To Hel

Chapter 4

My body vibrating, with nearly unrestrained rage, I get out of the truck and slam the door. Jack never leaves me in the dark like this. He is panicking. s**t. He looks in pain, his mind is a mess. I see the flashes that leak from the shield covering his mind in his distraught state. I know it involves our mate. Did he forget .... When we talk he hears words and I see images. He is so frazzled by our pretty little mate, not that I mind, I can see why. He keeps flashing an image of him holding her in his arms as she peers up at him. Gah, I want that…. Those eyes, so full of hurt and determination. I worry, but she will be fine for now. There is fire in those hazel eyes, burning bright.

I stormed into our log cabin, headed for the bar. I need something hard to quench this anger. I grab the crystal decanter filled with a dark amber liquid, pull the cord and pour my mouth full, then slam it down. Jack walks in, walks around the mahogany-topped bar, (If I wasn’t wrong, it matched our mate's hair, minus the silver) and pulls out two glasses, and pours them full. Sliding one towards me, he hangs his head.

“What the hell, bro?” I shot him a nasty look, “You met our mate!” Slamming my hand down so hard, the bar shakes. “Why are you falling apart?” I reached across and grabbed a fist full of his shirt. “Why are we here and not there?” Pushing him away, swiping my hand through my hair. “Give me something, anything man. Or I’m going to lose my s**t for real.”

He meets my eyes. His throat bobs, swallowing harshly, drawing a tattooed hand across his jaw and slams what is left in his glass, “If you go there angry, you will more than scare her, you will finish breaking her.”

Inhaling sharply, “Why brother?” I still, my beast coming to the front of my mind, shining through my eyes. “You have maybe a minute before I let my beast break free from my control. You better have something better than me scaring her to keep me from shifting and tracking her down. How dare you decide how I will behave around her?”

He comes around to stand face to face with me, raising his hand up, stopping just before touching me “I’m sorry. You are right.” His hand connects with my brow. Eyes wide, my mind invaded, blasted with his whole encounter with our mate. Gasping, my poor mate, any control I had shattered. I roar, claws burst from my fingertips, my canines lengthen into fangs, and large manly wings burst from my back. Tearing myself from my brother, I stalk out the door and launch into the sky. If he didn’t take me to her, I would take her myself. Tipping my shoulders, I cut through the sky banking left. A couple of minutes pass, and the cabin flies into view. No lights on, no vehicle in the driveway. I landed on silent feet, no one would see me unless I wanted them to. Not that it mattered, there was no life here, no heat signature. The cabin is empty. I roar to the sky, where is she? I went to charge up the stairs and still. A note. Pinned to the door.

Dear Mr. My Mom's Mate(s)

A storm is brewing, we had to leave. Let your brother know it wasn’t him, he did nothing wrong, it just wasn’t the right time. Mom is OK for now but is getting more lost in her head. It is becoming harder and harder for me to bring her back to the present. She needs you and the others. Shhh, that's for your ears only. I will know if you spill the beans, JACE!

I look up, glancing around, just to make sure no one is around, sit on the top step and continue reading.

We left about an hour ago. Don't get up. You need to make a few preparations before following us.

1) That Fae guy, from the guard house, I don’t know his name, but tell him this exactly: “Go north, HEL is waiting, fetch the mare and the hound.” Nothing more, nothing less. He will understand.

Who is or what is HEL… my hands clinch, before reading the next line.

2) Calm down dummy. If you scare my mom, I will slice open your eight pack, shove my hand in, dig around a bit, then shove your heart out of your mouth. :) She is fragile, I will warn her when you are close. I need you to be level-headed one this time. Seeing mom have one of her episodes has made a mess of your brother's mind. He is a gentle soul, and this is hurting him. They both need you to put the past away and step onto a new path. (There is light on this path, meant for you both)

3) …..

She lists an address and when we need to be there. If I miss the time and place, they will be gone again. The sassy kid said she wouldn’t leave any more clues if I was late. What a little s**t. Yet if this sassy thing is my mate's daughter, then maybe she is sassy too. I smile. What does he have to do with all of this, and or mates? I blow a raspberry. I don’t mind, the way things are looking, the more mates she has the safer she will be.

I tear off the top part of the note, hold it between my fingers and willed it to burn. It goes up in a quick flame, turning to ash. The other half I shove in my pocket. Eight days, that is how much time we had to catch up before she slips through my fingers again.

“Hold tight to your sanity, p***y cat, just a little longer,” I whispered, unfurling my wings, snapping them open, one powerful thrust and I shot into the air. Cillian… That's got to be who she is referring to. He's the only fae that comes to our lost in the woods' community. First to find him, then to update my brother.

I landed next to the guard house, making a bit of noise, to notify them of my arrival. Case tumbles out of the door, he’s still intoxicated. What the hell did the fae give him? Our shifters burn through ‘normal’ alcohol at a rapid pace.

“Where is Cillian?” I growl, I can’t help it. I need my mate. Case cants to the side, hiccups, “Your house, man, just let…let… Leave. Ported out.” I roar, the windows on the mansion rattle, once again taking to the sky, this time going home.

“Why are you here,” I grumbled as I walked into the house. Cillian is posted against the bar with a devil may care attitude. Pushing off the bar at my question, he walks over,

“ I believe you have a message for me.”

I shook my head, she did say he would understand. Clearing my throat,

“Go north, HEL is waiting, fetch the Mare and Hound.”

He just nods, and walks out the door. I look at my brother, he’s a mess. I would be too if not for the note at the cabin. This will either make it better or worse.

“Jack, have a seat.” and I told him everything I felt he could handle. See how he likes it. After a few moments of silence,

“Well, what are we waiting for? Let's get things in order so we can leave and take care of our mate.”