Chapter Thirty
Farren
B efore any of us can get to him, he’s crashing into the stone base of the cavern with a groan, and the Void beast stands over him, mouths open, ready to take a bite.
No, he is MINE! I will not fucking lose him! I feel the wind whip around me as my magic fills the air, and my eyesight sharpens even further to the point where I can see better than if it were daylight.
“Stop!” I yell, “Do not harm him. He is mine!”
To my utter amazement, the beast stops just short of taking a bite out of him and lifts its massive heads up to me.
It’s eyes meet mine, and there’s an intelligence in them that is far more than a mere beast. It completely ignores Storm as it steps over him and makes its way toward me with slow and careful steps.
Storm groans as he moves his head, his face scratched and bloody thanks to the fall and yet he still tries to pull himself up as he sees it approach me.
“Farren,” his painfilled voice comes out as a croak as he reaches a hand out for me, still trying to move his broken and battered body in my direction.
“It’s okay. I promise,” I tell him and then search for Loki, who looks like he’s seconds away from coming for me. “Fix him.”
“It’s okay,” Zev says firmly.
“She’ll be okay,” Killian adds.
I watch as they all reluctantly start to head towards Storm, their eyes moving back to me every few seconds.
My gaze moves back to the beast. It stops only a few feet from me, curls its two front legs and kneels, lowering its head like it’s bowing to me.
I feel shock hit me from Killian and Loki and realise I’ve opened up the bond lines.
I’m kind of glad that I have though because at least I know that I really am seeing what I am.
Still kneeling, the beast's eight eyes, on both heads, flick up to me, and it whines, regret filling its eyes. I have no idea what’s happening right now, but I’m going with it.
“Can you understand me?” I ask.
It nods slightly.
“Please rise. We aren’t here to hurt you. We want to take you home. I can take you back to the Void Realm if you will allow me to,” I explain, hoping that I don’t have to use short sentences for it to understand me.
“What’s she saying?” I hear Storm ask, and I’m not sure why he can’t hear me, but I am incredibly relieved that he sounds stronger. I desperately want to go to him, but I have to do this first.
The beast nods his heads, and I’m taking that to mean that he wants me to take him home.
“I need to touch you to take you back to the Void Realm. Will you hurt me?” I ask.
It immediately starts shaking its heads back and forth in quick succession, an almost horrified look in its eyes. Well, okay then.
I glance over at the others to find Storm propped up and looking a lot better than he did, thank god. They’re all staring at me in utter shock, apart from Zev and Killian, who have that knowing glint in their eyes.
“I’m going to take him home now. I’ll be back,” I say and then reach forward, to touch the surprisingly soft fur of the Void beast and call my magic forward at the same time to take us into the Void.
I don’t bother waiting for the guys to respond because I don’t want any of them to try and come with me.
For now, the beast is being compliant and even apologetic to a certain degree with me, but I have no idea how he would react if any of the others come near us, and I am not risking any of them.
The beast may be a victim of circumstance and have suffered abuse in our realm, but if he kills one of mine, then I will not hesitate to kill him, and I do not want that to become an option.
“Wait!” I hear Loki yell, but it's too late. My magic wraps around the Void Beast and me and pulls us into the familiar embrace of the Void.
My Void vision, as I’m now calling it, activates, and I’m surprised when I can see the Void better than I have ever been able to.
Maybe it’s because I now know that it is actually a realm and not just something I can travel through, and now I have that knowledge, I’ve been granted the gift to see it more thoroughly.
The landscape is truly unique, I thought everything would just be black and grey, but I couldn’t be more wrong. The plants and trees that we’re surrounded by are burgundies, mustard yellow, deep purple, and navy, all dark and rich colours that paint a stunning landscape.
“I cannot thank you enough,” a booming voice makes me jump, and I turn to look at the Void beast, the only creature it could’ve come from, sure my face is showing my shock.
“Was that you?” I ask.
“Yes. I can talk here. I can’t talk in the Fae Realm.” He explains and then bows his head, his eyes sad. “I am so very sorry for what I did to your mate, and I thank you not only for bringing me here, but also for granting me the lenience that I do not deserve.”
I decide not to correct him in regard to the mate thing. I did, after all, call Storm mine. “You’re welcome. Everyone deserves a second chance, and I can’t imagine how frightening it must’ve been to find yourself in the Fae Realm.”
He nods again, and howls start sounding through the surrounding forest. Suddenly I find myself surrounded by similar beasts, I remain ready in case they decide to attack, but a small bundle comes charging towards the beast I brought back.
“Daddy!” I hear him call out just before it crashes into his father, and my lips stretch into a broad smile. It’s the cutest fucking thing.
I’m now even more glad that we brought him home instead of killing him, he didn’t deserve that.
“Thank you for bringing him home safe,” a female voice sounds in my head, and I nod.
Watching as they all start to walk away, I’m surprised when there’s a sound of shock before all eight of them, even the pups, turn back to me and drop to their front legs, all bowing their heads.
I have no idea how to react and stand in shock until they rise again and all disappear through the forest so that only the beast I brought back is left.
“My name is, Laikynn. I have a feeling we will meet again very soon, Bellator Regina,” he says, with a knowing glint in his eye before he disappears completely.
Why do things keep saying mysterious shit and then disappearing on me before I can ask any of the questions that I’m clearly going to have? I allow my magic to surround me and then step back out of the Void, I need to know they’re all okay, but Storm especially, I nearly lost him.
As soon as I step back into the cavern, I slam my eyes shut, blinking rapidly as my eyes tear up from the sharp sting of the light.
I feel magic wash away from my eyes, and I cautiously open them again, grateful when the light doesn’t burn them anymore.
Surprisingly there’s only one more witch light in here than there was before, just enough to light the cavern up better.
The horses seem to have made their way down into the cavern, clearly having realised that the fight is over and most likely fed up with being stuck in the tight tunnel leading here.
My eyes skip past them and land on the guys, they are all relatively okay, and Storm is even standing up, which means that Loki has worked his magic on him.
Relief colours their features as they realise that I’m back, but I have a singular focus on Storm.
My steps are purposeful as I walk straight up to him.
At the last second, I change my mind and decide that he needs to be on the same level as me for the conversation, so I jump.
His eyes go wide, but he doesn’t hesitate to catch me.
My legs go around his waist as his hands go under my arse to keep me up.
Surprisingly the others stay absolutely silent.
“Let your wings out,” I demand.
“Farren, I know they remind you of something bad, and I never want to be the reason that you are triggered again. I will regret that for the rest of my life,” He says roughly.
I grit my teeth. My emotions are running pretty fucking high, thanks to the absolute fear of nearly losing him and the fact that it was my fucking fault. I was almost the reason he died, and I am not fucking okay with that.
“Open. Your. Wings.” I growl.
The muscle in his jaw ticks at my tone, “No.”
“Oh shit,” I hear someone mutter.
Irrational anger starts to grow. “Fucking open them.”
“Fuck you,” Storm growls back, his eyes flashing along with his horns.
“Bitch,” I hiss back.
“Erm Farren,” someone tries to interrupt, and I completely blank them. This is fucking important.
His wings suddenly shoot from his back, arching wide, and I wait for the fear that would usually come at the sight of them, especially since he’s angry, but there’s nothing, just awe and an overwhelming need to touch them.
“There!” He yells, “Are you fucking happy now! I didn’t want to fucking trigger you!”
I slam my lips on his, shutting him up before he can continue his rant.
He growls, tightening his arms around me as I feel his magic brush against mine in the most delicious way.
I loosen the hold on my magic and watch, fascinated as our magics slam into one another, and the bond I share with Loki and Killian snaps into place with Storm.
His tongue dips into my mouth as he kisses me hungrily, and I return it with just as much passion.
I've been thinking about kissing him since I first laid eyes on him, and it far exceeds my expectations.
My heart is practically exploding in my chest with just how right this feels.
His hands grip my arse tightly, pulling me closer to his stiff cock and making me moan.
I want to carry on, I don’t want to stop, but I have something important that he needs to know.
I start to pull back and then weave my hands through his hair and pull his head back, as his lips try to follow my cheeks hurt from the size of my smile, but I reign it in.