31. Soren

After Tay's confession, Blondie's emotions were all over the place. Her sadness gutted me. It took everything I had in me not to slice his head off and serve it on a platter for her. I knew she might be more upset if I did it, but if a head on a platter doesn't say I love you, then I don't know what would.

He used her even though he was trying to say Laima put him up to it. Something didn't add up. He was leaving something out and why the hell would a powerful witch like Laima save his ass at sea? They were partnered up more than he was letting on and as much as I wanted to know the truth, we needed to get the hell out of here.

"I don't trust you, Tay," she said, her voice full of hurt, as her sadness cut through me again.

"But you trust them?" He sneered at us.

"They are my mates. Why is that so hard for you to believe? Am I not worthy of having a mate? Am I not worthy of love and happiness?"

He pursed his lips. "No, Ria, you deserve all the love you can get. I just think it"s suspicious they came in when Laima was gone."

"It was fate," I intervened.

"Sure, call it whatever you want, but you still came for Oria, right?" He smirked like he had won.

"Yes, we came for vials because a friend needed it. The supply has been dried up and we were desperate," Gray spoke.

"What do you mean dried up?" He looked confused.

"Oria has been scarce the last few months," I said, while studying him. "No one has it and if someone gets it, they sell out quickly or they are attacked for their supply."

"That doesn't make sense," he said, looking at Oria. "Her production hasn't stopped; we've been making trips here every three weeks. The supply should be constant."

"We have two suppliers who carry it, but they haven't been able to get their hands on it and their supplier says they aren't getting anything either." He looked perplexed. "Something is wrong and if that's the case someone is stealing it or hoarding it."

"Someone is stealing it," Blondie said, staring at Tay.

"That incident happened a little over a month ago; that can't be the reason," Tay said, flinching when he tried to sit up more. "Something is not right. Ria, we need to leave now. If what I'm thinking is correct, then we have to hide you now."

"Powerful men will come looking for its source or worse, Laima is creating a vacuum to make Oria more valuable and it"s going to backfire." Tay tried to get up but didn't succeed. "We need to leave now before she comes back from seeing Caston and whatever the hell they are doing."

"Caston?" Ryder, Gray and I said at the same time.

"As in, Caston Belladonna?" Ryder growled.

"Yes. How the hell do you know him?" Tay looked at us warily.

"He's married to our friend, Katarina, and he's a piece of shit," I said. "Heard he's trying to get her out because he needs her."

"Caston Belladonna is a spoiled shit," Tay said with disgust.

"It's almost Beltane, we need to go see her," Ryder said. "One of them said they would need our help."

"Was it the one with creepy eyes?" Gray asked.

"Yeah, he's a seer and?—"

"Can we fucking focus?" Tay snapped. "She can't go anywhere near the Belladonnas if Laima is there, she will know."

"It's not with the Belladonnas, it's with the beasts and Katarina," I snapped back.

"That's even fucking worse. If she breaks the spell, shit is going to get crazy, they need her to fail." Tay grunted trying to get up again.

"Don't move, you"re hurting yourself more," Blondie said, walking up to him.

We all stiffened, and I almost grabbed her to yank her back to me, but Ryder stepped closer to them. I knew if Tay tried anything, he would be quick enough to handle him.

"I need you to lie down," she said in a professional tone.

She inspected him, touching certain spots on him, until I realized she was hurting him on purpose.

"You"ve touched that same spot four times, Ria." He grunted when she touched it again.

She shrugged. "I was just making sure that spot is what I need to heal."

The innocence in her voice was believable, but the satisfaction through our bond made me chuckle.

"Flos nitor et rutilans tua virtus luceat," she whispered.

The glow around her happened immediately, instead of building like last time. I felt her power through our bond stronger this time and she had him healed in less than two minutes.

Tay looked up at her with tenderness, making me growl.

"Ok, she healed you, enough with those looks," I said, wanting to haul her back to me or Ryder to do it.

"I'm sorry," he whispered to her.

She shook her head at him before getting up and going to Ryder. He held his arm out and pulled her against him immediately. I couldn't keep the smirk off my face as I glanced at Gray, who had the same expression.

He didn't stand a chance with her.

Tay scrutinized them before he got up, rolling his shoulders.

"My offer still stands, Ria," he said, flexing his hands.

"I appreciate the offer, but I will not go with you," she said quickly, like there was no doubt in her mind about going with him.

"Ok, but if you ever need me, all you have to do is call," he said, running a hand down his face. "Go get your stuff because we need to go now."

"Come on, Blondie." I held out my hand to her.

She came quickly when I nodded at Gray and Ryder.

"I'll bring your stuff down," I said, picking up Blondie before rushing inside.

She held onto me tight, laughing into my neck until I had gotten us to her workshop where her bag was.

"I'm jealous at how fast you are and you"re not even out of breath." She smiled as I set her down.

"There's a lot of things I can do without getting out of breath," I said suggestively.

Her face fell instantly.

"I wish we had more time together before all of this had to happen." Her lip trembled.

I brought her close to me, wrapping my arms around her, sitting my chin on the top of her head.

"Me too, Blondie. I wish you never had to suffer any of this, the heartache, the loneliness and the doubt," I said, pulling away to look down at her. "Once we figure out what we need to do, we can get past this. I promise that I will spend the rest of my days with you, giving you the love you deserve. You will never be alone again, Blondie."

"I love you," she said quickly, before sealing her lips against mine.

I never contemplated hearing those words in my lifetime. Meaningless nights were all I had ever known and all I expected to receive from life, but those three words branded my soul.

"Are you sure?" I asked, against her lips.

I knew I was being dumb, but I still couldn't believe it.

"During the sunshine and through the rain, I'll love you, Soren," she said before kissing me, and I could feel her love throughout my body. Our bond hummed in my chest with reverence. It still felt incomplete, but I knew it was only a matter of time before the guys mated with her and the four of us could start our life together, harmoniously.

"I love you, Oria. Your sunshine has brought me home," I said, kissing her one more time before I felt the urgency to leave. "Come on, beautiful. Let"s get out of here, because I have so much to show you."

She gave me the biggest smile before grabbing another bag, filling it with vials and other things. She grabbed a necklace with a bunch of stones on it.

"I'll be back, I need to get my vest and the guy's things," I said, running up the stairs. I grabbed everything we had come with, including our tactical vests and our backpacks. I grabbed a few dry foods from the kitchen, along with a few drinks. Thankfully we had those potions, but I didn't know what our plan was after we left here.

I ran back to Oria, seeing her holding Catzilla. Shit, how did I not realize we'd be taking the cat. He hissed at me like he knew I had forgotten about him.

"Loki, you need to get used to him because he's stuck with us," Blondie said while scratching his head.

The grumpy cat gave me the side eye like he couldn't believe it.

"Shit, you have three people you have to get used to." I laughed as we walked down the stairs.

He hissed and I couldn't believe that this was going to be my life, but then I realized that Ryder was essentially a big dog, so I couldn't wait for them to get on each other"s nerves.

Ryder, Gray and Tay were near the exit, looking grumpy. Excitement coursed through me at bringing my mate home.

"You can't take the cat, Oria," Tay said immediately.

"Excuse me?" she snapped. "I'm taking my fucking cat, he is mine."

"Oria, I won't take you if you take the cat," he said, looking a little nervous.

"It's her cat, let her leave with him," Gray said.

"The cat is coming with us," Ryder growled.

"No, he can't come with us," Tay growled back.

"Dammit, Tay, you know how much he means to me, I won't leave him," Oria's voice broke.

Tay looked pissed, like he was ready to leave, but when Oria got teary eyed, he softened. It seemed we were the only ones willing to do whatever she wanted. She had him wrapped around her finger, but I still didn't trust him.

"Ria, look?—"

"Fuck you, Tay. You owe me this," she snarled. "He's been with me all these years. I need him."

"No," he snarled.

He moved to grab the cat and all hell broke loose.

Gray reached for Tay while I tried to push Oria behind me and Ryder grabbed the cat.

The furry fucker hissed at Tay before jumping out of Oria's grasp, landing on Tay's face, scratching him and growling at him. His growl was loud, making me wonder if the situation was making it seem louder than it really was.

"No!" Oria screamed when Tay threw the cat away.

Gray immediately ran to retrieve the cat when Tay pushed us away with his magic. I snarled, reaching out to grab Oria before he could, but I was too late. He put his hand on the barrier, saying an incantation before they slipped out.

We recovered quickly, jumping through the barrier to see Oria fighting Tay.

"Dammit, Ria, you will thank me for this later." Tay tried to dodge her bag, but she hit his face.

"You fucker," I snarled, punching him while he was looking at Ria.

I was able to get in two punches while grabbing his neck, ready to break it when Blondie screamed no. It was that slight hesitation that fucked me over.

His body hummed with power before he blasted me away.

"No!" I heard Gray yelling, while my vision spotted.

"Get him!"

"Fuck you, Tay!" My sunshine screamed when a blast of power cut through the air.

I got up, still disoriented, hating that I hadn't fed before we set off. I looked up, searching for anyone, when Gray"s bloody body came into my line of sight.

"Ria, no," Tay shouted when a blast of power pushed him back.

"Grab him," Ryder shouted while Blondie helped me get up.

My eyes rested on my brother as Ryder picked him up. They took us to a portal and the pull of the magic made me close my eyes wondering if this was our time to go and I only had seconds with my mate, instead of a lifetime.