“What does this organization do that they need paid mercenaries?” Bion asks with a frown.
“They’re into armament,” Celmund reveals. “But nothing like what we transport for Alexey.” Draco has an agreement with Alexey, the Bratva Mafia boss. We transport all their guns up into Africa for them, and they help us when we need eyes and help in finding the women the Keres kidnap.
“You don’t think it could have something to do with that?” Burkhart asks.
“No. Compared to this organization, Alexey is small fry. They supply the army and navy. They won’t be worried about the weapons we transport.”
“Well, then, I guess we will just have to keep an eye on them and maybe try to get the women to contact him again and try to appease his worry,” Draco states as he looks at me and then at Gunner.
“What?” Gunner asks as he sees the look, and then Draco lifts his eyebrow in amusement. We have all seen the looks flying between Gunner and Sara. “I will talk to her.”
“That should go well,” Cassius quips, “going by the glare I saw her throwing your way this morning.” We all grin when Gunner shows him the finger.
“Well, if there is nothing else, you can leave,” Draco states as he leans back in his chair. “Bion, I need to talk to you.” I can see the stress on his face, and I know he wants to know about how Nova and Jasmine are doing and how Ceric is hanging in there. Since the incident, Ceric has been sitting in the infirmary with his woman and their son. He will only leave to shower, and then he’s back. The women have been taking him food, and we have taken turns sitting with him when Nova is sleeping. We know that this has shaken him up. Ceric isn’t the type to show his emotions, and it affects him deeply when people are hurting.
I leave the two to their conversation and walk out; I’m about to head towards the room, when I sense that Alaia is in the kitchen. What the hell is she doing up and about already? Looking inside, I see her sitting with Sara and Brielle. When she sees me, a guilty look appears on her face, and then she smiles—a naughty smile that instantly has my cock reacting. I decide not to say anything. If she feels like she’s better to be up and about, then I will leave her to it.
“It’s good that the two of you are together,” I say as I walk in. I lean down and kiss Alaia on the lips before taking the chair next to hers. “Hi, Brielle. You’re looking well rested,” I tease, as I know that Bion has been insisting on her resting every day for a couple hours, which she is starting to rebel against.
“Don’t get me started,” she teases as she sticks out her tongue at me playfully.
“So why are you happy that we’re together?” Sara asks with a raised brow as she takes a sip of her coffee. I’ve noticed that Sara isn’t the type to mince words. She says what she thinks when she thinks it, which is refreshing. Not always for Gunner, but I think he’s enjoying it.
“Joshua is snooping into our things. Is there any way you two can get him to talk to you and realize that we’re not hurting you in any way?” At my question, I see both of them tense and then look at each other.
“Should we?” Alaia asks, which has Sara smiling widely.
“I think we should. It has always worked before,” Sara replies with a laugh.
“He is going to be so angry,” Alaia states with a grin, which has me thinking that whatever they’re planning can’t be too bad if it has both of them smiling.
“What are both of you up to?” I ask suspiciously. I will not let them leave and then get picked up by Joshua, where he will not let them return. Not that it would stop me, because now that we are bonded, I will find my woman anywhere and bring her back to me. Thinking about that, I have something I need to give her.
“When we were younger and Joshua didn’t let us tag along or when he was angry with us, I would hold him down and Sara and I would nag him until he gave in,” Alaia confesses with a blush on her face.
“How did you hold him down, kitten? He was already older than you, and I’m sure you two were tiny little wisps,” I ask with amusement, as I can imagine these two ganging up against their brother.
“Once I got roots from the trees to hold him down. Another time, his ankles sank into the earth and held him tight.” I throw back my head and laugh in amusement at what these two have gotten up to.
“I want to see you laugh when she does that to you,” Sara teases, which instantly has my cock twitching again.
“If she holds me down and has her way with me, she can do it anytime she wants,” I tease, which makes Alaia’s cheeks burst with colour, but a naughty look enters her eyes. Brielle and Sara burst out laughing.
“Ew, too much information,” Sara jokes as Alaia leans forward and kisses my lips and then moves back slightly and winks.
“That could be arranged,” she whispers, which has me wanting to pick her up and rush to our room.
“Okay, you two, we are sitting right here,” Brielle teases, which unfortunately has Alaia moving back as she winks at me naughtily.
“Sara will find him, and then we will have to get closer to him, but once we’re close enough, I can hold him down, and we can both go convince the stubborn ass,” Alaia says, which has me tensing.
“You have to leave the compound?” I don’t like that idea at all.
“Unless he’s here, how else are we supposed to talk to him?” Sara asks with a questioning look.
“I don’t like the idea of you two being outside,” I state. “Sara, if you find him, I will organize the brothers, and we will accompany you.”
“I’m sure that won’t be necessary,” Alaia says.
“That’s the only way I’m letting you out of here. I’m not going to let you be outside in danger,” I state. Alaia frowns and then looks at Sara, who shrugs. She then looks at me and nods.
ALAIA 19
I can see Joshua from where we stopped. Sara found him, but at the time, he was with two other men. We made our way to this field where men were training. The men parked their bikes a few metres away as not to be seen or heard, and then accompanied us here. We are standing unseen at the moment, waiting for Joshua to be by himself before I can do anything. Caelius is standing behind me, his arms around my waist as he looks around, making sure everything is safe.
I notice Gunner standing next to Sara even though she’s been glaring at him as often as possible. Celmund, Bion, and Burkhart are in different locations, and Cassius stayed by the bikes in case someone found them.
“Looks like they’re finally leaving,” Sara murmurs. “Maybe do it before he gets into his car.” I look over at Joshua’s SUV and nod. It would be the perfect place, as his SUV is close to the trees and covers anyone by the building from seeing us talking to him.
When we finally see Joshua walking towards his car, I kneel to the ground and touch the earth. Closing my eyes, I connect with Mother Earth and ask for her assistance. When Joshua reaches for his door handle, roots shoot up from the ground and circle his feet and lower legs. He looks down and then tries to rip them apart with his hands. Shoots shoot up from the ground and circle his wrists, stopping him from moving.
“Alaia!” he roars. I stand from where I’m kneeling and start to walk forward, but Caelius places a hand on my upper arm and stops me. He looks to his left at Celmund, who is closer to the building. I see Celmund nod, and then he guides me forward.
“It will be better if I go alone with Sara,” I state, as I know Joshua will take it easier if we’re alone.
“I’m not leaving you in the open alone,” he mutters as he continues to walk forward.
“Listen to me.” I stop, not taking another step. “If you want this to work, you have to let me do this. You can protect me from somewhere hidden.” I can see the fight going on in his head, but I won’t move if he insists on this, because I know Joshua. He will never give in if he knows the men are close.
“Okay, but if I tell you something, do it straight away. Don’t ask questions,” he says. I nod and then kiss him quickly before making my way towards
Joshua, Sara right next to me. Caelius and Gunner move towards the trees and follow us from their cover.
“Joshua,” I say, walking around so I can see his face, as he was half turned towards the car.
“Alaia, let me go. We’re not kids anymore,” he mutters.
“Oh, well, you were acting like one, so I’m treating you like one,” I mutter. “Why weren’t you answering any of our calls?”
“Because the two of you weren’t being rational,” he mutters as he glares at us.
“Why? Because we didn’t do what you wanted us to do?” Sara asks. “We are grownups, Joshua. We have a right to choose what we want to do with our lives.”
“They are bikers. You don’t know what bikers are like,” he argues.
“Those bikers and their wives have treated us better than most people we meet,” I say with a frown. “Don’t judge people just because of appearances. You better than anyone should know that.” Joshua knows how Sara and I struggled with our gifts, with hiding it from everyone, especially when we were small. He was always the one to fight others when they called us freaks when we were small, and now he is judging people he doesn’t even know.
“Josh, I know you’re only thinking of our welfare, but we are honestly happy, and they are really good to us,” Sara says as she moves closer to him.
“You were there less than a day and already sleeping with them,” he mutters. “I don’t want you mixed up with the wrong people. You two are still too sheltered; you don’t know how people can be.” He tries to loosen his hands again. I step closer and take his hand in mine.
“Joshua, you know us. Look at the two of us. Do we look like we aren’t happy? Do we look as if we are doing anything we don’t want to do?” I ask, and can feel his anger dispersing as he looks at us.
“Yes, they’re bikers, but they also like everyone else, and they are really kind to us,” Sara says.
“Do they know about your gifts?” he asks.
“Yes, they do, and they don’t care,” I say, not elaborating on the others at the compound.
“Why would you tell about your gift when you never tell anyone?” Joshua asks suspiciously.
“One of the women there has a gift like ours, and they accept her fully,” Sara says suddenly, which has me breathing out in relief, as I don’t like lying to anyone. I see Joshua analysing us as if he can tell the truth just by looking at us, and I know he’s still worried but will trust us with this.
“I had some people look into them, and up to now, we haven’t been able to find anything,” he says suddenly. “Are you sure you are happy there and that everything is going fine?” Both of us nod at the same time. I let go of his hand and stretch up to kiss his cheek, and Sara does the same.
“Because I know that you will try to retaliate, I’m going to leave, and when I’m a fair distance away, I will let you go,” I say with a smile, and see his grin, because when I was young, I learnt my lesson with him. “And from now on, answer our calls, or next time, it will be worse.” I turn and make my way back to where the bikes are.
When I can see Caelius and Gunner by the trees, I lean down and ask that Joshua be set free, not looking back as I make my way towards my future. Caelius opens his arms as I approach, and I slide my arms around his waist as his arms come around me. “Let’s go home,” I say, and Caelius nods before he lets go and guides me towards the bikes.
I see that Gunner is walking behind Sara, his eyes roving over the terrain, making sure there is no threat to us. I am still wondering how I was so lucky to have found a man like Caelius, and how out of everyone in this universe, I am the woman meant for him. He helps me onto the bike, and a few minutes later, we are riding home, the wind surrounding us with its touch.
When we arrive, instead of going into the compound, Caelius asks if I would like to go for a walk, as he wants to talk to me. I look into his face and realize that he looks nervous, something I have never seen him be before.
“What’s wrong?” I ask, and he shrugs.
“Nothing. I just want alone time with you with no one around,” he says as we start to walk on the path that leads to the lake. His arm surrounds my shoulders. As he hugs me close, his lips touch my forehead. “Are you more at peace now that your brother is convinced we aren’t hurting you?”
“The three of us have always been close, so yes, it wasn’t sitting well with me that he wasn’t talking to me. I know he was worried about me and Sara, and I know that he was hurt because I chose to stay here instead of going with him.” I try to explain to him how I felt and what this means to me. “Now that he’s at peace with us staying here, I’m at peace.”
Caelius doesn’t say anything as we continue to walk down the path. When we reach the lake, we stop. As always, this place brings such peace, such contentment, that I could sit here for hours. “Let’s sit over here,” Caelius says as he guides me towards a large boulder near the water.
“You know, when I was young, I used to practice my bending near a lake very similar to this one,” he says suddenly. “I would like you to meet my parents.” At his words, I tense. Because of their age, I never thought about his parents, but of course he has parents.
“Where are they?” I ask. I can feel myself getting nervous, as I never thought I would get to meet his parents.
“They’re not far. They live in a little town a few kilometres from here. I’ve told them about you, and I would like you to meet my sister.” He has a sister? Now not only do I have to meet parents I had never thought about, but I also have a sister to impress.
“Do you think they’re going to like me?” I ask.
“Don’t frown, kitten. They will love you,” he says with a smile as his thumb moves over my forehead to clear away my frown. “The same way as I love you.” At his words, I freeze. I know he cares deeply for me, but he never said he loved me before. I can feel my heart start to race, and tears fill my eyes. I have quietly wished for these very words, scared that he wanted me simply for the reason that I’m his mate but not really loving me as a person.
To know that his heart beats for me has a tear slipping down my cheek. “I love you too, more than I ever thought I could love someone,” I state as I lean forward and kiss his lips.
“Your love has healed me; the tear I felt in my soul is no longer bleeding with pain. Since my capture, a part of myself was lost, the joy ripped away from me.” He strokes his finger over my cheek, cleaning away the tears. “My body was tortured and marked, and I thought that if I did find my mate one day, it would be wrong of me to take her and have her accept someone who had been touched by so much evil, who wasn’t perfect for her.” He takes in a deep breath and then looks towards the water.
“But when I met you, I couldn’t let you go. I couldn’t see myself living the rest of my empty existence without you. Your touch calms my soul, fills me with joy, something I haven’t had in a very long time.”
I had never thought that I would hear someone say these things to me; I have always been suspicious of love. For me, people love, but that changes with time. They say things on one day, and then the other, you find them doing something else that shows that what they said isn’t what touched you the day before. But with Caelius, since the beginning, he has shown me how much he loves me. He has been gentle, caring, and so protective.
With Caelius, I feel his love. He hadn’t given me the words, but he was giving me the actions every day. I never thought I would find this type of all-consuming love, a love that not only I feel but the other person shows me that he feels too.
Caelius pulls a small black cloth bag out of his jeans pocket, which has me frowning, as I can see that he is nervous. If he were human, I would think he was about to propose, but I know that Elementals don’t consider marriage necessary, as their bond is unbreakable. I’m so curious that I want to snatch the bag away from him and peep inside. He opens the bag and pulls out a beautiful silver chain, and at the end of the chain is a beautiful lapis lazuli, similar to the one he
always wears.
He opens the clasp and slides the chain around my neck. “I give you a part of my essence to protect and enhance your energy. By wearing this Lapis Lazuli, you will always have a piece of me with you. You are now part of my blood, my soul, my very essence. I ask that you wear this always to remind you of our bond and the love I hold for you.” I am now crying openly, as I know that to the Elementals, this is an important part of their mating ritual.
These stones are forged for each one of them when they are born. They have their essence, and their mate is presented with their stone when she is ready to follow her mate through his eternal life and when he feels she has accepted him completely, as the stone is only wearable if the mate is completely one with her man.
“Thank you, my love. I will hold this stone close to my heart for all time. I never thought I would find someone like you. Someone who loves me openly and completely. I will always dedicate my love and my caring for you . . .”
“And any kids we may have,” he says with a wink, which has my cheeks warming with embarrassment. We have never spoken about children, but I want to have them with Caelius. I can just imagine a little boy like him running around, a little boy who will grow up to be proud of the work his father does for his people, and that his mother and the women in the compound do for the other Elementals, because we will carry on healing, and hopefully the Keres will one day come to an end. We were told that as soon as we are all feeling up to it, we can continue with our work, if that is what we want.
“Yes, and any children we may have. Thank you, Caelius, for showing me this life and for filling my heart with so much love that sometimes it pains.” Caelius lowers his head and takes my lips in a gentle kiss that binds our oaths together for all time.
THE END.
A MESSAGE FROM ALEXI FERREIRA
CAELIUS: Elementals MC (book 9) (Elemental's MC) Page 14