Second Chances (The Extinct Race Series) (11 page)

“I’
m Carmine and I am from the France Sect. Twenty years ago we heard about the rumors of Sects being killed off by a Blood Dragon and his half-bloods. My sister had a small baby at the time and she left with her baby. We all split up and went underground for some time. We would only go out when our Dragon demanded it. One by one we never came back. My mate and I took off. We were cornered about six years ago and they got a couple shots off before I set them on fire. But what I didn’t notice when I turned the fire on them was that my mate was hit. She died in my arms two days later. I still have her ashes with me.” Carmine pulls a small pouch on a necklace out of his shirt and holds it up. “I have been setting them on fire whenever I see them.” Carmine takes his seat as breakfast is brought out.

While they eat everyone around the room shares their stories.
Vivi was the last to share for a reason. Kaiden wanted to see how these new comers reacted to the knowledge of who her father was. As she finished she stood her ground. The fire was double in size at the pit. Christian stood, wincing in pain and looked at Carmine. “Calm that fire now!” Christian demanded.

“How do you know she is not a traitor?”
Carmine spat

“Vivi and Christian here have special talents.
When a lie is spoken it causes Vivi pain. When someone means to cause harm to another it causes pain for Christian. We have all accepted that she is not her father. She has just as much hate for that man as we do. Not only did he kill his own mate, her mother. He also killed the woman who raised her, the only woman she knew as a mother right in front of her. So you see we trust her. We know she is just looking for the family that she never had before. She has been raised around hate for her own race. She is our sister, she is his mate and she belongs here as much as you do, if not more because of that outburst” Zoe yelled. She has never been more pissed off then she was at that moment.

“Yes my Queen.
I am sorry for my temper it has just been hard for me.” Carmine apologized

“He speaks the truth.
I am not my father. I do not wish harm to anyone. I can’t even kill a bug. I just want you all to see me and not him. I am not him!” Vivi burst into tears.

“Sweetie I am sorry.
I really am. I have just been living in fear for so long it hurts.” Carmine pleaded

“Are you really tired of living in fear?”
Kaiden asked

“Yes” all three men answered

“Good you start training with us in an hour then. I am requiring everyone to learn to fight. We are not going to be like every other Sect. I will not be the fat King who sits by and lets everyone else do everything. This is a family and not a Sect. We fight as one or we die as one. So if you want to be a part of this family that is my only command of you. Learn to fight and learn to love us all. We protect what we love.” Kaiden said

“Anyone told you yet
that you are going to be a great King?” Paulo asked

“Only everyday” Zoe laughed and took a bite out of her bagel.

Chapter 11

Building

“Alright everyone I want to give you all a heads up now before we all go outside. I have hired a contractor to add to this house and start the building of other houses along the property. I am going to basically house everyone how it was meant to be. Vivi and Christian you will keep the current apartment as will Gabe and Justine. The apartments are meant for you and your future children. So for the parents, if there is a particular spot you would like to pick out for a future home, please tell Zoe or me and we will have it marked off. Any single Dragon, meaning no mate, I would like you to live in the house here on the first floor. The rooms down here are basically suites and the main areas are open to all. I am having an area set aside for something that is a surprise to others in this house. I am sure Zoe will gather all you girls and get your help on that. For now we all have rooms and I hope you are all comfortable.” Kaiden informed them.

“Training is going to be from nine to noon for now
, until we get used to a routine and get used to using our muscles. For the new arrivals, we are searching for the lost ones. I have letters from Sects from all over who have put their children in hiding. From what we have gathered, there are exactly seven pairs of soul mates out there. Carmine you mentioned your sister had a baby. They are one of the ones we are looking for. If you know his name please let me know. I have a lawyer who is friendly, but does not know our secret yet. Oh the contractors all know what we are and are paid very well to keep it a secret, so feel free to be yourself around them. But this lawyer, he is looking into lost and missing kid’s photos, also adoptions that he can access. He knows to look at the eyes and from there call me. Other than that I am not sure how to go about looking for the missing ones and any survivors. You guys followed rumors. Other than them just showing up here, I don’t know how to get them to know we are a safe haven and have an open door.” Kaiden said

“You need to make a goofy webpage
, cartoonish Dragons, links to goofy stuff that really leads nowhere, but has a hidden message. Maybe a little fairytale story about Ireland and the mountain. Trust me we looked on the internet weekly for anything and everything relating to us and never found anything.” Jaco said

“That’s not a bad idea.
I can have a page made.” Kaiden thought aloud

“I can do that.
I can also help with looking at pictures and well I can hack into anything really.” Jaco said

“Wait man you’re a
hacker?” Gabe asked

“Well I got bored and tried to find the rest of my Sect
, hoping someone would show up. Plus I had to keep moving the money.” Jaco explained

“We will definitely be putting you to work on that.
Just give me a list of what you need and I will have it all sent here.” Kaiden told him

“My nephews name is Donovan Tho
mas Moore. My sister is Cara Moore. She lost her mate when she was pregnant with Donovan in an accident. He was not killed by Aldrich. When she went into hiding I never heard from her again. She may have changed their last name, but Donovan is named after his father and our father so she would not change the first and middle.” Carmine said.

“I will call Mr. Steinman and have him run that name.
Thank you.” Kaiden said

“I would like my sister and nephew found as much and if not more than you my King.”
Carmine whispered.

The conversation stopped then as they all finished their meal.
When they were done they all walked as a group down to the training area and began stretching. Charles soon came up and split them into groups once again and the training started. Once again they would do laps and then some pushups and sit ups and then an obstacle course and then some more laps. Today Charles had them do this four times.

Once Mary was done with the cleanup from breakfast she had the girls start making sandwiches for lunch.
She was going to bring lunch to everyone today. She also needed to ask to be taken to town to get supplies for the puppies that would be coming in the morning. She needed to get crates and some basic supplies. She knew she was going to go overboard though.

Once the sandwiches were all made and some fruit was packed up she headed towards the gym.
Two other girls ended up coming as she couldn’t carry all the food for more than fifty people by herself. Some of the wives noticed what was happening as she came down the path and were bringing tables out. Mary smiled and thanked the women. They all worked together and set up a very nice buffet. Some of the women brought out lemonade and glasses. Some brought cases of bottled water and juice. They had set up a pretty nice lunch for everyone.

One by one they trickled out of the gym and eyes went wide when they noticed the food.
One man even yelled into the building “Lunch!” and more came running out. Mateo came out and looked right at Mary and smiled. He walked over and squeezed her hand.

“Hello dove.
Was this your idea?” He asked

“Yes it was
and well I have a motive for doing it. I need to go to town and find a pet store. I have four puppies coming in the morning and I have nothing for them. So I need someone to take me. I don’t even know where town is.” She laughed

“May I join you?
You know just in case there is any danger. I know you are more than capable, but your shotgun was left in Wyoming. Also one of them will create the danger if anyone is snooping around town.” Mateo got serious

“Mateo I would love for you to join me.
We could make it a little date, with company of course.” She joked

“Good I would like that.”
Mateo smiled

Kaiden and Zoe were eating a sandwich in the shade of a tree when Mary found them.

“Kaiden, I need to go to town to get supplies for the puppies. Is there anyone who can take me, preferably with a truck with a bed as I will pick up kennels while I am out? Oh and Mateo will join us, you know for the protection.”

“Protection huh?
Not making this a little shopping date?” Zoe teased

“Maybe just a little one, but you know we will have company too
, so we will keep it clean.” Mary teased back

“Of course Mary
, I know the perfect person to take you. This person is also going to become your best friend as soon as they find out what you are getting and why you are getting it. This person has been denied a pet by their father for some time. This person also knows where all the best pet stores are and exactly where you will need to go.” He laughed. “CHARLES!”

Charles came running over, “Yes Kaiden?”

“Is it alright with you if Penny takes Mary here to town to get some things?” Kaiden asked

“Why Penny?
Why not one of the older guys?” Charles asked

“Well you see Mateo is going with them and well Penny is your daughter, we have no doubt she can handle her own.
But Penny knows all the spots to take Mary to get what she needs.” Kaiden explained

“I supposed
, but don’t keep her long. Mateo, if she is harmed I will take it out on you. I may have a couple half-blood children, but she is my only girl.” Charles said

“PENNY!!!!”
Kaiden yelled

A tall skinny little thing came running up.
“Penny this is Mary, Mary this is Penny. Mary here needs to go to town. You can use the Ford to take her to town. She needs your special touch and no one knows better than you Penny on where to go.” Kaiden said

“F
or what? Oh nice to meet you Mary.” Penny said

“How old are you dear?”
Mary asked

“I’
m sixteen. I know I am small, but I assure you I know how to drive.” Penny said proudly

“Oh I am not worried about that.
As for where, well we are getting puppies tomorrow and I need supplies.” Mary said and Charles mumbled something and glared at Kaiden.

“OH
, OH, OH!!!!” Penny started jumping in place and throwing her arms about.

“Great Kaiden, she is never going to want to train now.
She is going to be at the house with puppies all the time.” Charles said grumpily

“Oh Papa I will still train.
I just want to be able to play with them sometimes. Besides we all know you’re a big grump when it comes to puppies and I can’t have one at our house.” Penny pouted

Mary knew the puppies were going to be a new thing around here.
She hasn’t seen any animals except for the wildlife. Penny ran to get the truck and Mateo and Mary walked back to the table to grab a sandwich and a drink. They ate as they walked towards the direction Penny ran off to. When they found her, she was sitting in the driver seat of a brand new ford F-250. She was grinning ear to ear. They climbed in and Mary got in the back.

“No one ever lets me drive this.
I wouldn’t have even cared where we were going once Kaiden said I could take this baby.” Penny said

Penny took off down the road and made it to town in a little under
an hour, even though she went about 90mph all the way there she drove very carefully. She only slowed when they started getting closer to the town. She took them to all her favorite pet stores and the local feed store to get the kennels. Penny could tell that Mateo and Mary had a thing going on so she left them alone at most the stores. They always came and found her when they were ready to go.

Mary enjoyed the limited amount of alone time Penny was giving them.
She was a very sweet girl and gave them lots of space between store visits. Once Mary thought she had everything she needed they loaded it all up in the truck and headed back to the house.

On their way back to the house Penny was once again going as fast as Mateo would allow her to go.
The road was mainly a straight shot back to the house and Penny did have better vision than Mateo and Mary, so they trusted her. When she got about five miles to the border she felt a very slight pull.

“Half-bloods
!” Penny gasped and floored the truck. She took off as fast as the truck would go. As soon as she made it to the house that was inside the border that was kind of a marker to her she stopped. Mateo pulled out his cell and called Charles. Within ten minutes five Dragons landed at the home. Grace, who lived in the home rushed out with some robes and a large gun.

“I started to feel them too as the truck came barreling through.”
Grace said

John, Sebastian, Charles, and Gabe all took robes from Grace.
Kaiden stayed in his Dragon form. Mateo decided he was going to be the one to confront whoever it was. As he started to walk forward a low growl stopped him. Christian was landing and shifting back. “Evil” he wheezed and he collapsed in pain. Penny didn’t wait for their response something told her to get the hell out of there.

“Get in the truck now all of you!”
Penny yelled. John grabbed Grace and tossed her into the truck. Kaiden tore off into the sky and towards the house. Sebastian picked up Christian and tossed him in the back of the truck. Charles and Gabe jumped in the back of the truck and Penny once again took off. Shots rang through the air and pelted the back of the truck.

Penny didn’t take the road.
She went straight over the valley and right up to the barracks. Kaiden landed behind her and roared. He smelled blood.

Most everyone was still in the field near the barrack
s and came running forward.

“ALEXI!!!
GOSHA!!! Here NOW!” John screamed

Christian, Gabe and Sebastian were
shot in a couple spots and bleeding. Charles and John grabbed them one by one and placed them on the ground. Vivi and Justine came running as fast as they could. They knew their mates were hurt. Camilla was not far behind them. As Alexi and Gosha got there they looked the men over.

“Back up everyone please.
Vivi forward time to learn the quick way.” Alexi instructed. “Vivi you take Gabe his wounds are all in his legs and not life threatening. Gosha you take our boy he is suffering. I will take Sebastian. Now, Vivi place your hands on his legs.” As Alexi was instructing Vivi, she and Gosha were already healing Christian and Sebastian. “Now concentrate and find the bullets if they are there.”

“No clean through I see just a hole in my head.” Vivi answered

“Ok good picture in your mind everything growing back together with no pain. Picture the veins coming together and the muscles.” Alexi instructed

“Done.”
Vivi said

“Let me see please?”
Gosha asked “She did remarkable for her first healing.”

Vivi beamed and then scooted to Christian.
She placed her hands on him and concentrated looking for any other wounds. She didn’t find any so she pounced on him. Kissing and running her hands over him. Justine was doing the same with Gabe and Camilla was smiling at Sebastian.

“What the hell happened?”
Zoe yelled staring in shock at the men laying there.