The Heart’s Lost Souls: Part One: The Binding Read online

  Zeus’s smile wasn’t a happy one, but a predator’s smile.

  “I want the words, the spell given to all of them, Grandmother,” Shannon whispered to her. “They can’t be saddled with someone they do not want or desire. Explain to them that they don’t need to commit to me. We can still raise our children together without it. If my mates can accept that they are part human, because I won’t have them hurt anymore!”

  Her grandmother nodded and turned to Apollyon and Fallon, but Shannon knew that her other mates would hear what they said, too, including Therbelenth.

  Something inside her ached at the thought Therbelenth. Would he leave her? Shannon was bound to release anyone who didn’t want her. No one else heard the words that were said to them in their heads. It was their choice alone.

  Apollyon, Fallon and her grandmother didn’t move or say anything after the words were said. Shannon nodded to her grandparents, lying back against Apollyon’s chest and closing her eyes. The There was no way she would go through this again. She’d make sure all her mates whoever they were would see it. Fallon squeezed her hand and the bed dipped. Zeus had joined them. Drake had inched up closer, but stopped when Zeus growled.

  It would seem most of her mates were possessive. She smiled inside. But it disappeared when she opened her mind for everyone connected to her could see what had happen to her, because she wouldn’t repeat this if she had a choice.

  They all had a right to know. She even sent the vision to her grown-up sons through the links in Zeus and Therbelenth’s heads so they could see that she had wanted her sons. That these monsters had taken them away from her, and that they were not alone. But she did not show them the night of her 18th birthday party. She would take care of those men who had hurt her there, especially Garrett.

  Garrett had been her first true love, the only one she had ever trusted and the one who had hurt her the most. He and his sisters had used her, but she would get her payback.

  There was quiet all around her, except for her friends. Melody had shifted into her werewolf form, and Tabatha was in her demon form.

  “When do we go and hunt for each of these assholes?” Tabatha glared down at Shannon, who smiled.

  “Soon,” she said when she came back to herself. She pushed at Apollyon, who helped her get up very slowly so she could see if she could stand. “Tabby, I need a shower and some new clothes. Plus, I know the little ones have to be worried. Would you please tell your father, Trace to release his nephew? He was played and it’s not his fault on what happened, understood?” Shannon looked right at Tabatha, knowing her friend had a temper, then at her three on the bed. “I mean it. There will be no hard feelings toward him. If I can forgive Therbelenth, all of you can too.”

  Tabatha snorted. “Fine, but if he ever lays a hand on you, well sex is okay, but you know what I mean.”

  Shannon snorted and shook her head, walking to her mother and fathers. “I need some time to adjust. I have so much to do, but right now I’m going to spend time with my two little ones before things get out of hand. I always wanted a family, and it looks like I have a big one.” Shannon wrapped her arms around her mother, who was crying.

  “I’ll be okay, just need a little space.” Shannon stepped back. “Thank you, everyone, but I must leave.”

  She thought of Tabby’s mate’s house and immediately appeared there. She sighed, realizing she’d have to get used to this magic crap. She stood before the door of the room where her children were, resting her head on the frame. Her mental state was a mess. Where did she even go from here? Everyone now knew what had happened to her, where all she wanted was to forget.

  “Are you okay?” Tabby asked from behind her, and Samantha turned and hugged her tight. Wol-item was behind her.

  “Very, very tired and in need of a nice hot shower. Would you do me a favor and make sure Randy and Drake get home safe? You and Melody are my family, other than the ones I just found.” She smiled and gave Tabatha a look, promising she’d explain later.

  “Okay, who are we going after?” she asked, rubbing her hands together.

  “There is one night that no one will know of until I find out where the people who hurt me on that night are. But believe me, you and Melody are coming with. Plus, it will give us some time together like in the old days—that is if your mates will allow us?” she said, glancing behind Tabatha at Wol-item.

  Tabatha snorted and leaned over, whispering in her ear. “Not to worry, I’ll handle them.”

  “Really?” Wol-item said and smacked Tabatha’s ass. “We’ll have to see about that now, won’t we?”

  Shannon couldn’t help but laugh as Tabatha glared at her dragon mate. “Not to worry, Tabatha. I will take care of those pigs by myself if you and Melody can’t come.” She was crying again and she hated it, wiping the tears that rolled down her cheeks. She turned and moved into the room where her children were. Both of them came running to her and threw themselves at her, hugging her tight.

  “It seems you’re going to meet your true grandparents, little ones, and you have a lot of them. You keep them busy for me while I take a hot shower, please. Tell them all about yourselves. I’ll be out in a few minutes,” Shannon said as her grandparents and parents appeared in the room. She was glad the rooms in the castle were huge.

  Shannon kissed her children. “Cheyenne and Rudy, introduce yourselves,” she said and moved into the bathroom. There was so much to do, but she would not be denied her shower. She could still smell the stench of every one of the men who had touched her, and she wanted to get it off her.

  Her children needed to get to know some of her true family. Soon they would find out what they were. She kicked off her shoes and unzipped her dress before she stepped into the shower. She turned the water to the hottest temperature she could take

  In the other room she heard Cheyenne and Rudy talking to her parents and grandparents. So, it starts, she thought, allowing the warm water to run down her body. The dirt, stench and blood went down the drain at least she believed it was, knowing her family had cleaned her their way earlier, using their magic. But she wished it would also wash away the holes in her soul. She would try to forget what had happened to her, but she knew that her nightmares would be with her for a very long time.

  * * *

  Zeus stood there after his mate left and the room cleared out. He turned to her mates, Apollyon and Fallon. He’d speak with Therbelenth later, after the man cleared his head.

  “Apollyon, Fallon, it has been a long time. Did you have any idea that she was your mate?” he asked. “And what were those words Queen Bracen said? I could barely understand them between her growling.”

  “They were words to break our bond with our mate. Are you going to be able to handle this? Shannon doesn’t need any more disappointment right now,” Apollyon said, turning and heading toward the door.

  “Our woman will not get rid of me that easily,” Zeus said, as all three of them appeared in Wol-item’s home. They were walking down the hall when Therbelenth stepped in their way.

  “You,” Zeus snarled, but held back from hitting the man, knowing his woman had asked for them to forgive Therbelenth.

  “There will be no fighting in my home, or around Shannon. She has been through enough, understood?” Wol-item stated, coming up behind Therbelenth. “Remember what Shannon asked of you all. If she forgives him after all she’s been through, don’t you believe you should also?”

  “You know all of those that had a hand in this haven’t been taken care of, right?” Apollyon stated. “We know that Pysay, Erole and Zorke have disappeared. There have to be others, given all that she had to endure,” Therbelenth said.

  Zeus thought about those words. Therbelenth would have to live with what he’d done, and Zeus could see the guilt in his eyes. As it was, he had enough of his own guilt going on.

  “Who were those humans at Shannon’s bedside?” Zeus growled.

  Wol-item glanced over his shoulder at Zeus, smiling. “Frie
nds of hers—ones that saved her ass, so be grateful,” Wol-item said, before he knocked on the door in front of them.

  Zeus hadn’t been prepared to see a little girl open it.

  She had blond-brown hair, big brown eyes and the sweetest smile as she looked up at Wol-item. “Hi there. Are you going to show me your dragon yet?” she whispered, and Wol-item groaned.

  “That is supposed to be our secret, remember?” Wol-item said, kneeling down to her level as she frowned.

  “I whispered. They can hear my whispers?” Her eyes got big as she looked at the men, then back at Wol-item. “I’m so, so sorry.”

  “All right, quit making my daughter squirm, you overgrown lizard, and move out of the way so we can introduce ourselves,” Zeus growled and pushed Wol-item away from the girl before kneeling down next to her.

  “Hello, I’m Zeus, one of your fathers. And what is your name?” he asked. She was absolutely beautiful.

  “Cheyenne,” she said, tilting her head to the side as the door opened a little more and little boy stepped out and walked up next to her. When he looked into the room behind him, Zeus snarled. The man who now stood in front of Shannon meant trouble.

  Chapter Seven

  After taking a shower, Shannon walked into the room to see her new family. She wasn’t expecting was to see an elder block her path, looking down at her like she was a bug and he was there to smush her.

  Shannon started to shake and couldn’t stop as she stepped back to get away from him. She bumped into something solid and peeked behind her. Zeus, her King of Warriors, stood there. He looked down at her and then looked back up, sliding his arm around her waist as he protectively brought her in close. The rest of her men, including Therbelenth, moved to stand beside them, which made the big room seem smaller to her. Her shaking stopped and she looked up to face the Old One.

  “I will not hurt you, little one. Why would you think this?” he asked.

  Shannon went stiff. Zeus whispered in her ear, trying to reassure her that everything would be all right, but she still didn’t like this situation at all. She took a deep breath, trying to ease the jumbled mess in her stomach. She leaned back into Zeus, trusting him a little bit for some weird reason.

  “I know there is a part of you in me, but yet all of you have the power to wipe anyone out from any distance. You see all if you wish, as the others do. Did you not see my need for help when I was small? Why wouldn’t you come and help me if you are a part of me?” Shannon took a deep breath, trying to keep from shaking.

  Of course, Tabatha sensing her friend’s distress came running in, but thank you for her mate, Wol-item covered her mouth with his hand and whispered in her ear.

  Shannon sure didn’t need her friends to go off on this one. “Tell me, was it all a test to you, putting me through all that pain all alone?” Shannon asked as she started at him, getting a little pissed. Zeus’s hand tightened around her waist, holding her more firmly. He was stiff as the others snarled behind her.

  “The pain you went through was no test. We would have been there for you if we had known what was going on. You were not to be born for another 600 years, and then on a world other than Earth. No one informed us that you were chosen for this position. Those who hurt you will die. You have my word on that.” He frowned.

  “Do you mean that other people knew about what happened to you and didn’t do anything to stop it?” the elder asked. “Who are they We would like them to explain to us why they didn’t seek out us or help you.”

  Everyone in the room turned to her, wanting an answer. Shannon tried to break free of Zeus’s hold, but he just held tight and said, “You will tell us who they are, now!”

  But Shannon did not respond well to commands.

  She wrapped her right leg around Zeus’s leg and pushed him back, making him fall on his ass. He had to let go of her or she would have fallen too. He seemed so surprised that she had managed to get out of his grip that he just stared at her.

  “First of all—” her gaze met each of her men’s—“I don’t have to listen to a word you say. You are not my mate yet. You have not courted me, or said boo to me. I will do as I will, just as I have for the past 43 years, thank you.” Shannon turned her attention back on the gentleman.

  “To answer your question, when the time is right and my pigheaded mates decide to join with me, we will take care of those who sat and watched me get hurt time and time again. I will not have innocent people hurt just because they couldn’t help me because the ones hurting me had more power than they did.”

  Shannon walked over to the bed and sat down. She wished she had a beer right about now, and a Molson Ice appeared in her hand. A nice cold one.

  “Wow, nice trick. You got one for me?” Tabby asked.

  “Me too?” Melody said, sitting next to her on the bed.

  “Why don’t we all take this to the family room,” Wol-item said. “It’s a little cramped in here for all of us. I have food set up there, too. I know you and the children haven’t eaten, Shannon.” He held the door open.

  Rudy and Cheyenne came up to her.

  “Come on, Mom, I’m hungry,” Rudy said.

  “You’re always hungry, turd.” Shannon smiled and followed the others out the door, with her children talking a mile a minute.

  Her mother walked up next to them, smiling as she listened to Cheyenne and Rudy.

  “They are so smart and beautiful,” Jonia said, reaching over to touch Cheyenne, who flinched and stepped away from her.

  “Sorry, it’s going to take all of us a long time to get used to the fact we’re safe now—at least I hope we’ll get used to it,” Shannon said, squeezing her daughter’s shoulder. “It’s okay, Cheyenne, no one will hit you, I promise,” she said.

  The room started to get a little warm.

  “Jonia, turn it down,” one of Shannon’s fathers said, coming up to Shannon’s other side. “I’m afraid all of us will have to find a way to work off this excess anger we have.”

  Shannon snorted. “You can help me find my children and the men who took them. I want all of my children to know who their real family is. Eventually, I want to find a big house to make sure I have plenty of room for us all to live together.”

  Heading into the large room, Shannon nodded to the tables. “Go ahead and fix yourself a plate,” she told her children. With Tabby and Melody watching her back, Shannon followed them and filled a plate for herself, ignoring her mates.

  “I have to say you have some big mates. I wonder which one is the elephant?” Tabby whispered in her ear, and Shannon busted out laughing. Her mother smiled from her place next to Shannon and glanced at Tabby.

  “I’m not going to look, I’m not going to look,” Melody whispered. But she lifted her head and looked around her, which earned her a growl from Shane.

  “What? I was just trying to figure out something,” she said, earning snorts from the others in the room.

  Shannon took her plate and sat down at a table. She stared at the tabletop for a moment before reaching out and taking another drink of the beer that appeared. Her drink was real, Shannon could handle this.

  “Breathe, we are all here to help. I know it’s a lot to take in, but we’ll get through this together,” her mother said, placing her hand over Shannon’s and squeezing it.

  “There is so much I have to do. I have quit my job, because I have too many responsibilities now. Plus, it would be kind of weird for me to be ringing up people’s groceries. I say one word someone might end up on the moon. Although, there are some I’d like to send there, that’s for sure.” She laughed before taking a few bites.

  Shannon needed to find a home for her and her children. Not to mention she needed to explain everything to her children. Boy was she different now. She was now about six sizes smaller than she’d been. She was wearing size-six pants, which she’d never been able to do before today. Her hair fell down to her waist now, and it was blond again. She held out her hand and looked at her nails. The
y were beautiful.

  “I can’t believe how much I’ve changed,” she said.

  She hadn’t seen her face yet. Wait, why hadn’t she looked in the bathroom mirror? Had she been afraid?

  She wanted to look now, though. She needed a hand mirror, and an oval mirror appeared on the table.

  “Go on, look,” her mother said. “I do have to say you take after me—well, you do have your father’s hair, and I love your father’s hair. Now, Cheyenne looks like your other father, Undit. She has his eyes, and as you can see, he is going to spoil both of them rotten. All of us will.”

  Shannon glanced up at her daughter and son, smiling. Sure enough, Shannon’s fathers hovered over both of her children, talking to them.

  She was afraid to look at her face, but knew she had to. Shannon lifted the mirror and nearly choked on her own spit.

  Her mother wasn’t kidding: she was pretty. The bruises on her face were gone, and she was actually young again. Wow, this had some good benefits, she thought.

  “Damn, Tabby, why didn’t you tell me I got younger?”

  Her friend snorted. “You wouldn’t have believed me,” she said, sitting down next to her with a plate of food.

  Zeus stepped up behind Shannon and he did not look happy. Another man stood beside him. Shannon wished the mirror away.

  “You have something to say to me?” she asked. “Before you do, I should remind you that I can still turn you into a toad, so watch it, bucko!”

  Shannon heard one of her father’s clear his throat. Her grandmother and mother laughed. When Zeus turned to her grandmother, she said, “She does have the family’s spunk, that is for sure.”

  “I think I should introduce myself. I am Bull, the Grand Were, of the Old Ones.” He offered Shannon his hand. Shannon slipped her small hand into his and he raised it to his mouth and kissed it. Her mates grumbled, but she ignored them.

  A chair materialized out of thin air, and Bull sat down at the table with her friends and mother. Her grandmother walked up behind Jonia, watching them all.