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I cursed myself as I dressed, pulling on running clothes. I even took a moment to tie my shoelaces, making sure to tuck them in to keep them from flapping around. It had been one of the tips I read in an article about running.
Why did I think running would be a good idea? After my experience in the caves, with the fighting and even surviving a real battlefield, a new type of desperation burned inside of me. No way would I continue to be weak like that. Never again. The least I could do was to not freeze up and be able to run really fast. That seemed fair. Venni didn’t need to get hurt attempting to carry me on his back through chaos and leaving his team behind.
Trying to get myself worked up for the run, I downed a bottle of water and moved around, swinging my limbs. Maybe that would warm up the muscles. When I felt loose enough, and before I accidentally pulled a muscle, I headed out, but I only made it through the front door before hitting a wall.
Literally.
Okay. Not literally. I managed to come up short before smacking into a hard chest.
“What?” I pulled back and looked up, my dark green eyes meeting hazel ones. “Davies, what are you doing here? How did you get up here?”
Movement caught my attention, and I leaned a little to see past Davies. Venni was a few feet away.
How the hell did they get past my security? I wasn’t even alerted. Davies grinned and pulled out a small black bag. I stared at it with a frown.
“Transport charm? Where the hell did you get those?” I asked.
“Shanton is supplying them to the company,” Venni said. “One bag can transport up to three people. These are just the first shipment for a trial run.”
“And I got to see your apartment once before so I knew exactly where I wanted to go,” Davies said. “I tried to get it to bring us into your bedroom, but it dumped us out here instead.”
“One, you never saw my bedroom,” I said. “And two, that is really neat.”
I held my hand out, and he placed the small bag into my palm. It was lightweight, and I pulled it open to peek inside, my curiosity getting the best of me. “This is a big concoction,” I said, taking in the scent of the different herbs. My nose tickled from the sage, rosemary, and sweetgrass.
“Would you be able to make it?” Davies asked.
I shook my head. “I don’t recognize half the herbs used.” I sent in just a small dose of magic and it responded back with a little zing, jolting my body.
“Laila?” Venni said, his voice dotted with concern as he came closer.
“I’m fine.” I licked my lips. “This isn’t my kind of magic.” I handed it back to Davies and rubbed my hands on my thighs, hating the feel.
“What do you mean?” Davies asked.
“I rely on the elements. There are slivers of unnatural metals in there that can only be crafted by magic. I can’t make metal. I can probably pull it from the earth, but I can only deal with raw materials and the magic is based off of that. I may be able to infuse items with magic, but I can’t make those items do anything special, it’s the magic I put into it that does the work. In this case, the metal is fueling the magic, boosting it, and in a way, controlling it. I can’t do that.”
Davies blinked a few times. “I have no fucking idea what you just said.”
I sighed and shook my head. “Doesn’t matter. Even though I like to think I’m all powerful, I have my limits too. So?” My eyes flickered between the two men. “What are you two doing here?”
“Taking you running. Ami mentioned you picked up running, and we want to join you,” Davies answered. I looked them over again, understanding why they wore black shorts and dark blue tanks that were plastered to their wide chests. The shirt had the BMS logo on top, another marketing ploy to get the company out there. I even had a coffee cup in my lab with the new logo on it.
“It’s good that you’re taking care of yourself now,” Venni said.
I rolled my eyes.
“What’s your route?” Venni asked.
“Down to the park and around,” I said.
“About three miles, that’s a good start,” Davies said.
My eyes widened. “A good start?” I said. “I’m nearly dead when I finish.”
“You’ll be doing six in no time. You’re just starting to build up your stamina now.”
“You’re insane.”
Davies grinned. “I know. Now get that pretty ass running.”
I rolled my eyes and called the elevator. “How many of those pouches are going around?” I asked.
“It’s exclusive to our company right now,” Davies said.
“I’m keeping one. I need to look into it.”
“Why?” he asked.
“Because if it can get you into this building then it can get you into BMS. At least my personal wards were enough to block you from getting inside my condo.”
Davies’s eyes widened when he realized the implications. Venni scowled.
I nodded. “Exactly. I’ll talk to Lombardi too. This is great, but now he needs to be prepared for them to be used against us. We’ll need to figure out how to ward BMS.” When the elevator arrived, I hopped on, the other two crowding me. “Unfortunately, I can’t use all the same wards that I use on my place. BMS is too big for it, and a couple of them are too personal. We can do some experiments to determine how much we need to add to the current wards though.”
“Damn, did anyone even think of this?” Davies asked.
Venni shook his head. “We just got them to test out an hour ago because of our clearance level. We would have by the time we reported back to him.”
I patted Davies’s arm. He was severely protective of his friends and the idea of someone able to break into BMS had to be driving him up a wall.
Once we got outside, I hopped around a bit, trying to loosen up my limbs.
“Ready?” Venni asked.
I nodded.
“Lead the way.”
I took off, going at a slow pace. The guys stayed with me the entire time, never faltering, their stride matching mine, which had to be difficult with their longer legs. Within five minutes we were at the park where there was a running lane on the sidewalk so we didn’t have to weave through pedestrians and strollers. Once I got on it and picked up my pace a little, my body warmed up.
Others were out and about. A child playing nearby looked up at a tree, crouched down, and then jumped a good fifteen feet into the air, giggling as she grabbed onto a branch and disappeared into the luscious leaves. Teens tossed around a small rope that coiled around their wrists when they caught it. They moved fast too. No doubt, they’d already be done running while I was just reaching the quarter mile mark.
Venni came up next to me, grabbing my attention. “You know, if you’re running, maybe it wouldn’t be so bad to learn how to defend yourself too,” he said.
I glanced at him. “I’m listening,” I said, keeping my response short. I wasn’t a talkative runner, too busy cursing fitness in my head to be able to talk.
“You can’t always rely on your magic to get you out of sticky situations. It’ll be good for you to be able to fight back,” Venni explained. “We can teach you.”
“We want to teach you,” Davies added.
“You’d do that?” I asked.
“Of course,” Davies said and grinned. “I can picture it now, pinning you down, underneath me, giving you nowhere to go as I—”
Venni hit Davies in the stomach, the movement swift enough that I nearly missed it. Davies grunted, falling back from our pace to catch his breath.
“You can start training today,” Venni said, ignoring his partner and urging me forward.
“Aw, but I wanna be there,” Davies said, from behind, still gasping.
“The sooner the better. We’ll have to come up with a schedule, and whoever is available will be your trainer for the day.”
“Three times a week,” Davies said. “At least three times a week.”
“Agreed,” Venni said. “You’re going to need a lot of practice.”
I sighed. Just thinking about it was exhausting, but I understood too. If I ever found myself in the middle of a battle again, I wanted to be able to defend myself. I didn’t want to freeze up, to be one of the ones running around, lost and unsure.
The rest of the run flew by. And when we came back around to where we’d started, I slowed down, spotting another one of my guys.
“Rhett,” I said, a little surprised to see him.
He smiled, his expression softening, golden eyes lighting up when he spotted me. He pushed back the curly light brown hair in his face as he came over. “Laila, how are you?” he asked, stopping only a foot away. The energy around him crackled, a pleasant reminder that he was a six-hundred-year-old vampire at a master level.
“If you’re here, that means we’re about to start training?”
He nodded. “Venni sent me a text, and I thought it’d be important to get you trained as soon as possible.”
I huffed. “Can I at least get a water break?” I asked.
He smiled and handed over a water bottle I hadn’t even noticed in his hand. I downed it in seconds, sighing when the cool liquid ran out, my body wanting more. Sweat covered my skin, and I grabbed the bottom of my shirt, lifting it to wipe my face. When I looked up, all three men were staring at me.
“What?” I asked, playing innocent. I knew what was in their thoughts.
Davies cleared his throat. “Nothing, nothing at all.” I’d have believed him if his voice didn’t come out deep and husky.
I smirked. “Good, shall we start then?” I asked nonchalantly, pretending I had no clue what I did to them. Just to mess with them more, I fanned my shirt, trying to cool down and giving them a good show of my stomach.
One of them groaned.
“I need to get going,” Davies said, barely above a whisper. He swore and then cleared his throat so his voice came out clearer. “I have an assignment, but you’ll be in good hands with Rhett and Venni. And I expect you to be able to throw me when we next see each other.” He grinned as he came over and placed a chaste kiss on my lips. “Until next time, Babe.”
He turned and broke out into a light jog as he headed in the direction of BMS, no doubt to make use of their locker room to get cleaned up.
I eyed Venni and Rhett, wondering how I would ever be able to take on a shifter and a vampire.
Never was the answer. I’d never be able to take on a shifter and a vampire. The first rule they implemented was no magic. I understood why, but it sucked. Magic was who I was—without it, I had nothing. Though that probably wasn’t as true anymore since I was an elementalist and supposedly could use energy. Problem was, I didn’t have energy of my own to use. I had to borrow it from my surroundings. Magic I had in abundance and knew what to do with it. The thought of not having access to it made me physically ill.
The helplessness curled in my stomach when Rhett managed to get me on my back again. Not exactly the moment I wanted to be in this position, and not the right atmosphere.
“Your mind isn’t present, why?” Rhett asked.
I raised an eyebrow at his question. Did he really want me to answer him? I mean, I could, but I doubted it was an answer he’d like. Well, maybe he would, but not here, not now.
There’s a time and a place for everything. That became my mantra as I climbed back to my feet. Time and place.
“This time put your hip into it,” Venni said as I faced Rhett.
“If I put anymore hip into it, I’ll dislocate it.”
Rhett grinned, and I knew they wanted to toss some jokes my way, but the glare on my face stopped them. I was frustrated. How many more times did I need to do this move? I thought we’d established I couldn’t throw Rhett.
He was lean, but tall and all muscle. I stood at a strong five-eight, but all the other supernaturals made me feel like a shorty since they easily reached six feet.
“You know, if I could use my magic, this wouldn’t be an issue,” I said.
“And you need to know what you can handle without it. What if something happens to your magic?” Rhett asks. “Maybe someone slaps a magical collar on you?”
I shivered. Springer City was policed by the Enforcers’ Guild. To control their captives, they used magic dampening collars. That was a nightmare I did not want to consider, ever, even if it was just temporary. I’d seen people who had lost their magic for one reason or another. I wouldn’t have even called them people; they only existed, barely there. As the days went by, they faded away, until eventually, they went to sleep, and didn’t wake up again. It was a death sentence to lose one’s magic, or in Venni’s case, his energy.
“You’re too big,” I said to Rhett.
“And I’m even bigger,” Venni said. “Most of your foes will probably be around our size.”
“Then I’m screwed.”
“No, we’ll make sure of it,” Venni replied, his voice hard. “No one will be able to hurt you. If we aren’t with you, then we’ll just make sure you can do it yourself. We’ll give you the control you want.”
Venni’s words were exactly what I needed to hear. My stubbornness flared to life, and I got into the ready position. Rhett smiled and Venni nodded his approval as we got back to work.
I didn’t want to be weak anymore. I wanted to be able to fight back, and Rhett was right. I held powerful magic, or I guessed power, according to the elementalists. Power was the use of magic and energy together, something only elementalists could do, which was what made them one of the most powerful beings on earth. And I was one of them, but I wasn’t infallible. If my magic somehow failed me, I would be screwed. Magic was my greatest strength, but like all double-edged swords, also my greatest weakness. Take it away from me and I had nothing.
After a few more attempts at throwing, we switched things up, focusing on punching and kicking. Venni and Rhett circled me and moved in. I needed to react with either a punch or a kick, while still moving. If they touched me, I lost.
When my breath grew ragged and my limbs tired, Venni called it and I collapsed to the ground. “Thank the Goddess,” I said, drawing in gasping breaths of air.
The other two sat down on the grass with me.
“You have a brilliant mind,” Rhett said. “You read a situation and predict what is going to happen within moments. That ability is going to help you stay alive.”
“I agree,” Venni said. “You’re able to tell when we’re going to make a move, and you’re able to prepare for it to some capacity. You aren’t used to what we can do, and that slows down your reaction time, but once you gain more experience, people will think you can see the future.”
Rhett nodded his agreement.
“So, I just need to get pounded on to learn at this point?” I asked.
“No.” The vehemence in Venni’s voice caught me off guard. He paused, realizing his reaction was over the top, and looked away.
“No one is going to be pounding on you if we can help it,” Rhett said, looking at his friend with a frown. “We won’t let anyone hurt you.”
“But you won’t always be around,” I pointed out. “You have lives and a demanding job. Just look at the last couple of weeks. I barely saw any of you.”
“And we’re changing that,” Venni said. “We want you in our lives. You probably don’t believe us right now. I get that. But we’re here and we’re going to make sure someone is always around.”
I narrowed my eyes. “I don’t want bodyguards.”
“No bodyguards. Attentive boyfriends,” Rhett said.
I snorted. “So crowd me?” I asked. “From what I gather, there are quite a few of you guys. I like my space, I like my independence.”
Rhett stepped forward, becoming the voice of reason. His hands were up, palms facing me. “We would never dare take that away from you. Ever. That’s one aspect we all like about you. People get caught up on decisions and what to do, but not you. You just do it, moving forward. We’d never dream of taking that away from you, Laila. And you’re right, we do have demanding jobs. It won’t be often that all of us are around at the same time. We’ll figure this out, find a balance.”
I stared at him for a moment, still trying to wrap my head around the situation. Sometimes it didn’t feel real. It didn’t make sense. How could they be so willing to share me? And how could I be so selfish to keep them all to myself? I knew me. If I jumped into this, I wouldn’t be able to watch them with other women. I’d want to turn them into frogs. Or a leper. I was down for making some lepers.
“You make this sound so permanent,” I said, and that’s what scared me. It was like they all already knew exactly what they wanted, from me, from this relationship they wanted to form. I wasn’t so sure it was something I could give them.
Rhett and Venni shared a glance before Rhett spoke again. “We had a lot of conversations over this the last couple of months. You really did become something precious to us all. I know you can’t see it. I guess to you, we are coming out of the blue to let our intentions be known.”
“You’re right, I don’t understand.”
“Maybe we went too fast?” Venni said.
I snorted. In my opinion, they weren’t going fast enough. I definitely lusted after them, but to go so far as to want a relationship? That was all new territory for me. I didn’t do relationships. Elliot was right, I did fast. I met a guy, stated my interest, and when it was all over, we parted ways. No hard feelings. But relationships were all about managing feelings. I could barely manage my own feelings, much less worry about six other people’s feelings.
“I hate to leave you feeling doubt,” Venni said, looking at his phone, “But I need to run. For now, your assignment is to learn to believe us and what we say. We want this and maybe we should have included you when we talked about this so you can see how much. We’ll make it up to you. I promise.”
I nodded and then he was off, leaving me with Rhett.
Rhett smiled and nodded toward my apartment. We headed back, and when we got to the lobby entrance, I paused. He stopped to look at me.
“Rhett,” I said.
He raised an eyebrow to let me know he was listening. “Why do you like me?” I asked.
“Do I need a reason?”
“I’m just trying to wrap my head around everything, but without knowing the why, I can’t.”
“Laila, there is no why to emotions. They are there or they aren’t. Why do I like you?” He rubbed at his jaw. “It could be because seeing you makes me feel lighter. I don’t feel the weight of my past with you. With you, I feel like there is something to the monotony of my life. You brought a kind of light to BMS, even if you didn’t notice. The other researchers grew competitive, realizing they weren’t as good as they thought they were when you breezed in. The guards began talking about your antics, their horror stories filling up the locker room thanks to your creations. You became someone interesting because not many people can use fear like you can.”
Rhett shifted closer and grabbed a strand of my hair that had managed to escape the ponytail. He rubbed it between his fingers, eyes focused on the task. When his golden eyes met my green ones, they blazed with the truthfulness of everything he had said.
“There is no why to it, Laila. This isn’t an experiment with a scientific explanation.”
I snorted and ran a hand through his curly light brown hair, the sun adding a glow to the strands, making them look lighter.
He gave me a soft smile. “Sorry, I don’t do sentimental well so I can’t give you a clear response.”
“I think you did it very well,” I whispered, my chest full with his words.
His smile widened as he leaned forward, kissing my cheek. “Go inside and take a nice hot bath, it’ll help with the soreness.”
He waited until I was inside before turning around and walking out of sight.
I shook my head. These guys were going to drive me up a wall.
