“We have no desire to spend the rest of our lives at war with other shifters. We just want our life and some peace back.”
“Aye. I think we can have a decent understanding then.”
“Greyscales mentioned that you have some special powers within your ranks. Mind if I ask about that?” Ronan interjected.
The Alpha smiled and nodded, “We pride ourselves on acceptance of others. The humans in our mix have created shifters with abilities to shift into multiple forms, psychics, telepaths. We even have some females among us capable of joining in the fight, when needed, as they can shift into tiny forms that come in handy. Mice to listen. Insects to infiltrate. That sort of thing,” he told him.
“Thus, your ears on the ground,” Ronan observed.
“Quite literally, in some cases,” he replied.
“When can you be ready to mobilize?” Niall asked.
“Whenever you give the word,” the Alpha replied.
Niall nodded, and they exchanged numbers before he and Ronan returned to the car and sat down, neither speaking for a few moments while they absorbed what had just been discussed.
“I think we’re best off not returning to Belfast to stay. I don’t know how much of this is getting around with so many shifter factions getting involved.”
“Where should we go?” Niall asked.
“Back to the South. They’ll not expect us there, but not Dublin. Let’s go find a place in Drogheda instead.”
“Drogheda it is.”
“We need to ditch this car too. Let’s take it to North Belfast and put it in the car park with the keys in it. It’ll either get taken and burned out by some reprobates or it’ll get towed for fees after a while. We’ll take the train to Drogheda and find another car there.”
“All right,” Ronan replied, starting the car and pulling out of the car park.
Pulling into a car park off the Shore Road, they left the windows down and the keys inside. A car spotted like that was unlikely to last the afternoon. Grabbing their bags, they walked to a nearby bus stop and hopped the Metro to the Central Station, buying two tickets to Dublin with the plan to get off in Drogheda instead.
On the way, they worked on further developing their plan.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Deidre
Deidre looked around her new home and felt a loneliness she’d never experienced before. She should be excited, and yet, she only felt angst. Here, she had a chance to be whoever and whatever she wanted, but what she wanted was back on the island of Ireland. It hadn’t been her choice to leave her home. It had been a necessity.
She had been tired when she had arrived last night and was glad to see that the house was fully furnished and ready to be lived in. In fact, it looked as if it had been lived in. She could only assume it was staged that way. There were recent newspapers and magazines scattered across the coffee table and food in the refrigerator that was too fresh to have been there long.
She’d slept much longer than intended, not getting up until well past noon. She made herself a cup of coffee from the instant she found in the cabinet and sat down at the table with her manila envelope, pulling the contents free and scattering them across the surface. Inside, she found additional paperwork that included the deed to the house, insurance, a birth certificate...all the things a normal person would have in their possession and all in the name of Deanna Caine.
She knew she should feel relieved, but instead, she just felt numb. What good was it to be free if it meant she had to be so alone? How could she miss someone so much after only having known them such a brief time? Would it ever stop?
She sighed and looked around. Enough feeling sorry for herself. She’d been given a second chance at a completely different life. She put the paperwork away and went upstairs to shower. Afterward, she came back downstairs and unpacked her things, throwing her clothes into the washer and repacking her backpack with normal things before heading out the door.
There hadn’t been much on her street and the map on her phone didn’t show she was going to find much beyond the perimeter either. The house was just outside the hustle and bustle of the city in a small suburb filled with quirky little flats like hers. After a few blocks, though, she finally spotted a bus stop and sat down to wait.
It was quiet here, tranquil. She wondered what it might be like to walk around a neighborhood like this with Niall but dismissed it. It didn’t seem like his style. From their conversation in the piano bar before she’d left Belfast, he preferred the chaos of Boston. “Never a dull moment,” he’d said. She wouldn’t think he’d be happy somewhere like this. She wondered if she ever would.