“You are either stupid or suicidal for coming back here, Beta.” Unsurprisingly, Jax was still bitter and angry about Tyler’s betrayal. Tyler winced at Jax’s words.
“I have not come here to fight or to die, Alpha. I have come to return something that belongs to you, and then I will leave.”
“Why would you come here, knowing that we could kill you?” His behavior seemed inexplicable.
“Because, your majesty, not everything is as it seems. I mean you all no harm—I just want to do the right thing.” The four vampire guards stepped forward to hand over the huge, rolled-up carpet, and four of Jax’s pack members stepped forward and collected it for us. Tyler turned to leave when Jax stopped him with his words.
“Aurora’s my mate.” Tyler didn’t turn or tense.
“I know, Jax. I’ve always known. So has she. You will make her strong, and she will make you stronger. Treat her well and love her like she should have always been loved. Trust in her and prove to her that you are worthy of her, and I promise you she will give it up to stand by your side.” Jax stood there gaping at Tyler’s retreating form, clearly lost for words. I think we all were. Aurora has clearly known she was Jax’s mate longer than she let me believe.
∞∞∞
After Jax finally gathered himself, we made our way to the compound and to one of the spare rooms. Once inside, we made our way over to the bed, the carpet was unrolled and the contents were revealed. I owed Tyler for the return of my brother’s body. Looking at Melakai, lifeless, covered in bruises and cuts, nearly brought me to my knees. His fingers were broken and nails were torn off, and his ankle was snapped and laying at an odd angle.
“I will fucking kill them for what they have done.” I could feel the anger radiating off Dom, the need for vengeance thick in the air.
“None of them will make it out of this unscathed, brother—I vow that to you.” Jax was right. Anyone who had a hand in doing this to our brother would not live.
“We will avenge our brother.” We would make every one of them pay. Just then the bedroom door burst open and all three of us spun around, shielding the intruder from being able to see Melakai.
“You have five seconds to move, all of you, or I will make you.” How the hell did Ryan know we were here, and how did she know we had Kai?
“How did you know he was here, love?” I’m glad Dom asked the obvious question, as I was still too shocked to form words.
“I told you all before, I have a secret power.” Her cousins, my sister, and Aurora then filed into the room as well. My gaze shot to my sister, who just nodded, telling me to give Ryan what she wants. Reluctantly, all three of us stepped aside to let Ryan see Kai.
There was no look of shock, or any emotion at all, which was worrying, to say the least. She stepped forward and made her way around to the side of the bed and perched on the edge, gently placing her hand on top of Kai’s battered one and using her other hand to caress his cheek. Due to my little bond with her, I could feel her sorrow and heartbreak.
“I’m glad you got here safe. Now I think it is time for me to tell the others the truth.” Jax, Dom, and I looked to the others, and they seemed to be clued in on what was about to happen, which set me on edge. Chase, the smug prick, smirked at me. I tore my gaze from him and focused on Ryan. I needed answers, and she was about to give them to me, whether or not she liked it.
“What is the truth, love? What are you hiding from us?” From me. She took a few calming breaths before she answered.
“I will tell you everything, Nico.”
Chapter 9
Ryan
After I left the mess hall, I made it back to my room in record time. I quickly made my way over the bed and grabbed the small vial Alex had given me. Without hesitation, I drank it and laid down. A short while later I was being shaken awake. I blinked a few times, trying to get my eyes to focus, and when they did, I saw both my cousins standing by the edge of the bed.
“Did you do it? Is it done?”
“Yes, Alex, he’s coming to us now.”
“Okay, we need to be ready. Are you ready to tell the others the truth?”
“Yeah…I think so, Chase. I understand a lot more now, and when he is woken he can help me understand more. He is a key piece in this war; I needed the others to think I was scared and uncertain about marrying Nico blindly or else they would have asked too many questions. Nico is very bright, and he would have caught on to my lie, or Jax would scent the lie or some shit. I know you don’t like it, Chase, but I do still have to go through with this wedding.”
Chase didn’t comment, just nodded his head. He didn’t like Nico and that was okay, but I did need him to be cooperative while we fought this war.
A few minutes later there was a knock at the door, and before any of them could answer it, the door opened and in walked Sophia and Aurora. These belonged on a runway, they both had bodies to die for. To say I was shocked that they were in my room, would be an understatement.
“Yes I know, I’m the last person you thought would come to see you. Just know that Aurora and I both know what is about to happen. She has seen it and I was the one who cast the spell, I didn’t know if it would work but clearly it has.”
“Wait, you knew this whole time and said nothing?” I could hear the shock in my own voice.
“Yes, it wasn’t my story to tell. I owe Melakai my life; he saved me from the torture I endured every day, and he knew setting me free would cost him his life. I did the only thing I could.” Wow, color me purple and call me Barney! Sophia has more fucking layers than an onion.
∞∞∞
I could feel him. I knew he was here. I told the others it was time. None of us said a word on the walk to the room where the guys had brought Kai. Aurora led us there, knowing which room Jax would use to hold the body of his fallen brother.
I slammed the door open—nothing like a grand entrance—and strutted into the room. All three of them were staring, their faces slack with shock. I felt pretty fucking cool to be the one surprising them for a change.
“You have five seconds to move, all of you, or I will make you.” My words were harsher than I intended them to be, but time was of the essence.
“How did you know he was here, love?”
“I told you all before, I have a secret power.” It was the only answer I could give Dom at the moment. I moved past them and made my way over to the side of the bed. I ignored all of Kai’s injuries and placed my hand atop his cold one, my other hand caressing his hollow cheek. He was so cold and stiff; I hope I wasn’t too late. “I’m glad you got here safe. Now I think it is time for me to tell the others the truth.”
“What is the truth, love? What are you hiding from us?” What Nico really meant was what am I hiding from him.
“I will tell you everything, Nico—after.” I knew the guys deserved an explanation but right now, I didn’t have the time.
“Later, brother. Alex, you and Chase get her what she needs. Aurora, draw the blinds and close the door.” A moment later Sophia was sitting on Kai’s other side, holding his other hand. “Thank you” was all she whispered. A little while later the door opened, and Alex and Chase came in with the dagger and spell. They made their way toward me when Nico blocked their path.
“You are not going near her with that blade.”
“If you don’t step aside, Tink, I won’t help her save the dirty leech.” I flinched at Chase’s words. Kai wasn’t a dirty leech; he was a good man. Kai may have led me astray for years, but his reasons were noble, in a way. Dom pulled Nico out of the way, and the boys quickly made their way to my side. I grabbed the dagger and the spell paper from them. I have never in my life cast a spell, but the boys assured me I could do this. I had to do this. He told me to trust him, and I did. We needed Kai alive so he could fulfill his role in our plan. I hope Kai didn’t hate me when he learned I had double- crossed him. I knew it was wrong of me to do this, but I had no other choice. I just hoped Kai saw it that way, as
well.
“Wait, what are you doing, Ryan?” Blowing out a breath, I turned to face Jax and answered his question.
“I’m going to try and bring him back.” I heard Jax, Dom and Nico all gasp; I know this must be hard for them to believe.
“You can not bring back the dead, babe. He won’t be the same, trust me.” I know Dom is scared, but he didn’t understand.
“He isn’t dead, per se.” Dom snapped his head toward Sophia.
“What the fuck are you talking about, little dove?”
“I cast a spell. I didn’t know if it would work, but apparently it did. That’s why Ryan is trying to revive him with her blood and the spell she has in her hand.” I mouthed a silent thank you to Sophia for explaining what I couldn’t; the lump in my throat was preventing me from saying anything at the moment.
I gripped the dagger in my left hand and pressed the blade to my right hand, slicing my palm. I winced at the pain. I have never cut myself on purpose before, so I was shocked at the pain. I placed my right hand across Kai’s lips, letting my blood drip into his mouth, and began to chant the words written on the paper.
“Revivera ma soulty inuguta, revivera ga parsona. Revivera ma soulty inuguta, revivera ga parsona. Revivera ma soulty inuguta, revivera ga parsona.” I kept chanting, over and over. Minutes went by that felt like hours. When Alex placed his hand on my shoulder, I snapped my lips together and turned to face him. His beautiful baby blues held so much pity in them, and my eyes began to fill with tears. I could feel the tension in the room rising. The spell and my blood didn’t work! I thought it would work, and banked on it working so Kai would be with us again. I failed. I failed Kai, and I failed everyone. I removed my palm from Kai’s mouth and placed it on his hand, not caring that my blood was still dripping everywhere. I looked at Kai’s beautiful, ashen face and whispered a final goodbye. I stood, ready to leave, when my right hand was gripped. I spun around and saw Kai’s hand covering mine. No one spoke or even moved—we just stood there and watched for a moment. Kai’s eyes started to blink ever so slowly. I held my breath, praying he would come back to us.
“Holy fuck, he’s…he…I think he’s waking up.” I assume it was Dom who spoke. I couldn’t tear my eyes from Kai for even a second to check. I didn’t want to miss seeing him come back to us. After a few minutes, finally Kai opened his eyes, and I had never been happier to see those beautiful gray-blue eyes in my life. I gently sat back down beside him and rubbed my hand across his cheek. He turned his head slightly my way and our eyes locked. I could feel his love for me pouring through his gaze. Oh, you really would have been the better choice.
“I just contacted the pack healer. He’s on his way, and I got another bringing in some blood bags.” That is so cool that Jax can communicate with his pack through their mind link. Focusing back on Kai, who hadn’t taken his eyes off me, I spoke.
“Welcome back, big guy. I thought we had really lost you there.” Kai tried to speak but ended up in a coughing fit and groaning in pain. The healer arrived at that moment, pushing us all out of the way and barking orders at the two ladies with him.
“Hello, Melakai. I am Dr. Jeremy. I’m going to take a look at your wounds and try to see what I can do to help. I’m going to give you some painkillers and run an IV of blood, then I need you to try and relax.” Kai grunted in response. Two men I haven’t seen before came and made their way over to the doctor. “I need you both to hold him down while I realign his ankle.”
“He’s a vampire. He can heal on his own.” Dom was right; I forgot vampires and shifters could heal on their own.
“The spell that was cast must have slowed his healing abilities. I need to reset the break before it heals at an incorrect angle.” Oh, okay, that made sense now. But it sounded awful. We all left Kai’s side to allow the doctor to do his job. Everyone spread around the room and sat in chairs or on the floor. Occasionally one of us would pace to pass the time, and the others would chat among themselves. Hours passed, but none of us would leave the room. We didn’t want Kai to be alone. I could feel Nico’s gaze on me, but I was a coward, and I couldn’t face him. I knew I had a lot of explaining to do, and I knew he would be angry with me for keeping this from him, but now everything made sense for me. My feelings for Kai were never my own, but my feelings for Nico, they were all my own. I still loved Kai, but just not in the same way I used to, more like a brother or best friend. Ugh! I shouldn’t say brother—that was fucking gross, considering the shit we did together in my dreams.
∞∞∞
It was late by the time the doctor was finished with Kai, and I was fucking exhausted and needed sleep stat. The doctor treated all Kai’s wounds and dressed them with gauze. His ribs needed to be wrapped, as he had broken most of them.
His ankle was in a splint and resting atop a mound of pillows. The Dr said he should be fully healed by the afternoon. That would be great, as my wedding was fast approaching.
We still had so much to do. Jax had tasked his pack members with making the necessary arrangements for the ceremony, Nico was bringing a fae minister from his realm, and Aurora was organizing my dress. Alex and Chase were saddened that the Knox coven wouldn’t be attending one of their heir’s weddings, but I couldn’t help that. Stevie was their queen, and I was just a stranger to them.
I was shaken from my thoughts when I heard the bedroom door close. The doctor and all his helpers were gone; it was just us now. Jax, Dom, Nico, and Sophia made their way over to Kai. Aurora and Chase followed them. Alex offered me his hand to help me to my feet, as I was sitting on the floor. I gladly accepted, and we followed the others over to Kai.
Kai already looked better and had some color back in his face. The blood bags must have really helped; the cuts on his face and arms were already starting to heal. I reached out gingerly and ran my fingers through his beautiful blond hair. His eyes fluttered open at my touch. His gaze zeroed in on me and remained there. I smiled, trying to reassure him without words that he was going to be okay and that I have forgiven him. One day soon I would be the one asking for his forgiveness.
“I’m glad you’re okay, big guy. I’m sorry it took me so long to cotton on to your messages.”
“You have nothing to be sorry for, mi amor.” His voice was scratchy from disuse. The torture he endured at the hands of my sister and Randall made me sick to my stomach. How my sister could change from being one of the most caring people to a monster still baffles me.
“It’s good to have you back, brother.” Kai pulled his gaze from me so he could look at Jax.
“Thank you, brother, it’s good to be back. I didn’t think the spell would work, but I’m glad that it did.” Kai turned from Jax to Sophia. “Thank you So-So, I owe you my life.” Tears started to cloud in Sophia’s eyes, but she quickly blinked them away. Sophia didn’t seem like the type of woman who cried or let anyone see how she was really feeling. I admire that about her.
“You owe me nothing, Kai. After everything, I would say we are even.” Dom and Nico shared a look and judging from their expressions, they hated not knowing the full story of what happened to Sophia. Nico’s eyes told me that there was so much rage simmering beneath the surface. He wanted revenge for what happened to his sister. I could be wrong, but Dom was giving me the same vibe.
“I’m glad you’re back, Kai, but I have to know how this is even possible.” I knew Dom was trying to be patient and not push Kai for an explanation straight away, but there was only so much he could handle. Dom was one of those people that had to know the full story about everything. Before anyone could speak, I answered for Kai.
“Why don’t you guys grab some seats and get comfortable. It’s a bit of a long story.” Everyone settled themselves around the bed, waiting for Kai and me to explain.
Chapter 10
Nico
I’m sitting here, staring at her and the way she is running her hand through Kai’s hair. Since when did she stop being angry at him and when the hell did they become friendl
y like that? I knew they were close in her dreams, and just thinking about Kai having his hands on my woman made my fucking blood boil. I hate the way I’m feeling, like I’m some insecure child. I have never felt like this before about anyone. I hated Kai just for having her hands on him.
“Could you stop fucking touching him? He’s alive, yay! That doesn’t mean he needs you to constantly fucking pat him like he’s your pet.” I snarled, shocked at my own outburst. I saw the others staring at me with wide eyes. Dom and Jax both looked like they wanted to laugh. I narrowed my eyes at them until they looked away. I returned my stare to Ryan and found she was glaring at me. The look she was giving me told me that she was about to lose her shit. Oh, great, here we go. I’m about to get my ass handed to me, again.
“Get off your fucking high horse, Nico. You have no right to tell me what to do. We may be getting married, but make no mistake—this is a business transaction and nothing more.” Fuck, her words hurt more than if she just stabbed me. Schooling my features so she couldn’t see how much she hurt me, I went to answer her when Jax spoke.
“Don’t kid yourself, love, you know I can tell when you’re lying.” She went beet red. I forgot about Jax’s secret talent of being able to detect lies. His little talent would come in handy for this conversation. She was glaring daggers at Jax.
“Tell them everything, mi amor, they have a right to know.” She moved her eyes from Jax to me and I saw her swallow. Time to fess up, baby.
“Okay, after Nico and I returned from the dream where we saw Kai die, I thought the same as all of you, that he really was dead. After I awoke that day, I was alone, but I started hearing a voice. I honestly thought I was going nuts, but then I was pulled into a daydream. That has never happened to me before with Kai or Nico.” She was blushing. Aw, my little spitfire was embarrassed. I hated hearing her mention that Kai was present in some of her dreams as well.
A Twisted Fate : The Dream Trilogy - Book 2 Page 5
