Pure Elemental (Evelyn Storm Series Book 3)

by Tamara White

  I’m really sorry I didn’t tell you, but I was terrified you wouldn’t have anything to do with the bond knowing I had been with Catherine,” I explain ashamed of my actions.

  I knew I should have said something but I honestly thought it would hurt her more knowing. I regret not telling Evie and having her find out like this but it completely slipped my mind with everything happening.

  Not to mention I thought we’d never come back so I’d have more time to tell her but it’s obvious now that it was a mistake not telling her or the others.

  “Dude! How could you do that? She’s such a bitch!” Ky says staring at me a look of horror so comical that I can’t help but smile.

  “Trust me, it wasn’t my finest moment,” I tell him watching the others all laugh at the ease of tension in the room.

  Evie’s smiling and for a moment, it feels like it will be ok.

  Chapter 17

  Evie

  I feel bad for Dane. He feels so guilty about what happened with Catherine that it makes it hard to really hold a grudge over it. Besides, it’s was his choice to sleep with her and we didn’t know each other then so is it really fair for me to judge an action that he did before we met? It’s not like he can take it back.

  “Dane, I swear I’m not angry. I guess it just hurt hearing it from her and not you,” I tell him reaching my arms up for him to hug me.

  I’m too lazy to get off my ass, so I make him come to me.

  “I am sorry that I never told you but I just couldn’t hurt you.”

  His sincerity is obvious and I love that he cared enough about me, to try and protect me from finding out. A lot of men would flaunt it or hide it but even though he did hide it, it was to stop me from being hurt.

  “I know. Let’s talk about something else though. So Jeremy what did you do to me back at school?”

  Jeremy pales looking like a deer in headlights and glances at each of the guys before facing me. I know he did something because no way should I have felt that way towards someone I’d only just met, even if he is my bonded.

  “You have to know at first it was part of my mission but once I realized who you were to me, I controlled it, I swear.”

  If you could smell fear, then he would reek but as it is I feel it radiating from his body in waves.

  “So what was it?”

  “It was my demon. I have the ability to persuade people as an elemental but the demon makes it 10 times stronger and easily hidden. If I wanted to I could have convinced you to come with me and make you believe it was all your idea.”

  Wow. I don’t know whether to take that as a threat or just fact but Zach immediately stiffens taking it as a threat.

  “Choose your next words wisely. I watched what happened between the two of you so I know exactly the effect you had. If I even suspect you of doing it again, I’ll take you out,” Zach says glaring at him.

  I sigh feeling bad for him. All my guys are super protective of us and that’s without Christian and Zeke being here.

  My thoughts must have summoned them because they walk through the doors laughing and shoving each other. They both look up at the same time sensing the tension in the room and I expect one of them to ask who Jeremy is but Zeke goes nuts.

  He mists behind Jeremy pulling him in a choke hold and kicking out his knees so he’s left kneeling on the floor, the colour slowly draining from his face.

  “Zeke! What are you doing? Let him go know!” I demand making my way to them.

  He looks up for a moment loosening his hold which is all Jeremy needs to headbutt him knocking him back on the floor.

  Oh this shit is not on!

  “Both of you stop right now!” I boom into the room putting all my power into my voice. They both freeze instantly as I approach.

  “I don’t care what the hell this is about but you two are going to sit up, and talk. If either one of you makes one wrong move, I’ll kick you both out. Understood?”

  They both watch me and I ease my power giving them enough time to answer and they nod slightly, my message clear.

  “Now then, Jeremy, would you like to explain what this was all about?”

  “I will but first I need to know who Zeke is to you?”

  What? Why does it matter?

  “Well, not that it’s really any of your business, but Zeke is one of my bonded.”

  His face falls and I feel horrible but don’t understand why I feel so sad for him.

  “This is a long story so you may want to take a seat. Zeke, you too, it might make more sense to you if you hear what happened.

  I’m a hybrid angel and demon. I have no idea who my mother is but my father is the demon in charge of the underworld. He sent me to the earth to hunt down my older sister who had been missing for years.

  I barely knew my sister but she was the apple of my father’s eye. She was a hybrid herself and was supposed to be the secret weapon meant to destroy the barrier.

  My father experimented on her when she was young by blocking her demon. She was hidden away and trained, she knew what she was but she didn’t know why she couldn’t feel her demon.

  When she turned 18, she ran away. My stepmother helped her escape for which she was tortured and forced to stay in her cell. I was the only one who went to see her and she explained to me why she helped her escape.

  Twenty years later, I had developed a good bond between my demon and angel halves that I was chosen to be the one to hunt her down and bring her back.

  It took me a year of searching the earth until I found her but it was too late.

  She had been tracking down our mother so she would remove the block from her demon half and when it did, it drove her to the point of insanity.

  Her demon kept taking control, murdering humans and elementals alike that she had no choice but to kill herself.

  I’m sorry Zeke. I know how much you loved Alyssa but she asked me to help her, so I did. She had killed so many and the memories were coming back to her in flashes. She couldn’t live with the thought that she might hurt you.”

  Tears are running down Zeke and Jeremy’s face and I can’t stop my own. It sounds like he loved his sister but had no choice.

  If she was killing people and couldn’t stop herself then it seems like the only way to stop her but why not just lock the demon side away again?

  “Wait, I thought Alyssa was human?” Dane asks from my side.

  “Yes, I did because I didn’t want to remember her as a demon. The last few days of her life she had a lot of trouble staying sane and I thought it was better to remember her how she was when we met,” Zeke says softly.

  His sorrow is breaking my heart so I go to him hoping to ease his pain.

  “I’m sorry,” I say hugging him to me.

  He’s too tall for me to lay my head in his neck so I lean against his chest and hope that he feels my sympathy. The babies must sense my sadness because they start kicking away again. One delivers a hard enough kick that a grunt of pain escapes me before I can stop it.

  “What’s wrong?” Zeke asks looking down at me.

  “Sorry, the babies kicked me and one of them was pretty strong,” I laugh feeling the movement still happening.

  “Can I feel?” he asks nervously.

  What has he got to be nervous out? I don’t mind any of them feeling the babies.

  “Sure,” I say pulling his hand straight to where they’re moving around.

  “Wow, that’s amazing! How often do they kick like that?”

  “Yeah they’re usually moving around but when I feel strong emotions, they get super active. They could feel my sadness for you so they started kicking harder. I think it’s their way of trying to comfort me,” I tell him smiling.

  I love the fact that my babies are compassionate before they’re born. I have met so many people that have little to no compassion and I would hate for my children to be raised without any.

  Each of my guys has an amazing heart which gives me hope that my children will
be just as kind.

  “Aw that’s so sweet. You’re already being an awesome mom by comforting us. I can’t wait to meet them,” he says grinning.

  My heart melts seeing him grin so carefree. He’s been pretty reserved with me but it’s nice knowing he’s letting go of his pain. He sighs wrapping an arm around my waist and facing Jeremy again.

  “Jeremy, I understand a little more about what happened than you thought I did only because Alyssa told me. The Creator let me see her,” Zeke says over my head.

  “What?! You spoke to her? When?!” Jeremy is firing off questions not giving Zeke any time to answer.

  “Dude, calm down! Yes I spoke to her. Long story short, I helped kidnap Evie, then found out she was my bonded and pregnant, so I went to the Creator for guidance where he told me if I helped save Evie, he would let me speak to Alyssa one last time.

  She’s in the afterlife and she’s happy.”

  Jeremy’s staring at Zeke and the silence is prolonged. I wait for someone to speak but it’s like no one knows what to say.

  Zeke

  Jeremy’s watching me, trying to comprehend what I said. I imagine he thought Alyssa would have been sent to the underworld what with being half demon but she was lucky enough to be sent to the afterlife because she sacrificed her life to save any future humans from being hurt.

  After everything we discussed I knew she did the right thing no matter how hard it was. She gave up everything she could have had in life for people she didn’t know.

  “I’m sorry you lost your sister. Honestly I thought you didn’t care about her because you killed her,” I tell him.

  “Of course I cared. She was my sister by blood and I may not have known her too well but the weeks before she lost it we got close. My father was horrible to us and my mother is just as bad. She knew what would happen by releasing the hold on the demon side of Alyssa but she still did it anyway.

  After I killed Alyssa, I hunted down my mother and took her back to the underworld. She’s been imprisoned by my father because she ruined all his plans.

  As you all know Evelyn is the key to fixing the barriers but before Evelyn was born, my father hoped to make Alyssa the one destined for that role. Once she died it triggered a chain reaction causing Evelyn’s birth and now all of us meeting.

  The Creator is one tricky bastard.”

  I’m not happy that he called the Creator a bastard but I understand where he’s coming from. There’s been a lot of loopholes that he’s been mentioning lately but it’s still disrespectful especially after what he’s done for me.

  “My father wanted to break the barrier and he thought by controlling the demon side of Alyssa she would still be as powerful but only the light side would be present therefore being able to confuse the barrier that she was the one meant to open it and close it.

  Then once she had opened it, she would be free to do as she wished while the world crumbled around her.”

  Teddy

  I’m not sure whether to be happy for Zeke and Jeremy or angry. They both seem confused by whatever has happened but they both seem to hold blame for the Creator, only Jeremy seems to be the one that speaks his anger out loud though.

  “Ok you guys, as heart-warming as this little reunion is, I want answers from Jeremy. He still hasn’t told us why he’s here? He keeps distracting the conversation.”

  He’s been steering the conversation all afternoon and it makes me wonder if there’s something he’s hiding or if he’s doing in unconsciously. There may be something more to his story than he’s saying.

  “Um, there’s something that I haven’t mentioned. So my father sent me here to take Evelyn to the underworld with me,” Jeremy says glancing between us and backing away.

  I think he senses how well that will be received from us. No one, and I mean no one, is going to be taking her away from us again.

  “Guys, relax. He said his father wants him to take me, not that he wants too,” Evie says exasperated.

  “No Evie when it comes to you, we can’t lose you again. You’re getting close to having the babies and if you were taken again, especially to the underworld, we may never get you back again,” Mike says seriously.

  “Yes I agree you shouldn’t be too close to him until we know he’s serious about you,” Dane says watching Jeremy with suspicion clear in his eyes now.

  I’m pretty sure each of us is worried he’ll take her to the underworld regardless of being her bond or not. His demon may not give him a choice.

  “Believe me, I don’t want to take Evie to my Father. He’s a cruel man and once he has her, I have no idea what he will do with her. She’d wish for death by the time he was finished with her. Speaking of, I have to report to him so he doesn’t leave the underworld. Will I see you tomorrow?”

  He’s saying the words so they could be interpreted to all of us but he’s staring at Evie. She’s hanging on to his every word and I hate how attractive he is.

  He’s got the whole good boy and bad boy thing working for him. Evie would have to be blind to not be attracted to him and it does make me slightly jealous.

  “Yeah we’ll be at school tomorrow but I’m not sure about the day after. I’ll see you there,” she says breathless.

  Damn, she’s so into him.

  Kylan

  “Evie, you can’t trust him!” I say irritated that she didn’t seem to notice Jeremy was playing her.

  He left over an hour ago and we just finished explaining what happened to Spencer and Raphael. Only Evie seems to think he means what he said while the rest of us think he was using some kind of play on her. No way would someone be that whingy. Especially a guy.

  As sad as it is, his estranged sister died but he didn’t look the least bit sad. The tears on his face screamed sadness but Dane said his empathy detected nothing which is a big sign something isn’t quite right.

  Zeke and Christian seem to believe he was being sincere though so I’m not sure what to do.

  “Ky you deserve to have your own opinion but you can’t change my mind on this. Just please try and give him a chance. For me?”

  Damn that adorable little face.

  “You know it’s cheating when you pout at us? We’ll do anything for you, and if you truly believe he deserves a chance, then we’ll give him one.

  If he does anything that looks like it may hurt you, there won’t be anything stopping us from ripping him apart,” Dane says stepping forward giving her a soft kiss.

  “Ok, I understand. Now I need to talk to Christian about something so I’m going to steal him from you guys for the next hour.”

  “Why? What’s wrong?” I ask scared something’s wrong with the babies.

  “Nothing, it’s just personal and seeing as he’s got more experience in this area, I would prefer to talk to only him about this.”

  She glances between us blushing slightly. It must be awkward if she’s blushing.

  “Would you guys mind making me something to eat? I’m starving,” she says distracting all of us from worrying.

  We let her go off with Christian knowing if it’s something only he can help her with, then we have no choice. Besides, if it’s something bad he’ll tell us.

  Chapter 18

  Christian

  Well, this wasn’t what I was expecting.

  Evie asked for me because she needed advice but this is definitely not advice. She told me about what happened with Zach, saying she wanted me to know before she told the others.

  She was worried about how I would react after everything but I know how much I care about her, she doesn’t need to be worried about me.

  “Is that all you needed me for? To tell me you bonded with Zach? It doesn’t matter to me as long as you’re happy,” I tell her with a smile.

  “You’re sure? I’m worried about the others but I thought we would bond first. Zach and I barely know each other but you and I, we’ve had an amazing connection since we met. I thought you would be the next person a bond would form wit
h,” she says her eyes starting to water.

  Oh crap. She’s sad because she wanted us to bond before she bonded with anyone else.

  “Honey, come here,” I say coaxing her into my arms.

  “I’m sorry, it just hurt my feelings more than I thought it would. I love you but I haven’t even got there with Zach yet. Why wasn’t it you?” she whispers against my chest.

  I tilt my head down, to look into her eyes but she refuses to look at me. I softly tilt her head up and claim her lips.

  Evie loves me more than anything and she’s only sad about her bond with Zach because of her feelings for me. She wants me.

  We kiss for a couple of minutes before I pull back to make sure she’s ok but when I look into her eyes, she smirks at me and starts walking us back towards the bed.

  She’s such a sweet little minx and she knows exactly the kind of effect she has on me. We reach the bed and she sits on the edge, leaning back. In that dress, she looks so magnificent. The blue highlights the grey of her eyes and makes her hair look lighter.

  I lean forward kissing her softly, trying to be as gentle as I can, and lean her back until she’s laying down.

  Once she’s positioned herself, I climb in the bed and lay beside her, stroking her cheek while she closes her eyes content.

  “You’re so beautiful. I’m sorry a bond hasn’t happened between us yet,” I tell her.

  She sighs opening her eyes, “It’s ok, it just hurt I guess. I have more of a connection with Zeke than I do with Zach. I know he’s your brother but I just don’t understand,” she says the frustration obvious.

  “It’s ok. I know your confused and frustrated, so am I. Sometimes though, things happen at the right time. Maybe we feel more connected but your bond with Zach will be needed sooner. Maybe there’s a reason why it hasn’t happened yet but until then I want you to know how much I love you.”

  I kiss her softly, while she moans into my mouth. I try not to let it get me too worked up but her hands are roaming over my body, touching any part she can reach. She caresses my cock through my pants and I groan into her mouth letting her have her way.