Chapter Six

 

 

“I’m not sure what to do next.”

Aran turned him around to see Dante sitting in a chair watching them.

“I’m sure he knows.”

“You’ve made your decision?”

When had he entered the room? His eyes narrowed a little before he took a deep breath. Dante wasn’t his concern. “I have.”

“Then say goodbye to your brothers and collect your new brothers and meet me on your ship.”

He walked away.

“Did he mean on the shuttle we brought down?”

“Nope, he meant ship. None of you can leave until you eat. Spend a little more time.”

He nodded. There was no telling when they would see each other again, and he wanted to stay as long as possible.

“Come eat,” Rena called to them as they came out the back door.

He went over and made a plate sitting down with the broken as each brother took turns telling them about their lives and their mates.

“How did you know you were meant to find your mates?” Mekhi’s voice was soft as he asked.

“We didn’t. Finding a mate feels like something you don’t deserve so when they come along it’s a shock.”

He nodded his head and stood.

“Mekhi?”

“Sometimes you really don’t deserve a mate.” He walked away.

“I think it’s time for us to say goodbye.” Slade stood and made his way around the table saying goodbye to the males that were his family before he said goodbye to the females.

Aran stood and walked out with him.

“I thought when I met you that maybe the connection we should share would kick in.”

“I thought so too.”

“How?”

“Our connections is different because we’re twins. Remember if you ever need me.”

“I’ll remember, and I extend the same offer. If you ever need me.”

He walked away because if he stayed any longer, he wasn’t sure he would be able to walk away.

“You didn’t have to choose us.” They were docking their shuttle in the hangar.

“I won’t if you ever open yourself up for death like that again.” He was angry, but he hadn’t realized it earlier since it was rolling around with all the other anger and rage he felt.

They made their way up to the command deck to find Dante sitting in the captain’s chair.

“Just keeping my word.” He smiled when they all stopped to look at him.

“What next?” Slade moved to step in front of him.

“Next, I want all of you to decide if this is where you want to be. Are you with your brothers or are you waiting for something better to come along so you can jump ship?”

Slade wanted to turn around and read the faces behind him but before he could do that he needed to once again do an internal check. Was he here to honor Brie’s request or was he here because this is truly where he wanted to be?

Once again, he saw his twin and the other males that should have been his brothers. Those that he should have grown up with and bonded to, then he remembered the brothers he chose The Broken. Was he here out of a sense of duty?

No, he was here because when they were together, none of them were as broken as they were when they were apart. When he was with these males, there was a sense of family, a sense of what he always desired when he was growing up. That’s why he chose them because they really were the only family that he had.

“Now that everyone has chosen.” Dante lifted his hand.

There was no time to turn around as he fell to his knees. Pain more intense than any he had ever experienced pierced is head and then his body. He cried out unable to keep it to himself.

“What the hell is happening?”

“My body is being torn apart.”

“Sweet death take me now.”

“How is that lunatic doing this?”

“Don’t call him a lunatic, he’s the first he could kill us with a flick of his finger.

“Shut up! All of you are thinking too loud.”

Blessed silence reigned. Body’s began to move and murmurs of pain filtrated through them. In the end, they settled on lodging their bodies against a chair and staying still. None of them tried to stand knowing that falling on their faces wouldn’t be forgotten anytime soon.

“What did you do to us?” He placed the heel of his hand against his temple and pushed trying to stop the low hum of voices that resided there.

“Being the first brother the one who is charged with the safety of all his other brothers is a heavy responsibility. You find yourself watching out for them even when you know they can take care of themselves. There are days, months, and years that you have to stop yourself from interfering in their lives. They need to know they can do it without you. I’ve begun to wonder if what the lead brother feels is similar to what a parent feels when they have to pull back and watch their child walk or fall on their own. I have no children, not even a mate, so I don’t know. All I can do is speculate.”

He stood and walked around stopping to look down at each male before he knelt before him and touched his forehead. A bright light came from him, and then he moved to the next.

He knelt before Slade. “Maybe you will be able to answer that question for me when we next meet. You’re family now just like any other family. Your beasts are not from the same line, but they are now family. The only question is where will you live. Fortunately, I have an answer for that also. See you in the past.”

“Did he just disappear?”

“He did.”

“What did he do to us?”

“I can feel you, all of you in my head.” Phoenix touched his head before he flinched.

“I can feel all of you also.”

“He linked us. I don’t know how he did it, but he linked us.” Slade reached out and used his chair to help pull himself from the floor.

The others did the same no one moving fast because the new connections in their heads still throbbed.

“Is this what it’s supposed to feel like.”

“Yes,” Akron said softly. The others echoed his yes.

“Akron?”

“No Slade. It’s too soon it may always be too soon.’

He nodded pain didn’t just go away because it had been days, months, or years. Some pain always seemed to linger to catch you off guard to remind you of what you lost. Once again, he understood he was right where he was meant to be.

“What did the lunatic mean when he said he would see us in the past?” Phoenix looked around for an answer.

“I don’t know, but I think we should leave the Earth and find a different place to call home.” Jabari looked at Slade to see his reaction.

“We’re leaving unless anyone has a reason to stay.”

There was nothing but silence. He gave the orders to take the ship out of orbit and look for the closest inhabited planet where they could lie low.

“It’s never that easy little brother.” Laughter that sounded just like his own haunted him. “Send him back as soon as you can. We’re used to him popping up when least expected. Take care.”

Aran was gone, and he was left to wonder why he spent years of his life berating the silence in his head. How hard would it be for him to get that silence back?

Mekhi turned to give him a mocking look before he focused on his station.

They moved out of orbit easily as they took the ship into deep space leaving the earth and any thought of it behind.

“Shit.” This came from Phoenix with Jabari and Akron agreeing.

“What’s happening?” Slade turned on the view screen to see waves of intense blue light coming toward their ship.

“What the hell is that?”

“Good question brother. Tell me if you know that answer.” Mekhi’s fingers were moving fast over the keys in front of him and data was pouring across the stream.

“The computer has never analyzed anything like this before. I told it to guess. It didn’t like that, but if the extrapolated data could be used to look forward, this could be a wave in the time-space continuum.”

“Whatever it is it will overtake us in, five, four, three.”

“Hold on tight!”

“One.”

The ship rocked throwing them to the floor. A pair of eyes appeared on the bridge, but no one noticed the freaky sight because they were all passed out.

 

*~*~*~*

 

“What happened?” Slade was back on the floor with his head throbbing. Was this take two and what happened earlier?

“Large blue waves attacked us, and we passed out as a result.” Akron pulled himself up to his chair as his brothers did the same.

“We are in orbit around a large blue planet, and the ship is cloaked.”

“Very few people in the government know that aliens exist. I suggest you bury your ship when given a chance. We don’t want them going on a witch hunt.” He smiled. “I guess we should call it the hunt for The Created.”

“No more fun and games at our expense.” He eyes blazed as his beast fought to surface. “I want to know what’s going on.”

“You’re starting to take to leadership. As far as playing with you that’s not my style. Hmm, maybe it is, but you’ll get used to it. I did exactly what I told you I would do. I brought you to Earths past.” He unfolded his frame from the wall where he was standing and walked to the view screen.

“Magnify.”

Jabari looked at Slade who nodded yes. The image on the screen was magnified until they could see the individual streets. This was not the same Earth they had just walked on.

“Come with me, I seem to be in the giving mood, so I have something for you.”

Before they could protest, he left the ship taking them with him.

“How did you do that?”

“Where are we?”

“Why did you do that?”

“Who are you?”

“All excellent questions.” He turned and pointed all eyes following his outstretched hand.

“What is that?” Slade walked a little closer never having seen anything like this before even when he went to Aran’s house, this place put his brothers to shame.

“This is a house. They call it a mansion in this time. It has six different wings offering you each privacy. The kitchen, game room, and several others rooms are all common space, so you have a space to be together as well as apart.”

The mansion was surrounded by green space that backed up to a forest.

“It’s all yours further than your eyes can see.” He took them in the house and let them look around while each brother found the space that was perfect for them.

They met back in the living room. Dante was sitting in a floating chair waiting for them.

Slade walked in front of him. “I’m almost afraid to ask what’s next.”

“You’re learning. You live life. This mansion, this land it’s not a handout. I didn’t give it to you because you earned it. I won’t be taking care of you. You’ll have to learn that on your own.”

“What do you expect us to do? There’s no food, no furniture.” Mekhi looked at him floating above the floor the question of who was he once again tickled a portion of his brain.

“Then buy some. You have money, and you have items on your ship that can be converted to money. If you want or need more money, then you’ll have to do what everyone else does to get it.”

“What’s that?”

“Work for it, Akron.”

“Why are we here in Earths past?”

“This is not Earths past it’s your future.”

“That still doesn’t tell us why we are here.”

Dante took a long deep breath and let it out in a sigh.

“You’re as bad as if not worse than the Dare’s in the beginning.”

They straightened their stance and smiled, it lingered on their lips. He shook his head they were taking it as a compliment. Why shouldn’t they, he partially meant it that way.

“No more questions, you’re Created given the ability to survive. So, survive.” He disappeared, but he would keep an eye on them.