Set In Flames (Morningstars Book 1)

by Sam Destiny

  “No one can enter that place until they decide to come out. Privacy is one of the perks of being bonded,” the Scotsman told them and everyone stared at him. “I tried to interrupt my parents once and they never found out. Until those two decided that their time was over, no one can take a step into that house,” he shrugged.

  Kaden wanted to curse. He wanted to be there to make sure that his brother didn’t mess up. And Jaden had a tendency to do just that.

  “Stop worrying, Kaden! I feel like my head is finally exploding,” Lex screamed and silence spread another time, everyone staring at him.

  “Dearest Creator! I am not in love with her,” he said as realization hit him. “This is my twin’s Origin we are talking about! Jaden was on the way to depression and … I am not even sure we can get that, but anyways, he was rougher than usual whenever … when we shared. If something happened to Maya I fear he’ll go off the deep end.” He knew he left tons unsaid, but he just didn’t want to tell them that he worried Jaden could be rough with her. Too rough. He stopped that thought though as he caught Lex glaring at him from across the room. How had she twisted them all around her little finger with what little contact they actually had? Unless…

  “You’ve all been visiting her, haven’t you?” he wanted to know, watching how a guilty expression crossed every face, even Red’s. It floored him because it meant each and every one of them would give their lives for her no matter what.

  “You really must have hated me for trying to keep her from you all. It explains the way you all acted,” Colbin said finally and Kaden felt as if they had a breakthrough.

  “I didn’t think you would have noticed because I didn’t change anything towards you,” Matthew mumbled, but Colbin just gave them all a smile.

  “Not obviously, but little gestures told me all I needed to know. I just wondered what the reason was… Now I know,” Colbin sighed. Kaden had the feeling there was much more he wanted to say, but their leader stayed silent after that. By Lex’s expression it was pretty obvious a lot of secrets were kept that night, but in this moment Kaden didn’t care.

  “If they are back by tonight, we’ll go and hunt that bitch of a mother. There’s a good chance Maya knows where we have to go. Try to get some sleep, now that you know she is okay. This might be an intense night. That is, if we run into the mother,” Colbin explained then, leaving the rest alone again.

  Jaden went through Maya’s soft curls, knowing that the moment she woke up they needed to get ready. There was a high chance Destra would try run, and if he had any say in it, Jaden preferred intercepting her.

  Maybe, just maybe he’d get lucky that night and the chase of Destra would take precedence over moving Maya to the new court. Maybe he could keep her one more night. Maybe that wasn’t the night yet where she found out that he had agreed to let her go. That position had changed, but so far he hadn’t talked to Colbin about that. He knew he wanted to be with Maya, but he sure as hell didn’t want to go against his leader in this decision. He was a warrior after all and duty was something he held high.

  He could already imagine how she felt once she heard that they were going to be separated, no matter for how long that was. It would feel like the ultimate betrayal to her and that thought sent pain running through his body.

  Maya awoke with a gasp. He caught her in his arms, pulling her shaking body against him.

  “What in the world was that?” she wanted to know, her lips pressing against his shoulder while she talked. It made him take a deep breath, ready to say all the things he needed to get out before they left, but nothing came over his lips. He couldn’t tell her. If he just had a few more hours he had a chance to convince her that he truly loved her and would do everything for her. He could make her trust him enough to believe him when he said he would have never promised to let her go if he’d only known what she’d come to mean to him.

  He couldn’t tell her that he loved her because at a point that he feared was coming way too fast she was going to resent him even more for the ‘lies’ he had told her. She’d doubt every word he’d say now.

  “Maya…” She moved out of his arm so she could look at him. Her expression was somber even though she had been glowing just a few seconds ago.

  “Must be serious. I think I can count the times you called me Maya on one hand.” She cupped his cheek, making his heart hurt. It wanted to split open with the pain he’d cause her soon. No matter how he twisted and turned it, there was no way around that.

  He forced a grin on his face, hoping that he’d be able to control his emotions enough so his body wouldn’t betray him through the bond.

  “We can’t stay in this bed forever even though I wish it was possible. Our time ends now,” he whispered, all humor leaving his voice towards the end of this sentence. A smile broke over her face and she leaned in to kiss the tip of his nose.

  “This time does, but I’m yours for life. There’ll always be another time coming,” she laughed and he felt bittersweet at her words.

  “Promise that you’ll never forget that, Cupcake. Promise you won’t forget you are mine for life, no matter what’s coming,” he insisted, catching her face in his hands so he could see her eyes. Insecurity flashed through them for a moment.

  “No matter what, Maya, say it,” he urged and she finally smiled.

  “Yours for life,” she whispered and he kissed her another time before he let her get up. “I’m gonna hit the shower and no, this time you can’t come,” she grinned. Her hair reached her back, leading his eyes to follow them down to the tattoo and then even further down to her nice, round ass. His lust must have spiked because she looked over her shoulder, blowing him a kiss before walking into the bathroom. In the doorframe she paused, hanging her head. Happiness and nervousness swirled inside of her.

  “Cupcake?” he inquired and she finally met his eyes.

  “I love you, Jaden. Thank you for being my savior,” she said, then she went into the bathroom, luckily not waiting for an answer from him. He took a few deep breaths. Afterwards he pulled out his phone.

  One message was there: Killing the mother tonight if we find her. We move the girl tomorrow night. Court is ready.

  Jaden felt his heart race. He had one more day with her before all shit would hit the fan. He just hoped he could somehow prevent the worst from coming to happen.

  Maya was floating on a cloud so high she barely had been able to remember the world outside. Whenever she and Jaden entered the base though every warrior was there, hugging her as tight as they could. She could feel Jaden’s jealously coming through the bond and it made her smile.

  “You look amazing,” Kaden whispered. She had been presented with a dress worthy of a Queen after her shower. Jaden had mentioned that it simply had been precaution to have it at his house. The dress was a simple A-line with a cutout back that, how Jaden had assured her, showed her tattoo to perfection.

  “I feel amazing, too,” she admitted. Jaden took her hand, kissing it a few times as if he had to prove something. Or maybe he was marking his territory. Either way, she sure enjoyed his attention.

  “Okay, so Maya explained to me where we need to go. As it is, her father freed her, and we are pretty sure her mother didn’t like that much. Since that magician guy didn’t bother blind folding her we can assume that she was supposed to die,” Jaden started and Maya slowly nodded.

  “Instead my mother enjoyed having me tortured. There’s nothing worse than seeing your own rescue time and again only to realize that the person you were holding onto actually was the door. I don’t know how they did it, but there were scenarios that were worse than others, and whenever my body started to feel hungry I’d see myself be poisoned. Destra hates me, as you all are well aware. That guy, the one that’s with her… He’s crazy. I swear there’s nothing sane about that couple. Please, please, free my father. If my mother knows he helped me…” She shook her head, not even wanting to imagine what her mother could do to someone who would always heal.
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  “Bring him back to me, please,” she added then and everyone nodded.

  “We need to get moving. I think two of us should bring a car because we don’t know what that magician will do. We know what he is, but that doesn’t mean we are safe from his magic,” Colbin explained.

  “A magician,” Maya gasped, not trusting her ears. She knew that vampires were real, and she knew that there were good and bad ones, but true magic? That was almost too much to believe.

  “Cupcake, I’ll tell you all about them later. We need to go now though. I’ll see you once we get back!” Jaden pulled her in his arms, kissing her long and deep. Afterwards Maya looked around the room, staring as she noticed something she hadn’t seen before.

  “They all glow, Jaden. All but Colbin,” she said, feeling the need to tell him because she worried that something could be wrong with Colbin. Jaden stepped back, looking at her in disbelief.

  “That is her very unique power. Maya will see all unmated Morningstar glow. It just shows her which couples could be possible matches. Of course, here that is a somewhat useless talent,” Lara, who just had joined them, explained and Maya breathed in relief. Jaden picked up a brow, then he kissed her forehead again. It was as if he didn’t want to go.

  “I’ll be right here when you get back,” she promised and he nodded, then he left, being followed by all other warriors.

  “Colbin went with them,” Maya said in surprise, turning to the only person that was still left in the base. Lara looked as if she had a few rough nights, or rather days, behind her.

  The other female hugged her and finally Maya realized that she could feel the low humming Lara had mentioned when they first met. It was as if a certain current was constantly running through her body. It wasn’t strong enough to be annoying, but still present enough to be noticed.

  “This will make things so much easier,” she remarked and Lara picked up a brow, obviously not being able to follow Maya’s train of thought.

  “You instantly knew I was an Origin back when we met. I never felt what you claimed I should be feeling. Now I do. Obviously you need to be turned in order to feel it,” she explained and Colbin’s Origin nodded with a smile.

  “We were all so worried! Even Colbin. He isn’t as bad as you probably consider him to be,” Lara explained, leading Maya towards the kitchen. No matter what the second female would say, Maya didn’t think anything would change the way she felt about the leader of the Morningstar warriors.

  Jaden saw the Outcasts just like everyone else did. He looked at Lex, wondering what the guys were thinking. The mind reader though shook his head, looking seriously pissed.

  “Nothing. I can get nothing from them, but they are everywhere. Destra knew we were coming,” Lex explained and Jaden nodded. There was no doubt about that, but still he wasn’t worried. They could take Outcasts like these any given night.

  “We split. Get inside the house, find the father, that’s the first thing we should do, then we’ll find the mother. Stay away from the dude. We don’t know what he can do with his magic. He doesn’t need body contact to hurt you, which is what he showed us in the train station,” Red remarked and everyone nodded.

  With only a few words they had split up and Jaden was attacking the first scumbags.

  It actually felt nice to let out everything that was bottled up inside of him, especially the guilt he felt. Knives were flashing everywhere and Jaden couldn’t help but enjoy the gleaming blades. It was a full moon, the night sky clear after the rainstorm that had raged during the day. Even without their paranormal sight one would have been able to see the fights that went on.

  Destra had picked a house some distance from the next-door neighbors. It wasn’t really a surprise, but Jaden wondered how much a mate must love his Origin to… Before he could finish his thought, he realized he didn’t doubt anything anymore. He knew he’d give the world for Maya if that were what she’d ask of him.

  “We are in. We’ll be trying to find the father,” Kaden called from the other side and Jaden held his breath. They had some more vampires to fight and Devon soon joined them. Somehow though Ryder, who had been fighting with him right from the beginning, and Devon were distracted, which resulted in the scumbags getting in more than one hit. The thought that he’d actually not have to worry about the blood was something that gave him just a tiny extra push.

  Time and again he checked on Maya’s feelings and even though they weren’t as strong as whenever he was right next to her, he could tell easily that she was fine, feeling relaxed and especially happy. Obviously Lara hadn’t mentioned anything about them making Maya leave. Then again, no one would do him the favor of taking that burden from him.

  Kaden came out of the door, looking as if he’d seen a ghost.

  “There’s no one here. And by saying no one, I definitely mean no one,” Kaden remarked and Jaden stepped back from the fight, being easily replaced by Red.

  “He has to be here. Destra wouldn’t have taken him. I mean, he betrayed her! He needs to be here!” Jaden couldn’t believe that Tymon was gone. He hadn’t even realized it, but he had seen her father as his ultimate chance. After all, what could convince a girl more of his good intentions than bringing her father home? A father she hadn’t seen in years before he had freed her from her personal hell?

  Pushing past Kaden to get inside, he didn’t need many steps to realize why they wouldn’t find her father there. He followed his nose, walking up some stairs into a hallway that obviously led to the master bedroom. There, in the door, was blood, and it was enough to let him know that someone had lost their life there.

  It wasn’t exactly the way Maya smelled, because nothing could recreate that unique cupcake smell, but it was clear that this had been someone related to her.

  “Question would be if it’s her mother or her father,” Lex whispered, joining him in the hallway.

  “I don’t think there’s a question about that,” Jaden replied, knowing that there was no doubt. Tymon wouldn’t have had it in him to kill the woman that he had loved more than his own life. If the bond had taught Jaden anything, it was this: No matter what she did, he’d never be able to hurt Maya in any way. You needed an insane person to kill someone you loved. Or a magician who did that for you.

  “I can tell her, if you want,” Lex offered, but Jaden just shook his head. That was something only he could do.

  Maya never had dreaded the morning hours more than she did that night. Jaden must have started to dim the feelings coming through the bond right after his stomach had dropped. Something was very wrong and he didn’t want her to know.

  “Oh, they are back,” Lara finally said, moving away from the table they had been sitting at for hours. Maya hadn’t even realized the steps that now came into the house. It was a surprise what all she could actually hear now, but that wasn’t the power she really needed now. What she wanted was her speed, making it into Jaden’s arms before he really had crossed the threshold.

  He held her tight, pressing her body against him. He was surrounded by different scents, but only one really concerned her.

  “You’ve been hurt. Take my blood,” she instantly offered and he laughed, sounding awkward while scratching his head.

  “Uhm, really nice offer, but…” Jaden started while Kaden slapped his back.

  “Yeah, Jay, how about you just let her give you blood right now. I mean, that surely will be fun for all of us,” Jaden’s twin teased and Maya looked from one guy to the other before realization widened her eyes.

  “Oh, oh,” she mumbled, remembering what reaction Jaden had shown whenever she had given him her blood. That indeed would have been a show.

  “We will do that a little later,” he grinned, but that grin didn’t reach his eyes. There was still something wrong.

  “What is it?” she wanted to know and he took a few deep breaths. Lara was there, and so were the rest of the boys. They all seemed to know, and she suddenly did, too.

  “Don’t. No,” s
he just said, stepping back. He felt so sorry that nothing else came over the bond besides the regret and pain he was feeling for her. It made her knees go weak.

  Jaden was there to catch her, kissing her cheeks and her lips.

  “I’m so sorry. We were too late. We should have gone right away, maybe then we could have…” She shook her head though, knowing that would have been the worst plan ever.

  “And then what? The sun would have gotten you all,” she sobbed, wishing she had tried to get her father to stay. Somehow though, she hadn’t even thought about that simply because she never would have believed that Destra could do anything to hurt Tymon. If Destra had loved one person, it had been her father. Hell, Destra had been devoted to him and if she got it right, he had been the reason why Maya had been hunted.

  After all, Destra had wanted her dead because Tymon had had a soft spot for Maya.

  “We are so sorry, May, I swear! We will get that woman, I promise. Please, stop crying,” Red pleaded and Maya felt how he touched her cheek, trying to give her some kind of comfort. She released Jaden, only to move into Red’s arms. She couldn’t help but be thankful that he went out of his way another time just to make her feel better.

  Surprise and wonder flooded her body and she looked at Jaden, who simply stared at the unlikely pairing. For a moment Maya wished that Red wouldn’t be so misunderstood by the rest of his fellow warriors.

  “We’ll make it alright, I promise,” Red whispered next to her ear, giving her another tight squeeze before stepping back, looking uncomfortable. It was as if he had breached a secret code when he openly showed that he cared.

  “You all should get patched up and…” She shook her head, trying to clear the sadness from her mind, but the dark cloud didn’t want to lift.

  “You two will stay here for the day, right?” Lara asked and instantly uneasiness mixed with Maya’s sadness. Jaden grabbed her hand, gently pulling her half way behind him, as if he was trying to shield her.