by Cree Storm
“Jairus?” Sabien questioned.
“My nurse. He’s the best, so Kondra will be in good hands.” And with that, Tango walked away, leaving the room.
Once Tango was gone, Helio turned to face his mates. When his gaze met Jael’s, the vampire stepped forward and took his free hand. “I know that look. You’re leaving like you told us out in the hall.”
“I’m sorry, but yes. I have to. But I won’t be gone long. I’m going to head back to Kaliss and talk with Briar. I know he needs to be there protecting Ezra and Jewel just as much as I need to be here for this, but maybe he can find some time to go home to Saturnalia and talk with the others.”
Sabien moved closer and knelt down beside him, placing a hand on Helio’s thigh. It felt good to have their comfort and support, but it also just felt good to have someone touch him. No, not just someone, his mates. “I want to tell you not to go, but I have no right to tell you what to do. You are your own man and it is up to us as your mates to stand by you. But I hope you know that we worry, Helio. I understand that you are a powerful paranormal all on your own and can defend yourself, but it still doesn’t make it any easier, watching you go and us not being there with you to protect you.”
Helio smiled at Sabien and released Kondra’s hand, then lifted his now free hand to cup Sabien’s cheek. “Thank you for saying that. And I do understand what you are saying, that is why I am going to ask Briar to go home. I’ll be fine. I’m just going to pop back to Kaliss and check in with him, let him know what’s happening here, and see if he can check on our friends in Saturnalia, then I will be right back to you. Can you do me a favor though while I’m gone?”
“You want us to watch over Kondra,” Jael offered.
Helio turned to give his other mate a smile as well. “Yes.”
“Of course we will. Just promise us that you’ll be careful and come right back,” Jael replied.
“I promise,” Helio said as he nodded.
Sabien stood and pulled Helio to his feet at the same time, then wrapped his arms around him and gave him a sweet kiss. “Go, do what you feel you must, but come back to us soon.”
“I will.”
Jael turned Helio to face him and pulled him close, then gave him a soft kiss too. When they pulled back, Jael placed his forehead to Helio’s and closed his eyes. He felt Sabien move in behind him and wrap his arms around them. They stood like that, quietly for a few minutes, then Helio pulled back and gave them each one more soft smile before he vanished, popping back into Ezra’s coven house.
CHAPTER 8
“They got their blood and Ezra’s food for the evening and so far so good,” Cassidy said as Jewel and Briar approached.
“Good. I was a little worried that Heskel or one of the others would try to slip out when Ezra brought the food in,” Jewel replied.
“I don’t think even Heskel would be that stupid,” Briar said. “But then again.”
Cassidy and Jewel both chuckled.
“Any word from…” Jewel asked as he gave Briar a pointed look and wiggled his eyebrows.
“Nothing yet. So I’m hoping that no news is good news, you know?”
“And you would be wrong, Briar. Very wrong,” Helio said, as he suddenly appeared behind his best friend.
Briar and the others spun around to face Helio. When Briar saw the torment in Helio’s eyes, his gut twisted. He just knew that whatever Helio was about to say was bad and would change everything.
“Helio, what is it? Why are you back so soon?” Briar asked, worried and a bit perplexed.
Helio moved closer and grabbed Briar’s hands. He could feel Helio shaking. “I have so much to tell you, Briar. So many things… I…” Helio stopped as he choked on a sigh.
Briar immediately wrapped an arm over his shoulders and drew him close, as Jewel went to his other side and slid an arm around his waist. “What is it, Helio?” Jewel asked in concern.
Helio took a deep breath and released it slowly, then he looked to each of them with a small smile. “First, the good news?”
Briar’s brows furrowed. Good news? How could good news make Helio look as if his world had just collapsed around him? But then again, he did say good news first. Briar nodded for Helio to go on.
“Well, I… um…”
“Oh, for fuck’s sake, Helio, just spit it out,” Jewel admonished. “I’m sorry if that sounds mean, or unfeeling, but you have my stomach all twisted up here, and with a baby in there, let me tell you that’s not a good thing.”
Helio gave Jewel a sheepish look and grabbed his hand as he replied, “I’m sorry, Jewel. Okay, I’ll start with the good news. I… um… I found my mate!”
Briar could feel his brows rise high on his forehead and his eyes go wide. He looked to Jewel and found him with the same facial expression of pure shock, but Jewel also had his jaw dropped to his chest.
“Your mate?” Briar asked, awestruck.
Helio looked down, then back up at him through his lashes. “Two actually.”
“You have two mates? And you found them both in a matter of a day away from here? Shit on a stick!” Jewel gasped.
Briar turned to fully face Helio, his arm sliding from his shoulders a fraction. “If you have found your mates, Helio, and are saying it is good news, then why do you look like the world has come to an end?”
Helio’s face suddenly saddened and filled with worry. “Because it’s what happened after I found out that Sabien and Jael are my mates.”
“Sabien and Jael! But… how… when… what?” Jewel yelled, then caught himself and his gaze flicked to the door Ezra and the others were locked behind and he lowered his voice at the end.
“You’ve been around Commander Jael for over a year. How did you not know he was your mate sooner?” Cassidy questioned, and Helio gave him a shy look.
“That’s a good question,” Jewel added.
“Um, well, it seems our mates can’t tell that we are their mate, unless they… um…”
Jewel’s eyes widened and he laughed. “Oh, hell. Don’t tell me it’s like the pixie griffian guards who only know their mate by tasting their ejaculation. Now that fact just blew me over when Nelson’s brother Ollie told us. Funny as hell, but can be a pain in the ass to find your true mate.”
Helio’s eyes widened from that knowledge as he stared at Jewel. “Um, no. Really? Wow. Well, not that, but something like it.” Helio looked to him and when their gazes met he said, “Our mates only know who we are once they taste our blood.”
Now Briar could feel his brows really go high and practically disappear into his hairline. “Are you serious? Wow. Wait, so that means Jael and Sabien took your blood.” Briar got angry at the thought of the two vampires biting a butterfly dragon. The vampire were supposed to be their guardians and not take nourishment from them.
Helio quickly answered, understanding Briar’s confusion and concern. “No, nothing sinister, or evil about it, Briar. I got a paper cut and Sabien grabbed my finger and licked the cut closed. That’s when he realized who I was. Then once he did, his scent shifted, changed, and I could suddenly smell something so delicious that I knew instantly who he was. My mate. But then he told me that he and Jael had realized they were mates right before they left to go to Heskel’s coven, but there was so much to do that they hadn’t discussed anything yet. Long story short, we had Jael taste my blood and the same thing happened as with Sabien. So yes, I have two mates and Jael is one of them.”
“Well, then it’s lucky for you seeing as you’ve been lusting over that vampire for many months,” Briar replied with a smirk.
Helio’s mouth turned into the perfect O as his eyes narrowed at him. “Did not,” he insisted.
“Did so,” Briar, Jewel, and Cassidy answered together, then all burst out laughing.
“Little dude, you were never good at covering your interest in my Commander. Just like he failed whenever he looked at you,” Cassidy said.
Helio crossed his arms over his chest and gave them each the stink ey
e, which only made them laugh harder. Damn, Helio really was adorable, but he was even more so when he was angry. His mates were very lucky men. Then suddenly a thought hit him and Briar got a little sad. Did that mean he was about to lose his best friend, his brother, his lifelong companion?
Helio seemed to feel his stress and understood why, as he wrapped his arms around Briar and hugged him tight. “I will always be here for you, Briar. Mates or no mates, we’ll always be together. I promise you.”
“Your mates may have a different opinion, Helio.”
“Not if I mean that much to them. If I do, then they will understand that I can’t live without you and they will have to accept that.”
“But, Helio.”
“No, I mean it, Briar, but we can talk about this later. Right now we have more important and troublesome things to discuss, but not here.”
Briar looked to Jewel and Cassidy.
“You all go on and I’ll stay in position and watch over things, but if you need me, let me know,” Cassidy offered.
“Thanks, Cassidy,” Helio said, then grabbed one of his hands and one of Jewel’s and popped them into the atrium where they would have some privacy.
Once Helio was sure they were alone and no one would overhear them, he filled them in on everything going on at Heskel’s coven right up until the moment he arrived. He and Jewel were both blown away with what Helio was saying and Jewel knew he need to tell Ezra, but Briar knew there was something he needed to do. He met Helio’s gaze and said, “Go back to your mates and Kondra. He’s going to need you there when he wakes up. I’ll go home to Saturnalia and see what I can find out. Once I do, I’ll come back here and check things out, then come to you.”
“Are you sure, Briar? I mean, Ezra needs you here,” Helio worried.
“We’ll be fine. I’ll give my brother Kerrick a call and ask if he and his mates can come while Briar is gone. With their combined powers, it will be enough to do whatever is needed,” Jewel replied, then insisted, “Go on. Go back to your mates and your friend and let Briar get going to Saturnalia. Don’t worry, Helio, together we’ll all figure out what’s going on and we’ll take care of it. I promise. You know once Ezra finds out what’s happening, he’ll want to jump right in to do whatever he can for you and Briar.”
Helio’s eyes widened in fear. “No, Jewel, that is what I don’t want. Ezra needs to keep his focus on the plan right now. He doesn’t need any distractions that mess everything up.”
Jewel took Helio’s hand in his and smiled. “It’s okay, Helio. Ezra knows what needs to be done and he will stick with the plan, but I do know my mate and when he can get out of that room, he will want to do whatever he can to help you find your friends and whoever has harmed them. Now, trust us, okay? And go back to your mates and this Kondra. They need you right now.”
Helio gave Jewel a grateful smile. “Thank you, Jewel.”
“Anything. You should know that by now. You and Briar are two of my best friends and it’s what friends do, we’re here for each other, always.”
Once they all hugged and cried a bit, Helio left to return to his mates. Briar stood staring at the flowers, wondering what had happened to his friends and why they had left Saturnalia. Jewel hugged him from behind and Briar soaked up the comfort.
“Go, Briar. I’ve got this covered. Go.”
And with those words, Briar popped out and teleported himself home. His gaze fell on the waterfall and Briar closed his eyes as he took in the sweet, refreshing air of the gardens surrounding him. Time was different in Saturnalia than it was in the human realm and here right now, it was daytime. He stepped out from under the shade of the tree he was standing by and into the light, then with his eyes still closed, he lifted his face and gloried in the sensation of the suns of Saturnalia as they bathed his skin, warming him inside.
The smell of jasmine was strong and the light breeze tickled his nose with it, making Briar smile. An ‘och och och’ cry from the Markel bird sounded close by and Briar opened his eyes. Looking around he spotted the beautiful creature sitting in the blue grass surrounding the lake. Its large pink wings were pulled tight against its magenta body, and its hair-like feathers shone in the sunlight making it appear as if covered in silk.
“Briar?”
The sound of his friend Digi’s voice made him smile. Briar turned toward where the voice came from and found the Harkey standing among the red fern bushes. “Digi. It’s so good to see you again,” Briar said, as he ran toward his friend.
Digi ran to him as well and once they met, they wrapped their arms around each other and hugged tight. After a few minutes, they broke apart and Digi gave him a sad smile. “It is good to see you too, Briar. We thought we would never see you again.”
“Helio just told me what was happening. Why did they leave, Digi? You were all safe here. There was no need for them to leave.”
Digi looked down at his feet as guilt filled his eyes. “It’s all my fault. When you and Helio didn’t return, we were all so worried. We called upon our goddess and she told us that you leaving was something you had to do and that we all had a part to play in life. She said you and Helio were taking your path and we would all take ours someday, but as the months passed, we became more concerned for you and Helio. So, we all sat and discussed our options… and you know my brother. Lochas being the tallest and strongest of all of us thinks it’s his job to be leader and take care of everyone.”
“Let me guess, he left on his own to come looking for us?” Briar surmised.
“Yes. He snuck off in the middle of the night while we were all sleeping. He left us a note telling us he was going to go to Las Vegas in the human world to start looking, because he remembered you and Helio talking about the city and how you wanted to visit it someday. He said that if we didn’t hear from him in a month, then that meant something happened to him and we should go to the goddess.”
“So, then how did the others end up leaving?” Briar asked.
“We remembered what the goddess said about each of us playing a part in the grand scheme of things, so we didn’t go to her. Instead, Kondra, Ianis, and Lanius volunteered to go after him and they took off for this Las Vegas, but we haven’t heard from them since they left either. We’ve been so afraid to send anyone else after you all. Until Helio told me today that he had found Kondra, but he didn’t say anything else, which told me that it was probably bad,” Digi said, in a sad voice.
Briar placed a hand on his friend’s shoulder trying to offer him some comfort. “I’m not exactly sure what’s happened to them, if anything. That’s why Helio came to tell me what was happening and asked me to come talk with you and find out. How long have they all been gone?”
“Lochas left what would be six earth months after you and Helio left, then the others left two earth months after him.”
“So, they’ve all been gone between two and two and a half years?” Briar asked, and Digi nodded.
“Okay, well, it’s a place to start.”
“Briar, where did you go? Why didn’t you come back?” Digi asked, as a tear rolled down his cheek.
“I don’t want to upset or scare you, Digi, but what happened to me and Helio was not pleasant. We had only been in Las Vegas for two days when we were taken by these men who realized what we are. They brought us to this horrible dragon shifter named Lucinda. She was very evil and she caged us in our butterfly dragon forms. She kept us in those cages for a long time, taking our blood. Then one day, we were found and rescued by the vampires. Their king, Ezra, saved us and vowed his protection and we’ve been staying with him ever since. The goddess told us it is where we needed to be.”
Digi’s eyes filled with terror. “You don’t think this evil woman took the others too, do you?”
“I don’t know, Digi, but that’s what we’re trying to find out. Please, I need the rest of you to stay here where you’re safe. Helio and I, along with our new friends, the vampire, and the paranormal council, will do everything we can to
find them and bring them home. I promise.”
CHAPTER 9
“What the hell, Bri? What are they doing here?” Helio shouted, his wings fluttering so fast Jael was surprised his mate didn’t take off in flight.
Sabien leaned in. “He’s sexy as fuck when he’s agitated, isn’t he?”
“Oh yeah,” Jael rasped, feeling his cock twitch once again. Fuck, if he didn’t get his mates alone soon, some serious damage might happen to his dick. It sucked so bad to know the three of them wanted each other to the point of pain, and still not be able to find the time to do anything about it.
“I told them to stay home where they were safe. The shits wouldn’t listen. That’s why I brought them here to you,” Briar insisted.
“Me? Me?” Helio asked, his voice getting louder with each word. “What the hell am I supposed to do with them? Briar, we are in the middle of a mess over here. Kon is barely hanging on and we don’t know who we can trust in this coven. They need to return home.”
Briar snorted, waving a hand towards the three odd looking creatures saying, “You tell them that. They won’t listen to me. Look, I have to get back to Kaliss.”
“Oh no, you are not leaving me here alone with them, Bri. You brought them here and you need to help me make them go home,” Helio insisted.
“I wish I could, but I don’t have the time, Helio. Jewel was calling in Kerrick and his mates to go and help out over there, but if anything happens to Jewel, Ezra will rip my wings off before he kills me. And if anything happens to Ezra, Jewel will rip my balls off before he kills me. Although his magic is really hinky right now, so he’s more likely to explode my balls and not in the good way before he kills me,” Briar said, then turned to the three creatures saying, “I suggest you listen to Helio while you’re here. Otherwise you might find yourself in worse condition than Kondra.”
Jael watched as Briar poofed into thin air and was out of sight. Helio shouted out to the empty space, “I swear Briar, I’m going to make your balls explode the next time we are together, and it won’t be in a good way either.”