The Magic Of Betrayal

by Britt Andrews

  "I found a conference room just down the hall here, we can sit and get more comfortable." Larson told her, avoiding answering her question about what the hell was going on.

  My eyes darted to Red's face and she was getting redder by the second. Probably should step in and calm her down a little before she goes back there and everything goes to shit. Because I had a feeling that's exactly where this was headed.

  "Follow me," Larson commanded, turning his back to us and disappearing down the hallway.

  "Red, come on. Just talk to him and then I'll take you home," I offered.

  She spun around, her eyes glassy with more tears, but she didn't meet my gaze.

  "I don't have the answers he wants," she stated softly, but her accusing eyes finally pinned me down. She knew me bringing her here wasn’t a coincidence. When I opened my mouth to respond, she slashed her hand through the air, silencing me. "Don't talk to me if you're just going to lie some more. I can take a lot, but fuck, Sloane. This really, really..." her voice cracked as she looked to the ceiling, trying to wrangle her emotions. "It hurts," she whispered and pushed past me to follow the direction Larson had gone.

  My throat tightened as I watched her get further and further away from me. Some part of me wanted to apologize, but she didn't know everything yet. She'd seen the pictures of her mother, and suspected that we'd been lying to her about why we were there, but I couldn't open my mouth and give away any other information. My fucking scary as sin boss was down the hall and whatever information came to light today would be at his discretion, not mine. I'd worked too damn hard the past ten years to have it go to shit in a matter of minutes over guilt of doing my job.

  I followed her, her vanilla scent surrounding me. Vanilla and salty sadness.

  "In here, if you please," Larson called out and Saige didn't look back before stepping into a room to the right.

  By the time I entered, she was sitting facing the door, eyes locked on her hands clasped in front of her. Larson caught my eye from the head of the table, Saige was seated beside him. He gave me a nod of approval and for the first time in my career, it didn't make me feel like hot shit. No, it made me feel like a piece of shit.

  "Sit, Sullivan, let's talk."

  I took my seat across from Saige, but footsteps behind me had fire bursting from my palms, ready to defend, but they dissipated almost as quickly when my magic processed that it was just Johnny. He was dressed in tactical attire, black pants with more pockets than I could count, and a skin tight black t-shirt that did nothing to hide the fact that he was a strong motherfucker. Johnny walked around the table and dropped into the chair beside Saige and I raised my eyebrow. Why are they boxing her in? She's not a threat, and there was no need to intimidate her.

  "Saige, thank you for meeting with me today. I haven't been to this part of the country before, have you lived in the area your whole life?" Larson asked like it wasn't weird at all.

  "Yep. Nearly twenty-eight years," Saige replied, still not looking up from her hands.

  "I see, and w—"

  A loud crash and shattering glass stopped Larson mid-sentence, Johnny and I hopped to our feet.

  "WHERE IS SHE, SLOANE!?" Cam roared, followed by an absolutely savage growl from Bagheera. Oh fuck, this is a shitshow.

  A familiar tingle started in my head and my mouth dropped as I felt Fischer, fucking Fischer, dipping into my psyche. What the fuck? He had never used his affinity on any of us except during training, but he was using it now, and I was pissed. How dare he?

  Heavy footsteps approached the conference room and a blast of lightning blew the double doors clear off their fucking hinges. Bagheera soared through the air and landed on the table, all of his razor sharp teeth on full display, hackles raised, and muscles ready to kill.

  "Are you all finished?" Larson inquired in a bored voice before gesturing to the empty seats, "You're all here, you might as well take a seat."

  Saige was frozen in her seat as she watched Fischer and Cam drop into seats at the table. Bagheera was still snarling though, despite Cam telling him to shift.

  "Kaito. Fucking shift and sit your ass down or you'll be removed from this room. You're pissing me off," Larson snapped, some of his calm resolve slipping.

  In the blink of an eye, a very naked Kai was towering above us and Fish tossed him a pair of basketball shorts as he hopped off the table. He nearly fell trying to get them on so that he could get to Saige.

  "Sprout, listen, let me explain. It's not as bad as it seems, I promise," he pleaded, reaching for her but she leaned away from his seeking touch.

  "Don't," she whispered and I heard Cam's knuckles crack from three seats away.

  "Please, Cub, just—"

  "Enough!" Larson boomed, slamming a fist on the table. "I've been patient. Now, everyone sit down and shut the fuck up, it's my turn to talk."

  Kai looked exasperated when Saige turned away from him and focused her attention on Larson, but he knew our boss meant business, so he sulked over to the seat beside Johnny and crumpled into it. I could feel Cam and Fischer's gazes burning holes through my head, but I couldn't bring myself to glare at them in return.

  "Now, Saige. I understand you own the magic shop in town, the one below the apartment the guys are staying at?" he asked and I wondered what the hell that had to do with anything.

  "Yeah. The Mystical Piglet. It's my store," she replied, her voice numb.

  "And do you have any family in the area?"

  "Yes," she snapped, her jaw clenching.

  "Who?" Larson pressed, not taking his eyes off her face.

  "My grandmother."

  "Is that it?"

  "That's all that's in the area, and she's the only one who matters to me," she fired back, lifting her chin slightly.

  "Larson, what is the meaning of this?" Cam asked, clearly unable to take not being the one in control any longer.

  "Cameron, I'm just asking Miss Wildes some questions. Do you have a problem with that?" he challenged and I held my breath.

  Cam leaned forward on his arms. "No, I don't have a problem with it, but as you can see, she's clearly upset and if we could perhaps speak with her before you ask any further questions, it might help."

  "I don't need to speak with him. Continue." Saige snapped, her eyes narrowed on Cam.

  "Little witch, we really need to talk. You don't understand..."

  "What exactly am I not understanding, Cam? You guys obviously aren't businessmen. You didn't come here to buy this building. You came here looking for somebody, and you used me to try to find her."

  "Sweetheart, that may be how it started, but we care for you," Fischer said, his fingers furiously tapping on the table.

  "No more talking from you three. Since you can't seem to follow orders, I will make it easy on you," Larson barked and he twisted his hand through the air, over his throat and when Cam slapped his palm on the table and I saw his mouth moving but no words coming out I leaned back in shock. All three of them were yelling now, but silently. Not a peep.

  "Sit. The Fuck. Down," Larson warned and Johnny backed up the command.

  When they were back in their chairs, Saige was staring at me from across the table.

  "I'm happy to answer your questions, Mr. Larson, but I want to ask Sloane something first. He does still have his voice?" Red questioned without looking away from my face and my stomach sank.

  "He does."

  "Did you know? It's obvious all three of them did, by the way they're acting, but I need to know if it was all of you who are responsible for ripping my heart out and tossing it on the floor like garbage." She leaned forward and I glanced to my brothers, Kai looked like he was two seconds away from murder, lightning was sparking off in random places on Cam's body, and when I got to Fischer, I sucked in a sharp breath. His eyes were pitch black.

  "Answer me. Now."

  Sighing, I turned to her and ran a hand through my hair.

  "Yes, it was all of us. I didn't discover Laura was actua
lly your mother until after your first date with Fischer, I saw a picture of you, Bette, and Laurie," I confessed, ignoring the pounding on the table from the guys. "They didn't know she was your mom, not until this moment."

  Nodding, she turned her attention back to Khol.

  "I'm looking for your mother. Do you know where she is?"

  "I have no idea. She called me earlier today, first time in months. We don't have a relationship. Never have and never will. Are we done here?" Saige pushed back from the table and Johnny's hand snapped out and grabbed the arm of her chair, halting her from moving.

  "Not quite, Goldie." He smirked and she startled, lifting her eyes to his face as all the color drained from her face.

  I watched in horror and fascination as Johnny's body began to shimmer and ripple, almost like water. A moment later, a new man was standing in his place. Red hair, short red beard, a million freckles.

  Saige sucked in a breath and almost toppled the chair backward,

  "B- Bram?"

  "Hi, Goldie." He smiled and reached for her hand, which was the wrong thing to do. All of us were on our feet, moving toward this fucker. Who the hell is he?

  "Who the fuck are you?" I shouted, "Don't fucking touch her!"

  Suddenly, the four of us were frozen in our tracks, unable to move. My heart was racing, something was not right.

  Larson stood and brushed his hands down the front of his suit. "Gentlemen. I appreciate your services on this assignment, but your mission is complete as far as you’re concerned. I have what I need now and you can thank Sullivan here for your extended paid time off. He generously negotiated that when he agreed to keep some information discreet.”

  Thunder shook the building.

  Johnny- Bram, whoever the fuck, pulled Saige up from her chair, and when she attempted to push him away, he pulled her snugly against his body and dropped his face to the crook of her neck taking a deep inhale of her scent.

  "What is happening right now?" Saige whimpered, tears falling freely from her beautiful eyes.

  "Since we're all here, there's some things you should know, gentlemen. My name is Kholvin L’argonne, Second Commander under Asrael Carlisle serving his royal highness, King Thane Carlisle. I was born and raised in Besmet before coming to this realm on a mission on behalf of King Thane." He looked at each of us and I opened my mouth to call him a son of a bitch, but no sound came out. I'd been put on mute just like everyone else.

  Khol walked over to where Saige was being held and he pushed her wild hair back out of her face gently.

  "Twenty eight years ago, Laura and I had been engaged to be married. I thought I was in love, I thought she was in love with me. I was wrong. So very wrong," he spat the words like he was purging his soul of poison that was tainting his veins.

  "No." Saige gasped at the same time the pieces all connected in my head.

  "You're my daughter, wild one. And tonight, we're going home."

  NO! I was screaming in my head, agony burning through my chest. If they took her to Besmet, I had no idea how we'd ever get her back.

  "No, I want to go back to my house. Gran, I need Gran, and Maven. Please don't do this," she choked.

  "It's for the best, Goldie," Bram cooed, kissing the top of her head and making me see fucking red.

  Tears fell like raindrops as Saige's sobs burst from her throat, her breaths coming so quick that she was near hyperventilation, but there wasn't anything we could do.

  "Bram, don't do this," she begged, hiccoughing. "Please."

  "You have a higher purpose, my girl. I'll let them speak, but they won't be able to move until you and Bram leave; he’ll take over the holding spell from here. I'll see you soon."

  Larson waved his hand and opened a portal right in the middle of the fucking conference room. Blues and purples swirled together, the inside of the circular shape moving rapidly, and when Khol walked into it, his body faded from our world, and a second after he was through, the portal vanished. Like it had never been there at all.

  Saige was crying softly, and I found I was able to move my head and nothing else.

  "Baby, look at me, please," Cam asked, his voice deeper and raspier than usual.

  I watched as she lifted her eyes to Cam's face, heartbroken, betrayed, hurt.

  "I know you're upset right now, and you have every right to be, but I don't want you to get hurt," Cam said.

  "You don't want me to get hurt? It's a little too fucking late for that now, isn't it, Cam? Is that even your name? How much bullshit have you guys fed me over the past month? For someone who doesn't want me to get hurt, you didn't have an issue when it was you doing it!" She squirmed in Bram's arms. "Fucking hell, Bram! Let me GO!"

  He dropped his hold on her and she stepped away from him a few feet, further from all of us.

  "Firefly." Fischer. My insides felt like they were rolling.

  "I thought I meant something to you, Fischer. How could you lie to me? And all because you wanted to find my mom?" Saige's voice increased in volume at the tail end of that sentence and her face flushed a deep red. "I trusted you guys, I let you into my home, my heart, my fucking bed! Fuck you!"

  Kai whined, high pitched and agonized, and her eyes snapped to him.

  "And you. Mates, huh? Is this what mates do to each other? Lie? Use each other? I would never do that to you. Any of you."

  "We didn't know she was your mom, I swear. Apparently, that was a secret Sloane kept to himself," Kai growled, his upper lip curling in disgust.

  "I was following orders, I had no idea this would happen," I replied in a level tone.

  "Shut the fuck up, Sloane. You've done more than enough damage here!" Cam bellowed and I flinched.

  "Enough chit chat. We're leaving now. Goldie, come here," Bram ordered and Saige looked to the hole in the wall where the doors used to be before the guys had shown up, like maybe she could get away.

  "You could try. You won't make it out of this room, but I do enjoy the thrill of the chase," Bram smiled devilishly.

  "You won't fucking touch her, you son of a bitch! Who the hell are you?" Kai yelled.

  "He's Bram. He's the demon who kept me safe the other times I went to Besmet," Saige answered Kai's question, and then before we had a second to process that information, she was sprinting around the desk.

  Bram threw his head back and laughed loudly with glee. Is this guy fucking deranged?

  "Run, baby!" Cam encouraged, but then Bram disappeared out of thin air and Saige screamed when he popped up right in front of her, the momentum carrying her right into his arms.

  All of us were yelling, begging, anything to make him get his hands off her, but he just hugged her tighter.

  "I'm sorry, but this is what you need, and they can’t help you. Things are going to change, and you need to learn." And in the same motion Larson had done, another portal opened in the air.

  "No, no, let me GO!" Saige screeched, her nails drawing blood up and down Bram's arms, but he wasn't even flinching. He had a smile on his face and hearts in his eyes.

  "Let her go!" Kai.

  "I'll fucking kill you." Cam.

  "I'm going to melt your brain from the inside and watch it pour out of your ears and nose." Fischer.

  Wait. What? My head snapped to look at him and holy shit, this was bad. His voice was cold, detached, dead.

  "Sorry guys." Bram waved and stepped back into the portal.

  "Let me go, Bram, please! Don’t do this to me!" Saige screamed, her body flickering away before our eyes.

  She'd just vanished from view when something came flying back out of the portal, landing on the ground by my feet. Then the portal was gone and our bodies all hit the floor, released from whatever hold Larson and then Bram had put on us.

  Groaning, I pushed myself up onto my knees and looked to see what had been cast out of the demon realm and I could've thrown up when I saw it. The tether. The pentagram necklace, broken into two pieces and completely black. My hand shook slightly as I picked it
up and straightened, turning to the guys. "Her neckla—"

  Crunch. Pain exploded through my face and I dropped the necklace so I could grab my nose which was no doubt broken. My eyes watered from the pain and blood soaked the front of my shirt and hands.

  "Shit," I grunted, and flicked my hands to fling the blood off.

  I deserved that.

  Looking up, I expected to see Cam standing there, but my black heart stopped beating when my blurry vision registered that it was Fischer towering over me with a mixture of fury and disgust. His breathing was ragged and his midnight black eyes penetrating, then I felt that tickle in my head.

  "Don't." The last thing I needed was him in my fucking head right now.

  He pushed further and I winced as I tried to fortify my mental shields against him, but he was insanely powerful in this state and he smashed them with hardly any effort. My memories were flying through my head so quickly, everything starting from the time we got the assignment from Larson.

  Khol offering me the assignment, me accepting. Operation oldies. My jealousy of Saige. My insecurities and vulnerability. My anger. The warehouse. My... feelings for Fischer. Me texting Khol, talking to him on the phone, me finding the picture in her house. The suspicion. The lies. Larson ordering me to get involved with her. Me negotiating a personal mission for Cam. The garden. The attraction that was real, that I'd tried to deny. Me pulling away from her. Everything. Fischer saw all of it. Then he recoiled from my psyche as though he'd been burned.

  "Fischer, I didn't mean to—"

  "Yes. Everything you've done since we got here was because you meant to," he sneered. "We" —he motioned between us— "are done."

  I opened my mouth to say something, anything, but all that came out was a choking sound that I didn't even think I was capable of. What does he mean we're done? Our friendship? Our fucking? Both?

  "Just listen... you don't understand, Fish, just sit down and we can talk." I shook my head, trying to process everything, but he just laughed. A deep, dark, malevolent laugh that sent a chill down my spine.

  "Now he wants to talk," he muttered, continuing to put distance between us. My chest was tight, I felt like I couldn't get a full breath, but I reached out to him regardless.