Chapter 42
Chapter Forty-Two
Colbie
W hen we finally leave the colosseum, I’m exhausted and relieved but relatively pleased with how everything went. The majority of shifters were delighted when I lifted the ban on interspecies matings, announcing that all interspecies relationships and hybrid children were welcome in the kingdom. I don’t expect to have an influx of people moving here, since I’m fairly certain the ones who live in Chaos Kingdom are happy where they are, but it makes visiting family and friends a distinct and safe possibility.
My new council was met with enthusiasm, as was the news of the three vacant spots that will be filled with mer, fairy, and equine representatives respectively.
The goddess then made the proclamation that all humans would be offered the chance to transition to shifters. This was met with a fair amount of skepticism and suspicion, but no one was brave enough to call the goddess out on it. I’m sure they will adjust eventually. Sable and the queens will be taking the names of volunteers who are happy to bite any humans who would like to be a specific shifter type, but screening will be carried out. A human who is a psychopath is not suddenly going to change when they become a shifter and have the possibility to be even more dangerous. According to Sable, who is a doctor as well as the chief archivist, shifters with psychopathic tendencies tend to go feral and need to be put down.
There are a lot of adjustments coming to Aramis, but that is a future Colbie problem.
It is midday by the time the ceremony wraps up and we go back to the palace for a meal with my mates and their families. I’m exhausted and feeling a little shaky as my grandparents surround me for a group hug when I arrive at the dining room.
“We are so fudging proud of you,” Grampy says, squeezing me tightly. Tears well in my eyes as my granny cups one of my cheeks.
“You were magnificent. I only wish your mother had been there to see how amazing you are,” she tells me.
“I’m sure she would have tried something underhanded to steal the spotlight,” Grampy grumbles as we take a seat at the table.
I’m introduced to Brodie’s mother and father, who give me a slight nod of their heads but are not particularly warm. Brodie’s brother is more enthusiastic and gives me a hug and a kiss, congratulating me on my spectacular display of dominance.
As he pulls away, there’s a slight tug in my chest, and I get the urge to put my hand over his sternum. Allowing it to happen, I press my hand down, feeling a lump beneath his shirt, kind of like a pendant hanging from a chain. My hand warms, and I feel magic flow out of me and into him. He flinches and tries to pull away, but the magic holds him in place. He grimaces, and when the magic finally releases him, he reaches in and pulls out what I touched. A pendant, very much like the one Nox used to wear, hangs from a chain, but it is split in half. I instantly recognize it for what it is—a bond blocker.
“What did you do?” Brodie’s father growls, jumping to his feet.
“I… I don’t know,” I mutter, looking to the goddess for help. She smirks at Brodie’s father, but I see the wicked glint in her eyes.
“She righted a wrong. Messing with my will is a surefire way to get on my bad side,” she tells the wolf, who pales and sits back down.
We look at the goddess, hoping she will share what she knows with the rest of us.
“Lift your shirt please,” she asks Briden, and when he does, he stares in surprise at the mark above his heart.
“I have a bond mark,” he says with astonishment.
“Yes. Your parents gave you that pendant when you were younger in the hope they could stop the mark from appearing,” she explains, and Brodie growls.
“You gave him that just after I got my mark,” he snarls at his parents.
“We already lost one son, we weren’t losing another,” his mother snaps, and I whine as Brodie is filled with sorrow. Jesus, what assholes.
“That’s the same as my brother’s mark.” Hunter waves Talon forward. Talon is beaming, and he pulls Briden into a hug and ushers him away from the table so they can talk. Brodie stalks over to his parents and grabs each of them by the arm before forcefully removing them from the room.
“Well, I guess we won’t be celebrating Christmas with them,” I murmur to Nox as he puts an arm around my shoulders to comfort me.
Micah’s father is slightly warmer, and I get a positive response regarding the council position. He promises he will send his nominations as soon as he returns home.
Gretchin and Holly disappeared as soon as they congratulated us. I doubt we will see them anytime soon, but I am happy for them. I don’t really need a bodyguard attached to my hip at the moment with eight attentive, clingy mates to see to my every need.
We eat our meal, and the conversation around the table is lighthearted and joyful, but it kind of feels like it’s the calm before the storm. Nox keeps looking at his phone, and I know he received a message from his parents.
I sigh, aware this celebration has come to an end. I will not wait a moment longer to go after the children. The power flows through my veins, and short of my death, no one can take the crown from me, and considering I regenerate, my death is not likely to happen anytime soon.
“Tell me,” I encourage him. I know he’s been keeping quiet for the whole meal out of the need for me to enjoy myself, but I’ll be a lot happier once those children are reunited with their parents. They must be frantic with worry.
“My parents have a location. They said they are in an underground compound deep in one of the mountains of the rift. They said that not only can they feel the children, but there are hundreds of feral shifters there as well. They can’t get any closer, though, because there are wards and guards set up around the perimeter.”
My heart sinks. Hundreds of ferals, and I don’t have the book with the spell to fix any of them.
“And the Tidemans? Any sign of them?” Lucas asks.
He shakes his head. “They don’t know. They say people come and go, but they are all wearing hoods and capes, so they haven’t been able to identify any of them.”
“I’ll assemble the teams.” Bryson jumps to his feet.
“No.” I wave him back into his seat. “I can’t do anything about any of the ferals at this stage.”
“And it will be too dangerous to bring all of them back to our prisons to wait for the cure,” Micah adds, agreeing with me. “This will be a straight extraction. Titus can sift us into the mountain, we’ll grab the kids, and sift back out.”
“I’ll go back and sneak around once the kids are safe,” Titus promises. “It will be easier if it’s just me. I can move around without anyone knowing, and I can nullify any fae wards I come across.”
“What if they have witch wards?” Mia asks, and I frown.
“I don’t want you going without backup and end up stuck there,” I argue.
“Fine, I’ll ask my assassin brother who is part witch to come with me,” he compromises, and I’m satisfied with his response.
“The kids will probably be traumatized. They have been stuck in their animal form for a long time. Command them back into human form, but be prepared for them to become unconscious. It will be a shock to their system. Transport them back to the med bay here at the palace, and I will be on standby,” Sable instructs Titus.
“What about the people responsible? You’re not going to let them get away with this, are you?” Gracelin asks angrily, hugging Archie. I don’t blame her, she almost lost her son to those monsters. I would want revenge too.
“Not at all. We will poke around while we search the compound for the kids. If we come across anyone who seems to be in their right mind, and it’s safe, then we will apprehend them, but for now, our focus needs to be the children,” Hunter tells Gracelin, who seems to accept this.
“You should stay here,” Liam suggests to me, and I glare at him. I’m still boiling mad about him being naked in front of everyone. I’m aware it’s hypocritical, since I was just as naked, but this comment just makes me feel even angrier at him.
“I will not. I am coming too,” I tell him stubbornly. I expect him to argue, but to my surprise, he accepts it without complaint.
“We need to change. Will you excuse us?” Gryffin pushes back from the table, and the rest of my mates follow suit.
“Be careful.” My granny squeezes my hand. “Come to the bakery once you rescue those poor babies, and when you get a free moment, let us know how it goes.”
I promise them I will, and the nine of us leave to get ready for the mission.
* * *
W e arrive in a clearing that Titus got from a picture Nox’s parents sent us. It’s bitterly cold, and snow swirls around as we get blasted by frigid wind. Nox’s parents step around a rock they sheltered behind and point out the carefully hidden entrance to the facility. They wish us luck before the three men put their hands on Lena, and then they disappear from sight.
“Unicorns can teleport?” I gasp, and Nox nods.
“Yes, that’s why they make such good trackers. Once they have a location, they can usually head straight to it. It took Mom a little while to get a lock on the area because of the wards, though, which is why it took so long.”
“I can sift us in once I deal with the wards.” Titus puts his hands up like he’s scanning the area.
“Will whoever set them feel you break them?” Brodie asks.
“It depends if the wards are cast by an actual person or if they are set into rocks surrounding the area. If they have been cast, then yes. If they are just using ward stones, then no,” Titus says absently, and the rest of my guys gather around me to keep me warm while we wait.
It takes Titus about ten minutes to work out the wards. He explained that if he were full fae, it would have been quicker, but his ward powers aren’t as strong because he’s a hybrid. They finally fall, and he winces.
“Shit, they definitely have a fae on their team, and they are going to know we’re here. Hopefully the fae isn’t in the facility, otherwise there is going to be a welcoming committee,” he warns.
“Liam, Gryffin, and Brodie, you should shift, because you’ll be able to move quicker in your animal forms. The rest of us aren’t as agile in enclosed spaces,” Hunter suggests, and they quickly comply.
“How are you with a weapon?” Micah turns his attention to Nox, who shrugs.
“I’m acceptable, but I’m much better with technology. I should be able to get us through any security in the place, and I can wield illusions in this form as well.”
“Okay, you and Colbie stay together. It will make it easier for us to protect both of you,” Micah tells him.
“Kill anyone who attacks us, but if they stand down, just incapacitate them. We want to question them,” Hunter orders, giving Titus a hard look.
Titus pouts but reluctantly agrees. “Fine, but it goes against my training to leave anyone alive. Let’s go.”
Everyone places a hand on the hybrid, and he sifts inside the compound. When we arrive, it’s pitch black, and I can’t see despite my enhanced eyesight, but there’s no way to miss the cacophony of snarls and howls.
He has brought us into the cells. A flame flares to life in Gem’s hand, and I blink against the sudden light. I look around, thankful we aren’t in an actual cell but a hallway between two rows of them. I shudder at the sight of all the deformed humans stuck between shifts, foaming at the mouth. They become super agitated at the sight of my three shifted mates and start throwing themselves at the bars of their cells. Some of them eye us with eager hunger, while others ignore us completely and randomly attack one another in their crowded cell.
“Oh my god, this is awful.” I shudder and step back as one of them lunges at the bars, reaching for me with a gnarled, claw-tipped hand. “How are we even going to find the children?” I ask, feeling helpless because I can’t help any of these people.
“It would be too difficult to move a feral from one floor to another. I bet they are down here on this level somewhere,” Hunter says, holding out a piece of cloth for Brodie to scent. Brodie does before putting his nose up, then he starts sniffing the air. His ears prick, and his tail starts to wag as he bounds down the hallway. The rest of us follow him, keeping Nox and me between them. Gryffin and Liam bring up the rear. Anyone who wants to get to me is going to have to go through both of them to do it.
We move swiftly, and I am stunned by the number of cells, each of them containing way more feral shifters than they should.
“Where did all the humans come from? There weren’t that many reported missing by the human authorities,” Gryffin says, voicing the same thing I was thinking.
“Probably the other kingdoms,” Gem suggests, his flame lighting the way. The ferals are kept in a pitch-black environment, and I can only pray they were kinder to the children.
“This is a bigger problem than we ever knew,” Micah mutters as we come to a closed door. Brodie scratches at the gap at the bottom, and the others part to let Nox through to do his thing.
“Why don’t we get Titus to sift us on the other side?” I ask as Nox pulls out a portable tablet and plugs it into the console on the wall.
“Because we don’t know what is on the other side. We don’t want to risk running across an armed assault team,” Titus answers.
“But we didn’t know that before we sifted here either,” I argue.
He shrugs. “We got lucky. I don’t want to take the risk we get lucky again.”
It doesn’t take Nox long before the panel glows green, and we hear a click. He unplugs his unit and steps back, allowing Titus, Micah, and Hunter to move to the front, their guns at the ready as they peek through the door to see if there is a force waiting for us.
“Clear,” Hunter calls and throws the door open. Brodie pushes through and takes the lead again. There aren’t any barred cells in this corridor, but there are a number of closed doors. We pause, and Micah tries one of the handles.
“Locked,” he says, but our attention switches to Brodie. He’s scratching at one of the doors and whining.
“Whoever is behind these doors is terrified and exhausted, and they are beginning to lose hope. We need to open them.” Gem sounds pained, the empathic phoenix sensing their feelings.
Nox does his thing again, and before long, he has the first door open. As he moves on to the next one, I reach to open it, but Hunter stays my hand.
“Let me go first. They are probably expecting whoever is holding them captive, and their animal will be in protection mode. I don’t want them to hurt you.”
“I have a tranq in case they are feral.” Micah raises his gun, and I gape in horror.
“They might be feral?” I hadn’t even considered the possibility. I need to get that damn book back. “Poor babies. Is there a way to erase their memories of what happened?” I ask Titus, and he nods.
“Yes. A full fae could probably do it. If they need it, we can appeal to the fae for assistance.”
Hunter slowly opens the door, Micah sticking close to him, as the two of them enter the room. I peer in behind them, and thankfully, it isn’t dark, but it’s no better than the cells. There is nothing in the cement room but a pile of hay, a dirty old blanket, and a small, very agitated white wolf pup. It snarls at the sight of Hunter and yips, snapping its little jaw at my mate.
“Shift,” Hunter commands like he did to Archie that first time in my bakery. The command rolls over me, and I barely feel it, but it works on the pup. It freezes and whines as its body starts to painfully reshape itself. By the time it’s finished, a young, naked, sobbing girl has replaced the white pup.
“Help me, please,” she begs, and Gem rushes in and scoops her into his arms, wrapping the dirty blanket around her.
“I’ve got you. You’re safe. We’re going to get you back to your parents,” he promises. Her chest heaves as she sobs uncontrollably in his arms, and my heart fucking breaks. Tears well in my eyes, but before they can fall, my grief turns to fury. My creatures roar inside my head, and the need to create bloodshed and chaos begins to ride me hard.
“They will pay,” I swear out loud.
A shout has us leaving the room, and we find Nox has opened two more doors and commanded the two children inside the rooms to shift. Two small boys are carried out by Titus and Micah, while Liam and Brodie remain on alert. Both are sobbing as hard as the little girl and are wrapped in the same dirty, smelly blankets she is.
“Alright, I can’t sift all of us, so we will take the kids, and then I’ll come back and get you. I’ll be no longer than five minutes,” Titus says, holding the boy against his chest. Gem and Micah each put a hand on him while keeping a tight hold on their respective charges, and they disappear.
Hunter and I breathe a sigh of relief now that the kids are free, but Nox is staring down the hallway, frowning.
“What is Gryffin doing?” He points to where the white tiger is crouched in front of another locked door, snarling and scratching at it.
“Do you think it’s another kid, one we didn’t know about?” I ask Hunter, and he shrugs.
“Only one way to find out.” Nox does his tech magic, and the door unlocks. He steps back, and Hunter takes point with Gryffin on his heels. The door swings open, and when I peer inside, I’m stunned into speechlessness.