit. Just chill out, he will be here soon.”
“Chill out, you chill out if you lost your car keys or shoes. You don’t chill out if you lose an embryo. That is not something you chill out over,” Cassandra snapped.
Lexie leaned forward and looked at Hope and whispered, “Batshit crazy.”
“Gah!” Cassandra yelled, and then Mak walked into the room, and everyone turned and stared at him silently. He paused a little, knowing he was in the hot seat.
“Okay,” he said and then stared at Cassandra and said, “maybe you should sit down for a minute.”
“I don’t need to sit down, I need to know what is going on, so I don’t think I’m losing my fucking mind,” Cassandra said.
Mak sighed and then nodded. “Okay, there are things I can tell you and things I can’t tell you. However, I can give you a little history of what is going on.”
“Okay…” Cassandra said frowning and looking at Marcus who shook his head and shrugged telling her he didn’t have a clue exactly what was going on. The Alpha female was hanging on by a thread, and he was going to need to tread lightly.
“So, I never really got around to telling you exactly what my powers were, mostly because I couldn’t, but now I am in a position where I need to ask for your help. So, I have to tell you,” Mak said calmly.
And then Lexie leaned forward and whispered, “Uh huh, just so I go on record as being the first to say this. You are being all mysterious in a not very mysteriously cool way, and therefore you are coming across as slightly more batshit crazy than big ass over there.”
“Hey,” Cassandra snapped. “My ass is not big.”
Lexie and Brinn rolled their eyes, and Brinn said, “Whatever you need to tell yourself.”
“Carry on,” Marcus said as he put a hand to his nose and pinched it, trying to hold himself back from laughing at the three girls.
“Okay, well, you know I sleep sometimes, like a lot,” he said, and they all nodded. “Yeah, well, while I am sleeping, I can move to the future and the past.”
The room was silent as they all digested what he said then Lexie and Anthony both high-fived each other and Lexie said, “I called it, you bitches all owe me a dollar.”
Brinn groaned, and Cassandra growled while Hope frowned and said, “What?”
Lexie clapped her hands and stood. “I bet them all a dollar months ago when you all both showed up. I knew there was something off, and I guessed he was a time traveler.”
Hope’s eyes got wide, and she looked at the three women who were all nodding their heads. “You’re serious? I don’t even know what to say to that, I mean, no one would guess that.”
Anthony shook his head and held up a hand. “Uh, sorry, I guessed it as well, the last time I knocked on your door, and you didn’t answer. I came in to borrow a cup of sugar and saw Mak sleeping like the dead. I figured he was time traveling as well.”
Hope open and closed her mouth, and then she looked at Mak who shrugged. “Whatever.”
“Can we get back to my problem right now!” Cassandra yelled and stomped her foot.
Mak looked at the group and shook his head then continued. “Anyways, we kept this secret because I knew if I changed the wrong thing, or if someone wanted to know what happened in the future, well, I figured you would want to know what happened. Let me say this right now, I will not tell you anything about the future. I haven’t even told my mates what I’ve seen. We know something in the past was changed that is affecting us now. Because of that, I need to be able to work with our parents to discuss what has happened. We all agreed that until we find out what messed up the past, we will not be able to fix the future.”
“Okay,” Marcus said slowly and looked around the room. “So, what you are saying is…”
“Cassandra is not wrong, she
was pregnant. I just don’t know why she isn’t anymore,” Mak said with a nod.
“I TOLD YOU SO!” Cassandra yelled loudly. “I am not crazy, but tell us what to do in order to help. You all know I will move heaven and earth to get my child back.”
There was a tense silence that fell over the room, and then Marcus stood and said, “What do you want us to do?”
Mak sighed and then looked at their Alpha. “First and foremost, we need to find the scrolls our parents didn’t find. Someone they sought for and couldn’t find is the protector of the scrolls.”
“And how do we do that? I mean, how can we find them if we have no clue who we are looking for?” Marcus said with a frown.
“If there is one thing in the fucked up situation I have figured out, that is, everything is connected in the shifter and magical community. There is someone somewhere who has the answer, we just need to find out who they are. Because, Cassandra, your father, Sol? Was one of the things we fixed already, and I didn’t even realize that we had. That is how fluid the past, present, and future are.”
“So, in other words, we have to look for something that may or may not fuck things up even more?” Simon drawled.
Lexie glared at him and said, “Someone forgot to take their happy pill today I see.”
Marcus frowned when he felt his pocket vibrate and he pulled out his phone and looked at the screen. It was Cameron and Chase. With a sigh, he held up his phone and said, “Hang on, I hope they’re calling to tell us they found Sienna. I really can’t handle much more excitement right now, something has to go in our favor sometime!”
Simon snorted and said, “They better have found my sister, or we will have two fewer Enforcers to worry about.”
Chapter Seven
Sienna was wandering through the cave. It was freaking huge, and every time a new room opened, or she walked down a new passage, memories came back. She was pissed that she had forgotten about the others, she was even more pissed they had taken them away from her. Sienna wanted an explanation about her parents, why she and her siblings were separated? Dammit, none of this made a bit of sense to her. It was like she was walking in a fog and she couldn’t see a damn thing.
“Sienna?” She heard her name called, and she sighed, enough woolgathering. She made her way back to the main chamber and glanced at the cell briefly before moving to the large sitting area where Chase and Cameron were sitting.
While she had gone wandering, needing to pull herself together really, they had been checking in with someone. Sienna knew they were going to figure out how to explain this mess to her. She wanted to speak to her brother but didn’t know what to say, so she had told the guys she was going to look around. Although now, it looked like the time had come for some explanations.
“What’s up?” she asked and then plopped down on the couch across from them and folded her arms across her chest. It was a protective instinct; she knew it, but she still did it.
“We just got off the phone with our Alpha, we need to talk,” Chase said carefully, and she nodded and leaned back farther into the couch.
“Okay,” she responded, and Cameron shook his head then stood and walked to sit on one side of her. And then Chase did the same thing, both men taking a hand and pulling it away from her body. All of them feeling the zing of awareness at touching their mates. Damn, none of them expected that.
“Come on, sweetheart, it is nothing bad,” Cameron said and smiled at her while caressing the top of her hand aimlessly with his thumb.
She looked at them warily and then sighed. “Lay it on me.”
Chase nodded and said, “Okay, so you remember your brother and everything. Do you really remember who you are, though?”
Sienna frowned and looked at both of them. “What do you mean who I am? I am Sienna, my parents…” she started and then paused, and her eyes began to widen, and she looked panicked.
Cameron leaned in on her and said. “Trace, Bama, and Shane, part of the New Council otherwise called the Chosen Ones.”
“Holy shit,” Sienna whispered, and she looked at the wall in front of her.
“Our Alphas are Marcus and Cassandra…” Chase said.
“Aunt Cami, uncles, Quin and Jaden,” Sienna whispered, and they nodded.
“We are the Drekinn,” Chase finished, and she looked at him in surprise.
The Drekinn, the ones the Prentiss were after. It was her friends, the children of the Chosen and the Senate. Sienna fought the urge to stand up and leave. She was feeling too much, things were rushing back in her memory. She frowned and turned her head.
“Wait, why did Uncle Lagon hide all of this from me? Are my parents dead? Why were my siblings and I separated? I mean, seriously, this makes no sense.”
Cameron shook his head, and he said, “No they are not.”
Sienna leaned back in shock, not dead, her parents were not dead. How in the hell was this even possible? She had been alone for so long, and all she wanted was a family, and she thought she had lost it. It was just wrong; the whole thing was just wrong on so many levels.
“Where are they?” she asked with a steady voice.
Chase looked at Cameron, and they began to explain. “Okay, so this is what happened…”
It took them three hours to explain the whole mess and get her caught up on everything that happened. She asked a few questions, but mostly she was silent and listened. When she heard about Simon and his mates, she did smile and laugh, especially when the guys explained he had gone by the name Mr. Twisted for a while. She really found that funny. When they were done, she sat there processing everything while they got up and made dinner for them and the prisoner.
She heard them moving behind her but she didn’t turn, she could only think about everything they said. Sienna got it, she understood completely about the things that happened that made their parents frightened enough to protect them any way they could. In her head, she understood, but in her heart? She just didn’t get how in the heck they had let them all go. With the memories coming back, she knew some things weren’t real, they were memories planted to keep the truth hidden. But still, it was a mind fuck really, and she wanted to hear from her parents’ mouths why they decided to keep her and Simon apart. They were twins, there was no way they should have been separated. Well, other than apparently both of them were a little bloodthirsty.
Chase came to where she was sitting and set down a plate and silverware, while Cameron brought a glass of water and a glass of wine. “Here you go,” Chase said, and she turned and looked at them and smiled.
“Okay, I have a few questions,” she said, and they both nodded.
“Yeah, I, uh, figured.” Cameron nodded.
“So, our parents have been watching after us, but we didn’t know it because they had to make sure that we were safe,” Sienna said slowly.
“I get why you would be pissed about that. I mean, they were making decisions about our lives without talking to us. I didn’t get it, trust me. However, there isn’t much we can do about the past, I mean, it is the past, so whether we like it or not, we can’t fix anything, we just have to move on. Your parents will explain when we get back to Drake.”
“The Chosen Training Compound,” Sienna whispered.
Chase nodded and then said, “Now it’s the Drekinn Compound, Marcus and Cassandra are the Alphas.”
“Yeah, you said that. You know, I can’t picture them, though, I mean, seriously, they were so different when they were kids,” Sienna said. “And Simon with Lexie? What the hell were the gods thinking?”
“Not sure, but it is entertaining,” Cameron said, and Chase nodded.
“That is true, seriously, it is never dull. There was the one time that Lexie gave everyone a psychological test, I swear, none of them passed,” Chase said earnestly, and she sighed.
“I guess I’m just upset about all the time we lost. I mean, we are mates, and we knew each other years ago, and now we find out we are mates. If they hadn't sent us away, we woul
d have known a long time ago. We could have stood together against the Prentiss; we could have stopped this before it even started, dammit,” she said frustrated, and then Cameron shook his head.
“What if, such an awesome phrase, but that is all it is. We don’t know what was going on that our parents felt the need to send us away. We don’t know how they made this decision. Until you talk to them, then you can decide. Because if the history books are even close to what really happened, they had a reason.”
Sienna slumped a little and took her plate when Chase handed it to her. She almost laughed loudly when she saw they made her favorite from her childhood. Grilled cheese sandwich and vegetable beef soup! Awesome. She snugged back into the couch a little and dug in. They ate in silence, and although they could all feel the pull from the mating, they just relaxed in the presence of each other.
So, when suddenly a man appeared before them, they reacted before stopping to think how he could have gotten in there. Sienna threw her plate at him and then jumped up and threw her spoon as hard as she could at his head. Chase and Cameron moved so fast, Sienna could barely see them, but it was the man’s reaction who appeared that she focused on because he shifted and the three of them froze in place.
Quin and Jaden stood at the window watching their friends leave to find their mates. It had been decided, they were going to keep this from the women. Quin ran a hand down his face and said, “She is going to be pissed when she finds out we kept this from her.”
Jaden replied, “It can’t be helped.”
Quin turned to his mate who still hadn’t come to terms with the knowledge that Sadie was his daughter. It had shaken him to the core, and even though Cami and Quin had both told him it wasn’t something he had control over, and because of that, it wasn’t his fault, none of it. But he still blamed himself. He had sunk into a depression, and so far, neither of his mates could pull him out.