Rain

Thane remained seated on the bed with a death glare but he manages not to go off on Valen. I glance over to Thane and immediately understand why he can't get up just yet. I struggle to keep a straight face as I bite my lip and say "Thane, why don't you stay here and rest while I go check on a few things with Valen. I know you're EXTREMELY tired."

Valen frowns at me before turning to look at Thane. Thane clenches his teeth and gives me a strained smile before growling out "Yes, extremely tired." My chest hurts as I struggle not to laugh. I wave for my brother to leave but he keeps looking back and forth between us.

I push him until he's out of the room and turn back to smirk at Thane. He's sitting on the edge of the bed with both elbows on his knees, glaring. I start to chuckle as I say "Relax. I'll be back before you know it."

Before he can say anything else, I send him a wink and shut the door. I continue to chuckle all the way down the hall but when I see the others waiting, my smile quickly disappears. Hunter turns to me and says "A small group of our men were out and heard a commotion. When they went to investigate, they saw a large group of Ragers and by the looks of it, they're following your tracks from earlier."

A low growl escapes from me as I growl out "Kalen.." Everyone in the room turns to look at me in surprise. I look up and pause. I blink and then realize they've never really heard me growl before... I guess I should watch that.

I clear my throat and say "Fern, stay here with Valen and my parents, please. Make sure they're kept safe. I'm going to follow Hunter out to the others." Valen steps forward and says "Bullshit! I'm not letting you..." Fern reaches out, lightning-fast, and backhands Valen in the stomach as she smiles and says "Got it! Don't worry. I'll keep everyone here safe, you have my word."

Valen falls over, holding his stomach as he struggles to breathe. I smirk and give her an approving nod before turning around and following Hunter out. My parents were currently sleeping and I want it to stay that way. They need the rest, especially my mother.

As soon as Hunter finds the small hidden path out of the city, we both pick up the pace. After a few minutes, he comes to a stop and silently signals me. CheeChee suddenly appears and lands on my shoulder with a small pat to the top of my head.

I silently follow Hunter up a large tree and once at the top, he points to his eyes before pointing down. I glance down and see that there were indeed Ragers following our tracks the trucks made earlier. My anger starts to grow as I see the weapons they're carrying with them.

I silently glance up to the sky to see that it was a clear, stary night. Any other time I would enjoy such a view but I need rain. I slowly look back down to the Ragers as I bite my lip with uncertainty. Could I? I was able to come back to life for crying out loud so summoning some rain shouldn't be a problem... right!?

I nervously lick my lips before looking back up to the sky with determination. I slowly close my eyes and reach for my powers as I think about rain and how it's made. I focus and push out my powers, trying with everything in me to make it work.

When I feel the wind picking up, I open my eyes. Disappointment washes over me when I still see the bright stars above us twinkling brightly. A large hand slides around my waist as a low voice says "Close your eyes and focus." Thane... I relax a little before closing my eyes and trying again.

The wind begins to pick up again as the temperature starts to drop. Thunder in the distance can be heard before large, heavy clouds can be seen moving in.

~~~~

Hunter holds on as he watches the two of them in awe. He saw the changes in Valerie but this was something else altogether! And Thane... it was almost like he... it was like he was grounding her. Like her power was able to grow faster and stronger because he was there grounding her. Or was he feeding her powers?

When he watches Thane's eyes open, he nearly stops breathing. Blue electricity trickles out of his hands, traveling over Valerie's skin like it was her own! When Thane's solid black eyes land on Hunter, Hunter's heart stops.

Thane slowly smiles as lightning above crawls across the night sky like it has a mind of its own. For the first time in a very long time, Hunter was actually scared. His grip tightens on the branch as he stares back at Thane with determination. What the hell were they?

~~~~~

When I feel the first drop of rain, I slowly open my eyes to see lightning flash before quickly being followed by thunder. The rain begins to fall and within seconds, everything is soaked. The Ragers down below start yelling, trying to follow the tracks even in the rain but it quickly becomes impossible.

The rain comes down hard, soaking everything around us including us. CheeChee leans in close, trying to hide from the rain but it's impossible. I glance back up to the dark sky, amazed that it actually worked.

I quickly turn around to look at Thane, knowing that he helped. He taps the tip of my nose with his before turning to look back down at the Ragers below. I glance to Hunter and give him a large smile but when he returns the smile, it seems strained.

I want to ask him what's wrong but when the yelling down below grows, I look down with a frown. A woman with bright red hair steps out of a truck and slowly walks over to the others, effectively silencing everyone. I narrow my eyes and focus on the woman as she silently looks around like she's just taking a stroll.

The rain slides down my face and drips from my nose, lips, and chin but I keep my eyes on the woman down below. My head slightly tilts to the side a little as I watch her walk. Something about the way she moves screams... danger.