Walking to the back door of the club, I step out and see Scarlett sitting where I thought I would find her. Even though this is a motorcycle club, no one would believe the facilities they have. Tor has things that I have never seen before in my life. “Hey,” I call as I make my way to where she’s sitting by a water fountain that has been created to look like a Viking ship. She lifts her head from the book she’s reading and smiles at me.
“Have they finally let you out?”
“Yup. I blew them away with my greatness,” I tease as I sit next to her. “How are you feeling? I haven’t had a chance to speak to you since the device was removed.”
“Fine. I think Aria had the worst of it. How about you? Celmund was beside himself when you stopped breathing. They had to knock him out to keep him away from you so that Bion and Striker could resuscitate you and fix you up.” I know that he took it hard, but no one had told me that they had to knock him out. My heart races at the thought of his anguish. I have realised that I love him, and even though it has been such a short period of time, I know that the feeling of rightness and peace that I feel is unique. “Striker apparently was finding it hard to hold him back. It’s a good thing Bjarni followed them and could stop him.”
“I didn’t know that they had to knock him out,” I confess.
“Yeah, when he awoke, you were stabilized. They were able to calm him before he gave you his blood.” At the mention of blood, I shudder. I’m still not used to it, but I realise it’s a big part of our relationship, so I work towards adjusting.
“How do you do it?” I ask.
“What? Taking Cassius’s blood?” At my nod, she smiles. “Talia, none of us have gotten used to it. I don’t know about you, but Cassius usually gives me blood when I’m out of my mind . . .” She winks at that. “I don’t even realise until afterwards.” I laugh at her playfulness.
“I just thought that the idea of taking blood would get less . . . icky. You do realise we are like vampires now? Celmund was telling me that after a century, our wings start to grow,” I lie, and see her eyes widen in surprise and then horror.
“Wings, what wings?”
“He said it’s similar to bat wings.” She jumps and is about to rush away when I start to laugh uproariously. She stops and looks back at me with a perplexed look on her face.
“It was okay when Cassius didn’t tell me about the mark, but wings . . . bat wings?” She shudders.
“I’m pulling your leg,” I say, still laughing. Her eyes widen, and then she approaches me and slaps me playfully on the arm as a smile kicks up on her face.
“Not funny . . . Okay, a bit funny.” She laughs. “With these guys, you can never be too sure. I wouldn’t put it past them not telling us about something like that.”
“I would love to see Nova’s face if I had to tell her she’s going to grow wings and transform into a bat.” I start to laugh again at the thought of the other woman’s possible reaction. “She would so kill Ceric.” Scarlett sits again, a stunning smile on her face.
“It’s nice and peaceful here,” I say. It doesn’t even seem like we’re at a club with noisy bikes. “I see why you like it so much here.”
“No, you don’t,” she says. When I look at her, she inclines her head towards the right of the club. I turn my head, and at first, I don’t see anything because of the bushes that are placed around the fountain, but then I start to laugh.
“Oh my goodness, does Cassius know?” I ask as I look through one of the leafy bushes at various brothers working on their bikes, most of them shirtless.
“Are you mad? You want him to kill them?” she quips. “Must say, though, my man is still better than all of them, but hey, it’s good for the eyes.” I look at them and smile. They are definitely handsome specimens, and I think that I’m going to start to make this my relaxing spot too.
“Now I know why you all used to love to come out here for the peace,” I tease.
“Are you telling me it’s not peaceful to see such grown . . . handsome . . . men working?” she teases.
“Very rel—” I start until I see Draco, Cassius, and Celmund making their way towards us. “Shush,” I grunt in such a guilty way that we both start laughing.
“What are you two up to?” Cassius asks as he moves to sit next to Scarlett on the bench. I move up so that Scarlett can also move to give him more space.
“Nothing,” I say innocently, and see Celmund look at me questioningly. “We’re just sitting here admiring the view.” Scarlett bursts out laughing at that, which in turn makes me laugh.
The men look at each other, and then Draco turns around and looks. When he turns back to us, his dimples are in place and his eyebrows are raised. “Quite a view, I guess.”
“For fuck sakes, really, Scarlett?” Cassius is up and striding out of our enclosure with tensed hands. Draco throws his head back and laughs in merriment. I see Celmund frown as he looks back at Cassius, and then he looks around, and I can tell when he notices what we were looking at. His features tense and his muscles bulge. He doesn’t say anything but turns and follows Cassius.
“Where are they going?” Scarlett asks worriedly as she stands and starts to follow.
“If I were you, I wouldn’t follow right now, angel. It will be worse,” Draco says as he turns and looks at where Cassius and Celmund are approaching the men in the garage. “Don’t worry, they will be fine. My men are better than Tor’s.”
“Are they going to fight?” My heart is racing at the thought of our playfulness ending up in a fight.
“I sure hope so. If I found my woman looking at other men who are purposefully shirtless for her sake, they would think twice about doing that again,” he states.
“They knew we were looking at them?” Scarlett asks. I can feel my cheeks fill with colour with the thought of the men knowing that this whole time, we have been looking at their bodies.
“Scarlett, if they couldn’t hear you, then they would definitely have sensed you,” Draco says as he starts to stroll away towards where Cassius and Celmund are now arguing with the other men.
“Well, let’s end this fight right here and give those men something real to fix,” I state as I concentrate on the bikes. First, one of them slips sideways and crashes to the ground. Then one of the other bike’s tanks that has been placed on a table crashes to the floor. Next, I start bringing down the main gate. It starts to roll down, and I can hear the men grunt as they jump out of the way as it crashes to the ground.
“Now let’s hide,” I say. As I start to speed walk away, I can hear Scarlett racing behind me.
CELMUND 19
Sitting away from where the cameras can’t spot us, I wait for Draco’s signal so that I can tell Talia to dismantle the cameras and destroy the wall. Yesterday after the fight, I went to our room to find her missing. It was easy to find her. All I had to do was sense where she was. Needless to say, she was not impressed with me, because I had not told her about being able to find her wherever she is unless my senses are somehow blocked.
We had an argument of massive proportions, because then I argued that she was looking at the other brothers. The thought of her looking at other men still angers me, and even though I know she was just looking and that there was no interest, those motherfuckers know better than to be shirtless when the women are around.
The makeup sex was out of this world, but I still feel uneasy about our argument. I realized that I don’t like arguing with her. When we went to bed, I didn’t give her a chance to complain. I made deep and passionate love to her that drove us both crazy. This morning when I woke up, she was gone. I found her in the kitchen having breakfast. It was the first time that I woke up without her, and I did not like it.
We didn’t get a chance to talk, as everyone was already there, but I know that she’s still upset with me. I didn’t want to leave until I was sure that she was fine, but there was no time, as we had to move out so that we could be here before the sun rose.
Draco
looks at me and nods. “Sweetheart, you can begin,” I say into my mic. A few minutes later, I see all three cameras crash to the ground.
I see the men’s impressed faces as they see it. Most of Tor’s men accompanied us today, as we don’t know how many men they might have inside. The wall this time doesn’t crack, but the bricks explode out, professing to my woman’s anger.
“Let’s move,” Draco orders through everyone’s earpieces. The men rush to the wall and step inside. As they go, we hear everyone’s comments. “Do you see any sign of explosives?” Draco asks, getting a negative reply from everyone. As I reach the wall and step inside, I’m surprised to see the walls painted and pictures hanging as if it’s a home instead of a tunnel. We hear fire and know that our men have encountered Keres. Rushing forward, I see there are three tunnels. I choose the one to the right and continue rushing ahead. I can hear Burkhart behind me.
As we reach the end of the tunnel, it opens to what looks like a library. Two of our men are squatting behind a wall. I see movement up ahead and just have time to duck before a bullet flies past my head. “Motherfuckers,” I hear Burkhart grunt before I see him throw a flash of fire their way. Looking around to where the fire connected, I rotate my hands and guide the air to direct the flames to where the Keres are hiding.
There are more shots, and then I see the flame die down. “We have a water bender up there,” I comment to Burkhart.
“I’ve always wondered how hot I could make water,” he mumbles as he once again throws another flash of fire, this one bigger, brighter, and hotter than the previous.
“Fuck, Burkhart, you’re going to toast us too, not just them,” one of the brothers states from where he’s crouching. I’m about to blow another gush of air to direct the flames once again towards the Keres, when I hear Talia.
“Can’t talk right now, sweetheart,” I grunt. I forgot to disconnect her mic that is still in my other ear.
“I guess you don’t like your woman that much, then.” As I hear Leif’s voice right after hearing Talia’s, my heart squeezes in fear.
“Leif, don’t you fucking touch her. You hear me, fucker? Fuck!” I roar as I stand and start running out of the tunnels, not caring about anything except getting to my woman. I hear Draco tell Tor to take over, and I know that my brothers will be behind me, but for now, I can’t think of that. That son of a bitch has my woman.
I hear laughing. “Not so high and mighty anymore, are you?” Leif laughs, which makes my insides twist in rage. If the fucker puts his hands on Talia, I will skin him. My vision starts to tunnel. I take in a deep breath, trying to calm my rage. I finally make it out of the tunnel and am running towards my bike. It feels like I’m running backwards instead of forwards.
I hear Talia’s cry of pain, and my heart nearly stops. “Leif!” I roar. “Motherfucker.” I don’t think I will get to my woman without losing my shit. I take in a deep breath and then another, trying to calm myself enough to sense my woman. Closing my eyes, I draw her energy to me. Instantly, I feel her. Jumping onto my bike, I roar out of the parking lot, nearly getting taken out by a truck turning in.
“Now is that any way to talk to an old friend?” he reiterates. “You hurt my feelings.” I can feel that I’m getting closer to Talia. My breathing is erratic, and my vision is tunnelled. I hear the roar of bikes, but I don’t pay attention. The only thing on my mind now is my woman and what that son of a bitch is doing to her.
“You were always the lucky one. Even with your mate, you were lucky. She’s a hottie.” I hear Talia groan, and my already strained muscles feel like they will snap with the rage coursing through them. “You never expected me to come back to haunt you, did you? You thought that your little bomb had killed me. Well, here I am, fucker,” he roars.
“Leif, your fucking problem is with me, not my woman,” I roar back as I take a sharp turn, missing the pavement by a hair’s breadth. I can feel my woman’s closer, and just knowing that she’s still alive calms me slightly.
“Yes, but unfortunately for her, she is your woman, so one way or another, she will die.” I hear him laugh irritatingly. “You didn’t tell her, did you? You see, if one of you dies, the other follows. Apparently, you can’t stand not having your mate with you. How will it feel to lose your woman?” he asks snidely. “Or should I kill you first in front of her and let her take her own life? That should be punishment enough.”
“Motherfucker, I’m going to gut you,” I promise.
“Oh, decisions, decisions.” I come to a skidding halt on a cliffside, and near the ravine, I see Leif standing with Talia before him. My rage that I was trying to control nearly snaps when I see that he has blindfolded her. His arm is around her waist, and a gun is against her temple. “Finally. I was starting to despair that you would never arrive,” he says. When I finally take my eyes off Talia, I realise that he has done something to his face, and that’s the reason we weren’t able to find him with the face recognition. I drop my bike as I start running towards him. My fury knows no bounds. I hear another bike crashing behind me, but I don’t look back.
“I would stop right there if I were you,” he snaps as he turns around slightly and places Talia so close to the edge that if he lets go, she will fall to her death. I roar in anger but continue rushing to get to my woman. I am suddenly grabbed from behind and thrown onto the ground.
“Calm down, Brother. You’re going to get her killed like this,” Draco snaps near my ear. I can feel the blood coursing through my veins as I try to catch my breath.
“Draco, I have to get to her,” I mutter breathlessly.
“We will get her back, Brother. Think. Don’t let him win.” I realize that when Draco tackled me, he pulled out my earpieces so Leif can’t hear what we are saying from where he’s standing. I force myself to start taking in deep breaths to try to calm my fury, and slowly nod to let Draco know that I will try.
Draco lets me up. As I stand, I see Cassius standing to Draco’s left.
“If you’re finished hugging and shit, maybe we can concentrate,” I hear Leif grunt.
“What happened to your face?” Cassius asks with a sneer. “Not looking so pretty anymore, are you?”
“Fuck off, Cassius. You wouldn’t be so full of yourself if you hadn’t managed to take the device out of your woman, now would you?”
“Did that mess with your plans?” Cassius snaps.
“A little, but at least I had fun when she was visiting us.” I see Cassius tense from the corner of my eye and know that he’s just as volatile as I am now.
“I must say, Leif, I underestimated you. This was quite a plan that you concocted,” Draco says calmly, but by the energy radiating off him, I can tell he’s just as enraged as we are, but he has a will of steel.
“It was, and that isn’t all I have planned for you losers. You think that you have won, but even if I die here today, my plan continues.” I tense at his words, my eyes trained on Talia, making sure that she keeps her footing. I see slight movement to the right where she’s standing. I don’t want to lose sight of her, but if there is other danger, I need to be prepared. Looking quickly at what caught my attention, I’m surprised to see Burkhart up on one of the trees that hangs over where Leif and Talia are.
My breath catches when I realize what his plan is. Looking back at my woman, I feel my heart tighten in apprehension. This will never work. If he jumps them, either all three go over or Leif lets go and Talia goes over. “You rely so much on your golden boy over there, but you chose the wrong guy. He is not as astute as I am. Do you know that the poor fucker didn’t ever realize that I was the one that killed his parents?”
At his words, I tense. Motherfucker. Now everything makes sense. I would never have believed that my best friend would do something like that. “Why?” I ask. My parents always treated Leif like part of the family. Why would he do something like that to them?
“Why should you have everything? You aren’t better than me in anything. Your parents thought they
were so good, parading you around. Bragging about what a genius their son was. Wouldn’t they be surprised now that I duped you for so long?” Just then, Talia decides to struggle against Leif. My breath stops in my throat.
“No, stop moving! You’re going to fall,” I roar, and she instantly quietens. Leif tightens his arm around her waist, pulling her tighter against him. I hear her whoosh of breath as the air is forced out of her lungs. I take a step towards them, and then another. I need to make sure that I’m close enough that when Burkhart attacks, I can pull Talia to safety.
“Stop right there. I will shoot her in the foot,” he says as he points the gun down towards Talia’s feet. I instantly freeze. Leif isn’t stable. It’s not because he’s a Keres but because he was already twisted even before he changed. I can feel Draco’s energy expanding and know that his patience is coming to an end.
“You were bragging about your plan. I think that we’ve pretty much snuffed your plan to the ground. Wouldn’t you say?” Draco sneers, his comment making Leif snicker in humour.
“You wish,” he states. “Have you found your mate yet, Draco?”
“I haven’t found my mate in eight hundred odd years. I’m not holding my breath now,” Draco growls.
“Well, that’s a shame, and she’s such a looker too.” I feel Draco’s energy intensify. Leif is asking to be pulverized. If Draco knows that his mate is somewhere out there, he will scour the earth to find her.
“Are you saying that you know who my mate is?”
“I know who all your mates are,” Leif boasts. “It was so easy to figure out, but all of you that think you’re so good can’t see what’s right in front of you.”
“Why don’t you educate us?” Cassius grunts.
“Well, why don’t you think about it? All of you that already have mates, don’t you find it interesting that your woman complements you so well?” What the fuck is he talking about? Of course they complement us; they’re our mates. “I can see that your poor tiny brains still don’t grasp how I found them. Oh well, that’s too bad.”
CELMUND: Elemental's MC (book 7) Page 14