Page 11 of Celestial Alphas (Nexus #2)

Chapter

Ten

“ W hat happened?” I slam the dark wooden door open and look around the expensive, unfamiliar apartment where some of my mates are filling the living room couches. Hollis is leaning on the wall, Aleksander and Onyx are sitting down, but all three turn their eyes on me. I woke up on a bed that I don’t know, that smelled way too much like Onyx, and everything is a little fuzzy. I might still be in the dress Severi made me wear, but they are all changed into casual clothing. Alek pats his knees and rises up off the sofa. “Morning, Gwenieve. It’s late, you can rest more?—”

“I’m done resting. Where the hell are we?” I demand.

Onyx downs a glass of something orange and puts his glass on a side table before standing up. “You’re safe. You’re in Starlight.”

I walk through the room, past the dark blue couches and massive fireplace, to the floor-to-ceiling length windows and the view of the city beyond it. “Safe?” I mutter before turning on them. “Why would you bring me back here? I’m not going back to that trial, and I’m not being locked up again. He may be your father, Onyx, but?—”

“None of us are taking you back to his father.” Alek’s voice is soothing, like he is talking to a caged animal he just freed. It pisses me off.

“I might if she doesn’t?—”

“Hollis, shut the fuck up for once!” I snap at him.

He growls and takes a challenging step towards me. “Make me, Gwen. Fucking try it.”

I arch an eyebrow. Fine. Onyx blocks my view of him, and I’m forced to meet his eyes instead. “Listen. I’m not taking you back to the trial, and I am on your side. We all are. For fuck’s sake, if we wanted you gone for good, you would have been locked up and not here. This place is protected and a secret. It belongs to me and has magical wards that no one can enter unless I want them to. I don’t come here very often, but it belongs to my mother. She won’t come here either, though.” He rubs his face. “I’m betraying my family for you. I’m lying to everyone to keep you safe. I want to make up for everything we did and fix us. What more proof do you want that I’m on your side, Gwen?”

He doesn’t add in after everything I’ve lied about, but I hear it anyway.

Why would his mother have a secret, spelled apartment? “I’m leaving.”

I barely get two steps before Onyx grabs my arm, stopping me with gentle pressure. “I’m sorry about what my father did and the fact you think that we betrayed you and all that shit, but after everything that’s happened, surely it doesn’t matter right now. He won’t hurt you again, he won’t get a chance, and he will pay for what he has done. I told you once before that anyone in the middle of us is already dead, and the moment my father took you from me, he signed his own fate. I fight for you, and I need you to listen to me right now. I need you to trust me. Stop running from us. Have you learnt yet that we are stubborn fuckers, and we will follow you anywhere?” He lowers voice. “Please, stay.”

My heart flutters for a second, and my mouth feels dry when I can reply. Trust him? I can’t do that. I can’t forgive any of them either. “I’ve learnt that you get me in trouble and risk everything. Do you understand what I am? What you’re begging to stay?”

“We saw your Nexus and we saw you die,” Aleksander’s voice breaks. “We saw and we know we fucked up everything. Broke everything between us. None of us deserves to ask you for anything, but you do deserve our protection. Let us give you that. Let us help you find a way through this because you don’t deserve to live on the run.”

“You all have no idea what I deserve.” I rip my arm from Onyx. “And stop mansplaining what matters and what doesn’t matter to me. I’m leaving. I should have gone in the first place when I got here and not had to sign up to the academy to escape you.”

“Like fuck you are leaving,” Finnegan growls, standing by the front door. He leans his shoulder on it, crossing his thick arms in a tight black shirt. “I know that you don’t like being told what to do, but you are not walking out of that door without me. You’re done with the running shit, the doing it all on your own shit, and every other insane plan you’ve had that has no doubt ended in extreme pain for you. Hate me for it, Sun, but you’re not alone anymore.”

“Finn—”

“No.” He walks to me. “We just had to watch you die, and only Onyx knew you would come back. I had to watch as the only woman in the entire world for me died and I couldn’t stop it. I felt our mate bond crack and fade. I felt you die, and it was different than before. Before, it was like an echo, like a buzz down a distant bond in my heart, but now it’s like a roar. My Nexus isn’t hiding you from me anymore. There is zero chance we’ll send you back out there for the Vian to get their hands on you. My Nexus is losing his mind, and I’m right there with him. Don’t make me let him out again.”

I gulp as the sheer force of him stands in front of me, all muscles and bad moods. I have to change the subject. I can’t deal with this. “How long have you been able to do that?”

The cocky asshole knows I’m changing the subject and plays innocent. “What?”

“Shift, like you did in your Nexus. He spoke through you, not in your animal form. I thought I was the only one who could do that.”

Onyx watches me. Too closely. Too intently. It’s overwhelming. “We have all been able to do that since our first shift, and as far as we know, we are the only bonded group to be able to shift this way.”

Hollis, it seems, has had enough. I’ve had enough of him any time he opens his mouth at this point. Some men shouldn’t be allowed to talk…especially if they only talk shit. “She’s awake and fine. Badly dressed, but I don’t care. Let’s go and see if saving her was worth my time.”

“What are you talking about?” I demand. “I’m not going anywhere with you. Unless you’re offering a lift out of the city limits and then your car keys.”

“I didn’t go with you for no fucking reason,” Hollis snarls.

“Give her a second, we haven’t even told her about Rhodes and?—”

I cut Alek off. “Where is Rhodes? What about Rhodes?”

“He…” Alek looks away. “Maybe you should sit down.”

“Stop treating her like a sensitive baby,” Hollis says. “We all watched the video footage of her, watched her take out Vian like she was bowling. She is a class A liar and good at deceiving. I trained her for ages, and never once did I have a suspicion she was trained. None of us knew. We don’t have to be fragile around her. Just tell her the truth.”

“Who is the sensitive baby now?” I cock an eyebrow at Hollis and smirk. “It was almost funny letting you win over and over, knowing if I even tried a little bit, I could have beaten you. Do you want some training tips?”

“Bitch,” he snaps.

“Bastard,” I quip right back, glaring at him too.

“Let’s never leave you two alone.” Finnegan puts his hands on my shoulders and directs me away. “Rhodes is in a coma because of the bomb at the party.”

“You know, to capture you, and it was your fault.” Hollis’s words echo in my ear, but I don’t hear anything other than “Rhodes is in a coma.” Rhodes is hurt. That’s why he wasn’t there, why he didn’t come for me. Rhodes… “And he’s not waking up. You’ve got that bond with him, and the healers thought it might be possible for you to reach him. I can sneak you into the hospital. You owe me for coming after you. That’s why I came for you.”

“Oh, I thought you did it out of the goodness of your own heart,” I sarcastically whisper, because I can’t even wind Hollis up right now. It’s Rhodes. Rhodes, with his cheeky smiles and reassuring hugs and the promise of brownies when my world is falling apart. It’s Rhodes, who adopted the puppy of my dreams for me, knowing how much hard work would need to go into helping Nibbles’s foot, and he gave me a job so I could keep my independence. Rhodes. I wipe my eyes and turn away from all of them. “Where’s Annie?”

Hollis explodes on me. “Of course that’s all you care about is your goddamn friend! Not my twin brother, who could die!”

“I never said that I don’t care about Rhodes.” I curl my hands into fists. “I’m asking where Annie is because once I go to Rhodes, I’m not going to stop until he is awake and okay. Annie lost her mate. She’s been kidnapped and held there with the Vian. I need to know that you didn’t just dump her somewhere. I don’t just instantly trust you all because you rescued me from the Vian. I would have gotten myself out either way, for the record.”

“No, you wouldn’t have,” Finnegan answers flatly. “Your other mate is powerful and tested my limits. I will enjoy killing him, eventually.”

My Nexus whines in my chest, and I want to hit her. Hollis grumbles. “How the fuck is it possible a Vian has a Nexus mate?”

No one answers him, but Onyx comes closer to me. “I returned Annie to the city, with her mate’s body at her request. She is staying with her mate’s parents, who have taken her in and agreed to keep it quiet that she is there in the city, and we listened to Annie’s request to tell nothing of her mate’s betrayal. She doesn’t want his parents to suffer, which the truth would undoubtedly bring.”

“That’s kind. Very Annie.” I turn to Hollis. “Come on, then. Take me to Rhodes.”

Finnegan straightens up. “I’ll make sure you both don’t get caught. We are taking my car.”

“I’ll get food in and check out any news in the city.” Onyx touches my arm as the others go to the door, waiting for me, but Alek’s phone rings and he slips into another room. When we are alone, Onyx strokes my arm once, sending goose bumps and heat down my spine. “I’ll win you back. Be careful and don’t do anything risky.”

“Like trusting you not to give me to your father and let him draw runes on me that torture me for hours?” I deadpan. His eyes darken and he freezes…shocked, I think. I don’t have it in me to look at him for more than a second, mostly because I said that to hurt him, and I shouldn’t have done that. I’m mad, angry, and scared, but I don’t want to hurt my mates. I never wanted to hurt them, and this is all just fucked up.

The silence in the room becomes deafening before Onyx walks to the door of the bedroom I woke up in, nudging it open. “You need to change out of the dress. It will attract attention. Wear some of my clothes for now, and I’ll make sure to get you some of your own clothes before you’re back.”

It’s on the tip of my tongue to say sorry to him as I pass, but I can’t, and I slip into the room, letting him shut the door behind me. I hear them talking in hushed whispers as I open the cabinets and find grey joggers with a drawstring and a dark grey shirt, carrying them into the attached bathroom. I don’t know what I thought I looked like, but as I turn on the bathroom lights, I wince. The midnight blue dress is torn, hanging off my lower arms, and is covered in blood, mud and fuck knows what. My hair is a rat nest of mess, and I’m paler than usual. Typical for me when I’ve died, but I hate seeing it.

I flick on the shower and rip what is left of the dress off me, chucking it into the bin before getting in. There is a mixture of women’s shampoos and conditioners and body washes that are pricey. I happily use them all. I don’t spend long in the shower though—I never do when water is involved—before getting out and getting dressed. The joggers are pretty long on me, but once I’ve rolled them up a little, I then pull the string tight until they fit. I tuck Onyx’s massive shirt into the joggers and find a brush to sort out my hair, which smells incredibly nice. I’m definitely stealing the good stuff in here before leaving.

I am leaving. When I’ve helped Rhodes…I’m getting my dog and leaving. How could I possibly stay when I’m still putting them in danger? Maybe my Nexus doesn’t want to kill them, but after what Severi said, what he has planned for my Nexus…I can’t risk staying in one place for too long. Even if Starlight is growing on me.

They all go silent, clearly stopping their conversation about me when I come out, and I roll my eyes. Being talked about is not new to me. “I’m ready.”

“Congrats,” Hollis sarcastically replies first. Finnegan punches his arm and Hollis winces. I never want to feel sorry for Hollis, but a small part of me does. He is an A-grade asshole, but he loves his brother and came to get me for Rhodes. It’s his twin. I couldn’t imagine having a connection to anyone like that. Finnegan walks over, holding up a pair of black boots. Designer boots in my size, and I’m sold.

He taunts me with them, lifting them a little higher than me for a second before snatching a kiss on my cheek and handing them to me as I stick my tongue out at him. I pull the boots on and walk to the door with Hollis and Finnegan. Hollis doesn’t bother holding the door open, but Finnegan does, letting me out. We both look at Hollis’s back as he storms down the corridor to the stairs, and Finnegan presses the button for the lift. “He doesn’t admit it, but he’s not okay. Hollis…he’s not sleeping, not eating, and acting stranger than I’m used to. Rhodes is his twin. After they lost their parents, Rhodes became kinder, and Hollis protected that kindness like a dog with a bone. Especially when the rejection happened. All of us had to defend each other, and Hollis took it personally anytime we lost.”

“Rhodes is his family, and I get why he hates me.” I clear my throat as the doors open. We step in and Finnegan presses the button for the bottom floor.

Finnegan moves swiftly, pushing my back into the lift wall, and kisses me. I moan as his tongue slides into my mouth, and his hands grab my hips, pulling me against his body. Seconds before the lift stops, he breaks away and goes back to waiting patiently, like nothing happened. “I told myself I hated you, but all I ever thought about was you. Hate and love are fine fucking lines, and it’s easy to slip between them both.” I’m flustered when I peel myself off the wall and stand next to him. He smirks, looking proud of flustering me. “Hollis doesn’t hate you half as much as he pretends to. I know him, and right now, all he is thinking about is Rhodes. I get it. There is nothing I wouldn’t do for my sister. Nothing I haven’t already done.”

“Am I going to meet your sister some day?” I wonder what his sister is like. I saw her once and got pretty jealous, but I kind of wish I went in and met her.

Finnegan winks. “I have a feeling you’ll be an exceedingly bad influence on her.”

“Probably.” I wink right back. The lift door opens, and Hollis is waiting at the end of a corridor with a sign for the garage above him. The spotlights make the space too bright as we head towards Hollis, and he slips into the garage. “Where’s my dog?”

“At the academy, and she is being very well looked after,” Finnegan answers, holding the door to the garage open for me. It’s a room full of expensive cars, most of them names I wouldn’t know, and it makes my head swim thinking about how much all of this cost. Hollis sits in the driver seat of a black four-wheel Land Rover in front of us, and Finnegan opens the back door for me to get in. I slide in, followed by him, and he rests his hand over the top of mine, almost naturally, like we’ve done it a hundred times, and we haven’t. I don’t hate it. Hollis’s eyes flicker to our hands, and he clenches his jaw as he looks away and puts his foot down, speeding out of the garage and into the streets of Starlight.

The city is just like it was before, quiet at night and full of life at the same time. The restaurants that burst with warm lights and chatter of Nexus inside make me crave the normalcy. But there isn’t a curfew, and no one seems frightened. I feel like, if they knew about me, they wouldn’t look like this.

It’s only a two-minute drive to the hospital, and it’s hard to miss the hospital when it has a giant sign that says hospital outside with big glowing letters. Hollis drives around the side entrance into the parking lot underneath, parking near the entrance doors. Hollis looks back at me. “Onyx told me about that power of yours. You can hide us?”

“Yes, but you’ll have to do something truly horrible, and you might cry at the idea…” Hollis narrows his eyes at me. “I need to hold your hand for it to work well. I know, begin crying. I won’t judge.”

Finnegan bursts into laughter and Hollis looks like he might attempt to kill me before climbing out of the car. My lips twitch as I get out after Finnegan, and we all walk to the doors. Finnegan kisses the top of my head. I’m not sure what to make of these little shows of affection he keeps doing. “I’ll walk ahead and, if you get caught, I’ll deal with it, but run to the car. One of us will drive you back.”

I wiggle my hand at Hollis, who glares at me before aggressively grabbing my hand and holding it a little too tightly. I can’t help but tease him. “You’re so romantic.”

“Bite me,” he snarls low.

“I’m not really into that, thank you,” I mutter.

Finnegan coughs, “Liar.”

My cheeks burn as I remember him biting me and how I bit him right back. He’s right, I’m a damn liar. Hollis looks uncomfortable, but he doesn’t let go of my hand as I use my power to sweep over us and hide us from view. It’s harder when we are moving, but not impossible. The corridor is silent though as we get to the lift, and Finnegan presses the button for it to come. “How is he—Rhodes, I mean?”

“You’ll see, and yes, what you see is your fault,” Hollis states with all the emotion of a plank of wood.

Finnegan gives Hollis a look that suggests he shut the fuck up as we all get into the lift. Thankfully, the elevator doesn’t open for anyone else until we get to the seventh floor, but we come out to a busy corridor that tests my power. Finn walks right up to a nurse’s table with a charming grin that makes my stomach drop. He doesn’t get to smile at any other female like that. I blink, realising that’s my Nexus being jealous, and I have to push her down to stop her from murdering the poor nurse. I make sure to keep us hidden, very carefully hidden, as the nurse leads Finnegan and us to Rhodes. We get to a quiet room where there’s just the beeping of a machine and too much silence. Hollis lets go of my hand immediately when the nurse is gone, but I can’t see anything but Rhodes.

Sweet Rhodes, bruised and hurt, clipped up to a hundred wires and silent. My mate.

My knees feel weak, but I take a step forward, only for the bathroom door to open and Rochelle comes out. She is dressed in a short white dress, and her hair is perfectly falling in curls. Her eyes widen when she spots me, and Hollis is across the room in a second, putting his hand over her mouth. “She’s here for Rhodes and could save him. Please, please don’t say a word. Just walk out with me.”

“They are looking for her, and you!” she bursts out when he lets her go. “What in the name of the Wolf Gods are you doing?”

“Saving my brother.” His voice breaks. “Please. Just please.” I don’t like that he has to beg her. We should just kill her. I blink and shake my head at my Nexus’ thoughts. Sometimes it’s hard to know which opinions are hers and which are mine. She takes Hollis’s hand, and they both go into the bathroom together, likely so he can calm her down and get her to keep silent.

I feel myself shaking as I go over to Rhodes and sit on the bed. My hand trembles as I touch his hand. Please let this work. Please let my Nexus be good for once, do something good. I close my eyes and push for the bond between Rhodes and me, that deep connection born of the Gods, but it’s faded. I can’t reach him. I beg my Nexus to help, but she sits in my mind, silent and unmoving, and she doesn’t help at all. I should know better than to think she would do something good. Of course she wouldn’t.

I let go of his hand and lean forward, stroking his cheek. “I can’t wake him up.”

“It’s okay, Sun. It was a long shot but?—”

I cut him off. “I can’t, but there’s somewhere we can go and get something that will wake him up. I’ve seen someone wake up from a coma, someone brought back when they were nearly dead. It was my mother’s friend, and I was about nine. We were attacked by Vian, and I think she was nearly drained. My mother didn’t have any other friends, and my father wasn’t with us at the time. I had to help carry her to the car, and I knew there wasn’t much of her soul left. My mother told me our bloodline is accepted in, but my father couldn’t know about it.” I think of the silver box my mother gave me and how she told me it came from this place. I remember the afternoon she gave me it. We had been training all day and I was exhausted, hungry and downright depressed. She sat with me and gave me it, telling me to open it when I know there is no hope, when I might actually die for real. I laughed at her, because I died all the time, but she looked me in the eye and told me that burning to death might actually kill me, ripping me apart into a thousand pieces might do it, and that anyone can really die. Even Gods. So I took the box and did what she asked, even if the thought of opening it scared me more than drowning again the next day, and the day after that, and the day after that too. I shake my head of the memories. “The night market of the fairy folk.”

Finnegan blinks at me. “That’s a fairytale and so are the folk.”

“They aren’t fairytales,” I mutter, remembering the folk. “They are terrifying creatures, and the night market is real. I’m going to need money and a fuck ton of it for one of their healing potions.” I climb off the bed and go to the window. “The full moon is tomorrow, and that’s the only night the folk allow Nexus and Vian into their market to trade. We go tomorrow night.”