I take the couple of steps left to reach Alaia and place my arm around her waist. The colour in her cheeks darken. Leaning down against her ear, I murmur, “I know it was you.” When I stand back up, a cheeky smile is on her face. Before she can say anything, I kiss her moist lips. Her taste has images of our brief time together exploding in my mind. My cock hardens with anticipation as I feel her softness against me.
“Should we all leave?” Burkhart quips from where he’s sitting with his arm around the back of Saskia’s chair. Lifting my head, I just have time to see Saskia slapping his arm playfully, which has him grinning at her boyishly.
“Caelius, I don’t want to rush you, but maybe when you come up for a breather, you would like to introduce everyone,” Draco quips from the head of the table. Before leaving the meeting, Draco had congratulated me on finding my mate. I know all my brothers are happy for me. We all have each other’s back; therefore, when there is something we don’t have any control over, it becomes frustrating, such as not being able to find a brother’s mate when we know he is struggling without her.
When Burkhart was looking for Saskia, we all went out of our way to try to find her because we knew she was close and didn’t want to lose the opportunity of seeing Burkhart at peace and out of danger of turning into a Keres. When I saw Alaia’s photo in a warehouse we raided a few months back and recognized her as my mate, my brothers tried to help me in every way to find her, and then when she was standing before me I hadn’t even realized who she was, because I wasn’t looking at her until I heard her voice.
Everything in me stilled, and then it all came rushing back. My senses were sharper. It felt like I could hear clearer, my sense of smell was purer, and my vision was more focused. I know that when an Elemental finds his mate, he becomes stronger mentally and physically, and the rage that eats at us as time goes past vanishes, but I never thought I would feel so invincible.
I look down at Alaia and incline my head towards Draco. “That there is Draco. He’s the Elemental MC president,” I introduce, and then to Draco and everyone around, I say, “This is Alaia, my mate, and this here is Sara, her sister.”
“You’re going to get them confused. If it weren’t for their different clothes today, we would never have known who is who,” Talia says as she serves a big helping of mash onto Celmund’s plate.
“It is impossible for me to get her confused,” I reply as I pull out Alaia’s chair. I hear Sara’s grunt of amusement.
“If we want to trick you, we will. Even our parents didn’t recognize us when we wanted them not to.” I don’t tell her that it is physically impossible for me to get Alaia confused with her because I am repelled by any other female, even her twin sister, so I simply nod and stretch out my hand for the rolls, but I’m interrupted as one of our new prospects runs in.
“We have trouble,” he states as he looks at Draco, and then we hear the beep of the alarm that Celmund has installed when there is a breach in the compound. Instantly, we are all on our feet, food forgotten, our only thought on protecting the women and children and destroying whoever thought they could enter without being invited. I feel Alaia’s hand on mine before I can move away. Looking down, I see a concerned look on her face.
“Don’t worry, you will be safe here,” I state, trying to appease her. Leaning down, I kiss her forehead, and then follow the others out of the kitchen and towards whoever thought they could attack us. As we hurry into the garage, I hear the shutters descending. The women and children will be protected, and now it’s time to fight.
“What’s going on?” Draco asks of the new prospect as we start making our way outside.
“There were five men outside. They wanted to come in. When we denied them entrance, they created a scene insisting on entrance,” he explains.
“Were there only five, and were they human?” Wulf asks as he looks around. After what happened with Sven and Gunner, we decided that all our prospects would be Elementals, except for the ones we already have, like Kade, who is Scarlett’s brother, and Talia’s brother, Jason.
“Yes, they were human, and there were only five of them wanting entrance.”
Bjarni has squatted and has his hands on the ground, feeling for any vibration in the earth that might mean disturbance of the normal forest floor. “From the south,” he grunts as he starts to make his way towards where he felt the vibrations.
“You, go back to your post,” Draco orders of the prospect. “Burkhart, Caelius, Ceric, Bion, and I will follow Bjarni. The rest of you patrol around the compound.” As soon as the words are out of Draco’s mouth, we are off following after Bjarni. In no time, we are upon the five intruders. We have them surrounded and at gunpoint before they even know what is happening.
“Why are you on our land?” Draco asks calmly.
“They wouldn’t let us in,” one of them argues.
“Well, that should have told you that we don’t want strangers on our land,” Draco says as he approaches the men.
“We don’t want any trouble. We just want the women back.” At his words, I frown. Which women is he looking for? Saskia’s friends are no longer with us, so it can’t be them. Are they looking for Alaia and Sara?
“And what women might you be referring to?” Draco asks with a bored expression on his face.
“I know they’re here. Sara had a tracker that I planted on her hoodie.” At his words, I tense. If these fuckers think they are going to take my woman anywhere, they have another thing coming.
“They are now under our protection,” Draco says with a raised brow. “Therefore, you will be escorted to the gate, and you can leave. Don’t ever come back without an invitation.” He starts to turn, when one of them jumps at him. Bad idea. Draco has him face down on the ground with his boot pressing behind his neck before any of them can even blink. “Anyone else want to try that?”
“They are my sisters; I just want to make sure they are fine. I know you’re not the ones who were after them initially, so I suspect you are helping them. Please,” one of the guys to my right says. I look at him closely and realize that he does have a slight resemblance to the twins.
“Caelius?” At Draco’s unasked question, I nod. He wants confirmation that this guy in fact is the twins’ brother. “Fine, you can talk to them, but once you see that they are safe, you can leave. Trust me when I say that this is the safest place for them at the moment.” He lifts his foot and starts to stride away.
“We are just as able to keep them safe,” the guy Draco subdued snaps. Draco ignores him and continues walking. “Pompous asshole.” Suddenly, he’s on his back again, but this time, Burkhart is above him.
“You can’t even protect yourself, fucker. How do you expect to protect a woman?” Burkhart grunts as he leans down and pulls the guy’s head back by his hair. “You’re lucky you’re still breathing. I hear another sound coming out of you, and you won’t be breathing any longer.” With that warning, he steps away from him and shakes his head in disgust. “Now let’s get moving or your opportunity to see the women will be gone.”
The others start to make their way towards the compound. I step next to Alaia’s brother and incline my head so that he will start walking. “Are they okay?” he asks, and I can hear the concern in his voice.
“Yes, they are fine, and I know they will be pleased to see you.” We don’t talk the rest of the way, but I can tell that what I said to him has appeased his concern. When we reach the outside of the compound, we find Draco and Wulf standing by the door to the bar area. My eyes connect with Draco’s, and I know the women have been advised to join us. I know Alaia is now mine, but I haven’t been with her long enough for her to realize that she will be happy here.
If they want to leave, will I be able to let her go? Instantly, my anger rises with such force that I know that I won’t. I can’t have her in danger, but I also can’t have her where I can’t see her. Our bond will prevent us from being far from each other for too long. We enter the bar area, and C
eric points to the tables on the far side. The men suspiciously make their way there.
I sense Alaia before I see her. The minute she walks through the door with Sara, I can see the concern on her face. Her eyes clash with mine as she walks in, a frown marring her forehead. I want to go to her and appease her concern, but I hold back, as I don’t want her brother to feel the need to take her away. I incline my head to my left so that she can see why she’s been called. Her eyes widen when she sees her brother, and then she rushes towards him. My first instinct is to hold her back, keep her safe, but I don’t move.
My hands are fisted so tightly that I’m sure a bone will snap soon if I don’t relax. I feel a hand on my shoulder, and I look to my right to see Wulf standing there nonchalantly. I know he’s silently letting me know that he understands my predicament.
“Joshua,” Sara says excitedly as she hugs her brother. Alaia stands behind her with a smile on her face. When Sara finally moves away, Joshua pulls Alaia into his arms in a hug, but that’s when I lose my self-control. I take a step towards them, but the hand that Wulf had on my shoulder is now around my upper arms, and Bjarni is standing before me.
“Don’t do it, Brother,” Bjarni says quietly, way too low for anyone to be able to hear. I know he means well, but all I can see is Alaia in another man’s arms. “He’s her brother and will soon leave. If you make a scene, she might want to leave with him.” My heart is beating erratically, my vision tunnelling.
“How about you all sit down and talk? Once you’re happy that they are fine, you can leave,” Bion says to Joshua, who steps back and once again takes his seat, which has my muscles relaxing slightly. I see Bion guiding Alaia and Sara to chairs, but then Alaia stops suddenly and looks back over her shoulder at me, a frown again on her face. She turns and heads towards me, a soft look on her face.
“Excuse me,” she murmurs to Bjarni, who looks over his shoulder. After a few seconds, he steps away, and Alaia approaches me. Her hand lifts, and she places it on my chest, her eyes soft as she looks up at me. “What’s wrong?” she asks quietly, a worried look on her face. I know she can feel animals and the vegetation around her, but how can she feel my agitation? It’s still too soon for her to be able to sense my feelings.
“What do you mean, kitten?” I can feel the warmth of her hand through my T-shirt and the feeling of calm that is spreading through my body.
“Why are you so angry?” she murmurs softly, her hand now gently stroking my chest.
“I know he’s your brother, but I don’t like seeing other men touching you.” I will never lie to her, and even though she might be upset with the reason for my anger, I need her to know the reason for it.
ALAIA 7
His revelation for the reason of his anger surprises me. When I started to feel the agitation and anger coming from somewhere, I knew it was from Caelius, because I’ve realized that there is an internal nurturing feeling that I have towards him that I have never had with anyone or anything else. That he was so angry because of jealousy has me flabbergasted, but then I remember the episode when we were sitting in the kitchen and how blinded with jealousy I was when Sara bragged about being able to trick Caelius to think she was me. The thought of Caelius touching Sara in any way thinking that it could be me blinds me with anger.
“It’s okay, I understand.” At my words, I see his eyes widen in surprise, and then his hand comes up and covers mine as I stroke his chest soothingly.
“You calm me,” he whispers before he lowers his head and kisses me gently on the lips, but suddenly, his lips are gone and so is he. My head snaps around when I feel my back to someone and realize that Caelius has me behind his back. How did he move so quickly? I turn and understand when I see Joshua standing before him with a furious look on his face. I feel a knot in my stomach at the anger radiating from both men.
“My sister isn’t one of your playthings,” Joshua says angrily as he comes to stand before Caelius. “I’m taking them with me.” I can see Caelius’s muscles tense in anger at Joshua’s statement. I try to step around Caelius, and instantly, his arm moves behind him and he holds me around my waist against his back.
I place my hands flat on his back to try to calm him, but I can feel the anger flowing through his tense muscles. “Alaia is not going anywhere,” Caelius grunts, which has Joshua taking in a deep breath.
“Stop it,” I say angrily as I look around Caelius’s back. “Joshua, stop it. I know you’re trying to protect me, but I want to be here.” At my statement, I see Joshua shake his head in anger, his hands fisted at his sides.
“How can you want to be here if you only met this son of a bitch today? Is he threatening you in any way?” At Joshua’s question, I feel Caelius’s body vibrate with anger. I place my arms around his arms, knowing that he is ready to explode into violence.
“I would never threaten Alaia. I will protect her with my life,” Caelius states in a threatening voice that has me worrying about a fight breaking out because of me.
“Is it so difficult to believe that I want to be with him? That he’s the one I want?”
“You don’t know what you want. You’ve only met him,” Joshua argues as he lifts his hand in agitation.
“I do know. Trust me when I say I know.”
“You’re coming with me. You don’t know them from anywhere. They could be in cahoots with the others,” Joshua says angrily.
“Don’t compare us to the Keres,” Caelius growls in anger.
“Caelius,” I call softly, and he looks over his shoulder at me. “Let me talk to him by myself. It will be okay.” I see the anger in his beautiful eyes, and he shakes his head at my request. “Please, you said I could talk to him.” He squeezes his eyes for a few seconds, but then he finally opens them and nods. I lift up on my toes and kiss him gently on the lips. “Thank you.” And then I step away from him and before Joshua. “Let’s go sit down and talk about this,” I say. Not waiting for his reply, I make my way towards the chair I was going to sit on previously, Sara following us.
I know Caelius is still where I left him and that he is going to stay there until I’m done. I believe that no matter what, he will keep to his word. I don’t know about Joshua, though, as he has a hot temper and is stubborn. When he thinks of something, it is difficult to change his mind.
“What do you think you’re doing?” Joshua growls as he sits before me. “The day you get here, you sleep with one of them. They’re fucking bikers, Alaia.”
I can feel the anger radiating up my legs from the ground. I know it’s coming mostly from Caelius. “These bikers helped us and got us away from the Keres,” I argue, trying to keep my voice down so our conversation can’t be heard by the others.
“That doesn’t mean you have to sleep with them,” he growls angrily.
“You make it sound as if she’s sleeping around,” Sara mutters angrily as she looks around warily. That’s one thing about Sara and I—we might not agree about certain things, but when it comes down to it, we have each other’s back.
“Isn’t she? She’s been here one day and already she’s slept with that one. Who’s going to be next?” I gasp in surprise at Joshua’s cruel words. I know he’s saying that because he’s worried about me, but he has never been so cruel. I hear a commotion to my right and look over to see Bjarni and Wulf holding Caelius back.
“It’s time you left,” Ceric says as he comes to stand before Joshua, a frown on his face.
“I’m not done,” Joshua answers angrily.
“That’s too bad. You either leave now or you don’t leave at all. We won’t be able to hold him back for long.” At Ceric’s words, I look over at Caelius again and notice that Bion is also before him now.
“Who, him?” Joshua asks as he points at Caelius. “Let him come. I’m not scared of him.” He shrugs.
I stand and pick up my hands in supplication as I face Joshua again. “Joshua, I know you’re worried about us, but you can see that we are safe here. Please, once we are sa
fe, we will contact you and come home,” I plead anxiously, trying to get them to leave, as I can feel the fury radiating from him.
“I’m not leaving without the two of you. After what I saw, I think it’s time that we get you another place to hide,” he grunts angrily.
“Don’t be stubborn; you know this is the best place for us, Josh. We’re not going anywhere until we know we’re safe, and as you can see, we are completely safe, and in case you haven’t noticed, we’re both twenty-four-year-olds who can decide for ourselves who we sleep with,” Sara says as she stands. I know Joshua won’t back down, so I shrug and start to walk away.
“Where are you going, Alaia?” Joshua asks angrily, but I ignore him and continue making my way towards Caelius. I hear a noise behind me, but I don’t look around as I approach Caelius, Bion, and Bjarni.
“I’m going inside now. Do you want to come with me?” I see that Caelius’s concentration is behind me, and I know it’s on my brother. “Caelius!” I call, but he doesn’t look at me. I slide around Bion and place my hand on his arm. “Caelius, look at me.” His eyes snap to mine, and I see the fury in them.
“Come with me,” I whisper.
“He can’t talk to you like that.” His voice is a deep growl.
“Come with me. It’s over. He’s just worried and doesn’t know how to deal with it not being him protecting us.” I see the fight he’s going through. “Please.” At my plea, I know he won’t deny me.
“Go with your woman, Brother. We will see them out,” Wulf says from behind Caelius. I incline my head towards the back door and see him nod slightly. Bjarni doesn’t let go of Caelius but loosens his grip as we move towards the back door. Once we’re through the door, Bjarni lets go and stands with his arms crossed in the doorway. Him and Caelius look at each other for a few minutes, and then Bjarni inclines his head in a slight nod as if a silent message was passed between the two of them.
I place my hand in Caelius’s and feel his fingers close over my hand. I start to walk into the compound and towards the courtyard. Suddenly, I’m against the wall and Caelius is over me. “I know he’s your brother, but I can’t let anyone speak to you like that.” I can hear the anger in his voice as he lowers his head and then takes my lips in a blistering kiss.
CAELIUS: Elementals MC (book 9) (Elemental's MC) Page 5