Chapter 1
Crazy
The bottle hit the wall causing glass to explode everywhere. It didn’t make her feel any better. Janel looked in the mirror behind the bar and she just wanted to cry. Ever since she’d been little she’d heard how important a mate was and how they were drawn to each other. Lies! It was all lies.
“Do you need help getting home?” Pru asked.
“No, I’m staying here.” She spoke slowly so she’d be understood. The slur from being drunk was barely there.
“Sweetheart, let me take you home.” Pru begged.
Pru was alright. She understood having just fought the good fight for her mate but she’d won. That was because Pru was stronger than she was and Herk wasn’t as big an ass as Julio was.
“I don’t ever want to go home again. I wanna stay here until I grow old and die.”
“Shh, Sweetie. Somehow, it’ll all end up alright.” Pru hoped.
“Promise?”
She hesitated then nodded. “We’ll make sure of it.”
“If he doesn’t settle, let’s cut his balls off.” Janel said feeling bloodthirsty. Why not? He deserved it for what he’d done. It wouldn’t be so bad but she was almost certain he’d gone native on the plains without a thought of anything except where the best grass was.
“Come on.” Pru helped her up and led her to the SUV she drove. Janel had a car too, somewhere. Ah, the hell with it. She slipped into the passenger seat with Pru’s help.
This bar wasn’t far from where they lived at the edge of the small village. Some of the men who hung around there were a touch dangerous or thought they were. She’d considered showing them what dangerous was, but they hadn’t hurt her. Those guys actually played cards with her and joked around to cheer her up. The only one who hurt her was her disappearing mate.
Janel knew she needed to get a hold of herself. He’d be around eventually to do his duty in this fight. Even that low life asshole would do that much. Pru needed to keep a close eye on her so she didn’t hurt the asshole. It would be so tempting. She started to cry. Damn. Nothing worse than a crying drunk. Red eyes, red nose, and a headache come morning; there was no doubt about it. The blame fell securely on Julio.
She’d heard females talking about how much they wanted to meet a unicorn and love on one of them. Well she could tell them from personal experience Unicorn’s sucked. He was the worst experience she’d ever had in her life. Janel had a few really bad experiences like going drinking with Amy, a cousin.
Her cousin got drunk then sick and puked all over her as she tried to help her home. That was bad, Julio was worse. There was the time she and Pru had snuck down the rain spout one night to go see some boys. It had started to break away from the house so they had dropped off it. Pru had fallen in a pile of hay while she had fallen in the blackberry bushes. She’d picked thorns out of her ass for hours. Again, that was bad while Julio was worse.
They arrived at the big house that they all lived in now. It was like a compound with the house and other buildings surrounded by a stone wall. The guards at the gate waved them through once they were certain of who they were. It was a relief when they parked, Pru finally got her to her room so she could collapse on her bed.
The next morning as soon as she entered the kitchen, everyone stopped talking. She got her own coffee but a server brought her an omelet. “Thank you.” She said as the young girl hurried away.
“How are you today?” Pru asked,
“You have bad news, don’t you?” Janel asked.
“Everyone is being called in for a planned attack. Julio will be here tomorrow.” Pru explained.
“I can manage.” She forced a smile. “Really.”
Pru looked at her disbelieving. “You don’t have to pretend to be strong. I went through some of that too and I understand.”
Janel hadn’t seen much of that. She’d come in when Herk was trying to make up for his mistake. The couple had been growing closer and they missed each other when they were separated by their missions. That’s when Janel had met Julio. Tall dark and handsome but with startling blue eyes. She’d known immediately and he’d seemed to know as well. That hadn’t lasted long though. The sex had been incredible, but that was all they’d had in common.
“You’re thinking too hard.” Pru observed.
“That’s better than before when I didn’t think hard enough.”
“It’s not your fault. Males are crazy most of the time. I would compare them to children. I will know how to handle kids when this one comes along.” Pru rubbed her still flat belly.
“Me too.” She whispered, but Pru heard her.
“Are you sure?”
“Yes. It’s okay. I can handle it.”
“You do know you shouldn’t be drinking?”
“Yes, Mother. I wasn’t ready to accept it. I’m all better now.”
“Eventually you’ll have to tell him.”
“Not now. I’m not ready to be around him.”
“I can’t blame you there. At least our kids will be able to play together.” Pru laughed.
“You always find the bright side. I hate you.”
“No you don’t. Come here and let me give you a hug.” Pru put her arms around her and Janel dissolved into tears. “At least we have each other.”
“It’s alright. Once I put him behind me I’ll find someone else. A true mate isn’t all that it’s said to be.”
“Once this battle is over, we’ll go shopping for baby stuff. It’ll make us both feel better.”
“Oh joy!” She was feeling mean and sarcastic, sue her.
“Have you already eaten? You look pale.” Pru looked at her with concern.
“I’m drinking some OJ to see if that stays down. If it does, I’ll consider something else.”
“You need to take care of yourself now.”
“Yeah, yeah. Don’t hurt myself, let someone else do it.” Janel declared.
“I’m sorry he hurt you and you know I understand, but think of the little one.”
“I’m doing the best I can. We will have to be careful, but we both will be needed in the upcoming battles.”
“I know. We will be in a support position throwing magic at the enemy. Herk plans an attack that will be the first true battle in the war against Hubolla. It seems so unfair that all the destruction will be in our world and none in his.”
“Death will come on speeding winds with vicious cries and unearthly strength. Many will fall, but if we fight together, we will win the day.” Janel said staring straight ahead of her. Pru looked at her with shock. Janel shook her head as if to clear it. “What were we talking about?”
She felt dazed and uncertain of what had just happened as she looked at Pru hoping for her to clear things up. “I believe you went into a trance.” Pru guessed.
“And what did I say?” She asked wishing Pru would just fill her on and not make her pull everything out of her.
“Something about death coming on the wind.”
“That was all?”
“No, you also said if we stick together we will win, but many will fall.”
“Not really anything new in that.” Janel said.
“Yes there is. We now have hope.”
“What do you mean?”
“Your prophesy that we could win. If we stick together, we will win. Some of us are doubters. Word of this will spread and encourage our fighters.”
“But I said many will fall.”
“We expected that, but you didn’t say that most would be ours. Maybe most of those who fall will be theirs? So far that has been the case and we’ve lost few if any.”
“When this battle is behind us, we’ll have a better idea of what’s in front of us.”
“With them entrenched in a village surrounded by innocents, it won’t be easy or painless.” Janel imagined.
“War never is nor should it be. When it becomes easy to take a life, we become as cold as the one we fight. I never want to be that.
“How long before we move on the village?”
“Right now we are waiting for the others. Herk and Julio’s people will join us before we head out. I suspect they will be here before lunch. They travel speedily in their own magical way.”
“In a different way from us, but just as fast.”
“Herk sent a messenger who should have arrived by now. Once the message is received, they will have to round up their soldiers. That will take the longest.”