Authors: Gabrielle Evans
“Baby,” Myst sighed. “No one expects you to know everything, and we damn sure don’t expect you to be fearless. This is some fucked-up shit we’re facing. We’re all a little afraid whether we want to admit it or not. There’s nothing wrong with that.”
“We are a messed up trio, aren’t we?” Echo rolled his eyes, but his lips stretched into a wide smile.
Onyx supposed they were. Then again, every man in the house had some type of quirk that made him just a little insane. It made life interesting at least. He didn’t need to dominate his men for the same reasons anymore, but that didn’t mean he wanted to give it up all together. Luckily, he didn’t think he’d have to—not if the wicked smirk on Echo’s face was any indication.
“So, can we get to the naked part now?”
Onyx laughed in spite of himself before he could rein it in. He sobered quickly and adopted a low, demanding tone. “Go to the room, remove your clothes, and pick a paddle and a toy. Place them on the padded table then kneel on the floor until I get there.”
Echo cast his eyes down, but his body trembled visibly in his excitement. “Yes, sir.” He pushed to his feet and hurried out of the room without a backward glance.
Myst fell against Onyx and laughed when they heard Echo’s footsteps running down the hallway toward the attic stairs. “He’s eager, isn’t he?”
Onyx sighed. “He’s perfect.” Now, he just had to work out Myst’s issues before the demon imploded on himself.
Chapter Twelve
The next two weeks flew by, the full moon passed without incident, and still, tension hung heavy in the air of their home. They were no closer to discovering what Onyx would face, let alone how he would walk away victorious.
They’d spent a lot of time in Onyx’s playroom, Echo needing the grounding and sense of well-being it gave him to turn over his control. The closer the new moon crept, the more he craved the stability Onyx gave him.
But they only had ten days to prepare for the task ahead, and Hex still refused to let anyone out of the house. Winter had finally let go of its stranglehold on northern Montana, giving way to the first warm days of spring, and Echo couldn’t even go out and enjoy it.
“Damn it, Hex! He has to practice. If it’s that big of a deal, everyone can come out with us. You’re being completely unreasonable.”
“You do remember what happened to Gage and the others, right?”
“It’s the middle of the goddamn day! If everyone is together, I’m pretty sure we’ll notice if there is two of someone. It’s not like I’m asking to go to California. I just want to go out in the backyard!”
“Nothing has happened since we wiped out the vampires,” Eyce reasoned, opening the refrigerator and extracting a bottle of beer. “I think if we all stick together, it’ll be fine. Like Echo said, we’d realize if there were two of us.”
“And what if Jet comes strolling along while we’re out there? How do we know it’s him?”
“How do we know it’s him if he rings the fucking doorbell?” Echo wasn’t trying to be an asshole, but he was damn frustrated, and their dear alpha wasn’t making a bit of sense. “Hex, please. Everyone has been cooped up in this house for weeks. I’m just asking for an hour out in the sunshine. That’s all I want. You’ll be right there to protect me if anything happens.” Echo sashayed up to his lover and stroked his chest—much the same as he was stroking his ego. “You’d never let anything happen to me, would you?”
Hex sighed and wound his arms around Echo’s back. “You fight dirty, and you know I’d never let anything hurt you. One hour, Echo. That’s it.”
“That’s all I’m asking for. Thank you, big guy.” Echo turned his face up and puckered his lips for a kiss.
Hex chuckled, but bent and pressed their mouths together. “You are trouble.”
“I try.” Echo winked and spun out of his lover’s arms to go find Onyx. He didn’t have to look far, though. The big demon strolled into the kitchen just as Echo was rushing out, and it was like colliding with a freaking brick wall.
“Easy there.” Onyx’s hands gripped Echo’s shoulders to keep him from toppling over. “Where’s the fire?”
“Hex said we could go outside!” Echo beamed at him, bouncing up and down on his tiptoes like a child on Christmas morning.
“Oh, we got permission.” Onyx cast Hex a scathing look, but deflated almost instantly and smiled back at Echo. “Then let’s not waste it.”
“Eyce, tell Gage that no one gets in this house until we’re back. If someone shows up, he’s to let us know immediately.”
Eyce dipped his head curtly at Hex and took off to find the werewolf.
“I agreed to this as long as we stay together.” Hex lifted an eyebrow at Echo and waved a hand toward the kitchen entryway. “Go find the others.”
“Guys!” Echo bellowed. “Get your asses in the kitchen!”
Onyx rubbed at his ear and winced. “Sweet hell, you’ve got a set of lungs on you.”
“All the better to scream your name, my love.”
Ten minutes later, everyone assembled in the field behind the house. Echo turned his face up to the sun, delighting in the bright rays that heated his face. He really hated winter. If there was even the slightest possibility that they would go to rest in Elysium one day, he wanted it. Even in his dreams, the place was a beautiful paradise, and his heart beat rapidly with the thoughts of roaming those fields for the rest of eternity.
A silly dream perhaps, and probably not practical, but he couldn’t help what he wanted.
When he finally opened his eyes, he found all seven demons staring at him with soft smiles on their faces. He’d be lying if he said he didn’t enjoy the attention and the knowledge that he could bring that look to their faces. If something as simple as watching him enjoy the sunshine made them smile, he wasn’t about to complain.
“So, what do we do first?” Onyx stepped forward and held a hand out for Echo. “Do you want me to move the trees? Maybe make the grass grow again?”
“Nope.” Echo took his lover’s hand and looked out toward the tree line. “I want you cause an earthquake.”
Hex choked, coughing and sputtering while Eyce beat on his back. “You want to do what?”
“Hey, it could come in handy.” Echo shrugged. “I don’t think the prophecy meant crops in the literal sense. Even if Athena did mean the harvests, I seriously doubt they’re going to die from drought or toxins. So far we’ve faced tangible beings. It only stands to reason that this won’t be any different.”
“I love it when he talks all smart.” Myst winked and blew Echo air kisses when he glared at the warrior. “Love you, snookums.”
“Oh, kiss my ass.” Echo stuck his tongue out before returning his attention to Onyx. “I’d kind of prefer if you just gave us a little tremor, nothing too big.”
“Yes, because I can control that,” Onyx scoffed.
“You can.” Echo squeezed Onyx’s fingers and closed his eyes. “You have the power, babe. Now, stop being so pessimistic and just do it. Close your eyes and hold on tight.” He didn’t give the demon a chance to protest before dropping all his shields and sucking Onyx’s power into himself.
He let it build and grow, filling him and recycling through his body, then pushed it at Onyx like a locomotive. What would have taken him several minutes before his
transformation
, now took mere seconds, and Echo found himself panting at the energy that coursed through him.
Onyx cried out, and his fingers wrapped around Echo’s hands convulsively as the tendons in his neck strained. The warrior dropped to his knees, gasping for breath and sweating, before turning his head and heaving up the contents of his stomach.
“Shit!” Echo dropped down beside him and caressed the back of his neck. “I’m sorry, Onyx. It got away from me.”
“I’m okay,” he answered shakily as he pushed to his feet and stood on wobbly legs. “I just feel like I got struck by lightning.”
Echo bit his lip and looked down at the ground. Not since he’d first had the idea of redoubling their gifts had he allowed his own to take over him like that. He didn’t even know he’d done it until it was too late and Onyx was on the ground puking up lunch.
“Echo, I’m fine,” Onyx assured him. He shook his arms and legs out, rolled his head on his shoulders, and cracked his knuckles. “Okay, everyone stand behind me.”
Without a word, everyone moved several paces behind Onyx. Syx wrapped his arm around Echo’s shoulders and pulled him close. “Stop beating yourself up, baby. He’s fine.”
Echo gave a noncommittal shrug of his shoulders and moved away from his mate. This close to the war, he couldn’t afford mistakes. Zapping the shit out of the man he was supposed to be helping definitely counted as a mistake in his book.
Before he could get himself too worked up or depressed, the ground beneath his feet began to vibrate. It started as just a faint trembling, and Echo almost thought he imagined it. Then it began to grow, rolling across the earth in waves, and toppling Echo backward.
Fiero caught him before he could fall on his ass, holding him tight to his muscled chest. Echo beamed as though his firstborn had just been given a Nobel Prize. He really didn’t understand why they all insisted they couldn’t do these things. They had great power—only their confidence was lacking.
As suddenly as it began, the movement of the earth ceased. Onyx dropped his arms to his sides and turned slowly to give them all a shit-eating grin. “How was that?”
“Brilliant!” Echo exclaimed. “I told you, didn’t I?”
“You did, but I still don’t see how it’s going to keep anything from dying.”
“What exactly can you grow this far north anyway?” Echo tilted his head to the side in question. The ground had only recently thawed. Surely that wasn’t enough time to plant seeds and produce yields.
“There are a four farms east of here in Flathead County that produce mint,” Vapre offered. “I guess less than a thousand acres per farm.”
“When’s the growing season?”
“I think April through August, but I’m not really sure.”
“How the hell can you grow anything here?” Echo demanded. “How can crops even survive with the snow we’ve been having?”
Vapre and Syx shared a quick look before both turning back to Echo. “I think these snowstorms have been isolated,” Syx said at last. “There have been a few pieces on the news about it, even.”
How sad was it that news like that didn’t even affect him anymore? Echo rested his hands on his hips and shook his head. “Flathead County is too far from here. Everything has happened right on our doorstep. We’ll have to keep looking for answers.”
“Like Echo said, what if it’s not literal?” Myst scratched the back of his neck and looked around the group. “Maybe the harvests or whatever aren’t going to die, but it’s meant to warn us against something that could cause that.”
Vapre gaped at the warrior for a whole minute before wrapping his arms around him and swirling Myst in a circle. “You are a fucking genius, babe!” Then he planted a loud, smacking kiss on Myst’s lips, dropped him to his feet, and sprinted toward the house.
Syx swiveled his head back and forth between the group and Vapre’s retreating form, then gave a little wave and took off after the demon.
“I don’t know why everyone is always so surprised,” Myst mumbled under his breath.
“Because you’re more apt to cause trouble than fix it.” Hex chuckled and cuffed Myst in the back of the head. “You have great ideas, but you hardly ever voice them. It’s nothing personal, Myst, and no one thinks you’re stupid.” Hex pulled the man closer and kissed his temple. “Love you, yeah?”
Echo’s heart felt like it would burst with happiness. His mates had taken to expressing their love for one another with barely a hiccup. Every once in a while he would see one of them stop and shake his head as though he couldn’t believe what he’d just said. It happened less and less over the weeks, and Echo went back and forth between smug satisfaction and wanting to knock them all upside their heads for denying it for so long.