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Chapter 31
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2024-10-29 19:42:56With the first sun, Luke was up and running through the forest that surrounded Johnsons’ mansion. His exercise had two goals. One was releasing some of the energy accumulated by all the different emotions he was feeling in the past couple of days as most of them were unknown to him before and made him feel completely unfamiliar things that needed to be let out, and the other was security. He didn’t want to leave this place before checking once again if maybe he missed something.
It didn’t surprise him when he noticed Richard’s scent freshly marking trees along the border. Of course, the patron of the family had to mark his territory as a way of securing it.
It took him more than 2 hours of a full sprint to feel like some of the excess energy was reduced. Luke slowed down his pace as he neared the mansion and ignored the noises coming from the kitchen as he climbed the stairs. It was 2 hours too long since he last saw Sarah
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Rise of the Phoenix Chapter 32
Sun was already getting low in the sky when Luke let Sarah catch her breath. Ever since the moment they arrived at his beach house, his lair, he hasn’t let her stop and rest, not even for a second. He couldn’t get enough of her and the things she woke in him, with every kiss she gifted him, with every touch of her fingertips that left a trail of fire behind them… all he knew is that she felt the same, he was sure of it. Her reactions, her moans, and whimpers whenever he would touch or kiss one of her sweet spots, and he quickly learned all of them by heart, told him everything he needed to know… they told him just how much she was lost in him and the pleasure he was giving her.It was crazy, it was maddening, it was everything and more from what he ever imagined it will be. It was worth the wait. It was worth the pain. It was worth it…Sarah was lying on her back, her eyes closed as she was breathing deeply, tryin
Rise of the Phoenix Chapter 33
The next three days for Sarah and Luke were absolute bliss. The time they spent together in their home, and yes, Sarah saw this house as a home, was the most precious time of their lives. It was perfect to the point that made Sarah wonder if it was just the calm before the storm, but not wanting to spoil the mood, she said nothing.Being alone again, carefree and relaxed, helped them be even more open... They spent their time talking and getting to know each other, their likes and dislikes, and as it turned out, they had more in common than they initially thought. Although their personalities were total opposites, like sun and moon were, they were also quite similar. It was weird; it surprised them, but it also felt good.The night was creeping in while the sun was getting low somewhere behind their backs, casting orangey sunrays on their surroundings. Sarah and Luke were sitting on the back porch that faced the high seas. In front of them, a fire
Rise of the Phoenix Chapter 34
Somersaults that Luke made high up in the air cause a similar reaction in Sarah’s stomach. Her insides were clenching with every new sudden turn Luke would make, and she was clinging to him with all her might. Her hands were tightly wrapped around Luke’s neck while he was holding her securely in his arms, bridal style.Sarah wasn’t scared he would drop her, no. She trusted him more than she trusted herself. But the adrenalin that was coursing through her veins, the excitement she felt, was almost too much to handle.Luke flew up higher and higher above the purple and orange clouds and even higher until the air around them became too thin to breathe properly. Only then Luke headed towards the ground. The only thing Sarah could hear and feel around herself as they were ascending towards the outer space, except for the closeness of his body, were powerful swings of Luke’s wings and swooshing of the air caused by them.She was giggling and laughing
Rise of the Phoenix Chapter 35
Luke walked cautiously, touching the ground with his bare feet, careful not to make a sound and warn the intruder.Yes, even back inside from the faint, combined sounds that resembled a heartbeat, slightly labored breath, and feet tapping against the ground, he could determine with at most certainty someone was sneaking around his premises. And he had every intention of quickly finding what intruder wanted from them.Luke had no problem seeing in the dark, but tonight colors seemed even more vivid than before. However, he had no time to ponder about it. He had someone to catch…Not wasting time, Luke focused on the sounds that got his attention in the first place and ran as fast as he could in that direction, making sure to leave enough space for him to stay off the intruder’s radar and at the same time to be close enough to determine what they were.A couple of miles west from the house, deep in the woods, Luke found h
Rise of the Phoenix Chapter 36
Upon hearing the woman’s words, Luke stopped with the torture; he retracted the flames to both present women’s relief, and he didn’t miss his girl’s discreet sigh.Nonchalantly, in a couple of lazy steps, he went back to stand by Sarah’s side.“Go ahead.” Hopefully, she didn’t change her mind when the pain stopped.After one deep frown that suggested nothing but disgust and resentment, towards herself probably, the woman spoke:“Two days ago, I’ve got a call from a friend of a friend. He said it’s an easy pull, in and out. Got the money transferred in advance and got the instructions.” She said with a short pause, thinking about if she should disclose all the details or not.“But that’s not all, is it?” Luke nudged her a bit.“No.” the woman swallowed hard. “I asked the said a friend about the ordering party. Wha
Rise of the Phoenix Chapter 37
“What are you exactly planning to do?” Sarah pressed for the nth time, but Luke wasn’t budging. He refused to disclose whatever he had in mind as a solution for their problem, and it was going on her nerves… not getting what she wanted.That’s why she was trying to seduce him now since nothing else worked, and Sarah hoped Luke wouldn’t be able to resist her. A moment ago, she surprised him by climbing onto his lap and wrapping her hands around his neck, whispering softly into his ear. That, to be honest, worked like magic on him, however…“Not going to work on me, dearest. But you don’t have to stop now,” Luke couldn’t miss a chance to tease her a bit and to take her mind off what seemed to be the only thing she thought about in the past couple of days since they had the ‘visit.’Displeased with the failed attempt, Sarah groaned and tried to get up and leave, b
Rise of the Phoenix Chapter 38
Followed by a bright blast of light, Sarah and Luke appeared in the living room of Johnson’s mansion, this time without excess water that would destroy their home.After the phone call they received earlier, they took enough time to put on some decent clothes before Luke took Sarah into his embrace and transported them to her parents’ home.He also noticed that their traveling was becoming easier and swifter; it was as natural as breathing. There was no more pressure he felt initially, like he was carrying a burden on his shoulders, no. Now it was like he was traveling through time and space alone, but at the same time… not… since he was aware of Sarah’s presence by his side all along. In the end, Sarah was his other half, missing part of his soul…“This is a surprise!” Adaline exclaimed. She was in the garden when she saw now-familiar light coming from the inside, so she rushed back insid
Rise of the Phoenix Chapter 39
“We shouldn’t have let them go alone just like that!” Adaline exclaimed. “They will be outnumbered. What if they get hurt?” It was easy to forget what Luke was and what he could do.“Dear, you know we can’t go there. Nebraska is too far for anything but flying, and it’s still daylight. Luke couldn’t take us with him as he can only ‘transport’ his own soulmate. I don’t like it any more than you, but we have to trust him on this… I believe he will protect Sarah.”Both silently agreed this was not something they were prepared for—a human threat. Of course, they lived their lives according to human laws, staying away from the public eye, and it worked well for centuries. They never exposed themselves for who they were, Sarah being the only exception. They have faced danger before, winning each time. However, those were supernatural threats, and no supernatural
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Rise of the Phoenix To my readers
Love. Because love refines your soul and will make you worthy of being loved. Forgive. Because we all make mistakes, and we all deserve second chances. Trust. Because life has a way of making things right even when everything seems like a dead-end. Don’t give up. Because you never know what good thing is waiting for you just around the corner. Thank you for sticking with me until the end of this journey and I if you enjoyed this story, consider leaving ratings and review. It would help the algorithm recognize it and share this novel with more people. Also, check my other books here that have been completed. Maybe you like them… I’ve been juggling with a certain idea in my head… Michael’s and Anna’s story is itching to get out since the majority of the story would be set in the 19th century and it would have a different tone than the previous novels. All the announcements will be posted on my social media,
Rise of the Phoenix Epilogue 2
5 years laterSarah and Luke spent their days and years in the castle where he was born, and every new day seemed like a dream. They understood each other perfectly, knew what the other felt, wanted, and needed without words spoken aloud… but that didn’t stop them from fighting a couple of times. And when they did, oh boy, those quarrels were epic, and they all ended the same way… in their bedroom.After that first year when Sarah was learning to control fire, and when her family was not visiting, well… as soon as she was sure she wouldn’t accidentally hurt them, they came to visit every often. Sometimes all of them would come at once, which created chaos of shouting and laughing, talking at the same time and yelling at kids that didn’t listen to a word their parents told them, and sometimes Sarah and Luke would announce coming by for lunch to either Henry’s house in the mountain, Michael’s villa
Rise of the Phoenix Epilogue 1
The past year has been challenging for Sarah. It was more complicated than she expected it to be. From the day she discovered she could invoke fire from nowhere, start it by her own free will, things went downhill. After everything that happened with her biological parents, the serene day they had was just the calm before the storm. Once the spark found its way out, there was no way back. Fiery energy wanted out, and she could do nothing about it. It didn’t help the fact that Sarah had a problem with controlling herself, controlling her emotions, and that caused a fire to burst everywhere at any given time… while they were walking through the forest, while having lunch in the kitchen, while making love… once she even set a curtain in the bedroom on fire in her sleep as she was dreaming of Luke… or when she unintentionally cremated the chicken she was stuffing for dinner. There were times when she felt like losing her shit over h
Rise of the Phoenix Chapter 50
The first day upon arrival to their new home, Sarah wanted to explore but didn’t get the chance to see much as Luke showed her around, explaining things and sights until they arrived at the master bedroom. That’s where they stayed for the rest of the day and the following night.They even ordered dinner from the nearest restaurant; however, until it came, it was almost cold, but they didn’t really mind.“You’re the new owners everyone’s been talking about?” delivery guy was friendly and curious.“Yes. And we’ll be seeing each other more often from now on.” Luke answered and generously tipped the guy.Guess everybody in the surrounding villages and towns knew someone bought the Lone castle since Luke arranged it to be cleaned and stocked up from Maine. Perks of modern times and the internet, ha… over the years, he never failed to take care of the castle no matter wher
Rise of the Phoenix Chapter 49
It was long past midnight when Johnson’s mansion dove into silence. After guests left, they all worked together to clean up the mess left behind, and Luke had nothing against helping. On the contrary, he enjoyed every second. In the process, he figured the best way to thank Richard and Adaline for what they did for him, for his girl… for saving Sarah’s life… when he should’ve been the one to do that. But back then, he was still one hell of an unjustified proud jerk that wanted to stay away even though he felt Sarah’s deep distress.What amazed Luke the most is how little time he needed to feel like he was part of the family, that he was accepted… and he truly appreciated every second he spent with them. And it also brought a wave of sadness because he realized he would never have a chance to have the same with his own parents as they long ago ceased to exist. He will never have the chance to… anything&
Rise of the Phoenix Chapter 48
While Sarah was helping Adaline in the kitchen prepare desserts and salads for the upcoming barbecue, Luke was outside with Richard setting the tables in the backyard. Aside from the chairs, Luke volunteered to add table cloths and flower arrangements Sarah so carefully prepared.He was in some weird, hectic state of mind where he felt like he could fly, not literally, though. He even caught himself waiting for the twins to show up so he could tease them and make them giggle as he remembers them too. And the best thing of all, he didn’t have that feeling of not belonging, of being out of place… being here was the most natural thing for Luke.Every now and then, he would go inside to find his girl and kiss her longingly, which always made her smile and return the kiss with the same vigorousness.And seeing Luke like this, acting all-natural and relaxed in the place she loved the most on the planet, amongst her family, caused Sa
Rise of the Phoenix Chapter 47
Throughout the night, Sarah kept waking up. Her newfound peace was not enough to give her night calm, good night’s sleep because every time she would snap out of her dreamless state, she would feel Luke being awake beside her. The tiredness she felt made her involuntarily doze off, no matter how much she fought it to stay awake with Luke.Every time Sarah would wake up, Luke would kiss her temple and mumble something like ‘Go back to sleep, honey,’ or ‘Don’t worry so much,’ but she worried…When morning finally came, Sarah woke up to sleeping Luke that used her chest as a pillow while his arms were wrapped around her waist. Knowing that he had just recently managed to rest his mind and sail into a land of dreams, Sarah decided to stay still and not disturb him.As she was lying in bed, staring at the ceiling above her, Sarah used the opportunity to think about everything once again. This time arou
Rise of the Phoenix Chapter 46
Sarah was dumbfounded with everything Celia told them. After everything that happened in the last couple of days, this was a straw that broke the camel’s back, and Sarah gave up trying to stay sane.Nausea that started in her stomach quickly spread all over her body, clouding her mind and pulling her into the darkness. Sarah lost her consciousness and would have fallen down if there wasn’t for Luke that scooped her in his arms and carried her to the nearest two-seater, but she didn’t stay like that for too long. As soon as her back touched its leather surface, Sarah snapped and broke away from Luke’s hold.They all watched as she reached for the bottle of whiskey that was oh so conveniently left on the table. She grabbed the first glass she saw, not caring that it wasn’t unused because whoever of the present people drank from it was her family member, and she wasn’t about to be disgusted. She poured good two fi
Rise of the Phoenix Chapter 45
Why the hell couldn’t they have one peaceful night? Just one! Was that too much to ask? Sarah wondered while walking alongside Luke and her parents.They were all excited. Even Luke was taken by the atmosphere that Celia’s discovery brought. Only Sarah wore her frown with pride. She hated this; she hated it from the deepest pits of her soul, and she had no intention of pretending it was any different. She hated prophecies, and she hated that this was the second concerning her.“You were fast,” Richard commented once they all came into his library. “Your daughter had trouble with it, and she got only bits and pieces.” He had every right to be suspicious. In the end, it wasn’t every day they dealt with something like this.“Oh, my friend….” Celia couldn’t contain her excitement. “If you knew how much of my early years I spent studying ancient languages… anyway, K
