Chapter Eight
Jax
"What's that?" Maverick asks.
"A book." I reply grinning.
"Well no shit Sherlock, I can see it's a book.” He growls back.
"Guys stop," Levi admonishes us. "So, I have been looking for something to help explain our reactions to Sage, ever since we first met her. I searched multiple databases that are only available to us at our clearance level and came up with absolutely fuck all. I then remembered that before we came on this mission Mr. S gave me this book.” He holds up the large tome, "I had completely forgotten about it.
He told me that I'd need it.” He frowns, "It was very odd now I think about it.
He wouldn't give me anymore information just told me that I'd know when I needed it.
We were just about to board the jet, so I just shrugged it off and forgot all about it. "
"Do you think he knew we'd find her?" Kai asks.
"It would seem like it but how?" Levi asks.
It seems all we have are questions and no answers.
"What does the book say?" Hunter asks gruffly.
"Not as much as I'd like and I haven’t got through all the information yet.
" Levi sighs frustrated, "but it does say that a thousand or so years ago, Soulmates existed.
They weren't common and were a part of the ruling council.
There was a war between the Soulmates and the regular people, they claimed that the Soulmates were too powerful and posed a threat.
Although it doesn't explain exactly how they were too powerful.
Most of the Soulmates were eradicated with the help of the mages, shifters and vampires.
The rest were thought to have gone into hiding.
No Soulmates have been seen or found in the future generations since the war. "
I just stare at him, did he really say mages, shifters and vampires, those exist? And Soulmates? What exactly were they?
"Vampires?" Kai asks.
"Yes, according to this book, they were real and might still be." Levi answers.
"That's fucking insane!" Hunter exclaims.
"You can say that again brother." Maverick agrees clapping him on the back.
"That means that shifters and mages could still be real too?" I ask.
"Yes, now listen to this, you're all focusing on the wrong part of the book," he looks at us sternly.
"One of the ways you knew you had found your Soulmate was an instant connection, they felt familiar to you like you had known them forever even though you might have met them only an hour before.
The other way was that the Soulmates would feel sparks, like electricity. "
We all sit in shocked silence whilst his words soak in.
"How the fuck is that possible though?" Hunter exclaims, "we all felt the sparks."
"Does that mean we are ALL her Soulmates?" Kai asks.
"According to this book, yes." Levi answers, "It also says that the Soulmate that is the centrum, regardless of whether they are male or female, gets an Imprint Tattoo just before they meet their Soulmate. The connected Soulmate won't get theirs until the bonding is complete."
"So, Sage could already have our Imprint Tattoo?" Hunter asks.
Before Levi can answer Maverick cuts in.
"Hang on the book keeps saying mate not mates. So, it's not usual for someone to have more than one?"
"I honestly don't know. The only other thing in the book that is written on the subject of Soulmates is that when the bond starts to strengthen it will become harder to stay away from each other. So much so that it becomes extremely uncomfortable. Once bonded fully the effect will calm down considerably. Also, as the bond strengthens the physical need for each other increases.” He glances over at Kai whose shocked expression would be comical if it wasn't for the seriousness of the situation, "this would explain your reaction to her earlier. "
I’m shocked when Kai's cheeks tint red and I can’t help but start chuckling.
"Hey!" Kai says pointing at me, "like you would have been able to hold it together any better than I did. You didn't feel the sparks. Holy fuck man.” He lets out a heavy sigh and runs his hand through his hair.
"You’re right brother, from what I saw and her reaction to you too, I would have fared no better." I tell him honestly.
Levi glares at us for interrupting before he gets us back on track.
"Hunter, if this book is right then Sage will have our Imprint Tattoo. I have a feeling Mr. S knows more about this, but we need to talk to Sage first before involving him. I want us all to be on the same page. There's still a chance this is wrong."
I raise my eyebrow sceptically at him. He knows full well that this is the real deal. I can feel it in my soul and a quick look around at my brothers tells me they feel the same.
"Are the sparks stronger with me because of how she helped me earlier?" Kai questions suddenly.
"That would be my top guess." Levi states before continuing.
"We all talked years ago, when we first became a team, then family.
We all agreed that none of us wanted a woman to come between us and that the potential of our individual partners to fall out with each other was too high to risk.
We decided that if we found the right woman that we would share.
" Levi looks around at us judging our reactions, "Now that it is a very real possibility, do you still want to do it this way? "
He's right, we did decide that long ago. Now that it's an option my views haven't changed. I don't want to lose Sage she means too much to me already. I also don't want to lose my brothers.
"I still agree to it. I understand that there are going to be difficulties that we will have to overcome but I know as a family we can overcome any obstacles.
I don't feel jealous when any of you kiss her or touch her.
I don't know if that will change as the relationship progresses but right now it doesn't bother me. " I finish.
"I agree as well and feel the same as Jax it doesn't bother me." Kai tells us a grin on his face.
"I'm in. And it doesn't bother me either." Maverick says.
"I want to try, and I agree with the others for some reason it doesn't affect me.” Hunter states.
"I agree with all of you," Levi adds "so it's settled then.” He looks at us all and we nod.
"Now how do we bring this up to Sage?" I ask.
"Well we can't just walk up to her and ask if she has had a new Imprint Tattoo show up, can we? They're a private thing or they should be. Besides only a small amount of the population even get Imprint Tattoo’s and most of the people that do get them don’t usually get one until after they turn sixteen and even then it's rare to get one before they're eighteen.
It's not like with us, we each got one a lot earlier than we should've.
If she hasn't had one before then the chances of her believing us, when we say it's not an Imprint Tattoo, but a Soulmate Mark are pretty fucking slim. " Kai points out.
"He makes a very good point." Maverick says. “Hang on, she mentioned something about an Imprint Tattoo when she was telling us about that bitch mother of hers, but it sounded like she got it when she was a lot younger.”
"That’s true but we still can’t just up and ask her." Levi sighs heavily. "How about we forget about this for now. She needs to trust us completely and we need to get to know her better. Let's not forget we still have a job to do."
"Yeah I can agree to that." I agree and one by one all of my brothers do too. "Unless something happens that means we have to talk to her sooner, we will temporarily forget about the Soulmate stuff and focus on getting to know her instead." Levi adds.
Again, we all nod our agreement.
"Have we got any leads on the guns case Mav?" Hunter asks, effectively changing the subject.
"Not much, no. We are still looking into the back grounds of the students and faculty." Maverick tells us looking towards Levi who is our tech guy and unofficial leader.
"So far there are a couple of people who stand out."
He pulls out two folders from the bag by his chair and passes them to Hunter to read and then pass on.
“The first is a faculty member called Mr. Teller he teaches our chemistry class, there's some things that don't add up in his bank statements. He was heavily in debt until three months ago when untraceable amounts of money started to appear in his account like clockwork each month.” He glances around at us then resumes, "the second is, surprisingly, that blond girl that knocked Sage down.” Several of my brothers growl, me included.
"I know. The students have been gossiping about how she wants to be Brent's next girl. As you all know Brent is the mob boss’s son and the one we are after.
I'm unsure how much she knows about his profession, but we need to keep an eye on the situation.
Also, if possible, find out who the ex is. She may be willing to help."
"So, it's just recon for the time being?" Kai asks.
"Yes, but stay alert. This is still dangerous and we want to stop him as quickly, and quietly as possible."
"Yes, boss." we agree.
Sage
We've run out of booze and I have no money until the beginning of next week. Considering it's Friday that spells a lot of pain for me unless I can get mother some alcohol. I stretch from side to side testing my ribs. Surprisingly, they seem to be ok, there's only a slight twinge of pain.
They've healed abnormally fast. I rub at the spot on my chest over my heart and the ache that I felt last night with Kai hasn't lessened, in fact it's gradually getting stronger again. I have no idea what it means, it's another strange development and they seem to be occurring more regularly.