Resistance (Earth Evolution Series Book 2) (14 page)

***

Maggie’s thoughts brought her back to her conversation with Lily about Ben. “How long were they here for this time?”

“A couple of hours. Looked like they found them some more weapons.”

“Shit! Did they bother you?” Maggie quickly checked Lily and Thomas over to make sure they were okay.

“I didn’t really see Ben, but Taylor stopped by the sub car.” Taylor was Ben’s right-hand man. He wasn’t as bad as Ben, but there was a ruthlessness about him that Maggie didn’t like.

Taylor wanted Lily. Every time he was in the area, he stopped by and tried to convince her to leave with him. Lily had spent some time with him before the whole incident with Ben, but when Taylor chose to follow Ben, Lily ended things between them. Maggie always felt bad about that, though Lily swore she would have ended things anyway. Taylor might have wanted Lily but he did not want Lily’s son Thomas. That was a done deal for Lily. She wouldn’t give up her son for anyone.

“Did he try anything?”

Lily shook her head. “He just talked. He wanted me to leave Thomas with you and come away with him.”

“God, he’s an idiot. How many times does he have to ask and hear you say no before he finally gets it?” Maggie said, shaking her head.

“I know. He honestly thinks I would leave my son for him. He’s delusional.”

“Well, he is friends with Ben, so his mind frame is questionable.”

“I was worried at first that he wasn’t going to leave and I was going to have to shoot him or something. But then Corey stopped by and it pissed Taylor off enough that he finally left.”

“Corey came by? Why?”

“He knew that Ben was around and he was worried about you. He’d do anything to protect you,” Lily told her.

Maggie shrugged. “He’s just being a good friend.”

“Honey, that man has the hots for you bad.”

“What?” Maggie blushed. Once, a long time ago, she had a crush on Corey, but after what happened with Ben, she didn’t think about men that way at all. “Corey only thinks of me as a little girl.”

Lily snorts. “He sees you for the woman you are now. Don’t you notice him watching you whenever the two of you are in the same place?”

“I . . .” She didn’t know what to say.

Lily smiled and pointed ahead of them. “See what I mean.”

Maggie looked up and there he was, leaning against the side of their subway car with his arms crossed. His red hair was shoulder length, but he kept it tied back. He was taller now, about six feet three inches, and despite the thinness to his frame, he still managed some nice muscle definition. Of course, everyone in the tribes was on the thin side. Corey Nash was still the best looking guy she had ever seen, before the bomb or after the bomb. He smiled at her and she felt the heat rise in her face again.

“Like I said, he has the major hots for you, honey,” Lily whispered.

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Do you love shifter? Then check out the first chapter in the new book by Bryce Evans.

Destiny of Blood

Chapter 1

He said I was his mate.  How could this happen?  The man’s a king, for goodness sake.
  Lilly wanted to run for the mountains, but that wasn’t her style.  Nope, she would tackle this head-on, and if that meant this man was supposed to be her mate, she’d handle that too.  At least that was what she kept telling herself. 

Her heart was racing as she watched him scan the area, looking for her.  She had to come out from her hiding place and face him, but right now she had a job to do—this would have to wait.  Lilly took a deep breath, then lowered her head to the door she was hiding behind.  All she needed was a minute.  Just one minute to figure out what the hell was going on and how she could get out of it. 

“Are you hiding from someone, miss?” 

Her head jerked up and turned toward a young man who sat against the wall.  She’d been so preoccupied with hiding that she hadn’t even noticed him.  She blinked. 

“No… Well, yes, I guess I’m hiding from someone.”  Lilly smiled back at the boy and chuckled at how stupid she probably looked to others.  “I must look real silly ducking around corners and hiding behind doors.”

“Depends—maybe it means you should just tell him that you’re not interested.  I’ve seen a lot of people doing the same thing tonight.  Instead of running around, they should just be honest and say that they’re not interested.” 

Lilly snorted.  “Such wisdom coming from a young man like yourself! But you’re right, and I plan on doing that.  What’s your name?”

The young boy stood up and bowed. “Gabriel Ryan, at your service.”

Lilly smiled and walked out from behind the door.  She liked this kid.  “Who are you here with?”

“Well, at the moment I’m staying with Alpha Newton until he can find some of my relatives.  Which won’t happen.” Gabriel tried to mutter the last part under his breath, but she was a shifter and heard it plain as day. 

“Then you should just tell him,” Lilly murmured back, knowing he could hear her.

Gabriel’s eyes widened.  He turned in his seat and faced her.  “I’ve already explained to him that I don’t have any family, but he thinks some FBI agent who’s staying here can locate someone.” 

“You’re staying with Marcus Newton?”  Lilly asked.

“Yes ma’am, you know him?” 

Lilly smirked and propped her chin up in her hand, staring at Gabriel.  “Yep, I know him.  I’m not usually this nosy, but what happened to your parents?”  Lilly watched as the kid’s face fell.  She could see his pain for a moment before he wiped it off his face.  

“They were killed,” Gabriel answered through gritted teeth.

Lilly sat up straight and put her hand on his arm.  She inhaled deeply; his scent told her he was a vampire.  He smelled sweet, as all young vamps did until they were older.  “Oh. I’m so, so sorry, Gabriel.” 

She watched as Gabriel looked out at the crowd while he got control of his emotions.  “I think the man you’re trying to dodge just spotted you.” 

Lilly looked at Sindrid.  She could tell he was about to walk over to her, but she frowned and shook her head.  She almost jumped up with joy when he nodded and sat back down.

Turning back around, Lilly directed her attention at Gabriel.  “Hey, would you like to meet me tomorrow to do a little snowboarding?”  The smile on her new friend’s face was the answer she was looking for.  His grief was gone for a few moments, at least. 

Such tragedy for such a young one to endure by himself.  
Her mothering instinct was coming out; she could feel herself wanting to look after this young boy.  She didn’t even know him, but she felt the need to protect him anyway.

“Really?  I’ve always wanted to go snowboarding, but where we lived there wasn’t any snow, so I never got a chance to learn.”  Gabriel beamed.

“Well tomorrow, if Marcus says you can, you and I can go to the slopes.” 

“Hello, Lilly.”  As if the man heard his name being called, Marcus Newton appeared beside her out of thin air.  She turned to face the man she’d once thought she was in love with.  He was still the same good-looking Alpha she’d fallen for years ago.  The feelings she’d had for Marcus rushed forward, but the hurt was no longer there.  His dark brown eyes stared down at her, searching her face to see how this was going to go.  He wasn’t her mate, she knew that, but the way he’d left her—in a hotel room, with only a note—still hurt and pissed her off. She still remembered waking up alone on that cold morning, a note left on his pillow and all of his clothes gone. 

The note simply said that he knew it wouldn’t work out between them, since they weren’t mates.  He couldn’t allow himself to continue the relationship, because when their mates did show up they’d have to leave each other.  She’d known that Marcus was waiting for his mate, but she made the mistake of listening to his compliments and his professions of love.  Shaking her head, she smiled, not wanting to allow him to see how much he’d hurt her.  Nobody would ever do that again.

“Hello Marcus,” Lilly said.  They stared at each other until she became aware of Sindrid’s presence next to her.  She hated that her heart fluttered as his hand rubbed up against her back while he stood beside her, glaring down at Marcus.  He was the king of vampires, and his very presence sent out vibes to everyone around them that he was an Alpha male.  She could tell he knew something was up between her and Marcus, but he didn’t say a word.

Marcus took a step back and looked up at the tall vampire.  She wanted to laugh at the sight of him actually having to look up at someone for a change.  “Sindrid, I want you to meet Alpha Marcus Newton and Gabriel Ryan.” 

Sindrid’s very presence made you take notice of him.  His angelic beauty was a sight to be seen.  No one looking at him would guess that he was born during biblical times; he still appeared to be in his late twenties. 

Lilly waited, but Sindrid didn’t acknowledge Marcus at first.  Both of the predators stared at each other like they were going to fight.  She elbowed Sindrid in the stomach, which thankfully brought him out of his thoughts, and his eyes shifted back to her with a smile. 

“Sindrid Abner.”  Even his voice commanded attention, letting Marcus know that Lilly was his. 

“We thought you were dead,” Marcus remarked. 

Sindrid smirked. “As you can see, I’m very much alive.”

“Sindrid, this is Gabriel.”  Lilly spoke quickly, interrupting him before he could claim her in front of her ex.  At least she thought she could consider Marcus an ex-boyfriend; they’d spent three weeks together.  But that was in the past now, and thinking about her past was just silly.  She was so over him—right?   

She watched as Sindrid turned his attention to the young boy. 

“Hello.” He smiled gently as he stuck his hand out to Gabriel, who just stood up and stared, in awe of him.  At first she thought Gabriel was going to jump up and down, but the boy held it in. 

She wanted to laugh as Marcus watched Gabriel’s fascination with the king.  The Alpha’s face hardened when it became obvious that Sindrid held Gabriel’s attention.

“Are you really him?” Gabriel whispered.

“Who?” Sindrid asked.  She knew he wasn’t trying to be cocky with the kid, but he
was
young.  It seemed improbable that he’d actually know who Sindrid was.

“The
king
,” Gabriel answered.

Sindrid hesitated before he replied.  He seemed kind of shy about his position.  “Yes, Gabriel.  Did you not believe that I was real?” he asked.

“My parents said you were alive, that we…we needed to find you.”  Gabriel’s voice cracked as he spoke.

Lilly quickly put her arm around Gabriel.  “Are you okay, sweetie?”

“You knew my father, Jacob Ryan.”  Pain flashed across Sindrid’s face when Gabriel told him who his father was.

“You’re Jacob’s son?”  Sindrid’s voice lowered with emotion before he regained control. 

“Do you remember him?”  Gabriel asked.

“Of course I remember him.  He’s my best friend.  Is he here?”  Sindrid turned around, his gaze scouring the dance floor.

“They’re dead.” Gabriel’s voice was low and shaky.  “They were killed.” 

“Dead?”  Sindrid sat down abruptly. The news of his friend’s death obviously shook him to the core.

Marcus and Lilly sat down at the table as Gabriel started telling them what had happened to his parents.  Chills ran up her spine as Gabriel explained, “My father worked for a company called Sentrix Labs.  He’d only worked there for about a year when I overheard him and my mom talking late one night. 

“I got up to get something to drink, and I heard my dad say that he was scared—and my dad wasn’t scared of anything or anyone.  He said that the company he worked for was getting vampire and shifter blood from somewhere, and they were trying to copy it and put it in humans.  The man who owned the company said that their blood would help cure diseases. But Dad said that he got curious and broke into their computer system; he said they had a lab somewhere where vampires and shifters were being held as prisoners and having some type of testing done on them. 

“Then one night he came home and said we had to go; we left all our stuff, got in the car and ran.  He said they were after him, and we that we had to find you—that you would know what to do, and you’d help keep me and my mom safe.”

“Why didn’t you tell me, Gabriel?  I would’ve helped you,” Marcus asked with concern.

“I know, but my dad said that we couldn’t trust anyone except Sindrid Abner, the king.  I’m sorry, Marcus, but I promised my dad that I’d tell him first,” Gabriel apologized, then looked over at Sindrid.  “My dad said that we couldn’t shake them. He told me about a cave I could hide in, and when we went around the curve he slowed down and told me to jump in the ditch. Once their car went by I was supposed to get to the cave and hide, and then he and Mom would find me later.  But after the car went by me, I had to know that they were okay, so I tailed them from the woods, and…” Lilly wrapped her arms around him tighter as Gabriel shook with fear. 

“It’s okay, Gabriel.  You’re safe now,” Lilly assured him.

“No, I’m not.  My dad said there were vampires and shifters among the ones who were kidnapping people and selling them to this company.  He gave me the information and told me to give it to Sindrid. It’s all on a thumb drive.  They know my dad didn’t have it on him when they killed him and my mom.  I heard them say that if he didn’t have it, it had to be with me, so I ran as fast as I could to the cave.  I waited there for three days until Marcus found me,” Gabriel finished with tears in his eyes.  Her heart broke as she held him close to her.

“You’re not alone now, Gabriel.  I will protect you,” Sindrid announced.  She knew things were about to get ugly when Marcus rose up.  Men could ruin everything.  Of course Marcus would act possessive of the boy, but Gabriel was a vampire.

“Marcus, now isn’t the time.  He’ll need all of our help, and this is what the Unit was formed for.  You know that, and you agreed to it.  Gabriel can stay here at the lodge.  Please don’t argue about this; he’s been through enough.  Look at him.”  Lilly held Gabriel as he cried.  She hated to chastise the Alpha in front of others, but now wasn’t the time to see who had the biggest.  They had a problem—a huge one, if vampires and shifters were being kidnapped and tortured.

“You may be king of the vampires, but you’re not the king of me or my pack.  Gabriel is in my pack right now, until I can find some kin he can go and stay with. Don’t think for a minute you’re going to be calling the shots,” Marcus growled. 

Sindrid laughed.  “I never said that I controlled you, but Gabriel is now my responsibility.  His father was my best friend, and he had no family. Nor did his mate, Marie.  He will stay with me here at the lodge where my guards and I can look after him.  That isn’t something that will be argued over; he’s under my protection.” 

Lilly rolled her eyes as Marcus’s eyes started glowing.  She could feel his Alpha vibes shooting out, letting Sindrid know that he didn’t obey anyone. 

Even though Marcus was a strong Alpha, he couldn’t compare to the king of vampires.  He’d be killed, and even though he’d pissed her off, she couldn’t allow that to happen.  She needed to do something.

She stood up and put her hands on her hips.  “Now you both listen to me.  I’ve had enough of this posturing.  Gabriel will stay here at the lodge until we find out more about who’s after him.  It makes sense that he should stay here, Marcus.  Sindrid has a lot of guards.  This isn’t a game; you’re dealing with a young boy here.  So you can either stop this, or you both can leave, you get me?” Lilly’s voice rose over the music, angry at how they were acting. 

Joseph, Larken, Larsen and the rest of the gang all ran over to her.

“What’s wrong, Lilly?”  Larken demanded, looking over at Marcus with narrowed eyes.

“Tomorrow we need to meet.”  Lilly lowered her voice and leaned over to her brothers and Jonas when she saw people from surrounding tables glance over at the raised voices.  “Well, the Unit needs to meet.  We have a problem that can’t be discussed here.”