“Do you need help?”
“Nope. Sergey cooks and I serve. Sergey, are we having more company than Tori and Hale? There’s enough food here to feed an army and I should know.”
“Rena has decided she wants to get out and heard I was cooking.”
“Ok we need two more plates.”
“Nicolas decided every one needed to spend time with Alexei.”
“Ok we need lots more plates. Is Dante or his brothers coming?”
“Would I miss an outing with Alexei?” Dante stood in the doorway.
Lorali and Tori jumped and turned around.
“How do you manage to sneak up on me all the time?” Lorali asked giving him a smile of welcome.
“Skills?”
“Are your brothers here?” She looked around for them.
“Not yet. They will be here shortly. Take a seat, Lorali. Let me take over from here.”
He bent down and picked up large silver containers and carried them into the kitchen.
“You made more food to go with what Sergey already made? We will be eating for days.”
“There may be a couple of dishes in here for you to sample. If you like them then they will be on the menu for your wedding and…”
Lorali walked over to him like a child waiting for a birthday present. “Don’t tease Dante, were you able to do it.”
He smiled at her. “Do you really doubt me?”
He walked into the other room and came back carrying a mini wedding cake.
“You did it!”
The cake was gorgeous. Each layer had swirls around the sides reminding her of the traditional wedding cake she always wanted. The real show stopper was the topper. There was no traditional bride and groom on it. Instead there was a mini cage with the door wide open. Sitting on the outside of the cage was a perfect replica of Sergey dressed for combat on his planet of origin. She was dressed in fatigues while sitting in his arms.
Lorali looked up at Sergey tears glimmering in her eyes. “Your love set me free.”
He wiped the tears away. “Our love set us free.”
“I love it, Dante. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. Wait until you see the full cake. Now where is everybody?”
“We’re here. At least we three are,” Rena said walking into the kitchen holding Alexei in her arms.
Dante came around the counter as she walked towards him. “May I?”
Rena nodded her head and handed the baby to him.
“With your permission, Aran.”
“Permission granted.”
Dante turned his head from Aran to look at Tori. “Tori, it’s a good feeling to have your family trust you, even when they have no idea what you just asked them.”
He lifted the baby to look at him, before cradling him against his chest. A white light encircled him making it impossible for anyone to see him or Alexei. Within a blink of an eye it was gone and Alexei shone like the noon day sun.
“There’s a blessing on your child, Rena. As the first he will lead the way. He will be honored with the first kill in the war to come.”
Rena reached out to take her son back. “Dante?”
“Believe me, Rena. There will come a time when it will be kill or be killed, your son will be ready.”
“Thank you.” The light disappeared into Alexei. Rena bent down and kissed him.
“You believe this war is coming to the earth?” Aran asked.
“It’s coming, Aran. If you are honest with yourself you have known for a long time now. The twelve of us are the most powerful Created ever made. It is no coincidence we ended up on the same planet in a solar system that has only one inhabited planet.”
“The dreams,” Aran said quietly.
“Are memories,” Dante finished.
“Rena!” Dee’s voice cut across the silence in the room.
She walked over to her holding her arms out for Alexei.
“Really, Dee. He’s going to grow up wondering which of us is his real mother.”
“No worries there. When I send him home with a sugar high, he will know who momma is.”
Rena laughed and turned Alexei over. The room exploded as brothers and mates entered.
Lorali looked around the room and shook her head. “Let’s take this out back.”
She led the way out as Aran and Dante manned the kitchen. “Tori, what did you think about the video game?”
“Which part? The part where the evil Created tried to kill us or the part where I was able to see part of Hale’s parentage?”
“Both.” The rest of the women came around to listen to what she had to say.
“The Created is a monster. The real kind, not the made up film kind.”
“He’s not just a monster on the outside.” Dee’s body shook for a minute. “He’s a monster on the inside also. Those are the kind you have to watch out for.”
“I agree, Dee. He hates the Created, especially these two families. He blames them for losing everything he ever wanted. He even said they took his female from him.”
“He has to be lying,” Janis spoke up. “I have been with Nicolas long enough to know they had no intimate relations before coming to earth. They couldn’t.”
“None?” Tori looked at her with curiosity.
“None. They were made to be susceptible to some naturally occurring product on their planet that took away any desire, or ability to physically be intimate. It wasn’t until they came here that they gained that ability. You must ask Hale to tell you about it one day. Nicholas had me in tears as he described what it felt like to come back to life. It’s also sad to think they were treated like nothing better than cattle.”
“All I know is he blames them for her loss and the loss of ruling the galaxy.”
“Seriously? He wanted to rule the galaxy. I think he may have been insane long before he compromised his DNA,” Rena said with an incredulous look on her face.
“Think Hitler on a bigger scale, Rena,” Dee told her.
“You’re right, no matter where you are there will be someone who wants it all and is willing to kill for it,” Lorali chimed in. “You managed to get away. What happened next?”
Tori decided not to mention the sand or how the planet could make your dreams or nightmares come true.
“Hale took me to see the inhabitants of the planet. They were so much more advanced than I thought they would be. I guess I still think of us as top of the food chain. To see such an advanced culture even though I knew they existed was a shock. We quickly left the city, walking until we were in the country. There was a male with his family. Hale says the male is one of his fathers.”
Everyone nodded their heads.
“Our males are all about family. Whether it’s in their DNA or the fact that they grew up having no one except each other, it’s a mystery to me. All I know is that I love that about them,” Janis replied thinking out loud.
“Who do I have to wrestle to hold Alexei?”
Tori looked up to see five huge males standing in front of them. She recognized one from the restaurant. He winked at her. Hale growled, making all the men laugh.
“Tori, these are Dante’s brothers. The one who just winked at you is Julian. Mick is the one standing over Dee trying to win the stare down contest for the right to hold Alexei.”
“I can take you, Mick.”
“You scare me, Dee, that’s why I’m waiting patiently for you to hand over baby Alexei,” Mick said.
All the women laughed as he tried to give her a pathetic look of fear. Dee shook her head and handed over Alexei.
Mick had long brown hair and sky blue eyes. Tori looked him over. He couldn’t hold a candle to Hale.
“Lucca is the one with the blonde hair. Say hi, Lucca.”
“Hi, Tori nice to meet you.”
“The last two are Damon and Raphael.”
They each stepped forward to greet her.
“It is nice to meet you all,” Tori responded.
“Food’s ready, come and eat,” Aran’s voice called out.
******
The males migrated back into the house taking over the game room. The females told them to go have fun as they had a wedding to plan.
The silence in the room hung heavy as each of them seemed to be in their own head.
“What’s it like to be mated?” Mick’s voice cut through the silence looking at his brothers in arms.
“A couple of months ago I may have said it was peaceful,” Aran spoke. “Now I am up at three AM for feedings along with diaper changes.”
“Is it something to be avoided?” Mick asked in a voice full of curiosity.
“No, it’s something to be desired. I can’t imagine going back to a life without Rena and Alexei. Every day I am awed that I have a mate and a son. She gives me peace in the middle of the chaos that is our life. There is nothing like it, Mick. Soon I hope you will meet your mate.”
Mick’s eyes dropped. “Maybe.”
Aran frowned giving all of Mick’s brothers a look. None of them met his eyes. He turned to look at Dante who was staring at him. He sighed leaving Dante to take care of his family.
“Let’s talk about what we learned.” Aran turned to study his brothers. Each one of them was tense. The thought of a war coming to their new planet was something none of them wanted.
Ash was the only brother who was relaxed. Not having a mate to protect would mean he would put himself on the front lines for the family. Aran sighed.
“There will be a war, the only question is when. No, the other question is should we warn the Earth’s governments.”
“What if the war does not happen for forty years? How long will the earth be able to hold a defensive preparedness for something they can’t see?” Sergey asked.
“Who will still be in the top echelons in forty years?” Dante asked.
“So we keep this information from them?” Julian’s usual smile was missing.
Aran looked around the room. “No, but we do not raise an alarm before it is time.”
“How will we know when it is time?” Ash was looking out the window as he spoke. The darkness of night rolled in and the stars were shining brightly.
“That’s what we need to decide. Another talk with the tainted one will help us to pinpoint when they will attack,” Aran replied.
“I estimate an attack between twenty twenty-five and twenty thirty,” Dante’s voice caused everyone to look at him.
“Why so long?” Sergey asked him.
“They will bring at least one world ship. They plan to terra form this world.”
“The humans won’t survive that,” Ash spoke up.
“That’s the point,” Aran said with disgust.
“What should we do? Do we stay and fight this new war or do we say the people of earth are on their own?”
“What do you want to do, Raphael? Do you want to leave them to face what is coming their way?” Dante asked softly.
“You know I don’t, Dante. It is our fault this war is coming to their planet anyway.”
“That’s where you’re wrong. This war was coming with or without our presence. Our presence means they have a chance to survive,” Dante said leaving them all to look at him.
“Anything else you want to share with us, Dante?” Niko wondered what else Dante knew, but wasn’t sharing.
“Yes, Niko there is. When Dee becomes pregnant she will drive you crazy with her taste for shrimp.”
The room dissolved in laughter. Niko’s chest puffed up, all he heard was that one day Dee would conceive.
“Aran, how do you want to handle this?” Dante asked him.
Aran turned and looked at him, shaking his head. It always fascinated him how Dante controlled so much more and no one, not even the Created knew. He pulled strings carefully as if he were working with the tapestry of life. He was instrumental in each of his brothers meeting their mate. He worked to make sure Rena stayed alive long before Aran was to meet her. Dante was the first, the power he wielded should scare them all.
“We keep this information to ourselves for now. Scaring the human government is not in our favor. When the time comes we will inform them and let them know we will fight on the front lines of this invasion. There are other Created spread about on the earth. It’s time we track them down. They will either fight for this world or they will depart it.”
Every head nodded in agreement at what Aran proclaimed. Dante smiled at him giving a brief dip of his head. They would talk later.
Chapter Twenty Two
Tori leaned back to work the crick out of her neck and then her back. She and Lorali sat up late after all the others departed putting the finishing touches on the wedding and what she would need.
The new tablet Hale purchased for her was being put to good use. She was able to show Lorali sketches of designs she wanted to use for the wedding as well as having access to the drawings and pictures of the reception site.
“Lorali, what happened to your need for a lake or a pond?”
“Sergey is working on making a waterfall. He got the management team to agree to let him bring one in. They agreed as long as they were able to see the drawings. After they saw the drawings they added another condition. They wanted to have exclusive use of it. It’s to be on display for a year. Sergey and the others agreed to the terms.”
“Is there anything they can’t do?”
“They can’t have girls. Although I am betting Nicolas is working on that.”
“Nothing but boys?”
“Yes. If you agree to mate with Hale you will only have boys.”
Tori’s eyes lit up. “Little boys with platinum hair and brown eyes. I love it.”
“I thought you might.”
Lorali walked over to Tori. “Thank you, Tori. I don’t think I could have gotten all of this together without your help.
“Don’t thank me yet. We have to get it all done in two weeks.”
“You will do it. I think we have kept the males waiting long enough.”
Lorali reached over giving Tori a swift hug followed by a kiss on the cheek. “Welcome to the family. It is nice to have a new sister.”
She walked out the room leaving Tori with her mouth hanging open. With a shake of her head she followed Lorali to the game room.
“How are the plans coming?” Sergey asked as Lorali came into the room.
“Tori is amazing. The wedding will be beautiful. I can’t wait to tell you all about it.”
She gave him a truly happy smile.
“Tori, thank you for staying late to help me finalize the plans. Hale, thank you for being patient with us.”
“You’re welcome, Lorali, I am excited to be coordinating your wedding.”
“Anything for a sister,” Hale said moving over to Tori’s side.
“Are you ready to go?”
“Yes.” She tried to cover a big yawn before saying her good nights and walking out with Hale.
“The wedding will be marvelous, Hale.” She climbed into the Jeep as he held the door open for her. “Didn’t we drive one of your muscle cars over here?”
“Dante suggested I might want to off-road tonight. I’m borrowing the jeep.”
Tori shook her head. “I might be wrong, but I think we still have Aran’s jeep at the house. Why would he think we would want to go off-road in the middle of the night?” Suspicion crept into her voice as her hands tensed a little.
Hale shrugged. “I don’t know the reason. I just know to listen when he speaks.”
Hale was keeping his eyes on the rearview mirror. He saw the hummer that was parked in the shadows on the side of the road. It pulled out behind them. He gave a small smile of satisfaction. His last human problem had taken the bait.
“Have you been off-road before, Tori?”
“No,” Her hands gripped the door handle.
“Hold on, Love, we are leaving the highway.”
He chose the stretch of highway that had no guard rail. He would
have to call and recommend they fix that problem. It could be dangerous. The jeep dropped several feet before it landed on all four wheels.
Tori was grinding her teeth together, but she never said a word. Her breathing became erratic and her inner voice began to chant, He will protect us. Other than that she tried to enjoy the wild ride.
“Hale.” She waited until she could talk without choking on her fear or screaming at him. “Why are we on the side of the mountain instead of on the safe smooth highway?”
“In the hummer that was stupid enough to follow us is the man who thinks he owns you. I plan to come to a meeting of minds with him.”
“Does that mean he will walk out alive?’
“No.”
When had she become ok with violence? Was it when she knew John had every intention of beating her with that whip and then raping her? He told her in vivid detail what he planned to do. Ironically, it was because he spent so much time talking that Hale was able to get there in time to rescue her.
Now she was being followed by someone who felt it was ok to own a female. Not just own them, when he was done he tended to kill them. He didn’t want anyone else to play with his toys. She sighed knowing she wouldn’t be begging for his life. As long as he lived, he would come after her.
“So what do we do? Drive on the side of the mountain and see whose jeep falls off first?”
“We stop in the clearing ahead.”
Sure enough there was a clearing in the middle of the trees they just went through. Hale pulled the jeep to the side and got out.
“Tori, do you want to wait in the jeep?”
“Where would I be safer?”
“Closer to me.” She climbed out the jeep and came to stand by him.
The hummer plowed through the trees coming to a hard stop when they saw them standing in the clearing. Three doors opened allowing three men holding guns to get out the car.
“We don’t want any trouble,” the man on the passenger front said.
“Is that what you tell all your victims before you kill them?” Hale asked, not impressed.
“No, I just kill them. Word of you has gotten back to us. So we came prepared. You understand, I hope.”
Hale: Love Me Harder - Alien Paranormal Romance Page 14