The woman actually blushes. I’m surprised she knows how. “Look, I get it. He’s mated. It was worth a try, anyway. We brought more people to help search. These forests can be really dangerous. No matter how mad you are at me, you’re going to need everyone you can get.” She looks toward Kender’s family, affection in her eyes. “At least there’s already a military team looking for her. They’ll probably have better luck than we will. But the more eyes, the better.”
“A military team? What are you talking about?”
“You called them, didn’t you? I saw them in town when we first got word. I assumed they were from Kender’s team. Some sergeant was calling the shots. He seemed really eager to go once he heard that it was Kender’s mate missing.”
“Kender!” He comes running at my yell, glaring at Jordan when he reaches us.
“Why are you here, Jordan?”
“She’s here to help. Kender, she said there was a military team in town. They took off after Aurora when the sergeant heard she was your mate.”
“Turner? Sgt. Turner?” At her nod, Kender curses vehemently -- loud enough to bring the rest of the searchers.
“Isn’t having the military helping a good thing?” Jordan’s question was echoed by a few of the others.
“Sgt. Turner’s son was killed in a rogue attack just before I joined. When I lost it after my first battle, I guess he saw something of his son in me and helped me. He was my mentor. But after the government outlawed paranormals in the military, he changed. Turner started blaming paranormals for everything -- especially shifters. Didn’t matter if they were rogue or not. When I had to shift right in front of him to save Aurora…” His gaze rolls over the hills covered in forest, shrouded in fog. “My team thought I was human. By hiding what I am, I’ve put her in danger.”
“You know him, Kender. Where would he head first?” I have to get him to focus. Aurora’s life depends on it.
“I used to tell him about how I liked to hike along the river by my cabin. I think he’d probably start near there and send men along the trails, looking for tracks in the mud. But that’s just a guess. We’re going to have to check everywhere, just in case. We can cut off at least half an hour by heading straight over the mountain.”
Now he looks like the gryphon I first met -- in charge, assured, and determined to save his mate.
“Mom, send someone to my cabin in case she comes back. Dad, you take some people and check the streams. Brianna, you take Sean and check the main roads. Jordan, I need you and your friends to search near town. Whatever you do -- all of you -- do not try to fight the military. They’ll have orders to take anyone down who opposes them. Anyone. I just need help finding her. He’ll use her to lure me. His grudge is against me, not you.”
“Son, this fight has been a long time coming between the military and paranormals. It’s bigger than just you. If this sergeant comes after you or your mates, then he’ll have all of us to deal with.” Kender’s dad clears his throat, uncomfortable with the outpouring of emotion.
“But why would you do that? Neither I nor Aurora are gryphons.” I don’t understand. His gaze shifts to me, a slight smile on his face.
“You’re family now, son. Family sticks together.” He shifts into a magnificent gryphon -- even more impressive than Kender -- and wings into the air, disappearing into the night.
The searchers disperse, most shifting into one form or another and flying or running into the forest in an alternate form in search of our mate. Not only Kender’s family, but all the others who came running at the first sign of trouble, with no expectation of repayment.
So, this is what it’s like to have a real family. I fly to the forest, determined to do whatever it takes to keep my new family safe.
Kender’s Blog (11)
Complete and utter terror for Aurora races through my veins. I know Sgt. Turner -- at least who he used to be. The man he has become scares the hell out of me.
“Kender, what are we going to do if we find them?” Varick flies next to me, his bright fire muted in the fog.
“Like I said before, he’s coming after me. He thinks I betrayed him -- betrayed the military. To him, it’s the same thing. He’ll never stop hunting us now that he knows who you and Aurora are and what you mean to me. If I can, I’ll take him out. God, Varick, what have I done? What if she gets hurt?”
“We can what if all night long, son, but it won’t do us any good until we see what we’re up against.” The voice comes out of the fog behind us. I drop a little altitude in surprise.
“Dad? What are you doing here?”
He flies in next to us, strong and regal in his gryphon form. “I figured I’d be of more use helping you rather than searching streams.”
“Dad, you don’t know how dangerous this man is. I’ve lived and fought next to him for the past ten years. I don’t want you in harm’s way.”
“That’s nice, Kender. Sweet, really. But have you forgotten who you’re talking to?”
“Oh. Sorry Dad.” Yeah, I had forgotten. Dad comes from a long line of heroes, and he continued in the family business. The kind of hero stuff that legends are made of. Sometimes it’s hard to see him as more than just a parent. Too bad the hero gene ran out before it got to me.
“You want to share?” Varick asks.
“Let’s just say we don’t have to worry about Dad holding his own in any fight.” What an understatement. He took out an entire pack of werewolves once. Yeah, that kind of legendary stuff.
“Listen…” I hear voices ahead in the valley. I can’t make out what they’re saying, but it’s definitely voices.
“Do you think it’s one of the search teams?” Varick pauses, dropping lower in the fog. He’s damned fast, but his fire glows brightly at night. Still, he’s got great stealth instincts. He’d have made a good soldier.
“Probably not. They’d be calling for her, not making noise enough to wake the dead. I think it’s Turner. Let’s drop down to the valley floor so Varick can shift. Sorry, bud, but you glow. I’ll go further ahead and recon.” There’s not much of a clearing below, but a wide spot next to a bend in the stream is big enough for us to land.
“Kender, can I talk to you for a minute?” Varick and I step aside, just far enough away to give us the illusion of privacy. “Don’t you think I should be the one to check it out? I know you’re military and all, but what if something happens to you?”
“Do you think you’re invincible, that you’d take my place? I don’t want anything to happen to either of us, Varick.”
“I’d rather something happen to me than to you. Aurora would be better off with you. You have family. Support. Friends. And you’re a gryphon.”
“What’s being a gryphon have to do with it? Don’t forget, you have family here now, too. And she’s no better off with me than with you. At least you stick up for who you are, no matter the consequences. That takes real courage. Me, I hid who I was just to make my life easier. But I hurt so many people.”
“Kender, I… it’s not the same. My family life was really crappy. Seriously. You have good blood running in your veins. Commitment, loyalty and all that shit. My family legacy is nothing but cheating, abandonment and hatred. I can’t be what Aurora needs. I’m afraid she’d end up as bitter as my mom did.”
“Were your parents mated?” Not something I’d normally ask, but after finding out about my parents, it seems likely that Varick’s parents weren’t either. Especially if it was as bad as he says.
“I don’t know. I never asked. Never really thought about it.”
“Are you planning on running out on her?”
“Of course not. I love her.”
“Then shut the fuck up and be you. You’re not your dad. And you’re mated to Aurora. Do you think you could ever do to her what your dad did to your mom?”
“No. You’re right. Damn it, I hate when you’re right.”
The bright glow of the full moon lights up the river as the incoming breeze clears the f
og. Dad is gone from the clearing. It’s a good thing we didn’t try to fly over. “Stay here while I check it out.”
“Too late, Kender.” The distinctive click of a poly-rifle sounds from under the canopy of trees. Turner steps into the clearing, his weapon trained on Aurora. Several members of my old team have their rifles pointed toward us as well. I know there’s got to be at least ten or fifteen others hidden in the forest with us in their sites.
“Aurora here is my guest, though she hasn’t been real cooperative. I suggest you don’t do anything stupid. I wouldn’t want to have to put a hole through your little wife -- or mate -- or whatever you paras call your sluts.”
“I’ll kill you, you son-of-a-bitch!” Varick lunges toward Turner, but I block him, holding him back.
With a whisper, I shove him behind me. “He’s trying to provoke us, Varick. Keep your cool. Neither of us can do Aurora any good if we’re dead. It’s me he wants.”
“But she’s hurt! Can’t you see she’s bleeding?” He moves again, trying to go to her. I don’t blame him, but this isn’t the time. The clicks of several rifles reinforces my belief.
“She’s standing and conscious. We can work with that.”
“Are you going to whisper to your phoenix boyfriend there all night, Kender? I didn’t know you liked boys, but it seems there are a lot of things you neglected to tell me.” Turner’s jeering sounds so different from the man I grew to respect in the military -- the man who led an army against the rogues threatening innocent citizens. But I’m no longer his ally -- now I’m the enemy.
“Promise me you’ll take care of her, Varick.”
“Don’t do it, man.” His choked whisper cuts into me. True friendship comes at the oddest times.
“Kender, turn yourself over to me and I’ll let her go. I’ve already called for reinforcements. They’re on standby. Since your little town here seems to be an underground haven for rogue paranormals, it’ll just take one phone call for me to destroy it all.”
Aurora’s bruised face blanches at Turner’s threat, making the blood dripping from her forehead stand out that much more in the silver light of the moon. She shakes her head at me, mouthing “No.”
“Promise me, Varick. No matter what happens.”
“Of course I will, Kender. She’s our mate.” The firm resolve in his voice steadies me.
I pause, taking in my surroundings and counting the overwhelming odds against us. We don’t stand a chance against so many. I step forward, hands in the air. There’s really no choice. Her safety and the safety of the town come first. They’ll always come first.
“Fine, Sgt. Turner. I’ll come with you. Let her go and have the reinforcements stand down. It’s not worth hurting innocent people just to get back at me.”
The sergeant motions to a couple of the men -- ones I don’t recognize -- to cuff my hands behind my back. “Just to get back at you? You flatter yourself, Kender. You’re only a means to an end.”
“Let Aurora go, Sarge. She’s nothing to you. Hurting her won’t bring your son back.”
Varick stands in the moonlight by the stream. He clenches his fists, energy rising around his body. He looks just like he did when I first saw him, standing in that city street, right before shifting.
I shake my head and mouth the words You promised to him. He settles, but only slightly.
“You’re right. Hurting her won’t bring my son back. But it’ll kill you, and right now, that sounds pretty damned good.” He steps toward me, getting right in my face, his features contorted with rage. “Then again, she’s just a girl. Maybe you prefer fucking animals to humans.”
“I am not just a girl!” Aurora drops to the ground, grabbing a hefty river rock and pitching it at Turner’s head with frightening accuracy. His eyes roll back in his head as he falls.
In a furious explosion of activity, the clearing lights up with fire and the deadly report of weaponry. Varick has already shifted, attacking the nearest riflemen with a deadly rage that defies the gentle side of him I’ve come to know. His burning image lights the clearing to an almost daylight brightness, flames bouncing off the stream in eerie reflections.
I let my gryphon surge, shifting with a force and rage that pours through my blood in a cold, calculating desire for revenge. With a gust of wind under my wings and the keening cry of a gryphon calling for reinforcements, I rush into the air to attack.
My father suddenly appears behind one of the snipers in human form, snapping the man’s neck with an efficient twist. With a wink, he disappears back into the trees, his dark clothing blending into the shadows. I notice the number of weapons and enemies pitted against us has diminished since I first took count.
I slam down onto one of my former team members, crushing him with the sheer force of gravity and my body weight as he draws a bead on Aurora. No fucking way are you hurting my mate! He goes down in a screaming, bloody mess of bones.
My sweet, demure little mate grabs a rifle from one of the downed men, checks for ammunition and fires. She takes out two men in less than a minute with swift, lethal accuracy. That’s my girl!
I rise again, using all of my shifter senses to locate the hidden snipers. Following the faint rustle of leaves, I see a sniper in a nearby tree, aiming for the clearing and waiting for a shot. Wrenching him off the limb in my talons, I fly higher, and then let him drop to his death.
“No! Get down!” Varick shouts from the other side of the clearing. He flies with blazing speed to where my father emerges from the shadows near him. The single report of a poly-rifle blasts from somewhere on the ground, just as Varick reaches my dad in a flying tackle. They both go down in the trees, but I can’t tell if they’ve been hit.
Before I can even take a breath, two more shots ring out. Sergeant Turner slumps down against the tree he’d pulled himself up against. His mouth moves in silent agony, blood welling from within to spill down the side of his face. The vacant stare of his eyes turns glassy as he falls over, dead from two gunshots in the ten-ring of his chest.
Aurora runs toward where Varick and my dad went down, dropping her rifle on the way. I land first to find my dad holding Varick’s chest, trying to staunch the blood. “Get help, Kender, fast! He’s not going to last long.”
Varick grabs my hand, preventing me from leaving just as Aurora slides to a stop, kneeling on the ground next to him, tears running down her face. “Why, Varick?”
He meets my eyes, and then his hand drops back to the ground. With a shuddering breath, he whispers as his eyes close, “Family.”
Aurora’s Blog (12)
Five Years Later…
“Kender, come get your son out of the tree! Damn it, how am I supposed to work when he’s flying around like that? I swear, it’s like I gave birth to one of those flying monkeys from the Wizard of Oz since he learned how to shift.”
Kender comes up behind me, sliding his arms around my waist, nipping at my neck in the way that makes me melt every time. “Yeah, but he’s our monkey. And you know you love every minute of it.” God, his voice just drips with sexy.
“I do, but don’t tell everyone. You’ll ruin my reputation as a bad ass activist. Will you get him down out of the tree now, so I can finish writing my speech?” With a smile, I watch as he shifts, flying to the top of the tree where our son Griff perches, stretching his wings with naughty delight. They talk for a few minutes, and then come down, landing on the lawn behind the cabin.
It’s changed a lot since I first came here. It’s been expanded over the years to accommodate our growing family, but it still holds the precious memories of what we had. The hard, intense mating that bound me to Kender and Varick was so fleeting, and the three of us had so little time together before the battle that changed everything.
“Thank you, honey.” I give Kender a kiss, and lightly rub our son on his tawny head. “Griff, go play with Kenna, will you? I want to talk to your father.”
“Okay, Mom.” He runs into the house and down the hall. A bedroom d
oor slams, followed by a familiar, high-pitched wail of rage.
I muffle my groan in Kender’s shirt, shaking my head.
“Don’t forget, my parents asked to take them for the night. We can try for number three if you’d like.” He pulls me into his arms, winding his fingers in my hair to kiss me, his tongue playing alongside mine in a familiar battle.
With a chuckle, I set the now crumpled paper with my speech written on it back down on the patio table. “You’re just a glutton for punishment, aren’t you? Don’t you have a campaign to run or something? Last I heard, it takes a little more than just putting your name on a ballot to become a senator. You need votes or something.”
“Mmm, can I have your vote, sweetheart?”
“I don’t know if you can get her vote, but you sure as hell aren’t getting mine. Get your hands off my wife!” With a laugh, Varick comes around the side of the house, sweeping me into his arms and twirling me around in a circle.
“Varick, put me down! You’re going to tear your uniform!”
“I’ll just have to get another one then. I know how much it turns you on, baby.”
“Just because you can, Varick, doesn’t mean you should.” He laughs as I quote his own words back to him from so long ago. I stroke the badge on the chest of his paramedic uniform, feeling the familiar tingle of desire between my thighs. We almost lost him -- almost lost everything -- in that battle.
Kender’s wild race to bring medical help was successful, but only by the barest margin did our phoenix beat the reaper. Even for a shifter, Varick’s recovery was slow. Just an inch to the left and we would have lost him. So close. Finding out I was pregnant while he was still in the hospital was an even bigger shock.
Once he recovered, Varick went back to being a paramedic. Healing people is his calling, and a town full of paranormals certainly narrows the applicant field. With all his experience, the city was happy to hire him.
After the fiasco of the battle, the media blitz and the political fallout, things are finally starting to change for the better for paranormals. It seems Kender’s family of heroes has a lot of connections in high places. It’s slow, but it’s a start, and we have hope for our family’s future.
Protect and Serve Shifting Forces Page 6