I came sliding into the room to find Talia had the witch in a Brazilian Jujitsu choke hold. Khloe was still chained to the wall. Both were looking at me open mouthed like I was a ghost. I guess to them I was. The last time they saw me I was almost dead. I ran to Khloe and wrapped my arms around her. Talia released the knocked-out witch and joined us in a group hug.
I went over to the witch and searched her until I found the keys to the chains. As I released Khloe from the chains, she began a methodical search over my body for wounds, and before long was kissing me as tears ran down her face. After a minute, I stepped back and opened my arms for Talia. She ran into them. Holding Talia, I reached for Khloe to hold them both.
While I held the girls, Samantha came into the room. With my attention on the Talia and Khloe, I didn’t notice her until she spoke. “Well, well, Eve.” She said as she looked around the room. I released the girls, then turned to Samantha. “I guess you just couldn’t wait, could you?” That made my hackles rise. “I told you I had a plan, but you had to have it your way.” As she stepped over ‘Eve’ to the table which had a large ancient tome on it, pressure built again. With a wave of Samantha’s hand, we were frozen. Reaching down, she picked up the ‘Book of Souls’ then looked over at us. “You have no idea the untold power that is contained in this book.”
“Are you insane?” Khloe yelled at her “Do you know what he’ll do to you to get that book back?”
Samantha laughed, “Who do you think I’m getting it for?” As soon as she said that, I could feel a malevolent wave flow into the room as one of Kirin’s priests entered. He had both of his kukri blades drawn. Blood was dripping off them. She looked at him. “Are they taken care of?”
“Yes, Mistress. What about them?” he asked gesturing at us.
“Kirin said to leave them. But her,” she said as she pointed at Eve. “She’s yours. Have your blades have feasted well tonight?”
“Yes, Mistress. Enough that I have the power to take us to the Master.”
“What have you done, Samantha?” I asked.
The priest went over to Eve. With one swipe, he cut her head clean off. He then cut open her chest and pulled her heart out. What I hadn’t noticed until then, was that besides the obsidian blades, his hands were covered in blood as well. He brought her heart up to his face. As he opened his mouth, his fangs dropped. He sank them into the heart and drank her hearts blood. Talia and Khloe both covered their mouths in horror. I looked over at Samantha to find her watching in fascination.
“To answer your question, Alpha, I have done what I had to do to ensure my place in the coming new order.” She looked back to her companion. “We can leave when you are ready.”
He nodded and walked over to her. Just like he did before, he held out his blades and drew a circle around the two of them. In a flash of black fire and smoke, they were gone. With them gone we were released from whatever spell Samantha had cast on us.
I raced out the room, leaving Talia and Khloe behind, to see if anything had happened to Craig and Thomas. As I came out of the hallway, I heard the girls follow me. The first thing I noticed was that neither Craig or Thomas were present. The bodies of the three dead shifters were uncovered, exposing their torn chests. I held up my arm stopping the girls short.
“What about Joseph?” Talia asked from behind me while looking at the bodies on the ground. “Is he?” She couldn’t finish the question.
“He was alive when they found him upstairs. Beaten and bloody but alive. They were going to take him to Doc Abraham’s.” I answered her as we made our way through the room towards the basement door.
As we came outside, I saw the two teams standing next to their vans with no sign of the van that I came in. I looked over and saw Johnson and the other team lead near the front. Seeing us, they walked over to. Lela burst from the group, running full speed, throwing her arms around Talia. Khloe joined the two women, taking part in the reunion of friends.
“Johnson, where are Craig and Thomas?”
He looked hesitant for a moment with a quick glance over to Talia then back to me. “They took Joseph to the Doc’s house. He was beaten worse than we thought. Several broken bones and most likely a punctured lung with internal bleeding. One of our guys used to be an Air Force Para Rescue and triaged him before they took off.”
“That makes sense since most of them watched as Joseph put rounds into Dutch and killed him after what he said about Talia.” I looked around before I continued, seeing that no had noticed us. “Did you guys see the priest when he came into the house?”
“Yes, Craig and Thomas both said to stay clear of him and his demon blades.” Johnson might have shivered at the mention of the priest’s blades. I couldn’t blame him as I recalled going toe to toe with either him or one of his fellows.
“The cleanup team is on its way then?”
“Yes, one of them is bringing your truck with them. We’ll stay to keep watch while they clean up the duplex and make sure everything is secure. From what Lela said this is a Pack property.”
I turned looking back at the duplex “Really? That is good news then.” I turned back to Johnson and held out my hand. “Thanks for everything tonight.”
Johnson looked a little surprised before he shook my hand. “It’s all part of the job, sir.”
“Yeah but a few things have changed this evening. I don’t think most of it was for the better.” I led him back over to his guys. “Alright guys, as of tonight, both Talia and I are the new Alpha’s of the Pack. We will also be taking over the operating of Fenris Security. With the events of tonight and the last couple of days, we are going to be headed into a turbulent time in regards with our dealings with other supernatural races. I have a feeling that I’m going to be heading back to Central America to help the cat and bird shifters with this Kirin.” I looked at them and noted that I had their attention. Good, I thought they accepted me as their Alpha. I guess it was as simple as mom put it. Still though, no magical mumbo jumbo. That was kind of a bummer. “The first thing I want to ask of you is to reach out to all the members of the pack. We’re going to have to get everyone together so we can go over all the changes that have happened, as well as what we are going to be facing in the coming months.”
Everyone started talking at once and I held my hand up to quiet them as the girls joined us. Lela joined her mate. Talia and Khloe came up on both sides of me. “Save your questions until we have everyone present. That way it will save us from having to rehash everything.” I looked at Talia and asked, “Anything else?”
“Call in tomorrow to make sure that all your contact info is up to date.” Talia said before looking to me “How soon can we go? I want to see Joseph.”
“As soon as the cleanup team gets here with my truck,” I said and put a hand on her shoulder as Khloe grabbed my other hand. I looked over at her. She smiled grimly, and she knew that this has just begun.
I looked back to the guys. “Great job tonight guys. Let’s not drop our guard now. Look sharp, we don’t know who is watching.”
About ten minutes later, the cleanup crew arrived with their van and my truck. I loaded Talia and Khloe up and left Lela, who said she would ride back with her mate, Danny.
It took us about fifteen minutes to reach Doc Abraham’s place. I parked behind the Fenris Security van, we went around the side of his house to his clinic entrance. ‘Clinic’ in the fact that he’s the pack’s doctor. Talia and I had been coming to see Doc Abraham since we were infants. When we entered, we found both Craig and Thomas inside, sitting in the waiting area.
“How is he?” Talia asked, concern evident on her face.
Both Craig and Thomas jumped to their feet. “Are you girls alright?” They both asked at the same time.
I stepped up next to Talia. “They are a little beaten up but they will be fine. What about Joseph?”
Craig nodded and composed himself before continuing. “Joseph will be fine. His healing has kicked in and he should only be laid up f
or a couple of days. Something in the manacles that they bound him in kept his wolf’s accelerated healing from kicking in.”
Talia slumped down onto the sofa and let out a heavy sigh. Joining her, Khloe put her arm around Talia’s shoulder and pulled her close. I told Craig and Thomas about what had happened after they left, including our encounter with another one of Kirin’s priests, and Samantha’s betrayal.
“Damn, she seemed really nice.” Thomas supposed after I recounted the events.
Doc Abraham came out after that. “Oh good, you girls made it. Now both of you need to follow me so I can check you two out. Dorian, Joseph is in my recovery room. Last door on the left. I’ll bring the girls after I check them over.”
“But Doc…” Talia tried to protest.
“No, Talia.” His tone indicated that he wasn’t in the mood. “He’s not going to die. You can wait a few more minutes while I check out your injuries.” She nodded to him and the girls followed him into his examination room.
I turned to Craig and Thomas. “You guys can head out if you want to. We can handle it from here.”
“That would be great. We need to begin calling all the pack members.” Craig said and Thomas nodded his agreement. After they left, I made my way to the recovery room to check on Joseph.
I found Joseph asleep with an I.V. inserted into his arm. Both of his arms were wrapped with bandages around the wrists. That must have been where the manacles had been. He looked good except for the bruises and cuts. The sound of his breathing was even, deep, and without a rasp. His ribs must have finally healed, or he was lucky and didn’t suffer a punctured lung. I sat down next to his bed. I rested my head in my hands and recalled the last week’s events. My mother thought I was ready but right now I wasn’t so sure. I had lost my cool, almost died in the jungle, and would have had my father not been able to intervene. I needed to better understand my beast form. I never needed it while in the Marines. Before then, I had only changed into that form by accident. I was going to need all my abilities if I was going to get Khloe’s parents back.
“I know that look,” Joseph said.
I looked up, startled from my thoughts. “You do, huh? How are you feeling?”
“Yes, you’re questioning everything that has happened in the last week and blaming yourself for everything that went wrong. I’ll be fine in a couple of days. Where’s my girl?” He said.
“Your girl is right here,” Talia said from the door. She made her way over to him and climbed into bed next to him, being mindful of the I.V., before kissing him deeply. If I didn’t know better, I’d say she purred in contentment.
“Hey, beautiful. I’ll be fine in a couple of days with plenty of rest.” He said to Talia before he looked back over to me. “None of this is your fault, Dorian. How were you to know that Dutch and his band of miscreants were going to get help from Fallen Angels? Besides, how are you even alive after what the girls said was done to you?”
Khloe had come into the room and climbed onto my lap. She kissed me while Joseph was talking. “He’s right. How did you survive? We saw you fall. What about Kim, Alan, and Steven?” She asked me. Seeing both Talia’s and Joseph’s faces, they wanted to know as well.
I told them what had happened. It was probably a good thing that I was a shifter because I think Khloe was determined to crush me with the hold she had on me. I explained how dad somehow knew that we were in trouble and that the Fallen were involved. He and mom had raced to try to help save us. When they arrived, the battle was over. They had been taken and I was left for dead.
“What I don’t understand is how did you survive?” Joseph asked.
“From what my dad told me, it has to do with both Talia and I being half-angel half-shifter. It was the angel half that kept me from dying and gave him a chance to heal me.”
He looked to Talia. “Half-angel? I knew you were heaven sent.” We all groaned at him over that lame ass line.
Khloe looked like she was just about to pass out. I looked over to Talia. “I take it you’re staying here for the night?” She nodded her answer. “Alright, I’m going to take Khloe home to get some rest. Call if you guys need anything?”
“Will do D,” Talia said as she snuggled into Joseph’s side.
Instead of heading to the townhouse, I drove us up to New Hampshire and to my family home. Mom and dad wouldn’t be there. I wanted some alone time for the two of us. I thought I had lost Khloe. She thought I had died. We arrived at the house around one in the morning. Khloe was out cold. I parked, walked around to the passenger side, and scooped her up. She snuggled into the crook of my neck as we made our way inside and up to our room.
Chapter 28
The ringing of my cell phone drug me to consciousness. Damn if it didn’t sound like a wailing cat. I picked it up hit the talk icon. “Yeah!” I said a little to rudely.
“Where the hell are you?” That would be my sister on the other end pissed about something that I will most likely be blamed for.
“I’m in my room, T.” I answered looking around, “You know the one with the concert posters on the wall as well as that large Native American tapestry with two wolves that look surprisingly like the two of us. Where the hell did you think I’d be?”
“I thought you’d be here in Boston not at mom and dad’s” She replied. Yep, she was pissed at me.
“Sorry, after yesterday and the past week I thought it would be best to bring Khloe up here to recover,” I answered as I blinked my eyes trying to focus on said posters. Hearing a noise, I turned forgetting I was on the phone, my mouth dropped open. Khloe came in with two steaming cups of coffee and a smile.
“Dorian?” Talia asked. A few seconds went by. “DORIAN!?” She yelled my name snapping me out of the trance I was in.
“Yeah sorry, T. What did you say?”
“Khloe is standing there naked, isn’t she?” My ever-perceptive sister asked.
“Ah yeah.”
Talia chuckled, “Joseph and I are coming up. We’ll stop by the store to pick up some more food, enough for the four of us. That should give you two about four hours to get ready.”
I might have said ok to Talia and then again, I might not have. I tossed the phone on the nightstand. Giving my undivided attention to the lovely woman with fresh coffee. “That was T. Her and Joseph are coming up. She said we had about four hours before they get here.”
A sly smile spread across her face. “Well in that case.” She said setting the cups down on the nightstand. She climbed on the bed making her way over to me, pulling the sheets away as she straddled me asking. “What do you have in mind, Mr. Callahan?” As she leaned down to nip at my lips before devouring my mouth with hers. I think I might have moaned when she moved her hips taking control of the situation.
A couple of hours later I came out of the shower to find Khloe dressed in a pair of Capri pants and flowing white shirt. I knew it probably had some other name, but I’d be damned if I knew what it was. I went over to my dresser, pulled out a pair of worn jeans and a concert tee. After getting dressed we headed downstairs to brew some more coffee since we never got to have the cup that Khloe had brought up to the bedroom.
Talia and Joseph arrived just as I finished making breakfast. Talia looked at the two of us with a smirk. “Clothes?” She asked. Joseph had a perplexed look on his face. Khloe burst out laughing and I just shook my head at her comment.
“Babe, why wouldn’t they be wearing clothes?” Joseph asked.
Talia looked at him her face softening. “Because dear one, the first time these two…” pointing at the two of us, “spent the night together. I caught my brother cooking her breakfast in nothing but an apron with Khloe sitting there naked as the day she was born, devouring him with her eyes like he was the best piece of Swiss chocolate she’d ever found.” Joseph got that ‘OH’ look on his face.
I walked over handing them both a plate full of eggs, sausage links and toast. “Here, let me save you from saying the wrong thing. Go, eat.
We’ll talk over breakfast.” Dad’s kitchen had all the latest high-end commercial grade appliances. He was the one who loved to cook in the family. Something that I seemed to inherit. Talia couldn’t even make toast without burning it. It was modern looking with white Shaker style cabinets, custom concrete countertops with sea glass backsplash. We all went over to the kitchen table that seated six. It was a simple butcher block style table. My parents had had this thing since Talia and I were little.
Once we were all settled Talia looked across to me. “Craig told me a little about mom and dad. How we are now the Alpha’s of the New England Pack. What does all this mean? What are we going to do? We need to go get Khloe’s parents back, but now we don’t have the book.” Before she could ramble on any more I held my hand up to stop her.
“Slow down T. That’s one reason I came up here. We need time to figure out what we are going to do. Also, I need to give Craig and Thomas time to get the message out to the pack about the changes.”
Before I could continue there was knock at the front door. We all stopped looking around. Khloe and Talia were first to react. They both went to the counter and pulled out large knives from the holder, you know the type that most people have in their kitchens that hold their steak, butcher, and larger carving knives. Talia pulled out the Butcher knife and Khloe went for the ‘Michael Myers’ carving knife. Joseph pulled out his pistol from a back holster. I stood then made my way from the kitchen through to the foyer. Everyone else moved into position to cover me.
Before opening the door, I hesitated. “I smell vampire.” The fact that a vampire was out in the daytime didn’t surprise me. They don’t burst into flames due to the sunlight. It just puts them into a comatose state, slows down their reaction time and overall speed. The older ones can go out during the day but rarely do. That meant this one was very old if he was willing to come to a home that had four shifters and a witch.
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