Bound to Them Page 3

  “No. My grandfather is human and so are both my parents.”

  Ah, that made sense. Her human genes would have diluted the shifter parts. “But you sensed she was part shifter?”

  Martha nodded and zipped the pack, then turned to leave the room. “Yeah, I took her to my grandma. I was surprised that she was a hybrid. Of course Nana told me to keep her off the council’s radar. I didn’t understand until the Hunters started snooping around her daycare. We moved five times in the last two years.”

  “Well we’re here to help.”

  We went into the master bedroom next. Martha pulled a duffle bag from the closet that was already packed with essentials. I hadn’t paid attention when she was in Lizzy’s room, but I guessed Lizzy’s bag was also prepacked. The family was used to living on the run. I so knew the feeling.

  “What is this organization John mentioned?” Marth ducked into the bathroom and pulled things out of the medicine cabinet.

  I told her what I told John. “We are also working with a group of rebel hybrids that are going after Harrison.”

  “Harrison?”

  “He’s the leader of the council. I have good reason to believe that he is the mastermind for tracking down the hybrids among other cruel and evil deeds. The council is split but that is hush hush for now.” I winked, and she relaxed.

  “You have spies.”

  “We have spies everywhere. That’s how we found you.” A sense of urgency pulsed down the mating bond. I couldn’t tell if it was from Raven or Reid. Probably both.

  “Martha, we need to go. I’ll send a team to come in pack up your house and put your things in storage.” I moved to the door and saw Raven at the end of the hallway. His baby blue depths flashed silver. “You’ll have whatever you need at the safe house.”

  She stepped up next to me. “I’m ready.”

  We ushered the family into the garage and into the 4 Runner. Reid must have moved it before entering the house. It would make getting out without anyone seeing them, especially if the Hunters were watching the house.

  As soon as Raven backed out of the garage and onto the street, a black SUV raced straight for us.

  “Fuck!” Raven muttered then glanced in the rearview mirror at Lizzy strapped in the car seat. “Sorry.”

  He focused back in the road and jerked the wheel, hopping the curb to go around the SUV. Then he stepped on the gas. I gripped the back of his seat while watching behind us. “They’re turning around.”

  Reid pointed straight ahead. “More are coming.”

  Spotting a fire hydrant, I called to my magic, rolled down my window and blasted the thing with an energy ball. Water shot up in the air like a geyser. I used my hands to split it into two streams and directed one stream to the oncoming vehicle and the second into the one following behind us.

  The car in front of us tried to avert the water and ended up crashing into a concrete power pole. I glanced behind me and cursed softly. The SUV plowed right through the water and was closing in. “We need to get out of the neighborhood.”

  “I’m trying, Love.”

  Reid undid his seat belt and climbed out his window. I gasped and jerked forward to grab his pant leg. “What are you doing?”

  He grinned. “Car jumping.” Then he winked at Lizzy, adding, “Don’t try this at home.”

  The six-year-old giggled. Good grief. How could she giggle? Did she sense the danger?

  Of course she did. She was part vampire. They were closely related to demons. Danger was in their blood. They were the ultimate thrill-seekers.

  Reid was out the window and on the roof before I could growl at him to keep his ass in the 4 Runner.

  “Is he mental? He’s going to get himself killed.” I twisted in the seat and dug through the duffle of weapons we kept between the second and third row.

  “I thought after a year, you’d know that he was the insane one.” Raven jerked the wheel causing me to fall back in the seat. Pounding sounded on the roof. Reid. Gods I hope he didn’t fall off.

  Repositioning my myself I pulled out a Glock and a clip with silver bullets. Once I slammed the clip in place, I handed it to John, who was sitting next the window on the other side of the back seat. He took it and clicked off the safety, then climbed over the seat to the third row where Marsha sat.

  John rolled down the side window and hung out it, aimed, and fired. The bullet hit its mark—the passenger of the SUV.

  Just then a large black wolf shot off the top of our 4 Runner and onto the hood of the SUV. “John, that’s my mate. Don’t shoot him.”

  I remembered what Raven said moments ago about Reid being the insane one. “I don’t think either one of you are sane.”

  “That’s why you love us, B.”

  Yeah, one of many reasons. They were my kind of crazy anyway.

  I leaned out the window. “Aim for the tires.”

  John nodded. “On three.”

  “One.”

  “Two.”

  “Three.” We both fired at the same time, taking out the two front tires.

  The SUV swerved and when it hit the grassy median time slowed. Literally because that was Raven’s secret superpower. He could slow and manipulate time as well as a wide range of witchy magick.

  As soon as Reid jumped from the SUV, Raven let time snap back and he hit the gas, pushing the 4 Runner faster than I was sure it had ever gone. I sure hoped the engine did blow. Sure we had insurance on the rental but explaining why the engine blew and the bullet holes was tricky.

  I sagged in my seat and glanced at Lizzy. She smiled at me and asked, “Did you get the bad guys?”

  “Yeah, we did.”

  At least slowed them long enough to lose our trail. But I wasn’t going to tell her that.

  I sure wasn’t going to her that Reid was staying behind to finish off the ones that were alive. He’d also call in the cleanup crew, then catch up with us at our first layover in Nevada.

  4

  Brooke

  After making sure the Douglas family was settled into their temporary home at the Sunshine Lives HQ, which had homes and apartments on campus, I set out to find my mates. Raven had gone to file our report and put the family in the database. Reid had arrived about fifteen minutes ago but hadn’t sought me out.

  There was only one reason why. A reason I felt through the bond even though he tried to block it. He was injured. I just didn’t know how bad.

  When I reached the infirmary double glass doors, I heard my name. Turning, I noted Thomas Wells, owner and founder of Sunshine Lives. The human was easy on the eyes with his broad shoulders, lean muscular form. His dark brown hair had sprinkles of silver through it. But it was his golden-brown depths that made my chest tighten. They were haunted and filled with pain and loneliness.

  Dressed in a pair of faded blue jeans and a black button-down shirt with the sleeves rolled to his elbows, you’d never guess he was a billionaire who ran a secret underground organization.

  Stepping away from the infirmary doors, I faced him. “What’s up?”

  “Can we talk in private?”

  Uh oh. I glanced to the medical center, my desire to check on Reid was strong. But the urgency in Thomas’s tone over ruled it. Besides if Reid was strong enough to block his pain from me, he wasn’t in jeopardy of dying anytime soon. At least not until I got a hold of him. Really? Jumping from one moving vehicle to another?

  Focusing back on Thomas, I nodded. “Sure.”

  He motioned to a small conference room a few doors down, then turned. Curious, I followed. Usually, Thomas spoke his mind and he had an open communication policy. He didn’t like private meetings.

  Once inside the conference room, he closed the door and pulled a flash drive from his pocket. “I received a message from your father.”

  My heart dropped to my feet. “Is he okay? Cassia?”

  Thomas leaned against the table with his hand braced on the top of it, and his features softened. “They are both fine. His says Cassia is safe and not to worry about her. I assume there is more information in the flash drive.”

  “You didn’t look at it?” That surprised me. He made it his business to be in everyone else’s. Not that I wasn’t complaining. It was his job. Plus it was something I agreed to when joining Sunshine Lives.

  “No. I trust you father and I trust you to tell me anything that would impact the organization and those we protect.”

  “And Dad told you what was on the drive.”

  Thomas chuckled. “He told me. Harrison is no longer in control of the council.”

  I stilled. “Really? Then who is?”

  He corners of Thomas’s lips lifted into delish grin. “Your father.”

  Wow. I didn’t see that one coming. Well, I kind of did but not this soon. “What about Harrison?”

  “He’s on the run.” Thomas turned deadly serious. “He is going after the page from the grimoire. All the details are on the drive.”

  I knew the grimoire that had a missing page was in my father’s possession. We had no idea where the page was. It was one of four relics that Harrison was searching for. My source told me the first two—the sleeping stone and the candle—were secure. That left the grimoire page and a phoenix feather.

  “Do you have any ideas where the page could be?”

  Thomas shook his head. Well, it was worth a shot. Doesn’t hurt to ask and all that jazz. “I have a bad feeling. Just be careful.”

  I gave a short nod. “As soon as I decipher the encryption, I’ll pass it on. I’ll also reach out to my source to see if he can dig into the whereabouts of the page.”

  I felt Thomas alone in the conference room and poked my head inside the infirmary. Mate number one was no longer in there. Figures. Was he avoiding me? Two could play at that. I wasn’t in the mood to chase him down. I had secret information to unlock and a source to contact.

  A few minutes later I entered my apartment and found my two mates sitting on the sofa watching TV. I ignored them and went straight to my office. As soon as I fired up the computer and stuck in the drive, Reid sat in the chair next to mind. Without looking at him I told him about my father’s message.

  Leaning back while my encryption software does its magic, I studied my number one. He stared back, a cocky smirk. “You’re insane.”

  His grin widened. “You just now figured that out?”

  “No.” I picked up my phone and send a message to my source.

  Several seconds later he messaged back.

  We need to meet.

  I froze and stared at the screen. Reid leaned over. “What is it?”

  “My source wants to meet.” Why? All kinds of crazy scenarios played in my mind. Something bad had to have happened if he wasn’t to meet face to face.

  “That’s can’t be good.” Reid frowned and crossed his arms. “We’re going with you.”

  I shook my head. “The whole part of him being my source is that he anonymous.”

  “If he is revealing himself to you, then he’s willing to blow his cover. He can’t expect you to go alone.” He pointed to my phone. “How do you know it’s even him. Harrison could have killed your source and now pretending to be him.”

  That thought did cross my mind. So I messaged back.

  Sky is green.

  He replied instantly.

  Frogs sing in the rain.

  “It’s him.”

  Reid start at me with a raised brow.

  Laughing I explained. “I send a random message with something that isn’t true, and he replies back with a fact unrelated to my message.”

  He pursed his lips and watched the computer screen. “You’re still not going alone.”

  “Going where?” Raven entered the office and handed me a cup of coffee. Then he kissed my kiss as he sat in the seat on my other side while glancing at my phone. “Source?”

  “Yeah. He wants to meet.”

  Raven eyed me carefully. “That’s getting serious. I’m not sure I like it.”

  His words held a double meaning. Both the situation and my relationship with the source was getting serious. He’d been messaging me more frequently in the past months, asking more personal questions. I had always been vague in answering, but he knew a lot more about me than I did. More than Thomas knew.

  “Not sure what to do. I get an uneasy feeling about the face to face while at the same time I feel I need to meet him. Like our futures depend on it.” It was weird. On some kind of psychic level, I felt safe with the source. But was I setting myself up to be kidnapped and killed? After all that’s how many killers met their prey—the internet and technology.

  Maybe it was a good idea to have the twins at my back. “You guys can come, but I’ll meet him alone.”

  I sent the source a message asking for the date, time, and place. When he replied, he added that the information he had would benefit my mates as well. Creepy how he knew about them. I never told the source that I was mated.

  Pushing away the uneasy feeling stirring inside me, I opened the file from the drive. It had finished decrypting itself. The twins moved closer to read along with me.

  There was so much information and several files, so I opened the one labeled LW, my father’s initials. I gasped as I realized most of the documents were research notes and formulas that pertained to the hybrid project. What. The. Fuck.

  I clicked one named memo. It was a letter to me from my dad.

  Hi Sweet-B,

  By now you should know that Harrison is no longer in control of the council, but he has followers. An army of sorts. But so do we. I’ve stepped into my rightful place as head of the council and rallying the troupes, preparing for a war that I hope to avoid. This is Harrison we’re dealing with. The SOB is beyond crazy.

  I have provided you with my notes for the hybrid project and all the information I have on the Original Three and what I uncovered about Harrison’s plans. He is searching for the relics as well as the OT’s blood. See the file title OT.

  You have to find the missing grimoire page before Harrison does. It contains the spell needed to complete his ritual.

  I’ll be in touch soon.

  Love always,

  Dad.

  I glanced at my mates and blew out a breath. “It’s going to take us a while to go through this. I don’t have that kind of time. I’ll give Thomas the drive to have his researchers comb through the files. While they are reaching, we’ll go pay my dad a visit.”

  By the time we were done at the council mansion, it’d be time to meet my source. I was a busy girl.

  5

  Brooke

  My mates and I crossed through the portal only a select few knew about and existed it in the middle of a jungle. No. It was a rainforest. Beautiful and wet. I loved it!

  After all my element was water.

  Following the path, I led my mates through the think forest until we came to an opening in the trees. The clearing was a different world altogether. The large mansion sat on a grassy hill.

  My heart pounded and I rushed forward, anticipation of seeing Dad flooded my system. Tears blurred my vision as the front door opened, and Lewis Walker stepped out.

  I flew into his arms and hugged him close. “Dad.”

  He tightened his hold on me and I just wanted to melt into him. After several more seconds, he pulled back and glanced over my shoulder.

  Stepping back I introduced the twins. “Dad, this is Reid and Raven, my mates.”

  Dad glanced at me, surprised. He recovered quickly and held out his hand to them. A familiar scent drifted from inside the mansion, so I left the men folk to get to know each other on their own.

  I followed the soft sound of laughter to a larger study-slash-bar just off the great room. I stopped in the doorway, my vision blurring. Cassia sat on a barstool next to a petite blond. Two males I didn’t recognize stood behind the bar. The males noticed me, and they tensed. So did the other five males sitting at a rectangle table with books and papers spread across it. That was when the females turned toward me.

  Cassia gasped, then let out a squeak before jumping off the stool and flying at me. “Brooke!”

  We hugged tighter than Dad and I did. I wasn’t sure I’d be able to let her go. Of course I did. “How are you?”

  “I’m good.” Cassia smiled wide. “Gods, it’s good to see you. So much has happened.”

  Cassia took my hand and pulled me farther into the room. “This is Reese.” She motioned to the blonde sitting on the stool.

  Reese stood and held out her hand. “I feel like I know you already. Cassia has told me so much about you.”

  “Same, although Cassia isn’t my source.”

  Reese laughed then cut the brown hair alpha wolf a glare as he approached. “And this is my overprotective mate Zane.”

  Now that I was closer to the males, I picked up on their para halves and lack thereof. Plus I knew them by name already. Reese was a witch/demon hybrid and had used the sleeping stone to kill her demon father, who was hunting her down to kill her first.

  Zane was the Alpha heir of the Carter Moon Pack.

  “He’s actually the Alpha now,” Cassia said, reading my thoughts.

  I blinked at her and noticed the two males behind the bar were gathered closer to her. Well as close as they could get with the bar between them. A vampire and a bear. The vampire spoke, holding out his hand. “I’m Gunner and this is Daryn.”

  Daryn shook my hand next. “We’re Cassia’s mates. Well two of them.”

  Cassia pointed to the table. “My other two are trying to learn how to take over the world along with Reese’s mates.” As she said their names, they either nodded or waved. “Eli, Von, Dimitri, and Wade.”

  Reese returned to her seat at the bar. “My human mates, Trevor and Wyatt are working and holding down the home front at Rose Lake.”

  That was right. The Rose Lake Coven was now a safe place for hybrids. I studied Cassia. She was healthy and happy. I sensed determination and purpose surrounding my sister.

  “Come sit and have a drink. There’s so much to tell you. Where do I start?” She took a drink and looked at Reese, who shrugged like she didn’t know either.