Chapter 14
Real Threat
I ’m still thinking through everything I’ve learned since returning and sitting down with Ray and Kendrick as Reilly takes off to get Ray and Taylor something to eat. How is it possible that my brother’s old lover has appeared inside Ray? What does it mean that Ray and Taylor are related?
I’m not one to believe in coincidences. Something greater is going on here and I’m sure the gods are involved somehow. They’ve been quiet for so long. Why are they stirring the pot now? I’m pulled from my thoughts as Taylor asks about her and Ray’s genealogy.
“Oh, but I thought we weren’t human. Wait, what are we anyway?” Taylor frowns.
This isn’t the first time she’s asked this since last night. I wish I had more to share with her. I plan to look through the registry once I get to my office. I want to look at all the species that might align with my suspicions.
“I still don’t know,” Kendrick says. “You have human blood, but you’re something else entirely.”
Well, isn’t he a wealth of information. I think we all figured that shit out. I roll my eyes at my brother and focus my attention back on my mate. Back at that apartment, she was going to unleash a fire attack.
All fire folks have moved to the top of my list. While fire wielding can be learned or taught, the natural ability is something limited species are born with. What I felt Taylor was about to unleash was not a learned talent.
That was as natural as the first time I set fire to our playroom because Ardan took my toy. I didn’t have to think about it. Just as Ardan didn’t have to think about extinguishing the chaos I had created.
“They feel like our kind, but a crossbreed somehow,” I muse aloud, repeating my thoughts from the first time I spoke to Ray in the corridor outside of Kendrick’s room.
“I was thinking the same thing,” Kendrick murmurs as if in thought.
“Have you picked up on the siren vibe?” Reilly says as he places a tray of food down on the table.
I snap my eyes to him. While fucking in Taylor’s room in that apartment, the thought crossed my mind. It’s in the way she sang my name while I nailed her to the wall.
I thought maybe the barrier I surrounded us with to keep the noise in the room had somehow caused the effect. I had been too deep in pleasure to analyze things any further. Now, as I think of it, Reilly has a point.
“Now that you mention it. Yes,” Kendrick says, speaking my thoughts aloud.
“Sirens, what are those? Do you think that’s what I am?” Taylor says through our link.
“It’s moving to the top of my list. I’m going to do all I can to make a connection and figure it out,” I reply back just between us.
I look up as I feel my brother’s presence. Ardan is walking toward us with a gorgeous woman on his arm. I’ve never seen her before, but she resembles both Taylor and Ray.
From the tight hold he has on her waist, I have no doubt this is his mate. This one, like Ray, is taller than my mate. Her hair is pulled up in a curly ponytail, revealing her pretty features. She’s also a shade or two darker than her sisters.
“Damn, I expected more of you, brother,” I taunt with a grin on my lips.
“I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t have something important to share,” Ardan says and glares at me.
“Billy?” Ray says as she stands holding her protruding belly.
I shake my head. I’m still trying to wrap my mind around that one. Kendrick wasn’t the same after that day in the temple. Not just the color of his hair. He longed for that woman.
If I weren’t so angry at him now, I would care to know how this is making him feel. Does that betrayal still run deep for him? How does it feel to know he has a son on the way from a time so distant and long ago?
“Hi, Ray,” Ardan’s mate sings as Ray pulls her into a tight hug.
“Sit, brother. What is so important?” Kendrick says.
Ardan takes a seat and pulls Billy to sit on his lap. He looks to Reilly as he speaks. Reilly has his eyes trained on his hands that are resting on the table in front of him. I get the sense our brother still believes he’s not going to find his mate—that this fourth sister will not be his.
I still have hope for him. Like I said, there are no coincidences, especially not in our world. This all fits together somehow. That I am sure of.
“Billy has lived next door to me for the last year. I never felt the bond until I was drawn to her this morning,” Ardan starts.
“I have been going to the diner where Taylor goes to study for a few months now. It has been the same,” I say.
“Yes, I remember you saying that. The strange thing is, I was in Billy’s apartment last night. I offered to help her with the water pressure.
“I used magic to get it done faster. Now, I’m not sure if I’m the reason they showed up at her place or not. They were trying to take her,” he continues.
“But what makes you think your use of power led them to her?” I ask.
“Remnants of my essence were left behind. When they attacked her and she couldn’t get to her firearm, she drew upon those remnants to protect herself.”
“Protect herself how?” Kendrick asks.
“She formed a shield and axe. If I didn’t feel the fever, I would have known she was my mate from the way she drew from such a small trace of my life force.
“Are you sure it wasn’t her own magic?” Kendrick asks through our link.
“No. It was from me. I felt the pull she had on my magic. That’s what drew me to her, not her fear but her hold on my essence. I didn’t feel her own magic awakening until after we sealed the bond.”
“What of the hunters?” Reilly asks aloud.
“She banished them all,” Ardan replies.
“How many were there?” I ask.
“Three,” Billy speaks up.
“They may have sensed you had been there, but I get the feeling something else is leading them to our mates. What we felt the night Kendrick found Ray has something to do with all of this,” I say.
“He’s right. I believe the same veil that was lifted for us has been lifted for these hunters. None of you have ever felt your own magic before this?” Reilly says.
“I’ve sensed something different about myself a time or two, but I never thought it had anything to do with magic,” Ray says.
“I believe that was by design. Candido kept you out of our reach, but you’ve been around the supernatural,” Kendrick says to Ray.
“I guess,” Ray murmurs.
“Well, that asshole has been on my radar since I joined the force. He’s the reason I became a cop in the first place.”
“Which brings me to my other point,” Ardan interjects. “Billy has been investigating the brotherhood. Somehow, she made the connection between us and Candido.”
“How is that even possible?” I snarl.
“All a part of the servant bond being broken, I believe,” Ardan says.
“How long have you been investigating the brotherhood?” I bite out.
“I’ve been investigating Candido for the last two years. I just got a break and started to look into you guys about a month ago. At least, that’s when I connected the dots as to who Ardan was.
“I haven’t found anything solid on you guys. But I have a ton on Candido. Never anything that could stick as far as the club goes.”
“Definitely a result of the servant bond breaking,” Reilly says.
“Listen, I’m not after you guys. Candido is the only one I’m looking for. Now that I know the truth about the club, I’ll back off and start an investigation in another direction,” Billy says and looks at Ardan with affection in her eyes.
“All that said, we need to do some damage control. You feel me?” I bite out.
It’s never a good thing when humans turn their attention in our direction. Normally, we have brothers in our ranks who can handle things when problems arise. However, this is feeling quite personal, and I’d like to be the one to handle it.
“Is there anything I can do to help?” Taylor asks.
“For now, I’d like to get you up to speed on how to control your powers. You leave the rest of this to us,” I say.
“I agree,” Kendrick says.
“Some basic training wouldn’t be bad for anyone,” Reilly says. “Their magic feels so close to ours, I feel like we can keep this in-house for now.”
“This is true. I feel like that’s our safest bet at the moment.”
“Also … I don’t think anyone should remove their iron for now. Your mates are still too vulnerable to handle your powers and it will seek them out once released. That could have catastrophic results.”
“Reilly is right,” Ardan says. “After what I saw. I believe keeping our iron in is the best course of action.”
“So, what’s our next move? I’d like to find whoever sent those assholes to tear up my place,” Billy says.
“I have a feeling those assholes are going to come to us. Give it some time; they’ll reveal themselves. For now, we need to find Charlie,” I say.
“Who’s Charlie?” Billy asks as she wrinkles her nose.
“That’s what we want to know.”
Taylor
With all that’s going on, I still can’t stop smiling. I’ve met all my sisters and I’m now living under the same roof as two of them. I wonder if Lee is this Charlie?
That would mean that all four of us are mated to all four of the brothers. I feel bad for Reilly. I wish I had more to tell him about Lee.
Billy plans to help search for her as a detective. That should help us a lot. At least, I hope it will.
“Your concern for my brother is appreciated, but there’s nothing we can do tonight. Let’s get some rest. You have work tomorrow, right?”
“Yeah, I do. Parking is hard to find. I don’t usually drive to work on days I have classes. Can you tell me where we are so I can map out my transit and what time I need to leave?”
Bradan snorts. “I’m not letting you get on the subway without me, baby girl.”
I laugh. I couldn’t imagine him on the train intimidating all the other passengers. The cut and biker gear alone is enough to have women clenching their purses. Add to that his size.
“What’s so funny?”
“The image of you getting on the subway with me.”
“We’ll take my bike. What time do you report for your shift?”
“Work starts at nine a.m.”
He looks down at his watch. I notice my things have been unpacked in his room. Moving toward the chest of drawers, I then find a pair of my shorts and a tank top to sleep in.
“Want to hop in the shower with me?” I ask shyly.
“If that’s what you want,” he says with a smile.
“No offense, but neither of us has bathed all day. I’d say we both need some time under the spray,” I say with a hint of sarcasm.
“I’ve bathed you before dressing you each time today and I’ve done the same for myself. However, if you must have your human rituals for your eyes to tell you what’s happened and what hasn’t, let’s go,” he says right before his clothes vanish.
“Oh,” I breathe, not knowing what else to say.
Bradan laughs as he stalks toward me. This magic stuff is kind of neat. I can’t wait to learn what else I’m capable of.
I yawn and lean into him as he stops in front of me. His warmth lulls me closer to sleep. I wrap one arm around him, wanting to keep him close.
“Maybe you should allow me to take care of your hygienic needs once again, little one.”
I love the concern in his voice for me. Bradan has done nothing but take care of me since he came to rescue me in that parking lot. This is the safest I’ve felt in all my life.
“Mm, that sounds good. I’ll soak in the tub tomorrow.”