Shifter Magick (28 page)

“Son.” His father tried to move in front of him. “If you want to carry her then come on. Let’s get her out of this place.”

Maddox nodded but couldn’t do anything but burrow his face against her neck.

“What is that?” Daniel whispered.

Maddox ignored him and tried to mentally prepare himself for moving her. Others would see her this way. She didn’t deserve to be in the spotlight like this. She hated it when people judged her. He couldn’t have anyone see her weak state. He pulled her closer to him as if instinctively trying to shield her from the others.

Someone touched his
sho
ulder. “Maddox, son…” his father urged him, “…
look
.
”

Maddox turned to his father and saw mist coming up from here his side touched Kera’s leg. He quickly looked back at her face
.
T
he right side
,
where he rested his head
,
was marginally healthier.

“Kera?” He whispered.

“Have you tried CPR?” Daniel suggested hurriedly. “Lay her out I will…”

“No, you tell me what to do.” Maddox felt his body shake violently
.
Ex
citement rushed through him. He
uncurled her from his arms and gently placed her on the ground. His coat swallowed her and provided shielding from her skin and the harsh ground.

“Put one hand under her neck and prop her chin up.” Daniel directed as he came around the other side of them.

Jason cursed when her
neck
was exposed
. The collar had rubbed her raw and
hand prints covered
her upper chest
.
S
he was strangled.

Maddox cupped her neck with one hand and wiped his eyes with the other. As he brought her neck up her chin tilted and her mouth opened slightly. He looked up at Daniel for direction.

“Breathe for her. Slowly out and into her lungs. Then pump on her chest right over her heart like you would imagine her rhythm would be.”

“It’s exactly the sa
me as mine.” H
e told Daniel then looked back at Kera. “Wake up for me.” He closed his eyes and put his lips over hers barely taking into account the filth that covered her. He breathed into her until her lungs were full. Then he pushed against her chest with his free hand in time with his heart.

He repeated the task two more times before her bruises began to fade. The room was silent as he worked.

Everyone was watching him.

He was waiting for her to breathe on her own.

He was waiting for her heart to beat.

“Come on.” He begged her. He covered her mouth with his and felt the first spark of energy against her skin. His throat closed up and he turned his head to the sky
.

“Don’t stop.” Jason encouraged him.

Maddox wiped his eyes again as fresh tears began to fall. He forced himself to relax. He took a shaky breath in and blew it out slowly before he filled his lungs and pressed his lips against hers. He blew into her lungs and felt her take the rest of his breath
.

A
t the same time her heart broke the silence in her chest.

His tears flowed freely down his cheeks as he pressed his ear against her chest and listened to the
rhythm of her heart
gain momentum. She took shallow breaths at best
,
but her body was working. She was alive.

Daniel let out a whoop and Jason clapped his hands. Maddox picked her up gently and regarded his father and family friend with gratefulness. “Couldn’t have done it without you.” He stuttered through
the sentence
.

Jason clapped him on the back and gave him a reassuring smile. “Let’s go.”

Maddox could only nod in response.
He adjusted Kera in his arms so that he could rest her head against his chest
.
T
he consistent slow pulse of energy would remind him she was still alive. Her body shook from the cold. He wrapped her closer to him and quickened his pace.

His father picked up also, leading to the cars. Once inside, Maddox settled Kera on his lap in the back seat. “What happened with Rayland?” He asked.

“He escaped. Luke provided his defenses and they left ten wolves to fight us while they fled.” Jason growled the whole sentence and clinched the wheel. “Some good men died
tonight
because they chose to follow him instead of me.”

Maddox cleared his throat. “We have to go back. I left Nick out there.” He looked down at Kera and shrugged her closer. He just wanted to get her home and check every inch of her to make sure she was
okay
.
He closed his eyes when suddenly the faint smell of Markus’s blood filled his nose. “I killed Markus.” He whispered.

“Daniel, will you find Nick?
”

“Sure.” Daniel jumped out of the car and turned to Maddox. “Keep her close.”

Maddox nodded.

Daniel rounded the back and pulled out the tracking equipment.

Maddox shook his head slowly from side to side as he realized that he could have told Daniel exactly where Nick was. He knew the man didn’t ask because he suspected that Maddox had enough to deal with.

“And you saved a life tonight.” His father said sternly as he pinned him with a stare in the rearview mirror.

“I don’t regret it.” He told his father.

Kera moved her head slightly against him and he closed his eyes.

The car moved forward and his father surprised him by saying, “I think you were meant for each other. Neither Daniel nor I would have been able to bring her back like you did.”

Maddox smiled. He basked in the feel of her in his arms for the ride home. Once they pulled into the garage, he waited for his father to open the door for him. He carried her straight into the house and into the closest bathroom. As the water warmed, he peeled off the jacket and shirt that he covered her in. He sat down in the large tub with her on his lap and felt the water fill his shoes and soak his jeans. He could care less for his comfort at this moment.

Kera shivered
. He pulled her closely to his chest and began to sponge water over her shoulders. The dirt quickly filled the tub. Maddox kicked at the stopper until it unplugged and the water began to filter through the drain.

He grabbed the soap and reached for the shower switch. When he sat back down, his hip hit the porcelain just as the water came on overhead. He cursed the pain but was able to angle her head so she wasn’t directly assaulted with water. Steam began to fill the room.

Maddox poured soap directly on her skin and began to wipe away the dried blood and dirt. The scent of the soap eventually overpowered where she had been. He worked through the tangles in her hair until he couldn’t see a speck of dirt on her.

Her back slid against his chest and the energy between them seemed to make her better.

Now that his focus had changed Maddox realized that she was perfectly formed.
Even after all she’d been through, she was still beautiful.
He closed his eyes and tried to push the thoughts from his head. He pictured her breasts, smooth and supple and wished he’d been the one to endure the brutal torture. He certainly deserved it for lusting for her at a time like this.

Maddox d
ried her off and covered her wet hair and body snugly in a towel. Dripping wet, he carried her to his old room and laid her in bed. Unwilling to leave her alone, he quickly stripped out of his shoes and clothes and put on fresh pants.

A knock sounded at the door. “I’ve called a doctor to come over and check her out.” His father called through the door.

“Thanks.” Maddox pulled the covers over them and tucked her into his side. “Send them in when they get here.”

He drifted in and out of sleep. Maddox took the towels off of her and stretched out next to her pressing his chest against hers. His arms bound around her back like a vice. Kera shifted beneath him and Maddox froze. She moaned and snuggled closer to him.

He released a breath and kissed the top of her head. “I love you.” He whispered to her. “Rest for me baby. I need you healthy.”

“Starved!” A
woman exclaimed from the hall.

“You have to keep this under our confidence like you did with Maddox.” He heard his father say to the woman.

“Yes, yes of course.” She reached his door.

A knock sounded. “Maddox.” His father called through.

Maddox made sure the blankets securely covered her body from view.
He felt his heart beat out of time with surprise that he had been caught unaware. “Come in.” He responded.

The door opened and light poured in. Maddox blinked and watched the woman who tended to him after his accident walk back into his life. She smiled brightly like being here was a privilege rather than the most devastating moment of his life. He remembered the moment he realized that she was happy that he was injured so she was picked to tend to him.

He repressed himself from growling. If she made one comment about being happy she was here, Maddox would lose it.

“You are sleeping?” S
he frowned and walked to the other side of the bed to get a better look at
Kera. “I need to examine her. C
an you move her flat on her back and pull down the covers?” Millicent Harden dropped her leather bag on the foot of the bed and began pulling out instruments that Maddox hadn’t seen before.

His growl halted her progress.

Her eyes widened and she lifted them to see what he was doing.

Maddox smiled sadistically. “This isn’t your show this time. I want to know every thought that runs through your head and I want to know it before you act. One false move and I just might break your hand so badly you will never be able to hold a
scalpel
. “

“Maddox.” His father chastised him gently. “She is the only doctor we can trust.”

“She has healed in my arms and if I have anything to say about it I won’t let her out of my reach. For all I know she could die the moment I let go of her.” Maddox tightened his grip on Kera and
she sighed against him.

“We should wake her.” Millicent said.

“No.” Maddox growled at the same time his father said the same thing.

Jason continued. “We should get over most of this before she wakes so we know what exactly we’re are dealing with.”

Maddox’s brow furrowed as Millicent nodded in agreement.

“You suspect sexual abuse.” She said coolly.

Maddox felt his heart bottom out. He hadn’t given himself time to contemplate her time under Andrew’s control. He had spent the time searching for her hoping she had returned home and begging that she wasn’t dead. He hadn’t expected her to be held captive and once he found her he had been overcome with the fact that she was alive.

Now that he realized what his father was insinuating he looked back on the state they found her in.
She was unclothed,
bound and helpless. If Andrew had wanted to rape her then he didn’t have to work very hard. He could have taken advantage of her and Maddox had done nothing to stop it.

“He should leave.” Millicent said to Jason.

Maddox looked at the doctor and sneered. “Not going to happen.” He told her. He looked down at Kera and brushed the few strands of hair that covered her cheeks back behind her ears. “Baby, I need you to stay asleep so I can care for you.”

Jason walked up to the edge of the bed and reached out to pat Maddox on the shoulder. “You should give the doctor some room. She has to examine her.”

Maddox smiled at the doctor. “On my terms.” He ignored the frustrated sigh from the doctor. He reached down and made sure the sheet under the comforter was securely positioned up to Kera’s neck. He rolled her on her back and moved away from her until he was sitting behind her with her head resting in his lap.

Dr. Harden rolled down the comforter and left only the sheet between them and Kera’s bare body. She began to take her vitals.

Maddox stroked Kera’s hair until it was dry and curled softly against her face. The doctor poked and prodded each muscle and bone as she made notes and mumbled about normal human features and no supernatural anomalies.

The doctor picked up a long instrument and began to remove the sheet from Kera’s lower half.

“What are you doing?” Maddox stopped her.

Jason cleared his throat. “She has to give Kera a female exam to make sure there isn’t something wrong…”

Maddox closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He lowered his head and his father prompted the doctor to continue.

A few moments past and Dr Harden mumbled a “Hum.”

“What?” Maddox looked up to see the instrument lodged inside of Kera and the doctor peering between her thighs. “Stop.” He reacted quickly and looked over to make sure his father wasn’t looking.