Page 24 of Dying in Flames (Reborn 4)
Maya
When had I fallen asleep?
That was the first question that popped into my head as I sat up slowly, the blankets falling around my waist as I looked around the room, rubbing the sleep from my eyes. And when the heck had I been put in my bedroom? I tried to recall what had happened after the Halloween store… We had come back home to the news crews still crowding the outside of the house, and all of my mates were fairly tense, so I had slipped into Croy’s bedroom to watch a documentary about sharks. I think I had been asking him about whether or not shark shifters existed when I’d fallen asleep.
I couldn’t blame myself completely since I’d essentially devoured an entire tray of cupcakes on my own, finding an assortment in a neat little package tied with a pink bow in the kitchen. They’d been from Jordan as a ‘miss you’ present, and I had immediately figured out how to call her, thanking her while stuffing my mouth full of a pink frosted, sugar-filled, vanilla treat. I had been a bit bummed that she hadn’t come over last night, but considering the security issue, I completely understood, and I could only hope that we had it solved by tonight so it wouldn’t affect our Halloween plans.
But none of this answered my main question… Where was Croy? A pout slipped onto my lips, wondering why he hadn’t decided to come to bed with me. In fact, why weren’t any of my mates with me? That wasn’t just unusual, but honestly fairly upsetting.
Slipping from bed, I grabbed a robe and wrapped it around me before walking out of the bedroom, immediately seeing that Marco’s office light was on. That wasn’t good. The man worked far too much and didn’t get nearly enough sleep. It was good that he had me, or else he would probably forget altogether.
Coming to the door, I was completely surprised to find Atlas at his desk instead, bent over a group of papers as he ran a hand over his face, looking exhausted. I frowned, briefly noting that he was still dressed in his shirt and jeans from the previous day, making me know that he’d yet to sleep.
“Atlas?” I called out softly, his head snapping up as he graced me with a gorgeous smile.
“Angel, it’s five in the morning, why are you up?” he asked curiously, motioning for me to come over to him. I circled the large desk and sat on his knee, melting against his large, warm frame.
“No one was in my bed,” I pointed out, my fingers brushing over his jaw lightly. He leaned into the touch, letting out a happy hum.
“I think most of them are outside.” He nodded towards the window, so I stood up and walked towards the large window that looked over the front of the house, my head tilting as I saw that he was correct. But it wasn’t just them. No, there were other men with them, and ones I didn’t recognize.
“Jordan’s mates,” Atlas stated easily. “They wanted to confirm and search the property before coming here. Of course, I don’t blame them, but I didn’t expect them to show up so damn early.”
“Does Jordan know?” I asked, wishing she had come by.
“Not sure.”
“Why are you not out there?”
He motioned me back, and I stood next to him, looking over the papers spread out across the desk. There were so many that my mind wasn’t processing fully what I was looking at at first…but then I realized they were maps. He nodded towards them. “I was waiting for these to come in.”
“What are they maps of?”
“Discover Haven Church.” He sighed as my fingers ran over a map of a large compound, a church illustrated in the center that had me feeling sick to my stomach. I tried to blink away the memories of leaving in the middle of the night, being roughly handled by who I had thought was my ‘mother’ as I had looked back at the only home I’d ever had, a church that looked startlingly similar to the one on the map. I knew it was the same place. I just knew it.
“Established in the 1900s in northern Louisiana by Todd Barber,” Atlas explained. “Clearly used as a cover for Malcolm’s family coven for god knows how long. This is the location that we’ve had eyes on, trying to figure out if Malcolm had either gone back or if there was anyone else being held prisoner.”
“Did they find anything?” I was almost afraid to ask.
“Completely empty.” His voice sounded distressed. “But there were signs of captivity. Not only in the church basement, either.”
“They went into the basement?” Tears welled in my eyes as he tucked me against him and turned the papers over, his dragon letting out a soft, comforting hum. Normally it would have erased any emotions like this, but I felt raw seeing this type of reminder after seeing Pastor Malcolm so recently.
“They did.” He immediately tried to change topics. “But don’t worry, baby girl, we don’t have to think about—”
“We do,” I argued. “I swear to god, Atlas, I know there are others. The more I think about it, the more it makes sense. We have to figure out where he went.”
“We will find him, and if there are any others, we will find them,” he assured quietly before his tone turned a bit more thoughtful. “Marco instructed them to search the coven in our area as well. It seems that their leader, Earnest, hasn’t been around lately, so there was no lead there. I have eyes looking out for Malcolm, but it concerns me that he just disappeared like that. That shouldn’t have been possible for a witch.”
“Pastor Malcolm is out there, Lorn is out there, even Anna…though she ran, I guess. I have to admit, I knew she hated me, but that type of betrayal? What have I ever done to her?” I felt my eyes prick with tears. I had been through so much, but something about her actions really hurt.
“It’s not you, Maya.” Atlas brushed my lips lightly, pulling me close. “It’s what you represent and the power you took away from her that she thought she could have access to. Anna has always been focused on amassing power, but I never would have expected her to go this low either.”
“What about the other dragon council members?”
“Larry is terrified, doesn’t remember anything past Anna knocking him out cold after a drink.” He shook his head and his jaw clenched. “Edmund is pretending like none of this happened. Lucas, though, is trying to keep a better eye on the two of them. If you ask me, even with Marco being on the council, I think the institution should be completely taken down. It’s unnecessary, especially on Earth realm.”
“And in the Dreki realm, my mom and dads are there,” I agreed.
