Microsoft Word - Book 12 FINAL Read online

  Blaine nodded and faced the group of people he had become to think of as family.

  Hiding things for even one of them had been hard. When each of the Chosen entered the Pack, they pledged their loyalty. He would be pissed too. He cleared his throat and said, "I had a vision; I saw Kira pregnant before we finished claiming her, and two other women pregnant. Not surprising, but the next part is. You were all giving birth with Roarke present. He was joyful that he had the fated Seer, a forthcoming Witch shifter, and a Dragon shifter. Roarke was also happy about the fact his mate, Jordan, was finally going to be pregnant with his child soon."

  The women gasped, and each reached for their stomachs. Kira stood and said, “I have hidden the fact that I am pregnant because, technically, it should not have been possible to reproduce until the full bond was made. We are still unsure what it means, Cloe has done some tests; Dalton and Blaine are the fathers of my twins. We aren’t sure how it happened. They will be the first New Council hybrids born. Tests are still being made, and we have had several more visions about what it could mean. Before we reveal those visions, we have to get more pieces to reveal the whole. Right now, they are too fragmented to help and only cause us frustration."

  Dalton stood. "The last of the Chosen to be found is the child born to be the liaison with our human neighbors on this planet. This is an important job, probably more significant than many of us could possibly imagine. That person is why we have hidden this. In our vision, until we find the last of the chosen, our children are not bound to the Pack. Yes, they were born into the Pack, which makes them a member. But the Prophecy said that we would find all the Chosen, and we must have a child before the first year of mating, until then our seats on the Council are not fully claimed. Jordan and her mates have searched and searched the archives for the original message from the Seer. I really wish we could have talked to her, but as many of you know, she passed away before we could speak. What we have discovered is that until the final Chosen has had their child, we have still not fulfilled the first part of the prophecy. We’ve decided that now that Braden is dead it’s okay to reveal the pregnancies."

  Blaine lowered his head. He felt such guilt about not saving Surya when she needed him. All this time they thought she was back in Europe with the Old Council Pack, but she had been held by Braden in Denver in the warehouse. Obviously, she had not been treated well from the looks of her when she arrived. Being such an old wolf, she had not been able to shift and cure herself when the time came. Braden made sure of that by feeding her small amounts of silver in her food. He felt like he let the Pack down, but at the time, he hadn’t known it would be so important that he talked to her. His mates had tried to tell him it wasn’t his fault, as did the Alphas, but he still felt guilty.

  He lifted his head and looked around the room and grimaced, "I know that I am to blame for this, had I taken the time to really speak to her, things would have been so clear. Had I actually sought her out, instead of arrogantly trying to figure things out, we would have known something was wrong."

  Dalton snarled. "Blaine, never question the way things are supposed to be; the spirits took her when it was time and not before. She knew she would die when we completed our claiming. She told us what she believed we needed to know and no more. She was happy to be restored to her family at the end. We were destined to go on this quest to fulfill the prophecy for our people and for the humans. Whatever is in store for us, never doubt that we are in this together, each of us holds responsibility for the way things have turned out. Blaming yourself will not help matters."

  "So this means what?” Bama said and sat forward to look around the room. "I mean, security is already so tight around here; a gnat could not possibly get in. We have people searching for the last of the Chosen, but no leads have come from it."

  Jaden and Devon laughed, "Well, thanks to the Aeries and Parliaments that have taken to patrol the skies, security has been strengthened with keen eyes both day and night.

  And don't forget, we are moving back into our homes; they're all complete except for a few, and so we will be starting the moving in process tomorrow," Jaden said and looked around the room. "Not that I don't love you all, but living with you sucks. So we are not doing anything, we are doing what we can right now. We have to make sure that our jobs are being fulfilled until we find the last Chosen." Jaden stopped, and Quin began to speak again.

  "Back to the matter at hand, as you know, Roarke escaped the night, we attacked the Rogue compound. In fact, we believe he moved many of the Rogues before we even arrived. We barely met with resistance. And besides, we have not been able to get much out of the ones who were left, they were low level wolves and shifters," Quin said. "Until we are complete, we are vulnerable. The prophecy may say that we will reveal ourselves to the humans, but we can't do that on a whim, chaos would ensue. We have to have the backing of the magical community; to get that we have to be united and show them that we are a Council."

  The group nodded; they knew that night, even though they lost Oliver in the fight, that they had been lucky. The Rogues had higher numbers than they had seen. Right now, they were gathering together more shifters to make sure, if and when they were attacked again, that they would be ready.

  "The major point I am trying to make is that we had to hide the fact the women were pregnant. I am sorry for all the mess that we have created, but it was for the good of the Council," Blaine said and then Skye spoke up again.

  "Well I don’t consider it a mess. You made a decision to protect us. I just feel that you should have trusted us with the truth. We all know how to keep a secret when lives are at stake. We are all the council.” And then she grew a little embarrassed for speaking up to Quin “So, Um, is the danger passed then?" Argus seeing his mates blush pulled her onto his lap.

  "No," Blaine said and shook his head. "Jordan has found something though."

  Jordan smiled at the group; she looked so much better after the children had healed her.

  Cassandra and Christen were like mini miracle workers. Jo refused to let knowledge of their powers leak out. Also, each of the other children showed signs of having powers too. They had yet to figure them all out. Hope seemed to be their center or their ringleader depending on how you looked at it. Cami had been proud of that, until she refused to behave earlier in the day. Now it seemed their little princess had a stubborn streak.

  "Well, Oliver left all the papers from the Old Council and the Seer, plus with what Trinity and Spencer brought, we think we have pieced together the entire vision the Seer had back then. We’re also going through the files taken from the rogue base; it seems Braden made notes on visions Surya had. However, we have to be careful with those, as Surya knew Braden was her enemy; she may not have given him true knowledge of what she saw during her captivity. And there are large gaps throughout the files, so we’re concerned that Roarke may have managed to take some important papers away with him.

  Surya’s prophetic vision said there would be children born on the first of the month in certain years; they would be the only special shifter or magical child born on those twelve days. That is how we would know we were Chosen ones. Also, Kira has been given the ability to see the Auras of the Chosen. It was written that the Chosen who received the power of sight would have a battle. If Blaine’s mates claimed him, too soon, the future would change and the prophecy would not come to pass. Kira had to become pregnant without the claiming in place because her children were from such a powerful magical background. The children would never be able to handle the magic, of a Sidhe, a wolf and a bear/Fae multiplied by the power surge of a claiming. It would have corrupted them or driven them insane. By not claiming her, the children will receive separate powers. Kira’s Fae half allowed her to become pregnant with her mates without the claiming being complete.” She gave Kira a wink, “that’s how you got knocked up honey.”

  Then she went on to say, “Now for the rest of the prophecy it says that we must accept our places as the New Co
uncil, and find our mate, and then we have to have a child. We knew that, the rest of the writing is what we didn't know, it says when we fulfill the first part of the prophecy, then there will be a time of unsettledness, trials, and preparation.

  Those who do not want us to reveal ourselves to the humans will fight us. Our last Chosen will be able to begin paving the way with the humans and making contact with important people. With our children receiving special gifts as well, we looked deeper into the writing. It says, one child will be the one to pave the path to uniting all the shifters. We have to find the last of the Chosen and begin planning the next phase of the Council, the preparation part of the prophecy. There are still more papers to go through. I hope we can find the rest of what we are looking for. But Roarke is going to do everything in his power to try to stop us; we have to be prepared. Also we are going to have to have the magical community solidly in agreement to reveal ourselves before we do so."

  Blaine nodded, "We have to take this a step at a time, and the more knowledge we have the more power we will have. Argus needs to identify the rest of the magical community also. Shifters are of course at the top of the list, Witches, Sidhe, what else do we have?

  And are they going to want to reveal themselves? Some of the visions we’ve been having don't make sense. But I can tell you one thing, Roarke is planning something; he knows the entire prophecy, and he is not alone. We have seen a new threat, maybe even more powerful than Roarke himself."

  "So where do we start?” Ruby said and leaned back. "And who exactly is pregnant here?

  I mean, I’m going to have to get a calendar going for all the births we’re having."

  All the women laughed when Kira raised her hand, and then Trinity, and finally Lacy.

  Jordan frowned at her mates and said, "We gotta step up the game here boys."

  Romy growled and hugged her. "You were in a cast for weeks. You have to heal."

  Jordan sat back and pouted, and the others laughed. "Fine, but after the physical with Cloe tomorrow, it is on."

  "Think maybe you can move first?" Argus laughed and looked around the room. "I do like you and feel like you are all becoming a part of my family-like everyone said before.

  But um, I would prefer you moved in as fast as possible, being in the room next door to them is not going to be fun. I’m looking forward to the only other triad sharing the B&B

  with us being Trace, Shane and Bama. And it will be even better when our house is completed next month.” He could have moved into any of a number of houses he already owned in and around Milliken, but Quin and Jaden insisted all the Chosen live within the New Council compound.

  Cami stood up and said, "The movers are ready when we are; we’ve arranged a schedule for them to bring all the furnishings and other household items we’ve chosen that are sitting in storage in Denver. We already have a long list of pack members who have volunteered to help us set up our homes the way we want. First, let's finish this pregnancy discussion because I don't want any hard feelings. Does everyone understand why we did what we did?"

  The group nodded except for Bama, who said, "Is this it? No more surprises, right. I mean, we are the new kids on the block, but I really don't want to have things like this dropped at every meeting. I agree with Skye, if we are together, then we should all know everything."

  Quin stood and smiled. "I agree. Unfortunately, at the time, we still had only found about half the Council, and there were a lot of people who we weren’t sure we could trust. Now that we have most of the Council set, I think I can say that we will not be keeping secrets like this again. And actually Cami,” he said giving her a triumphant smile, because it wasn’t often he could pull one over on her, “I arranged for the movers to bring in all the heavier furniture pieces today. We have all the floor plan layouts you ladies worked out with Bama and the designer; the pack volunteers and movers have already started loading in. So I say we table this until Sunday, which will give us three days to be moved in, and we can have a celebratory pack barbeque at the newly completed Pack House. The enforcers and warriors at the training grounds are planning a hunt tomorrow and Saturday; they'll be bringing in fresh meat. Then we can all come back together and talk about how to find the last of the Chosen."

  At that point, Lagon got everyone’s attention. “In the interests of full disclosure then I will tell you this. I have been forming mental links with the children, as their protector, I need to be able to contact them and know where they are at all times. The links will not be fully formed until each child reaches their first birthday. At that point, I should be able to connect and speak to them mentally so long as they are within a thousand miles of my location. This link will grow stronger until they reach maturity at age 13 or so.”

  Cami looked at Lagon, “You mean right when they get to be crazy teenagers you won’t be able to help keep them in line?”

  Lagon twinkled at her woeful expression. “You misunderstand, while physically they are growing at a normal rate...”

  “Whoa wait a minute,” Cami interrupted. “You mean the fact that their crawling at three months and walking at nine is normal for shifters? I thought it was part of their powers or something.”

  At this point, Cloe interrupted, “Yes Cami it is. I keep forgetting you haven’t been a shifter for long; you're such a natural.” And many chuckled “Because we often have multiple births, is why a shifter infant is so small though fully formed at birth.

  Anywhere from two to five pounds is normal. A five-pound baby is equivalent to a human baby of over 10 pounds.”

  “Wow, am I glad I mated with a shifter!” Cami exclaimed, remembering that each of her children was born weighing in just under five pounds.

  Cloe smiled at her and continued, “It makes it easier on the mother to carry multiple babies. By the time the children reach their first birthday, they will be the size of a human two-year old with the same physical abilities. After that, their growth rate slows until they reach sexual maturity in their late teens. Overall, they will always be bigger and stronger than a human of the same age.”

  As Cami sat, taking that in Lagon began speaking again, “Cami, what I meant to say is that their minds and powers are growing faster than their bodies. They will have mastered their powers and their minds by age 13. Their normal teenage rebellious years should hit at about age six. And now that I think about it their actual teenage years are also going to be difficult because they’ll be at full power in a teenage body.” He groaned thinking of his own children.

  Trinity then looked over at her mate, “Lagon, is that all? Is there anything else you need to share with worried parents?” she asked him with a look.

  Seeing that look all eyes turned back to Lagon.

  He blushed as red as his hair, “Well, as you know, I’m a dragon.” And most nodded though some chuckled, “Well, uh, dragons like sparkly things. And caves, dragons like to hide their sparkly things in caves. I have two caves, one in the mountains where I waited for the New Council to come and one here on the compound. And I think what Trinity means is that once I’m fully connected to the children, then if I sense danger, I can use dragon magic to send them to my cave where I can guard them.”

  Quin looked at Lagon, “Where is your cave Lagon?”

  Lagon got a mulish expression on his face. “Dragons don’t tell where their caves are.”

  At this point, Trinity interrupted again, “Alpha, even Blaze, and I don’t know where his cave is. Please don’t make him tell.” She looked at Blaze for help, and he spoke up.

  “Quin, I think it’s best if for now Lagon is the only one who knows where the cave is.

  There may be another Michael around and keeping it, a secret can really work in our favor. Plus I think it would really hurt my mate if we made him tell. It could permanently damage his dragon.”

  At that point, all the women glared at Quin; none of them wanted their dragon hurt.

  Quin looked at Lagon for a moment, “Alright, for now you don’
t have to tell. But in the interests of the safety of our children, please tell one other person, okay?”

  Lagon stared at Quin for a moment then gave a stiff nod.

  Everyone nodded, and the Cami jumped up again. "Hang on one more announcement.

  We are having the book signing and lunch with Shea tomorrow. So I say we turn lunch into a party for the preggies. Bama had a great idea about all of us getting married together in her ceremony since we never got too. So, I think a bachelorette party is in order also. We’ll start the planning on that too."

  The men groaned, and the girls clapped. Their mates hated it when the girls got together, someone always got tattooed or in trouble.

  Then she turned towards her husband “And don’t think you got the jump on us by having the movers bring in the heavy stuff. We’re women and allowed to change our minds, so well just go along and make sure that plans we put down on paper look as good in real life. We still may feel it’s necessary to have the guys move things around.”

  She gave her husband a look that said ‘gotcha’. She left the room with the women following after.

  Chapter 2

  Bama and her mates walked out into the sunny porch. They stood silently holding hands and looking out to the courtyard where she had planned for their ceremony to take place. The other women had loved the idea and loved the idea to have their ceremony with hers. It would be perfect; she thought, all of them pledging to each other at the same time. It would give them another group bond; she hoped the last council member was found before the wedding and would want to join in.

  "So are you ready to go and meet with the architect and the builders?” Trace asked and smiled at her.

  She nodded eagerly and said. "Of course, I’ve been excited all day. The architect associated with Sid’s firm called, and he is going to meet us at the land you have picked out. Shane said that we would be able to at least have the foundation poured this week if we approve the designs, and the weather holds. Have you seen the other houses? I can't believe how nice they look, and I can't wait to have our own home to go to."