It was the middle of the night when Sinclair called Rafael, letting him know it was over. He spent several minutes filling Rafe in on the details of the battle, and the two of them discussed what to do with Lachlan Rokesby. For the time being, Carter was watching his twin’s mate, but Lachlan had vowed he wouldn’t try to escape once Donovan had all the information he needed. Sin had spoken to Hunter privately about the situation, and the male was beating himself up pretty badly for not knowing the kind of Goyle he was mated to. He told Sin he didn’t care what they did with Lachlan, but Sin could see in his eyes and hear in his voice he did care. They agreed to bring him back to the States and toss him in the Pen for a while. Sin also informed Rafe of Kallisto’s plan to escape to Italy. Tessa had already put in a call to Xavier, and he was going to have Kallisto detained and taken to the States where they could put her back in prison alongside Sergei.

By the time they hung up, Rafael’s heart was hurting. They had defeated Alistair, but five of their Clan had been killed. Rafael and Kaya packed their bags while the others had gone home to do the same. Athena’s body had been found, and they were traveling to the villa in Italy to lay her to rest in the mausoleum next to their father.

While four of their fallen males had family still alive to bury them, Finley did not. Fin had been a member of the Clan for over a hundred years, only recently having moved to California. From what Sinclair told him over the phone, Urijah was not handling his best friend’s death well. Sin offered to bury Finley alongside their family in Italy, and Rafael agreed it would be fitting. He had died fighting for the family, and there was no higher honor than that.

Rafael had Priscilla call ahead to Penelope and have her ready the villa while he called the caretakers at the mausoleum, having them prepare two spots instead of one. After that was taken care of, he contacted Bryce and asked him to secure a larger jet for the trip to Italy. Their part-time pilot, Kellan, had already been dispatched to retrieve those who would be returning with the bodies of their Brothers. Rafael had contacted each family personally, and apologized for not being able to remain in New Atlanta to greet them. When he explained he was going to bury his mother, none of them hesitated to tell him they understood. He offered to pay for each funeral, since the males had died defending the Clan.

 Lorenzo was remaining behind to man the computers, against his wishes. Rafael assured him it was where he was needed, so the male agreed, sending his condolences with Rafael and the rest of the family. Malakai, Slade, and Dane were also staying in New Atlanta to protect the city. With Drago, Kavin, and Burk somewhere hiding out, Rafael didn’t trust them not to turn the Unholy loose while quite a few of the Clan were overseas.

It was early morning when everyone arrived at the airport. Amelia was asleep in Matthew’s arms, and Connor was his stoic self. The adults were somber, most having been around those who’d lost their lives. Mason had his arm around Willow, showing affection to the young woman for the first time in public. It hadn’t taken much convincing for Mason to call Willow and invite her on the trip. He’d told Rafael there was no way he was leaving her behind unprotected.

After everyone was situated and the plane was in the air, Rafael reflected on the past few conversations he’d had with his mother. The last two hundred years had been nothing short of tense between the two of them, but as soon as she found out she was going to be a grandmother, that barrier between them had fallen, and things had shifted for the better. Athena went against her brother to help rescue Isabelle, and then she willed herself over to the other side so Alistair couldn’t use her against Rafael. His mother had put her family first, and for that he would forever be grateful.

Rafael placed his hand on Kaya’s stomach so he could connect with their unborn son. It amazed him how active the baby was, and he wanted to feel Sebastian’s movement as much as possible. It had been a while since Bas had come to either Kaya or him in a vision, and Rafael had missed seeing his young son that way. He wondered if Sebastian would grow up to look as Rafael had seen in his mind. When he thought of children, he imagined them having Kaya’s blonde hair and blue eyes, but intellectually he knew the probabilities of that happening were slim considering his dark features.

Like Rafael had when he was young, Sebastian would have cousins to play with as he grew up. Sophia was due a month after Kaya, and now Abbi was pregnant. When Sixx announced both Desirae and Simone were pregnant on the last conference call, it hadn’t come as a surprise, since Connor had drawn pictures predicting as much. The next generation was coming to pass, and Rafael couldn’t be more excited. Matthew was adopted, yet he was one of them in every way. When Matthew was ready, Slade would claim the young human as his mate. Connor had Gargoyle blood, and considering it was Original blood, he would no doubt be a powerful half-blood. The boy had already “seen” his mate; therefore they knew he was going to be a shifter.

So many emotions carried through the cabin, and Rafael found them stifling. He couldn’t imagine how Dante was handling them all. Looking over at his brother, he was surprised to see Dante smiling, until he noticed his brother was looking at Connor. The boy’s face was scrunched in concentration, but he was focused on Dante. The two of them were engaged in one of their silent conversations. Dante chuckled softly, but it was loud enough Rafael heard it. The sound warmed his soul. Rafael prayed he and his own son had such a connection.

Rafael couldn’t see all the faces, but he knew the most unsettled emotions were coming from Julian. Even though he had his beautiful mate at his side, Jules was still reeling from the fact that Achilles had been able to not only tap into the computer system, but the male had walked among them as Landon Roxburgh – a friend. He had shown up in Greece and had fought alongside the Clan. He had also ensured Kallisto didn’t get her hands on all of Alistair’s money. Lachlan – Landon’s real name – had emailed Julian with Kallisto’s flight information, and Tessa had reached out to Xavier.

Tessa’s father had males waiting at the airport to intercept the human and transport her to the States where she would reenter the Pen. There was no way Rafael was letting the human roam free, not after her part in tormenting the mates and kidnapping Connor. Xavier had also called for a meeting of the Elder Council. Since Rafael was going to be in Italy, he had agreed now was the perfect opportunity to meet with the Elder Gargoyles and discuss Alistair, among other topics. Rafael was finally ready to take his place on the Council. Before he did that, he had to decide what to do with Lachlan. He first had to bury his mother and Finley. Then he would meet with his Clan, and together, they would decide the fate of the hacker.

Kaya placed her hand on his cheek and pulled his face down to hers. Giving his mate his lips, Rafael got lost in his female and let the rest of the world fall away for a little while.

 

 

Before Kallisto left Poros, she had known her father was dead. The Gargoyles in the villa were discussing whether or not to remain on the island. She didn’t wait around to hear what they decided. Their fate was no longer her concern. She had cut Hagen loose once they figured out he was in over his head with whomever was toying with them on the other end. Kallisto had a feeling it was Achilles, but there was nothing she could do about him. She stopped at the bank and withdrew every single euro she had so it couldn’t be taken from her. It wasn’t Hagen’s fault she had pitted him against the best in the world, so she gave the young man a small pittance to go about his business and forget about her. Hagen offered to come with her, but she turned him down.

“Go finish your education. Get a good job, and forget about me and everything I had you do. Make better choices than I did, Hagen.” Kallisto kissed him on the cheek before getting into a taxi and driving away. She had decided on Northern Italy as her first destination. Her plan was to hide out for several months until she was no longer on the Stone Society’s radar. Maybe then she could find a way to get Sergei out of the Pen. No longer under her father’s thumb, she could be with her best friend in a way they had never dared. When the large plane taxied down the runway, Kallisto sat up, wedged next to a large man who’d had garlic for lunch, and looked forward to getting off the plane and starting the next phase of her life. Things were going to be okay.

After retrieving her luggage, Kallisto made her way to the taxi stand and directed the driver to one of the smaller hotels. She had to be frugal for once in her life. After stopping at the check-in desk, she made her way to the small room on the sixth floor – her home for the next few days until she could find a place to rent. When someone knocked, Kallisto expected the bellman with her luggage, so she opened the door, holding it for him to enter with the cart. It was a few seconds later when she realized her mistake. Two large men stalked into the room. As she opened her mouth to scream, a hand clamped down over her face, stifling both the scream as well as her breath. With one last thought of Sergei, everything went black.

 

 

While the others settled into their bedrooms at Rafael’s private Italian villa, Urijah took a walk. The sound of water called to him, and his feet made their way to a cliff overlooking the sea. Waves crashed into the rocks below, and Urijah wanted nothing more than to join them. To be a wave rolling in wildly until it was stopped abruptly by the jagged boulders along the coastline. Only one other time in his life had Uri felt so broken, and that was when he held a lifeless Mishka in his arms. With his husband dead, he had no one to console him. With Finley dead, he felt as lost and alone as he had thirty years before.

Sinclair had also been affected by Finley’s death; Urijah knew this, but Sin had a mate to turn to. Rocky would be arriving at the villa in a few hours, and Sin would have her warm body to get lost in to forget about his pain. Urijah had no one.

We had Banyan.

Had is the operative word.

We can still have him.

He released us, and then he betrayed us. Again.

He didn’t, and you know it. Finley died an honorable death defending us. Besides, it didn’t work.

What do you mean?

I still feel them.

Uri lay down on the ground and gazed at the azure sky. The salty breeze coming off the water floated over his body, taking him back to the countless times he and Banyan had done that very thing when they were younger. He didn’t want to think about Banyan. He wanted to focus on Finley and the good times they had shared, but his shifter’s words wouldn’t leave him alone. I still feel them. As he looked at the clouds, he noticed one looked like a boat. Uri found himself smiling as he thought back to the first time he and Banyan studied the clouds.

Urijah pointed to their right. “Look! It’s a turtle.” He and Banyan were too old to still be lying on their backs searching the clouds, but there they were. Banyan had been really quiet the last few days, and Uri wanted to make him smile. When he turned his head toward Banyan, his best friend was frowning. “Banyan?”

“Ja?” he asked without looking.

“You okay?”

“Ja,” he repeated, only this time it was on a sigh. The only time Uri ever knew Banyan to be so quiet was when he was writing. Then he would get lost in the words. Sometimes a few minutes, sometimes hours.

“Do you see the turtle? Never mind, it moved. Now it looks like a…” It didn’t look like anything but a plain cloud.

“I see a heart,” Banyan whispered.

“Where?” Uri looked at Banyan’s face to determine what direction his eyes were looking, but he was looking right at Uri.

Banyan didn’t answer him. He kept staring at Uri’s face with a funny look on his own. Banyan blinked and rolled away from Uri, pushing to his feet. “I need to go,” Banyan said, and took off running, leaving Urijah sitting on the ground wondering what just happened.

Urijah blinked, clearing his vision. How had he not noticed the way Banyan looked at him back then? Because you were too busy looking for a female. All that time wasted. How he wished things had been different back then. He could have saved himself a lot of heartache by not pursuing something he didn’t really want. His beast had tried to tell him on more than one occasion, but Uri hadn’t listened. To the beast or his heart.

He was thankful his shifter wasn’t yelling at him. Maybe it was as affected by Finley’s loss as he was. Or maybe it felt sorry for him and was only giving him a short reprieve. Whatever the case, Uri was going to enjoy it for as long as it lasted.

Banyan had taken off without saying a word to anyone. Back at Alistair’s compound, several males had asked if anyone had seen Banyan. It wasn’t until they had climbed aboard Hunter’s boat that Uri overheard Hunter giving Sinclair a message from Banyan. “He said to tell you he’s sorry he can’t be there for you when you bury your mother, but things are too raw right now.”

Mjölnir was nestled against his chest, and Urijah ran his fingertips over the design. He had yet to take the talisman off, and he doubted he ever would. He might not want to be mated to Banyan, but he didn’t want to forget their friendship either. Banyan had meant more than life itself to Urijah before they parted ways. He had been everything to Uri. Friend. Fellow Warrior. Brother. Lover. The two of them had never had actual intercourse, but the intimate times they shared were more satisfying than any other Urijah ever knew. Even with Mishka.

Urijah’s dick was getting hard, and that pissed him off. He wanted to mourn his friend, not get an erection from thinking about Banyan. He stood up and purposefully slowed his heart rate. It took several minutes for his dick to deflate, but thoughts of Finley lying on the bloody battlefield helped do the trick. Instead of remaining by the edge of the cliff, Urijah returned to the villa. Rafael and the rest of the Clan would be arriving, and he wanted to be there to greet them.

 

 

Dane sat at his usual table at the coffee shop with a mug of latte firmly in his grip. He didn’t know the males very well who’d lost their lives in the battle against Alistair. He had met most of them briefly during training, but the sadness was still there at losing any of the Clan he had come to think of as his family. He was still coming to terms with his biological family, but that was getting easier as time went on. He and Isabelle were close, and he spent as much time with his sister as possible. He enjoyed being around her little family, especially Connor. Jasper, Trevor, and Travis often ate supper with them, and they invited Dane every single time. He never turned down one of Maria’s home-cooked meals if he could help it.

  Marley’s hand on his shoulder brought his attention up to her beautiful face. “What’s on your mind, Chief?”

Normally, his mate’s question would elicit an image of getting her naked and underneath him, but today, his thoughts were clouded with death. He didn’t want to ruin her day, too, so he lied. “Work. You know how much I hate paperwork, and I have a stack of it waiting on my desk.” Dane had taken Marley out on a few dates, but they had yet to have sex. They spent their time talking and getting to know one another. When they kissed, Dane felt too out of control, and he’d shut that shit down quickly. They both were getting frustrated, and he wasn’t going to be able to put her off much longer. When that happened, his beast would take over, and he had to have “the talk” with her first. Dane wouldn’t mate with Marley without her consent.

Now that Alistair was dead, the threat to the mates was over, and he could put that fear aside. Dane could bond with his waitress, and they could move forward with their lives. He couldn’t wait to add her to their family. Every time he talked to Isabelle, she asked, “Have you finally come to your senses?” He would laugh and respond, “Not yet.” Not yet was quickly turning into soon. He had already been looking at houses for the two of them. He had chosen several larger ones they could fill with dozens of kids. Yeah, he had gotten ahead of himself there, but Marley was great with the children who came into the coffee shop, so it only made sense she would want kids of her own. The next time she walked by, he grabbed her wrist. “We need to talk.”

Marley frowned, and he realized how serious he sounded. What they needed to discuss was serious, but in a good way. “Will you please have dinner with me tonight? There’s something I want to ask you,” he added. Marley’s face lit up, and she nodded excitedly.

“Yes,” she responded, grinning. After she walked off, it dawned on him what he’d said.

Oh shit. She thinks… Fuck it. Dane pushed back from the table, not bothering to ask for his latte to go. He had something he had to take care of as well as a shit ton of paperwork waiting. When he got to the door, he turned and caught Marley’s eye. Grinning at his mate, he held up six fingers. She nodded again, giving him the biggest smile he’d ever seen. A smile he wanted to look at for the rest of his life.