Page 28 of Tamed By Air (The Nature Hunters Academy 4)

They were about to reach another stop sign when a loud explosion lit up the sky. It was two streets over, and everything inside of Aston screamed that’s where his Rory was.

Aston didn’t think; he just took off running. There were no fences in between the houses, only a few feet of earth, and Aston made use of those grass covered alleyways instead of staying on the pavement.

“Aston!” He heard Elias’s voice behind him, but he didn’t stop or even turn back to look at his brother. All Aston could think of was getting to Rory.

Sweat rolled down his face, and his heart felt like it was going to beat right out of his chest. Blood rushed in his ears. His feet hit the ground, sending jarring motions up through his legs. Aston pumped his arms back and forth and prayed that whatever had exploded hadn’t hurt Rory. It seemed to take forever, though he knew it had probably only been seconds before a house came into view. There was a large hole in the roof, and smoke was billowing out of it.

“RORY!” Aston rushed forward. He’d barely touched the curb when the front door crashed open, and a figure came flying backward through the doorway. The man cleared the front porch and landed on his back in the middle of the well-manicured lawn. Aston looked down at the guy on the ground, who was groaning and struggling to his knees. Then Aston looked back at the doorway.

Rory came storming out, her hands held up in front of her. Lightning danced between them. Her long, dark locks whipped around her as wind blew through the strands. Rory glanced around. The wind didn’t seem to be blowing anywhere but around his soul bonded. Her eyes danced with fury as she bore down on her prey.

“Did you really think you could touch me and live?” Rory snarled, her voice filled with venom.

Aston wanted to keep looking at her because she captivated him, but at her words, his head snapped back to the male on the ground. “You touched her?” Aston didn’t recognize his voice as he started forward.

“Tucker?” Tara’s voice came from behind Aston. The name helped Aston remember where he’d seen the male before. He was a dark acolyte. And Aston remembered the boy had once been after Tara.

Suddenly, there was a loud cracking sound, and a giant boulder flew across the yard. Tucker barely rolled in time to keep from getting hit. Elias roared. Another boulder materialized and went hurtling toward Tucker. At the same time, Elias stomped his foot, causing the ground to roll. Tucker pushed into a forward somersault and came up onto his feet. “I’m going to kill you,” Elias said, his voice low and deadly.

“No, you’re not.” Rory held up a finger and pointed it at Elias. “That honor is going to be mine considering that ass just put his hands on me.”

“I wasn’t trying anything.” Tucker held up his hands. “I offered you a chair.”

Aston stepped up behind the male and called the wind to him. Using the air around him like his own hands, Aston forced Tucker to his feet. He pulled the man’s arms straight out beside him and made sure the force of the air kept him still. Then Aston walked over to Rory. Her eyes shifted from Tucker to Aston and back. “Elias wait,” Aston said. Then focused on his female.

“He can’t move, sweets.” Aston reached up and cupped her cheek. He expected her to shove his hand away, but she closed her eyes and leaned into his touch. Aston wanted to wrap her in his arms and never let her go. “I’m so sorry,” he whispered. Aston took a step closer and saw Rory’s eyes turn glassy. “My wild Rory. I should never have said those things.” He held her gaze, wanting her to hear andseehis sincerity. “You’re mine.Mysoul bonded and I amyours, and I will never walk away from you again.”

“Oy, what if she doesn’t want you? You’d be a stalker if you just kept following her around,” Liam called out. Aston heard a smack, and then Liam cursed. “What? I’m not telling him not to stalk her. I’d totally stalk you, babe.”

“You totallydidstalk me,” Gabby said. “Ignore him, Aston. Do your thing. We’ve got your back.”

“I’m losing my patience,” Elias said.

“Babe,” Tara’s voice was soft, “hold off a minute.”

Aston ignored them. “Please don’t tell me you don’t want me,” he told Rory, his voice thick with the emotions that were nearly suffocating him. “I would stalk you, and it would get very awkward really fast.”

“Who says I don’t like awkward?” Rory’s voice no longer sounded menacing. She washisRory again, not the raging, dark fury that stormed from the house. “I’m sorry, too. I don’t know why I said those things.” She shook her head. “No, that’s not true. I know why I said them, and I’m terrified I’ll say them again or something worse.”

“Because of the darkness in your soul?” he asked.

Her brow dropped into a deep V. She nodded. “That’s what I thought at first. But honestly, Aston, I don’t think there’s enough left of my soul to say that there is darkness in it. I think the darkness has become a part of me. Like it’s in my cells, my tissue, the marrow of my bones.” She took a shaky breath and motioned with her hands, which were still held out in front of her. The lightning continued to crackle. “I want to kill him.” She nodded to Tucker. Rory blinked several times, and Aston could see the unshed tears. He could feel the anguish inside of her through their bond, and it gutted him. She swallowed hard and continued. “I want to kill him, and if I do, I will not lose any sleep over it.” Her voice got louder and louder with every word.

“Don’t feel bad,” Tara called out. “I won’t lose any sleep over it if you kill him, either.”

“I’ve been counting down the days to do it, luv,” Elias added. “I’ll throw a bloody party in honor of his demise.”

Rory tilted her head to the side in order to see past Aston. He didn’t want her to look at his friends. He wanted her full attention on him. “Who is she?” Rory asked. “I like her already. And he sounds a tad off his rocker as well. These are my kind of people.”

Aston’s lips turned up in a small smile. “She is Elias’s soul bonded, and the nutter is Elias. But that’s not important right now.”

She moved closer to Aston and nuzzled her face into his hand, which still cupped her cheek. “What is important?”

“Several things,” Aston said. “First, you said he put his hands on you. How and where?” He nodded back to where Tucker was paralyzed by Aston’s wind.

“He tried to tie me to a chair.” A little of the anger returned to Rory’s voice. “He said he was bringing me to you, though I figured out pretty quickly he wasn’t.”

“So what happened?” Aston shifted restlessly as he fought to keep his emotions in check.

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