Chapter 14 - Elle
The heat lasted two more days.
It was not until the second morning that Margaret came to her with a small glass bottle and a rather detached explanation that Elle really realized what was going on with her.
Heat suppressants—a substance that would control her body, break the cycle, and prevent its recurrence until she decided to do so. Something to take back what her own body had stolen without her permission. Elle went to the bathroom and swallowed the first dose.
Then she spent the rest of the day in her bed. She was sore and angry at the fact that this happened without her consent. Hours later, Elle got up from the bed, took a long shower, and felt that the only thing to do was to move on.
***
Elle rubbed her fingers against the truck’s window as Silas drove past the forest. They were going home after another futile search.
It had been three days since the heat broke. Three days had passed since she and Silas had slept together, and her magic remained dormant and useless.
She could feel it vibrating under her skin. But when she wanted to try to use it, it would slip through her fingers just like water.
“Nothing again?” Rael asked from the driver’s seat.
Elle shook her head. “Same as before. I touched the walls, and I saw what happened there. But it was just the past. Nothing as to where the operation is based or where the next auction will be.”
She closed her eyes in frustration. What is the use of her powers if it only showed her horrible things that had already taken place? Could it really serve a purpose of making them end the trafficking ring, or rescue the women who remained in the ring?
Beside her in the backseat, August patted her shoulder. “Give it time.”
Her eyes snapped open. “But we do not have time. Another day spent with no progress is yet another day those women are suffering.”
“We are doing whatever we can with the available information.” Rael glanced at her through the rearview mirror. “Javi has been using the descriptions that you provided us.”
“And?”
“And we’re getting closer. It is proving a bit difficult. But we’re right on track.”
She tsked in annoyance. “Not enough.”
But she knew Rael was right. They were trying their level best. The point was that it was still not enough.
The real problem was her, though. Her so-called power was useless.
They pulled up to Silas’ house just as the sun was setting. Elle got out of the truck, her muscles tense.
Silas was on the porch, with his phone pressed against his ear, and a grim expression. On seeing them, he ended the call and stepped down.
“Anything?” he asked.
“Visions from the past,” Elle said flatly. “Nothing useful.”
His brows creased together to form a slight frown. Ever since they slept together, he had been giving Elle space. Probably because his wolf wanted to ravish her every minute of the day.
And Elle surprisingly wanted that. She could not forget about that night with him. Something about the way Silas made her feel special, worshipped, beautiful, and wanted was addictive. She wanted to do it again.
However, they had greater concerns. Women were still being kidnapped and sold. The trafficking circle had still not been eliminated. And Elle’s power, which should have helped them stop it, was turning out to be absolutely useless.
“I’m going in,” she walked past Silas. “I need a shower.”
She could feel his eyes on her even as she walked in. The bond pulsed, urging her to turn around, to go back to him, to let him pull her into his arms.
Elle ignored it and locked herself in the bathroom.
The hot water was able to take the strain out of her muscles, but did nothing to relieve the frustration burning in her chest. Elle stood under the shower spray for a long time, trying to shut down the loud voices in her head.
When she eventually left the bathroom, still in a towel, there were clean clothes on her bed. A t-shirt that belonged to Silas and a pair of leggings.
She changed swiftly and walked down the stairs, following the smell of something cooking. It led her to the kitchen.
Silas was by the stove cooking what seemed to be pasta. He looked up as she walked in, his eyes falling on the shirt she wore.
“Hungry?”
“Starving.”
They ate without speaking. Just the sounds of cutlery scraping against the plates and tension in the air. Whenever Elle looked up, she found Silas watching her with an intensity that made her skin flush.
“We should talk,” Silas broke the silence.
“About what?”
“About what happened between us.”
Elle set down her fork. “What’s there to talk about? We had sex to fulfill the bond and activate my magic. Mission accomplished.”
He set down his fork, too. “Was that all it was to you?”
“What else would it be?”
“Elle.”
“Don’t.” Elle stood abruptly. “Don’t turn this into what it is not. We did what we needed to do. That’s it.”
She walked away, but without noticing the pained expression on Silas’ face. If she had stayed back and allowed him to have that conversation with her, she might have also admitted just how much it meant to her, too.
Sleeping with Silas had caused something to change somewhere inside her, and she simply could not afford to feel that way.
So, instead, Elle went back to her room and spent the night lying awake on her bed and trying not to think about the man sleeping across the hall. Trying not to recall the way he had made her feel and trying not to want it again.
The following day, when Elle woke up, she formed a plan. If her power wasn’t useful, then maybe she could train harder and be useful in the field, rather than depending on powers that had a mind of their own.
Elle asked Rael to demonstrate more advanced defensive techniques to her after breakfast. They spent hours in the training yard, and by the end, her muscles screamed in protest, and her clothes were soaked with sweat.
“You’re a fast learner,” Rael said as he wiped his sweaty brows. “Another couple of weeks, and you will be able to stand on your own against most shifters.”
“Most shifters are no good. I have to be able to stand my own against any shifter.”
Rael smiled. “Ambitious. I like it.”
During the following week, Elle plunged into the world of investigation and training. She accompanied the brothers on all their hunts, and touched everything at every place, but nothing was useful.
Her magic never did more than reveal the past to her.
Her frustration increased day by day, and the fact that she could not stop thinking about Silas added to it all. She just couldn’t forget that night. She couldn’t help but want him, and it scared the shit out of her.
By the end of the week, Elle was wound so tight she felt like she might shatter.
One morning, Elle was in the training yard before dawn, and August showed up. “You know you are overworking yourself. You need a break.”
“I’m fine.”
“You’re exhausted.” August crossed his arms. “When was it last that you did anything that was not training or hunting, or trying to make your power work the way you want?”
Elle couldn’t remember.
“Take the day off,” August continued. “Go into town. Buy something weird. There are better things in life than what you’ve been doing.”
“But I—”
August gave her a look that reminded her of when she was a child. He’d refuse to let her skip meals or stay up past her bedtime.
“Fine,” Elle grumbled. “One day.”
She borrowed Silas’s truck, who was having meetings all day with other Alphas, and went to the town center. It was a Sunday afternoon. It was warm, sunny, and the main street was busy.
Elle aimlessly strolled into stores, window-shopping. The investigation, her useless magic, all the ways she was not helping, still dominated her mind.
She was walking by a bookshop, and there she saw him in the window—Silas.
Her lips curved into a smile. She wanted to go inside and ask why he was not attending his meetings. But right before she stepped in, she saw a woman beside him.
She recognized her as the shop owner. A beautiful wolf shifter with long red hair. She rested her hand on Silas’s arm, laughing at something he said.
No. She was flirting with him.
Elle felt something irrational bubble in her chest at the sight. She had no right to be jealous. She told Silas that what happened between them was nothing, and whenever he tried to discuss it, she shoved him away.
She had no right to him. But seeing that woman touching him and smiling at him, she wanted to go into that shop and make it very clear to him that Silas was hers.
Which was insane. She wanted nothing to do with him.
Elle turned and walked quickly away from the bookshop, her hands clenched into fists. She made it halfway down the block before she heard her name.
“Elle!”
She kept walking.
“Elle, wait!”
Silas overtook her and grabbed her by the elbow.
“What?”
Silas’s eyes narrowed. “Why did you walk away?”
“I did not know that I had to get permission to walk in town.”
“That is not what I meant, and you know it.” Silas stepped closer. “You saw me in the bookshop.”
“So?”
“So why didn’t you come inside?”
Elle rolled her eyes and removed his hand from her elbow. “You looked busy.”
“Busy?” As if he suddenly realized, he shook his head. “You think I was—Elle, no. That’s not—”
“What you were doing. Yeah, I don’t care. It’s none of my business. You can do whatever you want with anyone.”
“Is that what you think? I would—” He paused, cocking his head. “You’re jealous.”
“I am not.”
“You are. You are jealous that I was talking to Meredith.”
“I am n-not jealous,” Elle spluttered, her cheeks tinging red. “I just did not want to interrupt your…whatever that was.”
“It was nothing.”
“Didn’t look like nothing.”
“Because you did not stay long enough.” Silas took another step closer, pushing Elle up against the wall of a building next door. “You noticed that a woman was speaking to me, and came to your own conclusion.”
“She was literally draped all over you.”
“She was trying to flirt. I was ignoring it.” Silas placed both of his hands against the wall, on either side of her, successfully caging Elle in. “I wanted to buy something for you, in fact. But you were too jealous to wait and see.”
“Buy something for me?”
“Books on your type of power and what could really help you because I understand how frustrated you are about what’s been happening.”
Elle swallowed, suddenly feeling bad. “You were buying me gifts.”
“Yes.”
“And that woman, uh, Meredith, was the shop owner. Right?”
“Yes.”
“And you don’t care about her.”
“Not even a little.” Silas leaned closer, his mouth a breath away from hers. “I only have eyes for one woman.”
Elle’s resolve crumbled. She bridged the gap between them and drew Silas into a kiss that was hungry, desperate, and full of all the desire she had been trying to ignore.
Silas moaned in her mouth, grabbed her hip, and pulled her flush against him. Elle felt the hardness between them.
The kiss turned fierce. His hand slid from her hip to her thigh, pushing up the hem of her dress.
Elle gasped when his fingers found bare skin, when they traced higher and higher until—
Silas drew back, his green eyes dark with hunger. “You’re not wearing any panties.”
“I forgot,” Elle said, averting her gaze.
That was a lie. She did not forget. She chose not to this morning because some crazy part of her wanted this.
“You forgot to wear underwear,” he deadpanned.
Elle shrugged, trying to seem indifferent despite the way her nipples puckered against her dress. “It happens.”
Silas moved his hand further up and tightened his grip. “Fuck,” he dropped his forehead against the wall. “You’re trying to kill me.”
“I’m not.”
“You are.” Silas’s hand gripped her ass, kneading the flesh, pulling her flush against his hard length. “Walking around bare underneath. Looking at me like that. Kissing me like you want me to fuck you right here against this wall.”
Elle’s breath hitched. “Maybe I do.”
Silas made a half-laugh, half-growl sound. “We’re in public, Elle.”
“So?”
“So I am not going to fuck you in an alley where anybody can see. When I have you again—and I will have you again—it will be somewhere I can have you in multiple positions. Somewhere I can make you scream my name as loud as you want.”
Heat flooded Elle’s body. “That’s not fair.”
“What’s not fair?”
“Talking like that and not acting on it.”
His mouth slanted into a decidedly wicked smirk. “Patience, mate. Waiting is good character development.”
He kissed her again. This time, slowly, while squeezing and kneading her ass, rubbing her against him in a rhythm that had Elle gasping.
When they eventually broke apart, still gasping, Silas leaned his forehead against hers.
“That was not the kiss of a man who is interested in anybody else. It was the kiss of a man who is totally devoted to his mate. Who is always thinking of her. Who desires nothing more than to bring her home and show her how much he wants her.”
“Silas—”
“I was not flirting with Meredith. Neither was I playing along. I was trying to help you.” He lifted his hand and softly caressed her face. “You are the only woman I want, Elle. The only one.”
Elle didn’t know what to say. She should have been terrified by this admission, but it made her feel good. It was nice to be desired and wanted like this.
“Come on,” Silas said, and took a step back, extending his hand. “Let’s go get those books. And maybe some other things.”
“Other things?”
“Clothes. Food. Whatever you want.” He smiled. “I want to spoil you, Elle. Let me.”
Elle took his hand. “Okay. But we are going underwear shopping.”
Silas chuckled heartily. “Whatever you say, mate. But, by the way, I vote that you forget them more.”
Elle swatted his arm with a smile. It was the first time Elle felt anything other than anger, frustration, or fear since she had come back.
She felt happy.
She knew it wouldn’t last. There was a lot of history between them. Too much pain and trauma to overcome.
However, at this moment, walking hand in hand with Silas through town, Elle gave herself the chance to savor this.