Brax Chapter 19
I delayed the talk with the other guys until the following evening after everyone got off work. I hadn’t wanted to go to work, but Cerys insisted I go. She swore she and the babies were fine, and Twyla promised to stay with them. If my mate even stubbed her toe, Twyla would call me. I did check in with a text every hour, and they humored me and answered.
Cerys had tried to talk about the whole ordeal after everyone left, but I refused. Instead, I pampered her and saw that her every need was met. Every time she became restless during the night, Nightstalker would sense it and alert me so we could soothe her back to sleep. Twyla was at the door early and sent me on my way with breakfast.
Twyla told me not to worry about dinner. She would make something for all of us because she knew we planned to gather for a Sentinel meeting. When I couldn’t convince her to let me bring in something, I thanked her and told her not to go crazy.
I had to work not to get distracted while I was working. It was hard, but I wouldn’t risk dying and leaving Cerys and our children alone due to being stupid. Overall, it had been a regular day. I stayed busy without it being too insane. The only thing of real note that happened was when I went into the coffee shop to get a cup of coffee around lunchtime. I wasn’t hungry, but I was dying for caffeine in the form of java.
The staff, as usual, refused to let me pay for my addiction. I still left them a generous tip. I was sipping that heavenly brew as I opened the door of my squad car. My hackles raised, causing me to whip around to see why. I was scanning the surrounding area, looking for a threat, when I spotted someone I hoped never to see again.
Striding determinedly toward me was Irene Clark. I’d hoped she’d return to town only long enough to have her hearing and then leave. It was too much to hope she’d never come near Cerys and me again. Seeing her reminded me that I hadn’t heard from Eagle Eye about anything he might’ve been able to dig up on her and the shifty men she supposedly hung out with.
I could’ve taken the cowardly route, gotten in my car, and drove away. I wasn’t a coward, so I stood there, drinking my coffee, waiting for her to get to me. Her confidence seemed to flag the closer she got. I felt unease, worry, and desire coming off her in blasts. I didn’t say a word, not even after she stopped a few feet in front of me. She would be the one to start this exchange, but I’d finish it. I stared at her for a good minute before she gave in and spoke.
“Deputy Christou, Abraxas, we need to talk. Is there somewhere we can go so we can have privacy? Standing in the middle of town isn’t the place for this,” Irene stated.
“Ms. Clark, we have nothing to say to each other that can’t be done publicly. However, to be honest, I can’t think of anything we need to discuss other than you leaving Cerys and me alone. And please, don’t call me Abraxas.”
“Okay, Brax then, there are things you don’t know that you need to be aware of. I think once you hear what I have to say, you’ll be thankful for privacy.”
“You’re not to call me Brax, either. Deputy Christou is fine. Again, I can’t think of anything you’d have to say that I care if the whole town hears it.”
Her face flushed red in anger. She fought to suppress it. “Even if it pertains to your precious Cerys? Once you and this town know what I do about Cerys Morgan, you won’t think she’s so sweet and innocent anymore. You don’t know her or why she moved here. It has nothing to do with her grandmother living here,” Irene said smugly.
“I know it is due to more than Twyla, but it’s nothing nefarious like you’re trying to make it sound like. Not that Cerys’ reasons for moving here are any of your business. Give it up, Irene. All Cerys has done is highlight what a horrible person you are, not that the staff at the hospital who worked with you didn’t already know that. The only difference is Dr. Gardener finally had his eyes opened to the truth. From what I have heard and seen, it has been so much better for everyone with you gone.
“My suggestion is to move after your court hearing. I don’t see anyone hiring you around here. Your name is taboo. You can go somewhere else and get a job. After all, they need nurses desperately. Someone will hire you, although if you don’t want to keep getting fired, I’d change my attitude if I were you.”
“She’s not a blushing innocent! She worked in a hospital in Las Vegas. The reason she left was the number of men she was sleeping with caused issues. She had them fighting over her. It disrupted the hospital. Her parents want nothing to do with her. The only reason Cerys came to Needles was she thought it was small enough that she’d keep her job no matter what, even if she were sleeping with half the town. Don’t you find it suspicious that after working five years as the head of the nurses in the ER, Dr. Gardener suddenly fires me? It’s because she’s sleeping with him. God knows who else she’s having an affair with behind your back.”
“You’re full of shit, Irene. Cerys isn’t sleeping with anyone but me. I’m her man. As soon as I find the perfect ring, she’ll be my wife. Get out of here. And I better not hear you’re spreading this shit all over town,” I warned her. The ways she talked about Cerys stoked my ire.
Let me out. I’ll make the bitch leave and take a few chunks out of her before she goes, Nightstalker snapped.
As much as I’d enjoy that, we can’t. People like her are best ignored after receiving their warning, I told him.
I shifted to get in my car. She latched onto my arm. Her grip was surprisingly firm. There was a wild look in her eyes. Her emotions were jumping around so much I couldn’t keep up.
“Please, Brax, you have to listen to me! Don’t marry her. She’ll only end up using and hurting you. Why would you want a woman like her when you can have someone like me? I kept hoping you’d see that I was the right one for you. Why did you keep ignoring me? This could’ve all been avoided. I’ll be faithful and make your life a happy one. You’ll know that any children I have are yours. Get away before she pulls the pregnancy card on you. Did you know that she was a biker’s whore when she was barely out of high school? Her ex is part of some outlaw club in Henderson. You don’t want a woman like that to be your wife and mother of your children,” she rattled out in desperation.
I shook off her grasping claw. “Not another goddamn word!” I partially shouted.
Not bothering to hang around and hear her besmirch Cerys more because I might have to show Irene Clark my other side, I got in my car, turned on the engine, and pulled away. I glanced in my rearview mirror. She stood where I left her, staring after me. Hopefully, this will make Irene see the light and leave. I blocked her chaotic thoughts from my mind. They were giving me a headache.
When I got home, I decided not to tell Cerys about my run-in with Irene. It added stress she didn’t need. The court hearing was a week away. After that, there would be no reason to see or speak of Irene Clark again. The only reason we were having a hearing was that Irene swore she was innocent and that the security video was fake. She insisted she was owed her day in court to prove her innocence. What a waste.
At six o’clock, I was hit with tantalizing aromas when I walked into the house. I’d gotten off work a bit later than I wanted. I shouldn’t have been surprised to find the other six were already there. If it came to food, they were like hungry pugs you couldn’t get rid of. They were gathered in the kitchen, shadowing Twyla and Cerys’ footsteps. I pushed my way through them to greet my mate and Twyla.
I took Cerys into my arms and gave her a thorough kiss with plenty of need. When I finished doing that, I turned and kissed Twyla on the cheek. Finished with my greetings to them, I glanced at my brethren. They stood there grinning. They knew what was coming, but I said it anyway.
“If one of you begging, slobbering mutts dare to taste anything or to get food before I do, I’ll chop off things that you can’t regenerate and that are very important to you for several reasons.” To ensure there were no doubts about what I referred to, I briefly glanced at their crotches, then back up.
“Hey, that’s not fair. We’re standing here, being good, and you have to make threats like that. Twyla, tell him he can’t do that,” Nico whined.
“You’re getting surlier every day,” Keir observed.
“We’re here to support you and our sister, and this is how you treat us?” Banner huffed in mock outrage.
“He must’ve had a shitty day to be acting so mean and grouchy. He’s hurt my feelings,” Fennick said with a sad face.
“Did you forget? I hunt for a living. Come near my manhood and see what you get,” Gunnar threatened.
I inched up my eyebrow at Royal to see what his response would be. He smirked at me. “Cerys, you need to sex up Brax more, honey. He’s not getting enough to sweeten his nasty temper. Or is it that you have been trying, but he can’t get it up? Erectile dysfunction doesn’t usually affect shifters, but there’s always an oddball in every kind. If that’s the case, maybe we should see if your true mate is someone else.”
I let out a loud growl and sprung at him. Royal was ready for me. He rolled with me as we hit the floor. It was just outside the kitchen in the open area between it and the living room. We exchanged blows. We each only got in a couple when cold water hit us. Yelling in shock, we broke apart and stared up at the two women. They were mock glaring at us. In their hands were squirt guns filled with water.
“Bad boys who fight and don’t listen get nothing for dinner or dessert. Are you good or bad boys?” Twyla asked. She held that water gun aimed at our faces as she asked.
“We’re good. Just fooling around,” Royal stated as he jumped to his feet. He held out his hand to help me off the floor, but I didn’t need it.
“Brax, are you going to behave?” Cerys asked. She looked serious, but I could feel her mirth trying to bust through. I didn’t call her out on it, but I’d make her pay later.
“Of course, Astéri mou , I was only playing around. Royal knows that. It helps relieve stress. What smells so good? Do I have time to change and wash up before we eat?” I thought it wise to change the subject before I got myself drowned.
“You have time. You’ll see what we’re having when you’re back.” Cerys said as she winked at me.
I smacked her ass as I passed her to go to the bedroom. She gasped, but I heard her mental moan. She loved it when I did that. I hurried to change into relaxing clothes and wash my hands. It was a relief to get out of my restrictive clothes and utility belt, but especially a relief to shed my Kevlar vest, boots, and socks. I preferred to be barefooted.
By the time I returned to the kitchen, they had almost everything plated and on the table. My friends were taking their orders on what to place where. I let them finish. When the table was ready, the guys stood at attention around the back of the chairs. I pulled out the one next to mine on the right for Cerys. Royal did the same for Twyla on the other end of the table. Once the women were seated, we sat.
We weren’t overly religious, even though we technically existed because of and worked for a god. However, at mealtimes, we, upon rare occasions, send thanks to the big man to keep him happy. I decided tonight was one of those nights. The others realized my intention when they saw me bow my head and clasp my hands together. They copied me.
“O Radiant Apollo, we give thanks for the food we’re about to eat. Thank you for the sun, which allows all plants and animals to thrive. You are great, oh Glorious One. And thank you to my mate and her wonderful yiayia for preparing such an amazing feast.”
The guys muttered “Apollo” at the end, like Christians would say Amen. The women followed suit. When all heads were raised, I saw the question in Cerys’ eyes.
“We don’t pray at all meals, and we only do it at other times as the situation seems to demand, but I thought after yesterday, it would be remiss if we didn’t. You’re not required to do so. We know your beliefs differ from ours,” I told her.
“We’ve been rather fluid in our beliefs. My parents are technically Christian, but they don’t practice it. Twyla has always believed there’s more than one god and ways to worship. I tend to take after her. I don’t have a problem with you praying to Apollo,” Cerys explained.
With that said, she passed me the first bowl. It was soup. I recognized it. It was Swedish yellow pea soup, a favorite of Gunnar’s. I filled my bowl and then filled hers before passing it along. As each bowl or platter came to me, I discovered they’d cooked something from each of our homelands.
For Banner and Fennick, who were English, they made mash, which was buttery mashed potatoes. Those two could never get enough of them. For Royal, there was coq au vin, a delicious chicken stew from France. For Keir, they had Irish soda bread to go with the soup and stew. From my Greek roots, they prepared lamb and rice wrapped in grape leaves. They didn’t forget Nico and his Italian heritage. For dessert, we were served a mouthwatering cherry and dark chocolate crostata.
We were all stuffed and mellow by the time we were done. However, we didn’t sit back and let the ladies clean the dishes. We shooed them into the living room to sit, talk, and relax while we did the cleanup. It took a bit, but not as long as it could’ve. They obviously washed as they went—something I needed to get better at. When we finished, we joined them.
“Now that you’ve been fed, and before you try to take a nap, we need to talk about what Apollo’s news means to us. He hit us with so much, I don’t know where we should start,” I started out saying.
“Let’s start with what was said about us being Apollo’s Chosen children and Cerys the beginning of the Precious children. I knew Apollo formed us after he unleashed the Black Death. I always thought it was his way of showing regret. However, finding out he planned for a time when our numbers would be so low that certain humans with special DNA would be able to be our mates and produce children blew me away. It’s given me hope. But the way the Council of Oracles thought it was alright to keep that from us is bullshit! How many of us might’ve held on if we’d known that?” Royal snapped.
The others all grumbled in agreement. I felt the same. Even though I had Cerys now, it had been hard at times not to let despair take over. What if I had broken and taken another human as a mate or had found a wolf who wasn’t my true mate and committed to them? It would’ve been a disaster. After being with Cerys, I knew there was no way I would’ve been able to resist the true mating bond if that happened. I would’ve left the other woman and hurt her and any children we may have had.
“I agree. Just let me say this. No matter what, don’t settle for someone who isn’t your true mate. Believe me, you’ll know if she is or not. You won’t be able to stay away. The connection keeps growing, and you’ll think of them incessantly,” I warned them.
Of course, Nico was the one to say something. “So, we’ll walk around in a daze, with our heads up our asses, taking months to make a move on her, second guess ourselves, and make a total idiot of ourselves until our friends threaten to take matters into their own hands. Got it.” He smirked after he said it.
The other guys chuckled. I heard Twyla snort and Cerys giggle. I gave Nico the finger, then reached over to tug Cerys onto my lap. She’d settled on the arm of my chair. I growled and nipped her neck. “It’s all your fault,” I whispered.
“I’ll take half the blame, Agápi mou , but that’s it,” she whispered back. I don’t know why we bothered to whisper. Everyone but Twyla could hear us.
Nico pretended to gag. I swear, when his time came, I’d never let him forget the shit he gave me.
“Alright, so we agree the Council’s decision was beyond bullshit. Unfortunately, we can’t do anything about it. However, we can insist that we be informed of everything going forward and that they beef up the Sentinels’ ranks across the board. I don’t like the sound of this Pytho or his Knights. We have an unknown number of humans to protect along with our kind. It’ll be impossible to police the whole damn country, waiting for our tattoos to heat up and glow. The best way to protect them is to kill as many Knights of Pytho as we can,” Royal added.
“Yes, I agree, but I think that if we find Precious Ones like Cerys, we do our best to get them to either move to Needles or at least closer so we can watch over them. At least our brethren can defend themselves somewhat. After we get the word out about these Knights and the threat they pose, they can be alert to defend themselves and their families. There’s no way to warn the humans,” Banner said.
“That might not be easy. The Precious Ones will be in shock. Overall, I took it rather well, I thought, but that’s largely due to Twyla and her stories. Most people aren’t so accepting, and they’ll be scared. I think when you find new ones, I should talk to them. Let them know what it’s like and give them someone they can talk to and ask questions,” Cerys offered.
“And I can help as a backup and resource, too. Cerys will be busy with work and then the babies, so however I can help, I’ll do it,” Twyla offered.
“Ah, we know what’ll happen when those babies get here. We’ll be lucky to get our hands on them once a year. Hell, Brax and Cerys will have to move you in and fight to hold them,” Fennick teased.
“I may decide you boys can’t be influencing them too much, but I’d never deny Cerys and Brax their children. And I wouldn’t impose by moving in, but I volunteer to be their babysitter when they work,” Twyla said smugly.
I hadn’t thought much about how things would change after the babies were born, but she was right. One baby was hard enough, but twins would require us both to look at our work. We both loved our jobs, but full-time might be too much, even if Twyla babysat. However, having her live with us, if she was willing, wasn’t a bad idea. I’d have to ask Cerys her thoughts before bringing it up. But we had time to figure that out. The guys gave Twyla some smack talk until Royal motioned for them to settle. When they did, he continued.
“I think we don’t need to worry about the Council trying to hide shit again. Apollo wasn’t happy with them, and they were too scared of him to tempt a god to bring down his wrath on them. I loved when he threatened to bring his sister, Artemis, to meet them because of their chauvinistic ways about no women in the Council or as Sentinels. Plus, how they tried to dismiss you two. We’re all protectors, and we’d love to have you not worry and let us do all the protecting, but we also know that’s not going to work with a lot of women. We’ll try to curb those tendencies, but expect us to fuck up.”
“Don’t worry, when you do, we’ll slap you back in line,” Cerys promised with a wink.
The teasing helped to prevent it from getting too tense, even though we all knew it was deadly serious. It meant life and death. Not knowing when to expect these Knights to crop up and where made me want to put Cerys in a safe room and never let her leave, although that was unrealistic. However, it did raise a point that I wanted to address ASAP.
“I know we have a bunch to strategize regarding our Sentinel duties based on this new information. This isn’t meant to make you feel unincluded, but it’s really setting up our schedules and training sessions that we need to talk about. It’ll bore you to death. I’d like you to relax. We’ll go to my office so we won’t disturb you. When we’re done, we’ll rejoin you,” I informed the women. I made sure all Cerys would get from me was a sense of wanting to work.
They didn’t give us any grief, which was nice. We were behind closed doors in my office in a matter of minutes. I was glad I’d thought about making it soundproof when I bought the place. With Cerys’ enhanced hearing, it might come in handy. Before diving into the schedules, there were two things I wanted to talk to the guys about.
“Guys, I need to talk to you about two things first,” I told them.
“I kinda thought there might be something. Hit us,” Gunnar stated.
“First, with these Knights running around, I need your help. I want to build a safe room in the house as soon as possible. I didn’t think one was needed, but now I do. There’s a bedroom right next to the master. We can eliminate it and make it into one.” It wasn’t ideal, but it would have to do. I would’ve preferred one that was more hidden.
“We can do that. What about making two? The one in the house and then something elsewhere on your property. It could come in handy if you have advance notice or more than a few to hide. We could build something back in those rocks further back on your property,” Banner suggested.
“Or what about finding a central location to build one for all of us? Assuming we have them, we can have it hidden and large enough to hold all our families. Again, it wouldn’t help if it were a last-minute thing, but we all should have one in the house, too,” Nico recommended.
This led to us talking out logistics and such. By the time we were done, we determined the central location and agreed that the one in my house was the priority, followed by the central one, then the other individual ones. Gunnar surprised us when he said he knew someone who did this for a living and that the guy could come up with great plans for us. We or those we trusted would do the building, but the plans would come in handy. We told him to see how fast this guy could do it. He promised to call him tomorrow. Next, I told them about my run-in with Irene. They were upset about it, though not as much as I was.
“What is her goddamn malfunction? I mean, yeah, she has the hots for you. If that was in doubt, her words to you dispelled that. But you have publicly claimed Cerys. She’s living with you. The next logical step is you’ll marry her. Irene’s crap about Cerys and her endless lovers and past is ridiculous. She hallucinated that, but what I want to know is, how did she know about Heron? Speaking of him, have you heard anything from Eagle Eye?” Royal asked.
“I haven’t, and I was thinking about that today. I need to call him.” Checking the time, I saw it wasn’t that late, just eight-thirty. Hopefully, I could catch him before he started to party. Eagle Eye had given me his direct number so I could reach him rather than go through Heron.
Taking out my cell phone, I found his number and placed the call. I was about to hang up because it kept ringing when it was answered.
“‘Ello,’” Eagle Eye said slightly breathlessly. Shit, we interrupted him.
“Hey, I’m sorry, man. I didn’t mean to interrupt you. Go back to whatever you were doing. Just checking to see if we can talk about Irene Clark soon,” I hurried to tell him.
“Hey, no need to apologize. I’m fine to talk.”
“Are you sure? You sound kinda breathless,” I told him.
He chuckled. “I am, but not due to that. Sorry, if I were getting pussy, I would’ve blown you off. I was away from the phone and had to run to get it.”
I laughed. “Whew, I feel better. Hey, I’d like to put you on speaker. I have my friends with me. They want to hear any updates.”
“Sure, no problem. I’ve been meaning to call you. I haven’t forgotten you. This shit with Clark is confusing as hell. She’s had a somewhat decent work history. She’s moved around, working various nursing jobs, but that’s not unusual. And until this last job, she’d never been fired. That doesn’t mean she wasn’t asked to quit.
“She keeps herself off social media, which sucks for me, but some people do. She doesn’t seem to have friends or close family, and other than those shady men that she was noted to be around a few times, she doesn’t socialize.”
I was about to ask him if he had anything useful when he continued.
“Why I wanted to call was to let you know about those men. They seem to have come out of nowhere. And when I say nowhere, I mean it. Until six months ago, they didn’t exist. Their backgrounds are great forgeries, but they’re exactly that, forged. Their names, socials, and such, if you research them back far enough, led to people who either died hundreds of years ago or were kids who died as infants and toddlers. That’s what was taking me so long to figure out. My gut kept telling me to dig further. Hell, I even asked a buddy in the Royal Bastards MC, Xenon, to help me. I hope that was alright? He’s as stumped and concerned as I am. I don’t know what you’ve stumbled into but watch your asses.”
My stomach clenched. It seemed too much of a coincidence that we learn of the Knights, and then we have someone in our lives who is connected to men with fake identities. I had to assume they might be part of the Knights of Pytho. I wasn’t comfortable telling Eagle Eye or the other Crows about that part of our lives, so I kept that to myself.
“Eagle Eye, I appreciate that you did all this for me and stuck with it. And as for Xenon, thank him for me, will ya? This is more helpful than you know. We’ll call it quits if you send me what you have on them. Let me know what I can do to repay you. This was a lot of work, I know. Same for Xenon.”
“As I said before, I’ll let you know if I or the club needs something, but I was glad to do it. This kind of project gets my juices going. If you find you need more, let me know. I won’t ask what it means, but just watch your asses.”
“We will. Thanks a million, man.” I told him. The guys chimed in to do the same.
After telling us goodbye, Eagle Eye signed off the call. Hanging up, I faced my brethren.
“You need to tell Cerys. She needs to know that if she sees Irene, to get the hell away from her and not engage. I know you didn’t want to tell her about your run-in, but I think you have to,” Keir said.
I hated to agree, but he was right. This shed a whole different light on Irene and the possible threat she presented. If she had a connection to the Knights, as far-fetched as it would be, she was someone we couldn’t allow to run around free.
“You’re right. Mind if we do it now, then we can go over the rest of the stuff or do it tomorrow?” I asked.
Now was the resounding answer. Rising, we didn’t waste time getting out to the living room, only to find it empty. Choosing not to panic, I checked our bedroom and the rest of the house while they checked the front porch and back patio. Nothing. I was about to lose it when Fennick found a note on the kitchen island.
Brax,
Television was boring, so we decided to take a walk. We’ll be back soon. We knew you were busy, so we didn’t disturb you. We’re not going far. Love you, Cerys.
My heart leaped in fear. I gave it to them to read as I prepared to shift and go hunting them. I grabbed the small pack that I kept a pair of shorts in. When I knew I would be shifting and likely to run into humans, I wore it so I wouldn’t be naked. It easily hung across my body. I headed for the door. They followed me.
“Do you want us to come with you or check elsewhere?” Royal asked.
I stood on the porch and scented the air. The most potent scent was toward the road headed east. “They went that way. Stay here, if you will, in case they circle around and get back before I catch them. They probably didn’t go far.”
Nodding their agreement, I shed my clothes and shifted. Bounding in the direction they’d gone, I sent out a telepathic thought to Cerys. We hadn’t tested how far we were able to communicate.
Cerys, can you hear me?
There was a brief pause before she answered.
Yes, why?
Where are you?
We’re a couple of miles up the road, coming back to the house. Why? Is something wrong? I detected her fear.
It’s not safe for you to be out. I’ll explain when I get there. I’m following your scent. Be careful. Stay alert. I’m coming in as Nightstalker, I warned her.
We’re hurrying. We’ll be careful.
I kept the mental link open. I sensed her anxiety and ran faster. My nerves began to settle when I saw them coming toward me. Since it was dark, they had flashlights. Nightstalker let out a howl to let her know we were there. Cerys was scanning the area for me when it happened.
Out of nowhere, I heard the roar of a motor. I’d been concentrating on her so much I hadn’t heard it, and neither had Nightstalker. A couple of houses were out in this direction, so it could be someone who lived there. As the car came around the corner, its lights illuminated the women. Cerys was walking on the outer edge of the berm. There was plenty of room for the vehicle to move over as it passed them. Except instead, it swerved toward them.
Cerys, run! I shouted.
She looked over her shoulder. Fear flooded her body. Nightstalker put on a burst of speed. She was wrapping her arms around Twyla to move her out of the way. The car was coming closer. I reached them seconds before the car could hit them. Nightstalker barreled into them but made sure that when they fell, he was wrapped around them to take the brunt of the fall.
We rolled down the slight incline on that side of the road. Coming to a stop, I quickly disentangled myself from them. Nightstalker was torn between sniffing them to see if they were hurt and chasing after the car. I forced him to shift so I could check on them. The vehicle wasn’t important. I knew who the driver was. I saw right before I knocked them out of the way. It was Irene-fucking-Clark. She was a dead woman.