Lacy Seeing Double (3 page)

She heard her father and mother at the back door, they had a key. She turned and once again tripped on the damn carpet that she loved when she bought it. The damn thing had caused her nothing but problems today; it was like it had a mind of its own.

Lacy screamed when she tripped and stuck her hand out, putting it right through the glass case that was situated by the entrance. She felt the presence at the front door try to use magic to get in. Damnit, she thought it was a shifter. If they were a witch, they were not too powerful because the locks held, thank the Gods.

Her parents ran into the store and gasped when they saw the blood coming from her arm. Lacy grimaced and then said, “Sorry, tripped.” Her father shook his head and her mother frowned and looked at the front door. “Who was here?” Her mom whispered and stepped toward the door.

“Don"t know. Some weird guy.” She muttered and then tried to get her arm out of the cabinet without too much damage.

***

The Master leader faded back across the street from the store he had been standing in front of. He came here himself this time, the idiots he kept sending could never seal the deal, and he needed to catch a break. Right now he had the New Council right where he wanted them. They were stuck in Milliken, with the help of a few of his new recruits.

Looking across the street he sniffed, bears. Damnit, somehow shifters had found her.

The Rogues had paid a lot of money to hack into the New Council"s communications.

There were only missing a few of the Chosen. If they weren"t careful, Quin and the rest of the New Council would find all of their missing members. That was not acceptable.

The Chosen were under the assumption that when they found all the Chosen they completed the Prophesy. They didn"t know the rest of what the Seer said. Only three people knew the truth, and two were dead. He had made sure of it. When the Seer went to the Old Council with her Prophesy, it had been incomplete. When he went to see the woman later that week, she had been excited. The rest of the Prophesy had been revealed to her.

He assured her that he would bring it to the Council, but instead he and his other partners held on to it. They had a plan already in motion. One of the Chosen was going to disappear. They were going to hold the child until she was old enough to gain her shifting ability. Then they were going to systematically take the rest of the Chosen and change the Prophesy to meet their needs. With all the Chosen, they would have been able to take over the human world.

Everything went wrong though. First, the dumbass who took the Chosen lost her, and then the rest of the families scattered too quick. They were not able to track them, so the Rogues had to fade back into the woodwork until the opportunity rose again. He hated acting like he was concerned and apathetic to the Alpha, but he was supposed to be his friend. Ha, what a joke that was. Oliver was a pompous ass. Boo hoo, my wife and children were killed. He was supposed to have great power, and he let it all go. He should have used it wisely, women could be bought, and children obtained. Power was what was important.

For years, he had sat there, watched and waited, holding the old man"s hand. Now, he was in the perfect position. They all thought he was going to be an asset to the New Council, ha; no, he was just waiting and biding his time. They thought he was hunting the Rogue leader, which was why he was not at the compound or in Denver. Oliver was so trusting. Of course, he had made sure the man did not realize what he was doing.

He thought that when his computer expert hacked into the Pack computers he would get the upper hand. But each time they tried to get ahead of the New Council they failed. It was pissing him off. This time he had been here in more than enough time. Who had sent bears? It had not even been in the computer that they found another one of the Chosen.

Hell, he had just figured it out himself when he was talking to his new helpers. They spoke of their coven leader. How she spoke about the Prophesy, and that it would be soon when the Alphas discovered the spirits had picked one of their own to be a Chosen.

How arrogant Oliver had been, thinking the spirits had chosen only wolves to be on the Council. It had been part of the rest of the Prophesy that only he knew. The Chosen and their mates would be a mixture of magical creatures. It was the only way for the final part of the Prophesy to come to fruition. He was not going to let that happen.

The magical community needed to stay hidden, if humans knew they existed, it would change everything. Right now, they could use their powers to control the humans.

Making money and leading countries was what it was all about. He was not going to give up all he had worked for. Soon he wouldn"t have to. He would have what he needed and no one was going to stop him.

Swinging around, he looked one last time at the store and walked down the street. He was sure that he would be able to get to her or one of the mates soon. He needed leverage.

***

Lacy"s mother looked out the window and watched the shadowed man walk away. She shivered and thought that her daughter had avoided capture tonight. Danger was near and she needed to leave here, and go to where she finally belonged.

Her mother closed her eyes and felt outward so she could feel the man"s power; she wanted to be able to recognize it when she saw it again.

She turned back, looked at her husband, and nodded. He sighed and bent to help their daughter. It was past time to tell Lacy about her past. They thought that she had been hidden, but her coven sisters knew. Recently they had had a break in in the coven.

Some of them did not agree with the way the future New Council was planning. They liked the way things were. Several of her sister witches had left the coven.

She looked to the door and smiled. The twin bears had just entered the store and they were looking right at her daughter. She knew when they showed up this afternoon who they were. The spirits had chosen well for her daughter. She could feel the connection between them. When she had met them and used a simple spell to see what kind of shifters they were, she consulted the tree of life she had in her spell room and she had known. These were her daughter"s mates. Twin bears, meant to protect and keep her safe.

Lacy was not going to be happy with her or her father. It is a good thing she will have her mates to talk to.

Chapter 4

Blaine looked at his mother and frowned. She was telling him that he needed to have more faith in his brothers. He did have faith in them, which was not the issue. The issue was that they were sent to New Orleans to find a witch.

“Your brothers are competent enough to find who they are looking for. Besides the Alpha female is the one who sent them, go yell at her.” His mother said and sniffed.

“Right, like she would listen to me. She is a force of nature; I just don"t want them to get into any trouble. We don"t know much about the coven down there, for all we know they could curse them and send them on their way. Then we would have to listen to them whine forever about it.” Blaine said.

His mother laughed and patted her hand on his face. “You should be more worried about letting your mates claim you, don"t think I didn"t notice that they both bare your mark but you don"t. Care to explain that to me?”

Blaine blushed and looked around the room. Talking with his mom about this was probably the most uncomfortable thing he had done in a long time. His mates understood.

“Ma, that is between me and my mates.” Blaine said.

“Well, I want grandbabies. Look at the rest of the Chosen, they are all pregnant or have had kids. You are not going to deny me that are you?” His mother said. “Until they claim you, Kira can"t get pregnant, I am not stupid.” Blaine sighed and looked at the ceiling. Some things were not allowed to be told to anyone outside the Council. But this was his mother.

“Ma, don"t worry, you will get your grandchildren. Now is not the time for my mates to claim me.” Blaine said.

His mother looked worried and looked at him intently. “What is going on?” Blaine laughed and then kissed his mother on the forehead and whispered, “When the time comes, we shall have a child.”

He walked away, wishing the shadow around the compound would be gone soon. This many people in the Chosen compound made for little privacy.

Kira and Dalton came around the corner and he went to them. “My mom is asking questions.” He said to his mates after he kissed them.

Kira laughed and wrapped her arms around him. “Soon, we have to do what the spirits tell us and right now they say that it is too dangerous for us to claim you. We have to trust the visions. Something will happen soon.”

“Yeah, but I don"t think it"s going to be what the Alphas want.” Blaine said.

Chapter 5

Sevi and Shawn entered the small store and their eyes instantly went to the woman who was lying on the floor bleeding. They paused for a few moments and sniffed the air.

Their mate. They had found their mate, and she was perfect.

Small, cute and curvy. Sevi and Shawn snapped out of it. Their mate was hurt. They rushed to her side and knelt down on one side of her. She was looking at her father but felt their presence.

Her parents. Adele and Timothy Treed had introduced themselves earlier. The twins had been impressed by the way the witches welcomed them into their home. Shawn wondered if they were going to be so nice when they told them their daughter was their mate.

“Dad, I think I need to go to the hospital.” Lacy said weakly.

Her dad looked at them and nodded. She had several large cuts on her arm and she was losing blood, a lot of blood. “Yep, sweetie, you did a number on yourself this time. I think a visit to the ER is in order. Do you think they have your old bed available?” Lacy laughed and turned her head. Right next to her were two of the most gorgeous men she had ever seen. They were obviously twins but she could see the slight differences in them. “Who are you?” She whispered.

“I am Sevi Trueblood, and this is my brother Shawn. Can we help you?” Sevi said softly.

“My name is Lacy Treed, and I would really appreciate your help.” She said and groaned when she moved her arm to try and get up. The twins moved closer and she felt a tingle run down her spine.

Lacy frowned and looked back and forth between the two of them. Her gift was telling her something. She felt a pull, a bond begin to form and before her eyes the familiar thin string of energy began to develop between them. All three of them. Really? Two men were her destined husbands? They had to be shifters. Just then the strings attached and pulled them all closer.

“Do you know who I am?” She whispered and looked at them in the eyes.

“Yes.” Shawn said and pulled her injured arm across her chest and rested it lightly on her stomach. “Now stay still, we will get you to the hospital.” Sevi nodded and stood up. He watched while his brother took their mate in his arms and stood up. Lacy"s parents hurried out to the car they had driven in, but Shawn was not going to let her go. He waited while Sevi opened the passenger door and slid in with Lacy gently, keeping her on his lap. Running around to the other side of the truck, Sevi slid in and waved to her parents, letting them know they would follow.

Lacy made a small noise and Shawn tightened the hold on her. “I"m sorry, sweetheart; I am trying to keep from moving you too much.” He said and kissed her on the top of the head.

It felt so natural, so right that they were together. “Thank you, Shawn, its okay.” Sevi looked over quickly and smiled. “You can tell us apart?”

“Of course, you look totally different. Why?” She said softly.

“Because even our mother has a hard time telling us apart.” Shawn said softly.

Lacy grunted unladylike and smiled. “Well I can.” Shawn and Sevi looked at each other and smiled. She was the one for them. They felt the pull; Shawn had a hard time with her sitting on his lap, wiggling around not claiming her. She was a hot little bundle.

“So, tell me about yourself.” She said hoping to take his mind off her ass.

“We were born in New Mexico; our parents are bear shifters, so are we. When we were little, Blaine, our brother, was adopted. He"s a wolf. Our parents wanted him to know his own kind, and so we moved to the only open shifter community that welcomes all types of shifters. Milliken, Colorado is beautiful. We have a nice house along a river, built it ourselves. Our father opened a supply store with a friend and we work there running the place. Recently, we found out our brother was one of the Chosen. Do you know what that is?” Shawn asked.

Lacy nodded and looked out the window. “Yep, I have studied history of all shifters.”

“Good, anyway, Milliken is under attack from the Rogues, and we were sent here by the Alpha female to get help. The attack is coming from witches. Our brother and the Chosen that have been found are all at the Pack compound, they are protecting the families of the Pack. Basically, it"s a mess. Your mom is the coven leader; we came to seek her help with what"s going on.” Shawn said as they pulled up to the ER.

Sevi jumped out of the car and then he ran around as Shawn opened the door and handed Lacy to him. Her parents were close behind when they rushed into the ER.

Shawn briskly demanded that Lacy be seen. It was kinda humorous to watch all the nurses" jump and run around.

She was taken to the back while her parents and the twins filled out the paperwork. She winced when the nurse cleaned off the blood so the doctor could see the wound. Trying to remain strong, she looked at her arm, and knew she was going to have a lot of stitches this time.

While she waited, Lacy thought back on what happened. She had forgotten to mention the man at the door. She wasn"t sure who she was supposed to tell. What if he had been right and her parents had been lying to her? What were they lying about? She never questioned anything that her parents did.

She thought back and then began to question the little things her parents did when she was young. Like the time that they went to Florida on vacation. They had been having a great time, until her mother felt something in a crowd. She had been hustled back to hotel and they left the next morning. She didn"t question her mom"s feelings.