The Breed: Nora's Choice (24 page)

            “Oh
ok
,
the boys got jokes today,” she attempted to hop off of his lap, but he held her
still.

            “You really
feel better now?” he placed his chin on her forehead and squeezed her tightly.

            “I honestly
didn’t think that I would, but I do. I don’t feel lighter, or more at peace
with the universe,” she made air quotations, “but the fact that I got through
it all and didn’t let the story beat me, makes me proud of myself and that
means a lot to me.”

            He nodded
his head slowly and his chin brushed across her hair.

            “You took
the story better than I thought you would,” she snuggled deeper against him, “I
thought for sure that you would hulk out and destroy my apartment.”

            “Oh trust
me, the feelings were there. The rage clawed at me, and I had to focus entirely
on keeping myself calm,” he kissed the crown of her head, “but I could feel how
difficult it was for you to keep it together. The last thing you needed was for
me to flip out like a jackass and make things harder on you.”

            “You just…
get me…” she smiled to herself.

            He hadn’t
given her the “poor you, I’m so sorry,” speech, he hadn’t flown off the handle
like some macho asshole or showered her in sympathy. She would have hated any
of those reactions, despised him for pitying her.

            Instead he
had treated her like a fellow soldier and listened to her battle story with
respect and admiration at her courage.

            He truly
saw her as an equal and fully understood just how strong she was.

            At the same
time, she knew he wouldn’t hesitate for one single second to break someone’s
face for her, and in their quiet time alone together, he could also respect how
delicate some parts of her were.

           
This is
what love is
, she thought to herself,
two broken people finding a home
within each other
and learning to grow together
.

            Lifting her
chin up, he placed a gentle kiss on her lips and she clung to it.

            He was so
warm and strong and steady. Such a calming force in the storm of her emotions.
He was everything that she needed, and right now, what she needed most was more
of him.

            Tilting her
head she deepened the kiss. Wrapping her arms around his neck she forced him
down harder over top of her.

            They had
shared so much pain and heartache over the last hour, that now she needed his
passion to chase away all the numbness that had settled into her heart.

            She wanted
him to make her feel alive again.

~

Sebastian
had been so tense for the last few hours that his muscles burned with ache. The
last he had heard from Casstiel was that they were approaching the docks. Since
then, there had been zero communication between the brothers.

            “If your
jaw get’s any tighter, you’re going to break your teeth,” Ayla purred from her
usual perch on his couch, her wickedly curvaceous body sprawled across it like
she owned the whole place.

            Over the
two weeks that they had been pretending to have a relationship together, his
couch had practically developed a mold of her shapely ass.

            “If you
ever cared about anyone in your entire selfish life, you would understand how I
feel,” he stopped pacing to snap at her. He was so sick of the sound of her
voice.

            “Caring
about people only makes you weak and get’s you killed,” she sighed and stared
up at the ceiling.

            “Oh how
very theatrical,” he scoffed, “yes your life is
so
much happier and
easier with you being all alone. The only thing you have to worry about is the
drama and treachery that you spread. In fact, I think that solves the mystery
of why you do what you do. You’re lonely and sad and unloved, so this gives you
a sense of purpose… it makes you feel important and needed. God forbid you
spare a single emotion for anyone except for yourself. There is nothing to gain
by being kind or loving someone else, so of course you couldn’t possibly
understand it.”

            He had
never seen her look so shocked. Her eyes bugged from her head and her mouth
fell open.

           
Good
he grumbled to himself, someone had to finally tell her about herself.

            After a
moment she looked ready to scream a response back at him, but his phone rang
and he disappeared to hear Casstiel’s update.

            A few
minutes later he was back, and immediately knew that he had taken it too far
with her.

            Rigidly she
sat staring out the window, her eyes glassy and hollow, all the remnants of her
sex kitten attitude gone.

            “Listen,”
he started, but she held up a hand to stop him.

            “You’re
right,” she replied numbly, without taking her eyes off the window, “we both
know you are. There’s no point in apologizing, it’s a waste of breath.”

            “Being
confined here has made me beyond irritable. I didn’t need to say aloud what you
already know in your heart, shouldn’t have forced you to see it,” he sighed
sitting down across from her.

            Having his
brother and the defense team off fighting a battle while he sat in a pristine
hotel room hours away, made him feel like the lowest form of scum. He had taken
it out on her, and it was a temper slip he wouldn’t tolerate.

            “No, you
didn’t have to point it out to me. Everyone knows what I am, but none of them
ever say anything about it. It’s like an unwritten rule that everyone follows.
So what I would really like to know is why the fuck you care so much,” she
angrily glared at him.

            Sebastian
steepled his fingers and prepared himself to listen to the onslaught she was
about to unleash.

            “Because
for weeks now you’ve been pulling this whole big brother routine, lecturing me
about what I should and shouldn’t be doing, trying to tell me what’s best, when
we both know that deep down you’re just disgusted by me,” her voice trailed off
at the end and her eyes lost some of their fire.

            “I’m not
disgusted by you, I’m disgusted by what you do to yourself, and the reasoning
behind it all,” he explained calmly, “whether you believe it or not, there is a
big difference between the two.”

            “It doesn’t
matter either way,” she snapped, her baby blue eyes throwing daggers at him,
“the point is, what the fuck do you care for? No one else cares.”

            Leaning
forward he sighed and rested his chin on his steepled fingers.

            He knew
exactly why he cared so much, had known from the moment he saw the way she
interacted with Marcus, but giving a woman like Ayla any sort of power over
you, no matter how small, was a mistake.

            “Spit it
out,” her anger grew, “is it jealousy? Are you angry because you want to get a
piece too, but your pride won’t let you?”

            “Stop,” his
voice came down like a steel door.

            “Then start
talking,” she emphasized each word.

            He had to
bite his tongue from tearing into her again. He didn’t do well when given
orders.

            Taking a
deep breath he cleared his mind. Anger wasn’t the answer here.

            “You remind
me a lot of someone who was very important to me. She felt the same way about
the world that you do. She … sold herself to the world the same way that you
do. I wasn’t strong enough to save her from her own decisions…. I wish someone
had tried to reason with her the way that I’ve tried to reason with you,” he
said all he would ever say on the subject.

            “So now you
feel like if you save me, you’ll somehow be forgiven for not saving her?” she
tossed her sheath of blond hair over her shoulder and looked down at him, “a
charity case.”

            “I don’t
want to save you from anything,” his apple green eyes drilled into hers, “I’m
not a prince like my brother, and even if I was, you are no princess. I want to
give you the tools to save yourself. Pull yourself up by your own boot straps
and become something. You have an impressive mind locked away in that body, and
that’s
what you should be using to make your mark on this world. You are
worth more than just sex Ayla, you have got to see that.”

            Letting out
a deep sigh, she stood up and shook her arms out as if he had physically put
the weight of his words onto her.

            “I gotta
get out of here for a little bit, this is too intense for me,” she fidgeted
with the fabric of the tight black dress she wore, “I’ll be back later.”

            He nodded
his head and watched her all but run for the door. It was clear no one had ever
spoken to her like that before, no one had ever believed in her.

            Standing up
he unbuttoned his pale blue dress shirt and headed to bed, his mind a mess of
thoughts and emotions.

            Now that he
had talked about…. Her… his mind didn’t want to let go of the memories of the
past.

            A sick
feeling filled his stomach and he flung his shirt at the wall.

            Collapsing
onto his bed his head filled his hands. He wouldn’t do this, not now. Casstiel
would be calling in no time to tell him everything they had found, and he
needed his mind sharp to help his brother.

            The past
was dead and long gone, haunting himself with thoughts of it was doing nothing
for him; it couldn’t change anything.

            Still in
his tailored dress pants he dropped his naked torso onto the bed and covered
his eyes with his arm. His bare toes rubbed through the plush carpet beneath
them in a slow soothing rhythm and his mind finally began to calm.

            His
thoughts wandered off to their favorite place to be… a house with a winding
stair case, and the sound of music playing all around him….

“No
one speaks to Tessa about this,” Casstiel barked, “I’ll tell her myself when
this is all over with.”

            Memphis had
called to fill him in on everything before they had left the docks and he was
mortified for Tessa to find out about her friend.

            Jax, Kain,
and Memphis would stay and do a thorough search of all the cargo holds and the
office building at the Hunters docks while Ghost sifted through everything they
had brought back with them and he himself did some questioning.

            He had
hoped to get the questioning of the prisoners over with as soon as he got home,
but now he would need to wake Tessa delicately and break the news to her
gently. Her heart was going to break for Remy and he didn’t know when she would
feel up to using her gift.

            Looking
around the room he had two choices: question Balor and Rod, or question the two
strange women they had found being held prisoner.

            His
curiosity drove him towards the two women, but he would rather wait until his
team was fully assembled, and do it together.

            “Ghost,
take the females into one of the recovery rooms and let them rest, we’ll speak
with them later,” he glanced over his shoulder at the two of them, then added,
“lock them in.”

            Neither of
them looked like they would harm anyone at the Embassy, but he also had no idea
who or
what
they were, and wasn’t in the mood to take a chance.

            With
surprising gentleness Ghost ushered the women out, taking hold of the younger
girls hand when she held it out to him.

            Even in the
middle of a blood thirsty war, there was still kindness and compassion to be
found.

            Putting the
thought away for another time, he focused his attention on Roderick and Balor.

            “How’s he
doing?” Cass asked, looking over Balor’s fitfully sleeping form.

            Sweat
beaded his upper lip and the muscles in his neck and jaw twitched fretfully.

            “Honestly I
dunna know,” he sighed looking over his brother with pity, “the healer fixed
his body, but his mind he may never get back.”

            Cass
pinched the bridge of his nose and tried not to think about how losing a great
warrior like Balor would effect the entire Breed. The loss would be
incalculable.

            “We need to
talk about what happened, can you do it now, or do you need more time?” he
finally asked, not wanting to push too hard, but wanting to at least make a
dent in the amount of work that needed to be done.

            “Better to
do this now and end it swiftly,” Rod nodded his head, his ginger hair knotted
and mangled around his shoulders.

            Pulling out
a lap top he set things up so that they could record and file the conversation
they were about to have.

            When
everything was ready to go, they each took a chair on either side of Balor’s
bed.

            “Let him
sleep,” Rod nodded at his brother, “they never separated us, so my story will
be the same as his.”

            “Just tell
me everything,” Cass did his best to sound supportive. It was not his
specialty.

            “They
regarded the two of us as ‘special’ because it was the first time they had seen
the genetic mutation of black eyes and hair in the Breed. Until the little girl
came along they didn’t know that the mutation extended to white as well,” his
Scottish accent was thick as he spoke. Unlike his brother, Roderick had never
bothered to try and cover it up or sound more American.

            “Do you
know much about the girls?” Cass asked, more curious about them than he would
like to admit.

            “Verra
little, they were only with us for two days. The little one has some fire in
her belly, you can see it in her eyes. The older lass though… they’ve long
since broken her spirit. It doesn’t seem like there’s anything left of her as a
person,” he swallowed deeply and looked down at his hands.

            After a
moments pause he continued, “they kept us together to test our bond as twins
and took a sick interest in Balor because he was the first pack leader they
ever captured. They ran pain tests on us by strapping us into chairs across
from each other and then torturing one of us, usually me, and testing the other
ones response and reaction to it. They thought we would have a deeper emotional
connection than the others… something like the bond.”

            “Do they
know about the bond?” Casstiel interrupted, his mind racing in panic.

            “I dunna
think so, I never saw any mated pairs. If they ever do find out, my heart
bleeds for the couple they capture,” he rubbed his big hand across his heart,
“after what they did to us, I can only imagine what they would do to two people
in love.”

            Casstiel’s
heart twisted in his chest, and not for the first time in his life he wished he
could lock Tessa away in some fairytale tower out of the reach of these
monsters.

            “They drove
Balor to the brink of death many times when we were with them. They kept track
of his recovery speed, his pain endurance, they… rode him much harder than the
rest of us, convinced that there was something genetically special about him
that gave him the ability to be our leader. They would pull him to the center
of the room we were kept in and operate on him so that we could all watch,” his
voice cracked like glass as he spoke and Casstiel had never felt so much sympathy
for a grown man in his life.

            Roderick
looked down at his trembling hands and took a few moments of silence before he
continued.

            “I think it
was a show of power, to let us all know what they were capable of, to show us
how cold they were… how cruel. They starved him, beat him until he was
delirious, kept him constantly in pain, letting his wounds heal enough for him
to take more punishment, but never enough to fully heal; never enough to stop
the agony. Sometimes I think he forgot who he was, or what was happening.
            When they operated on him they never used anesthesia. The first
time he screamed and cried out, but never again after that. I think his body
just got used to the excruciating pain. They would cut out parts of his
insides, then time how long it took to grow back. Drilling into him, they would
pull out bone marrow to catalog, all the while he laid awake with us just
watching on helplessly.
            Once when they had him strapped down and his belly slit open wide,
they brought in a female prisoner and made her jack him off so they could
catalog his sperm. They had to have drugged him to keep him hard. I cannot
possibly imagine what horrific things they used his seed for, and I hope we
never find out.”

            As if he
could sense they were speaking about him, Balor began to stir.

            “Peace,”
Roderick whispered as a panicked expression crossed his brothers face.

            “The
woman,” he muttered, hugging his own chest as if Remy were still in his arms,
“where have they taken her?”

            “For
medical care Balor,” Rod answered softly, “she is in her home here, with her
friends. Safe.”

            “Not dead?
Not h..hurting?” he squeezed his arms around his chest tighter, his fingernails
pressing into his own skin.

            “Her gift
keeps her from ever dying from healing someone,” Casstiel reassured him, “she
is very much alive.”

            “She was so
terrified of me. A monster sucking the life force out of her,” he shook his
head and Cass couldn’t help but notice the way his eyes twitched wildly around
the room, like an animal that had been caged for too long, “Can I see her?”

            “I don’t
think so,” Casstiel replied delicately, “I don’t know how long it will take for
her to recover.”

           
Or if
she’ll recover…
he thought darkly to himself, and suddenly it felt as if
the oxygen had left the room.

            “I have to
repay her, help her, I can’t take a debt like this lightly,” his anxiety level
was rising and Casstiel couldn’t help but feel for the man. To go from being
one of the strongest warriors in the Breed and be reduced to little more than a
helpless victim in a matter of a few short years, was one of the cruelest
things he could think of.

            “I think,”
How the hell did he say this? He shook his head and grasped at the words to
say, “I think she might be in a coma Balor…. It could take years for her to be
well enough for you to see her.”

            Some of the
light faded from the man’s eyes and it looked like the weight of the word was
sinking into him.

            “Then we’ll
stay here with you and fight,” his voice rang clear with determination, “I’ll
repay my debt by helping you until she’s well again.”

            “Balor we
need to get back to our home, we have to rebuild, and most importantly you need
to rest,” Rod waved off his offer.

            “I will
never set foot in our old home again. Not after all that was lost there, those
grounds are haunted with our dead. We’ll burn it all, and from the scorched
earth, build anew. Or are you no longer with me?” though his eyes were already
as black as ink, Casstiel swore they dropped to an even darker shade.

            “Don’t be
daft,” Rod rolled his eyes, “I’ve never said no to a fight in my life, I guess
it’d be a shame to break the streak now.”

            In unison
the boys looked over to Casstiel for the final word.

            How could
he dare tell them no?

            “We’ll need
all the help we can get, and you two are among the best, how could I refuse?”
he smiled.

            When he met
Rod’s eyes however, a moment of understanding passed between the two men.

            He would
allow them to aid in the battle, but Roderick would need to be in charge of
keeping his brother in check, and caring for his mental health. Any sign of him
cracking up, and they would be gone. Casstiel would cut any weak links from his
team with ruthless efficiency.

            Now was not
the time to be worried over hurting someone’s feelings; now was the time for
war.

            His pocket
buzzed and he walked to the other side of the room to take the call and receive
the final update from the docks. They had cleared out everything of importance
and were waiting on orders.

           
His
orders and
his
decision on the next step in the war. What was the right
message to send? What was the right move on the chess board of this war?

            Looking
across the room he watched the brothers’ heads bent together, already making
plans for their new future here, and Balor’s words swam across his thoughts.

           
We’ll
burn it all, and from the scorched earth, build anew
.

            “Burn it,”
Casstiel commanded, “burn the whole damn thing.”

~

            Quinn
needed her every bit as much as she needed him now.

            The day had
left him feeling emotionally exhausted and empty inside. He needed her fire to
scorch away the coldness that had crept into his bones.

            His hands
slid over her thick bare thighs, his body craving the softness of her skin.

            Breathing
heavily she pulled her baggy t-shirt over her head and then it was only her
panties separating the two of them.

            Sliding her
fingers through his hair she gripped him and brought him to her naked breasts.

            Hot and wet
and hungry his mouth was on her while one hand slid up between her thighs and
gripped on to her ass, his fingers splaying over it possessively.

            She wore
white lacy boy shorts that teased the pads of his fingers every time they
brushed against the hem.

            Digging his
fingertips into her soft flesh, he pulled her closer, until her knees bumped
the lid he was sitting on. He took turns licking, sucking and gently biting
each of her nipples until they were soaked with his taste.

            With her
gripping his hair tightly, the hand he had snaked around her behind ended up
being the only thing keeping her upright.

            Pulling
back he licked his lips and blew a stream of cool breath onto each of her
soaked nipples.

            She sucked
in a sharp breath and clawed at the back of his head. He could feel the heat
coming off of her and knew it would be cruel to make her wait any longer to be
sated.

            Standing up
he grabbed her hand and began towing her off to the bedroom, but she resisted.

            When he
turned around she hopped onto the sinks marble counter top, then keeping eye
contact she slowly spread her legs.