As a polar bear, he loved to swim and could go miles and miles without exhausting himself. Fish swam past him, and he nipped at their tails—it was more for sport than anything else. He wasn’t hungry, so he wasn’t about to try and catch them. When he surfaced again, a different scent in the air caught his nostrils instantly. He spun around to look at the spot where he’d entered the water. Another polar bear stood there. He sniffed again, the scent was familiar. It was similar to his own—it had been with him since a few minutes after he was born. His brother, Nuka.
Kas swam toward the solid ground. He pulled himself from the water and growled a warning.
“What do you want?” Kas used his telepathic abilities to speak to Nuka.
“Is that any way to greet your brother?” Nuka lowered himself until he was sitting on the ground.
Kas remained standing in preparation for any attack his brother might be about to perpetrate.
“If I had a brother who wasn’t a thorn in my side, then I would greet him with affection. You, however, cause me nothing but trouble. I ask again, what do you want?”
“How’s the witch?” Nuka questioned.
Kas twitched his head, “If you’re talking about Jessica, she’s fine. Happy with Ethern in his new form. How’s your druid?”
“Pretty useless to me at the moment. He’s got the ability to do a few spells, but not much else. That was certainly a blow to my plans, destroying Ciaran’s powers.” Nuka reached out a paw and scratched it along the snowy covered ice.
“It really couldn’t have happened to a better man. Why attack the royal family of England?” Kas questioned.
“Because I can…because I wanted to demonstrate to the humans how dangerous shifters can be. I wanted them to know they needed to listen to us. I’ve struck the first blow in this war. Now they will come at us, and we’ll defeat them.”
“You really don’t understand, do you?” Kas walked closer to his brother. “They will win. They have the technology we don’t. They outnumber us. We’ll be sent to prison camps where we’ll have no freedom until they can find a way to bind our powers. You’ve not started a war you can win, brother, you’ve started your own downfall.”
“Support me then, brother. Fight alongside me, and with strength in numbers, we’ll be able to defeat anyone,” Nuka urged him, but Kas shook his head.
“Never, I’m not a killer of humans. I have no reason to be.”
They both fell silent for a moment.
“You know one of us will die before this is over?” Nuka finally spoke again.
Kas let his guard down and joined his brother where he sat on the icy ground.
“I know.” Kas let out a low rumbling sigh. “And if it’s me, then I’m prepared for that to happen. Are you? You’ve never loved anyone but yourself, Nuka. Have you ever experienced joy…a moment of true happiness that hasn’t come from killing?”
Nuka’s laugh echoed in Kas’ head.
“You’re a fine one to talk. Have you ever experienced joy? I know your love is unrequited. Jane chose Heath over you, after all.”
“I’m not here to talk about Jane.”
“No, you’ve never been able to face the truth about her, and that’s why I’ve become the stronger and better brother. I’ll take over as alpha from you soon, brother, and lead your pack into a new future. If they don’t want to follow me, then they can go rot alongside you in self-pity,” Nuka sneered and got to his feet.
Kas stayed sitting, his brother’s words running in a loop inside his head. He knew in many ways Nuka was right. After he lost Jane, Kas had withdrawn into himself. It had affected his ability to be a good alpha. It’s why his pack was struggling now to stay together with the war coming.
“Think on what I’ve said, Kas. I’m giving you one final chance. Join me in the fight. If you don’t and continue to stand in my way, I will destroy you,” Nuka gave his warning before disappearing into thin air, proving Ciaran still had some magical abilities.
Kas stood and shifted back into his human form. He looked down at his hands, his paws now replaced with human fingers and nails. They’d never harmed a human who didn’t deserve it and only as a last resort. He felt the hypothetical feel of blood run over them.
Nuka was right—the world was changing, but Kas had no intention of being the one to die. He’d sat back on the sidelines for too long now. It was time to take the fight to the world. It was time to be the alpha he was destined to be. The one who’d given up everything for his position, including the woman he loved.
Chapter Eleven
“How are you feeling?” Molly asked a very heavily pregnant Selene.
Emma, the lioness, was also in the room, cradling her son Morocco in her arms. The small baby was growing fast just like his twin sister, Zahara. Molly held the little girl in her arms and had been singing a lullaby to help her sleep.
“Fat,” Selene answered as she slumped down into her chair.
The multi-shifter rubbed at her protruding stomach—the poor woman did indeed look large.
“It’s because our men are so big,” Emma responded with a tut in her voice. “It means our children are too. Just you wait until the head crowns. You’ll be wishing you were mated to someone like Captain America, pre the whole conversion thing.”
Both the ladies laughed together at the comparison. Molly joined in.
“I wouldn’t speak like that around some of the other ladies, otherwise there’ll be no more children. I know I’d be put off,” Molly teased.
“It’s already happening. Every time Teagan sees me, she tells Tyler she’s never getting pregnant,” Selene chuckled.
“Did you ever want children, Miss Molly?” Emma asked.
Molly looked down at the cute little bundle of joy sleeping peacefully in her arms.
“I did. I’d dreamed about it many times, but after I lost Hayden…” She paused and stroked Zahara’s forehead. The little girl purred a contented sound.
“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have asked.” Emma bit her lip.
“No, please, don’t be sorry. It’s good to talk about him sometimes. I find the older I get the more I do think about him. I tend to have a bit more time on my hands these days, so I often end up reminiscing about the past.”
“Will you tell us a little bit about him?” Selene asked.
Molly watched the pregnant multi-shifter adjust herself in the chair to get more comfortable.
“Of course,” Molly replied. She found herself at ease, holding the small baby in her arms, and talking about Hayden was something she wanted to do. She thought about him daily, and it was nice to share the memories with other people sometimes. “We met during the Vietnam war. It was my first day on duty. He’d saved his best friend from an explosion. He’d carried him out on his back as bullets showered down around them. Or so he told me. He was wounded, so I’d like to think it was true, but I’m sure you know with your own men how they’re prone to exaggeration.”
Emma laughed and shook her head. “God, don’t I know it! Scott’s still banging on about finding a gray hair the other week. He’s adamant he’ll lose all his blond by the end of the year and will have to wear a wig.”