Saved By Her Dragon (6 page)

Her giggles were cut short when Royce grabbed her up and threw
her over his shoulder. “You better put me down, old man, or I swear
I
will
make good on
my threat to turn you into a toad.”

Royce
barked out a laugh while placing the feisty witch on the ground.
Kyra winked and pointed at her little finger before teasing, “Got
him right where I want him.”

The older Guardsman returned his hands to her waist and
growled, “Be careful little witch, or I
will
carry you out of here with your
pretty little ass in the air.”

Kyra blushed and elbowed Royce in the gut. The resulting
‘oomph’ assured Devon that the couple before him was more in love
than ever, only serving to reinforce his belief that
the Universe does not make
mistakes
. Kyra’s quick response reminded
him why he liked her so much, “Yeah, yeah, yeah, says the guy that
still can’t find his boots.”

“Kyra…”
Royce growled.

“Royce…”
Kyra growled back. She might have been convincing if she hadn’t
started giggling.

Deciding
he needed to grab some coffee and make arrangements to get his mate
back to the lair before Sam arrived, Devon said, “I don’t even want
to know.”

“No, you
don’t,” Royce was quick to respond. “If you’re sure you don’t need
us, I’m gonna take you up on the offer to get some rest. I’m
beat.”

“No
problem. Get outta here and I’ll talk to you soon.” Devon hugged
Kyra and shook hands with Royce in the way of their
kind.

As soon as the couple was out of sight, Devon spoke to Aaron
through their unique link,
“Aar, you
up?”

“Yeah. What’s up?”
was the groggy
response he received a few seconds later.

“Looks like I’m gonna get to bring her home today, so I need
a favor.”

“Good news, man. Whatcha need?”

“Thanks. I need to see if you can bring my SUV to the
hospital and then take my Harley back to the house?”

“Not a problem. I just need to grab a shower and mainline
some caffeine and I’ll be right there.”

“Thanks.”

“No problem, buddy.”

Devon
felt Aaron sever their connection and decided mainlining caffeine
was the best idea he’d heard all morning. He kissed his mate and
headed to the cafeteria in search of coffee and food.

Twenty
minutes later, filled with eggs, bacon, toast, a couple of
blueberry muffins, and three cups of coffee, Devon stood waiting
for the elevator, thinking about all that needed to be done between
the time he got her home and when she would finally open her eyes.
Just as the doors to the lift opened, he heard the unmistakable
squeal of Sydney and the tap of her little shoes on the tile. He
turned just in time to pick up the running child before she made
contact with his leg.

“Good
morning, Dev. Ready to take our girl home?” Sydney asked, her eyes
shining bright with excitement.

“Our
girl, huh?” Devon asked, winking to assure the child he was
playing.

“Well,
duh. She’s one of us, ya know?”

“Yes,
Darlin’, I know”

Sydney
giggled and kissed him on the cheek right before her parents
appeared behind them. Having let the elevator go, Devon leaned
forward and pressed the call button again while asking, “Going my
way?”

Lance
and Sam smiled, answering in unison, “Sure are.”

“To what
do I owe the honor of the entire Kavanaugh clan’s presence this
fine morning?”

“Sydney
has a checkup scheduled,” Lance answered.

Samantha
added with a wink, “I have some paperwork to get done so we can get
your mate home and awake. By the way, just a head’s up, Kyndel is
cooking up a feast. Rayne is rearranging search schedules to keep
as many of you guys at the lair as he can until Kyra knows what we
are dealing with and well…you’ve talked to everyone
else.”

Once
again Devon was filled with an incredible sense of gratitude.
“Thank you all so much,” he said as the doors of the elevator
opened and they all stepped in.

Their
group exited the elevator as soon as it stopped on their floor and
headed down the hall. Sam stopped at the nurse’s station, while
Devon, Lance, and Sydney continued on their course. Once inside his
mate’s room, he took up his usual spot at her bedside, but this
time with Sydney on his lap. When he reached for her hand, Sydney
mimicked his movements and laid her smaller hand atop their joined
ones.

“She’s
sleeping,” Sydney said in a tiny voice, staring at his mate’s
face.

Devon
leaned forward until his head was next to the child’s and looked
between the beautiful woman and the sweet little girl. “How can you
tell, Syd?” Devon asked.

“I can
feel it…here,” she answered and placed her hand over Devon’s
heart.

His
curiosity got the best of him and he had to ask, “What does it feel
like?”

Sydney
tilted her head to the side and squinted her eyes while she was
thinking. A moment later she said, “When she’s sleeping, I feel
floaty, like when I jump on the trampoline at Jay’s
house.”

He had
so many more questions but didn’t want to make Sydney
uncomfortable, even though he doubted that was possible. The child
was remarkable and until her parents knew the extent of her special
abilities, they had all agreed not to draw any more attention than
was absolutely necessary. Devon answered the only way he could
think it, “That’s really cool, Syd. Thanks for the
help.”

The
little girl nodded and returned her hand to his and his mate’s,
apparently content to just sit with him. Her father, however, was
another story. Lance was pacing back and forth and sighing at least
once every pass. Devon turned his head and watched a few trips
before asking, “What’s up, bud?”

Lance
stopped and looked out the window, arms crossed, legs shoulder
width apart, and blew out a long, slow breath. He answered without
turning around, “Nothing…everything…oh screw it. Nothing I can’t
handle.” He spun around and speared Devon with a look that said he
was done, but then added, “And let it go until you have your world
straight and then we’ll go grab a beer or twelve and solve all the
problems of the world. Deal?”

His brethren obviously needed to talk, but not in front of
Sydney and Devon respected that. He also knew that Sydney was
getting better at listening into their mind speak unless it was the
link between mates, so he understood why their normal form of
communication wouldn’t work. With no other options, he nodded his
agreement but added out loud, “Ya’ know I’ll hold you to that
beer
and
the
talk.”

Lance
half-heartedly chuckled and nodded, “Yeah, yeah, yeah, I
know…you’re a dog with a bone.”

“Daddy,
you’re so silly,” Sydney laughed and jumped down, running to her
dad.

Devon
smiled as he watched Lance ruffle his daughter’s hair and listened
to Sydney’s resulting laughter, thinking how much his brother had
grown since meeting the two women in his life. The alarm on Lance’s
phone rang reminding him of Sydney’s appointment. The two said
their goodbyes and once again, Devon found himself alone with his
mate.

Needing to make sure Aaron had not gotten sidetracked, he
called to him,
“Hey bud, how long till you
get here?”

“Pulling into the parking lot. Impatient much?”
Aaron answered, and Devon could hear the grin
through their link.

“Actually, I am,”
Devon
laughed.
“See ya in a minute.”

He shut
down their connection and grabbed the overnight bag he had been
keeping in the closet. Ten minutes later he was shaved, had on a
fresh shirt, and was ready to get the show on the road. He’d just
decided to go check on Sam’s progress when she and her friend,
Charlie, entered the room, greeting him in unison. Sam continued,
“We have the paperwork you need and also…” She pulled a bag from
the hospital gift shop out from under her arm and handed it to him.
“A pair of scrubs for her to wear home. Is Aaron here,
yet?”

“You
called, doctor dear?” came from the hall, and within seconds Aaron
was standing in the doorway, a fresh cup of coffee in hand. A look
of surprise flashed across his face before he schooled his features
and walked to the far side of the room, speaking as he went. “Are
we ready to get the hell outta dodge, Bro?”

Aaron
had made kind of a wide berth around the doctors and Devon wondered
about his strange behavior, but could only focus on getting his
girl home. Devon grinned, “Yep. Sam and Charlie just got here with
her paperwork. How about you and I go out in the hall and sign it
while the ladies change my girl’s clothes?”

“Deal”

Ten
excruciating minutes later, Sam called to them that they were ready
to go. He and Aaron worked perfectly together, just as they had
hundreds of times, to get his mate transferred to a gurney and into
the elevator. Charlie had insisted they get an orderly, but the men
had it done before she could complete the call.

As soon
as his mate was loaded into the back of his SUV and he was buckled
into the driver’s seat, Devon breathed a sigh of relief and headed
out of the parking lot. A few of the pieces of the puzzle that were
his chaotic life fell into place as he turned onto the road leading
to their lair with Aaron following closely behind.

He called his mother and let her know they were on their way
and then called to Royce through the connection of their
Force,
“Hey Royce, we’re headed your
way.”

“Congrats, Bro. I’ll let Kyra know and we’ll meet you at your
mom’s.”

“Thanks, man.”

“Anytime, Brother.”
And they both cut
their connection.

The rest
of the trip was without incident and he spent the time telling his
mate anything and everything he could think of concerning his clan,
his brethren, and their lair. He knew he was repeating things he
had already shared and wondered for about the hundredth time if she
really could hear what he was saying, or if she would
remember.

He
entered the lair and maneuvered the narrow streets that led to
Siobhan’s house. His mother was waiting on her front porch as he
pulled his SUV into the driveway while Aaron parked Devon’s Harley
on the street. Before he was out of the truck, Royce and Kyra
appeared from behind the house carrying two large duffle bags, with
what he guessed were the witch’s supplies. Rayne, Kyndel, and their
son, Jay, could be seen making their way down the sidewalk. Aidan
and Grace were missing from the ‘family reunion’, but he knew Grace
was at work and was sure her mate was at her side, which only left
Lance, Sam, and Sydney, who he had just left at the
hospital.

Not
wanting to waste any more time, Devon motioned for Aaron to help
get his mate out of the SUV and into his mother’s home. They were
joined by his Commander and Royce, and together the four
well-trained warriors made quick work of her transfer. Siobhan
directed them to the room that had been his when he was younger,
but had been remodeled several times over with the passing years.
He wasn’t at all surprised to see she had it completely ready for
his mate and any situation that may arise with her recovery. No
sooner had the guys wheeled the gurney into the room than Kyra and
Kyndel appeared at Siobhan’s side.

“You
guys get out of here for a minute and let us girls get her settled
into bed,” Kyndel said as she handed her son to his father and made
a shooing motion with her hands.

The men
looked at one another, shrugged, and then turned and left. Down in
the kitchen, they raided his mother’s fridge while Devon got the
play-by-play of the latest soccer game he’d missed. He continued to
keep one eye on the clock and one ear on the bedroom until Kyndel
appeared in the doorway, giving the all clear. Devon practically
ran out of the room, wasting no time maneuvering the long halls
lined with his mother’s menagerie of antiques and knickknacks to
get to his mate. He burst through the half-closed door and right
into the middle of Siobhan and Kyra’s conversation.

Both
women looked at him and almost in unison said, “Good! You’re here.
We need to talk.”

Devon
nodded, heading towards his mate’s bedside, needing to be near her.
“Okay. Whatcha need?”

The ladies looked at one another, Siobhan nodded once before
they turned back, and Kyra spoke, “I want…well,
we
want,” she motioned towards his
mother. “To start the spell to find out what’s going on with your
girl right away...like...
now
.” She rushed on and Devon wondered
why. He was just as anxious, probably more, to have her awake. Then
Kyra said the one thing he hadn’t thought of and his blood ran
cold.

“She’s
been out a long time, Dev and I’m afraid the longer we wait the
harder it’s going to be to identify the magic and/or the magic user
and rid her of whatever it is that isn’t letting her wake
up.”