by CY Jones
“Sorry, bella, they're working on it.”
“Now what? Am I supposed to play prisoner until they all figure it out. Everyone wants me to sit back and do nothing, but all that’s accomplishing is lengthening my time here."
“You’re alive aren’t you?” he questions, raising his brow.
“Yes,” I mumble.
“Well then, I think sitting back and doing nothing is working. You could be dead, dragging your mates along with you, but you’re not. You’re alive and breathing. It may not be the air you want, but at least it's air. Play the role, stay alive. That’s all that matters sweet, bella.
“I can’t believe I’m saying this, but you’re right,” I tell him.
Moving off of me, he lays on his back, folding his arms behind his head.
“Despite what you think, I’m not a total idiot, bella. You were right when you said that I’m so used to counting on my ability that I didn’t see the lie right in front of my face when O’Donnell tricked me into working for him, but I’ve learned a valuable lesson. I play the part I’ve been dealt, and sit back in the shadows listening. Always listening, and learning, biding my time until I break out of here.”
“And what have you heard so far?”
“O’Donnell wants to sell you to Atlas Kotas. A very rich and powerful higher vamp."
“Another vampire, great,” I mumble.
“Stop acting like you don’t like my kind, bella.”
“Go on,” I urge, biting back a retort.
“Atlas refused his deal once he figured out O’Donnell wanted more than just a transaction over you.”
“What do you mean?” I ask confused.
“Atlas is a very powerful man. He deals with the majority of the World’s trade. O’Donnell, being the greedy fucker that he is, wasn’t satisfied with just getting you off his hands to get the supernaturals off his back, but he also wants a percentage of Atlas’s businesses. Atlas turned him down of course, but it’s been reported that he was very taken by you, and who knows how long it’ll be until he changes his mind. Plus having to contend with the Senator and his son might just force his hand, and bella, if you are what I think you are to him, no matter how strong Atlas is, he will give into O’Donnell, and then we’ll all be fucked.”
“What makes you think I’m anything to him? I’m just available pussy. There’s plenty of that around,” I reply, avoiding the truth of his words. I have been so set on disliking my fifth mate if that is what he is. Thinking he was nothing but another pawn for O'Donnell to use and discard.
“Atlas would never even consider a business deal over a woman. He’s a very attractive man, and a higher vamp. The descendant of the Atlas, the original Titan leader. Atlas is the representation of balance. Giving O’Donnell even a smidgen of control will tip the balance going against everything he represents. You are beautiful bella, but even your pussy wouldn’t make him turn his back on his beliefs unless you are something far more important than just a quick lay. You’re his soul bound mate, aren't you? The only woman he will do such a thing for.”
“Did you not say he refused O’Donnell already? Why are we even wasting time going over him? What about this metal band of O'Donnell's? Didn’t you say it’s losing power?" I question him, in an effort to avoid confirming his suspension.
Smiling, he gives me a look that says, I know what you’re doing.
“Atlas will be back, bella. I imagine he will not be able to keep his distance from you for long. As for that trinket O’Donnell gave you, you know as well as I, it’s losing its hold over you. Everything has a balance. Where there's good, there's evil. This band nullifies your powers, but this bracelet,” he says fingering the marble beads around my wrist “counteracts it.”
"How?” I gasp.
“The marble used to make this bracelet once was a building in the mighty Olympus before the fall. How it came into your possession, I don’t know. What I do know is it’s the only thing powerful enough to counteract the nullify stone. Soon the stone will have no effect on you at all.”
“That’s…,” I don’t get to finish my sentence before I’m thrown on top of Gabriel so that I’m now straddling him. Gripping my hips tightly he pushes me down onto his hard length, and I involuntarily moan as his hard cock enters me.
Before I can do any bodily harm Gabriel growls “do you mind?” As he stares daggers at the doorway, and I turn my head to see Hangman standing there, staring at my naked backside.
“You’ve had your fun. It’s time for her to go,” Hangman replies, never taking his eyes off me.
Rotating his hips so that he pushes himself deeper inside me, Gabriel gives Hangman one last dirty look before pulling out of me. My slick juices coat his dick, and it really does appear like we’ve been having sex.
Jumping away from him, I hurry to put on my clothes to escape Hangman’s hungry eyes on my body.
When we leave out the door Gabriel yells, “send me someone else, since you rudely interrupted me.”
Muttering to himself, Hangman slams the door shut as he hurries us down the hall this time taking the direct route to my room. Once we’re inside my room he says, “you know, I didn’t take you for a fang banger.”
I don’t know what that means, but I’m sure it's an insult.
“I was bored,” I answer shrugging. It really wasn’t any of his business what I do and who with. “Besides, isn’t that why you brought me to his bedroom in the middle of the night in the first place?” I counter.
“Whatever, Shadow. If you want to be a whore that’s your prerogative,” he answers.
“You act like I have a choice in the matter. I was brought there to entertain his dick, so I did what I was told. You’re not the one walking around with a target around your neck and get shocked to high hell everytime you defy O’Donnell, so you can fuck off, and take your judgements somewhere else,” I reply, giving him the bird.
Stomping over to me he palms my cheek gently, and I slap his hand away.
“What the fuck, dude?” As if remembering himself, he shakes his head and turns, stalking out the door. What the actual fuck was that about?
This is why I need to get out of here. Everyone is going fucking insane, and I don’t want any of the crazy rubbing off on me. Heading in my bathroom, I take a long hot shower. I want Gabriel’s scent off of me. Even though we didn’t actually do anything, he was still inside me, and I want to wash that intrusion off me. Once done, I fall into a restless sleep until I finally blackout from exhaustion.
Twelve
Decisions
Hunter
“Must we meet this asshole at the house? How do we even know he’s really Remy’s fifth?”
“Because Atlas Kotas doesn’t get involved in supernatural and human affairs. Only something as important as finding his soul bound mate would bring him here,” Cody answers from the seat across from me.
“He’s DelaCorte’s cousin. I doubt he would have him contact us unless he’s legit,” Conner adds from his position by the door.
The ringing of the doorbell keeps me from responding with a smart retort, and Conner leaves to answer the door. When he returns, I couldn’t help myself from doing a double take at the other man with him. He doesn’t strike me as Remy’s type. He’s too proper and formal looking. He’s good looking, not unusual among the vampires, the expensive suit he has on is perfectly tailored to his body, his long golden blonde hair is neatly gathered in a knot on the top of his head, and his searing golden eyes seems to cut straight through me right to the core. I don’t need my wolf senses to tell me he’s powerful. I can practically feel his power from across the room. I never felt anything like it. Not even with Oreo’s crazy pants sister.
“Atlas, that’s Caleb, my brother, Rowen, Remy’s twin, Cody, and Hunter, Remy’s other two mates,” Conner says introducing us all.
At our names Atlas turns his golden gaze on us, and I catch the slight twitch of annoyance in his jaw. It appears that he’s about as happy at meeting
us as we are him.
“A wolf and a fairy. What an interesting collection your daughter has,” Atlas comments smirking.
“She also has a mage and a reaper. Will that be a problem with your stuck up ass?” I growl. I don’t care how powerful he is. I will be damned if I sit back and let him think he’s better than us.
“Look, mate. Remy’s arsehole card is already full with Hunter here, she doesn’t need another,” Cody says from his seat. He looks calm, but I can tell if pushed, he will light the vamp on fire.
“No need to get riled up, prince. I’ll play nice for now,” Atlas replies, as he folds his hands in his lap.
“We don’t have time for this shite. You three can measure your dicks later. What news have you brought of our daughter?” Caleb grumbles from his position on the wall. He’s always been a grumpy fucker, but it’s gotten worse since Remy been gone.
“O’Donnell has approached me with a deal to buy Remy. I don’t need to explain why he chose me out of all people to sell her to.”
“So what’s the problem? Buy her so we can get this over with. You look like you have the money,” I say, wondering what is so hard about all this. Our problems are solved. The asshole can buy Remy, and bring her home. No blood needs to be spilled.
“Money isn’t the problem, wolf. It’s what else O’Donnell wants,” he replies.
“He wants in on your businesses, doesn’t he?” Conner muses, filling in the blanks, and nodding in understanding.
“Yes, he sent terms out to me while I was away in LA. He wants forty percent of my businesses in exchange for the girl.”
“You can’t give him that,” Conner says softly, and immediately I jump out of my seat outraged.
“Why the fuck can't he?” I shout.
“Atlas deals in the World’s trade. Even giving O’Donnell as little as five percent will be disastrous,” Caleb explains.
“So what? We just leave her there until he sells her to someone else. Stand by and do nothing while she gets raped by some sick fuck O'Donnell gives her to,” I yell.
I didn’t even see him move until Atlas is in front of me, holding me in the air by my neck. He has an intense look of fury on his face, his sharp ass fangs protruding over his bottom lip, and his eyes are glowing brighter than the sun.
“No one will touch her, or I will cut their dick off, and feed it to them,” he growls inches from my face.
“Then you’re too late,” I choke out from his firm grasp.
Dropping me he asks, “what are you talking about?”
“Remy’s past has been bleak,” Conner answers for me.
“I've already vowed myself to track down and kill anyone who has ever touched her without her permission. I’m not looking to add to that list, or put her through that pain all over again,” I tell the asshole.
“Aren’t you a manipulator? Can’t you just make O’Donnell agree to your terms?" Cody asks him.
“Shit,” I mutter, taking a step back. Manipulators are crazy rare, and crazy powerful. They can make you do and say anything. Even the strongest of supernaturals have fallen prey to their abilities, making them the most feared. I never thought I would ever see one, I damn sure didn’t expect to be in the same room with one. Looking straight at me like he can smell my fear, the asshole smirks before answering.
“I tried already. He was able to block me somehow. Whoever is helping him is strong enough to thwart even a manipulator as strong as me. The Senator’s son is interested in Remy as well. I believe if I turn O’Donnell down, he will be the next choice,” Atlas says turning his gaze away from me.
“That arsehole’s dad used to touch Remy when she was nothing but a teenager. We cannot let him get his hands on Remy,” Caleb growls.
“Agreed,” Conner grumbles. Me killing the Senator is probably a kindness compared to what Caleb and Conner will do to him if they get their hands on him.
“So what’s the plan? Where do we go from here?” Rowen asks from his seat. He’s been so quiet I forgot he was even in the room. Since coming back, I haven’t heard him speak more than two words to anyone except Oreo. Most of the time he’s glued to his laptop, trolling the black web for more info inside O’Donnell’s operation. Also I’m ashamed to admit it hurts to look at him. He reminds me too much of Remy.
“Atlas needs to play hard to get, and buy us as much time as he can, and we need to continue causing trouble for O’Donnell on the supernatural side. Make it so Atlas is the better choice than the Senator,” Conner replies logically.
“What about the thumb drive? The one Rowen took when he first fled from O”Donnell,” I question.
“We can’t use that now. It’s our contingency plan. Once used, O’Donnell will not hesitate to kill Remy,” Roman answers.
“So the plan is to wait and cause trouble,” Cody inquires.
“Yes. With that shock collar around her neck there isn’t much we can do. O’Donnell himself is the only one who can remove it since he’s the one to place it on her. That’s the way the magic works on that thing,” Rowen adds, typing away at his laptop.
Turning the screen to us, he shows us a picture of the collar with some random details on it.
“I tracked down this historian. Most think he’s bat shite crazy because he mostly does research on supernaturals. This is one of the items he’s recorded. It’s believed that the only remaining one is locked up in a vault in Elyeria. Care to explain how it got here?” Rowen questions, turning his cold turquoise gaze to Atlas.
“No clue. I left everything behind from that world when I fled here. I’ve already asked my cousin, and he has no idea how it got over here either, or know of anyone who would give something so powerful to O’Donnell. Trust me, I would like to know the answers to those questions myself so I can repay them the favor with my fangs.”
“Well, we have a plan. We’ll do what we can on our end while you delay O’Donnell as much as you can. Hopefully Silas and Hatter can continue to keep Remy safe while they’re on the inside, and we’ll be able to come up with more answers,” Conner says ever the peacemaker.
As much as I hate it, we don’t have any other choice but to wait it out. My heart hurts for her, but if she can be strong where she’s at, then so can I.
Thirteen
Secret Garden
Remy
As soon as I wake, I spend most of the day in the gym. The room is filled with the sound of my flesh beating against the bag as I take my anger out on it. While I go through a complicated series of punches and kicks, I weigh my situation in my head. Taking in all the variables, and arranging the facts. Truth is, we are all in an impossible situation. I lost two years of my life, the building I’m trapped in is damn near impenetrable with enough security around it to make escape futile, O'Donnell has somehow found a way to get his greedy hands on a couple of rare magical items adding to the impossibility of my escape, and we have no clue who’s giving him access to such items.
And that is where the problem lies. The most important piece to solve this puzzle is missing. Who the fuck is giving him this shit? Are they supernatural as well, or some kind of human magical arms dealer? Magic is the only thing that can fight magic, so how long will it take for my own powers to work through the nullify band? How the fuck are we going to get this shock collar off so I can escape? And most importantly, can I still kill O’Donnell with it on? There's too many missing details to come up with any sort of conclusion. Without a conclusion, I can’t plan, so the only thing I can do is what Gabriel suggested. Sit back, jab, listen, cross, gather information, hook, and when the perfect opportunity comes strike, uppercut.
I’m a sweaty mess, and I’m sure under the tape my fist are bruised from the power I put behind my punches, but at least now I have some idea how to continue forward. For now the storm inside me is calm and not roaring at me for a solution.
Leaving the gym, I go back to my room, and take a quick shower. I know I only asked O’Donnell for permission to go to the gym, but I was start
ing to get cabin fever, and I can’t sit about in my room being lazy for another day. Once dressed, I open the door to my prison, and march right up to the same guard from the other day.
“I’m taking myself on a tour,” I tell him, not at all asking for permission.
Taking in the look on my face, he sighs loudly, and motions for two other guards to come along as he follows me down the hall. I decide to go the way Hangman had taken me last night when he tried and failed to confuse me in the halls. I was easily able to back track, and locate the black door to Gabriel’s room. Bypassing it, I open another door in the same hall which leads to another bedroom, and then a stairwell.
“What’s up here?” I ask the guard.
“The roof,” he answers in a gruff voice.
Curious, I climb the two sets of steep stairs, and step off onto the flat roof. It’s beautiful up here, and not at all what I expected. The whole roof is dedicated to a lush garden as far as the eye can see. It’s so unreal, like something out of The Secret Garden. Walking down the aisles of beautiful flowers, I breath in deep, relishing in the smell of exotic plants. A deep red spiky, pom pom looking plant catches my eye, and I reach my hand out to touch when Maddie’s voice stops me.
“I wouldn’t touch that, little bird, unless you want to die.”
“What?” I screech, snapping my hand back.
“That’s a Castor oil plant, or Palm of Christ. It’s poisonous, and even more lethal than cyanide. If Romeo had gotten his hands on the oil produced from this plant, he would have been dead way before Juliet opened her eyes. Everything from the flowers, oil, and stems on this plant is poisonous, even touching it without gloves on is asking for certain death.”
“And O’Donnell just lets you grow this shit up here?” I choke out, shocked.
“O’Donnell lets me do a lot of things. He’s too power hungry to think about the dangers of letting me grow such things. Most of the plants up here are poisonous, so watch your step, little bird.”