Storm of Shadows Ch. 08

"Wow, this is such a beautiful light touch," she breathed out quietly, unable to hide her awe at the delicate tendrils she found within Caleb's mind. "No wonder we never noticed this. Whoever performed the entry is very powerful and in a way I have never witnessed before, even when I was alive."

As she spoke, she carefully weaved tendrils of light around the small dark tendrils she found seated beside the core of Caleb's emotions. Her mental machinations were so fast the darkness was completely obscured in less than five seconds. It took another second to provide a burst of mental energy so powerful, the darkness was completely obliterated by the light. Where it had once been there was now a translucent barrier, one that quickly grew to gently enclose all other possible avenues that their enemy could try to breach again.

"There, that will keep out any other unwanted guests," she smiled, stroking Callain's cheek once more and giving him a brief kiss. "My turn now."

Callain had followed her movements within his mind, smiling proudly at her skilled technique as well as the obvious pleasure she felt at having protected her mate. He entered her mind and employed the same technique, mirroring her actions to the letter and not leaving until he had fully satisfied himself that she was completely free from their enemy.

As he sat back, Anakatrine turned to Rafe. "That's done. Our minds are safe. May I check your mind now, brother of my heart? I give you my word that I will cause you no harm."

Rafe didn't need to be reassured, he knew that neither his sister nor the Vampire Queen would ever do anything to hurt him, and yet he wasn't keen to have someone trying to wander inside his mind, though he knew it was necessary. "What do I need to do?"

"Just relax and try not to fight me when you feel my presence. This won't take long." Anakatrine rose to stand beside him, gently touching his shoulder to ease his discomfort.

Travelling inside a Were mind was not that different to a vampiric one, but only the oldest of their kind could do that and both Anakatrine and Callain knew why that was. Rhianna was coming to know why too, though she hadn't vocalised any of her suspicions as yet. Perhaps now was the time for her to do so. There was much this generation needed to know and Rhianna shouldn't be the only one to shoulder the burden of the knowledge. This was not the same era that Anakatrine had lived in; she should remember that and continue to allow Rhianna and Caleb to follow the paths that destiny had set in place for them.

In no time, the Vampire Queen had slipped back out of Rafe's mind and given his shoulder another reassuring squeeze. "Your mind is clear, brother. No one has trespassed within it and to me that indicates that the Weres here are all safe, though I will ask Jared's permission to walk within his mind as well to be sure of that." His sigh of relief was enough to indicate how worried he had been about it.

"Can you start scheduling impromptu meetings for any pack member that has vampiric qualities? Both Caleb and Annie now know how to do this as they have been observing, so there will be no need for either myself or Callain to be present to safeguard anyone else."

"I'll get on that right now," Rafe agreed. "The sooner this is checked the better."

"Good," Rhianna said, the royal couple relinquishing dominance now their task was complete. She moved back over to the sofa to sit beside her mate. "When everyone has been checked, we need to talk, Caleb. It's important."

To be continued...