Before I can continue working my way through the pathetic Gifted in front of us, the shadow creatures strike, hundreds of them swarming and killing indiscriminately as they work toward the back of the group where the enemy is waiting.
Screams of terror and pain sound around us, the sounds of flesh and bone being torn apart filters through the rain to us, and a shiver of joy and excitement ripples through me.
They’re magnificent.
There are pops around us as enemy Transporters begin to bring in reinforcements, but I’m picking them off faster than they’re arriving, keeping the threat we’re facing at a very manageable level. I feel the inkling of a foreign being trying to reach into my mind, his talons digging into my skull, and I change my tactics.
I send power to my Bonded instead.
He glances at me in shock, but he gets my plan instantly, his Gift flooding me and shoving the man out of my head. I might not be strong enough, or practiced enough, to keep him out on my own, but my Bonded is, especially with the kick of power.
We watch as the grass turns red with the blood and gore of those who came here to harm us, and the stacks of bodies begin to pile up. Occasionally, there’s the sound of a gun firing, but mostly, the carnage comes from my Bonds and me.
It only lasts for a few minutes, a retreat is called in quickly when it’s clear that they’ve underestimated who they were dealing with and what we’re capable of, and then the pops become about getting people out of here.
I make eye contact with the man who loves knives, the one who cut and hacked at the girl for years just to get to me, and right before his Transporter helps him escape his death, he smirks at me, dipping his head in acknowledgment.
It’s a promise.
A promise that now that the stage has been set, the war is coming together around us, and now that I have my Bonded, we’ll face each other until one of us comes out victorious.
Chapter Seventeen
Oli
My bond doesn't let me take control again until the Transporter gets us back to the Sanctuary.
I don't remember all of what had happened while it was in control, but my body is still thrumming with the power that I now associate with the Soul Rending. It’s clear to me that we had killed a lot of Resistance while we were there, and I'm not sure if I should feel horrified at my own lack of concern about that.
I only wish that we had been able to kill Davies or the Trigger.
Gryphon gets his hand on my neck to ease away the churning feeling in my stomach, but North stands stock still next to me without so much as a glance in my direction.
Very weird.
“Are you going to do something to get him back? Or are we going to have to pour a tub of ice water over his head or something?” Gryphon snaps, and I frown at him.
“What are you talking about?”
He leans in a little closer to me so that the TacTeam personnel around us can’t hear, but North can, probably why he’s doing it instead of just using our mind connection. “Your bond funneled power to us all while we were out there, and it triggered North's bond to take over. It hasn’t given him back yet.”
Oh, shit.
I wait until Gryphon moves away from me before I reach out gently and take North's hand, trying to get his attention without making a big deal about it in front of everyone. It’s unnaturally cold, nothing like it usually is, and I try not to freak out.
The bond notices.
Of course it does, he’s devoted to me. His void eyes turn to face me, and I get a good look at him. I love North's bond; I love his bond as much as I love him. That simple but completely sincere declaration that it had given me before we’d Bonded still rings in my ears, and there isn't a lot that I wouldn't do for him.
But Gryphon is really starting to lose his shit about it being here.
“Can I have North back now, please? I'm safe here, you know.”
It stares me down, and even though his face still stays completely blank, I can tell that the intensity of his look is making Gryphon nervous. Nox turns around from where he’d had his back to us, and even he doesn't look so sure about the situation. It doesn't matter though. I already know that we're all safe.
I shake our joined hands a little. “Hey, I need North back, please… unless you can sense a danger here that none of the rest of us are feeling. If you’re not, then I really do need him back.”
The bond lifts our hands up to his face from where I'm still clutching at his, taking in a deep breath of the scent of my skin.
Gryphon gets a hand on the butt of one of his guns, and I scowl in his direction, utterly disapproving of the move. There's also extra shadow creatures around my ankles coming directly from Nox himself.
“Knock it off. It’s just saying goodbye to me. You are, right? Because we can hang out a bit later, once we're back at the house and there's less eyes on us.”
The bond looks around at the TacTeam personnel who are all shifting on their feet very uneasily. I’d almost forgotten they were all there, and for a second, I can’t help but think about what this all must look like to them.
Terrifying, I’m sure.
Gryphon curses under his breath. “Why did you point out the other people, Bonded? He might see them as a threat.”
I shake my head at him, and North's bond tugs on my arm again until I'm pressed up against his chest. It’s a very impressive chest that I’m well acquainted with, but the way he’s standing is so different to North that for a moment, it feels like a whole new being is holding me.
“Mine,” he murmurs against my lips before kissing me in full view of everyone around us. I can sense how much it's freaking Gryphon out, but by the time I pull away, the void eyes are gone and North's blue gaze is staring back at me.
“What the fuck was that?” he says, glancing over my shoulder at the other two, but Nox answers before I can find my voice again.
“That was what happens when you trust a Bond. They take whatever the fuck they want, regardless of what you have to say about it.”
My cheeks heat, and North’s arm around me tightens protectively. Gryphon’s eyes flash, but I can’t see whatever it is that he’s doing.
From the look on Nox’s face, it has everything to do with him.
My stomach is doing flips, and when Nox’s eyes flick to mine, I see that same fire in him, the one that burns so hot that makes him hurt me at every opportunity. He’s only going to hate me even more if we have to Bond like our bonds have demanded.
I might just hate myself for it too.
I take a long shower.
Showers have always been my safe haven, somewhere I can go to wash away all of my troubles. Honestly, hot water is the answer to everything, but no matter how long I stand under there, there’s no getting away from the problems of today.
We need to complete the bond.
Nox would rather die.
He’s not exactly my favorite person either, but I can deal with the sex part of it. Actually, the sex part is the least of my problems. I’ve been lucky enough to enjoy four other amazing men who have shown me exactly how much pleasure is possible between two or more people, how different that pleasure can look, and the limitless possibilities that exist between my Bonded and I.