Chapter Twenty
They ran from the arena, Seth carrying Lucas on his shoulders, Hunter and Max supporting Axel between them. Dara led the way, retracing their path back to the cars.
He didn’t want to be parted from Max, but they needed one person each to stay with Axel and Lucas. Max got in the car with Axel and Hunter, and Seth got in the backseat of the second car while Dara drove.
“Some of that speed you love so much would be good right about now,” Seth said, as Dara put the car into drive, following Hunter who sent a cloud of dust into the air as he pulled away. “Let’s get some distance from the crazy going on back there.”
Dara gave his attention to the road, keeping half an ear on Seth and Lucas in the backseat. Seth pulled out a phone and called his mom, putting her on speaker. She was crying and laughing and barely able to form words when she heard Lucas’ voice. Then there was another voice; deep, tired, and pain-filled.
“Lucas?”
“Dad?” Seth and Lucas spoke simultaneously.
“My boys,” the voice said, “I’ve missed your voices. You’re coming home?”
“We’re on our way, Dad,” Seth assured him. “Hold on, okay? Wait for us.”
Dara glanced in the rearview mirror, seeing Lucas’ confusion and Seth’s fear. Their father’s voice sounded weak. Axel was right. He was fading.
“Seth came and rescued me, Dad. He found Zane and beat him and turned all the other shifters against him. It was so brave.”
“Very… very brave. I knew you had it in you, Seth. I’m only sorry I didn’t tell you that. I’m so proud…” There was a bout of coughing and Sybil’s voice in the background, urging Angus to rest. “So proud of you both. I’ll see you when you get home.”
Their mother got back on the phone, and Seth assured her again that they were okay and on their way back. He ended the call and pulled Lucas into a hug.
“Dad’s hurt bad, isn’t he?” Lucas asked.
“Yeah. Yeah, he is kiddo. But you know, I think seeing the two of us will help a lot.”
Seth glanced up, meeting Dara’s eyes and gave him a hopeful smile. And it suddenly occurred to Dara what Seth was thinking. That now that he could change and heal like any full blown shifter, an ability that he could pass on to his pack, maybe Angus could be saved. Dara didn’t say anything, not wanting to take away Seth’s hope or give encouragement.
After calling his mom, Seth called Hunter so they could make a decision about where to drive. River Den was on the way to the Cove, so Seth suggested they stop there briefly to get Axel looked after and reunite Max with his family. Then they’d continue on to the Cove.
“Skye and I will come with you,” Dara said as Seth ended the call.
“Are you sure you want to do that?” Seth said. “You don’t have to.”
“There’s some stuff we should talk about. Plus, I’d really like to see the Cove after all you’ve told me.”
“The Cove is the best,” Lucas piped up. “You can swim in the sea and have fresh eggs for breakfast. And my mom makes the best shepherd’s pie.”
“Sounds great,” Dara said. “Maybe you can help Seth show me around.”
“Uh-huh. I’ll show you all the secret places. There’s a witch's house made of shells and a snake hidden in the woods, but not a real one.”
Lucas chattered on for a while, alternating answering questions with asking them. He seemed particularly keen to know about River Den and whether there were any kids like him there.
“No wolves, no. But lots of other shifter species.”
“Can they change like Hunter and Seth can?”
“Yeah. Why?”
“Maybe they wouldn’t want to be my friend since I can’t shift like them.”
“I don’t think that’s true.” They’d want to be his friend, having never met a wolf, but they wouldn’t understand how come he couldn’t change. Dara glanced at Seth through the rearview mirror again, wondering. Maybe that had changed now.
“Can you call Cade for me?” Dara asked Seth.
“Sure, do you want me to put him on speaker?”
“Thanks. I need him to pack a bag for me and Skye if we’re staying at the Cove for a while.”
“Are you sure you wouldn’t rather spend some time at home, with your family?” Seth suggested.
“It’s too soon after everything, Seth. I need to be with you, at least for a few days. I’m not sure what’s supposed to happen after what we did.”
After his failed attempts at giving Zane his mating mark, he had worried it wouldn’t work with Seth. But he needn’t have. As soon as his hands had found Seth’s, he’d known what to do. It had been intense and amazing, even without the sex he knew was usually part of it.
“What did you do?” Lucas piped up.
“We made a secret plan,” Seth said to him, his voice hushed, “so we could defeat Zane.”
“Cool. You guys are the best. Are you getting married?”
Dara sniggered at Seth’s look of bewilderment before the alpha turned it around. “That’s a great question, buddy. I’d love to see Dara in a white dress.”
Dara glared at him as best he could without turning his gaze from the road. “Aren’t you supposed to be calling Cade?”
“Right, on it.”
Cade, who’d already spoken to Max, was taken aback at Dara’s request. “A bag? To go where?”
On hearing Dara’s halting explanation, not wanting to say too much with Lucas all ears next to them, Cade simply agreed that he’d get everything ready.
“We’ll be there in two hours,” Dara said, and Seth ended the call, giving Lucas the phone to play with to keep him occupied.
“So, where did you find your wolf?” Lucas asked when the phone no longer held his attention. “Was he running around in the woods?”
Dara shared a look of amusement with Seth through the rearview mirror.
“Not exactly,” Seth said. “He was inside me all the time, but I just couldn’t reach him before.”
“And now you can?”
“And now I can.”
A small crowd met them at the bridge to River Den. Jensen hurried forward and Hunter helped him carry Axel into the clinic. Joe, who’d watched the arrivals, had been holding Skye, but quickly handed him off to Dara and hurried after Jensen and Axel. There was something there, between him and the alpha, that same connection that he saw with others only… different somehow. Incomplete.
Cade, Davyn, and Ollie met Max, throwing their arms around their long-lost brother before Ollie walked Max to the clinic to get his injuries seen to.
Hunter returned, and he and Cade had a reunion of their own, kissing and hugging like they hadn’t seen each other in years. Or like Hunter had just risked his life and had safely returned home from battle.
Dara had his own reunion with Skye, finding tears in his eyes and falling down his cheeks at the relief of seeing his little one.
“I missed you, so much. And I’m sorry that I left, but now you and I are safe, forever, and your uncle is home, and…”
Seth moved to stand beside him throwing an arm across Dara’s shoulders. “Hey, little man. I think you’ve grown in the… ten hours since I last saw you. Say, isn’t it past your bedtime?”
Skye closed his eyes, snuggling closer to Dara.
“Is that a baby?” Lucas asked, standing on his tiptoes to see.
“Uh-huh, this is Skye.”
“He’s teeny-tiny.”
“Yep, he is.”
“Why is he so small?”
“He wasn’t in the oven for long enough. We took him out a little early.”
Dara elbowed Seth, who fell silent.
“He arrived a little sooner than expected,” he explained to Lucas, bending down so Lucas could see Skye’s face. “That’s why he’s so small.”
“He’s a wolf like me, isn’t he?”
“That’s right. Though he’ll be able to change into a few different forms until he gets a bit bigger.” Dara was surprised. He hadn’t thought Lucas’ senses would be acute enough to tell a wolf from other species, especially since Seth’s hadn’t been before he shifted. Unless Lucas was getting it from Seth. From an alpha to his pack.
Hunter and Cade had joined them, Hunter remarking that that had been quite the hat trick they’d pulled.
“When did you two…”
“Last night. It was Dara’s idea.”
“Nicely played. And welcome to the new shifter club.”
Dara interrupted, thinking back to how weak Angus’ voice had sounded on the phone. “We need to get back on the road. Now.”
“I’ll drive you,” Hunter offered, turning to his mate. “Cade?”
“Go, I’ll man the fort. Be safe. Say hello to your family for me. Tell them River Den’s thoughts are with them.”
Cade leaned over and hugged Dara, speaking quietly to him as the others climbed into the car.
“Are you sure you want to go?”
“I think I have to… he’s my mate.”
“I know,” Cade said, caressing Dara’s cheek. “I’ve known from the moment I saw you together.”
“Seth’s father—” Dara couldn’t say any more. Cade hugged him again, bending to press a kiss to Skye’s forehead. “Go, be there for your mate. We’ll be here when you get back. We’ll take good care of Max.”
Dara climbed into the car, sitting next to Seth and marveling at how quickly his priorities changed. A few day’s previously, Max was his only concern and now he had Seth, Skye, even Lucas and Seth’s family who he’d never met.
“Let’s go home,” Seth said, putting an arm around Lucas and taking hold of Dara’s hand.