The Gathering of the Clans Book 2

TGC Book 2 Chapter 27

Book 2 Chapter 27

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Gereth hugged his daughter Genevive and cried. All this time he'd thought she was dead. There had been reports that there were no survivors at the two boarding schools in Larsen. His 12-year-old daughter had been attending Sacred Heart All-Girls School when the Sickness hit Larsen. He'd been on a run with the Mcnaught family. Graf Mcnaught, the leader of their motorcycle clan had been listening to the broadcasts coming out of Pepepski when the news of the schools evacuating to Pepepski came out. Gereth had to call to see for himself if his daughter was among the survivors.

His mate Connel had held him throughout the call and comforted him after finding out his daughter had, in fact, survived the Sickness. His clan had been staying in an empty house. Graf had spoken to the leader of Pepepski and they'd offered to take the clan in and provide a place for them to stay. They'd collected supplies from other empty houses and set off for Pepepski. It had been a long journey. Graf had insisted on stopping and checking cars for survivors. They had found very few. The Sickness was not kind. "Daddy! You came. I thought the Sickness got you when you didn't come for me." Gereth smiled into her hair. "The reports said all the students at the school in Larsen died. I thought I'd lost you."

Genevive grinned at her dad's mate. "Papa Connel, have you been taking care of my dad?" "As much as he lets me, darling. By the way, you have three new brothers." Genevive squealed. "Three new brothers! Where are they." Three shy boys walked up. "This is Cinar, Sanjay, and Sammy. Your father and I found them trying to survive in a house the clan stayed in." Genevive ran over to the boys and began hugging them. Gereth laughed as the boys each blushed when she hugged them."Boys, this is your sister Genevive."

General Mathias held Keir as he broke down giving him the report about all that had happened on their mission to Avon. He'd already had the report from the leader of the men sent from Black Wolf and from the leader of the men sent from Pepepski. Keir had always been like a son to him. He'd been his aide for years now. The man had trouble relating to people. He'd been shifted from command to command before coming to him. There were comments in his file about being cold towards others and the like. What had set him apart from others, as far as he was concerned, is that the man refused to be a kiss ass. He did his job to the best of his ability. Over the years he had set Keir tasks that brought him into contact with different people to try and get the man to somehow make that human connection with others.

"So Mathis, did I learn the lesson you sent me to learn? Mathis smiled. "All these years I have been telling you to call me Mathis and you finally do it, and yes. You finally learned what I've been trying to show you all these years. People are not numbers on a page. While our job causes us to see the numbers affected, these are people and they have hopes and dreams, aspirations, and people they've lost. They love and feel. Sometimes we forget this." Keir smiled through his tears. "I adopted two boys. They're brothers. Rhian and Sky. After watching those pits fill up with the dead. I couldn't let them become just numbers. Is it okay to feel that way, sir?" Mathis nodded.

"People, especially kids, work their way into our hearts and lives. Look at my grandson Matty. He's all I have left of my blood-related family that I know of. Two of my boys live overseas with their families. I've had no contact from either of them since the Sickness started. Keir teared up. "How can I love them so soon? They were just some of the children I fed broth and soft foods to and then I found myself caring that they lost their family and would be alone. Before I knew it they were mine. They even call me Dad." They're over at the hospital right now and all I want is to be beside them making sure they're getting all they need to recover and come home with me."