Something you want to tell me about you and A’kosh?
Nope. Ten didn’t even seem surprised he was asking.
You know you can talk to me about anything, right?
I’m not ready for you to explain the facts of life to me. In fact, I don’t think I’ll ever be ready for that conversation.
Caden grinned. You know your body is changing and—
Poppaaaaa, stop. Please, I’m begging you.
Somehow Ten was projecting his discomfort, and Caden’s stomach squirmed along with the feelings that coursed through him.
Do you like him?
Ten’s sigh was loud enough that it was audible over the movie. We can’t do this now. I promise, one day I’ll tell you everything. Assuming there’s an everything left.
That shut Caden down. Ten’s words made everything a lot more real to him. He’d watched as Quade fought the Bogran, and even then, with Matt and Kieran next to him, it still seemed surreal. But the words of a child made everything sharper and reminded him how dangerous their lives were.
“Caden?”
A hand on his shoulder jolted Caden out of his memories. He turned to find Quade standing there, his head cocked.
“You okay?”
“Yeah, fine.” Caden drew in a breath. “I want to come with you.”
“We talked about this. You’ve never dealt with this kind of thing before, and you’re not ready for it now. Just let me go with A’kosh, help his people, and I’ll come straight back to you.”
Visions filled Caden’s mind. What if there was something there that could hurt Quade? Ten had said some sort of being was staring back at him. What did he call it? Ancient and powerful. To someone like Ten, who seemed to be power personified, what was strong enough to scare him?
“Please….”
“Ten, come here.”
Ten stepped away from A’kosh and strode over. “Yeah, Dad?”
“Take Poppa and go back to our place. Call Uncle Matt and Uncle Kieran and ask if they can stay with you guys until I get back.”
“Okay.”
Quade seemed startled. “No argument?”
“No. I know it wouldn’t do me any good, and you need your head in the game.” He threw his arms around Quade’s stomach and squeezed. “Please come home to us.”
Quade bent over and planted a kiss on Ten’s head. “Nothing will keep me from you guys.”
Stepping back, Ten’s gaze shifted over to A’kosh, whose big black eyes were fixed on him, unblinking. Waves of guilt, friendship, and… more rolled over Caden. Somehow he knew that Ten was close to tears. He put a hand on Ten’s shoulder to steady him. “Give your friend a hug good bye.”
Like he was waiting for permission, he threw himself into A’kosh’s arms. Caden stood, amazed, as four more limbs grew from A’kosh’s body and wound their way around Ten. He placed his forehead against Ten’s, and a series of chirps sounded softly. Then he leaned back and pressed his mouth to Ten’s head, before stepping back and going to Quade.
“He said he’ll protect Dad with his life.”
“And I’ll make sure he stays safe.” Quade came over. “I won’t let him be hurt if I can stop it. You’ve got my word.”
Before Caden or Ten could say anything, Quade rushed back to A’kosh, who put his arms in the air and began to make strange geometric patterns in front of him. At first it was a faint haze, the barest of lines making their presence known. Then a brilliant blue light burst into being, and Caden stood in shock as he realized he was staring into another dimension.
The sky was a sickly green, and the sun a deep ruby red. The trees were black, gnarled, and not like anything he’d ever seen on earth.
“Quade?”
Quade turned and smiled at him before stepping into the breach with A’kosh. As soon as they entered, the portal shimmered, then faded as if it was never there.
“Come on, Poppa. Let’s go get the uncles.”
He let Ten take his hand and lead him home, wondering what would happen to Quade.
It wasn’t going to be right until Quade was home again where he belonged.
Chapter 21
Quade sneezed, then did it again. He’d only been dimension-hopping once before, and that sucked too. His lycan senses were being overwhelmed by the weird sights, sounds, and smells of this place. The air was rife with formic acid, likely from A’kosh’s people, and for Quade it was worse than inhaling pepper.
“I… am… sorry.”
Quade spun and found A’kosh staring at him.
He opened his mouth, his mandibles on full display. “Is… sorry… not… right?”
“You can speak English?”
Standing straighter, A’kosh nodded. “Ten… teached… me.”
He probably should have been surprised, but where Ten was concerned, very little phased Quade.
“You have no reason to be sorry. You did what you needed to protect your people, and I respect that.”
“I protect Ten.”
The words were said with a passion that shocked Quade. “He’s my son, so I will protect him too. But I’m also going to do what I can to rescue your people.”
A’kosh cocked his head. “Why?”
“Because you’re important to Ten, and because you’re a good… person.”
The almost-healed lip jutted out. Seemingly, pouting was the same, no matter which dimension you were from.
“But I hurt your friend.”
Quade needed a few moments to clear the fog that was settling over his brain. The smells were making him light-headed.
“If someone threatened to hurt Ten or Caden, I would probably do the same as you. And Perkins will be okay, thanks to you giving the doctors your venom.” The air seemed to become thicker. “I need to rest a minute.” Quade sat down and leaned back against a tree.
A’kosh stood over him, his gaze darting around. He sniffed the air, and then his jaws opened wide as he hissed.
“What’s wrong?”
“Not right. Smell is… strange. Like death.”
Struggling to stand, Quade’s vision darkened. He called for his wolf and wasn’t surprised when he didn’t get an answer. It didn’t matter. He could still fight as a human. He’d trained for it his whole life. Only…. He hunched over, clutching his stomach as pain seared through him.
A roar shattered the silence as it echoed around them. Quade put a hand on A’kosh’s arm, but was shrugged off. Thunderous footsteps grew louder as they drew near. Quade leaned against the tree, uncertain what was happening to him. He’d never felt so weak before.
When the Bogran Prime burst through the trees, Quade knew they were in deep shit. There were five known Bogran Prime in all the worlds, and each of them ruled over thousands of others. They were larger, meaner, and a hell of a lot stronger than the Bogran Quade had fought before.
Putting a hand on A’kosh, Quade tried to shove him out of the way. “Run.”
“No. I protect you for Ten.”
A’kosh rushed forward, leaping into the air. He landed on the Prime’s chest, sinking claws and teeth into it. Unsurprisingly, the Prime batted him aside. But with a determination that Quade could scarcely believe, A’kosh got up and threw himself on the Prime’s back. This time, when he sank his mandibles into the Prime’s neck, it bellowed, shaking the area around them. A’kosh was everywhere, scrabbling over the tree-sized body, biting, slashing, tearing. Blood and the green ooze from A’kosh’s bile poured from the beast’s wounds, and for a split-second, Quade believed A’kosh could actually win.