LAILAH #2
I stood up and walked over to him and put my hands on his shoulders. Leaning down, I whispered into his ear, “Come on, why don’t we lay down for a little while. You have to be as tired as I am. We will figure this out, but trying to do it while we’re this exhausted won’t help anyone.”
He nodded, got up from his chair, and headed upstairs. I paused a moment and placed a hand on Micah’s shoulder, causing him to jump slightly and look up at me. His deep blue eyes were guarded and vulnerable at the same time. As if he was waiting for me to say something but hoped I didn’t.
“Thank you for trusting me, Micah,” I said and kissed him on the cheek, letting it linger before following Brayden.
I could hear Kayley snarl something behind me, but I didn’t care.
It was obvious that she had a thing for Micah, but I also knew that he saw her as a sister and nothing more.
Even though I was still coming to terms with bonding with all the guys, I knew they were mine.
Micah needed time to build a friendship and trust me before it could ever be more.
This trip was showing me there was so much more to learn about him as a person, and what I was seeing made me want to know more.
Checking my room first, I found Brayden sprawled out on his back across the bed, arm thrown over his eyes.
Shutting the door, I crawled into the bed next to him and rolled to my side so I could watch him.
I could feel the guilt of his supposed failure at keeping his family safe rolling off of him through our connection.
Typically, he kept his side of our connection shut down, so I didn’t read much from him, but right now, the door was tossed wide open.
“Brayden,” I said, my throat tight with emotion, unable to tell if it was his or mine. Tears pricked at my eyes, causing them to burn as I shut them, refusing to let the tears fall.
Brayden rolled over and buried his face in my stomach, clutching me close to him. I wrapped my arms around his head and just curled around him, lending him what little strength I had to offer.
We must have fallen asleep like that, because the next thing I knew, a phone was ringing and Brayden stirred to answer it.
“Hey, Dad,” Brayden said, sitting up to lean against the headboard. “Can you talk privately? It's Elementi-related.” There was a pause, and then Brayden’s eyes widened, and he gulped. “You’re already on your way home? Yeah, everyone is fine. Okay, we’ll talk more when you get here.”
“That didn’t sound good,” I murmured, yawning and rubbing my eyes.
“It seems that the Elementi HQ here in Austria reached out to my father when they detected the abnormal demon activity and the avalanche. Combined with my phone call and the notice that the other guys requested to use the safe house, Dad put two and two together. He doesn’t know the whole story yet, but that’s why he’s on his way home,” Brayden explained as he absently played with my hair, looking out the window.
“Lailah… I can’t be responsible for causing another family member pain. ”
My chest ached with our combined guilt, and I couldn’t look at him or I would start crying. “This time has nothing to do with you. I’m the reason they attacked us; it’s me they are after, and your family was just a casualty to them. If anyone is to blame for this, it’s me.”
Brayden stilled beside me, then he tried to get me to look at him, but I wouldn’t.
I just hid my face in the covers. I didn’t want to see the look of betrayal on his face for having me bring my trouble to his family.
A loud bang of a door slamming caused both of us to scramble off the bed, guessing it would be Oliver.
Brayden took my hand and led me to the second floor, into a study that was clearly his father’s.
Charts of plant growth and ground levels were covering both the desk and the large corkboard behind the desk.
Instead of books on shelves, there were various plants labeled with numbers.
It was the sunniest room in the house, with extra windows added for the plants.
Brayden pulled us down onto the leather loveseat, and Micah entered next and seated himself in the armchair near me, even moving it so it was closer.
Almost like he wanted to make sure I knew he was on my side when things went down.
Oliver’s thudding footsteps could be heard coming down the hall before the office door was tossed open, slamming against the wall.
The calm, kind man I'd met last night was nowhere to be seen.
His eyes flashed with anger, and a vein on his forehead pulsed as he tried to contain his fury.
Kicking the door closed, he tossed his briefcase on the desk, followed by his coat, before he started pacing, not even able to sit down.
“Who wants to explain to me what the hell happened today,” Oliver snarled.
“It was my fault—” Brayden started, but I slapped my hand over his mouth and stood.
Oliver stopped his pacing at the sudden actions, glaring between Brayden and me. “Well?”
“Mr. Dolton,” I started, and he narrowed his eyes at me. “Oliver, what happened today was no one’s fault but mine. I’m demon-tainted, and I believe that draws them to me. Because of who and what I am, it puts everyone around me in danger.”
The shock of understanding bloomed over Oliver’s face. “But you’re Synergy, how can you be tainted by a demon?”
“I’m still human. They were able to remove almost all of it, but there is still a small amount left. Until I’m bonded to all five of the elements, I won’t be free of it. As of right now, only Brayden and I are bonded.”
Oliver blew out a sigh as he finally sat in the armchair, his anger abating. “Why haven’t you just bonded with the others so this isn’t an issue anymore?” he asked, looking between Micah and me.
Stunned at his question, I didn’t know how to answer it right away and sank back onto the couch. Brayden grabbed my hand and gave me a soft smile before turning back to his dad.
“That’s not how it works, Dad. Once you make the choice to bond, there is nothing that can break it.
It’s a lifelong commitment that comes with a connection that is deeper than anything I’ve ever known before.
I can literally feel every emotion she feels, and it’s the same for her,” he said, trying to get his father to understand.
“Like in any relationship, you need to build trust before you even think about asking someone to marry you,” Micah said, shocking me.
“We’ve only known each other for a few months, and Lailah didn’t even know who she was or anything about this world we grew up in.
So on top of that, you want her to just jump into a relationship with five guys? ”
“No, of course not. I didn’t think that all the way through; please forgive me,” Oliver said, running his hands through his hair. “I was informed that the other three are on their way here. Do we need to worry about them attacking so soon after this event?”
“Honestly, I have no idea. It’s not normal for them to attack us the way they did. Who knows what their next move might be at this point,” Brayden said, watching his dad with a worried crease on his brow.
Oliver leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees, taking the three of us in. “We can’t let your mother know about this. If she finds out, I don’t know what she will do.”
“Madam, please, you are not well! Come back to your room, I’m sure your husband will fill you in on what's happened,” Ms. Tabitha’s voice called from the hallway.
The one thing we had all hoped wouldn’t happen did.
Adriana burst through the door, her silver hair wild like she had been pulling at it.
Her eyes were crazed, like an animal trapped in a cage trying to get out.
When they landed on me, she let out an ear shattering screech and lunged at me.
No one was able to move fast enough, and a resounding slap sounded as pain bloomed on my cheek.
“How dare you put my family in danger. Isn’t one son enough to lose over this meaningless war?
” Adriana fell to her knees in front of me, grabbing my shoulders.
“Why would you need to take all my children? What have I done in my life to be so punished?” Adriana demanded, tears rolling down her cheeks as she shook me.
“Mom,” Brayden yelled, standing and trying to get his mother to let me go. “This isn’t Lailah’s fault; you need to let her go.”
“Enough,” Oliver bellowed. “Unhand her, Adriana.”
Hearing her husband’s words, she melted to the ground, sobbing at my feet. Her whole body shook with the strength of her crying. “Please, please, keep them safe. I beg of you. Don’t take them from me. They are all I have left that is pure in the world.”
On instinct, I leaned over to comfort her, but that was the wrong move.
The moment I touched her, she screamed, throwing herself away from me and crawling towards Oliver.
“No. No, you can’t be here. You have to leave, I won’t have you in my house.
” She clung to her husband's legs and looked up at him, anger marring her face in a sudden transformation. “Oliver, make her leave. If you don’t, then I will have to take matters into my own hands.”
The pain in Oliver’s face as he looked at his wife told me all I needed to know. I stood, not wanting to force him into the choice. “It’s fine, I agree with her. It’s not safe for your family if I stay here. I’ll join the others where they are staying.”
“I’ll be going with her,” Brayden said, standing at my back.
Micah stood as well but didn’t say anything as we left the study to pack.