Figment of Dreams
The beast in the woods

Oak

I texted her one more time, just to be sure. I glanced at all my unseen texts again. I didn’t understand it. Her and I had been doing so great in these last weeks. In a blink of an eye, the veil had lifted in front of my eyes and I had seen it so clearly. I wasn’t even surprised when I saw the mark on my arm. I was still figuring out how this could be possible. The only thing I was sure of was that she was not human. She couldn’t be.

My mark throbbed uncomfortably and I scratched at it hard. Was it itching so hard because I was worried she wasn’t texting me back? I still needed to have the conversation with her about it all. Dominic Rios has already informed me he had told her about their bond. Thinking about that made me flinch in worry. Anyone associated with that guy was in deep trouble. They killed each other’s housekeepers just to make a point, what would they do if they found out he had a mate?

My brother, Sebastian, Jax and I would have to fight for the rest of our lives to keep her safe because of him. The worry that laced through my mating bond about Rios, almost made me want to kill him for it. For her.

Yet, the severing of one’s lifeline would cause all of us connected in the bond to suffer. I was not putting her through that. Now I was in the bond with my brother, so that also changed things. I would gladly suffer forever if it meant I could keep her safe for longer though. Where was she?

I decided to call again. She might see me as this crazy stalker, but I could not go to sleep tonight without hearing her voice and knowing she was safe. It went straight to voicemail and I sighed, frustrated with the entire thing I scratched my mark again. Felt my heart beating fast. She was supposed to be with Sebastian tonight. I decided to give him a call. Even though that went against all protocol, everyone in the bond needed to have their time with our Tika. Sebastian picked up on the second ring.

‘Oak? What’s wrong?’

‘Just wanted to make sure everything is alright with Lux. Could you put her on? She is not answering her Telvice.’

It stayed quiet for a second.

‘She is not with me, I’m at the hospital with my brother. I told her to go home, to you and Ash.’

That made my head flip so viciously I nearly fell next to my chair.

‘What? You better not be joking Barrington.’

‘Is she… she is not there?’ panic now also raising in pitch in his voice. ‘I’m coming back.’

I was already moving towards the door. Towards Ash.

I called him next and he had not seen her either. Both Sebastian and Ash were now texting her like crazy. All of them received no response. The next one we called was Jax. He was at our side immediately. Lastly we needed to call the King of the Scorpio’s and none of us was looking forward to that. Ash was breathing down my neck so hard I was nearly blown away by it. ‘Brother, sit down.’ I was not having his barbaric shit anymore.

‘I’m telling you now brother, if he did something to put her in danger I’m ending his life. Painfully.’

‘I second that.’ Jax grunted.

Sebastian just sat in the recliner with his hands in front of his eyes. ‘I knew I shouldn’t have let her turn back!’

Someone knocked on the door. Jax opened it quickly, hoping it was our girl. Yet there he was. Dominic Rios, full black suit on. Sly as ever.

I ended the call. Glared at him. ‘Where is she?’

’I was about to ask you guys the same thing. Unlike all of you simpletons, I know when to read the signs from my mark. When it itches she is not doing well you idiots.’ We all just gaped at him.

‘That’s just some superstition. My dad’s never believed that.’ Said Sebastian.

‘It’s in the Mate Code fella’s. She is not doing okay so I’m here to kick the person’s ass who is responsible for it.’

‘So you come to my office first?’

’Well you’ve had the most issues with her the longest. My second stop would have been at Nirvana over there.’

Jax flexed his knuckles threating. ’Say that again to my face pedro muno.’

Dominic just smiled at him as if he was the funniest guy he had ever seen.

‘Let’s just all take a minute and think. Is she with Skylark?’

‘Already called her, Olive, Bron, even made one of them call Kai. Nobody has seen her.’

I swallowed a huge glass of whiskey and glanced toward Sebastian. Who was as pale as a sheet. ‘When did you see her last?’

‘At 8. She left at 8.’

I glanced at the clock. It was almost midnight. My mark itched up a storm and I rubbed it furiously. All the others were also rubbing away.

‘You don’t think… the sixth.’

‘Kai would not do that.’

‘Well, his mother…’

‘If Elia has anything to do with this she will lose the Scorpios. She is not that foolish.’

‘Elia doesn’t know that she is your mate Dom.’

‘She doesn’t.’ He confirmed. ’No one knows except everyone in this room and my Carina herself. Let’s keep it that way.’

‘So if Elia doesn’t know that she means that much to you Dominic… she might consider it.’

‘She knows how much she means to me, regardless of mating bonds. I made that perfectly clear.’

‘You think that was smart?’ Ash got in his face.

Jax pulled him back. ‘This is not helping. Let’s call everyone and start searching. The dorms, the cafeteria, the woods. Call Dean and see if she’s with that beast of her in the woods.’ Now that was a possibility.