Page 9 of Haldor

“That there is Eirik,” I introduce pointing towards Eirik that is standing behind the bar.

“You want anything to drink?” Eirik asks

“Water please,” I grunt at my thoughtlessness, I should have thought about how Druza is feeling, after two hours of riding and the turmoil of the fight.

“Go take a seat and relax,” I suggest as I point toward the table in the far corner, “I’ll get your water.” Druza makes her way toward the table while I take the water from Eirik.

“Here, I’m sure you need this.” Eirik says as he hands me a beer, “thanks brother.” I reply making my way back towards where Druza is sitting looking at us, I can’t tell what she’s thinking but I can tell that the sadness on her face is my fault, something which I will make sure I remedy as I do not want my woman sad because of anything that has to do with us.

“Here you go,” I say trying to be civil, but deep down I want to throw her over my shoulder, take her to my room and not come out for a week until we know each other better than we know ourselves. I will get my chance, for now I think that I need to explain as much as possible to Druza as I can.

“I’m sorry about what happened at your camp.” I start by saying, “I would have never put you in that position if I could have helped it.” She nods in acknowledgment but doesn’t answer.

“Give them a couple of days. When they calm down, we shall go there and you can explain everything to them.” She raises her eyebrows at my words and then slowly shakes her head.

“What exactly do you think I can explain to them?” she says in a quite tone, “that a man that I met an hour before they found us professes to be an alien, and that I’m…” she waves her hand in the air, “how did you say it, your mate?”

I shake my head, lifting my hand I place it over her one on the table holding it tenderly. “I never said we were aliens,” I shrug as I continue, “we are different, but we are born right here on earth.” She huffs in annoyance, “and yes, you are my mate the only woman that I will ever want, the only woman that can complete me.”

“Next you will say that in this very long life that you said you have had you have never been with another woman.” She quips sarcastically, her eyes now flashing in anger, her beautiful hazel eyes lightened with her anger, a streak of green is now evident. She has the most beautiful eyes I have ever seen. I hear one of the men snickering behind me in amusement.

“Don’t you fuckers have anywhere to be?” I ask as I glance over my shoulder.

“Nope, we fine here” Eirik replies with a grin which has me grunting in annoyance before I return to my conversation with Druza.

“I can’t say that, I have been with many women but none of them were my mate, none of them could ever make me feel like you can.” I explain with a shrug, “we only have one mate, once we find that woman, she becomes our everything and vice versa.”

“No matter what you say,” she replies pointing at me and then herself with the hand that I’m not stroking. I am pleased that she hasn’t pulled her hand away from me, evidence that she likes my touch like I love hers. “This can never happen,” her words have my body tensing, “they will come for me, they will not let me stay here. Besides, I was supposed to get married in two days’ time, my Papa promised me to Duke when I was just a girl, I can’t let him down like that.”

“That is never going to happen,” I promise, the thought of her in another man’s arms has the fury in me rising until I am ready to punch a hole through the wall “the minute you touched me the bonding started,” I bring my other hand below her chin lifting her chin until she is looking directly at me. “We won’t be able to stay away from each other for long Druza, we will physically feel the absence if we are not together.”

“How is this all possible, how can you exist, and no one knows about you?”

“We have never allowed humans to see what we can do, what we are.” I frown thinking about what I did today and how Tor is going to have my hide for it. “What happened today should never have happened, I should never have allowed myself to use my powers in the presence of humans.”

“You need to let me go back; I will try to explain everything to them without compromising what you are.” I am shaking my head before she has finished speaking, there is no way that I am going to allow for her to go back without me. “If they suspect that somehow there is money to be won with what they saw, they will not leave it alone until they have got every dime.”

“Don’t worry about us, we have dealt with worse foe in our lives than a group of gypsies.” I confess just as I sense others approaching. I know that I will have to mitigate this situation as soon as possible to try and prevent any complications with her family.

“You’re back,” Tor says as he strides in, his eyes taking everything in immediately. Tor is the oldest of us in our Chapter, he is also our leader and responsible for the Elemental’s Cape Town Chapter. He is also a crazy motherfucker, that has lived since the time of the Vikings, his long hair braided on each side with his gold Viking bracelets on his forceps. “Who might this be?” his eyebrows are raised as he approaches.

I stand moving next to Druza’s chair, “Tor, this is my mate.” I Introduce tensing when I see Tor smiling at my woman, even though I know that none of the men at the club would ever try anything with Druza just their proximity has every nerve in my body at attention.

I have never in my life felt this possessiveness, this complete focus like everything around us is inconsequential and only Druza is the focus of my life. I have always heard that mated men speak of how everything changed once they met their woman, hearing it and experiencing it is a world of difference. I know for a fact that I would do anything in my power to protect this woman by my side. That I will do everything I can to make her happy and that I will fight to my last breath for the love that we will have.

DRUZA 5

I look at the man that has walked into the bar area, there is no doubt about him that he is more than human. Every pore screams of strength, every breath he takes seems to make him bigger. Eirik and Garth that Haldor introduced me to are formidable and clearly dangerous men, but Tor before me is so much more.

I thought Haldor was the most dangerous man I had ever met, he exudes danger and pain, but Tor radiates death itself, there is no doubt that this man standing before me smiling at me is trouble.

When I was taken from camp I was scared that father and the others would follow us and kill Haldor and his brothers, but after being introduced to them, it is blatantly obvious that if anyone is to get hurt from today’s interaction it will be the men from the camp. I know that what happened will ignite a war between the Elementals and my fathers’ men. Haldor has no idea how dangerous Papa can be.

I have no doubt that the Elementals can hold their own, but if I can prevent anyone from getting hurt then I will do my utmost to do all I can. I still can’t believe everything that has happened just a couple of hours before, I can’t believe how I’m feeling about a man that I have never met before, about a man that is clearly more than human. I secretly pinch my arm to make sure that I’m not dreaming, the sharp pain evidence that I’m wide awake.

When Haldor touches me, I can’t pull back, I can’t ignore him. I have never felt like that, never had this compulsion to be near someone so much that I think I will lose my mind if I do. I know it sounds crazy…it feels crazy, but how am I going to resist so that I can comply with what Papa has promised.

Focusing on Tor, his magnetic gaze as he looks deep into my eyes is as if he is looking right into my very soul. I feel Haldor’s hand slide over my shoulder as he squeezes gently in comfort. Even though I haven’t known Haldor for any time at all I feel like I know him deeply, I can tell that he has a deep buried sadness within him that shouts out in sorrow. Can I leave Haldor after everything he has told me to go and comply with my obligations, to go and save face so that Papa can hold his head up high? If I leave, will I feel the separation between Haldor and myself like he says, or is he just trying to keep me here.

---