The Elders were chanting and their powers funneled into me at an alarming rate.
My skin was being peeled off. My muscles ripped apart. My soul torn with claws and knives.
The chanting grew louder, as did my screams.
Nico’s words came to me. My soul contained pieces of all of them. I was strong. I had a lot that I wanted to do with my life. I wanted to become an award-winning writer. I wanted to become known in the gaming community. I wanted to claim my mates.
Chapter 5
Pain coursed through my body, so I was fairly certain I was still alive.
“When will she wake up?” Fox asked.
“Soon,” Dragon Elder answered. “Remember that her experience was painful.”
“We know,” Rhys grumbled. “We all felt it.”
“Not like she did,” Dragon Elder said. “You felt one hundredth of the pain she felt.”
“You’re joking, right? Over exaggerating?” Deryn asked.
“No, we’re being honest. She had up solid walls between you all and we added our own as well to protect you,” Elf Elder explained.
“I can’t imagine dealing with that amount of pain,” Fox whispered.
“It must have felt-”
“Like my skin was ripped off, my muscles ripped apart, and my soul shredded,” I whispered and opened my eyes.
The four of them sat around my cot, scowls on their faces.
“Who died?” I asked with a small smile.
“You almost did,” Dragon Elder told me, coming to stand at the end of the cot so I could see him. “It was very close.”
“It worked, right? The curse is gone? I really don’t think I could do that again.”
He smiled and nodded. “Yes, your curse is gone. We successfully removed it.”
“Thank you,” I said as tears built and dripped down my cheeks. It was gone. My curse was gone!
“We can’t hear your thoughts anymore,” Rhys informed me.
“Thank you,” I sighed.
I was so glad that I didn’t have to deal with trying to hide my thoughts from them.
“Can you sit up?” Fox asked and held out his hand.
I took it and let him pull me up into a sitting position. “I’m so sore,” I moaned.
“Can we take her home?” Rhys asked.
Dragon Elder nodded. “Stay safe on your trip,” he told me. “Keep your ears open and eyes scanning.”
Was he warning me that there was going to be an attack? Was I in danger going with them?
“Thank you. Please, thank the other Elders for me.”
He nodded and Rhys picked me up and carried me out to our waiting SUV.
“What happened?” Martin asked. “You’ve been in there for hours.”
“Jolie decided to become suicidal,” Deryn growled and climbed into the front seat, slamming the door shut.
“What?” Martin asked.
“I had them remove my curse,” I told him with a smile. “It’s gone!”
“Your curse is gone?” he asked.
I nodded.
“Why is he upset about that?” Martin asked Rhys.
“Because there was a high likelihood she could have died. They told us that she very nearly died,” he explained.
“But she didn’t,” Martin said.
“Exactly!” I yelled and kissed Martin’s cheek as we walked by him. “Glad someone understands.”
“Drive,” Deryn ordered him, snarling and sitting in his seat with tense shoulders.
There was no point in talking to him in the car, so I would wait until we were home to talk to him privately. He was mad that I had risked myself. I understood that. However, it was my decision and I had done what I thought was right.
“I need to buy luggage,” I told Rhys, settling onto the seat beside him.
“Okay, we can go out tomorrow, if you want,” he offered.
“Why not tonight?” I asked him.
“Because we need you to be with us tonight,” Fox told me. “We need time together without outside distractions.”
“Okay.”
I could understand their need to reassure themselves that I was okay.
Before we climbed into our cuddle puddle once back at the apartment, I grabbed Deryn and dragged him into the hallway. He was stiff and kept turning away from me and folding his arms across his chest.
“I’m sorry you were worried. I don’t like worrying you. But, this was something I had to do for myself,” I told him.
“You almost died,” he growled.
“But, I didn’t.”
“I almost lost you,” he whispered.
“I’m right here,” I whispered back and stepped forward, so that my breasts were pushing against his folded arms.
He dropped his arms and then pulled me against his chest and hugged me tightly. “The pain you experienced was too much. Then, we felt you slipping. We felt you dying. I couldn’t do anything. There was no enemy for me to kill. There was no way for me to protect you. I was helpless. All I could do was sit there and wonder if the woman I love was going to survive or not.”
“It’s over. My curse is gone. I’m alive and well. I’m so happy. I never meant to cause you pain or worry. I had to do this. I had to get rid of this curse before it took you from me.”
“It almost took you from me, though.”
“Deryn, please don’t be mad at me any longer. I love you. I love you so much that I would rather put my life on the line, than endanger you,” I explained to him.
He picked me up until we were eye level and kissed me lightly before he whispered, “Don’t ever do that again. Okay?”
“No problem,” I said and smiled. He set me down on my feet, but kept his hands on my arms.
“Please, don’t endanger yourself to keep me or the other guys safe. It is our job to protect you. You are my queen. You are the one who matters. Keeping you alive is what is important.”
“Do you think the Elder was warning me to expect an attack at the Summit?” I asked. The warning was really bothering me.
“No, I think he was just reminding you not to let your guard down. There are always threats and dangers. If you let your guard down, you will open yourself up to attacks.”
“Are we good?” I asked him and looked up into his eyes.
He was frowning still, not a twitch of his lips at all. “Yes. We’re good.”
“Still love me?”
He rested his hand against my cheek and whispered, “I will always love you, Jolie.”
“Good,” I said with a wide smile and spun around to walk inside.
“Jolie,” he said, stopping me.
“Yes?” I asked and looked over my shoulder at him.
“You are my world. I will do whatever I can to keep you safe. Even if you decide we aren’t going to be mates, I will still watch over you.”
“I will always be grateful to have you in my life. I am beyond grateful to have a place in your heart. I will never take you for granted,” I told him. “I love you.”
“I love you more than you’ll ever know,” he said.
He pushed open the door and we joined the others on the couch to cuddle and watch movies.
Tomorrow, I would try to find my final presents for them. I wanted this to be the best Christmas ever. I wanted to ensure that this would be a Christmas no one would ever forget.
I couldn’t wait to go to Mascrol. It would be my first long distance travel with the guys. It was going to be the longest I had been on vacation in my entire life. Normally, I only took two or three-day trips. Two weeks was going to be insane. How many pairs of pants would I need to bring? How big of a suitcase was I allowed?
I didn’t want to be like some girls, carrying sixteen bags and making others take care of them for her.
“You’re chewing on your lip,” Rhys whispered. “What are you worrying about?”
“What size bag I’ll need and how many pairs of pants I’ll have to take for a two-week vacation.”
He chuckled softly and patted my knee. “We’ll take care of it all tomorrow. Don’t worry.”
What he didn’t tell me, was that I only needed luggage big enough for my bras, underwear, pajamas, and a few pairs of pants. Everything else was being provided for me. Whatever the hell that meant. Part of me suspected I was going to be forced to wear dresses quite often.
“What will I be doing while you’re stuck in meetings?” I asked the guys while packing my bag.
The four of them were lying around my room, two on the floor, one on the bed and one across the chest at the end of my bed. The chest was wooden with an ornate symbol, a symbol I had never seen before, and that Rhys, who had given me the chest, said was something I would learn about later. No matter how much I pestered him, he wouldn’t tell me what the symbol was, and neither would the others.
The chest had a few weapons, a thick quilt, and a few dragon scales from Rhys inside. Every few weeks, he would add another scale to the chest. He said it was important to him that I keep them in the chest, but didn’t explain the significance.
“Martin will be guarding you while we are there,” Deryn told me. “He will take you anywhere you want to go within the grounds.”
“So, I won’t get to go explore?” I asked.
“We’ll take you when we can,” Deryn promised.
“I’m surprised that you guys are okay with Martin watching me,” I teased them.
“We trust you,” Fox said.
“We had a long talk with him. So, he understands our expectations,” Deryn said with a smile that held no warmth.
“So, you threatened him,” I said and shook my head. It wasn’t surprising. Alphas in general were protective, but because he was my guard, and I was his queen, it made him even more protective.
“We will come get you every opportunity that we can,” Nico assured me. “We would prefer to be with you than attend the meetings. They are always boring.”
My phone rang and I quickly answered when I saw it was Martin. “Hello, handsome.”
“Hello, beautiful,” he replied.
Deryn growled softly, able to hear both sides of the conversation.
“Are you here?” I asked in a sultry voice.
“Yes. So, why don’t you slip past your four guards and get down here. We can run away together.”
“Martin,” Deryn growled.
Martin laughed loudly. “He is so easy to rile up when it comes to you. It’s almost like he loves you or something.”
“I know, it’s weird, right?” I said and winked at Deryn. “We’ll be down in a few.”
“I’ll count the seconds until I’m honored with your presence, Princess.”
“I’m going to punch him,” Deryn said calmly, merely stating a fact.
“Let’s go. We’ve only got a ten-hour train ride to endure,” Rhys said, glancing at his watch.
“Ten hours of torturing you four. Yay!” I cheered.
“She’s sadistic,” Fox sighed while he stood from the bed. “Why must you enjoy torturing us?”
“Stop being so jealous, and I will stop teasing you so much. You four should know that I am not going to leave you for anyone else. My heart belongs equally to you four.”
Fox kissed my cheek, his normal, radiant smile back in place. “That was all I wanted to hear.”
Rhys grabbed my bag for me and headed out. Fox followed.
I stopped Deryn with a hand on his arm. “Hey.”
He turned and smiled at me, a dazzling, happy smile. “Hey.”
“Are we good?” Things had been strained between us since I removed my curse. He had been affectionate, but seemed far away whenever he was with me.
He rested his hand on my cheek and nodded, smile still in place. “Yes, baby. I’m sorry if I’ve been acting weird. I’m just worried about you.” He kissed my lips and then linked our fingers.
They were all worried about me, which I didn’t understand. The curse was gone, so they shouldn’t have been worried any longer.
Nico had held the elevator for us, so we quickly got in.
Martin had the backdoor of the SUV open and helped load the bags before walking to me and bowing. “Princess.”
A couple people walking down the sidewalk slowed to look at us.
I smacked his shoulder. “Stop that.”
He pulled me into a hug and rubbed his cheek against mine, the stubble on his chin scraping me slightly. “This trip is going to be a ton of fun.”
“I hope so,” I replied with a tight smile.
Honestly, the Elder’s warning still bothered me. Plus, my life had never been quiet or easy.
When we boarded the train, the guys argued over seating arrangements for a minute before resorting to ro-sham-bo.
I took the window seat so I would be able to look at everything as we went.
Nico sat beside me with a victorious smile and draped his arm around my shoulders.
Fox sat in front of me, Rhys next to him, and Deryn and Martin behind us.
“Nico,” I whispered.
He leaned close to me. “Yes?”
“How much did you spend on my Christmas present?”
He jolted backward as though I had shocked him. “I’m not telling you that.”
I smirked. “You haven’t even purchased anything yet, have you? Don’t worry. I’m not done shopping either.”
“I have your present already,” he said. “I’m just not going to tell you how much I spent. That’s not something that you share with each other.”
“More than one hundred? Two hundred? Three hundred?”
He didn’t react to my questions at all.
I tapped Rhys’s shoulder. “What about you?”
“Not saying.”
“Fox?”
“Nope.”
“Deryn?”
“I haven’t gotten it yet,” he admitted. “But, I am not telling you what I think I am going to spend.”
“It’s not fair,” I grumbled and folded my arms across my chest. “How do I know how much to spend on you, if you won’t give me an idea of what you are spending?”
“We wouldn’t care if you spent absolutely zero on us. You could put a bow on yourself and lay on the bed, and we would be fine with that present,” Nico whispered huskily in my ear.
“Sounds like a great present,” Deryn whispered behind us.
I groaned and gave up.
The train whistle blew and it lurched forward. Our journey had officially begun.
Nico pulled me closer to him, pushing the arm of the seat that separated us up and out of the way. I rested my head on his chest, getting comfortable.
We were the only ones in this car of the train, but I felt like someone was watching me.
“What’s wrong?” Nico asked. “You tensed up.”
“I feel like I’m being watched,” I whispered as quietly as possible.
“Do you want to switch seats?”
I shook my head and snuggled closer to him. “No, I’m fine. I know you’ll protect me.”
He put a shield around us. “Better?”
I nodded, feeling immensely better with the shield around us, and allowed myself to doze on and off.
After two hours of silence, Deryn stood with a groan and paced the aisle.
“Wouldn’t you be more comfortable in your other form?” I asked him. I was considering it myself.
“Yes, but it’s more boredom than a comfort issue bothering me right now.”
“Let’s play a game,” I suggested.
“What game?” Rhys asked, standing and stretching too.
His shirt rode up, revealing the V of muscles that made women weak in the knees and brought to mind all sorts of fun things.
Martin inhaled deeply and then, sighed happily.
All eyes turned to him and Deryn stood beside him again with tensed legs, ready to jump on him.
I rolled my eyes.
“Don’t fret,” Martin told Deryn. “I’ve learned to lock
down my hormones when it comes to her. We wouldn’t have finished high school if I had let that delicious smell overpower me.”
“We almost missed graduation,” I reminded him softly.
“We made it, didn’t we?” he said and smirked.
“You’re really not affected by it?” Rhys asked.
“It’s delicious to smell, but a perk to being mated is my mate’s scent is super enticing and mutes other females’ scents to allow me to resist easier.”
“Good to know,” Deryn said.
“You’re like a teenage boy,” Martin accused me. “You saw Rhys’s skin and got all worked up.”
“First of all, I am glad I’m not a boy because I know I would get boners way too often. Second, it wasn’t just skin. It was the V. You know that drives me nuts.”
“I really don’t enjoy hearing about how much he knows about your turn-ons,” Nico grumbled.
“You should be thanking me. A lot of her likes and dislikes are because of me,” Martin teased.
“You mean you guys didn’t ask him about me or things I like?” I asked, eyebrows raised. If there was a female who could tell me about them, I would have asked. Well, except for the President’s daughter. Definitely not her.
“Part of the fun of new relationships is figuring out what the other likes,” Fox said.
“Let’s play a card game,” Nico suggested.
“Only if you swear not to cheat,” Fox said immediately.
“I never cheat when we’re playing for fun,” Nico replied with a devious smirk.
“Aren’t most card games only four players?” I asked. I didn’t really know much about card games, since I rarely played them.
“We will take turns, like we do with everything else,” Deryn offered.
Deep in my heart, I felt a twinge of regret. Before me, they wouldn’t have had to take turns. Before I came into their lives, they had four, which was the perfect amount to play almost any game. It was just a good, even amount in general. With me, I brought them to an odd number of five, which wasn’t good for anything.
“What’s wrong, cupcake?” Martin asked me softly, leaning against the top of my seat.
“It’s nothing,” I whispered and shook my head.
“Come on, you know you can’t lie to me,” he chastised.
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