Destiny's Choice (32 page)

“I’m afraid so,” Roan said with sympathy.

“Damn.” He sighed deeply. “And I thought being a junior in college was a nightmare.”

“Why don’t you take Isaiah into the house, sweetheart. Get him some clothes and a bit
e
to eat.”

“But, Roan. The capsule.”

“Can wait until Flynn returns.” He pat her shoulder. “I’m sure Isaiah here would rather a doctor remove it than the method we used.”

“Uh, yeah. Doctor sounds good. No offense,” he said quickly.

“
None taken, Isaiah.” Roan laughed softly then held out his hand. “Roan LeGuer, Alpha of this Pack. This is Rivera Montgomery, soon to be LeGuer. She’s my True
Mate
. Also your sister. But we’ll leave that for her to explain.”

Rivera gave him a smirk. No doubt catching what he said. She didn’t call him on it, so he guessed it was fine.

Isaiah returned the handshake. “I’d like to say it was a pleasure to meet you sir, but under the circumstances…”

“Roan is fine.” He smiled. “You are my brother-in-law after all
.”

“Yes, sir. I mean, Roan.”

Poor kid
. “Go ahead, sweetheart. I’ll join you once I have this all cleared up.” They all stood
.
Isaiah
quickly
cover
ed
himself. Roan couldn’t help but be amused. “I think clothes should be first.”

She gave him a kiss. “Love you.”

“Love you, too.” He would never tire of hearing that. Or getting the giddy feeling that came with it.

She then walked off with Isaiah. “Don’t worry little brother. You’ll soon get used to being naked.”

He snorted. “I sincerely doubt that.”

Roan chuckled as they entered the house. He had a feeling his and Rivera’s lives were about to get really interesting.

“That was a lucky break,” Tristan said
.
H
e went over to Sasha, Dane, and the twins.

The three were still on the ground
,
t
otally wiped but conscious.

“Yes. Now we just have to find fourteen of the young men,” Roan replied.

“No. Its still fifteen,” Dane croaked. “He mislead you.”

“Mislead? How?” Tristan asked.

“And why?” Roan didn’t think
Phillip would do such a thing without a purpose. What that purpose could be, he had no clue. Seemed the entire night had been one big shock after another. He really didn’t feel up to more revelations.

“Shit,” Sasha groaned.

“To throw you off,” Abel answered.

“And none of the male’s he mentioned are the father,” Kane added.

Roan had a bad feeling. “Okay. Then who is?”

Three sets of eyes gazed up at him at once then Dane spoke.

“You are.”

                                     *     *     *     *

After getting her new found brother some clothes,
Rivera
led him to the kitchen for a little something to eat.

“Sandwiches sound okay with you? I’m not much of a cook,” she admitted.

“That’s fine.” He shrugged as she got the bread then meat and cheese from the fridge. “So, that Ian Montgomery guy Frankenstein mentioned. That’s my birth father?”

Rivera couldn’t help but cringe inwardly. “He was, yes,” she said while putting everything on the small table Isaiah was now sitting at.

“Was. So he’s dead?”

Seeing the disappointment in that light green gaze was more than Rivera could take. She couldn’t withhold the truth from him no matter how she felt. And he would find out sooner or later anyway. It would be best if he heard it from her. At least she could soften the blow.

“Look Isaiah.” She sat across form him. “Ian wasn’t what I, or anyone for that matter, would call a father.”

He let out a breath. “I can tell by the way you say his name and not dad or father
,
what you have to tell me isn’t good.”

“Unfortunately, no.” She too let out a deep breath. “I spent the first twenty five years of my life being basically tortured. Now I find out it was all part of Phillip’s research. That research nearly killed me quite a few times
. A
nd the one
’
s wh
o were supposed to protect me, k
eep me safe
. Well, they didn’t. They thought keeping their secret was more important than me and the hell I went through.”

“Christ.” His pale green eyes took on a dim glow. “I hope something was done to your parents before your father died.”

“Death was their punishment.”

“What?”

“I know it sounds shocking. But being part of the Pack means there are rules you have to follow. Laws set down ages ago to protect the Pack. There have to be or we’d be found out. And you can only imagine what would happen should the humans discover us.”

Isaiah shivered. “Yeah. Not good.”

“Exactly.” She nodded. “Ian and his
Mate
, Lillah broke the number one Law. Humans are never to know we exist. The second is to never turn a human. Lillah broke that
l
aw as well by making Ian one of us. They also were responsible for letting my torture and near death continue. Covering it all up and keeping it a secret for nearly two centuries.”

“Wait.” He held up a hand. “No freaking way are you that old.”

“The same virus responsible for your shift is also the reason we age at a much slower rate than the average human.”

“So you’re saying I’m going to live for centuries too?”

“Now that you’ve shifted and become fully Lupus. Yes.”

“Oh man.”

Rivera saw the colour drain from his face so quickly got up and retrieved a soda from the fridge. She popped the top then handed it over to him.

“Slow sips, hon.”

He did as instructed, the colour slowly coming back into his cheeks.

“Thanks.” He took another sip. “I think it was one too many shocks so close together.”

“And probably on an empty stomach as well.”

“That too.” He grimaced, tipping his drink again. “I would still like to hear the rest though. If you don’t mind.”

“Are you sure? I don’t want to push Isaiah. You’ve been through a lot in a short amount of time.”

“Because my IQ has always been higher than my class
m
ate
s, my dad taught me to compartmentalize. Wow, do I still call him dad?”

“He may not be biologically. But he raised you and showed you love, right?”

“Yeah.” Isaiah smiled. “He’s never been one of those dads afraid to show affection. Even after I came out and told him I was gay, he said he still loved me.” His eyes then got large. “Shit! Do you have gay wolves?”

Rivera giggled. “Yes, we do. And all Omega’s are gay.”

“Oh, good.” He let out a relieved breath.

“I’m glad you grew up in a loving home, Isaiah. Your dad sounds like a wonderful man.”

“He is.” Isaiah
smiled.

“Good.” She sat then began to put together a large sandwich for her hungry brother. “As I was saying. All the Laws they broke are punishable by death. I know it sounds harsh, but the Lupus have
been around as long as the humans have. Keeping the Pack safe is every member’s responsibility.”

“I understand.” He nodded as Rivera pushed a fat sandwich into his hands. “Just the thought of what the government could do if they found out gives me the willies.” He then took a big bite of sandwich.

Rivera couldn’t suppress a shudder of her own. “Yes, well, because they broke Pack Law, both were executed for their crime. Their bodies were cre
m
ate
d then scattered at sea.”

He chewed thoughtfully, chasing down it down with a bit of soda. “Cremating gets rid of the DNA and the saltwater would finish breaking down whatever’s left. It’s a good system.”

“I’m glad you think so.”

They both jumped at those words.

“Jesus, Flynn! Give me a stroke why don’t you,” she admonished as she tried to get her heart rate back to normal.

“Flynn? I thought he was Roan.” Isaiah looked as if he too were trying to stop his heart from beating out of his chest. His hand was clutching his shirt.

“No. This is his twin and Beta, Flynn. He’s also Sasha’s True
Mate
.”

“The red head with the gun.”

Flynn looked at her. “Gun?”

She waved him off. “I’ll let her explain.”

“As long as she didn’t shoot anybody. She didn’t, did she?”

“Almost.” She giggled.

“I’ll find out later.” He sighed. “So who’s this?”

“Flynn, this is Isaiah Montgomery. One of my brothers.”

“Indeed.”

Isaiah got up and shook Flynn’s hand. “Nice to meet you, sir.”

“Likewise, Isaiah.” He returned the handshake with a grin. “But call me, Flynn. We’re family after all.”

“Yes, ah, Flynn.” He sat back down.

“Isaiah is actually Milo, the black wolf.” Rivera then went on to explain everything to Flynn.

“I see. And when did you first shift?”

“Uh, maybe two days ago.” His brow scrunched in thought. “Hard to tell being a wolf.”

“That’s fine,” Flynn said. “As the Pack doctor, I’ll need to do the usual Post Transformation check up. We all go through it. I’ll locate the capsule and remove it as well. Get it all done at once.”

“Sure.”

“Roan said he was an Omega too, Flynn. Not sure how he would know from Isaiah
’s
shift though.” She was still puzzling over that one.

“Ah. Did you see rainbow coloured light when he shifted?”

She nodded.

“It’s one of the signs of an Omega. Which means he’ll come into his powers soon.”

“Powers? What powers?” Isaiah was starting to get upset again.

“Calm down, hon,” she soothed.

“Sorry to spring this on you, Isaiah,” Flynn said. “But being an Omega, you need to know so you can prepare.”

“Okay.” He began to visibly settle. “What sort of powers will I have?”

“Hard to say.” Flynn shrugged. “Each Omega is different. Some can create fire or wind. Some can control the weather or water. And some like Rivera and her uncle Tristan can communicate telepathically with animals.”

“That’s pretty cool. Are you an Omega too, Rivera?”

“No, hon.” She smiled. “Only males are Omega’s. The ability to communicate with animals is a family trait.”

“Oh.”

“Don’t look so down, Isaiah.” Flynn pat his shoulder. “You’ll find out soon enough what your power is. And I’m glad we have plenty of Omega’s around. They’ll know what to do better than I will.”

He was about to leave when Rivera suddenly remembered why he had left in the first place.

“How’s Joel doing?”

“He’s alive.” Flynn’s frown was deep. “Though barely. I
f
we hadn’t gotten there when we did, well, I’m afraid he may not have made it.”

“I’m glad he’s going to be alright.”

“Me too.” He gave Rivera a wan smile. “Cole volunteered to stay with him
. M
other took Tala to Angel’s. She dropped me off on the way. I thought it a good idea to have them both out of the way until this mess was cleared up.”

Rivera agreed.

“Well, I’m going to find my True
Mate
.”
He went to the door then stopped. “I’m sure Isaiah will crash soon. He’s more than welcome to one of the guest rooms.”

“Thanks Flynn.”

“Yeah, thanks.”

“No problem.” Then he was gone.

“Crashing sounds like a really good idea right now.” A jaw popping yawn followed that statement.

Rivera couldn’t help but smile. He looked so much like Ian. But there was enough of Isaiah’s birth mother there to soften edges. Still, there was no mistaking those eyes. If that was all Isaiah inherited from Ian, she couldn’t be disappointed. It had been the man’s only redeeming feature.

“Come on, little brother. Let’s find you a room.”

She took his hand and led him to an empty guest room on the second floor. It was small with an equally small en suite. It would suit Isaiah’s needs for the time being.

“Get a shower and some sleep. Whatever else that needs figured out can wait until then, alright?”

“Yeah.” He grinned tiredly. “And thanks Rivera.”

She gave him a hug. “Get some rest, little brother.”

“Yes, big sister.”

“I knew there was a smart ass in there somewhere.”

“It’s the fatigue,” he quipped.