‘Hold on, Darian, I’ll help you with that,’ Oron called from across the training grounds. Darian looked up and nodded. He had been expecting his brother to say something sooner, but they had both decided to keep the fact that they were brothers low key to keep their queen safe.
Oron fell into step beside him as they lifted their weight equipment to carry back into the storage shed. Aiden wanted the course clear before Penny came out to play. Once inside the shed, Oron turned to him.
‘Brother, your light…’ he started.
‘I know.’
‘Why don’t you claim your mate? Merging your souls could keep you from turning.’ Oron sat down on one of the crates.
‘It’s too late, Brother,’ Darian said in a somber tone.
Oron punched the side of a stacked crate easily breaking the boards. ‘Don’t say that. Let me go to Mother…’
‘No.’ Darian shook his head.
‘You’re both so damn stubborn,’ Oron cursed under his breath.
‘I promised Amelia that I would hold on as long as I could, but the light I received from her is already fading, and the darkness is returning.’ Darian sighed. He wanted so badly to be able to give Amelia a child, but in his heart he knew he wouldn’t make it until the next winter solstice.
‘When I…’
‘Don’t!’ Oron stood and turned away from him.
‘Brother, please…’ Darian said quietly.
When Oron turned to face him, his jaw was clenched.
‘When I turn, promise me that you will take Amelia to Éire Danu. She’ll be safe there.’ Darian smiled at him. ‘Please.’
With tears in his eyes, Oron nodded. ‘I swear on my honor she will be safe.’
‘Thank you, it helps knowing that she will be taken care of.’ Darian stood. ‘Come on, let’s not keep the commander waiting.’
Oron hesitated. ‘Are you sure nothing can be done?’
‘The darkness is too great. Even if I were allowed to go back home, the portals would never accept me.’
‘We could try.’
‘When the time comes, don’t hesitate to kill me. It will no longer be me. Already the darkness is leeching away everything that makes me who I am. Don’t let it take my honor.’ Darian laid a hand on his brother’s shoulder.
‘Hold on,’ Oron begged.
‘I will, as long as I can.’ He let his hand drop and walked toward the door. ‘Come on, old man, I still have enough life left in me to kick your ass.’ He turned and watched his brother swallow hard and force a smile.
‘Old man? Just because I used to change your diapers…’ Oron smiled.
Darian winced. ‘Don’t let the guys hear you say that.’
Oron’s smile disappeared. ‘It should be me, I’m older. I shouldn’t have to watch my little brother fade.’
Darian looked out at the training grounds where the men laughed and tussled with each other. ‘Fate doesn’t make mistakes. If this is my destiny, then it must be for a reason.’
Oron fell into step beside him. ‘Doesn’t mean I have to like it,’ he grumbled.
Darian shook his head. ‘I don’t think she cares if you do.’
They walked together in silence back to the training grounds. He was glad that he had had the chance to speak with his brother. Knowing Oron would look after Amelia took a great weight off his shoulders.
‘All right men, gather ’round!’ Aiden yelled. Beside him, Penny looked even smaller as she waved at the warriors circling them.
Aiden was about to speak when a buzzing sound caused them to look toward Keelan. He frowned and pulled a phone out of his pocket. ‘It’s Meryn,’ he said, unlocking the screen.
Aiden waved at him. ‘Tell her I’ll see her later.’ He turned back to the men. ‘We have a special helper today. Penny has agreed to help train you men by playing hide and seek.’
Darian turned his attention from his commander back to Keelan. The young witch was blushing furiously and looking up at Aiden with a mixture of nervous fear and panic.
‘Sir, maybe you should answer this,’ Keelan said holding up the phone.
Aiden shook his head. ‘Later.’
Keelan looked down with a painful expression at the phone, which buzzed again. He quickly typed something and then buried the phone at the bottom of Aiden’s gym bag.
Sascha groaned and stood from where he had been propped up against the climbing wall.
‘Good morning, sunshine!’ Aiden called cheerfully. ‘Perfect timing. We’re about to train with Penny, so get your mangy ass up,’ Aiden ordered.
‘Damn, Menace,’ Sascha grumbled, lurching forward on unsteady feet.
Around him, the men chuckled.
‘Okay ladies, here are the rules. Don’t hide in the house and no hiding in the armory; it’s off limits to our girl here. Other than that, have fun.’ Aiden blew a whistle, and Sascha cringed. The men scattered while Penny hid her eyes.
Oron bumped fists with him and took off. Darian couldn’t muster up the energy to be excited. He strolled toward the trees next to the obstacle course and got comfortable at the base of one of the maples.
It wasn’t long before he heard rustling in front of him. He couldn’t see Penny, but he could see Felix. In fact, he and Oron were the only two that could. The little minx was using the sprite to scout for her.
Felix was bundled head to toe in clothes and Penny had used a fabric wrapped hair tie to keep a small hand warmer held firmly against the sprite’s waist. Felix looked like he was having the time of his life.
‘That’s cheating,’ he said quietly.
Seconds later, Penny shimmered into view, a guilty look on her face. He winked at her, and she brightened. ‘Don’t worry about me, I won’t tell. I’ll wait until the game is almost concluded and head back to the course. I’ll tell Aiden you found me. I just want to stay here a bit longer.’
Penny grinned and gave him a thumbs up. Darian noticed that though she had started speaking more, she still reverted to hand signals for most interactions.
Penny turned and was about to keep searching when he stopped her. ‘Penny,’ he called quietly. She looked back at him. ‘Yes?’ her voice was clear and sweet.
‘Oron is like me, he can see sprites. When we were boys, he always used to hide in oak trees. Check for him there. Use Felix as a decoy and you’ll catch him.’
‘Kickass!’ Penny quipped throwing her fist in the air, just like her favorite adopted aunt.
Darian chuckled. ‘Don’t let your Mom or Papa hear you say that.’
Penny grinned and shimmered out of sight. He watched as Felix waved and trailed behind his friend. Darian had been faced with his imminent death for years now, but seeing Penny, it was truly beginning to sink in, he would never see her grow up. He would never know what kind of woman she would turn out to be.
For the first time he, was afraid. ‘I don’t want to go,’ he whispered.
*****
As promised, Darian exited the forest when he noticed most of the men had been found. He approached Aiden. ‘She find everyone?’ he asked.
Aiden nodded looking proud. ‘Of course. The men are flabbergasted.’ Aiden laughed and turned to him. ‘Did she find you?’
Darian nodded. ‘She sure did.’
‘Last one to be found is Colton.’ Aiden pointed to where the rest of the men sat joking with one another.
They heard a squeal of laughter to their right, and Penny burst from the trees heading straight for Aiden. She ran up to him arms raised. Aiden swept her up and sat her on his arm. Seconds later, Colton emerged from the trees. He saw who was holding his daughter and scowled.
He walked over to them wagging a finger. ‘She cheated!’ Colton accused.
Aiden raised a brow at Penny who shrugged. Aiden turned back to Colton. ‘What’d she do?’
Colton’s scowl turned into a begrudging grin of admiration. ‘I could tell she didn’t know exactly where I was, so she pretended to trip over a branch. When I left my hiding spot, she popped up like a jack-in-a-box, tagged me, and ran.’
‘She got you good, Colton!’ Ben called out.
Colton laughed. ‘That she did.’ He took his daughter from Aiden. ‘Where did you learn how to do that?’
‘Aunt Amelia,’ she answered. The men around them groaned.
‘They are infecting the next generation,’ Sascha complained.
‘Meryn seems more grounded than Amelia,’ Quinn said. He shot an apologetic look to Darian. ‘Sorry Darian, but your mate does seem a bit flakey.’
‘Yeah, well Meryn gets ‘stabby’ and doesn’t think twice about stunning a perfectly innocent tiger,’ Sascha grumbled.
‘Okay men, that’s it for the day. Alpha Unit, head inside to my office for necklace review,’ Aiden ordered. ‘The council dropped it off while everyone was hiding.’
Darian went back into the house with the others and watched as Colton dropped Penny off in the front room. He set her up with her coloring book before joining them in the hallway. Once in Aiden’s office, they got comfortable in the chairs Meryn had ordered.
‘Colton, can you get the necklace? I put it in the bottom right drawer,’ Aiden requested setting his bag down next to his chair.
‘Sure thing, boss.’ Colton pulled the necklace out and twirled it around his finger. Darian watched as Colton’s foot slipped on one of Penny’s crayons, and he dropped the necklace on the hardwood.
‘Is it broken?’ Aiden asked. They all crowded around the necklace, staring down at the floor.
‘There was no green light, so I think it’s okay,’ Colton speculated, exhaling in relief. He picked it up and gently carried it over to the sitting area.
‘Well?’ Aiden asked.
‘It’s still a necklace,’ Colton replied.
‘Smart ass.’ Aiden cuffed Colton.
Gavriel leaned back. ‘I agree with Colton in this case, Aiden. The necklace hasn’t changed a bit since the day we found it. Adam’s poured every chemical in the clinic over it, and every witch in the units has tried every spell they know to figure this thing out. I don’t know what the council expects us to do.’
Aiden picked up the necklace from the coffee table. ‘As frustrating as reality is, this is all we have to go by gentlemen. Darian was right earlier. We’re constantly on the defensive, and one of these days, they will catch us off guard. Five months ago, that wasn’t an issue, but we have women and children here now, our women and children. We can’t afford for even one of those bastards to win. So, rack your brains, what else can we do?’
Darian tried to think of something, anything they could do. He looked around and each man wore a similar serious expression. The problem was how to look for something you’re not sure is there to begin with?
*****
‘Sascha is being so touchy,’ Meryn observed.
‘You did electrocute him,’ Beth reminded her as Ryuu took their coats.
‘Big baby. Come on, he said they were in Aiden’s office.’ Meryn turned down the long hallway.
Amelia followed Meryn beside Beth to Aiden’s office. She was unsure how she was going to tell Darian she might have accidentally started a political mess by assaulting a shifter founding family’s matriarch.
Before they reached the door, she heard a buzzing in her ears. When Meryn opened the door, Amelia had to take a step back. Screams, she heard screams. Pushing past Meryn, she threw herself into the room first to protect her baby sister-cousin from whatever threat was causing those screams.
The men jumped to their feet and reached for their sidearms, their eyes darting around the room. ‘What?’ Aiden demanded.
Amelia looked around. The room was empty except for the men, yet screams still filled the air. Covering her ears did nothing to alleviate the noise. Darian was at her side before she realized she was falling. He held her up, and she started shaking her head.
‘Make it stop!’ she yelled trying to be heard over the cacophony of endless shrieks.
Darian, looking terrified, held her face between his hands. ‘Make what stop?’
‘The screams! They’re just screaming and screaming and screaming!’ She wept as waves of helplessness, hopelessness, and fear swept her away.
‘No one is screaming, my love.’ Darian smoothed a hand over her hair. He turned to Aiden. ‘Help me!’
The men looked at each other helplessly. ‘Move her to the couch,’ Gavriel suggested.
Darian picked her up and started to carry her toward the couch. The screams got louder. ‘Stop!’ she sobbed. She squeezed her eyes shut and prayed. He took another step forward and she screamed as her head exploded in pain.
‘For Gods’ sake stop! She’s bleeding!’ Meryn cried.
In the background, she could hear the sound of a terrified child crying.
Darian took a step backward, then another. The screams were there, but less intense. Slowly, one step at a time, the screams got more and more muffled. Soon, they were a dim clamor, and then nothing. She opened her eyes. When she looked around, she realized Darian had carried her out into the foyer. Colton was on the floor holding a frightened Penny against his chest rocking her back and forth.
‘It got better when I left the room didn’t it?’ Darian asked.
Amelia nodded. ‘What in the hell is in that room?’
She heard sniffles to her left and saw Meryn crying with Aiden at her side. ‘I’m okay.’ Amelia said, her throat raw from her own screaming.
‘You started to bleed from your eyes, ears, and nose. You’re not fucking okay!’ Meryn yelled.
Amelia blinked in astonishment. ‘Really?’ She touched her hand to her face and it came away bloody. ‘That’s new.’
‘I called the clinic, Rheia is on her way. She’ll want to examine Amelia and, of course, check on Penny. We gave her quite a fright.’ Beth looked pale. Gavriel had an arm wrapped around her.
Keelan walked over to Colton and started to make Penny’s dolls dance. Penny had wiped her eyes, but her head never left Colton’s chest. She watched the dolls perform and started to calm down.
Amelia rested against Darian’s broad chest. She felt like a wet noodle. ‘I’m sorry for scaring you, Penny, it wasn’t intentional.’ She motioned for Darian to set her down. He did, but stayed close.
Amelia knelt on the floor where Colton sat with Penny in his lap. ‘You know how you’re a shifter?’ Penny nodded.
‘Well, I’m a witch. One of my gifts is empathy, which means sometimes I can hear and feel things that others can’t. It’s not a cool gift like Keelan’s.’ Amelia pointed to her dancing dolls. ‘But I learned how to make the most of my gift by helping people. Sometimes–it doesn’t happen often–but sometimes, what someone is feeling can overwhelm me, and I get scared. Can you forgive me for yelling?’
Penny wiggled out of Colton’s arms and wrapped herself around Amelia. She patted the top of her head. ‘ ‘S okay. ‘S okay.’
Amelia hugged Penny close, being careful not to get any blood on the small child. A wet cloth appeared to her left. She looked up and nodded at Ryuu. ‘Thank you.’ She pulled back and started to clean herself up. She wiggled her nose and looked down at the red and pink cloth. ‘Ewwww.’ She wiggled her lips making Penny giggle.
The door opened, and Rheia walked in. She took in everyone’s expressions and Amelia’s bloody cloth. ‘Having fun without me?’
‘Momma!’ Penny launched herself at Rheia who swept her up on her hip.
‘Hey, pumpkin dumpling, I heard you had a scare.’
‘I’m okay now, but Aunt Amelia got hurt. Fix her.’ Penny pointed to Amelia.
‘I’m here to do just that.’ She looked around. ‘Maybe we should go to the office?’
‘No!’ Everyone answered at once.
Rheia blinked. ‘Or not.’ She looked down at Colton. Amelia felt sorry for him, he looked like she felt. It couldn’t have been easy comforting a hysterical child.
‘Penny, you can hang out with us. We can watch How to Train Your Dragon again.’ Jaxon offered. Noah stood very close to his friend. From their perspective, it must have sounded like someone was getting murdered in Aiden’s office.
Penny nodded and wiggled to get down. ‘Fix Auntie,’ she ordered her mother, hands on her hips.
‘Yes, ma’am.’ Rheia smiled and kissed her daughter’s forehead.
‘Might I suggest you all adjourn to the front room? I’ll bring in some calming tea,’ Ryuu suggested.
Everyone nodded and headed into the front family room. Amelia stood feeling a bit wobbly and Darian wrapped an arm around her waist to steady her.
‘Come on, Colton.’ Rheia said.
‘Leave me here, I can’t move.’ Colton said from the floor.
‘If the person who was bleeding can walk in, you sure as hell can.’ She nudged her mate with her foot.
Groaning, Colton stood and pulled Rheia into his arms. ‘I never, ever want to hear our daughter scream like that again.’
Rheia’s face softened. ‘My poor mate. Let’s help Amelia and then we can go lay down,’ she promised.
When everyone was seated and each held a cup of tea, Aiden stood. ‘I think it’s safe to say that Amelia was responding to the necklace.’
‘Agreed. The closer I got to it, the more she screamed. When I moved farther away, she quieted down,’ Darian said, holding her hand.
‘Why has only Amelia had a reaction?’ Colton asked.
‘Is she the only empath to be near the necklace?’ Meryn asked.
Aiden shook his head. ‘Tobias Laurel from Delta is also an empath. He had no reaction.’
Rheia shined a penlight into Amelia’s eyes, and she blinked. Rheia frowned. ‘You ever have this type of reaction before?’
‘In my previous job, I got overwhelmed, but it was mostly depression. I didn’t have a physical reaction.’ She sipped her tea.
‘Previous job doing makeup?’ Beth asked.
Amelia shook her head. ‘No. Before I became a cosmetologist, I was a psychologist. I used my gift of empathy to lessen the trauma of rape victims. I specialized in children’s cases. The side effect of using my gift like that is that I take on their trauma for a short time. It got to be too much. I had to quit to stay sane.’
‘Oh, my God.’ Rheia looked ill. ‘The things you must have lived through.’
Amelia shrugged. ‘They were not my memories. The children had the real scars. They showed me every day what true strength is by choosing to live.’
Darian squeezed her hand. ‘That’s what you meant, isn’t it? When you said you had your own darkness.’
Amelia nodded. ‘I wasn’t strong enough to keep going. After my brothers came and got me, I surrounded myself with bright, colorful things, it helped me recover.’
‘So, whatever the necklace is, it’s worse than the memories you got from those poor children?’ Beth asked.
Amelia swallowed hard. She hadn’t even thought of it like that. ‘Yes. Whatever that necklace is, it’s a thousand times worse than anything I have ever felt before.’
‘Well, fuck a duck,’ Meryn remarked flatly.
Keelan excused himself. ‘Be right back,’
‘So what do we do?’ Beth asked. No one responded.
Seconds later, Keelan appeared in the doorway. ‘It’s cracked! When Colton dropped it, the necklace must have cracked, which would explain why Tobias didn’t have a reaction.’
‘Good work, Keelan!’ Aiden said. He turned to her. ‘I hate to ask this, but can you try to go back in there?’
‘No way, Aiden. You’re asking too much!’ Darian protested.
Amelia steeled herself. ‘I have to try. I’m prepared now. It won’t hit me unexpectedly. I’ll go in a little at a time.’
Darian’s eyes were hard. She knew he was angrier at the situation than he was at his Unit Commander. ‘Are you sure?’ He cupped her cheek with one hand.
She rubbed her cheek against his hand. ‘I’m sure.’
Aiden and the men stood. ‘Ladies, wait here.’
‘Yeah, right.’
‘No way!’
‘Keep dreaming.’ Meryn, Beth, and Rheia replied.
Aiden pinched the bridge of his nose. ‘Fine. Let’s all go.’
Amelia waited until everyone had left for the office. She turned to Darian. ‘Hold my hand?’
‘You don’t even have to ask.’ He took her hand and kissed it gently.
‘We’re ready!’ Aiden yelled.
‘Let’s do this.’ Amelia stood and Darian walked with her.
When they got close to the office, she felt the first wave of nausea. She breathed through her nose and kept walking. By the time she was at the doorway, she could hear the screams but the weren’t overpowering.
Using her gift, she reached out to them. She pushed past the terror and tried to listen to the words being yelled.
Brian! Penny! My poor baby!
Amelia jerked back, she kept walking backwards until her back hit the wall of the hallway.
‘Well?’ Aiden yelled.
‘It’s a woman’s voice I hear, one of them anyway. She’s crying out for Brian and Penny,’ she answered.
She heard a low cry before Rheia appeared at the door wild eyed. ‘What did you say?’
‘This woman is terrified. She keeps calling for Brian and Penny and saying, ‘My poor baby’.’ Amelia watched Rheia’s reaction carefully. Rheia began to shake, Colton appeared behind her.
‘She means your Penny doesn’t she?’ Amelia asked gently.
Rheia nodded. ‘I think that’s Penny’s mother, her mate was named Brian. They were murdered almost two years ago.’ She turned to Colton. ‘That could explain why she could see her father when he was invisible, maybe she could feel her mother?’
Colton nodded. ‘It makes sense.’
Amelia’s heart stuttered. It was impossible, but there was no other explanation. Pushing past Rheia, she ran into the room, heedless of the searing pain ripping her mind apart. She staggered forward and grabbed the necklace. She swung it up and shattered it against the coffee table. The silence that followed was deafening. Green light flared, and the screams were gone.
Her knees buckled at the full weight of the truth behind the necklace. One moment she was standing over the coffee table, the next she was flat on her back with Rheia bent over her on one side and Darian on the other.
‘You need to lower your heart rate Amelia.’ Rheia said holding her wrist.
‘Where’s Aiden?’ she yelled.
‘I’m here.’
She looked past Darian to see Aiden standing close by. She began to sob, she couldn’t get the words out; it was too terrible to say.
‘It’s okay, my love, just rest.’ Darian rubbed her back soothingly.
She shook her head over and over again. It would never be okay again. How had such abominations crept into this world with no one the wiser? She curled into a ball and wept.
‘Take her upstairs, Darian; whatever she has to say can wait,’ she heard Aiden say.
‘No! It can’t wait.’ She turned her head and looked up at the Unit Commander. ‘They were souls, actual souls. They were trapped in the terrifying moment of their murder. Each bead in that necklace was a person!’ she cried.
The sound of soft weeping filled the room. The men did everything they could to comfort their mates. Keelan, the only one without a crying mate, by default was the one to call Byron and explain what they had learned.
Amelia lay passively on the floor in Darian’s arms. She wanted to cry. She wanted to rail against Fate for allowing such a thing to happen, but she was out of tears. She looked up. ‘My head hurts,’ she whispered.
‘Rheia?’ Darian called.
Rheia looked down and gave Amelia a weak smile. Rheia’s eyes and nose were red from crying. ‘On a scale of one to ten, how bad is it?’
‘Thirty. It’s a migraine starting.’ Amelia kept her eyes closed against the light.
‘Shit. I don’t have anything for migraines at the clinic; paranormals don’t get them. I can write a prescription if someone can pick it up,’ Rheia offered.
Darian kissed Amelia’s forehead. ‘I’ll go. If I remember correctly, the Duck In has a large medical counter.’
Amelia smiled slightly. ‘Pharmacies. They’re called pharmacies.’
‘If you’re going to the store, can you pick up some chocolate?’ Beth asked in a small voice.
‘And jalapeño Cheetos?’ Meryn asked sniffling.
‘Let’s put the women to bed and head out,’ Aiden said, standing with Meryn in his arms.
Keelan joined them. ‘I’d actually rather go to that wretched human store than answer any more council questions. René Evreux is a world class dick.’
‘Then it’s settled. We meet in the foyer in ten minutes.’ Aiden left the room with Meryn.
Darian stood, scooping Amelia up, and followed his commander up the stairs. He opened the door to his room, and the smell of the night flowers immediately began to ease some of the pain. He gently tucked her into bed.
‘Is there anything else that you need?’ he asked, smoothing her hair away from her face.
‘Chocolate, please. For when I feel better’ She peeled her eyes open and smiled at him.
‘Of course. I have heard about the magic of human chocolate. I will return with a selection for you,’ he promised.
‘Hurry back.’
‘Always.’
When the door shut behind him, Amelia closed her eyes and stopped fighting to stay awake. She was too tired to face their new reality with Darian gone.
