Aldain said in a choked voice. “How do you know it isn’t just wishful thinking on your part ma? That you want her to live only because you know I would rather die than live without her?”
Heather looked into the haggard face of the son she loved so much. “Something is just telling me to have faith. I am going with what I feel in my heart. Stay with her, by her side. I will be here if you need me. Go to her now, tell her you love her. Tell her how much you need her in your life. I won’t be far if you need me” She kissed him softly on the forehead and left the room.
Aldain walked over to where Tori was resting, so tiny and helpless. He pulled up a chair and sat next to her and held her hand. He put her hand near his heart and started to talk to her in Gaelic. “Mo ghaol, Chan eil fhàgail dhomh mo chridhe. Chan eil bàs agus fàg mi mar a tha mi. Chan urrainn dhomh fuireach gun thu. Till thugamsa cuiribh.” Then he started to sob again, his shoulders shaking with the intensity of them.
His mother and Becca were standing outside the door as he talked to Tori. Becca asked her what he was doing. Heather told her he was speaking to her in Gaelic. Becca asked her what he was saying so Heather interpreted it for her. He is saying, “My love, don't leave me my heart. Don't die and leave me alone. I can't live without you. Come back to me please.” Heather repeated his words with tears streaming down her face. This was something that she couldn’t make go away for her son. Even a mother’s love was no match for this kind of pain.
Days went by and Tori was still hanging on. Each day she lived gave Aldain hope. Every day he would talk to her, tell her how much he needed her and how much he loved her. He willed the strength from his body into hers. He didn’t know if it worked or not but he had nothing to lose.
Tori was fighting to reach the light. She seemed to be in a very dark forest where everything was dead. There was no sunlight, only darkness. She could see towards the horizon a light, like a beacon. She would walk towards it every night but never seemed to get any closer to it. She could hear voices coming from the light but they were so far away she couldn’t understand what was being said. There were times when she would feel spurts of energy flow through her body and she thought she was making good time, getting closer to the light. But then she would tire and when she would stop it still looked just as far away as when she first started.
She could feel Dain’s love for her. She could feel it encompass her body like a warm blanket. She didn’t know how she knew it was his love for her, she just did. Her heart was feeling his pain. She just had to get to him. She could feel how bad his despair was affecting him and how he was losing his will to live. She couldn’t lose him because she loved him too much. She wasn’t sure how long it would take her to reach that light, but reach it she would.
Tori figured she was in some place between life and death. When she first woke up in this dark forest, she was so frightened she couldn’t think straight. The last thing she remembered were horses running towards her and people yelling, then she woke up in this dark place. It took her some time before she finally realized that she had been run over by the horses and has ended up in this in-between place.
Tori was walking towards the light when she noticed a different kind of light coming towards her. She stopped and watched it. It was extremely bright and the closer it got to her the more she started to back away. Suddenly a voice came from the light. “Don’t be afraid little mortal. I mean you no harm.” The light dimmed then a shape started to appear. Before she knew it, a beautiful woman was standing before her with long blonde hair. Light was shimmering all around her. Her eyes are very blue and have a very strange glow to them. On her body is what looks like battle armor and on her arms, are bracers and greaves. She has a breast plate over her chest. The armor is made of silver with the design on it of a huge leafy tree. It’s what most people think the tree of life might look like.
Tori asked, “Who are you?
The woman smiled. “I have several names but the one most mortals recognize is Athena.”
Tori slumped down to the ground, hard. “Athena as in the Goddess of Olympus?”
Athena smiled, “Yes that is me.” Tori wasn’t sure if she should get up and bow or should remain sitting because she wasn’t sure her legs would hold her up. She was in front of a Goddess of Olympus. She knew now, they existed, and weren’t just a myth.
“Tori I came to ask your help. One of my dragons is dying. He has much left to do but his will to live is almost gone. You are the only one that can make him want to continue to live.”
Tori shook her head, “Did you say dragon? I didn’t even know they existed. I don’t know of any dragon. I can’t help.”
Athena walked closer to Tori. “But you do know him. It is Aldain.”
Tori stood with her mouth agape. “Dain is a dragon? He looks like a man to me. How can he be a dragon?”
Athena looked at her with a sadness in her eyes. “Aldain is a dragon shifter. I created them thousands of years ago. They are the guardians of the mortal world. They are comparable to the noble knights that your history teaches you about. Most of them were dragon shifters in the mortal world, mortals just didn’t know it.
You can feel the pain in his heart, but he can’t feel your will to live. He can’t feel that your spirit is trying to come back to him. You must concentrate, have your heart and soul call out to his. He must know you will come back to him; his love for you is literally killing him. You can’t allow him to die.”
Tori was having trouble processing everything she was hearing. The man she loved wasn’t a man, he was a dragon. Why didn’t he tell her? As if Athena could read her mind she said, “He wanted to wait to tell you. He wants to be sure of your love. He is afraid if you found out to soon you would run from him. Don’t be upset with him. He did it because of his love for you. The more you concentrate on your feelings for him, the better the chance he will feel them. The stronger your bond, the closer to the light you will get. He needs you; he needs to feel your love for him. You are the light that keeps him wanting to live. He must know it hasn’t been extinguished. You are his soul mate. Only you can save him.” With these last words, Athena disappeared.
Wow! She was Dain’s soul mate. A soul mate to a Dragon Shifter. She really wasn’t surprised to find out she was Dain’s mate. Their relationship is so intense on every level she could think of. But a dragon? Did that mean if she made him mad he would eat her or if he didn’t want her any more he would turn her into a pile of ash? This was something she was going to have to talk to Dain about when she saw him again; if she saw him again. Tori wasn’t sure how to get Dain to feel how very much she loved him, but she knew if she could feel his love for her he would be able to feel her love for him. She concentrated on his face. She sent all the love she felt for him to that picture in her mind. She hoped it worked.
Chapter Eleven
As Tori was in the between place, Aldain was still sitting at Tori’s bedside. He hadn’t eaten or slept since she had been there. A week had gone by and everyone including the medical staff had been begging Aldain to eat something, but food just didn’t appeal to him. He was getting extremely weak and his face was starting to look gaunt. One of the doctors that came in to check on Tori threatened him with I.V. feedings. It was heart wrenching to watch such a large man wasting away.
Aldain brought Tori’s hand to his lips. He kissed it then ran a finger down her face. He started to repeat what he had repeated every day since the accident. “Tori love, please come back to me. I don’t want to live without you. I want you back and I want us to have a long life together. I want to love you again.” He lay his head down on the bed as he continued to hold her hand. Suddenly, he jumped. He felt a spark come from Tori’s hand. He held onto her hand tighter, suddenly a rush of love coursed through his body. He could feel her love, comforting him. She was here! She was trying to find her way back to him. His heart and soul reached for the love Tori was sending them. His dragon roared. She was back.
Aldain start
ed yelling, “Tori love. Follow the sound of my voice. I don’t know where you are but follow my voice. Come back. Fight. I am right here waiting for you.”
Tori could hear someone yelling from the light. She just knew it was Dain. Her heart leapt with joy. He must have felt the love she was sending him. She felt a burst of energy course through her body as she was running towards the light, it was getting closer. Oh God, she was going to make it. Suddenly she was at the light and she could hear Dain yelling. She vaulted into it.
Aldain saw Tori’s eyes flutter. She moaned as she looked at him. She knew she was in the real world again. There wasn’t a part of her body that didn’t ache. She saw the tears streaming down Dain’s face as she squeezed his hand. She tried to talk to him but found she couldn’t speak. The only thing that came out was a squeak. She needed something to drink, her throat was parched. Aldain grabbed some water that was on a stand. He put a straw in it and gently lifted her head so she could drink from it without choking.
When she was done, he slowly lowered her head back down. She smiled up at him. In a whisper she said, “I felt your love Dain. It helped me find you. I felt the pain in your heart. I felt you dying. I didn’t know how to let you know I was trying to come back to you until Athena came to me and told me how to make my journey back to you. She told me you are a dragon shifter.”
Aldain listened to her, a look of shock appearing on his face when she told him Athena had come to her. As far as he knew, after Paragon was turned, no one had ever heard from or seen her again. He said, “I thought you were lost to me. I couldn’t bear the thought of living without you. I have been begging you to come back to me since you have been here. But I never felt anything from you. Now you are back and I will never let you out of my sight again.” He gently kissed her on her lips. He then ran out of the room yelling to anyone within shouting distance that Tori was awake.
He went back in to sit by Tori’s side because he knew once the doctors got there they would shoo him out. He wanted to spend as much time as he could with her until that happened. It wasn’t long before the nurses and doctor arrived at her room. She could see her sister, parents, Cade and some other people she didn’t know standing outside her room. A lot of them were crying and hugging each other. She felt bad that she had put these people she loved through so much. But she was glad she was alive. She was starting to have doubts that she would ever find her way out of the dark place she was in.
As the doctor was examining Tori, Heather was busy hugging Aldain. She was crying but these tears were tears of happiness. She was watching her son waste away. He was losing his will to live as each day went by without Tori waking up. She had never seen her son cry as much as he cried for Tori. Many nights she would quietly go check on him and would find him sobbing, begging Tori to come back to him. It ripped her heart out. She had never ever felt so helpless as a mother as during those times. Now she could see that twinkle in his eyes again. She could see and feel the happiness emanating from him. He was going to be alright.
As the days passed Tori got stronger. Aldain started gaining weight and was starting to look like his old self. The first-time Tori got out of bed, she almost collapsed because her legs were weak from lack of use but Aldain was there to catch her. He quickly picked her up and sat her in his lap. He knew she should be trying to walk but he craved the feel of her body against his. Surely a few more minutes, or hours wouldn’t hurt.
As she was sitting in his lap one day, she brought up the subject of him being a dragon shifter. She asked him all the questions she needed answers to. When she asked him about the part of him eating her or turning her to dust he soon put her at ease. “Tori my love; I would never ever hurt you. It goes against my very nature. You were made for me and hurting you would be like hurting me. I will never get tired of you. Each day I fall more in love with you than the day before; I will live each day cherishing you. “Tori loved him and trusted him enough to know she would always be safe and cherished by him.
Tori met Heather and they got along great. Heather could see why Tori was her son’s soul mate. She might be small but she wasn’t afraid to stand her ground when she wanted something. She was just the person her son needed to keep him in line.
When Tori started to get up and move around, she was insisting she wanted to go home to the castle. Her parents were there and Heather and her sister were there. More importantly Dain was there. She wanted to spend some quality time with him which was impossible to do in a hospital room. After a few more days passed she was able to wear the doctor down. He knew there were plenty of people with her that would ensure she wouldn’t overdo it.
Aldain was at the hospital bright and early to pick her up and bring her home. The hospital wanted to wheel her out to the car but Aldain insisted on carrying her. Just her body being close to his gave him a calming feeling. He gently sat her in the seat and buckled her up before thanking the medical staff for the excellent care they took of her.
Chapter Twelve
As they were driving down the road, Aldain reached over and with his free hand and grabbed hers. It was as if he had to have constant physical touch with her to reassure himself she was alive and still with him. He had experienced being in a dismal soul sucking abyss when she was unconscious, and he knew if anything ever happened to her again he wouldn’t survive it. If he could have attached her to him in some way he would have.
He hoped he would be able to lighten up on those feelings; he didn’t want to overpower her with his protective feelings. He knew it would suffocate her eventually and it isn’t the way he wanted their relationship to grow in the days to come.
When they arrived at the castle there was a small party waiting for her, all her family was there. She was surprised to see her best friend Carrie there and squealed with delight when she saw her; Aldain had flown her in to surprise Tori. Robert McEwan and some of his clan were also there. He came by the hospital every day inquiring about Tori’s condition because he felt partly responsible for what happened. He left her alone against his better judgement and it almost cost her life.
While Aldain was getting Tori out of the car; Becca took the softest most comfortable recliner they had and put it in the middle of the living room, then she put chairs and some couches in a circle around the recliner. The room was huge so moving the furniture around the recliner still left plenty of room for everyone to be comfortable.
Aldain carried Tori over to the recliner after receiving hugs from everyone. Her mother had fixed huge trays of raw vegetables that Tori loved. Becca and Carrie spent hours in the kitchen the night before cooking various kinds of food, American and Scottish. There was enough food to feed an army. Tori’s mom brought her several plates of food with a little food on each one; there was just so much from which to choose. Her mother set them on t.v. trays beside her and everybody else had their plates and sat around her. She felt the love and warmth of her family and friends surrounding her but there was one person she kept waiting on. Finally, she saw Dain heading her way. He laid his heaping plate down on one of the trays and scooped Tori into his lap.
Her arms automatically went around his neck as he lifted her up as he sat down in the chair holding her in his lap. He made sure she was comfortable, covered her with a light blanket and handed her a plate. He made it apparent to her and everyone else that this is where she was going to be for the remainder of this gathering.
Tori was enjoying herself when Robert cleared his throat. Everyone stopped talking as they looked at him; there was clearly something he wanted to ask. “Tori lass, I can’t tell you how happy I am you are still among the living, but I have to know. Why were you running and screaming towards the horses? What happened that had you so frightened?”
A frown crossed Tori’s face. She couldn’t remember what happened. Try as she might the memory just wasn’t there. “I-I can’t remember. The only memory I have is seeing these horses running towards me. I don’t know how I ended up there or why.”
Al
dain put his arms around her. He could tell she was upset at not being able to remember what happened. “It’s alright love; the doctor said you suffered memory loss. He said you would eventually get it back but there are small cases that don’t. He asked you soon after you woke up if you remembered what happened. You didn’t.” Tori frowned. She didn’t remember the doctor asking her a question like that. Aldain hugged her close and kissed her.
He told her if she was meant to remember that she would, but for right now he didn’t want her to worry about anything and just enjoy herself being with the people who loved her. She snuggled into him as she listened to everyone talking and laughing. Her head was resting against his chest and she was listening to his heartbeat. It helped comfort her and without meaning to she fell asleep. Aldain told everyone to continue to enjoy themselves as he decided to take the sleeping Tori upstairs and put her to bed. He was going to stay in the room with her.
He quickly but gently undressed her. It was a warm night out so he just left her naked. He then undressed and got in beside her, spooning himself against her. She sighed as she felt his warmth against her. He smiled; it made him feel good to know that having him with her mattered as much to her as it did to him. He lay there wondering when he should broach the subject of them making their relationship permanent. She knew she was his soul mate and she seemed alright with it.
As all these thoughts were going through his head he didn’t notice that Tori had turned around in his arms and was looking at him with a smile on her face. He felt a wave of heat coursing through his body. The sexual flame was coming from Tori. He looked down at her and saw her staring at him with seductive eyes.
She reached up and brought his head down to hers and when their lips met, he moaned. She started running her hands down his chest as he pulled her body closer to his, deepening the kiss. The flame was starting to consume him. The only thing that existed at that moment was Tori and himself. He felt her hands working their way down his body working it like magic. His manhood was as hard as iron, wanting to bury itself in her silky folds.
Love of A Dragon (Exalted Dragons Book 1) Page 16
