Edge Of Tomorrow (Eternal Flames Maddox Book 6)

by Cree Storm

  Present Ollie sniffled, "I don't know if I can do that."

  Future Ollie angrily made his way to his past self. "Look around you, Ollie! Look at this world. People died. Good people! And those that didn't are a shell of who they used to be. Friends are now enemies and loved ones buried and gone forever. All because we were too scared to even try and work things out. As much as I scream that Wyndingo is responsible for where we are today, I know that is another lie. I did this to our friends, loved ones, and the people of the world. Me! Not Wyndingo. You have to face your fears. Allow our mate to help us through them. Talk to him. Be honest, for fuck’s sake. If what Dain, Day, and the others think is true, by doing this, our future will be very different and maybe our mate, brother, and the others wouldn't be dead."

  "But what if I mate him and he dies anyway?" Ollie whispered.

  Sighing, future Ollie replied, "I swore that if I had to do things over again, I would definitely do things differently. So to use your words back at you, well, here you are. We haven't completely fucked everything up yet. You have to try. Talk to Wyndingo and see what happens from there. I was too late when I came to that realization. You are not."

  The earth shook causing both Ollies to stumble.

  "What the fuck was that? Since when does Colorado have earthquakes?" Ollie asked his future self.

  Future Ollie looked at him in concern. "Since the others took Manny from Frankie."

  "What? Manny's dead, too?"

  Shaking his head. "No, Jewel took Manny prisoner. He thinks that Frankie will come to his mate and then they can use the White Phoenix against us."

  "How long has he had him?"

  "Almost a week now," future Ollie replied sadly.

  "I thought they couldn't go more than an hour without a power burst from Manny?"

  "Through time Manny has learned control and how to harness his powers. However, Frankie is still his balance and if they are not joined again soon, he will lose the battle with his powers and everyone will die."

  "Well, fuck a duck."

  CHAPTER 10

  Wyndingo watched as his mate left to go after his future self. Wyn looked around the room. The men from his time looked heartbroken and most of the others looked defeated. However, the children of Day, Ethan, and Rhys looked ready for battle.

  How could he have lost control? Wyndingo had always prided himself on his ability to control his gifts. To hear that he had been the cause of where these men stood today was beyond disheartening, it was devastating.

  "He's going to leave."

  Wyndingo turned at the voice speaking and saw Pelt standing there looking thin and most definitely not the man Wyndingo remembered. He looked―beaten down―a shell of who he used to be. "Pelt, by the Gods, what happened to you?"

  "Wyndingo, it really is you? Ollie told me you were here, but I had to come and see for myself," Pelt replied then turned to see Pascal, Rune, and Ezra. "Gods, it is so good to see you."

  Ezra walked to the griffion leader. "It's good to see you too, Pelt. Although, I have to say I have seen you looking better."

  "Guilt is hard on the body and soul, Ezra," Pelt softly replied.

  "What are you talking about? You didn't have anything to do with what happened," future Day stated firmly.

  Pelt dropped his head in shame. "Yes, I did, and it's time the truth of what happened is told."

  Turning to Wyndingo, Pelt whispered, "I'm so sorry, Wyn. I swear to you I never had any intention towards Ollie. He barreled into me and I just caught him before he could fall."

  "What are you talking about, Pelt?" Wyndingo asked in confusion.

  Pelt walked towards Wyn, saying, "The day you lost control. You were coming out of Dain's place. Ollie came racing around the corner of the club and plowed right into me. I caught him and when you turned the corner, you saw him in my arms. You got so angry, you punched me, and I dropped to the ground. Ollie tried to talk to you, but you pushed him out of the way and took off. When he hit the ground, he turned his ankle. Rune came rushing up to us and was angry at Ollie. He had seen me with Ollie as well and jumped to the same conclusion."

  Turning to look at Rune, Pelt replied, "Ollie tried to explain things, but you were just as angry as Wyndingo was and told Ollie he was lucky that Wyn hadn't done worse to him. You told Ollie to go home and took off after Wyndingo."

  Sighing, Pelt continued, "Ollie yelled some vile things, and Rhys and Twix came rushing out of the club. Ollie was crying. I was trying to understand what had just happened, and they were trying to understand what was going on. There was just so much confusion."

  Pelt took a deep breath, and then continued, "When Rhys and Twix saw we were both hurt, they took us to Twix's place so we could talk about what happened. Ollie told us everything. Rhys and Twix tried to get him to agree to tell you, Wyn, but he said it was too late, that you hated him, so Rhys called Day and Ethan to come over and see if we could come up with a plan to get you two to talk. We figured Day might know how to get you to give him a chance to explain things."

  "He had already explained things to me, Pelt. What more was there to say?" Wyndingo snapped.

  Shaking his head, Pelt softly replied, "No, Wyndingo. He told you what he thought would work at the time. The problem was that before we could act on our plan, we felt the explosion. When we rushed outside, all we could see was smoke coming from the other side of the mountain. We thought that there was some kind of attack."

  "But Fallon was dead. Who would have been attacking?" Angelo asked.

  "We had been told by Destrain that the council was concerned about stragglers that might have been left from Fallon's army. That's why there were so many guards scheduled to work the event and why the death toll was so high that day," Pelt explained.

  Angelo pursed his lip, looked at Ezra and hissed, "You guys knew that there was a threat out there and left the rest of us to believe all was safe again? Do you have any idea how stupid that is? Do you know the danger we could be in because of ignorance?"

  "Not now, Angelo," Ezra growled.

  Angelo wiggled his finger at Ezra, snapping, "When we get back you guys are in serious trouble, cause I am telling Ethan and everyone else that will listen to me."

  Future Morgan snickered, "Gods, I've missed my Angel’s temper."

  "Can we please let Pelt finish with what he is saying?" Future Day asked in exasperation.

  Pelt sighed, saying, "We got Rhys and Twix to stay with the kids, and I opened a portal to Maddox. Everything was chaotic. People were running and screaming. Blood was everywhere and when we looked towards the gazebo, we were appalled to see the entire council had been killed. We heard moaning and rushed to find Rune laying there. We knew there was nothing we could do for him. He…he…and…the devastation…oh Gods."

  Tears started falling from Pelt's eyes and when Wyndingo looked around he could see that the men from their future were all crying silent tears of remembrance.

  Pelt wiped his tears, cleared his throat, and tried to continue speaking, "Dain and Kerrick came rushing to us and saw we were with Rune."

  "We got to say our goodbyes," future Dain rasped.

  "Rune!" Future Kerrick gasped walking into the room where they all stood.

  "Kerrick, I am so happy you lived," Rune replied, walking closer to his mates.

  Cupping Rune's cheek, Kerrick whispered, "I've missed you so, my love. Dain and I both mourn our loss."

  "We will fix this," Rune rasped.

  "How is Illan doing?" Ethan asked.

  Giving a small smile, Kerrick replied, "He is a lot like his namesake, pissed, but fine. The bullet just grazed his thigh. Rhys and Twix are taking good care of him."

  Ezra softly asked, "Do any of you know why Jewel wasn't with me? We are supposed to attend the celebration together."

  Kerrick whispered, "You were meeting with Jagger until the event started. We were supposed to join you, so he was with us until then. However, Rune and I hated that our Dain was so upset over what happ
ened with Ollie and when Ollie agreed to come to the house to talk, we were waiting for him to show up and then Rune disappeared. We didn't know what had happened. I called Rune on his cell and he was telling me what was going on when he suddenly shouted, "Oh shit!" We heard a loud crack of thunder and then an explosion. We took off like a bat out of hell when Rune's phone went dead."

  "When Dain and Kerrick arrived and found Rune, Jewel found you and completely lost his mind. He turned to Ollie and started screaming how it was all his fault. Kerrick was in no shape to help his brother and Jewel wasn't listening to anyone. Then Avery arrived with Manny and Frankie, and he about went insane when he saw Justice and Illan dead, and it went from bad to worse from there," Pelt stated sadly.

  Day stepped forward. "I tried to get everyone to calm down, but the second they knew I still had all my mates and kids, they turned even nastier. Timmy had been with Illan, and York had been working at the station. He said had I not made him work that day then Timmy would have been with him and lived."

  "Jett had been on patrol with some of Suneth and Wade's men. From what we understand, he had tried to calm Wyndingo down when an electric bolt shot from the sky and killed him first. Then Wyndingo let out a bloodcurdling scream and exploded," Ethan stated.

  "Everyone reacted differently, but all of them were hurt and angry," Kerrick whispered.

  Dain nodded. "I'm not proud of myself, Wyn. I completely lost my mind when Rune took that last breath. I shouted at Ollie that it was all his fault. Had he thought about his actions, none of it would have happened. This caused the others to turn on him."

  "Wolf, Drake, Edge, and I thought if we got Ollie out of everyone's sight, that things might calm down. So, I opened a portal and we got him out of there," Pelt explained.

  Day sighed. "The problem was that things didn't get better. I tried once more to get them all to calm down when Wade shot at me. The next thing we knew, our friends became the enemy."

  "Then the rogue fairies and elves showed up with some shifters and we were all fighting for our lives, until we dispersed, sides were formed, and the new war began," Pelt softly replied.

  Angelo asked, "So, is this everyone that survived on this side?"

  Day shook his head. "Myself, Ethan, Rhys, our children, Twix, his kids, Morgan, Toby, Nelson, Aracas, Casimir, Dain, Kerrick, Baldwin, Ozcog, Frankie, and Manny. We did have Finn, Qavex, Orion, Nash, and Angelo, but they all died fighting in this war."

  "By the Gods," Angelo rasped.

  Wyndingo swallowed hard, asking, "And the others?"

  Ethan sighed, saying, "Jewel, Avery, Zev, York, Ryder, Rory, Six, Gage, Logan, Cammy, Devonte, Ronan, Sulyx, Nuzan, and Shadow. However, they have joined forces with the rogue Elves. Since then they did lose Wade, Jagger, Bullseye, Kanuz, and Asbuth."

  "And what about the fairies?" Rune asked.

  Shrugging, Day replied, "Except for the day of the explosion, we haven't really seen many, except the ones that joined with Jewel. We think the others went back to the fairy realm."

  "And the Pixies that were left?" Angelo asked.

  "They are with us, but most are too traumatized to be of any good. Twix is doing his best to hold it together, but with the loss of his mates, he struggles to just get up in the mornings sometimes. Had it not been for Fiere, Finn, and Maria, I think Twix would have just given up," Ethan answered.

  The earth shook and Wyndingo and the others had to hold on so they didn't fall. Dirt fell from the ceiling and Angelo shouted, "What the fuck? What is going on?"

  "That's one of the reasons I needed Manny to come with me. Jewel took our Manny last week. He's doing his best to hold on, but he is starting to lose control."

  "A week? Hell, I barely hold it together when Frankie and I are separated for more than an hour," Manny replied in awe.

  Ethan smiled at Manny, saying, "Let's just say you get better in time."

  "The problem is we've never been separated this long before and I don't know how long Manny can hold it together," future Frankie said making his way into the room.

  "How is he holding up?" Ethan asked.

  Wyndingo heard the compassion in Ethan's tone. He had heard it many times when Ethan would speak to the people at the shelter or when he would talk with the people that lost everything in a fire. Ethan was one of the nicest men Wyn had ever had the pleasure of meeting.

  "Not good. He's losing hope, Day. We have to go in there and get my mate back. He can't hold out much longer."

  "I know, Frankie. I just don't know how. Dain and Kerrick have been looking for a way in. Just try and keep Manny together," Day replied.

  "That's the thing, Day, he has two, maybe three days left before he completely loses control. We have to get Manny out of there," future Frankie insisted.

  Kerrick replied, "We are trying, Frankie, but we can't use magic so all I can do is try and find a human spell that would work. If there was a way to get in, we would have already tried."

  Dropping his head in defeat, future Frankie nodded, but said nothing.

  “You can’t use magic? Why?” present Rune asked.

  Future Day looked at present Rune. “It’s magic that got us into this mess. Well, after Wyndingo blew up, everyone started fighting with their magic. There was too much being thrown around for years. Then the humans tried to fight back using the only thing they thought they had that could stop us. Nuclear bombs. Well, between that and the magic, this whole planet turned to shit. First the animals died, then the crops around the world failed, then most living creatures died. That acid rain Morgan just showed you is a result of the magic build up in the atmosphere. So now we try not to use magic unless it is life or death, and even then we try to use other means first.”

  “Isn’t getting Manny back important enough to use magic?” Angelo asked.

  Frankie looked up and met Angelo’s gaze. “No. Manny would never want them to do that for him. Not with what magic has already done. And it would take a lot of it to get my baby back. Who knows what will happen if we use that much?”

  Damn, the man looked like death warmed over. "When is the last time you slept, Frankie?" Wyndingo asked.

  "To hell with that, when's the last time you bathed?" Angelo asked, scrunching his nose.

  Morgan laughed and brought Angelo in for a hug. "I love you, my Angel. Gods, I've missed that sharp tongue of yours."

  Angelo giggled. "I bet that isn't all you missed."

  "Okay, I have to know. Is it cheating when your Morgan is back in Crystal?" Present Frankie asked.

  Angelo smiled. "Frankie, this is my Morgan. He may be from the future, but that doesn't change facts. He has the same scent and our bond is tight. Manny, go near the future Frankie and tell me if you feel differently about him."

  Manny walked to the other Frankie, and tilted his head to the side, turning to Angelo, Manny replied, "It's true. This is incredible."

  "I think I know how we can get Manny away from the other group," Ollie said from the back of the room.

  CHAPTER 11

  "I don't like this. Anything could go wrong. We need a new plan," Wyndingo argued.

  Present Ollie rolled his eyes. "There is no way that we can get past the wards in time to save their Manny. However, if what Angelo and our Manny say is true, then Jewel will know Ezra is his mate."

  Wyndingo snorted, "Unless he kills Ezra before the man gets a chance to even talk to Jewel."

  "It's a chance I have to take, Wyndingo. This fighting can't continue on as it has been. If I am blessed and my Jewel is still alive, then I will do whatever it takes to make sure he stays that way, in case our coming here changes nothing about this future," Ezra stated as he continued to walk.

  Ollie watched as his future self walked with Pelt and Wolf. Edge and Drake were still too weak to join them, and Rhys, Amelia and Twix had stayed back with a few of the others to guard their home. Looking around, Ollie could see businesses he had entered and places he and his brothers had hung out, abandoned and destroyed. No peopl
e walked the streets. No sounds of birds singing or crickets chirping. This is what a ghost town truly was. It was beyond sad. It was beyond heartbreaking. It was devastating.

  They were just passing the club Ollie had always had such a good time in. It was so sad to see how run down it looked right now, especially after Ollie knew he had just been in it a few days ago playing sex toy poker.

  "Ollie, keep up with us, please. We don't know what we might run into here," future Day stated firmly.

  Fiere was leading the group with Day and Kalen and some other warriors Ollie didn't know. Suddenly Day stopped, bringing his fist up and closed, telling everyone else to stop and not speak.

  Ollie tilted his head, hearing a whistling sound.

  "Everybody take cover!" Future Day shouted just as an object landed to the far right of Ollie and exploded.

  Ollie heard a grunt of pain and realized that Wyndingo had tackled him just before the explosion and was laying on top of him.

  Moving his face out of the dirt and rocks, Ollie panted, "Are you alright?"

  Wyndingo hissed as he lifted up and off Ollie. "Yeah, I just got hit with some debris. Are you alright?"

  "You squished my nuts into the ground, but they should spring back to life in no time at all," Ollie replied as he slowly sat up. "Yep, just like I thought they would."

  Wyndingo's eyes went directly to Ollie's crotch, Ollie snickered, "Made you look."

  Grumbling Wyndingo got up, saying, "Trust me, I am more than willing to look without the tricks."

  Ollie stood up, brushing off the dirt from his pants saying, "But it wouldn't be as much fun. What the hell was that anyway?"

  "Specialized missiles Wade had made before he died. We found the missiles cause more of a debris type injury than anything else so as long as you stay close to the buildings and take cover, you should be alright," Kalen explained.