It has been three days since I unintentionally hurt Aria, but the feeling of anger towards myself hasn’t diminished. How could I hurt her? No matter what anyone says, hurting her is not okay.
Today is the day of the baby’s ceremony, I haven’t seen much of Jas or the baby since the birth but from what Aria tells me they are both doing fine. We all went out with Wulf yesterday while he looked for the perfect stones for his son. The stones are an important part of our energy; therefore, the father of the child must be drawn to a specific stone before he will use it in the ceremony.
We looked for hours yesterday; Wulf was getting frustrated when he finally found his sons’ stone near the creek. The stone that will be used hopefully one day for his son’s mate was found soon after that, near a tree. When I look at Aria and imagine her holding my son or daughter fear consumes me. What if I hurt them when I get angry?
“Stop that!” Aria instructs from the door to the bathroom. Turning, my breath catches when I see how stunning she looks in a tight burgundy dress that accentuates all her curves. Then my eyes fasten on her plunging neckline. “Fuck no, you aren’t going out of this room like that.” Her stone twinkling from where it is resting between her scrumptious breasts.
She laughs at my comment. “Well, at least I know that your mind will be too occupied with my breasts instead of beating yourself up about what happened,” she quips, moving seductively towards me. “Brandr, please forget about what happened. I can feel the anger that you carry towards yourself. It’s driving me crazy.” At her words my heart skips a beat; Fuck! The last thing I want is to distress her. Maybe Burkhart is right, and I do think too much.
“I will try Sunshine.” I will make sure that I work through this anger. I will not distress her. “But that dress, I don’t like the idea of you going out in it!” I grumble. No fucking way that I want my brothers seeing her like that.
“Well that’s just too bad isn’t it, because I don’t have another dress! You will just have to stay really close to me at the ceremony,” she concludes, stroking her hand over my chest.
“I don’t like this, I’m warning you now if any of my brothers look at what is mine, there will be fists flying!” I growl in frustration, knowing that she won’t change her mind as her perky little chin is already slanted up at me in stubbornness.
“Nonsense, the Jezebels wear way less than I am now. The men are used to it,” she says cheekily.
“The Jezebels don’t concern me, you do.”
“Well that’s good to know. Talking about clothes, you’re looking damn hot. Have I ever told you how handsome you are?” she whispers as she kisses my neck. Fuck this woman has me wrapped around her fucking finger. “How horny you make me when you look at me like you are now, as if I’m the only woman in the world.”
I’m about to lower my head and take her lips in an explosive kiss when there’s a knock at our door. “Aria, are you ready?” Gabriela calls from the other side.
“Fuck!” I grunt as I adjust myself. I hear Aria giggle as she looks down at my obvious erection. “Wait until I get you to myself again. I will make sure that you don’t rest for a long time.” I grunt in discomfort as my cock is straining against the zipper of my jeans.
“Promise?” she quips blowing me a kiss as she turns around making her way towards the door. I follow making sure that she stands in front of me hiding the bulge in my pants.
“Wow, you look stunning!” Gabriela calls out as we open the door. Bjarni is standing behind her an arm around her waist holding her body close to his.
“Thanks, so do you. That colour really works for you.” Gabriela is wearing a lilac little dress that moulds her curves, by Bjarni’s disgruntled look he had the same problem as I did trying to get her to change.
I place my arm around her shoulders as we start making our way towards the spring, my hand over her chest, covering all the bare skin. As we walk into the open area where the spring, is Ceric whistles when he sees us. Both Bjarni and I growl at the same time.
“Fuck off!” Bjarni snarls.
“Behave!” I hear Gabriela whisper as she entwines their fingers.
“If you wanted me to behave, you shouldn’t have fucking worn that dress outside our room,” Bjarni whispers back.
Just then Jas and Wulf arrive, Wulf is holding the baby with one arm the other is guiding Jas over the uneven ground. As the baby is a water bender the stones will be forged near water, where his energy will be amplified.
“How’re you feeling?” Wulf asks Jas before he hands the baby over to her, from what Aria had told me Jas has been struggling this last week with exhaustion.
“I’m fine, don’t worry Baby,” she replies, looking down lovingly at her son. Wulf kisses her forehead before he turns to face all of us.
“Thank you for being here,” he says gruffly, looking over at Draco he nods. For the ceremony all the elements are needed for the stones to be forged. Wulf had asked Draco as the fire element, Bion as the water element, Celmund as the air element and himself as the earth element.
We all stand around Jas and the baby in a circle. Aria stands before me and Gabriela stands before Bjarni. In the circle the men always stand on the outside to protect the women and children that are inside and to stop the energy from escaping.
Wulf goes down on his haunches placing his hands on the ground he states. “May your time in Nature lead you to yourself. In the woods we return to reason and faiths. Of all the paths you take in life, make sure a few of them are led with your heart. Trees and stones will teach you that which you can never learn from masters. Follow your path into the earth, to lose your mind and find your soul.” As he finishes speaking the ground rumbles and a pit opens before him.
Draco steps forward, his hands before him facing the pit. “You will survive because the fire inside you will burn brighter than the fire around you. Don’t stop when you are tired, stop only when you are done. Tame the old and will the new; the fire in you will grow and blaze within you like a beacon guiding you.” The heat rises within the circle and then a flame appears in the pit growing until its blazing inside the confines of the pit.
Celmund steps into the circle, his hands circling semi-clockwise. “Out of the bosom of the air, out of the cloud-folds of her garments shaken, over the woodlands brown and bare, over the harvest-fields forsaken, silent, and soft. This is the secret of the air, long in its cloudy bosom hoarded, may it guide and forever fill you with breath to continue fighting and loving throughout your vast existence.” A swirl of air entwines with the flames turning them a hot blue colour.
Wulf holds the two stones that he found over the pit. “Earth, Fire, Air and Water may your power forge these stones. Let your vast energy protect them and the ones who they are meant for.” Wulf drops both stones into the pit, the flame rises with a mighty roar, dying down slightly after a few minutes.
Approaching Jas, Wulf takes the baby in his arms, moving towards the fire with Jas right behind him. Taking one of his blades from the holster at his waist he turns towards his mate. Jas stretches out her hand over the pit letting Wulf cut her hand with the blade. Her blood instantly starts to flow and drip into the pit. Next Wulf hands the baby back to Jas, taking his tiny hand, he holds it over the fire, with a quick movement he cuts his hand holding it over the fire as the little one’s blood drips into the flame. Finally, he takes his hand and does the same letting his own blood drips into the pit.
Wulf turns back to his woman; placing his arm around her shoulders he kisses her forehead. “May the power of the Elements bless our son Orion.” At the baby’s name we all repeat the name four times for the four elements.
Bion steps forward one hand facing the spring the other the pit. “Water is powerful. It can wash away earth, put out fire, and even destroy iron. Water can carve its way through stone. And when trapped, water makes a new path. May the element of water guide you and keep you safe through time and space.” With these words, a swirl of water rises from the spring, moving towards the pit as if a rainbow, droplets drip into the flames making it sputter and roar its fury and then continue its forging.
As Bion steps back to his place in the circle again, leaving only Wulf, Jas and the baby in the middle we all start to chant as is our custom three times.
Water; our blood.
Air; our breath.
Earth; our body.
And fire; our spirit.
When we are done, I place my arms around my girl’s waist bringing her against my body. “Is it finished?” she asks quietly. I lower my head to nuzzle her neck only then feeling the wetness on her neck. Turning her around I see tears on her cheeks.
“What’s wrong?” I ask worriedly. Isn’t she feeling well?
“It was so beautiful; you never told me how beautiful the ceremony was,” she says her stunning blue eyes swimming with tears. “When we have children, will all of them have this ceremony?” she asks.
“Yes Sunshine, any child that we might one day have will go through this ceremony.” I kiss her tear-filled eyes. “Now enough of these tears, this is a happy occasion. We have a new member of the Elemental’s family. Orion, and tomorrow once the stones are forged the flames will die down and we will be able to place the stone near the baby,” I say, trying to lighten her mood.
“Thank you, Handsome, for saving me. You have given me everything I never thought I would have; the quiet from everyone’s thoughts, the love of a man that calms my soul, friendship and a family that believes in me. But above all you have given me hope for the future.” With that, she takes my hand and places it over her flat stomach. “You have given me a baby.”
At her words the sound around us disappears all I can hear is my heartbeat, a baby? “Are you telling me what I think you are?” I whisper, worried that if I say it out aloud that this feeling of wonder will disappear. I see her nod, a shaky smile stretching her lips as fresh tears flow down her cheeks.
“Yes, you’re going to be a daddy!”
“I love you Sunshine. You say that I have saved you, but you are the one who has brought light to the darkness that was my existence. I now understand why my brother lost all direction when his mate died. You have brought me peace and I will make sure that you and our children will always know how cherished you are.” With that I lower my head, taking my girls lips in a deep kiss that leaves both of us breathless.
THE END.
(book 2)
Don’t miss book 4 in the Elementals MC Series, you can find it here.