The Almost One Night Stand

Chapter 51

Multiple POVs

Victor's POV

We had all been following Jax when a few of us saw North and Nimue stop. He'd picked her up bridal style and I worried she was getting tired. Maybe she needed more time to rest. "Hey, is everything okay," Brandon called out to them, then started to shout, "Where the fuck did they go?"

We all looked around the area, but they were completely gone without a trace. "Pretty boy, your brother fucking did it again. This shit's getting old," Gabe grumbled.

"Did what again?" I asked.

"He fucking teleported her somewhere. Fucker keeps doing it too. Hell, one time it was right after sex and we were cuddling. Shit, fuck, fuck, I can't sense where they went," he ranted. "Dammit, Luke, where the hell did he take her now?"

Luke came jogging over and grabbed Gabe's hands, "Hey, it's North, he won't hurt her or let anyone else hurt her. If you can't sense them, then there has to be a good reason, right?" He placed a kiss on his forehead, but Gabe was still agitated.

"She is safe with her protector," a woman's voice spoke softly. We turned to see a woman draped in an emerald gown that seemed to reflect and absorb the colors of the grove around us. Jax dropped to his knees, head bowed, "Goddess Nemetona, how may we serve you?"

"Just how many Gods and Goddesses are there?" Marc gaped, bowing his head.

The woman chuckled, "How many stars are there in the night sky? There is no answer to your question, for we are many and we are one. Called by many names but often wearing the same faces." She walked toward him and stroked his cheek, "You will follow the path your friend did soon enough. I came to put your minds at ease about their absence, but cannot tell you where they went." We watched as she walked to the line of trees that now seemed to have formed a circle around us. Placing a single hand on a Hawthorn tree, a ring of light connected each tree. I watched as my brothers fell when the light touched their tree - Luke, Gabe, Kota, Marc, Owen, Sean, Axel, and finally Brandon.

"What did you do to them," Silas demanded.

"I've opened their minds, Willow Druid, much like Brigid did to you with your vision quest. Each of them will follow the path meant for them. Training isn't always about fighting gentlemen. Your fists will have no power against dark sorcery, you must learn to fight in other ways. This space is protected. They will come to no harm within the circle, my servants will keep watch." We saw tiny creatures lingering around the bases of the trees, watching quietly.

"What about the rest of us?" Nate asked.

She looked at him quizzically, then hummed, "Ahh, the unmarked."

"They will come with me," Brigid said, appearing in the circle. "Nemetona," Brigid nodded her head at the other goddess. "While I appreciate you watching out for them, hold your tongue. It is not ours to reveal their paths."

"My apologies, Brigid, you're right of course. I will take my charge and leave." She placed her hand on my arm and smiled.

"Wait, what?" I said, but no one heard as we vanished, reappearing in a dark bramble choked grotto. The air was heavy and smelled of decay.

"This is where I leave you, Bramble born. I pray you find your way home." Nemetona pointed toward the cave, "The White Lady awaits you," then she vanished. Well, fuck, that isn't ominous or anything.

My skin felt thin as I walked unsteadily toward the cave. The closer I got, the harder it was to breathe. My feet felt heavy, my body weak. I looked down to see my hands, withered with age, bony and frail. Feeling my face, it was sunken as if I had aged decades in just mere steps. Yet still, I kept moving forward as if something were pulling me. As I reached the entrance, I stumbled and fell to my knees. Grabbing and clawing at the dirt, I inched forward toward the faint light within. My vision grew dim and I felt myself fading away as a scratchy voice filled the cavern. "Let go, Victor Morgan, enter the Cauldron and be reborn."