A Moment in Time(18)

The third guy raised the gun, trying to lock onto Apollo, but Apollo  raced to his left, using the tree for momentum as he rotated, baring his  canines and tore the motherfucker's throat out. He wiped the blood on  the back of his hand as Hercules and Ares raced toward him.

Ares threw Apollo's sword, and Apollo caught it midair, cutting a wide  path through the rest of the men unlucky enough to have stuck around.  Red-hot anger almost blinded him. Everyone he cared about was here, and  Apollo would kill the devil himself to keep them safe.

Grayson was his reason for living. Apollo now knew that. He had been  biding his time his entire life, waiting for this one special man. He  would be damned if he would let anyone take Grayson away from him now.

He was also whipping himself over the back for being so careless.

Never again.

His sword wasn't going to leave his side … ever.

Apollo quickly headed for the next man that had invaded Aberdeen  territory. Unfortunately, they now knew he was there and all hell had  broken out. A few of the men stayed behind to fight him, but the rest  headed for the alpha house.

By the time he stepped up onto the porch and walked to the front door,  Apollo was covered in blood and guts. He didn't care. He needed to set  eyes on his family and make sure that they were safe, alive, unharmed.

Apollo stepped cautiously into the house, afraid of what he might find.  Once inside the door he stopped and immediately searched the interior  until his eyes fell on the man he was looking for. Grayson stood near  the fireplace, Molly in his arms, CJ curled up asleep on the chair right  next to him.

His heart thundered in his chest, the invisible weight that had been  holding him down suddenly gone. Blood rushed to his head so fast that he  grew dizzy and dropped down to his knees, holding his swords in his  hand and resting his forehead against his hands.

"Hey."

Apollo felt tears prickle his eyes as he lifted his head and stared into  the most stunning smoky blue eyes he had ever seen. "You are so  beautiful," he whispered. He still couldn't believe he had been so  lucky.

Grayson's lips spread into a wide grin. "And you are so full of it."

Apollo chuckled as he lowered his swords and allowed himself to lean  into Grayson's embrace. As much as he knew he needed to get cleaned up  and report to his alpha, he needed just a moment to bask in the  knowledge that he mate was safe.

"The pups?" he asked he glanced toward the fireplace. They had seemed  fine when he walked into the house, but he just needed to be sure.

"They both slept through the whole thing," Grayson said. "I'm pretty  sure Genghis Khan could invade and those two would sleep through it."

"What about the others?" Grayson would be devastated if any more members  of his old pack were hurt, which meant it could never happen as far as  Apollo was concerned. Grayson had experienced enough sorrow in his life.

"Querido, no one reached the house," Grayson said. "We're all safe."

Apollo wanted to breathe a sigh of relief, but he still needed to report  to Iben. He pressed a quick kiss to Grayson's lips then pushed himself  to his feet. He nodded toward the fireplace. "Get the pups upstairs. I  have to go talk to Iben." He turned and gestured to Hank. "Go with them,  Hank. Guard them with your life."

Hank nodded hurried over to stand by the chair where Molly and CJ were sleeping.

Grayson frowned. "Apollo, I can protect the pups. I'm a pretty big guy."

Apollo breathed in slowly, the scent of stale dried blood filling his  nostrils making his stomach churn. "I know you can, Grayson, but I  suspect this has something to do with Molly, and I don't want to take  any chances. The more protection she has, the better."

"You really think this has something to do with Molly?"







"I'd bet on it."

Apollo watched Grayson walk over and pick Molly up. Hank grabbed CJ, and  then the two men carried the pups upstairs to the bedroom Apollo and  Grayson had been using. For once, Apollo was glad of the lack of  privacy. There were plenty of soldiers around to help protect his  family.

Once Grayson and Hank disappeared into the bedroom with the pups, Apollo  turned and headed toward Iben's office, where he knew his alpha would  be along with the rest of the inner circle.

He was right. Iben sat behind his desk listening to reports of the  damage and what was being done to secure the valley. Zack stood  protectively behind his mate, his large arms crossed over his chest as  if daring anyone to make a move on his mate.

Djal sat in one of the man chairs in the room, Julian curled up in his  lap under a blanket. The small man wasn't sleeping, but he had his head  laid down on Djal's massive shoulder, tears swimming in his eyes. Julian  did not do violence very well.

Sissy sat on the couch with Rory and Hercules. Ares paced back and forth  in front of Iben's desk, never getting more than two steps away from  Simon. Apollo wished that Grayson could join him, but it was more  important that Molly and CJ were protected than him having his mate by  his side at the moment.

"Apollo, what can you tell us?" Iben asked.

"Grayson and I were down by the lake in that sitting spot all the mates  like to go to. Grayson must have seen something because he pushed me  down into the dirt. When I lifted my head, I saw the men sneaking  through the woods. I sent Grayson back to warn you and attacked them  from behind."

"Did they say anything?"

"No."

Iben sighed, folding his hands together.

Apollo didn't hold an ounce of guilt over the lives he had just taken.  He'd do it again if his family was in danger. "I did what I had to do to  protect this pack."

"You did exactly what you are trained to do, Apollo," Iben said. "I was  just hoping to have one of them alive to talk. Your brother tells me  that not all of them were shifters. Some were human."

Apollo frowned as he glanced at Ares. "Hunters?" While rare, human  hunters were not unheard of. There were some out there in the world that  saw it as a challenge to hunt people that could shift into wolves.

"I don't believe so," Ares said, "but they were well trained and well  equipped. If you and Grayson hadn't spotted them, they might have made  it all of the way to the alpha house before we saw them."

Apollo shivered. That was a daunting thought. They all kind of assumed  they were relatively safe in Aberdeen Valley. It was disconcerting to  know that they might not be, especially if someone was trying to attack  the pack.

Was someone trying to attack the pack?

"Do you think it was an invasion for territory or an attack on the pack?"

"It might be both, Apollo," Iben replied. "Someone definitely has it out for us, but we've known that for quite some time."

"I still think it's the Lycan Council," Djal said. "They didn't like it  when Iben took over the pack and they've been trying to replace him ever  since."

"As much as I appreciate the boost to my ego," Iben said, "I think this is bigger than me."

Apollo's fear clawed its way up his spine. "It's Molly, isn't it?"

The tensing of Iben's jaw betrayed his deep frustration. "I believe so, yes."

"I don't understand," Ares said. "She's just a little girl."

Apollo glanced at his alpha out of the corner of his eyes. Only he,  Grayson, Iben, and Zack knew about Molly's ability to shift. They had  chosen not to discuss it with anyone until they knew more. Apollo hated  hiding anything from his brothers, but Molly's safety was more  important.

Still, it looked like the cat … or pup … was out of the bag.

"Molly can shift," Iben said.

Apollo watched as first astonishment, then disbelief covered the faces  of those present, followed quickly by laughter. He knew that would be  their reaction. Nothing like this had ever happened before that they  knew of.

But what if it had and they didn't know about it?

"Iben, is there any possibility that something like this has happened  before and the council covered it up?" Apollo asked in all seriousness.  "Could you get your father to do a little digging and see?"

"You're serious," Djal said quietly. "You really think Molly can shift?"

"She can," Iben said. "I've seen it with my own eyes."

"But … " Djal's dark brows drew down in a frown. "Wolf-shifters are always born male."







"Apparently not," Iben replied. He started tapping his finger on the  desktop as he looked off into space. "I'm really starting to wonder how  often this happens and why we haven't heard about it."

Ares snorted. "Because knowledge like that would set the paranormal  world on its head if it came out. The council would never let it  happen."

Apollo's jaw clenched, his eyes slightly narrowed. "And that would  explain why they are attacking us." He knew it deep down in his soul.  "The council doesn't want this to get out."

"The question is why," Iben said. "What possible reason could they have  to keep this information from us? What are they hoping to accomplish?"