Finally Home (19 page)

Charity felt just as trapped as her brother did. She didn’t want to hide who she was inside—and it was killing her. To tell the truth she didn’t even want to be at the bar, she would have been happy with just a small dinner with her family, but she felt as though this was what everyone expected of her. Charity hated letting others down even if it was at her own expense. That was where she admired her brother even though he was sometimes too serious and a beyond scary perfectionist. He never let anything get in the way of what he truly wanted to do and be.

She just wanted to be herself sometimes, she felt as though she didn’t even truly know who she was any more. From pretending to be someone others thought she was for so long, Charity had lost herself somewhere inside. She was tired of compromising her own life and what she wanted because her friends disapproved of it. Like when she had told them she was ready to find her mate, settle down, and maybe have some kids in a year or two after. Her friends had looked at her as though she was crazy and told her she wasn’t ready. Instead of arguing with them, she agreed since she wasn’t the type to argue. She always had either James or Eli to stand up for her. She knew it was time for her to stand on her own and grow a pair.

Charity was tired of everyone thinking they could walk all over her and knew it was time to stand up for herself. Even though she was surrounded by her friends, she still felt as though she was standing there alone. She couldn’t wait to visit the Isle and see what it brought her. Nothing in her life was going right on the human side. She was losing her teaching job because of budget cuts and that was the last thing holding her back from moving to the Isle, besides her parents. Once she convinced her parents to move back to the Isle, she was leaving the human side for good.

It is time for me to take control of my life,
Charity thought, as she sipped on the same beer she had since she walked through the door.

***

Three hours later, James felt the need to hurry home. It was as if an unseen force was pulling his mind home. Charity must have felt it as well since she suddenly shot out of her seat and made her way toward him in a hurry.

“Come on, James, we have to go home,” Charity whispered in his ear so he could hear her over the music as she pulled him out of his seat.

James’s coworkers had left over an hour ago and it was just a few of Charity’s friends still in the bar. Being the cop he was, James made sure Charity’s friends that were still in the bar all had a ride home before they left.

Ten minutes later, instead of the usual twenty it took since there was no traffic, they pulled up to their home. James noticed their front door was wide opened when he pulled up to the front of the house and immediately went into police mode.

“Stay here, Charity, until I come back and get you,” James said as he reached for his backup guns locked on his trike.

“Do you remember how to use this?” James asked Charity as he handed her a gun.

“Yes, you take me to the gun range twice a week, why wouldn’t I?” Charity answered.

“Okay, shoot if it isn’t me, mom, or dad who walks out of the house or approaches you, got it? I am going to check on mom and dad now,” James said before he cautiously approached the front door.

He could hear muffled screams coming from the living room and ran straight there. James could see a few cat and wolf shifters ripping their parents’ bodies apart with their teeth. James immediately shifted into his lion form since it was larger than his wolf form and attacked the closest shifter. He ripped apart shifter after shifter until an unknown voice in his head halted him in his tracks.

‘
James, get out of there now, more shifters are on their way. If you don’t leave now, both you and your sister will be killed. Don’t worry, you can trust me, I am Eli’s grandmother, Aishe, I helped your parents before. Two bottles of emergency potion I sent your parents years ago are in the pot on the porch. The Alpha of the Isle of Paradise has a secret airplane only you and your sister can see waiting at the airport for you both. Call Eli to meet you at the airport on your way there for help, just in case the shifters follow you. Have him bring his father’s Enforcers and I will be there as well
.’

James followed all of Aishe’s directions. He would do whatever he had to protect Charity now, even if it was listening to a voice in his head. He knew who Aishe was from listening to the stories from Eli and his parents, and knew without a doubt that it was she.

James left their home, grabbed the potions from the pot on the porch, and headed for his trike and Charity. Once he reached Charity, he quickly explained what they needed to do and the urgency they needed to do it in. Charity didn’t question, just obeyed, and they took off. James grabbed his phone, there was a call he needed to make.

***

“
Eli, my parents are dead, I don’t know what is going on, but I have to get my sister, Charity, away from here until I do. We are on our way to the secret airport on this side of the world. I need you to meet us at the airport on the Isle of Paradise. Bring backup with you, I think whoever killed my parents are now after Charity and me. Come quick, we are almost there.” James left the message on Eli’s voicemail, hoping Eli would check his messages before James and Charity made it to the airport.

James could feel the other shifters a few blocks behind them. He knew the shifters couldn’t smell him because of the emergency potion from Aishe, but they could still see him. He had to come up with a plan to ditch them before he got to the airport. James knew they would be safe in the secret plane only he and Charity could see, but they had to get there first. He also knew if he stayed on this road then the shifters would know exactly where they were going.

James turned right instead of driving straight ahead toward the airport. As he turned, the shifters turned their car onto the street he had just turned off. It took him twenty minutes longer to get to the airport, but it was well worth it.

James held up the plane for twenty minutes making sure everything was okay with the plane and his bike before taking off.

“
James, why didn’t you let me go in the house? Where are we going?” Charity asked as the plane took off.

“Charity, they found mom and dad. I was too late to save them, but I have to do whatever I can in order to save you. We are going to the Isle of Paradise, so Aishe, Eli, Eli’s mate, Jadelyn, Jake, the Alpha Baron, and the rest of Isle can help me protect you. I
will
find out who killed mom and dad once we are on the Isle. We are going back to where it all began to discover what happened to them,” James answered as he closed his eyes. Charity’s eyes filled with tears. Sobs escaped from her mouth. James could see how scared she was, how lost she looked since she found out their parents were dead.

James hated when his sister cried and felt bad he couldn’t do anything to soothe her. If he could bring his parents back just to comfort his sister one last time, he would.

“
It’s okay, Charity, I will protect you now with my own life,” James said as he pulled his sister into a hug.

“
I know, James. You always have,” Charity said through her sniffles.

***

As the plane landed with a soft thud, James said, “Get on the back of the bike and buckle up just in case I have to gun it.” James used his magic to start the bike since he had to drain the gas and oil before the plane took off. He knew the plane ran by magic and he didn’t have to drain his bike. On the other hand, he didn’t want to take any chances with Charity’s life—she was all he had now.

James put his hand over his bike, zapped it, and the engine quickly began to purr.

James’s heart began to pound out of his chest when he noticed the two shifters standing next to Eli and Eli’s mate, Jadelyn. His mouth went dry, he couldn’t believe what was going on. He had found his mates! He didn’t believe Eli when he said he would have two mates since his father was an Enforcer and his mother was a Beta. He took in everything about his mates from the distance he was at. He could see them, but he knew they couldn’t see him.

Everything around him disappeared as he rode his trike toward his mates.