Hearts Enchained

by DJ Michaels

  Boots pounded behind him and he and Jax burst into their living room shoulder to shoulder. He cast a quick look at a dragonet hovering over a dead and rather mutilated snake, then he had eyes for nothing else but Sorcha. She lay on the table, curled into a ball with Skalah and Xexyl standing guard.

  “Thank you, little brothers.” He moved them aside gently so he could see to his mate. He stroked her sweat-matted hair and when Jax handed him a pillow he slid it gently under her head. Jax covered her with a blanket then they had nothing to do but wait for the physicians to appear. The wait seemed interminable but eventually they arrived, breathless and loaded down with equipment.

  Wallen was the most respected and experienced physician in the den. He was strong and fit but his thick white hair and heavily lined face gave away his age. Kae was relieved to see him but he was even more relieved to see his younger colleague hurry in beside him. According to Wallen, Floreah was a medical genius with ideas and knowledge far beyond anything he could teach her. Floreah had been in the infirmary when Kae had brought Jax in, broken and bleeding from his two months of torture. And she was the only one who gave him a chance of survival. Kae had no doubt Jax’s physical recovery was down to this small, no-nonsense woman and he knew Sorcha couldn’t be in better hands.

  He stepped forward and placed a careful hand on Floreah’s thin shoulder. “We need another miracle. Are you up for it?”

  She absently patted his arm with one hand and began pulling supplies out of her bag with the other. “I’ll do everything I can for her. Now go away so we can work.”

  He and Jax wandered into the middle of the room, never once taking their eyes from Wallen, Floreah or Sorcha. Kae slid his hand into Jax’s, linking their fingers and holding tight, watching for every lift and fall of Sorcha’s chest.

  The other Enforcers and the Earth women drifted in. At one point Chelsea came over and forced her way under Kae’s arm, wrapping herself around his waist and giving him someone else to hold. Mackenzie sidled up to Jax and she treated him with the same solicitude Chelsea offered Kae.

  The four of them stood quietly and observed what they could of the medical procedures. From time to time the other dragon riders brushed by to offer a reassuring touch but none of them spoke. They simply waited and watched, their presence in the den doing all the talking for them.

  Kae stood for so long his knees locked into immobility and when the older physician turned to them, Kae was too scared to move.

  “We’ve done all we can,” Wallen said. “The fast actions of the dragonets helped immeasurably. If they hadn’t given her the sedative and put the poultice on her wound we wouldn’t have arrived in time.” He shrugged. “As it is she has a good chance.”

  A good chance. A chance wasn’t enough. Kae needed guarantees, he needed his woman up and about and complaining about his clothes on the floor. He removed his arm from Chelsea’s shoulder and turned to Jax, wrapping him in a tight hug that expressed every bit of his terror.

  Jax’s grip was hard enough to break bone. “I am going to kill all of them,” he whispered in Kae’s ear. “I don’t care how long it takes or who I have to go through to do it. Every one of those fuckers will be rotting at the bottom of a ravine before I’m done.”

  Kae buried his face into his lover’s silky hair. “And I’ll be right beside you, my brother. As soon as Sorcha is well and back on her feet we’ll start the hunt.”

  “Done.”

  Neither of them even acknowledged the fact that their mate might not survive.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Jax squeezed Kae so hard neither one of them could draw a full breath. He should let go, he was making a scene. Anyone with eyes could see they were lovers and he was putting everything at risk. But Kae was the only thing keeping him anchored and he was the only person who could keep Jax in the here and now. If Jax let go he would spiral back in time, falling into an endless maze of pain and confusion. So he held on to Kae and put all his focus into willing their mate to survive.

  Jax, bring Sorcha to us.

  Tengale’s command was enough to loosen his hold on Kae. Can you heal her? Is it possible?

  I think so. Bring her.

  He and Kae eased apart and Jax took a moment to look into his lover’s golden eyes. Steady, hopeful, trusting.

  “It can’t hurt,” Kae whispered.

  No, it couldn’t. And if it worked Sorcha would be fine and back to herself by tomorrow morning.

  Jax turned to Ari. “Will you see Wallen and Floreah out? We can take care of Sorcha from here.”

  Ari raised a questioning eyebrow but did as Jax asked, acting as though it was the most natural thing in the world to banish the best healers in the den while the love of Jax’s life clung by a thread.

  Chelsea hurried forward and grabbed Jax’s arm. “What’s going on? What are you doing?”

  He checked to make sure the physicians were out of earshot before turning to the tiny woman. “The dragons have healing abilities, though I’ve only ever known them to work on the rider they’re partnered with. Tengale has asked me to bring Sorcha to him so that’s what I’m going to do.”

  “So why do the doctors have to leave?”

  Jax tried to be patient, knowing the quickest way to allay Chelsea’s fears was to answer her questions. “The blacks have many talents and there’s a great deal they keep secret. They have reasons for not wanting their healing abilities to become common knowledge, so we do our best to honor their wishes.”

  All the hostility and tension in Chelsea seemed to evaporate with that admission. She offered him a sweet smile, her sky-blue eyes twinkling. “But they’re okay with us Earth girls knowing?”

  “Yes. You’re a dragon’s possession now. You belong to Benmonth and Annlyss in the same way Tarkan and Ari do.”

  “Cool.”

  He smiled and wondered if he’d ever get that kind of awed happiness from Sorcha in regard to her dragon relationships. He hoped he’d have the chance to find out.

  Making his way to the table, he helped Kae bundle Sorcha into his arms and Jax followed them into the lair. The dragons had divested themselves of harness and saddles and they were hunkered down on the huge sandpit they used as a bed. Kae stepped over the small border of plas-wood and looked up at the blacks.

  Who wants her?

  Tengale, Jaysada said. Sorcha has a stronger connection to him and he is fiercer in his possession than I am. They need to be skin-to-skin.

  Jax knew Sorcha wouldn’t be thrilled about being stripped and given to Tengale but he was desperate enough not to care. Kae dropped down on one knee and lowered Sorcha to the sand so he and Jax could remove her clothing. Once she was naked, Jax scooped her up and waited until Tengale lowered himself, belly flat and elbows on the sandy floor. Placing Sorcha in the crook of Tengale’s arm, Jax pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead. Walking back to Kae, he turned so they were shoulder to shoulder with their hands linked.

  Is there anything we can do? Jax asked.

  Just leave her with us for the rest of the day, Jaysada said. Tonight the three of you can sleep with us and by morning you should have your mate back.

  Jax put his hand on his heart and gave her a formal bow. “Thank you, Jaysada. Thank you both.”

  Tengale snorted, clouding him in black smoke. She’s our pet. You don’t need to thank us for doing our job.

  True enough but you have my thanks anyway.

  He faced Kae and Jax had no doubt the quiet, helpless panic was clear in his eyes. Understanding his need for contact, to ground himself in his lover’s touch, Kae cupped the back of Jax’s head and drew him in for a slow, lingering kiss. Kae’s lips were silky-soft and at the first flick of Jax’s tongue he opened for him. Relaxing into the hold, Kae allowed Jax to take over, taking as much or as little as he needed. Jax pulled him close, firm but not tight, relishing the heat and strength in Kae’s body. Hip-to-hip, chest-to-chest, so different from how it felt to hold Sorcha but no less precious for it. Sea
ling his lips tighter, Jax stroked inside Kae’s mouth, sliding tongue against tongue in a slow, comforting glide that gave as much as it took.

  Eventually Jax pulled back and looked into Kae’s eyes. “I love you.”

  “I know. I love you too.”

  “And her.”

  Kae smiled. “Yes, and her.” He lifted his hand and sifted his fingers through Jax’s hair in long, languorous sweeps. “Tengale will heal her. She’ll be back to full health by morning and we can continue our sex marathon right where we left off.”

  Jax leaned forward, rubbing cheek to cheek. “I’ll look forward to it.”

  “Me too.”

  Their living room was still crowed with Enforcers and Sorcha’s friends when they got back. Jax had barely put his ass in a chair when Ari voiced the ugly truth none of them had been ready to put into words.

  “Those fuckers are coming for our women.”

  Jax nodded, ready to open the conversation now his mate was being cared for. “So it seems. And as I killed Medalyn myself I know it’s not him coming after Sorcha. Someone else is behind the attack and until we know who it is we’re going to have to take extra precautions.”

  Kate sat upright in her chair. “What kind of precautions?”

  “The kind you’re probably not going to like.” Jax knew how much these women valued their freedom and how jealously they guarded their right to make their own decisions. Unfortunately those needs had to take second place to their safety.

  “We might have a suggestion,” Rye said. “Tansy doesn’t want to stay at Addestet House. She doesn’t feel safe there so Dev and I have offered her one of our bedrooms. We’ll bunk together for a while so we can be on hand if Tansy needs us but otherwise she has complete privacy.”

  Jax shifted so he could look at Tansy’s expression and judge her mood. “This is agreeable to you?”

  “Yes. The three of us have discussed it and set down clear ground rules. Dev and Rye were just waiting for the chance to ask you for the go-ahead.”

  “Consider it given.” He looked at the other women. “Will you agree to a similar arrangement or would you prefer to stay at Addestet House?”

  Mackenzie cleared her throat and squirmed in her chair like a guilty child. “I’ve already been staying here. I had some…injuries…that Kouryss and Tallentha have been helping to heal.”

  Jax sent a querying look in Finn and Behr’s direction but the Enforcers just stared him down. Interesting.

  “I’m okay with staying at the den,” Sara said.

  Jax nodded then raised his eyebrow at Kate who was the only female who hadn’t offered an opinion one way or the other. “Reservations?”

  “Plenty,” she replied. “But I’m prepared to stick together with the other girls for now. We spend most of our time in the den as it is, so the only thing that will really change are our sleeping arrangements.”

  “And I guarantee those sleeping arrangements will not make you feel unsafe in any way,” Jax said. “My Enforcers will behave with honor and if you have any problems of any kind you can come to me, Kae or Sorcha and we will fix whatever’s wrong.”

  “Thank you.”

  He looked around the room. “That goes for all of you, females or Enforcers. If you have any difficulties or issues you come to us. And if we’re not around you go to Ari, Tarkan and Chelsea.”

  They were all quiet for a moment and then Behr pushed himself away from the wall he’d been leaning on. “I’ve been thinking about a way we can keep an eye on the women without making them feel like they’re under constant watch.”

  This would be interesting. Behr’s ideas were either really clever or completely unworkable and Jax was hoping that this time around it would be the former.

  “I thought the dragonets might make good companions, if they’re willing. They’re easy to have around and they can alert us to any danger at a moment’s notice.”

  It was a good idea. And what Behr didn’t say but all of the Enforcers knew was that a dragonet could track a person if they spent enough time together. If any of the women developed a relationship with a dragonet, that dragonet could track them anywhere in Ivasta.

  “I’ll get Tengale onto it.” It was a moment before Jax thought to add a caveat. “If the women don’t have objections.”

  “I don’t think any of us can object to that,” Mackenzie said. “Not after what we saw here today.”

  Why stop there?

  Jax turned his attention inward to Tengale. What did you have in mind?

  Kouryss and Tallentha’s pet is correct. The dragonets did save Sorcha but they didn’t do it on their own.

  Jax winced. He bet Mackenzie didn’t have the slightest clue she’d been claimed by Finn and Behr’s dragons and he sure as hell didn’t want to be around when she found out. His dragons had been at Sorcha for months and she still hadn’t fully reconciled herself to pet status.

  What are you getting at, Tengale?

  Tasking the dragonets to watch over our pets is a good idea but it would be better and safer if our pets would simply talk to us.

  Like you do with Sorcha?

  Yes.

  Jax was caught off guard for a moment. Sorcha was the only one to manifest the mindspeaking ability so he just assumed she was special. Unusual. It never occurred to him that the dragons could talk to the other women if they chose to.

  Are the other dragons willing?

  Of course they are.

  Then why haven’t they done it before now?

  They’ve tried. The females won’t let them in.

  Jax rubbed his aching head and wished—not for the first time—that Tengale wouldn’t talk in circles. So we have dragon pairs who are willing to claim these women and to talk to them mind-to-mind. The only thing stopping that from happening is the fact that we were unaware such a thing was even possible.

  You weren’t unaware. Jaysada and I have been talking to our pet for months.

  Jax rolled his shoulders, pinched the bridge of his nose and took a deep breath. All right, you’ve been talking to Sorcha. How did you break through her barriers when the other dragons can’t get through to their pets?

  The emotion Tengale sent over the link felt almost sheepish. You know we decided early on that we wanted her for our pet. Jaysada and I kept trying to talk to her but her wall was too strong. Then one day she was sitting alone in the garden. She was very sad, missing her old life and her other family and in a moment of yearning she mentally reached out for something of her own. I snatched that thought, followed it back to the chink in her wall and I pushed until I got inside. Once I got a claw hold, I dug in and I haven’t let her push me out since.

  It was typical dragon logic and while Jax was appalled at the ruthlessness of it, he was very grateful Tengale was so single-minded. Without his dragon-partner’s interference, Sorcha might never have come to him and Kae and she certainly wouldn’t be sleeping in Tengale’s arms right at this moment.

  He cleared his throat to get the attention of everyone in the room. “Tengale says the other dragon pairs want to help as well. They’re willing to link with the females in the same way Tengale and Jaysada link with Sorcha. It will give us an extra layer of security and once it becomes public knowledge it will make the women high-risk targets.”

  “In what way?” Sara asked.

  Jax decided not to sugarcoat it because the women would find out the truth soon enough. “Battle dragons are insanely territorial and if they don’t consider you one of theirs they are vicious and unforgiving. However, if they do claim you they will protect you like a sylcat protects her cub. When Chelsea was threatened, Benmonth and Annlyss were prepared to burn Sapphire to the ground to get her back. You could not have better or more invested protectors. And the fact that they can speak to us mind-to-mind means we can find you no matter where you are or what kind of threat you’re under.”

  Tansy slid off her chair and stood. “I’m in. I’ll bond to whatever dragons will have me if it means I ca
n’t be taken back to Allsgate and disappeared.”

  Jax’s mouth kicked up into a half smile. “I’m glad you feel that way. The dragons are already referring to you as Fellescend and Zenbaylan’s pet. I suspect the rest of you have been similarly claimed.”

  “We don’t get to choose?” Kate asked.

  He shook his head. “When you attract a dragon’s interest the only real choice you have is whether to give in with good grace or fight it until you’re exhausted enough to give in anyway. Once a dragon makes a decision you can consider it carved in stone.”

  And that wasn’t even the worst of it but Jax didn’t think this was the right time to enumerate all the ways a dragon could irritate an Enforcer. Or a female for that matter.

  “What about me?” Chelsea asked. “Do Benmonth and Annlyss want to talk to me?”

  “No.” Ari and Tarkan yelled at the same time. The look of panic on their faces was hilarious.

  “Why not?” She turned on her mates, hands on her hips, not the least bit daunted by their much larger size.

  “It’s a bad idea,” Tarkan said. “Dragons can be really demanding and irritating. If you let them they’ll try to run your whole life.”

  Then Ari stepped up and stepped in it. “We know how much you love your independence and you won’t have that if you let our dragons into your head.”

  “You know how much I love my independence?”

  “Yes, of course.”

  Jax could see it coming like an ion storm rolling in and getting bigger. The more those two idiots tried to talk her out of it the more determined their little mate became.

  “Do you know what I think?” she asked.

  Tarkan reached out to stroke her arm. “No, love, why don’t you tell me?”

  She slapped his hand away. “I think you and Ari are being assholes. I think you are scared to let me talk to Benmonth and Annlyss because you know they’ll take my side when you’re being unreasonable. If I have them in my corner you two meat-heads won’t be able to gang up on me anymore.”