by Walsh Maggie
“I think I made my mate mad, and I have no idea what happened.”
A flash of light came from the corner, and the three looked to see what it was. Ten extremely large men walked through the wall, but they didn’t look anything like the Legion Warriors. These men were larger than the warriors and were gruesome-looking.
Maddy stood quickly, his chair falling backward and crashing onto the floor behind him. Maddy started to shift, but before he could, three shots were fired, and the three of them went down.
* * * *
“But why would they take Evan, Maddy, and Milo? None of them are a part of the inner pack. Evan’s just a computer whiz who runs a home for lost boys. He doesn’t even have his powers yet, and Milo is a human,” Syn cried out with worry.
“We don’t know why, son, but we’re gonna find out,” Raphael answered soothingly as he rubbed Syn’s back.
“I smell something strange, Micah,” Christian said from across the room.
Micah moved closer and sniffed around the area. “I smell it, too. What is it?”
Laylen moved closer and took in a big whiff. “It almost smells like demon, but not as rotting. I still smell a hint of sulfur. It almost smells like”―he took another whiff―“Nephilim.” Laylen’s eyes went wide as the realization hit him. “It’s Nephilim.”
“What the hell would Nephilim want with them?” Raphael sneered.
“Will they hurt them?” Mitchell asked in a small voice.
Everyone turned to look at the young man.
“We hope not, Mitchell. We’re going to do everything in our power to get them back,” Micah answered.
“But…I need Evan. Evan protects me and keeps everyone safe. I can’t do this without him,” Mitchell cried, absently staring at a spot across the room.
“We’ll make sure you’re okay until we get Evan back,” Raphael promised. He moved closer to Mitchell.
Mitchell’s eyes stayed focused on something across the room, and he started to panic. His eyes teared up, and he began to shake his head. “No! No, no, no, no, no. I need him! Evan keeps everyone safe. Evan helps me to make sure everyone is safe. I need him. They can’t have him. They can’t take him away from me.”
“It’s okay, Mitch,” Josh stepped forward, trying to soothe his foster brother.
Mitchell’s head snapped in Josh’s direction. His eyes glowed bright red as long, sharp fangs descended from his mouth. “No! I won’t let them take him away from me.” Mitchell’s voice came out in a frightening growl. “Must stop them. Must destroy them.”
“What the fuck is he?” Tucker asked in horror.
Mitchell’s head snapped in his direction, and his eyes bore into Tucker. Mitchell started to twitch and shake. Bones snapped and skin ripped. Everyone took a step back, watching in horror as the little wolf changed. Micah took a step closer and shifted effortlessly into his massive wolf, placing himself between Mitchell and everyone else in the room. Mitchell threw his head back as he screamed in pain. His arms and legs elongated, and claws, like talons, ripped from his fingertips. His snout thrust out, and long sharp teeth crowded his mouth. Wiry fur sprang from all over his body, and he began to grow. He rose until his head brushed the ceiling. Mitchell bent over to allow his new form more room.
When the transformation was complete, they all just stood there, shocked at what stood before them. Mitchell now looked like a Hollywood version of a werewolf, but was bigger―a lot bigger. His skin was like leather, almost like a plate of armor, with fur sticking out of it. In this form, he had to be at least nine feet tall as he stood on his hind legs.
“Mitch?” Josh whispered. Mitchell turned his attention to Josh. “Mitch, can you hear me? Can you understand me?”
Mitchell nodded.
“Damn, he’s fucking scary as hell,” Tucker whispered. Mitchell looked back at him, and his eyes took on a sad look. “Well, come on, man. Look at you. You’re fucking huge.”
“Mitchell? Son?” Raphael said and took a step closer.
Micah huffed in his father’s direction and tried to block him. Raphael ignored him and walked right up to Mitchell. Their eyes met, and Raphael reached out a hand and touched Mitchell’s arm. Mitchell looked down at Raphael’s hand touching him and then back to Raphael’s eyes. A small whimper escaped Mitchell and Raphael smiled at him.
“It’s okay, son. I know you won’t hurt me or anyone else here, and we won’t hurt you. I promise.”
“Mitchell,” Demetrius called out softly.
Mitchell turned his head, and his eyes met his mate’s. He turned his big body and stepped toward Demetrius. Demetrius walked toward him and wrapped his arms around Mitchell’s leg.
“It’s okay, mate. You’re safe. No one will hurt you.”
Mitchell lowered his head and nuzzled Demetrius’s head.
“You just want to find Evan, Maddy, and Milo and bring them home safe, right?” Demetrius asked as he pulled back and looked up at his mate.
Mitchell huffed and nodded his head.
“Okay then. So does everyone here. We all love them and want to bring them home where they belong. We need you to shift back now so that we can figure out where they are, and how to get them back.”
Mitchell’s eyes looked sad, and he shook his head.
“No, you don’t want to shift back? Or no, you can’t shift back?”
Mitchell whined.
“You can’t shift back. Okay, so what do we do?”
“Mitchell’s wolf sees Micah as his alpha. Maybe Micah can order him to shift back?” Lexi suggested.
“That’s a good idea, Lexi,” Christian said.
Micah kept his eyes on Mitchell and growled from deep within him. It was a scary, piss-in-your-pants type of growl, and the wolves in the room lifted their chins, exposing their throats to Micah. Mitchell whined again and sat on the floor at Micah’s feet. He raised his chin in submission. Micah licked the side of his face, and Mitchell began to shake. His bones snapped and broke again as his body returned to his human form.
Mitchell looked up at Micah and began to cry. He wrapped his arms around his middle and dropped his chin to his chest. Demetrius dropped onto the floor next to him, wrapping Mitchell in his arms. Micah shifted back and dropped down to one knee next to the pair. He wrapped an arm around Mitchell’s shoulders.
“It’s okay, Mitchell. You’re safe here, and you’re welcome here. This is your home. That will never change. You are still a part of this pack.”
Mitchell raised his head and looked at Micah. “I’m sorry, Alpha. I’m sorry we didn’t tell you. Please don’t send me away.”
“You’re not going anywhere, Mitchell. As I said, this is your home, your family, your pack. You will always belong here.”
“So Evan knew about you? He knew what you were and didn’t tell us?” Tucker asked angrily.
“What Evan knew or knows about all of you boys is between Evan and you, and is nobody else’s business unless you are okay with it. He did what he thought was best for Mitchell, end of story,” Raphael answered.
“But what the hell are you, Mitch? Would you have hurt any of us? Where we in any danger all this time?”
“Tucker! Mitchell is our brother no matter what form he takes. I don’t think we were ever in any danger from him. I don’t think Mitch would ever hurt us,” Josh said with conviction.
“You’re right. I’m sorry, Mitch,” Tucker conceded, “but…what are you, man?”
Mitchell looked each of them in the eye and then focused on Micah. “My mother was a wolf. My father…” Mitchell looked down at his lap.
“Was a demon,” Laylen added.
Mitchell looked up at him and nodded. “He held my mother captive for years. He kept her until he impregnated her, and then he released her, but she couldn’t return to her pack. She tried, but they could scent that she smelled different and made her leave. While I was growing up she tried to get another pack to accept us, but none would. They could sense something was different about me
. I was always so small for my age so my mom started telling the packs lies to try to get them to accept us, but it never worked. When I had my first shift, I shifted into a normal wolf, and my mom was so happy. She brought me to the nearest pack and told me to shift to show them I wasn’t different, but when I shifted again, I shifted into a smaller version of what I just did.
“The pack chased us off their lands, and the next day my mom was gone. She left me there to fend for myself. She left me a note to say she couldn’t take care of the monster that I was. In her note, she told me who my father was and how I came to be. She had hoped that when I shifted I would be a normal wolf, but now that she knew I wasn’t, that I was a monster like my father, she couldn’t stand to be near me anymore.
“I spent the first two weeks looking for her. I wanted to beg her to take me back, but I couldn’t find her. The next year was spent on the streets. I ate anything I could find, slept in alleys, under bridges, and on park benches. Then one day a human social worker found me. She took me to the local home and fed me, let me take a shower, and gave me a bed to sleep in. It was the best night of my life. I heard the other kids talking about how the humans would put me out on the street, too, at eighteen. So that meant I only had three years of their protection, but it was all I had, and I didn’t want to lose it.
“When my social worker found me a home, she told my foster parents that I was twelve. Because of my size, no one questioned it. I spent the next six years in and out of human foster homes. Some of them were good and some of them not so good. Then when they thought I was eighteen, it was my time to leave. I traveled around for a while, and another social worker found me in the next city. He asked me how old I was, and I lied. I told him I was sixteen. He took me in and brought me to a foster family. I was there for almost a year when the fires started. They didn’t have any proof that it was me, but they suspected because nothing like that ever happened before I came into their house. So they sent me back.
“Tim, the social worker, told me that there was a man he knew that took in special boys, boys like me. That’s when I met Evan. Evan’s only rule was that I be honest with him and tell him everything.”
“Yeah, that’s what he did with all of us,” Syn added.
“Yeah. So I told him everything and how old I really was, but he didn’t care. He told me he would help me and protect me, and he has since the day we met. I need Evan. He’s the only one who can calm me when the beast takes over. Evan is the only one who isn’t afraid of him. He can control my beast and stop him from hurting anyone.”
“So I’m guessing your beast―I hate that word―your other form had come out before?” Micah asked.
“Yes. A few times.”
“And what happens when he comes out?” Raphael asked.
“I see red. My vision turns to red, and all I want to do is rip something apart.”
“And Evan has been able to stop that,” Raphael stated.
“Yes. He calms my beast and makes him feel safe until I shift back.”
“Have you ever hurt anyone?” Raphael asked.
“Once, when I was with that foster family. I kept setting fires, not consciously. One of the other kids would start to tease me and be mean to me, and I would get so angry. My vision would turn red, and I would get so scared that my beast would come out. I would fight him to stay inside and stop the shift. Then a fire would start somewhere in the room. One time, one of my foster sisters was being mean to me when it happened, and I set her bed on fire while she was sitting on it. She jumped out of the bed and twisted her ankle.”
“So you technically didn’t hurt her,” Josh said with a small smile.
“I guess not, but it was because of me she got hurt.”
“Not really. It was because she was being mean to you that she got hurt,” Josh added.
“So is that why you have always been so quiet?” Syn asked.
“Yes. I figured if I stayed invisible then no one would tease me. Then my beast wouldn’t come out and try to hurt you.”
“So how old are you really? Like twenty-four?” Tucker asked.
“I’ll be twenty-six soon.”
Laylen knelt down beside them and looked at Mitch. “The Legion and I can help you to learn how to control your Lycan and the demon part of you.”
“Lycan?” Tucker asked.
“Yes. That is the term for a werewolf. You are all wolf shifters, but you are not a Lycan. Mitchell here is a true Lycan. It was probably one of you that a human saw, and that’s where they came up with the stories of werewolves.”
“Wow. So that’s what I am? A true werewolf?”
Laylen gave him an encouraging smile. “Yes, but my Legion brothers and I can help you to control the wolf and your powers. We can help you learn how to use them to your advantage.”
“I would like that, thank you, but can we get Evan, Maddy, and Milo back first?”
“Absolutely. Who knows, we may even need your werewolf to help us do that.” Laylen gave him a mischievous smile.
Chapter 9
“Dommiel, what do you have for me?” Minos asked as he walked into the room. He hadn’t been in his underworld hideout in some time. No one in the Underworld but Dommiel knew of this place, not even Lord Lucifer. That is why he had been able to keep the omega Trevor here for so long.
“The Nephilim were able to grab Alison’s offspring Matthew and the beta’s mate, Rory. Unfortunately they weren’t alone, so they grabbed another who was with them. Regrettably, this one is only a human.”
“Perfect. Let me see them,” Minos said as he crossed the room. He stopped at the foot of the bed to peer down at the three forms chained there. “How long will they be out?”
“The effects of the sedative should only last another hour or so. Maybe longer on the humans. Alison’s brat should awaken long before the other two.”
“Good. Now come with me, my pet. I can’t be seen in the Underworld, lest I be found by those heathens, the Legion, or Lord Lucifer himself. Come wash me before I take you, as we wait for our guests to awake.”
“Yes, Master,” Dommiel answered.
There was heat in his eyes as he licked his lips and let Minos pull him into the bathroom.
* * * *
Everyone sat around the pack house kitchen, watching Micah. He sat in a chair at the table, with one of Maddy’s sweaters, one of Evan’s shirts, and one of Milo’s. He sniffed each item and closed his eyes.
A vision of each of them entered his mind, and then the vision quickly began to swirl and rush by, as if he were running at top speed. He entered a dark place that felt warm and dry. He moved through a tunnel for what felt like hours, even in his quick motion. Finally it slowed, and he stood before a midnight-black door. It appeared to be made of steel and probably very heavy. Micah reached out with his mind and pressed against the door, and it opened slowly.
His vision moved into the opening, and he was standing in a very large cavern. He could feel heat coming from the limestone walls, but it wasn’t too bad. He shifted his gaze and could see a few stalagmite and stalactite formations. He moved farther into the room, and his confusion grew. Micah stood in what appeared to be a lavish apartment―kitchen, a living room, and a bedroom that were spread out but sharing the same space.
His vision zeroed in on the bed and he saw three forms lying motionless on it. He stepped closer and saw that it was Maddy, Milo, and Evan. He couldn’t tell if they were alive or dead but assumed they were only unconscious, because otherwise Josh and his father would feel the loss of their mates and probably be dead as well. His vision pulled back in a rush so fast that Micah’s stomach began to roil, and he felt like he was going to vomit. He snapped his eyes open and met the gaze of his beloved mate Jesse, who stood before him, stroking his cheek lovingly.
“Are you okay, mate?”
Micah placed his large hand over Jesse’s, which was cupping his cheek, and closed his eyes momentarily, absorbing the comfort of his mate’s touch. “I’m fine, ba
by. I just hate when it rushes back.” He pulled Jesse’s hand from his face, kissed the palm, and then pulled Jesse down on his lap. He looked about the room at all the others standing there, looking at him expectantly.
“So, did you find them?” Papa asked.
“Yes. I found them, but I have no idea where they are. All I can say is that they look unharmed for now. They were all unconscious, lying on a bed.”
“How do you not know where they are if you found them?” Zane asked in confusion.
“My vision rushed by so fast that I had no idea where I was going. Then when it slowed, I was in a warm, dry tunnel standing before a black metal door.” Micah explained everything he saw from his mind trip.
“We know that Malachi had many caves spread out around the world. We should start looking there,” Ryland offered.
Micah shook his head. “No. I got the feeling that I was somewhere else, somewhere completely unknown. The walls were made of limestone. Usually it’s cold in those caves, but this one wasn’t. It was quite warm.”
“You said you felt as if you were somewhere unknown. What does that mean?” Phenex asked.
“It felt almost like I was alone in the world, like there wasn’t any other life of any kind except for me, Maddy, Milo, and Evan. It was a strange feeling. I felt alone and completely isolated. I mean, like I was really the only thing alive in the world,” Micah explained.
“Papa, didn’t Trevor tell us that that was the feeling he always had when he was in that place Minos kept him?” Xander asked.
Raphael nodded. “Yes, Xander. You’re right. Those are almost the exact same words Trevor used when he described the place.”
“So maybe Trevor can help us?” Syn asked hopefully.
“I doubt it. He woke up there, and when he left there, it was the same thing. He fell asleep on the bed there, but when he woke up, he was suddenly on the front lawn of the alpha’s house.”
“Shit. So now what?” Josh asked. He stood off to the side with his arms crossed over his chest, and his jaw clenched. His body looked like he was holding himself so tightly wound that one small move would snap him and send him spiraling out of control. His eyes were filled with worry and pain. Bailey walked over to him and wrapped his arms are his best friend’s waist, holding him tight. Josh leaned into the embrace and turned away from everyone. He lowered his head to Bailey’s shoulder.