Saved Elemental (Evelyn Storm Series Book 2)

by Tamara White

  I hated my actions that night, and I truly regret the pain I caused us both. I just wanted to forget about how crappy my life was, and I found comfort in another friend. Looking back, I know I should have called Dane. He would have come running if he knew what had happened, but I didn’t want to feel like a burden to him and make the council look into why he was running back to me.

  It’s not normal to have a relationship with someone unless they’re your bonded. It would cause a lot of disbelief and anger in our community for a male elemental to be involved with another male elemental without a bonded between them. It’s normal in our society to see our bonded go out with multiple bonded, but the moment the males shows any affection towards each other it gets labelled as unnatural.

  I’ve never understood why it’s socially ok for the female to have multiple bonded and know they have other males in the relationship, but the thought of the males in the relationship caring about each other gets everyone riled up.

  Dane and I hid our relationship for so long that when I finally got tired of hiding it, I asked to come clean with everyone and screw what they thought. He said as much as he cared about me he wasn’t ready to tell his parents yet and that was the end of it. We never talked about coming out again, it was like we’d never talked about it in the first place.

  Each of our decisions have led us to this point, and while I hate what happened to get us here, I’m glad too, otherwise I’d never have had the chance to meet Evie. Yes, there are things that I wish could be changed, but that’s just not life. You must face challenging tasks and overcome them to better yourself and your future.

  Dane

  He thinks by telling me his sob story that I’ll forgive him for what happened? I understand he was going through a tough time, but why didn’t he call me? I would have dropped everything and come back to help him despite what he thinks about my father.

  He knew how hard it was for me to be with him, knowing how my father would react. The rest of our people I couldn’t give a shit about, but my father was the one I looked up to most, so of course I would want him to think the best of me.

  My father has always said that a bonded female should only be bonded with one male and no more. My mother had three potential bonded when she was our age, but chose my father. He was so jealous that he demanded she no longer speak to the others, and threatened if she did then he would leave her.

  She told me the story once, and told me if I get lucky enough to be bonded with a girl who had another bond, to not let it ruin us. I think she regrets choosing my father every day. I see her looking through photos when my father is away. Every time she does, she’s always smiling and happy, but if my father sees her looking at them he gets angry and irritated. He even told her once he wanted her to get rid of them. Instead, she hid them in the back of my closet thinking I didn’t know, so I looked through them. She looked so happy with the three of them together. Then in photos after she married my father, you can tell she looks lost and alone. She may love my father, but I don’t think she recovered from the loss of her other bonded. She just did it to make my father happy, and I always wondered why she would chose him over the others?

  Now that I’ve met Evie I see why.

  My mother wanted the best for her bonded, but my father was selfish. As a part of a bond, I would do anything to make Evie happy even if it meant cutting her out of my life or sharing her. My father gave my mother an ultimatum instead of choosing her happiness. If he did want her happy he would have found a way to make it work with all four of them instead of making her choose, and cutting the others completely out of her life.

  I don’t want that happening to Evie, but I honestly don’t know how I can move on from what Zach has done in the past. I hope, more than anything, he knows he made the wrong choice and will not do the same to Evie, but it will take me a long time for me to trust him completely again.

  “Zach, I know losing your mother would have been one of the hardest things you had to go through, but I can’t forgive you right now. It’s still too fresh for me. You didn’t you trust me to be there for you despite what you may think about my father, but you went to someone else for comfort instead. I’m going to work on forgiving you, but it won’t happen right away. I have Evie and the babies to think of now so I need to put them first, but I promise whatever happens between you two, I won’t let our past get in the way,” I say, watching his heart break at my refusal to forgive him.

  I just can’t though. If I hadn’t met Evie, I’d still be pining over him and what he did. I loved him, but he proved he didn’t love me. Well at least not enough.

  “You should talk to Evie, though, and explain what happened between us. I don’t want her finding out after she falls for you, only to have it spoiled with lies. And you better fucking promise me that you won’t do that to her, or we’ll hunt you down to the ends of the earth, and make you pay. That girl is the most amazing elemental I’ve ever seen, and after everything she’s been through, she deserves to be happy,” I say staring him down, hoping he understands the seriousness of the situation.

  He would have a lot of people coming after him if he hurt her, and we’d cause twice as much pain as he did.

  I know this bond is going to be a big adjustment for myself as well as the others. We thought it was just us, and now there could be even more bonds.

  I still haven’t told the guys about the possibility of other bonds. They know about Zach, but I don’t think they’ve grasped that it may not be just him. If what Destiny says is true, she’ll need a lot more bonds before she’s ready to face the demons.

  “Ok, Dane. I understand. I’ll talk to Evie soon, I promise. I don’t want to leave it too long and have someone else tell her. Could you ask the guys not to say anything until I talk to her?” he asks.

  “Yeah, I’ll talk to them. Alright, I have to go and sort out some other stuff but before I do, you should also know there’s a strong possibility Evie will have more bonds popping up. According to Raphael, she’ll need multiple bonds to help her become strong enough to face the demons. So, you need to accept the possibility it may not just be us your sharing her with,” I tell him before leaving the room.

  He’s going to need some time to adapt to the news and figure out his next move. I just hope he chooses to try, even though he’s going to have to share his time with her.

  I’d better go check on Evie, and tell the other’s what to expect. I’m pretty sure it’s going to suck trying to explain everything to the guys. I’m still coming to terms with it myself. I only hope her new bonds will be good enough for her.

  Christian

  I’ve been on the road for the past five hours, and I’m still trying to process the fact that Zach found his bonded but she’s already pregnant!

  How the hell did Zach find his bonded before I did? Sure, I’m only five years older, but still I’ve been waiting forever to meet my bonded, but nothing so far.

  Zach believes my high school girlfriend Josie was my bonded, but I know she wasn’t. It’s a gut feeling I’ve always had. Yes, I loved her with all my heart, and the day she died was unbearable, but I have always felt as if she wasn’t the only one for me.

  I thought by now I’d be having babies with my bonded, and raising a happy little family in a beautiful house surrounded by a forest. I’ve pretty much given up hope on ever finding her.

  Being 23 and unbonded is pretty unusual for an Elemental. Even for a cross like me. Yeah, it hurts knowing I’m not what they deem a ‘pure’ elemental. Sure, my mother was human, but my father was elemental. You see it in their eyes, the judgement for not being as good as they are. I think if I wasn’t so good with the high care pregnancy cases, they would all just pretend I didn’t exist. At one point or another, they were all technically half breed human and angel. Is there really such a thing as a pure breed Elemental? According to the stupid council, most elementals are pure breed elemental as long as you have five generations of elementals, which doesn’t even make se
nse. It a fucked-up society if you ask me.

  I’m not as powerful as some of the higher-powered elementals, but considering I’m half Elemental and half human, I’m still stronger than the majority of them. I’ve learnt to control my Fire pretty well considering, I had to teach myself. My father only had water, so it was a shock to him when I got Fire on my 18th birthday. I think it’s why he snuck back home to Zach. He thought I was weak, because I couldn’t be trained the same way as a Water Elemental. If only he could see me now. I pushed myself to the limits to be the best I could be, but it didn’t matter after mom shot him. I guess that’s what happens when you think you can get away with cheating.

  There were Fire elementals on my father’s side of the family two generations back, but it was thought the water side overwhelmed it. I must have gotten the gene for some reason, and now I’m a strong fire wielder.

  I just hope Zach’s bonded won’t be one of those prissy pregnant chicks that think they are above being treated by a cross breed, and demand to see someone else. It’s always embarrassing to have to examine someone who thinks they are the queen, when they are no better than the dirt under your boot. Some elementals will just come straight out and ask ‘So what are you?’ or ’What’s wrong with you?’, and after a while it gets too much for me to handle.

  I wonder what’s so secretive about his bonded though? I mean, he could have asked one of the others, and they would have been there in 10 minutes, but he specifically asked for me to drive over eight hours to get to him. Plus, the extra two hours to get all the equipment in my truck. I had to get all the equipment in case I need to do blood draws, as well as a sonogram machine that I bought a while back for when elementals wanted to see their baby. It just seems like a lot of effort to keep it a secret that his bonded is pregnant.

  He better not drag me into some political shitstorm that I can’t get out of. I met the council last time I was here, and all I can say is corrupt narcissistic assholes. They refused to acknowledge me while I was tending to a pregnant mother who was having difficulty giving birth. Basically, treating me as if I was stupid.

  Little do they know, I graduated college at the age of 20, and was almost finished my advanced degree in Obstetrics. Not to brag, but I’m a genius.

  Sighing to myself, I pull the truck into the gas station and get out to fill up. I may as well get a cheap cup of coffee to keep me going. Hopefully once I get there, Zach will explain more about what the hell he’s gotten himself into. I may have only known him for a few years, but he’s become, not just my family, but my best friend.

  Chapter 12

  Mike

  Evie’s still asleep in the bed, when Dane comes in asking to speak with us before Evie wakes up. I don’t want to leave her alone, but it sounds pretty serious, especially if Dane’s asking us to leave her. He would never ask us to leave her alone, after everything if it wasn’t important. Maybe he wants to talk about what happened earlier with the lightning? I still can’t believe that happened.

  Teddy and Ky refuse to leave her completely alone, so that’s how we end up standing outside the door to her room.

  “So, she could have more bonds than Zach?” I ask.

  I figured she must have just had the one other bond, but more than Zach? How on earth is this possible? I know Dane says it’s supposed to help her in defeating the demons, but why her? It doesn’t seem fair to place all the responsibility on someone that is so new to her powers and pregnant.

  “Yeah, apparently we aren’t the only ones meant for her. I wanted to tell you, because we need to be understanding of the situation and help Evie through it. I don’t know why, but she’s going to need more bonds to help her defeat the demons. We’ll need to make sure everyone’s ok, and not a complete douche. I’d hate for her to bond with a jerk. I also told Zach that I won’t stand in the way of the bond forming between him and Evie,” Dane says to us.

  “What? After what you said he did to you, do you really think he’s the best person to bond with Evie?” I ask frustrated.

  Sighing, he rubs his hand on the back of his neck “Look, I’m not going to lie, but I think they would actually be really great together. Yes, he’s made some mistakes, but it doesn’t mean he hasn’t changed. For all we know, now that he’s met his bonded, he will be happy with just her. It’s not fair of Evie to judge him on our past, when it’s their future on the line. You guys know what happened between my parents, and have seen how unhappy my mom is. Do you really want that to happen to Evie?”

  Dane looks at each of us, waiting for us to interject, but he’s right. I’ve seen how depressed his mother is most of the time. She always cheers up around Dane, but you can tell she’s missing something vital from her life. I can’t do that to Evie.

  “I’ve told him I’m willing to try and forgive him, but I have no idea how long that’s going to take. He also has to tell Evie what happened between us, so she knows what she could walk into if she chooses the bond with him as well. We’ll still need to work together as a group with any future bonded, so we need to make it work. For Evie’s sake,” he tells us firmly.

  I get where he’s coming from, and I’m glad he’s not basing it all on his past experience with Zach. It would be so much harder for us to deal with it if Dane was just trying to restore their relationship, but knowing Dane hasn’t forgiven him yet makes things a little easier for me to accept. I wonder how Evie will take it? I know she’s kind, and will forgive him in a heartbeat, but will she really just accept more bonds when she has us? Shouldn’t we be enough to help defeat the demons?

  Teddy

  I get that Evie will need more bonds to defeat the demons, or whatever it is she has to do, but how is that supposed to happen with more bonds? I mean Zach is nowhere near as powerful as us but still the bond is there?

  I ask Dane, “So how is Evie forming more bonds supposed to make her strong enough to defeat the demons? Zach is nowhere near as powerful as you. Shouldn’t she form bonds with elementals as strong or stronger than us?”

  “Your guess is as good as mine. I thought she would need elementals as strong as us, but apparently not if she’s already finding bonds. Zach isn’t weak, exactly, just not as powerful as us. Maybe it has something to do with how powerful we become after the bond,” Dane says, while I and the others all look at him confused.

  “Why would we become more powerful? We just get access to her powers, don’t we?” Ky asks.

  Strange why hasn’t Dane mentioned this yet? Surely, he should have told us sooner. It might explain the cool lightning thing he did downstairs.

  “Shit! I’m so sorry, guys. There’s just so much information rattling around in my mind that it’s hard to keep track of,” he says guiltily.

  “Why don’t you just project what happened in the vision to us? Then we’d know everything, and we wouldn’t need to ask so many questions!” Mike says heatedly.

  I don’t blame Mike for being angry at him, because I feel the same way. Dane should have told all of this by now, and instead he’s just feeding us little snippets of information at a time. What good does it do us if we don’t know until after stuff has happened? We need to know it now!

  “I can’t. There’s something I’m not allowed to tell you, or it could cause repercussions and it would mean Evie would get hurt. I hate lying to you, but I won’t risk Evie’s safety.”

  What’s he talking about? How could him telling us something cause Evie to be hurt? This isn’t making any sense.

  Does he really think something bad will happen if he tells us? Ky asks Mike and I.

  I’m not sure. He seems genuinely scared of revealing the information, but it’s not fair of him to keep something from us or Evie. I guess we have to trust that he knows what he’s doing. I know I couldn’t live with myself knowing he told us and something happened.

  Mike’s right. We have to trust him and hope it doesn’t bite us in the ass, I say to Ky.

  Kylan

  I don’t like that Dane can’t tel
l us, but I see what Mike and Teddy mean. What if we forced him to tell us, and something happened to Evie? We’d all feel like idiots for not trusting him.

  “Ok, we understand you can’t tell us, and we all agree we’d rather not risk it in case it hurts Evie, but you need to tell us everything else so we know what to expect. You can’t leave us in the dark. So, what happens to our powers?” I ask curious to know what else he may have left out.

  “Well, basically, when Evie bonds she becomes twice as powerful and we’ll all gain power too. We won’t be as strong as her, but I imagine she would also be able to use the power from all of her bonds like she did in the basement, but just with more of us and more power.”

  “It took all of our power and hers to get rid of the one demon possessing our father. How many more bonds will she have to make to be powerful enough to get rid of them all?” I ask feeling confused.

  Sure, it’s awesome that we will have plenty more power to protect Evie, but if she needs more power to defeat them it sounds like she’ll need a hundred more bonds before she’ll be strong enough. It would be cool, though, to do what Dane did earlier with the lightning. I didn’t even think we had access to Evie’s powers yet.

  “I doubt she’ll need more than a few more bonds. She’s been starved and tortured over the last few weeks, so she probably had hardly any power left to draw on which is why she had to use ours. She’s stronger than all of us combined, but she’ll need plenty of rest before she can face any demons. That’s where we come in, we take care of her and make sure the babies are ok, then we help her train her elements. We do as much as we can to prepare her, but ultimately we need to accept that this is her destiny.”

  Dane finishes his little speech, while we just stand gobsmacked. After everything, we expected him to be the one to try and limit her bonds.

  I get that he believes all of this, but we only have what he says. Who told him about it to begin with? How do we know all of their information is reliable? I know Raphael told him some of it, but who told Raphael?