Ryker: Alliance of Peace: Book Two Read online

  Speaking roughly to the beaten Lycan, the leader had no mercy. “I told you not to hurt anyone. Now I find out you let those under your lead kill and leave a human as evidence. Archer already caught and holds the one that we had turned to our side in his pack and I sent you four up there to help him. Instead you disobeyed my orders. I wanted the humans left out of this. This gives Ryker and Archer more reason to be ready for anything. I wanted the pack homeless. I didn’t want to expose ourselves. Our contact inside Ryker’s clan has informed us that they have decided to tell the whole town the truth. Humans will now know about us. And will be fighting against us. This is a new development that I don’t like. And someone must pay for it.”

  The ruthless smile turned even more malicious as he gave a slight nod. The two vampires holding the beaten Lycan both attacked at the same time. The new leader watched with contentment as his two friends feasted on the wolf fast and furiously. He would be more careful who he sent out next time.

  Chapter Six

  The next evening tensions were high as Ryker and Archer prepared for the town meeting. Dr. Bernard and his daughter Selma were with them as they drove to the town hall to prepare the room. Plenty of the pack and clan members were joining them. They wanted everything to be in place before anyone arrived. If there were any in the town that didn’t show up there were several vehicles waiting with instructions to go pick them up. Everyone needed to be there even if it took a small amount of coercion. The meeting would take place in two hours.

  At six forty-five. People began to arrived and Ryker went to find the mayor to make sure was occupied while the room was set up. Ryker was sure the mayor wouldn’t agree to some of their plans. Once that was done, Ryker joined the others. He looked around and decided the room would be large enough to hold the entire human population of the town. Most of the clan and Pack were not coming. He had a few that would be there for the plan. A few families and others but he didn’t want the town to feel threatened so he was not going to surround them with fear. Although, outside there would be plenty of men of both communities that would create a perimeter to stop any hysterical people if it came to it. They were instructed to gently detain them.

  Ryker could see Lisette moving quickly around the room. She was decorating with bright flowers and she had downloaded an informational pamphlet she had written full of the information they were going to present tonight. They would be available as the humans left for further reference. She was a smart woman. He was glad she had thought of that. He was also happy that she was determined to stand up with them all. At that time, she turned his way and caught him watching her. She stopped what she was doing, winked, smiled and then went on about cheering up the place. He felt happy. It was the wrong time for happy, but he couldn’t help it. She had stolen his heart.

  Across the room, Bella observed the exchange between her mother and Ryker. Since she was married to the leader of the Lycans she certainly couldn’t have a problem with her mother’s choice of Ryker. Actually, she was happy for her. Her mom had devoted her life, after her father’s death when she was young, to working hard, raising her and putting her through college then veterinarian school. If anyone deserved a little happiness it was her mother. But God help Ryker if he broke her heart. She would make sure he suffered. Bella smiled to herself as she realized that the relationship between the two must have moved to a new level last night. It was obvious in the excited bounce of her mother’s walk. She was going to have to talk to her later and get all the details.

  Archer had found Ryker and Dr. Bernard and they had gone over the plan once more. Ten minutes until seven. People were arriving in droves. They had a box full of small pocket notebooks and pencils to hand out. No one would probably use them but they needed it to look like the meeting was going to be important.

  Lisette, Bella, Selma and Chloe, Bells receptionist, best friend and Lycan, stationed themselves beside the entry ready to hand out the notebooks. Lisette had even managed to get a box full of small coloring books and crayons to keep young ones occupied.

  They were could handing out notebooks and crayons as a rapid rate. The room was growing full of bodies of all ages and sizes. The noise level was increasing rapidly. Everyone was checking off their names as they entered. Ryker had acquired a town directory and Roman was keeping up with it to make sure that everyone came. When seven arrived, there were three families missing, two single women and five single men. He called the people waiting in vehicles and sent them each to bring them. They would have to stall for a little time. Lisette and Bella had planned for this. Handing the boxes of crayons and notebooks over to Chloe and Roman, the two women walked to the small stage at the front of the room.

  Lisette tapped on the microphone to make sure it was working and when it was she turned to the room. Welcoming each and every one of them she went on to introduce herself and told everyone how much she was enjoying the warmth of the town. How much she loved how everyone seemed content and friendly. She was setting the stage by getting everyone to relax and reminding them that the town was a warm and friendly place. When she finished speaking, Roman held up his fingers to let her know there were still four more vehicles on their way. Lisette introduced Bella.

  Bella took the microphone and also welcomed everyone. She told them she was sure they were all curious about why they were here and would soon get to that. She then went on to expand on Lisette’s description as a town that had friendships going back many years. People working side by side and living and helping each other. She recognized most of the faces in the room as they had all been to the veterinary clinic at some time or other. When she noticed that Roman waved at her and gave her the zero sign, she introduced Dr. Bernard to the stage. Everyone clapped and cheered, most didn’t know he was back and he was an old and dear man that the whole town had loved and respected for many years.

  “Hello, everyone, it’s good to see you all again,” Dr. Bernard spoke, with rousing hellos and waves from his audience. He smiled and continued, “I suppose you wonder why you’ve all been called here. We will get to that but first I want to remind you of a few things.” He looked over at Ryker and Archer who were seated on each side of him. They were both watching their men quietly chain all the doors at the back so that there was no escape from the room. It was terrible they knew but it was necessary.

  “I want to remind you how close we are as a community. You all know Archer here, he owns the hardware store. And Ryker who has given so generously to our library and even had the Urgent Care center built so we can have someone closer than a hundred miles to take care of us when we are sick.” That brought a chuckle from a few in the audience. Dr. Bernard didn’t stop,” Most of you know of the two communities on the outskirts of town. We live and work together with many people from each one. Side by side, day by day. And we have a wonderful town. Have you ever noticed there’s no crime here? That when there is it is quietly taken care of by our good police chief, Logan, who lives in the same community with Ryker. I guess what I am pointing out to you before you get too bored is when Ryker and Archer speak; I want you to think on all the things I’ve said. And I also want you all to know that the two of them are our friends. They care about us and our town. That’s why they are here tonight. So, now that all of that is said, I will give the microphone to Ryker.” Dr. Bernard turned as Ryker stood and went and sat where Ryker had been sitting. The stage began to fill up as others filed in behind Ryker. Two families with small children from each end of town, Bella, Lisette and a couple of more humans from Ryker’s community. Chloe and Selma and another woman from Archer’s pack finished the parade. Ryker waited quietly until everyone was in place. Then he spoke into the microphone.

  “Hi everyone,” Ryker paused for everyone to respond. “The first thing I want you to do is to look around you at your town. And then I want to ask you a couple of questions. How many of you love this town?”

  A roar went up that took Ryker a minute to settle down. “I love it too. It’s been my home
for a long, long time. Now let me ask you, are we missing any people? People that you work with, friends that you have, people you go to lunch with?”

  Everyone looked around and a quiet settled over the room.

  “Right, the people from my community and the ones from Archers aren’t here. A few are here and scattered around and I’ve ask a few that are on the stage behind me but for the most part we are missing most of the members from the two communities. There’s a reason for that. I need to tell you all something that may or may not surprise you.” Ryker paused and took a deep breath, “ Have you ever noticed that we are somehow a little different from you?”

  He waited for a moment as he watched the people look around at each other.” I mean, have you ever noticed that we don’t seem to age? That we heal and are never sick. Do you realize I’ve watched you be born and grow up and grow old and die and I’ve been doing that forever. Have any of you thought about that?”

  Ryker and Archer watched, tension building within them both as the truth was about to be told.

  From the middle of the room, the mayor stood up and spoke, “I think I can speak for the whole room when I say we’ve known for a long time that you all were different. No one in this town has ever doubted that. We all have our different ideas but we figured the less we knew the better. We were born into knowing you all and have never felt anything but comfortable around both communities. If there’s something you want to tell us, then do it. But if you don’t want to we can be happy continuing on as the way things were.” The mayor had his say and then sat down. The audience became to murmur among themselves.

  Archer joined Ryker in the center of the stage and spoke.” We don’t have a choice anymore.” The room grew quiet again. “ There are things happening that you need to be aware of so that you can be safe. In order to do that you all must know everything.”

  The whole room was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. And so Ryker began to tell the tale.

  “Four thousand years ago, when humans were just beginning to spread around the earth, there were two very different tribes that had been around from the beginning of the world. These two separate tribes didn’t get along. They fought over control of all the lands, including the humans. For many years, bloody battles waged and many from both sides were killed. There were no winners and the population of both tribes suffered so many losses that both tribal leader agreed to meet. The two leaders sat down together and pounded out the alliance of peace. The tribes declared peace among all, including humans. A council was formed to reign and rule and make sure no one broke the alliance. It was rarely needed because all of the tribes scattered all over the globe and pretty much took care of anyone that went against the peace. Eventually, the council disbanded and the world changed and filled and we have blended in. We have made friends and inter-married. And we have survived.

  Now I suppose you are all wondering how I know all of this. I will tell you this, I was there. I am over 4000 years old and so is Archer.”

  A gasp went over the audience. Still no one moved. Everyone was spellbound.

  “I belonged to one tribe and Archer the other. We fought against each other in battle. But we are happy with the peace. We have become friends and our people are friends with each other and you. But a new evil has arisen. A very organized group of rogues from both tribes are fighting to bring back the old ways. Their main goal is to make humans their slaves. They have tried to kill both Archer and myself and they started the fire. They are going to be coming after us more and more and you are going to be caught in the middle. So we want to teach you how to defend yourselves and your families.”

  Muttering began slowly and then the noise of people talking to each other grew louder and louder. Ryker allowed it for a minute then raised his hand and everyone grew quiet.

  “It’s time you knew the whole truth. Its time you knew what we are.”

  Ryker motioned for a family with three young girls to come forward.

  “I’m asking everyone to stay in their seats. This is going to be quick.”

  He nodded his head and the family of five, standing side by side, began to change. Their faces stretched and their mouths became wide. Opening their mouths, the family of five showed the audience their mouths with two prominent fangs exposed. Then before the audience could react, the family changed back. The townspeople sat there with their mouths opened. But no one ran to the door or screamed in horror.

  “Before you have time to think, I want you to meet Archer’s people.”

  Archer stepped forward with Chloe, Dr. Bernard was between them. The crowd watched in awe as the two turned from human to wolf. The two wolves were giant, enormous creatures. They sat down gently beside Dr. Bernard. Then immediately, Archer and Chloe were human again. This time the crowd started to get a little tense. Dr. Bernard stepped forward.

  “The reason we have told you all the truth is this. There are small packs like Archers and clans like Ryker’s scattered all over the United States and the whole world. Ryker and Archer lead the biggest. These rogues want a war to make you slaves and worse. We must stop them before it gets that far.”

  An eerie silence enveloped the room. The men guarding the doors stood at the ready, hoping there wouldn’t be a mad rush to run away. Ryker and Archer waited with baited breath. Lisette stepped forward and took Ryker’s hand in hers, standing shoulder to shoulder with him. Bella joined Archer in the same way.

  The silence was broken when a single mother stood up. She worked at the small grocery store and her teenage daughter sat beside her,” We don’t care what you are. You were right to tell us. You live here, with us, beside us. You are one of us. And when one of our own is threatened, we all are. I will stand with you. You are fighting for us. Teach me to fight.” She reached down and grabbed her daughters hand and pulled her up. “Teach my daughter too.”

  For a moment everyone stared at the woman and her daughter as they stood, ready to lead the way. Then a young family man stood up,” Teach me to fight so I can protect my own.” Soon everyone was on there feet, ready to fight. Ryker and Archer looked at each other and breathed a deep sigh. The men began quietly taking the chains off the doors. Ryker and Archer made their way to the mayor. The mayor shook their hands and told them, “Take your people home. I’ll get everyone calmed down and let them know that tomorrow I will meet with you to form a plan. Then we will begin. Does that suit you?”

  Archer and Ryker nodded in agreement and thanked the mayor. Then out the door they all went, leaving the town to absorb a whole new way of life.

  Chapter Seven

  After Ryker, Archer and the major met, they had a plan. The mayor had volunteers ready to call everyone in town. There would be another meeting tomorrow evening. This time it would be where Archers pack used to live. Archer already had crews of men with dump trucks hauling away the debris and would soon be ready for his people to begin rebuilding. Ryker’s people had volunteered to help. And Archer was glad for the offer. The Vampires didn’t have to sleep and were extremely fast. He predicted, with Ryker’s people helping, his pack would be able to move home within a couple of months. He was already having multitudes of plumbing supplies and building materials, roofing and hardware brought in. Ryker told Archer he didn’t have to hurry but Archer was ready to get his people home. There had been no complaints or no problems but home was home.

  Ryker walked into his home to be greeted by the most beautiful sight he could think of. Lisette was waiting for him at the bottom of the stairs dressed up for the evening. Her hair flowed gently to her shoulders. Her smile was warm and inviting.

  “Before you ask, no we aren’t going anywhere. But I dressed up because this is a special night. I have prepared dinner for you. Bella says its world famous and if she knew I had cooked it we would have guests,” Lisette laughed. “Why don’t you come with me and we will sit down together and think about good things.”

  She took Ryker’s hand and led him to the small intimate kitchen. Ryker rarel
y ate here; he usually ate in the more formal dining room. But Lisette had made this room look much more inviting. There were candles lit on the small table. Simple dishes were set in place. Ryker could smell the sauce simmering on the stove. A bowl of freshly washed lettuce with all the salad fixings was on the table. Ryker waited for Lisette to set the pasta and sauce on the table. Then he pulled out her chair and she sat. He seated himself across from her and she reached across the table and took his hands.

  “Do you believe in God?” She asked Ryker.

  “I do. I believe he created us all. Maybe we were his first try before he decided humans were best. But, yes, I do believe in God.”

  “Then let’s pray, “They bowed their heads and Lisette spoke a soft quick prayer.

  “It’s been a long time since I’ve talked to the God upstairs. I need to do that more. “Ryker said as he loaded his bowl with salad. After that he loaded his plate with spaghetti and then he got up and walked to the refrigerator.

  Lisette knew what he was getting. She had seen the bottles when she was making dinner. Ryker turned to her.

  “Do you mind? Does it bother you?”

  “No, it doesn’t.” Lisette answered honestly. “But if you don’t mind, I’ll have tea.” Then she laughed and the whole room seemed to brighten. They talked of their lives. Lisette’s growing up and a lot of Ryker’s lives. They even managed to pretend that it was a normal evening. Afterward they walked upstairs and out onto Ryker’s bedroom balcony. They sat together and watched the world before them. They watched the children, wolf and vampire, playing together in the streets.

  “The children seem to accept each other’s differences easily. That’s a good thing.” Ryker noticed

  “We can always learn from children.” Lisette said. She took Ryker’s hand and led him inside. The rest of their evening was spent learning more about each other.