Huffing, I grumble, “I wish I could hear what that guy just said.”
“He said that they weren’t able to find anything, that there are no traces anywhere,” Celmund reveals. I stare at him curiously. Did he read his lips, or did he really hear what he was saying? These Elementals are more than they seem.
“Well, it seems as if we didn’t find anything, but don’t celebrate just yet. I’m sure we will be back,” Katya threatens as she turns and leaves the bar.
“I really don’t like that woman,” Gabriela reveals as she moves towards the table where the guys usually sit for their meetings. As I’m about to follow her, I see how pale Aria is looking, a scared look on her face as she strokes her stomach.
“What’s wrong? Aren’t you feeling good?” I ask as I hug her to me.
“They want to test us and our children; they think that if they can transform men into Elementals, they will have their own special forces.” I don’t know if I or one of the others gasped, but to say that we are worried is an understatement. After all, this is the government we are talking about.
“Motherfuckers,” Celmund roars. “They will have a war on their hands if they think they can get to any of you.”
CERIC 19
“What the fuck, Draco? We can’t let them come anywhere near them. It’s not just the Keres MC now, it’s the fucking FBI,” I growl. Draco called a meeting as soon as Celmund told him what Aria confessed to hearing. To say we are all upset is an underestimation. To know that there is a plan to try to get closer to our women and children is disturbing.
“I know. Do you think I don’t know that?” Draco growls. “But we need to come up with a plan on getting the FBI off their trails.”
“We have helped them for years with any mission they needed. Why try to get their own army of Elementals now?” Bion queries with a pensive look.
“Any of those sons of bitches get anywhere near my baby girl, and they will be extinct,” Bjarni promises.
“Let’s think about this for a minute,” Celmund suggests. “We find out that the women can stop us from turning into Keres, and then the FBI after so many years decided that they want to create their own elite Elemental group. Why only now? Do you think someone told them about what we found out, and if yes, who?” We are all quiet, as he left us stunned with his question. It makes perfect sense; we have been working with the FBI for over ten years. Why only now would they be looking into this?
“That would mean that either they have caught a Keres and he gave them the information, or they are still fucking listening to us,” Wulf states.
“I have gone through the compound since we found those bugs in the garage. There is nothing,” Celmund confirms. “I have the Jezebels monitored; there have been no questionable interactions.”
“We always come back to the same thing, suspicion of information being leaked,” Burkhart replies. “I’m tired of this shit. There has to be some way they are getting this information.”
“Why don’t we just get Nova and Aria to find out for us?” Caelius suggests. “They can do the same as they did today. Celmund phones, Nova persuades, and Aria reads their minds.”
“Who would we phone?” Bjarni asks. “If there is a mole, I don’t think everyone would know about it.”
“Let’s build up on it. We start with Katya, finding out what she knows, and then go to the next one who gave her the order until we reach the source,” Cassius suggests with a shrug.
“That’s going to take longer, but I don’t see any other way of getting to the bottom of this,” Draco says as he stands up and starts to pace. “What are we going to do in the meantime about them wanting a sample from the women?”
“They can suck my dick,” Brandr says with a frown on his face.
“I’m sure you would enjoy it too,” Burkhart teases, getting Brandr to show him the finger.
“I have an idea,” I say as I look around the table at all of them. “It seems as if they know who our women are, so why don’t we let them, by accident, of course, get samples from one of our women?” At everyone’s confused frowns, I continue. “The problem with them getting the samples from them is that they will find the difference to their blood and DNA, isn’t it?” I ask as I look at Bion.
“Yeah, and I’m sure they wouldn’t be stupid enough to get something that they don’t actually see that person touching,” Bion suggests.
“Yes, but one of the women hasn’t gotten our blood yet, has she?” I see the instant scowl on Bion’s face at my words; he sits forward on his chair, his hands fisted.
“That’s a damn brilliant idea, dude. How did you come up with it?” Burkhart teases as he punches me in the arm.
“Would it work?” Draco looks at Bion and Celmund when he asks, “Isn’t her blood already different? That’s why she’s an Elementals mate.”
“The blood and DNA are still normal. We don’t know why these women become our mates. It can only be because of their gifts,” Bion answers reluctantly.
“I can set something up on social media where they will easily find Brielle and get the samples from her,” Celmund suggests. “Why not the bakery? We can have her go there for coffee and post it on her Facebook page. I’m sure by now she’s already on their radar.”
“Bion?” Draco looks at Bion with a raised eyebrow; we all know that Brielle is his mate. Nobody can miss it by the way he stares at her every move.
“I want to be there,” he states. I see Draco nod from the corner of my eye.
“Damn, Brother, you’ve really become a miserable asshole ever since you found someone who can heal better than you,” I tease. “You should be pleased, though. I believe she’s the only one who can cure your constant hard-on.” He groans as he lowers his head to the table and lifts his hand in the air, showing me the finger. We have all been teasing him about his tented jeans ever since he saw Brielle at the party.
“Yeah, Brother, I think after this thing with Brielle at the bakery, you should do something about that,” Bjarni says seriously. “I already had to fix a dent on your bike’s tank because of the pressure of your dick against it.” At that, we all roar with laughter. Now that we know what we are going to do about this situation with the FBI, we are feeling more relieved.
“Very funny. Piss off, assholes,” he mumbles, but there is a smile on his pained face.
“You know guys . . .” Celmund starts, and then slowly looks around at everyone before he continues, “Ceric is laughing, but now I know why he’s been walking funny, after hearing how good Nova is at plucking.” The guys laugh at his joke; he already told everyone about how Nova promised to pluck Katya like a chicken if she touched him.
I shake my head with a grin. “That hellcat can pluck me all she wants. You’re just jealous.”
“Okay, assholes, let’s continue with this meeting,” Draco interrupts. “Cassius, what’s happening at the warehouse?” Cassius was gone for two days to see what movement was in the warehouse that Alexey had informed us housed the women that the Keres were transporting to get trafficked.
“There was no one at the warehouse until about four hours before I left. A sedan driven by two of Salazar’s men approached. About fifteen minutes later, five Keres drove up. I was too far to hear what they were saying, or they would have sensed me. They didn’t talk for long. The guys gave the Keres an envelope that they didn’t open and then they took off,” he reveals.
“Whatever was in that envelope must have been important for them to meet,” Wulf suggests.
“I think we need to have someone at the warehouse at all times, and everyone should be prepared to attack if there is a drop off of women,” Caelius says quietly.
Draco nods. “Do we all agree that we will continue to try to stop them from trafficking women even if they’re not ours? Let’s go around the table.” The vote was unanimous.
“That’s it, guys. Just one more thing before you all leave. It has come to my attention that one of you has been remiss in his obligations. Th
erefore . . .”—he nods to Burkhart, who pulls a packet from under his chair and passes it on to me— “we thought we would help you out.” At his words, I look in the packet and then start to grin. I pull out what they got for me, opening it up.
They got Nova a kutte with Property of Ceric on the back; they are all welcoming my woman into our family. “Thank you, motherfuckers,” I say. I can feel a knot in my throat with my brothers’ actions.
“There is something else I need to do, though, before I give her this.” At their curious looks, I just grin.
After our meeting, I drag Bion and Cassius with me to get the other surprise for Nova. It is nearly dinnertime when all three of us arrive back at the compound. I should have gone by myself, because these two are still making fun of me as we walk into the kitchen.
“Where did the three of you disappear to?” Bjarni asks as he walks to the table with a heaping plate of food. Everyone is already sitting at the table. I see Nova look over at me and smile. Walking towards her, I bend and kiss her on the lips before I make my way to the counter to get some food before it’s all gone.
“We had to go hold Ceric’s hand for moral support,” Cassius snickers, making Bion chuckle. I simply smile and show them the finger. When I sit, Nova looks at me with a raised brow, but I ignore this and start eating. She will know soon enough.
Before any of the guys can continue questioning us, Brielle speaks, thanking us for helping her and for our hospitality but saying it’s time she goes back. This leaves us all speechless for a few minutes before pandemonium breaks out. Bion stands up with such force that his chair flies back, hitting the counter at the back. Instantly, I’m on my feet and before Nova. I can feel her hand shaking on my back.
“You can’t leave,” Bion says angrily as he leans over the table. “Where’s your mind? They will catch you again. Do you really think we will let you be placed in danger again?” Looking at Brielle, I see her shocked face, her eyes wide as she stares at Bion.
“Calm down,” Draco orders, his hand on Bion’s shoulder pulling him back. “You’re frightening her. Go take a walk.” I see Bion take in a deep breath, and then he looks around as if in shock that he had such a reaction.
“Fuck, I’m sorry,” he says as he exits the kitchen. Draco nods towards Gunner to accompany him and then turns to Brielle with a frown. I can see Brielle is still looking at the door to the kitchen with a surprised expression.
“You’re not leaving,” Draco states. When he uses that commanding voice of his, no one contradicts him. “Do you understand me?” Brielle nods reluctantly but doesn’t say anything until he walks out of the kitchen, his plate still half full. Knowing Draco, he’s going to see how Bion is doing and appease him that Brielle won’t be leaving.
“But I can’t stay here forever; I have to try to find a job and get my life back in order,” she whispers as she looks at us.
“Aren’t you happy here with us?” Jasmine asks. “I thought we were becoming friends.” Her tone is despondent and her eyes sad. Wulf grunts in anger as he places his arm around her shoulders and pulls her closer to his chair.
“Don’t worry, Jas, she’s not going anywhere. She belongs to Bion now,” Bjarni states with a forced smile.
“What?” Brielle asks breathlessly. “What do you mean I belong to Bion? He doesn’t want me,” she says, but I can see hope in her expression as she looks at Bjarni.
“Are you blind, woman? He’s practically humping doors with how much he wants you.” Bjarni shakes his head in disbelief. Gabriela slaps his arm, pulling his attention to her. “What?” he asks with an innocent look. “It’s true.”
Gabriela shakes her head. “Humps doors, really?” she asks sarcastically.
“You can’t leave, anyway. We need your help,” Caelius says in his deep voice.
“How?” she asks curiously.
“We need you to go to the bakery, have some coffee and a cake there. Bion and I will be with you.” At his words, all the women look around in confusion.
“How will that help you?” Aria asks, a suspicious look on her face.
“Don’t worry about that now, sunshine. It’s just something we need Brielle to do for us,” Brandr answers.
“Why can’t we all go?” Nova asks from behind me.
Turning towards her now that Bion has left, I frown. “Did you forget that the FBI wants a piece of you now? I don’t want you anywhere out of the compound unless I’m with you,” I say. As soon as the words are out of my mouth, I know she’s going to give me shit.
“Stop giving me—” She raises her hand, slapping my stomach, but sees my flinch of pain. “What’s wrong?” With that, she lifts my T-shirt, and there just above the line of my low-cut jeans, she can see the tattoo I just had done this afternoon for her. “Oh,” she whispers, and then I see tears fill her eyes as she moves forward in her chair and kisses part of the tattoo.
Instantly, my cock hardens in reaction to her nearness. “What is it?” Jasmine asks from across the table, as she can’t see from where she’s sitting, breaking the spell.
“He got a tattoo for me,” Nova says with so much warmth in her eyes that I’m about to throw her over my shoulder and have my way with her.
“Let me see,” Aria says excitedly. I turn, holding up my T-shirt for them to see the “Property of Nova” that I had tattooed. “That’s so cool.”
“Why didn’t you have something like that done for me?” Gabriela asks crossly as she looks at Bjarni. “Is there a reason why you don’t want my name on your body?”
“Are you fucking serious, baby girl?” he snaps with a surprised look, but whatever he sees in her eyes has him pulling her into his lap. “How the fuck can you even think that?” And then he’s pulling her head towards him as he crashes his lips down on hers.
Oh well, seeing as I have created havoc with my tattoo, I may as well make the best of it. Pulling my hellcat off the chair and into my arms, I say, “I’ll see you guys later.” I hurry to our room. Time for her to show me her appreciation.
NOVA 20
It has been a week since that episode in the kitchen, and since then, no one has heard from Bion. The guys are all worried; from what Ceric says, Bion has never gone anywhere without telling anyone. If it was Burkhart, they wouldn’t have worried so much because he sometimes disappears without warning, but for Bion, it’s not normal.
Celmund tried to contact him, but his phone is off, and the tracker on his bike has been disconnected. The guys went to all the places he could be, but up till now, they haven’t had any luck finding him. I wouldn’t want to be in Bion’s shoes when he decides to make an appearance, as Draco is fit to be tied.
Most of us are sitting in the bar, waiting for Wulf, as Ceric and him are taking Brielle today to the bakery, as Bion isn’t around. She’s sitting at the table with Jasmine and me, but her happy disposition has been missing since the day in the kitchen. She blames herself for his disappearance and for everyone’s worry, and even though we continuously tell her that this isn’t her fault, she doesn’t seem to believe us.
Someone has done a number on her; her self-esteem is nearly non-existent. I wish I knew who it was, so I could toss Ceric on them. I smile at that thought when I think about my man going all berserker on their ass. My phone beeps. Looking down, I see a message from Sam, letting me know he’s on his way and should be here within the next thirty minutes.
I had hoped that Ceric and Wulf would have already left before Sam arrived, but it doesn’t look like that is going to happen. I hope he will be calmer in regard to Sam. I explained my life to him and how Sam and I see each other as siblings. Then I get an idea, and even though I know I shouldn’t, I can’t help myself. I can feel the smile stretch across my face, and Jasmine looks curiously at me. I wink and then look around.
“Caelius, what do you think about Sam?” Jasmine suddenly chokes behind me. I can also hear Brielle’s choked gasp. Caelius is sitting at the bar with Gloria stroking his hair and whispering in his
ear. At my query, he turns with a raised eyebrow and looks at me.
“What do you mean?” he rasps.
“I mean, what do you think about him as a person? Sam said that out of all the guys here, you were the friendliest one.” At my comment, Cassius snickers, grabbing Caelius’s attention.
“It’s his sensitive side, doll. Behind closed doors, Caelius wears makeup and heals.” Caelius scowls at Cassius’s teasing as everyone starts to laugh. “Don’t tell anyone, but he sleeps with a teddy bear.”
Caelius just shakes his head and turns back to the bar without answering me and ignoring everyone else. “He’s actually on his way here right now. Should arrive in the next few minutes.” But before I can continue, Ceric stands up from the couch where he was sitting with Burkhart and Brandr and is now prowling towards me with an angry look on his face.
“When were you going to tell me?” he growls angrily.
“I wasn’t. I was hoping you would have left already,” I confess. When his mood darkens, I consider that maybe I should have lied. “Come on, don’t be upset. I thought you would be over this by now.”
“Over this?” he says angrily. “Over what, exactly? That he kissed you or that he’s coming here, and you weren’t going to tell me?” He’s now standing over me like an avenging angel, his eyes flashing in anger. I need to do damage control and quick before Sam arrives and Ceric attacks him again.
I stand up and place my hands on his chest, feeling the anger pulsing through his muscles. Dammit, all this passion flowing off him makes me want to forget everything and attack him in a mindless frenzy of lust. “I thought we resolved this,” I state in a placating voice. “You know there is no other man who could ever compare to you, don’t you?” With that, I bring one of my hands up his chest and around his neck, drawing his head down to mine.
He doesn’t try to pull away, but I can still feel the anger in him. When his lips are closed, I bite lightly on the bottom one until he opens it in response. “No one can ever make me feel like you do,” I whisper against his lips, nibbling gently until he takes over and kisses me with a passion that leaves us both wanting more.
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