BK 4 - Chapter 28 - Kele
Travis stared at the two large animals on the other side of the fence. He was paralyzed with fear. It was one thing to be hunting them with guns, but he had no weapons. When he realized they weren't trying to come to his side of the fence, he began backing up to his truck. He figured the lioness was Lisa, but who was the bear? He thought Jayce was human and assumed Alex was a lion like the rest of the family.
When he got to the safety of his truck, he took a deep breath. He looked toward the fence, and the animals were gone. Did he imagine them? No, that couldn't be right. He had felt their breath on his skin. Travis smiled as he drove away. They'd never had a bear to hunt. The werelion family just upped the stakes.
Ali and Remy ran back to the poolhouse and to their mates, who were waiting with their clothes. Once they shifted, the four of them sat on the deck laughing.
"Did you see his face? I think he may need to change his pants." Lisa said as she leaned against Jayce.
"I have to admit that was fun. However, I think that will make him want us even more." Alex replied, pulling Kiersten onto his lap. He put his hand over her belly. She didn't have a bump yet, but knowing his cub was growing inside her made him happy.
"Let him come. He's a fool if he thinks he can mess with us now that we know about him." Lisa looked up and saw the concern on Jayce's face. When she had seen Travis walking by the gate, she had told Alex she wanted to give him a little fright. Jayce thought they should lay low, but Lisa disagreed. She wanted to show Travis she wasn't scared.
"Please don't do anything that's going to get you hurt. I can't lose you," Jayce said, kissing her forehead. Lisa turned to face him completely.
"I'm not going anywhere. There's nothing you need to worry about." She rubbed her hand on his cheek.
"Okay, just be careful," Jayce kissed her gently. He felt better when she snuggled closer to him. Having her in his arms was something he would never tire of.
"Kiersten and I want to get started visiting the reservations as soon as possible, so we'll head out tomorrow. I'll text Dustin to meet us in the morning to make a plan." Alex stood up with Kiersten in his arms. "We're going to bed. Goodnight."
"Goodnight," Lisa said as she stood up and pulled Jayce up. She was going to make sure he would stop worrying, and the only way to do that was to put a smile on his face.
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Dustin got a text from Alex just as he was ready to pass out. Breanne was already sound asleep next to him. He turned over and rubbed his hand over her back. He couldn't believe one of the saddest days of his life turned into one of the happiest. She had told him about how she was bullied all through school. Dustin wanted to hunt down every one of those bullies and teach them a lesson. Instead, he would spend the rest of his life making sure she was never hurt again.
Dustin and Breanne met Alex and Kiersten at IHop for breakfast the following day. While eating, they went over the tribes they wanted to visit. Alex and Kiersten would start with the ones in California, while Dustin and Breanne would go to New Mexico and possibly Arizona.
"Are there agents still following Travis?" Alex asked. He had enjoyed messing with Travis last night but was worried Lisa would try something on her own.
"Yes, and I'm assuming this has something to do with Travis showing up at Roger's house last night. They said he looked like he was casing the place, and then something scared him, but they couldn't see what." Dustin looked between Alex and Kiersten. He had a feeling he knew exactly what happened.
"We saw him snooping around, so Lisa and I shifted to scare him a little. I want to make sure there's someone following him in case he decides to come after her while we're gone. Jayce is a good guy, but he's still transitioning." Alex answered. Lisa would kill him if she knew he was making sure someone was keeping her safe.
"I have someone watching Lisa too, so if anyone comes after her, they'll be there. I knew she couldn't leave well enough alone. She played miss innocent yesterday, but I've known her long enough to know when she's telling people what they want to hear. How do you think I became a profiler with the FBI? Being around Lisa was good practice for learning to sniff out when someone is holding something back." Dustin replied, making everyone laugh. He was right. Lisa knew exactly what to say to make everyone believe she would behave.
When they left the restaurant, Dustin and Breanne went to pack their things for their road trip. Alex and Kiersten went to do the same.
"I don't know what to take," Kiersten said as she ran her hands over her clothes in the closet. She could tell Alex had snuck some extra clothes into the bags when they went shopping. She was sure she hadn't picked out three of the same shirt, so she assumed they were different colors.
"I'll help you. We'll want to dress comfortably for the ride. I'll pack some nice things, too, for when we go out to dinner." Alex folded the clothes he knew she would like and put them in a suitcase. He made sure to pack all the lingerie she bought. That was his gift to himself.
Once packed and ready to go, they went downstairs to say goodbye to their family. Melanie had tears in her eyes as she looked at them. Both her little cubs had grown up and were with mates. Not to mention Alex and Kiersten had a little cub on the way.
"You be careful out there and send lots of pictures." She said, hugging and kissing them both.
"Mom, we're just going to be in California. You've been all over the world," Alex replied with a chuckle. She smacked his arm lightly.
"I don't care if you're just going to the lake. I want you to be careful. It doesn't matter how big you think you are. You'll always be my little cub," Melanie said with a smile. Alex couldn't help the way his heart swelled when she said that. His parents really were the best.
"She's right. When we look at you and Lisa, we still see the little cubs that were too small for their age. We love you," Saxon said, hugging Alex and Kiersten.
"We love you guys, too," Alex answered. He and Kiersten both had tears in their eyes. Neither of them would get tired of being part of a family.
They were on the road a few minutes after their tearful goodbye. Alex wanted to start with an Indian reservation only a couple hours away in Lake County. The drive was peaceful through the twisting and winding roads over several mountains.
When they reached the entrance to the reservation, Alex drove slowly down the dirt road. It broke his heart that many people living on the reservations lived in trailers that looked like a stiff wind would knock them over. The people that are native to these lands should not be living in such poor conditions. When they reached a grouping of small houses, Alex parked and helped Kiersten out.
"Can I help you, folks?" A tall man with long black and silver hair in a braid walked over, looking at them curiously. Alex smiled and held out his hand.
"I hope so. My name is Alex, and this is my girlfriend, Kiersten. We're researching some of the Native tribes in the area and hoped to speak with an elder about some of the tribe's history." Alex had thought about what to say when they arrived. He couldn't tell them they were trying to make laws for shifters. They would surely throw them off their lands.
"It's nice to meet you both. My name is Tom. Can I ask exactly what you want to know about our history? As you can see, our tribe is rather small, so we don't get many visitors out here, and certainly not ones that care enough to ask about us." Tom questioned. He didn't feel the couple had bad intentions but wanted to be cautious.
"We would like to know where the tribe started and the struggles to remain a tribe with all the injustices toward Native Americans. We're not here to do anything other than learn. This is something that interests both of us, and we plan on spending our summer learning as much as possible from different tribes," Alex answered. He saw Tom's eyes light up.
"I know exactly who you need to talk to. My mother, Kele. She's eighty-nine and has lost her sight over the years, but she still sees everything," Tom waved for them to follow him. Alex took Kiersten's hand as they began walking. He was careful where he led her so she wouldn't stumble on the uneven ground. When they reached the smallest house in the cluster of houses, Tom turned toward them.
"I'll go in first to let her know she has visitors." He said with a smile.
"Okay, we'll wait here," Alex answered. Tom disappeared through the front door, sticking his head out a few seconds later.
"Come on in," Alex led Kiersten up the three steps to the miniature deck. A tiny woman was sitting in a rocking chair when they walked inside. She had snow-white hair and so many wrinkles on her face that she didn't look real. When she turned toward Alex and Kiersten, he saw that her eyes had a white film over them. She smiled as though she could see them clearly.
"Hello, my curious children. It's such a nice surprise to have visitors," Kele held her hand out. Alex placed Kiersten's hand in hers first, and Kele's face lit up.
"Oh, my, you have a little one on the way." Kiersten gasped. Kele's hand felt cool and frail, but her grip was firm.
"How did you know?" She asked the older woman.
"I can feel the young one through you, my child," Kiersten slowly took her hand out of Kele's. She was impressed and a little scared at the same time.
Alex held his hand out to Kele, and as soon as they touched, she gripped his hand with both of hers. He didn't know what she was doing as she started chanting and rocking back and forth in her chair. When he tried to remove his hand, she held on tight.
"Is everything alright?" Alex asked, glancing at Tom, who kept looking between his mother and Alex, unsure of what was happening. Kele suddenly stopped chanting and rocking. She looked up at Alex with a smile so big that her wrinkles seemed even more defined.
"You are one of the special ones, and you have finally come home."
