Chapter 16: Surprise Attack!

I was wearing an off shoulder, sexy black top and a pair of blue jeans, which hugged my figure.
I was wearing makeup today. Dominic’s probably gonna have a heart attack seeing me in these new sexy avatar, though I admit I was more curious to see Stephanno’s reaction. I walked down the stairs and as I came across the hallway, I saw that Dominic and Stephanno were seated far apart from each other, and both of them looked at each other edgily.

“HHmmmm..” I cleared my throat and entered.
Both of them , turned to look at me at the same time. Stephanno looked gobsmacked. I saw his eyes wander appreciatively throughout my body, lingering on my curves and finally resting on my face.

Dominic was another story. His jaws tightened as he took in my new sexy avatar, and I swear he almost let out a hiss when he took in my lip gloss and mascara. I had never wore mascara or any makeup inside the mansion, so obviously he would assume that I had dressed up for Stephanno, which was in a way correct, I suppose.

“ OMG! You look so hot and pretty at the same time” shrieked an excited Stella, who just entered carrying a tray which contained cups of tea and some snacks.
I winked at her and she pretended to faint dramatically.
“ UHmmm” Dominic hissed.
“Yes?” I asked him slyly.

Dominic got up from the sofa, and came near me and hissed, “What the hell are you wearing?”
“What? Don’t you like it?” I asked him, doing my innocent eye bit.
“You little minx, I like it ….a little too well.” He surrendered.
Suddenly, Stella yelped out loud. Me, thinking it was because she saw me and Dominic close together, instinctively took a step back from Dominic.

But it wasn’t because of that….She had yelped because the tray which was laid down neatly on the tea table had started shaking and the hot tea had spilled on her.
I quickly rushed to her and asked, “ Stella, are you okay? Did you get hurt?”
She shook her head at me and I breathed a sigh of relief.
But now not just the tea table, the entire mansion was shaking. Stephanno, immediately jumped up and went outside the mansion to see what’s going on.

Dominic followed him after yelling at me and Stella to stay here. Yeah! Fat chance of that happening.
Both of us quickly followed him out. We looked around panicked but couldn’t see anyone.
Just then, Christopher and Tao came running. Christopher came to a sudden halt when he saw us and gasped out loud, “ Sire, the perimeters have been breached. Tristin, Justin and Maverick is currently at the borders holding the fort down. We are outnumbered badly. We came to get backup.”

Dominic swore and then looked at Stephanno furiously and yelled, “ Is this really necessary? I already allowed you to take her. Call your men down, now!”
Stephanno, “ Calm your pants, Dominic , they are not my men. I came alone. Do you really think I need a herd of men to challenge you?” He shot back.
“Now is really not the time to have the ‘who’s mightier than whom’ conversation. Can we just concentrate on the matter at hand?” I shouted at both of them.
Both of them looked stunned at my sudden outburst..
Just when Dominic opened up his mouth to shout something, there was a sudden explosion behind us.

I turned around panicked and saw that the mansion was crumbling. It was like someone had set detonators all around the mansion. The explosions were going off in the different parts of the mansion.
Dominic swore and started making his way towards the mansion with Tao close behind him. There is no use, now. If he went any nearer he will just get buried under the stones which were centuries old.
“Dominic, NOOOOO!” I yelled at him.
He stopped to frown at me, and then the final explosion came.

The mansion crumbled down, its huge ceiling hitting the ground with a smash. Dominic and Tao was thrown into the air. And without even thinking I jumped up into the air, blocking Dominic’s fall. Tao, however landed straight on Christopher who winced sharply at the impact.
Dominic and I , we both landed on our feet. Dominic was looking at me with a curios expression. Okay! He needn’t look so surprised, I would have done it for anyone, after all I am a good human being.

He pulled me close to him and hugged me tightly. Me, on an impulse hugged him back.
He whispered in my ears, “ I thought my wife only fantasized about ways to murder me…”
I groaned and let go of him, pushing him back. Look at Dominic! He looked like a child on Christmas morning. He was so caught off guard by my motion that he forgot that his mansion had just got destroyed.
“What the hell is happening?” A panic stricken Stella asked.
“Who set off the explosions? “ I asked Dominic.
“If it isn’t the water sect at the borders, who is it?” Dominic asked Christopher, who doubled back under his glare.
“I don’t know Sire, they weren’t wearing clothes from any of the sects. So I couldn’t identify them. Their fighting skills are also different from what we have encountered…..” He replied
“They are using ancient martial arts…..Kalaripayettu….We have heard about this martial art in our training sessions. But that art was lost forever after the battle between the sky sect and the blood sect.” Tao explained.
“ Well, they clearly wanted us butchered as they set off explosions in the mansion. What are we waiting for? Let’s go to the borders and kick their asses, shall we?” I said

Stephanno looked Dominic in the eyes as he said, “Kalaripayettu….there is only one sect which follows that martial art. This is gonna get dangerous, get her somewhere safe “
Dominic nodded at him. For once, both of them were on the same team, which was uhm…currently batting against me. Not good for me…
“ Christopher, take Jessica to the safe house and guard her” Dominic ordered.
Christopher immediately came forward, but abruptly stopped when he saw the scowl on my face,
“ Yeah not happening” I shrieked at him.
Stephanno looked mad enough to murder someone when he bellowed, “ It’s for your own goddamn protection.”

Both of them were fine with Stella tagging alone, but not me..I scowled at them. She was an untrained guardian too. Besides, this is not gonna be like last time. I had my training sessions with both Justin and Dominic. I mean, who gets trained by the Head of the Sect? I am not a weakling….well at least not anymore.
Dominic sighed and replied to Stephanno, “ Let’s just not waste any time, shall we? She is never going to agree to this. She is a stubborn pain in the ass. Let her come along and Christopher, stay by her side all the time.”
“ No way in hell, are you crazy? We don’t know what we are walking into... How can I focus on the battle with her around?” He yelled back at him.
“Even if hid her in the safe house, she will just sneak out. Trust me, she is not the type to sit out of a fight” Dominic countered.
I hid a smile…Dominic was getting smarter these days. Stephanno looked like he wanted to argue, but instead replied, “ I suppose so….she is after all my mate….she is not gonna be the one to sit out on a fight”

Christopher and Tao looked baffled by his declaration and looked at each other confused. I was however smiling heartily. He had acknowledged me as his mate. I wanted to do a chandler styled dance from FRIENDS, but barely held myself, judging that this wasn’t probably the time to do that. Stella nudged me and I grinned at her.

Soon, we were headed straight towards the borders. We were split into different teams. Dominic, Tao and Stella on one….and me, Christopher and Stephanno on the other. Even though my home had just been destroyed, I still couldn’t resist keeping the 'happy puppy' smile of my face.

Stephanno had made it explicitly clear that he was going to be on the same team as mine, so that he can keep track of me and to my surprise Dominic didn’t even bother to argue with him. At first, I thought it was because he had given up, but then that didn’t sound like Dominic. After his visit to the woods to meet with Daniel, he had come back all confident. Now, he didn’t pester me or try to make me fall in love with him, he was just leaving me alone….HHmmm, I really don’t get what his strategy is? I ignored that thought and looked at Stephanno, perched between me and Christopher in the car, smiling to myself as we fast approached the battle scene. Who would have thought that fire and water will come together to fight as one?