“Mmm, fine,” she murmurs, slanting her head so I can continue nuzzling her neck. I pull her tighter against my body so she can feel what she does to me, and I hear her catch her breath.
“Sorry to interrupt this little party, but it’s time to go,” Wulf calls from the door. I groan in frustration, knowing that I’m not going to find any release for a few hours, as we’re all going to scout outside, looking for clues of how those sons of bitches got past all our security.
“I have to go,” I grunt as I lower my hand from her waist and adjust myself, trying to lessen the pressure. She looks down and then starts to giggle as her cheeks glow with colour. “You think this is funny, do you?” I mumble, but I can’t stop a smile from showing. Her happy laughter makes me happy.
“If anything happens and you need help, send me a text. I will be here as soon as I can. Don’t sit and heal them for too long,” I order, seeing her lips pout in rebellion. “I mean it, Brie. If I get back and you’re as exhausted as yesterday, I won’t let you in here to heal them again.” I know I’m overreacting, but I won’t have her getting sick because she’s giving all of herself without thinking about the consequences.
“Fine,” she grumbles. At her confirmation, I kiss her on the forehead, and then I’m making my way outside. Cassius left with Wulf, so I have to hurry to catch up to them. Arriving at the garage, I see that all the brothers, except Gunner and Caelius, are there.
“Good of you to join us,” Burkhart snaps. By his tone, I can tell something has upset him. Burkhart is a hothead, and it doesn’t take much for him to explode. I look over at Brandr, and he shakes his head, letting me know that I must leave it alone.
“Now that we’re all here, you know what you need to do. Let’s get to it,” Draco orders as he turns his back on us and starts making his way out into the wooded area that surrounds the compound. Celmund and I take off. We’re covering half the cameras. Draco and Wulf are covering the wall and the path we think they took. Burkhart and Brandr are taking the other half of the cameras, and Bjarni, Ceric, and Cassius are sweeping the grounds, looking for anything out of the ordinary.
When we reach the first camera, we see that the glass has been sprayed black. “The fuckers were clever. By not cutting any wires or fiddling with the camera, they made sure the system didn’t register any tampering” Celmund reveals. I look down at the ground and then at the tree the camera is attached to.
“There’s no evidence of anyone being here,” I grunt as I squat and touch the ground with my hands. Feeling the energy of the earth flowing under my hands, I can sense a trace of evil, but that’s normal because of the Keres walking past here. Placing my hands on the tree again, I find nothing out of the ordinary except for a slight smell of something different, but that’s also so faint that it’s hard to say what it could be.
We make our way to the next camera, seeing the vegetation that has been disturbed with the fighting of the previous day. Again, the result is the same, and again, there’s that slight odour of something that escapes me.
“Can you smell something different?” I ask Celmund, and he nods with a frown.
“Yeah, but it’s slight and I can’t tell what it is. Can you?”
“No, but whatever it is, seems as if it’s marking the areas where the cameras are. Let’s check out the other one.” We go through all our cameras and get the same results. Whatever the smell is, it is definitely marking the area of the cameras, and I’m sure it was for the Keres to know where they were going.
A few hours later, we all meet in the computer room to go through what we’ve all found. To everyone’s annoyance, there isn’t much to go by except the smell, a couple of cigarette butts, and footprints all over the place.
“They came over the fucking wall; the sensors were disabled but only in that area,” Wulf reveals.
“I don’t understand why they would need to mark where the cameras are,” Ceric mumbles, a frown covering his normally smiling face.
“All this had to be done yesterday or I would have noticed the cameras were off,” Celmund says angrily.
“I’m thinking there was one guy in the compound disabling the cameras, and he must have been the one who marked where the cameras were to show the others the way,” Draco suggests.
“But why didn’t we feel the fucker’s energy if he was in our surroundings for so long? Because this must have taken him a couple hours to disable all the cameras and the alarm,” Brandr asks.
“And why didn’t the wolves pick up on this?” Bjarni asks, looking over at Wulf.
“They might have been on the other side of the property. That’s the only answer I have. Otherwise, they would have signalled as they did when they were attacking,” Wulf answers.
“This is fucking unbelievable. How can those fuckers just waltz in here and we don’t even know it?” Burkhart growls angrily. “We need to blow all those motherfuckers to hell.” I can feel the heat radiating from him with his anger.
“Calm down, Brother. We’ll get them,” Brandr appeases with a hand on Burkhart’s shoulder.
“Yeah, when? When they kill one of us? We already have Gunner down. Do we even know if he’s going to make it?” And then I realize why he’s so angry; he was the one with Gunner when they were attacked. He’s probably blaming himself for his injuries.
“He’s hanging in there,” I answer, trying to appease his guilt.
“We need to have more brothers patrolling the walls; I’m going to call the other chapters and see if there are any prospects who want to transfer. Celmund, I need you to look at our security system. I want an indestructible one,” Draco growls, his muscles tense with anger. We continue planning our defences for another hour before we make our way out of the computer room.
One thing we’re all sure of is that no matter what, we need to assure the women are always safe, and that isn’t happening at the moment. We also decided to go after James, the agent who hurt Brie, as soon as Celmund has his schedule. The other one we will wait and see where he goes and to whom he speaks to once he realizes we took down his colleague.
BRIELLE 14
It has been three days since the attack, and since that day, the men have disappeared early in the mornings to come back late at night. I know they’re still in the land around the compound, because yesterday, when Aria went out to her garden, Brandr was beside her in minutes, asking her to go back inside until they’re happy with the protection system around the compound. They don’t want us outside unless they’re with us.
Since the night Bion bonded with me, our relationship has blossomed. He treats me as if I’m the most precious thing in the world. I don’t feel as ugly and fat as I’ve always felt throughout my life. He’s constantly telling me how beautiful and sexy I am to him, and even though I’m still self-conscious about the way I look, it isn’t ruling my life anymore.
“Morning.” Looking up from where I’m sitting in the courtyard, I see Nova strolling towards me.
“Morning. How’s your shoulder?” I ask, as I see she isn’t wearing her sling today.
“It’s better. I thought I was supposed to heal faster, having Ceric’s blood and all running through my veins, but no,” she grumbles. “Apparently, we haven’t been mated for long enough, so I still don’t get any perks.”
“Are you in pain?” I ask, moving over on the bench to let her sit.
“Not really. I’m just grumpy. I’m tired of being locked up in here,” she murmurs. “Why don’t we all get together and go for a swim in the spring? I’m sure they won’t complain if we’re all together.”
“Oh, I don’t know.” I love swimming, but I don’t really have a swimming costume, and I can’t see myself stripping down in front of these beautiful, sexy women. “I don’t really have a costume.”
“Oh, come on, that isn’t a problem. You can even swim in one of Bion’s T-shirts.”
“You shouldn’t get your wound wet for that long.” I try to dissuade her but knowing Nova as I’ve started t
o come to know her, she’s going to find a way to go swim.
“That’s what you’re there for; you can bandage it afterwards for me,” she says with a smile. “Oh, come on, what else do you have to do? I know Cassius is in the infirmary; therefore, he can look out for Gunner for an hour.”
“Fine,” I say reluctantly, knowing I’m going to regret this.
“Let’s go call the others,” she says excitedly. Jumping up, she takes my hand, pulling me behind her. A quarter of an hour later, we’re all entering the spring. I don’t feel so out of place, as Gabriela is wearing Bjarni’s T-shirt to swim. She complained that she’s too fat to parade in a bikini. The good thing is that Bion’s T-shirt reaches me halfway down my thighs and floats around me, covering my curves.
“How are we going to do this?” I ask, looking around at the beautiful spring; the water shines off the stone walls, giving it an unreal feeling.
“Let’s take turns. Three in the water and two out, and then we swop around,” Jasmine suggests as she places a sleeping Orion on a blanket away from the water.
“I think I’ll just sit with my feet in the water. I can’t imagine you guys pulling me out of there,” Gabriela teases.
“I’ll keep you company.” I take this opportunity to get away from embarrassing myself.
“Don’t be silly. I’ll be fine. You go ahead and swim. You’ve never been here. Trust me, it’s divine. You will love it,” Gabriela suggests.
“You guys won’t be able to pull me out,” I murmur, looking down at the water as not to see their pity.
“What the hell are you talking about? You’re not much bigger than any of us,” Nova calls from the side of the spring.
“That bullet must have done something to your eyes,” I tease, trying to lessen the embarrassment.
“No, I agree with her. You have a fantastic body. You can’t say you didn’t see the way the guys were all looking at you at Gabriela’s birthday party.”
“Yeah, sure, they were thinking what was the fatty doing here between us,” I grumble. I wish this conversation would just end.
“Who the hell put this idea in your head that you’re fat?” Nova argues.
“Since I was young, I’ve always had to struggle with my weight. On my school holidays, my mother used to send me to boot camp until I found out that I have problems with my thyroid. Once I started to take medication for it, I was able to maintain my weight, but I still have to be careful with what I eat.”
“Sweetheart, did your mother tell you that you’re fat?” Aria asks with a frown.
A laugh escapes when I think about the things my mother said to me. “Yes, but you see, my mother and my sister are petite, and I took after my father’s family and came out with all these curves. My mother was just trying to help me fit in, but no matter how much I exercised or how little I ate, I was never able to look like them,” I murmur, not looking up at them.
“Is that why you prefer to wear the two men’s t-shirts that we left for you instead of the women’s, because they are shapeless and hide your curves?” I wince at Nova’s perception, but I can’t lie, so I nod.
“I’ve got an idea,” Jasmine states excitedly. “Let’s give Brielle a makeover and show her how really beautiful and sexy she is.” My eyes shoot up to her face. What? No, no, I don’t think I want that. What if Bion laughs at me because I’m trying to be something I’m not?
“That’s a great idea,” Gabriela squeals from where she’s finally managed to sit with Aria’s help.
“I don’t think—” I start, but Nova interrupts me before I can refuse the offer.
“Exactly, don’t think,” she says. “You will love it, you’ll see. I will ask Sam to bring everything we’ll need.” I groan when I hear her best friend’s name. I love Sam, but if Nova and Sam get together, I won’t be able to stop them.
“Enough talk. Let’s swim before the guys come back,” Aria suggests.
I move cautiously towards the spring, not sure if I should take a chance and enter, my mind still on their suggestion of giving me a makeover, when I feel hands behind me, and then I’m falling in with a scream. As I hit the water, I gasp at the warmth. I was expecting it to be cold, but no, it’s nice and warm. Kicking up, I surface to see Nova’s naughty face smiling at me.
“You’re terrible.” I laugh, loving the feel of the water around me.
“You haven’t seen anything yet,” she teases as she jumps in with a splash, wetting the others. I look over to see if the water touched the baby, but I think Jasmine must have suspected it, because she left Orion a good distance from the water.
“My turn,” Jasmine calls as she tosses her T-shirt away, showing us a sexy red bikini before she jumps in. We all laugh as she surfaces with a smile. “I love it here.” She then swims towards Aria and Gabriela.
Looking over at Nova, I see that her bandage is completely soaked. “You shouldn’t be in here for too long because of your wound,” I call, and see her look down at her shoulder with a frown, and then she shrugs, unconcerned.
“What have you got under the T-shirt?” Nova asks suddenly.
“My panties and bra, why?” At my answer, she’s before me with a cheeky smile on her face, and then I feel Jasmine behind me. “What . . . ?” And then I’m being held from behind by Jasmine as she laughs while Nova grabs my T-shirt and starts to tug up until I let her take it off as not to hurt her. They are all laughing uproariously as Nova throws my T-shirt out of the spring, and even though I’m embarrassed, I laugh at their merriment.
“You know I can’t get out of here like this, don’t you?” I groan as I look down at my black bra and panties.
“Of course you can. Look, even I will take mine off,” Gabriela replies while pulling off her T-shirt. Tears fill my eyes when I realize what they’re doing. Never have I had friends who would go out of their way to make me feel accepted.
“Damn, girl, how do you still have sex with that stomach?” Nova calls out playfully.
“Oh, you won’t believe how resourceful my man can be,” she teases as she strokes her very pregnant stomach, her luscious breasts on the verge of jumping out of her dark-blue bikini as she laughs.
“And you, how is it with Orion in the room?” Nova asks of Jasmine.
A blush covers her cheeks as she laughs. “Wulf is very creative too; the things that man can do will never grow old.” At that, I splash her with water, hitting her square in the face. She starts to splutter and lunges for me, but Orion chooses that moment to wake up.
“I’m coming,” she calls as she reaches the side of the spring and starts to struggle to pull herself out. Nova and I swim towards her and push her legs up while Aria pulls on her arms to get her out. She finally crawls out and rushes towards the little guy who starts to gurgle when he sees his mother.
“I think I should start getting out too,” Nova says, looking tired; I help push her up as Aria struggles to pull her out. “Are you also coming?” Nova asks as she looks back, but before I can reply, Bjarni strides in and then stops when he sees all of us.
“What the fuck are you all doing here, and in the spring?” he roars when he notices that Jasmine and Nova are wet and that I’m still in the water.
“Hey, babe,” Gabriela calls out calmly. “Give me a hand, will you?” Bjarni scowls at her as he approaches, but I see his eyes soften as they roam over her body.
“What’s going on here?” Wulf asks as he walks in. He stops when he sees Jasmine bending over to pick up Orion. I notice his eyes widen, and then he’s rushing towards her. “Angel, where the fuck’s your clothes?” He stands over her, looking around for something to throw over her if his look is anything to go by.
“Get your fucking clothes on. The others are nearly here.” And then I remember that all I have on is my underwear with a bra that is lacy and allows for a good view of my nipples. Great. All I need is for them to see me nearly naked. Desperately looking around, I notice Bion’s shirt in a heap a few feet away, but as I’m about to
ask Nova to throw it to me, the guys walk in, stopping dead in their tracks when they see us.
“What the fuck, Nova?” Ceric roars as he rushes towards her. Burkhart and Celmund burst out laughing when Ceric pulls off his T-shirt and hurriedly pushes it over Nova’s head, covering her body. “What’s so fucking funny?” He looks back at them, but they simply grin and shake their heads in amusement. I notice Bjarni already covered Gabriela, too, with the T-shirt she had discarded earlier on, and Aria is about to pull on hers when Brandr steps into the spring, a wide smile on his face as he talks to someone behind him until he sees Aria standing there in her bikini.
He doesn’t say anything as he approaches her and helps her pull down her T-shirt, and then he pulls her tightly against his body and glares at Celmund and Burkhart.
Bion walks in with Draco next to him. “Is there a party in here that you guys forgot to mention?” Draco asks as he looks around with a raised brow.
Bion is smiling until his eyes connect with mine. “Brie, what the hell are you doing in the water?” He rushes towards me with a concerned look in his eyes as he looks into the water. “Give me your hand.” I hesitate, not wanting to get out of the water in my state of undress. “Brie, now,” he says forcefully, and I reluctantly take his hand, feeling myself getting lifted out of the water with no effort.
When I’m finally standing before him with my back towards everyone, his eyes widen as they roam over my body, a flush appearing on his cheekbones as his eyes ignite with lust. “Fuck me,” he groans as he stares at my breasts. I don’t have to look down to know that my nipples are peaking out of the lace.
“Where are your clothes?” he grunts as he continues to stare at my breasts. I look down by his feet where his T-shirt is in a wet heap, and he finally follows my eyes and frowns, and then all of a sudden, it’s like he realises that I’m standing before him and everyone else in my underwear. He growls quietly as he yanks his T-shirt off and starts to shove it over my head. I realise he has it the wrong way around, but I don’t say anything, as he seems to be angry.
BION: Elemental's MC (book 5) Page 11