CELMUND: Elemental's MC (book 7) Page 6

  I hear a gasp as I lift her off the floor. A funnel of wind rotates around her, and she starts to turn. At the same time, I get the wind to lift the flowers that I saw in a vase at the entrance, and one by one, I bring them into the funnel and around Talia. I see her eyes widen when all the flowers are still dancing around her, but she has stopped rotating and is suspended, looking at me. I can see her trying to lift me, but I know from the other women that her gift won’t work on me.

  Deciding to make it even more dramatic, I get the air to lift the water from the same vase and separate the drops, rotating them around her too. At that, I finally see a look of awe on her face. I lower her to the floor but continue rotating the flowers and the water droplets. The look on her face as she looks up at the blossoms and the water rotating around her will forever be engraved in my mind.

  I return everything to the vase and finally slow the air around us. “Are you convinced yet?” I ask.

  She looks at me with a pensive look on her face. “That was amazing, but it still doesn’t mean you’re not human. It just means you have an extraordinary gift.” I see Draco step forward from where he was leaning against the wall.

  “Draco?” I can see by the look on his face that his patience has come to an end. He approaches an orange flowery stand that is holding a couple magazines. Taking out the magazines, he places his hand on the orange stand and looks at Talia as the stand starts to melt and deform before our eyes.

  “What are you doing?” she squeaks, her eyes huge as she looks at Draco’s hand. The orange starts to mould into a pattern before our eyes, and in minutes, we are looking at a flower made of orange plastic.

  “Show off,” I grunt as I see Talia’s open mouth as she looks at the plastic flower.

  “Can we get a move on now?” he grunts as he walks towards the entrance and stands there. Talia follows him with her eyes and then back to the flower.

  “We need to get you to the club. I will explain the rest once we’re there, but you’re not safe here. Do you believe us now?” I ask, and notice her dazed eyes look at me before she looks back at Draco and then back at me.

  “Okay,” she murmurs, “but you are going to tell me everything.”

  “I promise. Do you want to take anything with you, or should I get some of the guys to collect your stuff later?”

  She starts shaking her head before I finish. “No, I will take some stuff with me.” With that, she hurries towards her bedroom.

  “You’re a show off,” I grunt at Draco, and see one of his dimples appear.

  “Sorry you’re not as impressive as I am,” he grunts in amusement. “I just wanted to get us out of here, and I was trying to save your embarrassed ass from more pathetic shows.”

  “Yeah, yeah, very funny. Wait until you find your mate. I hope she gives you hell,” I say, and see him shoot me the finger before we hear Talia hurrying towards us.

  “I’m ready,” she says with a haversack over her shoulder and a jacket over the other. All I want is to approach her and take her in my arms, but the responsibility of knowing that the other women will be in more danger than they already are stops me.

  Draco opens the door, and she steps out after him. I close the door behind me and hope that this will be the last time she steps foot in her home. From now on, I want her home to be where I am.

  TALIA 8

  “I don’t understand him. He says I’m his but then disappears. With everything he said, I would expect him to want to be by me or at least want to speak to me.” I know that I’m complaining like a teenager, but Celmund is frustrating me. Last week, when they collected me from my home, we got back to the club and Celmund sat me down again and explained what being his mate meant.

  At first, I was sceptical and didn’t believe him even after the demonstration at my home, but later, Gabriela and Scarlett confirmed everything he said. I must be honest—when he started to talk about drinking my blood, I was ready to bolt, because I was sure he was nuts, but with everything that he explained, it was the only thing that made sense.

  He showed me how fast he was and even asked me to whisper so that he could show me how well he heard. To say that I was shocked is an understatement. I asked him to give me time to take it all in, and he agreed, but it has been a week, and he hasn’t made any effort to come near me. To be honest, I hardly see him. I know that he’s busy trying to catch the Keres responsible, but I’m sure that half an hour out of his day to talk to me isn’t much to ask. After all, I’m supposed to be his everything.

  “I asked Wulf last night why Celmund has been making himself scarce,” Jasmine says, grabbing my attention. “He says he can’t bond with you until they catch the person responsible for the devices. They think that the guy responsible knows Celmund and is laying low until Celmund bonds. They suspect that if he bonds, they will activate the devices to get back at him.”

  I hear the others gasp in surprise. “If there was only a way of extracting the devices, none of this would be a problem,” Brielle mutters.

  “Why can’t you?” I’m sure they could cut them out or something. There must be a way of extracting something like that from their bodies.

  “From the info the guys extracted from the scientist who created the devices, they can only be extracted from someone’s body with the right frequency and some codes. We already have the frequency, but not the codes,” Scarlett reveals.

  “If you have the frequency, wouldn’t it be easier to take them out if they use the frequency? After all, I’m sure they move anyway while in your body.” At my question, Nova looks at me, puzzled. “What?” I ask, as I can see she’s thinking of something. After a week of hanging out with them, I’m starting to figure out how they think.

  “Don’t you guys think that it could work if Talia removed the devices while Celmund used the frequency at the same time? After all, the problem is of something touching it while it’s being removed. Talia doesn’t have to touch it; she can extract them with her mind.” At her question, I see the others’ expressions change. Some have excited looks on their faces. Others look weary, but they all consider it. I don’t know if I like the idea. What if it doesn’t work and the device actually goes off?

  “I don’t know, Nova. How will we know if it works? It sounds like it could, but there is no way of us making sure,” Brielle says.

  “I will volunteer to be the first one to do it,” Nova says as she looks over at me.

  “Like Ceric will let you,” Scarlett quips.

  “I will just have to persuade him to let me, then,” she says with a twinkle in her eye.

  “He will lock you up and never let you out again if you try persuading him again,” Jasmine says as she shakes her head.

  “I didn’t mean I would actually use my gift to persuade him, or maybe I will, but not the gift you’re thinking about. Ceric has a soft spot for my body and gets really grumpy if he doesn’t get access to it,” she reveals with a wink at us. “But I was thinking that we should just do it without him knowing.”

  “There is no way any of the guys will do that without his approval. I think we should just wait for them to find the Keres responsible,” Aria suggests.

  “What if the guy decides to press the button on one of us? I’m tired of waiting,” Nova grumbles. “If I die, then I will die when I want to, not when some asshole decides he’s going to do it.”

  “Nova could be right. If Celmund uses the frequency and Talia pulls the device out with her mind, we can get one of the guys to place an air or water bubble around it until we place it somewhere else to explode,” Brielle states.

  “Are you guys listening to yourselves? It’s someone’s life we’re talking about playing with,” Jasmine says.

  “Yeah, mine, and I’m consenting to it,” Nova responds.

  “Why don’t we try to see if anything comes to us? Jasmine, maybe you will see something now that we have this option, and I will try to see what will happen to Nova in the future,” Gabriela suggests. They told me ab
out what they can do when they work together, and I must say that I’m looking forward to seeing it.

  “The guys are going to lose their minds if they have to guess at what we’re planning,” Aria says with a smile as she holds her baby close to her. The babies are also something I had to get used to. I have never really been around children, and now Jasmine has little Orion, who has already taken hold of my heart with his sweet nature.

  Gabriella has the beautiful twins, and Aria has her little bundle who is only a month old. “Guess we will have to keep our mouths shut until we know if this works or not,” Nova says with a naughty smile.

  “Well, if we’re doing this, then let’s get on with it before any of them come back,” Jasmine says as she looks at Gabriela. I notice Scarlett getting up and hurrying out of the room. We are all sitting in Wulf and Jasmine’s room, as it’s the biggest one out of all of ours. After a few minutes, she returns with a piece of paper and a pencil.

  “Sorry, this is all I could find,” she mumbles as she hands the pencil and paper to Jasmine.

  “It will do.” Jasmine walks towards a small desk near the wall and sits down with the paper before her and the pencil in her hand. “Are you ready?” she asks as she looks over at Gabriela, who has moved to stand behind her. Gabriela nods and places her hand on her shoulder. The others quieten. The only sound is the twins cooing.

  I see Jasmine close her eyes and take a deep breath before she lets it out slowly like she’s about to meditate. Gabriela also closes her eyes and stands still. A few minutes later, Jasmine starts to scribble on the piece of paper. This goes on for about twenty minutes before Jasmine stops. Gabriela opened her eyes about five minutes earlier, a dazed look to her eyes.

  When Jasmine finally opens her eyes, I see her looking down at her sketch before she looks up at Nova. After a few minutes, she smiles and holds up her drawing to Nova.

  “No way.” Nova gasps as she looks at the drawing. “Who’s is it?” she asks with a raised brow.

  “Yours,” Jasmine states. The picture is of Nova holding a baby. I can see a look of horror on Nova’s face at Jasmine’s revelation. “I saw the device being extracted, and it was a success. This picture confirms it,” she teases.

  “Yeah, sugar, I’m afraid you’re going to have little Cerics running around, because I also saw you with a baby. The good news, though, is that I saw the operation, and it went smoothly. It looks like you were right, Nova. It does work.”

  A smile splits my face. Knowing that I will be able to help these women brings me a sense of fulfilment, something I have been looking for my whole life.

  I have always wondered why I have this gift if there is nothing that I have actually done with it that is worthwhile. Well, this is very worthwhile, and most importantly, if what they say is true, when these devices are out, Celmund will have no more reason to keep away from me.

  “I’m going to tie his flippin’ nuts. No way am I going to be a mother. What am I supposed to do with a kid?” Nova grumbles angrily as she places her hands on her hips.

  “Don’t worry, you will be a wonderful mom. Look how Orion loves you. You are his favourite person,” Jasmine appeases as she moves to hug Nova.

  “There’s a difference between being with a kid a couple minutes and taking care of one the whole time,” she argues with a frown. “I’m not having kids, I’m telling you now. Especially little Cerics. He will never shut up about it.” I start to laugh at her comment. I have seen Nova with the kids and know for a fact that she will be a wonderful mother. This fear she has is unfounded, and I’m sure everyone in this room will help her overcome it.

  “Don’t worry, sweetheart, you still have a while to go. Besides, we will all help you. You know that, don’t you?” Aria asks with a smile.

  Suddenly, there is a knock on the door. Before we can call out, it swings open and Bjarni stands in the doorway. “What are you all up to? Way too many guilty faces looking at me,” he grunts. “Baby girl, you better not be planning another of your outings.” With those words, he approaches Gabriela and pulls her against him.

  “We’re not planning anything,” she says as she lifts on her tiptoes and kisses his lips. The one thing that has surprised me is how caring and loving these men are with their women and their children. All these men are drop-dead sexy, but not once have I seen any of the mated men looking at the Jezebels, as they call them, hanging around the club. I’ve seen Burkhart with Jezebels, but none of the others.

  I worry that Celmund has been visiting them. Even though we hardly see each other, I can’t keep my mind off him. The man is driving me crazy. All I think about is him. My body is constantly in a state of arousal. If what they say is true, I want to get the extraction of these devices over and done with, because if I don’t touch that man soon, I swear I’m going to start climbing the walls. I know that he must be stressed about all that is going on with these devices and doesn’t really have time to think about me. Just yesterday, we were all sitting outside in the sun, chatting. Celmund, Draco, and Bjarni were standing by the main door to the club, and there was a group of other club members from the Cape Town chapter there. Celmund took one by his shirt and pushed him against the wall.

  Even though I was worried for his safety, it was so hot that my panties were wet at his display of anger. If it weren’t for Bjarni pulling him back and Draco snapping at both men, there would have been a fight. I don’t know what triggered it, but the other women say that he must be stressed because he isn’t the type to lose his temper like that.

  I come back to the present when I see Bjarni picking up his little girl. He is such a huge man, but the tenderness and caring he shows with his children and Gabriela is touching. He bends his head and kisses the little girl’s forehead. “Did you miss me, angel?” he murmurs to the little girl. A smile splits across Gabriela’s face as she picks up their little boy.

  “We all missed you.” He places his empty arm around her and starts to guide them out. “We will talk later,” Gabriela calls out to us. Bjarni stops and looks over his shoulder at all of us until his eyes stop on Jasmine.

  “Be good. It’s no time to be pulling your stunts.” Then his eyes swing to Nova. “Understand?” he asks with a raised eyebrow.

  “What? I’m being good,” Nova states with an innocent look.

  “Oh boy,” he grumbles as he continues guiding his family out of the room. I hear Gabriela laugh at his grumpy statement before the door closes behind them.

  “No one believes that innocent look anymore, Nova,” Brielle teases. “Maybe try a guilty one and they will be confused.” We all laugh at her teasing, and even Nova has forgotten her earlier worry about having children.

  “How are we going to do this? Because we will have to tell the guys. There is no way we can get Celmund to help without telling the others,” Scarlett says as she looks around at us.

  “I think we should tell all of them at the same time. Like that, Ceric will be outvoted,” Nova suggests, making me laugh at her trickery. Poor guy. He needs to be constantly on his toes with her.

  “I agree with that. If we take it to one of their meetings, they will have to discuss it and come to a decision. I think after Jasmine and Gabriela’s vision, they won’t turn it down if they are assured that we will be fine,” Aria suggests.

  “Let’s phone Draco. I can just imagine his groan when he sees our call coming through. I wish I could see his face.” Nova grins. She picks up her phone from the desk where she had left it and scrolls, looking for Draco’s number. “Are you ready?” she asks, looking up at us before she dials.

  “What did you do now?” Draco asks in a gruff voice.

  “Why would I have done anything? You guys must really stop thinking the worst about me,” Nova grumbles, but I can see a twinkle in her eye.

  “I’ve got shit to do. Is there a reason for this call?” he asks.

  “We need you to call a meeting. There is something we want to discuss with all of you,” Brielle says. We can he
ar him groan at her request.

  “Great, you all together. What is this all about?” he asks.

  “We will tell you when we’re at the meeting,” Scarlett states.

  “No, you will tell me now or there is no meeting.” We can hear the finality in his voice. Looking around, I can see the capitulation on the others’ faces.

  “We have a way of getting the devices out. Jasmine and Gabriela have had visions, and it works,” Nova states. “I’m willing to be the first one to try it out.”

  “Are you sure about this?” All of us answer him in the positive. “I will call a meeting.” With those words, he disconnects the call. Now that the process is materializing, I’m starting to get nervous. What if it doesn’t work? I will be responsible for Nova’s death.

  CELMUND 9

  “Meeting when we get back,” Draco grunts.

  “Fuck, Draco, again!” Burkhart grumbles as he straddles his bike. “Don’t we have more important things to do than sit around talking?” I see Draco’s head snap around from where he’s sitting, his eyes turning an intense blue.

  “Something has come up. You have a problem with that?” he asks in a growl. I see Burkhart tense and a frown adorn his face. His hands tighten on his handlebars, and I know it’s taking immense self-restraint on his part not to snap at Draco, especially Burkhart with his trigger temper, but all of us have the utmost respect for him and will die for him like we know he will do for us.

  “Fuck,” Burkhart snaps as he starts his bike. Draco turns and slowly looks around at all of us before he starts his bike and heads back to the compound with all of us following. We’ve just breached the underground tunnels and found another three closed-off areas where the Keres are hiding. In one of them, we found movement sensors and cameras outside. Therefore, we suspect that is the main area they are operating from.