An hour had gone by before she moved again, getting up to wash her face and drink some water, her hands still shaking as she took off her work clothes and left them on the floor. She grabbed one of her Dad's old band tees from her drawers, pulled it on, and climbed into her bed, exhausted.
She hadn't bothered setting an alarm, and slept, mostly restlessly, until late morning. Rubbing at her eyes and yawning, she reached for her phone. There were a bunch of new notifications from her senior year's group chat, and a message from Josh, checking she got home okay.
She paled, thinking of the night before. She almost hadn't, but she didn't want to with worry him with it, 'Yep, all good. Thanks Josh! :)' she wrote back, before sighing and sitting up. Hearing a lot of noise downstairs, she grimaced. Obviously, her step dad, Kevin, was home today. This would be awkward.
Getting up and pulling some leggings on, she went to the bathroom, and then downstairs, he
Lukas turned off the highway at Violet Cove, refuelling his bike at the first service station he found, near the edge of town, before continuing on to the address his brother had given him.As he pulled in, one of the garage doors lifted, and he noticed that their other brother was already here. He smiled, it would be good to have the three of them together again, even if only for a week or so.The roller door closed again as he parked his bike and dismounted, heading for the door he assumed led into the house itself. It opened before he got there, and his older brother filled the frame, leaning against it with a grin."Little brother," he said, happy to see him. Lukas walked over to him, grabbing his outstretched hand and pulling him into a casual hug. "Mikael," he said, with a grin, "it's been far too long, big brother." Mikael nodded, more solemnly, "Too long indeed," and turned to head inside.Lukas followed, dropping his backp
Jason stormed out of the room, heading upstairs. He needed to.. he didn't know what he needed, other than space. He didn't want to even think about that possibly, let alone talk about it. It wasn't right, it couldn't be. And yet, it made sense. It would explain this feeling that had been pulling at every fibre of his being, and why it wouldn't go away. And why she seemed completely unaware of anything unnatural, why she didn't fight back when..He stopped that trail of thought as he felt his inner rage swelling to dangerous levels. Undressing, he turned the shower on hot, stepping in and letting the steaming hot water distract him, calming him. He took his time, scrubbing every inch of his toned, muscular body with the subtly scented shower gel.He stepped out in a better frame of mind, cooler and in control again. Even though that feeling tugged at him still. He sighed, drying off and wrapping the towel around his waist and reaching for his shaving kit. Taking his tim
It wasn't hard to find her, he just followed where the feeling was pulling him to. It got stronger and stronger as he walked, until he arrived at a large, yet dishevelled looking house, in a somewhat nicer part of town. It looked like it had been nice, once.Standing across the street, it all looked quiet. He melted into the shadows and moved silently through them, crossing the street, into the yard, and doing a full lap of the house to be sure. He could sense her, upstairs. After watching her window for a few minutes, he frowned. There was no light, no movement, and it was still fairly early. Was she asleep already? His eyes followed the shadow of a large tree that cast over the house and across her window. He could use that, and did, climbing up unseen. Peering inside, he could see most of her room, and her, asleep on her bed. He pulled out one of his small daggers, slipping it under the window and lifting it gently. It was unlocked and began sliding o
"What the hell do you mean, 'what do I need to bring'?!" she asked, her voice raised and her tone angry. She wasn't about to go anywhere with him. For one, she never seen him in her life before last night, and for another, he was absolutely terrifying. 'Except when he held me, he felt so.. perfect,' she thought, then internally scolded herself for even thinking it. Was she completely insane? He'd clearly been ready to murder someone just a moment ago. 'Though only because they'd hurt me,' her clearly malfunctioning brain added, making her wonder if she did actually need to go and get checked out by a doctor. He rubbed his forehead, looking frustrated, "My brother can check you over," he said, as though he could read her mind, "I just want to make sure you're okay." It looked like it was taking a lot of effort for him just to keep his voice calm, the guy clearly had a short temper.Shaking her head, and immediately regretting it, she winced, "I'm fine, I'
Lukas had smiled as she was placed on the seat next to him, looking absolutely terrified. He kept quiet and stayed still, trying not to add to her fear. It was hard though, he could sense that she was injured, and the instinct to heal her was difficult to resist. Yet he knew they'd all have to tread carefully with this one, none of them wanted to spook her too much. Or too much more, at least. He couldn't help but laugh softly as she recoiled from Jason, right towards him. He had reached in and lifted her out, helping her to stand, which meant he could get a better look at her injury. She tried to pull away, which was something that always annoyed him. These humans never seemed to understand that he only wanted to help.Holding her firmly, he studied her face and eyes. No wonder Jason had asked them to bring the car, she was clearly concussed, and her cheekbone likely fractured. He nodded at his brothers, letting them know it was bad enough to require hi
Ashallia groaned softly as she stirred, her stomach joining in shortly after. She was starving. She stretched, before opening her eyes to see an unfamiliar room, 'Where..?' she thought, until her eyes fell on the man seated opposite, and she remembered clearly. She froze, as he was looking straight at her. "Hey," he said softly, with a friendly-seeming smile, before glancing quickly across from him. Her eyes followed, and fell on creepy guy seated on the couch with her, his hands on her feet in his lap. Gasping softly, she sat up suddenly, grabbing the edge of the couch tightly as she expected another wave of dizziness. It didn't come though, and the man opposite smiled wider, "You're okay now," he said reassuringly, "and safe." He glanced at creepy guy again, who was still just staring at her. She stared back at them both for a long moment, the room feeling full of awkward tension. The weird atmosphere was broken somewhat as a third man, the driver, jo
Henrik sat through the meeting, bored out of his mind. He didn't know why they insisted he be here, it wasn't like he had any power here, they wouldn't allow it. 'For now,' he thought, shifting in his seat while those deemed more important than him continued to drone on about things that didn't affect him. He was getting impatient, and this didn't seem to be wrapping up anytime soon. They didn't even allow him to bring any of his electronic devices in here, which at least could have made passing the time easier. And so he sat, getting more and more restless as time went on. These guys might have been the 'big fish' in the pond, but they'd be nothing if not for the smaller ones like him who kept the networks running. And that was something Henrik Leighton did excellently. In fact, he had single handedly built, from the ground up, one of the most discreet and secure networks on the continent, for any kind of contraband. If people were paying goo
As they stood in the lounge, she looked up at Jason, his dark eyes studying her face as he touched it lightly. She felt nervous, and blushed when his hand moved from her cheek, brushing one of her curls back from her face. He smiled, and she couldn't help but notice how attractive he was, when he wasn't so terrifying.Even as intimidating as he was, he had that strong, chiseled kind of face she loved, with the most perfect dark eyes and hair. All three of them were attractive like that, really. His quietly confident nature intrigued her too. Lukas seemed more like Josh, charming and playful, while Mikael seemed charismatic in his own, more serious kind of way, like a natural leader type. Jason on the other hand, seemed like he didn't care much for charisma or charm, or what people thought of him at all, really, from what she had seen. She hadn't known many people like that. In such a small town as Violet Cove, people cared all too much about how other people saw t
One year and six months later:The bunker had provided exactly what they'd sought, though its origins were still shrouded in mystery.They'd been able to set up something of a home here, secure and well defended. Lukas had been able to reverse engineer the phone they'd taken from Craig, and not only been able to use its new technology, but also trace the last few members that posed a significant threat, along with the last of their munitions.He'd also been able to send lengthy transcripts and history to several other news networks not yet taken over by Newscience, who were more than eager to break the story of his other, shadier organisation, and its links to his other businesses and donation recipients. The story had rocked the country, with many politicians' and business' involvement being publicly exposed. Newscience had collapsed, along with many underground smuggling networks, with enough of an impact to make any who might fill the void feel more than a little wary. They heard
He felt her rush of emotion as she uttered the word, and he smiled wide, taking her hand and placing the ring on her finger. She blushed brightly, and he could feel his own cheeks flushing a little, and pulled her down beside him, wrapping her in his arms as he kissed her deeply. His own rush of emotion only got stronger, and he let it overwhelm him, knowing she'd feel just how deep his love was for her. And he felt hers too, overwhelming her as she returned his kiss, softly and tenderly, and for a long moment it was as though only the two of them existed, wrapped up in each other's deep feeling of love. When they finally moved apart, she was smiling wide at him, still blushing, but happy. So happy. He felt that too, within himself, despite everything, and he never wanted to be without it again. Or without her. "I love you," she whispered softly, and he touched his nose gently to hers, "I love you," he responded, and her face brightened even more. He kissed her again, and they lost
Ash returned his kiss with a sense of wonder, feeling that incredible rush of darkness, and now everything from him. Only that everything from him was everything from her, too, and the arousal they both felt was spiralled upwards again, more intense than ever. She suddenly felt an all encompassing need for him, and clamped her muscles tight around him, drawing her hips back slowly. He gasped, breaking their kiss, and she moved her hands, placing them on the tree trunk behind her to support herself as she began moving her hips back and forth, using her muscles in time with them. He swore under his breath and began thrusting in time with her, burying his head in the curve of her neck again as he moaned in intense pleasure. She did the same, feeling her own pleasure being heightened by his, as his was by her own, climbing higher and higher. His thrusts grew harder and rougher, as his gaze turned more intense, and she moved her hands to around his neck, holding herself up and letting hi
Jason stared wide-eyed at the large concrete structure. This was a lot more than just a bunker, he realised, and wondered if it was truly abandoned. He squatted low, motioning for Ashallia to do the same, and crept closer slowly, keeping his eyes and ears alert for any kind of activity. Yet it all seemed still, and he wondered who would ever build something like this, and then just leave it. It looked advanced for the time it must have been here, too. Jack looked to have been in his 50s, at least, and he'd said it had been here at least that long. It was incredibly strange, but it could also be incredibly useful, especially with the tunnels he mentioned. He pulled out his phone, lifting it up to snap a picture, and sent it to the others. Even then there was no movement, and he exchanged a look with Ash, who looked as confused as he did. "Who do you think built it?" she asked softly, her voice barely audible, and he shrugged. "I have no idea," he said, feeling absolutely perplexed, "
Ash froze as she turned and saw the second man with a crossbow, and reached out for Jason. He turned, and she heard him sigh deeply as the stranger stepped closer, keeping his crossbow aimed at them. He seemed unable to decide who to focus it in though, shifting between them two of them, looking tense, and at least a little bit afraid. "Jack," he called out suddenly, with a thick northern accent, "I've got 'em over 'ere," he said, lowering his voice as he spoke to the two of them instead. "How many more o' ye are there?" he asked, and Jason sighed again. "Just the two of us, for now," he said, as he slowly moved in front of Ash, putting her between him and the large tree. "The fuck ye mean, 'for now'?" another voice asked, coming around from behind the tree, where the first shooter had been. Jason shrugged, looking far too casual, though she could sense his tension through their connection, and assumed it was deliberate. "More are coming," he said calmly, "but we mean no harm. Just
Jason pulled her into an embrace again, kissing her deeply, letting her feel all of his desire for her. It had been too long, he needed her, and he could feel her need for him too. It only made it even harder to control his own. He sighed deeply as he pulled away from her a moment later, feeling Lukas coming quickly towards them through the shadows. She could feel it too, he knew, though he still felt her mild disappointment as he broke the kiss. They needed to find somewhere alone, and soon. He gave her an affectionate smile, and she returned it, her cheeks looking flushed with arousal. Lukas moved into their shadow a moment later, raising an eyebrow as he looked at the two of them. "Hope I'm not interrupting," he said with a grin, only making her cheeks turn a darker shade of pink. Jason smiled, shaking his head at his brother, amused, "Not yet," he said, making Ash's eyes widen. He took her hand then, and turned to Lukas, "We'll go further on foot, if you'll wait for the others h
Ash smiled, feeling an enormous sense of relief as each of them stepped out of the shadows in the small dining room of the old house, finally safe. Or safer, at least. "So, where to?" asked Alex, and Mikael sighed, "Almost anywhere but here, but first," he turned and gave Jason a look that made him nod, before taking another one of those tiny devices from the seam of his jeans. "You're going to blow it up?" Ash asked, her eyes wide, and Alex patted her shoulder, "Let's call it, 'helping it collapse'," he said, sounding apathetic. "You don't care? That it'll be gone?" she asked, a touch of sadness in her voice, and Jason shook his head, "It's just a building," he said softly, "Everything that has ever meant something to me, will still live on." He reached over to touch her cheek, and she blushed, knowing he included her as part of that. He kissed her forehead softly, and she smiled up at him, before realising that they were all looking at her, waiting. "What?" she asked, confused, an
Lukas headed back down, unable to contain a small smirk as he stepped out back in the room with the others, "They're fine," he said, "Just.. busy for a moment." Mikael sighed and Cameron rolled his eyes, "Now, of all times?" he asked, and Lukas shrugged. "They'll do what they need to," he said quietly, "and from the sound of that collapse, we may not get to the surface until Alex and Nate get here anyway." Cameron looked at Mikael then, tilting his head, "How long has it been? Maybe that was them starting to dig us out?" he said, sounding hopeful. Mikael frowned in thought for a moment, but shook his head gently, "I doubt the collapse will have reached the surface, given how far down we are, and Ash should have heard them if they tried the stairs." He looked questioningly at Lukas, who shrugged, "She didn't mention hearing them." Cameron sighed, crossing his arms and resting back against some crates, "So, we just wait? Until they're done being 'busy'?" he said, sounding impatient no
Jason pulled Ashallia under him more, covering her protectively as the room continued to shake, more dust and chunks of concrete falling around them. "Are you guys alright?" he asked, trying to see through the dust towards them. He heard Cameron coughing, which was certainly an improvement on him being unconscious just a few minutes before, and Mikael and Lukas groaned softly. "We're okay," Lukas said, his voice sounding strained, "Is that all of them?" he asked, and Ashallia coughed again, trying to cover her nose and mouth with her sleeve, "I could only sense him, I transferred what I could from you two.." she said weakly, and Cameron groaned a soft, "Thank you." As the room fell still and silent again, they waited a long moment, then began to slowly get up. Looking around the room, a sense of dismay filled them all. Large chunks of the ceiling had caved, and streams of dust stopped and started in various places, making the whole thing look unstable, and worse, he saw that the sta