Chapter 17
Exton watched as Gemma slept in his arms. Her eyelids fluttered as she dreamed about far away places. Her long lashes fanned out over her cheeks as her lips parted slightly.
She's inside of me...
Gemma's words echoed in Exton's mind. The fear that he had seen in Gemma's eyes raddled him to his core. He could feel it in every bone of his body.
There was no sleeping for Exton, his mind raced against time. He had to come up with a way to keep her safe.
He had to.
It wasn't as option. Tobias would not hesitate to kill Gemma if he found out who she was. This was a chess match, and he needed to protect his queen.
Exton quietly slipped out of bed and placed a gentle kiss on Gemma's forehead. She did not stir.
Exton closed his eyes and focused hard on the numbers that swam behind his eyes. Soon, he felt his body tingle and dizziness took over.
Normally to travel back to the exact moment, Exton would have had to waste a lot of his energy to focus on the timing and numbers. But today he let him mind wander and his body pick. The day he had fought Tobias in the greenhouse was April 28th. Exton knew he would land somewhere in that time frame...maybe the 29h or the 30th.
As soon as Exton felt his feet touch solid ground, he peered his eyes open slowly. He was standing outside of the throne room. He could sense his family inside.
"Is there no way to communicate with him?" Lafayette's voice reached Exton's ears. He pushed open the door and walked inside.
Everyone turned to look at him as he entered. Rye gasped as she ran up to him and pulled him into his arms.
"Oh thank god," she murmured in his ear. "Are you okay?"
Exton nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine...What day is it?"
"May 1st," Xavier informed.
"Where is she?" Lafayette suddenly asked. "Where is Gemma?"
Protect her at all cost...Exton thought.
"What do you mean?" He asked looking around.
Lafayette narrowed his eyes at him, "Where is Gemma? She disappeared with you."
Exton shrugged. "Well she didn't appear with me when I gained consciousness."
"What happened, Exton?" Xavier asked from his seat.
"You and Gemma disappeared, where did you go?" Rye asked as she placed a gentle hand on his arm.
"I don't know," Exton said. "I remember her throwing her arms around my neck and that was all...I woke up in my timeline and now I'm here."
"She wasn't with you?" Lafayette asked again. His voice had an urgency. Exton felt bad for lying to the man. He clearly cared for Gemma too. But he knew Lafayette would side with Tobias.
"No," Exton said.
Lafayette banged his fist against the wooden table making the glasses raddled.
"We'll find her, Lafayette." Xavier assured him as he watched his son.
"This is all your son's fault!" Lafayette suddenly said. "He attacked Tobias. Why would he do that? And Gemma! Why would Gemma do such a thing? Protect him?"
Exton kept his mouth shut. He knew his parents expected him to tell Lafayette what the connection between him and Gemma was. He felt the weight of their gaze on him.
"We can't point fingers now," Xavier said calmly as he got off his chair. "We have more important things to deal with."
"Nothing is more important than my niece!" Lafayette spit.
"Is that how Tobias feels?" Xavier raised a brow.
Lafayette turned to look at Xavier and everyone in the room could feel the magic stir in him.
"Hey," Exton spoke up. "Look, I don't know why Gemma shielded me...I don't know where she is. But she's smart, she'll figure out a way to get back. We have Azazel to worry about right now."
Lafayette didn't look convinced. He knew there was something Exton wasn't telling him. The question kept running through his mind...why why why why
Why would Gemma do such a thing?
As Lafayette looked around the room, he knew he was outnumbered...he couldn't try anything with Xavier and his son around. He needed to gather more information before he accused the Dorin of anything. He couldn't start a war based off of a hunch.
Everyone watched as Lafayette gathered his things slowly and left the room without word. No one spoke until they heard the engine of his car disappear.
Once Lafayette was gone, Xavier turned his attention to Exton.
"What?" Exton asked.
"Where is she?" Xavier asked.
The words turned in Exton's stomach...if he told his dad where Gemma was, he would demand that he bring her back. And if she came back...everyone would find out who she was...Mavi would not be safe.
And knowing his father's paranoia, Exton knew Xavier would be livid if he found out what Azazel wanted.
"I don't know," Exton said. His mind was made. He needed to protect her.
Xavier narrowed his eyes at him.
"What?" Rye asked in confusion. "You really don't know where she is?"
"No," Exton said. "I really don't know."
A hush fell over the room as Exton and his family stared at one another. The minutes ticked by as Rye ran a hand through her hair and Xavier continued to study his son.
"Your mate is missing," Xavier finally said. "You don't seem to be bothered by that at all."
Exton swallowed the lump in his throat. "She broke all ties with me when she decided to kiss Tobias."
"Exton," Rye turned to her son. "You know Gemma isn't like that."
"I don't know what she is like anymore," Exton said with irritation. "This are over between us."
"This is so random," Rye shrieked. "What the hell? You were following her around like a love sick puppy just a few days ago."
Exton turned to him mother and sighed. "She wasn't who I thought she was...this isn't the first time and witch and lycan match went south."
Rye's heart sank at his words. She turned to Xavier as her mind swam to thought of Toby and Eli.
"Rye," Xavier said quietly. " I hear Mavi upstairs...she's up from her nap."
Rye nodded. She gave her son a long sorrowful look, "Don't be rash...you won't win her back a second time."
Exton didn't respond. His eyes were fixed on the framed pictures of his grandfather on the walls.
As Rye left the room, Xavier began to follow. As he reached Exton, he stopped.
"I know you are lying to me," He said quietly.
Exton stopped breathing.
"You must have your reasons," Xavier continued. "Be safe...Be happy and just know I am always here for you."
Exton nodded as his eyes dropped to the floor.
Maybe if things had been different than Xavier would have protected Gemma too. But things were not different. The demon inside of Gemma wanted Xavier's daughter and Exton didn't need to guess to know his father would put Mavi's safety above all.
When Exton traveled back to Gemma, she was unmoved from the bed.
Exton checked the clock by the bed...only a minute had passed. She would never know he was gone. Exton climbed back into bed and pulled Gemma closer. He inhaled her scent of bluebells and let his eyes began to close.
Exton had no idea what he was doing. He didn't even know if what he was doing was right. But he couldn't lose Gemma. And he couldn't let Azazel hurt Mavi.
Keeping Gemma in his timeline was the only solution for now. His next solution needed to be a way to remove the demon from his mate.
By daybreak, Exton was able to get only a few hours of sleep. He felt Gemma stir next to him and wiggle out of his arms.
His eyes snapped open at once and he sat up straight in bed.
"Where are you going?" Exton asked, alert.
Gemma jumped in fright. "Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you."
Exton's eyes watched her closely. Was this really her...
"Where are you going?" He asked again.
Gemma blinked. "To...to the bathroom."
Exton suddenly felt stupid. What was he thinking?
He knew what he was thinking. As soon as he had felt Gemma stir in his arms, his first thoughts were of Azazel.
"Are you okay?" Gemma asked quietly.
"Yeah," Exton cleared his throat. "Sorry, I...I was caught off guard."
"Can I go to the bathroom now?" Gemma asked.
"Yeah," Exton said shaking his head. "Sorry. Yeah sure."
Gemma didn't move. "Exton,"
Exton looked up at her, "Yeah?"
"You're holding my arm." Gemma smiled
Exton suddenly realized he was holding her arm. He was gripping it as if she was a child and he was scolding her. He dropped it instantly.
"Sorry," He mumbled under his breath.
Gemma laughed as she placed a kiss on his cheek and hopped out of bed. Exton watched her the whole time until he could no more behind the closed bathroom door.
Did she seem a bit too cheery? Exton wondered to himself. A little too relaxed maybe?
Fuck, Exton groaned. He knew where his thoughts were leading...was that Gemma or Azazel?
The clock by the bed flashed the minuted like a warning light. Exton counted the minutes in his head.
8 minutes. She was still in the bathroom.
The last time he sat on a bed waiting for her to come out of the bathroom Azazel had transported her to go see Ivan...
"Gemma?" Exton called out before he could stop himself.
To his relief the bathroom door opened and Gemma poked her head out. "Yes?"
"Nothing," Exton threw the covers off of himself and climbed out of bed. "I just wanted to see if you needed anything."
Gemma opened the door completely and stood in the doorway, "Maybe some clothes...and maybe a toothbrush."
"I'll have Mardick bring it up in a few."
Gemma nodded. "Okay."
She turned to head back to the bathroom but Exton's voice stopped her.
"Gemma?"
"Yes?" She turned to look at him again. He stood by the bed in nothing but his black sweatpants and his messy hair. His green eyes raked over her body. Gemma felt the heat all the way to her bones.
She stood still has Exton's eyes moved over her face before eventually coming to rest upon her eyes.
"Nothing," He said.
Sorry for the delay guys, Work had been crazy.
What do you think? Is Exton being dumb again?