by Abigail Owen
Ellie strained to get closer as he took her mouth with his again. Alex suddenly broke off the kiss, eliciting a whimper of protest from Ellie. Burying his face in her neck, he lay there motionless for a time, waiting for his body to calm.
“Too much, too soon. I know, baby. Sorry, but you are just too damn tempting, Ellie Aubrey.” They gazed into each other’s eyes, content for now to just lie there together.
Only when Ellie shivered from lying in the snow so long did Alex finally let her up.
“Come on.” He tugged on her hand, leading her back home. “Let’s get you warm.”
If only he knew how hot he’d made her already…
“Hey…you are planning on letting me finish high school… and maybe even college… before marriage and kids? Right?”
Alex shrugged and gave her hand a small squeeze. “I guess there’s no rush while you’re in high school,” he agreed. “Although I would like to get a ring on that finger that scares off all those over-eager college guys. You still sure you want to go?”
Ellie rolled her eyes, secretly enjoying his small display of possessiveness. She knew he was confident enough in himself and their love. “You want to finish your degree right? Well, where you go, I go. Besides, I haven’t tried college before. I like the idea of getting a degree. It’s only in the last century or so that it’s become acceptable for women to receive a higher education.”
“Have you decided on a major yet?”
“Ummm… there’s too many to choose from. I don’t need a degree for a living like most people since we have so much money—“
“And we have Dexter.”
“Huh?” Ellie tripped over her feet as she turned to look at Alex.
“He can turn anything into metal,” he steadied her with a hand at her elbow.
“So?”
“Gold and silver are metals… he can turn anything into gold. That’s one of the ways we make money. Although he’s still mastering the skill.”
“Oh!” Ellie almost slapped her forehead as a thought occurred to her. I’ll have to talk to Dexter later, she thought to herself.
They paused outside the back door, snatching one last kiss, one last moment of privacy, before joining the chaos of their family.
Everyone else had woken and started breakfast during their absence. As they walked into the kitchen, Adelaide, sitting at the bar in the dining room, grinned the second she saw them together.
They just smiled back but didn’t say anything and knew that Adelaide wouldn’t either. They had lots of time.
Chapter 31
The next few weeks fell into a pattern. In the mornings, Ellie, Adelaide, Lila, and Nate went to school. Evenings were reserved for training and preparing for the coming battle. Tonight they were fighting guys against girls. Alex stood off to the side watching. Sometimes they took one of them out of the equation so they could practice working together when they didn’t have all powers in play, and it was Alex’s turn to referee.
“Everyone have their instructions?” Ellie asked the girls. Heads nodded in unison. “Charlotte, you know what to do. Okay then, let’s go!” The ladies and the men all disbursed and headed into the woods, practicing being scattered when the attack came. Ellie thought through their plan. Charlotte was the key to gathering them all together.
“Go!” Alex’s voice boomed from the clearing.
Ellie instantly transformed into the falcon and swiftly gained altitude, making sure to block Griffin’s mind reading. She found Charlotte, who had already located Lucy. With further inspection, Ellie located where Lila and Adelaide were in the woods.
Silently, to keep their location secret from the men, she dove toward Charlotte, transforming back to human as soon as she was on the ground. In silence, she and Lucy both held hands with Charlotte. Then Ellie tapped into Charlotte’s power to first transport them to Adelaide, and then to Lila, and finally to the field where Alex was waiting.
The guys were a little slower to make it to the clearing without Charlotte’s help. But eventually the girls were surrounded.
Nate and Dexter lunged simultaneously. Using Lucy’s precognition, Ellie had seen it coming, and using Charlotte’s teleportation, she had moved them out of the way, popping back up behind where the guys stood. Nate and Dexter landed in empty space and rolled.
With just the girls, Ellie was limited in what she could do. She didn’t have any defensive skills. She could keep the girls away from the guys like this indefinitely, but she needed a way to finish things, too. So she decided to cheat a little bit. Seeing Ramsey wind up to deliver a fireball straight at them, she tapped into Griffin’s defensive shield. As a result, Ramsey’s fire hit an invisible wall and was repelled straight back at where the guys stood. Ramsey immediately doused the flame before it touched any of them.
“No fair!” Griffin called out. “You can only use the girls’ powers.”
Ellie grinned. She moved the girls out of Nate’s way as he tried running directly at them.
“What if the Vyusher have a power I can tap into, since I am technically a wolf too?” she asked.
“You wouldn’t be able to without touching them,” Griffin insisted. Just as he finished talking, Ellie felt the ground shift slightly beneath her feet and knew it was his shield. She immediately transported the girls to a new spot. Just in time too, as Griffin jerked the shield up, barely missing them.
“Nice try!” Ellie laughed. With Griffin’s abilities out, Ellie worked another tack –something she’d been thinking of for a few days now. She pulled on Lila’s ability to heal emotions and decided to see if the reverse of that might be possible. She concentrated on the dark areas in her attackers that represented the lower emotions. Deep within that darkness, she could feel small parts of fear and confusion. She worked on making those parts grow, specifically confusion, though she took every care with how she let it affect Ramsey.
It worked beautifully. Ellie grinned as all the men stopped their attack and stood silently with increasingly bewildered expressions.
“What’s going on with them?” Lucy asked.
“I’m using Lila’s skill to force confusion on them.”
Lila giggled beside her.
“I’ll definitely have to teach you this,” Ellie whispered to her. “It’ll be a good defense for you.”
With a delighted laugh, Ellie let up on the guys. “I think that does it for the day,” she announced. The boys groaned at having lost. They were sure they’d win today since they had all the active skills. They gave in good-naturedly, though, and together everyone headed home for some well-deserved rest and relaxation.
“Who’s down for a game?” Nate called as they all trooped into the house. Lucy headed to the kitchen to start dinner and Hugh to the dining room table to get some work done while the rest of the family pulled out Trivial Pursuit. Playing games was an almost nightly tradition.
They played until dinner, paused to eat, and then returned to the game. It didn’t take long for Ellie to clean house. This was her favorite game.
“Ellie Aubrey, you cheater!” Nate pointed an accusing finger her way. “You totally used Griffin’s mind reading.”
“I did not!” she responded indignantly. “You just can’t handle the fact that I kicked your ass at Trivial Pursuit.”
“There’s no way you knew the answer to that question.”
“I’ve been living a lot longer than you, kiddo,” Ellie popped a piece of candy in her mouth and grinned as she chewed, well aware that being called kiddo drove Nate nuts.
“And besides, we knew him,” Griffin added.
“Hold up,” Alex froze in the process of picking up the game pieces, his expression incredulous. “You knew Abraham Lincoln?”
“Uh-huh. He was Svatura,” Ellie confirmed.
“No way! What was his power?” Nate asked.
Griffin leaned back linking his hands behind his head and answered, “A really subtle power of persuasion. He just had to speak, and you could listen t
o him for hours and do anything he asked willingly. Our tribe wasn’t thrilled that he went so public, but ultimately that was his choice.”
Everyone sat for a moment in stunned silence, just staring at them. “Well on that note…” Alex stood and offered Ellie his hand. He pulled her up from her seat on the couch and they headed toward their bedroom.
“Night everyone,” Ellie called out from the stairs, receiving a chorus of goodnights in return.
Ellie and Alex spent as much time as they could together. Even though they were te’sorthene, they still had so much to discover about each other. The more Ellie learned about Alex, the more she felt for him. She knew she was falling in love with him and he with her. Their bond grew stronger day by day.
As they entered their room, Alex spun Ellie around so that she stood with her back against the closed bedroom door. He placed his hands on either side of her, bodily caging her in.
“Don’t go tonight,” his deep voice washed over her, his sensual lips capturing hers. Ellie groaned into his mouth. His voice and that kiss almost knocked her response out of her mind… almost.
Pulling away to catch her breath she said, “You know I have to.”
“Ummm… I know,” he murmured.
Alex leaned back in, kissing his way across her shoulder and up her neck to nibble on her earlobe. Ellie tipped her head back to grant him further access. With another groan, Ellie sought his mouth with her own and reveled in the sensation of his tongue running along the seam of her lips. Opening her mouth she matched him move for move. Never breaking the hot kiss, Alex reached down and bodily lifted her, wrapping her legs around his waist. He walked them over to the bed and, still not breaking the contact of their mouths, laid Ellie down on it, following to cover her body with his own.
Only the sound of Griffin’s voice breaking into her thoughts could have stopped Ellie. “Your turn first, Elle.”
Feeling the shift in her concentration, Alex stopped the kiss pulling back to look her in the eyes.
“Great timing. I’ll be out in a sec,” Ellie answered Griffin. “It’s time,” she said to Alex.
He puffed out a breath and buried his face in her neck, inhaling deeply. “Okay,” he accepted. Levering himself off the bed, he pulled her up with him. “You take care of yourself out there, baby.” He tenderly brushed a strand of hair out of her face.
“Always do.” She stood on tiptoe to give him one last lingering kiss and then shifted into the falcon before him.
Alex walked over to their window to open it for her, and she flew out into the night. Ellie usually took the first patrol, with Alex’s apprehension following her out the window every time. She’d return home in the early hours of the morning to get some rest and would find him waiting up for her. He insisted that he couldn’t sleep until he knew she was home safely. Then he’d tuck her up in bed with him, snuggling her into his warm embrace.
Ellie grumbled good-naturedly every single time he waited up for her, but of course she secretly loved it. Alex managed to give her the space and the respect to make her own decisions. If anything, the way he was handling the entire situation not only made her feel loved and protected, but also valued and significant.
Chapter 32
A few weeks later, after school let out for the day, Ellie and Lila were headed to the parking lot.
Lila was in the middle of a story about her first date experience. “…So we got to the ice skating rink and I strapped on Mom’s gorgeous old-fashioned skates. And after about two laps, my feet started cramping up.”
Ellie giggled. “No way. Were the skates too small or something?”
“Yeah. We had to stop. And that poor guy hadn’t really wanted to go ice skating anyway--”
Lila cut off her next comment when, out of nowhere, a tall man appeared before them. Dressed all in black, with ebony hair and onyx eyes, his face could be described as almost beautiful with high, sharp cheek bones and a sensuous mouth. Extremely handsome… but in a sinister way. He stood directly in front of the two girls blocking their way.
Ellie came to an abrupt halt. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Lila tense and glance nervously at her. Nothing scared Ellie. She knew she was probably giving her friend a heart attack when she subtly repositioned her body protectively between Lila and the creepy stranger.
“I’m honored that you would come in person, Gideon,” Ellie finally said, bitterness lacing her words. She felt Lila flinch at the name. She reached back for Lila’s hand, giving her a reassuring squeeze.
“You know me?” the dark man asked.
“Yes.”
“Then you know why I’m here…”
Ellie heard the smug self-satisfaction. “Not entirely.” Of course Ellie had tapped into Griffin’s mind reading power the second she’d seen Gideon, but she heard absolutely nothing. Perhaps that’d been the reason why her ancestors hadn’t been able to prepare for the attack that decimated their entire clan.
“Are you trying to listen to my thoughts, Ellinore?” his voice rasped in her mind.
Her eyes widened slightly, but other than that she gave nothing away with her expression or body language.
“I thought so,” the voice continued. “But don’t worry. We’re blocking your very talented brother from listening. As well as any communication you may be trying to send him.”
Ellie didn’t respond.
“Have you guessed yet?”
Ellie remained silent and still. Lila, unable to hear the mental conversation and taking her cues from Ellie, assumed the same stance.
“It’s you, Ellinore. You are why I’m here. You are destined to be one of our pack. I’ve seen you shift myself. You should be with others like you.”
Ellie didn’t betray the frenzied thoughts in her head by so much as a twitch and returned his gaze with feigned serenity.
“You have nothing to say about this?”
Ellie simply shrugged, catching Lila’s glance at the movement. She deliberately used a technique that often got Griffin to talk more than he would in most circumstances. She said nothing when he clearly wanted a conversation. Worked like a charm every time. She also tapped into Lila’s emotional manipulation abilities, attempting to rile Gideon… make him feel frustrated.
“You would’ve joined us sooner, if it weren’t for your brother,” Gideon continued, growing agitated. “I’ve been looking for you since our first meeting. But your brother is somehow able to block my view of you. Of any of you.” He frowned, betraying his irritation. “I’ve come to offer you a deal.”
Ellie arched an eyebrow but still said nothing. She was more concerned with Lila’s safety at the moment than she was in some arrogant, blowhard shape-shifter.
“You come with me,” Gideon said. “Just you. Join our pack. And I will guarantee the rest of the family safety. We will not harm them as long as you are with us.”
Ellie, using Lila’s power to see the truth, could tell that he was being sincere and was relieved her friend couldn’t hear them right now. “Why do you want me so much?”
“You are a wolf,” he answered simply. “You belong with the Vyusher.”
Her face a blank mask, Ellie thought quickly. It seemed like something about Griffin’s powers could be blocking Gideon from knowing the abilities possessed by the Jenners or Pierces. She wasn’t sure why, but regardless of the reason, she felt grateful for it at that moment. He knew about Griffin’s mind reading and her sharing powers, but what else? If he really couldn’t see which skills they possessed, perhaps she could use her own ability on him.
“I have to think about this,” she said aloud. “May I have your word that you and your wolves will not come near any of my family until I’ve had time to make my decision?”
“You have one week. We will not approach any of you during that time,” he conceded.
“Shake on it?” she asked innocently. Gideon hesitated then lifted his arm.
Letting go of Lila, Ellie moved forward and grasped Gideon’s hand, tak
ing care that he didn’t feel the electric zap of her power at work. She focused all her energy to absorb as much about him as she could in that brief amount of time.
Releasing her grip, Gideon stepped back. Still only speaking through their thoughts, he said, “I will see you in the woods outside the Jenner’s house, the place where you defeated a handful of my pack. Midnight, one week from tonight.”
With that he disappeared. No sound. No warning. Just… gone. As if he’d never been standing there.
Ellie stood silently for a second, her mind spinning.
“Will you please tell me what just happened?” Lila’s trembling voice broke in.
“That was Gideon.” Ellie tapped her fingernail against her teeth, thinking.
“Well, I figured that much out for myself. Thanks.” Lila’s hands shook as she ran her hands through her hair.
“He wanted to meet me face to face.”
“What?… Why?”
Ellie sighed and resumed walking to the parking lot. “Apparently something about Griffin’s shield has some hidden facet that works to block Gideon’s tracker. At least, I think he has a tracker.” She glanced at Lila, who’d fallen into step beside her. “It seems like Gideon has someone in his pack, I don’t think it’s him, who can see anyone with our powers. Anywhere in the world. Although they see us better when we’re gathered in groups. The larger the group, the easier it is to hone in on us. But as soon as Griffin and I arrived in town, the Vyusher tracker could no longer see any of us. It forced them to recon in person to try to figure out how many of us there are, what our powers are, that kind of thing. Gideon eventually decided to come in person. I tried to get a read on Gideon’s power, but something odd seemed to be preventing me. I could see bits and pieces, but none of them seemed like his actual ability.” Ellie pursed her lips, frustrated.
“I can see that you’re holding something back, Ellie,” Lila said with a knowing look. “But I assume you have good reasons.”
“I do,” Ellie replied. “Let’s get to the car and get home. We all need to talk through this together.”
