“What do we do now?”
“Dad wants us to come in. We are no longer to use the c-phones, he believes communications are being monitored.”
“Without phones how are supposed to communicate, Morse code?”
“We’ll communicate like this.”
“How did you do that?”
“It happened when we mated.”
“How will the others communicate?”
“The same way we all speak to each other including the Hybrid’s. My father made sure of that not long after we each turned five. The only one who can’t is you.”
Amber took her time letting her feelings wash over her. She always thought she was being left out of some inside joke but chided herself about being paranoid. Now to know it was true, hurt.
“Uncle Ash couldn’t bring you in Amber and neither could any of the others. Right now all we know is how to exchange DNA material to mate. Only your mate could bring you in and we only recently acknowledged how we felt about each other.”
“That makes things different, I love Ash as my dad but the thought of anything else, gross.”
Alexei laughed. “Come on we need to get ready and go to my parents’ house. That’s where we are all meeting.”
“How will I talk to them?”
“Well you can just open your mouth, but I know that’s not what you mean. My dad will bring you in. He seems to be the only one who can do it or at least he is the only one who does it. There’s a system that he and my uncles stick to. Whatever works for them, right?”
“Isn’t that a lot of mental traffic everyone hearing everything you say?”
“Yes and no. Think of it like a chat room. There’s a group chat where we all can speak but there is also private chat. You develop pathways to individuals, this allows you to speak to just that person. In the beginning it’s a little confusing but the longer you live with it the easier it becomes.”
“Ok I will believe you about this.” Amber left the bed and walked into the bathroom.
She took the quickest shower of her life. There was no way this war would be over easily. Years of a ravaged Earth stretched out before her. What would happen to the people and the friends she loved who weren’t others? What would happen to Ethan? She always imagined him with some super-hot, but nice wife. Would he even survive the first day? Even if she warned him, where would he run to? The mountains? What would stand in his way as he tried to find the one place on Earth where the space ships weren’t threatening? What about the people, her friends in her condo complex? Staying indoors no longer made sense. Where could they be evacuated to?
“Amber, I can feel your emotions.”
“How do we save everyone? Is there any place for them to run to? How dare some aliens target our planet!”
“They targeted the Created and we just happen to be on your planet.”
“The Created are part of Earth. You’ve made this your home for years. They targeted us, Earth, and they did it intentionally. They won’t stop if the Created turn themselves over. Yaksim or somebody saw something on this planet he wanted.”
“I think you’re right, Amber. But we’re not giving up this planet.”
“Not without a fight.”
“No, Wild cat not even with a fight. They can’t have Earth. Let’s hurry.”
Chapter Twenty-Five
Aran’s house was overflowing when Amber and Alexei walked in. There was laughter instead of the frowns and solemn faces she was expecting.
“Amber, what’s wrong?” Tori asked her having just pulled herself away from Hale.
“Nothing, really…I guess I just didn’t expect the laughter.”
“We laugh or we cry. Each of us mourns the lives lost and the shock of the action is hard to live with, but if we cry we won’t do what needs to be done. Tonight when everything is over we will cry in earnest but for now we remember that we can’t change what has happened, believe me I know. All we can do is change what will happen. We plan and strategize, Hale taught me that. Then we make it work and in life there are casualties, let’s make them the invaders and not our people.”
“Your building was the first building we evacuated, call it favoritism.” Ash spoke quietly. He was sitting off to the side with Dante and his brothers all of them sitting alone with no mates. “Ethan has also been evacuated.”
“Where did you move them to?”
“There are some underground bunkers as well as some bubbles in space that only Dante and his brothers can find. They will be safe.”
“Bubbles in space?”
Ash threw a look at Dante. “They are working with some powerful toys. Sometimes I think they can do everything except find one single female.” His voice was bitter.
Dante threw him a smile and walked over to him. Leaning in low he whispered into his ear. “Timing, Ash. It’s all about timing.”
Ash snarled and walked to the other side of the room.
“What do we do next?” Alexei looked at his dad.
“That’s what we are talking about. Yaksim is not here yet. When he gets here he’s coming for me.” Aran turned to look at Amber. “This time there will be no reprieve.”
“If we kill him then won’t we be right back where we started with a shit ton more aliens all trying to pull off their own plans?” Amber asked, confused.
“Yes, but now the invaders will know what they didn’t know before. They can be defeated. Yaksim falls and eventually they will fall too.”
“But what happens to the planet? Can’t we find a peaceful solution?” Amber asked, still trying to understand how this could be happening.
Aran waved his hand and the screen in front of the room sprung to life.
The same reporter as before was on the air. Seemed many ran with their families looking for a place to be safe. By now her hair was out of its bun and hanging limply around her shoulders. Her face that was beautiful and lively in the past seemed sallow and tired.
“There’s been movement reported in some of the ships. There have been some lights flashing that weren’t on before as well as a sound being generated.”
Aran turned to look at Hale. He had a desk with several modern comps sitting on it. “Chatter, communications from ship to ship has increased. Yaksim has escaped and contacted his fleet of invaders. He is on the way. It seems nothing can keep him down including that meddling Dante,” Hale informed them.
Dante let out a sound that scared Amber. She looked at him to find him looking calm and smiling. Shaking her head, she turned back around to watch Hale.
“They’ve decided that destroying Portland was not retribution enough for the U.S. trying to defend itself. They want prisoners. Created prisoners. We will be presented as a gift from Earth or a peace token. In exchange, Yaksim will give the Earth something to symbolize peace. Not that it will work and the president already understands this. He is hoping to buy some time with the death of Yaksim.”
“Perfect.” The smile on Dante’s face made shivers run up Ambers back. There was more to him than she ever realized.
“Perfect?” You’re giving yourselves up?” Alexei looked at his father waiting for an answer.
“Don’t worry, Alexei, you and Amber are coming also. Yes, we’re giving ourselves up. Did you miss the part where I said that Yaksim would die? I meant he would die by my hand. That can’t happen if he’s protected on his ship. Since he’s not planning on coming to me, then I will go to him.”
“Aran.” Ash reached out to him.
“I know, Ash, but she’s his mate now and Alexei has to be there. He will take care of her. We will take care of her.”
“Make sure she comes home.”
“Understood.”
“Then why am I coming?” Alexei asked looking at his dad.
“We each have a part to play and according to Dante, you get the first kill in the war.”
“I thought I did that already?”
“No, son, the first kill will start the real war. I wanted it to be
Yaksim, but since he’s mine you’ll have to find another target.”
“You’re taking me into a ship full of invaders, I’m sure I won’t have a problem finding one,” Alexei spoke sarcastically.
Aran beamed at him. “I knew you would make me proud.”
Rena gave Aran a look but held her tongue.
“When do we go?” Amber asked quietly.
“Two days, no need to sit in a cell until Yaksim shows up. The president knows how to respond and is willing to listen now that a show of force didn’t go the way he planned. There are also evacuations going on. We will move as many people as we can and ask the others to move to less populated areas because those areas do not seem to be targeted at the moment. Unfortunately, there will be casualties but maybe we can keep them to a minimum.”
“Which sound good unless you are one of the minimum” Dee said softly, watching the screen.
“I agree.” Mick, one of Dante’s brothers, spoke shifting his head back to the screen also.
“Amber,” Aran called to her, “come here.”
She looked around the room; no one was paying her any attention except for Alexei who took her hand and squeezed it tight before letting it go. Her stomach protested at the thought of him biting her. He’s bringing you into the family her mind protested. I’ve already been brought in and it hurt like hell, she reminded her mind and her body as her feet reluctantly took her across the floor.
Stopping before Aran, she squared her shoulders and lifted her head. She wanted this despite the pain it would cause. There was no way she was going to back down now, her heart beat with Alexei’s. Desire to be with him as long as possible sat on her shoulders.
“Loosen up, Amber.”
Before she could respond he held her in a gentle grip and bit her right over where Alexei put his mark. The lingering pain from the original bite faded. She placed her hand on her neck to look up to see Aran standing across the room with his arms wrapped around Rena. It happened so fast she never felt it.
“Welcome, Amber.” Rena’s voice went through her head.
“We’ve been waiting for you.” She could hear the smile in Dee’s voice.
Then she was bombarded with voices welcoming her to the family in a permanent way. She listened and responded feeling their joy at finally being able to communicate with her on this plane. She heard every voice except the one she was intently listening for.
There was a small knock on what felt like a door in her mind. Curious, she moved towards it.
“Hello?”
“Baby girl, open the door.”
Ash! She threw open the door. “Hi, Dad.”
His love wrapped around her before he opened his mouth. “I’ve waited so long for this day. To be able to communicate with you no matter where you went.”
“You did a good job of keeping track of me growing up!”
His gentle laugh flooded her mind. “I know, but I wanted to be able to touch your mind, to experience how beautiful you are both inside and out. You’re amazing, baby girl.”
Amber dashed at her eyes not wanting to cry in front of her whole family. She never realized she could have such an intimate moment with her father in front of everyone.
“I love you, Dad.”
“I love you too.”
*~*~*~*
They spread out over the first floor coming together like they were having a party. Amber could feel what lay underneath the joy. It was the realization that none of them knew what would happen once this war started and they weren’t about to waste a minute scaring themselves with the possibilities when they could be enjoying what they had.
The males went outside not feeling the cold, and started the grill. Amber walked in to find her aunts and her Mother-in-law, gulp, sitting.
“Come join us, Amber.” Rena gave her a smile and patted the chair next to her.
Amber sat, feeling uncomfortable. She always looked up to her aunts wanting to be worthy of their approval. Each of them were activists; they stood up for what they felt was right not only in their little community but in the world. Now she was one of them, mated to a Hybrid, which as her dad told her was just a fancy name for a Created.
“Welcome to the club, Darling, we’ve been waiting for you.”
“Rena’s right, we have been waiting. I would have been happy to wait one more year though,” Lorali said with a smile.
Amber frowned and looked at her.
“I bet it would take another year for you to get tired and hunt Alexei down. Rena,” Lorali stopped to glare at her, “said it would happen when you were thirty.”
“Hey, I said thirty-two,” Tori chimed in.
“Again,” Amber laughed, “If you’re going to be making money off of me, include me in the action.”
“Done,” Janis said with a smile.
“So how was the Hybrid action?” Dee looked at her biting her lip to keep from laughing.
“Dee!” Rena voice came out in rushed sensor.
“Rena, you just feel that way because it’s your son were talking about.”
“We’ll remember that when Dominic mates,” Rena said, trying hard not to laugh.
“Wait,” Tori replied eyes wide. “We are talking about our children.”
They all groaned at the same time. “On second thought, Amber, I really don’t want to know.”
“But you should know. Alexei is built like a…”
Rena clasped her hand over Amber’s mouth. “I’ve seen it all before! No need to advertise it.”
Amber laughed so hard she slid off the chair and onto the floor. Rena leaned over her and gave her a kiss on her cheek before helping her up.
“All right enough fun and games let’s get down to business,” Lorali stated looking at Rena.
Rena gave a sigh and hugged Amber once more before walking over to a small cabinet almost hidden in her closet and pulling out a brightly wrapped package. She walked back over to where they were seated and placed it in front of Amber.
“Open it.”
She picked the package up only to notice the small tremor in her hands. Looking around at each face and their serious expressions let her know whatever was in the box wasn’t some cute gift. With careful fingers she tore the wrapping paper off only to find what looked like a huge jeweler’s box. She flipped the lid open to find an ornate dagger. It was razor sharp on both edges with beautiful carvings in the hilt and a stone so dark but bright it looked like the finest black diamond she had ever seen.
“No more kitchen knives for you. As my daughter in law, when you have to use this dagger make it count. This is from all of us. Because we all love you.”
Amber felt a sheen of tears in her eyes and a burst of pleasure in her heart. She was family; it didn’t matter if her role was niece or daughter-in-law, or mated to a Hybrid. All that mattered was she was one of them and they would never let her forget she belonged. The sheen became a cascade as tears of joy swept over her.
Jumping up, she moved from person to person hugging and thanking them.
“This is why I said we should stay in the other room. Females are crying.” Julian’s voice reached them with a teasing sigh to it.
Mick clapped him on the back. “Get used to it, even though we out number them and treat them right they still find a reason to cry.”
“Seriously, Mom, Dante won’t miss two brothers.” Amber said with a smile and a look at her new dagger before glancing back at Mick and Julian.
The males held their hands up in surrender. “Come eat, we don’t want your mates thinking we left you in the kitchen to live off of bread and water.”
There was more laughter and love as they followed them back into the game room.
Chapter Twenty-Six
“Pacing won’t change anything, besides that’s what I do,” Alexei told Amber gently trying to get her to stay still.
“You’ve rubbed off on me.” She looked at him and frowned. “Tomorrow is the exchange, aren’t you even a little bit worrie
d?”
He shrugged. “Not really. We have no other choice but to win.”
“It’s not that easy, Alexei. Many people are faced with the choice to win or lose it all. Lots of people have lost it all. That could be us. Something unforeseen could happen or they could be stronger than we think. Then we’re dead.”
“Is that what you’re worried about? That one of us will die?”
“Of course I’m worried that you may die.” She walked over to him and hit him in the chest.
“Amber, if I could promise not to die I would, but I don’t know what tomorrow will bring. I’m more concerned about you dying even though you are stronger now that we have mated. If I could skip tomorrow I would or at least leave you behind but dad insists you go, and Dante and even Ash back him up.”
Alexei began to pace too. He did everything including beg to keep Amber on the ground and out of the upcoming battle. Didn’t matter in the end, he was overruled and she was requested as one of the official gifts to be handed over in a vain attempt to stop a war that would only be halted with bloodshed and lots of it.
“We fight, Amber, it’s all we can do. It’s not about us anymore. It’s not even about the Created and the Hybrids. It’s about the Earth and its inhabitants. We fight just like they will and we will overcome whether we live or not is no longer the thought. We win before we go down and give our people a fighting chance.” He looked at her, his eyes blazing with purpose.
Amber walked over to him, wrapping her arms around his waist. She snuggled in close, knowing this could be the last night she had with the male she loved.
“No matter what happens, Alexei, I need you to know and always remember how much I love you.”
“Amber.” His hands rose to cup her face and strum over her cheeks. “The sun rises every day for a chance to shine on you. The moon chases the sun from the sky for a chance to look into the bedroom window at you, but I have them both beat because you are always beside me. You reside in my heart. I love you, Amber and I always will.”
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