Aaron's Kiss Series Boxed Set (Books 1 - 7) (123 page)

CHAPTER FORTY

Peter and Dom left the MacManus mansion about forty minutes later. They were to gather as many wolves as they needed on the way. Bradley had already sent a message to every one of his wolves telling them that they had found their queen and that they were to support Peter, as they would him. No one had objected or balked. He hadn’t really thought they would, but things were tense and he needed them.

He was to follow in the car behind them with Thomas Reilly, MD, a vampire, and the new doctor they had hired, Leif Bergeron, who was human, at the clinic they had just built. She would need medical attention and they were taking no chances with her health.

Bradley could keep in touch with his own wolves, but the others, the ones from other realms, he wasn’t so sure. Dom would make sure that he was kept apprised of the situation and let him know if they needed anything.

He didn’t know if he was going to be able to sit still for very long, but at the last minute, Aaron had decided to come with him. The two doctors sat in the back and Aaron in the front with him.

“Have you thought about what you are going to do with Christopher when he’s caught?” Christopher had committed his crimes in his territory. It would be up to Bradley to decide how best to deal with the situation. He glanced over at him.

“You mean if there’s anything left of him when the others find him? No. I mean, I’d like to tear him apart with my bare hands, but I’m not so sure that would be justice or revenge. What would you do?”

“Tear him apart. No question.” Bradley grinned at him.

***

At first, she thought she was hearing things. It wouldn’t be the first time over the past few days, weeks, or years for all she knew. The pain had become her sole focus. But she had never heard the sound of wolves before; at least she was pretty sure she hadn’t. It might have frightened her at any other time, but now it was just a different sound.

There was no one inside the cave but her when the first large wolf moved into the room. She realized after a few seconds of him staring at her that she could hear him, his thoughts.

“Are you alone, my lady? Is Christopher here?”

Her mind wanted to rebel at this, because she knew that he wasn’t asking her in a real verbal language, but as wolf. Like the guard in the hospital so many months ago, she also knew that she would be able to speak back to him.

“No, I don’t think so. Please, you have to leave. He’ll kill you if he finds you here. I can’t save you if he returns.”

“I’ve come to take you to your alpha; Bradley has sent me for you.” Peter moved behind her and shifted. Airic felt the stir in the air, magic, she supposed. He moved in front of her, dressed in a pair of workout shorts and flip-flops. “Oh, mistress, I’m so sorry. Bradley is coming, and he’s bringing help for you. I need to get you down from these chains; they’ve cut deeply into your arms. Dom has some water for you if you’d like.”

“Bradley? Dry. Hurt. Badly. No. No touch.” Each word felt as if she were ripping it from her throat. She didn’t want him to stay, but she didn’t want to be left alone again either.
Bradley,
her mind screamed.
He’ll come.

The second and third wolf entered and filled the mouth of the cave with their size. Each one had a bright silver streak down their left flank and huge paws.
Oh, Grandma, what big teeth you have,
she thought.

Airic couldn’t lift her head, and her arms were useless. And since they had been over her head for however long she had been here, she knew that they would be painful when she was cut down. Breathing was difficult too. “Leave. Leave me.”

Ignoring her, he only worked at the chain. Each movement rang through her body, filling her with such agony that she couldn’t think beyond it.

When he touched her arm, she couldn’t help it, she screamed and lost consciousness.

CHAPTER FORTY-ONE

Bradley sat for a full minute before he could move out of the car. She was just inside there; his love was just feet away. Opening the door, he slipped out of the Hummer.

The first thing he noticed was that each wolf he passed bowed before him and wouldn’t look at him. He knew those who had seen her were horrified at the way she had been tortured. He had heard from Dom, although alive, she was in a terrible state. He had said that while her heartbeat was slow, it was strong. And once she lost consciousness, they were able to work quicker at getting her loose from the bonds.

Inside the cave, he could smell the stench of blood, sweat, and urine. There was a crowd of people just around her, but they moved away as he got closer, except for Thomas. He stood in front of him before he could see her.

“Bradley, look at me. She’s not just been beaten, she’s been tortured too. What he’s done to her…Bradley, it’s very bad. She needs medical attention more than I can give her here. If we try to move her, I fear she will die. She can’t shift; she isn’t strong enough to survive it. She needs blood, strong vampire blood to survive.”

Bradley gently moved him aside and knelt down beside her. “Alastriona, love, can you hear me?” He moved his finger down her cheek and she cringed slightly away from him. He felt tears stream down his face.

She was broken, her face was bloody and raw, and burn marks from something being laid against her skin were along her tender cheek and throat. Her nose, jaw, and cheekbone had been shattered; one eye was swollen shut the other barely open, just a slit. There was blood coming from her ear, and also blood in her hair, red from it. She was covered by a blanket so he couldn’t see the extent of the damage done to her there, but her blood soaking through nearly everywhere showed that she had suffered the same injuries done to her face all over her body.

“Bradley, Bradley, we need to talk. We can’t stay here. What do you want us to do?” Aaron had knelt beside him and put a hand on his shoulder. He wanted to cradle her into his arms and hold her, but he knew that he would likely kill her if he did.

“Aaron, could you heal her? Your blood is strong and Thomas said that’s what she needs to survive. I have to…she has to survive, Aaron. I cannot live without her.” Unashamed of the tears, he allowed them to go unchecked, unmindful of the others who saw.

“My blood…it isn’t the same anymore. I…yes, I can help her, but I need a favor, a boon in exchange. That’s what the magic needs to make it work. Bradley, there could be changes in the two of you if you do this because you will need to sip from me or Sara as well. And this exchange will allow me to find her and you, contact you as I do my vamps, you understand?”

Bradley looked back down at the woman on his lap. He needed her, but more than that, he was deeply in love with her. “Whatever it takes. Yes, whatever you want. I give you my word, whatever you want, it’s yours. Please, please, I beg you to save my mate. I cannot, no, I won’t live without her.” He touched her again, softer this time.

“Sara is coming. She will feed you, and I, your mate. She will need to give her own boon when I ask.”

Bradley watched as Aaron opened the vein at his wrist and put it to her mouth. His blood flowed quickly into her mouth, but she wasn’t swallowing. It dripped out the corner of her lips. For long, tense minutes, no one moved or spoke. They all knew, knew that if she didn’t drink, they couldn’t move her. If they couldn’t move her, then there was no medical help for her. She would die.

He moved his fingers to her throat and began to rub it up and down. He tried his best to ignore the way his fingers slid along the long column and the fact that it slid easily because of the blood, her blood. He felt the first swallow, then the next. It wasn’t until she drank a full half dozen mouthfuls that he breathed. He looked up at his friend and when Aaron winked at him, he nearly burst into tears again.

“She’ll live now. She’ll heal soon. In an hour, you should be able to move her to shelter and safety. I need to go back to the mansion, but I will come at sunset. Sara will be here soon.” Bradley felt the stir of magic and glanced over at the absence of his friend. Aaron had dematerialized to his home.

CHAPTER FORTY-TWO

Airic opened her eyes. This wasn’t a room she was familiar with, neither was the bed. She gingerly slid her legs along the sheets. The pain was there, but not entirely unbearable. Moving her arms, the pain was a little more, but again, nothing like she was used to over the past several days. She turned her head and saw an elderly gentleman sitting in a large, overstuffed chair beside the bed, and he was napping. The short whiskey glass he had in his hand was very close to tipping its amber contents onto his lap. There was a lit cigar in the ashtray on the stand next to him. The ash was fairly long, so she assumed he’d been napping for some time. She must have made a noise because he came awake suddenly and looked right at her.

“Well, hello there. How you feeling? Aaron said you’d be better quickly. Didn’t believe it, but there you are.”

She moved a little straighter in the big bed and winced. He hopped up so quickly she jerked back and moaned this time. She tried to relax because when she tensed, the muscles protested and it hurt. He reached out and put his hands to her waist when she whimpered at him. She knew deep down that he wasn’t going to hurt her, but she had hurt been hurt so badly. She started crying a little when he sat down on the bed.

“Here now, now that won’t do. Bradley won’t like this. There now, honey, you’re safe now. You’ll be fine.” He was patting her hand and speaking softly to her.

“Bradley. Where?” The little bit she had moved had worn her out. She laid back on the pillows and felt the tears fall down her cheeks.

“He’s gone to get something to eat down in the kitchen. He hasn’t been gone long, but he’ll be back soon. I’m Charlie Wolff, his grandda. You’ve only been here since about nine this morning; it’s now…four-thirty. You need anything?” She watched him rise, then go over to the chair he had been sitting in.

“I hurt. Everywhere.” She moved again, and realized that she didn’t hurt as badly has she had before. “Not as bad now.” Her throat really hurt. It was a few seconds before she remembered why. He had put that red hot pike to her neck. She shuddered.

“You should be much better by tomorrow and completely healed in a few days. Grandda, can I have a few minutes with her, please?” She looked to the door as soon she felt him coming up the stairs.
Felt him,
she thought. And she realized that she needed to touch him, have him touch her.

“You leaving me?” She leaned back against the pillow again and watched him move toward her slowly. When he sat down on the bed next to her, she reached out to touch him and felt a hum run through her.

“No, no, I’ll never leave you. You look amazing, so beautiful. I love you, baby. I’m so happy you’re all right.” He touched her face, ran his fingers down her cheek and along her neck.

“Please. Bradley, kiss me.” She leaned forward and touched her mouth to his, gently first then with more possession. She moaned when he pushed her back against the headboard.

“As much as I want to finish this, to make passionate love to you, we can’t. I can see that this has exhausted you already. God, I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I don’t want to have sex right now. Well, that’s not really true. I want you fully recovered before we have sex. When we make love, it will with both of us able to enjoy it fully, you understand?”

“Yes. I understand. I love you. The full moon, tonight?” She was tired, she realized. But he loved her. She could do anything.

“Yes. It’s tonight and you will stay here and rest. The wolf, our pack, understands what you’ve been through. They’re all so happy that you’re fine and home again. The next meeting will be fine with them for us to…you know.”

“Have sex in front of seven thousand, is that what you mean?” She closed her eyes for just a second just to rest them and when she opened them again it was full dark outside. A quick look at the clock across the room showed that it was almost nine-thirty. Shit. She moved to the side of the bed and stood up slowly.

“I hope that you plan to wear more than that. You are going to the pack meeting, aren’t you? I thought so. I brought you something pretty to wear.” She turned to the woman who she would swear had not been there five seconds ago.

“Who are you, and how do you know what I’m going to do?” She had to sit down again. Okay, she wasn’t all that strong, dizzy as a matter of fact, she thought.

“I am Melody, Mistress of Light, and Keeper of All Magic and all that jazz. I know everything. Well, most everything. There are the Fates, those wonderful women who make decisions and don’t share them with me, but that’s another issue altogether. I have this outfit for you to wear. And I know someone who will help you get there.” Airic watched her walk across the room and lay the garment bag on the chair. Then she sat on the bed.

“And I should trust you, why?” She scooted over and leaned back against the headboard. Her body was feeling better, but she knew that what Bradley had told her earlier was true; she would take a few days to heal.

“It needs to end tonight, Alastriona Airic Bennett, and you are the power to end it.”

CHAPTER FORTY-THREE

“My name, someone did that before…that woman, Aaron’s wife, she said my whole name like you just did. Then she zapped me. Why, why do I feel they go together? That you two are together?” Airic stood up, walked over to the bag and touched it, then turned to Mel.

“Very good, Airic, very good indeed. There is power in a name. When you know the person’s real name, you hold a power over them that others do not. When you need to issue…say, a command and you want to add some kick ass power, just say the name with it.”

“And this outfit, what does it have to do with this ceremony?”

“Dom has agreed to take you to Bradley, but you’ll need to tell him to. He is very devoted to you, by the way. He will make sure you get there safely. As soon as you are ready, he’ll make sure that you go to the correct place.” Mel walked to the door, turned, then looked at Airic. “Before you go to him, have Dom take you to Bradley’s study.” She shut the door quietly behind her.

Airic picked up the bag and hung it on the back of the bathroom door. She turned on the shower, stripped down, and stepped under the spray. The water felt good sliding down her skin. She picked up the shower poof and poured a generous amount of the creamy soap into it. She started to wash her arm when she noticed a medium-sized bruise on her chest, just over her heart. She really couldn’t see it very well, and after a mental shrug, she washed her other arm and her torso. When she rubbed the soapy poof over her legs, she remembered the mark around her thigh. She remembered the sensual feeling she received when Bradley had touched it, the feeling that had run through her entire body.

The tattoo went all the way around her thigh and was about two inches wide. The detail and colors were fantastic. It was of gray and black wolves chasing each other, one right after the other. Sometimes they were up on hind legs; others were in mid-run. The ground they ran on changed as it encircled her, going from a scene from spring, fading to summer, into fall, and ending in winter.

When she was drying off, she moved closer to the mirror and noticed that the dark spot wasn’t a bruise after all, but another mark. This one was a perfect paw print in a deep, deep blood red, and with an outline of gold that was so thin that unless one was very close to it, no one would see it. It was about two inches wide and three inches tall.

She opened the garment bag and pulled out the dress. It was very beautiful. At the bottom of the bag were a strapless bra and a thong of the same color as the dress, which was the same deep red hue as the mark she’d found on her chest.

The bodice of the dress had buttons down the front and had no straps as it modestly draped over her breasts. It wasn’t tight, but it did fit well enough that she didn’t need anything to hold it up. When she slipped it on, she noticed that her paw print was openly displayed. The waist was tight and belted with a narrow silver chain. The skirt simply dropped from the waist to the top of her thigh and hinted above the tattoo around her leg. It looked as if the dress had been made especially to show off her new marks, but she knew that wasn’t possible as she had just discovered the marks herself. She slipped on the black toeless sandals and moved toward the door as she pulled her hair back away from her face. She didn’t bother with braiding it because she knew that Bradley liked it down. When she opened the door, there just across the hall from her stood Dom.

He dropped to the floor before her and rubbed his neck along her bare leg. She felt the warmth of this action run through her, leaving her feeling his respect and awe at her. It was an odd feeling.

“My queen. You look very lovely, if I may say so. Mistress Mel said to take you by Alpha’s office. If you’re ready, we’ll go there now.” He waited for her to precede her down the stairs.

“I don’t know where we’re going, Dom, so you lead. I’m not sure what she wanted me to do or see, do you?” She walked beside him rather than behind. When she looked up at him, she noticed that he had on a deep red sash at his waist, but before she could ask him about it, he was opening the door. She walked inside and before she could find the switches for the lights, he flipped them on and then walked out of the office, closing the door behind him. She walked around for a few minutes before she saw the vase, her vase. Bradley had her original vase, the one with the tress on it.

She walked slowly over to it, not believing that after all this time, she now knew who had purchased the first piece she had ever sold. He was the buyer she couldn’t find. She ran her finger down one of the limbs on the tree.