“My leg is fine.” Her words bring me back from my thoughts. “Are they all gone?”
“They will be.” I know my voice comes out as a growl, but at the thought of those fuckers having had the audacity to come here and hurt our women, my fury starts to rise. “I have to go. I will be back as soon as I can.” I lower my head and take her lips in a scorching kiss that leaves me with a painful hard-on and wanting so much more. Pulling away, I walk towards Ceric and place my hand on his shoulder.
“Come on, Brother, let’s go. She will be fine, and we have some Keres to dispose of.” I feel Ceric tense at my words, and then he nods before he bends down to kiss Nova gently on her forehead, and then he makes his way out, followed by Cassius and me.
“I need to take the tranquilizers to the cells. We will meet you there soon,” I state as I make my way towards where we have the Keres incarcerated. Arriving, I see Wulf pacing, a dark scowl on his face as he keeps his eyes trained on one of the Keres. If I have to guess, that one will die by Wulf’s hand.
“It’s about time,” Draco growls.
“Nova was shot. I had to help extract the bullet.” At my words, I see Draco’s eyes brighten with fury.
“How is she?” His voice is a deep growl as he stands and walks towards me.
“She will be fine. It was lodged in her shoulder,” I state as I place the first tranquilizer in the gun, and then lifting my arm, I shoot one of the Keres through the bars.
“Motherfucker,” one of the Keres screams angrily. “Why don’t you come in here and do that, or are you too scared?” I simply lift the gun and slot another tranquilizer in, but before I can shoot, the voice of another of the Keres stops me.
“He’s always been a coward.” My eyes shoot up, and I look at each one until I reach the face I never thought I would see here. My heart constricts with pain as I stare at eyes identical to mine. Why? Why would he turn Keres? Yes, I haven’t seen him in decades, but I’m still here. Why did he give up?
“Why?” I murmur, but I know he heard me when I see a smirk cover his face.
“Why not? Just because we’re on different sides, you think you’re better?” he sneers.
“You must be shitting me. Is that who I think it is?” Draco asks from next to me. I simply nod, as the knot in my throat won’t allow me to speak. I feel Draco’s hand on my shoulder as he squeezes, letting me know he’s got my back whatever I decide. “Why don’t you go ahead? We’ll meet you there,” he states as he takes the tranquilizing gun and shoots.
I turn and make my way out of the cells, hearing my brother laugh as I leave. The times my mother contacted me, she never once mentioned that my brother had turned. Did she know? Did my father know? Of all the Elementals turning, I never for once thought that my brother would be one of them. I enter the computer room to find my brothers quiet, all in their own heads, the normal camaraderie gone as we all contemplate what happened today and what still has to come. A quarter of an hour later, Draco and Wulf stride in. Draco places the tranquilizing gun before me and moves to take his place.
“Let’s start at the beginning and go through everything that happened today,” he states as he looks at all of us. “How the fuck did they get to the cameras, and the alarm? Why didn’t it go off?” He looks at Celmund.
“I don’t know, Draco, but the cameras were all off on the west side, from the compound right up to the wall. The only way they can be out is if you do it manually,” Celmund states angrily. “The alarm, too. I went out earlier and saw that the wires were cut on the main box.”
Draco’s fist hits the table, rattling all the glasses and bottles of beer that the brothers have on top of it. “I’m fucking tired of having them sneak up on us. How the fuck did they know where the cameras were and where the main box for the alarm is?”
“I suggest everyone goes out tomorrow and sweeps the ground for anything, any clue that will guide us in the right direction. We need to find out how these fuckers did it,” Wulf says. “They got way too close. One of the fuckers had my son and frightened my woman. We cannot have them do that again.”
“What are the casualties?” Draco asks as he looks at me.
“Nova was shot.” Ceric growls low in his throat at my words, his hands fisted. “Gunner had life-threatening wounds. He’s still in danger, as Brie thought he was Elemental and gave him your blood.”
“Fuck,” Draco roars. “Does he have a chance?”
“Still too soon to tell. I will monitor him,” I promise. “Sven has a gash on his head, but he is fine, same as Bjarni over there,” I say as I look at Bjarni and see that the cut he had on his face is starting to heal without the stiches I offered to give him.
“These fuckers came here with a purpose. We need to find out what it was,” Cassius states as he leans back in his chair.
“I think the purpose was to take Orion. The one guy could have killed the women while I was fighting, but he didn’t. He simply grabbed Orion and tried to leave until Nova got in his way, and then Brielle jumped on his back to take the earplugs out of his ears.” At his words, my heart starts to race. What the hell did she think she was doing? She could have been killed.
“Another one with no self-preservation,” I grumble, making the other brothers smile at my ramblings.
“There’s something else you should know.” Draco looks at me before he continues. “One of the Keres is Bion’s brother.”
“Fuck,” Brandr roars, standing up so fast, his chair falls back. Of all the brothers around this table, he’s the one who knows the most about how it feels to have to destroy your own brother for turning into a Keres. Burkhart also stands. Approaching Brandr, he places a hand on his arm and just looks at him. I see the two of them stare at each other before Brandr takes a deep breath and then nods to let Burkhart know he’s fine.
Burkhart turns and picks up the chair, placing it again next to his. “I’m sorry, Brother,” Brandr calls, looking at me; I can see the anguish in his eyes.
“I can do it for you,” Caelius calls out. I know we need to kill him, but the thought of snuffing out the life of that one person I grew up with, whom I used to play with, is suffocating me with its unfairness. Was it my fault? If I had stayed, would he still have turned, or would he have held on?
It’s no use asking that now. It’s way too late to ask anything now. Will I be able to live with myself if I kill him? No. Even though I know my brother is now fully evil, I can’t kill him. Looking at Caelius, I nod to let him know that I accept his offer.
“Moving on,” Draco calls. “Throughout these weeks, you all know that we have had Aria and Nova obtaining information from the different FBI agents for us to be able to find out what is going on and why they want our women’s DNA. Unfortunately, to try to buy some time, Brielle was taken and the fuckers hurt her.” He looks over at Celmund and nods.
Celmund brings up the photo of the two guys who will soon be dead. “These are the two who took Brielle. From what she says, they took her blood and pulled a strand of her hair. They asked her various questions that she answered truthfully. I have an address for both of them. The one Brielle calls James is single and lives alone. The other is divorced and has no kids.”
One thing we try not to do is kill men who have a wife and children. “I also found out that they report to the same agent who sent Katya after us.”
“What do we know about the pumped-up assholes who attacked us at the warehouse?” Burkhart asks. The day we killed Merdor and Cassius got shot, we were attacked by men we’re sure don’t belong to the Catalonian mafia. We suspect they were FBI, but we haven’t been able to prove it yet.
“They are definitely different,” I answer. “Their blood count is different from humans, but also not as high as ours. One thing for sure is that they are faster, stronger, and deadlier than any human.”
“I checked the prints of the guys we killed that day, and you won’t believe . . .” Celmund says as he looks around at all of us, “they are all supposed to have
died one way or another months ago. What was interesting from one of the agents whose mind Aria read is that there is an underground basement somewhere that a group of the FBI use for testing.”
“Do we know where this warehouse is?” Bjarni asks.
“No, not yet,” Celmund replies.
“I think that what we should do is go after the guys who picked Brielle up, get as much information as we can from them before we snuff them out. They might know something more. We should even get Aria and Nova to have a go at them,” Caelius suggests. The men all grunt in agreement.
“Right, then, if we are all in agreement, as soon as the sons of bitches wake up in the cells, we have a go at them. Tomorrow, we look for clues. We go through everything three or four times if need be. Then as soon as Celmund gets times for the two guys, we go in. I think the best is attacking one first and then keeping an eye on the other, see who he runs to when he’s scared. Who knows, we might just find our next lead.” Draco goes around the table, getting a unanimous vote. “This meeting is adjourned. Go take care of your women. I’m sure they are all frightened. The others come with me; we have Keres to interrogate.”
The others all get up and start leaving. I continue sitting as I look down at the tranquilizing gun. “What’s up, Bion?” Draco asks. Only then do I see that he’s also still sitting, looking over at me.
“I want to talk to him before he’s taken out.”
Draco looks at me for a minute as he contemplates his answer, a scowl on his face. “Are you sure? You know that the boy and the man you used to know is no longer there.”
I place my elbows on the table and lean my head on my hands, rubbing my hands over my face. “I know, but I have to get closure.”
“We will hold him separate. When you’re ready, you can go and speak to him.”
I look over at him and see the pity in his eyes as he gazes at me. “Thanks.”
“Now get up and go make that woman yours,” he says with a quirk to his lips as he stands and makes his way outside. At the mention of making my woman mine, my dick hardens to attention as if it’s got a mind of its own. Groaning, I stand and adjust myself before I make my way to Brielle and my future.
BRIELLE 12
I’ve been healing Gunner ever since Bion left, which seems like hours ago, but opening my eyes, I see that at least his colour is better. I can feel my head pounding with exhaustion. That’s the downfall about my gift. When I heal someone with a serious injury, it drains me to the point of sometimes being bedridden for days.
This feels like one of those times, as my energy levels were already low from trying to heal the woman who belongs to Cassius. Now with Gunner’s life being so precarious, I’m at the brink of collapse. I know I won’t be doing any good if I carry on today. I will have to get some rest before I try again later or tomorrow.
I hear a noise. Looking up, I see Bion approaching. When he sees me, he stops, and then his expression darkens. “What the fuck, Brie? Have you been trying to heal him the whole time I’ve been gone?” I start to nod, but suddenly, everything starts to spin, and I would have fallen if he didn’t move so quickly to catch me.
“Fuck, beauty, if you get sick because of this, I’m never going to let you come in here again,” he growls as he gently strokes the hair back from my face. Lowering his head, he kisses my temple and hugs me close against his chest as he moves towards a chair and sits down. “Rest for a bit. I will take you to our room soon.” He nuzzles my neck affectionately.
“I will be fine soon; it’s just been a long day.” I rub my cheek against his chest, smelling his unique masculine fragrance. The sound of his heart beating starts lulling me to sleep. I can feel a smile split my lips as I feel safe and cared for, something I haven’t felt in years.
I must have dosed, because the murmur of Bion’s voice awakens me. I don’t move straight away, enjoying the heat of his body and the mellow feeling that surrounds me. “She will be fine, Brother. Just make sure to keep the wound dry. Make sure she takes your blood today, and she will start to heal quicker,” I hear Bion instruct, and my mind goes to what he’s saying about Nova taking Ceric’s blood.
Will I have to take Bion’s blood again? I have never thought about actually having to drink blood. Will I be able to do it? Ceric’s footsteps start to recede, and I realize he’s leaving with Nova. I’m about to open my eyes when Cassius stops me.
“Why don’t you take your woman to bed? I will stay here. If there’s any change in any of them, I will call you,” he suggests.
“You should also rest, Cassius. You can’t continue sitting here night after night. You won’t be any good for her when she awakens,” Bion whispers, as he’s still trying not to awaken me.
“Is she going to awaken?” Cassius asks, a desperate tone in his voice. “It’s been days, and she still hasn’t shown any sign of waking.” His voice has a raw quality to it. I know his emotions are running high, and the tiredness he must be feeling can’t be helping.
“Head injuries are always unpredictable. She can be like that for a few days or a few weeks. I don’t want to lie to you, Brother, but there’s no way of knowing. You need to keep your cool; I can feel your fury sometimes. You can’t let it consume you. You have a mate now, and she’s going to need you.”
“She’s like this because of me. If those fuckers weren’t looking for our mates, she would never have gotten hurt.” His voice comes out in a low growl.
“You can’t think like that. Nearly all our women have been kidnapped and hurt one way or another. Look at what happened to Aria and to my woman, and now they’re fine. Don’t let Merdor win. That’s what he wanted all along,” Bion insists. I can hear the caring in his voice as he talks to Cassius. That’s one of the things that have touched me, the way these men look out for each other.
“Enough. Go rest. I will be fine,” Cassius murmurs. “Besides, I’ve had Draco’s company every night. That one thinks he’s my mother.”
“We worry about you, asshole,” Bion teases, but I can hear a thread of truth in his voice. Suddenly, I’m being lifted again, and then I feel Bion start to walk. I want to squirm and tell him to put me down, that I’m too heavy, but I know if I say anything, he will complain again.
“You can open your eyes now,” he murmurs. I feel my cheeks fill with colour when I realize that he knew I was awake this whole time but didn’t say anything.
“I didn’t want to disturb your conversation,” I whisper. “You can put me down now. I’ll walk the rest of the way.” But as I suspected, he ignores me. The only reaction I get that he heard is the tightening of his arms around me.
When we enter the room, he lowers me onto the bed and then stands looking down at me. “Are you feeling better?” he asks as one of his hands strokes his hair back and away from his face. I still feel drained, but I’m not going to tell him that, so I simply nod and see his tense shoulders relax. “Good. I’m going to run you a bath that will also help relax you.” He turns, making his way towards the bathroom.
I stand. Following him, I see him bend over as he turns on the water. Steam instantly starts to rise around the huge bath. He stretches his arm. Opening a small jar on a shelf next to the bath, he sprinkles a little of the powder in the water.
“What’s that?” I ask as I breathe in a whiff of orange blossom. It smells divine, as if we’re standing in the middle of an orchard. He looks over his shoulder as he closes the jar and then places it back on the shelf.
“It’s something I made; it helps relax your muscles and heals bruising,” he answers. My curiosity is instantly piqued. I’ve spent years creating recipes for natural products that I’ve created for different ailments. It’s only natural that as soon as he tells me that he made it, I want to know what’s in the powder and what products he used, but I decide to wait to ask him.
When he’s happy with the level and temperature of the water, he moves back towards me. “All ready, beauty,” he murmurs as he strokes my face. Lifting my arms, I place
them around his neck as he lowers his lips down to mine. It starts off as a gentle kiss, but soon the kiss turns explosive and we are both mindless with lust as we devour each other.
One minute I’m leaning against the bathroom door, kissing Bion. The other he’s carrying me towards the bed, his hands under my ass, my legs wrapped around his waist, our lips kissing and nipping each other. “I should let you rest,” he groans as he places me on the sheets, his body following mine as he continues to kiss my neck, his hand stroking my breast.
I can feel the pressure building between my legs as he rubs his engorged jean-clad erection against me, and then he’s lifting his head and looking down at me with such intensity that I can’t think of anything except the depth of those eyes.
“I’m going to make you mine.” His voice is a deep growl filled with lust. His grass-green eyes are such a dark colour that they seem black in their intensity. Suddenly I’m feeling shy. He’s going to see me naked. Is he going to be repulsed? I know he says I’m his mate, but will he still like me after he sees me and compares me to all the other women he’s been with?
What if I disappoint him? I’ve only ever been with one other man. What if—
“Beauty, what’s wrong?” His voice brings me back from my thoughts.
Looking at his concerned face, I shake my head. I take in a deep breath and lift my hand to his cheek. “Kiss me,” I plead. When he kisses me, I forget all my insecurities and believe that anything is possible.
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