She shook her head, rejecting his words. “We can’t move David. He won’t make it and if I heal him I’m not sure I can heal the girl. If he can make it until I heal her then—”
He cut her off. “There are options,” he said. “The problem is, I don’t know our full power together, but I’m certain we have abilities we didn’t before. You saw how you stopped David with your mind.”
Her eyes lit a bit. “You mean we could combine our power and save David and the girl?”
“I can’t promise.”
A look of disappointment crossed her face. “We can’t risk it then.” She glanced at David. “Can he make it until tomorrow night? If I have several hours to rest after the girl I think it will be enough.”
“There are things I can do to lessen his pain with my mind and keep him relaxed. This will help him heal.”
She gave him a frustrated look. “You didn’t answer my question.”
He wanted to protect her but he also had to be honest. “I can only try my best.”
A long moment passed. Her eyes probed his face, studying him with intense eyes. “Who are you, Diego?”
She’d asked this question the first time they’d met. He knew she was trying to understand their connection. “I am your mate. The man who will do anything to please you. The man who will protect you with my life. But you must trust me.”
“You tied me up.”
“I won’t allow you to make decisions that will jeopardize your life.”
“You don’t own me.”
She didn’t understand. He knew it was hard. They had so little time and he needed her to accept. “You belong to me, Marcella.”
Her chin lifted with defiance. “No one owns me.”
Her rebellion was strong. This was not going to be easy. This wasn’t about ownership. “I belong to you as well.” He let his emotions flow in the words and reached for her mind without being invasive. Just mentally pressing the truth of what he felt out there where she could reach for it if she so desired.
She didn’t respond immediately but her expression registered surprise at his words. Her voice softened. “What if I don’t want you to?”
He stepped closer and slid his fingers into her hair. “Oh, but you do.” His voice was hoarse because her nearness evoked such a rush of heat. She was like a drug he craved. Yearning burned deep in his soul. His cock was hard and his heart open. There were no words adequate enough to explain what he felt. He lowered his head and used touch to speak, brushing his lips against hers in a soft, sensual caress. She shivered in his arms, and he knew she was as lost as he was. Only she didn’t accept. Not yet. “In time you will embrace what we are together.”
She was leaning into him, and with each moment she seemed to sink closer. Melting into his body. “I…I don’t understand any of this.”
Diego felt her confusion and wished he could erase it. All he wanted to do was make love to her. And show her how powerful their joining truly was. But she needed rest and there was much to be dealt with. “It is a lot to absorb,” he said gently. He used his finger to trace her bottom lip. “And one day you will. Just not this one. Soon you will see my home and my people. They are your people too now. You will be lifted into an amazing world of passion and bravery. This is bigger than you or me. This is about the world.”
And she was his life. A part of his very soul.
* * * * *
Less than an hour later Marcella stood at her aunt’s door with Diego by her side. She knocked because somewhere in all the craziness she’d lost her key. The door flew open, and her aunt’s eyes went wide. She wore a gown of pale blue and a robe that matched. Her grayish black hair was pinned in a bun, the top was wild with stray hairs. As if she’d been fretting and touching it with nervous hands.
She grabbed Marcella and hugged her. “I’ve been so worried.”
Marcella felt the warmth of her hands touch with a sense of the familiar. “I’m fine,” she said, rubbing her back to offer comfort.
Catherine pulled back and looked at Diego. Her eyes narrowed with a question. And perhaps a hint of suspicion. “So you’re the young man who has influenced my niece to run wild?”
Diego smiled. “She has done the same to me, I assure you.” He motioned to the door. “Can we go inside? We really must talk and quickly.”
Despite the urgency of his tone, Marcella was pleased with Diego’s response to her aunt. He liked her. She felt it. They entered the room and Diego shut the door and locked it. Catherine placed her hands on her full hips and stared at him, her probing gaze reflecting her intellect. “Who exactly are you?”
“I am the man who is going to save your niece’s life.”
* * * * *
The wind lifted with a flutter of limbs on the trees. Three Arions appeared in the shadows. They stood there in complete, utter stillness, the wind gone as if it never existed. They watched the Knights escort the humans to a car.
One of them spoke to the leader. “Should we take them now?”
“No,” Damion said. “The woman is the Healer’s mate. She could bring him back to our side. We will wait until the opportune moment and take them prisoner.”
The third Arion interjected. “Why not now?”
Damion turned to him, a hiss to his voice. His razor extended from his left hand, driven by anger. Stupidity never set well. “Do not question me. We wait.”
Fool. If he let them rush the Knights without a plan, it would be suicide. That would leave him with no prize to take to his King. He knew the men with the Healer. Michael, Sterling and another called Marcus. Michael had once been the right-hand man for their King. These were some of the best men the Knights had in their army.
Damion was ready for his place in power. He would not act rashly and fail. He had a prize to take home. One he would be rewarded for. “Follow them.”
* * * * *
Marcella was alone in a dark room in a different hotel. This whole underground thing bothered her. When Diego had explained the Arions’ ability to track people, she had been dumbfounded. The implications were clear. Now she not only had to live her life in hiding but below the surface of the earth. No sunlight. No real world experiences. Maybe if she just found a far-off city in some off-the-wall location she would be okay. Clearly, she couldn’t stay in Mexico, and that saddened her. She’d become used to it here. It felt like home.
Or as close to it as someone on the run all the time could get.
Diego, Michael and her aunt were in the adjoining room looking out for David. They all wanted her to rest. And to properly heal the child she needed to. But she lay in the king-size bed feeling restless and out of sorts despite her exhaustion. And she found herself longing for Diego in a way she had never longed for another. She so needed the comfort he offered. Though she feared the things around her, she had the courage to face what was to come. Still, her whole world felt foreign to her. Life as she had known it would never be the same. Though she led a rather secluded life, moving from small town to small town, she had learned to enjoy the safe zone she called her world.
Yet…Diego felt like home.
But since he’d come into her life everything was out of control. Was he her savior or the destroyer in angel clothing? And now, her protector of the past, her bodyguard, David lay in the next room near death. He’d been a good friend and he’d been loyal to her this day. And it might just cost him his life.
If Diego had never entered the picture would David be where he was now?
She pressed her eyes shut, willing herself to rest. Energy was important for her healing abilities to work. After several seconds, punching her pillow, she turned to her side. Why was this happening?
* * * * *
Diego stood staring down at David, concerned over his progress. Michael, and now Sterling and Catherine, also surrounded the bed. He sighed, feeling the need for food and rest. Diego had stitched his wound with supplies Sterling had brought, which included pain medication, but it wasn’t enough. Hi
s internal injuries were extreme. “He’s not good.”
“Marcella can’t help?” Michael asked.
Catherine shook her head. Her graying hair was tied in a knot at the back of her head, making the tension in her wrinkled features more evident. There was a quiver to her voice. “Healing completely drains her.” She sat down on the bed and picked up David’s hand and she had goodbye in her eyes. “She will never help the child if she helps him.” A shaky breath escaped her throat. “Poor David. He really has been good to my Marcella.”
Silence filled the room.
“There is an option,” Sterling said, drawing everyone’s attention.
Diego found this as no surprise. He knew what was about to be suggested. Sterling tended to tread on water others didn’t. He was known as the Renegade because he often pressed into the unknown and risky. A tall man with a long, muscular body, he looked the role of a gladiator. He had long blond hair like a lion’s mane and blue eyes so brilliant they often drew attention.
Diego’s eyes locked with Sterling’s. “No,” Diego said, rejecting the idea before it was spoken.
Sterling didn’t back down. Not that Diego thought he would. “It will save his life. I see no other option.”
“You know how I feel about this.” Diego was a man with strong principles and he had often spoken against what was suggested. “He can’t make the decision himself. You had a choice.” And in the back of his mind, Diego felt guilt at taking Marcella’s choices. He knew she would have picked him. Mates wanted to be together. But the way time had pressed him to push had been dangerous. He’d acted because it was best for her safety. Together they were stronger. But how did he earn her trust? Could he?
Sterling’s voice brought him out of his reverie. “And I chose the advantage of transforming to survive in battle.”
“But not on your death-bed,” Diego argued. “You chose while alive and well and with full understanding of the implications.”
And Diego knew he had made the mating choice for Marcella. He’d asked her to accept their connection but in the heat of the moment he knew he had influenced her response. Just by being there, touching her, he’d made her want him. But he would not completely convert her without her request. She was bonded to him now, yes. But her body was not converted to that of this new species.
“What are you two talking about?” Catherine asked. “Can you save him?”
Diego looked at her. “No one said he wasn’t going to make it.”
“But he will make it for sure if you do this my way,” Sterling added.
“How?” Catherine asked.
“Nothing is certain,” Diego countered. Promises about life and death were dangerous.
Michael sighed. “I’m afraid I have to side with Sterling.” He spoke the words against Diego’s wishes though it was obvious they came with heaviness. “If you want this man to survive, and I sense it is important to your mate, then you must convert him.”
“Mate?” Catherine questioned, pushing to her feet. “Why did you call her his mate?”
Diego’s lips thinned. “It’s a long story, and Marcella is restless. I need to go to her.”
“I need answers,” Catherine insisted. “You can’t just dismiss me like this.”
Michael looked at Catherine. “Does David live or die? You must make the call.”
Her mouth hung open. “How can I answer when I’m not sure what I’m being asked?”
Diego looked at her and he saw a distinctive woman with courage and pride and ripe beauty. An older Marcella. From the moment he’d met Catherine, she had been strong and fearless. She’d faced adversity with her chin high. And now she dared to question, even when it meant someone she cared about could die.
The room was silent, waiting for Diego’s answer. It was now his call. He had to make a decision that shouldn’t be his to make. And he knew he held this man’s future in his hands. Marcella stirred in his mind, a soft whisper of concern. She wanted David to survive. She wanted the child to survive. And she expected him to find an answer. Perhaps it was even a silent test…was he to be trusted?
With this realization came a decision. He looked at Catherine. “We aren’t like you. Or David. Or any human.”
Her eyes went wide. Diego moved towards her, his fingers touching her elbow as he guided her to the small table in the corner. They sat down across from one another and he started explaining. It was several minutes later when he finished by saying, “So you see, David can survive, but he will never be the same.”
She stiffened her spine as if a decision was forming. “But if you convert him he can fight these creatures in the future without this happening.”
Diego wanted to make sure she looked at this both ways. She’d taken in the information with remarkable acceptance and calm. But then Catherine knew Marcella was different. She understood everything in the world wasn’t as black and white as humanity wanted it to be. Hell, as he wished it was.
Diego urged her to consider the negatives. “He will be better equipped but there is no way to know what the long-term effects of our condition are.”
“I want him to live. We need men like David in such a fight. We are not better off without him.” She pushed to her feet. “How can I help?”
Diego wasn’t sure if he felt relieved or more stressed. Her use of the word “we” surprised him. This woman who hardly knew them now considered herself a part of their world. He could only hope she would help Marcella join him as well. But right now, the need for nourishment was beating on his body, and thinking was getting difficult. As his body weakened so did his ability to focus. The metabolic rate of calories for a GTECH was extreme. He glanced at David who was pasty looking and completely knocked out.
He hated transitioning him without his approval. But waiting could put him at risk. If they were attacked they wouldn’t be able to save him and fight. Or even transport him. Diego stood. “If we could get his approval I will feel better.”
Michael stepped forward, focused on Catherine. “This won’t be a complete conversion. We can’t finish the process until we get back to the lab. What we do here, today, will only allow him to heal and help him survive.”
“Diego,” Sterling said, breaking a lengthy silence. “You need to eat.”
Diego glanced at him and nodded. “Yes, I know, but I want to get this done.”
“Then use my blood,” Sterling said. He walked to the dresser and pulled a bottle of orange juice from the ice bucket. “And drink this. You know you can’t go without it.”
Diego accepted the drink but rejected the idea. “You’re too newly converted. I don’t want to risk weakening your system.”‘
“Then use mine,” Michael said.
“Blood?” Catherine said, a bit hoarsely.
“Yes,” Diego said, “a transfusion will partially convert him. Our blood has unique healing properties.” He walked to his medical bag and withdrew tape and bandage. He then went to David’s side, directly across from Michael. He looked at Catherine. “You might want to turn your head. Without the comforts of a medical facility we are doing this the only way possible.”
She stared at him and then said, “I’m fine. Continue.”
Michael brought his wrist to his mouth and bit down. Catherine made a sound and then covered her mouth. Diego pulled David’s mouth. Michael held his wrist over the man’s lips.
“He’ll choke,” Catherine objected and stepped forward. Her voice raised a notch as she repeated her concern. “He’ll choke. No!”
Sterling reached for her. “He won’t.”
She squirmed in his arms. “He will.”
“Look,” Sterling told her, pointing. David had starting lapping at the flood.
The adjoining door flew open and Marcella appeared dressed in a pair of sweatpants and t-shirt. With her hair ruffled and wild, to Diego she looked casual and sexy and good enough to be his dinner. But her expression was one of concern. “What’s wrong?” Her eyes went to her aunt and then t
o David. “What is he doing? What…” Her words broke off as if she didn’t know quite what to ask. She blinked rapidly, staring at David drinking from Michael’s wrist with shock in her face
Slowly, her gaze shifted to Diego and then to her aunt. Sterling eased his grip on Catherine, exchanging a look with her. Catherine nodded her understanding. She needed to reassure Marcella. “Everything is fine,” she said to Marcella with a voice that was pinched a bit. She swiped at her skirt as if needing something to do with her hands. “If you heard my voice, I was overreacting. I’m sorry I disturbed you.”
Marcella looked at her aunt for a moment and then let her eyes return to her mate. She’d taken in what Michael was doing with the calmness of a woman who expected the unexpected. And she turned to him and asked for answers, giving him her trust whether she recognized it or not.
“Diego?” She spoke his name in a soft question.
Michael looked at Diego. “Sterling can bandage me. You take care of your woman.” Diego nodded.
“He needs to eat.”
Diego needed Marcella. He walked towards her. She was tense. Upset. He felt it. She put on a calm exterior for the world but deep inside she was a wreck. At that moment he realized she made a habit of shielding her emotions from others. He wondered what impact holding everything below the surface had on her. She protected everyone as a part of her nature. But when did she allow herself the opportunity to feel and need?
“I’m fine,” he said to Sterling. “I need to explain things to Marcella.” And to touch her and hold her and make love to her.
“He has to eat, Marcella,” Sterling said. “Our metabolism is not like yours. It’s critical.”
She nodded at Sterling and then looked at Diego. “I’ll take care of him.”
The minute the adjoining door shut, Sterling looked at Michael. “What the hell was he thinking coming here alone?” His eyes went to Catherine. “Sorry, ma’am.”
Michael focused on Sterling’s question not his language. “He thought he could explain his reasons for being here if he was alone. To make the Arions think he only traveled to visit family. He hoped to slip out of the country, with Marcella by his side, with little or no attention.”
Healer Page 9
