Marco told Anna and Amaris to get all the provisions that they could find together and pack them in the remaining 2 backpacks. Anna was delighted when she found Marco's stash of caramello bars in the cabinet. He too had hidden spaces in the walls that had packs of things ready to go. "Marco, are all werewolves so paranoid? Lyle had a wall stash just like this." Amaris complained. Marco spun around in his chair to look at her with a big grin. "Who do you think he learned it from?" Marco chuckled to himself and turned back to his computer and printed some info. Standing up with the papers in hand, he stowed them in his back pack and moved toward the door shutting down monitors as he went."Are you girls ready to go?" Marco stood up and grabbed his coat and openned another cabinet in which a box was sitting by itself. He lifted the box and pulled the bottom flaps and out fell a passport. "I don't suppose that either of you girls have passports?" "I Do. It's back at my house though." Ann
They rode in the truck for a while in silence after that. Amaris heard Anna’s voice in her head. “Testing, Testing. Does this still work?” Amaris let out a small giggle. “Yes it still works.” she mind linked back. Marco made a brief look over at them. He seemed to be considering them for a minute and then said “Can you do that with anyone or just her?” Looking at Amaris briefly before looking back at the road. Amaris was dumbfounded. How did he know?“I am not sure. I’ve never tried it with anyone else.” “Try it with me now.” Marco said expectantly. Amaris did not know how to make it work with anyone else. It just happened with Anna. She closed her eyes and thought hard "Hello Marco" over and over. Suddenly he started laughing. "I can hear you." Came his reply back in her mind. "How long have you been able to do this?" Marco inquired curiously, out loud this time. "Since the incident at the firepit. It just sort of happened. I had no idea that I could talk to anyone else this
After making contact with a very freaked out Anna's dad, Amaris also contacted Anna's mother and now they were all in the loop. "I am not sure this whole mind linking instataneous communication with my parents thing will be working in my favor as a teenager." Anna laughed. Marco chuckled. "You will have to ask Amaris if there is a way that she can shut it off, like a cell phone. No calls after midnight." At that thought, Anna's face lit up. She mind linked Amaris. "He is right! we can not be told to get off the phone by 10pm any more. Or even have the whole 'we are taking your phone away' as a punishment! Oh I love this!! Too bad that you did not discover this sooner." Anna and Amaris laughed. She could see that Marco was mind linking someone from the look on his face. “What is the plan Marco? I can see that you have one.” Amaris asked. Marco raised an eyebrow at her. He did not say anything for a minute, and then looked over at her. “So Lyle says I need to start running everything t
Marco pulled out of the logging road and out back onto the highway. The girls were silent although their curiosity was burning at them. Anna looks to Marco, “Okay. I give. Who is in the bed of the truck, and why did that wolf have a backpack in his mouth?” Marco smiled at the girls. “Can’t you guess who it is? I bet Amaris can guess. I am sure you can feel him now that he is close.” Amaris’ head popped up and she thought about it for a minute. She could feel something. “It’s Lyle right?” Amaris said. Marco smiled and nodded. Amaris was not sure how she knew, but the thought of Lyle being closer, even though she could not see him, made her feel calmer and safer at the same time. She laid her head down on the seat with a small grin and a sigh. Anna looked at her and got a knowing smile. Anna said nothing but reached over and grabed hold of Amaris’ hand . “Sleep both of you. It’s going to be a long ride and then a long flight.” Marco said to both girls. Amaris closed her eyes and was soo
They all hopped into the truck with Marco in the bed under the cover and Lyle driving. Lyle maneuvered the truck onto the highway and Anna opened the window and let the wind blow through her hair. Amaris was in the middle next to Lyle. She felt awkward next to him. The pull to be near him and touch him was making her crazy. She was still not sure what to think about all this. She had no doubt that she was attracted to him. He was a good man. He clearly cared for her. How many men watched from the side lines for 4 years keeping you safe, and never said a word. She still felt bad for hurting him. She never meant to hurt him with her being unsure about how this whole mate thing works. He had to know that all this was a shock to her. The three of them all sat quiet lost in their own thoughts. They drove for another half hour before Anna fell asleep again. “How are you holding up?” Amaris jumped as she heard it directly in her mind and it startled her out of her own thoughts. Lyle looked o
The front door opened and out walked a bear of a man with a huge dark beard flecked with grey.. His cheeks were rosy. If his beard was grey he could have been a stand in for Santa Clause. He smiled at them warmly and greeted everyone. Upon seeing him closer, it was clear that this was a jolly man and seeing his sharp eyes, he was one who did not miss anything. He shook Lyle’s hand and kissed Anna and Amaris’ hand as they each went to shake his. He and Marco embraced like brothers and Horis left his arm around Marco as they all walked inside. Everyone else followed. The front room was a large open room with a cathedral ceiling. It was grand but comfortable and welcoming. There was a lofted second and third floor. The second floor railing continued to either side and into the greenhouses. The smell of earth and a sweet floral scent permeated the house.Horis led them in through the back of the living room around an enormous fireplace. They walked into the dining room which the double s
“NOOOOO!!!” There was a desperate pained scream from upstairs somewhere. Horis knew that she was gone. A huge crash was heard from the other side of the fireplace and Marco left the room to investigate, keeping low as he went. A few moments later he came in half carrying Horis. His arm was clearly broken. Marco grabbed the kitchen towels that were hanging on the front of the stove handle and then opened a drawer and pulled out two long handled wooden spoons. “This is going to hurt old friend.” Horis did not seem to hear him. His eyes were locked on the body of his mate laying on the floor. Lyle had taken off his sweatshirt and covered her face with it. As Marco moved back toward Horis there was another crash. The door to the microwave smashed as another bullet came through and hit it just over Marco’s head. The sound and explosion of glass seemed to bring Horis to his senses and he reached into his pocket. He pulled out the same remote that Amaris had seen him use before for the photo
“There are a whole line of men fanned out and heading this way. They are trying to cut us off from the vehicles in the driveway.” Lyle said looking concerned. Marco held out a set of keys and said “Horis has us covered. Thank you old friend." Marco says looking down in front of him. "Follow me.” He says and beings to move out toward the woods at a low crouch. Amaris and Anna both looked down to see that Horis had stopped breathing. He was gone. HIs eyes were staring far off to where his beloved Angel had gone. The girls bowed their heads to Horis and followed after Marco. Lyle took a moment to bend down and close Horis' eyes. "Sleep in peace. Be with your mate forever more." Lyle grabbed Horis' shoulder one more time in farewell and then sprinted low after the rest of the group. Marco led them out from the berm, keeping it out of the sight of the oncoming men. There was a stant of old growth wide pines that Marco was using as cover so the men that were heading towrd the berm wo
Amaris and Lyle sat at the table in the RV which had now become their home. They had settled into their life together on the run. They drove through the European countryside acting like all the rest of the tourists. They stayed away from areas that were known concentrated werewolf areas. They fell into their day-to-day routine, and Lyle had even taught Amaris how to drive the RV. Amaris was starting to show now, and Lyle was concerned that she did not have the proper doctor's care for her pregnancy. More than once he had tried to see if he could find a pack doctor that was willing to see her that was not loyal to the crown. However, they were in Europe, where the werewolves were most loyal to the King or Queen, since they were so close to them. He had not had any luck. They had not had any contact with anyone that they knew, as they had planned. Lyle had bought a burner phone in case of an emergency, but had not even turned it on yet so that there was no way to trace them. To further
Amaris bent down to see Anna at her feet holding her bleeding leg. She had changed back and was now naked. Amaris stripped off her hoodie and gave it to her grateful best friend. "Are you okay?" Amaris asked Anna while looking over to see if Lyle had moved. "I'll be fine. It's nothing Taji can't take care of when he gets back. Go check on your mate." Anna said watching the torn look on Amaris' face. Amaris looked back and gave Anna's shoulder a squeeze, and then hurried to Lyle. Amaris dropped to her knees between Lyle and The King's corpse. Lyle was breathing. It was as if he was asleep. Amaris knew that he must be like the others that she had brought back. It would drain her of her energy to do it. Then she took a look at the area around her. There were so many men and women that were injured and needed help. She knew that Taji could not do it all on his own. Amaris thought about how to heal them all for a moment, and then came up with an idea. She took a deep breath and closed her
Alexis and Andreas' men were attacking in their wolf form. They were coming in from every side, and from the look of it they had The King's men out numbered. The clearing was in an uproar with men and wolves everywhere. Before Amaris knew what was happening, Lyle had transformed into his wolf and leaped between her and The King. His muzzle wrinkled as he bared his teeth and growled in warning. The King looked at him and merely laughed. He reached behind him and grabbed the staff that he had back at the palace. Lyle seemed to recognize it and backed up a few steps. The King laughed at his retreat. "Smart lad. Hand her over and I will not have to use it." Lyle backed up a few more steps and this time he leaned into Amaris pushing her back too. The fighting was still going on around them. Many of The King's men lay upon the ground, and most of the rest were fighting two or three wolves now, since they were severely out numbered. Amaris saw that many of the wolves were making their way cl
Lyle walked around the back of the house to the UTV as the truck drove away. He climbed in and looked at Amaris. "Decoy." He said with a thumb over his shoulder. "Where did you find him? He looks like your doppleganger." Amaris asked amazed. "Funny thing. When I went to get some of those items that we needed earlier, he was the supply clerk that helped me. I asked him to help me out this evening by taking the truck out for a test drive to see if the repairs I made earlier are going to hold. I told him I needed to drive a short way behind to see if it was okay." Lyle laughed again. "So that poor guy has no idea that he is bait?" Amaris was getting ready to get out of the UTV. "I did tell him that since we were hiding out that we need to be extra vigilent for the possibility of attack, which is more likely since we have been here for a while." Amaris got angry. "Lyle, that poor man could get killed because they think that he is you!" She turned and yelled at him. "We
Amaris' mouth hung open for a moment, and then anger grew. "Who? Who whipped you?" Lyle turned to look at her, then down to the floor. "Adam and Sveta. They were made for each other. They are equally twisted and driven by their need for power." Lyle said with a dismissive tone and then almost mechanically started taking the rest of his clothes off. It was clear that he did not want to continue this conversation any further. Amaris walked over and lifted his face to hers from his bent over position. "I'm sorry." She said in a whisper that cracked from the emotion behind it. "I did not want any of this, least of all for you to be hurt." she kissed his cheek tenderly. Lyle dropped the clothes that he was holding and put his arms around her. "This is not your fault. Don't ever think that. This is not something that you chose. You were as much thrown into this as the rest of us. This is all the fault of the ones who have greed and lust in their heart. The ones who have
Lyle dropped it back into the pack and put a few things in from the pile that he had set aside to go into the truck. Then he grabbed the pack that Amaris was filling and sorted through her things. He found a tracker there too. "Well, at least we know it wasn't Kliman. He never touched your pack." Lyle said as he moved over to the doorway of the barn. Sitting against the wall of the barn were a few dozen hiking packs waiting to be filled. Lyle grabbed two from the end and handed one to Amaris. "Fill them with everything that you will need. Only one extra set of clothes, and a couple extra pairs of socks and underware. Food, and matches, and so on." Lyle was moving so quickly that Amaris was not sure what to grab first to stay out of his way. "Quickly! We need to do this before he gets back, or anyone else comes along and sees us." They both hurried and filled their packs and then Lyle took them both and told Amaris to stay there and he would be right back. While Lyle wa
When Amaris' hand touched the young man's arm she suddenly was transported to another time. It was night here. There was the unmistakable sounds of fighting. Growls, and yelling all around her. The young man that Amaris had just been talking to was in front of her hiding behind a tree. He held some sort of black box in his hand and loooked to be waiting for something. "Where are we?" She asked the young man in a whisper as she stepped closer to him. The man did not respond. He did not even look at her. She reached up to tap him on his shoulder. Her hand went right through him. Amaris jumped back startled. She stared at her own hand, and then tried to touch the tree next to her. Her hand passed through that too. She took another look around her. She realized that the man standing next to her was speaking. "They are leaving now. Green transport truck. She is hidden in the back under the tarp. Out" The man said. He was putting the box away and turned to leave in th
Amaris stood there frozen and watched the back of Gran as she walked out of the room. She slowly sank back down on the couch next to Lyle again. He still had not moved from his spot, but seemed to be in deep thought. Amaris brought Lyle out of his stupor by grabbing his hand. "Did she just say what I think that she said? Are we going to have a baby?" Amaris thought about what Gran had said 'Little ones'. What did she mean? Was she talking about our children in the future? Amaris felt just like she often had lately after talking to Gran, more confused. Lyle took a deep breath and turned to Amaris. "According to the tapestries that we saw earlier, you and I will have one set of twins. A boy and a girl. Like you they will also have powers. Which means that like you they will also be hunted by others for what they can do." Lyle hung his head. He did not want to think about his children being hunted anymore than he wanted to think about Amaris being hunted. Now it was Ama
Amaris sat back and looked at Gran who had a big grin on her face. Anna walked over and squeezed in between Lyle and Amaris. "Sorry Romeo, but we need to get this meeting moving, and you just can't help yourself." She said patting Lyle on the shoulder at his disappointed look. Lyle rubbed the back of his neck again and smiled raising his hands in the air. "Got me." There were a few laughs and then everyone turned back to Gran. "Well, as I was saying. We will be splitting up." Everyone gathered around her nodded. Gran had presented this idea already, and no one seemed to disagree with her. "Lyle you will be taking Amaris and hiding. NONE of us is to know where you are." Amaris' eyes grew wide and worry now crept in. Up to this point she had been able to stay safe because she had the help of a lot of people. She did not want anyone else to die, and she was afraid that she would get Lyle killed if he felt that he was her only line of defense. Gran pointed a finger at Amari