Page 13 of The Lost Beloved

Gage informed Dumas that help was but a few miles away. "Master Hadden is leading them. I've never known a Master to be so hands-on with his people." Gage marveled at his sense of leadership.

"He doesn't just hand out orders; he leads. His method of command was one of the reasons I petitioned here. He never sends his men somewhere he isn't willing to go himself." Dumas added his opinion.

"He brought a couple units with him, so the plan is to rid the woods of those creatures," Gage stated, and Dumas nodded.

“We don’t want them making their way into a populated area.” He added.

"Oh my God, that would be horrific." Harley shuddered. Gage pulled him close to his side and dropped a kiss to the side of his head. He relaxed some, but tension remained. He was worried, but he was leaning into Gage for comfort, which was exactly what he should be doing.

“The forest is vast how are you going to get them all how are you going to find them all?” Good questions and Gage was confident that Master Hadden had a plan. This wasn’t the first time he came against evil he’d battled it before.

“Master Hadden knows what he is doing.” He stated.

“They’re near.” Dumas announced and opened the inside door just as Master Hadden unlocked the outside door and stepped in. “Master Hadden.” He acknowledged.

"Dumas." Master Hadden responded and stepped into the main room. Over twenty men followed him into the Lodge, and many more were stationed outside, keeping watch.

"It's good to see you, sir," Gage spoke up and he noticed when the Master saw Harley.

“There was a report that there was someone here with you. I assume he knows who we are and is aware of the situation.” The Master was making sure he was informed before speaking freely.

“This is Harley Fraser, and he is my beloved.” Gage got right to the point.

"Well, that was unexpected, but as we all know, Fate works in her own way and in her own time." He smiled, took Harley's hand, and held it for a moment. "Welcome, Harley, and congratulations on finding such a suitable and loving man as Gage Novak."

“Thank you sir.” Harley was star struck and had difficulty finding his words but handled himself impeccably. Gage was very proud of his man.

“We’ll get through this and then you two can take some time to get acquainted and get settled. But for now we need to keep our heads and train our focus on defeating this threat.” Master Hadden, Micheal and another commander by the name of Kash met and made plans to apparently comb through the woods and take out the mutant shifters. They had them isolated to an area of about twenty miles according to what Gage overheard.

It seemed to be a go but then Master Hadden voiced his concerns. “We may simply push them and end up expanding the territory they occupy, if we don’t get every last one. We could be hunting them for ages. Is chasing them really the best option?”

"What are they after?" Micheal spoke up. "What do they want from us? They hunted Gage's beloved Harley. They attacked the Lodge, and they went after Dumas repeatedly when he was searching the area. They kill. That's clear. Dumas found evidence during his search of both humans and other shifters having been killed by these things."

"My killing them as they attacked did not deter others from attacking." Dumas pointed out. "They just kept coming mindless and bloodthirsty."

“They will come to us.” Master Hadden stated.

CHAPTER SEVEN

“What are they going to do?” Harley was feeling the panic growing in the back of his mind as terrible outcomes began to play out in his thoughts. He’d listened as did the others while the leader, Master Hadden and several others who he assumed had status discussed their position and their plans going forward.

Dumas mentioned finding the decimated bodies of several humans and shifters during his outing, and that thought brought him intense sadness. They were probably hikers or campers just like him. That would have been his outcome if Gage and Dumas hadn't happened along. Gage put his arm around him, and Harley buried his face against his chest for a few seconds, breathing in the calm and warmth of his presence.

“Don’t worry sweetheart we’ll hand this and then you and I will head back to Pittsburgh. I’ll show you my place and we’ll talk about how soon you’re moving in.” Gage was getting his mind off the moment and he appreciated it.

“You want me to move in with you?”

"Absolutely, baby. I have a nice apartment in the Hadden Center, and I just moved in a while ago, so you can have a hand in decorating." He was so gentle.

“I love decorating, and I love you, Gage. I’ll help with rent.”

“I don’t pay rent. The apartment is one of the perks of my job.”

“You have a lot of perks?”

“Oh, yes.” He bent and peppered kisses along Harley’s jaw and down the side of his neck.

“I have a lease that runs till the end of the year.” Harley spoke up.

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