Jabba’s Journey (Iron Howlers MC #2)

Chapter 10

Chapter Ten

Electra

Someone named Coby came in with Karsyn, but he’s been off to the side to allow the three of us to search through our grimoires with a fine-tooth comb. Fear still courses through me, but it’s now laced with the fact that I smelled Jabba on one of the club girls. Queenie, I think her name is, but I can’t be one-hundred percent sure.

Harmony must feel my distress because her head lifts from the pages of the binding and glances up at me. When she notices where my attention is focused at, she narrows her eyes and emits a sigh that comes from deep within her lungs.

“Sticks and stones, Electra,” she murmurs, placing a comforting hand on my forearm.

“This is more than words, Harmony,” I snap, not trying to take my irritation out on her. “She physically rubbed up against my man, can’t you smell him all over her?”

“I do, but before you make any assumptions, ask Jabba about it. For all you know, it could be innocent on his part. These girls don’t always understand boundaries or matings. They aren’t shifters or witches so they can’t possibly grasp the significance of the bond.”

“She’ll understand it just fine when I snatch all of her hair out of her head and she’s forced to wear a wig,” I snarkily suggest.

Karsyn barks out a giggle, letting me know she’s overheard us. “I’d like to see that.”

“She keeps looking at me like she’s got one over me and you just might get your wish,” I grit out.

“Wait! I think I found something,” Harmony says with excitement dancing behind her eyes as she bookmarks a page with her fingertip.

“What’d you find?” I ask, abandoning my book and the visual smack down I was having with the club girl who was kind to me in the beginning and scoot my way over to Harmony so I can read what she’s found, while Karsyn moves to her other side.

Within the line of three, comes a power mating with shifters.

Together, the three reigning couples will free our kind from the bindings of bloodletting alchemy.

Protection of the humans must remain high, as Death walks among them.

Enslavement cannot happen, the golden six will prevail.

“Are… are we the golden six?” I ask, my voice barely above a whisper.

“You could only wish to be something like that,” Queenie retorts, having come closer without any of us noticing.

“Queenie, you’re not welcome here,” Harmony states. “Now, get gone, or you’ll find out just how much power we do yield.”

A look of fear crosses Queenie’s face as she turns and practically runs from the room. I can’t help the snicker that bursts from my lips, despite the seriousness of what’s currently happening.

“Don’t think you’re gonna need to worry about her, but I still think you need to talk to Jabba,” Harmony says. “Communication is key with your mate, as both Karsyn and I have found out.”

“I’ve always been a loner since my mom passed,” I reply.

“Well, you’re not alone anymore,” Harmony says as she places her hand on top of mine, with Karsyn quickly doing the same.

For the first time in a very long time, I feel as though I belong. I’m part of a family again. Granted, it’s unlike anything I ever thought about growing up, but that’s the joy of having one. They’re all different and they blend according to the individuals involved.

“That’s good. Now, how do we best protect everyone?” I ask. “Especially the girls.”

Because there’s no way I’ll let anyone harm a hair on either Jazzy or Sage’s head. From the looks that Harmony and Karsyn give me, I realize I’m in the right company. As witches of the light, we are born to protect and educate those who aren’t as strong as we are. And in my opinion, those two precious girls fall underneath that umbrella of protection. I’ve sensed there’s something extraordinary about them, but it hasn’t been revealed to me yet, so I’ll keep my thoughts and observations to myself for the time being.

“I think we need to let the guys know what we’ve found,” Harmony says. I watch her zone out and realize she’s speaking telepathically with Cyrus. When she nods, I grin, because she stands, grabs her grimoire and motions for Karsyn and me to follow her.

When we breach the doorway of their meeting room, Jabba motions for me to come to him, while the other two mated men do the same. As I settle on his lap, I put my grimoire in front of me and see Harmony and Karsyn do the same. Since this is Cyrus’s clubhouse, Harmony takes the lead as she looks around at all the brothers from both clubs who are present.

“Okay, so while you guys were in here slamming down beers, my sister witches and I were pouring over our grimoires,” she says, looking pointedly at the empty beer bottles lined up on the table while the guys all laugh.

“What did you find?” Cyrus asks, his arms casually draped around her waist, cupping her stomach. I find myself platonically drawn to the love and devotion that radiates from the couple whenever they touch. It’s magnetic, nearly electrical. I also wonder if Jabba and I will eventually reflect that as our mate bond grows stronger. It’s something to think about and it makes me smile inside.

I hide my smile because I suspect they have news they’re not ready to share. Still, I’ll patiently wait. Goddess knows I’ve had to learn how to do that in my long life.

“This is the interesting part. I’ve read through this grimoire so many times I feel like I could quote it, but today, this particular notation stood out,” she says.

A memory teases at me and I look at her and ask, “Can I say something before you continue?”

“Absolutely. As my mama has said, knowledge is power.”

“I remember my great-grandmother telling my grandmother that the grimoire doesn’t always reveal everything all at once. There may be spells, familial history, and even lore that will show up and it’s always when it’s needed, never before. You saying what you just did makes me wonder if this is the time for what you found to be revealed.”

Her eyes widen just as Karsyn says, “I’ve heard that as well. It was so long ago, I buried it deep in my subconscious, obviously, but it definitely makes sense now that you’ve said it out loud.”

“So, what did it say?” Cyrus asks, his impatience showing. Harmony pats his hand and I watch as he calms down. Slightly. There’s still a frisson of power that electrifies the room, and I don’t know if it’s because there are in essence three alphas as well as three witches, or it’s something more. Otherworldly .

Harmony recites:

“Within the line of three, comes a power mating with shifters.

Together, the three reigning couples will free our kind from the bindings of bloodletting alchemy.

Protection of the humans must remain high, as Death walks among them.

Enslavement cannot happen, the golden six will prevail.”

“Fuck,” Big Daddy growls out. “Fucking riddles, all the fucking time.” He pulls at his beard while I hide my grin, because the frustration emanating from him is almost palpable.

Deciding to jump in as Harmony and Cyrus appear to be having a conversation between themselves, I say, “We think that the three of us, me, Karsyn, and Harmony, are the three witches mentioned in the script, while Cyrus, Corbin, and Jabba are the shifters.”

“Me? I’m not an alpha or anything like that,” Jabba states, confusion marring his brow.

“Brother, while we don’t do what a lot of packs do because of our makeup, you’d be what they call an Omega,” Cyrus advises.

“What the fuck is that?” Jabba asks.

“Someone who is sensitive to the emotions and feelings of their pack, or in this case, our brotherhood,” Cyrus says.

What they have yet to understand is that it’s so much more than that. An Omega doesn’t only feel a sensitivity to those around them, they are also able to sooth the emotions through their bonds. They can anticipate what someone within their pack needs before the person themselves knows they need it. They are also some of the biggest badasses within the ranks outside of the Alpha himself. That’s why nine-tenths of them end up soldiers or SAA and in Jabba’s case, the enforcer.

“Sensitive? Jabba sensitive?” Bandit manages to ask while snickering.

“Hey now, he makes a helluva hairdresser, aren’t they supposed to be in touch with their feelings?” Prowler asks, smirking at my mate.

I can feel his confusion and hurt through our bond and want nothing more than to douse all of these assholes in a roaring flood of rock-filled water.

“You can’t do that,” Jabba says inside my head.

Wait, what? He’s talking to me in my head?

“Yeah, my water nymph, I can talk to you thanks to our mate bond. You can’t drown my brothers, though. It’s really bad form, I’m afraid.”

Great, now he’s quoting the movie Hook to me? I shake my head as he squeezes me.

“For your information, Jazzy loves her Uncle Jabba and the fact that he was willing to learn how to style her hair has no bearing on whether or not he’s a badass biker. How many times have one of y’all gone off half-cocked about something only to have him calm your asses down?” Cyrus asks.

The room quietens at Cyrus’s remark. All of them looking ashamed of how they downgraded such an important position within their club.

“So, how does this tie in to what Jabba said happened with the dark clouds and shit?” Turtle asks.

“That’s something we’re going to have to figure out for ourselves as we go. As you can tell, none of these prophecies or lores we’ve crossed fill in any details,” Cyrus explains.

“That’s because it can change the outcome, and not always for the better,” I insert.