20. Gray

20

GRAY

W hen Oria fainted on us, we all panicked. She was breathing, but she was unresponsive. We felt magic was at play, but we didn't know if it was a mental attack on her or if someone had purposefully made her faint to make her easier to get to.

Soren and Ryder argued about what to do as I stared at my Sunshine. The bond was muted, almost like there was static, but I could still get glimpses of it every now and then. Her breathing was even, she didn't look or feel like she was in pain.

That's when Ryder remembered the vial Addie had given him. Ryder and Soren argued again, but I was tired of waiting. I took the vial and gave it to her. She woke up, her face morphed with pain and she shot straight up into a sitting position.

Her face was down, not looking at us and when she wanted space, I just about forced her to speak to us, but I knew something bad had happened. The bond felt chaotic with all of her emotions ranging from sadness to anxiousness.

That's when we felt her fear and since the attack, she had been sitting on whatever was bothering her. Even now that we were all in the living room, she hadn't explained herself, but asked about the potential job we had been called to do.

Taylin or Laima was behind this because how would she have known about the job, but more importantly we didn't know it was about her. Now her actions made sense but what was most important was that she trusted us.

"In every lifetime," she said.

"It will always be us in every lifetime," the guys and I said together.

"Laima either pulled me into a dream or pulled my mind somewhere else," she said, looking vulnerable. "She told me about the job and said she gave you the necklace."

Ryder growled as Soren tensed right next to me. Before they could say something stupid I said, "Why didn't you say anything immediately?"

"The way she explained it made sense and made it awfully suspicious," she said, biting her lip. "I've been taken advantage of all my life. People have moved me like a pawn on a chess board. I knew she might be lying, but I couldn't fight the fact that you guys could also be lying too."

"No one could go against their mate bond," Ryder snapped, but when she gave him a pointed look, he muttered sorry.

"I had no idea what a bond was before you. I don't know the ins and outs, but I do know that everyone has always used me for their benefit and not even you are immune to that," she said, glaring at Ryder. "You can't tell me that you didn't have the thought of selling what I could make at first, or even have thought about it now."

"I… I was too busy ignoring the bond to think of keeping you prisoner for my own gain, but even then, I talked about selling what you already had." Ryder tried to defend himself.

"I promise we didn't go for you specifically, but when Soren found the tower, we got excited at the prospect of finding where the Oria was manufactured," I said, grabbing her hand. "We didn't know… that a woman made the vials."

"Any idea we had about using the Oria went out the window when we knew it was you," Soren said, grabbing her other hand. "Don't doubt us, please, we are yours till the end of our days and we would rather die than do anything to harm you."

"We need to be able to talk about things like this," I said, bringing her hand in for a kiss. "Before you walk away, please try and talk to us, even if you doubt us."

"It's a hard habit to break, but we are not the bad guys," Ryder said, pushing Soren and I aside until he could pick her up and set her on his lap facing us. "You are everything, Oria. You are the good in this fucked up world and all we need is for you to trust us. I swear to the moon goddess that we will try everything in our power to keep you safe even if that means from us too."

"Please don't hurt me," she said, as a few tears fell down her face. "I know I need to get better?—"

"We can't ask you to erase years of gaslighting and manipulation," I said quickly. "You were kidnapped, led to believe that this woman was your mother so she could use you for her own gain, while also letting you get close to a man who is the reason you were there in the first place. We will be better at reassuring you in whatever you are feeling; all we ask is that you communicate with us."

She nodded. "I promise."

I couldn't resist it anymore, I needed to mend the fragile pieces of our bond and weaved my hand through her hair, bringing her in for a kiss. It was an awful angle for a kiss, but I needed her to know, we were here for the long haul, and I wanted to gain her trust so she would never doubt us. She moaned in the kiss, grabbing onto my shirt like she didn't want to let me go.

"Ok, geez," Soren said, pushing me away from her before capturing her lips in a kiss.

When he pulled away, her lips were even pinker and swollen. She followed him for a kiss when Ryder turned her head and kissed her.

Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think I would share a mate with my best friends. It warmed my soul that we got to stay together stronger with this bond; we gained her and an extra bond mate. Getting up, I went into the kitchen wondering if we had anything in there.

It had been years since we had been here, but our friend, Merrick, liked to stay here on occasion. I hoped he had left food or even water here. There were a few cans of food, but I knew canned food wasn't the best option. I found some tea and decided that was the best we were going to get right now.

Washing the kettle, I set it on the burner. I looked in the rest of the cabinets seeing an unopened box of lemon and pumpkin cookies. They were good enough until one of us went to the grocery store that wasn't too far from here.

I poured her tea in the nicest cup we had and set the cookies on a small plate that I had cleaned too. They were silent as I walked up to them. Oria tried to get off Ryder, but he held her tightly and didn't let her go. She took the mug, glaring at him over her shoulder, but it was playful. I set the cookies on the arm of the chair, so it was close enough for her.

"What do we do now?" I asked anxiously, hoping for a plan because I functioned better if I knew what the hell was going to happen next.

"Max needs to rest and will possibly need another healing," she said, blowing on her cup.

"Addie needs to know we aren't there anymore if she doesn't already know," Ryder said, biting a cookie that Oria offered him.

"We need to figure out how we are going to get rid of Laima," Soren said.

Oria tensed, but she nodded.

"Taylin needs to be taken care of too." Max's voice startled all of us.

"Max!" Oria scrambled off of Ryder, spilling her tea before Soren took it from her. She ran up to Max who was struggling to get down the stairs.

"Dammit," I said, rushing up to him, dipping under his arm to help steady him.

"Let's take him back?—"

"No, Sol," he said, continuing down the stairs. "We need a plan, and I think I might have a solution."

She huffed and pouted at him before rolling her eyes.

"Fine, let's talk in the room." She tried to push him back.

"We are almost down the stairs," he said, his voice tight with discomfort.

"Dammit, Max," she said, guiding us down the stairs.

Soren stood up, helping me put him on the sofa as Max hissed in pain.

"Max," Oria scolded, her scowl was cute.

"I think we should find the Fae lands," Max said through gritted teeth.

We all sat in silence until everyone started speaking at the same time.

"Stop!" Oria yelled, staring at Max. "Is there a possibility my family is still alive?"

"Maybe, I don't know what happened after I went looking for you, but if they have survived then it's our best bet at getting help and a place to stay hidden."

"Don't you think Taylin will go back?" Ryder growled. "He will expect it now and so will Laima."

"What if we go and there is no one there?" I asked.

"What if they are alive?" Soren countered. "If they are alive, we've brought back their princess, and they will protect her."

"That's a very big if ," Ryder said.

"Soren is right, we need somewhere safe so we can regroup and get ahead of Taylin and Laima," Max said, as Oria gave him a sip of her tea.

"And if we don't find anyone, we would have wasted all that time for what?" Ryder looked at each of us.

"Closure?" Oria spoke up.

Her lips were pursed together.

"Heaven," Ryder said, unsure. "Is that a gamble we want to take now? I know you need to know about your family, but is it worth the risk to your life?"

"No one knows where we are, so now would be the time to do it." She looked at Ryder with hope.

"Not if Taylin is betting on you going there," I said, playing devil's advocate.

She scowled at me.

"I feel like there are a bunch of what-if's with anything we decide to do," she growled. "Anything we do is a risk, but I feel we have so much to gain from this if we do find my family."

"Heaven, we?—"

"Please, Ryder," she said, with her big hazel eyes looking at him with so much hope. "I know it's not logical or it may not seem right, but please, I have to know."

I felt his resolve before he said anything, and I couldn't help but smile. Ryder glared at me before looking softly at her.

"Ok, but if we don't find anything, we are leaving immediately," he said in a stern tone.

Oria smiled, throwing herself into his arms.

"Thank you," she whispered, as I felt her appreciation.

"Don't make me regret this decision," he said, kissing her forehead. "Now, how long before Maxy is ready to go?"

Max scowled at the name, making her laugh.

It was the first time since yesterday that the tension between us wasn't strained.

"I can leave now," Max said, trying to get up, wincing when he almost stood up.

"Nope," she said, pushing him back onto the sofa. "You need to rest."

She cupped his face and their eyes went wide.

"Sol, do you feel that?" he asked, as his eyes glistened. "I feel it again."

He pulled her against him, grunting, in what I imagine, was pain, but he had the most blissed out expression and that's when I felt it. Their bond had been brought back, maybe that's what was being hidden by Laima's magic.

Ryder, Soren and I looked at each other. We should have been nervous about a new guy entering the group, and at first it was a knee jerk reaction to be suspicious and wary of him, but I saw how good he was for her. He had also helped her before she had even met us or before any of us had been born. He fit in with us effortlessly.

"Max, rest up. I need to get ahold of Addie and get us some food," Ryder said, getting up looking exhausted.

"I'll go with you." Soren stood up too. "None of us needs to be alone right now."

"I agree, don't stay out too long," I said, getting up too. "Come on, Maxy, let's get you back to bed."

"I don't want to move," he said, still holding Oria.

"You need to sleep and eat to help with the healing process," Oria said, getting up too.

"I'll go only if you sleep with me," he said, getting red. "I mean sleep in the bed with me, I don't?—"

Oria laughed. "It's ok, Max, I'll do both, but I think you need to rest before we sleep with each other. Don't want you pulling a muscle."

She smirked as his blush deepened.

"Um… I…I?—"

"Dammit, Max, you're so adorable. Wait, are you a virgin?" Soren asked quickly, making Max grow even redder. "If you need sex advice, I'd be more than happy to give it to you or show you. You know, a live demonstration."

"Not a virgin, but can we stop talking about sex?" he asked, looking away.

"Come on, let's get you upstairs before you turn into a tomato," I said, helping him up.

"Are you going to lick his cherry tomatoes, Blondie?" Soren waggled his eyebrows.

Oria laughed again and I knew Max was embarrassed, but if it made her laugh, then he needed to make that sacrifice. She didn't laugh nearly enough. I threw his arm over my shoulder, helping him walk.

"If it were up to me, I would do more than just licking," Oria said, making Max lose his footing a bit.

I looked up at him, still red.

"Don't," he growled.

"You're just so cute and innocent," I teased.

He rolled his eyes as we climbed the stairs.

I chuckled. "I can't imagine what dating looked like in your time, but I'm sure we are very crude compared to your time."

"I've gotten used to it, unfortunately, thanks to my brother and you guys, but call me old-fashioned, I feel like she doesn't get enough hearts and flowers."

"I feel you and you're right. She deserves all the hearts and flowers."