Storm pressed her thumb and index finger to the middle of her forehead, stepping back one bit, feeling a headache coming already. She wished she could unsee what she had just seen.
“Storm, are you okay?” She heard Kaden ask, and shook her head.
“What are you people?” She asked, wondering whether the likes of this people were why this part of the town was not deemed fitted for normal people. Does this mean that she should be staying here?
“We...are...” Lent was saying when Kaden cut in sharply.
“We are people with special abilities. If that pisses you off, you should leave, and of course don’t mention it to any one.” He said, meeting Storm’s stare.
Storm, seeing his accessing gaze, shrugged.
“You don’t have to send me away. Mr. Kaden. I also have some special abilities, and I think I can help Lent.” She stated, batting the surprised Kaden's hands aside and pressing her palm directly to the wound. Folding herself against Lent, she held her hand flat to his chest.
“What are you doing, Storm?” Kaden asked, visible shock in his voice. He had thought Storm a plain human, and now she was talking gibberish about some special abilities?
But Storm didn’t answer him. Her whole focus was on healing Lent. That was her special ability. Healing. She had discovered it when she was ten.
The threads of healing spiraled in her mind, diving through her fingers into Lent's skin, swirling until she closed her eyes to fight dizziness. Lent's skin knit beneath her fingers, tightening and drying, slowly becoming whole again. After a few minutes, she opened her eyes. Lent's breath came fast, but it was healthy breathing, and the blood around the wound had dried.
Storm drew her hand away. Lent probed his injury, staring at it in amazement. "What the hell did you do to me, Storm?"
"Nothing," Storm said in a light voice as she stood up. "We stopped the blood, and you heal fast, you big strong...man"
Lent looked from Kaden to Storm. Kaden shrugged and gave him a small smile, as though he knew what was going on, but Storm saw the hard flicker in Kaden's eyes. Oh, goody, she'd pissed him off. But what had she done wrong?
Lent gave up. He stretched and worked his shoulder. "Slap a bandage on me, Kaden," he said in his usual strong voice. "I need to find my clothes."
Kaden silently pressed a fresh wad of gauze to the wound, secured it with sterile tape, and let him go.
Lent kissed the top of Storm's head, clapped Kaden on the shoulders, and banged out of the office, his energy restored.
Storm busied herself putting things back into the first-aid kit. Kaden said absolutely nothing, but when she turned from tucking the kit back into the cabinet, she found him right behind her, again invading her personal space.
It was difficult to breathe while he stood over her, smelling of the night and Guinness and male musk. She had no idea what to make of him. She was sure that he had been shocked, then unhappy about her using her powers. Now, he was right behind her emitting sexual heat. She needed to leave, before she got burnt again.
Kaden was tall and blue-eyed, and he radiated warmth like a furnace. She couldn’t help but admit that she loved standing close to him-How crazy is that? I'm hot for a stranger with strange powers. She'd thought that after what Curtis, the harassing ass**le, had done to her, she'd never have interest in males again, but Kaden made her breath catch. To her surprise, he had awakened her instincts and made her come alive. She'd never thought she'd feel alive again.
"What?" she asked, when Kaden made no sign of moving.
"Don't play innocent with me, love. What did you just do to Lent? I watched with my own eyes while that wound closed." He asked gruffly, although with a blatant hint if curiosity.
Storm had learned to be evasive about her gift for her own safety, but she somehow knew Kaden wouldn't let her. If she didn't answer, he might try to pry it out of her, maybe by seizing her wrists and backing her against a wall, looking down at her with those blue, blue eyes. Well, a girl could hope.
She made herself turn her back on his intense gaze-not easy-and start straightening the shelves in the cabinet. "It's something I inherited through my mother. Don’t go on asking who she is, I don’t really know her.” She said, mumbling the last clause.
"I didn't notice you mentioning that you had healing magic when you arrived." Kaden stated flatly.
Storm snorted, before she could stop herself.
“I didn’t know that was necessary for a passé, Mr. Kaden. You can’t blame me though, not everyone would be pleased to cohabit with a ‘special kid.” She replied, without turning around. “I already have a hard time living with family, I don’t need an extra.”
Kaden turned her to face him. His eyes had gone white blue, an Alpha not happy that his mate had refused to bare every inch of her soul to him. Not that he blamed her though, she didn’t entirely know who or what he was. She didn’t know too that she had been in the company of the deadliest mafia in the whole state.
As much as Storm's gaze wanted to slide off to the left, she refused to look away. Kaden might be a hulk of a man, the boss perhaps, but she'd not be a pathetic submissive to his big, bad dominance.
"Why keep such a thing to yourself?" Kaden asked. "You could do a hell of a lot of good with a gift like that."
Storm slid out of Kaden's grip and walked away. First, because it proved she could; second, it got her away from his white-hot gaze.
"The gift isn't that strong. It's not like I can cure terminal diseases or anything. I can boost the immune system, heal wounds and abrasions, and speed up the healing of broken bones. I couldn't have magicked the bullet out of Lent, for instance, but I could relieve his pain and jump-start his recovery." Storm replied, relieved that she was a bit far from his reach."And you don't think this is something we should know about?" Kaden asked, his eyes still stuck on her.Storm shrugged in reply.When she looked at Kaden again, his eyes had returned to that sinful, summer-lake blue, but his stance still said he could turn on her anytime he wanted. If Storm hadn't been intrigued by Kaden the moment she'd laid eyes on him for the first time in a bus station, the man would have terrified her. Yes. Their meeting today in Mr. Tim’s office had actually been the second time she had seen him. She remembered now. She hadn’t been able to recognise him when she had waltzed into the office earlier
Storm scoffed when she heard Kaden’s reply.Stick around? The man must be nuts to think that she would take up visiting this side of Shappy town as a hobby because of him. She thought.It was best she left here already before he started to talk about her working as a bartender in this crime infested bar. After all, he already paid in full, Mr. Tim’s debt.“Aren’t you a little curious about who or what we are? Some people are actually dying for this piece of information, and here you are pushing it away even though it is offered on a free platter.” Kaden mentioned, folding his arms across his chest, his blue eyes boring down on Storm. His reply caused Storm to snort. “Well, I am not interested. I will live just as fine as I was before coming into this bar today. I am not a journalist or among the paparazzi who would do anything for a piece of this juicy information you are offering me.” She pointed out, her eyes already scanning the room for the exit door, even as she asked herself if
It was true that Storm didn’t know who exactly Kaden was or why he was suddenly interested in hearing her problems, but it was heartwarming to know that at least someone cared enough to know about the nightmares that wouldn’t let her sleep smoothly and in peace for the last three years.Her father had found out about it at first, but his love for her step mother, Jess, had blinded him to the fact that she needed warmth, that she had needed his care more than ever. Her father marrying Jess had begun Storm’s misery days. It was like the woman was shrouded in ill fortune and bad news."I really don't want to talk about it right now," Storm finally said, shaking off the earlier feeling of pouring out her feelings to Kaden, who was definitely strange. Since knowing about the uniqueness of Lent when they had attempted to remove the bullet which had lodged into his arm, she had a feeling that her life was about to get a tad bit interesting.And she welcomed it. It was high time something o
After Kaden’s heroic words, Storm straightened and turned, putting her back against the door, her stormy eyes making him wild with wanting. “You know I’m grateful for what you did for me,earlier at the bar drinking room. Thank you for saving me.” She mentioned, deciding to express her thankfulness and curb her stubbornness for the now. If he hadn’t covered her with his body, perhaps, she would have been hurt, either by the gun or shattered glasses.“Aye, and your undying gratitude is what I live for.” Kaden said, his eyes never leaving hers.“Really?” She looked him up and down with a hint of a smile.“Sure it is.” He heard the amusement in his tone, but he couldn’t keep it out.Storm’s brows moved upward, her smoke-colored eyes looking straight into his heart. He had to wonder what she saw there.Kaden had pictured her as a submissive little human-shy and scared, before he’d met her today; for he had known about her living conditions with her step mother, and that she was coming to
Storm and the girl whose name Kaden had overheard, Lucy, said good-bye to Kaden in front of Storm’s house. Kaden pulled Storm into a full embrace, to the shock of the two females-unable to hold himself, inhaling her scent. He liked that Storm hugged him back, not fighting this particular way of saying good night. Her body felt good and warm, the strength and softness of her making him want to hold her for hours. Avery’s hug was not nearly as intoxicating, and her embraces were always accompanied by a flood of perfume. Thinking of Avery, a girl friend of his, made him disentangle from the hug and look around the environment waringly.Avery was very possessive of him even though they weren’t mates. But that hadn’t stopped him from sleeping with her even though she was Lent’s cousin. She had been among the few females who had followed him despite the cloak of shame that had covered him after he had been banished from the pack for a crime he didn’t commit. Kaden waited until Storm had
“Hey, Liam. Kaden,” Micheal said as he walked into the room where the other two men were. “Mako wants to know when we can go hunt down the hunters and kick some gobshite ass.”Kaden started to grin, doubting that Mako, a werewolf as they were but different because he was a rogue from some pack he had never heard of, who lived across the street, had used the term gobshit, but Liam growled. “Mako can keep his pants on and his mouth shut.” Micheal went to the refrigerator and helped himself to a chilled beer. His movements were restless, angry, a young werewolf impatient to make his place in the world. “They invaded our territory, or as well as. They put our females in danger. I say Mako is right. We fight.”“Since when do you listen stupid ass**les like Mako?” Liam’s voice had an edge to it. “We’ll get them, lad.”“By sitting around drinking Guinness?” Micheal muttered, taking a swig of his beer, swallowed, and wiped his mouth. “Fine leaders you are.”“I talked to the human cops before
Under Liam’s light massage, Micheal calmed. He reached up and rubbed Liam’s hair, indicating he felt better. Liam released him, and Micheal went back to drinking his beer. Micheal had insisted on buying his own beer and going to the bar now that he’d reached the lofty human age of twenty-one.Kaden suddenly stood up then, saying that it was time for him to retire for the night. He kissed the top of Micheal’s head, touched Liam’s shoulder as he went past, and told them both good night. He went up to his room, the smallest in the house, but Kaden didn’t need much. A bed, a desk for his computer, a place to stash his clothes, and life was good. After all, the reason why he had chosen this room was because of Storm.The wooden case that held the collar—polished, inlaid, velvet-lined—rested on his dresser, the elegance of the case incongruous with the functional collar inside it. He was surprised that Liam hadn’t noticed it today. He was still contemplating on when to tell the others tha
Storm:Mirianda’s consistent knocking or rather banging on the door of my room woke me up from the the smoothest sleep I have ever had in a while. I cussed at my step sister repeatedly in my head. Not minding that the thick head was shouting at me to get my lazy ass from the bed, I took my delicious time in getting up from my soft bed and stretching, before stalking to the door and opening it reluctantly.“Did you stuff stones into your ears? I have been knocking on your door for hours, bone head!” She screamed, immediately our gazes met.“Stop screaming like a pregnant goat, and tell me why you are right outside my door this early in the morning. Are you sleepwalking again?” I asked, faking a yawn, knowing how much that would upset her. I wasn’t really in the mood to tango with her especially as she had disrupted my comfort sleep. Yes, I had checked my time before stepping up. It was just five a.m. Today was a sunday, so early risings weren’t acceptable for me.“How dare you? Who ar