by Iesha Bree
Soon, a thick gust of wind picked up within the area. Trees began to sway against one another, almost as if they were dancing together until their branches soon began to slap the ground. My eyes scoured the area in search of Noe as lightning lit up the sky. I knew it couldn’t be anyone else but her. My eyes finally landed on her as she spread her arms out wide.
“I’m going to give you one chance to let my mother go. That’s all I have in me is one chance. If I have to go through more than you just handing her over, you’re going to regret it.” She laughed maniacally.
Glancing over in the direction of where her eyes were trained, I noticed that the dude holding her mother was none other than Pateek. I knew he wasn’t shit, but I never knew he would go through all of this, knowing it just wasn’t right. I turned my attention from him, searching for my brothers to see all of the fighting had stopped, and everyone was now staring up at Noemy, mouths wide open and eyes stretched across their faces.
“You tell that bitch to calm the fuck down, or I will slit her mother’s throat! You know I will do it, Topez!” Pateek yelled.
“That’s not what you want to do, and I can promise you that,” I responded through clenched teeth.
I knocked down every man in my path as Pateek gripped his hand tighter over Asha’s mouth, bringing the knife against her jugular. Stopping in my tracks, I glanced over at Noemy, who hadn’t moved her eyes from the blade that could end her mother’s life.
Meow
Looking around the field, my eyes fell upon Noe’s two cats coming out of the brush. I hadn’t seen them since we were back at her house in the tunnel. Rubbing against my leg, they both walked over to the sides of Noemy.
“Are you kidding me, Topez? Cats? Wait until everyone hears this back home,” Pateek called out, causing all the other men to laugh.
Looking over at Noemy’s mother, she held a smirk. Returning my attention to the cats, they began to move forward, but they transitioned into full-size jaguars wearing those same amulets as they moved. The soft meows had turned into full snarls as Pateek’s eyes grew in size.
“What are you all waiting for? Attack!” Pateek called out.
Immediately, both jaguars shot into action, causing everyone to begin fighting once more. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Pateek slowly walk backward as a portal opened behind him, allowing more men to come rushing out and sending us into yet another battle. The number of guards to come out of the portal made it impossible to reach Asha. We continued to fight as beads of lightning licked Noemy’s fingertips, followed by a gut-wrenching scream. Quickly, I mustered up as much energy as I could to open yet another portal to the place I had been creating for her. Scanning through the field, I yelled out to my brothers.
“Get to the portal now!”
I made a beeline for Noemy, whose powers seemed to be spiraling out of control but keeping some of the guards at bay, while both of her cats fended off the other guards who had actually gotten close enough to touch her.
“Noe, I’m going to get your mother back, but you have to come with me! You will never find her this way. You have to come down now before it’s too late. I can’t hold this portal open much longer,” I groaned out as tiny beads of perspiration slid down at my temples. It seemed as if minutes had gone by before she was coming down. Gripping her hand, I quickly jumped through the portal behind my brothers as both of the cats looked back in our direction, jumping through the portal just in time before I closed it behind us. Quickly, her cats returned to their original sizes, making their way over to her.
Feet planted in place, hands on my knees, I took a deep breath in and out. Looking over at my brothers, Raz held his side as blood seeped between his fingers. Turning my head briefly, Noemy sat with her knees in the dirt as she continued to stare out of the portal. Rough sobs continued to rack her small frames as she gripped the grass in between her fingertips, yelling out for her mother as if they could hear her pleading and begging for them just to let her mother go. I knew she would need this moment. If I had to play that moment over, I would do the same thing. Her mother made me promise always to choose her as if that was an option for me. Noemy would always be my first choice when it came to her safety. The moment I turned to look over at my brothers once more, Raz’s knees buckled from underneath him as he fell to the floor. The thump from his body hitting the floor startled Noemy out of her shock. Moving as fast as I could, I got to him fast enough to catch his head before it hit the ground.
“Open your eyes, man! Don’t do this!” I yelled.
Loren stepped along the side of me to help me lift Raz from the ground. We rushed toward the farm-style house behind us, applying as much pressure as I could to the wound against his side. I was so damn caught up with what was happening with Noemy and her mother that I hadn’t given my brothers a second glance because I just knew they could handle it. Swinging my door open with the palm of my hand, we laid him across the dining room table. Rushing to the back, I scoured the cabinets in hopes of finding any old remedy to heal him. I still hadn’t had the time to stock the cabinets with everything I needed because I was so wrapped up in becoming head GPP for many people who could care less if I lived or died. Finally, I came across a health kit. Grabbing the bag, I raced back into the room, only to see Noemy had her hands laid out against the wound on Raz’s side. Her hands glowed a bright gold as tears fell from her eyes. It was a legend that Asha was one of the greatest healers our land had ever seen, but I didn’t know Noemy had the gift as well. Since we had been around her, all I had seen was her power to wield lightning. I placed the bag on Loren’s side as he held Raz’s head until we saw his eyes began to flutter. Miraculously, the edges of the large opening in Raz’s side began to sew together as if she had a needle and thread closing the gap. The light within her fingertips began to dim. Looking up at her, her face was now dripping with sweat, and her eyes seemed to be getting heavy. I rushed up behind her, and her hands dropped at her waist as she passed out, falling back into my arms.
“It’s a room down the hall to the left. Help Raz to it, and there should be another room right across from it. We’re going to have to stay here until I figure out what the hell to do,” I called out.
“Got it,” Loren responded.
Reaching down, I carried Noemy bridal style upstairs to the master bedroom, laying her across the cream sheets. Once I was satisfied with her position on the bed, I made my way into the adjoining bathroom to get a wet rag to place against her forehead. Taking the chair alongside the bed, I opened the window to the balcony. I stared out, waiting for her to awaken and to think about everything that had taken place. I had failed Noemy and her mother and my own family with my pursuit to be the best. If I hadn’t wanted to be the head of GPP so badly, my father would still be alive, I wouldn’t have put Noemy and her mother in danger, and Raz wouldn’t have been lying across the table close to losing his life as well. How the hell I thought I was worthy of being in charge of GPP was a mystery to me. Maybe they should have given that position to Pateek.
Dragging my hand down my face, I looked back in Noemy’s direction, and all I could see was the many sacrifices she had made since the moment she met me.
A chill ran up my spine as I peeled my eyes open, only to be in a room that looked like a dungeon within a castle. The clicking of high heels let me know I wasn’t alone; I tried to lift my arms only to feel resistance against my wrist. Groaning, I glanced down to see two gold bands with a flower symbol engraved on them wrapped tightly around my wrist. I closed my eyes tightly, trying to make the power I had gotten accustomed to appear once more, but it just wouldn’t come.
“It won’t work here, dear,” a voice called out.
I opened my eyes to look in the direction of the voice.
“Who are you, and why am I here?” I called out.
“So many questions. Well, first off it’s a pleasure to meet you. I hear you haven’t been making it easy at all for my guards. Who would have thought an ignorant, no talen
t girl like you would be such an issue? Amber told me you were a piece of work, but what did I expect from a bastard child?” She laughed.
“Who the hell are you, and what are you talking about?” I asked again.
Stepping out from the shadows was a woman with dark brown curls that cascaded down her back. Now that I thought of it, she and Amber were almost identical, so I knew she had to be her mother. But why the hell would Amber’s mother have a problem with me? Unless…
“Oh, I see your brain is working a thousand miles a minute. Have you caught on yet, dear?” she asked.
Slowly, she stalked around my chair before stopping alongside me.
“Well, let’s speed this up. I’ll let your whore of a mother explain everything to you,” she responded.
Clapping her hands, in walked Amber and Jaseon, gripping both of my mother’s arms. Now everything was beginning to make sense. No wonder the bitch had such a deep hatred for me; her mother couldn’t stand the ground I walked on. Jaseon held a sympathetic look that didn’t meet his eyes, accompanied by his signature smirk. Twisting and turning in my chair at my mother’s sight, the restraints on my hands still wouldn’t give way within the seat.
“How does it feel to finally be in your true place, you mutt ass hoe?” Amber called out, cocking her hand back, slapping my mother to the ground. They had her hands tied together as well. Turning to look back in my direction, she winked at me with a smile.
“You got that, but trust me when I get out of this chair, you’re going to regret it,” I responded, eyes never leaving hers.
“Is that a threat?” she asked, moving toward me.
“It’s a promise. Why don’t you let me out of this chair, and we can really see who would have the upper hand?” I responded.
Advancing in my direction, Jaseon grabbed her wrist, stopping her before she made it to me as he pointed to my fingertips, which seemed to have lightning licking the tips.
“She shouldn’t be able to do that,” Amber called out, looking in her mother’s direction.
“It’s because of your father, he is slowly dying, and she is beginning to receive the power he once held,” her mother called out.
Walking closer to my chair, I moved my wrists as the restraints seemed to become a little less tight.
“You have two options. Either you find your way here by meeting Pateek outside of your portal, or your mother dies in your place,” she called out.
Glancing over in my mother’s direction, she lifted her head, almost as if it was the heaviest thing.
“Noemy, no! Don’t listen to Serafina. Go on about your life. Topez will keep you safe. I have lived my life!” she yelled out.
“Shut her up!” Serafina yelled.
“You heard what I said. Make a choice.”
Before another word could be spoken, I was no longer in that dungeon, and the cold air that had inevitably wrapped me up was no longer present. Now, a warm feeling took its place as I appeared in a room filled with gold pillars and marble floors. No longer were my hands held down. They were free at my side as an older couple with skin the color of honey stepped into the room hand in hand with smiles that I would normally find contagious if I hadn’t just seen my mother in one of the worst situations. The closer they got, the more familiar they felt to me. This place wasn’t close to the last place I had been and didn’t make me feel like I had to be on guard. The couple continued to walk toward me until they were now standing directly in front of me. Now finally able to recognize exactly who they were from the photos that had adorned my mother’s walls for years, I knew without a shadow of a doubt that the couple who stood before me was none other than my grandparents.
“Grandma? Grandpa?” I asked.
Holding their arms out for me to walk into, their eyes immediately began to water as I stepped into their embrace. They quickly enfolded me within their arms. I hadn’t felt warmth like this since the day before all of this took place. I closed my eyes tightly, allowing myself to release the tears I had been holding back. Today had been more than I could mentally handle. I not only found out that I was not human, but now my mother was kidnapped. Not to mention, I had feelings for a man that I couldn’t understand or explain since I had never felt this way about any man before. Slowly, I could feel them stroking my back and my hair.
“We don’t have much time, Noemy,” my grandfather called out.
Stepping out of their embrace, I looked up into eyes that were identical to my mother’s.
“If you want to save your mother, you have to look within yourself. You have the power to get back home without a portal. Although you feel as if you’re unprepared for this moment, everything you need is inside of you. And don’t be so hard on Topez. This is all new to him as well, but I couldn’t have picked a young man more perfect for you,” he stated, stroking his finger against my hand.
“But—” I called out.
“You have to go now. I broke a few rules doing this, but I knew this moment would come. Just remember what I said. Trust yourself and your partner. Everything will work out,” he called out again.
Before he took my grandmother’s hand into his own, she blew me a kiss as they turned to walk back the way they came. No longer was I in the marble room, but now I found myself wrapped within silk buttercream sheets while the sun peeked into the room, causing me to scrunch up my eyes from the brightness. Peeling my eyes open slowly, Topez hopped from the chair, rushing to my side, eyes heavy, showing that he hadn’t gotten any sleep in that chair. Strolling over to my side, he leaned against the bed as his eyes seemed to be scanning my body for any injuries.
“How do you feel?” he asked, sitting on the edge of the bed and brushing my curls from the front of my face.
“Better. Is Raz okay?” I asked, remembering the fact that I had healed him yesterday.
“Yes. He is doing much better. Would you like to check on him?” he asked.
“In a minute. How are you doing? You don’t look like you got much sleep at all.”
“I didn’t. I had a lot on my mind. To be honest, I just knew you would wake up ready to kill me for allowing everything that took place yesterday to happen. I’m going to make this right, Noe.”
“It wasn’t just you who made a mistake yesterday. If I hadn’t walked off and went to the lake, we would have made it here safely. This is all happening because of me anyway.” I sat up in bed.
“What do you mean by that?” he asked before a knock sounded at the door.
“I’ll tell you about it later. Come in!” I yelled.
Loren and Raz walked inside, almost falling over one another, trying to get into the room. Nudging one another, they began to bicker as they made their way to the side of the bed I was still lying on.
“Move, Loren, damn,” Raz grumbled, stepping around Loren.
“I just wanted to thank you for what you did. You didn’t have to, especially with how much of an ass I have been to you since I’ve met you. I want you to know if you ever need anything, you can count me in,” he stated, rubbing the back of his neck.
“It’s okay. I’m sure if you could, you would do it for me as well, and I am going to hold you to that.”
“Just say the word.”
“I know who has my mother.” I spoke up.
All eyes in the room fell on me.
“So do we, but what do you mean? Did something else happen I’m unaware of?” Topez asked, stepping around Raz and Loren.
“It was like magic. Well, obviously it was magic. But while I was asleep, I found myself in this cold dungeon, strapped down to a chair when a woman named—”
“Serafina.” Topez interrupted.
“I should have known she would try and get in contact with you that way. Let me guess. She wants you to come in exchange for your mother?”
“Exactly, but I have to go. I can’t just let my mother die for me,” I responded.
“No,” he stated, stepping away from the bed.
My eyebrow lifted as I lo
oked over in his direction. Out the corner of my eye, Raz and Loren looked at one another before slowly making their way to the door.
“Well, bra, we’re going to let y’all get this argument in and make our way downstairs to find something to eat,” Raz pointed out with a chuckle.
“Good luck,” Loren commented, cracking a smile, which was something I had rarely seen him do since I met him.
Rushing out of the room, they closed the door behind them. Pulling the sheet off of my body, I hopped out of bed, almost collapsing to the ground. Topez rushed over to catch me before I fell. Snatching out of his grasp, I leaned against the bed to hold myself up.
“I can do it myself, and when were you put in charge to tell me what I can and cannot do?” I pointed at myself with a twist of my neck.
“The moment you could barely hold your own damn weight up! This is for your own good.”
“That’s my problem with this whole picture. What I do isn’t up to you! You’re just a stranger I met recently, and there is no way in hell I am allowing a man who hasn’t known me for more than forty-eight hours the power to tell me what to do!” I huffed out, poking my finger into the center of his chest.
His body was carved to perfection, causing my bud to thump between my thighs and my nipples to pebble against his chest. Huffing in and out, Topez reached out, wrapping his hand around my neck as he pulled me close against his chest, bringing my lips to his as they took mine with an urgent need. Involuntarily, my arms wrapped around his neck as our tongues danced against each other. Gripping the ends of my shirt, he pulled it over my head, throwing it to the side as his lips trailed kisses down the side of my neck, causing a moan to slip from my lips. Tension began to build up in my core to the point where my leg couldn’t help but wrap around his waist, pleading for him to release all this pressure that he had built up.
“Please,” I moaned.
He slipped his hand into the waistband of my panties, and I grinded my hips against his hand, begging for relief.
“What did you say about a man you only knew for forty-eight hours? Would you beg just any man for release? Would just any man have you on the verge of cumming just by being near you? Don’t play with me, Noe. I have been trying to restrain myself because I know this is sudden for you, but don’t test me. You will be staying in this damn house until I take care of this situation. Isn’t that right?” he whispered against my ear as his thick fingers stroked against my sensitive bud.
