by Lucy Kelly
“You know they’ll get knocked up right away after they arrive on HeVan. The problem is finding jobs and a place to keep them all while they’re here,” Becky explained.
“I may have an idea on that subject,” interjected Tammy. “I know it’s not my turn, but I think my information will help with this issue.”
Looking around the table, she could see they were all encouraging her. Tammy was growing into her responsibilities. Going from an employee at a large hotel, to being one of three directresses of The Sanctuary, had been a big move for her.
“Well, you all know I grew up on a farm?” she asked. At their nods, she continued. “I keep in touch with some of my old neighbors. One of them was telling me a story about another family she knew in Montana. They're four daughters of a big cattle rancher who died. The girls all want to keep ranching. However, their uncle, who couldn’t wait to get away from the ranch and move to the city, was named as executor of their father’s estate. Long story short, he’s trying to sell the property out from under them. His main argument is the women don’t know enough about ranching to get the job done. Also, he feels as women, they won’t have the respect of the neighboring ranchers, and will be easy targets for rustlers and other criminals. The sisters have filed an injunction against their uncle, since the inheritance is theirs. Unfortunately, the judge listening to the case is a real MCP!”
“What’s an MCP?” Kai, one of Sarah’s Ankida, wanted to know.
“A male chauvinist pig,” said all three of the women at the same time.
“Some men think women are delicate, fragile creatures, with small brains, who have to be taken care of like children all their lives,” Sarah went on to explain.
The men, all joined with strong women, were bewildered at the idea but nodded their heads that they understood.
“Anyway, my idea is, we could buy the property and let the four sisters run it for us. We could come up with some type of dude ranch venue to let us have a bunch of men come and go all the time,” she finished saying.
“I think it’s a brilliant idea,” said Markus, leaning over to give Tammy a hug and kiss on the cheek. He absolutely adored her. He still couldn’t believe his good fortune to have her and the added benefit of her two adorable girls from her first marriage.
“It is a good idea,” seconded Becky. “That means it’s your turn, Sarah. Do we have enough money in the kitty to buy a cattle ranch in Montana?”
“Actually, even with all the money we’ve spent helping our ladies—we’re still rolling in it. A ranch is actually a really good investment. I wouldn’t like to plunk down millions without inspecting the property and the books, though. Do you think you could put me in touch with the ladies, Tammy? I get the impression timing is important here?” she asked.
“Yes, we’d have to act quickly,” Tammy said.
“Then I think you and Markus should be the ones to go and check out the property. You’re the one with the connection to the family. If the property is worth the price, I’d love to keep the ladies on to manage it, but only if they can do the job. So you’ll be analyzing them too, okay? And by the way, I’m assuming this is a cattle ranch?” Sarah said.
“I’m glad you asked. I forgot that part. They run cattle and bison, mostly. A couple of years ago, the youngest sister started a small herd of alpaca. Anna manages the livestock. Angie is a vet and takes care of all the ranch animals, as well. Audra wants to bring in guests. Their father had put up two small cabins for his fishing buddies. She wants to add a few more. The ranch has several small lakes and about five miles of riverfront. The fishing is supposed to be excellent. And last are Rory and the alpacas.”
“How come she’s the only one who’s name doesn’t start with an ‘A’?” Becky asked jokingly.
Tammy giggled, “Actually, her name is Aurora. She just goes by Rory,” she said, and they all laughed.
Tammy looked to Markus to see how he felt about taking the trip. She knew he’d give her good advice and then leave the decision up to her. She loved that about him. They had already discussed the issue between them because they knew this was a possibility. Winter was a hard time on a ranch, especially winter in the wilds of Montana. This would be a good time to see what the ranch and the women were made of.
“I’m glad there’s enough money to do it, if we want to. I actually already called my friend and got in touch with the oldest daughter—that’s Anna. I told her no promises, but we would be meeting today. I promised I’d call this evening. The court date has been set for May 25th. It gives us about a month to make a decision and come up with the earnest money to seal the deal,” Tammy said.
“Great! You can let her know you’ll be taking the company jet out to see her next week. What’s the nearest airport?” Sarah asked.
“Actually, like most ranchers in the area, they have their own airstrip. They check the herds by air, as well as on horseback and truck. They own a Cessna and a couple of jet copters. The ranch property, including leases of BLM and state land, is over twenty thousand acres,” said Tammy. They all agreed it was worth looking into.
Those subjects settled, they continued with the board meeting. Kai reported on all building projects they currently had going on. Ari reported on the progress of all the women currently in residence in their various classes. Markus gave updates on all their health issues and their children, as well.
Ishme reported on all the other Nephilim currently visiting Earth. Nyal reported on the space station out at the Earth Gate. He also mentioned that if they bought a cattle ranch, they’d have another source of food for the space station. The Sanctuary planned to grow crops, raise chickens, and possibly, goats. Sarah went into more detail on their financial status, and made plans to free up some cash.
It took another two hours to conclude their meeting, and come up with a list of things for each to accomplish in the next month. One of the most important was finding more ways to help women in jeopardy and recruit more women for HeVan. Different ideas were tossed around. It was decided they should recruit Johanna, Catherine’s sister, to help them, as well as Valerie and Miranda.
When they were all getting up to leave, all their paper reports were shredded. The shredded paper was then dumped into the fireplace in the great room. They were taking no chances people would find out about the Nephilim living on Earth.
Chapter Fifteen
HeVan…
Addie paced back and forth in her living room. Grace was now fully healed and looking forward to continuing with her duties as arbiter. She had been moved from medical to the royal wing, which was now complete. This way, she could move around without being seen by anyone. They had decided to keep her recovery under wraps until they could determine who had tried to kill her and her Ankida.
Tomorrow was the day they were planning to retire the council. With all the information Malpha had provided, and the evidence Grace had gathered, they had enough information to force the council to go quietly. Any minute now, her Ankida, along with Grace and her Ankida, were going to arrive and discuss their plans.
Hearing a gurgle, Addie let the frown fall away from her face as she went to the corner of the room where all her girls were lying on a blanket. Floating in the air above them were various shapes in bright colors. Four of the girls were reaching and waving their arms while their two sisters slept.
Sitting down on the floor next to them, she decided to worry about the council later. For now, she was going to steal some precious moments with her babies. She was lucky and got nearly ten minutes with them before the others arrived.
Grace came in first with Jalen and their three daughters, Jordan, Rebeccah, and Harriet. Grace had already shortened their names to Jordi, Becca, and Harry, while her Ankida always called them by their full names. Moments later, Jett entered the room with Addie’s Ankida.
“You’re just in time. The girls need to be changed and fed,” Addie sang out.
Grace laughed. Addie smiled when Arjun, Rune, and Kylan made a f
ace. They all knew it was just for show. They loved being fathers and were willing to help at any task.
“Addie, I can only teleport by touch. Would you bring Justyn in for the meeting? I was just talking to him on the com-link and he’s ready. He has Paq with him,” said Grace in warning.
Addie might not mind breast-feeding in front of the family, but Grace knew she wasn’t going to feed the girls in front of a stranger. Especially one accused of a violent crime.
Paq was the son of Councilman Harq Morrack for the House of Seraphia. Paq was the one who had been accused of the assault on Branca Braza. Grace had interviewed Branca extensively and she was staying in the palace under seclusion. Justyn was bringing him so Grace could interview him. Margan and Trake would make sure no one in Seraphia would find out they had teleported him to HeVanth with Justyn. His father was already on his way to the meeting called by the Nam-Nin, and wasn’t even aware Justyn had found Paq. His father had sent him to the vineyard to check on the harvest. He heard the investigators were at the main compound, and he had ignored his father’s order to stay away and went to speak to them. He didn’t like the way his father had handled the accusations against him. He wanted to meet with the investigators himself. He was kept away during Malpha’s investigation.
After Justyn met the warrior, he spoke to him about the incident. He didn’t have Grace’s gifts, and he felt in order to get to the heart of the matter, she needed to talk to him. The two of them were in a room with one door and no windows. Justyn contacted Grace on his com-link when they were ready to be teleported. He was glad Addie would be handling the teleportation this time. It was difficult for him to hold in his emotions when he saw Grace’s face on the screen. The last time he saw her, she was still in medical, severely injured and balancing on the edge between life and death.
They pushed the furniture to the end of the room before calling. Justyn wanted to leave a nice empty space for when they transported back. Grace sent a signal, then once again Justyn felt a moment of disorientation and he shut his eyes. When he opened them again, the first person he saw was Grace. Crossing over to her, he picked her up and pulled her tight into his arms, where he proceeded to kiss her passionately. After a long while, they came up for air. He set her down and shook her, clasped her to his chest, then shook her again. Over and over, he repeated his actions, shouting that she had to promise never to do something like that again and to stop scaring him along with various other threats. When he finally wound down. Grace reached up and put her hands on his cheeks.
“I love you. I love Jett. I love Jalen. I’m so sorry I scared you so much. I really couldn’t live without any of you. Will you forgive me?” she asked, knowing part of him really was angry with her for almost leaving him. He had grieved for her when she was so close to death. He needed to push through all the stages of grief; anger was one of them.
While Grace and Justyn came to terms, on the other side of the room stood a stranger to this group. Paq Morrack was still waiting to be questioned. He was confused because instead of a dismal interrogation room, he was in a beautiful family room. There were babies! He had never seen a baby before. Part of him wanted to get closer, he couldn’t see very much from the far side of the room. But he knew one step in their direction would bring the wrath of the queen’s consorts down on his head.
Arjun, Kylan, and Rune were renowned warriors of their people. When they fulfilled their quest to bring the Nam-Nin back to HeVan, they became legends. He did not relish being seen as an enemy to the fierce warriors.
He watched Justyn with his mate and was both happy and surprised. He was happy she lived and surprised, as well. It was commonly thought she lay near death and wasn’t expected to live at all. Looking at her now, he could see no lasting wound. Her Ankida, Jalen, sat on one of the couches surrounded by his own infants. As he watched, Paq grew envious. He wanted this. If Branca’s mother had not acted against him and her own daughter, perhaps by now they would have had a child.
Thinking of Branca made him sad. He knew she was his join. He thought of her night and day. It had been nearly two years since he’d seen her and her image was still burned into his memory. The curve of her cheek, the way she tilted her head when she was thinking. All those and more—how he missed her! And yet, they had not been allowed to stay together because his wings had not emerged. That fact had led to the accusation of rape by her mother. If the Nam-Nin found him guilty, he would forfeit his life. He didn’t really mind; he didn’t want to live without Branca anyway.
He heard the door behind him open, and turned to see who else was joining the group. An older Nephilim warrior stood in the doorway, blocking the opening from the people behind him.
“Rale Kolrami, move that excellent ass out of my way. I want to see my great-grandbabies. I haven’t seen them in weeks!” said a voice from behind the warrior.
“Not until I’m assured of your safety,” he said, giving Paq a glare.
“Are you suggesting I am unable to keep my family safe?” asked Arjun, turning to the older warrior.
Paq relaxed when he saw the two warriors exchanging insults. This type of greeting of old friends he understood. He watched as the older warrior and another walked across the room to greet the others. He felt a tingling sensation at the back of his neck, and he turned back to the door.
She was here! He stood stock-still. He couldn’t move. He could barely breathe. She was here!
Branca Braza arrived with Glynnis and her Ankida. She had been staying at the smaller palace in the Purgat region. Now she stood next to Glynnis feasting her eyes on Paq.
Why didn’t he come to her? Did he no longer want her?
Glynnis felt the young girl tremble. Although the young girl was nearly five times her age, it meant nothing. She hadn’t had nearly the life experiences Glynnis had gone through, and she looked thirty-or so, which was very young to Glynnis.
“Go on with you now,” Glynnis said, pushing her forward a step and closing the door behind them. “The two of them, both so afraid and wanting desperately to be together,” she muttered under her breath, as she and Recca crossed the room to where the others gathered, leaving Paq and Branca to a little privacy.
They each took a tentative step forward then, and seeing each other’s movement, came together in a rush. The words they said didn’t matter in the first rush of emotion. Touching and looking, feeling the brush of cheek-to-cheek, taking and giving breath for breath, as they shared a kiss just as passionate as the one Justyn and Grace had shared, was more important than words.
Addie and Grace watched the lovers and shared a look between them. It seemed this was love, indeed. One of Addie’s Nam-Nin powers was the ability to join couples. Where there was love, she could bless the match and call forth a warrior’s wings so they could proceed with the joining ceremony. Seeing the two together, she decided it must be a case of parental interference. A young woman of five hundred years, give or take, should know her own heart and be able to marry whom she chose.
Addie decided to ask them if they wished her to join them. It didn’t take too long for her to get her chance. The two lovers remembered they were not alone and, springing apart, turned to face the group. Paq, worried Branca might be taken away from him again, kept one arm around her waist, holding her in front of him. That position had the added advantage of hiding his arousal from everyone else. Branca, feeling the hard ridge of his desire pressing against the crease of her ass, made a gentle movement of her hips. She was rewarded with a low groan.
“Okaaay, looks like these two are ready to get a room,” Addie said as she approached them. She explained her power of joining and asked them whether or not it was what they wanted. Both Paq and Branca were excited to think they would have this opportunity for a true joining.
“Oh, Paq, mother couldn’t keep us apart if your wings emerged,” Branca exclaimed.
When she got their happy agreement, Addie decided to have a little ceremony. She started arranging the people around th
e room to make it more like a wedding.
“Why do we have to stand here again?” asked Arjun. He was teasing her and she knew it. She just gave him a look and kept setting things up the way she wanted. She was just getting started, when she noticed a problem.
“Um, Paq? If you like that shirt, you should probably take it off,” she suggested.
She exchanged another look with her sister. Both of them were happily mated, that didn’t mean they couldn’t enjoy a little man candy now and then. Seeing the look pass between the sisters, Rune reached over and gave Addie’s ass a pinch. When she jumped, she looked at him with a glare. “What’d you do that for?”
“Just reminding you who you’re joined with,” he said with a satisfied smile.
“You can give me a better reminder later,” she said, turning to him and running her hand down the front of his pants.
She clapped her hands, “Okay, let’s get this show on the road!”
Raising her hands outward to encompass the two people standing in front of her, Addie slowly amped up her power. A golden aura surrounded her and flickers of gold showered over those closest to her. She concentrated on cementing the join between Branca and Paq. When Paq’s wings failed to emerge, she scrunched up her face and concentrated harder.
“Uh, Addie, you might want to see this,” whispered Grace.
“Shh! Can’t you see I’m trying to concentrate?” Addie answered out of the corner of her mouth. Taking a peek, she didn’t see wings, so she shut her eyes again and really poured on the power. The room was now filled with golden sparkles and still, Paq’s wings did not burst forth.
“Addie, it’s not working. Even though most of the babies love the light show, Aelwen, Cara, and Dilys have something else on their minds,” Grace said in a louder voice.
Addie shut off her power with a snap. “Fine! I stopped. What’s so important you just had to interrupt me in the middle of joining Paq and Branca?” she asked, turning to her sister and putting her hands on her hips.