And it could never happen again.
Kaden woke up as an alarm pierced the silence. Blurry eyed, it took a while to work out where he was. He'd kind of got used to waking up in the medical centre but it seemed like things were back to their predictable normality.
Lifting his head from his desk and peeling a Biro lid off his cheek, his eyes zeroed in on the cause of the disturbance. The Command Centre was loaded with all sorts of equipment but the one making the racket was the one he'd been waiting for. The UV index monitor was having a party all by itself and that meant only one thing. It was dusk. And it was safe to go out.
Hauling himself out of his chair, he checked his weapons. Most of it had stayed strapped to his uniform, but he had put Megan and Katie to bed before he crashed out, so he made his way to the armoury before meeting Mercury and Ryver in the garage. Yes he named his guns. No, he didn't care.
He punched in his security code and waited for the armoury door to click free and the motion detectors to disengage. Once inside he entered another code into the keypad for his own locker and set about holstering his set of modified, Gen4 Glock 17s. The extra clips went into the back of his utility belt.
Locking up again, he made the way to the underground garage. Ryver's report still bothered him. The young Guardian had sworn on the lives of his unborn children that Lena and Thorn were fine and completely uninjured and most definitely not being held against their will. But Ryver still looked like a child who'd just been told their puppy got run over. Twice.
Kaden was even more bothered that he hadn't been able to get anything else out of Ryver. Ryver was useless when it came to keeping secrets but Kaden would bet his last blood box that the Guardian was hiding something.
Mercury nodded from the driver's seat of Xena as Kaden came into the garage. The engine was running and Ryver was in the back seat, concentrating hard on not meeting Kaden's glare. I'll find out soon enough, Kaden thought as Mercury slid the four-by-four into gear and they roared out of House Blackwood.
Thorn could see Larissa Bowman's mouth moving as they sat down for breakfast, but he had no idea what she was saying. The sun had set, he could feel it in his bones, but they were still stuck here. Apparently the fucking time-lock wouldn't disengage until an hour after dusk.
He smiled and nodded in what seemed like appropriate pauses in Larissa's monologue but Lena was all that occupied his thoughts. After his manly display of pure genius last night, he half expected that she would have found a way to dematerialise out of here and never see him again. She hadn't. And she was sitting right next to him.
Not that that mattered. She hadn't said a word to him, hadn't even made eye contact. He had no idea where she'd spent the day, but it hadn't been in their room and judging by the circles under her eyes, she hadn't got any sleep. Thorn hadn't slept either.
By the time the servant knocked on his door to announce breakfast, he thought he'd managed to get a handle on the inexplicable blood lust running bat-shit-crazy around his body. He was wrong. Very, very wrong.
Sweat beaded on his forehead as the fever raged within him. His hands felt clammy and his throat was drier than the Sahara.
"My Lord?" Larissa's voice penetrated the fog. "My Lord, are you quite well?"
Thorn raked his sweaty hand through his wayward hair as he tried to remember how his vocal chords were supposed to work. What came out when he tried was more of a croak than actual words so he tried again. "Yes, I'm fine. Thank you." Even then it sounded like he'd invented a way to speak with a gob full of sandpaper. He decided not to try again.
He had succeeded in one thing though. As he cawed his way through his assurances to Larissa Bowman, he had finally got Lena's attention. And then really wished he hadn't.
She inhaled deeply as she looked at him. All of a sudden, her midnight-blue eyes widened and she gasped as she made eye contact. She shook her head, as if trying to clear her mind, but as she looked at him again, a frown of confusion furrowed her brow. Well, at least that made two of them.
Alarms sounding brought his attention back to the here and now. Finding his voice again he said, "Please tell me that means we can leave now?"
Larissa stood at the top of the table sweeping her elegant arm towards the door. "By all means, My Lord."
Mercury fishtailed it into the driveway of House Bowman and Kaden was opening his door before they were even halfway up the gravel. As he got out, a curious feeling tingled all the way up his spine, making him shiver. He looked at Mercury and Ryver who had also stopped mid-motion. A smile spread wide across Kaden's face as the emptiness within him disappeared. Thorn and Lena were on their way. He put a hand out to steady himself, the rush of emotion nearly knocking his feet from under him.
"Thank Christ," Mercury whispered, his voice hoarse.
Kaden nodded, his keen eyes zeroing in on the younger Guardian. "Ryver was right; they're okay." Ryver still wouldn't meet his eyes, but it certainly looked like a weight had been lifted from his shoulders. Kaden still thought he was hiding something.
All three men swivelled around as the door to House Bowman opened and Thorn and Lena stepped into the moonlight. He'd felt their presence but the relief at actually seeing them had Kaden charging across the driveway. He skidded to halt in front of Thorn. "Holy Mother of Fae! You scared the shit out of me."
Thorn smirked as he reached for Kaden's outstretched hand, pulling the other Vampire into a manly, half handshake, half hug. "It's only been one day, Kaden," he said as they embraced.
Kaden patted Thorn on the back, smiling and thanking Fae he wasn't the first Keeper in history to lose his King. As he pulled out of the bear hug, a strange scent hit his senses. He knew that scent. Why on Goddess's earth did Thorn smell like cinnamon?
The thought disappeared as Lena stepped into his line of vision. "Lena. You are a sight for sore eyes." And she really was. In fact, the woman looked like crap. "You okay?" he asked.
Lena's smile was small and unconvincing. "Yeah, I'm fine. It's just been a long day."
"You sure?"
"Yeah."
"Well come here and give your Keeper a hug then," Kaden smiled back at her, holding his arms out wide.
Lena's shoulders seemed to sag with relief as she stepped into him. As soon as his hands made contact with her, a jolt of energy ran through him and Lena hissed. He snapped his hands away like he'd been burnt. In fact he checked his hands just to be sure. There was nothing there.
He looked back at Lena who was rubbing the top of her arms where his hands had been, her eyes wide…and were they glowing? "Lena?" Kaden said as he reached for her again. Something made him stop. It might have been the fear that showed in Lena's eyes, but he couldn't be sure. Suddenly, and for no apparent reason the thought of touching Lena made him feel ill and for a brief moment, he even considered running away. What. The. Fuck?
He watched in a daze as Mercury shook hands with Thorn, the King clapping his Guardian on the back. Mercury didn't offer his hand to Lena, he simply nodded at her. Lena just looked blank, like she wasn't really there. Ryver nodded at Thorn and barely acknowledged Lena.
Now that was just plain weird. Fair enough, Ryver wasn't all pally-pally with the King, but Lena was the closest thing the guy had to a best friend and he wouldn't even look at her. What in the name of Blackwood was going on?
Thorn broke Kaden's train of thought. "C'mon, Keeper mine. Let's go home."
Kaden nodded. "Right this way, My Lord."
Chapter 18
Kaden ordered everyone to stay at headquarters, much to Lena's dismay. Ryver hadn't said a word to her since they'd got back from House Bowman and that was over twenty-four hours ago. She didn't understand why. She knew he'd be there to collect them and she'd purposely kept her mind blank. No thoughts of Thorn had entered her mind and she had been very careful to keep it that way since they'd arrived home.
She sat through the debriefing in silence. It was the first time she'd heard the revelation Thorn had extracted from Crane of
House Bowman, and she should be pleased they finally had a lead. But she was just numb.
As she stepped out of her third shower of the day, her bottom lip started to quiver. Once it started, she couldn't stop it and blood red tears spilled down her cheeks. She was in agony and the time she could manage without a freezing-cold shower was getting shorter and shorter.
Searing heat rolled through her again and this time she couldn't contain her sobs. She curled up in a ball on her bed, clutching her stomach. She squeezed her eyes shut, willing the pain and the boiling heat to dissipate. If she could just catch her breath, she would be able to think. And then…and then what?
There was a knock at the door and Lena tried hard not to make a noise. She clamped her hand over her mouth and breathed hard through her nose, desperate to contain her sobs.
"Lena?" It was Ryver.
Oh God, please go away.
"Lena? It's me. Can I come in?"
No.
Ryver knocked again. "Lena. I need to talk to you."
Lena tried in vain to catch the sob that had been welling up inside her but she just didn't have the energy. The wretched sound echoed around the room as more tears streamed down her face.
Ryver burst through the door, gun in hand, his keen eyes searching the room for danger. Nothing
His eyes widened as they came to rest on Lena. What the hell? She was doubled up on the bed, her face streaked with tears. As long as he lived, Ryver would never forget the pain that seared his mind. Lena's mental shields had disintegrated and Ryver nearly collapsed under the weight of the agony and desolation she was feeling.
"Lena! What's happened? What's wrong?" He stumbled over to the bed and knelt beside her.
Her midnight-blue eyes conveyed such fear but she didn't say anything.
Ryver ran his fingers over his crew cut. "Lena, you're scaring me. You need to tell me what's wrong."
He reached out to stroke her arm, to offer any kind of comfort but his hand never found home. A strangled scream came from Lena and she scrambled across the bed. Ryver snatched his hand away, nausea making him swallow hard.
"It's alright. I won't touch you," Ryver whispered. Something told him he couldn't touch her, even if he wanted to.
Lena gave a brief nod of her head, but she still didn't speak.
"Are you ill?"
She nodded again.
"Okay. It's going to be okay. I'm going to call Soraya, alright?"
Lena shook her head, her eyes impossibly wide. "No! You can't!"
"Lena, this is serious. Phoenix isn't qualified to deal with," he gestured to her, "whatever this is."
"Ryver, please!"
Lena was a lot of things, but she wasn't stupid. Why would she refuse medical help? With her psychic guards in tatters, Ryver stepped into her thoughts. What he found both shocked and dismayed him. Lena's mind was a mess, a maze of madness and Ryver gasped. Thousands of thoughts whirled around like a tornado. There was no order, no semblance of sense at all and Ryver looked on amazed. This was not the Lena he knew and it was all he needed.
As Lena always said, it was easier to ask for forgiveness than to ask for permission. Telling her he'd be back shortly, he went out into the hallway and dug his mobile out of his back pocket. Searching his contacts he found what he was looking for and hit the call button. The call was answered after just a couple of rings. "Soraya? You need to come and see Lena. Now."
Damn you, Ryver.
Lena watched in a daze as Soraya approached the bed, the Princess's movements slow and precise as if she was approaching a wild animal. Lena felt her lips peel back as she hissed and her eyes darted around the room as she tried to figure out where the danger was coming from. Soraya stopped and raised her arms in an unhurried motion, her hands splayed open, assuring Lena she was unarmed.
Lena's brow furrowed. Soraya was looking directly at her. She wasn't worried about a hidden danger that Lena couldn't see. Soraya thought Lena was the wild animal; Lena was the danger.
Confused, she looked down at her hands as they clutched the beige duvet. Her knuckles were bright white from the effort they were exerting and Lena had to tell them several times to let go before they finally relaxed. Her palms were stained red and as she reached up to her face, she felt her cheeks, wet from tears. She ran her hand through her hair but got stuck in a knot halfway through the movement.
For a brief moment, the fog that wrapped around Lena's addled mind lifted and she knew what Soraya saw. By all that was Seelie, she was a fucking wreck.
"Lena, I'm here to help. I'm not going to hurt you, alright?" Soraya's voice was soft and comforting as she came closer. She eased on to the bed, again with slow, deliberate movements.
Panic welled up in Lena's chest. She was only just keeping a lid on the agony and she was convinced that it would barrel through her again if Soraya touched her. Just like it had with Roarke. Just like it had with Kaden. Just like it nearly did with Ryver.
She watched in horror as Soraya's delicate hand reached towards her. Lena tried to scramble away but the giant headboard at her back prevented her from escaping. Soraya's touch was gentle as she laid her hand on Lena's arm. Lena hissed as she squeezed her eyes shut and waited for the pain to claim her once again.
Nothing happened.
She cracked open an eye to see Soraya stroking her arm in light, soothing strokes. "It's alright, Lena. I told you I wouldn't hurt you."
Lena's eyes widened as she stared at Soraya's hand on her arm. "I…I don't know what's happening," she croaked.
"I know, but we're going to work it out, alright?"
Lena nodded.
"I have to ask you some questions and I need you to be honest with me," Soraya continued, keeping up the comforting arm stroking.
"Okay." Lena nodded again.
Soraya gave Lena a squeeze of her arm. "How long has this been going on?"
Lena gulped as her mind tried to find the start of this madness. It had been forever, hadn't it? She couldn't remember ever being without this heat, this boiling fire. "I… I don't remember."
"Alright." Soraya frowned. "Do you remember the pain easing at all?"
Visions of Thorn's naked body flooded Lena's mind. His golden eyes burned white hot as he looked down at her, his hard body pounding into her. Lena's hands clawed at his immense shoulders willing him to take all of her. Lena gasped as she remembered him coming, his face beautifully strained, his enormous fangs fully extended. He came inside her in great bursts…and the agony was gone.
"Lena?" Soraya asked again.
Lena gave the only answer she had: "Thorn."
The room started to spin as Lena struggled to hold on to reality. The agonising heat was back with a vengeance and it roared into every part of her. She bucked off the bed as she screamed. She heard a voice, soft and gentle, but it was so far away and she had no idea what was said. The voice continued but it did nothing to allay her torment.
Slowly, the room stopped spinning and the light started to dim. And then there was darkness, and finally, peace.
The rest of the team were busy searching the Vampire archives, the internet, even the damned phone-book to find any trace of House Clayden. Thorn had filled Kaden in on what Crane had said; Eden had been taken in by Oscar Clayden. The problem was, of course, the guy was dead and had been for a very long time. And to make things worse, he died without issue, and House Clayden had been consigned to the history books.
Kaden was supposed to be helping, or supervising, or whatever, but his mind wasn't on the job. Something weird was going on. Thorn had raced through the debriefing and promptly disappeared. Lena hadn't said so much as how-do-you-do since they'd been back and Ryver was nowhere to be seen.
Kaden drummed his fingers on the battered wooden surface of his desk. Something was bothering him. An uneasiness he couldn't shake had taken root in his mind. He closed his eyes, immediately seeking out Thorn and found him in his office. He recognised Lena's unique signature; she was in her bedroom, where s
he'd been for the last twenty-four hours.
Frowning, he checked for Ryver. Well that was odd; he was outside Lena's room. Then again, Ryver had been pretty weird with Lena, so maybe he was working up the courage to apologise.
He shook his head. There was only one other person that could make him feel this uneasy. He sent his senses out, flying through the house to find Soraya. His mind took a direction he didn't expect; Soraya was with Lena. His brow furrowed wondering why he hadn't noticed her there before, but then he supposed he wasn't looking for her. Why would she be in Lena's room?
He concentrated on Lena again, using his sight, but also his blood bond with her. She wasn't injured, but something was very, very wrong. The chair clattered to the floor as he pushed himself up in a rush.
Kaden was vaguely aware of the others snapping their heads round at the noise, but he didn't stop to explain. He raced out of the Command Centre, the osmium mesh behind the walls making it impossible for him to dematerialise, and climbed the stairs, two at a time.
He ran into Ryver in the corridor outside Lena's room and the guy looked like shit. "What's going on?" Kaden asked.
"It's Lena," Ryver croaked.
"I know it's fucking Lena. What's happened?"
"I don't know." Ryver rubbed a shaky hand over his short hair. "She begged me not to, but I had to call Soraya."
Kaden puffed out a breath, willing his heart to stop hammering in his chest. "Just tell me what happened."
"Jesus, Kaden, I've never seen her like that. Shit, I've never seen anyone like that. She's doubled over in pain, and she's sobbing. I don't mean girly crying; I mean proper, gut wrenching sobs. I tried to comfort her but she screamed when I reached for her."
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