Page 8 of Second Shooter (Betas in Waiting #28)

Lyric had grabbed some clothing from Win’s apartment.

Win wasn’t surprised when Lyric said, “Rayd helped me get it open. He seems to have adopted you in some manner.”

“I think it was because he really liked the photos of his wedding. Soul photography isn’t as common as it used to be.”

“Oh, right. Well, he got your equipment, and we grabbed your clothes. It has certainly been a weird honeymoon for them, but they appear to be having fun.” Lyric smiled. “Your stuff is in one of the storage buildings at the winery.”

“Thank you for doing that.”

“Well, they were watching your home. I am guessing they got through the barrier on a justice boner.” Lyric shrugged.

“I am waiting to be interviewed by police, but we were outside the city, and that means they are going to have to find some law enforcement to lay charges but are also going to have to explain why they stopped a bus full of children and attacked a bus driver while attempting to steal two of the girls.”

Draven asked, “Miss Lyric, why are you so confident? You are a target as well.”

“Oh, my brother and his legion are at my disposal, and a bunch of demon alphas is not something they look forward to. My brother drove a pack of them off when I was ten, and they haven’t come near me since.”

Win asked, “Did you bring me a bag?”

“Oh, yeah. This way.”

Lyric grabbed the bag and tossed it at her. Win grabbed it, and her dress slid off her shoulders, leaving her yelping and holding the bag to her breasts. She held the bag with one hand, lifted her skirt with the other, and went in search of a bathroom.

Wellyn asked, “Are you barefoot?”

“Yup. Didn’t get shoes; don’t like shoes.”

Cori said, “Second door on the left.”

Win darted into that room, and it was a bathroom. She opened the bag and smiled at the full selection of underwear, a set of jeans, a baggy t-shirt, and fluffy socks. The sneakers were appreciated.

Dressed and completely covered, she folded the dress and put it in the bag. She returned to the kitchen and looked for Cori.

She looked outside and saw Erik holding Cori. Her eyes went wide, and she walked out. “I am filing my opinion here. I know she is your omega, but no shenanigans until she finishes university. I want her to get a degree.”

Erik looked at her, and his dragon was shining through his eyes. “It is enough that she is close and that she is safe. We now have time to court our lady over time.”

Cori swallowed. “What if I turn into the kind of elf my sister is?”

Erik smiled. “I will have my maiden and an elf at the same time. Do you want to go to a Ren Faire with me next weekend? Both of you. I will take you as well, Win.”

“Oh, as this me or tall me?”

An arm wrapped around her and pulled her against Atil.

“If you are going to a Ren Faire, we are going with you. I think Draven would enjoy it.”

“What about Wellyn?”

The deep rumble said, “Wellyn wants to take you to bike and tattoo shows.”

“Third person. Classy. Wait. Tattoos? Seriously? I always wanted to get some. Mom told me omega bodies were sacred. But with some of the stuff I have done to this chassis, I should be excommunicated.”

She tried to look around to see Wellyn. She met his gaze. “Tattoos?”

“Sure. Our marks are used to focus magic under the skin. You look like you need a lot of focus.”

She stuck her tongue out at him.

He laughed and reached out to ruffle her hair.

Ymer crossed his arms. “You are too small to contain that much power.”

She muttered, “Iris contains power from all three of you on a regular basis. She doesn’t look weak or small. Make better assessments, wizard.”

He jolted, which surprised the two males in their grouping.

She asked Brexel, “Where will Cori, Megan, and May be safest?”

“The girls will be safe here. We will arrange schooling to finish their high school. I believe they only have a few months left, and from there, we will gather funds to send the girls to college. If you could design energy masks for them, that would be ideal.”

Win nodded. “That can be done. I have to check my drives.”

He looked at her. “Why?”

“Because I memorized twelve grimoires in the dark mage zone. When I got home, I put that information on hard drives as well as wrote them out. The hard drives are searchable.”

Ymer was shocked. “What?”

“I was hurt for weeks, and they used my pain to open a rift into the mage dimension, and when it was imminent, Draven came in and tended me, healing what he could and cutting me loose. When the rift opened, I was conscious and able to see what was coming for me. I went.” She chuckled. “I knew something they didn’t know.”

Oren murmured, “What’s that?”

“Elite omegas are indigestible for their purposes. The magic doesn’t come out of me, and what I will part with is not good for them. It’s unusable for them. But their research and techniques on magic are very nice primers for my kind.”

Ymer asked, “How long were you there?”

“The closest estimate I have is five years.”

Ymer greyed. “You survived?”

“I stole grimoires and hid up trees. The trees have always been friendly to me. They concealed me from the searchers, and once I started knowing how to use the magic, I created my own little house in that space.”

Oren had a strangled note in his voice. “You lived there. You lived in the realm of dark mages.”

“Well, I was scarred up and carved up in my human form, so I knew what I was going back to when I exited. That was the first rule I read. You return to the point you entered if you were not using the realm for transit. I was going back to the Stronghold, and when I did, I did it with a bang.”

Ymer murmured, “You cracked the wards.”

“Yes. Keres followed and broke many of the prisoners out. I returned to the form I had left in, broken and bleeding, and I fought my way out and transported myself to a hospital near my home. My family moved us into the city the year after Keres was taken and fought her way out. Ruby had already started the barrier with her desire never to be hunted or see others hunted. The barrier flared with each addition of pain. My sisters grew up safe.”

Oren spoke, “How did you get out?”

Draven said, “She tore them apart. The chains they wrapped around her wrists became whips, and everywhere those whips touched, light Elite flesh parted. They were dead in eight minutes. She cried the whole way through, and then she screamed. The stone under my feet groaned and split. That is what slammed me through the walls of the Stronghold and put me on the floor of the women’s quarters. They got me to the treatment centre.”

She nodded. “And that is where you stayed.”

“Until you summoned me.”

There was a new voice. “And that is one of the fascinating aspects of this situation.”

A dark Elite with Keres and a slightly smaller male came in. “So, four omegas obtained in one mission?”

She looked at the man and put a face to the name now that she was moving through the thoughts left behind by the blood of the Elite. “Achilles, Dante, and Keres. Morning.”

The dark Elite were startled until Achilles got a look at her, and his eyes widened. “Oh, my. Would you consider posing for a battle Elite? I work with a gaming company, and I believe you fit their aesthetic.” He paused and smiled. “The omega you. Not the little beta you.”

She wrinkled her nose. “Which company?”

“Sityr games.”

Lyric laughed. “I am familiar with them. Lykon has made armour for their con costumes. His work is spectacular, and it will be very flattering. Sityr is insisting on unisex armour, but Yemeen is designing some of the other costumes. I think he is either exhausted or tired of working for weirdos by now.”

Win smiled. “Where did Lady Fen go?”

Iris smiled. “To get reinforcements.”

Lyric chuckled. “She took a hair and blood sample. I don’t even want to know why her driver had a kit.”

“Omegas are mysterious.” Win smiled.

Lyric grinned and blinked. “I will be right back.”

She left the room and returned with a black bag. “Alexi mentioned that you might want to have this with you.”

The moment the bag was in her hands, Win smiled. “Hello, baby.” She pulled out her camera and sighed as she checked the battery and the memory card space.

She lifted the camera and captured Draven, Atil, and Wellyn. “Other people I ask; you three don’t get a vote.”

The guys grinned, and each reached for her. She caught the scents of them when all three made contact and tried to fight the response.

Iris covered her mouth. “Oh, boy. I know that face.”

Win could see she knew what was happening. “Quiet you.”

Wellyn paused. “What’s going on?”

Lyric cocked her head. “I am guessing it will take bonding with you to get her senses back online. They were blocked with antivenin, so you need to overwhelm the block.”

Win stared at her. “If you are my cousin, I am so going to make fun of you at family gatherings.”

“Knock yourself out, cuz.” Lyric chuckled. “My particular skill is seeing truth. Very annoying when you are trying to date in your teenage years. Oh, and when your brother and his mate were just having sex on the kitchen table.” She shivered and made a face.

Win looked around and saw the dozen people in the space, but it wasn’t weird. Everyone that didn’t live there was there for the same purpose. Them.

Iris asked, “Win, you seem to have a practical-clothing style. What formal designs do you like?”

“Leather. Lots of it. Hard to find it in a sundress, but it cleans up well for me and lets me move the way I like.”

Ymer’s eyes lit up. “There happens to be a leather worker one manor over.”

Iris grinned. “I will call Lya and see if she wants to get back into the swing of things.”

A phone appeared in her hand, and she walked into the next room.

Win smiled and tiptoed after her, taking a soul image of Iris. She caught Lyric’s gaze and took a picture of her. Then, the dark Elite all succumbed to her lens.

She took a picture of Erik and Cori and sighed as she saw their energies reaching for each other.

Keres and her mates were direct power. Iris and hers were more subtle but complex at the same time. Lyric’s expression was calm wisdom.

Megan and May were glowing but hadn’t formed their energy yet.

She smiled, looked around, and then walked outside to do something she hadn’t done before. She lifted the camera, aimed it at herself, and took a selfie.

Swallowing, she turned the camera around and nearly dropped it.

Blood-red designs moved along her skin, her eyes were black and silver, and her fingertips were crimson.

Atil said, “You hadn’t done that before?”

“No. Seeing everyone around here made me curious.”

“May I look?”

She grimaced and showed him the image. To her shock, he smiled.

“When I was a teen, they asked me what I thought my mate would be like. I said she was a fighter that could beat up any of my siblings.”

Wellyn walked out and said, “I said she would defend her family.”

Draven came up to her and smiled. “I said she would shake foundations.”

She lowered the camera and blinked. “They really ask you that?”

“They try to give us focus to work toward. They keep our minds on a fixed point so that all we do is for that eventual moment. We know it is a tremendous distance away, but we move toward it. Toward you.” Atil touched her shoulder.

She sighed and leaned into him. “I hide in trees.”

Wellyn smiled. “Cori told us. You also hate shoes if you don’t have to wear them.”

“That’s true.”

Draven chuckled. “And when I asked, the tree lowered you so we could take you. The oak had no business bending like that.”

She blushed. “Trees like me.”

“I think I know who or what your father is.” He smiled. “A botanist disappeared thirty-three years ago. His signal simply cut off one day, but he was highly regarded. The gardens at the Stronghold have never been the same.”

She thought about the man who looked relaxed as he stood with Jia. His silent movements into the house didn’t have any footfalls that she had been able to hear. The barefoot gene might be a thing.

She smiled and then heard a sound. A golf cart was driving to them. A dark Elite was driving, and the omega next to him was grinning with excitement.

Iris walked up to them, and when the other omega bolted out, she caught her. “Hey, Lya. You are looking good. Oren, looking amused.”

Iris couldn’t see what Win could, which was a half dozen Elite omegas looking at the man in the cart.

Wellyn walked over to the man and said, “Yeah, it’s freaking us out, too.”

Win snorted. “Yeah, you didn’t have to arrange special clothes for the event.” She snapped a picture of the newcomers and laughed. She had never seen scales on an omega before.

She looked up when she saw movement in front of her. “Oh, hey.”

Iris smiled. “Win, this is Lya. Lya, this is Win. Win has said she likes leather components to her clothing. She’s also really tall in her other form.”

Win held up a hand and got the dress out of the bag. “This tall. Actually, this falls to just below the knee.”

Lya took the dress and held it up. “Oh. Wow. That is a lot to play with. Can we chat?”

“Sure.” Lya took her hand, and they walked away from the house. “Sorry. Pointy ears have good hearing.”

Win smiled. “I know.”

“Oh, right. Mine are still coming in. My den doesn’t want me growing too fast, and the baby doesn’t want it either. I will finish when I finish.”

“You are pregnant?”

“Yes, and I have a thirteen-year-old daughter.” She looked at the dress.

Win took the dress and tossed it into the air. When it settled, it was on a three-dimensional projection of Win’s warrior form.

“That is neat. Can you show me how to do that?”

“When you finish growing and your pregnancy does the same.” Win said, “You might not be born to magic; you might be born to scales instead.”

Lya blinked. “Did Iris tell you?”

“Nope. I took a picture of your soul.” Win grinned and showed her the picture.

Lya got excited, and they stood and looked at the other pictures. “Wait. Erik and someone?”

“My little sister, Cori. She’s not eighteen and hasn’t finished school. Or gone to college or university. I want that for her. She needs to know what she is capable of before she has a mate.”

“How are you going to stop him? I have heard stories about his father’s dragon.”

“I threatened the fucking dragon, and he knows I meant it.” She chuckled. “The first time it saw me, I was covered in blood, skin shredded and torn up, and yet still witty.”

Lya chuckled. “What did you study?”

“Nothing. If my attack had born fruit, our kids would be in school together. I have had a lot of menial jobs. I do like photography, though. It is fun.”

Lya smiled. “When I make outfits, do you want to be my photographer? Everybody uses Alexi, but I have to guess that he is getting tired of it.”

She smiled. “He likes it. It keeps him busy, and it is like endless new stimulation for his brain. He’s a good guy.”

Lya looked at her and grinned. “You made a friend?”

“I did. And he’s in a bonded trio, so no shenanigans.”

“If you say so.”

“What? He is.”

“Uh-huh. You haven’t bonded with your alphas yet, right?”

“Nope.”

“Close your eyes and think of the guys and sort them in order of liking.”

“Well, I don’t actually know much about them yet.”

“Just do it.”

“Did Alexi pop into the roster?”

“Yes, but I have seen Alita. She’s gorgeous and spunky.”

“You aren’t competing with her. You are competing with Niko.”

Win opened her eyes and grinned. “I could take him.”

“A dragon?”

A voice called out from the group of dark Elite. “She can take him.”

Win looked, and it was Erik.

“Don’t tell him anything!”

Erik gave her a thumbs-up, but she knew he didn’t speak for his dragon.

Win sighed. “I am going to be so embarrassed the next time I see Alexi.”

“Probably, but if he feels the same, then your pack and Nikolai’s are going to have to have a chat.”

Win sighed. “I am probably just crushing because I found someone who likes photography as much as I do.”

“Find out.”

Win cleared her throat. “I haven’t dated anyone since I was seventeen. I am beyond rusty. And I am definitely not a homewrecker.”

“Fine. What kind of outfits do you like?”

Win put a sound shield around them. “Honestly? I love the Greek toga silhouette, the Chinese Hanfu, and leggings and an overdress. I like my upper arms covered and my back. That’s where most of the damage was.”

“How about your midriff?”

“That’s fine. I do have a mark on it, though.” She lifted her shirt and showed Lya. The sun above her navel was the same dark red as the designs in the selfie.

Lya blinked. “Tattoo?”

“Nope. It appeared when I got taller. Just like my eyes go from mercury to ruby.”

Lya looked behind her. “They are trying to get your attention. I think you can take the dress back. I’ve got it.”

Win took the fabric back and let the projection dissolve. She turned and saw her three and Lyric waiting. “I think I know what is happening now.”

“What?”

“We are either going to Atil’s place or to the city for Lady Fen to make me over.”

She hugged Lya, they walked back to the others, and she murmured, “My little sister also has an interest in leather, and May definitely does. She wants to stay on the soft side of things.” She looked at Lya. “I want my sister armour-plated.”

Cori blushed. “Win!”

“What?” She crossed her arms. “I want you to go to school or college and not to spend your life having little dragon babies.”

Erik blushed and rubbed his neck. “He gave you his word.”

“Yes, and she isn’t in heat right now. The moment she so much as sighs, I am locking her down and making her do homework.”

The alphas chuckled.

“And I will be outside the house with chains and a sword just waiting for an air attack. Any place Cori is will be so heavily warded that we will be lucky if oxygen can escape. Are we clear?”

Erik nodded. “Yes, ma’am. Can I have you explain this to my father? He’s super-excited that I have found my mate already.”

“Give me a few days, and I will be in touch.” She looked at her three. “So, who all is going?”

Lyric chuckled. “I am following you guys so I know where to find you. That area is tricky to navigate.”

Brexel chuckled. “Right. Ladies, you are staying here. Rest, relax. Maybe go for a walk to Lya’s den. I think Tamara would get a kick out of seeing so many omegas who are taller than Venka.”

Lya chuckled. “She will enjoy that, but ladies, if you want to go for a walk, Iris, you are invited as well. And any of your entourage. Keres, are you interested in coming to see the snakes?”

Cori was next to Lya and grinning. “Snakes? I love snakes.”

Achilles smiled. “I will run security.”

Ymer nodded. “I will as well, and of course, Jupiter and Juno. They go where Iris goes.”

The group started to move across the lawn, and Cori turned back to smile at Erik.

Win patted the young dragon on the shoulder. “Back in your truck, and go chase horses around a field for a while.”

Atil chuckled. “Come on, Win. Time to see your new territory.”

They headed to the drive, and between one step and the next, they were in a beautiful forested area with a huge house made of rich wood with wide windows sitting in the centre of a glade.

“Oh, this is pretty.”

Atil took her hand. “Come on.”

He led the way to the steps of the deck, and their other two followed. It seemed Lyric had missed the portal.