Authors: Raven Monet
Chapter Ten
AVA
Staring down at Elias, I couldn't help but admit to myself that the kiss I'd forced on him wasn't just to distract him. It served that purpose too of course – but I'd been fighting that urge for some time. And after he'd kissed me outside the building, my lips had been burning to feel his soft lips against mine again.
Not that I could let him know that, of course.
But as our bodies were pressed together once more, there was a warmth growing inside of me. His erection had pressed hard against me earlier, so I knew he was horny. But I could easily hide my own horniness. Being female meant he didn't have to know that I was equally turned on by him, wanting him in a way I shouldn't.
Not moving off of him, I asked, “Have I proven myself to you now?”
He gave me a cocky grin, placing his hands on my hips as if he were going to move me off him. But he didn't move me. Instead, he held me in place against him.
“You've proven you're stronger than you look,” he said, leaving it at that.
“Is that all?” I asked, leaning down and pressing my chest against his, hoping he caught sight of my cleavage. After all, the game wasn't over yet.
His eyes locked exactly where I wanted them to and I smiled as he licked his lips. “And you've shown me how ruthless you can be to men who find you undeniably attractive.”
I leaned my face down to his, nearly kissing him again. His breath was warm against my face as I leaned closer and closer, taunting him with the promise of a kiss. But instead of kissing him, I bit down on his lower lip – hard. I bit him so hard he yelped in pain but didn't stop me, he didn't push me away.
“I'm more ruthless to those I don't like,” I said, rolling off of him, laying down beside him. I propped my head up on my arm and stared at him.
“So this means you like me then?” He mimicked my movement, facing me.
“Maybe a little,” I said. “Maybe a tiny bit.”
“Well if this is how you treat men you like, I'm intrigued to see what you do to the ones you don't like.” He rubbed his face, a bruise forming on both sides where I'd kicked him. Funny, he never let me know I hurt him, but I could see how painful it must have been.
Reaching out, I stroked his cheek. “I'm sorry I hurt you.”
“This? This is nothing,” he said with a laugh. “I'll heal before the day is up. That's the great thing about us, am I right?”
“And being a hybrid, even more so,” I said.
“I didn't know that,” Elias said softly. “So we heal faster?”
“I dunno about you, but I do,” I said, laying my head down flat. “Hardly anything can hurt me, not for long at least. I mean, it hurts like hell. but I heal pretty fast. Faster than my parents ever did, that's for sure.”
Elias seemed deep in thought. “I wonder if that's true for me too.”
I shrugged. “I don't know enough about you to say,” I said, continuing to stroke his face. There was a light stubble on his cheeks and chin that made him even sexier than when I'd first laid eyes on him. He looked less boyish, more grown up than before. “Though I will say, you seem to age slower too. Just like I do.”
“Why would you say that?”
“Because you look young, Elias. But I can tell you're older than you look. Probably quite a bit older, in fact.”
“Is that your way of saying I'm mature?” he asked with a wink.
“No, not at all.” I laughed. “But there's something about you that says you've seen a lot, a lot more than someone my age has.”
“That doesn't mean I'm older, Ava. Just that I've had a rough life. Or maybe several rough lives.”
That caught my attention. “Several lives?”
“Maybe?” he said. “My parents believed we've lived before, and I get the sense that this isn't my first go-round on this earth, nor will it be my last.”
“Tell me more about them,” I said, getting comfortable curled up next to him – too comfortable.
He laid his head down too, smiling but with a distant look in his eyes. “What do you want to know, Ava?”
“I want to know what they were – and how they managed to bring someone as unique as you into the world”
“You mean you're still trying to figure out what the hell I am, right?”
I nodded.
“Well then, you better settle in and grab yourself something to drink, because we could be here awhile.”
Chapter Eleven
We moved over to a table near the bar and I took the beer offered to me this time. I sat down across from Elias who was healing before my eyes. The bruises probably wouldn't even be noticeable later tonight, which meant that yes, he did heal even faster than most.
“I knew you were Native American,” I said, leaning back in the chair and laughing. “I could just tell.”
“It's that obvious, huh?” he said, taking a long drink. “Yes, half Native American. My mother's side.”
“Your father is the lion, I take it?”
He nodded. “Yes.”
“And your mother is...?”
“She's a creature not of this world, Ava. She's something that only exists in legends.”
I looked at him and arched an eyebrow. “Do you realize how crazy that sounds? Werelion and werebear hybrids don't exist either. Except we do. I mean, I do.”
He nodded again. “But my other half isn't a shifter in the traditional sense. It's not like I shift into another animal. I'm already shifted, as we speak. This is my alternate form.”
I cocked my head to the side, looking at him. He looked exactly as I'd seen him last night, nothing had changed.
“Don't believe me?” he said with a sigh. “I'm not human, at all. While there's part of you that's human, Ava. I'm not, not really. I'm – something else.”
“What are you then?” I asked.
Elias stood up, lifted something up over his head, and turned around. Where his shirt had been was now feathers – black, shiny feathers covering his back and his head. Wings sprouted out from either side of his body and he lifted them up, flapping them and creating enough wind that it almost knocked over the table and chair we were sitting at – and taking me with it. A loud, thunderous noise echoed around the room and the feeling of electricity coursed through my body.
He turned back around and I caught a brief glimpse of a beak and talons, but he moved his wings over his head and he was back in human form – the Elias I knew and lusted over.
I was on my feet before the wind had even died down completely. “What in the hell – ”
“I believe people refer to us as thunderbirds,” he said.
And here, I thought I'd seen it all. But Elias had taken me by total surprise.
“Does Deacon know?” I asked.
“No, no one does. Well, nobody but you and my family. And please, don't let them know or else I could lose my position within the gang.”
I nodded, unable to comprehend what all of this might mean. So he was a shifter that changed into a bird. Except, he was more than a bird – obviously. Birds were annoying creatures, not useful in battle or for anything other than pooping on your windshield and entertaining you with funny phrases. But Elias was more than that. I felt the wind from his wings, heard the sound it made, felt the energy in the room.
“Your secret is safe with me,” I said.
“I knew it would be,” Elias said, sitting back down at the table. “Or else I wouldn't have shown you.”
He trusted me. Why on earth this strange man trusted me with his biggest secret was beyond my comprehension, but he did. And I had to admit, I was starting to trust him too. Which if anything, only made things more dangerous.
I only trusted those I liked, and well, Elias was starting to grow on me. Weird bird shifting and all.
***
“What do you say? Should we go into town?” Elias asked me.
“And then what? Ask people if they've seen this guy?”
I was grumpy. Not at Elias, but at everything. Here we were, no plan, nothing to go off of. We were just two idiots going after the leader of a vicious cartel – and had no idea what we were doing.
“I figured we'd grab something to eat first, look around, not really talk to anyone. Just scope things out.”
“Food again?” I asked, laughing to myself. I shook my head.
“It's already afternoon, Ava,” Elias said. “What can I say? Besides, what else are we going to do?”
“Head to the bars, check out the scene?”
“Later, girl,” he said. “It's a bit early to get our drink on. Talk about looking suspicious.”
“Come on, it's redneck town, you know day drinking is normal around these parts, right?” I was mostly joking, but it was true. We could hang out at the bars and no one would really notice. Not for the most part.
“We're new around here, Ava. We need to blend in. Regulars hang out at the bars all day, but two strangers? Speaking of which, maybe we should do something to change our appearances.” Elias got up and walked into the bathroom and turned on the light. I could see him staring in the mirror, checking out that sexy stubble.
“Change our appearance?” I asked. I had to admit, it sounded like a good idea, but how in the world were we going to do that?
Elias was digging around in the bathroom until he found what he was looking for. He stepped out with a pair of scissors and a smile on his face.
“Hell no,” I said. “I'm not cutting my hair.”
“Not you,” he said. “Me.”
The idea of cutting those lovely locks from his head gutted me. But Elias cut off a chunk before I could stop him.
I flinched as the beautiful, caramel-colored hair fell to the floor.
“I do think we need to figure something out for you too, especially since he's seen you recently,” Elias said, taking another large chunk of hair off his head. He wasn't going too short, thankfully, but still – I wanted to cry. “Would you be up for getting your hair done?”
I shrugged. “What do you have in mind?”
“I dunno. Maybe some bleach, a – ”
“I'm not bleaching my hair,” I said, crossing my arms.
“Okay then, what else can we do?”
I tried to think about it. I could potentially get a wig, but that could come off my head pretty easily. A haircut might not be enough. My black hair was a signature look, especially with my pale skin. Besides adding fun colors in now and then, I'd never really had any other hair color.
“I think you'd look super hot as a blonde,” he said. “Just sayin'”
“What? You don't think I look hot now?”
“Of course, I do,” he said. “I wouldn't change a hair on your head if I didn't have to, but since we have to do something – ”
He was right. It would be a good idea to change my appearance a bit just in case.
Elias had cut the last bit of his hair short and was shaking off the excess. It was still messy and chunky as if someone had literally taken a pair of scissors to it and chopped it off. He'd need some help with that.
“Give me those,” I said, reaching for the scissors.
“What? You're going to go short too?” he asked, looking surprised.
“No,” I muttered, as I stepped around him, trimming his hair and evening it out. “But if you're going to go short, might as well make it look somewhat decent. Hey - I have an idea. Why don't you bleach your hair – ”
“Hell no,” he said, grabbing my hand as I stepped around to trim the front. He smiled at me as he held my wrist, stopping me in the middle of trimming the sides.
He stared at me, long and hard, before letting go of my hand again. I finished trimming up the hair, running my hands through what was left of his formerly gorgeous locks. No longer did it fall nearly to his shoulders, but was instead, cropped closer to his head. Until he was cleaned up, however, I hadn't noticed how good he looked with shorter hair.
“There. You could almost pass for a lawyer or something,” I said with a teasing smile.
“I'm not a damn lawyer,” he said with a laugh. He ran a hand through his shorter hair, shaking it and ruffling it up just a bit.
“No, you're not.” My voice caught in my throat as his green eyes bored into me, looking as if he could see right through me in that moment.
“So about that bleach?” he teased. “Will you do it yourself or would you like me to do it for you?”
“You're not going to quit with that, are you?” I smacked him playfully, and again, he grabbed my hand and pulled me to him. For a second, I couldn't breathe. My chest felt like it could no longer expand to take air as he held me against his body. I thought he might kiss me again – and maybe some part of me hoped he would.
“If it's going to keep you safe, Ava, then no – I won't quit.”
He let me go without a kiss.
I had to say, I was really disappointed.
Chapter Twelve
I went into the bathroom to put the scissors away, and I stared at myself in the mirror. My dark hair was the color of my father's – and Deacon's too. My mother had lighter hair, a natural blonde. But of course, genetics from my father's side overruled hers. My dark hair and eyes came from him, and my pale skin came from both of them.
My hair was all one length and down to the middle of my back. Years ago, I had tried a pixie cut but didn't like it on me. My hair was too thick and wavy. But there was one change I could do right then and there. I took the scissors to my hair and cut.
Elias came up behind me. “Ava – ” he choked.
“Just wait,” I said, trimming a little more. I kept an eye on my work in the mirror as I trimmed and cut the hair right above my eyes. I turned to him, showing off my new bangs. “It's not much, but it hides some of my face a bit more.”
“Very nice.”
“Wanna run me to the store?” I asked him, nibbling my lip.
“What for?”
“Do I need to ask?”
“Oh, Oh,” he said, eyes wide. “Umm sure, yes. I sometimes forget girls have to deal with stuff like – ”
I burst out laughing, nearly in tears, stopping him before he could continue. “Elias, calm the fuck down. No, it's nothing like that. I just figured if you're willing to cut off all your hair to blend in, maybe you're right about the bleach.”
“I was kidding about that, Ava,” he said, leaning against the doorframe.
“But maybe you're right. Maybe we need to do more to hide our identities.”
He didn't argue with me. We both knew I was right, even if it meant destroying my hair with chemicals and dyes. Maybe I wouldn't have to go full-out bleach. There had to be alternatives, right? Even for someone with hair as dark as mine?
“Who knows, maybe I could be a redhead,” I said, striking a playful, sexy pose and laughing.
“Okay, I'll admit – I wouldn't mind seeing that.”
We both fell silent as the sound of a door opening took us by surprise. We stared at each other, afraid to move a muscle, as we listened. The door we'd broken into had been secured after we came in, but it sounded like it wasn't anymore. Footsteps, a lone pair, echoed through the empty warehouse.
Elias turned to walk out of the bathroom, motioning for me to stay behind. Hell no, I wouldn't let him face whatever was out there alone. But he blocked the doorway, standing there, tall and fierce as if to protect me.
“What are you doing here?” Elias asked.
“I could ask you the same question,” a familiar voice responded.
It was Deacon. My uncle. Elias kept me behind him, hiding me from view. Probably the smart thing to do to avoid any questions from Deacon.
“I wanted to get some more training in,” Elias said. “Work out a bit, clear my head while I'm at it.”
“Uh huh,” Deacon said. “I get it, Elias.”
Yet, something in his voice said he didn't get it.
“But can I ask you a question?”
I stayed back into the bathroom, almost afraid to breathe. I didn't want to get Elias in trouble, but mostly I didn't want my uncle asking me what I was doing here. I couldn't let him know I was looking for the man who killed my parents. He'd do everything in his power to stop me. Not that he could, not really. He'd just make things more difficult for me. And probably a hell of a lot more difficult for Elias.
“What's that Deacon?” Elias asked.
“Who's with you? I mean, I see two beer bottles on the table – and only one bike. So unless they left already, I'd venture to guess you have a girl here with you.”
Elias remained calm, not flinching in the least. “And is that a problem, man? I didn't know it was a crime to have ladies over to the warehouse. Just thought I'd show off a bit, that's all.”
“Show off, eh?” Deacon laughed, and it sounded sincere. But then he stopped. “So you're telling me this has nothing to do with Ava? You can see why it might look that way given the fact that she checked out of her hotel room early this morning and rode off with some biker? And now, I can't seem to find my niece anywhere, and I was really hoping you might know where she's at.”
The tension in the room was so thick, you could cut it with the proverbial knife. With a sigh, I decided to admit defeat, to keep Elias from digging himself even deeper in a hole
“Look no further, uncle Deacon,” I called from behind Elias. “I'm right here.”
Elias stepped aside, throwing a look my way that said he had this. But I didn't want him to protect me. Especially if it risked getting him in trouble with Deacon.
“What in God's name are you doing here, Ava?” Deacon said, rushing past Elias and standing before me.
“What? You're going to be my father now and tell me who I can and can't date?” I stood my ground, hand on my hips. “I know you seem to have missed it, but I'm an adult now, Deacon.”
“So you two – ” Deacon said, looking between Elias and myself, “are interested in each other?”
“Maybe?” I said, giving Elias a little wink. “I mean, it's still too early to tell, but thanks for ruining our first date.”
Deacon looked to Elias who shrugged. “What can I say? Your niece is pretty badass.”
“Badass,” Deacon said with a laugh. Of course, he'd doubt me. He didn't really know me, not as the woman I'd grown into. He still thought of me as a little girl.
“I'm sorry, Deacon,” Elias said. “I promise to treat her with respect.”
“I know you will,” Deacon said quietly. He looked back and forth between us, almost as if he still couldn't believe it. “I mean, I really couldn't ask for a nicer guy for Ava and all – it's just, wow. I think I need to sit down.”
Deacon left the tiny little bathroom, and I followed him out, giving Elias a look of relief. Keep pretending we're into each other and that'll keep him from asking the hard questions. Yet even as I looked at Elias, I had to wonder – was this all an act? For me, I couldn't be sure. Maybe I was into the guy, but I knew Elias' type too well to feel comfortable putting my heart in his hands. He was a lot like my uncle, and trust me, I knew what sort of heartache he brought with him.
Deacon had sat down at the table and helped himself to a beer. I sat down across from him, and he took my hands into his.
“I'm sorry if I scared you, Deacon,” I said, giving him my best good girl smile. “I would have told you, but it just sort of happened, you know? After I saw him, I just couldn't stop thinking about him, and I hoped you would approve of him.”
Deacon looked at Elias. “Do you mind if we talk? Alone?”
Elias nodded and stepped outside. Deacon waited until the door shut behind him, leaving just him and me in the warehouse together before he let his guard down.
“Jesus Christ, Ava. When I went to your hotel, I feared the worst...”
Tears welled up in my uncle's eyes. Never before had I seen this man cry, and here he was – crying because he thought he lost me.
He gripped my hands tightly in his, holding them as if he was afraid to let go.
“I thought I lost you, just like I lost your mother.”
As soon as he said those words, though, he stopped and stared at me wide-eyed, looking as if he was waiting for the question to come. Yes, I noticed he didn't mention my father. I knew he missed his brother, that it killed him to have lost his twin. But it was different. Losing my mom was different for him. Because he loved her.
He started to speak again, trying to fix his mistake, but I stopped him.
“Deacon, I know about you and my mom.”
“How?” he asked me, his face contorted into a look of surprise. “How could you?”
“It was obvious,” I said quietly. “You came around, she'd spend a night away from home. The way you looked at her, the way you looked at me – and I know something else too.”
He didn't say anything. I think he knew what I was about to say.
“I know you might be my father too.”