Chapter 29Power surges through my hand and a flash of blue light blinds me. I stumble back. Alarms are blurring and everything is dark. “Don’t touch her!” I hear James warn someone.“I’ve got her,” Theo’s voice soothes as his arms wrap around me. “It’s okay Jose, you're safe,” Alarms continue to scream incessantly and I realise what it is, I've heard it on TV before. It's the sound of someone flatlining. Mason's heart has stopped. Theo had told me this had happened to him but I thought he meant for just a second, this feels like too long.“Mason,” I gasp, panic gripping me.“Give him a minute,” Theo says softly. My vision suddenly returns and I see Mason sprawled out on the mat, completely still. “Why is he not waking up? You were awake by the time my vision returned,” I say, my voice trembling. Tense seconds tick by as we all watch Mason. “40 seconds,” James calls. “Brain function active,” Sarah adds.“Prepare for defib,” James instructs and Sarah quickly moves closer to Mason
Chapter 30“Bullshit!” Luke exclaims.“You're lying,” Theo accuses. “You were all there, the seer did not identify me as one,” Deacon shrugs as if it's no big deal.“That was because the commotion broke her trance before she was done,” Luke protests.“I spoke with her afterwards and she said she was done, she only identified four bonds for Josie. Now let's get finished here so we can all leave,” Deacon orders, closing down any further conversation on it. The guys all look at him with suspicion, none of them fully believing this. Why would he kiss me like he did if he knew we weren't bonds? Maybe it's a fetish of his to kiss other men's bonds, Clarrisa’s bonds may be missing but she is still a bonded woman. I bring my fingers to my mouth. Remembering how it felt to kiss him. How can something that felt so right be so wrong? I know I should probably be angry or hurt, but all I feel is numbness. Anything I'd felt growing between myself and Deacon was wrong, it has to stop. He is my head
Chapter 31 Luke’s coffee is almost as good as the Starbucks one. I’m impressed by his barista machine and skills. Axel also enjoys it and declares he’ll only be drinking the ‘human stuff’ from now on. Luke tells us how he sneaks to the human realm often to get supplies and I insist he takes me with him next time. He reluctantly agrees, but only after I threaten to attempt to go there by myself. The guys all go to shower and dress and I’m left alone to explore our new apartment. The living and kitchen area is open plan with five doors leading off to each bedroom with an en-suite for each one. There is a large grey corner sofa that could easily fit six people and it’s centred around a sleek black coffee table. A flat-screen TV hangs on the wall. The kitchen is fully equipped to cook meals and there's a large black glass table that seats six. I wonder why there are kitchens in these apartments when there is a dining hall that provides every meal. I guess some bond groups like to eat pr
Chapter 32Once the dining hall has cleared out there's a tense silence as we all wait for Mason to explain.“Well?” Mr Collins demands. I can only see his feet from my position behind the wall of muscle. The dagger clatters to the floor in between Mason and Mr Collins’ feet. “Someone threw that at us. It was heading straight at Josie’s head,” Mason explains. “And you saw it and managed to intercept it?” Mr Collins asks, his tone sounds accusing. “Yes, I did,” Mason growls. “Did anyone else see this happen?” Mr Collins asks. “I did, Mason acted before I could even open my mouth to warn anyone,” Joe admits.“Very well. Does anyone know who threw it or see anything suspicious?” he asks and we all say no. “Get to class, I'll get to the bottom of this. Well done, all of you, you acted quickly and kept your bonds safe,” he says before picking up the dagger and walking away. He didn't even ask if I was okay. Asshole. Dot and her bonds head to class after she warns us all to stay safe
Chapter 33Theo follows my gaze and I feel his arms tighten around me a little. Then his eyes shift behind me, and in a flash, he spins me and pushes me like I'm on fire, “Axel’s turn” he declares as I crash into Axel. He catches me with an “oomph” and I curse at Theo. “Are you okay?” Axel asks, still holding me to him. “Yes, thanks for catching me,” I smile up at him.“Always,” he says, his voice thick. His eyes flick between mine and my lips and I'm sure he's trying to pluck up the courage to kiss me. I decide to help him out, pushing to my tiptoes I place a chaste kiss on his jaw, lingering a little in case he wants to take this further. I can tell he wants to but I think having an audience is a bit too much for him. “Do you want to hang out together later, maybe watch a movie?” I ask him. His cheeks are flushed adorably pink as he nods. “Come on, enough celebrating. We have work to do,” Noel calls and Axel releases me. Noel has us working on shifting next. I know Mason and Luk
Chapter 34Theo opens a box and frowns before reaching in and holding up a textbook with ‘Criminology’ printed on the front. “What in the realm do they want us to study now?” he rolls his eyes. I run to check the box, hope washing away all the side effects of teleporting. “Oh my god,” I gasp. Reaching into the box and pulling out my mobile phone, I clutch it to my chest. Reunited at last. “It's my belongings from uni, I had to leave it behind when I came here,” I explain. “What’s uni?” Theo asks.“University, kind of like this place but for humans,” I explain, digging through the box for my phone charger. “And there you learn to criminology?” he frowns, still studying the book in his hand. “I was studying criminology, I wanted to be a detective or crime scene officer,” I tell him taking the book from him and putting it back in the box. I’d rather go through this box without Mason’s judging gaze on me. “Our girl is smart,” Theo grins.“This is a lot of stuff,” Luke gestures to the
Chapter 35Luke pulls his hand from my panties and I almost cry in protest, until he spins me around and lifts me off of my feet. My legs wrap around his waist and I bring my mouth to his, kissing him as he walks towards the dining table. The move reminds me of Deacon and my heart skips a beat. No. I can't think of him, especially not right now. Luke sits me on the edge of the table before he pulls his mouth from mine. “Lay back, I want my lunch,” he smiles seductively. I hesitate briefly glancing at the others. Theo and Axel stand slightly back, one on each side of Luke, blocking my view of Mason. Then I position myself on the table, leaning back on my elbows. “Good girl,” Luke praises. He's very confident with the others with him, he doesn't show an ounce of the nerves he had yesterday. I'm kind of proud of him. He reaches under my skirt and grabs the waistband of my panties, slowly pulling them down. As he removes them from each foot he pulls off my shoe and places my feet flat on
Chapter 36“What the fuck Mason!” Luke curses. Axel pulls me from the table, wrapping his arms around me to shield me with his body. “Not cool Mace, he's not a part of our bond!” Theo admonishes. Axel guides me to his room, which is the closest escape. Once the door is closed he releases me to fetch a t-shirt from his wardrobe. He helps me into it and I wrap my arms around myself, totally ashamed of everything that just happened. Raised voices are coming from the living area and I can't take this. A single tear escapes my eye. I wipe at it quickly, I had vowed no one would see me weak or crying again and here I am weak and close to bursting into tears. “You did nothing wrong,” Axel reassures me.“I did, I let myself be vulnerable in front of Mason and he took his opportunity. I'm so stupid,” I try to keep the tremble from my voice.“I hate to defend him, but I don't think he did that to get at you, I think he knew exactly who was behind that door. He’s trying to get Deacon to admit
Chapter 168** Josie’s POV **“Babe, calm down, it's going to be perfect,” Theo says as I attempt to rearrange the tables by the pool again.“What if everyone hates it and never wants to go to a gender reveal party ever again?” I ask, covering my face with my hands in an attempt to calm myself. “Why would they hate it? Everyone will be here because they love us and our baby and they're excited to find out the gender. I don’t think they care if the table layout is up to standard,” Luke says.“You're right,” I nod. “I just feel this pressure to make it perfect, I need to prove to your families I'm capable of doing this, I want to prove I'm worthy of being in this bond group and that I'll be a good mother to their grandchildren,” I admit. “They already know that, and more importantly, we know that. You have nothing to prove, Babe. This is supposed to be a fun day for us all to be together with everyone we care about, so relax and enjoy it,” Theo pulls me to him and Luke steps up to my
Chapter 167** Josie’s POV **Once both my men are gloriously naked I watch them for a while as they explore each other's mouths. It’s clear Mason is letting Theo take the lead here, which confirms what I thought Mason needed from us. “Take charge of him, Theo, he needs it,” I say into the mind link. Theo breaks the kiss and looks over at me with a subtle nod.“Our girl is looking lonely on that bed, don't you think?” he asks. Mason turns his head and his eyes land on me before he nods.“Get on the bed and crawl to her, Mace,” Theo whispers.Mason steps up to the bottom of the bed and casts a glance at Theo behind him before getting on the bed and crawling up to kneel between my legs. I sit up to meet him and pull his head towards mine kissing him briefly before I lie back. Theo comes to kneel on the bed beside us and his hand moves straight to my sex. “Look how wet she is for you,” Theo hums, spreading me for Mason to see just how much I want him, before plunging two fingers insi
Chapter 166** Josie’s POV **It had taken almost a week to fully recover from the psychic attack from Cornelius. I had spent most of that time in bed with Mason. We watched movies and slept a lot for the first few days. On day three Mason felt back to normal, but due to my pregnancy and that I had depleted my energy to fuel the rest of my bonds I'd needed longer. The rest of my bonds have been navigating the aftermath and keeping me and Mason informed. We recently learned that Cornelius was confirmed as spark bonded, which adds another layer of betrayal to his entire scheme. When Cornelius died, one of the females captured by Raff’s team became distraught, screaming in anguish over her loss. Three other males tried to console her in the holding cell, revealing their identities in the process. I chose not to find out what happened to them afterwards. I can’t imagine the depth of her pain in losing one of her bonds, even if he had committed terrible acts. The thought of her dealing wit
Chapter 165** Theo’s POV **I move to intercept a wolf running towards Josie. I step in its path just in time for the little shit to launch up and latch painfully onto my arm, dragging me down with it. The wolf suddenly disappears from on top of me, seconds before it was about to chomp down on my face. I sit up and look around in confusion. Josie lets out a pained cry from behind me and I jump to my feet, turning just in time to see her drop to her knees. I rush forward with a burst of energy, catching her before she falls forward and she goes limp in my arms. I look at Mason in a panic, which only increases when I see he is on the floor, twitching and groaning. Luke is nowhere to be seen.“What the fuck is going on? I need help here!” I scream into the mind link. I lay Josie down next to Mason, ready to protect them both when Luke appears.“I’ll get them out of here. Go help Deacon and Axel,” Luke says before leaning down and touching Josie and Mason before porting out with them.
Chapter 164** Josie’s POV **Cornelius stands in the centre, dressed in black and wearing a bulletproof vest. He looks as arrogant as hell whilst he laps up the attention of his worshipers. People cheer and clap, drowning out the booing from outside the park fence. I look around at all the people, there are a full range from babies to elderly and I hate that they have no idea who this guy is and that they are just unwitting pawns in a game they never chose. We have to free them, we are their last line of defence. We swore we would save this realm and we are about to prove it, no matter the cost.I spot Mason and Theo moving into position and I glance over to where I know Axel and Luke should be. Once we see them we begin to move too, weaving our way through the crowd. I recognise a few of the faces along the way and feel a little more at ease when I see them shadowing the more vulnerable members of the audience, ready to protect them. When I am happy with my position I stop, letting m
Chapter 163** Josie’s POV **Deacon and I port into an empty apartment in a building that overlooks the park, whilst Luke, Axe, Mason and Theo port to a disused train line in the underground station across the street. Some of Raff’s team are already here and some have even managed to compel themselves onto the security team. We know Cornelius will have informed his team to be on the lookout for bonded groups so it’s important that as a female I am only seen with one male, otherwise we may draw suspicion. This theory is confirmed when a single female with a group of three males is stopped at the gate and pulled to one side. We can't see what is done to them from here as they are led into a large white tent. I hold my breath as we wait, only releasing it when they exit the tent unharmed.“Probably using compulsion to question them. If we get pulled in, remember to draw on Axel’s blocking gift and make your gaze look vacant. Imagine you are in a daydream and answer their questions quic
Chapter 161** Josie’s POV **By the time we port into the human realm, I have already been made to make what feels like a thousand promises to get out if I'm in danger. The guys are on edge, which is almost crippling me through the bond. Mason is pacing my small childhood living room as we wait for Freya to arrive and I fear the cheap carpet is not going to survive much longer. I sit down on the couch with a sigh as Luke makes me some tea. Deacon, Theo and Axel have gone on a little scouting mission, checking security near the park where the meet-and-greet is. The location had been released less than an hour ago and people are already gathering in the area. Theo told me people are holding up makeshift signs calling for us to save them, which gives me hope that we will face little resistance from the humans. A sudden flutter in my abdomen has my breath catching in my throat and Mason is kneeling in front of me in a flash.“What’s wrong?” he asks, gripping my knees. The mind link be
Chapter 160** Luke’s POV **We arrive back at the training ground with a few minutes to spare. Josie sits on a dusty old tyre whilst eating a banana that Theo’s mum insists will help with the swelling in her feet and ankles. We also all agreed that will will take her to the infirmary for a check-up once we are done here. Not just because of the swelling but to give us all a little peace of mind that she is fit to come with us tomorrow. My family was overjoyed when I told them about the Little Bean. My mum had even cried with joy and told me how proud she was, which I find an odd thing to be proud of. I didn't actually do anything. “Does anyone think it’s odd that my mum is proud of me for Josie being pregnant?” I ask the others, unable to get the thought from my head. “I think she probably means she is proud you are growing up maybe?” Josie shrugs. “But I'm not, I'm no different than I would be if you weren't pregnant,” I shrug. “And even if it was me that biologically fathered t
Chapter 160** Axel’s POV **My biological father seems to be making a little more effort with me than usual, although it’s still minimal. My mother and two other fathers are still as disinterested as ever. They're all only here to be a part of something. They don’t care about saving the human realm, they just want to be able to say they were there. They think it will bring them some respect. I could put them out of their misery and tell them I am a part of the Spark bond, that their son they thought was such a disappointment for having strength-based gifts is who they are now here to see, who they are excited to meet, but it feels like a little revenge to have them sitting at the table with the Spark bonded group and have no idea for a while. I hope they feel stupid when they realise. “I heard a rumour that your headmaster is a part of the Spark bonded group, is that true?” my mum asks, her eyes searching out Deacon in the crowd.“Yes, he is,” I nod. “He’s a fine man, his bond is