Kaid's Queen

by Sandra R Neeley

  In the meantime, each day when the boys went off to work, the girls would stay home. Avaleigh, of course, would do the bookkeeping for the company, while Sadie, for the most part, had taken over the general care of the house. The only thing that Avaleigh really did in the main house anymore was cook. She still loved to cook for her boys and did so often. Most days, Janie spent her time patiently teaching Delilah to read and write. While they were doing this, Avaleigh would finish up her office work and pick up where she left off the day before, leafing through all the pages in Lurin’s notebooks and papers looking for any information or mention of herself or Delilah and how they came to be his captives. Delilah would look at her expectantly every day when she finally put it down, and Avaleigh would say the same thing each day. “Nope, nothing yet.”

  She’d been through the computer and found nothing more than senseless tables and ramblings. As near as she could tell, the male was full-on insane. The notebooks were much older, and it appeared that he’d kept them since he was an adolescent. Apparently he’d been told around that time by a seer that he was destined to be killed by a mated Dragon driven mad with rage. He’d spent his entire life obsessing over it and how to stop it. His family had been a mix of Serpents and Mages, with Dragon blood so far back in their lineage that his blood had, for the most part, been bred out. He’d written that his mother had been a Dragon mix. She’d been bred by his family before him, in an attempt to bring the Dragon’s blood back into their clutch of serpents, and she had taken her life shortly after giving birth to him and his siblings. She managed to kill all of his siblings along with herself. He alone had survived. Apparently his entire family had a fear of decimation by Dragon. They'd used the magic of the Mage that was left to them to try to lure the Dragons to them and failing that to overcome any they came across. He had been gifted with a touch more of the Mage than generations before him; it allowed him to see auras. A Dragon’s aura was always purple, deep dark purple, with slight striations of silver that would get larger, more pronounced when they first saw their Mate. A Dragon’s Mate, on the other hand, had auras of silver, with slight striations of purple that would become more pronounced when they saw their Dragon for the first time. It was how he knew each of the unfortunate people he’d tortured over the years were Dragon’s Mates. Figuring that if he killed all of the Mates he could find, he greatly diminished any chance he had of being killed by a mated Dragon. He knew he wasn’t strong enough to overcome a full-blooded Dragon, well, all save one, so he targeted their Mates.

  Avaleigh had spent hours and hours pouring over the insane ramblings that Lurin spent a lifetime recording. She finally found an entry she believed referenced herself on a Saturday afternoon while she sat with Janie and Delilah as they had their lesson in the living room. It read, “Human. Female. A.H. Alone. Taken 04-16-16. Mated 04-18-16.” Nothing more. She flipped several pages before, then several more after. Still nothing. She jumped from the chair she was sitting in and charged out the front door with it clutched in her hand. She marched straight over toward Kaid where he was working in the yard, “This is it?” She screamed at him, waving it in her hand at him. “What is it, Avaleigh?” he stopped the weed whacker and turned to her as she approached. “One fucking phrase?! That’s all I’m worth?” she raged, “One fucking phrase!” She was screaming and pissed off. He took the paper from her hand and read it. Then understood. All the pain, torture, and suffering they’d endured. The pain she was going to have to live with for all of her life was nothing more than a cold, emotionless statement to the male that had hurt them. A phrase really, not even a full sentence. He looked back to where she was pacing, full of rage, heart pounding, panting she was so pissed off.

  “Avaleigh?”

  She kept pacing.

  “Avaleigh, talk to me.”

  She just kept walking back and forth. He noticed that his clan was gradually gathering on the periphery. He could feel Delilah on the porch with Janie. Daniel and Bam had surfaced from where they’d been helping Goldie around the back of the house. Bane and Maverik had been working in the yard with him and had stopped some distance away when Avaleigh had stormed out of the house toward him.

  “Avaleigh?” he tried again. She stopped walking and looked at him. “Baby, let it go,” he implored her. “You’ll never find a way to justify it. Burn the damn pages, stop searching for something that isn't there. Nothing, Nothing you ever read will make any of it okay. Let it go. We have each other now. As fucked up as it sounds, we may not have found each other without all the shit we had to live through.”

  She looked at him for a moment before she took a few steps toward him; at the same time she crumpled to the ground. He caught her before she hit the ground and wrapped her in his arms, going to the ground with her in his lap. Rocking her, murmuring to her. Her sobbing and crying, his own face wet with silent tears.

  Daniel did not go to her. He knew that this was something that only Kaid could do for her. Only Kaid had lived it with her. Saved her from the Hell they had both survived. He looked over to where Delilah stood on the porch with Janie, watching Kaid holding Avaleigh and trying to help her through the breakdown she was having. He knew that Delilah heard Kaid call Avaleigh, Baby. He hoped that she understood. He’d have to try to explain it to her later.

  Bam was beside him, whining now, that high pitched whine of an animal when it’s scared. He didn’t like it when Avaleigh was upset. She had no beast for him to soothe. He didn’t know what to do. Daniel reached out and placed a hand on his shoulder. “It’s okay, Bam. She needs Kaid right now. You don’t need to fix her. He’ll do it.”

  Bam looked at him, heartbroken that Avaleigh was hurting so badly. About that time, Avaleigh’s sobbing started to subside. Kaid lifted his head and made eye contact with Daniel.

  Daniel started moving toward his Mate where she was held in Kaid’s lap and arms. “I’m here, Love,” he said to her quietly. She didn’t answer, just remained still in Kaid’s lap. So he settled next to them. They sat that way for what seemed like an hour before Avaleigh finally said, “I want to go home.” Daniel scooped her up in his arms and started toward their cabin, where he held her and made sure she knew how much she was loved all night long.

  Bam stood there for only a second or two before he realized that Delilah was standing on the porch, feeling lost as she watched Kaid and Avaleigh. He approached her just after Daniel went to sit beside Avaleigh in Kaid’s arms. “Hey, Delilah,” he said to her.

  She pulled her attention from the sight before her,“Bam.” She turned back to watch Kaid still holding Avaleigh.

  He stood there, feeling for her Beast. She didn’t feel mad; she felt…, confused.

  “You know he loves only you like a male loves a Mate, right?” he asked her.

  “Does he?” she asked him. “He called her Baby,” Delilah said to him.

  “He used to call her Baby all the time. It’s a way he used to comfort her. But he stopped when you came because it upset you. He didn’t mean that he loved you any less when he said it. It was just to remind her of their special connection. Yeah, that’s what it is; they have a special connection. That’s why Daniel is letting Kaid hold her. He knows that Avaleigh and Kaid went through everything together, and only Kaid can really know what she feels ‘cause he was there with her.”

  She turned to pin Bam with a stare, “He was with her, where?”

  “With Lurin, they were both held captive with Lurin. That’s how we all found Avaleigh. He rescued her from Lurin. Well, actually she rescued him. Then when it was time for him to go, he wouldn’t go without her. But they knew they weren’t Mates, so they didn’t do nothing permanent, but they did save each other, and they love each other lots and lots, but not like Mates, ya know? You know, don’t cha?”

  “I am not sure if I know or not. I must think on this. I wish to be alone. Where may I be alone?”

  “Oh, it ain’t that bad, you don’t need to go nowhere, Delilah,” he tried to reassure her.
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br />   Delilah turned to Bam, her Beast slid into her eyes, turning them ice blue, “I have been thinking that I need some time alone for a while now, Bam. Can you please help me get that? I fear my Beast’s actions if I do not bow to her needs.”

  He felt her Beast and knew that she needed to calm and soon. He thought about it, “Well, I’m staying with Daniel and Avaleigh right now.” He grinned, “She loves me and don’t want me to be alone. So if you want to, you could stay in my place. It ain’t pretty or nothing. My work space is down stairs with my apartment upstairs over it. But it’s got a bed and a little fridge and a microwave. And it has air conditionin’ and it has a shower. It has a porch up high, over some of the outside work area too. I like to sit out there sometimes and relax. You could stay there.”

  “Take me there, please.”

  “Okay, let’s go,” he reached out for her hand, but she pulled away.

  “I must get my choosings, then you may take me,” she turned from him and wandered quietly back into the house.

  She came out on the porch as Kaid was coming up the stairs, the sight of her with her bags in her arms, shoes on her feet, and Bam reaching out to take them from her, startled him.

  “Delilah, Honey, where are you going?” he asked, alarm clearly present in his voice.

  “I will be alone, now,” she said, matter-of-factly.

  “You can be alone here; you don’t need to leave here,” he started to explain.

  “I will be truly alone, now, but I will not leave this land. Yet.” she said with more force.

  Panic set in, “Delilah, Baby, You don’t have to go…” he started.

  “Do. Not. Call. Me. Baby!” she shouted at him.

  He was taken aback at her outburst. Speechless, he reached for her. She sidestepped him, reaching out to grasp Bam’s arm, “You may take me to your Bam place now.”

  Bam looked apologetically at Kaid, “I have to take her, Kaid. She’ll still be near, but she wants a place that gives her sanctuary, even from us. Her Beast is almost ready to break through. And she needs to think. You understand, right?”

  Kaid jumped to the edge of the porch, enraged, ready to engage Bam, but Delilah stepped between them, low and deadly, the silver in her hair again seeming to expand, “I will be at the place of Bam, or I will go away to a place that will never allow you to find me. Now is your time to choose.”

  Choked, voice cracking, “You can’t leave me, Delilah. Please. Please…, we’ll talk about it. Whatever it is, let’s talk. It will be okay.”

  “I do not wish to speak with you. I do not wish to speak with anyone,” she paused for a moment, “save, perhaps, Avaleigh. When she is no longer sobbing, if she finds me in the papers of Lurin, I will wish to hear from her,” with that she turned and went down the steps, with Bam following close on her heels.

  Kaid stood on the porch, his world walking away from him. Maverik stepped up beside him, placed an arm around his shoulders, leaned his head close to Kaid’s, genuine concern in his eyes, then whispered, “It’s going to be okay.”

  “How would you know that?” Kaid rasped at him, his heart ripping its way out of his chest.

  He grinned and smirked, “’Cause, the last time that a female shouted at you not to call her Baby, it all turned out just fine!”

  Slowly Kaid turned to face Maverik, “What?”

  “Hey, it’s pretty obvious that you keep getting women, really hot women I might add, pissed off enough to tell you to stop calling them Baby. Got a way with the ladies, you do,” he said snickering.

  Kaid closed his eyes, took a deep breath, willing Bear under control. He wanted to hurt Maverik, bad, real bad, “One day, I’m going to fucking kill you.” He opened his eyes and pinned Maverik with a glare, “One day you will go too far, and I’m going to fucking Kill YOU!” he ended on a shout.

  “What? What?! I’m just trying to make you feel better! The last time it ended good, remember? Truth, Dude! Think about it!”

  “Gooooo!” He shouted at Maverik, pointing away from where they stood.

  Maverik was no fool; he immediately started running, “You will thank me for trying to remind you one day!” he grinned as he yelled over his shoulder, running as fast as he could away from Kaid.

  Kaid let out a roar, the likes of which would make a grown human man piss his own pants. He stood there, panting, until he raised his head and looked off into the trees where his Delilah and Bam had disappeared. He immediately shifted into his Bear,so he could stalk them, quietly, silently.

  Chapter 16

  Bam got Delilah settled into his place and started the walk back to Avaleigh’s. As he passed a particularly thick copse of trees and bushes, he said quietly, “If you go to the center of the deck, then walk halfway to the catty corner to your far right, there is a crack in the floor that I ain’t got to fix. You can see her and hear her real good through that. Maybe smell too.” He kept walking, knowing that Kaid was hiding there and had heard him clearly. When he was almost out of sight, he said, “She knows you’re following us, too” then continued on out of sight.

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  Kaid didn’t know what the hell he’d done that was so bad, only that it was enough for his Mate to run from him, so whether he thought it was bad or not didn’t matter. She did, and that was enough. Bear followed Bam’s instructions. He found the crack that Bam had told him about, and he curled up directly underneath it so that he could be as close as possible to her while she insisted on being away from him.

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  Delilah looked around the little apartment that Bam had led her to. It was one large room with a couch, a chair, and a TV. A bar separated it from a smaller area that contained a refrigerator, a couple of cabinets for storage and a microwave. She walked down the hall and looked around the door opening into the bathroom. There was a standing shower, a sink, and a standing rack with towels and wash cloths on it. She took a few more steps down the hall, and to the right was a small bedroom. It contained one bed, piled high with pillows of every size and shape, one dresser, one lamp and one small bedside table. The place was tiny, but immaculately clean, and she was ever grateful to Bam for sharing it with her. She would be sure to thank him again when he returned to check on her. She placed her choosings against the wall still in their bag, made her way to the bed and stripped nude, then climbed under the covers. She lay there for some time trying to decide what had her so upset. True Kaid had called Avaleigh “Baby,” and a few months ago she’d have been truly upset, but now she understood that it was not a declaration of claiming, more a word that said I care about you. And after Bam’s explanation of the bond between Avaleigh and Kaid, she understood why they had that bond. It did not bother her in the least. But to find out that Kaid had been there, also held by Lurin, and escaped while she’d been left there to survive, or not; that gave her pause. She’d known Kaid for what he was the moment she’d seen him, before she’d ever gotten out of the truck to defend Avaleigh from the Dragon supposedly chasing her. She’d been surprised, but then thrilled to see the tiny human again. She’d thought that Lurin had killed her as he’d done with the others before her. Thinking back to that day, she remembered several times during those first few minutes that Kaid had referred to her as “Mine.” And the word Mate was tossed around, too. Now that her mind was clear from the drugs that Lurin had forced on her for years on end, she could remember the little things like that. Remembering that day, especially around the dinner table that first evening, sure she’d heard a reference to Kaid and Avaleigh saving each other; she’d just never put two and two together. She grinned suddenly; two and two together made four. She knew that now, and it made her happy that she did. Her mind returned to Kaid and the fact that he’d been at Lurin’s, too. What worried her was that if Kaid were truly her Mate, wouldn't he have felt her at Lurin’s and not been able to leave without her? What about her scent? Shouldn't that have been enough for him to detect her? Suddenly she remembered that she’d overheard Daniel se
veral times when he had said that he wasn’t sure what she was because she had no scent. Maybe that had something to do with it? But why wouldn't she have a scent? Everyone had a scent. She was thinking in circles, and it hurt her head. The fact that her Monster had insisted that she leave her new family and be alone, and damn near threatened to show herself and scare them all if Delilah didn’t separate herself from them, had her more confused than she cared to admit, too. She was worried. She didn’t want to scare her family. She wanted them to want her to stay, but if her Monster wasn’t able to be handled, she wouldn't be able to stay. The damn Beast just didn’t communicate with her, so she had no idea what had her so riled up. She only knew that her Beast hadn’t slept in days, remaining on alert. She was so damn tired. And now she was lonely again, too. She turned over in the bed, holding the pillows close. It did not escape her notice that she had an 800 pound Grizzly Bear sleeping directly beneath the floor her bed sat upon.