Brax Chapter 21
We were gathered at the cells for our video call with the Council. I wanted this over with already, and I knew my fellow Sentinels did as well. Enough messing around. We had more important things to do, like protect our people and town from those fanatical assholes.
Due to not being comfortable leaving Cerys and Twyla at the house alone and all of us needing to be here for this, we’d brought them with us. They were placed out of the way where they wouldn’t draw the attention of the Council, not that I cared, but no reason to give them something else to bitch and moan about. I was on my last nerve with that bunch. My ire over how they’d hidden this from us still rankled big time. And it probably always would to a degree. My brethren had voiced the same thing.
We brought Irene out of her cell and placed her in the middle of the open central area between the cells. We had the laptop set up on a nearby table. Like all our devices, it was more heavily encrypted than I think the world’s governments were. We had her mouth covered until we were ready to hear from her. Her incessant screaming of profanities and her doom-and-gloom speeches had gotten old quickly. Irene was glaring at us. If she could make us burst into flames based on looks alone, we’d be fully ablaze.
“Sentinels, we’re ready. Let’s get this started. We have a lot to do,” Theodore stated abruptly. His tone made me want to tell him to hold his damn horses. His attitude was rubbing me wrong. He and the Council were in the wrong, and they acted like we were the ones who were. That’s what made me say what I did.
“If you’d rather let us get on with this and not go through this whole thing again, we’re more than fine with that. It’s not as if you’ve insisted on this twice shit before. But then I guess when one side is shown to be liars, the rest are to be suspect too. Is that it?”
“Abraxas, there’s no need for that tone,” Theodore snapped.
“It’s Sentinel Abraxas, and I think there is, but let’s move along. We don’t have all night. We have a town to patrol and countless people to protect. Ask what you will. Just be prepared to hear a whole lot of swearing and prophesying.”
As I said it, Banner took off the gag we had on Irene. She was glaring at us and then at the screen. “Don’t think this will stop what’s to come. No matter what you do to me, they’ll find you and wipe every last one of you abominations off the earth. Pytho will once again have his home in Delphi back from that usurper, Apollo. You might’ve kept him silent and his glorious Knights in chains for centuries, but no more!” she cackled.
Back and forth it went. It gave me a headache to hear it all again and then pushed my temper to be even shorter. Especially when the Council kept asking her the same damn questions over and over and getting the same answers. It was like they thought if they all asked them, she’d suddenly change her answers, or they’d find out we were manipulating them. After more than an hour of it, we’d had enough.
“Enough! What more do you need to hear? You can see that she’s in league with the Knights and Pytho. She’s a threat to us all. She’s exposed Brax and, by extension, all of us, especially the Primal Precious One and their offspring, to be killed. No one is safe. We need to be out there finding and terminating these threats, not playing games with her. She cannot be allowed to go free or to possibly escape or be freed. You know what the answer is,” Royal thundered. The rest of us were nodding and muttering our agreement. Irene was back to screaming profanities. Keir put her gag back on.
“This is a different matter than those in the past. We must not be hasty. We’ll need time to deliberate,” Lowell stated.
“How much time?” Nico snapped.
“As much time as it takes,” Otto decreed pompously.
I heard the gasps of outrage from the women. I told them to stay quiet, which they had, but it sounded like they were about to break their silence. I gave them a quelling look and was about to verbalize my objections to a delay when we were interrupted.
No, it wasn’t the Knights coming to rescue Irene. It wasn’t Cerys and Twyla breaking their silence. Nor was it due to Irene getting free of her gag and shouting more at us. It was from a totally unexpected source. There was a blinding flash, and Apollo appeared in the room. One look at his face, and you knew he wasn’t happy.
We saw the Council flinch. They were all deathly quiet. Their eyes were watching Apollo. I saw a few gulps, and I swore others paled or broke out in a sweat. I bet there were some puckered assholes on the other end of the video or even shit in some, if not all, their pants. I fought not to laugh. I noticed Irene’s eyes had gone wide. If I wasn’t mistaken, there was even a tiny bit of fear in her gaze.
“WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS!” Apollo thundered. His voice made us flinch, and I swore the stone walls around us shook with how loud he was. It was the booming voice of a god.
The Oracles all bowed their heads, and I heard Theodore stutter, “O-oh Wisest and Benevolent Apollo, what do we owe this honor? We had no idea you would be blessing us with your presence,” he said. A barely seen accusatory look was flicked in our direction. I had news for them. We hadn’t called upon Apollo about this.
“Sentinels, what is the meaning of disturbing the Almighty Apollo over something so mundane? We are tasked with handling such things,” Lowell snapped.
“They did not. However, I was very displeased to find that this was happening when it had not in the past. I want to know why my Sentinels are now being made to delay in their true work of saving my Chosen and Precious Ones over this woman. Who, as you have heard repeatedly tonight, is clearly in league with our mortal enemies and a threat to us all, including humans. Why have these Sentinels not been permitted to carry out their duty in regard to her already? And why do you need to deliberate about it? Or have you been asleep this whole time? Do I need to reconsider who among you should remain an Oracle? Maybe it is time I appointed a whole new Council. What do you think, ladies?” Apollo turned to smile at Twyla and Cerys.
It was Cerys who answered him. “Lord Apollo, it is at your discretion that they serve. It is yours to determine whether that is necessary.”
“You are right, it is, my Primal Precious. What say you, sister?” Apollo asked.
There was another flash of light, and there stood a woman. We’d never seen Artemis, but there was no doubt it was her. She was dressed for the hunt. “Brother, I say the whole lot should be replaced. And this time, make sure to have women on the Council. Just like you plan to have them placed with the Sentinels.”
“So right you are, fair sister. It was an egregious oversight on my part. As for how I knew about this travesty of a conclave, that was thanks to my twilight,” Apollo said as he cast Twyla a smile. I guess we knew who told him.
“Greatest Apollo, Healer and Prophecy Bringer, we beseech you—” Arden was cut off by a wave of Apollo’s hand. I took the way he kept opening and closing his mouth to mean Apollo had literally made him mute.
“No more of this idiocy. You have wasted enough time. The verdict is clear. This woman must be removed permanently. As I believe this has taken enough of my Sentinels time, I will take care of her. I thank you for your service, as always,” he directed to us. Then, in a blink, Apollo, Artemis, and Irene were gone.
Silence reigned for a long minute or more before a throat was cleared on the other end of the video. “I believe that is all for tonight. Good night, Sentinels,” Theodore croaked moments before the screen went dark.
“Well fuck me, that’s not how I thought that would go, but I can’t say I’m not happy about it. I’m over the Council’s dickish nonsense,” Fennick uttered.
There were more mutters of agreement. I approached the women. Twyla held up her hand.
“Before you say anything, hear me out. First, Cerys had nothing to do with this. I contacted Apollo on my own. I knew that the Council of Oafs would give you a hard time just because they’re butt hurt. We don’t have time for this. Apollo assured me he’d watch, listen, and only intercede if it became necessary, which it did. You would’ve never asked that of him. I could. This reflects on me. The Council can be as angry as they want, but they need to get it through their heads that the days of them having the only direct line to Apollo are gone. You all serve him and are his children. You all should be able to speak to him. I had no idea he’d bring his sister, though.”
“You should’ve warned us,” Royal said.
“And that would’ve made it hard for you to act naturally. No, this is the way it had to be,” was Twyla’s answer.
“It’s done with. What do you think Apollo has done with Irene?” Cerys asked.
“I don’t know and don’t care. My concern is getting you home and into bed. It’s late. We have so much more to prepare for. I don’t know what is coming or when, but it’ll be soon, I have no doubt. We have to be prepared, which means the other shifters must be told,” I admitted. I was tired.
Cerys wrapped her arm around my waist and hugged me close. “Then let’s get out of here. When will you meet with them?”
“Tomorrow evening. We already sent out the invites to meet in the desert in a place used only by shifters. It’s well away from prying eyes. They’ll meet us at dark,” Royal told them.
“Are we permitted to come?” Cerys asked as we made our way out of the cave.
“Could we stop you?” I asked with a wink.
She laughed, and so did Twyla. “Probably not,” Cerys said.
“Then I guess you have your answer,” was Nico’s reply.
The group of twenty shifters we’d just finished explaining to about the Knights of Pytho and their leader, the threat they posed to all shifters, and the group of humans capable of producing shifter children sat there in stunned silence. We knew it wouldn’t last long. There were plenty of questions while we explained it to them. But I knew they’d need proof, and the one thing they’d want proof of was the claim that a human could have our children.
While we explained, Cerys and Twyla had remained in the background, yet nearby. I saw more than a few glances cast toward them. This was the first time a meeting of this kind had happened and included outsiders as they’d be seen as being. My fellow Sentinels and I were ready to defend them no matter what. I wasn’t surprised it was one of the Bhaer family, who owned Pour Decisions to say something first. It was Cooper.
“You’ve hit us with a lot tonight. I can’t say I’ve processed even a quarter of it yet. We’ve always known the supposed myth that we were created by the Black Death, which was due to Apollo. And we know of the Council of Oracles and the Sentinels. However, the identity of the Sentinels has been a closely guarded secret. How do we know you’re really them? I don’t mean any disrespect, Brax. I like you and have always known you and the others to be good men, but we need more than taking it on faith.”
Calvin added to his cousin’s words. “And now you tell us we’re all in danger from these Knights of Pytho, who we’ve never heard of. That they’re working to kill all of us.”
Colter Bhaer, Cooper’s brother, chimed in with, “Plus, you’re saying there are these supposed humans, the ones you call Precious Ones, that Apollo has formed who can be mates to us and produce children when that’s never been possible. That sounds too good to be true.”
There were mutterings coming from all around us. They grew in volume. We’d shown them our tattoos, but I knew they could argue that they had been placed there by a tattooist.
“We know we’re asking you to take a lot of this on faith and your trust that we’ve never lied to you. We get it. But we don’t have the Council here to vouch for us. They’re busy informing other Sentinels of this so they can prepare. What you need to know is we want to ensure no one dies senselessly in this war, whether it’s one of us, a Precious One, or regular humans. Most of them are innocent in this.
“We need your help. Not only to stay alert and be prepared to protect yourselves and others but to warn us if you detect anything or anyone suspicious. Not every stranger is an enemy. We don’t know who the Knights are. They could be someone we know. Right now, they only suspect I’m a shifter. They have no idea about anyone else, but when they come, they will. They may have ways of detecting us like we do of detecting them,” I informed them.
Cerys chose that moment to come forward and stand next to me. They quieted. I hadn’t told anyone she was carrying my children. We’d hoped to keep that secret for a bit longer. She held up the sonogram pictures from the doctor’s office.
“You want proof that this is real, look at these. This was taken a few days ago. It shows that not only am I pregnant, but I’m carrying twins. These are Brax’s children, I assure you. I’m one of the Precious Ones he spoke of. I’ve seen Apollo with my own eyes, and so has my grandmother, who you all know. Have you ever known her to lie? Everything they’re telling you is the truth. We’re all in danger.”
She handed the pictures to Cooper. He stared at them a long time before passing them along. The mutterings came in waves. They were filled with disbelief and hope. When everyone had a chance to view them, they faced us.
“We don’t know you, Cerys Morgan. Another man could be the father of those babies. It proves nothing,” someone from the back called out.
I was about to shout at them in anger, which I knew was the wrong thing to do, when it was taken out of my hands. I caught Royal saying something to Twyla. The next thing I knew, she held up her golden necklace from Apollo and called out his name three times. And just like that, he appeared in that golden flash of light of his. There were screams, and the other shifters all fell to their knees with their heads bowed. The stink of fear filled the air. Frightened murmurs and cries filled the night.
“I am Apollo, the son of Zeus and Leto, born on the island of Delos. God of poetry, art, archery, plague, sun, light, knowledge, and music, as well as the oracular god and patron of Delphi. Twin to Artemis, the goddess of the moon, the hunt, forests, and archery. I am your creator. You are my Chosen Ones. And everything these loyal and brave Sentinels have told you is true. Pytho and his Knights are back in the mortal world, ready to destroy you all. This must not happen. And this woman, Cerys Morgan, is the Primal Precious One, the first of her kind to carry children for one of my Chosen Ones. She is the first but not the last. And I assure you, these twins are not only hers and Sentinel Abraxas’, but they will be special beyond belief. Ignore this at your own peril. The time of Pytho is nigh. You have been warned. Any harm befalls my Sentinels, this Precious One or the Ceridwen at your hands will be on your heads.” And with that said, he disappeared.
It was deathly quiet for a full thirty seconds, and then the chatter started. It soon swelled to a roar. It took time for us to quiet everyone, answer more questions, and begin to draw up our battle plans. But at the end of our time, they were all convinced and ready to do their part, no matter the cost. I prayed to Apollo and the other gods that we’d survive this time of cleansing and put Pytho and his followers in Hades for good.
Back home, after the guys left and Cerys, Twyla, and I settled into bed for the night, I thought my mate would be asleep within moments. It was late, and she was tired. Even though she wasn’t even two months along, the babies were draining her. She assured me it would get better after the first trimester and wasn’t anything unusual.
However, I found that sleep was the last thing Cerys wanted to do. I discovered it when we got into bed, and rather than her snuggling into my arms to sleep like she usually did, she gave me a passionate kiss. While I returned it, her hand came down to stroke my cock, which was lengthening despite my resolve not to let it happen. I intended to let her rest, even if I wanted nothing more than to make love to her.
My desire for her was constant. The thought of her, the sight of her, her scent in the air, or a brush of her fingers made me want her. I’d never hungered for anyone in all my centuries like I did for her. And it was more than just physical desire. It was a spiritual connection as well. I loved her to the depth of my heart, soul, and mind. Nightstalker, though not human and unable to feel love like me, felt all the rest. There was nothing we wouldn’t do for her, even die.
I reluctantly tore my mouth away from hers. “Are you sure? You’re tired.”
“I’m more than sure, Brax. I need you desperately, Agápi mou , my heart, my soul, and the father of my children. Please, don’t make me beg. Make love to me. I need to feel you deep inside of me. Filling me with your seed and love,” she whispered.
Growling, I took her mouth. I kissed her until we were both breathless, and I was fully hard. I wanted to go slow and take it easy, but my desire was thundering through me, and I sensed hers was as well. We were desperate. Maybe it was the possibility we might not have as many decades together as we’d hoped, but whatever the cause, it had us impatiently coming together.
Usually, I’d take my time to taste her, make her writhe in pleasure, and orgasm at least a time or two before I entered her to find my completion. Not tonight. Instead, after checking to be sure she was ready for me, which she was. Her honey soaking my fingers when I ran them through her folds attested to that fact.
I moved her to the edge of the bed. With her on her back, I parted her legs and wedged my hips between her toned thighs. Gripping her ass with one hand, I used the other to lodge the head of my leaking cock at her hole then I plunged into her in one sure, hard stroke. We both moaned as she took me inside of her hot, wet, tight walls. She gripped me like a perfect glove. I didn’t know where I ended or she started. We were one.
I fought to take it slow, but it wasn’t possible. I was wild for her. I slammed my cock in and out of her pussy, snapping my hips. She whimpered but not in pain. Her nails dug into my hips as she used her hands and legs to help drive me deeper.
I didn’t just fuck her like a mindless beast, though. I kissed, sucked, licked, gently bit, and caressed other parts of her, especially her mouth, tits, ass, and clit. I needed more hands and another mouth. Hell, a second cock would be even better, though the ecstasy would likely make me have a heart attack and die.
I gritted my teeth and, by some miracle, held out when she orgasmed. Her rhythmic milking of my cock made me gasp, but I kept drilling into her. After she came down from her release, I pulled out, but only long enough to roll her onto her stomach, and then I sank into her from behind. I rutted her even more like a beast. Nightstalker was coming to the surface, though not breaking through. Several minutes later, when Cerys came, she took me with her. My shouting of her name changed to a howl as I pumped her full of my seed. Her screams filled the room, making me smile as I grunted.
By the time we floated down from our mutual high, it was all I could do to pull out, weakly get us somewhat centered in the bed, and then collapse with her clutched to me. As our sweat-covered bodies cooled and our heartbeats returned to normal, I knew what I had to do. It was time.
“I love you, Cerys Morgan. There’s something I’ve got to know.”
“Yes, I love you, Abraxas Christou,” she said with a smile.
“I know that. That’s not what I need to ask.”
“Then what?”
I stared intently into her eyes so she knew this was serious. “Cerys, will you marry me?”
Her eyes widened, a gasp escaped, and her mouth dropped open. It took her a few seconds to answer while I held my breath.
“Of course, I’ll marry you!” she exclaimed.
After kissing her silly, I sealed it with something more final. Leaning over, I got into my nightstand and took out a ring box. Her eyes sparkled as I opened it and took out the ring to present it to her. Her hand shook as I slid it on her finger. The medium blue topaz stone set in gold was a perfect fit.
“This is my great-grandmother’s ring,” she whispered in awe.
“It is. I’ve been trying to find the perfect one for you and getting nowhere when Twyla came to me the other day and showed me this. I knew as soon as I saw it, no other would do. No matter what happens, I want you to be my wife.”
“And I want you to be my husband.”
One more kiss, then we held each other as we began to drift off. I knew that I wouldn’t wait long to make her my wife. And I and the other Sentinels would do everything in our power to see that her, my children, and their future mates and children came through this war intact. The children of Apollo would defeat the Knights of Pytho.