The Eden Series: The Complete Collection (103 page)

“What are those?” Aiden asked.

“Possible locations for Aziz’s home,” Callum answered. “Brutus and I never knew where exactly he was, but some of the things he said made us believe he was in the mountains. I don’t think he would have stayed in Ramel, the capital of the east.”

“Why not?” asked Logan.

“Because the Sand People don’t like him. He’d be a target there. He must be far enough that they don’t know where he is, but close enough for him to have access to a village and people.” He pointed at a few areas on the map. “We’re guessing around here, but we’ll need to find a way to confirm it.”

“Didn’t those hooligans who carelessly knocked me out say something about Frost Point?” Logan said, pointing at a small village in the middle of a valley. Aiden saw Markus stiffen out of the corner of his eye. Logan, Wolf and Elisa had been attacked by what they thought were highway thieves, but turned out to be scouts for Markus. It was a sore spot for all of them.

Jameson cleared his throat before answering, hiding his grin but Aiden caught it. “Yes I think they did. That’s where we’re sending most of our men, but there are still hundreds of places Aziz could be around there. The mountains surround the entire valley. There’s also Riverend and Foxgate that are good possibilities. It could take us months just to locate him.” He looked up and met Aiden’s stare. Aiden could see the unspoken apology in the other man’s face. No one here knew what Aziz wanted with Lily, why he took her, or what he would do to her. But everyone knew Aiden was very close to her, and had been giving him that same look all night. It was slowly getting on his nerves. He didn’t want their sympathy, he wanted action.

A strange feeling spread up his arm. It felt like he was on fire. He shook his hand looking down at himself in confusion. The other’s continued to talk about how long it would take. The more they spoke, the more his veins pulsed with this new energy, in time with the steady beat of his heart as his anger grew. A rush of air shot through the room extinguishing all the candles. Aiden breathed harder. He could hear everyone’s surprised voices as they tried to figure out what was happening as more wind rushed around them. Aiden felt like he was standing in the eye of a storm. The wind whipped around him in a funnel. He should have been scared, but his anger over everything that was happening seemed to trump it.
He just wanted Lily back
. Glass shattered as the large chandelier above them crashed to the ground.

The others were running around frantically, grabbing hold of objects as they flew through the air. Aiden took a deep breath, trying to calm himself so he could help. After a minute he started to feel more like himself. As his heart slowed, he noticed the air around him began to still as well. When he opened his eyes to look around, everything had settled. The men were looking at one another in confusion. Aiden didn’t look at anyone. He simply looked down at his hands, still clenched with the effort to remain calm.

What was happening to him?

Elisa tossed her bow and quiver on the bed. Her feet ached, and her eyes had started to close on their own near the end of her shift. The King had immediately sent out groups of people to scour the city. No one actually thought they’d find anything, but it didn’t stop them from looking. Elisa had headed to the archway at the entrance to the city. There was enough room for her to balance on top of it, letting her see as far as was possible. There was nothing though. Lily and the winged man were long gone.

Still, Elisa had stayed out most of the night. She talked to people, and looked for anything suspicious. Her father had warned them that there could be soldiers of Aziz’s in the city, and Lily’s abduction was just a distraction. Elisa had wondered that herself at first. What was the point of taking Lily? Was there even a point? She had asked herself those questions all night while she kept a keen eye on the patrons of Nysa. Nothing seemed amiss though. All the other men she had spoken to on her way back to the palace said the same. There was no secret attack. No ambush trying to take them by surprise. No, the only crime was the kidnapping of Lily.

The sun was already peeking over the horizon when she reached the palace. The climb to the second floor almost did her in. She desperately wanted a bath, but decided she’d go straight to bed. If she knew her father and the King, which she did, they would give everyone a few hours to rest before heading back to the Capital at full speed. They’d have to restock some supplies before heading east. They’d be walking into the biggest battle any of them could imagine, except this time they had the north on
their
side.

Everything had changed so fast it was hard for her to accept. Seeing Callum with her father and Jameson gave her mixed emotions. Part of her was happy that the two brothers could be a family again. Jameson’s face told her he had wished for this very thing, and it warmed her heart to see him so happy. She was also happy that Callum had finally realized he was wrong and given up on his quest for revenge. It was obvious he was also happy with the way things had finally worked out. He seemed a bit awkward around everyone, probably still getting accustomed to not being their enemy, but he kept his wife close to his side and that seemed to help.

The other part of her was still angry. How could she just accept him back into their lives when he had ruined so many? She thought of Felix and her heart physically hurt. They had lost him because of Callum and his carelessness. For how long had he brought nothing but misery to the people of Eden, and now everyone was just expected to accept he had changed sides? It all seemed a bit much for her, but she knew that was exactly what Jameson would expect. Callum was his brother, and still the rightful Prince in the Capital. He would want everyone to be as forgiving as he was
. Not as easy as it sounds
, Elisa thought.

Lost in her thoughts, she nearly screamed when her door burst open. Standing in the doorway was the other thing that had so greatly changed only yesterday. Elisa had, only a short time ago, been engaged to the leader of this city, Markus. Now she was no longer engaged to him, and was happily in love with the man who had been the bane of her existence for most of her life. The one she could never again live without.

Wolf closed the distance between them in a flash, reaching his hands around her waist to pull her to his chest. His face was buried in her neck before she could even react.

“Hello?” she said.

“Hello,” he replied, his voice muffled in her hair. His arms tightened a fraction, crushing her further.

“Wolf? Are you okay?”

“I just need to hold you for a second.” She didn’t know what was going on, but she relaxed her body into his while he continued to breathe her in.

“It could have been you,” he finally said, lifting his head to look at her. “I know it’s wrong of me, but I can’t help but feel grateful that it was Lily and not you he took. I don’t know what I would have done.”

Her chest tightened at the clear anguish in his eyes. He looked so worried and afraid. She rested her hand on his cheek. He leaned into her palm, closing his eyes.

“Wolf, I’m fine.”

“I know, I just need to hold you until I feel better. I didn’t get a chance before the King ordered us all out, and I’ve been running around this damn city all night thinking about how all I wanted to do was have you in my arms.” He lifted his hand to crush her head to his chest, resting his cheek on the top of it.

This was a Wolf she wasn’t quite familiar with, although she had a sneaking suspicion he’d be making an appearance more often now. She wondered if he ever felt like this before they had gotten together, and decided to ask.

“Of course I did,” he answered, his voice resentful that she even asked. “I was always worrying about you, it drove me nuts.”

“What did you do then, since you couldn’t hold me like this?”

“I got drunk.” He said it so matter-of-factly she knew it was the absolute truth. It hurt to know that she might have been the cause of all the times she had seen him stumbling home from the taverns. Her arms tightened around his waist in silent appreciation for what he went through without her knowing.

“Can you let go now?” she asked.

“Just another minute,” he answered. They stayed like that until finally she felt his hold on her loosen. She angled her head to look up into his beautiful face. There wasn’t another man alive that was more appealing than her Wolf. Her eyes trailed over his fine bone structure to the soft, plump lines of his lips. It wasn’t natural for a man to have such sensuous lips, she thought to herself. She couldn’t help but think of all the women who had the privilege of being familiar with those lips. Don’t think that way, she reprimanded herself. She had to get used to the idea that he had been with other women before her. It didn’t matter. He was hers now.

Unlike Wolf, she was completely inexperienced when it came to men. She had never even kissed anyone until that night at the Spring Festival when Wolf had kissed her. Markus had kissed her a few times, but it was nothing like the way Wolf did. When Wolf kissed her he was like a man dying and she was the only thing that could save him. It made her feel powerful and beautiful. When he wasn’t kissing her she’d start to feel insecure again. She had never lain with a man, and didn’t know how to approach something like that. Would Wolf expect that of her right away? What if she was horrible and he realized he didn’t want her anymore? What if she made a complete fool out of herself?

“What in the Gods names are you thinking about?” Wolf asked, interrupting her inner turmoil.

“Nothing,” she replied.

“Elisa, I just saw more emotions run across your face in the last minute than I have the entire time I’ve known you. One minute I thought you were going to devour me, and then the next you looked like you were about to cry,” he said, running both his hands in her hair. He held her head in place, ensuring that she had to look him in the eye. “What’s going on inside that pretty head of yours?”

“I don’t want to talk about it,” she admitted. She already felt stupid as it was; there was no way she was going to confess how she was feeling to Wolf. He gave her a disappointed look, and suddenly the words were pouring out of her. She didn’t know how he did it. Apparently he knew how to crack her. “I was just thinking about how many women you’ve been with,” she explained. His face screwed up in distaste. “Then I was thinking about how inexperienced I am, and how I don’t want you to not want me anymore because of it.”

She registered the complete shock on his face. Clearly this was not what he had thought she was thinking about. Elisa wanted to laugh, but her cheeks still burned with embarrassment from telling him.

“First of all, don’t ever think about women I have been with in the past, because that’s all they are, the past. The
only
woman I want is you, and you’re the only one that matters. You’re the only one that’s ever mattered,” he said, pulling her closer until every point of their bodies touched. “And there is nothing you can or can’t do that would make me not want you anymore. You’re mine forever, no matter what.” He leaned down and kissed her softly. Having his lips on hers and his scent all around her made her feel at peace. All the stress from the night evaporated and all she was left with was the intensity of Wolf.

She reached her arms around his neck, trying to deepen the kiss, but he suddenly pulled back. Her lip instantly jutted out in a pout. Wolf chuckled while he leaned down again and nipped it. “Ow!” she cried, sucking in the tender flesh.

“Don’t pout then,” he said. “Just wondering…how inexperienced are you, exactly?”

Elisa looked up in horror, feeling her face grow even hotter. She could not believe he was asking her this. She could see in his eyes that he was laughing at her, but she didn’t doubt for a second that he really did want to know. The words just didn’t seem to want to come out.

“Did you and Markus…?” he continued, trailing off. Both eyebrows were raised in anticipation. She couldn’t get the words she needed out, so she just slowly shook her head. Wolf let out an obvious sigh of relief.

“Does that make you happy?” she asked, confused by his reaction. Didn’t men want a woman who knew what she was doing? That’s how she had always understood it, but then again she never really understood men at all.

“That makes me happier than you can ever know,” he replied. She didn’t get a chance to say anything else before his lips were on hers again. There was nothing soft about this kiss. They were slowly making their way toward her bed. Elisa was walking backwards, but she trusted Wolf to keep her from walking into anything. He didn’t look up once, his full focus on her. His tongue tangled with hers, letting her taste him and feel him. She let out a soft moan that was instantly answered by one of his own. Suddenly she felt the bed at the back of her legs. Instead of letting her simply drop onto it, Wolf lifted her easily, wrapping her legs around his waist. He knelt on the bed, placing her carefully onto the middle of it all the while keep their lips locked. He lay over her, bracing himself on his elbows beside her shoulders. Every part of him that touched her was driving her wild. She had been exhausted before, and only thought of sleeping, but now she was teeming with energy.