.jpg)
Pax snuggled down in the bed, yawning. “Fine. Go find him. But if the bad guy shows up, wake me.”
“Okay.” Hope cuddled down, still holding Pax’s hand. It was nice to hold his hand. If she got scared, he would know it. And Pax would do anything for her, just like she’d do for him. They’d be friends forever and forever.
He fell asleep first, breathing lightly.
She closed her eyes and let herself go to the calm place. Then sleep.
For hours, she wandered in the dream world, looking for Drake. She called for him, searching around the beach and forest.
For the first time, he didn’t come.
* * * *
Ronan sprawled across the hospital bed, blinked and tried to focus past the incapacitating ringing between his ears. He brushed a woman’s hair out of his face and lifted his head, looking down.
Grace Cooper remained untouched, save for a swelling bruise along her cheekbone from the impact of his jaw. Her hair was tousled, but her skin smooth and her expression nonexistent. For a woman who’d been in a coma for two years, she appeared surprisingly healthy.
He rolled off her toward the window, coming up in a crouch to fight.
Wind blew inside, clean air mixing with the smoke. Tiles were broken across the floor, and a ceiling tile hung down, cracked in half. What the hell?
Garrett picked himself up off the ground, his eyes a dangerous gray, blood sliding down his hard face. “Asshole went out the window. Jumped right into a waiting helicopter.”
“Are you okay?” Ronan gasped out, inventorying his body.
“Fine.” Garrett kicked broken tiles out of his way. “You have glass imbedded in your neck.”
So that explained the breath-stealing pain he felt. An inch lower and the glass would’ve bounced off his shielded torso. “I’m fine.” It wouldn’t do to let this nephew see a weakness.
Garrett rolled his eyes and moved over to the window, looking down, anger vibrating down his broad back. “They’re gone.” Somebody pounded on the dented door and he turned, striding forward and opening it. “We’re good.”
Logan nodded from the other side and whipped a leather square out of his back pocket that had an odd-looking metal badge in it. “I’ll take care of it out here. Stand by.” He turned and disappeared from sight.
Benny moved inside, bruises across his neck. He tried to close the damaged door and ended up just leaning against it. “Who are we?”
“Homeland Security,” Garrett said, spitting blood on the floor. “Logan plays a good agent, and the badge looks real. He’ll have the doctors and nurses convinced this was a small matter and that we’re already working with the local cops.”
So long as nobody got in his way, Ronan didn’t give a shit who played what, and he’d already dealt with enough cops or security guys. He stomped on a couple of smoldering pieces of wall. “What was that?”
“Grenade. The live kind,” Garrett muttered, looking around. “At least it gives us an excuse to move her.”
Benny craned his neck to see Grace. “On that note, I’ll go get a doctor to release her into our care. We have the documentation sent by Dr. Cooper.” He yanked the door open and didn’t seem bothered when it cracked down the middle. “I’ll be right back.”
His neck freely bleeding, Ronan moved back to Grace’s side and settled the bedclothes securely over her. Her delicate jawline was similar to Faith’s, and the sight hit him in the rib cage. She was so young. So lost. Was her body still healthy because she had been one of the Enhanced?
Garrett stretched his arm, revealing part of a bone broken through the skin.
Ronan winced. “Can you heal that?”
Sweat dotted the younger vampire’s brow and upper lip. “Yeah.” He straightened his shoulders and then went still. The bone settled back into place with a loud pop. He growled and dropped his chin to his chest so he could take several deep breaths. His skin slowly mended.
“Nicely done,” Ronan said. How proud Jacer would’ve been of this young male.
Garrett’s body remained still, but he slowly turned his head. His shaggy hair fell over his brow, mixing with the blood. “Why don’t you heal your neck?”
Ronan took in air and sent healing cells to the top of his spine. The pain worsened.
Garrett straightened and stalked toward him, his black boots crunching the damaged floor. A cut above his left eye slowly mended together, leaving only a small white line. He grasped Ronan’s shoulder and turned him. “Shit.”
Yeah. That probably summed it up.
“A sizable glass shard from the broken window has sliced you to shit. I have to take it out,” Garrett said, his voice hoarse through the smoke. “Brace yourself.”
Ronan set a hand on the bed and tried to focus on how similar Grace’s cheekbones were to Faith’s. Or how different. Faith’s were higher and fuller, where Grace’s were hollowed out, no doubt from being in a coma for two years.
Garrett tightened his hold on Ronan’s shoulder. “One, two—”
Agony pierced through Ronan’s entire head, and his fangs dropped of their own volition, slashing his lip. His eyes burned, no doubt changing color.
“Can you heal?” Garrett asked, helping him to stand.
Ronan eyed the two-foot-wide jagged and bloody sheet of glass. “Yes.” He wondered if he’d spoken the truth.
Garrett leaned around him to peer at his nape. “You’re not. Yet.”
Ronan hissed, his head spinning from the pain. “I’ll be fine.”
“Jesus, you’re a stubborn bastard. We really must be related.” Garrett shoved him to turn him around, but Ronan didn’t move. “Strong, too.”
Yet he was about to pass out. “Don’t worry about me. We need to transport Grace to safety.” So Ronan could hunt down Omar. It was a travesty that the brutal bastard was still living.
Garrett’s fangs slid free.
Ronan lifted his head.
Garrett slashed into his right wrist and lifted it to Ronan’s mouth, and then started talking before Ronan could object. “Listen. For whatever reason, you can’t heal yourself right now. You’re wearing the Kayrs marking on your hand, which means we’re related. Any immortal blood would help, but family blood, especially mine, will heal you.”
Ronan shook his head and pushed the arm away. “You’re healing yourself right now. Keep your blood.”
Garrett snarled. “I need you at full strength, dickhead. We might face resistance on the ground level, and we’ll have this lady with us.”
The kid was right. Ronan accepted the blood, letting it pour down his throat. The power seized his lungs, and he coughed. His head jerked back. Mini-detonations occurred within him, sparking nearly painfully. Healing cells spread out in every direction and began to repair the damage to his body. Quickly. “Thank you.”
Garrett nodded, healing his wrist. Then he looked at the quiet woman on the bed. “The Kurjan was here with her for a while. We’ll have to check her for trackers just in case.”
“Trackers?”
“Yeah. Little devices that can be put on a person so they can be traced. Usually right under the skin.” Garrett studied Grace. “I can barely sense her. She’s Enhanced, but there’s nothing else there. Right?”
Ronan’s heart sank. “Yes. A Kurjan gave her a small amount of blood the other day in order to draw my mate here, and it appeared to have helped. Temporarily.”
Garrett lifted a dark eyebrow. “More than a little would kill her.”
That was the problem, now, wasn’t it? Ronan eyed her. She was the only family his mate had on earth. Yet even he couldn’t save her. Being Enhanced wasn’t enough to give her the necessary strength to survive his blood. “Science has advanced admirably since I’ve been gone,” he mused.
Garrett wiped soot off his chin. “Not that much.”
Yet
there had to be a way. For Faith, he’d do anything.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Faith finished settling Grace into a makeshift hospital room in the mountainous haven. Oddly enough, the surrounding rock held a sense of peace. With only the glow of the monitor lighting the room, veins of copper, silver, and zinc created interesting patterns on the wall and ceiling. A plush blue rug covered the floor.
Ronan appeared in the doorway, an ultra-soft blanket in his big hands. She jolted, her breath quickening. Emotions jumbled inside her until she couldn’t find any words. Their intense foreplay would’ve probably resulted in mind-blowing sex. Then the guy had turned all alpha male on her, and she still kind of wanted to kick him in the face. But he’d saved her sister and had risked his life to do so. “Hi,” she said lamely.
He studied her from head to toe. “Hi.”
A warmth spread out in her belly. Just from his appearing in the door. Okay. Maybe because he had tough-guy bruises across his jaw that he’d earned rescuing Grace. “Are you all right?” Faith asked.
“Yes. Nearly healed.” He glanced down at the blanket. “I saw this in a store on the way to the airstrip in Denver and thought she’d like it.” Moving quietly, he stepped inside and handed the luxurious knit over. “I had Garrett go inside to purchase it for me.”
Faith took the soft material, absurdly touched. “That was kind of you.”
He shrugged, his thick hair wet and curling over his collar after his shower. He’d changed into another dark T-shirt and faded jeans that had probably been Benny’s. “I didn’t get any blood on it.”
She spread the blanket over her sister. “This is lovely.”
“Good.” He turned on one massive boot and headed toward the door.
“Ronan,” she said quietly, waiting until he turned around. If the Cyst leader had truly thrown a grenade into Grace’s room, Ronan had been telling the truth about them and the Kurjans. He’d saved Grace from their enemies. “Thank you for bringing my sister here.”
He nodded. “We’ve been explaining to Garrett and Logan about the Seven. Ivar said he told you everything?”
“Yes.” But she wasn’t telling them everything now, was she? So far, none of the immortals had guessed that Grace had the birthmark, and apparently she didn’t give off any Key vibes in her coma. “What did they say?”
Ronan’s eyes darkened, and he held out a hand. “Why don’t you come join the conversation?”
She faltered and then accepted his hand, unsurprised by the jolt up her arm when their skin touched. Perhaps these newest immortals would know of something to help Grace. Man, she felt off-center. How could she not be?
He led her through the labyrinth of tunnels, all well-lit and airy, to a sprawling conference room she hadn’t realized existed. Benny and Ivar sat on one side of the table, while Garrett and Logan faced them. Faith had met the newcomers when they’d brought in Grace.
All four males stood.
Ivar tugged down his shirt. “I showed them the marking on our backs.”
Garrett and Logan wore identical expressions of…nothing.
Ronan pulled out a chair at the head of the table for her, waiting until she sat before yanking another one over. The other males sat.
His warmth washed over her, somewhat comforting and yet also sparking a response from her. Perhaps she should get her adrenal system evaluated, because adrenaline kept ripping through her. Perhaps it was anxiety. She mentally rolled her eyes at herself. Or was it because the most dangerous and sexiest vampire in the world wanted to mate her, and her body was all in for that idea? Her mind was not. She concentrated on the matter at hand. “Thank you all for saving Grace.”
Unconcerned nods happened around the table.
So getting bombed and fighting to the death was a normal Tuesday for these guys. Nice to know.
Garrett finished a grape energy drink and crumpled the can. He focused on Ronan. “You need two more members for the Seven.”
Faith blinked. “Wait a minute. After what? An hour of explanation, you’re on board with this concept? You believe it all? Without any proof but the tattoo on the back?”
Garrett frowned.
Logan elbowed him. “Human,” he whispered, plenty loud for everyone to hear.
Garrett’s face cleared. “Oh yeah. I forgot.” He smiled, and the sight was so charming, Faith could swear she heard women sighing from miles away. “My uncle can teleport, and he does so by jumping dimensions. My dad can lift a hand and stop the motor function of any attacker. I have an aunt who’s a mental demon hunter, two aunts who are powerful witches and can throw a fireball at your head if you swear in their presence—”
“Unless they’re swearing themselves at the time,” Logan interjected.
Garrett snorted. “True. My older sister met Logan’s brother in a dream world during their childhood, and now they’re mated and have a kid. This tattoo and prison stuff and dimensions? Lady, it’s a regular week for us.”
Ronan went stiff. Hard as a rock next to her. Her heart started pounding and she turned her head. “Ronan?” Her voice came out a little too soft.
“Dream world?” he asked, his chin lowering. “Your siblings met each other in a dream world. Is it still there?”
Garrett’s hard jaw went slack. “Oh, God.”
“Shit,” Logan agreed. He wiped his hand across his eyes. “No. His sister basically drew a Kurjan bomb from this dimension into it, and it exploded. Seven years ago. It’s gone.”
Ivar breathed out. “Guess we know how your world shattered.”
Ronan nodded. “Yeah. I’ll talk to Garrett’s family at a later date—much later. It doesn’t matter how or why…just that it shattered. Without my sphere, Quade’s and Ulric’s will eventually fail as well. That’s a fact.”
“If that world shattered more than seven years ago, where have you been in the meantime?” Logan asked.
Ronan shrugged. “Apparently under rocks and then in a coma.”
“Huh.” Garrett tapped his fingers on the long stone table. “Is that why you can’t heal yourself yet? Did you do some type of damage internally? Some injury, maybe, to your blood itself?”
Faith held up a finger. “Wait a minute.” She sifted through the facts and everything she’d learned. Turning, she faced Ivar. “You said the Seven are bonded in blood and bone. That you took each other’s blood and forged not only stronger bodies, but a connection.”
“Yes,” Ivar said, his brow furrowing. “Why?”
She leaned in as she warmed to the topic. “Are you and Benny as strong as you were before? Years ago?”
Benny shuffled on the chair. “Well, no. But we haven’t fought for a while, so I just figured I was rusty.”
Ivar’s expression darkened. “As did I.”
Okay. All of this was new information, but if everything they said was true, then there were logical connections to make. “You’re bonded in blood and bone, and that gave you strength. But three of your members have died, and you’ve only replaced one. Adare is missing, and Ronan is healing from catastrophic injuries.”
Ronan sat back, turning his head to face her as realization dawned in his expression. “So you’re saying…”
She nodded. “I’m saying you created a situation where you need seven to reach your full power. Maybe you require an entire seven before you can even completely heal, Ronan. If Quade is alive and comes out of the shield world, he’ll need everyone at full strength.” She leaned further forward, thinking rapidly. “Ivar, you were right. It is always about the blood.”
Benny paled just a little. “There’s more.” He cleared his throat. “When Jacer and then Igor died, it was before Ivar became one of the Seven. I felt their deaths. Their pain and then their disappearance.”
Faith just stared at him. How was that possible? That type of a connection? Was it the same wi
th mates? Something must happen at a cellular level…even deeper. Was there truly a soul level? This was a new area of science, and she wanted to know more. Understand more. Answer some of the largest questions in the universe.
Ronan twirled the damaged purple can around in his hands. “Interesting.”
Logan glanced at Garrett. “Are we in agreement that Ulric will manage to get back into this world sometime in the future?”
“Yes,” Ronan answered for everyone.
“And you’re sure he has the ability to kill all Enhanced females?” Garrett asked, looking suddenly much older. “Even mated ones like my mom and sister?”
Ronan exhaled. “Yes. The power is in his blood, but spreading it…”
“Would be simple,” Logan said, leaning back and crossing his arms. “Science has progressed to a point where spreading a contagion is easy. I’m assuming he’s had followers through the years preparing for his return?”
“Of course,” Ivar said, his blue eyes burning.
“Well.” Garrett’s shoulders went back. “I guess we have no choice, because you need two more members of the Seven.”
“No,” Ronan said. “You must’ve missed the part about how a large percentage of warriors we tried to indoctrinate burned alive in front of us. The risk is mammoth. No way will both of you survive.”
Logan’s nostrils flared. “I’m assuming Kayrs and Kyllwood blood has an edge, considering we both have ancestors who were part of the Seven. But I need to know. Am I here because I’m your choice, or am I here because I’m Garrett’s best friend?”
Garrett glanced sideways. “You’re the best fighter I’ve ever seen. Dude.”
Ivar’s chin lowered just a little. “You’re here because you are a warrior and a great one. We’d choose you before either of your brothers. Zane is busy leading the demon nation and Sam has another destiny. One only whispered about, and I won’t tell you if you’re not part of the Seven, so don’t ask.”
“They’re not going to be part of the Seven,” Ronan said in a low growl. He looked down at the can Garrett had crumpled. “What is yellow number two?”