Free Choices: Alpha City, Book 3 by Bryce Evans Page A

was in charge, he killed everything he could, including the Earth. The world would have burned if he had his way, but when the Order was formed they managed to send him to Hell.
    “To allow Jamal to be completely free, Claudia will need to acquire each of their gifts. You see, Jamal can only come to earth as a human, except when the moon is full; then he can transform into his dragon. Fortunately, he won’t be at full strength. But even in a weakened state, Jamal is a force to be reckoned with. They know that each Alpha in Alpha City has the Coins of Two.” Kayden pulled the necklace from under his shirt and showed it to Knox. “Bast, the king of the Elves, holds the Sword of Garrik. London, who is Ryder’s mate, holds the Tree of Life. Then there are others gifts, like the Cloak of Edengraf, the Bow of Artemis, and the Armor of Kevalth. The rest are hidden and will only appear to the members who are chosen to join the Order. The say that all of these gifts will make up what is called the Stone—that’s what Claudia needs. There are still members we don’t know of, and gifts too.
    “When the first full moon came, we were all going to go underground until morning, but one of the members, Carina—she’s only eight years old—forgot her doll and ran back to the cabin to get it. Thorn found out she was missing and went after her. We all got there at the same time as Carina was coming out of the house with her doll, when Jamal came down from the sky to get her. Before his claws could get ahold of Carina, your brother ran and pushed her out of the way.” Kayden’s voice caught. Zoey grabbed his hand for support. “Jamal grabbed Thorn and ripped him in two, flinging him to the ground. Jamal fled to the sky before we could get off a single shot.”
    Knox watched as Zoey fell apart in her mate’s arms. He should have cried, but he was numb as he listened to the gruesome account of how his brother was killed. Rage at what the dragon had done moved through him, looking for a way to get out, but Knox held it in.
    Over the years he had schooled himself on reining in his emotions. That included rage or pain. The enemy would gladly use those against him. He had some training, but he made it a point to never show his emotions to anyone. Even his brother told him that it couldn’t be good for him to keep it all bottled up. He needed to let it out, or it would boil up inside him, until he accidently took it out on someone else.
    Knox didn’t moved or say anything. Apparently, it was making everyone in the room uncomfortable, because Kayden asked, “Say something, Knox, even if it’s to blame me.”
    Knox leaned forward. “Kayden, we have been friends a long time. I don’t blame you. My brother would have done that for anyone. That was the kind of man he was. I blame the dragon, and one day I will get my revenge. Right now, we don’t have time for blame; we need to find a way to kill them all.”
    “Your brother was my best friend. He was my Beta, and now I feel lost without him. He has been with me since the beginning, and—”
    “I know. He loved you too. I just talked to him a couple days before this, and he was happy. Happier than I’ve ever heard him. I wish I could’ve been here and gotten to spend more time with him. I’m the one who should feel guilty.”
    Zoey smiled. “He said you were like that. We had a lot of conversations about you.” Knox smiled. His brother was a talker, so God only knows what he’d said. “He was so proud of you and the work you guys were doing. He wouldn’t talk about what he used to do before he came here, but Thorn was such a wonderful man. He was a good friend, and he supported me. The pack loved him, and I loved your brother. I hope you can stay so we can get to know you better.”
    Knox nodded. Stay here, he thought. “I will stay until that dragon and witch are dead.”
    “I thought you would say that. I had a room made up for you. Ransom, you’re welcome to stay too.