CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
– SEVRIN –
My heart lurched inside my chest the moment I saw the figure in a diving suit come up behind Fosca. The last human working with Cassius we failed to take out. A fucking human. He has a blade pressing against her neck, crimson trickling down her skin.
My feet automatically move when her gaze suddenly leaves mine. That’s when everything goes to shit. He pushes her forward. Cassius rushes for her, and by now I’m moving as fast as I can while I hear the rest follow behind me.
“Nooo,” Fosca groans.
The terror in her voice slices straight through me.
The fucker put his hands on her. Thunder cracks above me and I curl my fingers into my palms, drawing power from the water as a massive storm ignites.
I blast the fucker with everything I got and make sure lightning strikes him in the head when the water hits him full force.
From behind me follows a red ball of electricity shattering on impact. A blast of fire makes Cassius’s feet burn the flesh to the bone. He screeches when ropes are wrapped around his limbs as I rush around him, careful not to touch the fucker.
I don’t want him latching onto me to drain some of my power.
The centaurs are running in the other direction, pulling the ropes taut.
The sound of ripping flesh fills my ears as I lunge for the human in the diving gear.
He’s trying to swim away, but it’s useless.
The water is mine as I draw his body to me.
With one move I shove my fist straight through his chest, ripping out the fucker’s heart to throw it into the sea. I don’t even watch the body sink into the water because my main focus is Fosca.
Her body is carried by the waves, eyes closed and a burned imprint of her brother’s grip on her wrist. I scoop her out of the water and carry her to the beach. From the corner of my eye I watch Lucan swing his ax, cutting off Cassius’s head.
There was a time where I wanted that kill to be mine, and mine alone. Now? My full attention is on Fosca.
“Please,” I croak. “Open your eyes, come on.”
I reach a hand toward the sea, ordering the water to come.
Her neck is sliced open, but the injury isn’t life-threatening for an immortal.
Why the hell she’s not waking up is beyond me.
The water surrounds her throat, gliding over her skin and taking away the blood to pull the skin tight together, healing her in the process.
“Fuck,” Triton grits and falls to his knees beside me. “May I, Prez?”
He’s holding a hand out and I know what he wants to do.
I give him the slightest of nods. My concern might be split into two parts, but Fosca’s well-being is my first priority.
Not because some fucked-up nut would say “you can always make new children,” which is a load of bull because every child is precious no matter how small or how long a heart beats.
It’s because I strongly feel I’ll die right along with her if she’s not by my side. The bond between us, how we were thrown together, might have been undeniable. A force linking us together. Yet, spending time with her, getting to know who she is, that’s what made me fall for her.
“Dammit,” Triton snaps, drawing my attention.
“What?” I demand.
“Everything okay?” Lucan asks and I turn my head to see the president of the centaur shifter motorcycle club standing beside me.
“No,” Triton answers. “I can’t reach her. I think the shield I placed in her veins is keeping me out because Cassius must have done something to breach it. I don’t know, but I can’t help.”
Lucan glances at something over my shoulder and gives a slight nod. A woman with violet eyes and long black hair steps closer.
“I haven’t introduced my old lady ’cause I’m a protective fuck when it comes to her,” Lucan states.
The woman snorts, and mutters, “Overstatement of the century.”
She gives me a gentle look and steps closer to a still unconscienced Fosca. “Can I?”
I have no clue what kind of supernatural this woman is, but the warmth and kindness radiating from her make me nod.
Lucan’s voice is a mere whisper when he tells me, “Zipporah is a unicorn shifter. So, this little fact is going to leave your brain, and you’re not going to say shit about anything that’s about to happen.”
There is no time to respond when Zipporah waves her hand over the other, causing a rainbow-colored substance to spread over Fosca’s chest. It clings to her clothes and keeps rotating until it settles on her lower belly.
My breath gets caught in my throat when Fosca suddenly groans and flashes her eyes open.
Fosca jerks back and whimpers. Wildly whipping her head around, eyes filled with panic. I reach for her and when she locks her gaze on mine, she comes willingly.
Holding her tight I muse, “I got you, darlin’. I fucking got you.”
My voice carries a load of emotion while the words of how I really fucking feel about her are on the tip of my tongue. Knowing she’s alive makes me swallow them back. This is not the time to tell her how I realize I feel for her.
Though, it’s fucking important to tell her, “Don’t ever fucking make it seem like you’re going to leave me. Ever. Get me? You’re mine and I’m never letting you go.”
She grabs my denim vest and rubs her cheek against my bare chest. Her body shakes and I can scent the salt of her tears. I hold her tighter to my body and get to my feet.
“I need to get her back to the clubhouse,” I state and turn to Zipporah. “Thank you. If you ever need something, let me know.”
Zipporah leans her head against Lucan’s shoulder, who sneaks an arm around her waist. “Just take care of her, and your son.”
Son? I swallow hard and feel Fosca go rigid in my arms.
“Oops,” Zipporah mutters. “Sorry, I didn’t know you weren’t aware yet.”
Fosca lifts her head away from my chest. “We were aware I was carrying twins...but...”
Her voice wavers and she doesn’t finish her sentence.
My throat is still clogged with the fact that we didn’t lose the twins. Well, not completely, and my mind is still trying to make sense of everything.
“We tried to keep the pregnancy a secret due to a connecting legend,” Triton states. “I put a shield into her veins to protect them.”
Zipporah nods. “The Neptune twins. My mother once told me a story about fated mates in two families who were robbed from their immortal lives, making power jump to the last descendants. Those were considered the strongest, a perfect alignment to create the most powerful offspring. Twins merged into one.” She shoots Triton a wink.
“With a little magical help from a friend or two.”
Lucan tightens his arm around her. “That’s why you demanded to come with us.”
Zipporah shrugs. “I might have been curious about the sea, and the Kings of Anarchy. We have a few Kings of Anarchy chapters surrounding us who aren’t supernatural. The West Texas, East Texas, Central Texas. So, I wanted to...”
Lucan raises one of his eyebrows. “Ugh. Fine, I knew about the legend and needed to come to play my part, okay?”
The corner of his mouth twitches. “Always meddling for the greater good.”
She pats his chest affectionately. “Can’t have dark entities fuck up our world, not when I enjoy riding your stallion ass.”
“Didn’t need that visual in my head,” Triton mutters under his breath.
The soft giggle coming from the woman in my arms lifts the tightness in my chest. I brush a kiss on the top of her head and tighten my arms.
“Thanks again,” I rumble and carry Fosca in the direction of the SUV.
The supernatural beings all have regained their human forms, allowing me to drop the dome.
Protecting the human world from the supernatural is an unspoken rule.
It seems like rescuing other supernatural beings also comes without question.
Zipporah coming to help without even knowing us is proof of that.
Though, with her comment it made me wonder if we would have lost the battle if it wasn’t for the centaurs stepping in. Holton’s family kept our world turning, I’m fucking sure of it. Either way, I’m thankful to place my woman into the front seat of the SUV and reach for the seatbelt.
Taking a moment to place my hand over her lower belly, thankful is a mere word, and so is happiness. Yet, what I’m feeling now is an overwhelming feeling, and a mixture of protective love magnified by the knowledge that our future is wide open to damn well enjoy it to the fullest.
I lean in to brush a tender kiss against her lips as I mumble, “You good?”
She gives me a kiss in return. “We’re good.”
Yeah, we are.