Chapter One

The room was crowded and noisy. They were sitting in Mick’s living room talking and laughing, but he couldn’t find it within himself to join in. Damon leaned over and kissed River on her cheek. She turned her head, and he gave her a deep kiss before he pulled away. She blushed but looked happy.

Lucca felt a pang in his gut, but he couldn’t identify it. Was he happy because they were together? Yes, he was. Every time he saw his brother smile, both his brothers, he was ecstatic for them. Did that mean he wanted to find his mate? No, he didn’t want to find her. He was putting an end to it. There would be no more fighting The Darkness or the possibility of losing his soul.

“Lucca, is everything alright with you?”

He turned his head to look at Raphael. When you were the youngest, you were either spoiled or had to make your way around your five older brothers who had too many years on you. He was much too sensitive to their mood changes.

“No.” He shook his head as he looked around at his brothers.

“What’s wrong?” Julian asked him.

“I’m leaving.”

“Leaving?” His brother’s voices came out as echo’s one after the other, all except for Dante who never said a word.

“Where are you planning to go?” River looked at him asking what his brothers seemed too stunned to ask.

He smiled at her; he liked both her and Jaz. They had brought a feminine touch around and kept their mates on their toes.

“I don’t know, does it matter?”

“Yes, it matters.” Julian’s voice was low, which meant he was dangerous. Julian was the brother right above him. He spent years looking up to his brother and didn’t want to leave him behind, but it had to be this way.

“Are you going to leave Earth?” Damon asked him quietly.

They were the guardians of the unknown galaxy, and each guarded it from their base on the Earth. He could leave, make his seat of power somewhere else, but whatever pull the Earth had on him; it wouldn’t let him go.

“No, I’m not leaving the Earth.”

“Then you only have two options.” Dante’s voice was quiet as he watched him.

“You’re right.” Lucca stood up and disappeared.

“What are his two choices?” Jaz asked him.

“He can go to the past or the future.”

“You can go to the future?” She turned asking Mick.

“We can, but if we’re not careful, we can damage it.”

*~*~*~*

Tempest opened her eyes and knew something had gone wrong. She should have awoken when everything was over. The land should have reverted to what it was like long before humans roamed the earth to destroy it.

A groan made its way pass her lips; she was weak. The process of sleeping for hundreds of years or was it thousands? She didn’t know, but her body hadn’t rejuvenated. She was going to pay the price for this one. Why had she ever listened to them when they told her to sleep, and everything would be okay?

It took wrapping her arms around her middle and gritting her teeth before she was able to finally stand on her feet. She was in a cave if her memory served her right. That meant a long climb upward. The cave was supposed to no longer be here when she woke up.

Her hand touched the wall to hold her up. She screamed and pulled it back. There was some type of primitive spell on the wall. It was probably meant to keep her sleeping so that she would never wake. No one wanted her around, and all she wanted was peace.

She took off with slow steps. The cave was dark, and the walls were seeping with water and something else. She refused to speculate what was down here with her.

It became apparent that her trek wouldn’t be accomplished within a day when she laid down. She needed to rest, or she would never make it out of the cave.

As she closed her eyes, the form behind her stepped out of the shadows and smiled. She was never intended to walk out of this cave alive.

*~*~*~*

Lucca stretched his legs as he leaned back against the chair. He was sitting outside of one the best casual restaurants in the city. He smiled as pride bloomed in his chest, he was the silent partner. Sitting here watching people as they enjoyed their food and complemented the chef made him feel good and gave him a break away from what he was, who he was.

“Lucca!” Jon, his partner, and the chef came out to greet him. Jon manned the kitchen except on the days he felt like cooking. “I wasn’t expecting you.”

“I was in the mood for seafood the way only you can make it.”

“I already have it cooking for you.” He leaned over and hugged Lucca tightly before entering the restaurant.

He missed his brothers his throat worked even as he turned to look at the sign in the window. Elegant Cuisine—Casual Dining. There was no need to get dressed up to eat here, but you still felt like you were being treated like a king when the food was placed in front of you.

He looked up and frowned, down the street there was a commotion, but it wasn’t his problem. That’s why he came back to Earth’s past. He wanted to live in a time that was easier. Having lived here once he was assured that there was nothing he needed to worry about.

It was hard, but he pulled his attention away and relaxed while he waited for his food to arrive. His restaurant was on a side street so there wouldn’t be that rushed atmosphere to it. The customers who came were drawn to the peace and quiet. They needed to spend some time collecting their thoughts.

He liked that because it was what this trip back in time was all about, collecting his thoughts and avoiding any chance to being mated.

The waiter came out and placed his meal in front of him.

“Thank you, Ray.” He read his name on the tag. Ray stood there and waited for him to take a bite. “Tell Jon that it is excellent as usual.”

“I will.” He smiled and walked away.

Lucca looked down the street the commotion looked like it was coming closer, but no one except him seemed to notice. This was not a good sign of him getting to enjoy his meal.

Had anything noteworthy happened in the past? No, he was sure that nothing happened that he needed to know about.

“It’s no longer the past. It's the present anything can happen.”

Just like that, he changed his mind. He no longer missed his brothers, especially the oldest one. The soft laughter echoing through his head brought an involuntary smile to his lips.

He looked up and took a few more bites of his food. It was a shame that it was going to go to waste. On his next bite, he was surrounded by the commotion that no one seemed to be able to see. Someone fell into his lap, and whatever was chasing her disappeared.

“You!” There was a female in his lap, an underfed female. He was tempted to shove the rest of his meal into her mouth to make sure she didn’t break apart.

“Who are you?”

“You fall into my lap disturbing my meal, then you ask me to identify myself? I think I should hear an apology followed by your name.”

“And I’m out of here.” She went to stand and stumbled.

“You’re hurt.”

“Well, at least your eyes work even if you weren’t taught manners.”

“I’ll have you know my brothers made sure I knew what manners were.”

“Too bad you didn’t adopt them as part of your lifestyle.”

She tried to push herself up and fell again. He caught her cradling her in his arms.

“Put me down you Neanderthal. Do I look like a baby to you?”

“You look about as weak as one.”

“Where are you taking me?” He had started walking down the street, and strangely enough; no one seemed to pay any attention to them.

He stopped and stared at her. “Do you know Dante?”

“Who?”

“Never mind.” He started walking again ignoring her.

Just great. She finally made it out of that cave. It took her weeks she didn’t know how many, but she knew what the passing of time felt like. Then she walked until her feet bled, she rested and walked some more. It felt like she was following a beacon, something or someone was drawing her. No matter how she tried, she couldn’t ignore the call. If she went in the opposite direction, the pain she felt became worse until she couldn’t move.

When she made it to the city evil surrounded her. She was in a fight for her life. In her weakened state, she knew she was going to die, but she couldn’t just give up. So, she fought. When her strength gave out, she found herself falling into his lap.

He opened the door to a vehicle and placed her in the back seat allowing her to lay across it. A small sigh escaped she was grateful to be able to rest.

She watched as he strode around to the front of the car and got in. He was handsome, and she didn’t want to notice. His blue eyes twinkled when he looked back at her. She could almost smile at the mischief in them, but she knew better. No males in her future ever. His blonde hair was shaved close on one side and fell over the other side in a sexy tangle that made her fingers itch to touch.

No touching she told herself as her eyes closed. At this rate, they may never open again.

The female in the back of his car was dying. He knew deaths touch when he saw it. Already he wanted to kill something preferably the elusive being that was fighting with her.

He’d give a lot to have Damon by his side.

“Damon? Damon! Answer me, I know you can hear me.”

“I was busy Lucca. What do you want?”

“Tell me you followed me to the past.”

“Why would I do that? You up and decided to leave. You didn’t tell any of us where you were going. You even cut your mental transmissions so we couldn’t follow you. I believe your words were, ‘all I want to be is left alone.’ Well, now you're alone.”

Damon cut their connection, and he was alone with a dying mate in the backseat of his car.

“Please, Damon I need you.”

Silence. He had been so sure when he walked away that he didn’t want a mate or a child or anything else Damon and Mick were talking about. He didn’t want his soul to be tested because he wasn’t confident he could win.

Living alone would always be better than putting the lives of his brother’s, the life of his mate at risk. How many times had he told himself he didn’t need anyone even as his brothers pressed around him insisting he did?

He lost everything in one fell swoop, his brothers and the mate he denied wanting. He pulled the car up to his doorway. He decided he was going to live on the ground this time, blend in with the humans. Who was he kidding like that would ever work?

He opened the back door and reached for her. He didn’t have a name to call her. He walked into his house and watched as his door opened but no one showed themselves.