New Blood

Chapter 6

Olivia and Everly were laughing when Tyson walked into Olivia’s home office. He kissed his daughter on the head before squeezing behind the desk to kiss Olivia tenderly. He lingered, inhaling his mate’s scent to calm his unease about the situation.

“When will the other be here?” Olivia asked.

“Logan, Gabby, and the kids will be here as soon as they can get them ready,” Tyson smiled as he sat in the chair beside Everly. “Jules and Kevin will be here shortly. I’m not sure if any of them are bringing any of their kids or not.”

“That’s OK,” Olivia grinned. “I will still have my new grandbaby to snuggle while we eat, and maybe after, if you need Logan to work, and I can talk Gabby into staying for a while.”

“You might be able to persuade me to do that even if Logan isn’t working,” Gabby said as she stepped into Olivia’s office. She was holding her infant daughter, Amanda. “Would you like to start now?”

“Do you even have to ask?” Olivia laughed as she held out her arms for the baby. Gabby giggled as she gently handed off the baby to her mother-in-law. Olivia pushed the blanket away from Amanda’s face and kissed her forehead.”How is she always cuter now than the last time I saw her?”

“Probably because she doesn’t wake you up in the middle of the night, hungry as a little bear,” Gabby said as she ran her finger over the baby’s head.

Tyson smiled as he watched Olivia cuddle the baby close and said, “We have offered to keep her overnight whenever you would like. We are happy to watch all the grandkids and give you a night to yourselves.”

“All the grandkids?” Everly questioned. “All? At the same time? Like Logan’s three, Darcy, and Lia’s three all at the same time?”

“Why not? It would be fun,” Olivia grinned. “How would it be any different than when you, Lia, Logan, Damian, Darla, and a few assorted cousins would all spend the night here when you were all little?”

Everly nodded, saying, “True. We did do that every chance we got. Maybe we should do that now. All the kids and grandkids spend the night. It might be fun.”

“I would love that!” Olivia beamed. “But we would have to pick a night that Lia and Jules aren’t having their weekly slumber party.”

Tyson grinned as Julian stepped into the room, followed by Jonah. Tyson chuckled, “Invite Jules and Jonah to join us and bring the kids. We have always said the more, the merrier. Plus, Jules used to be in the regular group until he was old enough that he was working full time.”

“Are you kidding? I was a regular well into adulthood until Lia spoiled the fun by finding her mate,” Julian laughed as he and Jonah made their way around the room to see Amanda.

“If we are invited, tell us when and where, and we will bring the kids. Ari would love the time with Lucy in the kitchen while everyone else did whatever together,” Jonah said as he smiled at Amanda, making her smile back at him. “We will even bring the fey dragons if we can wrangle them that long.”

“Just let them go feral. That’s what I have done with them and our older children,” Logan joked as he came into the crowded room and kissed Gabby’s cheek as he slipped his arm around her waist. “Sorry, Addison and Dylan are in the kitchen helping. They made a run for it before we ever reached the house.”

“That’s OK. Ashton and Lucy can handle it,” Everly giggled.

Kevin arrived and leaned against the doorframe. He looked at the group and raised an eyebrow.

“Is everyone in on this meeting, or are we kicking people out?” Kevin smirked.

“I am happy to help in the kitchen. I can smell the cookies, and with luck, Lucy will let me taste test,” Jonah said as he kissed Julian’s cheek and hurried from the room.

Gabby looked at Logan and waited for him to speak. It was a silent and non-confrontational way of letting him decide whether she would be included. Gabby would be by his side when he took over as the clan’s Dragon Lord, and she felt she should be included.

“Gabby needs to know the same as the rest of us. Evvs and I are taking over for Dad, which means technically, Gabby and Ashton are taking over for Mom. We might have to leave the kids with Jonah and have Ash join us,” Logan said as he held Gabby close. “Evvs, would you link him?”

Everly nodded as she opened the mind link with Ashton and said, “I hate to do this with you, my love. But since you will be taking over for Mom in the Obsidian Clan, we would like you to join us. It won’t be as much fun as the kitchen, but it is necessary.”

“I will be there momentarily, and I will be bringing cookies. Lucy insists on it,” Ashton said before cutting the link.

“Ashton is on his way and will be bringing cookies with him,” Everly announced with a grin.

“Do we need to switch to my office?” Tyson asked. “It’s bigger and might be more comfortable for us.”

“Only if you plan on this taking all night,” Kevin said as he stepped to the side to allow Ashton to enter with a platter of cookies. Kevin snatched one as Ash walked by. He popped it in his mouth as the platter was placed on Olivia’s desk and said, “I say we stay here with the door open because that’s where the cookies are.”

“Then let’s get to it,” Tyson sighed as he stood beside Olivia as she held their granddaughter. “We need to find out why the forest has an area that has far less sound and activity than the rest of it. Kevin, do you still have all those sensors and cameras scattered around in the forest?”

“I do. Jules and I can get started on them tonight. I will also bring in Joshua and Westly to help. We need someone to show us on the map exactly where it happened. After that, we can get started. Jules and I can check all the readings from the Emery Tech office while Joshua and Westly go out and investigate things.”

“Aren’t you worried about losing your son or your daughter’s mate if it is something dangerous?” Olivia asked, half-teasing Kevin with the question.

“Not really,” Kevin smirked. “Westly is one of my least favorite children, and maybe Bethany’s second chance mate will be less annoying.”

“You’re terrible,” Olivia snorted as Tyson moved her computer to open a map of Obsidian.

Tyson cast a map over to the large screen television on the wall across from Olivia’s desk. He zoomed in to show only Obsidian and enlarged it again to show the areas within easy walking distance.

“Evvs, Ash, where were you when this happened?” Tyson asked as he straightened.

Ashton, who was standing, moved to the screen and pointed to an area. “We were right here. It began in this area, southwest of the small clearing here. That clearing is where Evvs lifted off and did circles over the forest until we made it back here.”

“Can you tell us exactly what happened? I know it was some weird sound thing, but I want to hear you describe it,” Logan said.

Everly sighed, “It was like everything around us was scared into being silent. There were a few slight sounds, but not many. Fifty yards away from us, in every direction, everything was normal, but not there.” Everly shook her head as she continued, “Nothing has ever been afraid of us before. There is no reason it should have happened today. I mean, we are regularly swarmed by birds and insects like butterflies and dragonflies. A squirrel even perched on Darcy’s head a couple of weeks ago. She wanted to bring it home to live with the fey dragons.”

“Did you see, smell, or hear anything out of the ordinary?” Julian asked.

“Nothing,” Ashton replied as Everly shook her head. “I can tell you that it made both of us very uncomfortable. It was like we were being watched, but nothing was there.”

Kevin nodded and said, “You all enjoy dinner. Jules and I will grab something to take with us to the office. If West and Jish are on the verge of starving, I will tell them to swing by here and get something to take with them as they investigate the forest. With Westly being a dragon and Joshua a fairy, they should have things covered unless the werewolves have come up with something new.”

“What do we tell the werewolves?” Logan asked. I will have to tell Damian, and undoubtedly, it will get passed to all the ranking members.”

“We tell them that there is something odd in the forest, and as soon as we know more, we will tell them. It might be nothing, in which case, we don’t need to worry them about this right now. If it is something serious or that we can’t identify, then they need to know,” Olivia said.

“I agree,” Tyson said, smiling down at Olivia and Amanda. “Let’s wait until you have looked into this tonight. I will go to the pack house tomorrow and talk with everyone so they know they are not left out of the loop.”

The sound of little feet running toward the office. Miranda, Olivia, and Tyson’s youngest hurried into the room and came to stand beside her mother’s chair. She was beaming at Amanda before announcing the message she had been sent to deliver.

“Lucy says that dinner is ready, and she needs help putting it on the table,” Miranda said as she stood on her tiptoes and leaned on her mother to see her baby niece, Amanda.

“I would say that puts an end to this meeting,” Kevin chuckled as he turned and began leading everyone out of the room. “Jules, you’re with me. We need to raid the kitchen and run before Lucy catches us. The rest of you enjoy your dinner.”

“Oh, we plan on it,” Logan grinned, making Kevin look back at him. “I will meet you as soon as dinner is over. Maybe Ash and Evvs will say something that they haven’t thought to tell us, and it will explain everything.”

Kevin nodded as he pushed the kitchen door open and smiled at Lucy. He went in and kissed her cheek before he said, “Lucy, my dear, I hate to ask this of you, but could you throw some things in a bag for me and Jules to take with us to the office? We have something we need to check out and can’t stay for supper tonight.”

“Of course I can!” Lucy grinned as she took two large food storage containers from the cabinet. “What would you like? I made a giant beef roast, potatoes baked with it, and mashed potatoes for the kids, carrots, gravy, and biscuits.”

“Can you throw some of everything in and pour gravy over it?” Kevin asked, prompting Julian to smile and nod.

Lucy laughed, “You two are just alike. As I take your portions out, can you all take the dishes to the table? Someone can go ahead and take the basket of biscuits out. I have a sheet of them over on the counter I will take from.”

“You got it,” Julian said as he grabbed the basket and hurried to the dining room.

Lucy smiled at everyone and said, “The rest of you might as well go out and get seated. Jules and Kevin can handle carrying out the food.”

“Thank you, Lucy. Lia, Will, and the girls should be here any minute,” Olivia said as she reluctantly gave her granddaughter back to Gabby.

“I have their extra rare steaks and fortified cupcakes ready just in case they need them,” Lucy called after the group.

“Did I hear Lucy mention steaks?” Amelia asked as she and her family entered the dining room.

“You did,” Logan said as he helped his twin sit at the table. “And you need to eat up. We might need your Alpha wolf smelling abilities.”

“Whyyyy?” Amelia asked as she went to Gabby and peeked at her niece before sitting in her usual spot beside her father.

Tyson sighed, “Because Everly, Ashton, and Darcy encountered something in the forest that was odd. Don’t worry about it until we have more information. Kevin and Jules will be working in the office, and Kev is sending Westly and Joshua out to the forest to have a look around.”

“Are you sure about that?” Amelia asked as Julian and Kevin came out of the kitchen pushing the trolley cart Lucy often used. Lucy was following behind them, carrying a platter of chocolate cupcakes that were specially made for the family and contained blood supplements. “Seeing Kevin’s grin doesn’t make me feel better.”

“It will be fine, LiLi. I promise,” Kevin said as he placed a platter of rare steaks between her and William. “Just eat up and enjoy. Like Logan said, at most, we will need your wolfie super nose. You can even bring Blueberry with you and let him ride on your head while you do it.”

“This is one of the few times you will hear me say this,” Tyson sighed. “But, listen to Kevin on this. Enjoy your dinner, and don’t worry about it.”

Amelia accepted a special cupcake from Lucy before she took a second platter off the cart and passed out the regular cupcakes to everyone else. Amelia served the steaks to her family, and as she did, she muttered, “Yeah, if you say so. But I don’t like it.”