Chapter 22

AYRA

"Nathaniel needs help. He- "

I paused when I entered the kitchen to find Sandra sitting on a stool like she belonged here. She had a suitcase by her feet.

"Why are you here?" I asked.

"To see Nathaniel, of course," she replied. "Now that his brothers are here, they'll knock some sense into him."

"I thought you said you were over him?" I folded my arms, glowering at her.

She shrugged a dainty shoulder. "I changed my mind."

Now, this was the Sandra I knew. The one at the party had been suspicious. I didn't see her letting go of Nathaniel any time soon, but I had to give it to her. She took her acting classes .

"I don't know what you're doing in here, but you need to leave."

"If there's anyone here who should leave, then it's you," a masculine voice bellowed behind me.

Sandra smiled at me, straightening her shoulders at the new arrival.

I turned on my heels to face the person. "Excuse me?"

He looked just like Nathaniel, but instead of the buzz cut and green eyes, he had long brown hair and steel blue eyes.

"You heard me right. You should leave. No one knows who you are, and Nathaniel is letting you stay here. You don't deserve to be here," he hissed in reply.

"Listen, I'd care about all the bullshit you just spouted if there wasn't something pressing on ground. Nathaniel needs help."

Nathaniel's lookalike crossed his arms, leveling me with the coldest glare that was humanely possible. "From what exactly? You? Yeah, he fucking does. You don't have to worry, though. You'll be out of here soon."

He didn't let me get another word in before he turned on his heels, and made his way out of the kitchen.

I was still fuming in anger when Sandra draped an arm around my shoulder. "See sweetheart? I didn't even have to do anything. Aiden doesn't like you. You might not know this, but Nathaniel listens to everything they say."

"Right now, I don't care about all of this. If you really care about Nathaniel, get his brothers. We need to help him."

"Help him? Nathaniel is a powerful — you know what? I'm not going to stand here and listen to you lie."

"Listen to me lie? For fuck's sake, he's in danger."

"Bye," she called over her shoulder, making her way out of the kitchen with a leap to her steps.

***

"Kimberly, where is Logan? I went to your house, but he's not there." The words poured out of my mouth in a rush as I gripped the counter, focusing on steadying my breaths.

"Did you run all the way here?" Kimberly asked, making her way around the counter, a concerned look on her face.

"Yes. I need to speak with Logan or Kai urgently. I also checked the administration building, but they weren't there."

"Is something wrong?"

"Yes, but there's no time to explain everything. Do you know where they are?"

"Yes. They're in the woods. Not the one outside the borders, though. Logan couldn't organize the tryouts because of his hearing loss, and then the anniversary party came along. He scheduled it for today."

"Can you take me there? "

"Sure. Let me inform June, so she can cover for me."

"Okay."

We both made our way down the stairs. Kimberly went in search of June while I paced outside, waiting for her to come out. I had a feeling Nathaniel was in trouble, even though the strange man said they just wanted to talk. If I wasn't mistaken, there had been a hint of fear in his eyes.

"Let's go," Kimberly said a minute later.

Glad for the distraction, I allowed her to lead me to the woods.

***

"Calm down, Ayra. They'll find him," Nikki said, trying to get me to stop pacing.

"Or he could return by himself. It's not confirmed that he's missing," Reese added, but even she knew those words weren't true.

He didn't disappear by himself. He was missing. What other explanation could there be for the blood found at the scene?

"He's missing, Reese. I knew I shouldn't have left him. Those men didn't just want to 'talk'."

"What could you have done? If they were able to subdue Nathaniel, I'm sorry to say this, but you have no chances against them. "

"I know that. At least my mind wouldn't be crippled with worry right now. If I didn't leave, I would know where he is."

"For all we know, he could be injured. If you were with him, the Enforcers wouldn't have gone in search of him because no one would have reported anything to them. You did well by coming to tell us."

"Then why do I feel so — "

"Useless?" Kimberly filled in.

"Yes," I responded, tiredness attacking my limbs. There was only so long I could keep pacing. I settled on the nearest chair, stretching out my legs.

Kimberly came to sit next to me. "Believe me, I've been in your shoes several times. There are sometimes Logan has issues with work, but I'm not able to help. Sometimes, they keep him awake all night. It bugs me, but there's nothing I can do, but offer support wherever I can. Does that make me useless?"

I shook my head. "No. There are some areas you won't be able to offer support, but that doesn't make you useless."

"I'm glad you said that. This is not an area you can offer your support, but it doesn't mean you're useless. Get that into your thick skull, okay?"

I nodded, wiping my sweaty palm on my jeans. "Okay."

"You must be exhausted. Do you want to head home?" Reese asked, softly.

"No. I'll be fine here."

If Sandra was still at the house, I didn't think I could handle her right now, so it was best to stay away.

"I'll go grab a blanket upstairs."

***

AIDEN

"You guys spread out around the woods. We'll check by the water below," I said, getting a nod from Logan.

"Come on, keep your eyes peeled for anything unusual," he barked, leading them back to the bottom of the cliff.

When we were sure they were gone, I snapped my wings out, Alan doing the same. We flew down the cliff, landing on the dry land by the water.

"Do you think something happened to Nate?" Alan asked, worry etched into his features.

"Possibly. I can't reach him through our link."

"Me neither. Let's go down either side. It will quicken up our search."

"I agree."

We split up, going opposite ways. Ten minutes into our search, Alan called out to me.

"I found him!"

I took off in his direction, cursing when I found him on the ground with Nathaniel's naked body cradled against his chest.

"What's wrong with him?" I asked, staring at Nathaniel's blue lips.

"He has an injury on his side. He was washed ashore by the water. I think he was attacked by demons."

"Of course, it has to be the demons. I swear I'll kill that fucking bitch," I spat angrily.

"I'll take him home. Call the others back," Alan said, gathering Nathaniel into his arms effortlessly.

"Will do," I said before he faded into black smoke and disappeared.

There was a lump in my throat as I went in search of Logan and the rest. I couldn't lose him like we'd lost the rest of our family.

It was all Ayra's fault. She had been sent here to harm Nathaniel, and he didn't even know that. From the look of things, he trusted her completely.

***

BENJAMIN

"You did what! Did I fucking ask you to attack him?" Ryker roared, his eyes widened in anger.

"No, but I saw an opportunity. Nathaniel is deluded into thinking we wouldn't attack during the day. I've taken care of the issue without even having to implement your plan."

Ryker's plan to eradicate Nathaniel would take months, a year even. Why wait that long? I saw an opportunity and I grabbed it.

"You mean my well carved out plan? The plan that had no flaws until you chose to fuck it all up because you couldn't wait for the right time?"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Do you really know the extent of Ayra's powers? She's a Staxton for crying out loud. You might not know how the other species work, but let me tell you, her family isn't one to be fucked with. Why do you think I locked her memories?"

"But I didn't touch her." He wasn't making any sense. "I hurt Nathaniel."

"And who do you think Nathaniel is? Answer me, Benjamin."

"Hers," I said softly, realization dawning on me. "Fuck. What do we do?"

I knew who her brother was, and he was one of the last people I wanted to meet in my lifetime.

"There's nothing I can do. I don't have her here. Let's just hope she isn't triggered by someone or something into using her powers. Even the littlest use of her powers will unlock that memory, and she'll find out she's not what she thinks she is.

"Why do you think I renewed the lock on her memories constantly? She must never find out the truth," he said, heading to the door.

"Okay. She won't. Quick notice, the Wylim you were working on isn't available anymore."

He paused in his steps, slowly turning around to face me. "Excuse me?"

"Ervin and I used it. That was how we were able to defeat Nathaniel."

"Who used it?" He asked, his voice deadly calm.

"Ervin."

"He has to die."