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Pitt
I spent the weekend getting to know many of the members of the Devil’s Advocates. There wasn’t a single person that I met that I didn’t like. Some were more serious than others, and some were slightly dubious of a stranger in the compound, but I still felt welcomed.
“We pretty much have everything we need here. This is the school. All the kids living in the compound are given a choice to either attend public school in Lalbert or do a version of home education here,” Joachim said as they walked through the compound.
“That is amazing. Who teaches the kids?” I asked.
“We have a couple of teachers. But Amos, who is mated to Jasper, my brother-in-law, is a special education teacher. We also have Aila, Elmer, Carol, and Leona, who teach based on age. Elmer and Carol teach the older kids that would be high school age, while Aila and Leona teach the younger kids. Then Amos helps out in the younger kids group because he is currently working with Daffodil, Jasper and Amos’s daughter, and Amos’s nephew Negus. Daffodil has Down Syndrome, while Negus has Dyslexia.”
“Wow, that is amazing that you even have catered for special needs kids,” I said in astonishment. The more I learned about the Devil’s Advocates, the more I liked them.
Joachim nodded his head. “We hadn’t until Jasper got custody of Daffodil a couple of years ago. We hadn’t really had a need, but when we hired Amos, we also found out that Jasper and Amos were fated, mates.”
My eyes widened. “This is so awesome. The way fate has worked for you all.”
“Do you come from a family that celebrates being supernatural?”
I shrugged my shoulders. “Yeah. Dad and Papa have always been very proud of their supernatural roots and heritage. But my brothers and sister were all sent to a mixed school, so we didn’t tend to learn a lot about what was involved in being supernatural. I didn’t even know that supernaturals could have other powers beyond the ordinary. Still, Donte said that you all learn all about your powers.”
Joachim grinned and nodded his head. We were walking toward the back of the property, where a vast forest sat, and I could see a massive garden filled with vegetables. The more time I spent here, I almost wished I didn’t have to leave. I mean, I was going to have to stay in Lalbert for a while to afford to make some more money before I could travel again, but I didn’t want to leave this compound. It had everything.
“Yes, it’s true. I didn’t know it either. But I was raised in a breeding facility, so I didn’t know much. If it hadn’t been for Anghus’s father, I possibly wouldn’t have even known how to read.”
I frowned and shook my head. “His father?”
Joachim chuckled and nodded. “It’s a long story. But Anghus’s father, Jantzen, is also the stepson of Ettore, a Nephilim and basically our arch-nemesis. Ettore owned the breeding facility where I was raised. I was intended for breeding because I was an omega. But I hadn’t gone into heat. As it turned out, I didn’t go into heat because I hadn’t met my mates. But anyway, Jantzen was also raised basically in the breeding facility. Still, instead of an omega, he is an alpha dragon shifter sent by Ettore to other breeding facilities to impregnate their omegas. However, one of the omegas, Anghus’s mother, Gwen, was his fated mate. He tried to take Gwen out of the breeding facility but was stopped by Ettore. So, in the end, the AJE authority shut down the breeding facilities that Gwen was in and then later on, the did the same to the one that I was in and broke apart Morpheus.”
“Holy shit,” I said with wide eyes. “What happened to Ettore?”
“He managed to get away. Ever since, the AJE authority, the Devil’s Advocates, and the Onyx Rebels have been hunting him to bring him to justice. But there is a prophecy that Ettore will create a war, and the children of this generation will rise up with the power of the gods to end him.”
“And you believe the prophecy?”
Joachim nodded his head. “Yep. Every word of it.”
“How do you know it’s true?” I asked.
“We are seeing children born that are not only the rarest supernatural species but have powers like we’ve never seen before.”
I shook my head in shock. “Like what?”
“Well, my son, Iver, is cthulu. He talks directly to the creator and can bring messages. We are learning more about his power every day. But he can also connect with a baby’s spirit while growing in the womb. He can tell you the future, pretty much everything. Then there is Daffodil. She might be a dragonfly shifter, but she has a constant presence of the ancestors following her around. They aren’t the only two. We have nuckalavee, karkadann, pixcu, bi’an, kumiho, and valkyrie, just to mention a few.”
“Holy shit,” I whispered. “And they all have powers?’
Joachim nodded his head. “Yeah, they are completely awe-inspiring to watch.”
“I haven’t even heard of some of those you mentioned,” I admitted.
Joachim chuckled. “Neither had we. And looking at them, you’d never know what they are. Their scent is so different from anyone we have ever met. In fact, in cases like Lynx’s two sons, Forrest and River, they are nuckalavee. According to Arcadia, the record keeper for supernaturals, the nuckalavee had been thought to be extinct for thousands of years.”
“Oh my god. And they came back. Well, now I can see why you believe in the prophecy; it’s pretty hard to deny that something big will happen when you look at what is happening around you.”
Joachim smiled and nodded his head. “This is our vegetable garden. We grow as much of our food as possible. With the number of omegas coming to live here, we try to cut costs. That way, no one is forced to work, and those that need to heal can heal.”
“I was going to ask what you all did to make money. I mean, most MCs are slinging drugs or shifting weapons. But you don’t seem to be doing anything like that.”
Joachim nodded again. “Yep. So, Anghus is the president of the Devil’s Advocates. But it was started by a man named Declan. Morpheus sadly killed him, and we believe it was by Ettore’s command. When he died, Lynx, one of the founding members, inherited all of Declan’s money, so he started setting up a compound. Then they found out this place, owned by Declan’s parents, had been left to Declan, but no one had been able to find him. When Lynx got in contact with a lawyer, that’s how he found out. So, we set up here. Lynx uses the money he inherited to put back into the MC, and the members who work with the AJE authority get paid from them also. Plus, some of the omegas like to be able to work outside of the compound and have jobs in Lalbert. Not to mention that the MC often gets paid for mercenary jobs they take on.”
“Sounds like you all have it sorted out,” I said.
Joachim chuckled. “We do. But there are always so many people that we still have yet to rescue.”
“There are still breeding facilities?” I asked. I’d heard about the AJE authority shutting down Morpheus. But I thought they’d closed all of the facilities.
“Yeah, there are. Sadly, with Ettore still free, he has set up more facilities. The breeding facilities will likely remain until we can shut him down. We just recently shut one down in Siberia. The omegas were all brought here to live. Most of them were already pregnant. And as young as fourteen.”
My eyes widened, and I gasped as I shook my head. “That makes me sick,” I growled.
“Me too. It’s why we do what we do.”
“I can appreciate that. I wish there was a way I could help.”
“There is. Become a member of the Devil’s Advocates.”
I frowned. “But don’t I need a motorbike for that?”
Joachim grinned and shook his head. “Na. Lots of members don’t have bikes. Many do because they enjoy riding, but many omegas don’t ride.”
I nodded my head. Since coming to the Devil’s Advocate compound, I couldn't ignore the fact that I hadn’t had to rely on the Valium. I hadn’t had a single anxiety attack. I wasn’t sure if that was because I felt safe and comfortable here or if it was some kind of power they had.
“I will think about it,” I promised.
“No pressure. We will help you regardless. Even if it is just to give you a place to stay while you look for somewhere more permanent or move on with your travels.”
I smiled at Joachim and nodded my head. That was the other thing I liked about them. They didn’t judge. They let me be me. The thought of leaving this place was going to be a tricky one. I wasn’t sure that I wanted to leave. But I also didn’t want to be a burden.