“Val, please don’t fight it. I will talk to the queen with you. I promise if the two of you are meant to be together even she can’t stop you.”
I knew that my words were falling on deaf ears but I had to try. I took a deep breath through my nose and new she wasn’t going to give in easily. I could almost smell her determination. I watched her step out from behind Mike and I knew she made her decision. She would not back down, I watched as her body shimmered. Her lioness emerged with a roar. She hissed and showed her teeth. I looked over at Mike who was still in his human form and said
“Mike, help her see reason. Fighting me isn’t going to make this go away. The queen will just send others. If the two of you are fated to be together you know you will be. Please, let’s take this to the queen and have the order rescinded.”
Mike started shaking his head then took two large steps back behind Val. I watched as he dropped his head in his hands and said in a voice filled with pain
“She will never break our bonds. She is convinced I am her true mate. She would kill me before she gave me up. I’m sorry but I’ve done all I can.”
I remember feeling a small electrical pulse in the air as Mike phased into his much smaller Ocelot cat and scrambled up a tree nearby. I looked over towards Toby and Joe and nodded. I thought to myself we’re going to have to use force to bring her in. We all shifted in unison and surrounded Val. We tried to take her down without injury but four large cats can’t dance without a lot of bloodshed.
We battled for no more than half an hour when the tides changed. We’d been so sure that Val was the only threat we never looked back at Mike. While our attention was focused on the lioness in front of us Mike had doubled back. He came at us firing nonstop with double barrel shotguns. He pummeled our bodies and forced us to turn our attention away from Val and instead focus on him.
Joe was the first to turn on Mike. He charged at him head on despite the multiple full force blast buck shots that slammed into his cougar’s body. I watched in horror as Joe’s cougar tore through the soft flesh of Mike’s human body and ripped out his jugular. The two off them dropped to the ground lifeless at almost the same moment. That’s when I heard Toby’s cat roar in pain. I saw a tear slip from his eyes as he launched himself at Val. I tried to stop them but they both seemed to have a death wish. I felt more tears slip down my face as I heard Laura finally say hello into the phone. I took a deep steadying breath then said
“Laura. I need you. It’s so bad. I lost them all. Please Laura help me”
Laura's POV
“Come on you big sissy we can move a little faster than this. Hell I could have gotten from our camp to here in an hour. It’s been thirty two hours since we left home. Don’t make me turn into the big bad wolf and huff and puff and blow your ass down.”
I smiled over at Johan and Mora as we all burst into laughter. I was using humor but the truth was Johan was dragging his feet all morning and as a result we were barely making any progress. At our current pace it would be three more days before we caught up to the missing couple.
I was ready to be finished with this mission and back in Jeremy’s arms. Last night’s little round of love making did nothing but wet my whistle for more. I was tired of trudging slowly through the jungle and would be happier if I could just run ahead and swoop the missing couple up and bring them home. I know Jeremy wanted team work and diplomacy but right now all I really wanted was a taste of my man. I heard Mora and Johan snicker then I heard Johan say in a sassy voice
“Yeah well, if I was part vampire I could run bazillion miles an hour too. But I’m just a typical Bastet homo so unless we are going to have a race to a hot guy that wants to spend the night with me then I am perfectly fine with you doing all the huffing and puffing. Although if you were a really hot dude maybe it wouldn’t be so bad to have a wolf blow my ass down.
“Ha ha Johan, I just love your double sided innuendos. Very funny, but can we please kick it up a notch. I am after all newly blooded. I like the two of you but in truth I would rather be with Jeremy than trudging through the Amazon at a snail’s pace with the two of you.”
They both laughed again and I found myself shrugging my shoulders. Oh hell, I thought this was what being a team was all about. I stepped over a large fallen tree and was just about to call a stop for lunch when I realized the satellite phone in my backpack was ringing. I quickly tore it open and answered the phone. Since we had agreed to use the phone only for nightly check ins and emergencies I knew something had gone wrong.
I heard and felt Jeremy’s pain and desperation at the exact time. I calculated how much time it would take me to reach him if I came in person as opposed to astral projecting. I knew giving him twenty minutes of my time wasn’t going to ease his pain enough. Catching the missing couple was no longer my priority. The priority was helping my mate with our lost pride members. I had to know if he could wait for me so I said
“Jeremy, I can come to you. I can be there in less than three hours. Do you want me to come in person or do you just want me to project to you?”
I heard him take a quivering breath then he said in a voice laced with pain, sorrow and tears.
“Come to me Laura as fast as you can. I can’t do this on my own. I need you with me. I don’t want to be without you by my side for another moment.”
That was all I needed to hear. We hung up and I prepared to go to my mate. I looked over at Mora and Johan and said
“I have bad news. Toby, Joe, Mike and Val all died today. Jeremy needs me to help him. I need the two of you to head back to the pride. I am going Jeremy. We will bring the body’s home probably sometime late tomorrow. Keep the satellite phone on you; I’ll call if we need you.”
Then without any additional conversation I took off at my full speed. I estimated he was no further than three hours from my current location. I ran at my top speed through the thick foliage of the jungle. I kept the Amazon River on my left and used it as a compass. My legs pumped up and down and sweat trickled down my back. With each step closer to my mate Jeremy's emotions and pain filled me. I could feel his soul begging for me to join him. With each step closer to him I felt the urgency in his soul increase. His pain so intense and so much worse than it had been even on the phone. At one point I could have sworn it went from grief and sorrow to terror and shame. Then he called to me through our mind link and said
“I’m sorry Laura, I messed up bad. I was so distracted by my grief over their deaths that I never heard him approaching. Grier did this to me. I didn’t even get to put up a fight. I’m sorry I have to leave you. I love you Laura. Live for me.”
Then our link went silent and his soul abruptly stopped touching mine. I was suddenly filled with fear. More fear than I had ever felt in my life. My wolf screamed in agony. I pushed my legs to move faster than I had ever done before. I pushed every thought, every concern from my mind. I focused my entire purpose on reaching my soul mate.
I smelled the blood before I saw any of them. I noticed first all four of them laid out carefully shoulder to shoulder on the ground. I twisted my head looking for Jeremy. Then, I screamed as I saw Jeremy lying on the ground amongst the weeds with a large dagger protruding from his heart. I dropped to my knees beside him. Blood was pouring from his wound and I could hear his heart struggling to beat with the knife still imbedded inside it. I was too late; my speed had not been enough. My soul mate was dying and there was nothing I could do. I reached out and pulled his body tightly to mine. I threw my head back and howled my pain into the air.
CHAPTER 30
(Laura’s POV)
When was she going to come out and tell me? Every second she made me sit in this waiting room I felt myself die just a little more. I needed to hear that Jeremy was okay. I needed to know that Leona was able to save him. I simply couldn’t wait anymore. I stood up with the intention of barging back in and checking on my soul mate. How dare my sister prevent me from being at this side? I took two steps forward when Leona’s h
eartless husband stepped in front of me with his fucking Samurai sword and said
“Laura, do not make me use this on you. You need to sit down and relax. Leona is doing everything she can for Jeremy. Remember she threw you out of the surgery because you were doing more harm than good. If you go back in there you could be the cause of him dying. Is that what you want?”
I grunted and growled low in my throat but turned back towards the other side of the room. I hated to admit it but I knew that Kenyan was right. I found myself thinking about earlier today. I don’t know how but sister knew but she just did. Maybe she heard my wolf howl or maybe it’s something in our family link. Either way not long after I found my mate, my sister Leona took off on foot in my general direction. Kenyan following closely behind her wondering what was going on. Eventually Leona got close enough to reach me through our old family mind link. I told her what happened. She promised me Jeremy would be okay and then said in a no nonsense voice
“Laura, we can save him but you need to follow my directions exactly. No questions just do exactly as I say. Now do you have a knife on you other than the one inside of Jeremy?”
I told her I did, and then Leona continued
“Okay, I need to you shove it threw your wrist. Make sure you cut your main artery open. I need you bleeding very heavily. I’m sorry Laura but this is going to hurt. Do it now.” She paused long enough for me to do it. I grunted in pain then said
“It’s done. What now?”
“Pull the knife out of Jeremy’s chest and stick you bleeding wrist into the wound. I need your blood to completely fill the cavity.”
Leona again paused while I did as she instruction. The moment I pulled out the knife Jeremy started bleeding so much heavier. I shouted at Leona through our connection.
“He’s dying Leona. This has made it worse”
I felt more tears slip from my eyes as I watched Jeremy’s chest rattle with what I thought was his final breath. In my fear I pulled my wrist from his chest and instead gathered him in my arms again. That’s when Leona and Kenyan arrived on the scene. Leona saw the blood pouring from Jeremy’s chest and immediately pushed me away from him. Then she yelled at me
“Damn it Laura. I told you to put your wrist in his chest for a reason. I needed you to plug the hole in his heart while your blood started to heal him. What the hell did you do? Now it’s going to be even harder to save him.”
Then I watched as my sister sliced through her own wrist and shoved it inside of Jeremy chest. My wolf and I became confused and angry at the same time. Instead of being grateful that she was trying to save his life I became possessive and tried to get her away from him. To my shame I attacked my sister with the intention of causing maximum harm. Had it not been for her interfering husband I would have been successful in two things. One severely hurting my sister and two killing my soul mate. Kenyan pulled me off Leona and held me forcefully down while she administered CPR and got Jeremy's vitals stable. Once Leona felt Jeremy was stable enough to move she said
“Laura, if you have yourself under control we can move him back to camp and I can perform surgery to close the wound in Jeremy's heart. If I ask Kenyan to let you go can you be good now?”
I had agreed and we’d managed to get Jeremy safely back to Rena’s camp so Leona could perform surgery. That’s when I lost it again. This time, Leona made a deep incision into Jeremy’s chest then used her hands to pull apart his rib cage. I heard Jeremy's bones snap and something inside of me snapped as well. This time since Kenyan wasn’t in the operating room with us I managed to grab hold of my sister and snap her neck. I was in the process of pulling her head off of her shoulders with my bare hands when Kenyan burst into the room and stopped me.
Thinking about my behavior only forced me to admit that I shouldn’t go near the operating room again. I didn’t like it and I wanted to disagree but the bastard Kenyan had a point. Instead of trying to go back in I carried on like an animal in the waiting room. I was wound up tighter than a two dollar watch. Every second that ticked by I got just a little more keyed up. I felt like I was going to explode.
“This is fucking killing me!” I shouted as I punched a hole clear through the brick wall in the waiting room. Then I continued to shriek at the top of my lungs
“How much longer is this going to take? She said an hour an hour ago!”
Kenyan looked over at me with sympathy and understanding in his eyes. For just a millisecond I could swear I saw something flash in his eyes that spoke of more pain than I could imagine. Then he said in a voice filled with just a touch of too much perception
“Laura, no matter how much you get frustrated or angry it’s not going to change Jeremy’s condition. Jeremy is mortal and someday he will have to move on from this plain the next. What you need to figure out is a way to make every second you have with him count. You need to figure out how to leave the future to the future and live in the now.”
Kenyan was right. Being angry and breaking and punching things wasn’t helping one bit. I felt my anger dissipate and instead I was consumed with regret. I found myself regretting every lost second of my time with Jeremy. What a fool I had been. I could have had months of loving him instead of a precious few days. I thought back to all the foolish things I did that kept us apart and I cried for my stupidity. I’m not sure how much more time went by before I heard the door to the operating room open and Leona stepped out. I looked up from my position on the floor and instantly recognized the look on Leona’s face. I knew that the surgery hadn’t gone as well as she hoped. She took a deep breath and said
“I was unable to repair the damage to Jeremy's heart. He’s going to need a transplant if we are going to save him. For now, I have him on a regulator that is doing the heavy lifting for him. You can go in and sit with him but don’t get him worked up. Even with the regulator we need to keep Jeremy calm and as stress free as possible.
I already listed him on all the public donor sites. I am also going to reach out to some friends in the larger packs and see if I can get him on their donor lists as well. I will also let Rena know, though Bastet don’t keep records for organ donation. I would prefer another Bastet or even a wolf heart. Human will do if we have to but a heart from a Bastet or wolf would more than double his chances of survival.”
I turned the words over and over again in my head before I looked my sister in the eyes and said.
“Take mine. Give him my heart”
CHAPTER 31
(Leona’s POV)
I looked down at my sisters eyes that were filled with tears and forced a smile on my face. We had gone over this a thousand times and I finally gave in. I tried my best to convince Laura to wait and see if we could find another donor. Then Jeremy flat lined and I knew she wasn’t going to let it go. She threatened to cut it out of her own chest if I didn’t agree to the surgery. Finally after considering all the options and coming up with no suitable alternatives I forced myself to agree. I picked up my clip board and double checked all of Laura's vitals. Once I was sure everything was ready I gave her a sad smile and I said
“Laura, are you sure you won’t change your mind? You have to understand it could be years before you heal.”
She looked back at me and reached out to pull my hand into hers before she said in a soft voice
“It’s going to be okay Leona. Liam lost his heart more than once and has managed to survive. Just leave a sliver and you know I will regenerate. This is Jeremy’s best chance. If you love me you won’t make me live through his death. Tell me you wouldn’t have done this for Tim? I know you love Kenyan but you would rip Kenyan’s heart out if it could bring back Tim. Do this for me.
What good are years to me if they are without Jeremy. I know he will miss me until I regenerate but at least he will know that I will regenerate. The way things are now he hasn’t got but a few hours left if we’re lucky. Now, pull yourself together and save my beloved.”
I watched as several more tears slipped down Laura�
�s face and I knew my own were slipping down my face. In theory Laura was right. Taking her heart wouldn’t be a death sentence but it also wasn’t the cake walk she was pretending that it would be. I know Liam claimed to have survived his heart being completely destroyed and even claimed to have regenerated it within a few days but I was positive he over exaggerated.
The truth is it would be years before Laura awoke with a regenerated heart. It didn’t happen overnight no matter what Liam claimed. I know this to be the truth since I am currently in the process of helping an ancient vampire regenerate her heart as well. I have been using life support on her for the past five years and she’s only had minimal progress. I wiped my tears from my eyes and focused on the job at hand. I hated that my sister would be gone for so many years but this was Jeremy’s best chance. I kissed Laura’s forehead and said
“I love you Laura. I know you’re right I would have done anything to keep Tim alive. Giving up my heart that will no doubt regenerate with time was a no brainer. I just hate that you will be out of touch for so long. I’ll make sure Jeremy understands and is healthy by the time you recover.”
Shredded Bonds, a Blood Ties Novel, Book 4 Page 16