KADENTwenty three minutes. That’s what it took before I saw Casper and Lent walk through the front door of the house. So much for five minutes. “What’s up? What’s going on? You sounded a bit hurried over the phone? Were you being chased?” I asked, immediately they took their seats in the living room. Kim said a ‘Hi’ as she strolled past the kitchen to the stairs. She was probably retiring for a nap. She needed it though. She has been up and running since morning. Liam had gone out to process Storm’s request. No not now. Don’t think of Storm, I chanted to my mind, refusing to let my frustration show on my face. I didn’t consider it the right time to tell my friends yet, and wasn’t ready for their questioning.“No, not at all. He was trying to escape the clutches of a young lady who thought him the finest being to ever exist.” Lent answered, laughing boisterously the next second, obviously re-living the memory in his mind. I looked at Casper, and the latter shrugged, not saying a w
Elina stared out the window, counting the minutes until the sun set. It had been the longest day of her life. The worst. She had tried to sleep, but she couldn’t keep her mind still. Over and over her brain insisted on tricking her, telling her that Damonq was dead. He lay in the earth, the soil over him, covering his terrible wounds, wounds he hadn’t fully taken care of because of her. He’d spent so much time trying to save her, in the end he’d sacrificed his life.She didn’t understand what was happening to her. She’d never paid serious attention to any man. Now she couldn’t think about anything or anyone else. She’d spent a good deal of time pacing. Then she showered and washed her hair. She was weak enough that she had to sit twice, but she was determined that when next she saw him, her hair wouldn’t be a tangled, horrible mess. It was a little shocking to run a comb through her hair after washing it and have not one tangle snag the wide teeth. Damonq. He had done that for her.Thr
Elina frowned. Aleksei’s lifemate was in love with another man? That seems… wrong. What were the circumstances? She was genuinely interested, but even more, she wanted to keep him talking.I do not know much, only that the woman had not been born as an ancient as we all had believed and that the healer who aided me was the other man. He was human also at one time. He was subdued by the prince of the ancient people and Kenag, the prince’s second-in-command. It took them both to keep him restrained.How sad for everyone. Elina mused.There was silence for a moment. I understand that you would have sympathy for this man, but I would not want you to develop feelings for him. Damonq said.She frowned, tracing a pattern onto the hardwood floor with her finger. I don’t think you have anything to worry about. He makes me uneasy.What is it about him that makes you uncomfortable?She realized she was writing Damonq’s name on the floor over and over.He looks at me as if he knows every secret
Elina dropped her head into her hand and took a deep breath, wishing Damonq was there with her now. Wishing she really was his lifemate. But she knew better. People like her didn’t get the gorgeous, courageous man, the sweet one, the one who would take on a baby along with its mother. No, they got the villain, the monster. And she got the worst monster on earth.“But not you, baby,” she whispered aloud. “You’re going to be loved. Very, very loved.”Damonq read her thoughts, because now that he was in her mind, he couldn’t quite let go. He wanted to go to Elina and reassure her, to find a way to make her see that he was her lifemate, that he would never leave her, but there was too little time. He switched from his intimate path with his lifemate to the more common path of the ancient people. Tensel, I must meet with you immediately. I am hunting for sustenance, but will return in a few minutes.Come to the house. Tensel said.Damonq left the compound. Sandu, Ferro and Andor fell in
Tensel waited just outside the door to his home, Maxwell on one side of him, Mathias and Lojos on the other. That meant Tomas was somewhere near. Damonq would bet his life that Afanasiv Balan, one of the ancients who had briefly stayed in the monastery, was also close. Afanasiv had been a good friend of Tensel’s growing up and they had remained close, yet he was a member of the brotherhood.“Én jutta félet és ekämet,” Tesel greeted in their ancient language, stepping forward to clasp Damonq’s forearms in the way of warriors.Friend and brother. That greeting told Damonq everything he needed to know. Tensel would have chosen another salutation if he was opposed to having Elina in his compound.“Bur tule ekämet kuntamak.” Well met, brother-kin, was Damonq’s choice of greeting.“Thank you for saving the children,” Tensel said, stepping back. “They are confined for the moment until we decide what to do about the situation.” While he spoke, his sharp gaze moved over Damonq, assessing the da
Damonq sent his spirit to examine Elina’s brain first. There were no parasites, which gave him a measure of reassurance. Darkness wasn’t taking the chance of damaging her. Of course, once he knew for certain he was losing her, he would likely turn on her and do everything in his power to kill her. To help protect her from that possibility, Damonq built a heavy shield around her brain, one he was certain the parasites couldn’t penetrate. He did the same with her heart and lungs, then her ovaries and womb. Gary was doing the same for the baby, once he pushed the parasites from her little body, back into Elina’s.It is time, Gary said, when they had completed building their shields.Healer? Darkness made the name sound like a curse. Do you think you possibly can take on a devil and win?Gary made no reply. Damonq admired him even more for ignoring the master monster as if he were a mere nuisance, far beneath his notice. The two withdrew from Elina’s body and each returned to his own.“I’
It took every bit of discipline Damonq had to cross to the edge of the dirt. He flowed over the soil rather than expending physical energy on walking. He couldn’t let the parasites escape to get into the ground. This time, Maxwell was waiting to incinerate Darkness’s creatures and replenish Damonq’s lost blood.While Damonq forced the parasites from his body, pushing the infected blood through his pores, the gathered ancients continued singing the lullaby for the baby. They sang of peace and strength, of love for her, urging her to hold on, that they were there for her, waiting for her. He found the song soothing and hoped the baby did as well.It took a great deal longer to rid his body of the parasites, and he was cognizant of how much effort Andor had expended to shield his most vital organs. Maxwell incinerated the expelled parasites as they tried to rush for the soil. He was thorough, making certain not even one escaped. Damonq drank the powerful, ancient blood Maxwell offered, t
Sandu leapt out of the way of the whip of lightning. More crashed through the crack, swinging around in the air like sizzling snakes seeking a target. Gary threw his body over Elina’s, taking her to the ground, while the ancients scattered in every direction. Each took a corner, ducking as the lashes bit into the ground, slamming all around Damonq.In the midst of the chaos, the parasites had to be watched so that none slipped into the ground. They all knew that the microbes could infect the soil and cause miscarriages in the women. They couldn’t risk that taint spreading here.Elina’s cries nearly drove Damonq mad. Every instinct he had – ancient and lifemate – pressed him to get to her at any cost. To protect her, ease her transition into her new life and protect their child. As he turned toward her, lightning whips lashed all around him, striking the ground, shaking the entire house and healing grounds as they sought him.Elina needed his blood. He felt the first pain blossoming in
Storm could feel her heart pounding hard, but it was more out of excitement than fear. She should be afraid, the bird was a true raptor, but it was magnificent. It had black eyes! Round, shiny, very intelligent black eyes. She stared at it for two full minutes. That wasn't normal, she was certain. Very slowly, so she wouldn't startle the creature, she backed across the room to the desk where she kept her phone. Still looking at the bird, she googled the images of the bird, biting her lips intermittently as she waited.Strangely, the bird was observing her just as intently, an intelligence in its gaze as it watched the phone beep occasionally. When the page opened, Storm glanced at the image of the harpy eagle. The eyes were round and shining with intelligence, but they were not black. The eyes in the picture were a bright amber with a black pupil. She let out her breath slowly. Something was wrong with her bird.‘You aren't blind, though, are you?’ She sent the words, not even kno
After Storm was done eating, she thanked Kaden, and let him have the plates when he stretched his hands to collect them. To hold herself from jumping on him, and demanding that he put her out of her sexual misery, she stood up from the bed and sauntered to the window to look at the forest, and clear her immoral thoughts. He had joined her to eat, and for each time his mouth had closed over a morsel of food, she had jerked subtly, as if the mouth was closing over her twin orbs. In a large oak tree, plenty feet away from her, a bird flapped its mighty wings, drawing her attention. A smile swept past her lips when she became aware that she could sight its distinctive features. She was not the same Storm of a month ago. She was different now, considering the amount of trainings she had submitted too.The bird had a round facial disk with a very pronounced ruff. It wasn't an owl but it was large. Very large. The unusual bird could easily weigh at least twenty pounds. She stared at it
Storm walked into Kaden's treehouse and was immediately struck by how it seemed larger than usual. The wooden walls, which should be plain and simple, were adorned with colorful murals and hand-painted designs. One wall even showcased a sprawling mural of a sunset over a peaceful lake, with vivid oranges and pinks blending into each other. And another wall had a charming depiction of a forest, complete with playful animals like squirrels and birds, all brought to life with bright, cheerful colors.The room was filled with natural light that filtered through the large windows, which had been decorated with flowing curtains in soft, earthy tones. The curtains swayed gently in the breeze, adding a sense of movement to the scene. The wooden floor was covered with cozy rugs that added warmth and comfort to the space.A large, comfy bean bag was positioned in one corner, surrounded by soft pillows. Next to it was a small bookshelf brimming with colorful books, their spines lined up neatly
Storm’s mind kept conjuring up provocative images, as she and Kaden walked hand in hand around the clan. The kiss they had shared in her room still tingled on her lips, still kept heat in her blood, still made her hunger for more. She inhaled sharply when Kaden turned and stared at her, his eyes brimming with the emotions that she was sure was playing out in her own mind. For a second, she feared that he might have peeked into her dirty mind, but then she remembered that they were not bonded yet, not in that sense. It brought her swift relief which came with a coating of abashed-ness seen in the coloring of her cheeks and necks, something that wasn’t lost on Kaden who was battling to hold on to his honor. He cussed at himself for closing her lips with his earlier, knowing what could happen from there. But she had been speaking, and her luscious mouth had been like water in a desert land; he had been parched so much that he couldn’t have been able to help himself. And now, the stirr
All through the week, Storm only concentrated on the books Kaden had given her, or rather on the first book she had collected from the pile. Jutul had done the same, concentrating on the second book he had picked. Both had only taken breaks when they wanted to eat or when they wanted to train with Casper for an hour. To assuage Kaden’s caveman jealousy, all the reading had been in the dining downstairs, and yet they weren’t close enough to whatever the books were on about. They weren’t close to the end either, and the transcribers were doing a poor job, despite Jiraq’s input sometimes. It was then that Storm had learnt that Jiraq wasn’t done with the book either. ‘What are you doing with one of the hardest books in the pile?” had been his first question when she had solicited for his help. He had gone ahead to pick up a smaller book, written in English, for her and Jutul to start with, but she had declined—she had grown attached to the old book. And she had vowed to bring it to a fi
Storm groaned tiredly; under the full weight of the knowledge she had been absorbing for the past four hours. Kaden had been true to his word, and with the help of Jiraq, had bundled more than thirty books which smelt of oldness into her room this morning, just before she dressed for school. “For those written in old language, Jiraq was kind enough to let you have his transcriber, so that you can better understand it. You can check them out after classes today.” Kaden had said, when he had stepped into her room with a fellow whom she knew went by the name, Micheal, Liam’s younger brother. She had found out right after Liam’s recuperation weeks ago, about the wicked action on the young fellow who didn’t look a year older than her. The first book on the pile had gotten her attention after the duo had left the room, and picking it up, she had decided to peek at a page, then return to her preparation for school. But a page had turned to two pages, and then five pages, until school was
Storm was chatting with Lucy and Justin, in their phone group , around a time when she should be sleeping, when she heard her name being droned in her ears. “S-t-o-r-m” She furrowed her eyebrows, and looked around the room she shared with Kaden sometimes. There was no one. The voice sounded familiar, and until she felt the eeriness in the room, she didn’t know who it was. The vampire.She got up from the empty bed, and sauntered toward the door, needing to get to Kaden as soon as possible, but the door wouldn’t budge. She stamped her foot on the floor out of frustration, as fear suddenly took root in her mind and body. Where was he when she needed him? Why hadn’t he spent the night with her? She wondered, never minding that she had been one to ask they sleep on separate beds tonight, after he had returned from his meeting with his people, after she had returned from seeing her friends off with Lent. The voice called for her name again, and she shuddered before she could help it, h
There was a stark naked silence in the room after Jutul’s declaration. So stark was it, that Storm felt her ears ringing with deep silence, deep silence and an unclothed unbelief. They were lying? If she didn’t know of Jutul’s gifts, she would have berated him for speaking against her friends. But she knew. She knew he was telling the truth—there wasn’t a need to lie. And she still was finding it hard to believe. Lucy and Justin had planned a lie, and had come to convince them of it? All for what? To gain information on what was going on in the clan? Was their school even on break? Then, the silence was broken by Kaden’s voice which had descended to a certain chillness that informed Storm that her mate was angry, very angry, at being made a fool of. “Lent, place a call to the school’s authorities, and find out if the school is really on break…” Lucy’s dark laughter interrupted his statement, and brought Storm’s attention to her. “So y’all would rather believe Storm’s newest friend
Of course they wouldn’t. Storm thought, looking at Lucy squarely for the first time since she had entered the room. Her friend was still bubbling in age-old anger, and was still carrying a grudge against her.And since, Storm knew she couldn’t do much about it—because what Lucy was demanding was unattainable—she let the latter think that she wasn’t bothered by it. It would help with them leaving earlier. Having seen what exactly was at play here, what evil forces were at play here, she wasn’t about to risk the lives of her friends. She wasn’t about to have their blood on her head, because she wanted them to be included in every facet of her life. It was better they thought she was against them; it was better they believed that she didn’t value their friendship.“So, why are you here, Lucy?” She schooled her face to a cold aloofness, unfazed when Justin let out a cuss word, whilst darting a glance between Lucy and her. There was a minute silence, where Lucy scanned Storm’s features;