Choices: Alpha City, Book 3 (16 page)

“I’ve never seen anyone do that,” Sage said. Me-Len put her arm around her and walked her over to Carina.

“Maggie’s healing is different, but very powerful. When she’s done, Carina won’t have a mark on her.”

“She’s a tough little girl. Never said a word to them except when she had a vision.”

Me-Len pulled back to look her in the eyes. “What did she say, Sage?”

“She said that the Elves were coming, and that Thoth was coming.” It became quiet as everyone listened to what Sage had to say.

Me-Len rubbed the back of her neck. “She was right when she said the Elves were coming; I feel Bast’s presence and he’s angry.”

“Bast, the King of Elves?” As if he heard his name being called, Bast Finn appeared in the tree line, along with his guards.

“Carina is his mate,” Me-Len whispered.

He made his way over to where Carina lay on top of some blankets. Maggie was still leaning over her, healing her body. The white light faded, and then disappeared altogether as Maggie pulled away.

He kneeled down beside her and wiped her hair away from her face. “Thank you, Maggie.”

Maggie bowed toward the Elf and backed away. Sage had only heard stories of the Elf king, but he dressed just like King Arthur and his guards looked like the Knights of the Round Table. He was like the stories said, good-looking, but what she didn’t understand was why he was dressed in armor, with a sword strapped to his back.

A vehicle pulled up and a dark-skinned woman and young man got out and ran toward them yelling, “Carina!” That’s when she saw the driver get out of the vehicle. Goodness, the man was huge. Not just tall, but built like a bear. Finally, his face came into view and all she could think was, wow, what a beautiful man. His brown hair curled over his ears in a way that made her want to reach out and roll her finger around it. He was sporting a beard trimmed close to this face, but man he was simply gorgeous.

“Is she okay?” the woman yelled out, bringing her attention back to them. The woman rubbed her face against her hand. “Carina, it’s Rose. You’re safe, sweetie.”

Carina still didn’t open her eyes until Bast leaned over and whispered something in her ear. She watched as he chanted some type of magic that only Elves would know. She could actually see the magic as it left his mouth and disappeared in the air next to her ear.

As if on cue, Carina opened her eyes and stared back at the king of Elves. “Are you in pain?” Bast asked.

Carina didn’t smile or show any emotion; she just shook her head no. Bast turned around and looked at her sister and brother. “I think it would be best if Carina stayed with me in Valceria until this is over. They won’t stop coming for her.”

At first, Rose shook her head, but her brother spoke up. “Rose, she will be safe there. They won’t be able to get to her there.”

Rose looked over to Knox, who just stared back. Then she looked to Kayden. “Alpha?”

“I think right now, until we can get everything under control, it’s not a bad idea,” Kayden answered.

Rose looked back at Bast. “Only until this is over.” The king of Elves nodded, then bowed his head to Rose.

She watched as Rose and Titan both spoke into Carina’s ear, then hugged and kissed her. Kayden and Zoey did as well. They were her Alphas and cared deeply for her. Carina got up and glanced around at everyone, including a young woman who stood off to the side. When Carina saw her, she nodded her head and smiled, as did the woman. Then she glanced around until her eyes fell on Sage.

At first Sage thought that Carina was staring at Me-Len, but as she walked closer to her she knew that Carina was staring at her. She stopped in front of her, then motioned for her to kneel down. When she did, Carina jumped into her arms and hugged her.

“Check your pocket,” Carina whispered in her ear. Sage turned her head as the little girl walked away and took the hand of Bast. They walked to the tree line and disappeared. Elf magic was the most powerful of all, and even though she had seen them all disappear with her own eyes, she could hardly believe it herself.

“
I
think
we need to leave and meet back at location two,” Ryder announced. “Me-Len, can you bring Sage?”

“Yes Alpha,” Me-Len answered.

Sage was still staring at the good-looking man with the hair that curled over his ears. She was drawn to him for some reason. Apparently, she had been away from men for far too long.

“Let’s go. The men will take care of your vehicle,” Me-Len said.

“It’s not my vehicle. I stole it from Claudia. It was hers,” Sage informed her with a smile. They both stopped and looked the vehicle over. Smoke was still coming out from underneath the hood, and the sides of the car were mashed up.

“They will take care of it, then. Let’s get out of here.” When she turned around, the big, good-looking man was standing in front of her. His chest was rising and falling like he had been running a race and was out of breath. His brown eyes had turned a golden-brown color as they stared down at her. Ordinarily, she’d be scared, but for some reason the big guy only made her wet between the legs. She couldn’t help but take a good look at him, from his face all the way down. And yes, he had a big one; he was apparently very attracted to her too.

She knew her face had turned red when she looked away. It was obvious what she was looking at. “Brody, this is my granddaughter, Sage Wingate.” Thank goodness her grandmother didn’t notice what she was looking at.

Again nothing came from the man as he closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. “Are you okay, Alpha?” Me-Len said to him when his eyes opened. This time, she saw a bear peeking through beneath his skin. His eyes were those of a bear, and they were set on her.

“Ah, Me-Len? I don’t think I’m safe right here.” Sage backed up, still watching the man. Everything appeared okay, until the bear started coming out.

“Brody?” Me-Len’s voice was high-pitched making everyone around them stop to see what was going on. As soon as she stepped back, the big man named Brody stepped forward until another big man stepped in front of him.

“Brody? Dude, you’re scaring them. What the hell is wrong?” Nolan asked.

“Get out of my way. She’s mine.” That was all the man said, and it was enough to scare the shit out of her.

Sage released Me-Len’s hand and took off running. She had no clue where the hell she was running to, but damn it the man said she was his and with his bear coming out that meant one thing to her: the bear wanted to hurt her. She heard people screaming for her to stop, but all she saw when she turned around was the man named Brody shifting into a bear and coming after her. A big fucking bear, too. She hit the tree line and finally realized that she wasn’t going to outrun a bear. She heard trees crashing and then she felt herself propelling through the air and hitting the ground hard. Now she was pissed. She had saved that girl for these people, and now her payback she was being chased by a freaking grizzly bear, who was standing over her, ready to eat her. Then it dawned on her—she was a witch. A good one at that.

Before she could spit out a spell, the bear leaned down and licked her across the face. Then licked her again, and again, and again.

“Stop that.” And just like she ordered, the bear stopped and lay down beside her. “Are you smiling at me?” The snort of wind blew across her face as the bear nodded.

She could hear people running in the woods toward them, but she was afraid to move. The ground was cold, and she started shivering. The bear just moved closer, trying to protect her from the chilly night air.

“Sage? Sage, are you okay?” Me-Len called out.

“Yes, but the bear won’t let me get up.” Sage watched as the bear shifted, and in its place was the man who even now made her so wet between the legs she couldn’t control the moan she made as she looked up at him when he got up. To make matters worse, his big thing was growing in size as she gazed at him.

One minute she was lying on the ground, next she was being lifted in Brody’s arms. The man was hard across the chest but his skin was as smooth as a baby’s bottom. “What are you doing?”

“Taking you home,” Brody answered.

“I’m not going home with you,” Sage snapped, angered. If this man thought he was just going to take her home and have his way with her, he had no idea who she was. “Who do you think you are?”

“Your mate,” Brody answered, like it was something she was just going to have to accept. Her whole body froze. Mate? No, no, no, she thought. Sage didn’t even pause to think. As soon as she saw Me-Len, she hit Brody hard in the nose and rolled out of his arms. Then she clasped her hands over her head as the magic sparkled above her.

“Why did you hit me?” Brody yelled out.

“Don’t move, Brody. You’ve angered her and she’s scared.” Me-Len held out her hand toward him, but Brody moved forward. That’s when Sage hit him with her magic, slamming him backward against the trees. Everyone in the woods froze as Sage waited to see if he was going to come at her again.

“Sage, please don’t do that again. I know you don’t understand what’s going on, but—”

Brody hit her from the side. It didn’t hurt her because she was in his arms, but this time her hands were caged in one of his above her head. “Listen, my little witch, I’m not trying to hurt you, but you’re my mate and I know you feel it too. Tell me you don’t feel it.”

Sage’s heart was beating so hard it was hard to catch her breath. She couldn’t lie to him for some reason. What the hell? “It doesn’t matter what I feel. My mother is most likely being tortured right now, and all you can think about is getting your dick in me. That’s all
I
can think of—getting her out of there.”

She couldn’t stop it when the first tear fell; then the dam broke and the snotty sobs came. She didn’t think he was going to let her go, but he released her arms and picked her up, carrying her out of the woods. Me-Len and the others all followed as Brody opened a door and sat down inside with her. Stroking her hair he held her tighter as Me-Len got in beside them.

“Home, Lex,” Brody said to the driver. Her body was so tired from all the stress, and the heat that came off of him felt so good, that she didn’t remember falling asleep.

B
rody sat
and watched his mate sleep until Me-Len came into the room. “We need to talk.” Reluctantly, he got up and walked into the kitchen, where Me-Len and the others were waiting.

“How is she?” London asked.

“Asleep for now.”

“Sage is your mate?” London asked.

“Yes.”

London smiled, then hugged him. “I’m glad she found you.”

Brody rubbed the back of his neck. “I don’t think it’s going to be that easy, London.”

“She’s terrified about her mother, and frankly, I am too.” Brody looked over at Me-Len. “What do you think Claudia will do?”

They all watched as Me-Len lowered her head, putting her hands over her face. “Kill her.” She sobbed.

“Me-Len, don’t say that. We have to stay positive. Now that we know where she is, we need to hit her. Now!” London demanded.

“She’ll be gone by the time you get there.” They all looked at the door where Sage stood. “She has several houses in secret locations, and she never told us where they were. She has already left, I’m positive.”

“And your mother?” London asked.

“I can only pray that it was quick. I’ve seen what she does.” London approached Sage and stuck her hand out to her.

“I’m your cousin, London.”

Sage looked down and hesitated. “Nice to finally meet you. I’ve only heard stories, so it’s nice to put a face with the name.”

“This is my mate, Ryder.” London pointed at him.

“Nice to meet you, Alpha.”

Ryder grasped her hand and shook it. “Ryder will do.”

“Okay.”

“This is Kayden and Zoey Lynn,” London said. “And this fellow here is Nolan Banks, and this is Judd, and Maggie Walsh. I think you have already met Brody King, the Alpha of the King bears.”

Sage nodded and sat down beside Me-Len, who was silently crying. She wrapped her arms around her and rubbed her back. “Mother wanted to get to know you better, Me-Len, but she also knew that if we didn’t do something to help, then the world would be doomed. We both knew what we were getting into, and knew the likelihood of us getting out was slim.”

“I know, but I will never get to know her like a mother should.” The room stayed silent as Me-Len cried.

Brody walked up to Me-Len, leaning down with a mug in his hand. “Me-Len, drink this. It’ll help.” She looked up and wiped the tears from her eyes.

“Thank you, Brody.” The scent of chocolate permeated the air as steam came off the mug. Sage thought she could smell something else inside, maybe some type of liquor, but she couldn’t be sure.

“Yes, ma’am.” She could still feel his eyes on her as he walked back over to his chair and sat down.

“Tomorrow we start with Maggie feeling out everyone. Sage, we need to know everything that you know. We figure that she’ll change her plans now, but maybe she won’t. Will you help us?” Ryder asked.

Everyone waited for her to answer. “Of course I will. The biggest problem she has is getting the
Book of Thoth
open. I couldn’t believe it, but the vampires didn’t destroy the book. Now the worst witch in the world has it and wants to open it and unleash its power. She plans to make shifters and vampires her slaves. Only witches and wizards will be able to live like normal here on Earth. The woman is crazy, and the sad fact is that she has a lot of followers.”

“Then we need to find out who here in Alpha City is a traitor,” Ryder said.

Sage nodded her head. “She has several people in Alpha City telling her stuff. She fields calls all the time from people. I don’t know who they are. She has a problem now that Carina can’t open the book for her. She’ll have to rethink this and try to open the book another way. That’s what scares me. The woman got Jamal out of Hell, so conjuring up someone else isn’t going to be hard for her.”

“Then we start out with Maggie tomorrow. You up for it, Mags?” Ryder asked with a smile.

“You bet.”

“Good, then let’s all get some sleep and start bright and early tomorrow.”

Sage stood up and kneeled again in front of Me-Len. “Where do I stay?”

“Here.”

Before she could say no, Brody held up his hands. “In your own bedroom, of course. Me-Len can stay here as well. You’ll be safe here.”

“Sage, I know Meryl will be worried about me if I don’t come home. You’ll be safe here and Brody won’t touch you. I can see that he has control now, but he is your mate, dear. Nothing we can do about it. Just stay here and we’ll meet back up in the morning. If you feel uncomfortable, I can tell Brody you’re coming to Ryder‘s house.”

“No, I’ll be fine here. He knows what I can do to him if he tries anything. Go be with your mate, I’ll see you tomorrow.” Me-Len kissed her head and walked out with London and Ryder.

Sage heaved a sigh and stared off out the window. She didn’t realize everyone had left the room until she heard Brody behind her. “I believe this cloak belongs to you.”

Sage turned around and found him holding the Cloak of Edengraf. “Thank you.” He put it in her hand and walked back a step.

“You’re part of the Order?” Brody announced.

“Yes, I guess I am.” Sage unfolded the cloak as it dropped down.

Brody pointed to the symbols woven in gold. “It has the same markings that are on my necklace and Bast’s sword.”

Sage nodded and folded the cloak up. “I woke up one morning and it was draped across my bed. How it got there I have no clue, but I knew what it was as soon as I saw it. It’s supposed to help me save lives. But I couldn’t get my mother out with it.”

“But you got Carina out.”

“One lives and one dies, for what, Brody? Why does my mother have to die to save someone else? It’s not fair!” Sage cried out.

Brody pulled her closer and hugged her. “No, it’s not fair, and I’m sorry about your mother.”

“I’m so tired,” Sage muttered in his chest.

“There are some clothes on your bed. London had some sent over while you were asleep. There’s also a shower and tub in your room if you want to take a bath. Get some sleep; we can figure something out tomorrow.” Brody opened the door to her bedroom up and waited until she walked in. He didn’t want to let her go, but if he wanted her to trust him, he had to do this.

“I’ll see you in the morning.” Brody walked out and closed her door.

She couldn’t believe he just left, but in all honesty this was all starting to freak her out. How the hell was she going to be a mate to someone? Sage didn’t date much, if you could even call what she did dating. All she wanted was a night to forget, and then she was gone, no ties to anyone. But now they were saying she was Brody’s mate. The Alpha of the King bears. How could she be a mate to anyone, much less an Alpha?