Chapter 37
Congratulations
“ T hank you for letting me know about this and inviting me,” Ray says as we sit in the bleachers, waiting for the ceremony to start.
“I can’t claim that this was a thoughtful gesture. I had need of your mate,” I chuckle as I look up at the clouds in the sky.
The ceremony is outdoors, and it looks like it could pour at any time. However, I did read Taylor’s thoughts. She was nervous to ask Ray if she would come. They haven’t gotten to spend much time together and Taylor really wanted all her sisters here. I couldn’t do anything about Billy or Lee, but I had to get Kendrick to bring his mate.
“I don’t believe that. You care about her. It’s not hard to see you want to see her happy. There’s no shame in that,” Ray says as she smiles up at me.
“Doesn’t hurt to have me here to hold off the storm,” Kendrick says and laughs.
“You feel me?” I join in on his laughter.
“Okay, I get it. You two dressed up for this, so you want to prove you’re still badasses,” Ray taunts.
I grin and reach to push back a lock of hair that has slipped from my topknot and begun to curl in my face. The smile on Taylor’s face when she saw me in the black slacks and black dress shirt beneath my cut was worth it. I wasn’t expecting my brother to dress the same, but it made my anger with him dial down just a bit.
I can feel from here how happy and excited my little mate is to have us here and to finally be done with her degree. I’m so proud of her. With all that’s been going on, she could have given up.
It’s not like she needs to work. She could have let her schooling go. However, that’s not my little one. She’s not a quitter.
We settle into our seats as the ceremony begins. This shit is boring as fuck, but for Taylor, I’d sit here for another two hours. I’m grateful when they start to line the graduates up and begin to call off their names. The moment they call Taylor Ann Ducato, I stand and roar with pride, nearly shaking everything around me.
Ray has to place a hand on my forearm to reel my ass in. Kendrick laughs at me as he claps for my mate. Taylor looks in our direction from the stage with a beaming smile on her face. The amount of joy humming through our bond link is enough to keep me whistling and clapping for her until she’s off the stage.
“I’m proud of you, baby. You look great up there,” I say through our link.
“Thank you. I’m so happy you guys are here. I can’t stop smiling,” she replies.
“I can’t wait to give you your graduation gift. Is this shit almost over?”
She snickers back at me. “Bray, my last name starts with D . This is only the beginning.”
“ Fuck me. I could pop us right out of here without anyone noticing.”
She laughs harder. I love that sound, whether in my head or out loud in person. I’ve come to love everything about that woman.
“ Bradan, we’ve found her,” Lola’s voice pops into my head.
“ Fuck, right now? You have to be fucking kidding me. Where?”
“Taylor’s old apartment. We don’t think she’s spotted us, but she’s with a djinn and one of the hunters. Should we engage?”
“No, I’m on my way.”
“Brother, I need to go. Keep Taylor safe for me. Get her back to the clubhouse,” I say to Kendrick through our link.
“I’ve got you covered. Let me know if you need backup.”
Before he can finish his words, I’m gone. I had plans for Taylor’s special day, but I’ll have to make it all up to her later. The fact that Seraphina is at Taylor’s old apartment has me fucking murderous.
I step into the apartment, and right away, I can feel the death that’s permeating the air. It’s fresh, but there is no longer life within this apartment. I bare my teeth.
“What the fuck have you done now?” I snarl as I move through the apartment in search of the life that has been taken.
I get to the room that already has a stench coming from it. Not from the dead body but from the neglect of its owner. Or should I say, former owner. Angel lies lifeless in the piles of dirty clothes on her floor. There’s a hole in her chest that has singe marks around it.
Her eyes are wide open as if she’s staring off into space, but they are empty. She’s gone. I shake my head and go to close her eyes before I make a few calls to our human connections.
I mind-link Lola in the process. “I am too late. She has killed one of the humans. I need you to stick around and make sure our brothers are the first on the scene to handle the body. ”
The last thing we want is for this body to turn up with the humans who don’t know how to cover this up. However, something catches my attention. The apartment isn’t empty as I’d thought.
I flash to the living room. Standing in the center of the room are Seraphina and the guy who was supposed to be Taylor’s date the night I rescued her from the diner. However, there’s something off about him.
There’s this distant look in his eyes. One of vacancy. However, I ignore him as Seraphina’s words catch my attention.
“I was truly hoping to run into your little bitch while here, but taking you from her will work just fine for me,” she snarls.
“I guess you did bump your fucking head pretty hard if you think you can take me,” I thunder back.
I didn’t think my anger could become any greater. However, as these two stand before me, I can feel the waves of heat rising off me. Once I see the embers floating around me, I know I’ve reached a point it will be hard to return from.
Fire rising from within, I get ready to unleash my wrath when Seraphina acts first. She wields her whip at me, the flame licking at my cheek and splitting the skin open.
As it begins to heal itself, I smile and laugh, catching the tail of the whip and wrapping it around my fist. I tug, yanking Seraphina forward. I get ready to set her on fire but freeze at the sound of keys in the lock, and Lola’s voice fills my head.
“The roommate, Tangy, is on her way in.”
Shit. I can’t allow another human to be involved. I already have a dead one on my hands. In the split second it takes for me to be distracted, Seraphina and the hunter vanish. I growl in frustration and do the same.
“Go to the apartment and act like you want to rent the room. See what you can sniff out. I’ve taken care of the body for now to buy you some time. She will not detect it,” I order Lola.
“I’ve got it.”
Taylor
“That is a beautiful necklace. The stone is so unique. I’ve never seen anything like it,” Ray says as she looks at the pendant around my neck.
I reach to finger the stone around my neck. It caught my attention this morning as I got ready for my graduation. It has changed, but I’m not sure why or how.
“It was a gift from the Sapphire Moon packs.”
I don’t want to tell her it’s a gift from the moon goddess who gave it to one of the wolves for me and come off sounding like a lunatic. There’s still so much we don’t know. Half of it I’m still struggling to believe in. I don’t know where she is with all of this yet.
Some days, I think someone is going to show up with a straitjacket for me. So I decide to keep this one to myself. Not to mention, I would swear the color has been draining from the stone. Where it had once been a sapphire blue, it now looks like an ombré-blue stone.
“Do you have any plans now that you’ve graduated?” Ray asks as we take a seat in the caves that The Book of Paths opened to us.
We decided to come down here together as Ray wanted to try to find more information, but neither of us was ready to part ways. I was disappointed to find out Bradan had to leave. However, for the time that he was present, I felt it.
I was so emotional as I walked across the stage. Hearing Bradan, Kendrick, and Ray cheer for me nearly made me burst into tears. I wasn’t alone.
I didn’t have to celebrate by myself for the first time in my life. I can’t wait to thank Bradan for making sure that didn’t happen this time. However, I’d rather be down here with Ray than in our room worrying about what’s going on wherever he is.
It’s driving me crazy not knowing if he has finally captured Seraphina or not. She’s become a damn thorn in our side. I want to pluck her out and flush her way.
“I didn’t mean to pry if … If you don’t want to share, it’s okay,” Ray murmurs, pulling me from my thoughts.
I twist my lips and look up at the ceiling. “No, no. That’s not it. I was thinking.
“I don’t know anymore. Bradan said I could work in the infirmary here. I’m thinking of taking him up on that, but what if I can be of more use in the human world?”
I pause to think some more. Then I feel myself get excited as a thought crosses my mind. I look at Ray and continue.
“I would love to work with babies. It would be less risky to heal them with magic. It’s not like they can tell anyone what I’ve done. Could you imagine all the little lives I could save?”
“That would be amazing.”
“It’s just a thought for now.”
“Well, I hope you’re there to help me with this little one,” she says with a smile as she places her palms over her belly.
“Of course I will be there. I’m so excited to meet my little niece or nephew.”
“Nephew,” she says with a huge smile.
“You know for sure?”
She nods enthusiastically. Her excitement is infectious. I can’t help smiling with her.
“They create sons. Daughters are a blessing from the gods. Well, their father, I believe.”
“Oh, I didn’t know that.”
“Do you want children? Do you think you and Bradan will have a few?”
My mind goes back to my talk with Bradan when we were at the holy land. He said we could have them whenever I wanted. The thought of carrying a demigod is both exciting and scary to me.
“Yes, we will. Now that I’m done with school, I think this mess with Seraphina is the only thing stopping us.”
“ Grr , I’m so tired of hearing her name. I can’t wait for them to find her and get rid of her.”
“You and me both.”
She waves a hand as she rolls her eyes. “Forget her. How many do you think you want to have?”
I sit and think for a moment. That’s a really good question. I might change my mind after having to push a demigod out for the first time.
“I want at least three or four. I missed out on having my sisters in my life. I want my children to have each other, so they never have to know how that feels. You know?”
“Absolutely. I totally get it. I spent so much time alone. I wouldn’t wish that on anyone.”
“Well, you have me now. When things settle, I hope to get to know you and the others more.”
“That would be amazing. I miss our chats online. There’s so much I want to talk to you all about,” she says.
“Yeah, we’ve all been so busy. It will be great to be able to breathe now that school is done. I think you’ve had the most transition to deal with out of us all. How is the little fairy? She’s such a cute baby.”
“Having Avionne has made me fall in love with being a mom. I can’t wait to hold my own in my arms.”
I pull a small frown. “You know, I think the fairies give better gifts than the wolves. I got a necklace. You were given a whole baby.”
Ray laughs and I join in. It feels good to get time with one of my sisters. She leans in and pulls me into a tight hug as if she can read my thoughts.
“I love you, Taylor. I’m so proud of you.”
“Thanks, Ray. That means so much to me. Thanks for being there today.”
“Anytime. I will always be here for you. Let me know if you ever need me,” she whispers, holding me tighter.
“The same. You can count on me the same.”