Unbound (40 page)

“How is she doing?” Doc queried when he and Griffin entered the room.

“No changes,” Cayden replied, moving to allow Doc to look her over. Doc went through the normal exam he had been performing several times a day.

Griffin stepped up to the other side of the bed and ran his hand through Dani’s streaked hair, “How are you doing kid? Can you hear me?” Unexpectedly her heart rate picked up and the beeping of the heart monitor became faster. Doc and Griffin looked at each other.

“Danielle, can you hear me?” Doc asked, and again her heart kicked.

“Maybe he’s right,” Doc said to Griffin. 

“Who is right? What are you talking about? Do you think she can hear us?” Cayden asked. A look passed between the two e
lders. There was something they
weren’t telling him. “What is going on?”

“Cayden,
” Doc seemed to steel himself for a fight, “You know Chase has been here waiting to see her.”

Cayden cut him off, “This is his fault, Doc. He needs to leave!”

“Here’s the problem, son,” Griffin came around the bed and rested a hand on Cayden’s shoulder, “Chase says Dani has been trying to talk to you since yesterday but she can’t reach you. He can hear her as long as he stays close. She’s been reluctant to talk to him but today she says she’s lost. She can’t find her way out of wherever she is in there and she can’t reach you to help her get out.”

A light came on in Cayden’s head and instantly he went on the defensive, “No damn way is he coming in here to touch her!” Memories of seeing Chase and Dani in his bed, Chase holding her mostly naked body, rushed into Cayden’s head and burned him.

“No damn way!”

“Alright then, I guess we’ll just have to leave
her to fight her way out alone,
” Doc said shaking his head. Dani’s heart rate kicked again and Doc took her hand.

“Sorry kid. I realize you’ve sacrificed yourself to protect others but we can’t help you. Cayden doesn’t like it.” Doc said sarcastically. Then he looked past Cayden to Griffin, “We are going to need to try a blood transfusion or she won’t have the strength to fight. She hasn’t fed in at least three days.” He left the room at a clipped pace. 

It was quiet for a long time. Both men stood and watched the sleeping girl. Griffin’s dee
p admiration for the girl who’
d saved his son overwhelmed him and he wanted so badly to help her. He’d been feeling protective and tender toward the girl ever since he met her. “I realize you and Chase are at odds with each other. You need to understand that being an adult means making tough choices. Being a warrior means making decisions in the best interest of your charge. Being a mate means all of that, plus putting your mate’s needs before your own. It is possible that Chase has some telepathic abilities you do not. That could be why it’s so easy for them to find each other. I’ll leave you to think about what it truly means to love someone, Cayden.”

Cayden sat there brooding over the idea of Dani being in close contact with Chase. Chase would just love to be able to bring her back around. Cayden never had a jealous thought in his life until Dani came along. She made him crazy and possessive. It had nearly killed him to go to her and ask her not to have sex with the human when his instincts told him to just leave and go get some of his own. The problem was he didn’t w
ant anyone else. He wanted Dani
ev
en though she’
d made it clear
she
wasn’t ready for that yet. He’
d dealt with her living under Chase’s roof in the past for her safety because he had no choice in the matter, but allowing him to touch her now was asking too much. It made his skin crawl.

“How’s it going son?” Gage disrupted Cayden’s thoughts.

“I don’t know, Dad. It’s not looking good, I guess.” He held Dani’s hand and pressed it to his cheek.

“Maybe you need some rest.
You should go feed and take a nap. I’m sure you’ll feel better after some well-deserved sleep,” Gage suggested.

“I don’t want to leave her. What if she wakes up and I’m not here? I can’t leave her alone again.”

“I think it’s in her best interest if you leave for a while and get some rest. If she wakes and you’re exhausted, you won’t be any good to her. Let’s go.” He pulled on Cayden’s arm. Then Cayden realized what was happening. He was trying to get him to leave so Chase could come in. That way, he wouldn’t need to concede to Chase and give him permission at the expense of his own pride. His father was gently encouraging him to do the right thing and get out of the way.

“She’ll be safe, Cayden. No one will hurt her at the
Enclave
. You know that. Let’s go boy,” he insisted, pulling on Cayden.

“I won’t be gone long, baby,” he whispered next to Dani’s ear. “I guess I’m gonna need to go so you can get some help. I’ll be back soon.” He kissed her lips softly and left with his father.

* * *

In the hall, Chase was pacing and listening to the soft whimpering in his mind. Dani was lonely and afraid and someone had said something that upset her. Chase could feel her confusion and distress. She was getting farther and farther away, giving up on the hope that anyone was coming to help her. His Lovely was lost and couldn’t find her way out of the darkness. He just couldn’t believe Cayden would be so selfish and petty that he would let her drift away instead of acc
epting his help. As time passed
she became completely silent, even the soft whimpering faded away. Koren startled him when she poked her head around the corner.

“Alright, let’s see what you can do. We got Cayden out of the room but who knows for how long, so let’s get moving.” She prodded him into action.

Chase’s heart leapt in his chest and he tore down the hall ahead of Koren.
At the door to Danielle’s room he was met by Gage
who gave him a stern look that was clearly a nonverbal threat. All Chase cared about was getting to Danielle. The room was dark and quiet except for the beeping of the heart monitor. She looked so small and fragile in the bed that was meant to hold warriors three times her size. He lowered the bedrail and pulled off his shirt. The last time, Doc had said skin contact might be helpful. He crawled into the bed next to Danielle and began to search, reach
ing out to her verbally and telepathic
ally as he had before. His bare chest against her arm, holding her hand and resting a hand on her forehead, just like before, he called to her.

“Lovely, I am here now. Can you hear me? I’ve come to find you.” He said it over and over again until he noticed the heart monitor beeping faster. He lifted his head and said, “Danielle, can you hear me? Come toward the sound of my voice.”

Then it started just as it had before. First, he got pictures only. She was flashing clips of JR with a knife to his throat and a syringe in his arm. It felt like a question somehow.

“JR is fine. He didn’t even need stitches, but he’s been worried about you. I think he’s still here with Griffin. If you wake up you can talk to him.”

Then he listened but there was no sound. He saw flashes of the morning they had had breakfast. It felt warm and happy. She was happy and enjoying their time together. He saw himself through her eyes and was surprised at her view of him. He could feel the affection for him that she usually suppressed. Then he saw Sam wearing her best bitch mask. “Don’t worry about Sam. I’m very sorry you felt the need to leave alone because of that situation. I blame myself for what happened to you and Cayden made sure everyone knew it was my fault you were taken.”

That seemed to make her a bit angry. Chase continued to apologize fervently and begged her to come find him in the darkness until finally he did hear her softly and far away.

“I was hungry. I needed to feed. That is not your fault, Chase,” she acquitted him.

“I hear you now, Lovely. Keep moving toward my voice. We can find the door together.” It had been too long since he’d heard her mental voice.

“I don’t want you taking the blame for my crap.” He heard her agitation with him and it was wonderful. He would take what he could get, even if it was annoyance.

“You wouldn’t have left alone if not for the rude interruption and I left you to deal with her.” He felt a flash of something hot and angry from her.

“She is your mate. What else are you supposed to do?” He could feel her getting closer to him.

“She is not my mate yet, Lovely, and you know I don’t love her. You know I only want you. I wish you would give me a chance to deal with the situation before you write me off.”

She flared at him again, her heart beating louder on the monitor. She showed him pictures of him guiding Sam to his
bedroom to calm her after she’
d broken up their morning together. “I guess that is your idea of dealing with a situation.” She implied a sexual encounter.

“I can’t believe you’re unconscious and still pissed at me. I can’t win. I have no relationship with Sam, but it’s nice to know you’re just as jealous of Sam as I am of Cayden. At least you don’t have to see her touching and kissing me the way I see the two of you.”

As soon as that thought had left his mind, he regretted it. She started pulling away. “No Lovely. Please. I’m sorry. I just can’t help but wish you would kiss me that way. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that. Please come to me. It’s time to get you out of there. You need to feed and so do I,” he coaxed.

Then he had the strangest sensation of being touched but it was in his mind. She grabbed onto him and held tight. There was no way to explain being telepathically embraced by another person. Especially one you craved so deeply. She wrapped herself around him and he held on to her for dear life. It was like floating in a dark cloud with her very soul snuggled to his chest. They just hung there unspeaking, entwined with each other’s thoughts. He heard her take a deep breath, and her eyelashes brushed his cheek. He didn’t move a muscle. She felt too good in his mind to release her and not be allowed to touch her again.

“Thank you,” she said, both telepathically and verbally.

“Shhh…Don’t speak, Lovely. Just let me hold you a while longer. As soon as they realize you are awake, they’ll make me leave. Just stay here with me awhile longer, please,” he begged her for mercy.

* * *

How co
uld she deny Chase
after he had just freed her from the dark prison of her mind? She turned her body toward him and allowed him to wrap his arms around her. She rested in his arms, taking in the delicious smell of him. They both felt a disturbance in the air around them and she could hear C
ayden’s annoyed breathing. He’
d taken a seat across the room and was watching them. Shit. This was bad.

“I hate to ask for
your help,” she pleaded through their connection
, “but do you think we could pretend I’m just now waking up?” She felt a wave of hurt and sadness pass over her as he released his mental embrace on her and lifted his head.

“Follow my lead,” He replied
telepathically
.

“Lovely. Can you hear me? Come toward my voice.” He repeated the encouragement from earlier, purely for Cayden’s sake. Cayden stirred from his chair and Chase caressed her face.

“Lovely, it’s time to wake up now. You need to come back to us.” She remained still in his arms and he held her tight. As if she had said something to him he said, “I know it’s hard but just hold onto me and I will carry you out. Good girl, don’t let go of me, baby. I have you.” She was pretty sure that was an attempt at rubbing it into Cayden’s face that Chase had to be the one to retrieve her from the darkness. Cayden growled a low throaty sound from the end of the bed.

She stirred a little, moving her face closer to Chase and taking in one last deep breath of his sunshine while he brushed her face with his fingertips, “There you are. It’s time to wake now. The nightmare is over, Lovely.” She snuggled against his chest and he kissed her forehead. Cayden growled again and left the room.

“I’m sure he went to get help getting rid of me.” He said with his lips still against her forehead.

“We really have to stop meeting this way. I don’t like t
his damsel in distress business.” S
he smile
d
up at him and
croaked
her voice rough from disuse.

“I don’t mind. It’s the only time we spend together anymore,” he chuckled.

“I’m going to miss seeing you,” her smile faded.

“You don’t need to miss me, Lovely.” Chase’s heart fell. He brushed her cheek again.

“I can’t stay in your home any longer. It is not fair to either of us to continue interfering with the progression of each other’s life. You need to start thinking about your mate and I’m in the way. Do you know the last time I was here,” she gestured around the room, “your future mother-in-law sat in that chair for two hours, making wedding plans in front of me. She wanted me to know who you belonged to. When I was at the dress shop with her and your mom, she made sure to rub it in my face again and do all she could to make sure she brought the bonding up with Debbie every chance she got. She thinks I am a threat to her daughter’s happiness. I don’t want to cause you any more trouble than I already have. It’s time to move past me and into your future.” A single tear slid down her cheek. She wiped it away quickly, blinking away the remainder of her sadness. Chase’s eyes were wide with disbelief. No wonder he’d had so much difficulty getting closer to Danielle. She’d been dealing with interference from Sarah, Sam, and Cayden.   He didn’t get a chance to respond before a mass of people entered the room ushered by Cayden. Dani closed her eyes again, hiding her obvious stress from the newcomers.