CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
N
asir and Zayn pulled out of the house and drove in silence for an hour. Zayn watched the landscape pass by, moving down interstate 24. The silhouette of the mountains in the distance had him thinking about the past. How he missed the mountains back home, especially when he and his abb would go hunting. He and Nikole learned how to fight on mountaintops. That’s why they’d settled in Colorado, so they could be reminded of home, watching the leaves change color, the skyline in late September before the chill started taking over, how the evening smelled after the first snow of the season. Nikole and he cherished these, memories. He could remember it like it was yesterday, the last family hunt. The animals gave the most challenge during a hunt, never knowing which direction they would take or how they would respond.
Looking over to Nasir he quietly whispered, “Do you think she is ruined?” He couldn’t bring himself to think about what condition she was in. What she’d had to endure through the torture and pain.
“No, she isn’t ruined. She is probably hurt and in pain, but ruined? Never. She comes from a long line of warriors; nothing will ever hold her down.”
Zayn listened to Nasir and what he said but didn’t really absorb his words. All he could think about was letting her down. He fought with her and look what had happened. She could have died because of him. Many already had lost their lives because of his decisions; Kevin and Zeus, to name a couple.
Never again would he act like he had; never would he make her feel like she had to fight alone. She needed to know he would always stand behind her, no matter what. Sitting in the car, listening to the sound of the tires driving along the road, his heart ached from the pain, his eyes sore from the tears. Deciding to close them and let the darkness take over, he thought about what she must look like. Would she be like omm and have bruises from beatings all over her body or like abb knife wounds on every inch?
He let the sound the car made while driving down the road hypnotize him into a daze. Images of their parents’ death began flashing in his mind, the blood, the pain, the agony came flooding back. Visions of his abb hanging from the tree, blood dripping down his body, his omm lying in her own blood, racked his mind. He couldn’t stand the idea that Nikole looked like that too. His fists started to ball up in his lap, his anger flaring inside, waiting to be let go. Nasir looked over at him. He could tell Zayn’s jaw was clinched tight. Taking his hand off the wheel, he moved it to his shoulder and gave it a firm squeeze. “Zayn, you have to stop beating yourself up over what happened. The reality is something would have happened had you both never fought. You know that. Thinking that it is your fault and this would never have happened had you done something different won’t change anything. You need to just accept this and move on. That way, when we see her and bring her home, she knows it’s over.”
Zayn slowly opened his eyes, Nasir’s words resonating in his mind, thinking about what he’d said. “It might have happened, but at least our last words to each other wouldn’t have been in anger. Maybe she wouldn’t have been careless had she not been out trying to prove me wrong. I know I caused this. It is my fault, Nasir, and you won’t talk me out of thinking that.”
They finished the rest of the drive in silence; Nasir knew that, whatever he said, Zayn wouldn’t believe. He had watched Zayn and Nikole grow up, been a substitute abb for them both. He couldn’t sit there and do nothing to help children he had loved like they were his own. Seeing the base of the mountain off in the distance, he knew it was only a matter of time before Nikole was safe again. Nasir parked and the two of them exited the car to begin their silent hike up the mountain.
Alec walked from the bedroom out to the living room, bringing Nikole a pair of shorts. “Here you go. This should work for your ride home.” She took them from him and smiled as he turned his back to her, giving her the privacy she needed. Taking the blanket off of her legs, she slowly edged off the couch and slipped the shorts on. Doing her best to maintain her balance alone, she walked to the other end of the couch and put her hand on Alec’s arm.
“Thank you, for everything.” He reached up to her hand and cupped his left one over her right one. She felt the warmth of his touch run through her hand when she realized his thumb was caressing her palm.
“You are most welcome; it was really no trouble at all.” He looked as though he wanted to say something else but stopped, looking at her with a bit of longing, still keeping her hand in his. He stroked the inside of her palm and looking into her eyes.
Nikole wanted to say yes but didn’t want to sound desperate. Instead, she looked up into his violet eyes. While smiling, she started to light their hands on fire, their magik essences blending together. She watched his eyes dilate in excitement as they started to form a bond. They stood there for a few moments, connected to each other in a way only the magik could allow. Alec leaned his head down, placing his soft lips over hers, when all of a sudden they heard a knock on the door. Biting back a curse, he pulled away from her. “Time to go home, Princess.” Nikole was forced to pull herself together, subduing the magik she was releasing into the atmosphere to hide what had been going on between the two of them.
Alec walked to answer it, knowing it had to be Zayn. He looked back at Nikole one last time, not sure if he would ever get a moment alone with her. She nodded at him and he grabbed the handle and pulled the door open to reveal the King and his General, standing on the porch.
“Please come in, she’s ready to go,” Alec said as he moved aside for the two men to enter. Zayn saw Nikole, and relief overwhelmed him as she was standing and not hurt like their omm or abb. Rushing to her side, he pulled her in for a tight embrace. They held each other for a few minutes in silence. Tears had started flowing from Nikole’s eyes.
“Zayn, I’m so sorry, I really…”
Zayn cut her off by shaking his head at her. “No, Nikole, it is my fault and I’m truly sorry. I won’t do that again; I won’t try and dictate your life to you. If you want to fight with us and be a warrior, you can. Just never go out alone just to prove me wrong again.”
Nikole looked up at her akh, the one person she had loved most in the world. She saw his yellow eyes shining bright while looking into hers. She could feel his emotion. Placing her head on his chest, she let his arms protect her and hold her as if nothing else mattered. Zayn looked over to Alec, who he noticed was having trouble watching the reunion. “Thank you for saving her life; we are indebted to you.” Motioning for Nasir, he opened the front door. “Come on, Nikole, let’s get you home. I know Adara can’t wait to see you. She will be staying with us to help take care of you during your time of recovery.”
Nikole’s eyes drifted over to Alec’s. She hadn’t really gotten to say what she had wanted to with everyone there. His blood was in her; she could feel him, feel a small part of his emotion. Why was he angry? She slowly pushed off of Zayn and tried to make her way over to Alec. Her legs not seeming to work properly; she started to fall. Moving with stealth Alec caught her in his arms, her light body but a feather in weight to him.
“Princess, you need to be more careful.”
She couldn’t help but smile up at him, his eyes… she was drawn to his eyes. “Will you come see me? Come and visit?”
Alec was taken aback by her request. Come and visit her? Where had that come from? Not wanting to upset her, he smiled and nodded. Leaning over, he kissed her cheek letting his lips brush her skin, whispering in her ear, “I won’t ever forget you.”
Zayn’s wasn’t sure he liked this scenario. Who was he to be touching her like that? And kissing her cheek? He felt his eyes start to glow a bright yellow, his protective nature starting to flare up. Growling low, he walked to Nikole’s side and took her from Alec’s embrace. The two men looked at each other, Alec understanding immediately. Bowing his upper body at the royal siblings, he backed away and watched as Zayn helped walk Nikole out of his cabin and out of his life. Forever.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
A
lec watched as they drove off. How could he feel so much for her after such a short amount of time? They barely even spoke to one another. Maybe it was because she was in control of fire like him, and that was the rarest of gifts. Maybe it was the fact that she had his blood in her and he could feel her emotions. She was scared. Unsure of what was going to happen. If he could only tell her how brave she was and how wonderful she looked after taking the blood. He stopped and thought about that, his blood. He thought about what it would be like to have her long white fangs dig into his skin, penetrating the barrier and sucking on him. He could feel himself growing hard thinking about it. His body automatically reacted to the thought of her possessing him in the most carnal of ways. He had to see her again. He would find a way. Alec moved out of his living room and into his bedroom to clean up the items he’d used to help Nikole heal. Seeing his pillow with her form still indented on it, he lay in his bed and could smell her, her sweetness, her essence.
He closed his eyes and brought her image to his mind’s eye. He could feel her warmth in his bed and her whole body against him. Needing to feel this pleasure he started to dream of what it would be like to be with her. He was pretty sure the royal Princess would never go for someone like him, broken, hurt, and unstable. Alec opened his eyes and let out a sigh as he rolled over on his side and saw the picture on his night stand on the other side of the bed.
His wife, how could he even think of another woman when his had only been gone a few hundred years? He got out of bed and headed to the kitchen where he looked through the cabinets and pulled out a bottle of whiskey. Pouring himself three fingers worth into a glass, he went outside to sit on the porch. His hand was on the knob when he realized that he had lost his mind. Why would Nikole even want him? Shaking his head in disgust, he moved out to the bench swing in the yard to sit and look up at the stars.
Alec nursed his drink while watching the stars in the sky shine down on him. They looked so similar to that fatal night in 1777. The city’s fires had been uncontrollable. He remembered the sound of his family burning and being unable to reach them. His bent’s voice crying out for him was still vivid in his memory. Taking another drink, he thought about how everything had changed since he moved away from the homeland and set out on his own. Would they be proud of him? Would they think him a coward for running away and leaving their home in ashes?
What could he have done, really? Haydar and his generals destroyed everything. He’d had to escape. He finished the drink in one final gulp then threw the glass at the tree trunk. Breaking down in tears, he fell to his knees and started to pray to the Gods that no one believed in anymore. As if answering his prayers, Mother Nature let out a loud roar of thunder, shaking the trees causing leaves to fall to his side. He took that as a sign that he could seek redemption.
He rose from the kneeling pose and made his way back into his house and then into his room. He shed his clothes and headed straight for the bathroom. Running the hot water, he stepped in the shower and let the stream of water pound against his skin, washing away his cowardly filth. Maybe one day he could be loved by another. Maybe one day he would have earned his manhood back. Alec realized that the best way to feel useful and worthy was to help keep the Princess safe. Only way to do that was to catch whoever was causing all of the deaths the news was reporting on every night.
Finishing his shower he started to head toward the bed. He stopped and realized he was about to lie in Nikole’s spot. Walking around to the other side of the bed, he lowered himself and stared at her pillow.
Holding it to him didn’t make him weak, did it?
He took the pillow and cuddled it. He would find a way to stop anyone from hurting her. First thing in the morning he was going back to the compound to figure out who they were.
On the drive back home, she sat in the car and just stared at the back of Nasir’s head while they drove in silence. She didn’t know what was going on in her mind. She had her family back. That should be all that mattered, but something felt wrong, something felt off. She was unsure of what it was; surely it was because of everything she went through. No reason for it to be anything else. But there was this unknown feeling inside of her. Where could it be coming from?
“Zayn, can I borrow your phone please?” He looked back at her from the front seat and nodded, slipping his phone into her hands. She held the light weight cell for a moment trying to gather her thoughts. Dialing Adara, she waited for her to pick up.
“Hello, Zayn, oh Gods I need you so bad!”
Nikole paused a moment and looked at her akh then shook her head, focusing back on the phone. “No, Adara, it’s me. I wanted you to know I’m on my way home. Can you meet me at the house? I think I am going to need a little TLC and I could really use my best friend.”
Zayn listened to his okht speak. Oh gods, he didn’t tell her about Adara. Feeling his stomach start to knot, he heard her keep talking. “You’re at the house already? Um, okay. Well, what? You want to talk to Zayn? Yeah… here he is.” Annoyed with things, she handed her akh the phone and sat back in the seat. What the hell was going on? She was only gone a few days and now they were best friends, such bullshit.
“A dead body? What? Adara you cannot go back there! NO! We will be home in an hour. Do not leave. Just stay in my room till I get there. Things are going to be alright.”
“Zayn, it was so terrible, the body, the blood everywhere. I don’t know how they got into my home but they did. How can I ever go back there again? After seeing the Ghul like that, I don’t know that I can stomach it even for a moment or two.”
“Adara, calm down sweetheart, it’s okay… I will be home soon.” Nikole watched Zayn hang the phone up and slip it back into his pocket.
“Something you need to tell me?”
Nasir cleared his throat; he could feel the tension building between his two pseudo children. “Nikole, there is nothing you need to worry about. Everything is okay; Adara just had a problem at her home.”
Nikole couldn’t decide what was going on, but something was different. “Why did she want to talk to you? Since when did you and her become friends? And what dead body were you talking about?”
Zayn turned to look at his okht. “Nikole, a lot happened while you were gone; a lot of people have been killed. Someone killed a man in Adara’s home. Please don’t worry about it. We just need to get you taken care of first. She is going to be staying with us to ensure she is safe.”
Nikole looked out of her window and just stared. What was she supposed to do with this information? Her gut was telling her something else was going on, and her akh was keeping it from her. Why would he have Adara wait in his room? Why not her room or the living room? None of this made any sense to Nikole. The three of them traveled the rest of the way in silence, no one wanting to speak and the tension was building.