Shifter's Revenge (Alpha Lineage) (12 page)

Kera’s panted as she caught her breath. Her emerald eyes were heavy lidded and her lips were full and parted. She collected herself as her heart raced faster. “I don’t want us to be a disaster.” She rasped softly. “I don’t want to live one tragedy after another just because we love each other.”

It was so hard to let her talk when every word that came out of her mouth was a shot to his chest. He wouldn’t let her leave him again. Even without the mating bond he knew that there was no one else for him. Maddox clenched his jaw so he didn’t interrupt her, but if push came to shove he would do everything in his power to convince her to stay.

“From the moment my mother died I became someone I hated. I lived, but just barely. When I found you I was on top of the world. Yes, I battled with myself about how to act and what to say, but in the end
we made it to the other side. I know how you feel about me, Maddox. I see it when you look at me. There is a fine line between loving the idea of someone and loving who they are.”

“If you think I will ever stop loving you,” He growled, unable to keep his jaw from unhinging. “Think again, Kera. I can’t breathe without you near me.” She closed her eyes for a moment, and Maddox regretted opening his mouth. Some control he had.

“It isn’t about love, Maddox.” She whispered as tears began to stream from the creases of her eyes. “It’s about the quality of life you have and the guilt I have when I drag you down. You aren’t happy with me, you’re forced to make decisions to punish your family or put yourself in a position that endangers
your
life. I don’t want to hurt you, but I do everyday. When I talk, you remember what Andrew did because of the rasp in my voice. When I leave you put everything on hold to find me.”

He couldn’t take it anymore, so Maddox stopped her there. “You ask me to care less about you. This will make me happy in your eyes?”

Kera bit her lip and shook her head. “I just want to be
good
for you.”

Maddox leaned down until their noses touched and there wasn’t anywhere else for her to look except right into his eyes. “Gavin said you felt unworthy.” He murmured against her lips. “
I want you to know that love is stronger than situations. I might get angry and I might disagree with your decisions but I will always want you around. It’s a choice you have to make. I want you to decide to stay with me, but I won’t force you. I will fight like hell to keep you, so be prepared for that.”

When Kera hesitated, Maddox felt his soul weep.

All able bodies report to the mess hall immediately.
The voice boomed through the small room just as Kera opened her mouth.

Th
ose loyal to me are asked to report as well.
His father’s voice came through the speaker next.

Maddox looked up to the device and cursed. Dammed humans and their technology. When he got back to this room he was going to disable everything.

“You stay here and rest.” He told Kera.

She snorted as she sat up and reached for her shoes. “I’m an able body and loyal to Jason. I’m not going to sit here and sleep if something is going on.”

Maddox pulled his shirt over his head and stepped into his boots. “Fine.” He conceded. “But please don’t ask me to let you out of my sight.”

He was rewarded with a simple nod before they left for the mess hall.

Kera took in all of her surroundings quickly. Maddox stayed by her side as they entered into the mess hall. There were men standing around with armor and people were piled onto benches around the tables. No food was being served at this time. The faint smell of dinner made her stomach rumble. She didn’t know how long she had been sleeping before Maddox woke her, but she had expelled almost as much energy in sleep as she had during her spell.

Her mind was being flooded with information every time she closed her
eyes. Even now, when she blinked, she got images she didn’t understand displayed on the inside of her lids.

Kera followed Maddox to the other side of the room and caught Jason’s subtle eyebrow raise.

What is this about?
Maddox whispered below human hearing.

Jason tightened his lips and shook his head slightly.

Kera scowled at him. She firmly didn’t agree with the pack hierarchy. If Maddox was to be the future Alpha and he was also Jason’s son; why did Jason do everything he could to keep him in the dark? She stood beside Maddox with her arms crossed defensively across her chest. Her eyes darted around the room and found Gavin standing to the side watching her. His eyes tracked her movements, and when he caught her stare, he smiled. Kera narrowed her eyes even further.

At this, Gavin frowned and shot an annoyed look at Maddox.

Maddox shifted his weight closer to her and leaned down to speak in her ear. “He wants you.” He murmured angrily.

Kera looked him in the eye and responded forcefully, “I don’t care.” She brought a hand to his shoulder. “I’m sick and tired of people suddenly wanting me for no reason other than how I can benefit them.” She dropped her hand, but Maddox quickly caught it.

He brought her fingers to his lips and kissed them. “You just told me that you think you’re bad for me.” His smile widened. “I guess that means you aren’t sick of me yet.”

Kera pushed out a breath. Every word out of her mouth had been the honest truth but somehow Maddox just wasn’t getting it. There was nothing that could tear her heart away from hi
m. She would do anything he needed her to. She tore her gaze from his and looked around the room. The one person she wished she could help was Maddox. Look at where they were; surrounded by army personnel, captured from the warehouse and forbidden to leave. What a mess she made of this.

Her anger started to climb uncontrollably. She closed her eyes and tried to focus on the hold Maddox had on her hand. She remembered the first night they kissed when she had almost shifted because her emotions were out of control.
The poison that flowed through her system at his touch wasn’t working like she needed it to now as it had then. His touch seemed to fuel her energy and give the pictures in her mind clarity. She still didn’t understand what she was looking at. Colors and images of symbols flashed here and there, whispers of words spoken in the deepest part of her mind. She determined that she needed to learn Latin.

A commotion to her left caused her to open her eyes. Gavin cross
ed the room to meet an older man dressed in a suit. He tilted his head in a nod before he motioned to the wall Kera and the shifters were standing against. The man looked over with hazel eyes full of curiosity. His eyes matched Gavin’s. Kera wished she knew more about her government. This man had to be the secretary of defense but she wouldn’t know him from any straight laced business man who passed by her.

What is this about?
Maddox whispered.

Kera looked over to see Jason’s clinched jaw. So he wasn’t going to respond. Kera could tell he did know, and Maddox could too. He growled softly but silently obeyed his father’s decision not to tell him. With her eyes closed again, Kera tried to reach out to the information highway behind her eyes.

“Tell me what’s happening.” She thought inwardly.

Nothing happened. Moments after she spoke the question
a voice rang out, answering her unspoken question.

“Please welcome Mr. Carmichael to the Numinous Division. We are lucky that he was able to come on such short notice to greet our newest allies.” Gavin’s smug voice grated her nerves. He introduced his father at the same time that he stroked his ego.

After the applause died down, Mr. Carmichael said a few words in greeting. His voice poured through the room with little effort. “This division has been under the radar for many years. After what happened in Arizona I wasn’t sure we would be able to find enough brave men and women to fight things unknown. Evil doesn’t always take the shape of a human. In fact, the truest form of evil comes from the realm you and I cannot see. Lives have been lost against beings we were not prepared for. Men were buried as heroes but not awarded for their bravery. I am delighted to announce that a pact has been made with beings who reside in Colorado. Their strength outweighs any normal man and though we have only become aware of them, their leader would like to come up and say a few words.”

Jason moved forward and Kera felt Maddox’s shock
beside her. When he reached Mr. Carmichael, Jason reached out and shook hands with him. He turned to the room and introduced himself. “I am Jason Howell. My family and I work hard for the community and were pleased with the Numinous Division’s outreach for us to help keep the streets safe. I assure you that we are no different than you and the victims of heinous crimes in this world. We do good works and we strive to make the world a better place.”

As he spoke, Kera felt her frustration build. This was her intention from the beginning. She wanted to reach out to these men to protect her father, but they had shown her the benefit of working with them. Jason had chastised her for her actions. Now he was agreeing to the same thing. Going out alone was the same as keeping a decision from those around you. Kera looked around at the shocked and angry faces of the wolves that stood beside her. They would all submit but they didn’t like being blindsided.

After a round of careful, curious applause, Jason stepped away from the front and began to move back toward them.

Kera stepped around Maddox and made her way up to the front. Maddox’s hand brushed hers as he tried to pull her back but she sped up. Mr. Carmichael’s eyes widened for a brief moment at her candor but smiled politely when Gavin announced her.

“This is Kera Conway, as some of you know she has already done some work for us saving countless lives in the process.”

To her surprise the room erupted with praise.
Kera flushed as she shook the older man’s hand firmly in her grasp. He winced a little and she breathed out an apology. Gavin patted her shoulder before he handed her the microphone.

Kera turned and sought out Maddox in the crowd. His piercing blue stare caught her attention. Jason had a strong grip on his arm just above the elbow. She looked up from his hand on Maddox’s arm and narrowed her eyes at Jason. The anger in his eyes only fueled hers.

“My name is Kera Conway,” she said into the microphone. As her voice rushed through the room she grimaced at the sound, and handed it back to Gavin. Her hands shook with nerves at what she was about to do. She wasn’t able to tell Maddox what she was about to do so she apologized to him with her eyes. “I figured since the leaders were called to speak I would come up here. I don’t know much about my family. My mother gave me the gifts that made me useful to you as a soldier. She died protecting me five years ago. I have other family but what I’ve seen of them isn’t love and compassion. We’ve all been through things in our lives, and some more than others. I thank all of you who welcome us into your ranks but know that some of you might be a little afraid, angry even. I want you to know that I understand. I am afraid too. Your reaction to people like me will probably be about the same as mine was when I realized I wasn’t who I thought I was.”

She looked around the room and read in the careful faces of the soldiers that she was on point. Kera smiled and took a shaky breath. “I want you to know that you are in good hands. These men over here know how to
give you just enough information to keep you sane but at the same time make you want to know more. I trust that you will take every moment of this pact in stride. You may not like it. You may even hate the abilities that you don’t understand. You will learn to appreciate the help. In the end, you will be glad to have these men on your side. Eventually we will all grow into something new. The Nuni.. well since I don’t remember the name, let’s just agree to call us the N Division…” quiet laughter rolled through the room. Kera smiled as nerves bounced around her stomach. “We at the N Division will protect each other. I want to personally reach out to each of you and say that if you have concerns I would like to help answer them. Let’s work together to better understand each other and ourselves.”

The next few heartbeats caused Kera to panic. She bit at her lips for a moment as faces of people she didn’t know stared at her in rapt attention. The courage she found from their initial applause wore off quickly. She gave in to her nerves and smiled shyly before she turned to Maddox.

Mr. Carmichael stepped forward and caught her attention. “Are you serious?” he implored.

As if he unplugged a drain that kept the others from speaking, the room erupted with both clapping and hurried questions. Everyone gravitated to her at once.
Kera looked around but couldn’t distinguish the voices from the questions.

Maddox finally broke from Jason’s grip and rushed to her side. He wound his arm around her and pulled her close to him. Kera relaxed into him, glad he was
n’t so upset with her that he ignored her.

Donavan appeared beside her and raised a hand, effectively quieting the mob. “Submit your questions to your superiors.” He called out. “We will get to each of you.”

“No.” Kera interrupted him. “Let’s take some questions now.”

Kera, what are you doing?
Maddox murmured.

It’s what I learned from you. Maddox.
She whispered back.
No matter how hard the truth is, it brings people closer together.
Kera looked up at him and found his intense gaze trained on her. She rested her head against his chest and smiled up at him.

It took a moment, but when Maddox smiled back, it took her breath away. “Three questions. Then we call it a night.”

A shiver tore down her spine. She nodded through her shock and turned to Donavan. “Three questions and then we figure out how to answer the rest.”

Donavan turned to the crowed and listened to the shouts the echoed through the room. After a moment he put his hand up again and turned to her. “We want to know what you can do, how you expect us to trust you and why you didn’t come to help sooner.”

Kera took stock of the room. They waited in silence. “I think the easiest way to answer those questions is to tell you that I
was
afraid. I don’t know everything I can do because I only recently met someone who made me feel comfortable enough to explore my abilities. Maddox and his family are good and trustworthy people. They helped me when I thought I was crazy. I trust them after only knowing them for a few months. They saved my life. I can only speak for myself when I say I didn’t help sooner because I wasn’t ready.”

“I have the ability to discern if people are speaking the truth.” Maddox said over her shoulder. There were murmurs’ around the room before he continued. “We are shifters; humans able to turn into the form of an animal. Kera here is a feline and my family is lupine. We have other talents like advanced strength and senses but trust isn’t found in these things. It would only be wise to practice with each other and learn to trust one another over time. Trust cannot be forced.”

“Words only go so far.” Kera continued after Maddox finished. “Let our actions be the foundation of your judgment.”

“Then it is settled.” Mr. Carmichael
clapped his hands together. “We start tomorrow.”

Jason stepped forward with his arms crossed. “I don’t think much of anything is settled. We have lives to go back to and families to take care of. I cannot agree to submit to training my men with yours indefinitely.”

Maddox turned to his father. “Then it will be Kera and me for now.”

Jason narrowed his eyes at his son before he turned to Kera. His deep blue stare made her feel two inches tall. She could feel the anger rolling off of him in waves. His agreement to
help must have been a ruse. Nothing about his actions told her that he wanted to help. Kera looked around the room at the silent soldiers who awaited their final decision. “I will stay,” she told them.

“Me, too.” Maddox agreed beside her.

Jason motioned for the rest of his men and they stepped forward with him. “I will take care of the men being held. I expect reports on your progress, son.”

Maddox nodded.

Nick broke free from the crowd surrounding Jason. His heavy steps seemed to echo across the room. When he stopped, he was in front of Maddox. His brown eyes were full of uncertainty. “I will stay,” he told Maddox.

Maddox tilted his head, “You may stay cousin.”

Kera felt her head move between the two. Something she didn’t understand was happening before her eyes. Nick’s eyes lightened with relief before he nodded slightly and turned to the crowd. He didn’t address them or wait for their approval. His eyes never met Jason’s even though the Alpha was staring daggers at him.