I start to look around, desperately trying to find a car, when Caelius starts to jog towards a Ford Figo parked on the curb. “You must be shitting me.” I growl at his choice of vehicle. The two of us hardly fit inside.
“This is Jenny’s car. We don’t want to bring more attention to ourselves than we already have. Come on, let’s hurry,” he says as he yanks at the handle of the door. We are speeding down the road before anyone can call the cops. I pull out my phone as it starts to beep and notice that Celmund has linked the movement of the SUV to it.
“Turn right. They are moving out of town,” I grunt as my eyes stare at the icon moving on my phone. I feel emptiness in my soul at the thought that something might happen to Brielle before we can even bond. And even though I haven’t bonded with her yet, I know that if anything happens to my woman because I wasn’t able to protect her as I should have been doing, I won’t be able to carry on living.
“Relax, Brother, we will get her back,” Caelius calls out as he continues to drive.
“I should have let her come with us; instead, I made her stay in the SUV,” I grumble in anger at myself.
“This wasn’t your fault; no one could have guessed that this was going to happen.”
“She’s mine. I should be able to protect her at all times, but the first time she’s in danger, I can’t protect her,” I reply in self-condemnation. I can feel my blood rushing through my body at the fury fighting to explode.
“You need to get yourself under control for when we find her, Brother.” I know he’s right, but I can‘t get the image of her frightened eyes looking back at me through the rear window out of my mind. I told her we would protect her, and even before we bond, I fail her. If she ever believes me about her being my mate, why would she want me as her mate, someone who can’t even keep her safe?
I notice the SUV isn’t moving. Why have they stopped? While they were still moving, I could hold my anxiety at bay, but now that they have stopped, we need to hurry up because if they take her without us being able to track her, she could be lost to me for always.
“Hurry up,” I growl, punching my door with more force than I intended. A dent appears, making Caelius frown at me angrily.
“It doesn’t go any faster, and try to keep from destroying the car. We have to return it to Jenny,” Caelius objects. Just as we come around a bend, I see my brothers’ bikes pulled over to the side of the road, the SUV parked next to the road.
Ceric and Draco have the back doors of the SUV open and are both half in, making my heart constrict in fear. I can’t see Brielle. Can it be that she’s still in the SUV? Before Caelius stops the car, I jump out and run towards them, but Celmund steps in my way, trying to stop me from seeing what’s inside. That just makes me mad; nothing and no one else will keep me away from my woman. If she’s in there, I want to see her.
“Get out of my fucking way,” I thunder, pushing Celmund away. He must realise how out of control I am, because he doesn’t try to stop me again. Ceric looks over his shoulder, and then he moves sideways so I can slide into his place. The moment I see my beauty, my breath catches in pain. Why would those fuckers hurt her like this?
Her face is swollen on one side, and there is blood on her lip that seems to be cut. Her arm lying by her side has a long gash that will need stiches, but it’s the wound on her leg that worries me. I can see Draco putting pressure on it. That means the wound must be deep. I see her eyes fluttering as she looks up at me.
“Brie, oh, beauty, look what those sons of bitches did to you,” I murmur, and before I can think about it, I have my fingers gently stroking her face. I feel a shudder move over her, and only then do I realize what I have done. Shit, I shouldn’t have touched her while she’s so weak. I need to hurry up and bond with her before I hurt her even more than she already is.
“Bion! Fucking bad timing to touch her,” I hear Draco grunt. “Get ready to give her blood. She’s lost too much as it is.”
Before he even finishes talking, I have already brought my wrist to my lips and have torn at it with my teeth until it’s bleeding. Before she can even start to convulse, I place my wrist over her lips and watch the blood drip into her mouth. I realize that she has passed out, but hopefully my blood will restore some of her strength for her to start to heal.
After giving her enough blood, I lower my head and bite the curve of her neck, taking just enough blood for an exchange. Her sweet essence engulfs me with such passion, such love, that I groan in surprise at the overwhelming feelings consuming me with their power.
“Sit with her. I’ll drive the SUV back,” Draco orders as he steps back and closes the door where he was standing. “We’re moving out.” He walks around the SUV and sits in the driver’s seat. I move Brielle gently until I’m able to sit under her and have her head lying on my lap.
My fingers move towards her neck, feeling her pulse. Her pulse is weak, but I feel her energy, and that’s strong. Draco starts the SUV and pulls onto the road. “What happened?” he asks, looking in the review mirror at me.
After explaining to him what happened when we arrived at the bakery, he grunts and says, “There’s someone else’s blood on her besides hers, especially by her leg.” I feel my rage return at the thought of what was done to her. Now that he mentioned it, I can smell someone else’s blood, and then I growl deep in my throat when I smell the essence of a man. I will remember his essence, and when I find him, because I will find him, he’s dead. “This doesn’t seem like FBI, but I don’t sense any Keres blood or energy around her. Do you?”
“No. Whoever these fuckers are, they’re human.” I gently stroke her hair back to try to see the damage to her face. Pressing lightly on her cheekbones to make sure nothing is broken, I find that her nose doesn’t seem affected.
“Are you ready for this?” Draco asks, making me tense. I know he’s talking about me now being bonded and not the revenge I’m already planning on the faceless son of a bitch who thought he could touch my woman.
“Yeah,” I reply. “I’ve been waiting for her my whole life.”
“I wish you happiness, Brother,” Draco says quietly. Looking at the review mirror, I can see his ice-blue eyes glimmering in the sun. Of all the brothers, Draco is the oldest and the strongest. We have all worried over the centuries about him turning, but he maintains his strength. I know he struggles with the loneliness and the constant battle of taking more blood, but Draco is emotionally, mentally, and physically stronger than anyone I have ever known.
“Your woman is also out there, Draco. After everything that has happened, it seems as if our women were all born in this century for a reason. The fates have a funny sense of humour,” I quip. He looks at me in the review mirror and grunts. “Just think, you might get someone like Nova.”
He scowls. “There is no one else like Nova. She was made with the sole purpose of keeping Ceric in line.” We have been teasing Ceric about how his mate has him by the balls, but the fucker has been so happy these last few days that he doesn’t even care about our teasing.
Looking down at my woman, I slightly lift my hand that has been putting pressure on her wound and see that the bleeding has slowed. The T-shirt that Draco tied around her upper leg is doing its job. We arrive at the compound, and I notice that the women are all standing by the garage door, waiting for us.
They’re looking at the SUV with concern, awaiting to see how Brielle is. As I open the door and slide out from under her head, she groans. At her groan of pain, the anger I’m holding at bay at what was done to her surfaces. “Sons of bitches,” I murmur as I place my arm around her shoulders and pull her out until my other arm is around her legs and I’m holding her against my chest where she belongs.
“How is she?” I hear Nova ask as I walk past and make my way towards the infirmary so I can get her wound looked at before she awakens. After laying her down on the bed, I cut the T-shirt away from her leg and notice in surprise that the bleeding has nearly stopped.
Taking
the arm with the gash in my hand, I notice that, too, has started to heal. Is it possible my woman heals faster than normal because of her gift? That’s the only answer I have unless she’s Elemental, and I know she’s not.
“Bion.” Her whispered word makes my eyes shoot up to her face. I feel her tense as she feels the pain on her face.
“Hey, beauty, how are you feeling?” I ask gently, trying to calm her with my voice.
“I believe you,” she states, not answering my question but giving me the answer I’ve been waiting for.
“Good, because you belong to me now,” I murmur, watching her close her eyes again.
“Is she going to be okay?” Cassius asks from the other side of the infirmary where he’s sitting with the woman we still don’t know anything about.
“Yeah,” I reply, and then notice that all my brothers and their women are standing outside by the infirmary windows, waiting to see how Brielle is. I feel my throat close with emotion at the care my brothers and their women show towards me and Brielle. I nod to let them know she will be fine and then proceed in cleaning her wounds and making her more comfortable.
The way her wounds are stitching together, I’m sure that by tomorrow, she will be feeling much better. This day may not have gone the way we planned, and I will still have to find the bastards who thought they could touch her, but I now have the woman who was born for me, and she’s finally my mate.
BRIELLE 8
Waking up the day after the incident, I notice I’m still lying in the infirmary. I’m surprised when I open my eyes to see all the women around me. Gabriela and Aria are sitting on a chair next to my bed, and Jasmine and Nova are chatting quietly at the end of the bed. They still haven’t seen that I’ve opened my eyes, so looking around, I find Cassius still sitting next to the other woman’s bed.
“Oh, good, you’re awake,” Aria says as she stands. Coming next to the bed, she takes my hand. “How you feeling?” Her eyes are haunted, and there is concern in her voice. Jasmine mentioned to me before that Aria had also been kidnapped, and that when the guys found her, she was at death’s door.
“I’m okay.” My voice is raspy, but to be honest, I’m not feeling much pain. Bion must have given me something for the pain, but looking down, I don’t see a drip.
“We were so worried about you,” Jasmine says from the end of my bed. “When they brought you in, there was so much blood.”
“Those assholes. Our guys should skin them alive,” Nova grumbles as she looks down at me from next to Jasmine.
“What happened? The guys haven’t told us anything yet, except that someone tried to kidnap you,” Gabriela asks from her chair. After explaining to them what happened, I see they’re angry on my behalf. I have never had friends like these, friends who stand by me and care about me unconditionally.
“Did you get their names?” Cassius asks from where he’s sitting, a scowl on his face.
“No. They showed me a badge, but I didn’t see the name. I do know one was called James. He was the one who cut my leg and punched me.”
“Maybe Jasmine can track the guy and I can persuade him to jump off a skyscraper,” Nova suggests with a raised eyebrow, making me laugh. They told me about how Jasmine has visions when she wants to see something in the future.
“How would you do that, you crazy woman?” I tease. I see Nova look over at Gabriela and then Aria before she replies.
“I can persuade people,” she reveals with a smirk.
“Oh, wow.” I’m surrounded by people like me.
“I can read thoughts,” Aria reveals quietly, a twinkle in her eye as she continues. “You were having some wild thoughts a few days ago.” I can feel my cheeks bloom with colour as I remember the sexual thoughts I’ve been having about Bion.
“Oh, girl, look at those cheeks. I can just imagine,” Gabriela teases as they all start to laugh.
“Must I start wearing one of those foil hats people wear because of aliens?” I joke.
“Don’t worry, I can’t read them anymore. That’s how I knew,” she says with a smirk.
“Knew what?” I ask, confused.
“Knew that you and Bion bonded,” she reveals happily.
“What? What do you mean we bonded?” He told me he would have to touch me to bond, and that we would have to take each other’s blood. Did he touch me? My mind is foggy about what happened after James wounded me. I have a faded image of Bion standing over me, a worried look on his face, but did he touch me? And then I remember when he stroked my face and the warmth I felt flooding my body.
“You don’t know?” Gabriela asks curiously.
“Well, I’m not sure. My mind is a little fuzzy.” I can feel my heartrate accelerate at the thought of having a man like Bion who actually wants to be my man.
“Well, girl, your cobwebs are about to be obliterated,” Gabriela teases with a wink. “You’re about to have the ride of your life going by the looks he’s been giving you.”
“Yip, and if he’s anything like Ceric, his package is as big as his muscles,” Nova quips as she starts to thrust her hips, making us all laugh uproariously.
“Really!” Cassius calls from where he’s sitting. “I really don’t need to listen to this shit.” He shakes his head as he stands and walks out of the infirmary. Since getting shot, Cassius hardly leaves the woman’s side. I can see the anxiety and pain in his eyes when he doesn’t think anyone is watching.
“If I knew that talking about our men’s assets would get him to take a walk, I would have done it earlier,” Jasmine grumbles. “Wulf is worried that he’s going to snap if she doesn’t wake up.”
“We won’t let that happen. They did say that the Keres said that our purpose was to stop the Elementals from transforming into Keres. Well, we just need to figure out how,” Aria suggests.
“What are you talking about?” I ask. I know the Elementals are fighting with the Keres MC, but what does Aria mean when she says they can transform into them? At my question, Jasmine updates me on what has been happening for centuries with the Elementals and the Keres, and what happens when the Elementals don’t mate and take too much blood.
The thing that keeps on crossing my mind is that Bion was telling the truth about everything, and even though I already believed him, this just confirms what he was telling me and more. I interrupt Jasmine. “Gabriela, what is your gift?” The others have already told me, but I still don’t know what she can do.
“If I touch people, I can tell their future or their past,” she states with a shrug. I’ve never been part of something. Now I’m part of a group who may have the ability to save the Elementals from losing themselves.
“What if you touched the men to see their mates? Maybe telling them who she is will help keep their hopes up,” I suggest, but before I can finish, Gabriela is already shaking her head in denial.
“I can’t read Elementals; our gifts don’t work on them,” she responds.
“But I healed Aria. She’s part Elemental, isn’t she?” I ask. That must be the reason why the guys didn’t want the FBI to get the women’s blood. I can see a surprised look on their face when I mention it, and then Nova is looking around with a wide grin on her face.
“Oh, please, please, let it be true,” she says. “I so want to persuade Ceric.”
“What do you want to persuade him with?” Jasmine asks with a suspicious look on her face. “I know that look, Nova. You’re up to no good.”
“Me?” She points to herself with an innocent look on her face. “Why ever would you think something like that?”
“Okay, we’re going to be in trouble again,” Jasmine grumbles, but there’s a twitch to her lips.
“Do you think maybe it’s because it was two of you touching and our gifts work when we touch each other?” Gabriela asks with a questioning look.
“Well, let’s try,” Nova says as she looks around. “Aria, can you hear any of our thoughts?” At her question, Aria shakes her head. “Okay then, maybe touch one
of us and see if you can tell what we’re thinking.” Aria looks around and then stretches her hand out to Nova.
“I want to know why you want to persuade Ceric,” she teases as she takes hold of Nova’s hand. She’s quiet for a minute, and then a grin starts to spread across her face.
“No!” Nova states with surprise. “Really? Can you tell what I’m thinking?” Aria nods and then bursts out laughing as she pulls her hands away.
“You are so bad,” she gasps out to Nova.
“What? I also want to know,” Gabriela asks from her seat. Nova groans, a blush suffusing her cheeks.
“Why don’t you tell them?” Aria asks.
“Oh, what the hell,” she grumbles. “I want to tie him up and have my way with him, but he doesn’t let me.” I was in the process of sitting up when she revealed what she wanted to do. I burst out laughing, losing the strength in my arm, making me drop back down in giggles.
After we have all exhausted ourselves laughing at her naughtiness, I finally manage to sit up, feeling much better. Looking at my arm, I see the wound is nearly gone. I can see the cut, but it’s well on its way to healing.
“You forget we still don’t know if it works with them. Do you think two of us would have to touch one of them, or two of us touch each other and one touches one of them?” Jasmine asks.
“Maybe what we should do is try when I’m touching Ceric and then one of you touch my hand or back, and let’s see if it works. If it doesn’t, we can always try two of us touching him, but that would be more suspicious.” Before we can reply, Bion and Cassius walk into the infirmary. Bion’s eyes are fixed on me as he approaches.
“Hey, beauty, how’re you feeling?” he murmurs as he draws closer to me. Jasmine and Nova move to the bottom of the bed to let him take their place. I can feel my cheeks warming at his appraisal. Now that I know we have touched and that I’m bonded to him, whatever that fully means, I’m embarrassed.
What if he’s expecting something completely different from me? I’ve only been with one man before, and that wasn’t that great. He takes hold of my hand, turning my arm around so he can see the cut on my arm. “Mmm, nearly gone,” he says in a growly voice as he prods around the wound. I feel Aria take hold of my other hand that is lying next to her. Looking over at her, I see a serene look on her face as she looks at Bion.
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