Page 31 of Banishing Regrets

“I’m a polar bear shifter,” he continued. “I will not be going to live in Africa. I will stay in my home, and I will live my life as I choose. If you humans can’t live beside us, then you can fuck off to Africa. Supernaturals will not change for you.” His lip curled up into a small smirk. “No, actually, I think I’ll declare a new rule. I control the president, so I guess, technically, that makes me in charge. We, the supernaturals, give the humans of America twenty-four hours to leave the country. Go wherever you want, it just can’t be America, because I now declare this land is for supernaturals only. If you don’t leave, we’ll hunt you down, kill you, eat you, and wear your skins as you would do our fur. And if you think bullets will harm us, then think again. You will never understand the powers we have. We’re beyond anything you can comprehend. Now leave.”

Nuka placed his hand on the president’s shoulder, and as he looked toward Ciaran, the Oval Office disappeared from his view.

The scent of the fresh air of a forest invaded his nostrils the second they landed. Nuka’s birthplace loomed large in front of him.

The Glacial Blood mansion.

“Let’s hope the tracker you wear permanently, Mr. President, is working properly because I want them to send every special forces soldier in America to this spot. But it won’t be me they’re coming for. I’ll be gone by then...” Nuka paused. The front door of the Glacial Blood mansion opened, and his brother stepped out. His identical twin. Dressed in exactly the same suit as Nuka was wearing. “No, they won’t be coming for me. They’ll be coming for my brother.”

Twenty

The humansand the children in the pack, along with a heavily pregnant Lily, were safely hidden away in Molly’s cave. The puma shifter and her mate, Hayden, would look after them all. They’d both seen enough wars during their life times and endured more suffering than any other shifters Kas he knew, so for this fight, they would not be needed.

On his return from the cave, Kas arrived at the Glacial Blood mansion to find Nuka already there. Kas stood at the front door of his home, facing the shifter with an identical face to his, and he knew instantly his younger twin’s plan. Nuka was dressed just the same as him, and he had the President of the United States of America at his side. Soon the army would descend, and the home they knew would exist no more.

The fellow members of his pack: Brayden, Selene, Scott, Emma, Tyler, Teagan, Zain, Katia, Jackson, Jessica, and Ethern appeared beside him. They were joined by Hunter and several members of his pack. The other shifters who lived on Kas’ land had been told to stay away. They’d been advised to go deeper into the mountains of the park. They weren’t fighters, not like the main members of the pack. They were peaceful shifters who wanted nothing more than to live in peace and be happy. His numbers for the fight were low, but they were super skilled.

“Brother.” Kas stepped forward. “I think you should return the president to where you found him. This is one fight I don’t want any part of, and I think you’ll regret it as well.”

“I won’t regret anything, because I’m forging the future. The world, as we all know it, changes today. The shifters will be victorious. The president is the key, the man who holds all the power. His army will come, and they will destroy everything in their path.” Kas saw Nuka’s eye flick to the mansion they’d both grown up in. “The past is history. No longer will we hide in the shadows.”

“It doesn’t need to be this way. We can coexist in peace with the humans if you stop all the violence now. You are the one who is causing the war. Please, Nuka, think of something other than your own ego for once,” Kas pleaded with his brother. But the malevolent smirk on Nuka’s face, told Kas there was no chance of him releasing the president.

The air around them started to rumble with the sound of the oncoming doom.

“Get into place,” Kas ordered his pack. They spread out but remained in human form. “Jessica, do your thing, please.”

The witch rose up into the air, floating on the aura of her magic. She chanted the words of a spell and a layer of protection engulfed the shifters. It was invisible to the naked eye, but Kas felt the tingle of it on his skin. It would prevent the bullets and missiles of the army from harming them. Possibly an unfair advantage in the fight, but it was one he was willing to take to prevent his pack from being harmed.

They started to advance forward, closer to where his brother was standing with the president.

The rumbling of the arsenal heading their way was deafening now. Helicopters whirred overhead, creating a wind tunnel around them that whipped up loose leaves and dust.

Kas stopped in front of his brother. “Final chance to end this, Nuka. Release the president.”

“Never.” Nuka wrapped his hands around the president’s head, and Kas knew instantly he meant to snap the man’s neck.

Kas leaped forward to protect the president, preventing Nuka from carrying out his plan. The two tumbled together to the ground, before pulling apart. Kas looked to where Emma and Katia had captured the president and were escorting him away from the fight. They were prevented, though, by a hail of bullets that came from one of the helicopters.

“Stop shooting,” the president yelled, but his voice was barely audible above the sound of the helicopters and gunfire.

“Get him to safety,” Kas ordered via his telepathic link to the others. “Selene…” He paused for a moment before continuing, “I think this is your moment. Draw the fire away from us. Get into the sky.”

However, before Selene had a chance to react, armored cars sped up the mansion’s driveway. All around them, other shifters began to appear in animal form—members of Nuka’s pack and other recruits.

“Shit.” Kas knew there would be no choice but to fight now.

The war truly was here.

He never thought it would be fought on his lands, and that saddened him the most as he transformed into his polar bear form.

“Selene, go. The rest of you, we must stop Nuka’s pack from hurting the humans.”

All around him, the members of his pack transformed into their animal form. Ethern’s face darkened as he took on the true form of a reaper. Kas’ friend would probably get into trouble for being involved in this fight—the people here were unlikely to be on Death’s list, but Kas knew Ethern was going nowhere.

Jessica allowed the magic to take over her completely. Her eyes turned white, the pupils and irises disappearing. But it was Selene who was the most powerful symbol of this battle. She grew in size, scales covered her body, and spikes appeared over her black and white spotted skin as she transformed into a magnificent dragon. Brayden now looked tiny beside his wife. It amazed Kas every time he saw it. Shivers ran over his body.

“For our freedom and liberty,” Kas shouted before charging toward the shifters who were attacking the humans.

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