Air of Seduction (Elemental Enforcers #3)

Chapter 39

Payton

I’m trying very hard to prevent my apprehension from showing on my face. It’s close to dawn, and we have just joined a group of people sitting in the living room. They must be nice since they’re here with the team of enforcers, but I’m still struggling with the fact that two of them are vampires.

The red-haired woman, Lyn, and the dark-haired woman, Eleanor, are sitting next to each other on the couch. Apparently they were both turned into vampires by the same man, the master.

Apart from the two vampires, Ronan, and myself, there are four others sitting around the coffee table. Henry, Gawen, Nes, and Markus. I’m coming to realize that this house is alive at all hours, and the vampires might have something to do with that, but I don’t think they’re the only reason. The bad guys operate at all hours, and so do these people.

Lyn shakes her head while looking at Gawen. “I still can’t believe they removed your brother from the altar room beneath Temple church in the middle of the day. And in a wooden crate. But the footage is clear. What’s even more remarkable, though, is that none of the people milling around the area seemed to notice. And the only explanation I can think of is magic.”

“Powerful magic.” Gawen frowns. “With people spread around the area like that, only someone experienced and powerful could pull it off. And even then, I don’t think the magic would affect the people working in the nearby buildings. If one of them looked out of the window at the right time, they might have noticed what was going on. But I think that’s a risk whoever did this was willing to take.”

Markus lets out a deep sigh. “But the end result is that our brother is gone without a trace. Callum and Vamika have checked all the footage they’ve gathered from the surrounding area, but the men with the wooden crate walk out of one footage and are never picked up again. Either they entered another building nearby, or more likely, they loaded the crate in a car and drove off.”

“I hate to say this, but…” There’s a sadness in Lyn’s gaze when she looks at Markus. “Your brother might be the reason the master has developed new abilities.”

The team leader tenses, and his hands curl into fists. “Fuck. I should’ve thought of that. But why torture him if the master needs him?”

Eleanor chuckles, but there’s no humor in the sound. “This is the master we’re talking about. When he takes blood from someone, he purposely makes it as painful and degrading as possible. It’s who he is, and one of the reasons he has to die.”

I shudder where I sit next to Ronan with his arm around my shoulders. I don’t think I want to meet the vampire they’re talking about. Someone who enjoys torturing people, isn’t a person who should live. But then that’s exactly what these people are trying to achieve, to kill him.

“Are you okay?” Ronan murmurs next to my ear.

I nod. “I’m fine. This is a question I never thought I’d ask, but is there anything I can do to help kill this asshole?”

Ronan’s brows push together in concern as he studies my face. “First, you need to learn how to protect yourself. And”—he cocks his head—“we have to find out if you’ve got any of my abilities.”

My eyes widen. His abilities? I hadn’t even thought about that, but I remember Erica and Ingrid mentioning that they’ve adopted some of their mate’s powers. It just didn’t apply to me at the time, since I didn’t think I was Ronan’s true mate.

“How do we find out?” My gaze travels over the other people in the room. It would probably be best to test my abilities somewhere where I can’t inadvertently hurt someone. The image of the cuts Ronan inflicted on the vampire’s body in the interrogation room pops into my head, and I flinch.

“Come.” He gets to his feet and holds out his hand for me, but his eyes are on Markus. “We’ll go test Payton’s abilities in my suite. If you hear a bang, please come check on us.” He winks at me.

I take his hand and let him help me up. “Yeah, I might have knocked him on his ass.”

Laughter erupts around us.

“We’ll make sure to rescue you from your mate, Ronan, if you need it.” Lyn’s eyes are filled with amusement.

The man in question lifts an eyebrow at me before turning to Lyn. “Oh, I think I can find a way to restrain her if necessary.” He tugs on my hand and starts for the door.

Heat gathers in my lower belly, and my pussy clenches. My mate already knows what I like, and I have no doubt he will use it against me as often as he can. And that’s one of the things I love about him.

We make our way up the stairs to the second floor but stop when we see Noah pacing outside his suite. I still haven’t forgiven him for scaring Olivia when they met. He should have been more cautious and understanding of her distress. But after having experienced how the true mate bond pulled me and Ronan together, I’m not as wary of him as I was.

As soon as he notices us, Noah rushes toward us. “How is Olivia? Is she sleeping okay? Any nightmares? Anything I can do?” His eyes contain so much despair and desperation, I can’t help but feel sorry for him.

I give him a gentle smile. “She’s doing better than expected, I think. And she seems to be sleeping just fine. I’m not sure about any nightmares, but she hasn’t said anything.”

He nods while studying my face, like he’s looking for any sign that I’m lying or camouflaging the truth about Olivia’s well-being. Then he suddenly spins on his heel and heads back toward his rooms without another word.

Noah is clearly hurting, but there’s nothing I can do to help him. I will never try to talk my friend into accepting him if she doesn’t want to. It’s her choice after all. And Noah will just have to learn to live with that.

Ronan closes the door behind us before spinning me toward him. “If you can think of any way to soften Olivia’s heart toward Noah, please tell me.”

My eyes narrow. “If she doesn’t want him, he’ll just have to keep his distance. I know you told me the mating bond works both ways, but as far as I can tell she doesn’t feel it.”

He shakes his head slowly. “She must be feeling something, unless it’s somehow blocked by what happened to her. She can’t reject him forever, though.”

Anger rises like acid inside me, and I yank my hand from his. “What’s that supposed to mean? You make it sound like she’ll be forced to be with him even if she doesn’t want to.”

He scrubs a hand down his face before staring at me with regret in his eyes. “No one will force her, but… I probably should have told you this earlier, but I never did since you accepted me before it became an issue.”

I don’t think I’m going to like whatever he’s about to tell me, and I want to back away from him. But I lock my knees to stay in place. This is Ronan, my true mate, and I believe him when he says no one will force her. “Go on.”

“The true mate bond is amazing and considered a gift among everyone who can experience that kind of bond. But there’s a catch. True mates can’t stay away from each other for long without suffering and eventually dying. In other words, the bond isn’t optional, and no one can back out of it no matter how much they want to.”

I stare at him while my stomach twists into a knot for my best friend. I already knew it was permanent, and Noah would always be devoted to Olivia. But I didn’t expect the consequences of them not being together to be this severe. Perhaps because, despite what Ronan told me earlier, I always expected there to be a way out. Some ritual or act of rejection that would render the bond void.

A horrible thought suddenly strikes me. “What do you mean by can’t stay away from each other? Do you mean they have to live in the same house like they do now, or…” Bile rises in my throat, and I can’t continue.

He winces, and I take a step away from him before I can stop myself. I know he’s not the one making the rules, and I’m not flinching away from him as much as the words he’s about to speak.

Squeezing his eyes closed, Ronan reaches out a hand toward me. “They have to be…intimate regularly.” Distress pours through the bond, telling me in no uncertain terms how much this pains him. He doesn’t like this anymore than I do.

I take his hand while nausea rolls in my belly. “That’s what I didn’t want to hear.”

He opens his eyes and nods. “I know. And I didn’t want to have to tell you. But no matter what we do, we won’t be able to change it. And that’s why I want us to come up with a way to help Olivia agree to at least talk to Noah. The true mate bond never forms between two people who aren’t perfect for each other, which means there’s a real potential for them to be happy.”

I’m still struggling to see how Olivia and Noah can possibly fit together. Even if Olivia hadn’t been traumatized by spending a week as a vampire’s captive, I still can’t see them connecting. But if Ronan is right, there has to be something there that I just can’t see.

I blow out a breath of frustration. “I’ll talk to Olivia. But in order to give her some good arguments for why she should talk to him, I think we need to talk to Noah so I can get to know him better. I’m still not convinced he’s boyfriend material, let alone lifelong partner material.”

“That’s fair.” Ronan purses his lips. “He tends to come across like he doesn’t care about anyone or anything, but he does, even if he doesn’t show it. I think you’re right, though. You need to get to know him to be able to trust him with Olivia’s heart. And if you do, it will be easier for you to put in a good word for him, because it will be genuine.”

Nodding, I close the distance between us and wrap my arms around his neck. “I don’t want to lose her, and there’s nothing I want more for her than to find the kind of love I’ve found with you. I really hope Noah can convince me that he’s good enough for her. Because if he can’t…” I shake my head.

Ronan gives me a soft, loving smile. “I think he can. He’s a good man deep down. You just need to get to know him to see the layers hidden beneath the fa?ade.”

“Okay.” I return his smile. “I’m going to choose to trust you on that. I love you, Ronan.”

He bends his head and brushes a kiss over my lips. “And I love you, my little rose.”