Page 91 of Elas

Seems they’re not as oblivious as we assume.

“Are you ready to see the coolest one?” August asks, giddy with excitement as he grins.

I nod, gesturing for him to lead the way. We close up the space behind us and he leads me into a different house. It’s nicer than the others, somewhere I’d imagine a leader or someone important living. Wooden cabinets line thewalls of the spacious kitchen, and a massive island sits in the center of the room.

“This is so cool,” he says as he scoots the chairs away from the island, then reaches underneath the countertop. A latch clicks, and he lifts the counter on hidden hinges to reveal a staircase. A thin sheet of wood blocks the entryway, designed to look like the back of the cabinets. He pushes it aside, then turns around with pursed lips.

“There’s a light here somewhere,” he says, testing the different switches in the room until the stairs illuminate. Before I can even blink, a blur of dark hair and tanned skin charges out with a bellow, knife drawn, and lunges straight for me.

August

Throughtheyears,I’vereceived a lot of training on how to handle life and death situations, and as a medic, I’m damn good in a crisis.

But a man exploding from a hidden stairwell in a whirlwind of limbs and fury?

I wasn’t prepared for this.

I’m not sureanyoneis prepared for this.

Elas, on the other hand, doesn’t even flinch. He only uses his ridiculously long reach to grab the man by the throat, calm as can be. Serene, almost, although he definitely looks like he’s getting some sort of pleasure from it. He sweeps the man’s feet out from under him with a well-placed kick, and he falls like a bag of sand. Elas glides with him in a move so smooth it should be criminal, pinning him on the ground and placing his knee on his chest.

It all takes place in a singleblink.

Metal clangs as the knife hits the wooden floor, and I frown at the weapon before leaning to pick it up. Despite his dramatic entrance, the man doesn’t strike me as inherently dangerous. We were invading his hiding spot, after all. Still, having something sharp so close to an agitated Elas doesn’t seem smart.

“Who are you?” Elas demands, restraining the man’s hands over his head and pressing in with his knee. The rasp of strained, rattled breaths fills the otherwise silent space. Purples and blues slowly replace the deep tan of the man’s face, but his lips seal shut defiantly as he glares at Elas, who releases a dark chuckle. “Stupid human. Bravery won’t do you any good here. I could snap you like a twig before you could even think about fighting back. Now, I’ll ask again. Who are you?”

My brows furrow as I take in the man’s thick, black eyebrows and furious honey-colored eyes, and a memory forms in the back of my mind. “Elas, wait,” I say, and the man’s eyes dart to mine and flare. “I recognize him.”

Elas doesn’t let the man up, but lifts the weight on his chest so he can draw a full breath. Color returns to his cheeks as he continues to stare at me. “You used to be the medic here,” he finally says, his voice unsure. “Years ago. You stitched me up when I cut myself on that barbed wire in the garden.”

“Yeah, I was. August,” I introduce myself. “Your name is… Rhys?”

“Reyes,” he corrects, and I nod as the memory returns.

“That’s right. You were pulling the fence, and it snapped. Sliced your forearm open.” He nods, and weboth glance down at his arm where a pale pink, raised scar contrasts against his caramel skin.

Elas’s dry voice cuts through the silence as he glares at Reyes. “While I appreciate a friendly reunion, you never answered my question. Who are you?”

“I literally just told you my name,” Reyes snaps, and I fight my grin at the way Elas’s scowl pulls even deeper.

“Listen here, you little shit,” he snarls, pushing the breath from Reyes’s lungs again. “Your name means nothing to me. You were the one who came flying out of those stairs with a fucking knife. Excuse me for not considering you afriendafter you tried to stab my mate.”

“Technically, I was trying to stabyou!” He thrashes underneath Elas’s knee, then suddenly freezes, and his eyes go wide. They swivel between us, and he manages a breathless groan and thunks his head against the ground. “Not again. I swear to the gods, it’s déjà vu.”

Elas releases a warning growl as I kneel beside them, but I ignore it. “What do you mean by that?”

Reyes wheezes a laugh that’s borderline hysterical as he squirms, still pinned by Elas’s substantial weight. “Mates! Fucking mates. Fucking monsters and their fucking human mates. I can’t get away from you.”

“You know other mates?” I ask curiously.

“This conversation would be a lot easier if I didn’t have a giant kneeling on my chest,” he says, narrowing his eyes. Elas only pushes harder, punching the last of the oxygen from Reyes’s lungs. “Fucking stubborn ass monsters,” he squeaks, the words straining around his lack of air.

“El, could we maybe let him up?”

“Why should we?” Elas asks, shifting his weight to Reyes’s stomach and making him cough. “This is fun.”

“Because he isn’t a threat.” I place a soft hand on Elas’s shoulder as he sighs.

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