Changer's Blood (Balancer's Soul cycle) (16 page)

“Now that wa
s a rush!” his
little sister said softly and bravely
while
looking up at Mark
with an ashen complexion
. “Next time the two
of you decide to run a marathon
with a
lit
rocket up your rear
,
tell me to get off.” She took a deep breath and sighed. “I have to say it was a fast paced experience and I’m glad
to have
had a front row seat.
Unfortunately it isn
’t an experience I’d like to receive
all the time.
”

After a few minutes of
laughter and talking
Connor
pulled M
ark off to the side
,
just out of hearing range of the girls. Both of his po
inted wolf ears were aimed in Connor’s
direction as
he
asked “I’m not sure how Jack will react
to all this
, but if it turns out bad
ly
I
need
you to think of a way to get Kara to safety
.
I’d worry about him most.
Jillian’s more unpredictable, but more reasonable to deal with.
”
Mark
nodded
,
understanding
his
worry. “I want the two of you to hide behind that thicket over there as a cover until I give you the signal.
They will be coming from the opposite direction, so I know that spot will be safe
to hide in
.
”

“What kind of signal?” He rumbled.

“I’
ll contact you mentally, ok?” Mark
nodded.

When they
walked back
,
Connor
knew that Jillian and Jack would be here soon.
He
could sense that they were already on their way.
There was a disturbance in the forest itself.
“The two of you need to
hurry up and
hide.”
Connor
ordered and both
his
little sister and
best
fri
end walked over to the thicket he
told
them
about.
O
nce they reached it
and used the cover
Kara was
completely
swallowed,
hidden
behind greenery
and all Connor
could see were Mark
’
s silver eyes surveying the area, but the rest of him
remained
completely hidden.
You’d never see either of them unless you knew where they were
beforehand
.

Sara
h
stood at
his
right side.
Connor
quietly told her “Please keep your mind open to me, but block out your parents for now. Stay linked with me.”
S
he leaned her shoulder against his
and didn’t say a word. She did as
asked
and
they
linked
to
each other
’
s
mind
.

They
didn’t have anything to say
or do
as
they
waited.

About three
minutes later
Connor
could hear the two
footfalls
of her parents coming in their
direction. Moments later they entered the clearing. Jack wore blue jeans and no shirt along with his work boots. His silver hair
flew
unrestrained and was billowing behind
him as he ran. He also brought
Haunt
with him.
Haunt is a solid metal club that looks similar to a baseball bat, but it is larger and it weighs at least forty pounds. Jillian had on her blood red bikini top and white shorts along with her running shoes.

Jillian’s
upbeat voice rang through the clearing as they came in
their
direction “Hey kids
,
how was your night?”

“It went well
,
Mother. How was yours?” Sarah
answered casually
while now
standing erect af
ter leaning on Connor
’
s arm.
She
rotated
her
shoulder a few times because it had
nearly
fallen asleep
against the rigid knots of muscle
.

“I slept great… Wow Sarah you look stunning.
That opening at your chest really looks good for your cleavage.
”
Jillian
said in shock as she now
stood
close eno
ugh to clearly see the two of them
.

Sarah
rested
her
left
hand on the butt of the dagger that
hung off
her
hip.
She
smiled
while sarcastically
saying “Thank you for that
,
Mother.”

Jillian
quickly turned to Connor
.
“Now I want a dagger similar to tha
t.
It might make my hips look good too.
” She pointed at the one on Sarah’s
hip. “Can you make one for me?” She asked quickly.

Connor started chuckling. “Sure if you bring me some metal
that
you might like manipulated, but don’t come crying to me
if you cut yourself.”

Jack
started laughing as he set the top of his metal club on the ground between his feet.
Jillian
chastised “Don’t t
reat me like a
child,
Connor
.”

At that everyone started laughing all the more.

After a few minutes
Sarah
contacted Connor
.
“I think we should get it over with
while the mood is good
. I’ll follow your lead
,
my mate.”

“Thanks for all the pressure.”
At that
she
smile
d
at him and he smile
d
back.

“W
hat are the two of you up to?”
Jillian
asked with a wry smile. Her perception for reading people is second only to
Sarah’s
husband.

Connor grinned. “A few things, but first I need to tell you about something.” His smile vanished as he directly looked at
Sarah’s f
ather.
Her
father was the one to watch out for
the most
because he could get quite volatile.
That was a common knowledge as Kara’s hyper personality. They
needed to make sure he
wouldn’t do anything rash during the
stressful reveal.
“Yesterday
,
when we went shopping
,
Deputy Burrow
told me that my teacher is
now
in jail.”
Jack’s
smile
quickly
vanished as Connor continued. “Mathew got off clean thanks to the mayor. I don’t think we need to worry, but we should still keep our guards up.”

“What are y
ou going to do about it?” Jillian
asked
,
arching her eyebrow.

“I’m not going to do anything
,
so
long as he stays away from all of us. I gave Deputy Burrow’s your number if he needs to get a hold of me. I wrote the deputy’s number down on this.” Connor reached in
his
pocket and handed
his m
other
-in-law
a card
. “If Mathew does become a threat; the deputy will
he
lp
us out
if he drops by uninvited
.
” And Jack
nodded
in
understanding Connor’s hidden meaning. “You can keep the card, I’ve already memorized the number.
”

Jillian
looked at it for a moment and handed it to
her mate
.
She
asked “Any other news we need to know about while you’re in
such
a talkative mood?”
Her golden eyes were searching for more.

Connor look
ed
at
Sarah
.
“I think you should lead this part of the program
,
Princess.”

She felt her m
other trying to gain access into
her
mind.
Sarah
kept her blocked
and at bay
while still being linked with Connor.
It was as easy as breathing now.
Being mated made her abilities effortless to use.
“During our
camping
trip
this past weekend
we had no choice but to use our power
before both Connor’s sister and Mark.”

Her mother
paled yet said nothing, but
her f
athe
r gasped and yelled “TELL ME WHY YOU
HAD
TO DO IT!”

Connor stepped
protectively
in f
r
o
nt
Sarah
. He spoke calmly and reassuringly
to both of
her
parents.
“During the
last night of our
trip
,
up in the mountains
,
the biggest Grizzly I have ever
seen
came
strolling
into our camp. Sarah took my sister to safety while my friend helped me run it off.”

Jack
finally spoke with authority
.
“Was anyone hurt?” Connor shook his head. “What element did you use?”

“Fire.” He said staring back at
her f
ather.

“
That element is too flashy to be forgotten
or imagined
.
Are they
a threat
in
any
way to telling others
about
our secret?”

“Not in the slightest.”
Sarah’s
mate
replied honestly
and calmly
.

“Do you have any reassurance for me?”
Jack
asked as his shoulders relaxed some.

“The two of them are here.” Sarah
said a little too quickly.

“WHAT!”
Her f
ather yelled
,
looking at
her
.
Sarah
felt
her
father gather
ing a lot of en
ergy from within and felt him
collecting the
morning warmth from
the
surroundings.
He was
getting ready to do something they
’d all regret if he wasn’t stopped and quickly.

Suddenly Connor yelled “JACK
,
DON’T
EVEN
THINK ABOUT IT! THAT IS MY LITTLE SISTER AND BEST FRIEND!
!!
”

All of
Jack’s
gathered energy was completely
overwhelmed as
Connor gathered more energy than
her
parents could comprehend. Connor’s entire body began glowing as bright
ly
as the
rising
sun. Sarah
had to look away
from him
and out of the corner of
her
eye
just to see
both of
her
parents retreating back. And just as suddenly Connor cut the flow of gathered power
,
he stopped glowing.

His raptor eyes held the parents where they were. Sarah
knew that Connor wouldn’t ever hurt them
, but he needed to
force them to listen to reason.
He achieved the desire result.
He spoke softly and clearly
to both of
the
frightened parents.
“I’m sorry for yelling at you like that, but you wanted reassurance from them and you’ll still have it. Now I don’t want either of you to do anything threatening or I’ll tell Mark to run away.
In which case you’ll never find him or her.
It’s your decision that you have to make. I’ll tell Mark to come here or get my sister to safety.
”