Expecting The Unexpected

from both sides, tore at Throg, and at that moment, Throg had made his vow to the gods, especially when Throg discovered that the man he had spent his time off with, was one of the leaders of the people that had attacked Throg’s home. Corbin had planned and executed one of the greatest coups anyone could have imagined. He and the other leaders were to create a distraction that would get the ancient guards and sentinels out of the way so that their people could go into the volcanos and slaughter every man, woman, and chickpea inside. The b***h was, the plan had worked, but Corbin and the others that had planned the m******e had paid dearly with their lives. Throg had made sure of it, then vowed to Madame Pele and Aumakaua to never allow himself distraction again, and Spencer was definitely a distraction. Which was how Throg found himself standing behind his Caliph, Hron, ready to choke the s**t out of the gem brothers. Hell, he had dreaded coming to this meeting this morning, just thinking about facing Spencer once again, especially since Throg had gone out of his way to not be anywhere his mate was, only to be disappointed Spencer wasn’t here. Wasn’t that s**t just f****d up? Taking a deep breath to get his libido under control once more, Throg looked at his longtime friend and leader of this clutch house, noticing Hron’s patience was coming to an end. Thank the gods, that might mean this meeting might finally be coming to a close, and Throg could breathe easier, knowing Hron would want to go and spend some alone time with Petree, allowing Throg to have a reason not to be anywhere near this room in case Spencer showed up, expecting to talk “feelings” or use that knife-sharp tongue of his against Throg for ignoring him for so long. “I already told you I sent men to join up with them and Topaz is safe.” Hron snapped angrily. “You can’t expect us to just sit on our asses when our baby brothers are in danger!” Turquoise snarled back. If those men knew what was good for them, they’d back off before Hron kicked their asses. The Caliph was getting ready to lose it. Throg had seen it more than once and that little line he always got in the middle of his forehead was beginning to throb. Definitely not a good sign, or the low growl that came from Hron as he hissed, “I can and I do, and don’t talk to me about withholding information, Turquoise. You three have a lot to account for, and if not for speaking with Topaz, I would have the three of you on kitchen duty for a f*****g year!” Emerald had been sitting there quietly as his two brothers took on Hron. Sighing heavily, he finally spoke, “Caliph, you must understand. Our family has been keeping Topaz’s secret our entire lives. Our father made us vow to tell no one and to keep him safe at all costs. Our father didn’t want Topaz to be used as he had been, then when things went wrong, be cast out with no one and nothing.” “Your father wasn’t cast out, Emerald. Many Nakaka in our clutch house were angry after the attack and blamed him for it. His and the rest of his family’s lives were threatened. We did the only thing we could think to do to keep him safe.” Stok explained. Zircon snorted, “A lot of good that did him and my mother now, didn’t it.” “Zircon, sit and calm down, please. Shouting is getting us nowhere.” Emerald implored, then turned to Stok, “When you sent us away, our father and mother were devastated, as were Con, Turq, and me. You took us away from everyone and everything we knew, and to top it off, our mother was pregnant. Coming here, we were outcasts. No one would speak to us, or even associate with us. Did you ever stop to wonder what the other Nakaka would think about us being outcast from our home? The home our elders lived in!” “You were not outcasts!” Krerr snapped. Emerald sat forward and Throg could see the man was doing his best to rein in his anger, “How the hell were the Nakaka here supposed to know this? All they knew was we were in one of the most coveted clutches of our kind, and now we were sent to theirs without any word as to why. We were never introduced into the clutch. They either thought we had done something so horrible we were sent away, or we were there as spies for the ancients. All we had were each other. I must say, you took everything we knew from us, but you are also responsible for making us one of the strongest, closest families of all Nakaka. When Jade and Topaz were born, my father and the three of us helped our mother deliver our brothers. It was over a month before anyone even knew my mother had given birth.” “Caliph Tamale never introduced them to the clutch?” Hron asked in shock. Turquoise scoffed, “Caliph Tamale never even met our brothers.” “But that’s unheard of. All Nakaka are introduced to the clutch. It’s how we recognize them as our own.” Stok said in disbelief. “You don’t seem to get what Em is saying. Caliph Tamale never introduced any of us to this clutch. He never even spoke to us. It’s almost as if he didn’t know we were here.” Zircon snapped. Stok turned to Hron, “This must be rectified immediately, Hron. If the gem brothers are not introduced to the clutch, they could be called out as rogue, and to do that means they could be forced into a mating they do not want, or put to death.”