“No, Alejandro, he’ll shut the project down.” Deryn made a move to go to him but the hard look he gave her stopped her in her tracks.
“Good. Call Nava and have her bind Deryn.”
Deryn fought for breath as the reality of what she was hearing sunk in. My husband doesn’t want me.
“What’s going on?” William asked, eying Deryn up.
Alejandro motioned for Kane. “Soto, we’ve got a temple to take back. Dr. Harris, you’ll be staying here as well. General, please seal the portal after we’re through it. If we survive and win, we’ll find a way to open it again. If not, Earth isn’t at risk for whatever the hell is still there to invade.”
“Alejandro, are you sure? Without a portal being open at all times, the other realm’s time will move differently than here. You could come back and find that hundreds of years have passed on Earth or the opposite could hold true. We have no way of knowing. I think it would be wise to leave the portal open. The link keeps the times in sync.”
Deryn shook her head and rushed towards her uncle. “No, don’t agree to this. It’s suicide. Make them take me with them. Please.”
“I claimed her,” Alejandro said, so soft that Deryn almost missed it.
Her uncle, on the other hand, heard it loud and clear. “You did what? You claimed my niece within three days of being back around her? Are you insane?”
Ondrea cleared her throat. “Umm, Uncle Will, he’s been in love with her his entire life. Be happy he waited that long. Geesh, he branded her as a baby for crying out loud.”
“Her father or the others like him will find her if she’s with me. She stays. End of story.” He walked out, leaving Deryn standing there on the verge of tears.
Kane caught her in his arms and hugged her tight. “I’ll get him home safe to you. You have my word.”
Chapter Eleven
Alejandro stood, staring out into the jungle, his mind wandering again to thoughts of Deryn. It had been close to three weeks since he’d left her standing in the lab on Earth and walked out of her life. It had been the single hardest thing he’d ever had to do but he didn’t have a choice. The risk to her was too great to be around him. No part of him wanted Deryn harmed because of him.
“Colonel,” a soft voice said from behind him.
He turned to see Vonni standing there holding a tray of food. She lifted it slightly. “I thought you might be hungry. Rodriquez said you haven’t been eating. Are you sick?”
“I’m not hungry, Vonni, but thank you for thinking of me.”
“It was for the best, sir,” she said, setting the tray on the ground and walking towards him. “She is a slayer. She doesn’t belong with us.”
“She’s my wife.” He didn’t bother to hide his disgust.
Vonni ran her hand over his upper arm and brushed her body against his. “Come on, I think we both know that she bespelled you somehow. Be happy that you cut her out of your life when you did. She would have staked you in your sleep or something.”
Crossing his arms over his chest, Alejandro rolled his head, doing his best to avoid the temptation to knock Vonni on her spoiled ass. “I would prefer to be alone.”
She ignored him and went to work on trying to pull his tee shirt free of his pants. Alejandro caught her wrist and held it firm. Vonni cast him a seductive smile. “I can help you forget her.”
“You are excused. Now go.”
“Colonel, let me help you take your mind off her.” She ran her free hand up his torso. “You don’t really think she hasn’t moved on from you, do you?”
He went rigid.
“Oh, sorry. Did I strike a nerve?”
“Leave.”
She didn’t move. “I’m sure she’s moved on. No woman would wait that long for a man to come back. Umm, err, I mean, three weeks would feel like a long time.”
He sensed it then, she was hiding something. He glanced down at her and arched a brow. “What did you do?”
“N-nothing.”
“Do not lie to me, Vonni. I don’t have the patience to deal with it right now. What did you do?”
She glanced at the ground. “I, umm, I overheard Kane telling Issac to keep the portal open so the times stay linked.”
“And?” he asked, positive he wouldn’t like where this was headed.
“And I just thought you needed to move on. To get over her. It was a mistake. I know you didn’t mean to bind yourself to her. I know that she tricked you somehow that you....”
“What did you do?”
“I closed the portal when Issac wasn’t around. Just for a little bit and just a few times.”
Alejandro’s stomach dropped. “You did what?”
“You’re better off without her. You’ll see. I can guarantee she moved on. She isn’t....”
Storming away from Vonni, Alejandro stopped in front of a purple tree and slammed his fist into it. Pain radiated up his arm and he knew he’d broken a few bones but he didn’t care. He’d heal. The pain of not having Deryn was worse and the need to drown it out was great. He punched the tree again but didn’t stop with just one hit. He wailed on it, using it to work out some of the frustration he felt.
“Hey!”
Something slammed into him, taking him to ground. Immediately, the beast within him tried to surface. Growling out, Alejandro twisted, ready and willing to kill something. Fulk’s face greeted him and he stopped in mid-motion.
“Colonel?”
“Everything hurts, Rodriquez.” He collapsed on the ground, not caring what he looked like.
Fulk arched a brow. “I’d imagine so, sir. The tree looks worse though.”
Shaking his head, Alejandro thumped his head against the ground. “Not that.”
“You mean it hurts on the inside.” The hulk of a man dropped down next to Alejandro and stared up at the sky. “I’d say that I feel bad for you but I don’t. She should be with you--with her husband. You were wrong to make her stay behind.”
“Gee, I’m so happy you got over your phobia of telling me when I’m being an ass,” he said sarcastically.
“Hey, Vonni, would you excuse us please?” The sound of Issac’s voice made Alejandro moan. Issac laughed and held a beer out and over Alejandro’s head. “This is an intervention, Colonel.”
“Better yet, Vonni,” Alejandro bit out. “Why don’t you just go the fuck away!”
“Sir?” Fulk asked.
Issac held a beer out to him. Not really feeling like eating or drinking anything, he passed on it. “No thanks. I notice Kane is absent, again. I take it he still hates me.” Alejandro didn’t bother to sit up.
“That’s not it, Colonel. He’s just got a lot on his plate.” Issac sat down next to him. “He’s the only one who can read the symbols on the walls and he’s the only one who speaks Avatarian among us. He wants to unlock the secrets of destroying these things as much, if not more, than the rest of us.”
“What I want to know is why the hell they stopped attacking us. I want to kill every last one of them but I can’t until they show themselves.” Alejandro reached out and took the beer Issac had originally offered him. “I changed my mind.”
“I think I can answer that,” Kane said, moving through the dense jungle brush. “I decoded another section of the temple.”
“And?” Alejandro sat up and eyed the man he had come to think of as a brother. It was ironic that the one thing that should have brought them closer, Deryn, put a wedge between them.
Kane’s expression was one Alejandro had seen only on the day he’d confessed to claiming Deryn. The fact he wore it now worried him. “I think we might have a problem.”
“Bigger than crazy evil things in this realm that can take the form of others?” Issac asked, not missing an opportunity to toss in his smart assed remarks. He lifted his own beer and saluted Alejandro.
Kane didn’t laugh. “How about crazy evil things that can take the form of others and who don’t need a portal to move between realms?”
&nbs
p; Fulk got to his feet so quickly that Alejandro had to do a double take. Whatever Deryn had done to him had certainly enhanced his natural abilities. He dusted his backside off and shrugged. “What? I’d say that’s worse. Wouldn’t you agree?”
“Wait.” Issac got to his feet too and extended a hand to Alejandro. “So you’re saying that we’ve been guarding this portal, thinking we were protecting Earth and they’ve always had the power to move without it?”
Kane shook his head. “Yes but without the portal remaining open, time changes would occur. But yes, they have always been able to travel without the aid of this one. We can move back and forth too without it. Any of us here that are direct descendants to the Avatars or powerful Fae Princes who like to pretend they aren’t the magikal shit.”
Issac cringed. “Can we not start on the prince thing again? It’s a title. One that I renounced ages ago. I take orders from Mohammed Al-tree-beater over there. Carry on.”
“I know why they haven’t attacked again.” Kane locked gazes with Alejandro. “I think they figured out who you really are once Deryn arrived.”
“So, why aren’t they trying to overthrow me? Or don’t they view me as a threat?” he asked, wanting more than anything to start hitting the tree again. He held back.
Kane sighed. “No. They view you as a threat. A big one. They’ve just changed their goals. I think they believe that you and Deryn are the one the prophecies speak of. The ones who will resurrect not only the god but his warriors as well.”
Alejandro’s brow furrowed. Kane had always had a way of making simple things complicated. “What? They think that Deryn and I can bring them back to life?”
“That’s exactly what they think.”
He snorted. “So why aren’t they trying to kill me then?”
Fulk nudge him. “Excuse me, sir, but that would be a bad thing. Don’t sound so excited about it.”
Kane ignored him and stared at Alejandro. “The tomb guard’s attack on the camp was a test. They needed to be sure that you were a mated pair, that she was an åricus, that you were both powerful warriors and that you were truly the descendant of the god they tried and failed to overthrow. They got it all that night. You claimed Deryn outright for everyone to hear. She demonstrated her power by healing Fulk and taking them on. You then came charging in with your ‘warriors’ and made quick work of them.”
He remembered it all, how terrified for Deryn he’d been and how she’d asked him what else he was after she’d seen him fight. He’d taken her question the wrong way. After talking with the general, Alejandro now understood that he was something more than just a shifter.
“If they don’t want us dead, then what do they want?”
“To make a long story short, they want you and Deryn to give them life the same way you would anything else--the old fashioned way. All they need is to find the åricus and once she’s pregnant they can basically hitch a ride by devouring the baby’s soul and replacing it with their own.”
The shock of it all sent Alejandro staggering backwards. Fulk grabbed him by the upper arm and yanked him to his feet. “Yeah, I guess that’d be a lot to absorb.”
Alejandro drew in a long, ragged breath. “They need me alive to assure Deryn is pregnant?”
“Well, maybe. I’m not sure on that one but that’s not all,” Kane said, leaving Alejandro bracing himself for bad news. “Now, at first I read it as they’d somehow enter you and then through you spill their essence into Deryn’s womb. I was wrong. They don’t even need you to act as vessel for them. They can become corporeal and do it themselves. They see you as their chance at redemption. Their god put into power again to make amends with the other Avatars so that after they return to the land of the living, they aren’t hunted and killed.”
“So, as long as I don’t get Deryn pregnant, she’s safe?” he asked, hoping he was staying on track.
Kane shook his head. “See, this is where I’m not sure. Under normal circumstances that would be the case. Since Deryn survived a brutal vampire attack, she carries many of their traits--among them, a tie with the dead. It’s how she knew to ask Issac to do the binding spell on Jones’ body. It’s also what might allow them to impregnate her and skip you.” He bit his lower lip. “Or rather, become you.”
“What?” Alejandro clenched his already bloody fists.
“They took your form when she first got here. They watch and learn. I wouldn’t put it past them to try it again. If they can figure out a way to get past Deryn’s built in alarm system while disguised as you, every single one of them could have a go at her, Alejandro. Once they’ve gotten her pregnant or at the very least, leeched onto a child the two of you created, there is nothing we can do to stop them without killing Deryn.”
“Holy shit, one of them could be banging Bookworm as we speak.”
“That’s if the kektau haven’t found her first. They’ll rape, torture and then maybe kill her if they lose interest in playing with her,” Kane said, looking slightly nauseous. “The kektau are what attacked Deryn in the showers and what took on the form of the vampires that attacked her. Think of them in terms of fallen gods and fallen tomb guards and you’re close to what they are. Pure evil.”
“Get me to her, now! They will not lay one hand on my wife.”
* * * *
“Deryn, we worried sick about you. When Alex told me that Vonni was tampering with the portal I thought the worst. I thought hundreds of years could have passed.” Kane headed down a narrow hallway in Deryn’s apartment while Alejandro and the others fanned out to cover the rest. “Alex, it’s clear back here.”
Issac and Fulk returned to the living room. “Clear.”
Deryn stood there, watching it all closely and Alejandro couldn’t help but feel relieved at how well she’d accepted him back into her life. The need to hold her once more struck him with a force. He stormed across the room and took her in his arms.
“I missed you,” he whispered, pressing his lips to her forehead. She seemed cooler than normal. “Are you feeling okay?”
“I’m fine, why?” Deryn laced her arms around his waist and squeezed him tight. “I missed you, too.”
“I can’t believe that they didn’t make an attempt to reach you,” Kane said, holstering his weapon. “I thought I had it figured out.”
“No. I already told you that everything has been quiet around here. Too quiet. I missed you all so much.”
“Hey, Bookworm, can I use your bathroom?”
Deryn stood eerily still with the same happy face she’d been donning from the moment they’d walked in. “Can I make you all some lunch?”
“Hello, Bookworm?”
She didn’t respond. Alejandro took a tiny step back and stared down at her. “Darling, why don’t you get changed and I’ll take you all out to eat. There’s no sense in you cooking.”
“Colonel?” Issac asked, his voice laced with concern.
Deryn smiled wide. “I think that sounds wonderful.”
“Why don’t you wear the same dress you had on the first time we made love.” Licking his lower lip, Alejandro watched her for her reaction. When she nodded a hollow feeling started in the pit of his stomach.
“Colonel, I’d really rather not be present if you’re going discuss your sexual escapades with Dr. Murray ... err ... Vargas,” Issac said, clearing his throat and heading towards the door.
Deryn kept the same fake smile up. “I’ll go get changed.”
Seizing hold of her neck, Alejandro forced her back against the nearest wall. She yelped and in an instant he had all men he’d brought with him doing their best to yank him backwards.
“Colonel!”
He snarled as he stared into whatever the thing before him masquerading as Deryn was. “Where is my wife?”
She gave him a wide-eyed innocent look. “Alejandro, what are you doing? It’s me. It’s Deryn.”
Kane came at him fast and Alejandro was left no choice but to knock his friend away. “No! This is not
Deryn. Where is she?”
“Alex?” Kane staggered and shook his head. “Look at her! It’s ... oh shit ... she offered to cook us lunch! Where’s Deryn?”
Nodding, Alejandro stared into the thing’s eyes. “You are not, Deryn. Tell me where she is!”
As tears began to fill its blue eyes, eyes that looked identical to Deryn’s, Alejandro began to second guess himself. What if he was wrong?
Fulk stepped forward. “She didn’t seem to know I was talking to her when I called her bookworm. Our Deryn would know.”
“I am your Deryn,” it said, looking as though it were on the verge of crying.
Alejandro took a deep breath in and shook his head slightly. “Then tell me what color dress you wore the first time we made love?”
“Alejandro please. I don’t know. I can’t remember. I have so many dresses that I can’t remember which one I had on.”
Kane gasped. “Where the fuck is our Deryn?”
The thing beneath his hand began to lose its form for a moment before it flickered back. It smiled and then laughed. “Your Deryn is living a happy little life with her husband--with you. She’s moved on.”
Issac moved up next to Alejandro and glared at the thing. “Colonel, could you excuse me for a moment?”
“No. I want to gut it. Where is my wife?”
It laughed again. “She’s fucking you, Colonel.”
Issac’s magik buzzed all around Alejandro. He let go of the thing’s neck for just a second and Issac used that opening to thrust his power at it. It hissed and clawed at its skin--skin that looked like his wife’s, at least until it began to sizzle.
“Where is Deryn?” Issac asked, his voice not sounding like his own. It sounded like hundreds of voices wrapped in one. It was power in its purest form.
The thing spit at him and shook its head. “You worry about the life of one woman when you should be worried about the lives of your people, prince?”
Issac ignored its goading. “Sir?”
“Yes.”
“It won’t tell us where she is. Want to kill it now?”
Shifter Fated Mates: Boxed Set Page 79