Their Mating Rituals [Paranormal Protection Unit 4] (Siren Publishing Classic)

by Honor James

  It was well over an hour before Aiden started to stir. Allister moved from his chair and to the bed, gently shaking Lina. “He’s coming around,” he murmured. “Sit up and ease back a little,” he told her quietly as he sat down on his brother’s other side to wait. “Come on, bro, wake up,” he encouraged softly as he watched the little twitches and shifts in his brother’s face.

  Lina watched Aiden as well and added her voice to Allister’s. “Come on, Aiden, wake up so that I can know you are all right. I need you to wake up, honey, need to know that you are going to be here with me for a while.” She all but begged him. “Please, Aiden, I need you.” Those three words were spoken in absolute certainty.

  Nodding to her, Allister rolled his hand around, a signal to keep talking. He caught Aiden’s hand that came up without thought in a lazy sort of swatting motion. “I’ve got you, bro,” he said and took his brother’s other hand in a loose grip. “Come on, buddy, wake up.”

  “Come on, Aiden. I need you, honey. I need to talk to you. I need you to tell me about bond-mates. Aiden, I need you to show me that you will never leave me alone,” she whispered, her voice cracking. “Please, honey, wake up and talk to me. Now that we can talk I want to talk to you, even if it’s in our minds, please?”

  So loud, Aiden grumbled mentally as he tried to fight his brother’s hold, but his arms felt like lead weights.

  Allister nodded. “We’re not that loud. Your hearing is just a little oversensitive right now from the drugs, bro. It will settle back down as soon as you push more out of your system,” he said in a murmur, keeping his voice down so his brother’s Dragon hearing wasn’t hurt.

  Drugs? What drugs? Why does everything feel like I’m stuck in fucking molasses?

  “Because you just got out of surgery, honey,” Lina murmured quietly, lowering her voice as she did so. “You got so very hurt and I hadn’t been able to do as much as I should have and for that I’m so sorry. I did the best that I could. So I need you to please wake up and tell me that you aren’t upset with me.”

  Never upset at you, Aiden whispered, turning his head slightly, and cracked an eye before slamming it shut and squeezing it tightly closed.

  “I’ve got them.” Allister released his wrists gently and got up. Moving to the wall, he shut off all the lights, the glow strips letting off enough light to let them see shapes. Or in his case and Aiden’s a hell of a lot more. “You can look at her now, bro, glow strips only.

  Cautiously, Aiden opened his good eye and looked at her. You stayed, he whispered softly and happily.

  “Of course I stayed,” Lina murmured softly. “You have turned me inside out, Aiden. You are the first man ever that I’ve wanted to put before myself, and I really want to know why. I need to know about this connection.” Leaning in closer, she kissed his cheek and whispered against his ear so that Allister didn’t hear. “And I think I love you.”

  He heard you anyway, Aiden said, looking to his brother, who was grinning like an idiot. Go away for a while, bro. I need to talk to her before…Before his body insisted he changed forms to heal at a faster and more efficient rate.

  “I’ll go and grab a snack from the kitchen and maybe cook something up. You hungry yet, Lina?” he asked her. He knew she’d eaten recently, but she hadn’t eaten before that one meal very well, so he was trying to feed her as often as he could.

  “Sure, anything you want to bring me is good. Just nothing with lettuce. I’m allergic to lettuce and cabbage. Weird, I know, but I’m terribly allergic, so unless you wanna see me with hives anything other than that please.” It was why she had to spend so much time special ordering her food and double-checking it before eating it.

  “Right, no rabbit-type leafy things for the lady.” Allister got up and headed for the kitchen. He knew that Aiden was fighting the clock, his body was burning off the drugs fast, and the Dragon would soon take over and demand the change to heal as it should. He had to tell her everything in very little time.

  Lina looked down at Aiden then. “Talk fast. I figure that there is a hell of a lot going on here that I am totally clueless on, so talk to me, love. Tell me what it is that you have to tell me so that you can go back to sleep and heal.” She looked around the darkness though and added, “But why the hell they have you in a warehouse hangar is completely beyond me.”

  Licking his lips, he stared up at her, seeing her much clearer in the low light than she could probably see him. I need you to know that what I’m going to tell you is the truth, nothing but the truth, and that I would never, ever make fun of you or yank your chain about any of it. It is truth and soon you’ll know it with a lot of evidence in your face.

  “Aiden, I trust you. As crazy as it is, I completely and fully trust you. I’ve never trusted men before, but I do you,” she said softly. “So talk fast, honey, because I want to talk to Allister about having you shifted to a real hospital room.”

  Snorting at her words, he smiled faintly. I won’t fit in one in about twenty minutes. Give or take. I’m a Dragon, love, he told her honestly. We’re not mythical creatures but part of the races that Gaia created known as Changers. There are Dragons, Bears, Wolves, Snakes, Rats, Birds of all sorts, and many others, too many for me to remember most days. Because of our long lives we are given a bond-mate, someone that Gaia has chosen just for us. A person who completes us and makes everything seem that much more perfect. Some recognize their bond-mate by scent, others by touch or a vibration their soul gives off.

  “A Dragon?” She pulled back and frowned. “I know you have a tattoo of one, a seriously hot freaking tattoo that makes me want to hunt down whoever did it and beat them because they got to see you naked, but still. Seriously?” She shook her head. “I know that Jackie and Allister were talking about babies being Dragons, but now you, too?”

  They were? How long had he been out? Never mind that, for now. He’d come back to that later. I’m not kidding, little one. I’m a real Dragon. Talon is our King and Allister and I plus a few others are part of his Royal Guard. Shifting slightly, he winced. We needed to be in a warehouse because when I change to my other form to heal faster and more efficiently, I’m going to need the room. Unfortunately we’re not the smallest of the Changers. Understatement.

  “Honey, I think you hit your head,” she whispered softly. “I love you, but you are talking silly right now. But if you believe it, I will let it go. Can I at least get you moved, darling? Please? I just really need you to get better.”

  Sighing, he called out to Allister and told him what he wanted. Look at Allister, love, and maybe he’ll convince you. Turning his gaze to his brother, he waited until she faced him and nodded. As soon as Lina looked his way, Allister let his face start the change to Dragon, his eyes shifting in color and form, his teeth lengthening, and the beginning of the longer snout starting to take shape.

  Lina watched what was happening and couldn’t believe it. She had to be on an acid trip or something because people just didn’t turn into animals, into Dragons! She found herself backing in closer to Aiden and felt panic hitting her harder. “Oh God,” she whimpered. “Oh lord, you are both…” She gulped. “Dragons,” she cried and then looked down to Aiden. “And you are as well? That’s why they are saying you will heal faster, right? Oh God.” She panted. “Are you sure that I should stay?” she asked with wide eyes and saw Allister changing back to normal. “I really would rather not become a Dragon treat. Will he be fully in control of himself?” She looked to Aiden. “You would know me?”

  Allister rolled his eyes. “And I thought you breaking it to Jackie was bad,” he said and grinned at the comment only he could hear. “While we are human the Dragon is always aware. It’s why our reflexes and reaction times are faster. Same thing goes when we shift forms. The Dragon is the form but the human side is still there and providing logic and thought to everything. We rarely change forms because we’re supposedly mythical. That’s why we have these warehouse spaces for when we’re injured. We can shift witho
ut worry of some scientist thinking they’ve found the Loch Ness Monster’s relative and trying to stuff us in a cage. We can stretch, walk, and relax here in safety as we heal. He will know exactly who you are and be even more protective of you in his alter form since the Dragon will be thinking he’s in charge of the situation. Likely if anyone gets too close without him spotting them or hearing them coming there may be some singed folks, but for the most part, ninety-nine percent of everyone here knows better. Especially after they get their ass cooked the first time.”

  Looking down at Aiden, she asked, “Will you heal faster? Instead of the months that I was thinking, how long will it take you to heal if you were to become”—she gulped—“a Dragon?” She whispered the word because she honestly wasn’t able to force herself to say it without gulping first. She felt as if she had fallen through the looking glass, but she loved him, even now.

  About a week or so, Aiden told her honestly. It won’t be a hundred percent but I’ll be able to get up and move around and the rest will heal in time. Looking to Allister, he nodded. He was having a hard time holding the change, but he couldn’t do it with her that close. He might inadvertently hurt her, and that would kill him inside.

  Moving to her side, Allister touched her hand. “He’s having trouble restraining the Dragon, little one. We need to move until he finishes the change and then you can come back and you can get to know his other form.”

  “You won’t leave right away, right?” she asked with fear lightly tingeing her voice. She turned and looked down at Aiden. “Will you be able to still talk to me?” she asked softly. “In your mind? Will you still talk to me?”

  “He’ll still be able to talk to you,” Allister said, gently pulling her up to her feet. Walking her to the kitchen, he held her gently but kept her close so she couldn’t run. “I’ll stay until you don’t need me anymore,” he promised and watched as Aiden rolled slowly and painfully to his side.

  After a moment, they heard a low growl sound and then a pained sound as his body shifted into its Dragon form. Increasing dramatically in size, he snorted a small breath of fire before collapsing with his head on the bedding and his large body, wings, and tail on the heated floor of the warehouse. Big, black with hints of white, his brother was stunning with his yellow-green eyes. Looking down at Lina as she stood staring wide eyed he grinned. “You want to go and touch him?” he asked gently, softly.

  Lina had watched it. She really had watched the transformation, but she couldn’t believe it. “Uhm.” She swallowed hard. “Aiden?” she whispered and let Allister walk her toward her man. He still hadn’t explained bond-mates, but she had enough from Allister to realize that it was like a true love kinda thing. One of those things that people dreamed of.

  Still here, love, he told her softly with an internal smile. I won’t bite, little one. Come on over and sit down. I know I have a lot to still explain but it was damned hard to do while trying to keep this beast under control.

  “All right.” She moved to the bed and sat down, reaching out and touching him as she did so. Her hand was shaking when she touched her hand to the scales that marked her bond-mate. “You are beautiful,” she admitted. “I never imagined that Dragons could be called such, but you are.”

  Chuckling, Allister shook his head. “He’s slightly embarrassed at your choice of words,” he told her honestly.

  Thank you for the compliment, little one, Aiden said softly to her. Shifting his head, he peered at her out of his good eye and smiled faintly. I know this is a lot to take in so quickly, Talina, and I’m sorry I couldn’t ease you into it.

  “Meh,” she said with a shrug and smiled. “You are here, that’s all that matters. You will explain it to me now so that’s really all that matters.” And in the end it was. All that mattered was that they would be able to be together, and now that she knew, well now she could learn to accept. She looked to Allister. “I should be good. If I need anything how would I reach someone? If Aiden needs something, what do I do?”

  Pulling out his cell, he handed it to her. “Speed dial the number sign and then one and you’ll get my bond-mate. We’ll come a-running. Otherwise feel free to use whatever you need to. Kitchen’s stocked, full bathroom, you should be just fine,” he reminded her quietly. Touching her cheek, Allister smiled. “He’ll tell you everything, but if you need clarification of any sort you let me know.”

  “Don’t worry, if I need help I will either call or you will hear me screaming. In China,” she teased. “Thank you, Allister, for everything.” She then looked back down at Aiden and whispered, “And you are both very sure that this is what’s needed to make sure that you heal?” She knew she was questioning everything, but she couldn’t help herself.

  “Very sure,” Allister told her honestly. “Our healing abilities work so much faster in this true form.” Rubbing her back, he got up. “Screech if you need me,” he said and then headed for the door to leave them alone.

  She waited until they were alone to ask Aiden, “How long should you be like this, Aiden?” She murmured and stroked a hand down his scaled head, moving one direction only for fear of being cut if she went against the scale pattern. “And are you warm enough? There aren’t a ton of blankets but I could strip the bed and cover you as best as possible.” He was huge. Son of a biscuit, he was huge.

  Chuckling softly, he closed his eyes. It will be about a week, maybe a couple days more, but no longer than two weeks. There is no wound we can’t heal by the two-week mark. I’m plenty warm, sugar, he teased with a grin. I put out major heat, darling, even in human form, but in Dragon I’m a bloody furnace. Plus with the scales I don’t feel any temperature alterations at all.

  “As long as you are sure.” She lay down on the bed so that she could watch him. “Are you comfortable with your head on the bed as it is? If you need, I can pull the mattress off so that I can lie down on the floor with you, honey. I really don’t care where I am, I just worry about you.”

  I’m perfect just as I am. It hurts less if I lay with my head up like this. Don’t worry about me, sweetheart, but are you all right? I know you’ve had nothing but shock after shock since being drug into my world against your will. It can’t be easy, he said quietly to her.

  “No, it’s not easy. I swear I will likely lose my mind before this is over, but right now I’m good. Right now this is what I need, you. I know that you are in your Dragon form and all that, but I really and truly need to be able to have you here with me, at my side,” she whispered. “Just need you.” She swallowed. “I think for now though we should maybe take a nap?”

  I think that might be best, little love. You are looking a bit peaked. Sleep for now, he told her softly, wishing he could stroke her hair. Snuggle in closer to me, tuck yourself under a bunch of blankets, and get some rest.

  “That sounds like a very good idea to me.” Grabbing the blankets, she wrapped herself into them and curled in as close to him as she could get. “Good night, Aiden,” she whispered softly. “Rest well, darling. We will soon, very soon, talk more, but right now we both need sleep.”

  Shifting his head in closer to her, Aiden closed his eyes. I love you, Talina, he whispered quietly. Sleep well, my little angel. He nuzzled at her hair with great care. Relaxing, he let out a shuddering breath before slipping into sleep.

  Chapter Six

  “Are you certain that you feel up to shifting out of that form?” Lina had spent the last week with Aiden, locked in the warehouse room and thankfully, somehow, Talon hadn’t come to hunt his warrior down. So far. “I don’t want you to do it if you aren’t sure that you are ready to shift, if you aren’t healed, that is.”

  Growling at her, Aiden flicked his tail and snorted a puff of smoke her way. Reaching for the human side, he shifted and, thankfully for Changers everywhere, they shifted back into whatever they last wore. In his case it had been a pair of scrub pants. Shaking his head, he moved toward her. “I’m fine, love,” he told her quietly.

  Lina reached ou
t and touched him. Her fingers caressed his now-healed cheek and she shook her head. “Amazing,” she whispered. “You are absolutely amazing. I can’t believe that you healed so perfectly.” I think that after you have had a shower and brushed your teeth you really, really should come back and hug me and then give me a kiss? I’ve been dreaming of your kiss.”

  Growling softly at her, he snapped his teeth. “I’m also hungry, so be aware I may just start to nibble a little.” Pressing a kiss to her neck, he moved past her toward the bathroom. “Did Allister leave me any clothing?” he asked over his shoulder as he stepped into the bathroom and took a look at the remaining damage. Not too bad, a few bruises still fading, and overall he felt pretty good, if a bit stiff.

  “He did,” she told him as she watched him walking, moving to follow him then. “I will get them if you would like,” she said and leaned against the wall. “While you are cleaning up I will fix us a meal so that you don’t feel the need to nibble on me, Aiden.”

  “I will still nibble, darling,” he assured her, looking over his shoulder to her. Grinning, he eyed her up. “You are a very delectable treat, sweetness, and I very definitely want to take a bite out of you,” he teased. Grabbing a toothbrush, he put on some paste and, leaning into the sink, began to scrub.

  While he was cleaning up she went to the kitchen, calling out, “I really hope that pot roast and potatoes sounds good. Allister said that you would need a great deal of protein, so it seemed like a good idea.”

  Spitting, he rinsed his mouth. “Meat is good, always good actually,” he called to her before he eased the door shut a bit. Dropping the scrub pants that had bits of blood dried on them from before his change, he stepped into the shower. Yanking the taps on high, he let out a breath. Gods, it felt nice to finally be able to actually have a bloody shower. Scrubbing his hair, he gave the rest of him a hell of a scrub, too, and found out where a few still not entirely healed bits were. Climbing out after a time, he checked his back in the mirror. Yep, those were going to leave some marks.