Shea: The Last Hope (15 page)

Her mates stood up to and flanked her, and Lev said. "We will be coming too."

Shea looked at them with an annoyed look and then turned back to Dalton. "Do as you please, Dalton how soon can we go?"

Dalton looked at the Alpha, who was looking around the room. A lot of the Council members looked like they were ready to go with her as well. It seemed every time one of the Chosen were out in the open that something happened. They could not afford to have anything happen to Shea. They all needed answers.

"Dalton, Can you take a few more?" Quin asked and grinned when he nodded. "So, let's do this, Cami, Jaden, and I, plus, Devon, Sid, Casey, Jo and Tey will all accompany you.

Lagon, will you please protect the kids while we’re all gone?" he asked, and the large man nodded his head in agreement. "Also, can the kids actually stay with you in your home?” Again, the dragon nodded. Trinity grinned, and rubbed her hands together; she loved it when the children came to the house.

Shea stepped back and little feeling overwhelmed, why would the Alpha want all of these people to come with her? It didn’t make much sense; she had not even figured out if she what they thought she was. Shea didn’t think her parents would have ever lied to her about this, but after talking to Lev and Griff, she understood why they had if it were true. All the Chosen was tested to the limits during this past year, with most of them almost being killed at one time or another.

Shea wondered if it was worth it. She lived a nice quiet life as an author and liked it that way. A lot of people thought she lived a glamorous life and did every single thing that she wrote about. But she had not; though with the two men surrounding her, she thought, it was possible. She wondered what they would think of some of the things she wrote.

Snapping back into the present conversation, she heard Griff and Lev talk about where exactly they were headed.

"Wait, why are all of you going?" she said in a snarky tone. Shea closed her eyes and took a deep breath. This had been all too much for her; she felt like she was losing it a little. Thank the Gods she had a few weeks before she was supposed to have another book signing.

Quin raised an eyebrow, and her and Cami put her hand on his arm to stop him from replying right away. "Shea, is there some reason that you don't want us to come with you?" the Alpha female asked quietly.

Shea opened her eyes, looked at the female, and said, “Not especially, I’m just trying to figure out why you feel the need to come with me."

Cami smiled and stood up and walked toward her, and Lev and Griff stepped beside her once again as if to protect her from the Alpha wolf. Cami smirked and then waved her hands at the men as if to tell them to back off.

"I understand this is all strange and new. But we’ve never made a mistake when it came to the Chosen. I swear; Kira knows what she’s talking about, when we found her, she was able to help us identify the other Chosen as well as assure us that we were, in fact, part of the Council. It is hard to understand why all of this happened, and seriously; it would take days and a few more Margaritas than we had the other night to tell you the whole story. We will tell you though, because you will have to know what you are getting into. For now though, I can see your mind is not on this or us. It’s on your family. I think we can all understand that you need to find where your parents are and get some answers before you talk to us." Cami said softly.

Shea felt the tears gather in her eyes, why was she being so nice to her when she had been such a bitch, I mean if I was the Alpha of one of the most important Packs in the world, I think I would be a bitch. Shea thought and then smiled. No she wouldn't, she didn’t have it in her. Yeah she could be snarky and rude at times, but that was because her agent had told her a few years ago she was too much of a pushover for her fans. She thought and looked around the room. All the people who were on the Council smiled at her encouragingly and she felt like crap for the way she had talked to the Alpha.

"I’m sorry Alpha. I should never have taken that tone with you.” She said as she looked beyond Cami to speak to the man still seated at the table. Quin bowed his head in acceptance, and then she heard a laugh from the other side of the room. When she turned, she saw Skye, the woman she met the other night putting a hand over her mouth and then the woman said.

"Sorry, that was just funny. I have learned in my short time being here in Milliken, that it’s like a big family around here and Quin is like the dad. We give him the respect he deserves, but we also are free to express ourselves freely. Heck the other day I called him an asshole for throwing a ball of yarn at Argus as a joke. We’re one big happy family. I know your parents mean a lot to you, just think of us as your crazy third cousins who you had never met before. You can talk about us at the BBQ, and we won't care. Bubba over there loves it when you talk mean to him; I think its defect or something."

Shea looked toward Quin when she called him 'Bubba' and almost laughed out loud when he winked at Skye. These people obviously have come to care about each other and had, in fact, become a family themselves. She felt the longing of having someone to confide in or hang out with. Over the last few years, she had not been able to do that really. Her agent had made sure that she was left alone when she was working, and she had security when she was out and about.

It was a lonely life she thought and looked at the men who stood next to her. Would they be able to handle all the baggage that came along with her? She was very well-known and though sometimes she wanted to quit it all and bury her head in the sand and sleep for weeks, most of the time she loved her job. And she wouldn’t want to give it up because of some kinda of weird destiny thing. Shea could give up the loneliness but not the career.

"I don't really know what to do with all of this.” She whispered. Holding her head up, she looked at each of them in the eyes and then said. "Dalton, you are a Sidhe which tend to be social creatures. The Fae are not; we keep to ourselves and in small groups if any groups at all. I don't know how to respond to all of this."

Griff pulled her to his side; Lev wrapped his arm around both of them from behind, and they both cuddled her gently. "Hey my fair winged mate,” Griff said in his Irish brogue accent. "We don't want to change you. We want to love you and help you any way we can. How about we take this one step at a time first we find your parents, and then we’ll go from there."

Lev kissed the top of her head and said. "They want to come with you because they all want to make sure you have support of friends in case something happens, and you need them. Not that anything bad will happen, but they want you to feel supported."

Shea looked around the room and saw the people agreeing with what Lev had said, and she relaxed a little.

Cami laughed and said, "plus I’ve always wanted to go into a pub and ask for a Pint!'"

Shea giggled and said, "You will certainly be popular over there."

Cami turned and grinned at her mates who were rolling their eyes and Jo, who was clapping and cheering at the sound of being able to go to a pub.

"Not fair," Jordan grumbled and then shrieked when one of her mates pinched her arm.

"You can wait." He said sternly. "After the other night, I would have thought you would be off drinking for a while."

Jordan snorted and said, "Not girl’s night drinking."

The men groaned and put their hands in their heads while the women all sat back and laughed. This was going to be so much fun she thought; these people would certainly make life interesting if she truly was one of the Chosen.

Dalton stepped up again and said, "People we are going to have to coordinate, I know the last time I tried to do this it took the whole room with me. Though under completely different circumstances since I was stressed, however, I think the best way is for everyone not going to leave and only the people who are traveling will be in the same room."

Many of the groups of people stood and began to talk briefly before one by one they came by her and wished her luck. Lev and Griff stood by her side and held on to her hands. When the last of the Council left the room, all that remained was the twelve that were going.

Cami put her hand to her curly hair and said. "I wish I would have been able to get a cut before we went traveling."

Jo chuckled and said, "At least the permanent marker came off."

Cami growled at her best friend and then they both laughed. Yesterday when Cami had burst into her house, Jo had hidden for an hour moving from house to house hiding from Cami's nose. When she finally caught, her Cami was so tired they had taken a nap together with Ruby, who had still been in bed. Their mates had all watched an action movie in Levi and Reggie’s man cave room and then grilled steaks.

Quin stepped in between the two women and looked at Dalton. "How are we going to do this?"

Dalton looked around and grinned. "We hold hands,” he said and all of them joined hands, stood in a circle, and looked at him for guidance. Dalton then said, "Then we will say together as we click our heels three times, ‘There's no place like home’.”

Jaden frowned and looked at the others who stared at Dalton seriously. Then Jaden said, "You dumbass, I should have killed you when I first saw you again."

The rest of the group groaned and let go of each other's hands and laughed as Dalton ran from Jaden, who was ready to beat the shit out of him.

"Children!" Quin barked, and the two men stopped.

"Sorry, a little tension reliever..." Dalton said sheepishly and then went and stood back with the rest of the group. "Really, we do have to hold hands, but that is so when we pop into Ireland no one will fall on their asses."

Quin nodded and then looked around at the group who were eyeing Dalton warily. He held out his hand again, and his mates grabbed it. Dalton closed his eyes and then opened one eye and looked at Shea. "Shit, I forgot to ask where we’re going and who we are looking for."

Jaden growled again and took a step forward, but his mates held him back Shea looked at him wide-eyed as if she could not believe he was actually a Sidhe, and she cleared her throat before saying. "The town closest to my village called is called, Kilkee, it’s on the South Eastern shore of the island. My parent's names are Maggie and Tommy Bryne.

They live in a small village that only the clan resides in called Moher."

Dalton closed his eyes again and then whispered the names of the places he wanted to go; Shea felt the magic flow around them, and something pulled at her. She closed her eyes, so she would not get sick. Some people she knew had traveled with a Sidhe before and claimed it reminded them of a roller coaster.

She had no more than closed her eyes and concentrated on not throwing up when she felt the ground shift beneath her, and then she felt the cool breeze coming off the ocean.

She took a deep breath and sighed; she was home. The smell of the salt air and the Irish soil was unmistakable. Happily, she opened her eyes and saw them all still standing in a group holding hands with their eyes closed. She wished she had kept them open now, seeing the countryside in Ireland for the first time in five years made her long for her mother's cooking and the smell of ale on her father's breath.

"That was so cool." Cami said wondrously and turned around to see their surroundings.

"Oh my Gods I’m in Ireland, and I didn’t have to get a passport. Dalton you are amazing; I totally am going to make you help me plan the next group vacation we need to take, but this time all of us need to come."

Quin coughed and looked at Shea, "Sorry, my mate tends to get a little over the top.

Which way do we go?"

"This way, my parent's cottage is just over the hill," she said and smiled.

As the group all marched up the side of the hill and reached the top Shea gasped and put her hand over her mouth. Where used to sit her parents and clan's small village was now a stack of charred remains of buildings and cars.

"What the hell?" Quin muttered and began to walk toward the mess.

Shea tried to hold in her sobs, but they escaped in a burst of noise that made Cami, Jo, and Casey come to her side and try to comfort her. Lev and Griff were right there trying to pull her in their arms, but Cami whispered, "Go find out what happened."

Lev nodded and then kissed Shea on top of her head, and Griff did the same before turning her over to the girls and following the men as they walked through the rubble.

Cami and the girls stood on the hillside with Shea sobbing in their arms while the men looked to see if there were people still in the houses. The smoke was drifting up in the air making it look like the village was in the fog instead of smoke.

***

Bama and her mates were standing the foyer of the Bed and Breakfast, and Bama was biting her lip with worry and stopped her men.

"Do you think we should wait; I mean, it seems kinda weird for us to be having a nice dinner and all that while some of the Council is out there," she said and looked at Trace.

Shane looked around the Bed and Breakfast and sighed, he knew she was right, and he also knew Trace would agree, and they would have to put their plans to the side again.

He wanted to yell in frustration, but it would do no good, so he stood and waited for the axe to fall and then he would go to the bathroom and take a cold shower again.

Before Trace could say anything, the door in back of them opened and Blaine and Kira walked in and smiled at them.

Kira came up to them and said, "Just the people we wanted to talk to."

Trace raised his eyebrows in surprise and then looked at Blaine, who was walking slower looking around at the people who were congregated in the desk. "Maybe we could step into the old meeting room for a minute?" Blaine commented and then held out his arm to the room that was sitting empty after all the Councils stuff had been taken out.

Trace and his mates went in first and then turned in the empty room as Blaine closed the door, and waited.

"Sorry to interrupt you but we wanted to talk about a few things," Kira said and looked at Blaine for support.