CAELIUS: Elementals MC (book 9) (Elemental's MC) Page 4

  “Can we go meet her?” Jasmine asks with a happy smile. I want to smile at her exuberance. All the women at the compound are protected by all of us, not just because we feel we have to because of our code but because they have all become family. They are all caring in their own way and all have a unique and special way about them.

  These women are strong and complement their men in every way. I just hope Alaia is half as strong as these women, because some of them have been through hell and are still smiling, always ready to fight for what they believe, like we are.

  Elementals are warriors who fight for what we believe is right, and our women are the same. If someone attacks one of us, they attack all of us. I hope Alaia loves being here as much as the other women do, that she can become friends with the others and can find a family here.

  “Sure, but her sister is with her,” I say as I continue on my way to the computer room.

  “Caelius!” I stop and look back at Gabriela in question. “I’m happy for you,” she says with a kind smile that has a knot rising in my throat. I nod and follow Gunner until we enter the computer room and find our seats. Everyone is already here and seated and basically just waiting for us.

  “What took you so long?” Cassius grumbles as he leans back in his chair.

  “Didn’t you hear?” Ceric asks with a raised brow. “Our boy here has bonded. Can’t you see how bright his energy is, and his new walk.” He laughs. “You can see he is lighter; all that pent-up sexual frustration he was hiding has miraculously vanished.” I shake my head at Ceric’s ploy to tease me as the others grin.

  “Okay, now that we’re all here, let’s start,” Draco calls out from the head of the table. I look over at Draco and frown. Something is wrong. Draco is tense, and his eyes are shining like the hounds of hell are loose. “Celmund, update everyone so we are all on the same page.”

  “I have found Vercin, and you guys won’t believe where he is hiding.” At his words, I frown. For him to be so animated, it means this must be exciting.

  “Do you really want us to guess?” Burkhart says sarcastically as he folds his arms across his chest. Since bonding with Saskia, Burkhart has stayed close to the compound. Before, we were all worried when he used to disappear for days. Saskia has calmed the anger that used to rage inside of him because of the death of his sister. Now he grumbles, but it usually fades away, as that anger that always used to ignite at the slightest provocation is gone.

  “No, you would never guess anyway,” Celmund quips with a shrug, which has Brandr elbowing Burkhart in amusement. “Vercin is hiding in one of the FBI’s safe houses, and the agent in charge is no other than Katya.” At his words, I see Wulf tense and look over at Draco, who nods at him. Katya and Wulf had a fling before Wulf met Jasmine. At the time, this was a problem, as Katya insisted on continuing their relationship even though Wulf wanted nothing to do with her, but the women soon sorted Katya out. Nova with her gift of persuasion convinced Katya to leave Wulf alone and never to bother him again.

  “Has she always been part of this?” Wulf asks angrily as he looks at Celmund.

  “I don’t think so. Remember, Aria read her mind and there was nothing,” Draco interjects. “We think this is something new.”

  “When do we go in and kill the fucker?” Cassius asks with a raised brow.

  “Yeah, we’ve had enough of that motherfucker messing with us,” Bjarni states as he bangs his hand on the table. Draco nods and then stands as he walks towards where Celmund is and inclines his head for him to sit.

  “We’re not going to wait for this one. We don’t know how long he has been there hiding. Therefore, I want us out of here tonight; I also want the women with us. If we get Vercin today, that is the end of the Keres or until they find another leader, and as you know, that will take time.”

  “Hell yeah,” Bion says with a nod.

  “Who’s staying?” Ceric asks with a raised brow. Draco looks around at everyone, a pensive look on his face.

  “I think we’re all going except for Celmund, who needs to keep track of our movements. The women will be helping us, so there will be no bright plans from them. I also have Tor and his men on the way here as we speak. Five of them will patrol the grounds, and the others will join us, as we know there will be double our numbers in Keres there.” Draco looks around at everyone and then places his hands on the table as he leans forward. “There will be a war today, a war that we have been expecting and looking forward to for many years. The only difference is that you now have mates and even some children you need to also think about; therefore, if there is anyone here who does not want to join this fight today, I want you to stay behind.”

  “Fuck no,” Bjarni grunts as he stands up.

  “I’m fucking killing that son of a bitch,” Cassius says as he also stands.

  “No, you’re not, because I’m reaching him first,” Ceric says with a raised brow, standing with the other two.

  I stand and simply look at Draco and nod; Wulf, Brandr, and Burkhart stand simultaneously. “I’m fucking going, not staying behind like a wimp,” Burkhart grunts as Bion and Gunner also stand. Draco stands up straight and places his fist to his chest.

  We all follow by placing our fists to our chests as an oath to the purpose we are about to undergo. We have never in all the years separated. In difficult situations, we pull together. It’s not now that we are about to catch Vercin that we are going to separate.

  ALAIA 5

  Sara is still complaining about how I shouldn’t be sleeping with anyone here while we are still running, when I stop listening. I don’t want anything to darken the wonderful feeling I am having at the moment. I never thought I could feel like this, and so quickly. I know that everything Caelius said sounds crazy, but how did I get a tattoo out of the blue? I thought of telling Sara and showing her the mark, but I know she would freak and insist on leaving here.

  In all good conscience, I wouldn’t be able to let her go by herself, and I know she is stubborn enough to do it. I have never been separated from my twin for very long, and I’m not planning on starting now, but I also can’t think of leaving here yet. I know what Caelius said, and I have confidence that he believes in what he said, but I still can’t be certain that I’m the one.

  What he told me about the other women and the men’s gifts has me curious. I have never met anyone who could do anything similar to what Sara and I can do. That there are others like us and all living here happily cohabiting with each other using their gifts every day and being accepted fully has me thinking that maybe there is a life where we won’t have to hide, where we won’t have to be ashamed of people finding out that we are different.

  “You aren’t even listening to me.” Sara’s muttering finally penetrates my musings just as there is a knock on the door. “Who’s that?” she asks with a raised brow as she looks at me.

  I shake my head and make my way towards the door. Opening it a crack, I see two women standing there. One is holding a little boy’s hand and the other is behind a pram with twins babbling away. “Hi. We came to introduce ourselves and welcome you to the compound.” I open the door wider and see them looking at the two of us when Sara comes to stand next to me.

  “Two?” the other one says. “Can they have two?” The women look at each other.

  “I don’t think so, but they are twins.”

  “What are the two of you talking about?” Sara suddenly asks with an impatient lift of her shoulder.

  “Oh, sorry . . . it’s just that we were expecting one of you,” the one with the twins says just as we hear voices and three more women come strolling towards us. It looks like we are about to meet the women at the compound.

  “Yay, we haven’t missed anything,” one of the new women says with a clap.

  “There are two of them,” the one with the boy reveals, and I see the others stop and look into the room.

  “Wow, you go, Caelius,” one with an impish look quips, and pumps her fist in the air.

>   “Nova!” one gasps, but then starts to laugh.

  “Just ignore them,” the one with the boy says with a big smile. “They’re incorrigible.”

  “Hey . . . you’re part of the gang too,” Nova says cheekily as she leans forward and takes the boy in her arms. “Hello, my angel, have you missed me?” The boy nods with a toothless smile as he looks up at her happily.

  “Anyway, I’m Jasmine, and that is my son, Orion.”

  “I’m Brielle, and I’m with Bion. If you aren’t feeling well, he’s the one to go see,” she says with a happy smile.

  “What she meant to say is if you’re not feeling well, you can see either of them, because madam over here is just as good as her man. I’m Nova, by the way.”

  “I’m Gabriela, and this here is Talia. There are more of us. The others should be along any minute now. Can we come in?” I know I’m standing here with a bemused look on my face, but I don’t know what to make of these women.

  “Sure,” I murmur, and step back, stepping on Sara’s foot in the process.

  “Ow!” she cries out as she jumps back. “Watch where you’re going.” I glare at her over my shoulder and then look forward again to see the women walking into the room.

  “So what can we call you?” Talia asks with a raised brow as she takes a seat on the bed. Only now realizing that I haven’t introduced us yet, I step forward.

  “I’m Alaia, and this is my sister, Sara.”

  “What did we miss?” I snap around as I gasp at the voice of another woman behind me and see another three women standing there. All these women I have met today are beautiful. I feel drab standing here in my jeans, hoodie, and no shoes.

  “One is Alaia, and the other one is Sara,” Brielle says as she leans back against the headboard. “That there is Saskia, Aria, and Scarlett.”

  “Nice to meet all of you,” I say with a smile, surprised at how friendly all of them are. I see Sara smile and nod in greeting, and then she moves towards the bed and sits cross-legged on the floor before them.

  “So what kind of gift do you two have?”

  At Brielle’s question, Sara tenses and then jumps up and snaps around to look at me. I’m already holding my hands up in a motion of calmness.

  “They’re all the same as us, Sara. They all have gifts.” At my answer, her eyes widen, and then she turns her head to the others and then back to me.

  “Are you sure?” she whispers.

  “Yes, I’m sure.” That isn’t really true, as I’ve only got Caelius’s word on it, but deep down, I know he wouldn’t lie to me. I look at the other women who are looking at the two of us questioningly. “I have a connection to nature. I can make things grow, even animals when their young are weak. I can help them.” At my explanation, they look at each other.

  “She will work well with you, Brielle. Both of you heal and nurture,” Jasmine says excitedly. “I’ve been thinking we have pairs who have similar types of gifts even though they differ slightly.”

  “What do you mean?” Scarlett asks with a frown.

  “Well, think about it. My gift and Gabriela’s are different, but we both see things in the future. Aria and you, Scarlett, have similar gifts. What I’m trying to say is that I’m starting to see a pattern.” At Jasmine’s explanation, I see the nods and surprised looks on the women’s faces.

  “What about you, Sara? What gift have you got?”

  At Talia’s question, Sara looks at me again and then shrugs. “I can see people who are close to me, wherever they are, whatever they are doing at any time. I can see them,” Sara explains.

  “What I would like them to explain to me is how Caelius can have two. Maybe it’s because they’re twins,” Nova says with a frown. I know what she’s talking about, but I can see that Sara is completely confused with her statement.

  “I’m the one with Caelius, not Sara,” I reveal, which has the women nodding.

  “Can you get trees and animals to do what you want?” Nova asks as she sits forward on the bed and places Orion on the floor so he can walk around.

  “To a certain extent, yes,” I reveal, which has Sara huffing.

  “She’s being modest. If you want something to grow overnight, just ask Alaia. If you want an animal, that no one else can tame, to behave, she’s your girl. If you want weeds to come out of the ground and hold someone down, well, then, she’s a pro with that one. I can profess to that.” The women laugh at Sara’s grumble, which has me smiling. When we were kids, it was my way of slowing her down when we were playing.

  Suddenly, Nova claps her hands in excitement and looks around. “Do you know what this means?”

  “Here comes trouble,” Talia quips with a giggle, the others agreeing.

  “Nothing too hectic, but what if Alaia has one of the guys tied down, or all of them?” she says happily. I know I’m smiling, and I shouldn’t, as the men might be upset with the joke, but at the excitement on the women’s faces, my imagination starts to create all different scenarios.

  “Maybe we can do it at dinner tonight?” Gabriela says with a laugh. “What if we take her to the kitchen before the guys go in for dinner and she holds their chairs down?” At Gabriela’s suggestion, I start to envision how to go about it.

  “I don’t know if that will work. You know how strong they are. They will tear those chairs apart,” Brielle says with a frown.

  “But the look on their faces will be priceless,” Scarlett says. “I can’t wait to see Cassius.”

  “I’m suddenly looking forward to dinner,” Aria says with a laugh. “Shall we go start so that it’s ready by the time they come in?” And with that comment, all the women prepare to leave, inviting us to accompany them. I have only met them a few minutes ago, but already I feel as if I know them; it has been Sara and I for the longest time. We have friends but always kept a barrier between us, feeling a separation between us because of our differences. With these women, I feel like we understand each other, like we have something in common.

  “Do you think we can trust them?” Sara whispers as she walks next to me.

  “They each have a gift of their own; I don’t think there is any reason they would want to hurt us in any way.” I go on to tell Sara about the gifts Caelius told me the women possessed and see her impressed look as she looks at the women who are now entering the kitchen. I see a huge wooden table near the entrance; I instantly look down at the chairs and smile when I see that the floor is a type of tile rock. I can bring the runners up from low in the ground and wrap them around the chairs’ legs.

  “What do you think? Can you do it?” Scarlett asks as she stands behind a chair. I look up at her and smile.

  “Yes, I just need to know which chairs I need to tie down,” I say as I look at the women’s smiles. “Maybe we shouldn’t do all of them today and do something else with the other men at some other time.”

  “I think that’s a good idea, because once they suspect something is up, they won’t be caught,” Jasmine says.

  “Well, let’s only try three chairs, then,” Talia says. “I think we should have Ceric, Bjarni, and Cassius.” At the other women’s confirmation, I’m shown which chairs to tie. An hour later, some are setting the table, others putting the final touches to dinner, when the men walk in. At the sound of male voices, I turn to find the men walking into the kitchen. If I weren’t so infatuated with Caelius, I would be floored with these men. It is hard to choose which one is the best looking; these men are what women dream about when they talk about handsome.

  “Pinch me,” Sara says from next to me, which has me smiling like a loon until Caelius walks in and our eyes connect. I feel the colour rise in my cheeks, especially when Caelius’s eyes travel over my body.

  CAELIUS 6

  When my eyes connect with hers, I can feel my muscles relaxing. The anger that was running through my body is now diminishing, and that feeling of belonging is surrounding me with its gentle hands. I know I owe this calmness to my woman. I see her face brighten wit
h colour when she sees me looking at her. Her energy calls to me. I make my way towards her but stop when I see Ceric leaning down to kiss Nova on the forehead before he grabs his chair to pull it out.

  Then Cassius also pulls at his chair, and it doesn’t budge. He frowns. “What the fuck?” He pulls harder, and the wood cracks. Scarlett throws back her head and laughs in merriment when Cassius leans down to see what is holding the chair. I notice that Ceric has his hands low on his waist and is glaring at Nova suspiciously as she looks at him innocently.

  “Nova?” Ceric grunts.

  “What the hell?” Bjarni mutters as he pulls harder and trips back as the back of the chair breaks loose. All the women are now roaring with laughter, which has the men looking at them suspiciously, and then I see Alaia squatting and placing her hands on the ground. She closes her eyes for a few seconds and then stands. So, my woman likes to play pranks, does she?

  “What the hell, Bjarni? You need to curb that strength of yours. Why did you break the chair?” Draco asks as he walks into the kitchen.

  Bjarni looks at him with an exasperated look on his face. “It wasn’t moving,” he grunts.

  Draco places his hand on the back of the chair that is still intact and slides it back effortlessly. He looks back at Bjarni and raises his eyebrow in question, which has Bjarni looking around at everyone suspiciously. Wulf, Burkhart, and Brandr are already sitting; therefore, they didn’t play a prank on everyone, only on some. I glance at Nova and see her wink at Alaia, and I shake my head in amusement.

  “Sit down or we will never eat,” Nova says playfully to Ceric, who is still looking at the chair and then at Nova suspiciously. He takes hold of the chair again and effortlessly slides it out, which has him scowling, and then he goes down on his haunches to look under the table. “Would you like me to join you down there?” Nova leans over Ceric’s chair and blows him a kiss.

  “You’re up to something, hellcat,” Ceric says as he finally takes his chair, leans towards Nova, and takes her lips in a punishing kiss. “Behave.”