Chapter Fifteen

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Colt recognized—even if Faith didn’t—that they were in a shifter neighborhood. All around he smelled the scents of lions. Lots and lots of lions. Not all the scent trails were fresh. Many, in fact, had faded with time, but there were enough different scents to confirm to Colt that this was a lion stronghold where most of the neighbors were also lions. And…a kelp-like scent that had to be the occasional selkie, in the mix.

Colt could hear flowing water in the near distance and remembered that there was a large stream that ran nearby on the map. He wondered if the selkies liked the development because of the access to a waterway. Probably. Still, there was a lot he didn’t know about his selkie cousins. Things he would have known had he grown up in the Clan. Things that intrigued him a lot more than they probably should since his brothers still wanted as little to do with the Clan as possible.

That was becoming harder and harder to pull off, though. It seemed everywhere they turned in the past week or two, the Kinkaids had been there. The way things had been going lately, Colt had to give serious thought to the idea that the Goddess was taking an interest in Colt and his brothers’ lives. Finding one mate among the three brothers would have been magical, but going three for three had him thinking there had to be divine intervention in play.

His older brothers were happy with their mates. Colt wanted the same for himself, but it all depended on Faith and if he could convince her to be his. He thought he’d been making good progress. They were dynamite in bed, and they got along really well when they weren’t making love too. She was a bright spot in his life, and he looked forward to every minute spent in her company.

He also was coming to dread the demon-fest she was predicting for literally any minute now. He got the idea they had minutes—at best, maybe a few hours—before everything was going to kick off, and he felt nervous butterflies in his stomach for the first time in a long, long time. He was scared. For her. For what they might have to face. He would die inside if she got killed, and his lion would mourn for the rest of their days. If, that is, he didn’t die fighting at her side. Which was just as likely to happen if the stuff that hit the fan was more than they could handle.

“Welcome to my home,” Gavin said as Colt and Faith approached. They shook hands, and Colt felt the genuine warmth coming from the other lion. No way could he fake that. Gavin really was glad to see them, even if the circumstances were harsh.

“This really is your house?” Faith asked as they walked up to the front door. The house was a really nice one on the edge of what looked like a really upscale development.

“Yes, ma’am,” Gavin replied, opening the door for them. There were other lions present inside, including Sam Kinkaid, the Alpha.

Well, shit.

Faith stopped short in the doorway, Colt right behind her. He met the gaze of the Alpha over the top of her head. Sam was waiting in the front hall, a number of others seemed to be gathered in the large front room that looked like it had been turned into a war room.

“Alpha Kinkaid,” Faith said, stepping forward a bit hesitantly. “I didn’t expect to see you again.”

Sam shook her hand and smiled tightly at her. “If it concerns my Clan, it concerns me. I never ask my people to do anything that I wouldn’t do myself, including defending our home territory. Any Alpha worth his salt would say the same.”

“I meant no insult, Alpha,” Faith said softly. “I’m still learning about shifter society, and I expected that Alpha was more of an executive role. I see I was wrong. My apologies.”

Sam’s smile widened as he regarded her. “No need to apologize, ma’am. You’ll have to forgive me for being a bit touchy. It’s the situation, I expect. I never thought we’d be facing a demon invasion in our territory.” He shook his head. “I want to thank you for coming here and giving us warning. We’ve been able to evacuate most of our vulnerable to other places that should be safe enough for now. I suspect that, if we fail to stop the demons, practically no place will be safe.”

Faith nodded. “I’m afraid you’re right. We need to nip this in the bud right here. Before they recover from the journey Between and start traveling in our world.”

Sam met Colt’s eyes and nodded in greeting. “Thanks for coming to our aid,” Sam said, impressing Colt. He’d never expected the Kinkaid Alpha would be thanking him for anything.

“Glad to help, Alpha,” Colt replied, not knowing what else to say.

He could have said he was only doing his duty, but that would have been churlish. The Kinkaids had been welcoming to Colt, and he didn’t think they deserved disrespect on their own territory. Instead, Colt fought with his own instincts and long held beliefs and tried to be civil. Honestly, it wasn’t that hard once he thought about what he’d seen since arriving and all of his interactions with the Clan in the past few days.

“We’ve assembled a team, of sorts,” Sam said, taking Faith by the hand and leading her into the bigger room off to the side.

Colt stifled his own growl at the way Sam just appropriated his woman. Then, he saw who was gathered in the make-shift war room as he followed them in. He recognized a few of the older faces as Special Forces legends who were still talked about in reverent tones among the current crop of soldiers. For a moment, Colt almost stopped in his tracks, but Faith was moving forward, and he followed along automatically.

“Everyone in this room has proven skills that may be useful in whatever’s coming our way,” Sam told Faith, leading her to the table at the center of the room. Everyone was gathered around it, looking at a very detailed map of the area. “I’d appreciate it if you could give us whatever information you may have.”

Sam let go of Faith’s hand once she was at the table. Colt stood behind her, guarding her back but still able to see clearly over the top of her head.

“Sure. Well, we saw the house where I think things are going to happen. Let’s see…” She looked at the map and identified the spot they’d found. “This is the place.” She looked more closely at the map. “And I guess this is your house, right?” She frowned. “This development is all yours?” She looked at Sam for confirmation.

The Alpha nodded. “This was built a few years ago especially for our Clan. Most of our families live here and the outer perimeter houses—especially the ones at the entrances to the neighborhood, like this one—are given specifically to warriors of the Clan. Most of whom are gathered here in this room, though a certain number went with our vulnerable people to help protect them. Most of the female warriors, in fact, went with their families, though a few stayed to help.” Sam nodded to a small group of formidable-looking women on the other side of the table, who nodded back.

“Oh, that’s good,” Faith said, nodding at the women, then looking around at everyone, making eye contact. “I really want to thank you all for staying to help. The thing is, my skills are only good for dealing with the demons that will be called. I’m going to have to count on you all to help stop the mage or mages that call them.”

“Can you tell us a bit more about what we might encounter?” one of the older men asked.

He had white hair, but he was still muscular and vital. Colt recognized him as one of those who had served in the precursor to the SEAL Teams. He’d been what they’d called a Frogman in World War Two. Colt recognized his face from the old black and white photos he’d seen when he’d been researching the Teams.

There were others who were of more recent vintage. Again, Colt had seen their photos on bases where he’d served. They weren’t well-publicized photos, but they existed among the elite who had served on the Teams. In their private spaces and offices. In their training areas, as a way to build morale and remember those who had come before.

And one of those faces had written some of the most specialized operational manuals that were still in use today. Colt had really had no idea that so many Kinkaids had been SEALs. Then, he took a deep breath and realized that a few of the men present weren’t lions, but rather, they were selkies.

Of course.

What better fit for the old UDT, or Underwater Demolition Team, but men who were equally at home in the water or on land? Selkies were seal shifters, which lent a bit of ironic humor to the eventual name of the Teams, which supposedly stood for Sea, Air, and Land. But what if Navy SEALs were also seal shifters?

Colt should have realized it before, but he’d never really made the connection. And of course, seal shifters in the United States were predominantly found among the Kinkaids. Colt was going to have a good laugh telling his brothers about this.

If he survived the upcoming battle.

The doorbell rang, and Gavin went to answer it. Faith was answering questions and telling the others what she thought they might face. Colt was listening with one ear while his mind was racing with all the other revelations of the day. Then, he scented a familiar lion entering Gavin’s house, and he turned his head to see Liam Kinkaid walking in.

Colt found he didn’t resent the other man’s presence anymore. Not like he had when Liam had first been introduced on Long Island during their first battle against the Venifucus . Liam, and even his father, Lester, had apparently grown on Colt, and he found his inner lion was glad to see him. Traitorous beast.

Then again, even his brothers had gotten along well with Liam and his dad. They’d fought alongside them all in the battle to keep the coven safe. Colt and his brothers had formed a new respect for their long-lost cousin.

Gavin led Liam into the room, and everyone turned their attention to the newcomer. Faith looked around over her shoulder, and Colt reached for her hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze.

“What news from Lester?” Sam asked, seeing Liam.

Liam shook his head. “The Admiral sent me,” Liam told them. “Redirected my flight from Andrews to here. I was supposed to be heading back to Long Island but got rerouted. I’m not sure about Dad’s ETA, but the Admiral is going to organize a few platoons under Dad’s command and send them here for backup. Unofficially, of course. No uniforms, but he’s sending them with their gear,” he said.

“Good,” Sam said. “Faith and Colt just got here a few minutes ago, so you haven’t missed too much. Join us.”

Liam nodded and came right over to Colt, extending his hand in greeting. “Good to see you again, Colt.”

“Likewise,” Colt replied, and he was surprised to note that he meant it. “This is Faith Peabody. Faith, this is Liam Kinkaid.”

“Pleasure to meet you, ma’am.” Liam shook hands with Faith and then stepped back to stand next to Gavin at the table.

Turning back to the gathering, Faith resumed answering questions about the various kinds of demons and what to watch for with each. She was getting into details she hadn’t discussed yet with Colt, and he found the topic fascinating. And disturbing. She really knew her monsters, which was good, but it also meant that there were some pretty horrific things that could be called into this world. He just hoped they had the strength and stamina to deal with whatever came their way.

“So, what’s your exact role in this, ma’am?” one of the elder, obviously battle-hardened Kinkaids asked.

Faith blinked at him before answering. “I’m a Demon Slayer.” There was a bit of shuffling from the assembly, and Faith looked over at Sam, then Colt, then back to her audience. “I thought you knew.”

Sam stepped up and tilted his head. “I may not have put it in such exact terms,” he explained to her almost apologetically.

Faith blinked again. “But that’s what my sort of magic is called. There have been Demon Slayers in my family line going back to the earliest recorded histories, even before the last big war with Elspeth,” she told Sam, then turned back to the others. “Full disclosure—there have also been demon summoners in my line. It’s up to the individual to choose the path of Light, or not. I’ve dedicated my life to the Goddess and have been working with my mentor for the past few years on learning all I can about the demons and the realms they come from, though I’ve only gotten a crack at the real thing since making my way here. The enemy threw quite a few demons in my path, and I was able to overcome every one of them with relative ease, though Colt stepped in and dispatched the last one I encountered.”

Colt felt the need to clarify. “She didn’t need my help, but I arrived in time to see her confronting the thing and jumped in, to the rescue. Only, Faith didn’t really need rescuing, as I discovered after we’d introduced ourselves properly.” He put one hand on her shoulder. A clear signal to the other men present that he was interested in her and wouldn’t welcome others expressing the same.

He doubted he really had to worry. Most of the men were older and probably already had mates of their own. Still, it didn’t hurt to make his position clear.

“I see,” Sam replied gracefully. “So, you need us for…?”

“Backup,” she replied honestly. Colt could tell that didn’t sit well with the people gathered around the table. He decided to step in and paint the bigger picture.

“If I may?” he asked Faith politely before speaking to the larger group. She smiled gratefully, and he smiled back at her, sharing a brief, private moment before he turned to brief the rest of the group.