Chapter 25 - Brandon
I hoisted Jade tightly into my arms as I continued to get everyone to move out of the town.
The rest of the group helped guide everyone into the woods and headed for our pack.
I kept looking down at Jade, watching her chest rise and fall.
I had been so scared she’d outdone herself and might have damaged her ability, but she looked peaceful rather than in pain.
“Keep going,” Asher said ahead of me, his head turned to look at Jade and me. “Is she okay?”
I nodded. “She’s limp, so I’m guessing she’s exhausted from using her power.”
“That was insane,” he said, shaking his head. “Wild. I’ve never seen anything like that. Seriously, she’s got some serious power inside her. I’ve never seen a witch possess an ability like that.”
We knew that Jade had a strong power, but this wasn’t what I expected.
I could see just how badly everything was about to turn before she just seemed to let go of it all.
Fire erupted and took over the space in waves.
The fire moved exactly where she wanted, and it burned the hybrids alive.
It was breathtaking to see what she could do.
I held her tighter, inhaling her scent as I walked. I listened to hear her heartbeat and each breath she took. She was my everything, and I almost lost it all. If she hadn’t stepped in, I don’t think I would be alive right now.
Once we were outside the smoke and danger, we all stopped to take a breath. The people looked absolutely terrified, and the children continued to cry. Everyone was looking at me, and I, in turn, looked to figure out who their Alpha was.
However, I didn’t see anyone who I could sense was strong enough for the role, which started to make me question. “Where is your Alpha?”
They were silent for a long moment before a young man spoke up. He has blood smeared on his chest and all over his arms. He didn’t look to be any older than eighteen. He had dark circles under his eyes, and he looked exhausted.
“He’s dead.”
I frowned. “You’re all sure? He’s not just out there?” I didn’t want to ask if he’d run away to save himself, but the thought had entered my mind.
The group nodded. “We watched him die. They came out of nowhere,” a woman spoke in a broken voice. “It was just another day. The town was fine. We were enjoying the decent weather. It came out of the woods and ripped him apart. We’ve never seen anything like it.”
“People tried fighting, but it didn’t stop. It just moved from one person to the next. And then there were more. We didn’t know where to go. We didn’t know what to do.”
“It all happened so fast.”
The space fell quiet again, and I inhaled slowly. So they had no leader now. The pack wasn’t large by any means, but I had figured they would have been prepared. But something told me that wasn’t entirely the story. We were missing something.
“You guys have never seen them before?” I asked. “Not even once?”
They all shook their heads. “No.”
My stomach slipped as I tried to piece things together, but then I felt Jade move slightly. I snapped my gaze to her just as her eyes started to open. She groaned softly, pulling a hand up to her face. “Oh god…”
I lowered my head closer to her, taking in her light brown eyes. She blinked a few times before her eyes landed on me. She softly smiled. “Did I fall asleep?”
I nodded. “Yeah, for a bit.”
She winced, pulling a hand up to her nose and pinching. “Sorry…”
“It’s okay, you’re awake now.”
“We should keep moving,” Asher spoke as he got up. “We still need to get back even if we are tired.”
I knew he had a point. I could continue this conversation with them when we were back at home, and I knew everyone was safe. We all started getting up, and I offered Jade a shoulder to lean on as we walked.
The walk back was tiring, and it was clear that everyone was nervous and unsure of what was going to happen. We had a lot of things we needed to discuss and figure out. As we got closer, I looked at Jade.
“Are you feeling okay?”
She nodded. “Yeah, I’m just tired. I feel like I could sleep for an entire year.”
I squeezed her shoulder tightly. As badly as I wanted her to get rest, I knew that wasn’t coming anytime soon. I radioed Kaleb, asking him to have blankets ready and gather some healers for us when we arrive.
As we arrived in town, I expected people to be unsure of how to handle these newcomers, but everyone welcomed them with open arms. The healers were quick to help the injured, and everyone offered blankets and fresh clothes.
Kaleb came up to us, looking at Jade with wide eyes. “What happened?”
“Jade killed all of them,” Westley said quickly.
Kaleb looked stunned. “What? How?”
“She’s powerful,” I stated.
Jade offered a weak smile, and I knew it was taking a lot of energy to keep. Kaleb pulled her into a tight embrace, whispering something in her ear. I watched her smile in return, her arms tightening around him.
“Where do you want us to take everyone?” Asher asked as he stopped next to me. I looked over the crowd, taking them all in. They needed to shower and eat something. The children looked like they were seconds from falling asleep.
“Take them to the city hall. Find some beds and get everyone situated.” Everyone was moving at once. People were being guided toward City Hall. We had them go into the large meeting room, shoving tables against the walls.
I stopped Kaleb as he was walking to hand out more blankets. “What happened with the hybrid you saw here?”
Kaleb shrugged. “It ran off. We have no idea where it went. I had a couple of guys go and track it, but they lost it a couple of miles out.”
My stomach twisted up.
“Asher, Westley, I need you to go look at the footage and make sure there are no more lurking around.”
They both nodded, splitting off from us. I cleared my throat, catching everyone’s attention. “Can I have all the adults meet me in the hallway?”
I moved out of the doorway, and the adults of the other pack followed me into the hall. I was still trying to piece together what happened. Once everyone was outside, the door was shut.
“Alright, I know everyone is tired, and I’m going to make this quick before we get everyone off to sleep. When did the attack start?”
“This morning,” a man said, wiping his hands on a towel. “The first creature was spotted probably around nine.”
“It’s a hybrid,” Kaleb offered. “It’s a vampire and a shifter blended together.”
I watched everyone look in horror at this information. “How do you know this?” the man asked.
“We’ve been hunting them for a few years before we were placed here,” I offered. “So, when you spotted it, was your Alpha still alive?”
The man nodded. “He and some of his guys were doing some training near the edge of town.”
“Training for what?”
Most of the guys shrugged. “No clue. He didn’t include us, just his group of close friends.”
That felt off. “So, you guys weren’t getting proper training?”
The men snorted as they shook their heads. “No. We haven’t had training in years.”
I turned, looking at the map we had hung in the hallway, and started to zone in on their town.
It was small, really, I wouldn’t even consider it a town.
It was self-sufficient and had open land near it.
If the hybrids needed space, it would be a smart choice for use.
They weren’t hard to take down, and they were close to us.
It could have been a stepping stone to get there.
I frowned as I realized we were never the first target.
We were their final destination. There was a handful of smaller packs that surrounded us.
If they took over them, it would be nearly impossible for us to fight against them.
They would be coming from all directions. No amount of training would save us.
“Shit.”
“What?” Asher and Westley asked in unison.
“They planned that. They have been watching. Not just us, but the surrounding areas as well. They picked them on purpose.” I pointed to the map. “We were never the first target.”
Asher and Westley looked at the map before them and seemed to realize it was well. We all shook our heads and sighed in unison.
“So, what now?” a young woman asked, her fingers knitted together. You could see that her blue eyes were hollow and had no sparkle. “Are…you going to send us away?”
I hadn’t understood why my father cut ties with them to begin with; my guess was the Alpha. But he was gone, and these people needed help. They needed a hand.
“No,” I said, shaking my head. “We’re going to find you all somewhere to stay, and starting tomorrow, we will figure out the next steps.”
They all looked stunned at this. I wondered if they expected me to throw them out. It was what my father would have done for sure, but I was not the same. I was not going to deny people shelter when they needed it the most.
“You are all survivors and deserve to rest.” I looked at the guys. “Can I hand this off to you so I can get home?” The guys nodded, and I thanked them before slipping out. I normally would have stayed back to help, but I knew Jade had gone home, and I wanted to make sure she was okay.
I found Jade was sitting on the couch with Ilsa. I had expected them to be both asleep, seeing the time. Ilsa, however, jumped up and ran to me. She threw her arms around my legs, tears streaming down her cheeks. “I was so scared.”
I looked at Jade, who looked like she was holding onto being awake with her last threat of energy. “She refused to go to bed until you came back.”
I was a little surprised by this until Ilsa looked up at me with her beady eyes. “I could feel something was wrong.”
I was shocked by her words. Jade pulled herself off the couch and cleared her throat. “I was waiting for you to come home to tell her.”
“You want to tell her now? We can wait until tomorrow after you’ve rested.”
Jade shook her head. “She’s ready to know.”
Jade bent down, crouching to Ilsa’s level. She brushed her hair back and grabbed her chin, softly smiling at her. Ilsa looked at her mother with wide eyes, waiting patiently.
“Brandon is your father,” she said softly, the words mostly a whisper.
Ilsa stared at her for a moment longer before she looked at me. She knitted her fingers together, looking down at them. “I thought maybe…”
My eyebrows shot up. “You thought maybe?”
She slowly nodded. “When we first met…I felt a tug.”
“You…” I felt like I couldn’t find words. I had wondered if it was just me. That tug for shifters that you knew someone was your family. Ilsa was still young enough; she might not understand what that meant, but she was smart.
I had thought maybe she wouldn’t, since I’d never been around to form a bond. I wasn’t at the birth, I wasn’t at any birthdays, and I missed so much. But yet, she felt it.
“I’m sorry we didn’t tell you sooner,” Jade said, grabbing Ilsa’s hands, squeezing them. “We can answer any questions you have.”
Ilsa looked at me, her eyes filled with wonder and curiosity. She seemed to think for a moment before she spoke. “Why weren’t you around?”
I had wondered how I would explain that. I knew that when we told Ilsa, it would be one of the first questions she would ask. I looked at Jade, who seemed at a loss for words.
“I went to work,” I offer. “I went and saved lives for many years. I made a mistake by not coming home sooner, and I’m sorry. But I’m here now and I’m not going away.”
Ilsa’s eyes grew watery as she stood there, seeming so small. I wanted to scoop her up and take her pain away, but I couldn’t.
I waited for Ilsa to scream or start to yell. I wanted her to start denying it or stating that she didn’t want me around. I would understand. It was three years she had missed out on having a father around. Three years of confusion and not knowing the truth.
But Ilsa turned without a single word and walked away from us. I watched Jade’s shoulders drop, and she looked at me. “Brandon, I’m sorry. I just think she needs time.”
I guess quiet hatred was just as painful as someone screaming they hated you.
I nodded, offering Jade a tight smile. I knew this wasn’t anyone’s fault but my own. We shouldn’t just expect Ilsa to open her heart up to me just because I told her I was her father.
But Ilsa walked back into the entryway with a couple of books in her arms. She was barely able to carry them; one of them slipped free, falling to the ground just in front of me. I tilted my head as I realized it wasn’t just a book, but a photo album.
My throat tightened as she placed them down. She offered me a big grin. “We should probably go over everything you missed.”
I watched Jade start to cry, and Ilsa looked at me, nervous. “Unless you don’t want to.”
I reached out, pulling Ilsa into my arms and holding her tightly. I held her against me, feeling her little arms wrap around my neck, holding onto me just as tightly.
After a moment, Ilsa leaned back, grabbed the first photo album, and opened it.
Pictures of her when she was first born were all over the pages.
Jade had written detailed descriptions of everything.
She had photos of her sleeping, photos of her smiling.
There were pictures of Ilsa drinking bottles and lying in her crib.
I took it all in. All the days, all the birthdays, and events. I watched Ilsa grow from this little bean to her third birthday party. She was wearing a deep blue dress and waving at the camera.
“Mom said photos were important,” Ilsa said. “I thought she did it for you.”
I glanced at Jade, who looked embarrassed but didn’t disagree with her statement.
“Does this mean you’ll be in the photos now?” Ilsa said, looking up from the album.
I nodded, playing with a strand of her hair. “All of them.”
Ilsa grinned and hopped up. “Let’s get a photo. The day daddy came back.”
I watched Jade wipe at her eyes, trying to pull herself together. Ilsa ran away into the living room, and I hooked Jade’s arm, pulling her to me. I pulled her hair away from her face. “You kept an extreme detail of her.”
Jade blushed. “Well, I figured when you did come back, you’d want to know everything.”
I had been blessed by her. She had no idea how much this all meant to me. I pressed my forehead against her, staring into her eyes. I cupped her face and smiled. “I love you so much, Jade.”
Her eyes widened, and then I watched as light flickered. We both turned to see Ilsa holding the camera. She beamed, proud of herself. She hurried over, squeezing herself between us, and gave the camera to me. “Okay, now again.”
Jade chuckled, pulling Ilsa close. I pulled them tightly against me as I held up the camera and looked at Ilsa. “I love you, Ilsa.”
Ilsa’s eyes widened slightly as I snapped the button, taking our first family photo.