30 | FIVE ELEMENTS

***BLUE***

The second Red falls to the ground I feel a mental clock start up. Five seconds… Beside me, the two older Elementals are shaking their heads, looking around in surprise and fear. The stink of their fear raising the hairs on the back of my neck and ramping up the anxiety already churning within me. *We don’t have time for this*.

“Bind her.” I growl at them when they only stare at their child in horror. My mate on the floor. Fifteen seconds. “Now!” I manage to shout at them, despite the raging in my head. Twenty seconds…

I feel like I’m being split into three. One part of me focused on beating back the crippling weight of power emanating off the teen now hovering in the air. One trying desperately not to keel over from the amount of energy I’m exerting. The last fighting to stay in control as my wolf paces the inner confines of my body, snarling in fear and protective instinct.

The stupid creature’s fighting me, warring with my partially human form and trying to rip me into the form I need to be to run to our mate’s aid- But I can’t. As much as I want to, I can’t. She warned me. *Just know if you mess up any of our plans, mate or not*… I screwed up by keeping this from her, but I’m not going to dig myself into a deeper hole by going against her wishes now. Not now.

*She’s strong*. I tell myself, and the wild beast in me. We both know it’s true. We wouldn’t have strengthened the bond if she’d been weak. She’s the farthest thing from weak wee’ve ever seen in a person before. Repeating this gives me strength. I bow my head, breathing in as I continue to count the seconds as the two Elementals finally start working their magic.

I’ve counted past three hundred before I can feel something pulsing through the bond between me an Red. The strange inner power that hides so well behind the guise of vampiric speed I almost hadn’t noticed it when she Bloomed last year. The feel of it is ancient, more than her - something that’s not inherently good or bad. It just *is*. It’s creeping glow of acid green tinges the bond between us. Pulling gently, sucking some of my own power and energy from me as it always does when she uses it.

I hold still, letting it seep through me and soak into my mind. It’s the only real proof I have that Red’s still fine. So I let it be.

The thing is, now that I’m officially over-exerting myself, there’s not much I have left to give. I feel the shield I’d placed around me, the Elementals, and Red’s vampire friend fall. But Eyre’s power’s no longer so virulent that it’s trying to destroy us. *Just in time.*

Still, it’s a little hard to stay kneeling as the force continues to smash against me. I let my body fall forward, focusing on the connection between me and Red as I wait for my body to start healing. I can feel the critical injuries within, the ones no one could see as the power I’d forced out tried to rip my insides into itty-bitty bits. Internal bleeding isn’t new to me, but I’m not about to risk moving when I’m not needed. So I stay still. The mental count keeps up. I’m up to six hundred before I can feel my fast-healing Wolven body start to breathe comfortably. By twelve hundred I can see again and move without feeling like I’m going to start hemorrhage.

I inch closer to Red, still laying in front of the now also motionless teen Elemental a few feet away. The Cai’s are busy fussing over their daughter, checking on the girl’s neck. I ignore them, pulling Red close and checking on her condition.

Behind me, I hear the dazed hisses of Red’s companion as she moves towards us.

“Is she-?” The woman asks in a tight and tired voice.

“Unconscious,” I tell the vampire, a little surprised she can’t sense the it herself. I wipe away the now drying streaks of blood that trail from Red’s nose and ears. Her forehead’s smooth, so I know whatever sleep she’s in should be restful. The hum of our bond solidifies what I already know, that she’s just resting now. Alive and resting. I press my forehead to hers, taking a second to just revel in that fact.

“I’m going to take her to the healing bay,” Mrs. Cai tells her husband, scooping up their unconscious daughter as if she were a child rather than a teen. He nods to her once.

“Hold on a second-” I begin to growl, feeling oddly angry that this is it. All of this is over, sure, and we’re all still alive. Fine. But that can’t just be it. There’s a call for blood roaring in the back of my head.

“What’s going on here?” A new voice interrupts us. I look up to see a teen, the same age as Eyre, watching us with blue-green eyes. I can smell the magic in the air as his energy melds into that of his powerful sister. Twins. Of course. I breathe out a little too quickly as the feel of moister in my lungs climbs past uncomfortable and I almost feel like I’m drowning.

“That’s enough, Eaton.” The father tells his son sharply. Eaton frowns at him, his eyes deceptively calm as he glances over to his twin. There’s a split second of panic and understanding that cracks the all-too-familiar appearance of an emotionless mask. The air feels a little too wet for my liking before it becomes bone-dry. I shift uncomfortably, holding tight to Red, as if just by holding her I could protect her from the kid.

“It was just an hour.” Eaton breathes aloud after a second. I catch the flickers of guilt in his face before he seems to regain his composure, the muscles in his jaw tensing.

“You should have told her before you left-” His father sighs but the kid cuts him off.

“It was supposed to be a surprise.” Eaton growls back. It’s only then I see the brightly wrapped box in his hands. A present. All this shit over a present. I grit my teeth and close my eyes, fighting the urge to yell at the kid for his stupidity. A wave of tiredness hits me and the vampire beside me tenses.

“I should…report.” She finally interrupts the thick silence with a clearing of her throat. Before I can say anything else, the woman’s gone. I don’t bother wondering why she got cagy all of a sudden. I can smell the boy’s blood as his nails bite into his palm.

“Look, Mr…” I start but the Elemental holds up a hand.

“Eaton, you should be there when Eyre wakes.” He tells his son tiredly. The teen frown at his father, his eyes flicking between me and Red before he gives a short nod and leaves the room. “I apologize for my children’s…” The man lets out a sigh so deep it makes my own lungs ache. He runs a hand over his face and turns to me. “Call me Clay.” He says suddenly, glancing somberly at Red in my arms.

“Clay.” I repeat a little slowly, already uncomfortable with the idea of not addressing this man by his last name. He smells strong - not physically - but…undeniably powerful. It’s like addressing the president by his first name.

“Mhm.” Clay tells me with a little smile that doesn’t reach his eyes. “I appreciate your assistance, young Alpha.” He adds, bowing his head. I feel my body stiffen, still not used to the sound of the title. Once, it wouldn’t have bothered me, but after six months of being addressed as Alpha. I close my eyes and try to breathe through the feeling of the added Alpha strength the title calls up. I’m still not used to any of it.

“Call me Zane.” I tell the man with a wary smile as I look at him. Clay smiles back and nods. “I wasn’t going to come, Red asked me to stay out of her way.” I admit to him, looking down at my mate in my arms. It’s calming just to have her near, even if she’s unconscious. “The only reason I came was to help her.” I would have tried to take them all out if I thought they could have seriously hurt Red. No hesitation. No remorse.

“Still, without your assistance, this could have ended very differently.” Clay sighs, seeming to realize what I’m saying without me having to spell it out.

“Red could have handled it. We thought it was going to be something from the elements,” I gesture around the room - trying to encompass the events of the last hour.

“It was something that came from an element.” Clay tells me after a beat of silence. I frown at him in confusion.

“Water, fire, earth, and air. Four elements. You can’t tell me this was one of those.” I growl at him, my eyes narrowing as the man’s open face becomes impassive for a second.

“There are…five elements.” Clay says slowly, a look of apprehension crossing his face before his eyes flicker down to my unconscious mate. The look is quickly overshadowed by guilt and he sighs. “We didn’t think…neither myself, my wife or any other Elemental knows much about the fifth. It’s such a rare ability. The last Elemental who was born to the gift has been isolated at the Academy. She is the Headmaster and is the last of her family’s line with an active gift.”

“What was it?” I push my luck, my voice hard and cold as I ask. If this girl has been bound, it means that she could still have access to the power later on. We should know about it to better be prepared if we have an issue like this again.

“Spirit.” Clay tells me grimly, his eyes flitting back to Red’s face. “My kind are naturally a little more resistant to magic from our own kind,” His words have me frowning as I meet his eyes. I feel like he’s trying to ask me something, but I don’t have an answer for him. I say absolutely nothing as I glare back at him. “You should get Scarlett back to her Coven. I’m sure your own healers will want to take a look at her.”

He’s not wrong. I turn my thoughts away from whatever the man was alluding to and nod to him, pulling Red closer to me as I turn to leave the estate and get both Red and I back to Kiwina.

“If-” Clay’s voice makes me pause. “You ever have any other questions about Spirit…” I feel my back stiffen as his words wash over me, but I don’t turn. “I could get that Headmaster’s phone number.” The offer hangs between us for a moment before I glance back. THe Elementals face is as stoic as his element as he stares back at me.

“I’ll see you around, Clay.” I tell him noncommittally, turning back to make the journey out of Port Greene. My head buzzing, and now more than it had been this morning.