Page 13 of Hidden Nature

“You would be correct on that, but I couldn’t decide on what to order and figured I would trust what you chose. Next time, I’ll have to listen more closely when you order.” I laughed.

For the rest of the meal, we talked about our likes and dislikes, information you would ask anyone when you were getting to know them. It was refreshing to feel like I was courting her, even if we were already bonded. We would be spending the rest of our lives together and knowing that she liked the color blue and hated to have cold feet was important to providing her happiness.

We’d just finished our meal when her phone started to ring. Instantly her whole demeanor changed as she looked down at it, then relaxed seeing the number.

“Hello,” she answered. With my keen hearing, I was able to pick up the conversation easily enough to know it was her mates.

“Little dove, it’s good to hear your voice,” a man with a deep voice said. “While I’m glad to hear you’re safe and soon to be back in my arms, I feel it’s only fair to warn you that there will be a discussion about you running off like you did.”

Knowing that I talked to Colt and Lane before, my guess was this must be Zander. Finley’s face flushed at his words, telling me that this man wasn’t truly upset with her, otherwise there would have been a fight on our hands. Mates do not raise a hand toward their female, no matter what’s happened, they are to be cherished in all ways.

“Understood, alpha,” Finley answered, her wolf flashing in her eyes and her arousal notable to my senses. “Have you landed?”

“Yes, they are working on refueling and getting the plane ready to return when you get here.”

“Perfect, we just finished eating breakfast, but we are in the area, so we should be there in ten minutes or so,” Finley said as she caught the waitress’s attention.

There was a growl at the mention of her not being alone, but he didn’t comment, so I guess the other two had caught him up to speed.

“Be safe, little dove. We will see you soon,” Zander purred before hanging up.

Just hearing the way he talked to Finley warned me that he might be the one I needed to watch out for. Colt was quick to anger, but Zander’s dominance oozed out of him even over the phone. Watching Finley pay irked me, knowing I didn’t have any money to contribute. The commune of elves that I grew up in pooled all the money we had together to keep us hidden and safe. Our chosen queen would be in charge of the money and provide what we needed when we needed it. Our people didn’t venture out into the world often, hiding behind our illusions and barriers to ensure that what happened to me didn’t happen to everyone.

Since I looked more ‘human’ than most, I was sent out to gather supplies or information when we needed it. Unfortunately, it was on one of these trips when I’d been caught.

“Ready?” Finley asked, joining me by the main entrance.

Shaking myself out of my thoughts, I flashed her a smile and tucked her arm through mine. “Yes, let’s get you home and safe. Then we can plot how we are going to destroy the Dark Ring.”

“I like the way you think,” she said, nudging me with her shoulder. “It’s not too far for us to walk if you’re okay with that?”

“A little more time with you to myself, I’ll never turn that down,” I answered, pressing a kiss to her temple.

eight

Waring emotions of excitement and worry battled inside me as I headed into the lobby of the airport. When I last saw them, the pack was being attacked as a diversion to get me out of there, and I left them. If they did that to me, I would be furious, so I had no right to expect anything different from them.

Zander had already made it known I wasn’t going to get out of this without some sort of punishment, but the one person I really didn’t know how they would react was Elias. Deep down, I just knew he would be blaming himself for ever leaving my side and sending me alone into the tunnels. He was the type of man to shoulder all the responsibility even if it wasn’t his to carry. I still didn’t know his story but the feelings I got from him told me it was full of pain and shame. In time, when he was ready, I would be there to listen, but I wasn’t going to press the matter.

The moment their scent hit my nose, my wolf rushed to the front of my mind pushing to take over, but I held her back. It took me a second to reason with her that it was best to stay human so we could greet them better, and thankfully, she let me keep control. Dealing with another entity in my own brain was still taking some getting used to, but now that I’d come into my elf nature, my whole body felt more balanced. I spotted them at the back of the lobby area by the bar, some of them sitting while others stood leaning against the bar. All six of them had made the trip this time. I’d wondered if they needed to leave someone behind, clearly, I had my answer on that.

Mason was the first one to notice me and a huge smile graced his beautiful face. His green eyes shone with excitement as he stood and hurried his way over to me, scooping me up in a bear hug and spinning me around. “Snuggles, fuck, it’s good to have you back in my arms,” he murmured, shoving his face into the crook of my neck and taking a deep breath. “You smell like home and spice.”

“Stop hogging her, twin. The rest of us want to get a chance to hold her,” Noah grumbled, pulling me from his brother’s arms.

The moment Noah pulled me into a hug, all the stress and worry that had been running through my head settled. His chocolate scents seemed to soothe me in a way only he could as he ran a hand down my back, whispering into my ear, “You have no idea how much we missed you. Please don’t ever do that to us again. I don’t think any of us could survive if anything happened to you.”

I should have known my tender-hearted companion would feel the loss more than the others. “I’m sorry, I never should have left.”

“All that matters is you are back now, but you better go to Elias before he combusts,” Noah directed, pulling back and turning me, so I was facing the man in question.

Looking at my Sentinel, you never would have guessed I’d only been gone for two and a half days. He had shadows under his hazel eyes, his shaggy brown hair looked like he’d been constantly running his hands through it, and his shoulders were rigid as if he had been expecting the worst. “Elias...”

I didn’t get more out before his hand darted out and pulled me to him in a bone-crushing hug. He tucked my head under his chin, and his body started to shake like he was crying but being able to sense his emotions, I knew it wasn’t tears he was holding back but anger. “Why, why would you leave me? I told you to stay in the tunnels, then you vanished. My heart, you can’t do that to me. I can’t lose you like I lost all the others. I’m not strong enough to stay human if that were to happen. The world would burn if it took you from me and I would burn with it.”

Gently I pushed back from him and lifted my hands to grip his face, pulling it down so he could look me in the eye. “Elias, I’m so sorry. You didn’t deserve that from me. It will never happen again. I won’t ever run from you or the others, I swear on my life. If I did, then I deserve to be burned with the world who betrayed you.” Pressing up onto my toes, I sealed my lips to his in a promise knowing my words held power in them backed by my magic.

My chaste kiss wasn’t enough for him as he grabbed my ass and hauled me up, so my legs wrapped around him. He kissed me like I was the one thing who could give him life, nipping at my lower lip before sucking it into his mouth and cleaning the blood off it. He growled and thrust up against me and my body hummed with need for him in a much less intense version of my heat. My body knew he was ours, and we wanted to claim him in all ways, not just with a kiss or words but in every way I could. Elias hissed, causing me to pull back, looking at him questioningly as he set me down. Slowly he lifted his shirt to show the same mark of swirling lines that looked like a heart Rath had. It seems I’d permanently claimed Elias as my own and he had the mark to prove it.