Page 28 of Expecting The Unexpected
Nodding, Throg said, “Get us to fall in love, hold out sex until that one day, then take one for the team, while others stormed the clutch house and decimated our people.”
“It was a smart plan,” the shrink muttered.
Throg’s head shifted so fast to the damn head doctor that Throg was surprised it didn’t snap off. “What the fuck kind of thing is that to say?”
“An honest thing. It was a very smart plan. People... military and others, have used sex as a means to an end, for as long as humans have lived. It’s one of the most productive ways to gather information to infiltrate locations all around the world,” Dr. Oleander explained.
Throg snapped, “But it shouldn’t have worked on me!”
“Why? What makes you so special, Throg?” The doc asked in exasperation.
“I’m of the ancient guard. I was created by the gods themselves! It is my duty to see through shit like that! It is my duty to—”
“You are Nakaka! You are a living breathing entity that is no different from a shifter or human. You may be an ancient guard created by the gods, but you arenota god! In cases such as this, you are no better than a human!” The shrink snapped, in an uncharacteristic bout of anger. “Gods, I get so sick and tired of hearing shifters and you guys trying to make it sound as if you and your kinds are the only ones that are responsible for others’ lives. Life isn’t made that way. We all have limits.”
“But—”
Norval cut Throg off before he could utter another word. “No! There are no buts in this, Throg. Everyone is created for a purpose. Do we know what that is? Not normally. The Nakaka and ancient guards and a few others out there are blessed to know what that purpose is... or at least part of it. However, you all need to remember, you are not the only ones created by the gods. Everyone... shifter, paranormals of all types, as well as humans are created by the gods, and each and every damn one of them are here for a reason. However, none... and I do meannoneof us are perfect. As a matter of fact, we are designed to be imperfect. We are all going to fail at something in life. Some failures might be small in comparison, but that doesn’t mean the cost is less than what you have experienced. For you, it was not seeing past the mind of madmen to save your people. For someone else it was losing their house, because they gambled the money away, or they placed money in the wrong stocks and lost all of their money. Each are devastating in their own way, but just as traumatic in other ways. You say it is loss of life, so it’s worse, but a gambler or stock trader would argue he lost his life and that of his families, because he couldn’t or wouldn’t control an addiction. Maybe it’s a bad analogy, but hey, I’ve been drinking, so I get a pass.”
“This is different. I should have known what Corbin was up to. I walked those streets, went into those bars, talked to those people for just that reason. However, I let dick get in the way of my thinking, and for that people died! I will not ever allow that to happen again!” Throg shouted.
Krerr gasped in astonishment. “Whoa! Wait just a minute. Are you saying that you never had sex since, until the encounter with Spencer?”
When Throg said nothing, Norval snickered, “No wonder you lost your mind with Spencer. I mean, we’re talking over two hundred years, Throg, then to find your mate, and knowing the abuse he suffered...”
“Trying to fight the need to claim the man in every way possible... damn it was inevitable.” Krerr stated with a snort.
Shaking his head, the shrink said, “That must have been one hell of a coming together. Not realizing what you were doing, makes a hell of a lot of sense. The thing is, refusing your pregnant mate doesn’t.”
“I already told you why!” Throg snapped.
Dr. Oleander nodded. “I know what your words said, but I’ll tell you what I think. You, Throg, great and powerful ancient guard... you are scared.”
Throg slammed his hand on the table, shaking the glasses, until Oleander’s fell sideways. “Take that back! I am not scared! I am being reasonable! I am—”
“Scared out of your mind,” Norval Oleander said with a snot. “You were lied to, and had your heart ripped out by a weasel, and you’re afraid that if you care for Spencer, if you take a chance and put it all out there, it’s going to happen again.”
Shaking his head wildly, Throg hissed, “No.”
“Yes!” The shrink snapped, then sat forward. “Corbin was a douche. There was no way for you or any others to know the game Corbin and other men like him were playing. Why would there be? What in all your past would have given you any idea of what these people were up to? They plotted, they planned, they used the oldest trick in the book... sex... just to get what they wanted. They were good, Throg. Hell, they were fucking brilliant... but they failed.”
“They decimated my people. How the fuck is that failing?” Throg ground out.
“Because, you and so many others lived!” Oleander yelled right back.
Throg felt his anger drop and confusion build. Olean... Norval quickly continued, “Look at it, Throg. You’re here. The Nakaka are here. Yes, they have been few, but now... now look at where you stand. Mates are back, and now Spencer is expecting the first chickpea in over two hundred years. The Nakaka can reproduce again, and that means your kind will grow once more. They won that battle I’ll give them that, but they did not win the war, and trust me it was a war.”
Throg sat up straight. Thoughts running through his mind.War? What the... is that what...?“Doc, why do you say is, and not was?”
Shrugging, Oleander answered, “Because they didn’t win, and theyknowit. You said yourself that the shifters joined with the humans. The humans died, but Shifters... well, shifters live a long time, and I have a feeling that their stance on the Nakaka hasn’t changed. I don’t know why they’ve been so quiet with whatever plan they had built, but if they wanted you eradicated...”
“They couldn’t do anything. We not only left, but we crippled them before we scattered,” Throg muttered.
Krerr nodded in agreement, “Yes, but if you remember, the humans turned on the shifters, too.”
“Wait. I remember the shifter and human war, but I don’t recall ever seeing a Nakaka. I’d heard of your kind, but we were told you had scattered into the wind, and left the humans to fend for themselves. How did you guys cripple them? The shrink asked.
Sighing, Throg answered, “When I went back to the clutch house, I knew something was wrong. So many of my men, that normally stayed in house even on their days off, were walking back as well. I asked them what was going on? One by one, each said they had a date. When we arrived to see what had happened to our people we...” shrugging, Throg said, “Well, for lack of a better word, we lost it. We were on our way back to the town. Retribution was the only thought any of us had.”