“We are going to need all the chapters in on this one, but I want our involvement on this one to be as minimal as possible, as we are all needed here.” At my comment, I can see the frowns and the questions. All the brothers already know about the threat of the attack, but we haven’t had a chance to discuss it yet, and I know we need to make plans.
“Do you think they are still going to attack now that Vercin is no longer around?” Brandr asks, which is a question I’ve been contemplating over and over in my head for the last few days.
“It depends on how far along their plans are and if they have someone to lead them or not,” I state. “Celmund, have you heard anything about who has taken over? Or if anyone has taken over?” Merdor would have been the one to take over, but Cassius killed Merdor awhile back, so there is no one we know of who is up to the task of leading the Keres. If there is no one to lead them, they might not attack, but there is also the possibility that the FBI involved here might lead them if they are determined enough to see us destroy each other.”
“No, there is no talk at the moment, and no one knows anything. It’s looking like they’re without a leader and are breaking apart,” Celmund reports. “There have been quite a few Keres captured by our other chapters. They have been asking what to do with them.”
Now that our women can divest of the fury when the Elementals transform, they can change the Keres back into Elementals, but the plan was to first help the Elementals on the verge of changing and find their mates, and then start with the Keres we can save.
“How many Elementals are we still getting in for the women to help?” I ask.
“We are fully booked for the next four months,” Celmund reports, and shrugs. “We won’t be able to get to the Keres until things calm down.”
“How many of the guys who have been helped have found their women?” Burkhart asks with a frown.
“About sixty percent, which is more than we ever thought,” Celmund states.
“We have to help the Elementals before we can think of looking at the Keres,” Bion says as he sits forward in his chair.
“The women have an idea on how to help the Keres,” Brandr states. “Aria asked that I bring it to the table and see what we think.”
Knowing them, they will more than likely do as they please without our approval anyway.
“Fuck, this can’t be good,” Bjarni mutters as he shakes his head.
“What’s this idea?” I ask.
“They believe that if they have one day every week just for the Keres, they might be able to help over ten Keres at a time, but they would need us to help them.” At this, most of the men start to complain, which has Brandr lifting his hands in retreat.
“No, let’s listen,” I state, and they quiet down, but by their displeased faces, it’s clear that we might have opposition if this is an idea that has any merit.
“The women believe that because with the Keres the healing would be the same, they can simply work on calming their fury. They can heal more than one at the same time, but they would need one or more of us to join our energy to theirs when they’re healing to boost the flow.” Brandr looks around and then continues. “This might not even work, as we have never tried it, but they ask that we try.”
I look towards Bion and see a pensive look on his face. As our healer, he is the best one to know if we would be able to do this without harming our women. “Is this possible, Bion?” Wulf asks.
“I’m not sure. As you know, our energy doesn’t harm our mates once they become part of us, but if that energy flows through the others, I’m not sure that it won’t hurt them.”
“Well, that’s it, then,” Ceric says as he shrugs. “We just tell them no.”
“Is Nova going to listen to you?” I ask, and he scowls; we all know that Nova doesn’t listen too well to anything that goes against what she has her mind set on doing.
“She will understand,” he mutters.
“Sure she will,” Cassius quips, which has Ceric showing him the finger.
“It might work if we only touched our mate and our energy flowed through her,” Bion says. I can see that he is still trying to think of all the pros and cons of the situation.
“I don’t like this fucking idea. Why must we jeopardize hurting our women for the fucking Keres?” Bjarni growls as he places his arms on the table. Before, I would be all for this idea, but now that I have a mate, I understand my men’s hesitation in placing their women in jeopardy. If I could, I would stop Katrina from the healings, but I know that it’s part of her gift to help others, and it would be wrong of me to try to stop that.
“What if it works? By this time next year, we will be at peace, as there will be very few Keres to give us problems,” Celmund says.
“I hate those fucking Keres,” Ceric grunts as he throws up his hands.
“We all know that they’re not going to stop until they try it,” Bion says. “I think we should give it a go. I can be the one they experiment with.” The men once again start to argue, each one with his own opinion.
“Okay, let’s think about this,” I state. “If we have to do this, I don’t think it should be Bion, because if anything happens, we will need him.” I see the men nod as I continue. “Second, we will need to have somewhere to take them once they heal, because I don’t think we should have the Elementals who have been healed and the Keres in the same place.” We had an area designated for this purpose alone, but it has been used for all the Elementals the women have healed until their women were found or until they were there long enough for us to be sure that they were not going to change into Keres.
“Third, if their mates are alive in this time period, we don’t have the means to find all the women for the Elementals and the Keres. We would have to find a way of delegating it to someone else.” At the moment, if the Elemental belongs to one of our chapters, once we know where his mate is, we delegate the task of finding her to the chapter, but with the Keres, the chapters won’t have the means to help find their mates.
“Fourth, we will need more security. We won’t be able to do it here, as there will be too many Keres at once to take the chance with our women around. Therefore, we will need to set up another area to heal them, and a holding area until they go in to be healed.” I can see the men thinking of all the possibilities as I speak. We have been together for centuries, so I know that whatever the outcome of this decision, it will be a just one. “And last, our biggest problem. How do we keep our women safe through all of this? Because no matter what, we know that they will always come up with something that will endanger them. We are going to have to make sure that all the bases are covered.” I let my words sink in for a couple minutes. “Let’s vote. Who is for this, and who is against it? If we go ahead, we will decide on the way forward.”
I look towards Wulf and see his displeased face and tense body. “Yeah,” he states. I go around the table. Each one votes yes even though it’s obvious they’re not happy with the situation.
“Well, it looks like we’re going to do this,” I say. Even though I want to help all my people, I hate the idea of having our women constantly in danger. “Bjarni, Wulf, and Gunner, start thinking about all the threats we might encounter and ways around it. Celmund, Bion, look at property we own that we can use to accommodate the Keres and what will be required. Burkhart, Brandr, look into what we can do to find the Keres women. Cassius, work with the women to see how us using our energy will affect them.” We never thought that finding our women would bring us so many headaches, but it’s also helping the Elementals, which is something we never thought we would find a solution for but which our women have gifted us with.
“Celmund, regarding the transportation of the weapons, I think we shall move them at the end of this week. After this meeting, I will talk to the other chapters and organize all the details with them. Only four of us will go. The others will stay here in case we do get attacked.” I look around and see agreement on everyone’s faces, so I continue,
knowing that this is the topic most are itching about.
“Now, as most of you know, I want to kill the fuckers who hurt Katrina.” Instantly I feel the tension in the room. I know my brothers will always stand behind me no matter what, but I understand their reluctance. We have a crap load of trouble on the horizon now. We don’t need to add to it, but I won’t let those fuckers get away with doing what they did so that they can plan another attack to try to end all of us.
“They are also the ones responsible for all our problems in the last years. They were manipulating the Keres,” Bion says angrily.
“They were manipulating us,” Brandr states. I was expecting an argument on why we shouldn’t attack the federal agency, but once again, they surprise me as I see unity between everyone as they show me their support. I know this is a fucking bad idea, but we need to put an end to it, and if we stand together, there is nothing that can bring us down.
“We need to make sure where they are, and then monitor their movements until we have an attack plan,” Celmund suggests as he looks at me.
“We should burn the fuckers to the ground, show them that they were right—they shouldn’t have messed with us,” Burkhart grunts angrily.
“We can shake the foundation of the building they’re in until it falls on them. How are they going to prove that it was us?” Ceric quips as he wiggles his eyebrows.
“I like that,” Wulf mutters as he nods at Ceric.
“I would rather feel the sons of bitches’ bones cracking between my hands, but burying them alive and then burning them to a crisp also sounds good,” Bjarni mutters as he shrugs.
“Thank you,” I state as I look around the table at everyone. Their support means everything to me. We are a family, and as such, we always stand together. “After the delivery of the weapons and having a plan to go forward with the Keres, we will look at ending this game they have against us, and have our revenge for everything they have done to us.”
KATRINA 3
I’m finally moving around; it’s been nerve-wracking these last couple days. First, I was stuck in the infirmary for a week, and then I was allowed back in our room. I thought it would be better and I would start to move around, but no, Draco got it into his head that I wasn’t better, and no matter what I said or what Bion or Brielle said, I was to stay and rest. Well, today, I have had enough. No more bed rest. If it weren’t for the other women coming to keep me company every day, I would have gone mad by now. They have been wonderful, and they make light of the situation we find ourselves in. Every day, they are still healing the Elementals who need assistance, and I hear that we will soon be helping the Keres too.
I never thought I would be part of something so big, but now that I am, I realize that this is what I was meant to do all the time. I have to make my way to the courtyard and hopefully before Draco or one of the other guys catches me, as a family who can take care of Annie has finally been found. Draco assures me that she will be well taken care of and that I can see her anytime I want, as she will be in town quite close to us. Apparently, this family knows about the Elementals, as the woman was born an Elemental but chose to marry a human, therefore living a human life. From what Talia said, her mate was killed before they could bond, so she isn’t affected by the bond, but it has taken her a long time to find someone she can find love with. It is rare to find a woman Elemental as only boys are mostly born, also they are more delicate then the boys when babies and have a higher possibility of not making it. That is why everyone is so protective of Bjarni and Gabriela little girl, even though they all look out for the boy too but it is clear that the men at the compound are extra sensitive to her.
As she isn’t with her true mate, she will never be able to bear children, so taking Annie in will do all of them good. I spoke to Annie, and she seems keen to meet them and happy that she will be living near us and that she can visit anytime she wants. I want to be there when she leaves and make sure that she is calm and at peace with this decision.
I still feel a twinge every now and again when I move, but very slight. Nothing that would stop me from doing anything. I start to make my way to the door and stop in front of the mirror before leaving. My hair is pulled back into a ponytail, showing off my face. The bruising and sensitivity have gone, and my face is back to normal. My loose-fitting long-sleeved black shirt over my tight low-waisted jeans is comfortable and just shows a hint of the body underneath.
“Well, here goes nothing,” I mutter as I walk out the door and towards the compound. I won’t stay in the room any longer, and if someone doesn’t like it, that’s just too bad. I can hear voices as I near the courtyard. Once I enter, the light from above shines over everything, giving it a naturalistic quality. I’m so blessed to be able to see the beauty of my surroundings and the peace that comes with it. The surrounding area is breath-taking. I could walk outside for hours and never tire, but the inside of the compound, with the different shades as the light reflects off the stone, is just as amazing.
I see Jasmine talking to Gabriela as the kids play close by. Annie is sitting on the bench under the tree in the centre of the courtyard and is laughing at something Orion is doing. I’m so grateful to Draco for letting us keep Annie since we rescued her from her abusive father. Everyone at the compound has been amazing with her and has given her a strength that I have never seen in her before. She is more confident and happier than I have ever seen her being.
“Hi,” I call, and capture everyone’s attention as I walk towards them.
“Yay, you better,” Annie says happily as she claps her hands with a big smile on her little pixie face.
“Great! It’s so good to see you walking around again,” Gabriela says as she walks towards me and pulls me into her arms for a hug. “Have you been given a free pass?”
I can feel myself smiling as I shake my head. “Not really,” I whisper, and then wink at her, which has her laughing.
“Oh boy, this is going to be fun when Draco sees you out here,” Jasmine quips with a twinkle in her eye. “He has been as grumpy as hell these last few days.”
“Well, let’s hope this kickstarts his good mood, or I will have to give him a talking to,” I tease, and Gabriela and Jasmine laugh. “So, Annie, are you ready to meet your new family today?” The little girl stands from the bench and skips towards me. By her sparkling smile, I can tell she’s excited.
“Yes. I spoke to them on the phone last night, and they seemed really nice,” she says happily. “They say that there is a room just for me and that I can choose all new clothes and toys.”
At her happy chatter, I feel the heaviness of worry disperse. I’m going to miss her, but I’m happy she will have a loving and happy home to go to. I pull her little frame against me as I hug her close. “You can phone me anytime you want. You know that, don’t you?” I ask, and she nods her head against me.
“Nice to see you up and about, Katrina.” At Ceric’s words, I jump, as I didn’t hear him approach. Letting go of Annie, I turn my head and see a wide smile on his face. Cassius stands next to him, also smiling.
“Hi, thanks,” I murmur. I should have known that Cassius would be the one to take Annie. Since the day we rescued her, he has kept a close eye on her. He is always there to make sure she is fine, like a big brother, and I think Annie has grown attached to him too.
“Are you ready to go, squirt?” Cassius asks, a soft smile on his face as he looks at the little girl.
“Are we going on your bike again?” she asks excitedly, which has Cassius laughing. Since their first bike ride when we brought her here, she has constantly asked to go on the bike again. Annie has found a passion for bikes, which I support as a rider myself. I know bikes are dangerous, but the freedom I find when riding is like no other.
“Yes, I’ll take you on my bike.” Annie jumps up and down in excitement. Seeing this, Orion joins in. “Well, tiger, I’m afraid you’re going to have to ask your dad to take you,” Cassius says playfully to Orion as he ruffles his ha
ir. This has Orion running towards the gym with Jasmine rushing after him.
“Orion, not now,” she mutters, but he doesn’t stop and continues his quest for his father.
“This just makes me want to ride,” I say wistfully.
“Sure, just lynch us now and hang us out to dry,” Ceric says with a raised brow. At his words, I frown.
“I’m feeling fine,” I say, and he rolls his eyes in exaggeration.
“Of course you are, but not well enough to ride.” At my huff of disagreement, he throws up his hands in supplication. “Okay, I’m the one who’s not ready to become mincemeat,” he says, and with this, he turns and makes his way out of the courtyard towards the garage. I look at Cassius and notice that he’s avoiding eye contact.
“Really?” I ask sarcastically. I wasn’t going to go on this ride, but now I feel like going just because they don’t want me to.
He finally looks at me, a defeated look on his face. “Come on, don’t make this our problem. You know he will have our hides if you get on a bike right now.”
I shake my head in annoyance. “It’s fine,” I mutter, and walk away towards the bench where Gabriella is sitting watching her kids. I know she heard the exchange between us. I hear Cassius and Annie leaving as I sit down.
“Did you really want to go for a ride?” she asks, still looking at her kids.
“No, but that isn’t the point,” I mutter, which has her grinning as she finally looks at me.
“I know, and sometimes you have to do the things and ask for forgiveness later. Our men are the best, but they are overprotective, and the only way to get our way sometimes is to go out there and do it.” She looks over my shoulder and then grins. “Here comes thunder.” I tense, knowing that she means Draco. I guess I’ll be facing him sooner than I thought. Gabriela quickly rises and starts to call the kids.
“Traitor,” I grumble.
“Girl, we always have your back, but this is a fight you have to win by yourself, but don’t worry, if it goes well, you will be wanting to repeat it.” She winks before hurriedly ushering the kids away.
DRACO'S WRATH: Elemental's MC (book 11) Page 2
