Page 50 of Elas (Mate’s Mark #2)

August

Through the years, I’ve received a lot of training on how to handle life and death situations, and as a medic, I’m damn good in a crisis.

But a man exploding from a hidden stairwell in a whirlwind of limbs and fury?

I wasn’t prepared for this.

I’m not sure anyone is prepared for this.

Elas, on the other hand, doesn’t even flinch.

He only uses his ridiculously long reach to grab the man by the throat, calm as can be.

Serene, almost, although he definitely looks like he’s getting some sort of pleasure from it.

He sweeps the man’s feet out from under him with a well-placed kick, and he falls like a bag of sand.

Elas glides with him in a move so smooth it should be criminal, pinning him on the ground and placing his knee on his chest.

It all takes place in a single blink.

Metal clangs as the knife hits the wooden floor, and I frown at the weapon before leaning to pick it up.

Despite his dramatic entrance, the man doesn’t strike me as inherently dangerous.

We were invading his hiding spot, after all.

Still, having something sharp so close to an agitated Elas doesn’t seem smart.

“Who are you?” Elas demands, restraining the man’s hands over his head and pressing in with his knee.

The rasp of strained, rattled breaths fills the otherwise silent space.

Purples and blues slowly replace the deep tan of the man’s face, but his lips seal shut defiantly as he glares at Elas, who releases a dark chuckle.

“Stupid human. Bravery won’t do you any good here.

I could snap you like a twig before you could even think about fighting back. Now, I’ll ask again. Who are you?”

My brows furrow as I take in the man’s thick, black eyebrows and furious honey-colored eyes, and a memory forms in the back of my mind. “Elas, wait,” I say, and the man’s eyes dart to mine and flare. “I recognize him.”

Elas doesn’t let the man up, but lifts the weight on his chest so he can draw a full breath.

Color returns to his cheeks as he continues to stare at me.

“You used to be the medic here,” he finally says, his voice unsure.

“Years ago. You stitched me up when I cut myself on that barbed wire in the garden.”

“Yeah, I was. August,” I introduce myself. “Your name is… Rhys?”

“Reyes,” he corrects, and I nod as the memory returns.

“That’s right. You were pulling the fence, and it snapped. Sliced your forearm open.” He nods, and we both glance down at his arm where a pale pink, raised scar contrasts against his caramel skin.

Elas’s dry voice cuts through the silence as he glares at Reyes. “While I appreciate a friendly reunion, you never answered my question. Who are you?”

“I literally just told you my name,” Reyes snaps, and I fight my grin at the way Elas’s scowl pulls even deeper.

“Listen here, you little shit,” he snarls, pushing the breath from Reyes’s lungs again. “Your name means nothing to me. You were the one who came flying out of those stairs with a fucking knife. Excuse me for not considering you a friend after you tried to stab my mate.”

“Technically, I was trying to stab you !” He thrashes underneath Elas’s knee, then suddenly freezes, and his eyes go wide. They swivel between us, and he manages a breathless groan and thunks his head against the ground. “Not again. I swear to the gods, it’s déjà vu.”

Elas releases a warning growl as I kneel beside them, but I ignore it. “What do you mean by that?”

Reyes wheezes a laugh that’s borderline hysterical as he squirms, still pinned by Elas’s substantial weight. “Mates! Fucking mates. Fucking monsters and their fucking human mates. I can’t get away from you.”

“You know other mates?” I ask curiously.

“This conversation would be a lot easier if I didn’t have a giant kneeling on my chest,” he says, narrowing his eyes. Elas only pushes harder, punching the last of the oxygen from Reyes’s lungs. “Fucking stubborn ass monsters,” he squeaks, the words straining around his lack of air.

“El, could we maybe let him up? ”

“Why should we?” Elas asks, shifting his weight to Reyes’s stomach and making him cough. “This is fun.”

“Because he isn’t a threat.” I place a soft hand on Elas’s shoulder as he sighs.

“Unfair,” he mutters, “using that mate magic on me like I can resist that fucking smile.” Elas finally lifts his knee from Reyes’s body, though he still has his hands pinned. “Could you say no to that face?” he demands, and Reyes panics as his eyes bounce between us.

“I really don’t know how to answer that, man,” he whines. “It’s a trick question.”

“No one could resist his handsome face,” Elas argues. “Including you.” Well, that definitely sounds like a threat, and Reyes obviously takes it as one.

“Okay, okay.” Reyes relents and gives me an impossibly wide, frantic fake smile. “I definitely could never, ever resist your handsome—”

“Do not call him handsome,” Elas growls, and Reyes balks as he pleads for help with his eyes.

“Elas, sweetheart, let the poor man up.”

“Fine,” he grumbles, though I don’t miss the way he smacks Reyes’s cheek as he releases his hands.

“I saw that,” I say, and Elas smiles innocently at me.

“My hand slipped.”

“Uh huh,” I drawl, nodding slowly. “Hate it when that happens.”

“It couldn’t be helped.” Without breaking eye contact with me, he slaps his palm across Reyes’s face as he tries to sit up, and Reyes thuds back to the ground with a groan. “Whoops. ”

I give him my best disappointed sigh as I stand, and Elas looks far too happy as he joins me on his feet. He nods at the knife in my hand. “Can I have that?”

“No, you absolutely may not,” I say, fighting my grin at his disappointment. He doesn’t need any more encouragement.

“Gods, you’re all fucking insane,” Reyes cackles from the ground, sounding like he’s a few cracks short of a mental break. “Every single one of you. I thought you’d be the logical one, August, but you’ve been pulled into their madness, too.”

Elas puffs his chest out, awfully proud of this declaration.

I reach my hand down for Reyes, and he stares at it for a long second before shooting a wary glance at Elas.

A toothy smile covers his face, laced with an excited threat.

I position myself between the two of them, and Reyes finally gives in.

He grabs my hand and allows me to help him to his feet.

“Are you alright?” I ask, glancing over his dusty clothes and flushed cheeks. There doesn’t appear to be any real damage, other than perhaps to his pride.

“I’m fine,” he grumbles, rubbing his chest while tossing another glare at Elas.

“We didn’t mean to startle you. We had no idea anyone was here. I knew about the hidden rooms from the years I lived here, and we were searching for signs of our friends. Has anyone else passed through?”

Reyes releases a long-suffering sigh. “Let me take a wild guess… you’re looking for a grumpy purple dude and the sarcastic guy with glasses that he likes to throw around? ”

“Throw around?” I ask, alarmed, but Reyes snorts, and the first hint of a smile pulls on his lips.

“Trust me, buddy. He liked it.”

“ Oh ,” I breathe when I realize what he’s saying, and Elas laughs as a flush builds on my cheeks.

“Fuck, you’re sexy when you’re shy, doc,” he says with no shame whatsoever, and my skin burns even hotter.

He steps closer and hooks my waist, and I’m acutely aware of Reyes’s wide eyes on us as he leans in for a claiming kiss.

He chuckles against my lips, his fingers flexing across the small of my back.

When he pulls away, I’m dazed, and there’s a knowing gleam in his eyes.

“ Mates, ” Reyes grumbles from beside us, and I flush deeper as he rolls his eyes.

“S-sorry,” I say as Elas’s fiendish grin forms in my peripherals. “Ronan and Cameron were here?”

“Yeah, they were here for a while.” He eyes us both with that same wary suspicion. “How can I be sure you aren’t with the guys trying to track them down? Those are military leathers.” He nods at Elas’s uniform.

“You know me,” I argue, but he shakes his head.

“No offense, but you stitching me up once seven years ago doesn’t make us friends. You could be helping them search for those two. Hell, you could be part of a transport that got here early. Rule number one out here is not trusting anyone.”

“Transport?” Elas asks, and Reyes shoots him another wary glance.

“We aren’t with them.” I grip the hem of my shirt and lift, but Elas growls like a rabid wolf and swats my hand away before it gets past my stomach.

“Mine,” he snarls, pulling me to him, and I click my tongue and roll my eyes. “You are mine. Not his. He doesn’t get to see your adorably soft belly.”

“Oh, good heavens, you really said that out loud,” I mutter, burying my face in his chest as Reyes snickers.

“Show him your hand, then.” I pull back, and he takes another long moment to glare at me before gripping my chin and forcing my mouth to his again.

I grunt, watching his eyes dart to Reyes in an obvious unspoken challenge, just as his teeth scrape my upper lip.

Why do I find it so sexy?

My lips tingle as he pulls away. The scoff that comes from Reyes is nothing more than white noise as my attention focuses completely on Elas. I’ve never been enthralled like this before, but Elas is the center of my universe, pulling me in with his gravity.

“Doc?” His voice is gravelly as he nuzzles my temple with his nose. “You gotta let go of me if you want me to take off my glove.”

I realize I’m holding on to him, clutching the edge of his armor in one hand while the other wraps around his enormous arm. “Oh, uh, right… sorry.” I clear my throat as I release him, my eyes darting to a very unamused Reyes.

“Gods, I love you,” Elas mutters with a kiss to my hair. “You’re the fucking cutest. Isn’t he the cutest?” he asks, whirling towards Reyes, who’s caught with a deer in the headlights panic.