by Alanea Alder
Call the Alpha estate, ask for Anne; she's my mate. Tell her what's going on. She'll get Meryn to mobilize the other units.
I will. Good luck.
He felt as if Réne used a fresh breeze to wipe his mind clear. He looked around. Rowan was approaching Aiden with a dagger. Centuries of frustration, the acidic burn of betrayal, and the fear of losing another loved one fueled his anger. He leveled his hand and whispered, "Praemorior."
Rowan turned at the last moment, and the spell hit him full in the chest. He flew backward against the wall and slumped into a heap on the floor. He looked up at Kendrick, a thin trickle of blood dripping from the corner of his mouth. "Why? Why did you have to come to Lycaonia? I was so close, so close." He let his head fall backward against the stone wall.
"So close to what?" Kendrick eyed the other men in the room, all still frozen and unaware by Rowan's spell.
"It was all for nothing!" Rowan gasped for breath.
Kendrick watched dispassionately as Rowan's feet began to disintegrate and disappear.
"Rowan, you're about to face our Goddess. You will carry with you the weight of the unborn children you murdered, but you can do one final act of goodness. Tell me who is behind all this?"
Kendrick knelt beside the witch who had served their people selflessly for centuries. "Tell me," he begged.
Rowan's smile was kind. "My master has no name, at least not one that he shared with me. He is beautiful, he tempts you with the very thing your heart desires. You can't say no."
Kendrick looked down at him in pity. "Whatever he promised you, he lied."
Rowan shook his head back and forth slowly as his legs began to fade. "That's just it. He doesn't have to lie. The way he operates, he doesn't have to, therein lies the treachery."
"What was the deal?" Kendrick prompted.
"I would help him in Lycaonia. I let him use my mind, my memories, and my long-standing relationships with the people of this city to dream-walk into the minds of the matriarchs and plant the seed of panic regarding their sons' mates being killed. He wanted all of the warriors mated." Rowan drew in a ragged breath.
"Why?" Kendrick took Rowan's hand in his. "Focus. Why did he want the unit warriors mated?"
"Mated paranormals are needed to make his army. Vampires... blood. Witches... fuel. He can steal their children." Rowan coughed and blood spewed down his chin. His lungs were disintegrating.
Rowan laughed and gasped for breath. "He never counted on the females. Gods how they managed to unravel things so quickly."
Kendrick gasped. "Meryn, Elizabeth, Rheia, and Amelia."
Rowan nodded. "He thought that by mating the warriors they would gain a weakness, or what he perceived to be a weakness. I could have told him that a man fights harder when he has something to protect and a woman even more so. Women are more fierce, more ruthless."
"It's over now. Aiden destroyed the factory..." Kendrick stopped when Rowan shook his head.
"You have no ... idea ... how far up this goes, how wide. I never knew who to trust. Like the beads on the necklace, we were kept separate from one another, our only connection was to him." Rowan gripped his hand tightly.
Kendrick held on to Rowan's hand. It wouldn't be long now.
"What did you wish for? What did he show you?" Kendrick asked softly.
"His necklace. I wanted... his necklace. The first one made, the one I had to save, no matter the cost." Rowan's face relaxed as his arms and chest slowly became transparent.
"He... fooled me. He said I would see my king again. I thought if I freed my king, Kiran would defeat him."
Kendrick's mind began to race. "Rowan! Rowan! Your king is dead, how could you free him?" Kendrick yelled.
"How... he... came to be. King Kiran, Queen Celeste, and their baby were the first bead created." Rowan closed his eyes.
"No!" Kendrick shouted.
"Promise me! Promise me, you'll free him," Rowan begged.
Kendrick felt his heart breaking into pieces as he nodded. "I swear to you on my father's soul, I will not rest until my parents' murder is avenged and this evil is banished from this world."
Rowan's eyes opened wide at his words, he looked at Kendrick as ghostly tears began to flow. "He was right; I got to see my king, after all." Rowan struggled to lift his other hand, but didn't stop until it rested on his vanishing chest. "Long... live... King Julian. Gods all bless you!" It was as if that declaration took the last of his strength. Rowan closed his eyes and was gone.
Behind him the men unfroze and began to shout orders. Kendrick knelt on the stone floor and began to shake.
"Kendrick?" Aiden came up behind him.
"Clear the building!" Kendrick screamed. He looked down at his empty hands. His magic was raging out of control with his emotions. Black electricity crackled all around him. He wouldn't be able to contain it, everyone was in danger.
Aiden didn't ask, he began barking orders, and the sounds of the unit warriors grew fainter and fainter.
Under his knees, the earth began to move, upset that it had been awakened so forcefully.
"Mother! Father! Kendrick!" He beat his hands on the floor.
All these thousands of years, they had been trapped, forced into use by the very evil that took their lives.
Above him the ceiling began to collapse, large heavy stones fell dangerously close, yet he didn't care.
Kendrick.
He ignored the soft voice of his mate. He refused to let her see him like this.
Athair.
No! Not his godsdaughter, too.
Is this thing working, Ryuu?
Kendrick smiled through his tears. Even Meryn was trying to reach him.
Kendrick my love, it's time to come home. You've done what you can for the day, now it's time to rest. Come home to me. You promised.
"Anne, my sweet Anne. Steadfast and true. Patient and loving. Gods, my parents would have loved you."
Athair, we're all worried about you. Whatever you're facing, you don't have to face it alone. We're a family remember?
"I let my family die, Amelia. I don't deserve another one."
Kendrick, brother, I won't let you die like this. You're a member of Alpha now; that means you fight. Aiden, Gavriel, Darian, and Colton are in the hallway waiting for you. They believe in your strength, as do I.
Kendrick gasped and looked around. "Keelan?" He saw a stone falling and dodged it just in time. He staggered to his feet. He had never let Keelan down before; he wasn't going to start now.
Get your ass moving! I don't want Aiden getting squashed like a pancake!
Kendrick laughed at Meryn's chiding and ran for the door. He caught the doorframe with one hand and flung himself into the hallway. There, waiting for him, was his unit.
"About fucking time! It's getting dicey out here!" Colton yelled.
"My apologies," Kendrick flipped him off and ran past him.
"Hey!" Colton yelled.
The men laughed and ran between the falling ceiling pieces.
Kendrick felt the earth shift again and knew the building was about to go.
"Run for the door, don't stop! It's coming down!" he yelled.
They ran zigzag down the narrow passages until they reached the large receiving room by the door. They heard cracking and the sounds of explosions behind them. They dove for the exit and rolled down the Council Manor steps. Behind them, the five thousand-year-old building came tumbling down.
Kendrick stared up at the sky and noticed how very blue it was. Colton's dirty face appeared grinning over him, then Aiden's, Gavriel's, and finally Darian's. Kendrick held up his hands, and they hoisted him up.
Sascha came up behind them. "Guys, we don't have to pay for this... right?"
Kendrick laughed, because he was either going to laugh or cry. Knowing that his mother, father, and brother were out there, trapped, had opened old wounds, but unlike the time when he'd first sustained them, he now had family around to help get him through.
Aiden was still chuckling when he ordered the men to return to the Alpha estate. Kendrick wasn't certain, but he was pretty sure he heard Elder McKenzie say, "fuck this" before he also left. They walked to the parking garage and got into the SUVs. Like Kendrick, the only thing the Alpha Unit wanted was to get home to their mates.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Anne kissed Kendrick's forehead and eased out of bed. She quietly got dressed and left their shared room. All of the men had been exhausted when they returned from the Council Manor the evening before. Though not even the men had known at the time what had happened with Kendrick. They had stayed behind because he was a part of their unit, and they didn't leave men behind.
When a battered Kendrick walked through the door, he had shocked everyone by dropping to his knees and burying his face against her belly. Everyone left them alone, and when he was ready, Kendrick stood, took her by the hand, and joined everyone in the family room.
His voice remained calm as he told them what had transpired after Rowan cast the paralysis spell on the men. He explained about Rowan's betrayal and the startling revelations about his parents. It was no wonder Anne had felt his pain even though they had been miles apart.
She had turned to Amelia and Ryuu for guidance on the best way to reach Kendrick and talk him through his grief to get him moving. She didn't want to think about what would have happened to all five men if he had delayed a second longer.
Anne went downstairs looking for Meryn. She owed her a couple hours of watching Doctor Who this afternoon, since Meryn had watched anime with her. She walked into the office and stopped short. Meryn was in the process of trying to lift her legs and was using her hands to fold them together in front of her. Seconds later, Anne had to cover her mouth to keep from laughing out loud, the tiny woman had tipped backward and ended up on her back cussing.
"Motherfucker!"
"Meryn, give up; it's just not for you," Elizabeth murmured, her eyes locked on her laptop.
"Bullshit! I'm doing this 'Zen' thing if it fucking kills me."
Anne stepped into the room and helped Meryn sit up. "You know being Zen shouldn't lead to stress or death."
"I know. Okay, one more time." Meryn wiggled until her legs were folded in a scary position resembling a pretzel. She placed her hands on her knees, closed her eyes, and tilted her head back.
After a few quiet moments, Anne looked over at Beth. Beth was looking down at Meryn, a bemused look on her face.
"What exactly are you doing?" Anne finally asked.
"Ryuu suggested that I try meditating to relieve stress. He said I should try and find my inner spirit animal," Meryn said without opening her eyes.
"What? A Pikachu?" Anne asked, smirking. Across the room, Elizabeth began to choke on her coffee.
Meryn's eyes popped open. "Rude! And I'm not that short!"
Colton popped his head into the room. "Oh, ladies! News from the committee, come to the family room."
Meryn looked down at her perfect position. "Motherfucker!"
Elizabeth and Anne reached down. "Come on, Menace, you know you want to hear what they have to say," Elizabeth said.
"Why did they have to make it out of the Manor? I wouldn't have minded if they'd gotten squashed," Meryn murmured.
"Oh, Meryn," Elizabeth sighed.
They walked into the family room. Anne glared at Colton when she saw a sleepy looking Kendrick sitting on the sofa.
"You could have let him sleep." She sat down next to her mate.
Kendrick pulled her close. "I'm fine. Much better today after having gotten so much rest."
"What did the assholes want?" Meryn asked.
"The assholes, as you call them, are furious of course." Byron leaned down and kissed Meryn on the forehead.
Meryn blushed. "Oh, hi, Dad."
Aiden grinned at Meryn's discomfort and rubbed his nose against her neck, causing her to squeal.
"Children," Byron chided.
Aiden sat up straighter. "Sorry, Father, please continue."
"As I was saying, they are furious, but they can't say much since one of their own was working for the enemy." Byron looked at Kendrick. "Are you sure that keeping Rowan's involvement a secret is the right thing to do?"
Kendrick gave one short nod. "I'm not making excuses for him; his choices were his own. He, and he alone, is facing the Gods for his actions. But he wasn't always a bad man. He did a lot of good here in Lycaonia, and I didn't want to tarnish that. Besides, if the enemy, whoever he is, believes that we have no idea about Rowan's involvement, then he'll have no idea that we were told anything, including anything about his very existence."
Meryn smiled. "Twisted. I like it."
Kendrick chuckled. "Thought you might."
Byron shook his head. "Well, I'm on vacation until the new Council Manor is built. I will be at home enjoying my cake." He turned to leave and then turned back. "By the way Aiden, why is Sascha begging me to talk to you about removing him from patrol?"
Colton started laughing, and Darian gave him a high five. Aiden's grin was devilish. "Because for some reason, only Sascha is getting zapped by the perimeter, so we make him do perimeter sweeps."
Darian leaned back. "It's like Keelan is still with us."
Beside her, Kendrick tensed. "What did you just say?"
Darian's face paled. "I didn't mean anything by it, Kendrick. It's like I told you, they had a rivalry, and Keelan would always electrocute Sascha."
Kendrick sat straight up in his chair. "That little bastard!" He sprang to his feet and ran upstairs. Anne was right on his heels as was everyone else. Kendrick flung Keelan's door open and went to the antechamber that he had told her was Keelan's sacred ritual space.
They waited for him in Keelan's room as he rummaged around, knocking over boxes and glass bowls.
"He did it! He actually did it!" Kendrick ran into the main room, holding a leather-bound book.
"He did what?" Aiden asked.
Kendrick began to pace. "Someone... someone told me something..." He pointed at Darian. "You! What did you tell me the night I arrived? What was Keelan's message to me?"
Darian shook his head. "He... uh, he said, 'Tell my brother he was right, but this was the only way I saw where you all lived. Tell him I'm sorry for what I've done, but I'd do it again.' That was it."
Kendrick whooped and picked Anne up and swung her around! "He said he was sorry!"
Anne laughed. "Kendrick, honey, you're starting to scare me."
He put her down on her feet. "He said he was sorry for what he had done, but that he'd do it again. I always thought that he was sorry for joining Alpha, for staying with you all when he knew he was going to die, but that wasn't what he was talking about!"
Kendrick's excitement was contagious. Anne grabbed Kendrick's arm. "What was he talking about?"
Kendrick stopped and looked at their faces. "You don't get it, none of you? That's frightening. How do you get through the day?"
Ryuu cleared his throat. "Heika..."
Kendrick pointed to Ryuu. "Right. The day after I got here, I told you that the entire city was covered by black magic, right?" Everyone nodded. "That kind of grime can only be caused by human sacrifice, so naturally, I assumed it was our enemy. I was wrong! Gods! How often do I get to say that?"
"Kendrick!" Anne exclaimed, losing her patience.
"It was Keelan!" Kendrick exploded.
Aiden's face turned red, and he jerked Kendrick up by the collar. "Keelan would never in a thousand years kill anyone for magic."
Kendrick pried Aiden's hands off his collar and patted him on the chest. "You, my large friend, are absolutely right; he would never, ever kill anyone to cast a spell. But, what if...just, what if, he knew the exact moment someone was going to die?"
Anne reached around blindly with her hand until she found the chair. She sat down. "Oh, my god."
"He knew he was going to die! He's known it for centuries! He figured out how to make a perfect perimeter. Did none of
you wonder why Keelan wasn't up and walking around?" Kendrick looked at the others.
"Because he lost his soul. Duh!" Meryn replied, pointing to the bed.
Kendrick held up a finger. "Then what about ferals? They have no soul and they're able to run, fight, drool, bite, you know, the normal feral behaviors."
Anne looked at her mate. "I said the same thing the first time I saw him, I said that it was like he wasn't even there."
Gavriel stepped forward. "Then where is he?"
Kendrick went to the window and opened it. He pointed to the sky. "He's out there! The missing component to any perimeter is intelligence. You can never cast a spell to, say, block all vampires. We have vampires in our units. How does this perimeter tell friend from foe?"
"Keelan," Meryn whispered.
Elizabeth pointed to the window. "Keelan is out there, right now?"
Kendrick nodded.
"Well, get him back!" she exclaimed.
Kendrick threw the book across the room. "I don't know how! For all I know, what he did was a one-way trip. He cast the perimeter spell the second his soul left his body and used his own death as the human sacrifice needed to make the perfect barrier. I don't even know where to start to unravel this."
Anne stood and cupped his face with both hands. "You have plenty of time to figure it out. It's not like he's going anywhere, is he?"
Kendrick blinked. She squeezed his cheeks together, squishing his face. "You keep forgetting you're not alone anymore. You even have a very dedicated minion who would eat glass if you asked it of him." She jerked her hands to the left. "Stop trying"--she jerked to the right--"to do everything"--she held him in place and looked him in the eye--"by yourself." She released his face.
Kendrick rubbed his cheeks. "All of these years looking after Keelan, I thought I was my brother's keeper. But you're the one taking such good care of the both of us. You're our keeper."
Anne laughed. "Arrogant jerk." She pointed to the sky. "Keelan is the one taking care of us. He is his brother's keeper, and it sounds like he always has been."