Grounding Gracus (First Wave Book 6)

by Mikayla Lane

  Tara narrowed her eyes and gripped the counter with white knuckles. “I suggest you hold your anger and mocking tone until you know what you’re talking about,” she spat angrily before quickly composing herself back into the cool woman she’d been moments before.

  “If there is anything that you need, please don’t hesitate to ask anyone you see. We are a friendly and kind people… until given a reason to be otherwise,” Tara warned before showing herself out of the front door.

  “What the fuck,” Rebecca muttered in shock.

  “Damn it!” Gracus shouted, trying not to put his fist through the wall in anger.

  “Do you really think we’ll be allowed to leave?” Rebecca asked, fear skittering up her spine.

  Gracus moved back into the living area and looked out of the window behind the couch. “I honestly don’t know. You’re a hybrid though, so I don’t think they’ll hurt you no matter what happens,” he said, trying to see if anyone was watching them.

  Rebecca followed behind him and crossed her arms over her chest, tapping her foot in irritation. “Yeah, I got the impression that I’ve got the chosen blood, but I’m not leaving here without you and Gibly. What the hell happened to make you guys so hated around here?” she asked, trying to understand what kind of mess she’d stepped into.

  Gracus, seeing nothing to indicate they were being watched or spied on, turned to Rebecca and threw his hands in the air. “I have no idea. Unless there was an argument or disagreement between the outpost survivors and Fiorn, I can’t think of any reason why the hybrids would be so… angry and untrusting of us,” he said honestly, racking his brain for a reason for what was going on.

  Rebecca turned to Gibly, who was sitting on one of the two chairs in the living room. “What do you think is going on, Gibly?” she asked, honestly wanting the intelligent cat’s thoughts on their predicament.

  The cat looked a little surprised before he spoke. “She did not lie. They do not intend to harm us at all and they are communicating with Grai and the others. But, there is deception regarding the communication. I don’t think it is as friendly as they are making it seem and it is because of whatever rift there is regarding the Valendrans,” Gibly said, swishing his tail as he looked at Rebecca.

  Rebecca sighed. “What should we do?”

  Gibly smiled and lifted a paw, extending his sharp and deadly claws before he licked the pad of his foot and put it back down. “I intend to sneak out of the back door at dark and find a way out,” he said calmly.

  Gracus turned to the cat with surprise. “Do you think you can hide? I don’t want you going anywhere if it’ll get you harmed,” Gracus said, wondering if the cat could really do it, and hoping like hell that he could.

  Gibly snorted. “Of course, I can hide. I am a Sibiox. I was meant to become shadow. Why do you think we’re all black?”

  Gracus looked at Gibly blankly, not understanding what the cat meant when Rebecca asked, “Do you mean your color allows you to blend into the shadows?”

  Gibly shook his head. “No, the tip of our fur is a different color. It’s an iridescent neutral designed to pull the darkness towards us, allowing us to blend in perfectly with the surroundings. We look no different than any other part of the darkness, like an Earth chameleon blends to color, we blend to the absence of light,” Gibly said.

  “Wow…,” Rebecca said in surprise. “That is the coolest thing. How come I can’t see the difference in your fur?” she asked, trying to see the tips he’d been speaking about. She didn’t remember seeing them when he was all poofy either.

  Even Gracus had moved closer to try and see. He had no idea that the cats could do that and wondered what else they didn’t know about them.

  Gibly held out a paw and said, “Come closer and take my paw, you will be able to see it then.”

  Rebecca didn’t hesitate to kneel on the floor in front of the cat and held her palm out, allowing Gibly to place his paw in it. When he did, she took her other hand and ran her fingers through his fur, still not seeing what he was talking about.

  Gibly laughed. “No, you must stroke in the opposite direction to see it.”

  Rebecca did and immediately sucked in a gasp of surprise before exclaiming, “Oh Gibly! That’s so cool!”

  The cat nodded and Gracus watched in stunned amazement as Rebecca fluffed his fur in the opposite direction and saw the slight shimmer in the tips as she did.

  Gracus sat in the opposite chair and said, “So, it’s just the very tip of the fur? That really is amazing, Gibly. But, are you sure it will still work with whatever artificial lighting they’ve created here?”

  The cat snorted. “If there is darkness, I can blend in. An absence of light, is still, an absence of light, whether it is natural or artificial.”

  Rebecca nodded. “I believe you can do it, Gibly. What should we do while you’re out? Should we go… somewhere, to keep their attention on us or stay here? We don’t want anyone to suspect you’re gone,” she said, liking the idea as long as Gibly didn’t get hurt. But, if anyone could find a way out of here, she had no doubt it would be the cat.

  Gracus spoke up. “We should stay inside. If they are focused on watching us in here, they will never see Gibly leave. We’ll leave the curtains in this room open so they can see Rebecca and me sitting in here,” he said, his hopes of getting out of there rising.

  Gibly nodded his head. “Yes, that is a good idea. We have only an hour to wait for the dark time,” he said with a furry grin that was so infectious that Gracus and Rebecca smiled with him.

  Rebecca leaned forward and hugged the cat before quickly pulling back. “I’m glad you are here, Gibly,” she said, before turning to Gracus. “And you. I’m not sure I could have dealt with all this on my own.”

  Gibly smiled and patted her cheek with a paw. “I am glad to be here.”

  Gracus held out a hand, helped her from the floor and hugged her closely to his chest. “We will get out of here. If I know Grai, we’ll be back within hours. That man is a force all by himself and there is nothing that ignores his power,” Gracus said confidently.

  *****

  Grai wanted to rip the place apart with his bare hands. He and Scaden had spent hours trying to get the unknown hybrid to communicate directly with them and the silence was beginning to wear on his nerves. Especially when he knew the bastard was speaking to True through the private path on the Shengari’ that he’d tricked the girl into her permission to attain.

  True watched Grai and Scaden with sympathy, wishing she could convince Leif to speak with them, but he was being incredibly stubborn and she’d given up wasting her efforts on asking. Instead, she tried to hide the smile from her face each time she heard his deep voice whisper through her mind like a caress.

  “So where the hell are your people? I thought they’d be there by now? Are they coming by Pony Express? Carrier pigeon?” True asked along the private path, wondering why she hadn’t heard from Leif in at least an hour.

  This time, when she heard the whisper of his words, he sounded as if his body were out of breath. “I have been very busy, little Firefly. Have you missed me?” he asked, with a teasing note to his voice.

  True snorted and seeing all heads swivel towards her, she turned and looked away from them. She sort of felt like a traitor for not only speaking to Leif, but for actually missing the sound of his voice. Damn the bastard, for being right, she thought.

  “That’s ok, I missed you as well,” she heard in her mind and couldn’t help but feel a rush of pleasure that he’d said it.

  True pulled herself together and asked again, “Where are your people? We are very worried for ours. Can’t you let Grai talk to them? Please?”

  Leif sighed. “Ah Firefly, do not have such little faith in me! I have been working on that very thing. My people are almost all here, but they are still having a minor… well, heated discussion about opening the lines of communication with your people. Until we get something definitive going, there is this!”r />
  Leif no sooner finished speaking to her privately then a new image appeared on the screen of Gracus, Rebecca and Gibly in a kitchen, fixing a meal. His voice boomed around the room.

  “To ease the Firefly’s concern for your people, I am providing live images and live medical stats. We are still awaiting the arrival of our commanders, but they are in transit.”

  Grai looked at True with concern before he turned to study the screen, hoping to get an idea of where Gracus was being held. He wanted this over with as soon as he could make it happen. This entire situation had gone beyond anything he had ever anticipated and he was getting tired of being left in the dark and scrambling for answers.

  He’d been able to get several men, in an out of the cave multiple times since the doors had opened back up, yet he was still not comfortable enough to go out himself. Although, most of the people in Dillon were trying to find out everything they could about Fiorn, the area, hell anything that would help them, no one had come up with anything yet.

  Scaden’s voice interrupted his thoughts. “Can we talk to them?” Scaden asked the invisible hybrid displaying the images.

  Leif sighed loudly. “Again… because of their location, for the safety of my people, I cannot allow direct communication with them at this time. You would do no less if the situation were reversed.”

  Scaden threw his canteen at the screen and the image disappeared. Grai gave him an irritated look before he stared angrily at the now blank screen. It didn’t matter that the image was gone, he could picture it perfectly in his mind and there was nothing to indicate where the trio might be being held.

  He turned to the last person that he wanted to have to turn to and spoke on their private path. “True, has he said anything useful to you?” he asked.

  True smiled sadly and gave a faint shake of her head. “No, he hasn’t said much. They are still waiting for their leaders to arrive and apparently they are having a heated discussion about whether or not they even want to be talking to us,” she said honestly, wishing she had more to tell him so she could ease his mind.

  Grai smiled at the young girl, who looked exhausted. “It’s alright. We just have to wait. You look like you need some sleep. Why don’t you go lay down and I’ll post someone at the door for you,” he suggested, not wanting her to be alone anywhere in this place.

  He didn’t trust Leif’s obsession with her and if Gracus, Rebecca and Gibly could disappear from in here, he wasn’t taking any chances of losing True, as well.

  True shook her head. “No, I’m fine. I can always pull out my sleeping bag in here when I get tired,” she told him, smothering her yawn.

  She’d been at the tail end of her twelve hour shift when the call had come in for the hybrid led team on standby. Since no one had expected the mission to take very long, her team had been sent. True was exhausted, but she didn’t want to admit it. Especially when the reason she didn’t want to sleep was the reason she was here to begin with.

  Grai stepped closer to her and cupped her cheek gently. “Your team has been on shift for much longer than you should be. All of you need your rest. Tell your team to stand down and get some sleep. I’m sure when their commanders arrive they can speak directly to us,” he said aloud, hoping that if True were asleep, whoever was behind this place would be forced to deal directly with him.

  True was getting ready to argue when Leif’s voice boomed through her head. “Step away from him!” She instinctively listened and to cover it she tried to pretend like she was listening to Grai.

  “Um… yeah, maybe we should grab some zzz’s. Promise to wake me if you need me?” True said, as she backed towards the door that would lead her to her assigned room.

  Grai nodded at her strangely and before he could ask her any questions, she turned and headed into the living area, unsure how to even get to Fiorn’s room.

  “Turn left, little Firefly,” she heard in her mind and she turned left. She followed his short directions and finally ended up in a nice bedroom. She sat on the side of the bed and sighed at how soft and comfortable it felt.

  Decano came in behind her and positioned himself at the doorway, to make sure she was in full view at all times. “Let me know if you need anything,” he said.

  True just nodded her head and said, “Thanks, Decano.”

  She stood and pulled off her rifle, leaning it against the wall near the head of the bed, then put her gun under the pillow. She pulled off only what she absolutely had to, in order to get comfortable enough to sleep, they lay down on the bed.

  She sat up quickly when the lights dimmed drastically, causing Decano to rush into the room with his weapon drawn. After a few minutes of nothing happening, True chuckled. “It’s probably on a sensor,” she said, trying not to sound nervous. Decano nodded and moved back to the doorway.

  True laid back down and sunk comfortably into the wonderful mattress. She was just beginning to relax when she heard Leif in her mind.

  “Are you really leaving your boots and all of your clothes on? You can’t rest properly like that. Besides, you do realize that what passes as your uniform, looks hideous on you, right?” Leif teased.

  True tried to keep the smile from her face and rolled over to her side, putting her back to Decano, so he wouldn’t see her face. “Liar. You just want me out of my clothes,” she accused teasingly.

  Leif chuckled. “Oh, you have no idea the things I want, little Firefly.”

  True shivered at the sensuous tone in Leif’s voice and tried to stop the warm rush of arousal that flooded her, to no avail. Damn, if there wasn’t something about the guy that could play her like a ten year old with a game console and True wasn’t sure if she was supposed to like it this much. Or how he knew so much about what buttons to push.

  “Who are you really?” True asked.

  She could have sworn she felt a physical caress on her hair before she heard his voice in her head. “I am truly a hybrid, like you. And my name is Leif. I have not lied to you.”

  True yawned before she snorted quietly. “Yeah, but what aren’t you telling me? I can tell there is a very large gap in what you are saying and what is happening here so how about you buy a girl a clue?”

  Leif laughed. “Oh my, you are so very smart. I bet you are underestimated often. But, I still can’t tell you anything more right now. No matter how much I would like to,” he said, regret tinging his voice enough for True to believe he really did want to say more.

  True sighed. “Are my people really safe? The ones you have and the ones here?” she asked, hoping to feel reassured in some way.

  She was surprised when a warm rush of comforting energy flooded her as Leif spoke, “I promise no harm will ever come to you, and your friends are safe. All of them. What happens later will be determined by our leaders, none of whom are fools. So rest easy, little Firefly, I will watch over you.”

  The whispered words were followed by a rush of energy so powerful, True immediately fell into a deep sleep. She never saw Decano thrown from the doorway and the door slam shut.

  Chapter Twenty

  Rebecca paced the living room, periodically looking at the clock to see how long it had been since Gibly had left. Twenty-four minutes, she thought with a sigh. It felt like twenty-four hours. Or maybe that was how long she’d been up. She was so tired she wasn’t sure anymore.

  The three of them had gone outside earlier to see the artificial moon rise and was surprised at how much the small sliver above them looked like the real thing. Even the dark outline of the rest of it was just slightly visible. The only thing that killed it was the way the shadows played on the jagged rocks of the cavern soaring above them. It made it look creepy as hell and she couldn’t get back inside the house fast enough.

  Rebecca was so lost in thought she was startled when she walked into Gracus. “Wha…,” she began.

  Gracus held his finger to her lips. “Shh… stop pacing, stop worrying. You need to sleep. Come, I’ll take first watch,” Gracus said as he led
her down the short hallway to where the bedrooms were.

  Rebecca allowed him to pull her into one of the bedrooms and she looked at the immaculate bed and then her dusty and filthy clothes and sighed. She was considering her options for clean clothes when Gracus smiled.

  “I have no doubt that the shower and the hot water will work,” he said, knowing that was exactly what she needed right now.

  Gracus moved to the dresser and opened a few drawers, pulling out some plain, dark blue T-shirts and sweatpants. This stuff must be universal on this planet, he thought as he held them up for Rebecca to inspect.

  “They aren’t pretty, but they’re clean,” he said with a smile as she reached for a pair and started going through the sizes, trying to find one that would fit.

  “Look for mediums for me. You’ll definitely need something bigger than that,” Rebecca said with a blush as she went into another bedroom to look for something that would fit the large man.

  “Aha!” he said, holding up some sweatpants and T-shirts he knew would fit him. Grai had the same kind stocked at their facilities as well. The irony that these people were stocking clothing, made by Grai’s company, was not lost on him.

  He watched Rebecca’s smile widen as she gathered her clean clothes and went into the shower, shutting the door softly behind her. He wasn’t sure which was torturing his mind more, the thought of her naked body under the spray of the water, or of him taking her in one of the beds.

  The rapid deepening of their bond was becoming a blessing and a curse for him as his beast, body and his soul demanded that he finish the one thing preventing the completion of the mating bond between them.

  Rather than torture himself with the sounds of her bathing, he went back into the other room and assembled a set of clothes for himself to wear after his own shower. Gracus placed them in the other bathroom and checked to make sure there were body cleaners in the shower before he went back to check on Rebecca.

  The water wasn’t running and he could hear her drying off from behind the closed door. Several minutes later, she opened the door and the fragrant steam that wafted out of the room had Gracus clenching his fists to keep from touching her.