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Gage’s brow draws together as he glances at his right-hand man, who has sidled up next to him.
Lennon’s drawn up brows match his own as the man rakes his hand through his curly dark auburn hair, then drags it along the reddish scruff of his beard.
Returning his attention to the giant, Gage meets his stare. “You’re Finn? Is that–” He nods toward the woman.
“No. This is my mate, Brook. My sister, Beth, is the one who left in the SUV with Jax.”
Gage nods at Brook, then turns his attention back to Finn. “I’m glad the rumours were true that you and your sister made it out. And to answer your question, yeah, if the handlers didn’t shoot them, they set explosives to destroy the facility and any evidence of our existence. Some of us lucked out.” He gestures to the men and women with him, adding, “There’s more of us than this. About a couple hundred survived.”
Finn rubs his scar and nods then continues walking.
Other than the occasional murmur from the crowd, they walk in silence, and Gage compares Smith’s Farm to the fishing village of Crescent Harbour.
In Crescent, the sea provided everything from an abundance of food for each table to challenging, but satisfying, fishing and trapping jobs on the boats. Not to mention, it also allowed them to have a relaxing swim in the cool, clear waters, as well as a place to languish on the beach, soaking up the sun after a long day. The scent of the sea lingered in the air much the same way the salt clung to the skin. The calls of seagulls competed with the tinkling of handmade seashell wind chimes when you walked along the wooden boardwalk that passed for the main street. There was a bright chaos to it that Gage loved.
In contrast, Smith’s Farm is a sprawling expanse of land with rows upon rows of crops stretching out as far as the eye could see. The late summer fields of golden wheat give way to tangles of green corn fields. Off in the distance, an orchard of fruit trees can be seen. Red, gold, and orange dots colour the trees with their branches hanging low. The air here is filled with the scent of freshly tilled earth, and the sounds of birds singing in the nearby trees are much sweeter than the cry of gulls.
As the town comes into view, a sense of unease washes over him. The pungent sting of smoke from the fires burns his nostrils, making his eyes water. He takes in the sight of the devastation left behind by the human attack with widening eyes.
This town was no doubt beautiful, but right now, the homes lie in ruins. Their charred remains are a stark contrast to the blue sky above. The streets are littered with debris and bodies, and the air is thick with blood and smoke. Being in the middle of it is overwhelming to his heightened senses. It’s clear they arrived just a little too late.
As Gage walks through the main street, his heart is heavy. He clenches his jaw and shakes his head. So many innocent lives were lost in the humans’ senseless attack. Tension builds in his shoulders, and he narrows his gaze as he opens and closes his fists, itching to release his bear on the perpetrators. The animal in question raises its head, lips pulling back in a snarl, ready for action.Patience, friend.
He takes a deep breath and steadies his resolve. “What can we do to help?” he asks Matt.
The other man’s half-turned face hardens as he surveys the destruction around him, his eyes flickering from one building to the next. Finally, he meets Gage’s eyes with a heavy expression on his face.
“We need to finish putting out these fires,” he says, gesturing to the two houses at the end of the street. “If you could have some of your people help with that, I would appreciate it. We also need to sort the dead and dispose of the ones who aren’t ours. Also, if you could help clean up the debris from the main street…” He rakes his hand through his jet-black hair.
Gage purses his lips, as he takes in the bodies lying in the street before looking back at the leader of this battle-worn community. Matt’s jaw clenches as he straightens his shoulders.
Inhaling deeply, Gage’s eyes narrow with purpose. “We’ll do what we can to help.”
Matt nods.
Gage then turns to his people, whose eyes reflect the same anger burning inside of him. “Listen up, everyone. We have a lot of work to do if we’re going to rebuild this town and prepare it for what may come next.” His voice rings out clear and strong.
He gestures to the two houses at the end of the street. “We need to put out those fires, so I need a group of you to grab some buckets and help with that.”
Donna and Bella, two hardy women who often work the fishing vessels in Crescent, step forward and say, “We got it.”
He then points to the dead being loaded into trucks by Matt’s people. “We need to help sort the dead. Pair up with one of the locals who can tell you who’s who.”
“On it!” the identical twins, Taryn and Kaitlyn say, their light brown shoulder-length ponytails bobbing as they turn toward Taryn’s mate, JD. The tall, muscular man with arms well suited to labour grunts.
“Okay, JD, you can help them.”
“Let’s go,” the twins chime out, and JD follows.
Surveying the rest of the carnage, Gage takes a deep breath before continuing, “The rest of you, start cleaning up the debris from the main street. We need to clear a path for anyone coming through the road and make it safer for everyone to move around.” The rest join the Homani in clearing the street.
Matt sidles up to Gage. His wide-eyed gaze keeps darting back to where the twins are dragging bodies while JD places them in the back of a truck. “I’ve never seen twins before.”
Gage glances over at the women. “They’re rare. An egg split in the lab, and the scientists, well…you know how scientists like twins.” He shrugs.
“Actually, we never had any that I know of in the Washington facility.”
He jerks his head toward Matt. “Really? Huh. Well, don’t let Taryn and Kaitlyn’s sweet demeanour fool you. We call them thetroublesome twofor a reason. Hopefully, their shenanigans will calm down a bit now that Taryn mated JD, but don’t underestimate them - those two can be deadly.”
