by Julia Mills
CHAPTER ELEVEN
It had been almost two full days since he had landed on his clan’s land with his bleeding mate in his arms. He had no clue he could transform back to a man and hold onto her at the same time but where there was a will there was a way. When his dragon pushed the transformation, he had tried to stop it but the dragon reassured him and took control. He turned back to his human form and landed right outside the Healer’s home. She had prepared all she needed to nurse his mate based on the message he had sent ahead. He knew Kyndel had healing powers of her own. He had felt them for himself but he was sure she was unaware of her abilities. He would call on everyone he knew to make sure his mate recovered completely.
Their Healer, Siobhan, worked diligently to clean and stitch her wounds. Rayne cringed when she shaved a small patch of Kyndel’s hair. His mate hadn’t seemed the least bit prissy or high maintenance but he knew how females were about their hair so she was probably going to skin him alive for the little bald spot she now had at the back of her head. Siobhan had assured him it was necessary and anything that helped her heal was something he was going to make happen. Kyndel was still 100% human and Siobhan had limited experience with treating humans that did not share their partner’s abilities from the mating bond. She explained that staying as close as possible to human medical practices was the safest for Kyndel.
Siobhan continually reassured him that his mate was healing extremely well. He knew it was true from the hours he sat vigil by her bed holding her hand and talking to her. He had felt her growing strength. There were even times he would get feelings of warmth and security from her. He was once again awestruck by her trust in him and overjoyed that their bond was growing even after all that had happened. But all of that was secondary to the fact that he needed her to wake up. He needed her to open those beautiful emerald eyes and look at him, give him a dose of her sass and try to intimidate him with that one eyebrow cocked at him. He wanted to pull her into his lap and kiss those pouty pink lips until they were both naked, sweaty and wrapped around each other. The waiting was killing him. Watching her hour after hour lying there, looking small and helpless was absolutely making him crazy. He would gladly trade places with her. As a matter of fact, he had prayed for just that over and over since bringing her to the Healer.
She would wake up and she would recover, he continued the mantra over and over. Among all the things that made her absolutely perfect and hotter than hell was her fearlessness and she had shown more courage than he could have ever imagined on that hillside. He wanted her more than his next breath. There was absolutely no feeling equal to being with her. Whatever he had to do to have her back with him he would do. Kyndel was meant to be his. She made his world a better place - complete. No one or nothing would take her from him.
He knew they had so much to learn about one another, neither knew the other had even existed three days ago and now he couldn’t imagine one minute without her in it. She had to be ok. He would wither and die without her. Andrew, the complete fucking idiot that he was, had been right about one thing, if he’d killed her on that rock, Rayne would have lost his mind. As soon as she was awake and they were mated he was going to hunt that son of a bitch down and rip him limb from limb. To hell with the Elders and their Tribunal, that son of a bitch was his.
When Aaron and Aidan had come back to tell him what had happened on the trip to bring the traitor to justice, all he could think about was the pleasure he would get from his hands around that Andrew’s neck. He actually imagined squeezing the bastard he had once called friend, until his eyes bulged and he ceased to breathe. Rayne wanted him dead, forever dead, for daring to touch Kyndel. The fact that she now lay unconscious in their Healer’s home because of the asshole’s actions started a rage burning inside of him that only watching Andrew’s blood flow would extinguish.
He looked over his shoulder as Lance entered Kyndel’s room. “How’s she doing?” his lifelong friend asked.
“Still the same, Siobhan was here an hour ago and said she’s improving but dammit I need her to wake up. The waiting is killing me.”
“She will,” Lance moved to the end of her bed. “You have to give her body time to heal. She’s so much more fragile than we are but she’s a fighter, Rayne, you know that. A little bump on the head is not going to keep your Spitfire down.”
Rayne smiled at the use of the nickname his men had decided on during one of their visits to bring him food and keep him company. Royce had said her hair looked even more like fire against the white sheets Siobhan kept on the beds for the sick and injured than it had when he had first met her in the woods. It was Aidan that had squeezed his shoulder and said, “You have quite the little spitfire on your hands there, Commander.” Rayne was so glad to see the old Aidan creeping back into his friend that he had actually smiled. They would all need him at his best to capture his crazy brother.
All of the men had laughed and decided Spitfire was just the name for his Kyndel, so it stuck. One or all of them were coming almost every hour to check on her and to make sure he was at least eating. They would stand by the bed and tell her some silly story about his growing up or his early years of training, always referring to her as “Spitfire”. She was probably going to kick a lot of Dragon Guard ass when she woke up but he didn’t care, he just wanted his mate back.
Lost in thought, he almost missed what Lance was saying, “Hey bud, why don’t you take a walk and get some fresh air, you’re going to need to be ready for Spitfire when she wakes,” he chuckled. “Just take a few minutes. I’ll sit here with her. I promise to call out if she wakes.”
“I just hate to be away from her. I feel no shame in telling you, Lance, she is my everything. If she doesn’t wake I will cease to exist. I will follow her to the heavens.”
“Rayne, get your head out of your ass. She’s going to be fine. Get out of here for a minute. Get some fresh air. Get your head on straight. You’re turning into a whiny wimp,” he winked and Rayne knew it was to ease the sting of the truth. “She needs the Commander, not whoever you are right now. No doubts, she will be fine. Now go.” Rayne had known Lance for all their lives and his friend was much more comfortable joking around than having to be the hard ass but he would be eternally grateful for the attitude adjustment. Lance was right, time to get his shit together.
Rayne just stared at Kyndel as if he could will her awake. “You’re right. I’m just tired. I know better than to let the worry overtake me. I do need to move a bit before my butt grows to this chair,” he laughed off his earlier fear, rubbed Kyndel’s leg one more time and turned to go. “I’ll only be a minute.”
“Take as long as you need. I’ll only tell her a few of your dirty little secrets while you’re gone,” Lance laughed out loud as Rayne frowned. There were more stories than he would like to remember that any and all of his brethren could tell Kyndel. Not that he cared if she knew every single thing about him but he wanted to be the one to share the stories that would make her blush.
Rayne growled at his friend and looked over his shoulder at his amazing mate one last time. Thank the Universe Kyndel would not hear whatever Lance thought of sharing.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Kyndel felt like she was floating. This was the best night’s sleep she had gotten in years, probably since she was a little girl. She thought of the house she lived her first six years in. She had loved that old two storey house. It was so big and comfy. She had her own room and a playroom for all her toys with a place of honor for the dollhouse she and her dad had built together.
Those had been the best couple of weeks ever. It was so cool to work in his shed with him. He would pretend he had glued little pieces of wood to his hands, then touch his face and dance round yelling for her to pull them off. When she would reach to pull his fingers from his face, he would grab her around the waist and swing her all around. She had laughed so hard tears ran down her face. Painting was a whole new experience. He had smeared paint on her arm and acted like it was
an accident. She would always get him back by putting red paint on his cheeks and nose. He looked just like the Raggedy Andy doll her cousin, Lucy, carried everywhere.
That old house had a big kitchen too which was perfect because her mom loved to cook and bake, especially for every holiday. Kyndel always got to help. She would roll out the dough for pies or cookies and put the icing on the cookies and the cakes. It was the best. Right before her sixth birthday was the first time her mom had let her flip the pancakes on the griddle for Saturday morning breakfast. Her momma was the best cook ever. When she missed them the most, she would close her eyes and remember the smell of momma’s pot roast just like they were coming through the door from Sunday school. Every memory was accompanied by the sound of her parents’ laughter. Those memories got her through some really hard times and reminded her what an incredibly lucky little girl she had been.
She’d had a great childhood and was a pretty good kid. Her parents had only had to punish her once, and even then she would swear her dad was biting the inside of his cheeks to keep from laughing. She had knocked Amy Jo right off the merry-go-round with absolutely no remorse. That little snot had deserved it. She had been teasing Kyndel, saying she had chipmunk cheeks in front of all the kids at recess. The boys had laughed at her and the girls just looked down like they were embarrassed for her. Amy Jo was going round and round and every time she passed Kyndel she made a little “squeak squeak” sound and blew her cheeks up like they were packed with nuts. The fourth trip around, Kyndel’d had enough; she grabbed the handle, dug her feet into the dirt and dragged that merry-go-round to a halt. Amy Jo made that stupid face and squeaked one more time, so Kyndel hit her right in the shoulder with all her might. Amy Jo fell in the dirt and cried like a baby.
Of course, stupid Miss Kidmore saw all of it and took Kyndel to the principal’s office because Amy Jo was wailing like a siren. The principal called her parents and dad came to the school. That was what happened in small towns, everybody knew everybody and parents came right to the school when there was a problem. Principal Smith told her dad what she had done and that she would have to write sentences that night. Her dad scolded her with a twinkle in his eye and assured the principal she would complete her punishment. She did and even though her fingers hurt from writing “I will not hit my classmates” two hundred times it was so worth it because Amy Jo never teased her again. But then she was only at that school for a few more months. Her mom and dad were killed soon after the incident and she that was when she went to live with Granny.
She remembered being so scared that first day at a new school but there was no way she was going to let the other kids see her fear. Granny told her to hold her head up, put her shoulders back, and look those new kids right in the eye. Of course they all knew Granny and most thought she was a little batty.
Truth be told she was different but she took Kyndel in, raised her and loved her the best way she knew how. She knew that now. Granny wasn’t as affectionate as her parents had been but Kyndel knew with all certainty that she had loved her granddaughter the best way she could. Granny taught her about plants and herbs and how to help people when they were sick or hurt. Most of the people that lived as far out in the country as Granny did would not go to a city doctor so Granny fixed them up and gave them herbs, teas and ointments to make sure they completely healed. The entire community respected Granny Masterson, as they all called her, for that.
Granny had been front and center when she graduated with honors from high school and then again college. She even wore a dress and did not have that old straw hat on her head. Granny told her how proud of her she was and to never forget where she came from. She could hear it like Granny was right there, “Kyndel girl, I always knew you were destined for big things. Our little country town couldn’t hold you. Spread your wings. I’m proud of you. Love you, girl.”
Granny had told her pretty much the same thing the last time she had talked to her on the phone and even when she saw her not long after. Kyndel went every four months for a long weekend. Granny would not admit it but she was getting old and needed more help than she had before. The silly old woman was still keeping a half acre vegetable garden to help feed the less fortunate and another half acre of flowers and herbs for medicinal purposes and all at ninety-two years old. She would tell the neighbor boys that came to help that they needed to be doing their schoolwork instead of helping her. So Kyndel always made time to go home for a visit and help.
When she got there for what would be her last visit, Granny’s color was off and she seemed to take just a little bit longer to answer. Her elder had even let her cook dinner the second night she was there which never happened. They sat and talked about Kyndel when she was little and even a little about her parents. Granny told her again how proud she was of her and how much she loved her.
The next morning Kyndel got up, surprised to not smell coffee brewing. She figured Granny had gotten distracted or that someone had come for help. She started the pot and went to see where she could be. As Kyndel walked past her room, she saw Granny was still in bed, something completely unheard of if the rooster had already crowed. She went in to wake her and the instant Kyndel saw her, she knew she was gone. Granny had died as she had lived, on her own terms.
She made sure Granny was buried in the family plot at the same little country church with all of the Mastersons. Kyndel had packed up all of Granny’s things she had wanted to keep for herself. Then let the ladies of the community come get whatever they could use for people that needed it. Granny had always said that was how she wanted it handled so that was the way it had been handled. Her granny ran things, even from heaven. Kyndel made sure she had all of Granny’s recipes and formulas packed away in the things being shipped to her home. If she had been told once, she had been told a hundred times, “Kyndel, girl, when I leave this earth you don’t let anyone get their hands on my recipes and formulas. They belong to the Mastersons and that is where they will stay. I will come back and swat your behind if you let them busy bodies get them, girlie.”
Kyndel left that memory and continued to float, thinking about everything and nothing at all. She passed across more memories of good days and bad days. How she had met Grace and how they were still friends all these years later even though Grace could not follow through on anything, ever. First dates, bad dates, parties, awards, she went from one memory to another.
But nothing compared to what she felt when she thought of Rayne. There he was, right in front of her. Piercing violet eyes that saw everything, even things she would rather hide. He had a straight aristocratic nose that crinkled when he was grinning or trying to keep from laughing at her. His soft perfectly shaped lips that could bark orders or give the most amazing pleasure imaginable. He had a square jaw that was always covered with just a hint of stubble that tickled and raised goose bumps when it rubbed her body. He was every woman’s dream lover, every woman’s fantasy and he wanted her. Hell, he believed the Universe had made her for him. He had no problems with her extra pounds and more than ample curves. As a matter of fact, he had threatened her health or at least her ability to sit down comfortably, if she lost any weight.
How he had just happened into her life was nothing short of miraculous. One minute he wasn’t there and the next he was, like it was something that was supposed to happen. He had called it destiny and maybe it was. She could remember the times before he was part of her world, some memories she would hold close forever but he made her world more vivid, brighter, just better. It was as if every single thing she had ever known for her whole life had been working together to bring her to this place in time, to this man, for them to be together. He belonged there and she with him. She had none of the self conscious feelings that usually came from meeting someone new and none of the fears that if she trusted or depended on him too much, he would leave her all alone. She just knew he would not. She knew with all certainty that he would always be with her. Her heart and soul trusted him and good God did her body
want him every minute of every day.
She should have freaked out when he said he could change into a dragon but for some reason she didn’t. She just accepted what he said as the truth. Granny always said ‘trust your gut’ and her gut said he was the real deal. Even her bullshit meter had been completely silent since meeting Rayne. Well, except for some guy with glowing mismatched eyes, but as soon as she reached for that memory it was gone and all she could think of was Rayne. He had told her like recognized like, that the Universe had made her for him and they belonged together. She really wanted to not believe him but everything in her said he was right. They were meant to be together. She figured it was time to accept that whatever she felt for this man was real but hadn’t she already done that? Her heart definitely had, she knew she loved Rayne. She knew it with all of her being but for some reason she could not remember, she was sleeping and having a hell of a time waking up.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
He walked back into Kyndel’s room just in time to hear Lance telling her about the time the whole Force was out on a mission and Rayne had been bathing in a stream by their camp. While he had been enjoying the first time that he wasn’t covered in dirt, blood and gore in ten days, a bear had snuck up looking for food. His clothes had been hanging from the tree and had gotten stuck across the back of the big furry animal as he ambled along. Rayne had run almost a mile, completely naked until his clothes had slid off the bear’s back as he headed back into the forest.
Rayne had been putting his clothes back on when he had heard female giggles. Turning he found three girls just past the age of consent sitting on a hay bale, enjoying the view of his naked behind. Lance was just about to tell his mate how he had tried to talk the girls into accompanying him back to their camp when he was run off by their father at the end of a pitch fork just as he walked into the room.
