Chapter 13
I rushed back to the portal room from one of the rehabilitation centers created for the refugees.
I helped create the protective barriers at each one.
I didn’t have to but I wanted to help in some way and that was my contribution.
But we were having an issue with the placement of the anchor runes at the last facility, and I was running late.
I portalled back to King Talos’s mansion with the team of mages I’d been working with.
They were a great group and I was finding my place with them.
They were staying in the portal room, which was busier than usual, in case they were needed during the operation.
There were teams of mages going, with each strike group being coordinated out of the Supernatural Council building located on the other side of the continent.
Talos’s general was overseeing and commanding the operation from there.
I exited the portal room and headed up to the main floor using the elevator.
Once there, I was a bit lost, so I approached a guard for directions to the room where the kings were monitoring the operation.
The guard kindly escorted me to the location.
Inside, I found a spacious conference room featuring a large viewing screen and several open windows.
The kings sat centrally on a couch, their families gathered beside them on another.
I looked around, trying to find Kaba. He caught my gaze right as I found him. Relief trickled through our bond, which had shown me his rising anxiety over the last hour. I rushed to his side and he stood, hugging me tight.
“I’m so glad you’re finally here, love.” He kissed me soundly but I pulled away before I got too aroused.
The last thing I wanted was to get hard in this dire situation.
My body, as of late, seemed to have a mind of its own and being near Kaba heated my blood faster than a spell could make water boil.
Tiki was sitting next to him, but he moved over to make room for me. “Hi, Tiki. Thank you for keeping Kaba company today.”
“It’s my pleasure. You and Kaba are family. It’s what we do.” He smiled reassuringly, but then he got distracted by his mate, Amalesh, who appeared beside him. I nodded to the quiet vampire who sat on Tiki’s lap. It was a bit odd since Tiki was smaller than Amalesh but they seemed comfortable.
Kaba pulled me onto the couch next to him.
On a table in front of him was a separate view screen displaying a live feed from the zoo where his family was being held captive, and a view from a vampire’s bodycam in the large portal room they were attacking from.
Vampires who were preparing for the fight ahead of them were moving around in the background.
It was eerie seeing them decked out in head to toe skintight body armor completed with dark blue tinted goggles to protect them from the sun.
Vampires usually didn’t have to worry about the sun’s effects in the Shadow dimension because not enough UV radiation reached them but better safe than sorry in this case.
Everyone quieted when the countdown started on the main screen in front of Talos.
Kaba gripped my hand tightly as we all watched in anticipation.
The main screen showed an overlay map of the Shadow dimension, which showed dots where each zoo was located.
The dots, initially red, would turn green as each strike force secured a facility.
Zero hit on the countdown. The main screen erupted into a whirlwind of action.
I focused on the feed Kaba was watching and saw the strike force leader step through the portal, instantly killing several guards.
Without the adjustments made to the stream’s playback settings, we would have missed everything due to the vampires’ incredible speed.
Nevertheless, keeping track of the swiftly evolving situation was still a struggle.
Within mere minutes, the dots on the map began to change to green.
At the same time as the zoos were being hit, the residences of the owners were also hit. The owners were supposed to be captured and tried, but if they resisted, the soldiers had orders to defend themselves. They didn’t anticipate many survivors. Something I didn’t have any remorse over.
Mages followed behind after the all-clear was given.
They systematically went through the zoos and spelled the therianthropes to sleep.
Once they were all asleep, the mages broke the shields.
Bursts of hot and cold temperature fluctuations around them created small spots of fog that the mages dissipated quickly.
As each shield collapsed, medical staff came behind them and carefully placed the therians on floating beds.
Kaba gasped as the shield was broken on the habitat holding his family. The den they primarily lived in was underground, so the mages had to carefully excavate the dirt. Kaba had given them drawings of the tunnels and dens, but it was time-consuming work to reveal them.
Thankfully, since it was daytime, they were all asleep anyway, so there wasn’t a risk of one being in the pond when they were put into a deeper sleep. Kaba leaned forward, literally sitting on the very edge of the couch, watching the mages work. I put my arm around his back and he leaned into me.
“They’re going to be alright, my love.” I was really loving this ability to talk to Kaba privately.
Since we mated, I learned so much about my mate, and now we were able to communicate with a clarity that relieved the stress we were both feeling at not being able to understand one another well.
I sent him as much reassuring and loving energy as I could through our bond.
He relaxed into me but his attention never wavered.
I had wanted to be there with the mages, freeing his family, but Kaba needed me to be with him more.
I couldn’t leave him to face the anxiety and stress alone, even if, technically, he had new friends to support him.
It wasn’t the same as your mate being with you.
While I wished the mages would hurry, I understood why they were going slow.
At last, they signaled for the medics. From the perspective of the onsite camera, the depths of the hole they had unearthed remained out of view. They levitated the first therian out and placed it onto a floating bed. Kaba leaned in closer, nearly plastering his face on the screen.
I kissed his shoulder and pulled him back. “You’re not going to be able to see any better by going blind.” I tried to tease to break the tension, but I was sure it didn’t land. Kaba wasn’t upset with me, instead, he leaned back into me.
“I can’t tell who that was. I think it was my uncle Soma. Without smell it’s hard to tell my father and uncles apart by looks alone, especially while they are on their sides.”
I kissed his shoulder again. “Soon you’ll be with them. We can even portal there instead of taking the ferry and then the bus if you want. Give them a few days to get acclimated and then we’ll visit.”
Kaba finally turned to look at me and gave me a watery smile as tears streaked his cheeks. “Oh, my love. Everything will be okay.” I kissed him softly and wiped his tears away with my thumbs.
“I know. These are happy tears, my mate.” He kissed me again briefly and turned back to the screen.
It took an hour for them to find and remove Kaba’s family.
Most therians were easy to remove but some took more effort like theirs.
Once Kaba’s family had been found and transported, I urged Kaba to get some rest. He knew how hard those first few days were going to be and he would need all the rest he could get now.
Tiki hugged us. “If there’s any change, I’ll be sure to let you know. I know the rehabilitation center has your number, but if anything happens, I’ll call.”
Kaba held onto Tiki for an extra minute. “Thank you, my friend.”
Amalesh inclined his head to us, and we made our way out without disturbing the kings, who were watching different parts of the operation.
I took Kaba’s hand and led him out of the mansion. As we walked toward the gate, I planned the rest of our night. “How does a nice warm bath sound?”
Kaba leaned more heavily on me and hummed. “Good. Will you join me?”
I turned my head to kiss him. “I’m sure that can be arranged.”
The warmth of his love spread through me and I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that this was where I belonged.