Corey's POV
Three months. It had been three months since Brandon had reached out to me. Part of me wanted to ignore his email, but part of me was so excited to hear from him. Then he tells me they're coming to London - all of them, even the Blackbourne team. My curiosity was peaked. Raven and I had been on surveillance for weeks now. We'd tracked the girls to London about two months ago. They were still actively working with Volto and had even tried to infiltrate an Academy team here. Luckily, Doc Roberts had helped us brief the Steele team before any damage was done. Now we were working with them to bait the girls into giving up Volto's location. I wonder if the Blackbourne group was coming to help? Doc hadn't mentioned anything. Guess we will find out at dinner tonight.
"Did you get sleep, moy solnechnyy svet," Raven asked as he rubbed my shoulders and placed a kiss on top of my head. I'd been having this recurring dream and would wake up in a cold sweat every night for a month now.
"Not much, Rav. I'm sure it will pass soon," I shrugged. "We should probably head out soon. I'll leave the computer running to track the girls while we're gone." We locked up and headed towards the Royal National, arriving in just a short time.
Giving the keys to the valet, Raven and I stepped into the dining lounge. Brandon was waiting near the doors and grabbed me in a fierce hug when he saw us. His voice sounded choked as he spoke, "Fuck Corey, I'm so sorry, brother. I shouldn't have pushed you away," his eyes were tear-filled when he met my gaze. "Please, forgive me." I was speechless. Brandon never apologized, sure he'd give an occasional hug or shoulder thump, but never apologize.
"I...I don't know what to say, Bran," I stuttered, "You know it wasn't just you. I could have reached out too. Guess we both fucked up, huh?" I hugged him back tightly as he suppressed a sob. Now my tears started to fall.
"Hey, Raven," he said as he pulled back. "I owe you an apology too. I was an ass, but I am thankful you've stuck by Corey. He's lucky to have you, man."
"Brandon, are you sick? I mean, I'm grateful for the apologies to both of us, but..."
He let out a sharp laugh, "Yeah, I get it. Not my usual self. A lot has happened, Corey. It has put everything - the girls' betrayal, our shitty way of handling it, everything into perspective." He grabbed my arm and started to lead us to a private dining area. "Come on, we all need to have a talk." Raven raised his eyebrows at me. All I could do was shrug my shoulders and follow my brother, wondering what other strange things were coming next.
We stepped into the dining room and everyone was there, and I mean everyone. They were all standing around and talking animatedly with one another. Axel saw us first and grabbed Raven in a tight embrace. "You are a sight for sore eyes, friend!" I noticed Raven's chest heave. He didn't want to admit it, but he'd missed Axel deeply. When Ax turned toward me, his eyes were watery. "Corey, it's great to see you too. I'm sorry I was such a dick and abandoned everyone. I hope both of you can forgive me someday."
"Da," Raven said simply. Axel led us to the table as we greeted the Blackbourne team. I noticed two empty seats at the end of the table. Marc was missing, but who was the other seat for?
"He needed a minute," Luke said, noticing my scanning eyes. "Pixie is trying to calm him down. He's terrified you both hate him," he said in a softer voice that only I could hear.
I mean, yeah, we had been mad at first, but after some distance, I knew his words were from grief, not really aimed at us. Wait, who's Pixie? I started to ask when the door opened and Marc walked in leading a small brunette woman by the hand. My mouth went dry and I clenched the arm of my chair.
It was her.
The woman I'd been dreaming about every night for over a month now stood at the end of the table between Marc and Gabe. She was just as I'd pictured her except her eyes. In my dreams, her eyes were always a vibrant purple. I was lost in thought when I realized someone had said something to me.
"Oh, um, sorry, what did you say?" I turned my attention to Owen.
He chuckled, "I was trying to introduce you to Eveleen, but I get the feeling you've already seen her before tonight." He looked toward the woman, "Any ideas, Tesoro?" She shook her head as she held my gaze. "Then Corey, I think the floor is yours."
Raven put his hand over mine and gave me a reassuring nod. I took a deep breath, "I've never met her in person, but I've been having dreams about her, I mean about you for almost a month now."
She eyed me curiously, "May I ask what is happening in these dreams?" Her voice felt like silk across my skin. I noticed Raven's eyes seemed to glaze when she spoke as if he was entranced.
"You are in a field of flowers, but it's not like any field I've ever seen before - there are blooms and trees that are like something out of a fantasy movie. You look almost like you do now, but your eyes are different, and something else that I can't quite remember. Then a shadow moves towards you and you, well, you turn into flowers and then disappear leaving only the flowers on the ground." Rav put his arms around me as I shook.
Owen stepped to the door, closed and locked it before nodding to the woman. "Corey, is this what I looked like in your dream?" She closed her eyes and in a shimmer of light, she changed. When her eyes opened, they were the vibrant purple of my dreams and gossamer wings fluttered against her back. Raven's grip on me tightened as his breathing hitched. I made a strangled noise as I tried to nod my head.
"Perhaps we should all sit and give Corey and Raven a moment to process," Owen said. We sat, but I couldn't take my eyes off of her. My hands shook so badly that I almost spilled my water when I tried to take a drink.
"What is going on here?" I finally asked, my voice still uncertain.
You know that phrase, be careful what you wish for...well...for the next two hours we both listened in stunned silence to the events of the past month for our friends and brothers. When they finally reached the most recent events, Raven spoke.
Looking at Axel, he asked, "So you and Silas have tails, Kota is dog, Victor is dragon, West is bloodsucker, and new girl is a fairy?" Several of the guys chuckled.
"Well, that's one way to sum it up, Raven," Axel said dryly, pinching the bridge of his nose.
"So what am I, fairy?" He asked Eveleen.
She gave a slight giggle, "I don't know who will claim you, mo bhéar, or if you even want to be claimed."
He laughed and slapped the table, "What and let West have all the fun? Moy solnechnyy svet and I take you back to apartment and make our bond right now," he gave her a sly grin, as my cheeks turned crimson.
Axel gave her a smirk, "Told you." She shook her head and laughed merrily. The more I watched her, the more I thought Raven's idea was a good one. Until my phone buzzed. The alarms at our place had been triggered. Someone was trying to break in, and surprise, it was two less-than-skilled girls.
"Fuck."