“Greg moved, Dad’s busy all the time, and, well, look at you. Plus, they needed me, especially Teddy. I was going to come to you, but with everything going on...” He shrugged. “I thought they... never mind,” he said, patting the girl’s back.
“You’re an alpha, Rafael. You’re not yet ready to lead your own pack, but you will. What kind of leader riffles through others’ belongings when they’re down?”
“I didn’t know they were going to do that. Really, I thought we were coming to help. I heard the call, and so did the others, but I was wrong again. How can I trust my own judgment when things like this happen? Some alpha material I am.”
Raul stopped and looked at his brother; yep, they were all at fault here. “When it’s your time, you’ll become an excellent alpha. Give yourself a break, Rafael; you’re only 15. When it came down to what was important, you followed your heart, and that is a true alpha. Being an alpha is a heavy responsibility. You have to think of what’s best for your pack without drowning in others’ problems so much that you don’t see your own,” Raul said and noticed six more of his pack had shown up, picking up some of the smaller children.
An hour later, 50 children and six adults made their way into the temporary shelter. The governor himself came out to meet Raul and shook his hand.
“What you have done here is a miracle, and we will never be able to repay you. Their parents might not be alive, but there is hope at least for now. This will give the others the will to keep going and searching.”
“This is just the beginning; others are still buried. My men are spread thin here, so I have the neighboring pack coming in to help us search. What we need is your men to help dig out the survivors when we find someone. I also want a list of the schools in the area. I have 20 men over at the fairgrounds working that area too. This is far from over, Governor; the volcano just released a little pressure. If I were you, I would be putting the state on alert,” said, just in case he couldn’t do anything to stop what was coming.
“Already sounded the alert; FEMA is moving in to help. What can you tell me about the city itself? Can four-wheelers get through?” the governor asked as he followed Raul to where his father was.
“This little one has a cut on his side and stomach, Dad.” Raul set the boy down, and Sunshine came up and hugged him tight before he could move.
“Thank you,” she whispered and glanced at Raul.
“He did well. His first motives were iffy, but in the long run, Rafael made the right choice. Right now, he’s punishing himself more than any of us could. He’s the one who found all these children and wouldn’t leave them. You’ve done a fine job raising my brother. Today has made me realize I need to spend some more time with him and my sister.”
“They understand—”
“No, it’s no excuse.” He leaned down and kissed the top of her head. “I’m glad my father has you, Sunshine. You’re good for him.” He turned and nodded to the governor. “Let me show you what I think is the safest place to set up for now.” Raul moved to where Mario was speaking on the two-way radio. “We have some generators but will need more, and heated places for the wounded until they can be taken out of this area. I suggest you have someone set up a website for missing persons, also, and we can list the names of whoever we find on it. This will also help keep others out of the area. We don’t need people who are inexperienced in this kind of search getting hurt. I know some are bound to come, but this will help ease that worry. Find your person and coordinate with Sunshine. If I’m not mistaken, she’s already started the list.”
A cold chill swept over him. Raul raised his head to the north and growled. He hated feeling this strong about someone he hadn’t met. It was driving him crazy. Someone was threatening what was his. He could feel her fear, and he didn’t like it one bit.
“What is it?” His father asked as he and the rest of Raul’s family moved toward him.
“My mate’s been threatened. She’s afraid, and there’s not a damn thing I can do about it,” Raul snapped, angry with everything and no one. The ground under them shook again. “I’m going out there searching,” Raul stepped forward, but his father stopped him.
“No, you’re needed here. Plus, I believe mind work will be better for you now. Mario, you go organize our troops. Raul, concentrate on what needs to be done. It will help,” his father ordered, and Raul stared at him, then laughed.
“Only you, Dad, only you,” Raul mumbled but took his suggestion, knowing his father was talking from experience about when Raul’s mother had died. He glanced out over his shoulder. “Come to me, baby, let me protect you,” he sent out to the woman who needed him.
Chapter Three
Bella took a deep breath. The machines were still beeping, so she was still at the hospital. The ache in her head was gone, but her face was still sore. Her ribs hurt like hell, and her right leg was itchy. She tried to reach down to scratch it and groaned at the pain that shot through her.
“Don’t. You have stitches in it.” Charley placed her hand on Bella’s and leaned over the bed as Bella opened her eyes. “It’s about time you woke up. You scared the living shit out of me, girlfriend, and you owe me big-time,” Charley informed her, but Bella could see the worry in her eyes. “You can’t leave me,” she whispered.
“I’m not going anywhere. Now, how long have I been out?” she asked, her throat not as bad as the last time she had tried to talk.
“Only about 24 hours, but I’ll have you know, the visit from the creepy assholes did not make my day. Your dad was weird before, but now, he’s downright scary. Thank God I called in reinforcements,” Charley said, and hearing that that man had been in her room made Bella shiver.
“I’m sorry. He didn’t hurt you, did he?” Bella asked, and Charley snorted.
“Tank!” Charley shouted and looked at the hospital door.
One of the biggest men Bella had ever seen slammed the door open and scanned the room for threats before stepping inside, looking at Charley. “What’s up, Black Beauty?” he said, and Charley snorted again.
“Now you see who dealt with the creep. Plus, Mama came by with a little of her stuff; your so-called father kind of freaked out.”
“Sometimes muscle can’t do everything,” Bella said and looked at Tank. “I should warn you, my so-called father is into some nasty stuff. If you don’t want to stay, I’ll understand. As soon as the doctor gets here, I’m out of this hospital. But I’m glad your mom was here, Charley. She’s stronger than him. I don’t know how I know this, but I do. At least for now.”
Charley frowned, giving her one of those looks. “Honey, did that bump on your head do something to ya? Because I swear you’re talking more like my mom and pa.”
“I can’t explain it. It’s like something inside of me has woken up; it’s weird and scary.”
Tank laughed. “Little witch, that man’s blood magic is nothing, and he knew that the moment he tried to put a small black spell on this room. Her momma fixed this place up nice. You’re safe here; those peons are nothing.” He turned to leave.
“Wait... witch? I’m not a witch. I mean, sure, I know things sometimes and can see things, but that’s not a witch.” She tried to sit up and frowned. “Um, what’s going on here?” she asked and tried to push herself up with her legs, but nothing was working.
The hospital door opened, and Tank nodded to the man stepping aside.
“Good, you’re awake. How do you feel?” he said.
“Like I was hit by a truck, but more importantly, what’s going on with my legs? I can’t move them. I mean, I feel my thighs, this one itches like crazy.” She pointed to her right leg where the bandage was, and the doctor smiled, but she got a weird feeling from him.
“That’s great news.” He reached for the sheet, and she nodded, but she watched his movements.
He lowered the sheet, exposing her banged-up legs. She was totally shocked at the amount of damage done to them. “Damn, I look like I’ve been put into a ble
nder,” she muttered. “They ever catch the asshole who hit me?” She looked up at Charley, who shook her head.
“Not that I’m aware of. The truck that hit you was totaled, but it was a stolen truck.”
“Ouch, that hurts.” She glared up at the doctor who had just pinched the shit out of her leg.
He smiled. “That’s good. You have feeling in both thighs; that means this paralysis shouldn’t last long.” He mumbled something Bella couldn’t understand.
“How long? I’m moving; I need my legs.” She pulled up the sheet, not feeling comfortable around the doctor, right before an officer walked into her room. Charley leaned in closer to her. She could always tell when Bella wasn’t feeling well.
“As for how long, that could vary. A week, might even be longer. Your L2 was bruised but not bad enough to take full function away from you, which is a good thing,” the doctor informed her, not even bothering to glance her way as he nodded to the police officer.
“So it’s not permanent? When can I get out of here? I think it’s best I leave today.” Bella glanced as the cop, acknowledging him.
“I’m sorry, but you’re not up to leaving just yet. Maybe tomorrow if you handle foods and can get up on your own.” The doctor frowned, looking at her head. “But you are healing faster than normal. Do you have any other bloodlines in you? You know, like shifter or vampire?” he asked, waving his hand.
Bella frowned. “I don’t know. I was adopted; at least, that’s what I was told two nights ago, and why would it matter?” She glanced over at Charley, who just sat there taking everything in. “Right now, Charley’s family is the only one I have. So if I can’t answer any questions, you should ask her. My adopted so-called family hasn’t been around me for over ten years.” She looked down at her hands, which were clutching the thin sheet that covered her., and tilted her head to the side. “Do I know you? I swear something isn’t—”
“The nurse has noted not to allow them in here. But for now, I want you to rest as much as possible. Tonight I’ll come back to check on you. Do you want to know if you have any different species in you? We can take a blood sample and find out. It could give us something to start with.” He ignored her question, seeming to be in a hurry to get out of the room.
She glanced at Charley, who shrugged. “Might as well; won’t hurt anything,” she said.
Bella’s stomach growled.
“I’ll have them send up a tray for you; right now, it’ll just be liquids. We’ll see how you handle that.” The doctor turned to leave but stopped and looked over his shoulder at her.
“I meant it when I said you should rest. You died twice when they brought you in, Ms. Ozter.” The look he gave her wasn’t one a doctor would give a patient. Whatever he was thinking wasn’t nice. She shivered and pulled the cover to her chin.
“Damn, did you get the feeling something was off with that guy?” she asked, then realized what he’d said. How would he know she’d died if he wasn’t a doctor? “I really died?” She looked back at the door, totally confused. Her weird meter was going off the charts for some reason.
Tank smiled from ear to ear.
“What?”
“We’ll speak later.” He opened the door and stepped out.
She looked at Charley, who held up her hands. “Don’t ask me; I’m clueless. As soon as he saw you, he muttered something and hasn’t left the hospital. Two of the other guys I called won’t leave now, either.”
“Excuse me, Ms. Ozter, may we talk now?” the officer asked. “My name is Detective Ryan, and I’m in charge of your case.” He came to the other side of the bed, where the doctor had been. “Can you tell me what happened the other night?”
Charley squeezed her hand, and Bella held her breath at the words that were whispered in her head. “Be safe, my mate, wherever you are.”
“What is it?” Charley asked.
“It’s nothing.” She shook her head, wondering what that was. “That night, God, I don’t even want to remember it. All my life my so-called family has more or less ignored me. But in the back of my mind, I had a feeling they weren’t my true parents. They gave me the basics to get by, but that was it. I wasn’t allowed to eat with them and so on. Well, that night, I decided it was time to find out what the hell was wrong with me.” She smiled up at the officer.
“Everything was fine, until I stepped into the basement. They were doing some kind of blood sacrifice. Seems they practice the black arts. Anyway, they weren’t pleased to see me. Then they told me I’d been adopted and they didn’t want anything more to do with me. My so-called father said some vulgar, sexual things, and my so-called mom threw a knife at me but missed.” She snorted and smiled. “Guess she was jealous her man wanted me. Their daughter, Daisy, threatened me and I left. I was upset, but I knew what I was doing. One minute I was waiting for the light to change, the next thing I knew headlights were coming at me.”
“They threatened you? Did she throw the knife to actually hurt you?” the officer asked.
“Let’s just say I was lucky to move out of the way in time. Yeah, they threatened me. They are not my family and don’t want me near them. Why? Do you think they had something to do with this?” She frowned. “It would be kind of hard for them to hit me with a car if I left them at their home. I don’t see how they would have had time to try.”
“They could have hired someone,” Charley and the cop said at the same time.
“You really believe they would do this?” she asked Charley.
“Your sister? Yes, without a doubt. You should have seen her last night trying to get in here. She was half-crazy, screaming and glaring at everyone. Nope, I don’t trust that one at all. The other woman, I have no idea; maybe. She always was a cold fish. Your so-called dad was just creepy. I don’t think he’d kill you. More likely, he wanted to get into your pants.”
Bella closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “I know you’re right, but it’s so hard to believe. Maybe it’s best that I’m leaving.”
“Where are you going? I’ll need your address and phone number,” the cop said and handed her a card. “This is where you can reach me if you remember anything. Be careful, Ms. Ozter; this person was out to kill you. We found blood in the truck, but they were gone by the time the police and ambulance got there.”
“I’m going south to Vegas, and believe me, I’ll be careful. I’ll check in with you on the way, and thank you.” Bella shook his hand and watched him leave.
“Now tell me what really happened when she showed up,” Bella said, and Charley nodded as Tank came back into the room.
“Tank is a shifter and has a little of his mom’s magic in him, enough to knock your sister on her ass. But Momma was the one who protected the room. Do you believe Daisy was actually trying to put her death magic on this room? Honey, you really need to leave town, but you’re not going alone. We’re going with you. Now, tell me where we’re going.”
“We are going nowhere. You have a great job here, and I don’t even know Tank. No, this is something I have to do alone.” Bella glanced at Tank, who sat in the chair by the door.
“We’re both going to Vegas with you. I’m going to make sure you get where you need to be,” Tank stated, drawing their attention.
“You know him, don’t you? The one I’m supposed to be with,” Bella asked. “He lives in Vegas?”
“The alpha is your destiny, as it is to save millions of lives. I think your sister and others are going to try and stop you, though. I know her motives yet, but something is off with her.”
“One, she’s not my sister; two, I don’t know what you mean about saving millions. I just know I need to be in Vegas. That I’m connected to this man. I heard him earlier when the doctor was here. It was weird having someone in your head,” Bella stated.
Tank stood and moved to the bedside, where he grabbed the TV remote and turned on MSNBC. “Watch,” he said and pointed to the screen.
Charley pulled her chair closer to the bed, and they
both watched the devastating news unfold over the next 30 minutes. Over 200,000 individuals had lost their lives the day before from a small fissure opening up in Nevada. The city of Metropolis was no more.
Bella sucked in her breath as the most gorgeous man she’d ever seen turned to stare at the cameras. His long black hair blew in the ash wind, and his dark blue eyes sent a shiver up her spine. “Damn, he’s hot.”
“And meant to be yours,” Tank stated, staring down at her.
“Mine? I’m going to be in a wheelchair for who knows how long. Do you really think that man would be interested in me? I mean, come on. I’m short and round in all the wrong places. Hey, that rhymes.” She turned to look at Charley, smiling, and she rolled her eyes.
“Honey, Tank is never wrong. If he says that man is meant to be yours, believe it. Plus”— she leaned in—“you are gorgeous. You’re like one of those pin-up girls on the old posters. But I do want to know why he thinks you can save millions.”
Tank went back to his seat after turning the TV down. “Long ago, and I mean long ago, before Earth was even formed, there was a man named King Adish. His passions burned strong, he was a mighty king of his planet, and it was his destiny to mate with the beautiful Sana-Sun. A daughter of the sun god himself from what we understand. Anyway, she was innocent in the ways of loving, and King Adish didn’t believe his destined one could handle what he needed from a female. So he kept others in the background, never completely giving himself to Sana-Sun. Think vanilla loving, as to where Adish was a master, whips, kink,” Tank stated, and Bella knew her face was a light red, judging by the way he looked at her.
Charley shivered. “Tank is a master at the local BDSM club. Let’s just say he’s good at what he does.” She wiggled her eyebrows. “Think rope.”
“You and him?” Bella asked.
Charley shrugged. “We’ve dabbled a little. He’s not ready for a full commitment yet.”
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