CHAPTER 22
Only once in his very long life had Gauge felt this out of control, and it happened when he learned his eillelé had been killed in an accident in space.
He’d been young then, weak, and still in training.
His father had easily taken control of him before anyone got seriously hurt.
There was no one here who could overpower him now.
Not true, a small voice whispered in the back of his mind. There is one, and she is standing right in front of you. He could see the fear in her eyes as she reached out to touch him. Fear, but also something else. What was it?
“I’m not afraid of you, Gauge,” she murmured, then stepped in even closer, resting her head against his chest. “I’m afraid for these other people. I’m afraid of how you might feel once your anger has left. Please come back to me. They deserve to be punished, but let the alpha handle it.”
He glanced at the alpha, who stood near Teo, facing him.
“Your mate is right, Gauge. If you want the cooperation of the rest of my pack, you need to let me handle this. These elders will be severely punished. You have my word. None of them will dare disobey me again.” He turned to the males who were still frozen by Gauge’s power.
“If it happens again, I’ll kill them myself. ”
Lena sighed, her posture relaxing when Gauge put one arm around her, holding her close against him. It was bad enough they shot Teo. Gauge would not have tempered his anger if the elders had hurt Lena. He took a deep breath, then another, forcing himself to calm down before he spoke.
“If Teo had died, or if Lena had been hurt, we would not be having this discussion, Alpha. If you do not take control of your pack, people are going to get killed. We do not expect this transition to be an easy one. Humans will be frightened by what they don’t understand.
If your people deliberately make it worse, things could go very badly for you.
We will protect you as much as we can from the outside until this issue with Djinn is dealt with.
After that, shifters and humans will need to find a way to live with one another, as the shifters of my world found a way to live with us. Do you understand?”
“I do. This won’t happen again. Not here anyway. I can’t speak for other packs.”
“Then take control of your elders.” Gauge flicked his hand out.
Lena turned in time to see the weapon go flying before all five elders fell to their knees, terror in their eyes. She felt the power of an alpha flow out, the air instantly heavy and difficult to breathe.
“You did it this time, Pops,” Raif growled.
“I’ve let you old bastards get away with way too much, hoping you’d begin to see reason, but I can see now that’s never going to happen.
We can’t keep living in the past, not and expect to survive.
We have no choice but to move forward with the rest of the world. ”
“We can do that on our own, Raif. We don’t need vampires interfering in pack business. Don’t make us dep—”
Raif flicked his hand out, much like Gauge had done, but this time a cut opened across the elder’s cheek.
“No, I’m done listening to you, Pops. I’ve given you guys every chance in the world to listen to reason.
I wanted to give you a voice, but I can see that was a mistake.
You will do as I tell you now or face the consequences.
If you want to leave my pack, you are welcome to pack your bags and go.
If you want to stay, you will obey my rule. The choice is yours.”
Pops looked over at the other four elders, but none of them would meet his gaze. They kneeled with their eyes cast to the filthy floor.
“Is it safe to come inside now?” someone called from outside.
Gauge had heard the alpha’s beta approach the house.
He knew everything that was happening around this cabin.
It was part of a Hunter’s abilities, part of their training, to keep track of more than one potential threat at a time.
Three serpents were circling above, Seraphym and Samantha having joined Aeson.
They were patiently waiting for instructions.
The three cats were still unconscious outside.
Raif glanced over at him, waiting for Gauge to nod before he said, “Yeah, Skylar, come on in. It’s safe.”
Skylar stood to the side of the door and peeked in. “Whew, shit, okay. That was intense. I could feel the pressure from halfway down the mountain. Is everyone alive?”
“Check on Teo,” Raif said.
“It’s not necessary,” Gauge said. “I’ll take care of my tracker. You handle your cats.” Gauge kept his arm around Lena as he walked over to Teo. “Does the bullet need to be taken out?”
“No, it went straight through. I’ll be okay.”
Gauge released Lena, bringing his wrist to his mouth to open a vein. Teo didn’t hesitate to take the offered blood, both of them aware it would help him heal within minutes instead of days.
“Look at them, Raif,” his grandfather cried. “They’re monsters.” The five elders slowly came to their feet, anger replacing the fear in their eyes.
“Christ, Pops, stop being such a hypocrite. It’s a little blood. It’s not like we don’t shift and kill animals, only we eat their warm flesh too, not just their blood. I wish we could heal with blood.”
“You saw what he did to us,” Tom said, though his tone wasn’t quite so belligerent. “That monster could have killed us with a thought. Do you really want to turn them loose on our people?”
Raif snorted. “You mean like I can’t. Keep pushing, Tom, and you’ll find out just how much I’ve been holding back with you assholes.”
“It ends here,” Haven said, taking her place beside Raif. She turned to Gauge, lowering her eyes. “My deepest apologies, Hunter. There is no excuse for such bad behavior.” She glanced over at the elders. “We all owe you an apology.”
“We will never apologize for doing what we think is right for this pack,” Pops said. “Do your worst, Raif. Your father would agree with me on this one if he were here.”
“No, he wouldn’t,” Raif said, sounding tired. He turned to Gauge. “We can speak again tomorrow. If there is anything I can do in the meantime, just let Skylar or Haven know. I’ll have Skylar go back for his truck so you don’t have to walk down, unless you plan to get transported.”
“Transportation would be appreciated.” Gauge looked down at Lena, who was watching him closely.
He needed to put off going after the Umi queen for a couple of days.
Lena needed to make a decision, and he knew it would not be an easy one.
She must be made to understand what it meant to be the mate of a Hunter like him, and he wasn’t sure she could handle it.
But he also couldn’t let her leave his side for now either.
Someone powerful had been speaking telepathically to her, someone dangerous.
Someone strong enough to set a block in her mind so he couldn’t listen in.
Barring another Hunter, the only beings he knew of who could manage something like that were Djinn.
“Skylar, go get your truck,” Raif said. He waited for his beta to leave before adding, “Can I do anything else for you?”
“Yes. Can you arrange separate housing for Teo, Seraphym, and Samantha? Perhaps they can stay with the serpent and his mate. I need time to speak with Lena alone.”
“Um, I’m sure Aeson won’t mind. Faith isn’t staying with him, so there should be plenty of room.
His home isn’t far from the one I gave you.
Except for old shacks like this dump, they are farthest out in the country, where it’s less likely for humans to accidentally walk or drive by.
Aeson could never pass for human, but neither could the other two who came with you. ”
“Thank you,” Gauge said. “What are you planning to do with your elders? There are three others outside.”
“I have people coming up to help me. Don’t worry about them, Hunter. They’ll be taken somewhere they can’t do anymore damage.”
“What are you talking about, Raif?” Pops said, sounding worried now.
“You don’t need to ask, Pops. You assholes are the ones who set this up. I’ve never wanted to use it . . . until now.”
“Don’t do it, kid,” Pops said. “You made your point. I think this is all a big mistake, but you are the alpha. We won’t interfere again.”
“You said that after Goudy almost killed Haven. Sorry, Pops, I just can’t trust you, and this is too important. Too many lives are at stake.” He stepped to the side, motioning toward the doorless entry. “Let’s go.”
“Do you want me to go with you?” Haven said.
“No, I got this. You go down and smooth things over at home. There’s lots of food at the house. Why don’t you arrange for those in need to come pick it up.”
Haven nodded, glancing at Teo, who was looking better after taking Gauge’s blood. The color had returned to his face and the wound in his shoulder was closing.
“Let’s go outside?” Gauge said to Lena, not wanting her to feel trapped inside the small cabin with so many hostile males.
She nodded, looking pale. Gauge waited until Raif had the elders outside before he followed with Lena. “Your three cats are waking now, Alpha. You can call them in.”
“Thank you.”
A few minutes later, three cougars came walking out of the brush, tails twitching, their eyes glazed.
“Shift,” Raif growled. When nothing happened, he snarled, waving his hand at each of the cats. One after the other, there was an explosion of bright light, the males left shaking and confused.
Gauge knew a strong alpha could force members of his pack to shift, but it was a violent action, and he’d been told it hurt.
“Get your asses over here,” Raif growled. He waited until they had joined the other five. “You know where to go, Pops,” he said, falling in behind them as they slowly walked off.
“Don’t feel bad about this,” Haven said to Lena. “It’s been coming for a while. Things should settle down now that Raif finally got control of the troublemakers.”
“Where is the alpha taking them?” Lena asked.
Haven sighed. “The elders built a sort of prison up in a cave system in the mountains. Most of it is surrounded by thick rock. Silver bars have been erected over the openings. It’s barbaric and not what I would have wanted, but they can’t escape.
When this deal with Djinn is finished, I plan to talk to Raif about building an asylum like we have on Laizahlia for rogues. ”
“It would be for the best,” Gauge said. “Shifters can’t be housed in the same prison as humans. Too much risk of creating hybrids if fights break out.”
“What are hybrids?” Lena asked.
“Our kind can be bitten or scratched by a shifter without risk of serious harm. Our bodies are strong enough to fight off an infection. It’s not the same for most humans.
If a cat or wolf shifter accidentally infects a human, they are turned into what we call a hybrid, a strange combination of animal and human.
They are quite insane and become a danger to everyone around them. ”
“Have you seen these hybrids?” Lena asked, frowning.
“Yes, many times. There is no choice but to euthanize them. There is no cure.”
“In this matter, I agree with the elders,” Haven said. “Humans are going to panic when they learn about hybrids and how they are made. I’m just not sure what we can do to help ease their fears, not when they are valid.”
“Our scientists are working on a possible cure,” Gauge said. “It’s going to take time however.”
“Does the same thing happen if a human is bitten or scratched by a serpent?” Lena asked.
“Not to my knowledge,” Gauge replied. “It is well known that serpents sometimes take human mates, so my guess is that humans don’t suffer the same fate when dealing with serpents.”
They all looked up when a shadow fell over them.
The raging storm from a few minutes earlier had dissipated completely, leaving a star-filled sky.
Three serpents were circling above. The two males were Leviathan, the larger one a teal color, the smaller one more green than blue.
The female, Samantha, was a Catalan. She had four legs instead of two in her serpent form, and her multicolored scales were brighter, ranging in color from burnt orange to bright yellow. Gauge felt Lena stiffen beside him.
“Are you all right?”
“Yes. Um, I’ll tell you about later, when we get back to our dwelling.”
Gauge suspected her sudden unease had something to do with the Djinn who’d been speaking to her earlier, but what about the presence of the serpents made her think about it?
He focused on the bigger teal serpent. “Seraphym, tell Samantha and Aeson the danger is past. We will meet you back at the house the alpha arranged for us.”
“You’re sure you don’t need us?” Seraphym replied. “Is Lena all right. You should have told us my niece was placed in danger.”
Seraphym was right. He should have told them, but his only thought had been to get to Lena. “I’m sure. My apologies, Seraphym. Time was of the essence.”
Seraphym didn’t immediately answer, as if he knew Gauge wasn’t being completely honest with him. “All right. We’ll see you in a few minutes.” The three serpents turned away, heading back down the mountain.
About thirty minutes later, Gauge heard the sound of a motor working hard as it came up the steep hill. When Skylar stopped in front of them, Gauge helped Lena into the back seat, taking his place next to her. Haven sat in the front with Skylar.
“Okay, let’s go home,” Haven said to the beta. “I think we’ve all had enough excitement for one night.”
Gauge looked over at Lena, who was staring out the window into the darkness, her thoughts closed to him.
He didn’t bother her, knowing they would have plenty of time later to discuss their possible future together.
Though the ultimate decision would be left up to her, he was done trying to run from this.
He had been given a second chance through Lena, a blessing no other Hunter had ever received.
Teo was right. He would be a fool to walk away without even trying to see if this would work.
It didn’t mean they wouldn’t have to face major problems, but they could be discussed later too. Lena had proven herself stronger than he’d imagined tonight. He’d sensed no real fear for her own safety.
But was she strong enough to deal with an ancient Laizahlian Hunter? That, he wasn’t so sure about.