Pure Elemental (Evelyn Storm Series Book 3) Read online

  Evie’s just pissing her off now and that’s not good for her or the babies. Josie has always had a bad temper. The thought of her hurting Evie terrifies me. She wasn’t violent in our marriage, yet she was at the same time. In our marriage, she was aggressive and verbally abused me, always bringing me down. I didn’t think anything of it for a while because it always felt as if it were a joke, but after her death, and the therapy I went through, it helped me realize what it really was.

  “Josie, calm down. I don’t know what Max has told you but I’m not your bonded, I’m sorry,” I say trying to distract her from engaging with Evie.

  “Max hasn’t told me anything. I know we’re meant to be together, and once this whore is taken care of, we’ll be together again. You’ll see,” she says smugly, walking out the cabin door.

  “Well, this was interesting. You guys better rest up, you have a few big days ahead of you, and I don’t want you exhausted before I get what I want,” Max walks out behind Josie leaving us to process all of this.

  He is literally the most vile, sadistic person I’ve met. Why is he doing this to us? What could he possibly have planned?

  Zach

  Whoa! Evie’s about to lose her shit! She’s so angry at Josie, and I don’t think she even realizes just how enraged she is. The walls of the cabin are trembling around us, and I fear what she will do if we don’t calm her down. She can’t keep bottling up all her feelings or it’s going to break out of her when we can’t contain the situation.

  I pity Christian trying to navigate that minefield. He’s going to have convince Evie that he won’t leave her for his wife. How is he going to do it in a way Evie will understand he means it? He’s already told her the story of how they met, how he proposed and how they fought over not having children, so I’d imagine she’s not feeling hopeful about her chances of keeping Christian around.

  I hope he won’t go back to Josie. From what I know of Josie, she sounded like a controlling bitch. I know he loved her so I never said anything. Sure, I felt horrible thinking badly of the dead, but she tried to trick Christian into having kids before he was ready, she tried to make him move once the town found out what his mother did to our father, and she pressured him into marrying her.

  The way he told the story of his proposal was sweet and romantic, but the events in the lead up to his proposal show how controlling she really was. Josie was scared of them going to school without a commitment, afraid he would leave her for his bonded if she came along, so she told him if they wanted to stay together, she needed something more permanent than a promise to stay together, and that’s when he told her the truth about himself before he proposed.

  “Evie, please calm down. It’s not what you think,” Christian says inching closer to her while she has her eyes closed and focuses on her breathing.

  Yeah, I’m just going to back away from that mess. It’s safer for me to stay out of it, so I don’t say anything to make things worse.

  I’m going to disappear into the background and, hopefully, figure out a way out of here. When the guys come to get Evie, we’ll need to get out of here fast. I need to be sure we can get out of here with no problem, or make a way for Evie to get away while we fight our way out.

  Staring into the forest, studying every little detail for our escape, I finally let myself think about what Evie told us happened to Dane.

  He was stabbed, and now he’s in a coma or unconscious. What happened? Why did they stab him? They would know killing him would weaken Evie and the bonds. What purpose did it have stabbing him? There must be something we’re missing.

  Evie

  I don’t know how to handle this right now.

  I open my eyes and look at Christian. I don’t know what to say. I can’t say it is all ok, and pretend that his wife didn’t show up claiming to be his bonded, when she did exactly that.

  Christian is pleading with me to understand that he wouldn’t choose her over me. I’m so consumed by my anger and jealousy that I can’t focus on him. I need an escape.

  Zach is by the window, and I take my escape by walking to him. Christian sighs, defeated, and sits on the couch watching me. While I hate that he feels hurt, I just need a moment to think rationally without letting my emotions cloud my judgement.

  Sighing, I approach Zach, hoping I can stay over here until I have my shit sorted. “Can I stay here for a second? I just can’t deal with Christian right now.”

  “Of course, you can, but you know you’re going to have to deal with it eventually. You can’t hide from him while we’re stuck together,” he says, hugging me.

  The comfort is what I need right now. I realize my anger at Christian is unwarranted. It’s not Christian’s fault his wife is back from the dead, so to speak, and I shouldn’t be blaming him for something he had no control over.

  Sighing, I lean into Zach’s arms and enjoy the comfort it gives me. Being around any of the guys always helps me get my calm back. Zach’s looking out the window as if he’s looking for something particular.

  We both stare outside for a minute or two before my curiosity gets the best of me. “So, what are we looking at?”

  He laughs at me before focusing back out the window “I’m looking for an easy getaway path. If we get out of here soon, I want to be prepared to run. Who knows how many others Max has out there ready to stop us from getting away? If we need to escape, it’s best to have a plan. Can you see the path out there?” he points to a narrow path of dirt at the edge of the forest, diagonally across from the house.

  “Yeah, what about it?”

  “It leads to a trail, which is probably going to be the easiest way to get out. If something happens to us, and you have a chance to get away, I want you to follow the trail until you get to a main road. Once you’re surrounded by people, you’ll be safer from them taking you again. They won’t take you if it means causing us exposure. Even the demons aren’t that stupid to expose us.

  If you get on the path, project it to one of the guys, and let them know where you are. It will make it easier for all of us if you’re out of harm’s way,” he says, looking down at me with a fierceness in his eyes.

  Huh. That actually makes sense. Though I don’t know if I can make it that far, being as big as I am. I know he’s right about the guys being distracted with me in the firing line, so I’ll do my best to follow it. The babies need me to think about them instead of being selfish. The guys should be strong enough to handle the others. I step closer to the window and study the path, wondering if I can make it.

  I’m rubbing my raised bump thinking about how much I’ve grown and how much harder it will be to run with a belly inhibiting me, when I feel something tickle my stomach. Strange, it feels like’s butterflies tickling the inside of my stomach.

  Zach notices me staring down at my stomach and pulls me to him.

  “Are you ok?” He wraps his arms around me from behind. Once his hands caress my stomach, I feel it again, only stronger, and gasp in wonder.

  “Oh my god. Did you feel that? I think the babies are kicking,” I say, awed at the feeling. It feels amazing knowing life is growing inside of me.

  Zach rubs his hands over my stomach and they move again. “Whoa! You’ve got some fighters in there. I’m putting bets on them both being boys,” Zach chuckles.

  “I’m coming, baby,” I hear whispered through the room and look for the speaker. It sounded like Mike. I whisper his name hoping he’ll answer, but there’s only silence. Zach and Christian are watching me.

  “Sorry, I thought I heard something,” I say, blushing in embarrassment. I’m probably just hearing things.

  “You know, I can tell you what gender they are, if you want?”

  Christian is standing behind us looking sad and defeated. He’s staring at my stomach instead of my face, as if he looks at me, he won’t like what he sees.

  “I don’t know. I want the guys to be here when I find out. They deserve to know first.” I miss them. They should be here to fi
nd out. They’ve missed out on feeling the babies kick, I can’t deny them knowing the genders first. Especially Ky and Dane. I can’t tell anyone unless they’re here for it.

  “Fair enough. We’ll wait until everyone’s together again.”

  He pauses, staring into my eyes before continuing on, “Evie, I’m sorry about Josie and what she said. I had no idea, I swear. I was so shocked about seeing her, that I didn’t react sooner. You probably think I still care about her. You have to know that there’s no bond between us. She was human when we were together, and I have no idea how she has powers now, but please, don’t push me away. I couldn’t bear it.”

  “I know you didn’t mean to and I’m sorry I over reacted. I understand if you want Josie back, you know. I won’t hold you to the bond, if you want to try again. I can get rid of the demon possessing her so you can go back to your life before you met me. I’m not sure if it will work while we’re in here but I’ll try.”

  I feel bad for him, I mean if it was my partner that was back from the dead, then I’d want to be with them. No matter what. As much as it is ripping me apart on the inside to let him go, I can’t hold him to a bond that may not mean as much to him as having his wife back.

  “You don’t understand Evie. I don’t want Josie, ever! She may have been my wife, but any feelings I had for her are long gone. After therapy, I realized that while I loved her when we got married, the love was fading before she died. We went from being in a relationship to a housemate situation. We barely even talked unless it was when she wanted to start a fight.

  If I go back to her now, I’d be putting myself in the same position I was when she died. I don’t want that. I want you. There’s nothing I want more than to be one of your bonded and help take care of you and the babies. You’re the one I’m meant to be with, not Josie.”

  He looks so sincere, and I use my new-found empathy to feel his emotions for me. The sadness and guilt I feel from him hurt my heart. He shouldn’t feel this way. He should be happy.

  “Oh, Christian,” I sigh, dropping to my knees and hugging him. He latches onto me as if I’m the last thing in the world. “If you want me, actually us, then I’m happy to have you. You know the others already approve of you because you’re looking after me, but is this really what you want? If you bond with me, you’re tying yourself to all of us, not just me. I want you to be clear on that before you make any decisions. You too, Zach. I know you want the bond to happen but please think about what each of you would be giving up.”

  There’s nothing I want more than to be bonded to them, but I doubt they want the same. As it is, I’ve been wondering if there is a way to break the bonds between me and the others. I don’t know if I can be bonded with them knowing the babies have different fathers.

  I thought maybe we could work it out but right now I don’t see a way for everyone to be happy. All my dreams show me them fighting when I tell them the fathers. I hate that this has happened before I barely even got to know them.

  “Zach, you could find a nice girl, or guy, to settle down with and have kids with. Christian, you could be with Josie and have kids and a happy life. Please be sure before you make any decisions,” I say feeling emotionally drained.

  Christian sighs standing up and scooping me into his arms, carrying me over to the couch. He sits down keeping me nestled in his lap while Zach joins us.

  “I know what I’m getting into. You’re definitely the one I want to be with. I don’t know about Zach, but I know that sharing you with the others is better than losing you. I’m not sure how it will work with all of us and any other future bonds, but I’m willing to try,” Christian says to me, before kissing me gently on the top on my head.

  I sigh, snuggling into him and look over at Zach. He pulls my feet up over his lap and rubs them, causing me to relax.

  “I know you want to hear the same stuff Christian just said, but the truth is, I’m not sure yet. I do want to be with you, but I don’t want to confuse my feelings for you with the ones I have for Dane. We need to get to know each other without Dane, to see if the feelings that are there are our own. Maybe once we get out of here, we can spend some more time together, and get to know each other properly. Hell, the most time we’ve spent together was while you were being held hostage. That doesn’t feel like the best way to start a bond, or any other relationship.”

  To be honest, I’m kind of relieved Zach feels that way. It’s been hard to get to know him, and the previous relationship between Dane and Zach, has made things strained between us. I think it’s why he distanced himself from me in the first place.

  “Zach, if that’s what you want, then that’s perfectly fine. The last thing I want to do is force something that may not work out. Besides, I’d hate to push you into a bond with Dane and me, if you aren’t ready for it.”

  He nods in understanding and continues rubbing my feet in a soothing gesture. Being surrounded by both of them, I relax and let sleep take me. Hopefully, sleeping between the two of them will keep the dreams away.

  Dane

  “Again!”

  Spencer is standing on the sidelines, while Zeke and I face off in a huge field. Apparently, Spencer is able to manipulate our surroundings because he’s higher up in the angel chain of command.

  For the last 2 hours I’ve been practicing all my new powers. Now we’re working on putting them into use.

  The lightning that shot out of me, can be shot from all over my body, not just my midsection, which I had assumed. I’m working on controlling it by fighting Zeke, but all I’ve managed to do so far is get knocked out.

  No matter how much I concentrate, it doesn’t come out when I’m fighting Zeke. I had no trouble facing off with Spencer, but, for some reason, my powers won’t come out against Zeke. I don’t understand it.

  Getting up off the ground, I try to focus all my energy on my powers. I throw them at Zeke but still nothing happens.

  “Look, Spencer this isn’t working. My power doesn’t want to respond when faced against Zeke. It feels like it’s there, but if I try to aim at him, it seems to disappear as if it wasn’t there to begin with,” I say, frustrated at the lack of progress. I’ve been able to focus my power on inanimate objects and Spencer, but it just doesn’t work when faced with Zeke.

  Spencer paced around, looking at me, “You’re not trying hard enough! What are you going to do if Evie’s in danger and you don’t defend her? She’ll die, all because you can’t focus!”

  “Or maybe you haven’t thought things through, Spencer?” Raphael says appearing from thin air.

  “Raphael, thank god you’re here. Is it time to go back to Evie?” I ask, relieved to see a familiar face.

  He laughs “No, dear boy, it’s not time yet. I heard you were having some trouble, and the Creator sent me to give you some help. Now, Spencer, have you realized what you’re missing yet?”

  Great. I’m still here for this nonsense. I’ll never learn how to use this power.

  “No, what am I missing, old man?” Spencer asks arrogantly.

  “What have Zeke and Dane got in common?”

  “Nothing they just met,” Spencer say confused.

  “Evie,” I understand where Raphael is going with this. When we were in the mansion and I used the power for the first time, it didn’t hit the guys.

  “Exactly!” Raphael seems delighted by my response.

  “Evie’s your bonded and part of being bonded with her means that you can’t use their powers on each other to cause harm. If you hurt her bonded, you hurt her. You need to train with someone who isn’t bonded to her.”

  “Well, shit! Why didn’t I think of that sooner? Zeke, why didn’t you say anything?” Spencer asks turning on Zeke.

  “Honestly, it completely skipped my mind. I thought his powers would work on me because mine worked on him. I thought it was just because he wasn’t focusing enough,” Zeke says confused.

  “Yeah, why did his powers work on me then?” I question. That’s not fa
ir, if he can use his powers, I should be able to use mine.

  “No, you idiots. Dane, you’re only here in spirit form, not physically. Zeke, Spencer, and I are here physically, which means you can hurt us. We’ll heal instantly because of where we are, but you can still cause us pain. You, however, we can hurt as much as we want, and it won’t harm your physical body back on earth. Sure, you’ll feel it, but you’ll be perfectly healthy when you wake up in your body.”

  “Shit! What a waste of time. Ok, then, Dane and Zeke, you two will defend against me and Raphael, as long as he doesn’t mind?” Spencer says, gesturing to all of us.

  Raphael smirks at me, “I don’t mind at all,” he says, stretching his neck and rolling his arms back. Something tells me Raphael isn’t going to take it easy on me. This is his chance to get back at me for blaming him and telling him to leave.

  “Ok, Dane. I hope you’re ready,” Raphael says before unleashing his lightning on me, knocking me on my ass.

  Son of a bitch! I should have known he’d take a cheap shot. I jump back up ready to dish a little payback, and let loose some of the frustration that’s been building up since Evie was first taken. The anger at everything that has happened has been stewing inside me ready to find a target, but, until now, I haven’t really had one. Time to show Raphael I’m done playing his games.

  My power flies straight at him but dies out before reaching him. What happened? Raphael is smirking at me, he must have done something.

  “Come on, Dane, you can do better than that,” he walks towards me, then circles me, while Zeke and Spencer stand off to the side watching, rather than interfering.

  Concentrating as hard as I can, I let the power build inside of me until I can’t do anything but release it. I smile when I see it hit Raphael, but he barely loses his footing. Why isn’t it knocking him off his feet like it did in the mansion with the guards?

  Zeke and Spencer have grown bored watching, and are now messing around fighting off each other, but it looks more like playing if anything.

  Raphael and I continue fighting each other until I hit him with a blast big enough to cause him to stumble back a few steps. Spencer walks to his side to steady him, while Zeke walks to mine looking extremely hesitant.