by Mia Hawkins
Rayven turns and starts walking away. I guess we can pick this up again another day. We aren’t getting anywhere currently anyway. I look to my brother to make sure he is going back up to the house with me, but as we start making our way back up the path, Xavier stomps past us and heads straight for Rayven. I get a bad feeling as soon as I see the look on his face and hurry to try to catch him. All of a sudden, I run into a wall. I look around and see the others are having the same problem, and that’s when I spot the sigils on the ground. Are you serious right now? Just when I think Xavier can’t have any more surprises!
Xavier Gleason is a fae, but his family used to have mages working for them. They loaded this place with unused sigils and wards so if any member of the Gleason family needed protection, they could just activate them. Of course Xavier would abuse it and not use it for their intended purposes. He trapped Rayven in the protection circle with him. I’d say I know he wouldn’t hurt her, but that would be a lie. I don’t know why he reacts the way he does towards her, but it terrifies me. I start trying to bang on the barrier, but I know it is no use.
She adopts a fighting stance and tries to ready herself for Xavier’s attack. I can feel my heart racing. I barely register he phased behind her before he kicks her legs out and she falls down. My blood is boiling. Once he is out of there, I will kill him. He punches her in the stomach, and it takes everything in me not to shift right here. I glance at Alex and Chaice who are also struggling to contain themselves. Xavier isn’t holding back, but I know Rayven is. I’ve seen how she handled the rogues, so why is she not fighting back with Xavier?
“Stop playing around and fight me!” Xavier yells at her. I have never seen him this angry before.
“I told you, I am not who you think I am, you big thick-headed asswipe!” Rayven snaps back at him. I can see the fire in Xavier’s eyes, and I am scared for Rayven. Yes, we are pretty sure she has powers to protect herself, but this is not the way to go about releasing them. I fear Xavier will lose himself to his warrior side and not be in control of himself anymore.
I bang on the invisible wall to try and get his attention and hopefully snap him out of it. He picks her up by the shirt and gets in her face. I almost can’t watch anymore, because my wolf is growling and snarling at his cage I keep him in. I have to take a few breaths to calm myself; I would be no good to her if I shift. “Fine, you want to fight, then let’s do it, sunshine,” is all I hear before Rayven’s eyes start glowing red. She does the impossible and pries his hands off of her shirt and drops down on her feet.
They both are moving so fast they are almost a blur. If I didn’t have enhanced eyesight, I wouldn’t be able to see them at all. She kicks him in the chest, and I internally cheer. There’s the fight I knew she had. She says something else, but I can’t make it out now that they’ve moved a little farther away. Xavier’s eyes begin to glow gold, and that’s when I really start to get scared. Once a fae goes primal, they have no restraint. I wouldn’t even be able to handle a primal fae, and most times, they can’t come back from it either. Rayven and Xavier become a blur again until I see Xavier stop and let out a blast of energy. That shouldn’t be possible. I look to the others and see the horrified looks on their faces. How was he able to do that? A bone crunching thud suddenly pulls my attention to where Rayven must have hit the barrier.
He is on top of her too quickly for her to do anything. He places his hands on her head, and she screams. He’s trying to force energy into her, he’s trying to kill her. There is no doubt in my mind that he has crossed the line, and there is no coming back from it. I bang even harder on the barrier, but they are both too far gone. I can feel myself start to shift when I look back at Rayven as she begins to glow. Her whole body is enveloped in green and blue mist. She grabs his wrists, and I watch as power crashes into his body and blows him off of her. She releases so much power she broke the sigil’s wall and threw us back as well. When we’re finally able to get back up, I hear a terrifying growl. I turn towards Rayven, and her eyes are glowing different colors. I’ve never seen anything like it before. Her face is so contorted with rage it is almost unrecognizable.
She starts walking over to Xavier, and her facial expression changes from one of fury to one that’s almost worried. When I look at Xavier, I see why she is worried. He looks horrible. The blast must have done a lot of damage internally that I can’t see. On the outside, he is bleeding all over the place, but his ears and nose are the worst. I might not like him very much right now, but I don’t want him to die. The amount of emotion I am feeling right now surprises me. He might be an asshole, but I know the kind Xavier has to be in there somewhere. I need to get over to him and see if a mage could heal him.
I try to make my way over to them, but I am stopped by something—another barrier! Are you fucking kidding me?! That’s when I realize it isn’t Xavier this time. I can tell it’s coming from Rayven, I can feel her power pulsing inside it. She kneels next to him and puts her hand on his shoulders. What is she doing? The mist is back, and now the blue and green covers them both. She tilts her head to the sky, with her hands still on Xavier. Her hands are glowing white, and from this distance, I can see she must be healing him. How is any of this possible?
Xavier wakes up, and she finally looks down at him and says something that makes her chuckle a little. Then she falls onto his chest. In that same moment, her barrier falls, and we run towards her. Chaice is the first one to reach her, and as he tries to grab Rayven, Xavier lets out a challenging growl. Xavier wraps her up in his arms and pulls her close to his chest. His eyes are glowing gold again, and I’m worried he will hurt her in her unconscious state. I hold my hands out to try to let him know I am not going to hurt either of them. He snaps his teeth at me, letting me know that he doesn’t care what my hands are doing, he does not trust me.
“Xavier, let us get Rayven and make sure she is ok. We will leave you alone, I promise,” Chaice tries to reason with him. I have read about fae going primal before, and I worry we will have one hell of a fight to get her out of his grasp. My eyes lock onto something on the back of Rayven’s neck, and my breath catches. It’s a fae’s mark, but that is impossible; they can’t mate without a ceremony and all of that ridiculous crap…unless they are fated. My heart rate spikes. How is she fated for Xavier and my brother and me? Now it makes sense why he is acting how he is. Ever since he met her, he must have known she was his mate. He was fighting his instincts this whole time.
I’ve always heard that when a fae meets their fated mate, they don’t need the normal ritual. They can mate from any sort of extreme contact. I’m almost certain that normally it doesn’t happen when they are trying to kill each other. Although I would expect nothing else with Xavier; he’s a hard person to like. This just further proves my theory about what her marking on her shoulder means. I can see the concern written all over Alex’s and Chaice’s faces.
“They are mated.” You could hear a pin drop as both of their heads shoot in my direction.
“What the fuck do you mean they are mated?” Chaice asks me.
“Look at how he is primal and protecting her. Most fae this far gone only kill, they never protect. Also look at the mark on the back of her neck, it’s his mark.” They immediately look over everything I just pointed out.
“I’m going to kill him for forcing this on her,” Alex says as he starts to stalk forward.
“He didn’t force it on her. This is what I have been trying to tell you guys. She has a mark on her shoulder that I’ve only seen once, and pair that with the little bit of power she just showed us. I think I have an idea about who she is,” I say, looking back over at Rayven and Xavier, “and if I’m right, that means she is not only his fated mate, but she is all of ours as well.”
Chapter 17
Rayven
When I wake up, my head is pounding. I snuggle closer to the warm bed and take a deep breath in. The smell of a forest engulfs me, and my body immediately relaxes. I’ve never been this cont
ent. I try to go over what happened in my mind, but someone starts running their hand over my head repeatedly. Who the fuck is petting me like a dog? I open my eyes and turn my head only to realize the warm bed I thought I was in is actually Xavier. He looks down at me, his eyes more golden than I have ever seen. I don’t see any trace of the green eyes he usually has. I try to wiggle out of this awkward situation only to have him squeeze me tighter and start to growl. What the fuck is happening here?
“Rayven.” I look over to see who called my name. The others are all sitting on the ground about fifteen feet away, looking worried. “Ok, don’t freak out. Promise me you will stay calm.” Matthew is the first to speak up. I look at him, and it takes everything in me not to bust out laughing.
“Matthew, you do realize when you tell someone not to freak out, that usually causes them to freak the fuck out! Someone tell me why the elf is acting crazier than usual. Which I thought was impossible. And why is he petting me?” I try to keep my voice calm, but I am more than a little nervous that I am unable to move without getting growled at. Xavier must pick up on my distress. Of course, his self-centered ass thinks the other guys are the ones making me feel this way. He grips me tighter and starts to slide away from the guys.
“Rayven, we can’t help you right now,” Chaice whispers from across the distance.
“Will one of you just tell me what is going on?” I ask, looking for someone to fill me in.
“Well, for starters, Xavier went primal, which means he reverted back to his natural instincts. From what we have heard, he loses the man portion of himself. I don’t know if he can understand what we say or not. The only thing I do know is he does not feel normal human emotions anymore.” Matthew explains it like that just answered all of my questions. “And as for the reason he is a little attached to you at the moment, well...” Matthew looks to the other two like he’s hoping they will answer for him.
“You are mated to him,” Alex says in a rush.
“Hold the fuck up! What do you mean I am mated to him? You guys have never said anything about a mate. You mean like a soul mate?” I screech at Alex.
I know he told me to stay calm, but I can’t. What does this mean for me? Am I tied to this asshole for the rest of my life?
“Yes, it is a lot like soul mates. At the beginning of a soul’s creation, that soul is split into two people and released into the world. Most sups never find their true mate. You guys are now tied together like a string. If you look inside yourself, you should be able to feel him. I am not entirely sure what you will feel from Xavier since he went primal, but why don’t you try to find your connection. Maybe if you calm him, he will let you go.” Matthew’s voice relaxes me, and I do as he instructed. I look inside myself to see if I can feel Xavier. It starts with a soft persistent beat that I know is not my heartbeat, it is Xavier’s. I follow that little connection, and I can suddenly feel what he is feeling.
Nothing makes sense to me as all of his thoughts are a jumbled mess. Even his feelings are hard to understand, but the one thing I can make out is a fierce need to protect what is his. Xavier stands up and throws me over his shoulder and starts to stalk away from the guys. “That is it!” I shout at Xavier. I start hitting him in the back, trying to get him to let me go. I feel a deep rumble in his chest as he starts growling at me, but I’m not scared. I am sick of this guy being an ass and getting whatever he wants. Fuck that!
“Let me down, you pointy eared, big ass nugget!” I force energy into my arm and elbow him in the side of the head. His grip falters, and I use that to my advantage and push myself to the ground. As soon as my feet are planted, I back away from him. I can see the wildness in his eyes, but I don’t care. He lets out a roar that makes me want to cover my ears. I am pretty sure when it comes to animals, that was a warning to stand down. But then again, I don’t listen very well, and I am not an animal. With the way he’s looking at me, I’m sure most people would cower at just the intensity in his eyes.
I am not like most people, and I hold his gaze like my life depended on it. “You know better than to growl at people,” I scream right back at him. If he wants to act like an animal, then I will treat him like one. Xavier cocks an eyebrow, and after a couple moments, his golden eyes start to fade into green. For a second, the man I talked to in the hallway is back. He has a smile on his face that I have never seen, and it is beautiful. Just as quickly as it showed up though, it is gone, and in its place is a look of disgust.
“What have you done?” he bellows at me.
“Me? What did you do? You attacked me for no reason, and I kicked your ass. Then I felt bad and had to heal you so you wouldn’t die. A simple thank you would suffice.” I cross my arms over my chest with as much attitude as I can muster.
“Xavier?” Chaice says, moving to stand beside me. Chaice grabs my elbow and pulls me behind him. Xavier’s eyes narrow on where Chaice is touching me, and he begins to growl menacingly. This is ridiculous; I am at a loss as to what is going on.
“You know as well as I do that we won’t hurt Rayven, so you can stop growling. You need to decide right here and now what you are going to do. Are you going to claim Rayven as yours, or are you going to reject her? It’s not fair for her to be caught in whatever you have going on in your head,” Alex says, walking up to stand next to Chaice. It doesn’t take long for Matthew to stand on the other side, effectively cutting off my view of Xavier. Why do these guys have to be so stinking tall?
“Why do you care what I do? We all have a job to do here, and this does not change anything. We bring her to the council at the end of this week. That was the deal.” His voice sounds rugged as he speaks.
“Actually, the deal was if I kicked your ass, I could go home,” I pipe up from behind the guys. No one acknowledges that I even said anything. I cross my arms and try to push my way through them again, but none of them budge.
“You can really stand there and say you are willing to give her up to them, knowing we will probably never see her again? She is your fated mate! Do you know what the chances of you finding her are?” Matthew sounds furious, which I can understand. I wonder how they feel, knowing that Xavier is throwing away his soul mate like yesterday’s trash. Especially since they will probably never find their mates. I’m not saying I am happy about being his mate—I will probably try to get out of it—but I can understand why they are so flabbergasted.
“Of course I know what the chances are! I’ve only known one pair of fated mates, so don’t try to lecture me, mutt. I also didn’t ask for this. I had a good life before her, and I plan to keep it that way. I don’t want to hurt any of you, but if you try to stop me from bringing her to the council, so help me, I will end you,” Xavier seethes.
“I don’t understand how you can even say that,” Matthew says, shaking his head in disbelief. I can feel how tense each of my protectors are. It’s funny how just this morning, they were my kidnappers, and now they are protecting me.
“Well, understand this, because I will only say it once: She means nothing to me. I don’t care what the council has planned for her; they can dissect her for fun, for all I care. Just enjoy your time with her, because on Friday, I am taking her to the council, and you can’t stop me,” Xavier says before he turns and stalks away.
I don’t know why, maybe it’s this stupid mate bond, but my heart is breaking. Knowing he can think so little of me is ripping me apart. A tear rolls down my cheek, and I quickly wipe it away before the others turn around and notice. “Well, who pooped in his Cheerios?” I awkwardly laugh, trying to relieve some of the tension. I can tell from the looks on their faces my joke did not work as intended. There’s pity in their eyes, and I just can’t take it. I don’t want them to feel sorry for me.
I need to work off my sadness, then I will feel better. I start walking towards the gym only to stop short when Chaice blocks my path. “You can’t go to the gym, you need to rest,” he says, looking over my face.
“I am fine, I feel great actually
.” I try to reassure him with a smile.
“Well, you’re not fine, you expended way too much energy today. That’s why you collapsed on Xavier. You not only let go of more energy than I have ever seen come out of one person, you also healed him of all injuries, which should not be possible.” Chaice looks to the others to confirm what he is saying, and they nod their heads.
“Why would it not be possible to heal him? Listen, you know what, never mind. Nothing I did was that big of a deal. I know my body, and what I need right now is to burn off some steam. So unless you are offering to let me use you, I am going to the gym.” I wiggle my eyebrows in an attempt to look sexy, although I’m sure it just looks like I am constipated. Chaice smiles wearily and steps to the side so I can pass.
Chapter 18
Rayven
As I make my way into the gym, my head is spinning. So much has happened in these past few days, and I am finally starting to feel overwhelmed. I went from never talking to anyone to being trapped in a house with four different males, one of whom despises me, which leads me to a whole other level of worry. And who is this council he so desperately wants to bring me to? I wonder if that’s the robed people I saw when I connected with him. If that is who they are talking about, why would he bring me to them if he hates them as bad as I felt in my vision? My brain is spinning, thinking about how much everything has changed, as I get on the treadmill and start out at a light jog. Maybe running will help me sort through what is going on.