by Cree Storm
Bound to the Enemy
Eternal Flames- Maddox 3
By
Maggie Walsh
And
Cree Storm
Bound to the Enemy
Eternal Flame: Maddox 3
Dain, Regent to the pixies, and sworn protector of his people.
Rune, scientist to the FAE and indirectly responsible for the deaths of a great many souls.
Kerrick, leader of the elves and nemesis of the pixie, dragons, phoenix, and shifters...
How is Dane going to handle it when he discovers he is Bound to the Enemy?
Copyright © 2017 by Cree Storm and Maggie Walsh
All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Cover by: JP Graphics & Design
Edited by: Avril Stepowski
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Dedication
We want to thank Facebook video chat, if not for this, we couldn’t plan and prepare…FOR HOURS…each Eternal Flame book, so thank you, Mark.
CHAPTER 1
Dain walked through the portal and was back in his home. He was beyond pissed. Dain had gone after Rune and damn near caught the fucker twice, but the bastard was always one step ahead of him.
Picking up a beaker on his lab table, Dain threw the thing across the room. "Fuck!"
A scurrying sound had Dain turning quickly, for the first time taking notice that Baldwin was standing there, as a small man hid behind him and another was trying to crawl up his back.
Baldwin moved left then right, growling, "Get off me."
"Hell no, that man is fucking nuts and you are the biggest, best thing to hide behind," the man with the robin egg hair said from Baldwin's shoulders.
The other man, with half his hair brown and the other half white, hissed, "Ollie, stop being silly and get off Baldwin."
"Who the hell are these two Baldwin?" Dain asked in agitation.
Baldwin finally pulled the smallest man from his shoulders, saying, "This one is Ollie, and the other is Pascal. They are your new assistants."
"My new──Shit! Destrain said he was bringing you two on." Dain waved his hands. "Destrain is mistaken. I don't need, nor do I want, any assistants.
Ollie must have forgotten his fear, because he stomped towards Dain, snapping, "Oh hell no! There are no go backsies on this. Pas and I were promised our ajutor."
Dain raised a brow, almost saying to himself, "No backsies?" Then looked directly at Ollie. "I have no idea what an ajutor is, nor do I care. I have much more important problems to take care of right now and I don't have time to train you two in what it is I do."
A soft sniffle brought Dain's attention to the young man Baldwin had called Pascal. Damned if the man's bottom lip wasn't quivering and large tears were falling from the corners of his eyes. He then rasped, "Come on, Ollie. Let's go back to the cave."
Dain pulled back confused. Cave? What the hell was the man talking about?
"I am not going back to that fucking cave, Pas! Destrain is the king and he promised that we could do our ajutor with this dick head and that is exactly what we're going to do," Ollie snapped, then turned his squinty eyes to Dain, hissing, "Even if that means we do nothing more than sit on our asses all fucking day."
Dain's brows rose and for the first time, in what seemed like forever, Dain smiled and gave an honest to goodness laugh. Oh, this little one was a pistol. The slight movement of the other man had Dain getting control of himself, as he hung his head, turned, and started for the door, murmuring, "You do what you want. I can't stay where I'm not wanted, Ollie."
The poor guy looked like Dain had kicked his puppy while he was down. Damn, he hated when Destrain was right. His brother had told him that he had become colder and meaner with each passing day since the pixies had escaped their imprisonment by the fairies. Seeing the forlorn look on Pascal’s face and knowing he was the cause, just didn't sit right with Dain.
"Stop!" Dain ordered.
Pascal immediately did as he was told, but didn't turn around.
Dain went to go to Pascal, but Ollie jumped in front of him with his fists high in the air like a boxer. "I will kick your ass if you try and hurt my brother!"
Dain knew he could kill Ollie with a flick of his finger, but respected not only the fact that he was ignoring his own fear, but doing it to protect his brother, at the risk of his own life. "Ollie, I have no intention of harming your brother. I only meant to go and speak to him face to face."
Ollie licked his lips, undecided if he believed Dain or not. He must have decided he believed Dain, but not enough to allow him to get close enough to Pascal without himself there, just in case Dain was lying. "Fine, but you make one wrong move and I will neuter you myself."
Hearing a soft chuckle, Dain was surprised to see the normally stoic Baldwin was smiling, and the one behind the sound. Turning back to Ollie, Dain replied, "I consider myself on notice."
Making his way to Pascal, Dain could see the young man was trembling. Damn it, Dain, you should just let Ollie kick your ass for making this man so afraid. Doing his best, Dain softened his tone, saying, "Pascal, I'm sorry I snapped at you. I'm just struggling with a personal matter and I took it out on you. That was unfair and unjust. How about we start new?"
Pascal slowly looked up, his lip still trembling, stammering, "O―okay."
Smiling, Dain held his hand out to shake Pascal's, saying, "Hi, I am an ass, otherwise known as Dain Shadowfox. I am the brother and Regent to King Destrain."
Pascal's giggle was the thing that Dain had hoped to hear. Pascal then held out his hand, softly saying, "I'm Pascal James, brother to Toby and Oliver James. It is nice to meet you."
"If you don't mind, I've had a busy few weeks. Is it okay if we sit and get to know each other?" Dain asked politely.
Baldwin scoffed and Dain turned to his long-time friend. "Do you have a problem, Baldwin?"
"Do you mind if we sit? Who the hell are you and what did you do with my friend Dain?" Baldwin asked with a smirk.
"Oh, shut up and sit down," Dain said in annoyance.
Dain noticed that although Pascal went right to the settee and sat, Ollie was a little more hesitant and untrusting. "Ollie, I know I have a reputation to bite, but I promise you I have no intention of doing so."
"Uh huh," Ollie muttered cautiously.
Sighing heavily, Dain sa
t, looked at Baldwin, saying, "It has dawned on me that Destrain may be correct about my temper. I need to learn to reign it in, but after the weeks I’ve had, it's not that easy."
"Why? Did something bad happen?" Pascal asked.
Dain laid his head back and closed his eyes. "A long time ago, Pascal."
"Maybe if you tell us about it, we might be able to help," Pascal said as he stood up.
"I don't see how you can," Dain muttered.
Ollie gasped, "Pas, don't you dare!"
Pascal placed a finger on Dain's forehead, and a jolt of energy ran through Dain. It felt like an electrical shock, causing needle like sensations to run all the way from the tips of his fingers to the tips of his toes. Instead of pain, Dain felt refreshed and clear minded for the first time in years.
"What the hell did you just do?" Dain asked.
Quickly Pascal made his way to his brother and hid behind the chair Ollie was sitting in.
Dain changed his tone, saying, "Pascal, I'm not angry, just a bit stunned. I've not felt rested in many years and at this moment I feel like I have slept a week, straight. My mind is clear and my thoughts are running. How did you do that?"
Pascal peeked over the chair, but Ollie answered, "As your ajutor, it is our job to make sure that not only are your orders followed, but we also make sure you are able to operate at full capacity. As a Santorini fox, we can do this by touch and you are able to continue as if you have slept for hours."
"Damn, we need to bottle that stuff," Dain said moving his neck left the right.
Ollie stood, went around the chair, and grabbed Pascal, rushing behind Baldwin, begging, "Don't let him hurt us."
Confused, Dain asked, "Pascal―Ollie, what's wrong? I don't want to hurt you."
"You just said you want to bottle us. That means you want to drain us and that means we'll die," Ollie said fearfully from behind Baldwin.
Shaking his head, Dain replied, "I don't want to do any such thing. It's a figure of speech, Ollie, not a demand."
Pascal peeked from around his brother and Baldwin, tentatively asking, "You weren't ordering our deaths?"
"No! Of course, I wasn't. Why in the hell would you―wait―have others like you been killed because of your gift?" Dain asked in horror.
Nodding, Ollie replied, "During the war, the snakes and other paranormals would kidnap a Santorini fox to use so that they could maintain their strength to fight. We were so sought after that we have become almost extinct. Our parents and some others scattered for safety and have remained hidden from all other shifters."
"If it harms you, Pascal, why did you do it? I don't want you or your brothers harmed," Dain insisted.
Ollie took his brother’s hand once more and both sat on the settee. Ollie explained, "Small doses like Pas just did to you won't harm us. Pascal will regain what little he gave you in the next five minutes. However, if asked to do this to an entire pack or pride or whatever, that would take more energy than our bodies can recover from. Our energy would be siphoned to the point of no return."
Dain didn't respond to what Ollie said, instead requesting, "Tell me about yourselves."
Dain was shocked to hear how Ollie, Pascal, and Toby had been orphaned at the age of eight, nine, and ten years of age. Their parents had sacrificed themselves when a wolf pack found them so their children could get away. They had spent most of their lives hiding out in caves, abandoned buildings, and other squalor. Ollie went on about eating stuff Toby could find either in trash bins or by stealing from outside vendors. Pascal and Ollie were quite contrite when telling him that. Their story was heartbreaking, and Dain knew what he needed to do.
"Well, I don't want you to ever feel any obligation to use your gift on me or anyone else in our shimmer. I can't have my ajutor weakened and therefore at risk for harm," Dain stated firmly.
Pascal gasped then smiled wide. "Really? You're going to let us stay?"
Nodding, Dain smiled back. "I like you two and you have shown me you are loyal and honest by action as well as words. We have to decide how we're going to do this, since it will mean that one of you must serve most of your days in Crystal as the other is here in Maddox."
"Do we have to sleep there or is it okay if we came back here? Pascal and I have never been apart before. It's hard enough being separated from Toby, even though I'm mad at him I still miss him," Ollie said quietly.
"Where is Toby?" Dain asked.
Shaking his head, Pascal replied, "We don't know. We haven't seen him in more than a week. Nash and Vik were looking for him. They had some questions about the leak to the leader of the fairies about Rune being Manny's dad."
"Rune! I still can't believe he's Manny's father. He's probably lying through his teeth about siring that child," Dain ground out.
Shaking his head, Ollie replied, "No he isn't. If it weren't for him, Manny would have died during his transition."
"Wait! You saw Rune after I saw you guys at Manny's home?" Dain asked anxiously.
Nodding, Ollie replied, "Rune came to Frankie's place and helped Manny through the change. He was really nice. I don't understand what your hang up is with Rune."
"He is the reason my people were imprisoned for years by the fairies. My best friend died because of what Rune did. I just spent weeks looking for the bastard and had I found him, I would have killed him," Dain snapped.
Pascal looked at Ollie in confusion. "He talked about that, sir. He explained why he did what he did to Manny. I know what he did was really bad, sir, but he didn't have a choice and he did help Destrain free your people."
Dain looked at Pascal like he had two heads. What the hell was this minion man saying? "He helped Destrain?"
Nodding Ollie replied, "He told Manny and us all about it. When he did the same for the vampires, he was almost killed. Logan found him and saved his life. If you talk to him, I have no doubt he will tell you everything."
Dain didn't know what to think. Was what these two were telling him true? Why had Destrain never told him? He needed to talk to his brother. If what Ollie and Pascal said was true, Destrain had a lot of fucking explaining to do. Had he been hating Rune all these years for no reason? If he didn't have Rune to blame, then who the fuck did he kill? Retribution for Torin was not up for debate. If not by Runes death then he needed the man to tell him who.
Suddenly a green man that was the same height and weight as Dain with long chestnut brown hair popped into his lab, carrying another guy with long purple hair and pointed ears.
Pascal and Ollie both rushed towards him yelling, "Rune!"
Dain couldn't stop himself from ogling the sexy as fuck man. However, he quickly pushed his lust filled thoughts from his mind when he also took in how their clothing was torn and blood was everywhere.
Dain jumped up as Baldwin brought back his sword, prepared to attack. Dain said three words he never thought he would ever say, "Baldwin, stand down."
Rune dropped to his knees not letting the other man go, rasping, "Dain, I-I'm sorry. I've t-tried to stay away, b-but Fallon knows a-about you and K-Kerrick. He h-has ordered your d-deaths."
"Knows? What are you talking about? Ordered who's death?" Dain asked in confusion.
"Mine and m-my mates," Rune said as he collapsed with the other man still in his arms.
CHAPTER 2
"Why? I don't understand why the hell you never told me that Rune helped us escape? You know I have blamed him for everything and all this time you knew he helped us," Dain yelled.
Rune struggled to open his eyes, but the light was so bright and his head was killing him. What the hell happened? Where am I?
"Damn it Dain, calm down. I didn't tell you because Rune asked me to tell no one. You have no idea how many times I wanted to say something, but I had given my word," Destrain argued back.
What the hell am I doing in Maddox? I had been doing everything I could to stay one step ahead of Dain. Think Rune. Think!
"He thinks we're mates, Destrain. And not just he and I, but K
errick, too. I cannot be mated to a fairy and an elf. First of all, the council would never approve of this mating, and second, fate could not be that cruel. Besides, I already had one of my mates and he died," Dain snapped.
Rune struggled once again and finally pried his eyes open. Dain was pacing and tossing his arms up and down, then throwing his arms out wide, as he spoke. "Why would he say something like that, Destrain? I am no one's mate. You know that and I know that."
"Dain, when he wakes you can ask him. I don't have the answers you're asking for," Destrain replied calmly.
Dain stopped pacing and wiggled his finger at Destrain. "You always have the answers for everyone else, why not me? I'm your fucking brother, Destrain. I never ask you for anything."
"What are you asking me for, Dain?" Destrain asked.
Tossing his arms high in the air then letting them drop, Dain shouted, "I'm asking you for answers. If we are mates as Rune says, then that means he has been close to me before. When? I would have remembered him, Destrain. Today was the first time I ever laid eyes on the man."
"Maybe he saw you when he was in his glamour form. You know how they change their color to fit into the human world," Destrain replied.
Rune's eyes felt heavy. He needed to remember. Something was wrong and Rune just could not put his finger on it. What the hell is wrong with my mind. I never forget anything.
"I'm not stupid, Destrain. I know what a glamour form is," Dain snapped.
Destrain sighed loudly, saying, "Dain, when Rune wakes he can answer your questions."
The sound of footsteps had Rune opening his eyes once more. Rune was surprised to see Logan.
"How are they?" Destrain asked.
They? Who else was here?
Logan placed his stethoscope around his neck, saying, "Rune had one hell of a head wound. I don't know how he made it here at all, let alone carrying another man."
What man?
Sitting down at the table in the corner of the room, Logan said, "I cleaned Rune up the best I could, his stab wounds and burns are already healing. Kerrick, on the other hand, is in far worse shape."
