Chapter 14

14

T eal stormed up to the hunter and growled in his face, making sure his fangs were on show. "You wanna piece of me? Put the gun down, and let's get it on."

The hunter stumbled back, falling on his ass, his gun lying useless by his side. Vir kicked it away and tutted. "That is no way to treat a weapon. My captain always told me to treat it with respect, because it would save my life one day, and he was right."

The man stared up, then scrambled backward. "You…you…"

"Yes, me." Vir held his hand out. "My name is Vir, and you are?"

The man's mouth opened and closed several times, then he jumped up and ran away, leaving his weapons behind. Teal started to pull his shirt off, but Vir placed a hand on his chest. "Leave him. We have his face from the CCTV, so we'll add it to all the others and send it to the military."

"One of these days, I'm going to forget about the laws we agreed to and rip one of those fuckers a new asshole."

"That would annoy Jacques, who has worked hard to get the humans to see us as nice and friendly and not deadly." Vir picked up the gun the hunter had left behind. "Let's head back. Ish and Owen have a surprise for me."

"Another dog?" Vir flipped Teal off and whistled as he walked back to their truck. "Raydon?"

"Yes, Viridian." Raydon appeared by Vir's side. He had remained hidden, covering their backs in case there were more hunters in the area.

"Can you track him and make sure he leaves the area?"

"I will, and I'll make a note of his vehicle details." Raydon transported to where the hunter currently was and stayed out of sight. The man jogged away, and Raydon kept up. Around thirty minutes later, they came out near a roadway pull-off, and the man's vehicle was there. A sign in front of the car read, ‘No hunting allowed.' Raydon shook his head. "Stupid humans."

He noted the details and waited for the man to drive away, then ‘ported to the council meeting room. "Ding," he said as soon as he was visible. A couple of shifters had mentioned that he needed a bell. Since then, he'd said ding whenever he appeared.

Indy arched an eyebrow at him, then pointed to the chair. Raydon glanced at the human in a green uniform who was standing, staring with his eyes wide and mouth open, then took the seat and handed over the details of the vehicle. "Teal and Viridian re-educated him."

"He's still alive?"

"Of course. Humans taste funny when I eat them."

"What?"

Raydon hid his smile. "Humans don't taste nice."

"I thought you said shifters don't hunt humans." The man gestured at Raydon. "He said you do."

"Shifters don't, as a rule, but I'm not a shifter. I'm something else, and no, we won't be coming out to you; we aren't interested in human affairs. We don't even live among you."

"Ah. Demon. The president mentioned your kind. You live elsewhere, I believe."

"We do."

"But you're here." The man frowned, his dark eyes focused on Raydon.

"I am. My mate is human, so I remain here." To Indy, he asked, "Do you require anything more?"

"No. Go home and get an early night. Spend some time with your mate and children."

Raydon stood and nodded at the two men, then disappeared. He reappeared outside the apartment front door and let himself in, smiling when he heard the children laughing. He stepped inside and walked into the living room. It took a few seconds for the girls to notice, then they both ran over to him, arms outstretched.

"Ray! Ray!"

Raydon picked them both up and leaned down for Rush's kiss. "How was work?"

"Interesting." I'll tell you more when the girls are in bed.

Rush nodded. "We're having chicken and vegetables, aren't we?" Both girls clapped, and Rush took Erin, leaving Kelly with Raydon. "Hungry?"

"Starving. I had to deal with…people."

Rush arched an eyebrow. "Those kinds of people."

"Yes, but Teal and Viridian dealt with them before I had to intervene."

Balor appeared and nodded to both Raydon and Rush. "I'm sorry to interrupt, but you're needed. Council meeting room again."

Rush took Kelly, juggling the girls as Raydon kissed him and left. He reappeared in the council room, in a corner away from everyone, but he stepped closer, noticing the military and council standing around the long table in the center of the room.

Searching for Balor, he tilted his head, and Balor rolled his eyes. Indy raised his hands and shouted, "Please. Let's sit down and talk this through."

"There's nothing to discuss. General Mortimer will be court martialed for what he's done. Senator Johnson will be put on trial for his crimes."

Indy dropped into his chair and stared at the major. "We are the ones who have suffered the most. We are the ones who have had loved ones vanish and never return. My sister was taken, experimented on, and abused. We were lucky to find her and bring her home. Many families never had that chance, and some families were wiped out altogether. There are children here who had to watch their parents be murdered in front of them. We deserve a say in what happens to those responsible, and that includes down on the bottom rung of the ladder, the ones who carried out those orders. They are just as guilty as those who ordered those atrocities to go ahead."

"Sir," Vir paused as if gathering his thoughts. "We have gone though much these last few years. At times, it felt like an uphill battle and that we were David fighting Goliath. We would still be fighting them now if President Whitby hadn't made his announcement. And we are grateful. It has, of course, brought about its own set of difficulties. Some humans believe we are nothing more than animals, something we have become used to because of what we've endured.

"As you know, we are dealing with those individuals as we come across them, and I thank the army for its assistance. The difference is now there are laws to protect us." Vir paused again. "We only want a chance to be heard. For our wishes to be listened to. If I had my way, I'd kill them all." Vir clenched his jaw. "You never entered one of those labs. You never saw what we did. The sights, the sounds, the scents. To see your fellow shifter become a walking skeleton, somehow alive when it would have been kinder, more humane for them to have died. Shifters who were experimented on, shifters raped and abused. Shifters who could barely speak because the trauma they'd witness, endured."

Vir sat down but kept his eyes on the major. "We saw their failed attempts at creating hybrids; we fought those creatures they created to wipe us out; we watched our friends die protecting those that live here. We only wish to have a seat at the table when it comes to their punishment."

"You know as well as I do that won't happen. They will go to court as all citizens of this country do, and they will be sentenced for their crimes. At that point, those who wish to make an impact statement may do so."

Viridian nodded. "Understood, sir."

"I don't understand." Troy slammed his hands on the table, his eyes glowing read. "They took my family from me. I watched them die. I almost lost my mate." Troy spun away and tugged on his hair. Ale stood next to him, his hand rubbing his back. Troy shrugged him off and stomped over to the window, crossing his arms over his chest as he stared outside. "I want them back," he whispered.

The major watched him for a few seconds, then turned back to Vir. "I understand this is difficult for some of you to accept, but this is the way it has to be done." He picked up his beret, looked at Vir, and nodded to the door. Vir stood and followed him and his men outside, closing the door behind him.

"That's just great." Teal slumped into one of the chairs and sighed heavily. He rubbed under the patch, then dropped his hand. "Paulo. How are you dealing with them?"

"Better than you." Paulo leaned back in his chair. "They checked my qualifications, how I run the police station, and then left. I did get a ‘good job' as they left, so I'm taking that as a win."

"You lucky bastard." Cy grinned. "I hear Hunter wanted to rip a few heads off when they started talking about IT and security. Ish apparently said he had a physio appointment and wheeled himself out of there. Euan faked an illness."

"When was the last time he used his wheelchair?" Teal held his hand up. "Don't tell me. If I could have left my meeting, I would have. Euan left as well? Shouldn't he be used to all this since he's ex-military?"

"I don't care what they say," Troy growled. "I want to find them and kill them. One of you demons can pop me into their cell, and I'll gut them where they are."

"Troy—"

"Don't ‘Troy' me, Ale. They killed Pops. They killed Chester, and they almost killed you. You would be dead if Troy and Paulo hadn't arrived when they did, and those kids would be too." Troy sucked in a shaky breath. "I only have you now." His voice broke on the last word, and Ale pulled him close.

Raydon looked away, giving them a moment of privacy. This had happened before he arrived, so he'd never met Troy's family, but he could understand the pain of losing someone you loved.

I love you.

I love you too. Is everything ok?

Not right now, but in time it will be. I'll tell you more when I get home.

Take care.

"When are the trials scheduled for?"

"They want to do this quick, so next month." Deac rubbed his eyes with the heels of his hands. "Let's get down to business. How many humans have entered our land in an attempt to shoot us?"

"Too many and it doesn't appear to be slowing down." Indy pushed a sheet of paper toward Deac, who picked it up and shook his head.

"What about other areas?"

"Luckily, most have kept quiet, so it's here and Morefield taking the brunt. We're equipped to handle it though, and they're humans."

"We're not all stupid," Ale murmured with a smile on his face.

"I know. It's just…" Indy sighed and shook his head. "We're like some exotic trophy to some."

"Gut a few, then they'll change their minds." Brian Sterling shrugged. "I can hang their corpses up like the Romans did when they crucified someone. Nice visual to remind them what they face if caught."

"As lovely as that sounds, I don't think the authorities will let us." Deac's lips twitched. "I might consider it, though, if it carries on."

Indy chuckled. "Can you imagine the major's face if he drove in one day and was greeted with gutted humans littering the way?"

Vir entered the room and tapped his head. Indy stared at him, his eyes widening. He turned in his seat and glanced at Balor, who shrugged a shoulder. Raydon caught Balor's attention, and Balor shook his head once. Whatever was happening, Raydon wouldn't find out then. He would have to wait, but whatever it was, it was to be kept between them. He knew enough about Balor that whatever it was, it wouldn't be told to everyone.

Indy came back and stood for a few seconds. "Don't worry. This will all work out. Let's focus on where we can use the military personnel the president has assigned us."

"All work out?" Cy asked, his eyes moving between Vir and Indy. "What do you know that you're not going to tell?"

"That's the whole point of not telling, Cy. Lips are sealed." Vir went around the table and patted Cy's shoulder. "It's going to be fine."

Cy stared at him, then nodded, a smile covering his lips. "Good. I'm glad." To Indy, he said. "We could use some extra people to help chase shifter hunters off."

"Good idea." Indy sat down at the table. "Let's work out where they can go."