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

by Honor James

  Nodding, he held out a piece of fruit to her. “He’s likely sound asleep about now,” he murmured with a grin. “He looked pretty darn exhausted,” Aiden told her as he went back to chopping fruit. “Sandwiches are there.” He pointed to the little table in the kitchen area.

  “Well he’s been primarily with the kids most of the day today, and that’s enough to wear anyone out.” She had thankfully had several naps. The others hadn’t. “I know that I’m soon going to be crawling into bed as well.”

  “Not with him, you’re not.” Aiden glared at her. “You only get to cuddle and sleep with one Dragon male, woman.” Leaning over, he kissed her with a grin. “And if it’s Patryk, I will personally make sure to neuter him.”

  She snorted and shook her head. “It’s all right, love. You know that I only want you. You and our babies are the only ones that I’ve ever wanted to share our bed with,” she assured him. “So I will kick Pat out of our bed if he’s curled around our babies again.” She didn’t think she should point out that it was likely Amelia that he was cuddled close to.

  “It’s best you don’t,” Aiden growled at her. “Eat something before we go to bed,” he told her, setting the plate of fruit on the table. Turning back to the counter, he began to clean up everything.

  Lina grinned and popped another bite of fruit into her mouth and then another and another. Chewing quickly, she swallowed and took a drink of water from the bottle in hand. “Okay, honey, I’m going to bed. I’m pooped, love.”

  “Kick Patryk out before I get there and tell him there’s food on,” Aiden said softly as he leaned in to kiss her softly. “I will see you in a couple of minutes, darling.” Picking up a sandwich he took a huge bite and started to chew as she turned to walk away.

  Lina walked into the “room” and smiled. Seeing Patryk curled up behind Amy and hugging both babies close, she shook her head. “Patryk,” she whispered, not daring to touch the Dragon because she knew better. “Patryk, head on out please. I’m ready for sleep and Aiden has food ready for you.”

  Yawning slowly, he sat up and blinked, looking up at her and then away. “Sorry,” he muttered, getting off the bed slowly. Pulling the blankets back, Lina climbed into bed and smiled down at her daughter, whose eyes were wide open now. “I know, honey. He’s not far, I promise.” She stroked a finger over the little girl’s cheek. “For now, close those beautiful eyes of yours and go back to sleep for mommy please.” Only when Amy slid her eyes closed did Lina sigh and nestle closer to her babies. Without another moment she was out cold.

  * * * *

  Making sure that Patryk was eating and then heading straight to bed for a few hours, Aiden went to shower and brush his teeth. It didn’t take long before he was sliding into bed at Anthony’s back and smiling at his family. All out cold, all perfect in his eyes, and life just couldn’t get any better. Now if only they could put an end to the Rogues trying to ruin it all. Settling down, Aiden let sleep tug him under but left his Dragon on low alert for anything that could come their way.

  Chapter Fifteen

  They had been sleeping peacefully. Lina had felt Aiden wake to feed Amy a couple of hours after they went to bed, but after that they were all sound asleep when it happened. The explosion literally rocked the room they were in, the movable curtain walls vibrating in reaction to the explosion. Both Amy and Tony began to scream in fear, and Lina was ready to as well. Reaching out blindly, she grabbed both babies in her arms, ensuring that she would be able to take their babies to safety while Aiden protected them if it came to that. Looking over their little heads, she stared at her bond-mate. “What’s happening?” Stupid question when she knew the answer. Even as the sirens began to squeal and lights went out she knew the answer.

  “Attack,” he said on a growl as the Dragon rose up toward the surface. Getting up, he tipped his head back to breathe in the air. “C-4,” he commented. Turning to his family, he rolled them all in a blanket. “Shh,” he said to her. “This will be safest for you all. Can the babies breathe in there?” he asked her as he lifted them all up in his arms.

  Lina nodded and pulled the babies closer. “Yes, we all can.” She adjusted both babies so that the blanket she had wrapped them in wasn’t over their faces, only the one that he had wrapped them in. “Just do what you need to, honey.” She held the babies close, trusting Aiden to keep her close and tight. She heard Patryk’s voice then as well and felt Amy relaxing. “That’s right, babies, they will make sure the bad men pay.”

  “Get out there and, whoever it is”—Aiden growled—“kill them all,” he snarled in the Dragon’s voice.

  Lina looked down at her children and was amazed by them. Both stared up at her with their eyes shifting to a beautiful caramel color from the deep baby blue, and she frowned. “Calm, babies.” To Aiden she asked privately, What does it mean when a baby Dragon’s eyes shift to a golden-honey color, like a caramel color? She hoped she sounded all aloof, which was totally crazy considering that there was gunfire in the halls and sounds of small explosions all around them.

  It means that their Dragon blood is firing, the beasts’ first awakenings, he told her. You needn’t worry. They will not shift into a Dragon for a very long time, angel. But the Dragon awareness kicks in early. It’s part of the self-preservation drive of the beast. It will always know more than our mortal minds could ever comprehend. The knowledge ancient as time and yet as new and fresh as the dawning day.

  As long as they are okay. She had never had that. It had been surreal to her to watch her babies do that. Pulling them closer, she flinched when another shockwave rocked them. “Crap, that felt a lot closer, Aiden. Honey, if you have to put us down, we will hide. I will protect our babies, but I want them all dead.” Yep, she was bloodthirsty.

  “You are the priority, love. They want to take you and the twins,” he told her. “Leaving you isn’t an option, ever,” he said quietly. After a moment he let out a series of low growls and then it was silent again. “They’re getting closer.” Aiden looked down at her. “Cover your face with the blanket, love, and hold onto the little ones. We need to get out of here and there’s only one way available right now.”

  She nodded and pulled the babies in closer, ducking her head and covering it with the blanket. Are you sure that it is safe to take to the air? Are you so sure that there aren’t Dragons out in the air now just waiting for us to take to the air? She hated to question him but couldn’t help herself from doing just that.

  “Oh, I’m sure there are, but there won’t be any more pissed than I am right now. Sorry, babies,” he murmured to his children. Through their connection Lina felt his Dragon pushing to the surface as he began to shift and then there was a moment of weightlessness before the sound of glass breaking.

  Lina pulled the babies closer to her and rubbed her cheek to their heads. They were eerily silent as they flew through the air. She heard the roars around them, knew that it was more than their attackers. It was their guard as well. Daddy is going to freaking die that he’s missing this. I bet he’s pissed right now.

  I wouldn’t bet on that, Aiden said, spotting Talon in full Dragon form. He was tearing through those who sought to destroy what he’d built. Giving a roar of varying tones, he heard the answering calls and headed west into clear space. Hold on, darling, he warned her softly as he lifted them up and dove in various moves to avoid any possible detection or danger.

  She turned her face in closer to his cheek. I so hope that we land soon. My stomach is so not enjoying this even if your children are loving it. They are laughing.

  They are loving the sensations of flight, he told her with a grin on his Dragon face. Aiming for a clear section that was secured, he flared his wings to slow them down and landed lightly, shifting as he went. “We’re down,” he told her, easing her to her feet. “Hold onto those kids, darling. We’re going to unwrap you.”

  “Sounds good,” she whispered in a low voice. “So I take it that the babies are going to love flight, where I
’m not a massive fan of it.”

  “It would appear so,” Aiden said, carefully peeling the blanket back “Lift your left foot just a hair,” he said and worked the blanket out from under her foot. “Right foot,” he said and did that a couple more times before he could see his family. Wrapping them up in a hug, he pressed kisses to the two little heads and his mate’s lips. “I love you all so much,” he whispered.

  “And we love you, too.” Lina smiled and passed Amy off to Aiden. “I don’t know which of them enjoyed flight more,” she admitted. “Not me though. I love flying with you, but not like we just did.” She looked toward the east where the compound was and shivered. “Goodness, that’s bad,” she murmured quietly.

  “Yeah.” He squinted and winced visibly. “Your dad is pissed.” He drew the last word way out. “He is bigger than ever and…” Aiden hissed. “Dang, that was just not right,” he said, shaking his head. Rubbing Amy’s back, he pressed a kiss to her little head. “How you doing, darling?”

  Leaning against Aiden, Lina watched the fireworks and jumped slightly when another set of Dragons landed near them. “Oh crap. They scared the hell out of me.” She grumbled and rubbed Tony’s back once more. “Sorry, baby. I didn’t mean to scare you, little guy.”

  Aiden grinned at the look that Anthony shot his mother. “How goes it?” he asked Rayne as the man shifted and leaned over to cough out the excess smoke that sometimes lingered after long bursts of throwing fire.

  Rayne straightened and looked at Allister, who was rubbing at his back to reach an itch. “Good,” he said. “They are retreating, or trying to. Talon and the others have them blocked in. We have a couple down, but their wounds aren’t overly worrisome,” he told them. “Talon just wanted us to check in and ensure you all were safe and take a breath. We’re rotating out to this point for a breather to clear the smoke.”

  Lina noticed how her daughter turned her head and began to look around, watched as her face scrunched up and cheeks turned a mottled red color. “Where is Patryk?” she asked without pause, looking at both Rayne and Allister as she asked it. “And what is it that you aren’t telling us?”

  Looking to his mate, Aiden frowned as he shifted his gaze to his brother. Hugging Amelia closer he looked at Talina and she heard his words on their mental path. Patryk is down. He took a big hit, but no one knows exactly where he went down. We can’t search yet either, not until the others are taken down or manage to escape Talon’s net.

  Oh crap. No wonder Amy is so upset. Lina looked to the girl whose eyes were constantly moving, whose pain was visible. I know that they shouldn’t be, but I swear I would think that they were already clearly bound or she wouldn’t already be searching for him.

  They aren’t bound, but there are other levels of connections, Aiden pointed out to her softly. Lifting Amy up to his shoulder, he rocked her slowly back and forth. “Get back in there.” He looked to Rayne and his twin brother. “Find them all.”

  Watching as the Dragons took to the skies once more, Lina sighed and looked to Aiden. “Will it ever be over?” she whispered with tears threatening to spill. “Honestly, Aiden, will the fighting, the wars ever be over? Will we ever know peace?”

  “One day soon I hope, angel,” he murmured, moving in closer to her. Slipping his arm around her, he hugged her to his side. Pressing a kiss to her hair, he let out a heavy-sounding breath. “We will keep fighting if it’s necessary. No way am I ever letting you or our babies be hurt.”

  Lina nodded and sniffed again. “I hope that you are right,” she murmured. Looking toward the compound now, she brushed back a tear that fell. “And to think this is all because of my twin and the mother that birthed us. If only she had found Talon, if only she hadn’t given Nathanial up for adoption, perhaps this would never have happened.”

  “And maybe we wouldn’t have met or had our two little darlings,” he said softly to her. Rocking them all together very slowly in a gentle little dance, he rubbed his cheek to her hair. “We can’t second-guess how things came to be, darling.”

  “I know, but gods, this is…” Too much. It was too much. Her daughter was suffering, the people she cared about were suffering, and it was because her mother had been a fucking whack-a-doodle. “I love you, Aiden, and I love our children, but this is so terrible. Lives were lost today.” And she almost felt each of the lives that winked out, because she felt responsible.

  “You are no more responsible for another’s actions than I am or our children are,” he said, giving her a squeeze. Stilling when the night went completely silent, he turned his head to look at the compound and let out a breath when the all clear was sounded. “We should head back and help where we can, love. It’s going to be a long night.”

  “All right, let’s go, honey. I will stay with the babies while you help everyone else, love,” she whispered. “Let’s just hope that they have found Patryk and he’s okay.” She wouldn’t be able to help like he could, but she could watch over their babies while he helped.

  Gathering her close, Aiden put both children where they were tucked in close between them before unfurling just his wings in a partial shift. “Hold on, darling,” he whispered softly to her. When she had one arm wrapped around his neck, he adjusted his hold and then, with a slight push, shot them into the air. Landing in front of the offices, he looked to the guards there. “Take them inside and keep them safe. Both kids will likely need a diaper change soon, so see if you can find their bags.” Pressing a kiss to everyone’s cheek, he handed Amelia to one of the guards. “I will check in, my little mate,” he told Lina quietly.

  “Thank you, honey.” Lina touched his cheek once more and then turned back to the guard and nodded. “Well, come on. Let’s get in there so that we can get these little ones changed and fed. I’m positive that they will want that very much so.”

  Waiting until his mate was tucked in safe behind closed doors, Aiden turned and waved the others on. Taking to the air, he joined his brother in the search for survivors, his Dragon vision cutting through the darkness to find every trace of heat. Frowning, he found something to one side and flew that way, coming in to land. Shifting, he walked into the foliage and cursed at what he found. Allister, medical help fast to the east corner of the compound. I have Patryk and he’s in bad shape. Understatement, given the man’s wounds.

  Moving closer carefully, Aiden crouched down where Patryk could see him. “Pat, it’s Aiden,” he said in a soothing tone. “We have medical help coming,” he told the guard as he very carefully edged in to assess the wounds.

  “Talina, the little ones?” the hoarse, pain-filled voice asked.

  “Safe, they are tucked away with a contingent of guards, so you don’t need to worry about them right now,” he told the man. Leaning over, he checked everywhere he could, given how Patryk lay. “Looks like you’ll live too after a bit of time in your Dragon form,” he said and prayed he was right. I found Patryk, babe, he sent to his mate. He took a beating but is conscious and worried about you and the twins. I think he’ll be fine with some time to heal, he told her. Though he couldn’t say what was going on under Pat since he was on his stomach and it was too damned dark.

  As long as he will be all right. Hold the connection for him. Let him touch Amy’s mind. I know how weird that sounds, but I truly think that they both need it, love. He needs a reason to hang on, Lina said in a soft voice.

  Sometimes he had to wonder at his mate, but he did as she asked while waiting for the medics. Opening a connection to Patryk and Amy wasn’t easy, but since they already seemed to be partially connected, that definitely helped. Which just annoyed him all the more. His daughter wasn’t even out of diapers and already had a connection to another man. Very uncool.

  Is he all right? she asked quietly. He must be telling her or showing her something that is making her calm, love.

  His breathing has calmed and he seems to be relaxing. Medical is here, too, so I will update you once I hear what they have to say. Looking up as the docto
rs came through the brush, Aiden moved out of their way. Listening, he took it all in and passed it along to his mate, but when they rolled him, he cut the connection and winced. Patryk was going to be healing in Dragon form a really, really long time.

  I heard that, Lina said and put the babies in their crib, ensuring that they were both snuggled up close together, and brushed a loving hand over their heads before turning off the lights. “Let’s leave them alone. They need some rest,” she told the guard behind her. “Leave a pair of guards in here with them, but I’m going to go and find some food and wait for my bond-mate.”

  “Yes, ma’am,” he said, signaling to two other guards before she walked away from him.

  Looking to her as they entered the base Aiden moved right to her. “They’re taking him into surgery and then to the warehouse to heal,” he said softly.

  “He will need to shift. We will take the kiddies to see him after a few days.” After he has had a moment or twelve to be able to be good, be able to hold onto his emotions enough to allow the babies around him, Talina thought to herself with a sigh.

  “If he regains consciousness long enough. I was pretty out of it if you’ll recall,” he pointed out to her. “Right after the shift, I mean. I knew you were there, but for the first few days I could barely be bothered to crack an eyelid.”

  “Then we will wait until he’s awake. We will give him a bit of time to heal before we do anything that might cause him any trouble. For now let’s get home so that we can begin to live as normal of a life as we can.” She wanted to go home, needed to get their babies home and just simply try to lead as normal life with their children as they could. While her brother and the danger he presented was still looming over their heads she refused to bow to it.