Moon Sworn (The Bound Series Book 1) (18 page)

Her breath left her in a whoosh as she flew backwards with the impact, her teeth jarring as the back of her head slammed into the paving behind her.  Her mouth filled with blood and her stomach rolled as she tried to cough it up, but she couldn't take a proper breath to do it.  She tried to turn on her side to spit it out as she began choking but she couldn't move.  Her vison wavered as she blindly struggled against the weight pinning her.  Confusion making her sluggish and uncoordinated as she tried to figure out what was happening.  She lifted her arms to try to push the weight away as her breath rattled in her chest.  Her movement stilling as they landed against fur and she blinked, trying to clear her vision and make sense of what she was seeing through her hazy, panic filled eyes.  Fetid breath blew across her face as she stared at the salivating muzzle before her and froze, her heart nearly stopping in fear as she wheezed and tried to think and take a breath.

She was growing weaker, oxygen not getting through as the blood gathered at the back of her throat and began to close off her windpipe.  As she got lightheaded her hands dropped uselessly to her side as through the haze of her vison she stared into the wild eyes of what looked like a wild, rabid dog.   Her mind became cloudy as her eyes grew heavy, and she had a vision of Jaden laughing and teasing her in bed as he tried to get her to talk dirty.

'
Jaden, I'm sorry. I know you never would have left me because I would have loved you too well.  Be happy…
' She heard a roar in the distance as her chest stilled and her eyes flickered closed.

Jaden had just stepped out of the shower, shaking with cold after the frigid water.  He was just reaching for a towel when he felt Maya's fear.  He reached out to her but was met with confusion and panic, and he couldn't make sense of what was happening.  He flew out of the bathroom and jumped straight over the bannister landing in a crouch in the hallway, when he suddenly heard her in his head saying goodbye, just before she faded.

"No, Maya, you hold on," he roared.
'Be happy
,' whispered through his mind and he felt his heart squeeze in his chest as she vanished from his mind completely.  He wanted to scream, slam his fist through a wall and tear out his own beating heart as the pain of loss tore through him, an open festering wound as his mind searched frantically for hers and came up blank. 

She'd only gone into the garden to peg out the washing, how could she be gone?  At the inane thought his cat took over, snarling and rushing to the forefront to protect him and his mate.  It spun on its heel and tore through the house and into the kitchen, powering through the window in the closed door and landing in a crouch in a shower of broken glass.  It growled, razor-sharp teeth fully visible at the sight of the Jackal standing on his mate's chest.  He lunged for it, putting his full weight into the movement as his large front paw slammed into the jackal with such force, he sliced its throat clean open.  The impact of the hit threw the Jackal off her, and straight into the side fence, smashing through the wooden panel.  His cat snarled and looked towards the Jackal, ears back and barking out a warning, as it checked to make sure it hadn't gotten up again.

Jaden threw off the change and knelt at Maya's side, placing a shaking bloody hand on her neck, swallowing his panic as he checked for a non-existent pulse.   He blinked, his throat going tight at the sight of her lay so pale and still on the back path.  Her lashes resting against her bloodless cheeks and her chest was motionless.  There was blood trickling from her slightly parted lips and he rolled her onto her side, pushing a finger into her mouth he swept the interior to clear her airway.  Once he thought he'd gotten most of it out, he slapped her back before rolling her back over. 
Where the hell were the others
? He thought as he looked towards the motionless Jackal while he tore the front of her t-shirt down the middle.  He placed his hand on the centre of her chest, just below her breast bone and linked his fingers, one palm resting on the back of the other.  He pressed down with the heel of his hand 5 times, then tilted her chin back, pinching her nostrils he blew into her mouth, making her chest rise.   He whispered a litany of prayers for help as he continued to perform CPR on her several time, getting desperate, this own throat feeling as he once again looked over towards the Jackal and snarled.   

"Damn it Maya, breath.  You're stronger than this, now fucking breath," he swore as he brought a fist down onto her chest below her left breast and it a thump, her body jolted but her heart didn't begin beating.

"No Maya, don't you dare leave me, not like this.  Fuck, not like this.  Now fucking breathe." He shouted as he again did compressions and blew into her mouth, thumping her chest once more, he wiped his brow on his forearm to clear the sweat from his eyes as she gasped and took a breath.  He could have cried as she coughed, more blood bubbling around her lips and he rolled her onto her side again where she threw up more blood.  Jaden ran his hand across his face in relief, staring as his hand came away coated in more blood.  His mouth pinching as he realised it was from her mouth as he'd breathed for her.  Bending forward he shuddered in relief as he pressed his forehead into her hair as he rubbed her back.  He heard a shuffling noise and lifted his head, looking over his shoulder in time to see the Jackal stumbling to its feet.  The wound in its throat was already healing.

"Son of a bitch," he snarled. "Maya stay there and don't move.  And don't you dare stop fucking breathing again, do you hear me?"  Placing a soft kiss on her cheek, the gentleness at complete odds with his gruff manner, he put her in full recovery position.  He didn't want her rolling over while he saw to their uninvited guest.  Slowly he rose to his feet, and the Jackal looked up, its head turning towards him, then dropping down to Maya, its large pointed ears twitching.

"Don't you dare fucking look at her, you will die for touching her," Jaden snarled.  He reached for his cat yet again, bones twisting and fur taking over as he embraced the change, revelled in it as he let his cat have full reign.  He also wanted his justice for what had been done to his mate, he was seething with anger as he now stood on 4 legs.  His lips drew back off his teeth and the end of his tail twitched as he crouched, front end lower than his back as he fixed his unblinking gaze on the Jackal.   It backed up and made a yapping sound, much like a wild dog as it went to turn bushy tail and run, preservation obviously upmost in its mind.  Jaden was on it in a heartbeat, slapping it with his large paw and knocking it back off its feet again.  It rolled and came back up trying to nip at him and defend itself, but he snarled and swatted it again with his claws this time, deep furrows raking down its hind quarters.  He stepped back and prowled around it as it warily watched him, but he was on it again before it could retreat, and he raked down its other side, deep furrows bleeding freely as it let out a high pitched whine and tried to limp out of reach.

'Maya don't look
,' Jaden sent the command to Maya, sighing in relief as he could once again reach her mind.  Then he pounced, his larger Jaguar body blanketing the smaller wild dog.  It tried to turn and rake at his belly with its back legs as its muzzle turned and dug under his front leg, biting down but Jaden just snarled.  Rearing back he opened his mouth, then closed it around the much smaller head of the Jackal.  The bones of the skull crunched under the impact of that colossally strong jaw.  He released his hold and dropped its lifeless body to the ground before backing away and beginning to prowl and pace near it again.  He swatted a paw at it again a claw swiping across the throat, before he did it again and again, until the head fell from the body.  He chuffed and backed up before coming at it again, his claw this time cutting through the chest, tearing it wide open through fur, skin, muscle and bone.  Then he used his muscle to get inside and opened his mouth around the now silent heart, dragging it from inside and spitting it out on the ground beside it.   

"Jesus, Jaden, what the fuck." He heard from the backdoor of the house next door and he turned snarling towards the newcomer, his cat, slapping at the grass and hissing before prowling backwards without breaking eye contact.  His cat still livid that his mate had nearly died, he was finding it hard to control the rage it felt.

"It's gone, move back," Balin shouted, holding his hands up in front of him then his head turned.  "Shit Jaden, what's wrong with Maya?" at that the cat turned and Jaden shudder as he shook off the cats thrall and shifted back one again.  Striding back across the grass, he dropped down beside her, pushing her hair off her forehead so he could check she was still alive.  Rubbing a hand in the grass to remove some of the blood, he again gently stroked her face, her eyes slowly blinking open at his voice.

"Are you back with me properly this time," he asked, and she nodded her head then winced.

"Jaden what the fuck happened?" Balin demanded from behind him, staring at the carnage over his shoulder before looking back to a still pale Maya. He averted his eyes from her as he spotted the ripped t-shirt.  Jaden pulled the sides together and stared in disgust as his brother.

"She wasn't fucking breathing that's what happened.  Where the fuck were you and Sam when I needed you?  When my mate wasn't breathing and had no heartbeat.  Where the fuck were you then?" He shouted accusingly at him, adrenaline at his near loss still flooding his system.  With one last disgusted look he gently lifted her into his arms and headed back towards the house, stopping near the back door.

"The least you could do is clean up the shit on the lawn," Jaden snarled over his shoulder to Balin.  Then he climbed over the shards of broken glass, pushed the now broken door open and stepped inside.  Ignoring the cuts to his bare feet he sat her on the edge of the kitchen table so he could get a good look at her.

"Jaden?" he heard quietly behind him, and he snarled but didn't respond. "What can I do to help?" asked Binks.

"It's too late," he told him sadly.  "There's nothing you can do now, but tomorrow you will need to take over the care of my mate for me." He said quietly, looking towards his younger, loss and sorrow evident in his features.  He watched his brothers eyes widened in understanding and he shook his head.

"No." Balin said.

"No? You won't take care of my mate, not even to protect her.  She nearly died Balin, the least you could do is protect her for me.  What kind of brother are you when you refuse this one thing that I ask of you?  Especially when I am going to need you to do this." Ignoring his brother he leaned into Maya and used a finger to tilt up her chin.  He looked into her eyes so see her glazed, unfocused eyes, he lifted a finger on his other hand and moved it from side to side checking her vision but she wasn't tracking fully. Just as well really with what he'd just done to the Jackal, he thought.  The anger and fear he'd tried to push away surfaced again and made him want to go back outside and do it all over again.  They were both covered in blood and he needed to get them cleaned up before she realised.

"Did you move the shit off the lawn?" he asked Balin as he once again lifted Maya into his arms and went to walk out of the kitchen.

"I'm on it now," Balin informed his retreating back, "but then I'll be back and we'll talk." He turned and walked out of the broken back door as Jaden didn't respond as he carried Maya upstairs.

Chapter Twelve

Jaden carefully stripped Maya out of her ripped t-shirt and jeans, hissing at the bruising already appearing on her chest.  He gently lifted her, holding her against his chest, and taking comfort from her heart beating against his own racing one as he stepped under the warm water in the shower.  He slowly lowered her feet to the base and held her steady while he rinsed the blood off them both before tilting her back over his arm so she could do the same to her hair.  She also opened her mouth to swill it out, and he hissed as he spotted the long gash on her swollen tongue.  The visual signs of her injuries made his livid all over again and he lifted her again, kissed her cheek and ran his face over the top of her head.  His heart was still beating too fast in fear.  That had been too close, way too close.  He didn’t know what he'd do if he'd lost her and then closed his eyes as sorrow swamped him.  He may have saved her life, but he'd lost her anyway.  Maya stirred against him, feeling his anguish and not understand it.

'
What's wrong
?' Maya whispered in his mind, still not quite tracking.  Her head was banging, and the room was spinning alarmingly making her want to throw up.  She tried to speak out loud but her tongue felt thick in her mouth and her chest hurt.

"Nothing's wrong, everything is fine.  You're alive so everything is fucking fantastic," Jaden answered her out loud.  She knew by him doing so that he was hiding something, trying to keep her out of his head.  He cleared his throat and spoke again ignoring her silent query as she waited.

"What hurts Maya?  Tell me where else you're hurt, apart from your tongue and chest?"  She sighed and closed her eyes, letting go of her thoughts, she couldn't think straight and the light was making her headache worse.

'The back of my head save me when it took the beating after I landed on the path after he knocked into me.'  Jaden's hand was already running over the back of her head and he swore as he felt the egg-sized lump on the back of her skull.  He gently probed and apologised as she winced.  Luckily the skin hadn't broken it was just grazed and the huge lump was probably due to internal bruising and blood collecting under her scalp.

"What else?"

'My chest is sore, I feel sick, and the light is bothering my eyes
.' She admitted, placing her forehead against his chest to block it out.

"I think you may have concussion, but I'll get a doctor out to check you over" he said as he turned off the water and stepped out again.  He was still a little shaky of the near miss so picked up a couple of towels off the rail and carried her through to the bedroom.  He threw a towel on the bed and pillow and lowered her gently down onto it.  He then patted the moisture from her skin, leaving her hair alone so as not to cause her further pain, her head had taken a beating.  After pulling the towel from under her - leaving it on the pillow, he covered her with the quilt as her teeth were chattering.  Standing back up he padded over to the window and closed the curtains, blocking out the light before walking out of the room

'Jaden,'
Maya called to him, still using telepathy
.

"Yes?" He called as he stood in the bathroom and dried himself off, checking the bite under his arm and the cuts on his feet.  The shift had helped heal most of the wounds so he didn't need to do anything.  Plus he wouldn't get an infection from them so he wasn't worried.  His main concern at the moment was seeing to her comfort while he was still able.

'Just give me and hour and I'll be set to go.' May told him as he entered the bedroom again, he stopped in the middle of reaching for his jeans.

"No Maya, I'm getting a doctor to check you over, then you are going to rest and heal." He tugged his jeans up his legs and heard movement behind him, turning in time to see her struggling to sit up.  He left his jeans unbuttoned as he swore and moved back over to the bed.

"What are you doing?" he grumbled.  "I said you need to rest.  Now lie down while I go and check if Balin has sorted out the trash.  I'll phone for a doctor while I'm there."

'I said I will be ready in an hour.  All you need to do is grab me a couple of pain killer
s,' she said on a wince, as she lay her head back on the towel.

"No Maya, you need time to heal.  You died, I saw you dead, and that's going to take some time to recover from." He said, jaw tight.

'You saved me, I'm fine, just a little sore.  Once the pain killers kick in, I'll be ready for the binding
.' He shook his head, but she went to get up again and he growled taking her shoulder and pushing her back down.

"Lie the fuck down," he hissed at her.

'Do you not think I can't see what's going on in your head?  You don't get rid of me that easily, I am going through with the binding
.' She heard him sigh and shake his head but he wouldn’t meet her gaze.

'Look Jaden, I don't need this noble shit, I appreciate it, but it won't do either of us any good.  I'm not letting you go.  Fuck my head hurts,'
she whimpered in pain, but frustration at not being able to vocalise her feelings was also evident, even through their telepathic link.

'I need to talk but my tongue hurts too, so this is going to have to stay in our heads.'
She waited until he looked up at her again, and she patted the mattress.  Sighing, he sat down beside her and looked at her, displeasure evident in his tight features.

'Okay now I have your attention.  I'm going to say this once, so listen and listen well.  I am not made of glass.'
He opened his mouth to protest, but she held her hand up until he subsided with a growl.
 

'Yes, I know I've had a shit afternoon.  I feel a little battered and bruised, but this is important.  We either go through with the binding, or I'm going to lose you, and that's not an option.  I meant what I said when I thought I was dying Jaden.'
He looked up at her again and she smiled, before wincing again.  He took hold of her hand and threaded their fingers together so their mate marks touched.

'
You are not getting rid of me. I'm going to love you whether you want me to or not, so you need to get used to it.  Although I appreciate the worry but need stop the macho bullshit.'
She told him crossly
.

'I won't break, you'll just have to be a little gentle with me tonight that's all.  I am not going to lose you, I can't take that.' 
She swallowed and closed her eyes as if the thought caused her pain.

Jaden blinked a couple of times and really listened to what she was saying.  Not that it was easy as his stomach was still knotting with worry and fear.  He ran his knuckles down her cheek and her eyes opened again.  He dropped his gaze and frowned as he released his hold on her hand and ran his finger over her mark.  When he looked up his eyes were a little shiny, and he smiled, just a twist of his lips.

"Are you sure about this Maya, absolutely sure?" She nodded and winced at the action and he swore again. Then bent forward and kissed her mouth very gently, just a light brush with his own lips.

'I love you too
,' he whispered into her mind as he leaned down and put his forehead to hers. His heart was beating double time again, not in fear this time, but in hope.  Hope that just maybe he was going to get a chance to have some kind of future with her. 

Maya couldn't follow his thoughts, it hurt too much to try to figure out what he was thinking.  Giving up, she blinked a couple of times, trying to clear her vision and found herself trapped in his gorgeous amber gaze.  As he smiled she let out a relieved breath and returned it. 

Jaden had just gone to kiss her again when they heard footsteps downstairs.  He sat up ad turned, placing himself in front of her, just in case it was another attack

'And that's why I love you,' she whispered as she ran her hand over his back as they heard Balin shout.

"Jaden, I refuse to look after your mate because you're not going anywhere.  I know you're a stubborn bastard, but I want to get to know my brother."  Jaden looked over his shoulder at Maya and grinned, giving her a wink.

"Hey Balin, that witch Agatha, is she any good at healing?" They heard his feet on the stairs now as he made his way towards them.

"I think I need her skills to make Maya better.  She has a slit tongue, concussion with an egg on the back of her head and a headache.  That's no good to me, I need her in tip top shape for our ceremony.  I'm finally going to claim my mate tonight." He told him just as he appeared at their bedroom door. 

Balin stood by the doorframe and froze, blinking as he looked at them in puzzlement.  Then it cleared and a huge grin split his face.  Then he turned around, and they heard him jump down the stairs and then say.

"Hey, Sam, get Agatha on the phone.  We need her services, my brother claims his mate tonight."