Chapter 20
“So, I’m just supposed to stand in your house like a statue and watch her?” Reeves looked at the open door again.
Konner smirked. “You could sit. I just don’t want her to come out of her room and not know where I am.” He took off his jacket and tossed it on the chair behind his desk. He hadn’t even paused long enough to change his clothes yet. “I don’t need her wandering out in the bush and getting lost on the first day she’s here.”
Reeves grimaced. “Okay, I see your point. I’ll go hang out and try to look like I have a purpose there.”
Konner waited until he left the room to go over and set his phone on his desk. He brought up Illias' number. He’d know how to reach Calum. He hit send and then put the phone on speaker. Going over to the table, he looked at the records that Reeves had carefully set on the hard surface. Some of the pages were fragile with age, so he’d done well not letting the sides of them touch the others sitting there.
“Do I want to know how you still have your own phone, Konner?”
Konner smirked and opened the first book. “Ask your teammate, Fallan, about it sometime.”
“Ah, okay. So at least it’s secure. I momentarily seized when your name came up on the screen.”
“Sorry to alarm you. I’m told it’s very secure and safe to use.” He leaned on the table and looked at the list of names. They were faded. He really needed to get these records transcribed onto a hard drive or something less fragile.
“Oh, it is, I tried to track it—you know, just ‘cuz I can. What can I do for you?”
Konner straightened up and went over and grabbed a notepad and pen. “I need to reach Calum Dante.”
“Everyone wants Calum Dante when they call me, how come no one calls to ask how I’m doing?”
Konner grinned. “I’m sorry, how are you doing, Illias?”
“I’m fantastic, thanks for asking. I’ll get his number and text it to your spy-proof phone.”
“I appreciate it. Any more ops soon?” He looked at the books on the table.
“Everyone is scrambling and going through that information they found, if it pans out, we could be busy for a long time, so enjoy your downtime.”
“I plan to.” It was a lie; if Fallan turned up anything, he would be going there without pause or without asking permission.
“I gotta go, we’re getting close to finding some—details.” The line went quiet.
Raising an eyebrow, he looked down at the phone, hoping he remembered to send him that number. Tapping the screen, he brought up the recording of Terah saying the names. He’d remembered the first three or four, but not all of them.
He wrote quickly, trying not to be distracted by the tone of her voice as she spoke to them. If he could find even one or two of the mated couples that were in her family tree, he’d know where her mother came from. When he wrote down the last one, his phone buzzed with the message from Illias.
Exhaling, he hit the number to dial it and then went around the desk again. He hoped the records went back that far or had been updated. Scratching his head, he wondered if he should start as far back as possible or to more recent years.
“Hello?”
“Calum, it’s Konner Flores.” Setting the list down, he glanced at the last four names and started scanning the information for them.
“Everything is all right?”
“Yeah.” He turned the page. “We’re back at the Sanctuary now.”
“I heard about your adventure.”
It shouldn’t have surprised him that Calum would. “It wasn’t the trip I had hoped for, but we managed.”
“I always wondered if Aiden’s goons he sent after Rayne had told him where the campground was, I guess they knew better than to share the exact location.”
He looked over at the phone. Some time when there wasn’t so much going on, he needed to find out more about the princess’s connection to Aiden Tomas.
“I’m guessing you’re not calling just to chat.”
Konner smirked and turned back to the books. “No, I’m calling because I need your mate’s help.”
“With? Is Terah all right?”
“She’s fine.” Konner turned the page. “Stronger than I thought She got the jump on Tripp when he came to retrieve us.”
“I doubt that. No one gets the jump on Tripp Carson unless he wants them to. He comes across as all laid back and relaxed but make no mistake, he’s lethal.”
“Noted.” He checked the list he’d written again and decided he needed to look for all of them, regardless of how far back the records were, there was no way of knowing if Terah had the order correct. “One of my clan’s women is pregnant, near the end actually.”
“Hang on, I’ll go put this call on speaker for Shae.”
Konner nodded but said nothing as he hovered his finger just shy from touching the fragile page. Turning the page, he noticed some spots were so faded, that he was going to have to work on getting them copied sooner than later.
“Okay, Konner.”
“Hello, Konner.”
“Shaelan, hi.” He straightened from the table and looked at his phone. “I was wondering if you have any experience with pregnancies and delivery.”
“What’s going on?” Her tone changed to something less cordial.
“One of my clan is due soon and Terah. I don’t know how, but she sang one of our songs to Raelyn’s belly and heard two babies inside.”
“That’s fascinating.”
He grinned; she wasn’t wrong. “That’s not the issue, although once everyone calms down, I need to ask Terah how she did that.” He frowned and looked at the floor. "Our kind haven’t been able to use their vocals out of the water for generations. Okay skipping all of that, the survival rate of our children is low and now with two...”
“Can she be transported?”
He went over to his desk and leaned on it looking down at the phone. “No, she’s due any time now.” He cleared his throat, trying not to let the emotion through. “Listen, we have our own medical wing here, complete with ultrasound and just about any other gadget you could want.” He stood up and crossed his arms over his chest. “But we have no one that knows how to use them.”
“I have a little experience with ultrasound, I mean, I’m not a qualified technician or anything like that...”
“I’d like to bring you here, even if you can assure Raelyn that all seems well, it will go a long way in calming her down...”
“That’s a long trip,” Calum mused.
Konner shrugged. “Not if I fly you in.” He went over to the map on the wall beside the window. “I just have to land close to somewhere to refuel the chopper.”
“You have your own helicopter? That simplifies things.”
“It does.” He grinned. “Where are you now?”
“We’re at Blair’s now,” Calum said in a quiet voice.
“Which reminds me, I have the plans for his projects somewhere on this desk. Tell him I’ll get them to him in the next few days.” He glanced at the books, then back to the map. “While I have you, the children found when Terah was, they’re all fine?”
“They’re actually here, Konner, and very well adjusting to life here.”
He nodded his head slowly. “I’ll let Terah know.”
“I need to make some calls.” Shaelan sounded anxious now. “Are there women from your clan that has had successful deliveries?”
“Yes, not in six years, but there are a few.” He focused on the phone.
“Okay, good, I’ll need to speak with them.” She said something else he couldn’t hear. “I’ll let you men discuss travel arrangements. I’ll see you soon, Konner, and tell the mom-to-be that I will do everything I possibly can to get her little ones here.”
There were muffled voices for a moment. “She’ll know everything about childbirth before we get there.” Calum’s tone was filled with amusement.
“Sorry if I blindsided you, Calum, I know you were probably looking forward to some downtime.”
Calum laughed. “Until every shifter within the Alliance’s reach is healthy and thriving, Shaelan is not going to allow for downtime.”
“I don’t recall any times of hearing you were on holiday either.”
“Guilty.” He chuckled. “You can land at Ed’s; we’ll make sure there’s fuel for you and whatever else you may need.”
Konner found the location on the map and tapped his finger on it. “Is tomorrow good?”
“Doesn’t sound like we should delay it too long if the birth is soon.”
“I’ll message you with my ETA later on.” He looked at the books. “I haven’t even had a chance to shower and change since getting back.”
“We’ll be ready.”
“Thanks.” Konner hit the hang-up button. He had a lot to do in the next twenty-four hours. Picking up the phone, he text a quick message to Malachi telling him that the doctor would be here by tomorrow night.
Tossing his phone on the desk, he went back over to the list. If he had to spend the rest of today looking up those names, he would. Terah could do things that his people hadn’t in decades, he wondered for a moment if they’d just forgotten how to do them or if it was some other reason. Grabbing the chair from in front of the desk, he dragged it over to the table and sat down. If he could just find one...
Closing the second book, he heaved a deep sigh. Eight more to go.
“I just went to see Raelyn.”
Konner twisted in the chair to look at his aunt standing at his door. She could be very silent when she wanted to be, confirming once again that she really didn’t need the cane she always had with her. “How is she?”
“She calmed when Malachi said the healer would be here tomorrow.” She held his look, with that expression that said he should have discussed it with her before doing it.
Turning completely in the chair, he held her look. “The healer is the mate of Calum Dante, and the entire Alliance trusts him, so we can safely bring them into the Sanctuary.”
“I’ve heard that name before.” She came in and went over to his desk and leaned against it. Konner knew better than to offer her a chair. If she wanted to sit, she would.
“He’s the one that finds people and does a lot of things specifically for the king.” He didn’t even know how to explain Calum.
“And his mate, the healer?”
“Terah wouldn’t have survived if it weren’t for her fast action when she was found.” Getting up, he went over to his bag and opened it. Reaching in, he pulled out the crumpled folders. They hadn’t been his priority. He tossed the folder with the information found on his desk and held the other one to her.
With a focused look she took it and opened it. He didn’t need to offer any explanations; he could tell by the expression on her face when she saw the photos of Terah that she was feeling the horror their clan member had gone through.
Her eyes were glossed with unshed tears when she looked at him. “We owe the prince a lot of fish for his lake.”
“A small price to pay.” She closed the folder and set it on the desk with great care. “Has she seen others of our kind?”
“Some. Most died off when she was young.” He clenched his jaw for a moment. “Saltwater.” He knew those two words would cover all the details she’d need. “They tried to breed her with males—” her eyebrows shot up “—out of the water.” Relief filled her face. “Also, there are more out there, they were working on acquiring some the last she heard.”
His aunt pushed away from the desk. “Do we know where?”
“Not yet, the Alliance is working on finding them.” He motioned to the other desk. “Journals and ledgers were found, but it’s in some sort of code.”
She nodded, looking from the folder to the books on the table. “Is that why you’re going through those?”
“No, actually.” He went back over and picked up the list. “Terah’s mother taught her to memorize her family tree.” He held it out. “She rhymes it off like a mantra when she’s frightened. If we can find the names in the records we’ll know where she’s from.”
“She sings the songs of our people. Raelyn said the babies responded to it.”
Konner held the piece of paper out to her. “I know, and that’s why I need to find out which clan she came from, so I can go there and test the water, plant life...”
She held up her hand to silence him. “I can’t say for most of these names, but I do recall Xavier and Willow. They’re not common names.” She motioned to the books. “You will find those in Raelyn’s family tree.”
Konner looked at the books, he hadn’t thought to start in their own clan books. “So, part of her line was from ours?”
“A long time ago, before the splits, I believe.” She stared at the floor, her expression hard. “I could be wrong, but I think Raelyn’s mother’s sister mated a Matthews.”
Konner grabbed his clan’s book and set it carefully so it wouldn’t touch the others, he flipped through the pages as fast as he could manage without causing the paper stress to find Raelyn’s family. The names were there. Beside them were notations of other clans the line came from. “Holy shit.” Hovering his hand over the volumes, until he found the one, he was looking for, he carefully shifted it free of brushing against the others and opened it. Without an ounce of respect, he reached over and plucked the note from her hand, and glanced at the names. Opening the volume, he skimmed the page, then flipped back to the next one. He wanted to shout when he found the names, Gregory, and Blythe. “She’s from two alpha lines.” He waved the piece of paper around. “That were joined to strengthen the clans.” He felt like someone had just smacked him in the head.
Turning around he looked at his aunt. “I’ll write out the details later, but not only is she Rae’s distant cousin, but she’s also from strong alpha lines.”
“I don’t think it’s her breeding that allows her to sing, Konner.”
He blinked, bringing her back into focus. “How do you mean?”
“I think it’s because she doesn’t know any better.” He frowned at her. “She didn’t know her people, or if there were others of her kind, her mother had to have taught her and it’s what allowed her to stay strong all these years. Over the years, our kind repressed our natural instincts and abilities to survive, to blend in—Terah hasn’t done that.” She pointed to the books on the table. “Once you calm down, find her mother and if there’s any information about her mating or pregnancy, so we can at least tell her how old she is.” She nodded her head, and turned toward the door. “I’ll allow the healer here because those babies are the most important thing right now.”
She walked out of the room, suddenly needing to click her cane on the ground again. Konner blew out a long breath and looked back at the books. He wanted to go check on Terah, but he admitted his aunt was right. Terah deserved to know how old she was. He sucked in a breath and wondered how emotional Rae was going to get when she found out that she had a living blood relative. He chuckled, everything, even a cup of juice made her emotional right now. He shrugged and went back over to the books.
There was something deep inside him, that he was going to have to take a serious look at soon. He felt protective of all his people, but Terah—she was different. Was it because of how she had lived, not knowing her own kind? He wasn’t sure. It could be because there was something more about her than the others he’d found over the years. She knew so much of their people, yet had never been outside a day in her life. He tapped the pen on the table and looked at the books.
Not now, but soon, he had to search a bit inside himself and figure out the whys.