The Curse of Bliss

Chapter Seven

Honestly, he should just be happy the Rex has Sage now. Rex had done a lot of rebelling in high school and only got his act together when Child Protective Services threatened to take both Rex and Ellianna away from him. That had caused them to have a huge row, screaming at each other about it all. That had been the first time that Elianna had tried to go back to the cult. After that night, Rex had stopped acting out, got his shit together, and started to actually focus on school. '

So much had happened to them, and then this shit had to happen.

"So, what's this about making this place safer?" Rex asks, pouring himself a mug of coffee.

Sage is busy filling a kettle with water before putting it on one of the stove burners.

"Those two are worried about the creatures coming all the way out here." Lyla comes walking into the kitchen, shooing Sebastian away so she can finish cooking the food. She looks at him with offended eyes when he tried to take the spatula away from her. Eventually, he backs down, and Lyla turns back to the food with a satisfied smile. "They want us to destroy the ramp."

Sage just nods, seeming to understand, while Rex looks back at Amery with wide eyes. "The ramp? How in the hell are we supposed to get up or down from this place?"

"There's the ladders, even the zip line."

Rex just gives him a disbelieving look. "Are you serious? That will majorly restrict our ability to get up and down."

Amery raises his eyebrows, taking one last sip of his cold coffee before placing it next to the sink. "That's the point." He pauses. "Did you guys see any of those creatures? Up close?"

Rex and Sage exchange looks before his little brother returns his gaze to him. "No. Just on tv."

"We were lucky enough to get away," Amery says, "But we almost didn't make it. Lots of people at my hospital never made it out. That tells me that these creatures are brutal. If they were able to take out the military and healthy hospital workers than they could easily wipe us out. Something about that drug... the Evdai changes something in people. I don't know how it spreads or anything..."

"Fluids," Sebastian says, cutting in. Amery looks at him in surprise and the alpha shrugs his shoulders. "The radio, that's what people are saying. People get bitten and then they change. It's different for everyone. Some change in a few minutes, some take a couple of days. But, everyone changes."

Amery takes a deep breath, turning to look back at his brother. "Alright. Once people get bit, they change and there is nothing human about them anymore. The ramp gives them easy access to us. I'm not saying that they are going to come all the way out here, but they could. And I don't want them to give a perfectly easy way to kill us."

Everyone in the room is silent, the only sound coming from the skillet that Lyla is expertly stirring.

Finally, Sebastian clears his throat. "It has to go, or we do. But maybe we can create something that doesn't completely isolate us up here."

That seems to appease Lyla, who had been holding the spatula so tightly it looked like she was about to snap it in half. "Alright, alright. Fine. If the two of you," she gestures at both Sebastian and Rex, "can figure out a way for us to not be stuck up here but also keep us safe, then you can destroy the ramp." She turns off the stove. "Now, come eat."

Everyone is quick to do as she says, all but two plates of food for Savannah and Kinsley being eaten. Chaser and Violet even get a few bits of meat scraped into their own food, which they eat with gusto.

Addilynn eventually joins them, bringing with her a well-used sketch pad and handing it to Rex. After breakfast, Sebastian and Rex sequester themselves into the small office, murmuring to themselves as they sketch out plans for the ramp.

Sage takes over stoking the fire, and even walks over to Lyla to give her a tight hug. The omega is quick to reciprocate, the motherly-figure that she is. "Thanks for giving him something to do. It will take his mind off of worrying about..." His eyes shoot over to Amery, who instantly knows what he was about to say.

"About Eliana," Amery finishes for him.

The alpha hesitates before giving a small nod of his head. "Yeah."

Amery slumps into the couch, nausea turning in his stomach. "What happened with her? Was Rex able to get ahold of her?"

Sage comes over to join him on the couch. "Yeah, he was. But she wanted to go back to Heliavilla." That name has Amery flinching.

"Of course she did," he murmurs, rubbing his hand harshly over his eyes.

"They started arguing, but he couldn't convince her. He tried to say that you knew a safe place, but as soon as she heard your name, she hung up. Wouldn't answer our calls after that."

Amery shakes his head, sadness and worry settling inside him. "Stubborn girl."

Sage nods, taking a sip of his tea. "Yes, well, it runs in the family."

That brings a smile to Amery's face. Yes, he was right. It was the reason why they loved each other so fiercely and why they fought so hard.

A couple of hours pass, the sun rising and driving away some of the cold, but not nearly enough. Savannah and Kinsley eventually turn up, reheating their food over the fire and allowing Lyla to fuss over them. Amery is just getting back inside from taking the dogs to go to the bathroom when Rex and Sebastian finally emerge from the office.

"Alright. We got a plan." He holds up the drawing, which makes little sense to Amery, but causes a wide smile to spread across Rex's face. "We'll start as soon as we have everything up here. Should be done by the end of the day.

"Will it be able to accommodate the dogs?" The thought had been whirling around Amery's head the entire morning. There was no way that the dogs could climb ladders or use the zip line, and he really didn't fancy having to use some type of levee system to get them up and down.

Rex just turns his smile on him. "Oh yeah, don't you worry. The ramp will still be there. We're just changing a few things."

That seems to brighten Lyla's and Addilynn's spirits. "Really?"

Rex nods. "Yep, Sebastian and I have figured it out." He moves the pad to his side, clasping it between his side and arm, freeing up his arms. Clapping his hands, he starts towards them. "Now, chop-chop. We want to get started on this right away."

The authoritative tone has Amery rolling his eyes, but with a small smile on his face, he stands up, ready to get started.