This is a little idea that came to mind after reading Moon Sworn and I just had the biggest urge ever to start writing a story about Riley's twins. After all, her newly formed pack isn't normal by any standards and the twin's family is odd to say the least. After all, they will end up with one mother and three fathers and that's gotta be a little confusing, right? And so, Riley's had a long period of bliss of having her wishes fulfilled though not in the way that she would've imagined it as Dia had once put it, but now, something's threatening to tear her family apart once again and rip her greatest joys out of her life. Will she be able to keep her children out of harm's way the way she wants to by keeping them sheltered? Or will her twins finally rebel and take matters into their own hands?
Chapter 1
Holidays were meant to be relaxing. The whole purpose of a holiday was to soothe the mind and shake away stress or worry. So why did I suddenly find myself bolting halfway across the country back to where I was hoping my brother would be? I thought back to the sheer pain and surprise that rode through me a few hours ago and remembered. That's right; because my twin was in major trouble. It didn't help that I was getting nothing but a numb feeling from him now. Whatever had attacked him earlier had been dangerous and I was thankful for the fact that he was still alive at least. I'd already been running at full speed for at least two hours now and I silently thanked my wolf genes. If I wasn't a wolf shifter, there would've been no way for me to travel this quickly. I could of course have asked Quinn to send his fastest jet my way but even that would've taken time. Running through forests in the dark was the quickest way I could think of. On top of that, as soon as I'd calmed down from the shock of pain I'd immediately turned wolf and bolted out of the reservation where I'd been staying to relax.
When I finally reached the resort where he'd been staying with his most recent girlfriend I was suddenly overwhelmed by the scent of blood: my brother's and a few other people's. I shifted shape back into my human form and for a moment I just sat there gathering my wits. I had to believe that he was alive, I had to. It wasn't as though the line between us had been completely shut down which was a relief in itself. But even if he was alive, he was far from being okay. I tied the shred of cloth which used to be my trousers and shirt around my body covering myself as best as I could. Due to the fact that I hadn't stripped before taking the shape of a wolf, the effect on the clothes was disastrous. My underwear was shredded so badly it was unsalvageable. When I managed to make myself somewhat decent, I padded across the lush lawn towards the scent of blood.
My brother had only left two days ago and he'd been in top shape. While I walked, I tried to think of anyone who would want to abduct him like this but I came up with nothing. So far as I could remember there was no one he'd gotten on the wrong side of. Even if he had, I would know, we told each other everything and especially things that could endanger each other.
The scent of blood grew horrendously stronger as I neared the house that Kade had rented for the week. It seemed that unfortunately for him he wouldn't be spending a week of relaxation. He didn't even manage to spend half of one. As I entered the once beautiful cottage which was now covered with specks of blood with broken furniture in various rooms, I could smell a female presence in the house and the lingering scent of excitement, pain, confusion and anger. Presumably the anger belonged to my brother along with the confusion; the pain was from everyone and the excitement from whoever harmed my brother.
The bedroom was in the worst state. Blood stained the bed and splattered around. Lying on the floor was his newest conquest, lover or whatever you wanted to call her. So far he'd been too flirtatious to start anything serious or even have a serious girlfriend. Janet – I think her name was – was sprawled unconscious on the wooden floor beside the bed. From the angle that she was laying it seemed to me that she'd been knocked unconscious by the bed. Perhaps her head had been smashed during the fight. Looking around the room again the amount of his blood that lingered stunned me. With so much blood gone it was a wonder he wasn't dead. There was practically a puddle of blood on the wooden flooring and I sprinted into the bathroom to heave up my dinner. When I finally managed to recover, I headed over to the landline and called home.
"Hello?" my mum's groggy voice drifted through the receiver.
"Mum," I choked out.
"Kel? What's wrong? What's happened?" she asked worriedly, the sleep completely vanishing from her voice.
"Something's happened to Kade… He's gone and Mum his room isn't pretty." I told her, clamping down on my hysteria.
"Hold on honey, stay calm, where are you?"
"In their bedroom…"
"What's wrong?" I heard Quinn's voice drift through.
"Something's wrong with Kaden." Mum told him. "Can you call Rhoan and Liander?"
"Of course. Who's on the line?"
"Kel." Mum told him and I heard the door shut as Quinn left. "Tell me everything that's happened."
"I… a few hours ago I was sitting on the beach with my friends and all of a sudden I felt it. I felt his pain and I couldn't even think. By the time I could feel again I was already in wolf form. I gathered my wits and just ran all the way here. It's been two hours since then Mum, they could be anywhere by now!"
"Kel calm down!" Mum ordered.
"What's going on?" I heard Rhoan and Dad's voice.
"Dad?" I croaked and I could hear shuffling as the phone was passed over.
"Kel, what's happened?" he asked worriedly.
"Kade's gone…"
"Oh god," he cursed. "Rhoan get the car, Riley please call Jack."
"Quinn's already on it," she told him. I could hear the shuffling on the other side.
"Kel, we'll be there as soon as we can, hold -" I couldn't hear the rest of her sentence because the phone line was suddenly dead.
"Mum? Mum!" I yelled into the receiver. Nope, nothing, zilch. I threw the phone down and calmed down. It was only then that I realised that I wasn't alone in the house any more… I switched to infra-red, a trait I got from Mum and cautiously looked around. My heart practically stopped when I saw what was in the house with me. Two vampires and I didn't recognise either of their scents. From the excitement that I felt from them, I knew that they weren't here to help. I flexed my muscles and waited with a bated breath.
I'd never had a serious fight against a vampire before, let alone two. My parents and relatives had been so overly protective of us that any contact with strangers of the supernatural race was infinitely banned. With the presence that my family held, it was no wonder that others, who were capable of sensing auras, steered away from me and my twin. The only experience I had of fighting with vampires was with my mum, Rhoan and Quinn. Even when I had fought against the trio, separately of course since I had absolutely no hope of winning a fight against all three of them at the same time, they had always held back their true talents. Due to the lack of experience in fighting against vampires, I had a horrid feeling that the upcoming fight was going to be rather nasty and undoubtedly painful.
When they finally appeared they moved faster than I expected. Nonetheless I somehow managed to dodge their initial attack. Suddenly I found my skin tingling and the feeling of wrongness flooded through me. I'd recognise that reaction anywhere. These bastards had silver in their possession which meant that I was in trouble. Wolves were highly sensitive to silver as I'd learned on several accidents while shopping with friends. I leaned backwards just in time to miss the swipe of the silver blade which narrowly skimmed my stomach causing the tingling to increase around that area. I watched them warily and tried to keep both of them in my line of sight but one of them, the one with incredibly greasy hair moved behind me and this time I didn't manage to dodge him in time. The blow to my head had me seeing stars for a moment I stumbled forward, falling to the ground.
The pair laughed. The bastards were laughing at me, mocking me. Pride and anger grew and for a moment I saw red as I let the rage briefly consume me. Without another thought I lashed out with my fist slamming it into his face. Flesh met flesh as I broke the cartilage and bone of his nose. He swore at me and stumbled backwards which was all the distraction I needed. I jumped on his back and snapped his neck. It wouldn't kill the vampire unfortunately but it would leave him in total pain until he managed to heal it.
I dropped just in time and the blade cut my hair. I turned around and watched as strands of my hair fell to the floor. He smirked at me manically as he passed the knife from one hand to the other. He moved swiftly and I couldn't block this one. With the slam of his hand I was sent crashing through the window. Glass cut into my skin and I made sure to bend my knees and roll when I contacted the ground.
I cursed as the glass cut deeper due to the action.
Before I had time to recover, the vampire was there along with the other one who looked royally pissed. Maybe twisting his neck wasn't such a good idea after all. Their hunger and lust rode off them in torrents and I fought back a shudder. I was not going to become one of their victims.
I heard the blade cutting the air and moved at the last minute. It was probably aiming for my chest because now the blade was in my shoulder and that was when the burning began. I couldn't help it, I screamed. This was the most contact I'd ever had with silver after all and I was fairly certain that no matter what I did, this particular wound was going to leave a scar.
The pair laughed again as I crumbled to the floor. In the haze of pain anger surged through my veins once more and I sent the silver blade soaring towards the greasy haired vampire's head with my mind. The blade was embedded straight between the eyes and he fell with a sickening thud. To make sure he stayed down I incinerated him with the magic that I possessed.
This particular trick didn't seem to be inherited from either of my parents and although Kade and I knew that Mum had her suspicions about why we might've been slightly different, she sure as hell never elaborated on it. Somehow, a gut instinct told me that it was linked to one of the gazillion secrets that my family held.
Back to the situation at hand, I wasn't entirely sure of the rules concerning the supernatural community but considering that this was an act of self-defence, I was unlikely to be sentenced to death for killing him.
The other one growled in anger and crashed into me throwing us both to the ground. His head dipped and I moved in time so that his teeth sunk into my shoulder instead of my neck. I cried out in pain and tried to wrench him off but he was stronger than me. He must've fed recently since vampires held the most strength for a short period of time after acquiring fresh blood. Putting more strength into the push, I shoved out with both my arms and my mind. I sent him flying back through the window into the house and I could barely move due to the exhaustion that coursed through me. I shifted shape to stem the bleeding and waited for the vampire to attack me again.
He didn't, and for the next few moments, all there was in the near vicinity was silence and the night breeze sweeping around me. I could feel a slither of pain in my mind and I knew that considering how I'd rarely used my psychic talents – courtesy of my parents – I'd certainly overused them tonight because both my opponents were rather heavy and lifting heavy things with a strengthened force meant more concentration on my behalf. Eventually, once I'd managed to gather my wits, I picked myself up from the ground. Silently I stepped towards the house casting my eyes around me cautiously.
He was gone.
The bastard was gone without a trace.
I shifted back to human form and stumbled towards Janet to inspect her wounds. Her head was bleeding and there were various gashes on her body. Several of them were made by the abductor perhaps but one of them confused me. The one on her arm was definitely caused by Kade. The intent of the injury that lingered held Kade's presence. It was as though he was attacking her. But why would he be attacking her instead of his attacker?
Unless Janet was involved with his abduction…
But that was ridiculous; if she was involved then she wouldn't be lying there unconscious. But I couldn't help but picture the fight that might've occurred. It was possible that it was Kade's blow that caused Janet to crash into the bed which rendered her unconscious. It was possible that he had disabled her to avoid fighting two opponents or more from the looks of things.
I look one last look around and decided that there was nothing more I could find or decipher about this situation. Since there was nothing more that I could do, I settled for sitting down on the floor with my knees drawn up to my chest as I stared at the doorway of the bedroom.
An hour later I heard the noise of a helicopter and as soon as I heard it land, Mum and Dad were by my side fawning over me.
"What happened to you?" Mum demanded worriedly as her hands brushed over my body.
"Two vampires appeared and I guess that they were the ones to cut the phone line. One of them is dead outside and he's nothing but ashes now but the other one is gone." I yawned.
"Riley, there's an ash pile outside." Rhoan said walking into the room and stopped when he took note of the scene around him. A growl ripped from his throat and I felt the anger emitting from him.
"We have to find him, Mum, we have to…" I pleaded. "And the ash pile is my fault."
"I'm glad you're alright." Dad smoothed my hair and hugged me. "None of us would be able to bear losing the both of you in one night. We'll definitely find him, Kel."
"How come the police aren't -" I couldn't finish the sentence because the darkness that I'd been holding at bay suddenly surged and enveloped me.
Unless I'd recently undergone an unknown sex change, it was probably more likely that I'd unconsciously jumped into Kade's head again. It occurred whenever we wanted it or when either of us was feeling an intense emotion. However, the part about the intense emotion tended to be rare. Also, the telepathy between my brother and I hadn't yet reached the point where we actually saw out of each other's eyes unless we willed it. Unconsciously though, both of us would feel what the other was feeling depending on who activated the connection. Sometimes it would be Kade feeling my emotions and what I was going through at a given time, but somehow I seemed to jump into his mind more often than the other way around.
Wherever he was, I could feel the slab of cold metal on his back and someone stroking him. The action was in no way affectionate, but rather bruising and slightly painful. Out of the things I knew about my brother, although he was rather adventurous in his sexual exploits, he did not get off on pain. But it seemed that the person who was stroking him did. Or rather she got off on her partner's pain. At least… I hope his forceful partner was a she. Kade did not bat for that side of the team at all and when we got him out of this, he would no doubt be disturbed about it for weeks.
Kade? I whispered into his mind hoping that he would be able to hear me and that my voice would comfort him somewhat. I waited several moments for a reply and got nothing. For once I couldn't manage to get through further than his surface emotions, I couldn't dig into his mind. When I tried I seemed to hit a fog of some kind. His mind was hazy and the only thing I could think of that would cause that would be drugs. Kade didn't do drugs naturally so that meant that those bastards drugged him to try and prevent telepathic interaction.
Kade! I shouted into his mind hoping to wake him out of his haze. Unfortunately that didn't work either.
Now, now little girl. Didn't anyone teach you that it's rude to interrupt people when they're having fun? A female voice cooed. The voice was cold and excited at the same time. The bitch was having fun torturing my brother like this. She was going to find out that messing with one of us meant that she would have to take on the both of us.
You're not going to get away with this bitch.
You're quite a rude child aren't you? If you're going to continue to curse me like that, then your company is no longer appreciated.
A moment later I felt pain and it wasn't from Kade. Somehow, the woman managed to pass something down the telepathic line between Kade and me. I woke up with a start sitting up too quickly resulting with me feeling light headed. I fell back onto the bed and panted.
"Kel? Are you alright?" Mum asked worriedly as she sat beside me.
"Yeah, I'm alright. I can't reach Kade, he's been drugged up." I grumbled as I forced myself up.
"Don't rush yourself, Kel, just rest a little while. You've just had your first real fight with a vampire you know? You must still be tired." Dad commented.
"Actually, I'm alright about that." I told them and it was surprising even to me how I really felt about it. Now that I thought back on it, I knew that I could've won. I would've won had that vampire not ran away. I suppose that it was only a matter of time that I encountered a vampire like that. After all I was no longer a kid and with my tendency to walk around in the middle of the night it was a wonder I hadn't been attacked already. "Have you got anything about Kade?" I asked frantically.
"Nothing yet, Kel." Mum and Dad shook their heads.
"There's food ready for you downstairs whenever you're ready. You might want to get changed and wash up first though." Mum patted my head as she stood up and left the room.
"I'm so glad you're safe, little Kel." Dad hugged me nuzzling the top of my head.
"Again with the embarrassing nickname, Dad." I laughed as I hugged him back.
"You should count yourself lucky, there've been those with worse names," he chuckled before leaving me on my own. I was glad that I was in my own room rather than a hospital room. I hated hospitals and I hated going near them. The vile scent of antiseptics and medicine always made me feel ill and the odour of the disinfectants were even worse. I counted myself lucky for being a wolf since that made any injuries that I accumulated less serious than it would've been for a human, I didn't have to go to the hospital often thanks to my wolf genes.
I picked myself up out of my bed and headed to the shower. As I washed the blood from my body I gently probed my shoulder and winced. The small stab of pain flared and I sighed. At least the wound wasn't open anymore and I could move my shoulder relatively well. The comforting scent of lavender filled the bathroom and I sat beneath the shower head in content for a while as I washed my hair. After my shower I picked out some clothes from my wardrobe which consisted of combats, and a long sleeved top. I ignored the shoes and padded bare footed out of my room and slid down the banister.
"How're you feeling?" Quinn asked as I walked in.
"Can't you tell?" I wiggled my brows cheekily and he chuckled.
"I can but it is common courtesy to ask," he commented.
"I suppose… I'm feeling alright." I shrugged. "Anxious but alright. Thanks for the food, Dad."
"You're welcome," he smiled.
"You should give your friends a call after you've eaten. Jared called the house wondering whether you'd come home when you just suddenly bolted out." Rhoan pointed out.
"Will do, did he say anything else?"
"I told him you're here so he's going to bring your stuff back."
"Did you tell him that he didn't have to?"
"Yes but he sounded worried."
"Okay." I nodded.
"I'd hate to ruin your appetite, Kelryn, but can you tell us exactly what happened last night?" Quinn asked.
"Sure but the condition is none of you can tell me off for talking with my mouth open." I stated.
"You never listen anyway." Mum rolled her eyes.
"That's beside the point." I scoffed. "Anyway, as I'd mentioned last night. I was sitting on the beach talking with Jared when I suddenly felt it. There was no warning, no foreboding whatsoever. He'd obviously not felt the danger until it was too late because the pain was suddenly there. I think he may have been shot by silver if the tingling feeling I got was anything to go by. Then the pain remained for a while until he passed out. When he passed out I managed to be in my own head again and realised that I was already in wolf form running towards him. When I got there I went to the bedroom and found Janet passed out beside the bed. Then I called you and the vampires appeared cutting the line. I fought and incinerated one of them. I threw the other one away and he ran for it." I reported to them between bites of food. "Thanks again for the amazing food, Dad."
"You need something to replenish after the night you've had. Running so fast is impressive even for a wolf," he smiled.
"When it comes to Kade being in danger I'd run across the world if I have to." I stated with a deadly voice. "Those people are going to wish that they hadn't taken him." I was going to make them pay, especially the bitch who snapped the connection between Kade and I.
"Kel, I want you to listen to me." Mum said sternly. "Don't do anything rash. There are professionals who deal with these things and they'll definitely get him back. We'll make sure of it."
"I can help, Mum." I frowned.
"We don't want you in danger, Kel." Rhoan stated, backing her up.
"Whoa, back up, what is this? Keep Kel as a baby day? I'm not a tiny little kid anymore. I can take care of myself." I narrowed my eyes. "If this happened to you and Mum, you wouldn't even be here. You'd be out there looking for the one in trouble. That's exactly what I'm doing."
"Kel, we've had more experience than you, just leave it to us." Dad asked.
"No."
"Kelryn." Quinn warned narrowing his eyes.
"No." I persisted. "I've let you guys baby us enough. I'm going to look for him. I can't just sit here and do nothing. You can't possibly expect me to do that."
"Well you better believe it because we'll place you under house arrest if we have to." Mum threatened.
"You can try." I stood feeling my anger rise. I felt Quinn trying to calm me down but I refused and threw the emotion right back at him. He winced and there was tension in the house for a moment until the doorbell rang. I went to get it and I was somewhat surprised to see a stranger standing at the door.