Grounding Gracus (First Wave Book 6)

by Mikayla Lane

  Caden nodded his head. “Good call, Jalorn. It’s a good idea to break into two groups as well. There is no telling where Grai is at this point and one group will have a hell of a time searching this…,” Caden paused as he looked around. “Huge, damn place for him. I can take a team, half mine, half yours and a dark one and search for Grai, while you take the female and single Valendran. If you prefer…”

  Jalorn almost jumped with glee. There was no way in hell that he wanted to face Grai T’Alq if he didn’t have to. Like most Relians, he had nightmares about that scary son of a bitch coming for him. A pack of dark ones and Valendrans combined couldn’t scare him as much as facing that one man.

  No, Jalorn thought, Grai T’Alq wasn’t a man. He was a fucking nightmarish legend come to life. One he was more than happy to never face, especially not with this pathetic group. And the best part was, if Caden screwed this up, he could claim he was outranked and had only followed orders when the senior commander showed up.

  Jalorn smiled, trying to hide his pleasure at the turn of events. “I would greatly appreciate your more experienced assistance in this matter. Please choose your team among our men. We’ll overtake the female and Valendran once they’ve broken camp and resumed hiking in the morning.”

  Caden just nodded his head and turned to look out into the vast forest, trying to imagine where Grai would have been going. And why. He turned back to the men and frowned at his choices, before he picked those he thought better suited to his purposes. Not that any of them were suited to anything more than doing the basics. They would do for what he had in mind though.

  Chapter Eleven

  Gracus was a little surprised when Rebecca nodded her head and he smiled down into his lap for a second, trying to think of where to begin.

  He decided on the beginning. “A very long time ago, a ship crashed on the planet. In the ship were a group of survivors called Valendrans. They were followed by another group of evil bastards called Relians. The Valendrans, mistakenly believed dead by their people, tried to live among the humans in peace, helping them where they could.”

  “One day, they were blessed with mates. Special women, with wondrous gifts that made their lives beautiful. Soon they had children, who were born of the two worlds. Valendra and Earth. The children, hybrids, were born with unique abilities. Each being able to do something different. Some can control water or fire, some are empaths and psychics. Others could create things out of the earth… but all with an ability inherited from their parents.”

  Rebecca sat and stared at Gracus. Not just enraptured by his story, but by the cadence of his deep voice and the look on his face as he spoke so intently.

  Gracus continued. “The Relians soon found them and their children. Being the animals that they are, they raped and killed the women and enslaved or killed the children. The remaining Valendrans and hybrids scattered throughout the world, believing they would be harder to find. A lot of them were killed, yet some of them found one another and thrived.”

  Gracus saw that Rebecca was thoroughly engrossed in the story and continued. “The people back on Valendra had thought all of their people dead and it wasn’t until a ship arrived and found one of these special hybrids and learned of more, that they came back to the planet. When they realized they had people here and that the Relians were destroying governments and religions, they stayed to help the humans and to find their people. The outpost crew and the hybrids that are half Valendran.”

  Rebecca was beginning to feel overwhelmed. Her body felt like it was electrified, all of her nerves tingling, especially her head. If she wasn’t in the middle of the forest she’d swear she was touching something electrical. Only it didn’t hurt. It just felt so… strange. Like a tsunami of energy lighting up her body from within.

  The stupid story was really getting to her and Rebecca needed to change the direction of this story, hoping to ease the sensations coursing through her.

  “Wait a minute, aren’t stories like this supposed to have a prince and princess,” she asked a little nervously, as she tried to keep her teeth from clenching.

  Gracus had felt the energy in her beast ignite and was a little in awe of the burst of power that shot through her and her ability to think through it. He’d been through the same thing when he’d beast bonded and knew that it was a pretty intense feeling. Only he’d been aware of what was happening to him and Rebecca was clueless. He wasn’t sure how, but somehow, she’d initiated the bonding spontaneously.

  He knew she was doing her best to keep her composure and he needed to help her through it by helping her stay distracted while the beast fully seated himself in her brain, creating the connections needed to complete the permanent bond between them.

  He thought of her question, a little perplexed. “Why a prince and princess?”

  Rebecca chuckled, trying to quell the strange feelings flooding her body and mind. “Yeah, you know, all fairy tales have a prince and princess.”

  Gracus sighed. She thought his story nothing but a fairy tale. He knew she was trying to reason through what was happening and he allowed it, knowing that by morning she wouldn’t be able to deny the voice in her head or the truth any longer.

  Gracus nodded. “Oh… ok. Well the princess’s parents were killed when she was very young, by the Relians who were pursuing them. She was raised in the best of homes, but her protector felt it best that she not be told of her heritage until she was old enough to truly understand it.”

  Rebecca felt like she was hit with a rock, his words ringing through her like a bell. She looked into his hazel eyes and whispered, “What of the prince?”

  Gracus gently rubbed the back of her hand, looked into her wide brown eyes and grinned. “He’d been on the ship in orbit for years and when he finally came down to the planet, he met the princess by chance and made a complete fool of himself. He’s been trying to make it up to her ever since then.”

  Rebecca couldn’t take her eyes off of him. She knew that it was crazy to try and put the two of them into the roles of prince and princess, but she couldn’t seem to help it. And that little voice in the back of her mind had become louder and more insistent as it whispered, “Yes”.

  Rebecca was determined to end this now and was shocked when a question spilled from her mouth. “What happens to them?”

  Gracus smiled sadly. “They just start to get to know one another when the prince finds out that the Relians are in the kingdom. Potentially hunting the princess and looking for the same magical cave.”

  He watched her eyes widen and continued. “The prince and his Valendran friends are keeping the princess surrounded to keep her protected.”

  Gracus watched her closely for her reaction and wasn’t surprised when she looked around them, as if to see the Valendrans or Relians herself.

  Rebecca was stunned for a moment as she tried to take in what he’d said and the voice in her mind that had become so loud. Damn, if his crazy wasn’t contagious, she thought as she fought to quiet the voice or push it aside so she could think clearly.

  Good grief, she thought, why am I even thinking that this is anything other than a story to begin with? It’s just a story! One that was very clever and had certainly set her mind off into the land of stupid. But, still just a story. And he must think her a fool for falling for it.

  Finally, Rebecca burst out in a nervous laughter, unable to believe that she’d allowed herself to get sucked into the story and let it affect her like this. Rebecca felt like a fool and knew it was time to make her exit before she outdid him on the scale of fools. Some competitions weren’t worth winning.

  She looked up into Gracus’s beautiful hazel eyes. “That was an impressive and very imaginative story. I like how you weaved just enough fact to make it seem real. You’re a great storyteller. But, I think I’m going to head to bed now. We need to be up early. Good night."

  Gracus wanted nothing more than to keep her with him through the night, but he could tell that she really needed the ti
me alone to consider what he’d said and to complete the beast bonding process. More importantly, he knew that she had felt the “rightness” of his words and she needed time to accept it.

  “Good night, Rebecca. Sleep well,” Gracus said tenderly as he watched her disappear into her tent.

  Clatz sighed in his mind. “She’s perfect and way too good for you. But, you did pretty well. I expected you to terrify her,” Clatz said with a chuckle.

  Gracus leaned back against a tree, near Rebecca’s tent. “Yeah, thanks asshole.”

  Gracus ignored his beast and sifted Rebecca’s energy to make sure she wasn’t in distress. He easily felt her confusion and rapidly awakening beast. He had no clue what had caused her beast to begin awakening after all these years, but it seemed like it was trying to complete the bonding process in record time.

  He couldn’t help but be grateful for it, knowing it would make it easier for Rebecca to believe and accept who and what she was. And hopefully him as well. Gracus sent out his senses, exploring the area around them to ensure that Rebecca was in no danger and feeling only the presence of Amun, Decano and the two cats with them, he relaxed a little and allowed his mind to wander.

  “Pay attention fool, your mate’s beast has initiated a bond with us. I have allowed the connection and secured the bond,” Clatz said.

  Gracus’s heart leaped in his chest. That connection would allow the two of them to speak to one another through the Shengari’ and he had to fight the urge to test it out, not wanting to frighten her by suddenly being in her head.

  He knew there would be plenty of time in the morning to show her that it was there. Hopefully, after she’d been introduced to his world by her beast, he thought.

  “You sound like a lazy prick who doesn’t want to put in the work to help his mate acclimate,” Clatz complained in his mind.

  “Well, if you weren’t so critical you’d realize that she’s very intelligent and intuitive. She likes to figure things out, which is why she’s hunting for the cave to begin with and she already knows something is different about her. She will be much more accepting of it, if it is her conclusion and not something forced into her mind. Her life has been nothing but happiness and love, I want her awakening to be nothing less than the same. Or as close as I can make it under these circumstances,” Gracus said honestly.

  Clatz sniffed. “You might make a good mate after all. Get some rest, I will keep watch.”

  Gracus leaned his head back against the tree and closed his eyes. He had no intention of sleeping. He was going to stay alert in case the awakening became too much for Rebecca and she needed him. And although he had every faith in Grai and his friends, he would take no chances with his mate.

  *****

  Rebecca felt like screaming. The electricity running through her veins was like nothing she’d ever felt before and her body lay rigid in her sleeping bag, under the assault. What the fuck is wrong with me, she wondered, clenching her teeth as a particularly strong wave took over her body and mind. It felt like every hair on her body was standing straight up and her scalp tingled so badly it set off a buzzing sound in her head.

  “Relax. Let the energy flow with you, through you, accept it,” the crazy voice said in her head.

  Fuck! Rebecca thought, trying to push the voice away and fight the current flowing through her. Her mind ran through potential reasons why she would be reacting so badly and discarded them all. She’d eaten no fish or berries that day, so food poisoning was out of the question and there wasn’t much else that could be causing the voice in her head to become so loud and bold and the electricity to increase through her body.

  “The harder you fight it, the stronger it becomes. You must relax and accept the bonding. Listen to the world around you, hear the night world as you never have before and allow the energy to expand your gifts,” the voice said gently.

  Rebecca gritted her teeth, her muscles beginning to ache from clenching them against the energy flowing through her. Maybe the voice was right, she thought, maybe she needed to distract herself. She closed her eyes and tried to listen to something other than the ocean wave sounds echoing in her head like a human conch shell.

  Several minutes later she could hear something prowling through the woods a short distance away. Wait, she thought, there were two things… and they weren’t prowling, they were pacing! Rebecca was stunned. She knew there was no way that there could be two animals nearby that were pacing like humans. It wasn’t possible, animals didn’t act like that.

  “Valendran Sibiox cats. The other entities like me, say that the cats are here to protect you and the male. Expand your senses and let the energy flow through you. Can you sense the two Valendrans as well?” the voice in her head asked, the sound startling her.

  What the fuck, what the fuck! Rebecca screamed in her mind, her fingers clutching the sleeping bag. It was then that she realized that at some point while she was listening to the pacing animals, her body had stopped fighting the energy.

  She took a quick stock of her body and noticed that her muscles were no longer clenched and they didn’t hurt anymore. In fact, she felt amazing. Really tired, but amazing. The energy no longer roared through her body, but had settled into a comfortable hum through her veins that felt like it had always been there. A power to be called when needed.

  She shook her head at such a fanciful notion and ignored the voice in her head when it said, “Yes.” Recent hallucinations aside, Rebecca was a really level headed woman, not normally taken by such crazy and fanciful ideas and she refused to start now. Whatever had happened to her, was over now and she needed to get her head straight.

  Maybe it had been a seizure, she thought. It made sense, even though she’d never had one before. I just need some sleep. It’s been a long and strange day, Rebecca thought as she settled more comfortably in her sleeping bag.

  “I will gather the information that we need from the others while you rest, and complete our bond. Sleep well,” the voice said affectionately in her mind.

  Rebecca drifted off to sleep imagining the sound of two strange, male voices in the distance.

  *****

  Decano and Amun settled down for the night with their backs against two trees, not far from Gracus and his mate. The two cats that Gibly had left behind were patrolling an outer perimeter.

  Amun looked over at Decano. “Should we move closer?”

  Decano shook his head. “No. They need their privacy. You heard her reaction to the story, she’s not believing this yet. Until she does, we don’t need to scare her. From her point of view, I’m sure she’s been scared enough.”

  Amun nodded his head. “You’re right,” he said, trying to shake the bad feeling in his stomach.

  “What do you think about this cave and what do you know of Fiorn Erikson?” Decano asked, curious about the importance of the place and the man.

  Amun rested one arm on his raised knee. “I’m not sure about the cave. The things I’ve seen since we came to this planet… there’s really no telling and nothing would surprise me at this point. Now Fiorn, he’s a legend. He was one of the greatest warriors and minds on our planet.”

  Amun leaned his head back and continued. “He was an unusual man; a very smart man. He had been in many situations that were certain death, yet using his mind, he not only survived he saved many other lives. No one ever knew why he volunteered for the lead security position on the outpost, but with his decorated past, no one would tell him he couldn’t go. Our world mourned his loss.”

  “Damn, sounds like a hell of a guy. Someone Grai could get along with,” Decano said with a chuckle.

  Amun couldn’t help but smile at the comparison. “They would either get along really well or butt heads to the point of killing each other, there would be no middle ground between two men like that,” Amun said.

  Decano nodded his head and grinned. “You’re right on that…”

  Decano quieted at the first sound of warning from the cats. He and Amun ju
mped to their feet and grabbed their weapons as they listened to the pounding steps coming at them through the woods. They sent out warnings to Gracus and Grai that they were under attack and moved behind the trees and readied their pulse rifles.

  They could hear the cat’s frenzied attack and the screams of their victims as the pounding footsteps came even closer to them.

  Gracus heard the warning moments before he heard the cats and then the screaming. He was already on his feet and opened Rebecca’s tent flap just as she looked out at him wide-eyed and panicked.

  “What the hell is happening?” she asked as they heard gunfire erupt and more screams.

  Gracus didn’t bother lying, there was no point. “The Relians have attacked my friends, we need to leave. Now!” he said as he helped her to her feet.

  While she stood there, in shock, Gracus grabbed her packs and his own and slung them over his shoulder. Noting she had slept in her hiking boots, Gracus took her hand and pulled her towards the mountain they had planned on reaching in the morning.

  Rebecca allowed him to half drag her at a brisk pace, her mind was a little heavy and she was exhausted. But, she could feel the danger around them like a thick fog.

  Then she heard the voice in her mind again. “You must pay attention! Grab your weapon and stay alert. Use your senses and shoot to kill!”

  Rebecca started to pant, not from the pace but from the overwhelming thoughts and energy running through her body. Until she opened her mind and willed it to clear, allowing only one thing to remain. That she had to keep them from getting killed. No longer feeling like she couldn’t concentrate, she pulled her hand from Gracus and ran passed him, whispering, “Follow me.”

  Rebecca set a moderate pace, thankful that the full moon enabled them to see the forest floor so they could avoid tripping and injuring themselves.

  She tried to ignore the voice in her mind as it said, “You know it isn’t just the moon, your senses are stronger now that we’ve almost completed our bond.”