Storm Chaser (Storms of Blackwood Book 3)

by Elle Middaugh

  Holy shit, that was amazing.

  "There," I said with an astonished smile, "all better."

  He glared at me. "Gee, thanks."

  I'd only used a small amount of magic, so my lust and desire weren't too gods-awful bad to deal with, but it had been enough to clear my head as Dan had said. I now remembered where we were—the Hydratic Sea. And where we were going—Rubio, to meet with Blane and Zane, the Hydratican twin princes. And where the mist had come from—the arch in the middle of the freaking ocean.

  Meow!

  And I remembered the drowning cat.

  Thankfully the mewing was louder than it had been before, which hopefully meant we were getting closer to rescuing it. Once more, I scanned the ocean for any signs of feline life. A soft splashing sound came to my ears, followed by faint ripples in the water. I looked closer and gasped as I saw a tiny white head bobbing up and down in the water.

  "Meow!" the poor thing cried before dunking under and popping back up.

  "There, Cal!" I cried, leaning out over the rail to point to the white cat in the water.

  He quickly scooped it up in the net and handed it over to Ben, who'd been waiting with a blanket in his arms.

  "It's probably in shock from the freezing cold water," Ben explained. "We need to warm it up and dry it off as quickly as possible."

  I was scared to death it might die before then. It was so much smaller than I'd been expecting—practically a kitten. Unsure of what else to do, I flared up my flames and held them out. "Here. This should help it dry."

  Fuck, this was going to cost me a lot of lust. But whatever. It was worth it to save the poor creature's life. Besides, sex with a few of my guys below deck didn't sound too bad.

  Talk about first-world problems.

  Ben held the kitten still while Cal and Rob each grabbed an edge of the blanket and rubbed its fur. Their efforts, combined with my fire, eventually dried the little thing out into an adorable ball of white fluff.

  When I was finished, I swallowed hard and put out my flames, glancing at Chrissen from the side of my eye. The lust was starting to take over, and thanks to our tantalizing date last night, he was the object of my magic's desire.

  Fuck. I needed a distraction. Any distraction so this didn't get worse.

  "Oh my gods, this kitty is so cute!" I exclaimed, scooping it up into my arms. "It's been a while since I had a pet. Would you like to be my pet, little one?"

  I booped it gently on the nose, but it was not enthused. It lashed out and clawed my hand faster than I could blink, which in turn caused me to accidentally drop it on the deck. Being a cat and all, it landed on all fours, but instead of darting away like I assumed it would, it stuck around and rubbed its head on my legs.

  I put both hands on my hips. "You can't scratch me one minute and love me the next."

  "Meow," it said, purring.

  I decided to steal another glance at Criss since my whole body was yearning for him, but that was a very bad idea. If the intensity of his hazel gaze was anything to go by—and the swelling cock in his pants—then he was definitely feeling the pull too. Shit.

  I turned away, focusing as hard as I could on the kitten that Ben had scooped back up.

  Do not look at Criss. Do not look at Criss.

  My heart beat faster, and my breathing shallowed out into desperate pants.

  There was something so alluring about the cut of Criss’s jaw. The way the stubble there darkened his skin. His lips curved into a seductive smile, and my gaze slowly drifted up past his sharp nose and onto those gorgeous eyes. Pale blue, mint green, and just a touch of gold. They practically sparkled as they looked back at me.

  Shit! I'm looking at him again!

  I stared at the deck, taking in a deep breath and letting it out slowly.

  "Alexis? Are you even listening?" Cal asked.

  "Huh?" I glanced up, intending to scan the faces of Cal, Dan, Ben, and Rob, but I freaking honed in on Chrissen again.

  My lips parted when he took a step closer to me and heat swirled to life in my core.

  "Nope. Not today, Aphrodite," Rob said, holding my hands at my sides and lifting me away.

  The next thing I knew, I was being dropped overboard into the freezing cold water below. I was only under for a few seconds before a rush of water pushed me up into the air until I was once again level with the deck.

  I was soaking wet and shivering, but the intended effect had been reached. I was no longer uncontrollably horny, and Chrissen was no longer in my seductive trance.

  The water deposited me onto the creaking boards; then Dan took a breath and released it.

  "Thanks," I muttered, a bit embarrassed that it had come to that. As much as I wanted Criss, I wanted the guys to be good with it first. "I'm really sorry."

  To my surprise, Rob came over and pulled me into his arms, planting a gentle kiss on my lips. "It's okay, Jewels. We know it's not your fault. I hope you're not mad at me though. For the whole throwing-you-overboard thing. I think you're still mad at me from before, so..."

  I shook my head and wrapped my wet arms around his neck. "No, I forgive you. For both of those things. But Cal's right—we need to have a chat about all this."

  Rob nodded knowingly, but Cal interrupted. "Sorry, but we have better things to deal with at the moment."

  I turned to him, surprised at the shortness in his tone, but he was smiling excitedly.

  "What's going on?" I asked, turning to Ben and Dan who were also grinning a mile wide.

  Criss still just looked kind of dazed from the spell I'd had him under.

  Ben held out the kitten for me to take.

  Without question, I grabbed it and snuggled it to my chest, rubbing my chin along its silky soft fur. But then Dan handed me a knife, and I started to get worried. As soon as the worry entered my system though, it was completely wiped out by hope. If they wanted me to kill an adorable little kitten, then that could only mean one thing...

  I flipped it over and sobbed when I saw a gray spot under its chin—the only blemish in an otherwise perfectly white coat. It had to have been him. Ash was back!

  And he'd kept his promise too—he was about to make me murder a kitten. The bastard.

  I laughed and cried at the same time, wiping tears from my cheeks as they spilled down my face. I was so happy, I could puke. So happy I could stab a kitten. Neither of those things made sense, but I had a feeling they were both about to happen.

  "Take him," I said, pushing kitty-Asher into Ben's arms once more.

  I then ran for the side of the boat and puked over the railing. My fingers felt weak as they squeezed the wood. My legs were as mushy as seaweed. When I was finished spilling my guts, I took a deep breath and wiped my mouth.

  "Ready now?" Ben teased, wiggling the kitten before me.

  I snatched it back and laid it down on the wooden deck. Gods, this was awful. Even though I knew it was Ash, it still looked like a baby cat. Could I honestly kill an adorable, fluffy white kitten?

  It stared up at me as I hesitated, and I swear I saw its amber eyes roll. It let out a low growl that I thought was supposed to sound ferocious but that came out as warm and endearing as ever.

  I laughed one more time as the tears fell. How fucked-up was this? Then I reared back with the knife and, before I could chicken out, sank the blade deep into the kitten's chest. Scarlet blood soaked through its bright white fur and puddled onto the deck beneath it.

  Seconds passed where absolutely nothing happened. The kitten didn’t move. The guys didn’t move. The magic didn't appear. I didn't breathe.

  I was starting to think I'd legitimately murdered a real-life baby cat in cold blood, when finally the golden magic appeared and the kitten's tiny body slowly morphed into the hard-cut body of a very naked man. My naked man.

  "Asher!" I screamed, falling into his arms on the deck.

  He squeezed me tightly, almost so hard I couldn't breathe, but I couldn't have cared less. I was in his arms! After all t
his time, he was back with us!

  He kissed me quickly then sat up, ending our reunion far too soon. "Sorry, guys, but we need to get the fuck out of here. I may or may not have an angry War God on my tail."

  Cal, Ben, and Rob instantly demanded answers, while Dan merely sucked in a deep breath and sent the ship hurtling back into superspeed. I latched onto Ash as the wind whipped at my face.

  "What are the odds you guys have any jeans?" Ash asked, glancing down at his nudity.

  I glanced down too, and heat curled in the pit of my core.

  "Jeans?" Ben asked intriguingly.

  Ash smirked and then sighed. "I wish those borrowed clothes had survived the change. I looked so fucking good in them."

  My gaze moved from his junk up to his handsome face. "I quite prefer you naked, actually."

  As Ash chuckled, Cal offered to go find him some pants. When he returned with khakis and a white shirt, Ash quickly slipped into them and stood, reaching his hand out to Chrissen.

  "I'm Ash. You must be Criss, the guy who kept us alive back in the Lunaley."

  Criss took his hand and shook it. "That'd be me. It's great to finally meet you. I know Alexis was worried sick."

  "Our girl always fears the worst." Ash threw an arm around my shoulders and kissed the top of my head. "I wanted to thank you, though, for saving our asses and for helping to keep Alexis safe while I was gone."

  Criss bowed his head slightly. "I'll always do what I can to keep her safe. No matter what."

  Ash's amber eyes narrowed slightly before he turned to me and grinned. "You did it again, didn't you?"

  I blinked. "Did what?"

  "Captivated another Storm. He's in love with you too, isn't he?"

  Heat burned in my cheeks, and though I wanted to turn away, I glanced up at Criss who was blushing too. "I have no idea," I muttered.

  "Well, are you in love with him?" Ash asked. He didn't sound upset, which was a relief, but rather curious.

  My face must've been as red as that kitten's blood.

  "Asher..." I warned, trailing off because I honestly had no idea how I felt about Criss. I knew I liked him. I knew I wanted to fuck him. But did I love him?

  "He's not part of the group," Rob said darkly, relieving me of having to finish that sentence.

  Ash shrugged. "Okay, so what does he need to do?"

  Rob crossed his burly arms. "What do you mean?"

  "I mean, I had to jump from Dryroot Canyons to earn my place in the group. So, what does he have to do to earn the same rights?"

  Cal hesitated. "Ash, we haven't chatted about this particular subject just yet."

  "Then let's chat," Ash said, smiling shamelessly. "I have an assload of shit to tell you guys anyway."

  Chapter 23

  "The gods are still around?" Rob damn near shouted as Asher began telling his tale.

  Ash nodded. "Yep. And they're fucking with us. We're like adorable little playthings to them."

  "I'll do you one better," Dan said haughtily. "We are them."

  Ash's brows furrowed. "What do you mean?"

  Dan cocked his head toward me. "Alexis had tea with our mothers who saw fit to finally confess our true heritage. We're fucking demigods, bro. I'm not just a loose descendant of Poseidon—he's my real fucking father."

  Ash's amber eyes went terrifyingly wide. He turned to Cal. "Zeus is your real father?" Cal nodded. He turned to Rob. "Hades is yours?" Rob nodded too. He twisted around to stare at Ben. "What about you? Demeter was a woman."

  Ben chuckled. "Turns out, if you're a god, you can create life no matter what your sex is."

  Ash pointed to himself. "So then, who are my parents?"

  "Ashlynn and Hera," I filled in. "All gods have the ability to change shape, but Hera didn't want you to be as amazing as her, so she only gave you that ability."

  "Only?" he asked with a grin. "I think it's pretty fucking awesome."

  Cal closed his eyes and held up both hands. "Let's not get off topic here. What were you saying about us being the playthings of the gods?"

  "Right," Ash said, getting back on track. "So, Ares and Dion—the War God and the Party God—made a deal with the Storm King, that if he can keep completing their ridiculous quests, they'll keep giving him vials of godly protection or some shit. They don't need him to fulfill the quests; they just think it's funny to fuck with him. You know why they wanted the chimera egg?"

  "To create god-killing poisons?" Ben guessed.

  The rest of us shook our heads since we were clueless.

  "No," Ash replied with a grin. "Just to have a god-killer as a pet. They thought it would be funny. Or at least, Ares did. You know why they told the Storm King to get the Eye of the Sea?"

  "You know about that?" Cal asked in surprise.

  "Of course I know," Ash replied. "I was there when they made the deal."

  Ben shrugged. "They need the Eye to look into the future?"

  "No. They want it as a fucking fish tank decoration. A fish tank decoration! I mean, holy fucking Hades..."

  Anger suddenly surged within me. Who did these assholes think they were, dicking us around like that? They allowed a tyrant to rule our kingdom with godlike powers just so they could have a cool pet? So they could have a cool fish tank decoration? Fuck them.

  "When we get the eye," I said with a sneer, "we're not giving it to them."

  "Fuck no, we're not," Rob agreed with a glare.

  But Ash hesitated. "I don't know... If we're the ones who hand it over to them, then they might just start helping us instead of the Storm King."

  "What the hell makes you think they'd actually help us?" I countered angrily. "All they seem to care about is fucking us over for their enjoyment."

  Ash nodded. "That's true. They really do love their fun and games. But I sort of befriended Dion while I was there. I think if we can prove to him that we're worthy by delivering the Eye, then he'll seriously consider helping us."

  "And what about Ares?" Dan asked, taking a quick break from propelling the ship to breathe. "Didn't you say he was pissed off and possibly even following you into our realm?"

  "Yeah," Ash replied. "Ares is going to be a problem. I think he's the real brain behind the operation. Because he thrives on war, he's always hoping to cause discord. What better way to cause discord and war than by supporting a tyrannical monarch?"

  Dan shook his head, took another deep breath, and got back to boosting the boat.

  "So, what's he pissed about?" Criss asked from where he was reclined on the ship's deck.

  "He's pissed about us," Ash replied with cocky grin. "He hates the Storm Princes—and princess—" He winked at me. "—because we're directly interfering with his plans. We're a serious threat to the Storm King, and he hates that. If the Storm King loses, Ares doesn't get world war."

  "He's already getting his war," Ben commented. "Timberlune and Hydratica are out for our blood. Meeting with the twins is the only hope we have left for peace."

  Rob shook his head. "Then all hope is lost. Hydratica will not stop until Sohsol is destroyed. Period."

  Ash shrugged sympathetically. "Then we need to find the Eye and give it to the gods before the Storm King does."

  Rob narrowed his gray eyes. "What's so special about the damn Eye, anyway?"

  "No idea," Ash admitted. "But if we can somehow use it to our advantage, then we definitely should."

  Cal nodded his agreement. "Ash is right. We find the Eye and strike a deal with the gods. If we can somehow take the Storm King out of the equation, then that's got to be our end goal."

  "Oh," Ash said, as if he just remembered something, "and I totally opened the portal to the Lunaley back up. As long as the gods don't notice the door is cracked, we should be good. Timberlune is probably already feeling the effects."

  "You couldn't have led with that information?" Cal shouted. "We just had a horrible meeting with Bria where she basically told us all to burn in hell."

  "Yikes," Ash said. His tone suggest
ed he was not at all fazed. "Well, she'll be begging for forgiveness soon then, because Timberlune definitely has its magic back."

  Personally, I was glad to hear Bria wouldn't be mad at me for much longer. She was more than just a potential ally to me; she was a friend—one of the few I ever had.

  I glanced at Criss. It kind of seemed like our "chat" was coming to a close, and we hadn't yet discussed the terms of his involvement. I could tell neither of us wanted to be the one to bring it up though.

  Luckily, Ben caught our secret glance. He smiled warmly and folded his hands behind his head. "Now, let's chat about Criss joining our group. I vote yes."

  "I vote no," Rob grumbled.

  Ash rolled his eyes. "You always vote no. I vote yes."

  Dan, who didn't seem to want to exhale his latest deep breath, simply nodded his approval.

  Cal sighed and eyed me with intent. "What do you vote?"

  I swallowed hard and lifted my chin a bit higher. "I want him in the group. He's already a part of us, whether you like it or not. He even has his own powers now, so he's not just a 'liability.'" I made air quotes to stress my point. "We need to start accepting him for the valuable member of the team that he is."

  When Criss's gaze met mine across the deck, I could tell just how appreciative he was that I'd stuck up for him. Either that, or I could just feel his appreciation in the atmosphere around us.

  Cal sighed. "Still. I vote... not yet."

  Rob gave a little whoop of victory.

  I glared at the two of them. "Then what would you have him do?"

  Cal shook his head. "I don't know. We'll have to think about it."

  "We'll know what he needs to do when the time comes," Rob added with a devious grin.

  That sounded a whole hell of a lot like "it's never gonna happen."

  My jaw ticked. "If you two haven't come up with something by the end of the week, then we're having another chat and I'll come up with the terms of his inclusion."