Filed to story: The LORDS Series Free PDF by Shantel Tessier
“You mean like the kind given for twins?” Tyson inquires.
I don’t ask if he means the women or the men. I’ll fill them in on that later. One surprise at a time. “Kinda.” I shrug. “I was given medication that will keep me from getting sick.” They all frown. “No cancer, no common cold. Obviously, I can still die, but it won’t be from an illness.”
“I don’t understand what that has to do with us or our wives,” Tyson speaks.
“Isabella also informed me that women started the Lords, and if those founders were given the drug…” They look from one another and then back to me, so I continue. “Then they had children…and their children…” They get the picture.
“You think our wives came from founders?” Sin is the one who asks. His voice tells me he doesn’t want to believe me. But the way he rubs the back of his neck tells me he’s considering it.
I know for a fact that Blakely is. Isabella told me so, and Ashtyn…my father told me in his office that I was lucky he found another one when he had Bill in his office. I now understand that he was talking about Ash being from a founder. And then Charlotte was one as well. “I can’t be sure, but they should be tested,” I say. That’s what Devin and Gavin are for.
“What if they did, and they have this shit, and we don’t?” Ryat looks at Gavin. “You can give it to us, right?”
“Guys…” Gavin raises his hands out to his sides in surrender. “We don’t know what it is.”
“But-“
“And we don’t have access to it,” Devin finishes, cutting off Tyson.
“I can get it,” I assure them, understanding how they feel. I’ll go back to Dollhouse and turn that place upside down to find it. When the guys dragged me out of there, I was unconscious. Otherwise, I would have had them get it before we left.
“What do you need? From our wives?” Sin asks.
“Blood work,” Devin answers. “I can let you know the results as soon as tomorrow, assuming we can get a sample tonight.”
“And if they have it?” Ryat speaks up. “You’ll give it to us immediately.” It wasn’t a question.
“No.” Gavin shakes his head.
“Are you fucking serious?” Sin demands. “If my wife has something that I don’t, I’m fucking taking it.” He steps forward.
The thing about a Lady is that if your Lord dies, she is regifted to another. I’m not sure about Laikyn and Ellington, but I’m positive that Blakely will test positive for the enhancement.
“We don’t know what it will do to you.” Gavin points at me. “Look at him. He’s weak. Tyson doesn’t have assignments, but you two do.” He looks from Sin to Ryat. “The last thing I’m going to do is shoot you up with God knows what and then send you on your way. What if you get called on an assignment the following day and are too weak to fight and are killed? Then you have your wives regifted to another Lord. Is that what you want?”
“Fuck no!” Sin snaps, running his hand through his hair.
Ryat drops his head, rubbing the back of his neck as he contemplates his options.
“The first time I had an IV in my arm for a good twelve hours,” I say. “Longer the second time.” I look over at Gavin. “What if you give them an hour’s worth a day? See how they react to it?”
I look back at Ryat, Tyson, and Sin. They each have their eyes on Gavin, waiting for his approval. Finally, he nods. “We can try it.”
“Did she tell you the founders’ families?” Tyson looks at me.
I shake my head. “No. But not very many women we know have pull over the Lords, so I’m guessing those that we know of, is a good place to start.”
“I can see that,” Tyson agrees.
“Fucking bitch,” Ryat growls. “God, I knew LeAnne would be a pain in my side. Should have made sure that Matt killed her.”
Gavin looks at Sin. “I’ve already pulled a fresh blood sample from Laura, and it’s at the lab. I put a rush on it and should know by morning.”
“But Laura wasn’t important,” Sin states. “She only had the position she did because of her marriage to Nicholas. Which means the Asher name was the one from the founder. Not Elli’s mother.”
Gavin shrugs. “It doesn’t hurt to check. Especially since your father is the biological father of Laura’s child. If they both come back negative…we’ve got options.”
Sin nods, leaving it at that. He’ll have that conversation later with his wife.
“What about our children?” Ryat questions. “If our wives have it, what does that do to the babies?”
“We’ve kept a close eye on the pregnancies and haven’t seen a reason to be concerned yet. Of course, we’ll have to do blood work once the babies are delivered, but I don’t see any reason to panic. We’ll test the wives first and then monitor the babies even closer until delivery.”
Silence fills the room as they let all the new information sink in and think about their options, which aren’t many. Their wives either have the enhancement or they don’t.
I look over at Adam who hasn’t spoken to me. I’m surprised he’s even here. “You know what this means?”
His blank stare meets mine.
“If Ashtyn is from a founder, then so are you,” I state the obvious.
Saint is the one who lets out a sigh as if he hadn’t thought of that. His mind has been on his wife, not his brother-in-law.
“Doesn’t matter.” Adam shakes his head. He knows where his future is going, and it has nothing to do with the Lords.
“Adam-“
“I said it doesn’t matter, Kash,” Adam snaps at him.
Silence falls over the room once again, and after a few minutes, I clear my throat. “There’s one more thing.”
“What is it?” Tyson sighs.
“They gave me several different drugs, and I’m not sure which one it was…but one of them made me hallucinate.” If they’re going to take something, they need to prepare themselves.
“Hallucinate how?” Sin asks.
I’m not sure how to explain it. “Think of worst-case scenarios.”
They all nod as if understanding, and then everyone filters out of my room to go get the tests done. Kashton hovers, and I know what’s coming before he even opens his mouth.
“Just say it,” I tell Kash, watching him pace. It’s going to come sooner or later, and I’d rather it be now.
He comes to a stop and lets out a frustrated sigh. “Not suicidal?” He gives a rough laugh. “That seemed pretty fucking suicidal to me, Haidyn.” His hard eyes glare at me.
“Charlotte-“
“Don’t tell me you did that for her, Haidyn!” he shouts, interrupting me. “Do you have any idea what kind of state she was in? She’s not my favorite person, but Charlotte was practically comatose. She fucking shut down on all of us. Hell, Adam wanted to tie her to a hospital bed and sedate her with a feeding tube.” My hands fist at that thought. “Fuck, man.” His eyes soften, and his shoulders slump. “How many times do I have to think you’ve killed yourself? Hmm? How many times do I have to lose a brother?”
The sincerity in his voice makes my chest ache.
He steps closer to the bed and shoves his hands into the front pockets of his bloody jeans. He hasn’t changed since they found me. “We’ve already said bye to Adam twice. And we’re going to have to do it again. But how many times are you going to leave us?”
“I’m not going anywhere.”
He snorts, not believing a word I say. “You’ve been MIA and got married. FUCKING MARRIED!” Kash screams. “You had Adam there. What about us, huh? What about me?”