True Traitor (First Wave Book 7) (7 page)

Jax stood in the middle of a clearing near the base of the mountain, surrounded by her team and animal friends as she faced the blond male hybrid and his own army of animals.

A little larger than Reven, the man stood with his arms crossed over his chest and his weapons holstered. Jax wasn’t fooled by the man’s relaxed stance and remained guarded. Although she had more people than him, he had a much larger group of animals on his side and he radiated confidence.

Jax was stunned when the man suddenly grinned, held his fists together and scrunched his fingers into a heart.

“This worked for Traze T’Alq with my people, so I was hoping it would work with you as well,” he said with a chuckle.

Jax was stunned.

“You saw Traze? Is he OK?” she asked.

The man laughed.

“He walked right in, did the heart thing and got directions and vehicles. Most of your people are getting the same treatment. We’re on orders that we don’t shoot first, so if we all follow that, this will end soon,” he said the last with a hard look.

Jax nodded her head and turned to her team.

“No one fires first. No one!” she yelled out before turning back to the other animal talker.

“Who are you? Why did you take our people if you don’t want a war?” she asked curiously.

She was surprised when the man sat on the ground and leaned back like they were having a picnic instead of a standoff.

“I’m Sam Denison. Obviously, I’m the animal talker, like you. In fact, we should probably turn them all loose before someone gets antsy or hurt,” Sam said before he waved a hand, and all of the animals—including the ones Jax thought she had commanded—began to walk away.

Jax watched the animals walk away peacefully and turned to Sam.

“How did you do that?” she asked.

Sam shrugged.

“The ley lines enhance our abilities. Only in and around them, though. You can do it too. You just have to tap into the natural energy running through here. Hey, why don’t you sit down, you have to be tired. I’ll teach you how to do it while we wait for the delicate flower to get here and fix this shit,” Sam said as he stood and held his hand out to Jax to help her sit in the grass.

Jax looked around at her team and the sole hybrid facing them. She took his hand and let him help her sit on the ground.

“What is a delicate flower?” she wondered aloud.

Sam sat across from her, facing her team, and laughed.

“She’s basically the unspoken leader of us. When the idiots who think they’re leaders screw up, she comes in and fixes it. I heard she’s on her way, so we’re trying to make sure no one gets hurt while we wait for her,” Sam said, respect clear in his voice.

Jax was perplexed. The situation she encountered was far different than what she’d expected.

“So . . . it’s the idiots who took our people? Are they OK?” she asked.

Sam laughed again.

“Your little boy is destroying the old city system; the pregnant woman with him seems to be doing fine. Oh! And the little boy spawned these small golden spheres that have released all of the prisoners and are leading them to one another,” Sam said, still cackling.

He wiped the moisture from his eyes as he continued to laugh.

“I can’t wait to see the look on the legends’ faces as that little guy goes blasting his way through there. It’s got to be epic!” Sam added.

Jax turned to look at her team, wondering if the man was insane.

“Legends?” she asked the still-laughing man.

Sam slowed his laughter.

“Yeah, Fiorn and his son, Leif. You may want to tell your people that keeping the Valendrans away until the DF gets here is a good idea. We won’t fire on you guys, the hybrids, but some of ours still loyal to the legends might actually shoot one of the Valendrans,” he warned her before he took a drink from a canteen and offering it to her.

Jax shook her head as she communicated the information to Reven, who immediately warned her to remain on guard—which she had every intention of doing.

Back at the cabin, Reven turned to Ivint and told him what Jax said.

“Jax says there’s a leader they call the ‘delicate flower’ on her way, and the mountain hybrids promise not to shoot first,” he said. “Tricia, Tristan, and Traze are alive and inside, and somehow Tristan is helping our other captives get free.

The assembled Valendrans all sighed in relief at the news. For a war, it was nothing like they expected. In fact, the only danger seemed to be that they were only hours away from the situation getting out of control and being exposed to the humans.

Ivint stood and faced the screen showing the mountain, crossing his arms over his chest.

“Since we’re relegated to a support role in this situation, I suggest we start trying to keep this off the Internet and the news networks. True said they have people in the forest getting the humans out. Surround their perimeter and help evacuate the humans faster, and make sure no one stops to take more pics or vids,” Ivint said to Reven.

Reven nodded his head and turned to the room, dividing the Valendrans into teams before addressing them.

“Because of the uniforms and weapons, the humans will assume you are national guard or military. If anyone thinks to question you, just acknowledge being in the military. Don’t specify it’s the Valendran military of course,” Reven said with a chuckle.

Ivint faced the teams.

“Be respectful. Remember, some of them are scared, and we want to get them out of there unharmed. Try not to be intimidating unless you have to,” Ivint warned the men. 

Everyone nodded while Reven handed out assignments, just as Sheriff Joe walked in the door. Ivint, concerned something had gone wrong, approached the man with a worried frown.

Joe saw the concerned faces at this appearance and immediately spoke to ease their concerns.

“Don’t panic. Their people were already there and guarding the place. They gave your people everything they needed to find your guys and even had the scene under control. They said if you guys don’t shoot first, they won’t either. I left a few of my guys with yours, outside the gates with them to watch over things. But, I gotta tell you, for a war, this one is pretty pleasant,” Joe said as he tipped his hat back and scratched his head.

Ivint and Reven looked at one another, having heard the same thing many times in the last few hours.

“Did they happen to mention something about a delicate flower?” Ivint asked. He refused to feel stupid for asking it.

Joe nodded his head.

“Yeah, they mentioned it. Who is it?” he asked curiously.

Ivint shook his head and looked over at Reven.

“I don’t have a clue, but whoever it is, it’s the person we want to talk to. They may not be in charge of what’s happening, but they are in charge of the people. Someone wants a war, but without the people making it happen, you’re only fighting yourself,” Ivint said.

Reven nodded his head and grinned.

“If it is Fiorn doing this crap, then this delicate flower has effectively cut his balls off by not giving him any support. I’m betting it’s his mate. Only a mate could unman you in such a way and live to tell the tale,” he said with a chuckle.

Ivint laughed and nodded his head in agreement.

“I would bet you are correct, my friend. If that is the case, I look forward to meeting the delicate one who could cripple a legend in such an embarrassing way. On the field of battle, no less,” he grinned.

Reven snorted.

“Delicate one my ass. If she’s Fiorn’s mate she’s probably a hideous troll. She’d have to be in order to put up with the man. Legend or not, I found the man to be an arrogant ass,” Reven admitted.

Ivint nodded.

“That he was—quick to temper and not very receptive to opposing opinions. I must admit to being grateful that we may not have to deal with him while we try to establish communications with them,” Ivint said.

Joe cleared his throat.

“Just cause she ain’t killing ya, don’t mean she ain’t likely to knife ya in the back. If she’s calculating enough to bring down your legend, you may not want to assume anything about her,” Joe mused. He’d seen too many women underestimated, much to the horror of a man in their life. He hated to see these men make the same mistake.

Ivint nodded his head.

“You have a very good point, my friend. It is probably best not to underestimate anyone right now. Tell me, what assistance do you need to keep things under control?” Ivint asked.

Joe cleared his throat again.

“Well, if you’re pretending to be national guard, then get me a few of your teams, and we’ll get the whole town blocked off. No traffic in at all and we can monitor anyone going out. If you can take down the Internet in the area, that would be helpful,” Joe said.

“We’ll get on the Internet right away. There are two teams outside that are ready to go, I’ll go introduce you,” Reven said.

Ivint watched the two men leave and sighed in relief that everyone was still alive and no one was harmed. He knew how quickly and easily that could change, and he prayed Fiorn would remain leashed while they waited for his assumed mate to arrive.

Delicate flower
, Ivint thought, wondering what kind of woman it would take to tame the arrogant jerk that he remembered Fiorn to be.

For the life of him, he couldn’t think of anything delicate surviving the man for as long as they had to have been mated. Either way, he prayed that the brave woman would arrive soon. Time was running out for them all, and the longer this went on the more likely someone would fire first.

Reven came back into the room and stood beside Ivint.

“Jax said that she and Sam are just chilling out there. Apparently the delicate one is Fiorn’s mate,” he said with a grin.

Ivint laughed.

“I’m not sure if we should be grateful or not. Whoever she is, she’s obviously the true leader. We could be jumping from one problem to another,” Ivint said, his mind trying to figure out what was going on. This was going far too easily.

Reven looked at his friend.

“You think they are luring us inside and into letting our guard down?” he asked with renewed fear for his pregnant mate.

Ivint shook his head.

“I don’t know. But warn everyone to stay alert and on guard until we can establish some kind of official communication with someone,” Ivint said.

“What are you thinking?” Reven asked.

Ivint shook his head and looked more closely at the mountain and the craft in the skies as they hovered low over the mountain.

“I just don’t see Fiorn allowing anyone, even a mate, to have that kind of power. Do you?” he asked.

Reven shook his head and crossed his arms over his chest.

“No, I really don’t see it. He’s stubborn, arrogant, set in his ways . . . hell, what he’s doing right now shows his instability,” Reven agreed.

Callumus, temporary first commander of the Adaria while Gracus was grounded, called through Ivint’s comm.

“Sir, we have Relian ships entering the quadrant!”

Koda came through the comm next.

“Sir, keep your ships cloaked! The rest of our fighters are going to intercept before they can come anywhere near the planet,” Koda said confidently.

Ivint shook his head.

What else could go wrong?
He wondered.

“Remain cloaked and let Koda handle this for now. Koda, if you need help you better damn well ask for it before it becomes an emergency,” Ivint warned, unwilling to see the young man and his fighters harmed because he didn’t ask for assistance.

Chapter Seven

Countdown Clock to Human Discovery

18:00 Hours

This is WSBC Channel 9 News with a special update. Federal and local authorities are continuing the evacuation of the area near the landslide that occurred on Burnt Tree Ridge. Garfield County Sheriff Joe Scarborough has closed secondary roads near the slide to allow for quicker evacuation. I-70 is now closed in both directions between exits 133 and 129 as the slide continues toward the highway. As Garfield County wakes up, the road closures could lead to traffic snarls as commuters head to work.

Early damage reports indicate that not only have the cell phone towers been affected, but the Internet has also gone down. Providers are unable to give repair estimates until officials can ensure the area is safe enough to inspect the damage. Heavy rain is still expected and everyone is asked to avoid the area until the authorities can ensure it’s safe. We will provide updates on the situation as they become available.

True spent the next hour with Tara and Leif while they tried to convince her they weren’t the bad guys. Even though True had heard the chatter through the Shengari’ that everyone was alright and their forces were basically being welcomed inside the mountain, she didn’t trust any of them. Something seemed off, and she couldn’t shake the feelings of mistrust she felt towards the mountain hybrids, as her people were calling them.

True was shaken from her thoughts by Tara.

“You’re a tough nut to crack. What exactly will it take to prove to you that we aren’t the bad guys here?” Tara asked, warily eying the fire starter in the backseat.

True didn’t hesitate.

“Take me to Grai,” she said.

Leif shrugged.

“Might as well. He escaped over an hour ago with the rest of them. We could probably get back and meet up with them—wait out the legends until the DF gets here,” he said, thinking it was probably safer than trying to convince the fiery she-beast to believe he wasn’t a monster.

At this point, he’d be happy to have the woman anywhere but behind him. She was dangerous and made him nervous. Actually, if he was honest with himself, he’d have to admit she was making his junk nervous.

Fear of being set on fire again would do that to you,
he thought angrily before he tamped it down again.

Tara snorted.

“You two are pathetic. I’m taking you back just to get rid of both of you,” she said with a shake of her head.

Leif flipped Tara off, causing True to snort at the blank expression he’d maintained while he did it. Not that True was jealous or anything, but Tara and Leif seemed to be awfully close and she was curious about their relationship.

True cleared her throat.

“Are you two brother and sister?” she asked. She knew there was no resemblance between Leif and Tara, but she wanted them to clarify their relationship for her.

Tara laughed at her.

“Might as well be. We grew up together. And I still kick his ass when he needs it, just like a big sister would!” Tara said as she reached across the seat to pinch one of Leif’s cheeks. He slapped her hands away from him.

Leif snorted in disbelief.

“Kick my ass? You used to sneak in my bedroom and give me night terrors!” Leif said, unable to believe that Tara still called it kicking his ass.

Tara laughed.

“Hey! Only when you’d been a real asshole that day,” Tara said as she looked at True in the rearview mirror with sparkling green eyes.

“Besides,” Tara added, “it was good for you! Made you grow up into a strong, protective man.”

Leif looked at her in disbelief and horror.

“You’re fucking kidding right?” he asked before he turned to True in the backseat, forgetting their personal arguments for the moment.

Leif pointed at a grinning Tara and looked at True.

“I was seven; she was eight. I stole one of her cookies at lunch, and at naptime she gave me nightmares that went on for weeks! I spent half my childhood sleeping with the lights on and somewhere near Nana because she terrorized me in my sleep!”

True had a few bad nightmares in her life and she couldn’t imagine someone doing that to her intentionally to get even for a cookie! Against her better judgement, she was actually starting to feel sorry for Leif. She narrowed her eyes at Tara in the rearview mirror before Tara burst out laughing.

“Oh please! He’s a big boy and a few nightmares didn’t hurt him. Besides, he got more shit from everyone else growing up for being the progeny of legends, so the nightmares were only the icing on an already burned cake,” Tara said the last with a laughing snort as she looked at his crotch.

True actually felt bad for giving the mountain people more of a reason to pick on Leif. The guy wasn’t what she had expected, but she did feel a connection to him even if she was trying to ignore it, and she felt bad for hurting him. Although, she’d never admit it in front of Tara. Not because she couldn’t do it, but because True thought the woman might twist it and turn it into something else to pick on him for.

True wasn’t surprised when they headed right for the mountain wall, and it opened just as they were going to hit it. They parked and exited the vehicle, and True was a little surprised when five of the hybrids in the garage area grinned at them with scrunched hands in the shape of hearts.

Tara looked at them oddly and laughed.

“What the hell? We don’t usually get greeted like this,” she said with a questioning look to Leif.

One of the men laughed.

“Traze T’Alq came in after you left. And that’s how he got us to let him inside,” the man said with a grin, while the others chuckled.

“He’s a fine kid . . . for a mutant,” one of the women said.

Leif looked startled as True laughed.

“Where is he?” she asked.

One of the women said, “We gave him vehicles and a comm to get to his brother, but we heard that he took the wrong fork and he’s heading right towards Ass 2. You may want to go and save him,” one of the women said.

Leif looked at Tara with wide eyes before he grabbed True’s hand and pulled her through the door and into a tunnel. There were two vehicles there and Leif hopped on one and pulled True’s hand to get on behind him.

True looked at him blankly.

“If we don’t get to him in time, my father might kill him. Please, get on,” he said.

Tara hopped on the other vehicle and gave True a questioning look before she started her vehicle and took off. With a sigh, True swung her leg over the seat and tried not to slide into Leif. She held on to the back of the seat and thought she’d be able to keep from touching him, until he took off so fast she was forced to throw her arms around his chest in order to stay on.

Oh, what a damn fine chest it is too,
True thought as she tried to keep her hands from roaming all over him.

She had one hand on his upper chest, cupping a pec that flexed beneath her hand as he used the throttle. The other hand was on his lower abdomen and so close to where she’d burned him that she was surprised he wasn’t moving her hand himself.

The heat of his body was quickly permeating hers, and the chill she’d had from being outside in the early morning hours was long gone and replaced with a slow heat. If it wasn’t for the situation, True had no doubt that she’d be cuddling up to the guy like a contented cat.

True wasn’t sure if she was irritated or not that Leif seemed oblivious to the fact that she was pressed so close against him, but she forgave his oversight when he pulled beside Tara and yelled out, “Get your own team there to head the kid off before he gets killed! We’re going around to the other side to try and head off Ass 2 before he can get to the mutant!” In that moment, True knew Traze was in serious danger.

Leif sped past Tara and zipped down a bunch of corridors and tunnels.

“Where is everyone?” True asked. They hadn’t passed another person since they split from Tara.

Leif turned to give her a devastating grin that made True’s heart seem to flip flop in her chest.

“Most of our personnel are outside facing yours. The rest are in Fiorn’s Folly, the main facility, or even aboveground and being evacuated with the humans. Mostly the children and mothers . . .  just in case,” he said as he turned back around to guide the vehicle.

“How big is this place?” True asked. It seemed like they’d been driving for miles.

Leif grinned.

“It depends. Fiorn’s Folly is a small town, and it’s around 200 feet below the surface and about five miles in length. Then there’s the main facility, where almost everyone works at this location. It’s deeper than the town, and it’s a 12-story building,” he said.

True interrupted him.

“How the hell did you build all of this?” The scope of what he was talking about was too enormous for her to understand how it was possible.

Leif laughed.

“A lot of it was here. We just built within it. There was someone here long before we were. They built this place on the ley lines. A lot of the tunnels and caverns were already carved from the rock. We called most of that the old section, and it’s almost never used anymore,” he said. He was distracted as he tried to use the Shengari’ to find his father—before the man started a war.

True was still curious.

“You don’t know who was here before you?”

Leif shook his head.

“The place was empty. It was like a lot of other places where whole groups of people just suddenly vanished. Back when my father found this place, they didn’t really care who had been here, just that they weren’t here anymore. Our younger generations, including Tara and myself, we’d like to know who was here before us,” Leif said with a twinkle in his eye.

True snorted.

“I bet your legends love that,” she blurted out before she could stop herself.

Leif laughed.

“Oh yeah, they’re all about the history of this place. They think that the less we know, the less we’ll want to stay. They’re gonna be surprised when they try to fill those ships to leave, and they’re the only fools on a one-way trip to a lonely life,” Leif said.

True looked up at him in surprise.

“You really intend on staying here?”

Leif looked back at her with the most serious expression she’d seen him display.

“We not only intend to stay. We’re hoping the DF can work out a truce with your people so we can start working together. We want to fight. We’re tired of sitting back and playing the clean-up crew,” Leif said.

He looked back at True’s startled expression and grinned.

“We’re getting ready to intercept my father. Can you pretend to be happy to be my mate long enough for Tara to get the boy to safety?” he asked cheekily, with only a slight bit of hurt coming through his energy.

True leaned her cheek against his back, like she’d been dying to do since they’d first taken off.

“I can pretend anything to save my family,” she whispered.

Leif couldn’t stop the shiver that ran through him when he felt her warm breath caress his neck and ear.

Damn her
, Leif thought as he tried to quell his growing erection just as they stopped behind his father.

“Father!” Leif called out, just as he saw Tara peek around the corner up ahead.

His father turned to him with a thunderous expression, and Leif felt the look go through him like an ice bucket.

Yup, that look could kill any thought of sex, romance—hell anything good,
Leif thought as he cleared his throat and got off the vehicle.

With his fists clenched, Ass 2 turned to his son.

“What do you want, boy? I don’t have time for your petty issues! We’ve been infiltrated!”

Leif held his hand out for True, who looked like she didn’t want to take it. He turned back to his father and was getting ready to lower his hand when he felt True take it and give it a gentle squeeze. He was more than a little surprised when he felt her send him encouraging energy through their bond.

True stared at the ass treating his son like a bad child instead of a grown man and she stepped forward.

“You’ve been infiltrated because you’re an asshole, and this was the enema you’ve been needing for a very long time. So how about you just give up before you end up embarrassed, in a corner, and covered in your own shit,” True said it with such a beautiful smile on her face and in such a sweet tone of voice that it took a few seconds for her words to hit Leif’s father.

“Oh hell!” Leif uttered as he pulled True behind him just as his father roared in rage.

His father stomped towards them, fists clenched, when Leif pushed True towards the vehicle.

“Get it started!” he told her through the Shengari’.

As True moved to the vehicle, Leif stepped forward to meet his father and keep him as far away from True as possible.

“Father! She’s just a little upset over what’s going on! Don’t you think Nana is going to love her? Nana is going to love meeting her, don’t you think, father? Nana and True are a lot alike! Right? Have you talked to Nana?” Leif asked, making sure to interject the delicate flower’s name every chance he could.