Saved Elemental (Evelyn Storm Series Book 2) Read online

  “Guys I’m not sure what will happen when I push the demon’s influence out of your fathers, so you probably shouldn’t watch,” I say without looking at them.

  It can’t be easy seeing your bonded hurt your father, even if they are possessed. I know I wouldn’t be able to watch. I’m almost to the circle when one of them grabs my arm.

  “Are you sure you should do this?” It’s Dane holding me back, looking terrified. His eyes flicker to my stomach.

  Does everyone know?! We’ll be fine. Trust me.

  I look into his eyes hoping he sees the certainty I feel. I know it will work, I just don’t know what’ll be left once it’s gone. The demons could have made them do terrible things, and if they’re not strong enough their minds could break.

  He nods and walks back a few steps, but not too far that he can’t get to me.

  I step forward to the edge of the circle. The men aren’t exactly huddled, but they’re as close to the middle as they can get without touching each other.

  “What your name?” I ask Richard, hoping to find out the name of the demon responsible for all of this.

  “You know I’m Richard, that’s Victor, Neil, and William,” Richard points to each of them as he says their names, and I feel the demon in him trying to push forward.

  “You know I wasn’t talking about your human names, I want the name you’re called in the underworld,” I say staring at Richard.

  I know he’s possessed, but I can’t tell if he’s influencing the others, or if there’s another demon controlling the other from afar.

  “You don’t know what you’re dealing with, little girl. Let us go and we’ll go easy on you.” He smirks with a smug grin stretched across his face. Victor’s also smirking, but the others still don’t look too sure.

  Tap into your bonds and tell them who you are. You’re the ultimate power, born of Raphael demon slayer. I smile. It looks like my grandfather is watching over me.

  Guys, come stand behind me please. I’m going to borrow some power.

  Once I feel them behind me, I look at Richard and smile, “You wanted to know so badly who I bonded with. Well, I bonded with all of them. Not only that, but I’m already pregnant with their children. You tried to break me, but my heritage wouldn’t let that happen. My grandfather wanted me to say hello for him. Maybe you’ve heard of him? Raphael, The Demon slayer?”

  I watch as Richard pales and takes a step back, “Oh, you’ve heard of him? Well, looks like I take after my grandfather,” I smile at him.

  Richard’s eyes have gone full black, “We should have killed you,” he spits.

  The other three are afraid of me, but Richard is hiding his fear through anger. Even so, I still sense the fear. I guess he’s the only one possessed, or the others would be acting like him too.

  “It’s time to go back home.” I focus on the bonds, and feel the light flow through me. I pull as much light into me from the guys and myself as I can before blasting it into the circle, and trying as hard as I can to push the demon out of Richard’s body. All the demon’s influence leaves the other three and they collapse on the floor, but Richard’s demon is still inside of him. Maybe I’m not strong enough? He’s panting and smirking, but why is the demon still inside him?

  You have to touch him and connect with your babies. You are too weak alone. Their light is pure enough that it should purge the demon from Richard’s body.

  Thanks, grandpa.

  Before the guys realize what I’m doing, I step into the circle and grab onto Richard’s hand before he can stop me. The light from my babies rushes forth and pushes the demon back into the underworld. Richard drops to the floor unconscious just as the circle disappears. My powers are completely depleted now.

  Turning, I smile at the look of relief on the guys’ faces. I’m glad it’s over for now.

  Wobbling on shaky legs, I walk back to them before dropping to my knees from exhaustion. Mike’s there to catch me before I fall flat on my face.

  “I missed you,” I say before I close my eyes.

  Chapter 8

  Mike

  After Evie passed out, we all panicked. I carried her up to Dane’s bedroom on the second floor and laid her in the bed. I stayed with her while Dane and the others dealt with everyone downstairs. They had to think of a way to contain Evie’s parents and our parents until Evie is ready to deal with them. Max said she will need to make sure there’s no demon influence left in them before they can roam free.

  Jimmy carried Zach up to my room, which is next door to us, so he won’t freak out when he wakes up. He should be able to feel how close Evie is.

  Staring down at her I can’t believe she’s pregnant!

  When she told our fathers it was too late, and that she was already pregnant, I almost fainted in shock. The only thing stopping me was knowing she needed us.

  She does have a slightly raised stomach, but you wouldn’t notice it unless you were looking for it. I wonder whose baby it is. Not that it matters. We’ll all help her raise the baby as our own, but it would be nice to know.

  Can someone bring some food up for Evie when they’re finished? Something that will be gentle on her stomach, we don’t want her throwing up again.

  We need to make sure she gets plenty of food and fluids after what she’s been through. She will also need to be checked out by a doctor, but I have no idea who we could trust to keep her a secret.

  I climb into the bed beside her and cuddle her to me. She sighs and nestles further into me. I close my eyes and let myself go to sleep.

  Kylan

  We’re all trying to think of a way to contain everyone, when we hear a knock on the front door. Max rushes up the steps coming back with a man we don’t know.

  “Who’s that?” I ask.

  I expect Max to answer me, but Dane does “It’s Evie’s grandfather, Raphael.”

  Teddy is just as confused as I am. I thought he couldn’t interfere?

  “I’m here to help place barriers on the rooms to stop them from escaping,” he gestures to her parents.

  Dane is watching him warily “I thought you said you couldn’t interfere?”

  “I can’t in the big stuff, but Evie is going to want answers when she wakes up, and I’m helping with what I’m allowed. There are things she must do herself, and there are things I can help with, but I don’t know until I’ve been told.” He looks to each of us, but avoids looking at Max.

  Wonder what’s up with that? Maybe angels and fallen angels can’t be around each other. What with one working for the Creator and the other having deserted from the Creator.

  “Ok, well I was thinking of putting them in the guest room on the ground floor. It has a bathroom attached to it and they can only get out through the one door. What exactly do the barriers prevent against?” I ask them.

  It’s the best place for them as the windows are too small for anyone to escape and we have some bolts in the garage we could use to screw onto the front of the door. I was hoping one of the others would have an idea on how to stop their powers. Maybe Raphael does?

  “My barrier will stop them from using their elements, and keep them in the room. Only those of pure intention can enter or leave the barriers, so you should all be able to come and go as you please, but her parents will have no choice.”

  Raphael pauses and lifts up Evie’s mother, “Let’s take them to the room and I’ll put the barriers up. Max, can you grab him and bring him up?”

  Max steps forward and lifts Charles over his shoulder “Sure,” he says.

  As he goes up the steps, I watch him knock Charles head against the doorway. He looks back at us with a smile “Oops.”

  I don’t blame him. I think if it was any of us, we would have done it too.

  Zach

  The last thing I remember is seeing Evie stabbed by her mother before waking up in a bedroom upstairs. Changing out of my blood-stained clothes as fast as I can, I notice my ribs no longer hurt.

  How long was I ou
t? I remember Victor catching me on the phone and punching me. Then he had Jimmy drag me down the stairs after them so they could question Evie. I passed out not long after Evie’s mother stabbed her.

  Walking out of the room, I run straight in to Dane, he’s carrying ginger ale and crackers. “Hey, I was just coming to find you. Is Evie ok? What happened?”

  He sighs, “Yeah, man, she’s fine. She’s just sleeping. I’m taking her something to eat and drink for when she wakes up. You can come see for yourself if you want. She’s right here,” he nods to the room next to the one I woke up in.

  I follow him into the room and see someone cuddled in the bed with her. I’m glad they got here in time, I was so scared of what the council would do to her. Sitting down in one of the chairs beside the bed, I watch her sleeping peacefully. I hear Dane move around before sitting next to me, but I don’t glance his way. My eyes are all for Evie.

  “She’s amazing, isn’t she?” he says full of awe.

  I turn to face him, and see him staring at her. Looking at him I see just how much he loves her. I only wish that I could form that kind of relationship with Evie. From what I’ve already seen she is definitely worth that kind of devotion

  “Yeah. She’s so strong. Everything they did to her, and she never gave you up. She could have told them she had bonded to one of you, and they probably would have ended it, but she kept holding on, never giving anything away.”

  I admire her for her strength. I don’t think I would have been strong enough to handle it and not give them whatever they wanted.

  “Look, man, I’ve been thinking. If you want to pursue your bond with her, I won’t stop you, but you need to be sure. I don’t want you doing to her what you did to me. I loved you, and you destroyed all of that by choosing someone else. You knew my job was with the council, and you hated that you weren’t a part of it. Evie has a bigger role to play in everything that’s happening, so you need to be sure you can handle everything before making a decision and leading her on,” he’s looking at me with pain in his eyes.

  I regret what I did, but I was stupid and grieving. I thought I was alone and found comfort in someone else.

  “Ok, I’ll think on it. What does this mean for us?” I want him back, but if I can’t have him maybe we can be friends again.

  “One day I may be able to let go and move on, but right now it still hurts. I want you to promise me, though, that you won’t get close to Evie just because of me. You get to know her because you want a bond with her, or you back off. She has a lot to deal with right now,” he says, staring me down.

  It’s easy to forget how well he knows me. I want to be close to him again, but I don’t want to screw it up or mess up my chance to bond with Evie. I can’t lose a good thing twice in my life because I’m too petty. I guess I have some things to think about.

  “Dane?” We both turn and see Evie’s awake.

  We got so distracted talking we didn’t keep our voices down. Dane jumps out of his chair and helps her sit up. I want to help, but I don’t think I’ll be welcome.

  Once he has her sitting up, he sits down next to her and brushes the hair out of her eyes. She smiles up at him and I can feel the love coming from her. Looks like he found someone else for him. He doesn’t need me anymore.

  Evie shifts her attention to me, “Hi Zach, how are you feeling?”

  Right now, I feel like a total douche, “I’m ok, I just wanted to make sure you were ok. What happened?”

  “Not now! Sweetie, you need to eat. Teddy and Ky just got back from the store with some food. What would you like?” We hear Mike speak from behind Evie.

  Mike has woken up and is looking between Dane and I with an annoyed expression. Dane looks ashamed, but what for?

  Evie’s looking between Dane and Mike “We’ll be fine. Stop worrying,” she says clearly irritated.

  “Did they get any cucumber? I really want cucumber and chocolate.” Her smile lights up the room while we grimace. Cucumber and chocolate? Gross!

  “Seriously, Evie, cucumber and chocolate? How about a sandwich or something? You should eat something more substantial than cucumber and chocolate,” Teddy says from just inside the door. He must have snuck in when I wasn’t looking.

  “Yes. The babies want cucumber and chocolate, so I want cucumber and chocolate” she responds, pouting at him. She’s so adorable when she is pouting.

  Wait. What did she just say?! Did she say babies? Oh god, she’s pregnant!

  Evie

  Everyone is grossed out by my food choices, but since my dream with my mother I’ve wanted more cucumber. And the chocolate? What girl doesn’t want chocolate?

  Everyone is smiling except Zach when I say the babies want chocolate. Maybe he didn’t know?

  “Zach, are you alright?” I ask.

  I wait for him to say something, but he just looks devastated.

  He starts shouting, not at me, but Dane, “I didn’t have a chance, did I? You knew she’d refuse the bond because she was already pregnant! Why would you say it was ok to further the bond if you knew?!”

  Dane is shocked as are the other guys, but I’m pissed off. How dare he?!

  “Excuse me?! Who do you think gets to choose if they want to complete a bond? I do! Not one of the guys! Do you honestly think just because I’m pregnant I wouldn’t give you a chance? I know what the bond is now and how important it is to our kind. I would never take that away from someone without getting to know them. The fact that you think I’m that shallow when you don’t even know me is disgusting. I’m sorry no one told you I was pregnant, but that wasn’t their news to tell. I accidentally told them all when I was facing off with the demon inside of Richard, so it’s not as if I told them all then kept it from you. I should have discussed it with you, but I assumed you would all know,” I’m panting in frustration when I end my rant.

  I can’t believe him. I thought he would be more understanding of the situation, but he is acting like a child who got his favourite toy taken from him. Well, I’m not a toy to be played with.

  I clutch my stomach gasping in pain. It feels like I’m being stabbed all over again. Mike is still behind me and he runs his hands up my back trying to soothe me, but it’s not until Dane lays his hand on my stomach, that I sigh in relief.

  I look at him to see his brow creased in worry. He’s staring at my miniscule bump, and I can feel the concern coming from everyone.

  Zach steps forward and looks at us all in the bed, “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you. It’s just I’ve felt our bond, but I feel like the history between Dane and I will sway your decision. How could I stand a chance of a bond forming if you’re pregnant and bonded? For us, if we find our bonded and don’t complete it, it will mean a lifetime of being alone, but you already have four bonded while I have only you. How can I not be afraid of losing you and any chance I have?”

  “Zach, I don’t even know your history. I know because you think I’m bonded I won’t give you a chance, but I’m not like that. I know how important they are, and I promise to consider everything before making a chance. Can we talk more about this later on? I need to eat and I would like to spend time with everyone. I’ve missed them so much.” I try to soften my words with a smile, but it wobbles with the anxiety I’m feeling about what just happened.

  “Ok,” he says with a small smile. I hate feeling like he means less to me because we haven’t already bonded, but right now I need the time to talk to everyone.

  As he’s leaving, Ky walks in carrying a plate of sliced up cucumbers and chocolates. He’s also made a sandwich too.

  “My hero,” I say with a wide smile reaching for the plate. He hands it over while blushing from embarrassment. Once I have the plate, he takes a seat in the chair Zach vacated and watches me take a bite of the sandwich.

  “This is the best sandwich ever! How did you know what I wanted?” I ask in amazement. He has drizzled melted chocolate over sliced cucumber and put something salty on as well. The combin
ation of the salty and sweet makes me groan in ecstasy. This is my new favourite food!

  “Well, this is slightly embarrassing, but before my mother passed away she told me that when I have my own child to listen to my bonded’s needs. While we were at the store, I focused on the bond and felt the need for cucumber. I got chocolates because that’s like the go to pregnancy food, but when we got back, I felt your need for both, so I improvised,” he says blushing.

  Wow! I didn’t even know his mother had passed away. He must miss her dearly because while he’s smiling for my benefit. I feel his sadness when he talks of her.

  How horrible of a bonded am I?! I really need to find out more about each of them and hopefully learn more about their parents now that they aren’t controlled by demons.

  “Well, thank you. It’s exactly what I wanted,” I say before digging in.

  Once I’m finished, I look to each of the guys. They all feel so happy, and I don’t want to upset them, but we need to talk about it.

  “So, we should talk about the babies. I know who the fathers are,” I tell them bluntly.

  “Princess, did you say fathers? As in multiple babies and multiple fathers?” Ky’s looking slightly pale, and leans against the wall behind the bed.

  “Sorry, I assumed you all knew it was twins since I said children. Did you know? I ask directing my question to Dane.

  I’m pretty sure he did, because he didn’t react the same as the others. Instead of shock from him, I felt acceptance.

  Mike and Teddy are sitting on the end of the bed both staring at Dane, while Ky’s nestled on my other side trying to look at him. Not that you would need to see his face, when you can feel his guilt.

  Dane avoids looking at us before he sighs and looks directly at me, “Yes I did know, but Max told me not to say anything so the others wouldn’t get distracted while saving you. I’m sorry guys, you have no idea how much I hated keeping it to myself, but I thought Max was right, and it might upset you. I didn’t want any of you to lose focus and end up getting hurt.” He looks full of guilt.