Elijah: Calhoun Men _ Erotic Paranormal Wolf Shifter Romance (14 page)

“I don’t understand.” Richard nodded as if he knew he was going to say that. “You’re saying that I have to find this black place, stab this dagger that should have killed me into it, and then she’ll be dead.”

“Yes.” But before he could ask him how that was possible, Sterl put his hand on his arm to still him. Richard looked at him, directly at Sterl, when he spoke. “You do know that he must do this for you, do you not?”

“I do.” Sterling stood up and Elijah had a feeling that Sterl was going to tell him he had to stab him. Sterl turned to him and smiled. “The earth. She’s poisoned the earth where she was.”

They all looked at the ground where Sterl had kicked her. The ground was black, and a boiling sort of tar-like substance was popping its liquid as it grew. It was all Elijah could do to pull his eyes away from the ground that had been poisoned.

“She did this?” Richard nodded. “And you want me to stab this dagger into that mess? What will it do?”

“First, it will cure the ground. I’ve never liked the way the earth can spew forth its troubles like this, but I am not in charge of such things. But you must be careful of the poison. Secondly, it will end Helenia for you all. And me as well. She will belong to me for longer than she was a creature of this plane.”

Elijah was ready to do anything, but he knew there was a catch. “What do I lose when I do this?” Richard asked him what he meant. “You say this, that I’m to kill her for all of mankind. That it’ll end her life and our suffering here. You’ll gain her as whatever you have prearranged for her. Yet I think there is more to this than you just being a nice demon and telling me how to do this.”

“So untrusting.” Richard spoke to Trent. “Is all of your family this way? So ready to think that I could not be doing this because I’m, as he called me, a nice demon?”

“Are you?” Richard laughed and told Trent that he was far from it. “Then I think that Elijah is right. You need something more. Or something is going to hurt us in some way for doing this for you. What is it that you’re going to gain, exactly? As well as what is going to happen to us should Elijah take the knife to the ground?”

Elijah felt the first touch to his mind and waited. Noah laughed then. It was so full of humor that he had to smile. And when he spoke, Elijah was sure that the man was having a hard time holding his mirth about something.

You have frustrated him badly, my friend. And you are right to question him. He does know something that he’s not telling you.
Elijah asked him what it was
. I don’t know. Not yet at any rate. Myra is beside herself for not realizing that he’d take her away from your group. But I can be there, and while he might know it, he cannot touch me.

Do I want to know why?
Noah assured him he’d tell him later.
Should I do as he asks then
?
I’d really like to get this shit over and done with. I want to have fun with my mate. Raise my child in a place where this she bitch shit hole isn’t breathing down my neck every time I take him out to swing on the swing. Nor having a demon ready to pop in whenever he has a favor to ask of me.

That’s it
. He waited for Noah to explain but again, he was laughing.
Oh my, Elijah, you are brilliant. Yes, tell him that is what you want in agreement for doing his job. A tree that will grow long after you have left this earth, and that will have many seedlings that will grow just as strong and healthy.

But I’m an immortal, right?
Noah assured him that he was.
Then I don’t understand why.... You know what? I don’t care. And this will work? This will end it so that we’re all happy?

Happy might be a term that I’d not use with the demon, but he will comply. Tell him like I said, you want a tree of oak that will live long after you have left this earth, and that its seedlings will be just as healthy. Do it now while I watch his face.
Elijah told him he was nuts.
I am, but this will work.

“All right, I’ll do this but I want something in return. I mean, this is benefiting you, so I’d like some reassurances. For my own peace of mind. And if you don’t follow it, I’ll take the dagger and destroy it. If I can.” Richard nodded and stood up when the rest of them did. “I want you to put an oak tree here where I cure the earth. I want it to be here, strong and steady, long after I leave this earth. As well as its seedlings…all of them must be as strong as this one, and healthy.”

Elijah wasn’t sure he was going to do it. Anger was evident on his face, but while he was pissed off, he never took his anger out on them. When he laughed, hard and hearty, Elijah wasn’t sure what to think. Then Richard bowed before them.

“As you wish. A mighty oak to grow in the place where once there was death and poison. Children of such tree to propagate and make more of the same. It will only die, not from disease nor another other element, but a cut to the body that would fell it. The same with the others. Is this what you want?” Noah told him to say yes it was. “Good, then you shall have it. Take the dagger, young pup, and cure your earth, and I will take Helenia from this place to my own.”

“Thank you.” He wasn’t sure if he should shake the demon’s hand or not, but put it out for him to take should he want. When he gripped his thick hand around his, Elijah felt the power of it all the way to his toes and then back up again. “You are a man of your word. And I of mine.”

Taking the dagger into his hand, Elijah asked Noah if he was going to be all right.
You will be wonderfully fine. As will your family, all of them.

The dagger felt warm in his hand, the power of it, because there was little doubt to Elijah that it was power that hummed up his arm. And when he plunged it into the earth, the dark liquid screamed and the ground once again trembled. As he was ready to ask Noah if he had done it right, he was thrown back, his body lifted up and tossed away from the area like he’d been nothing more than a leaf in the wind. Then there was nothingness.

Chapter
14

Noelle was going to kill someone. She really didn’t care who it was at this point, but she wanted someone to pay. She glared at Trent when he laughed. Again.

“You can’t make him wake up by being all pissed off. Maybe, as I have suggested several times now, you should go down to the kitchen and get you something to eat. The baby needs it.” She huffed. “And that won’t work either. You’re supposed to be in awe of me, not mean.”

“You’re a prick. And he’s been out for three days. I want him to wake up now. The rest of you got up quickly.” She’d never been so terrified in her life when the door she’d been trying to open for twenty minutes suddenly did as she wanted and tossed her back on her ass. Then something—she was still trying to get that answer from someone—had hit her. Hard. “I’m supposed to go and talk to Howard today. And I’m meeting Ron and Daniel for lunch afterwards.”

“I can stay here with him.” She told Trent she wanted Elijah to go with her. “I’m not sure that’s going to be possible. He’s still resting.”

If she could have gotten away with it, Noelle was sure she could have easily murdered Trent right where he sat. She glanced at Elijah again and wondered what he’d think about her being in prison.

“He will be fine.” She asked Trent how he knew. “Because the rest of us are. And he saved us all by doing what he did. I’m still not sure about the tree, but I guess he’ll explain it to us when he wakes up.”

“Noah told him to ask for it. He told me yesterday that it had been Elijah’s idea to have a tree to swing his children on. When I asked him what that had to do with the earth, he told me that the oak has a deep root, much like the one in his family. That we get our strength much like the tree does from the earth. Asking Richard for the oak and to keep it safe for all of us said to him that we were going to be here for a good long time, long enough to make sure that we hold him to his promise. I guess even with him being a demon like he is, he is a man of his word.” Noelle thought of something else that Noah had told her. “He knew who he was. Noah knows Richard. Not as a demon, but I guess they ran into each other many years ago and Noah knew what he was. I guess few can recognize a demon when they see them. Noah did.”

“I heard him telling Grandda that there was a connection between the two of them, and that Richard vowed never to hurt such a creature as Noah. I wonder if that is the reason.” Noelle said she wasn’t sure but supposed it could be. “Noelle, I promise you, I can hear Elijah’s heart beating normally, as well as his breathing is fine. He will wake when he wakes.”

She knew, deep in her heart, that he was going to be all right. But that didn’t lessen the fact that she wanted him awake, holding her in his arms, loving her.

“I talked to Sterl yesterday. He said that he’s never felt better. I guess he’s enjoying his painting too. And I’m helping him find a staff. Alta said that she can’t keep picking up after him and feeding him well too. I think he’s eating better as well.” Trent nodded, and she stood up to walk to the window. “Have you messed with the power that we got? I mean, even to see what we can do?”

“Some. When we shift, we’re dressed as we were before we changed. I can bring things to me with just a thought. Also, I have this ability to read the mind of some of the pack…not all, but a few. Mostly it’s when they’re hiding something, like they’ve no money for a bill or that they’re without food. Joe and the others can as well. It’s come in handy when we go to see people around the pack land.” She nodded. “What is it you have figured out?”

“I can feel my child. Not just when it moves, but hear it talking to me. It’s strange to feel...I can feel that I’m having twins too. A boy and a girl. I’ve not told anyone but you, so if you could just not say anything for a few more weeks, I’d appreciate it.” Noelle watched the oak sway in the yard. There was a big fully grown one in each of their yards, even the cabin in the woods that Trent and Joe stayed at sometimes. “Yesterday when I took a walk in the yard, a sapling fell from the tree. Not a seed, but a sapling. When I took it in the house to see to it, I had the feeling that it was to be planted near the pond, and that your grandma was to help me do it.”

“She told me that you and her planted one of the trees. Do you know why?” She nodded. “If you know that she’s to pass and that you wanted to have this tree, please don’t. I love her too much to let her go now that she’s back here.”

“No, nothing like that. But did she tell you what she told me when we were finished?” Trent said that he wasn’t sure what she meant. “When we had the tree in the soil, we stood back and watched as new branches formed over it and leaves began to uncurl. Jasmine took my hand in hers and told me that when she’d been younger, a man had come to their land and had been upset that some of his sheep had been killed. He must have guessed what they were, she told me, and he accused your grandda of killing them. The man said he was going to hang Trent Senior from the tree and had put a rope around him to do so. She said that she’d not been able to shift, she’d been so afraid that he’d kill them both. Jasmine was carrying your dad at the time. But he only got your grandda in the tree when it broke. The branch fell and hit the man on the head and killed him.”

“I’d heard that before. When I was a child. Grandda said that since he’d not shifted to heal the numerous wounds that the man had caused, the law back then had ruled it self-defense and that there was never any mention of it again. Even his wife, the other man’s, had said that her husband hadn’t been right in the head for some time. Something about poor whisky.” She continued to watch the tree. “They buried him under a tree. I’m betting it was an oak.”

“It was.” Turning back to Trent, she could see the confusion on his face. She was all right with that there; she’d been feeling a great deal of that herself. “I’d like to take a nap. With Elijah. If you’d just go away, I’d be really happy.”

“Do you dislike me, Noelle?” She asked him why he’d ask her that. “I’m not sure. But lately, since we dealt with Richard and Helenia, I’ve had the feeling that you’d rather I wasn’t around. Not just here, but at all. Why is that?”

“You should have taken the dagger.” He said nothing, but stared at her. “Why was he the one that had to do this? Why didn’t you do it if you’re his leader or whatever you are to him? He’s suffering because you didn’t protect him.”

Trent didn’t move from the chair. Her heart hurt now for saying aloud what she’d been thinking for too long. When he did stand, she had a feeling that he was pissed. And when he stood in front of her, she could see his wolf as he moved along his face, and he was there in his eyes.

“Every moment of each day that he lays there, I wonder the same thing. I wonder why the dagger went to him and not me. Why he was the one that was to cure the earth and not me. And why he got the brunt of whatever happened and not me.” She watched as tears rolled down his face, the same as they did on hers. “You think that it was my grand plan to get him hurt? It wasn’t. I have no idea what happened to him that day, not a clue. But in a heartbeat, I’d gladly trade him places.”

“I need him.” Trent said that he did as well. “He’s all I have in the world. The only person who has ever loved me, made me feel secure. And now he won’t wake up for me. I need him.”

“I’m sorry.” Trent pulled her into his arms and held her tightly. Noelle felt the love then, the overwhelming sorrow coming from Trent. And when she felt herself go weak with the pain of all this, he picked her up and laid her beside Elijah. “I’m so very sorry, Noelle. But I promise you that he’ll wake, and when he does, he’ll tell you what both Sterl and I did. That we had nothing to do with what happened out there. That he was the one that the dagger chose, not me.”

“I want him awake, Trent. I want to feel his arms around me. His love for me. I’m so afraid.” He said that he was as well. “What if he never wakes up? What will happen to me and his children?”

“We will care for you as he would have. Love them and tell them about their daddy every day, and show them all the pictures that we have. But you won’t have to worry about this happening. He’s going to be fine. You have to believe that.” She nodded, still hurt. “Sleep, love. Just hold him in your arms and sleep with him. You’ve not been resting well. Okay?”

As she was rolled to her side and a blanket laid over them both, all she could think about was her children, hers and Elijah’s, and what she was going to do if he left her like this. Closing her eyes, she felt the weight of the world on her shoulders, the sadness of being alone and all the other emotions that she knew were right there on the sidelines just waiting to make themselves known to her.

Just as she was ready to get up and pace again, she saw Noah. When he touched his fingers to her forehead and said “Sleep,” there was nothing she could do but fall into the deep abyss he seemed to throw her into.

~~~

Every part of him was warm, almost hot. Elijah wanted to toss off the heavy blanket over him and reached out to do so when he touched his fingers to her skin. He knew that it was Noelle, knew the feel of her flesh as he did his own. Rolling to his back carefully, he looked down at her sleeping face.

“Do not wake her just yet.” He looked at the chair next to his bed and saw Noah sitting there with the stupid envelope on his lap. “She’s not been well, trying her best to will you to get better and wake up for her. I think she even told Trent to go away at some point.”

“Is she all right?” Noah said she was all right now that he’d put her to sleep for a few hours. “How long have I been here?”

“Just a little over three days. I would have thought longer, but I’m glad you’re awake now so I can speak to you. Helenia is gone.” Elijah said he’d hoped so. “Yes, well, she’s not dead, though I would bet she wishes that she was. Helenia is the fuck bitch for Richard and any other creature he wishes to share her with. I’m thinking that Helenia will receive the kind of hell that she deserves. Thanks to you.”

“I only did what you told me to do.” Noah nodded and smiled. “Was there a reason for the tree? I mean, you were so excited about it.”

“Oaks are something that few know can kill a demon. Tossing an acorn at one will have them running in the opposite direction, despite their magic. And not just the wood, but every part of it. And the young saplings, they’re the most toxic of all. If you capture a demon, build a box from an oak and he’ll never be able to get out of it once you put him inside.” Elijah asked him how that was to happen. “I never figured that out either, but I do know that they’re deathly afraid of the mighty oak tree.”

“And when I asked for it, I was telling him what? Telling him that I meant business, or that I knew about the oak and what it would do to him?” Noah laughed and said he hoped he thought of both. “Do you think he knows you’re the one who told me that?”

“I’m sure of it. As I mentioned, few know much about demons and what it takes to harm one.” Elijah looked down at Noelle and Noah cleared his throat. “You must tell her that you were the one to do this because of the dagger. She blames your brother for not saving you.”

“I’ll talk to her. She was there, just before I was taken under. I could feel her fear.” Noah nodded. “Was there something else? Something that I should know right now?”

“Yes. The magic has been given to all of you. Including your grandparents and parents. Even I got a little. Myra said that Chris did that for all of you to be around for a long while. She said that she’d be back if you had any questions.” Elijah nodded. “Noelle got a good deal more because of her breeding.”

“You mean our child got some of it too.” Noah nodded. “Why do I have the feeling that you’re not telling me it all? And that when the time comes, you’re going to be laughing your ass off when I figure it out?”

“I’m a jolly man like that, I guess.” He stood up. “No one was harmed in this family. All of you, as I said, have a bit of it. You and Sterling, you both got the bulk of it. And so you know, he’s going to be just fine now. Better, as a matter of fact.”

“Good. If anyone deserves it, he does. He’s been through a lot.” Noah nodded. “Now, if there is nothing else pressing, I’d very much like to wake my mate and make love to her for a few hours. And if it’s all the same to you, I’d rather you weren’t here.”

“I understand completely.” Noah moved to the door and paused before turning. “Noelle still hasn’t opened her settlement from her father. You should do that soon. There are things there that are going to make her very happy. You too.”

“Is it more magic?” Noah said there was some, but not as much as they’d gotten from Helenia. He told him it was going to make them very rich, richer than they were at present. “Then it can wait. I need to be with Noelle now and then we’ll take care of it. All right?”

When Noah left them, laughing, Elijah tried to decide the best way to wake Noelle. All sorts of delightful things came to mind and he got out of the bed. Stripping down to his bare skin, he let his wolf take him. Time for them both to have a little fun.

As he was pulling the blanket off her, she rolled to her back. He was glad to find her naked and warm too. Elijah hadn’t thought of her position on the bed when his wolf had come to him. Leaping up on the bed, he sat between her legs and nudged her legs wider open with his nose. Her scent was soft, sweet smelling in her slumber. As soon as he licked her, he was surprised at how quickly she went from nothing to aroused. Christ, she was going to kill them both one of these days, he knew it. Lying down, his wolf licked her again, and when she moaned, he moved closer to feast on her more.