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

  “Yes, Little Princess, they are your brothers,” Therbelenth said as both boys dropped to their knees and smiled at Cheyenne.

  “It’s an honor to meet you and your little sister Rudy.” Kruc held out his hand to Rudy, while Cheyenne threw herself into Araqiel’s arms, hugging him tight.

  “Now, no one can hurt Mommy with you two around,” Cheyenne said.

  Shannon squeezed Cheyenne’s shoulder. “That man is gone, Chey-Chey. Remember, I told you he won’t come back and hurt us.”

  Rudy and Cheyenne dragged their brothers along with them, talking nonstop about themselves and their mother.

  Therbelenth leaned in to Shannon and asked, “Do they ever… ?”

  Shannon shook her head, smiling up at him. “Nope, not till they either tire out or they leave. They have a lot of stories to tell, I’m afraid, and not all of them good,” Shannon said.

  “Let’s hope they don’t mention that one….” Tabatha groaned and glared at Shannon. “Couldn’t you have changed their memories or something?” she pleaded.

  Everyone listened as Cheyenne and Rudy told the story of how Tabatha, Melody and Shannon all were busted doing “something called skinny-dipping.”

  “What is this skinny-dipping?” Araqiel asked, looking back at Shannon, who laughed.

  “It’s when you go swimming in the nude. It’s usually done at night, but Tabatha here told us that her parents and brother weren’t around, so we were in the lake when we heard the motorcycles,” Shannon said with a smile, but her body was stiff.

  “What is wrong?” Zeus asked, coming up behind her.

  “Not right now. When the time is right, I’ll explain, and, Tabby, if you open your mouth, I’m going to stuff a bar soap in it.” Shannon glared at her.

  “Oh, that’s who—” She raised her hands. “My lips are sealed, but I can’t wait. I get it sister,” she said, and Therbelenth swore the dragon inside her rose up.

  “Little Queen, what is going on?” he asked.

  “This is one thing I must take care of myself. I’m sorry, but I insist. Now, let’s find our rooms, because I want to soak in their sea-salt thing,” Shannon said, and pulled Melody and Tabatha along with her as she continued down the hall.

  “Our woman is hiding a deep hurt,” Apollyon said. “I tried to see it, but there is a wall blocking some parts of her, and I didn’t want to push—yet.”

  “We will have to watch also. I have a feeling she and her two sisters are planning something,” Therbelenth said.

  “Any one of us could see that. It wasn’t necessary to say it,” Zeus said.

  Therbelenth stopped walking and turned to Zeus. “I thought we had put this behind us? What do I have to do to stop this? Because I will not have this around our woman. She has seen enough anger and pain,” Therbelenth snarled.

  Zeus walked up to him and stopped with his face inches from Therbelenth’s. “I know you could destroy me in a second, but after what you did to our woman—”

  “Enough!” Shannon yelled from behind them.

  But what had Zeus and Therbelenth looking down was their little girl, Cheyenne. She placed one hand on Therbelenth’s leg and one on Zeus’s. Tears rolled down her cheeks, and Therbelenth was filled with her sadness and fear.

  “Please, no fighting,” Cheyenne said.

  Therbelenth glanced at Zeus, who nodded. “It is over,” Zeus said, kneeling down to Cheyenne. “I’m sorry, Little Princess. You will not see us fighting.”

  “Don’t go and promise that,” Shannon said, frowning at both of them as she came over and placed her hands on her daughter’s shoulders. “There are going to be eight of us in this relationship, and the four of you are very much the alpha types. So, there are going to be arguments, which is normal, Cheyenne,” she said, looking down at her daughter. “But when something is closed and this past thing has been closed, we will not dwell on it.” Shannon turned and looked at them. “We have too much to do and people to find. I want my other children, and I don’t want to have to worry about you two fighting!” She lifted Cheyenne into her arms. “Mom, Grandmother, I hope you don’t mind sitting with the kids, because we’re hitting the spa now.” With that she put Cheyenne in her grandmother’s arms and disappeared with her friends.

  King Jake, the quiet one of Queen Bracen’s mates, grabbed Therbelenth and Zeus’s shoulder, shocking them and everyone around them. “My pet,” he said to his mate, “why don’t you and our daughter take the children to Shannon’s room. All their belongings are there, and I have had food set up for you there too. It will give Rudy and Cheyenne time to get to know their brothers. We will be along shortly, as soon as I have a word with our granddaughter’s mates.”

  Therbelenth actually cringed. He might be powerful, but no one liked to anger King Jake. This man was brilliant at doling out pain, almost as good as Apollyon was, and patient too. He could wait years to attack someone who had wronged him.

  Therbelenth wasn’t expecting to be sent to an open field, which was empty except for Shannon’s fathers, her other mates and her grandfathers.

  “Now, take care of this. There is no one around, go ahead beat the shit out of each other if that is what you want. But after today the four of you will not say another word to Therbelenth about what happened. If my granddaughter can forgive him, then so will we. But first—”

  A flying right hook landed on Therbelenth’s jaw, sending him backward. “Sorry, son, but I needed to get that out,” King Jake said and stepped aside.

  “Well shit,” Therbelenth mumbled as Zeus was the first to come at him.

  Chapter Nine

  Shannon dipped her head in the spa’s heated salt water and sighed. “I knew it was going to happen, but I’d hoped they’d have put their problems with Therbelenth behind them.” She sat back against the stone wall.

  Tabatha snorted and Melody shook her head. “Not if they’re alphas, and, honey, all of your men are the He-Man type.” She moaned. “God this is amazing. I swear every muscle in my body is mush now.”

  The large stone whirlpool hot tub was supposed to be one of the best, and Shannon had to agree with Melody: her arms and legs were mush now too.

  “Face it, all of our men are that way,” Tabatha said. “And we wouldn’t be attracted to them otherwise.”

  “Now that I have to disagree with. I mean, I know Fallon is dangerous, but I have a feeling he’s a little geeky too. Maybe a little like my one grandfathers, who I will be speaking with about throwing the first punch at Therbelenth,” Shannon grumbled.

  “Not to worry, dear. I will personally take care of my mate. You three just relax and have a good time. The children are having a ball with their brothers, teaching them how to play that video-game thing,” Queen Bracen informed her.

  Shannon smiled. “That should be interesting.”

  “What?” Tabatha asked.

  “Cheyenne and Rudy are teaching my older boys how to play video games. I wonder how many game systems my grandmother or mom will have to replace.” Shannon smiled as Tabatha and Melody laughed.

  “I’d say three, Melody?” Tabatha asked.

  “Hmm, if I’m going to guess, five. What do you think, Shannon?” Melody asked.

  “Well, since they’ve already busted one, I’m going to have go with the middle ground and say four. My sons are smart, that I’ve seen from Therbelenth’s memories, but they also have a little of Zeus in them too.” Shannon sighed and looked out the large windows. “I have to say I could never get tired of this view. You don’t know how much I hated living where we did.”

  “I have to ask you something.” Tabatha sat up and looked at her. “Don’t get mad, but why the hell did you stay with him?”

  Shannon sat up too. “I really don’t want to delve into this, because if I did…. I have a feeling wherever your mate took Harold, he isn’t there anymore, and I don’t mean dead.” Shannon rubbed her arms, suddenly feeling cold. She got out of the hot tub, took a big towel from the warming rack and started t
o dry herself.

  “Shannon, explain,” Tabatha growled.

  Shannon threw the towel into the bin and grabbed her robe before turning to her friend. “Remember how Melody saw him with Pysay before I got introduced to him?” she asked as Tabatha and Melody got out of the hot tub and put their robes on.

  “Yes, what about it?” Tabatha asked as the headed toward the nail technicians.

  “I think he was really Pysay’s brother or some sort of relative, and if that is the case, no matter where he’s put, unless he is dead….” Shannon looked at Tabatha and smiled at seeing Tabatha’s dragon come close to the surface, drawing Wol-item to her in seconds.

  “What’s wrong?” he asked, swallowing her in his big arms.

  “Was Harold dead before you left him with the queen of spiders?” Tabatha shivered, saying the last part.

  “No,” Wol-item said.

  “Shit, fuck, hell… I knew I should have fried the bastard right there in the room,” Tabatha roared, which drew all of their mates.

  “What has happened?” Apollyon asked, wrapping his arm around Shannon before kissing the top of her head.

  “Have fun beating on Therbelenth?” Shannon snipped, and he glanced down at her. “Therbelenth, did Pysay have a brother by any chance?” she asked, and turned to look up at his bruised face. She reached up and touched one, healing it instantly. Gasps came from around her, but Shannon didn’t care as she looked up at Therbelenth, waiting for him to reply.

  “From what I heard, yes, but he was never around. She said he was working or….” He snarled, as if realizing what Shannon had been getting at, and he and Wol-item vanished.

  “That spider planet is one place I’m glad I don’t have to go to.” Tabatha shivered, and Shannon smiled, clothing herself in leather pants and a long-sleeved shirt.

  “Yeah, lucky for you, my dear friend,” Shannon mumbled before following her mate to Queen Carmen’s planet. She dreaded going to the spider planet, but she needed to apologize to the Queen for any damage Harold had done to it. That is, if Queen Carmen didn’t zap herself into a wall or something.

  He was still alive. Shannon could feel it in her bones. She shivered, placing a spell on each of her children as she traveled to this planet, so that each child, no matter where they were, would be safe. It was the least she could do.

  Sure enough, even before Shannon reached the planet, she smelled smoke. The destruction she saw when she appeared next to Therbelenth was massive. Wol-item and Therbelenth turned to her, looking surprised to see her, as Queen Carmen looked up. Black tears ran from her four eyes down her cheeks.

  “Queen Carmen, I am so, so sorry for this. If I had known who Harold actually was, I would have made sure the man was dead and not a threat to your world.” Shannon bowed her head to the queen.

  The Queen walked over to Shannon on her eight black, hairy legs. Her upper body that of a human, except for her eyes and fangs. Shannon didn’t move as Therbelenth wrapped an arm around her, and Wol-item stepped in front of her all of them sensing the inner anger coming from the spider woman.

  “You shouldn’t be here my, Little Queen. You’ve been through enough,” Therbelenth whispered before placing a kiss on her head.

  “I’m surprised she is here and by herself,” Wol-item said.

  “Wol-item, please step aside. How can I apologize for my husband’s deeds if she can’t see me?” Shannon said, earning a growl from all four of her mates as the rest of them appeared a few seconds later, with the ancient one following close behind.

  “He is not and never will be your husband,” Therbelenth growled. “He wasn’t even who you thought he was.”

  “That’s a moot point now. Please move, Wol-item?” she asked, and slowly he stepped aside to see the Queen up close, but she held her gaze. “Again, I want to apologize for all of this. I hope no one was hurt.”

  “He killed my babies,” the Queen cried, and Shannon closed her eyes, knowing what it was for a mother to lose her children.

  A tear rolled down Shannon’s cheek, and she opened her eyes to see the Queen frowning at her.

  “You have experienced same thing?” the Queen asked in her own language, but Shannon understood.

  “Will you allow me?” she asked the Queen, holding out her hand. The Queen nodded and Shannon placed her hand on her arm, showing her nightmares.

  But what Shannon wasn’t expecting was Queen of Spiders to pull her into her embrace, hugging her tight.

  “He is worse than I thought. I am so sorry, Princess.” The Queen released her and glanced at Shannon’s men. “You will always have my people’s support in all that you do. What your woman has gone through and not destroyed half of us, well, that alone says much.”

  The Queen smiled. “But there is one thing that monster didn’t count on.” She turned around and Apollyon and Therbelenth pulled her back in-between them. “My babies are all around, and believe me, wherever he goes, I will know.” She smiled, turning back to Shannon. “He already carries my eggs inside him’ he just doesn’t know it. He only has a few days before they hatch inside him.”

  Shannon couldn’t help but shiver at the thought. “Sorry, no disrespect meant,” she said, and the Queen laughed.

  “If I you need me for anything all, Shannon, all you have to do is call me, and I will know. Tac, come to Mommy,” Queen Carmen said, kneeling. A spider the size of a small mouse ran up the woman’s arm. “I have found who you will go with. My lady here has suffered much. It will be your job to watch out for her and her children, but make sure you listen to her.”

  The Queen stood in front of Shannon before Shannon even realized she had moved. “I know you are not fond of my babies, but this one, I believe, will be perfect for you. He will be my eyes and will protect you and yours.” She leaned over and the small spider crawled up onto Shannon’s shoulder.

  “I thank you,” Shannon said, glancing at him. “Question: how big will he get? I just worry, because Earth is my home and I’ll be spending time there. I would hate to see him get hurt.”

  Queen Carmen laughed. “Not to worry. He is one of my babies, which means he can change sizes, but he will only get a little bigger than what you see now. Tac, bond with her, please.”

  Shannon didn’t like the sound of that. When she glanced at Tac, sure enough, he sank a fang into her shoulder. The pain was only a pinch, but still Shannon knew she was going to have a few nightmares about it.

  “Shannon?” Apollyon glanced at her, and her connection to Tac opened up.

  “I’m fine,” she said as Tac settled on her shoulder, understanding the little guy was the last of his brothers and sisters. Her husband had killed the rest. “Do you need help with the cleanup?” she asked, and the Queen waved her away.

  “Go home. You’ve had a rough day too, and Shannon, I consider you a friend,” Queen Carmen said.

  Shannon bowed her head. “A gift for you,” she said, and the Queen smiled as enough of her favorite meal showed up to last her a long time. “Tac informed me you like this. I hope I got it right.”

  “Amazing, and thank you.” Queen Carmen bowed.

  Apollyon seemed to have had enough then, and took Shannon back to the castle.

  * * *

  Apollyon took Shannon and her mates straight to their room. It was time to set some ground rules, which included telling her that hoping to other planets by herself was a big no.

  “Shannon, please have a seat. We really need to speak,” he said. “Do you mind him being here?” Apollyon asked, pointing to Tac as he crawled off her and started to move around the room.

  “No, but I’m going to have to make sure I inform Tabatha who he is. I don’t need her frying the little guy,” she said, sitting on the bed.

  “Her mate has informed her what has happened,” Zeus told her as he and her other mates appeared.

  “What do you want to speak about, Apollyon? I want check on the children,” Shannon said.

  “What we want to speak to you about i
s the fact you put yourself at risk!” Zeus snarled. “How the hell did you know how to go to the other planet?”

  Shannon got up and stretched, and he wanted to rip the clothes off her body. They showed her every curve, and right now she was the most beautiful woman he had seen in a long time.

  “First, don’t even start, Zeus, because you and my grandfather are on my shit list. If it wasn’t for your damn anger issues…. But I have been in Therbelenth’s head and followed him. I’ve seen much and know what I can and can’t do. I have a blood connection with him already. Tac, come, I want you to meet the children,” she said, and that was when Apollyon noticed the small spider run out from behind Zeus and race toward her.

  As soon as Tac crawled onto her arm, Shannon glared at Zeus. “Tac, you cannot bite my mates, even though they will sometimes be assholes.”

  Zeus snarled, but held up his hand. “Shannon, you can’t go running from planet to planet. You know there are others out there that still mean you harm. Please, if you want to go somewhere, take one of us with you?” he asked.

  She looked up at him and nodded, coming to stand in front of him. “But until that asshole Harold is found….” She shivered. “I want the children protected. Zeus, please inform our son what is going on. Even if our son is angry at the turn of the events, I don’t want him hurt.”

  Apollyon frowned and turned to Zeus. “Why hasn’t Neks joined us? He’s how old now?”

  Zeus looked to Shannon, then at him. “I’m sorry, but Neks is having a problem with all of this.”

  Shannon nodded and moved to the door.

  “Shannon, can I have your word you will not travel to other places without someone with you?” Apollyon asked again, and she shook her head.

  “I can’t give you a promise. I will try, but if I find one of our children, then nothing or no one will stop me from going, but….” She held up her hand. “If I do find one of them, I will inform you where I’m going before I leave. Excuse me.”

  Shannon opened the door, stepping into the other room. She stopped walking when a note appeared in her hand.