Page 33 of Air of Seduction
He nods. “Noah would like me to send him a video of her.”
“What? That’s disgusting.” Shock reverberates through me. Placing my palms against his chest, I push. Is that the real reason he agreed to come here? To make a seedy video for his friend? The betrayal feels like icy claws sinking into my chest.
***
Ronan
I let my arms fall away but grab her wrist before she can step back inside and lock the door between us. “Not like that. Like…proof of life. It’s the only way I could prevent him from coming here himself to check on her.”
Her eyes are practically shooting daggers at me, and they might as well have been with how my heart feels like it’s being sliced to pieces in my chest. “So, now you’re going to wake her up so you can shoot a video of her? That’s not—” She tries to yank her arm away, but I can’t let her.
“No.” I shake my head. “I told him I was going to ask you to make a short video of her. You know, just to prove to him that she’s still breathing. He’s out of his mind with worry.”
My explanation does nothing to soften her. “Why? Why is he so worried about her? He doesn’t even know her.”
I swallow, knowing she won’t understand, but I hope she’ll let me explain. “Olivia is his true mate.”
“Which means?”
I wet my dry lips. “She’s the only woman in the world for him. They have a special bond, which snapped into place the moment they met. He will be devoted to her for the rest of his life.”
Payton’s eyes widen, and some of the anger smooths off her face. “Noah asked if I was one of the mates when I first met him. I thought he meant friend, but that’s not what he meant, is it?”
“No.” My heart swells in my chest, filling up with a feeling that both thrills and scares me. “He was wondering if you are…” I lower my voice when I suddenly realize we’re still in the corridor where someone else can overhear us. “Can we talk about this inside?”
She bites her bottom lip and stares at me for a few seconds before she nods. “Okay.”
I let go of her wrist and follow her into the apartment. It’s small but tastefully decorated.
She takes a seat on the couch and indicates for me to sit down next to her.
After sitting, I angle my body toward hers but make sure there’s an inch between our knees. As much as I want to kiss her again, that’s unlikely to happen before she’s accepted Noah’s reason for wanting to see her friend.
I give her a small smile. “I’m an elemental, one of only four in the world. The others are Lucas, Aidan, and Noah. We’re each tied to one of the elements, fire, earth, water, and air. I’m tied to the air. I can wield the air to help me in battle, or I can draw power from it to heal myself or others. It’s how I healed you from a serious head injury in that alley.”
Her eyes widen. “You can use it like a knife.”
I chuckle. “I can. But that’s new. The first time I did it was when that vamp threatened to hurt you in the house on Horton Road. And I think there might be a reason for that abilityshowing up just when I needed it. But we can talk about that later.” I don’t want to frighten her with my suspicions about whom she is.
She tilts her head to the side. “What is Markus? I thought he was the same as you.”
I shake my head. “He’s not, and I’m not really sure what he is. He isn’t like the rest of us with abilities tied to the elements. But he’s the one who found us and raised us, and he’s our team leader. We call ourselves elemental enforcers, and our purpose is to maintain the balance between good and evil in the world, at least when it comes to supernaturals.”
“That’s just…” She closes her eyes and rubs her forehead. “I know vampires exist, and I’ve seen some of what you can do. But this sounds an awful lot like the premise for a TV series.”
“Yes, it does.” My lips stretch into a smile. “But I’m living it, so to me it’s just life.”
Her eyes open, and she studies my face. “Thank you for telling me what you are. But it doesn’t explain why Noah thinks Olivia is his mate.”
“Not just mate but true mate.” I scratch my chin while I consider where to start. “There are many forms of magic in this world, and practically all of them are unknown to humans. For example, every kind of supernatural has their own form of magic that is uniquely theirs, setting them apart from other kinds. But there is also magic that is common to several kinds of supernaturals. The mating bond is one of them. It—” My phone vibrates in my pocket.
Fuck.I pull it out, and there’s a text from Noah like I expected.
“It’s from Noah, isn’t it?” Her voice portrays her irritation, but it’s nowhere near her anger from earlier.
Raising my gaze to hers, I nod.
“Then tell him to wait a few minutes, okay?”