Chapter Thirteen
Neith
The Voices mutter, they like Baz, and the need that I had riding me fucking hard because my magic needed the guard to be punished for what he did to one of mine has lowered considerably thanks to the offer that Baz has given me.
So, I let go.
The guard starts to fall to the floor, but before he can, Baz’s arm shoots out, catching him around the neck in the same hold that I had him in, although Baz doesn’t dig his claws in.
He does, however, lift the guard off his feet, showing an incredible amount of strength, especially considering he’s still standing behind me.
“Do you need me to move?” I ask somewhat reluctantly.
“Do you want to move?”
I shake my head, “No.”
His arm slowly wraps around my waist, and I sink into his embrace. “Then don’t. If it gets too much for you, then just step away, okay?”
There’s something in his voice, a kind of resigned certainty. He’s sure that when he starts to use his magic, I’m going to have to walk away, and there’s a kind of loneliness in that as well, that clearly comes from past experiences.
“Neith?” Baz asks.
I nod, “Okay.”
His arm tightens around my waist again, and then I feel his magic build.
It’s unlike anything that I’ve ever felt before.
Wilder, more primal. I watch the guard in fascination as I feel the magic take hold of him.
From the way that Baz wields it with such precision I find it hard to believe that he hasn’t used it for a while.
The guard's eyes open wide as he starts to convulse in Baz’s grip. Baz growls, a deep and threatening sound that sends a tingle of awareness through me.
The magic builds even more, and Baz’s grip on me loosens, as if he’s expecting me to move away, to need to leave.
I’m not going anywhere.
Wounds open up over the guard, and I realize that when Baz said that he could make the guard experience what he did to Dimitri, he meant that literally. It’s fucking impressive and horrifying to realize what he put Dimitri through.
Finally, I feel Baz’s magic pull back, and the guard falls to the floor, curling into a fetal position, whimpering and crying out in fear as he rocks back and forth. I think that Baz has actually broken something in his brain.
“That was impressive,” Dimitri says from behind us.
I look up at Baz and find him already watching me with confusion, like he can’t quite believe that I’m still in his arms. He lets me go, and we turn to face the others as I rush over to Dimitri.
“Are you okay?” I ask, my hands on his cheeks.
He smirks, “That was seriously hot, Love.”
I pull a face and grin, “Yeah. You’re okay.”
He nods, “Doc healed me up, even though I told him that it wasn’t necessary and that I’d heal up quickly enough.”
Baz
“Well, it wasn’t necessary for you to have to wait that long,” Doc retorts to Dimitri.
I know that they said that some of them hadn’t even met Dimitri, which is why their protectiveness of him was so strange, but seeing them interact, you would have thought that they had known him for years.
It’s weird though. I understand why they find it so strange, because that protectiveness is something that I feel as well. It’s like a need to protect a family member.
There’s an obvious reason for that in my mind, but since no one else has seemed to cotton on to that yet, I decide to keep it to myself. At the end of the day, despite how much I feel like I belong with them, there is still a lot that I don’t know about them, so I could be wrong.
“Is he still experiencing it?” Griff asks me curiously.
I nod, “Yes. It turns out that Dimitri isn’t the only prisoner he likes to exert his authority over, and that his treatment extends to his wife and children too.”
My voice ends on a growl, and I know that my eyes briefly shift.
I cross my arms over my chest. Admittedly, it was hard for me to stop from killing him when I worked that out, and if I were in pretty much any other realm, I would have.
This is the Earth Realm though, and they’re a bit squeamish when it comes to that sort of thing.
So I left him suffering instead, which, to be honest, is probably more deserved anyway.
Before anyone can say anything else, the door to the room opens, and we all tense.
“Ty,” Griff greets him with surprise, “I didn’t expect to see you here.”
“Well, I thought a visit was in order considering the circumstances,” Ty grins.
His attention moves over all of us and then to the guard on the floor.
I feel the need to explain, since technically this is my boss, although for some reason it feels strange to call him that.
“He’s experiencing everything that he did to Dimitri, the other prisoners, and also his wife and children,” I tell him honestly.
Ty nods, “Good.” He continues staring though a perplexed look on his face.
“I can pull it back, if you want me to,” I offer reluctantly.
Ty shakes his head, “No, it’s just it reminded me of something. For a moment I thought . . .” he trails off as he glances around the room, and then he shakes his head as his gaze lands back on me. “Never mind. Leave it, he deserves it.”
I nod, “He does.”
Ty steps forward and reaches out his hand, “It’s nice to meet you. I’ve sent over all of the paperwork, badges, bank account details, and all of that sort of thing over to Evander. So you’re all set up and ready to go.”
I take his hand, smile, “Thanks, I appreciate it.”
He nods and turns his attention to the others.
Something pings in my brain, but I can’t grasp it, and instead of trying to follow it anyway, I pull back.
I’ve already learned what happens if I push it too far, and I have no intention of passing out and fitting again.
Even if it does mean that I end up with my head in Neith’s lap.
It would be kind of psychotic to do it for that reason.
Right?
Yes, yes, it would.
However, I am going to hold onto the memory of having her in my arms for a long time.
She didn’t move when my power was released, and I was highly attuned to her, any tensing, any hitched breath, anything, and I was going to move her away myself. But I didn’t need to. She was relaxed the whole time.
If I didn’t know any better, then I would have said that she enjoyed it.
I don’t understand it, and it makes me feel uncomfortable, although I can’t really say why.
I think it may be because I’m so used to people avoiding me, and yet she doesn’t, none of them do, and I don’t know how to handle that. It’s simply not what I’m used to.
“As far as I understand it, you have something rather important that you need to do,” Ty says, bringing me out of my thoughts.
“Yeah, we should probably get going,” Griff replies with a slight frown.
Ty nods, “Don’t worry, I have this handled. We will do an overhaul of the guards, and I’ll put some of my most trusted agents in place to make sure things are being run as they should be.”
“Good,” Dimitri says. “If I can help in any way, please let me know.”
Ty’s eyebrows rise in surprise, and he studies Dimitri closely, taking in how near to him the others are standing and their body language. He’s not stupid, and he can clearly see the connection between them all.
He nods, “Thank you. I will keep that in mind.” Looking at Doc, he adds, “The cameras were disabled in here, thanks to the guard, so you can start taking everyone back.”
Doc nods, “Great thanks, man.”
He wastes no time and grabs Griff by the shoulder, transporting him back.
Ty turns to look at me again, “Am I right in assuming that this is now his permanent state?”
I try not to look surprised that he knows that as I nod, “Yes, unless you would like me to pull the magic back, as I said before.”
Ty shakes his head, “No. Leave him.”
I grin. Ty is definitely someone that I could get along with, and once again, my intuition spikes.
I ignore it.
Neith
I tune Baz and Ty out as they continue talking, the conversation flowing surprisingly easily between them.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” I ask Dimi again.
His eyes roam over my face for maybe the hundredth time since I sat down next to him.
“I’m okay,” he replies with a soft smile that makes me want to kiss him.
So I do what any sane person would do and hit him on the chest instead.
“Ouch, what was that for?” He asks, somehow managing to look both amused and offended all at the same.
“For not defending yourself,” I reply. “Always defend yourself, Dimitri.”
He nods, sensing the worry behind my words, “Okay.”
“Are you ready to go?” Doc asks.
I nod reluctantly. I really don’t want to leave Dimitri here. In fact, every time that I see him, it’s getting harder and harder to leave him behind.
I fucking hate it.
“Have fun in Scotland,” Dimitri says with a smile as he stands up and pulls me up with him. His eyes connect with mine as he says into my mind, “Don’t forget to call on me if you need any help.”
I nod, but I don’t reply.
I’m not going to call him. The amount of trouble that he could get into, and what they could realize about his gifts if anyone were to notice that he was gone, is not worth it.
Dimitri has kept his species a secret for a very good reason. He’s gone to extreme lengths in order to do so, and I will make sure that he carries on protecting it.
He narrows his eyes at me. He knows me well enough to know what I’m thinking, but he can’t argue with me out loud, and I’ve blocked our connection.
I smirk.
Heat fills his eyes as he takes a step toward me.
My smile widens as I step back into Doc, “Let’s go.”
Dimitri bursts out laughing as I stick my tongue out at him moments before Doc disappears us.
When we arrive in the front room back at House, I’m still smiling, and Doc is chuckling too.
Coen grins, “Dimitri says he’ll get you back for that.”
I burst out laughing. My heart feels lighter than it has felt for a long time. It’s what they always used to do, I’d wind Dimitri up and go running to Coen, and Dimitri would pass a message to me through Coen, and then they would end up teaming up and getting me back.
My thighs clench.
It almost always ends with me between them, naked.
Coen’s eyes are already heated, he knows exactly what I’m thinking.
“So, Griff has already filled us in on everything that went down,” Van says, catching me up to speed. “After you three have finished packing, we’re going to have lunch and then set off to Scotland as we planned.”
I nod, “That sounds good. I’m really excited.”
Griff smiles and pulls me under his arm, “You are?”
I nod, “Absolutely, I can’t wait to meet your family.”
Griff’s eyebrows raise, “Wait, really?”
“Obviously,” I grin. I have no idea why he’s looking at me the way that he is, but I grab his hand, “Come on, you can help me pack, and make sure I don’t pack anything ridiculous.”
He smiles, “Alright.”
The guys all smile as I pull Griff past them and out of the room, heading to the stairs.
“Good luck, man!” Raiden calls after us.
“Rude!” I yell back, making them all laugh more.
It’s not until we’re on the landing at the top of the stairs that my brain catches up with me, and I ask, “Wait, do you still have things that you need to pack?”
He smiles and shakes his head, “Nope, I’m all done.”
“Oh, thank god, it’s a real concern I have with the whole packing thing,” I ramble as I continue to pull him down the hallway and through my bedroom door.
“I mean, I’m sure that normal people don’t worry about packing quite as much as I do, or maybe they do?
” I look at an amused-looking Griff as he props himself up on my bed and watches me. “Do you panic when you pack?”