Second Chances (The Extinct Race Series) (3 page)

“
I am very pleased to meet you, My Queen.” Seamus had a very thick Irish accent, but Zoe understood what he said.

“It is very good to meet all of you too.
I am glad we are finally all here and we are all safe.” Zoe beamed “Also Seamus and everyone else, this is my father, King Marcus.”

Everyone said their hellos and introduced themselves to one another.
Zoe could tell she was going to have a hard time remembering everyone’s names. Kaiden could feel her worry and chuckled “Take your time Angel we have forever.” She breathed a sigh of relief that she had Kaiden to remind her.

“Well would you all like to go to the house and get settled in?
I know some of you haven’t even left this spot.” Kevin said.

“That would be me.
” Justine confessed

“Thank you for waiting for me my love, but you know you could have gone to the house.”
Gabe told her

“I know
. I just wanted to do it with you, besides little man here kept me company. And I think your mom was just as worried about you and your dad as I was.” Justine looked over to Rosa and Michael who were locked in each other’s arms.

Charles was off to the side on his cell phone speaking quietly to someone.
Kaiden glanced to him and Charles took notice. He hung up the phone and slid it back into his pocket. “Zoe and Marcus?” Charles nodded to them.

“Yes Charles?”
Zoe asked

“All of you
r things have been delivered and are waiting on the top floor of the house. We kind of all assumed that you would be taking Kaiden’s parents suite and that you would want your father near you in one of the rooms. Kaiden we have packed all of your parents clothing and it is in the storage area of the suite. Everything else we left for you to decide what to do with. The fourth floor suite has been cleaned and set for the Onyx’s. There is a master bedroom and three other large bedrooms. The third floor has a similar setup and is all set for the Fury’s. The second floor suites have been set up for Vivi and Christian in the master bedroom with Mary and Mateo in two of the bedrooms on the same floor. If you are all set the house is ready for all of us.” Charles informed them all.

“Thank you Charles
, I think we are all ready to have a shower and get settled in for the night.” Kaiden told Charles. The others all nodded in agreement.

“Charles
, please just point me to the kitchen and if I could get some help I will have a meal ready for you all in an hour or two.” Mary said

“Well Mary you are in luck there.
Three of our best cooks are already preparing a meal and they all have been informed that you will take the place of head of household and are in charge of the menus and such. You will also have three other girls that will help with the cleaning and such when you need them.” Kaiden told her

“Golly I think I will love it here.”
Mary blushed and jumped in the back of one of the jeeps. Everyone else piled in the Jeeps and they set off for the house.

Chapter 3

Welcome Home

The drive up to the edge of the mountain only took about fifteen minutes. After all it was just a straight shot through the big open field. At the base of the mountain there was a small road that was so hidden even Justine would have missed it with her eyesight. The road was gravel and was lined with huge boulders and trees. There looked to be only enough room for one vehicle at a time up or down this road. It didn’t take long and soon the jeeps were leveling out and moving toward the biggest home Zoe had ever seen.

The home itself was wood and rock.
The roof and frame of the house were huge pieces of wood and the siding of the house was beautiful colored stones. There was a huge deck with lots of chairs and loungers. There was also a huge outdoor dining table set off to the side and the biggest outdoor kitchen she had ever seen. Everyone piled out of the jeep and just sort of stood there.

“
It feels so good to finally be home.” Kaiden breathed out

“I can’t believe this is your
home, our home now.” Zoe said

“Well I just want to s
ee the kitchen in a home like this.” Mary said and took off into the house.

“She loves to cook for people who like to eat.
Plus she has to remain busy or she gets all worried that she is missing something.” Gabe laughed

Justine looked down at Ben and a grin crept up her face.
She then looked to Charles and asked “the fourth floor right?” Charles noticed her eyes going from himself to her little brother and just nodded his head up and down. “Race ya little man!” Justine teased and then she took off.

“No Fair!”
Ben squealed and took off after her. Gabe ran after both of them laughing.

“Well dear I think that means we need to follow
, because knowing that boy of ours he is going to take the best room and leave us in the kid room.” Brad said to his wife

“Yep he is just like his father.”
Monica replied and took off before Brad knew what happened.

“That means we get what is left honey.”
Rosa told Michael

“That is fine by me.
I am just glad we can all finally breathe and that we have a roof over out head and a bed to sleep in. Kaiden I can never thank you enough for bringing us all together again. I have missed my boy and it is so heartwarming to see him smile and laugh.” Michael nodded to Kaiden.

“Well Michael this was always my dream and you have helped fulfill it.
Now we just need to find the others. But first I think we need to concentrate on the youngest of our family. His mate could be as young as five years old and I think we need to focus on her the most. I don’t want any more of the children in this family to have bad childhoods. I want this house filled with laughter like it once was.” Kaiden took a deep breath and exhaled loudly. “Sorry that has just been on my mind since I am home and hear the silence in the air.”

“Should I call our friend and see if he can come up with anything” Zoe asked

“I think we all need a shower and a meal and a plan before we start anything. And I would kind of like to keep this a secret. I don’t want to get Ben’s hopes up.” Kaiden told them.

“We won’t say a thing to any of them.”
Rosa said her eyes shining with unshed tears. “Right now Kaiden, you are proving yourself a wonderful King.” Rosa took Michaels hand and they walked slowly up the stairs. Vivi and Christian followed them with a nod of their heads. Tia and John were right behind them and pulling her parents along with them. Smiles lit up their faces and soon only Mateo was left standing there with them.

“Mateo why don’t you go clean up and unpack and then after we e
at I will have Charles show you the barracks and introduce you to everyone. I think tomorrow after we have had a good night sleep, we will all meet in the war room and come up with a plan for everything.”

“Sounds good to me, second floor correct?” Mateo asked

“Yes Sir.” Charles said. “I am going to go clean up myself at home. I will see you all for dinner.” He bowed slightly and took off around the house.

“Well it’s just us now.
Daddy you ready to see your room and get a shower and clean clothes on?” Zoe asked, she looked to her father and noticed him sort of swaying in place.

ZOE I NEED TO
SHIFT, NOW!!
Marcus screamed in her head

“Kaiden step back
! He is going to shift and he is in a lot of pain.” Zoe screamed her fright very evident in her words.

“I am so sorry
I forgot Blake said he hasn’t had a real shift in over twenty years.” Kaiden grabbed Zoe and turned her so she couldn’t see the pain on her father’s face. Marcus was ripping at his clothing and screaming in agony. Kaiden continued backing up while Marcus was also taking steps backwards. The guys had taken the jeeps back with them after everyone had gotten off and now Marcus had the whole clearing to shift in. Kaiden had backed Zoe up to the edge of the stairs leading to the house. A loud roar broke through instead of the screaming and everyone came pouring out of the house onto the porch.

Marcus had shifted and was now standing there staring at them in his Dragon form.
He looked to Zoe with sorrow in his eyes.

I am so sorry baby girl.
I needed to let him free. That was the most painful shift I have ever had.

It’s okay Daddy.
Do you need to fly or anything to make you feel better??

I should
, just a couple laps around the mountain should be good. It has been so long. I hope I didn’t forget how.
He chuckled

The laughter Zoe heard in her head felt so good to hear that she had gotten loose of Kaiden’s hold and was running to the edge of the house.
Kaiden was quick on her heals. As soon as she couldn’t see anyone she tore her clothing off and jumped. Her shift was so quick Kaiden stood there in shock.

I have never seen anyone shift so fast.
Usually it takes a couple minutes of concentration.
Kaiden told her in her head

I have to fly with him, my Dragon is screaming at me to join him
. And she tore off around the corner and jumped in the air and hovered over Kaiden. She was laughing so loud in Marcus and Kaiden’s heads that Kaiden couldn’t help the laugh that came to his face and Marcus, even in Dragon form, was beaming with pride.

“Anyone else want to join us?
I am going to shift and fly with Marcus and Zoe.”

Sighs of relief filled the air and before anyone could answer clothes were being torn off and the porch wa
s a huge laundry pile of clothing. Mary stood with Ben in her arms just watching. Vivi and Christian stood there and watched in awe. Before Monica changed she covered herself as best she could and walked over to Mary and Ben.

“Ben would you like to fly on my back?
You have never done this before, but I would love to share this with you son. This right here is what a real Dragon Sect does. We fly together as one.”

“Yes!!!”
Ben screamed in joy.

“Mary
, what about you? Brad said you could ride on his back?

“I would be honored.
The last time I went up Gabe just scooped me in his arms. Scared the death out of me and was the most exhilarating feeling I have ever felt.” Mary smiled at Monica.

Monica backed awa
y and turned into her Dragon, her whole body trembled in relief. She motioned Ben over and he came. He ran to her and then slowed once he got close. Ben raised his hand and ran it over his mother’s scales. She dipped her wings and Ben ran his hand over them. The expression on his face was amazement and glee. Monica grabbed him then and held him in a Dragon hug. Then she maneuvered him onto her back and stood.

No one else
had taken flight yet. Zoe was still the only one in the air just kind of floating in the lead. Kaiden hovered to join her and looked to the porch at Vivi and Christian. Justine and Gabe noticed his glance to the porch. They had already turned and Justine walked over to the porch. The Onyx had the most human like hands and were smaller than the other races of Dragons. Justine couldn’t talk to Vivi and Christian, but she motioned with her claws to her back. Vivi took the hint and moved her head side to side. There was no fear in her eyes, just uncertainty. Gabe noticed her reluctance and tried to help Justine. He felt her intent to get them up in the air with them. Gabe looked to Christian and motioned to his back. Christian looked to Vivi and then back at Gabe. A huge smile broke out on Christians face and he ran to Gabe. Gabe grabbed him by the arm and tossed him up on his back. Vivi smiled her shy smile and walked over to Justine. Justine lowered herself and let Vivi climb on at her comfort.

Once everyone was turned and ready to fly Zoe
roared in excitement. Every Dagon kind of cocked their heads to the side in confusion. Zoe giggle roared and motioned for everyone to rise. Marcus joined them at the front of the group. Right before they were about to take off a huge sand colored Dragon came around the corner with a group of Dragons in tow. There were about ten other Dragons that Zoe counted. Six of them she recognized as the ones her and Kaiden turned. The other four she didn’t recognize. Kaiden nodded and the other Dragons just sort of fell into place. They all lifted into the air with Kaiden and Zoe. Zoe nodded to her father and Marcus turned around and took off. The group followed them and the wind carried Ben’s laughter.

In their Dragon forms
, both Kaiden and Zoe could make out the hazy pink colored bubble around their land. It went far and wide and just as high into the air. They took the group around the mountain and down into the valley. All the half-bloods were in the field cheering and yelling in glee at all the Dragons in the sky. That is when Zoe noticed the children. There was only a small group of them and a couple babies in the arms of couples. The pull she felt from the parents was that of a half blood, but the babies she could hardly feel a pull from. Kaiden felt her confusion and decided to explain everything to her after their flight. They soared over the valley and around the mountain and even skimmed the waters of the ocean on one of the passes. One of the Dragons went fully under the water and popped back up once he saw they were heading back to land.

They were all hovering over the clearing once again and Marcus landed first.
He let out a huge roar and crumpled into himself. Zoe landed and so did the rest of the group. She raced over to where she first shifted and was human again before she made it to the edge of the house. Kaiden was once again stumped and how she shifted so quickly and with ease. He looked back to the crowd and noticed he was not the only one with a look of confusion on his face. They all kind of shook it off and concentrated on shifting back. Marcus took the longest and appeared to be in a lot of pain once again with shifting. Kaiden shifted back got dressed and was at Zoe’s side holding her while she dealt with her father’s screams and roars of pain.

A couple of women came out of the house with robes in their arms and started handing them to the naked people standing around.
No one was really shy about the fact they were naked, but there was a cool breeze this evening. Mary jumped off Brad and disappeared into the house. Ben was still laughing and ran back into the house too. Zoe was dressed and so she grabbed a robe and went to stand by her father. Marcus was still struggling with shifting back human. He hand wings still and his claws, but the rest of him was human. He was still crumpled in on himself and he screamed loud and long. Zoe held the robe and looked away. Tears were burning her eyes and she was trying to hold them back.

How long is it going to be painful for him Kaiden?

I am not sure Angel I don’t know anyone who has held back their Dragon.

Well this is killing him and me.
I think maybe we should do this every day until he can shift without pain.

We will Angel.
We will work this in with everything else we have to do. We are safe here, but we need to find all the others still and all the ones who are in hiding still.

I know, I just…. Well even we are still new to this and need the practice of getting to know our Dragons.
That was only our second flight.

Patience Angel we will spend the time we need in our Dragon form and learning fighting from Mateo and Charles.
We need to talk and make a plan of how we want this family to be. This is Our Family Angel.

The screaming stopped and all Zoe could hear was the faint sobbing of her father.
He was now fully human and laying in the fetal position crying into his hands. Zoe covered him with the robe and hugged him the best she could.

“She’
s dead isn’t she?” Marcus asked

“Yes Daddy she is.”
Zoe answered, the tears finally flowing down her cheeks.

“My Dragon knew
he fought with me not wanting to shift back to human. He wanted to fly away and die. But Baby girl the human side in me could not give you up. I didn’t want to leave you again.” He sniffled and put his arms through the robe and stood closing the robe with the tie. He grabbed his daughter in for a real hug for the first time ever and she wept. He held her tight and protective of her weak state. Kaiden came up behind her and Marcus allowed him to hold her too. Everyone but Justine went into the house and let them have their moment. Justine though had never heard Zoe cry like this. Everything the girl was holding in for the last twenty two years has now come full circle and she is letting it all out. She saw the initial cry and shock of everything that had happened and she has seen her cry in joy a couple days ago.