Chapter 862 Chapter 862
Oryn stood in the driveway and looked at the garage. Kenric Castro was in there. She took a deep breath and then stared at the ground. All of the rage that had driven her since the day she’d returned to find her clan dead was missing. It was as if that part of her had been deflated. She didn’t know how. Maybe it was the shock of seeing Taron again. She remembered that she had cried for him for weeks when she thought he was dead. Hiding each time, she cried so the kids wouldn’t know how much she mourned him.
The man they had rescued was only a shadow of her sibling. He'd been so thin and quiet she hadn’t even noticed at first. She could only stare at him like a ghost that had risen from their grave.
She could only watch while Jett had taken the collars off of them. The other man, whose name she couldn’t remember, his collar had been to prevent him from shifting because he was a bear of some kind. It would have choked him if he’d shifted.
Taron’s collar had been a deterrent, not to choke him if he tried to shift. His had electrodes that pressed into his neck. If he had attempted to shift and they were no longer depressed, it sent strong jolts of electricity between them. That would have rendered him unconscious, according to Jett, or possibly, depending on the setting, dead.
It was then that Oryn realized how organized these people who bought and sold shifters were. Who would think up something like this? Did they not have any humanity at all?
Taron had stared at her with disbelief in his eyes. He'd answered Jett’s questions regarding his health in a quiet, almost inaudible, subservient voice. There was no emotion in it at all. It was like everything that was her excitable, vibrant brother had been hollowed out.
At first, she’d had her doubts about him going to that place Eaton had mentioned, the center, but after seeing him, she knew that’s where he needed to be. She didn’t know how to help him. She couldn’t take him back with the kids either. Seeing him like that was something that would do more damage to them. They’d had enough horror in their young lives. She would have to think of a way to explain to them why he had to go somewhere for now. It wasn’t even a sure thing that he’d ever leave the center.
Eaton came over to her. “He’s miserable already if that helps.”
Oryn blinked. “Who?”
“Kenric.” Eaton looked at the garage.
“Oh. Good.” She couldn’t even muster the energy to feel satisfaction in that.
“Your brother was in rough shape.” Eaton looked all around them, her hand inside her jacket as she did. Oryn could see the gun in her hand. It was full daylight now, so they’d taken off most of their gear, just in case anyone local was able to see them. “I know it’s no comfort, but I’ve seen worse.” Eaton nodded. “Konner’s mate had been held since birth. She was malnourished and so weak when we found her that we weren’t sure she was going to make it.” She checked the driveway again. “If you stick around and do this more, you’ll probably meet Noah. He was held for fifteen years, I believe. He was a mess when found, but now he’s on one of the teams and a valuable part of the community.”
“Do you think Taron will be all right?”
Eaton held her look, and Oryn appreciated that she did. It meant she was going to be straight with her. “I think he’ll recover, but he’s never going to be as he was.”
Oryn sucked in a breath and nodded. “Thank you.”
Eaton smiled. “Thank you for looking out for those kids. I know that wasn’t easy. I’m told the older ones have the potential to join the Alliance in the future.”
Oryn blinked. She hadn’t thought of that. “I’m just happy they have a home again.”
Eaton nodded. “My own clan’s numbers are dwindling, so every single one we find, regardless of clan, is a win for our world.”
Oryn smiled. She liked that they were all one community.
“Transportation for our new inmates is close.” She touched her ear and started walking toward the garage. “Let’s get them ready for their journey.”
Amari got out of an SUV and came toward her. “I like your style, Oryn. Going after that guy like that took balls.” She grinned. “I was afraid you’d be some helpless woman we’d have to coddle.”
Oryn smiled. “I can’t believe you went after him like that.”
Amari shrugged and pulled a bag of something out of her pocket. “Gummy bear?” She held it out to her.
Oryn shook her head. “No, thank you.”
“I couldn’t get a shot with the rifle, but my cat could smell him and find him.” She put a bear in her mouth. “I didn’t even maim him.” She looked surprised for a moment. “We’re heading out.” she watched Tripp come out of the house. “Hope to work with you again.” She nodded her head once and then started toward her mate.
Mate. Oryn exhaled and looked around. Uri was her mate. Her owl stirred inside her, but she knew there would be no shifting for a while. Usually, she’d grab a mouse or something to refuel before shifting back, but she’d been so stunned when she realized Uri was her mate that she’d flown out of the helicopter and gone to find Amari. After that, she went back to her clothes, shifted, and found the others. The only thing giving her the energy to stand there was the shock of them having Kenric, finding her brother, and that she had a mate.
As if he could hear her thoughts, Uri came out of the house. He was on his phone and was walking toward her quickly. Oryn’s stomach tightened. Had something happened to one of the kids?
He reached her. “Here she is.” He held out the phone to her.
She didn’t think she could handle any bad news right now. “Hello?”
“Oryn. I shifted.”
It was Ben.
“It was awesome. Just like Uri said. I put out one wing and tipped right over. It was crazy. I shifted.”
She smiled and felt like her heart was swelling. “I bet you have a big wingspan. You’re pretty tall.”
“Wyatt said I was huge. As big as his dad was.”
“That’s great. When I get there, we can fly together.”
“I think I need to practice. If I tipped over just stretching, I don’t know how I’ll ever fly.”
She laughed. “You’ll get it soon enough.”
“Uri says you guys will be here in a few days. I can’t wait to see you. Oh, I have to go. Calum went and got me some food. I’m starving. Bye. See you soon.”
He hung up.
She looked at the phone and then held it out to Uri. “You explained the first shift to him.”
Uri nodded. “To Calum as well, just in case it happened on their trip.”
Oryn tucked her hands in her jacket. She was cold, which was another sign that she needed to eat and rest. “I didn't think of that. I should have.”
“It worked out.” He shrugged and then stood there looking at her. She could see he wanted to say something, but then his brows furrowed. “Did you eat after all that flying?”
She shook her head. “There’s been no time.”
He pointed to the SUV. “We’re cleared to go. We can stop at this place that has great breakfasts. It’s ten minutes from here.”
She looked at the garage. Did she want to be here to see Kenric loaded up to go to his new cell? She blew out a breath. “Okay. Let’s go. I’m anxious to see the kids.”
Uri motioned for her to go to the vehicle. “I can’t wait to see Ben’s owl. Define huge.”
She smiled. “They think everything is huge.” She walked around the front of it.
“Good. I was worried some teen was going to make me look like a tiny flier.” He grinned at her over the hood.
She knew he wanted to talk about them but appreciated that he recognized she had all she could cope with at this moment. She remembered something. “You were flying to save me.”
He put his hand on the hood and held her look. “I was. Konner had a better plan.”
She scoffed. “It took some persuasion to get my aves to go to the helicopter.”
He nodded. “Yeah, rifle or metal thing with big blades. It was a first and hopefully last.” He tapped his hand on the hood. “Get in. You look like you’re going to collapse. I promised Ben I would look after you, and I don’t want to let him down.”
As she got in, she looked out the window. “Ben asked you to look after me?”
He started the vehicle. “Yeah. Said you don’t know when to stop and rest, or something along those lines.” She turned and looked at him. “I’d say he knows you very well.”
Oryn blew out a breath. “This day– I can’t even figure out what I’m feeling.”
“You need food, and then it will be better.” She looked back out the window as he turned around and pulled out of the driveway. She wasn’t sure if it was going to get better. She knew too much now that she hadn’t her whole life and all of it was something you couldn’t forget, move past, or negotiate.