by Bryce Evans
“What is that?” Zoey asked Kayden, pointing at the guards in the back.
“That is Martha, who betrayed us all. She had no remorse and didn’t even ask for forgiveness. The evil surrounded her, Zoey. She died when Me-Len extracted her memories from her.”
Zoey gasped, clamping a palm over her mouth. “It killed her?”
“Yes, it turns your brain into mush, but it had to be done, Zoey. They are trying to kill us all. All the keepers have betrayed us. Me-Len got the information from Martha that it was they who planted the bugs everywhere. When they came to our houses, they placed them there. The day we had our phones upgraded, they placed the bugs in them.” Zoey hugged her mate closer. This was just too much betrayal.
“Why would they do that?” Zoey whispered.
“Power and greed. We had it, and they wanted it. Claudia told them they would be members of The Order. She made them doubt themselves to the point they would betray their own people to get it,” Kayden explained.
“Are you okay?” Kayden asked. She was shaking now knowing that it was members they trusted the most who betrayed them.
“If Claudia got to them, then who else has she gotten to that we don’t know about?” Zoey looked up at Kayden. She was scared because they didn’t know who to trust.
“We will find them all, Zoey. Keep the faith that we will find them all.”
****
“How are you feeling, Me-Len?” Zoey asked sitting beside her at the table. She could see the exhaustion on her face.
“Tired, but the food should help,” Me-Len answered.
“How do you stand…” Zoey felt bad for even thinking what she was feeling. She didn’t know how to express her feelings on what they were doing to others even though it had to be done. The guilt was eating her up.
“How do I stand to kill these people?” Me-Len looked stricken.
“I’m sorry, Me-Len. I had no right to ask you that,” Zoey responded.
Me-Len patted her on the hand. “Don’t worry about it. I’ve been through this before, and I felt like you, too at one time, but you have to decide. It’s either you or them. Right vs wrong. I know it’s harsh, but if we don’t take them out when we can, Zoey, they will take someone else who you and I love. When you least expect it, they will kill one of us and have no remorse for doing it.”
“I know,” Zoey answered.
“I do feel pain for performing this, but then I look over at London or you, and I put it out of my mind, because if they took you away from me, I don’t know if I could live with myself knowing I could have stopped it.”
“I understand, Me-Len, and I don’t judge you or anyone for this. I know what they are capable of. I didn’t see a soul in Claudia Blackwood’s eyes as she plunged that knife into my chest. None whatsoever. I just hope I haven’t let James back in, and he ends up betraying us again,” Zoey admitted her fears.
“I feel the same way. If it helps you, so does London. It was the Tree of Life that told her to spare James. I think it was the right decision. Only time will tell,” Me-Len added.
Zoey watched as Jamie escorted James out. He would be assigned to do something else, but he would also have a guard on him as well. They didn’t trust him, and he would need to earn his trust back.
“Gavin and Hope are here for their appointment. Nobody has heard from Morris. I’ve got enforcers going out to his house to see why he isn’t answering,” Nolan supplied as they settled down to eat before the next round started.
They chose to bring Hope in first. She was from Nolan’s pride, and she continued to look at her Alpha for any type of answer.
“Hope, we found out that members of the Keepers are in with Claudia Blackwood. Is that true with you?” Nolan looked stricken as he asked. “Hope?” Hope did something that surprised them all; she shifted and went on the attack. Chairs flew against the wall as Hope lunged toward London, but Nolan was too fast. He grabbed her around the neck and ripped her head off throwing her carcass against the wall. The room fell silent as her body slid down the wall. Mad was an understatement as Nolan paced back and forth. His anger was against Hope and Claudia for turning one of his against him and the others.
Kayden had Zoey protected, as did Thorn, who had shifted. Jamie was guarding his Alphas, Ryder and London. Apparently, Gavin heard the commotion and shifted into his bear, barreling through the outside door with enough momentum to knock the other enforcers down which gave him enough time to get a headstart in the woods.
“Get him. He is headed to the mountain!” someone yelled out. Brody and the other Alphas ran outside when they heard the commotion. They were now in a chase to find one of the keepers. Robert sprang through the door telling them what was going on. Brody shifted and went after his man.
“We stick together.” Kayden opened the back door to the SUV allowing everyone to get in the back. They got into vehicles and followed Brody as he chased Gavin into the woods. Gavin was much older, but Brody was an Alpha. He had speed and youth on his side. Judd drove up the trail they had cleared six months prior to get to the lodge at the top of the mountain. Gavin was running scared, and he had no clue where he was heading, but Zoey did.
“Stop! Let’s run and cut him off. He can’t get past all of us!” Zoey jumped out of the SUV. She stopped and turned around as the others sat in the vehicle looking at her like she was crazy.
“Well…are you coming?” Kayden laughed and jumped out of the vehicle followed by the others. Zoey stopped, holding her hand up, telling them to stop and listen. They could hear something barreling through the woods toward them. Nolan shifted into his tiger and waited for the bear to break through the brush. They didn’t have to wait long when Gavin broke through and skirted to a stop staring at them.
“You should have stopped, Gavin. Now I don’t care if they tear you limb from limb. You put me and my family in danger . Death would be too good for you.” Gavin snorted then took off toward Zoey. Before he could get two steps, Brody jumped on him, raking his claws down his back opening up wounds deep enough to see the muscles. Gavin roared out in pain, then turned around facing his Alpha. It wasn’t much of a battle though. Gavin didn’t stand a chance as Brody slapped his big paw against Gavin’s head slicing the bottom part of his jaw. His jaw was barely hanging on, but the bear in him wouldn’t allow him to stop.
Zoey hated that Brody had to kill one of his own, but it was in their nature to fight to the death in their shifter form. Brody’s paws were massive as he continued to behead Gavin. His body lay in a pile of bloody pieces on the ground. Brody threw his head back and roared out his grief for a family member. The forest became deathly quiet as Brody sat down on his hind legs staring at Gavin.
They had lost three people today because of Claudia Blackwood, and Zoey knew that more was yet to come.
Chapter 37
The vehicle was somber as they drove back down the mountain. They had to make plans to find the last keeper, Morris, who was from Judd’s pride. It would be no secret that the Alphas were hunting people. They would need to speak to their people now to get them all together and explain what was going on.
“I think we need to meet back again tomorrow morning, but not here. I don’t think we need to meet here anymore. It will be too dangerous now. All of our meetings need to be held in secret from now on,” Nolan said sadly, as he looked up at the Council Building. Zoey could feel the uncertainty of what life was going to be like now. How could they work and live in constant fear?
“Let’s meet back at safe house number one,” Ryder replied. They all nodded in agreement. Zoey knew that they would have to have more places set up in order to escape the watchful eyes of the many spies who were most likely in the city. Hunting them down would now be a priority.
Thorn dropped Zoey and Kayden off at their residence. Rest was the only thing they could think of. They both took a shower and collapsed in bed. The last thing she remembered was Kayden wrapping his arms around her and then nothing.
Kayden doubt
ed that they would have enough time to make deep-rooted plans. They were behind the eight ball. Claudia had years to plan what she was going to do. Something told him that they would need some way to go underground if Jamal got out. Tonight was the full moon, and Bast had stated that Jamal could shift during the full moon. He would need to come up with a plan to make sure they were safe, in case he decided to blow up their house.
Without making any noise, Kayden left the bedroom to go plan.
Thorn was already up and sitting at the kitchen table with notes scattered around him. “Couldn’t sleep?” Thorn asked.
“Tonight is the full moon, and we need to find out how to go underground in case he tries to use fire and blow us up,” Kayden answered. He sat down at the table and noticed Thorn’s drawings.
“What is that?” Kayden asked pointing at the picture.
“I was thinking about how preppers build those underground homes in case a disaster happens. Man, they are freaking awesome! What if we had a series of them around the city? Ones that interlocked with each other in case they needed to get to another place. I know we don’t have time to build it before tonight, but we can work on the plans.” Kayden sat silently listening to his second tell him about his plan.
“How can we hide what we are doing?” Kayden asked interested.
“Well, you remember the old gold mine? Remember where it is?” Thorn asked half smiling.
“You’re a freaking genius, Thorn,” Kayden said loudly.
“Yes, I am, and I’m glad you finally see that. Spread the word that you’re second is a freaking genius.” Both started laughing then quieted remembering Zoey was asleep.
“Okay, we start from the old mine and work outward toward the different areas. We can hide the dirt there. We can get supplies there now without anyone knowing it. I think if we get the right tools, we can start making tunnels. The mine is right smack in the middle of Alpha City,” Kayden said. “Do you think we can build a tunnel from the mine to here?”
“I don’t see why not. With the right equipment and people, it shouldn’t take long. We don’t let anyone know about this except the crew who is working it and The Order. Supplies will have to be taken to the site and stored,” Thorn answered. “We look for the traitors while the workers are digging and get this plan in action.”
Kayden felt better now that they had some place to go when Jamal was out patrolling. He would make sure Zoey and the kids were at the site. He made a promise to keep them all safe, and he planned to do just that.
Needing some sleep, Kayden laid back down for a few more hours knowing that he would need to get started quickly in the morning. The Order would be waiting at the safe house, and he would inform them of what they planned to do.
Morning came too quickly as Kayden and Zoey arrived at the safe house. They had switched into three separate vehicles before they arrived. Everyone was waiting when they sat down at the old table. The elementary school had an underground basement that was fire and waterproof. It wasn’t pretty to look at, but it would keep them safe and away from prying eyes for now.
“Thorn has come up with a brilliant plan that I think will help us at night when Jamal comes out on the full moon. I know tonight is the first full moon, and I don’t want to chance it with him out there flying around. I don’t know if you remember the old mine that was shut down years ago. Well, the mine is still there with all its tunnels. If we get workers and the right kind of equipment down there in the tunnels, maybe we can dig some more tunnels to places we can escape to when he comes. I don’t know how to fight a damn dragon, and if you have any better ideas, let me know. It will take time to do this, but we need to stay in the tunnels tonight. Nobody can know about this, so only your trusted men can be in on this. This is the only suggestion I can come up with. I think with all the covens and London, we can put a lot of protection around the mine and its tunnels in case Claudia finds out about it. It needs to be fireproof just in case Jamal stumbles across it too. Thorn is out there now with Jamie looking it over. But the question is, what do you guys think?”
Heads were nodding as Kayden finished.
“I think it is a great idea. I would like to go and check the site out,” Brody said suddenly.
“Well, we can all go through it as they do. They both wore cameras, and we can feed into the computer and onto the TV.” Kayden opened up his laptop and punched some keys in and up on the screen was a tunnel. Kayden turned the speaker on his phone on so everyone could hear too.
“We’re all here, Thorn,” Kayden advised.
The phone had a lot of static as Thorn spoke and walked through the various tunnels.
“It’s going to need some re-enforcement in some places and some more ventilation before we even start on the tunnels. I think it can be done pretty quickly if we start at the entrance and work our way back. That way, if parts collapse, we would have the rest already held up and re-enforced,” Thorn responded.
“Look for ways to get the air into the tunnels other than the entrance. We need more than one exit just in case,” Ryder suggested.
“We’re on it, boss. Already got JoJo here looking at that,” Jamie responded.
“Good work, you two,” Kayden added.
Being under rock wasn’t helping the reception. Before they lost contact, Kayden told Thorn to video the rest of the site.
“Now we have a site. Like you said, it will take some work. We need to work on a list of people we know, for a fact, are on our side, and we need it fast. We have to have people we can trust,” Brody said, turning serious. “We are running out of time, and people will panic when Jamal starts. I don’t know what Claudia has planned, but I know she has it already in the works, and we are behind, so let’s stay until we get some things worked out. The Betas are handling security and the site. Now we need to work on getting better prepared.”
****
The Order was divided up into groups. Every group had a task to get done by today. Time was ticking away, and they still needed to brief everyone about the danger coming with Jamal. They had four hours left until nightfall. Enforcers were assigned to cover all the major parts of the school gym where they were going to hold the meeting. It looked like everyone who lived in the city was present; only a few people were either too old or were out of town.
Brody held his hands up and the gym fell silent. They had agreed that Brody would be the Alpha who would explain what was going on and what they needed to do to prepare.
“Please hold your questions until I’m finished. Most likely I will have answered your question. Today marks a whole new way of life for everyone who lives in Alpha City. I know you have heard the rumors, and we are here to tell you the facts now. There is a very powerful witch who has made it her duty to destroy Alpha City. If it was just her, we wouldn’t be so worried, but now she has released something that shouldn’t have been born. I know most of you will think what I’m about to say is a joke, but the rest of the Alphas are here today, to reassure you that it is most definitely not. Claudia Blackwood has released a dragon from the depths of Hell.” Various voices chimed in as Brody tried to explain about the dragon. People were starting to get concerned as they learned about Jamal.
“He is part man and part dragon just like us; except, he can breathe fire.” Brody held up his hand again as everyone started talking to each other. “We don’t know what they are planning, but we need to be prepared for whatever it is. I know most of you have places you go in case of emergencies. Tonight I ask you to go there. Take only what you will need for one night and stay inside. Don’t leave your lights on. I want it to be quiet. If anything goes wrong, you will need to use the radio system. Every house should have the handheld unit for emergencies, and I mean emergency only. Don’t tie the lines up just in case something does happen and we need to get to you. Does anyone have any questions?” The room was quiet. They all wanted to leave and get to their safe houses. “Be safe, and when we have more information, we will have another meeting.”
/>
It didn’t take long for the gymnasium to clear out. They had to get home to get their supplies, then head to the mines for the night at least. London and Zoey had already left with Me-Len to get the computers operating for the camera systems. The enforcers had rigged it where the computer system would be able to hit a tower and pick up any movement around the city. They had accomplished a lot since the threats with Claudia Blackwood. They had some blind spots, but most of the city was covered.
“Let’s get out of here and head to the mine.” Ryder’s voice was taut with anger. They were all angry about the situation, but this was what they were dealing with and now they had to get on with it.
It was already dark when the Alphas left the gym. Together, they were riding toward the mines when Kayden’s phone started ringing.
“Hello. What? Okay, we are on our way, and we will meet you there.” Kayden turned and looked at Ryder. “Get to the cabin and hurry. Carina left her doll, snuck out of the mines, and went back to the cabin. We need to hurry,” Kayden said quickly. He could hear the panic in his own voice. In a short amount of time, Rose and her family had touched his heart, and he cared deeply for them.
It would have been a perfect night to run with the bright moon illuminating the woods. Beams of light flashed between the trees as Ryder raced down the dirt road to the cabin. Kayden’s heart pounded in his chest when he heard the dragon’s wings whooshing through the air. Nobody was prepared for how it would sound. He felt relieved when the cabin came into sight, until the dragon dropped down from the sky toward Carina, who was running out the front door with her doll. His heart stopped as the high pitch shrill penetrated the night air when the dragon spotted his target. Carina must have heard the sound when she stopped and looked up into the sky. Before the dragon’s claws grasped Carina, Thorn blasted forward out of the trees, knocking her out of the way. The dragon’s powerful claws grabbed Thorn instead, ripping him in two, and throwing his body to the ground.