Saved By Her Dragon (13 page)

The grandfather clock chimed four times and Devon kissed her
on the head then pulled back enough that she could finally see his
face. Worry filled his eyes, and when he spoke she could feel it in
his words. “You scared the hell out of me,
mo ghra’
”

He took a long, deep breath before continuing, “When you
called out to me, I felt
real
fear for the first time in my very long life.
I’ve faced off hordes and monsters and crazy wizards hell bent on
ruling the world, but none of them scared me like the sound of you
terrified and out of my reach. I tried everything I could think of
to wake you and still you fought the nightmares. The prospect of
losing you made my blood run cold.”

Devon looked at her, the weight of his stare reaching the far
recesses of her soul. “Now may not be the appropriate time but I
won’t waste another minute without making sure you understand
that
you are mine
, Anya Sloane–mine to love, mine to shield, and mine to
cherish for all time. I will fight
whatever
threatens your happiness
and health, even if that means jumping in your dreams and battling
the devil himself.”

Time ceased to exist as the true meaning of the words became
clear.
He’s claiming me as his
mate!

“Yes,
m’anamchara
. I
am. Just as the Universe intended,”
he
answered directly into her mind.

Their discussion was cut short by the doorbell. “That’ll be
Aaron and Aidan. Your mind was opened to mine while you dreamt and
I saw it all. As Andrew’s only living blood relatives, I asked the
twins to come over. I think that with their help I can piece
together where he is, or at least get close.” He stood and placed
her back on the bed, kissing her forehead and then her lips before
standing. “Try to get some sleep while I talk to my brethren. When
the sun is up and you are rested, we can all fill in whatever
blanks are left…
together
, okay?”

Anya wanted to disagree with Devon’s decision to talk to his
brethren without her and she definitely wanted to talk to him about
the way he made his intentions towards her known. But at the
thought of arguing, fatigue overtook her and she yawned long and
deep. They both chuckled. Then he leaned forward to pull the covers
up, giving her one last kiss before heading out the
door.

The muscle in his jaw clenched and he stood just a little
taller and straighter as he walked out, telling her that he was
furious but trying to keep it from her, just another thing they
would be discussing sooner rather than later. Anya fell into a
dreamless sleep with the thought of brilliant grey eyes and the
tingle of Devon’s kiss on her lips.

 “
I
s
there anything that little fucker can't twist into complete and
total shit?” Devon growled through gritted teeth, his anger and
that of his dragon burning hot and bright. He ground his teeth,
clenched his fists, and paced until he was sure there was smoke
coming out of his ears.

Aaron and Aidan listened as he recounted every horrible
second of Anya’s nightmares, and together they came to the same
conclusion…Andrew
had
plans for her. The traitor saw something in her, something
more than
his mate
. Devon remembered hearing the little bastard say that she
was
special
and
he had seen the glint in Andrew’s eyes when he looked at her. It
made Devon’s beast roar! There was no way in hell that fucking
traitor was going to lay a finger on Anya
ever again
.

Lost in thought, he had to ask Aidan to repeat what he was
saying. His brethren replied, “I just wondered if our
dear
little brother was
the one that had Anya dropped off at the hospital. Grace said her
file stated they found her propped in an empty wheelchair just
inside the Emergency entrance. From what you’ve told us, seems like
he’s running a pretty tight ship, so it only stands to reason that
he had enough heart to save her life. It had to have something to
do with what he saw as ‘special’ about her, right?”

“Yeah, gotta be. I know that when she was in the hospital and
I watched how everyone responded to her, they all seemed to go
above and beyond. She’s definitely something amazing,” Devon
answered and his brethren chuckled as he hurried. “I know. I know.
We all say the same damn thing, but can’t you feel it,
too?”

Aaron smirked, then surprised Devon with his words, “There’s
something different about her, for sure. I’ve been trying to put my
finger on it since that first day in the hospital. And before you
get all territorial and crazy, it’s a familiar feeling, like a
sister kinda thing, ya know?”

Devon wished he could say that he and his dragon hadn’t
thought of punching Aaron in the mouth, but he’d be lying. The
mating call was riding him hard, especially since Anya’s experience
in dreamland. His brethren’s words had almost pushed him over the
edge, but when he thought about what had been said, he realized
Aaron hit the nail on the head…There
was
something familiar about her,
besides being his mate.

Aidan spoke up, “Grace and I talked about the same thing. She
even asked if there was a chance we’d met Anya before, but I
know
we
haven’t.”

A knock at the backdoor momentarily halted the conversation,
as Lance, Royce, and Kyra walked in. Before Devon could ask what
was happening, Lance spoke, “Heard there was a party. Anyone make
coffee?” the jokester of their Force asked, as he proceeded to
start a pot when he found it empty.

“I hollered at the pain-in-the-ass when Aidan told me what
was up, and Kyra came to make sure Anya was okay,” Royce answered
Devon’s questioning look.

Kyra looked around before asking, “She get back to
sleep?”

“Yeah, I checked on her a few minutes ago,” Devon responded.
If truth be told, he had stayed linked to her the whole time. There
was no way she would ever go through anything alone again, if he
had anything to say about it.

The little witch nodded, then turned and began taking the
ingredients for breakfast from the refrigerator
. Looks like they’re here for the long haul.
Devon smiled. Never one to waste time, Royce
asked, “What exactly happened? ‘A’ said she remembered and the
shithead was definitely involved.”

“Yeah, Andrew’s at the center of it, and it looks like he
thought he could use Anya for something he was
planning.”

Devon was again interrupted when Rayne appeared with a box
full of food. “Front door was open and my hands were full. Kyndel
will be over when Jay gets up.”

The Commander sat the box on the table and turned to Aidan,
“Your mate said to tell you she’s working from home today. She and
Kyndel were on the phone when I left.” He turned back to Devon,
“Now, bring us all up to speed. You take the lead.”

Rayne’s resolve to do whatever it took to catch the traitor,
even let another Guardsman lead, matched the determination of every
Guardsman in the room. Andrew had been responsible for more pain
and suffering than any single being Devon could ever remember. He
quickly retold everything he had witnessed in his mate’s dream,
careful to give every detail.

Each member nodded when he explained the way the traitor had
said Anya was special and the extra attention he paid her. Aidan
explained their theory about Andrew ordering her dropped off at the
hospital and Lance asked, “Did you ever scent him or any other
black magic when you were with her?”

“No, nothing,” Devon answered. “But then
she’d been in the hospital for a while at that point and I was sure
she’d just bumped her head or something simple like that. The thing
that pisses me off is that the little fucker saw something in her
he wanted to exploit it. We’ve all noticed there is something
extraordinary about her but he wanted to
use
her. If he had any idea she was
okay, I’m sure we would’ve seen him or his flunkies.”

Just the thought of Andrew even looking in Anya’s direction
made Devon itch to get his hands around the traitor’s neck. His
dragon chuffed his approval of the Guardsman’s thoughts.
Thankfully, Kyra’s voice brought him back to reality and made him
focus on something other than homicide.

“I told you that I sensed something inside your girl that was
‘more than human’ when we were trying to get her awake. If I could
sense it, then I’m sure the asshole could to. His dragon magic is
way stronger than before, add to that the filthy shit he’s messed
up in and the addition of Earth magic, I’m sure he sensed she’s
more than she appears. The longer I think about it, the more
convinced I am that a Concealment Spell was used on Anya early in
her life.”

Devon tensed and Kyra rushed on, “Now before you go gettin’
all Alpha male, chill and listen. It’s all white magic, nothing
harmful and nothing I can’t get through with just a little time. My
guess is that her adoptive parents used it to protect her, which if
the way you describe Andrew’s interest is any indication, then
thank the Goddess. When Anya gets up, we need to talk to her and
see if she remembers anything.”

Kyra turned back to the stove and Aidan picked up the
conversation, “I get the feeling from what you’ve told us, Dev,
that Andrew’s gearing up for something but isn’t ready yet. If he’s
grabbing people off the streets and giving them magical training
then he’s still a ways from putting whatever bullshit plan he has
cooked up into action, right? What do you think, Kyra? You’re the
resident magical expert.” He asked as Royce’s mate brought a huge
skillet of scrambled eggs and a plate full of bacon to the
table.

“Roy, hun, grab the plates please,” Kyra said before
answering Aidan. “Yeah, I’d imagine he’s at least a week or two
from even a small number of his “recruits’ being anywhere near
ready to cast spells with any accuracy, and that’s only if he’s
been enhancing their abilities with his own. Kidnapping Anya was
random and lucky for the asshole. He had no idea that she was
anything other than a mundane–someone without magical
abilities.”

“In our language it’s called a
gandraíocht,
without magic,” Siobhan said as she entered the
kitchen.

“Sorry we woke you, Mom,” Devon said as he
stood, giving his mother his chair and grinned when he saw every
Guardsman on their feet, as well.

“I’ve been awake since Anya’s nightmare.
Once I knew you had it under control and heard that Andrew was
involved, I began researching. The smell of coffee and breakfast is
the only reason I am here. Thank you Kyra for feeding the army.”
Siobhan smiled and began filling her plate.

The others followed suit and silence filled the room as they
devoured almost everything in sight. Devon thought about all he had
learned from Anya’s memories and all he knew of Andrew’s propensity
for violence, coming to the conclusion that they would have to
strike first, eliminating the traitor and his continual threats
once and for all. It was also glaringly obvious that they needed
more manpower to find where the shithead was hiding out.

As soon as breakfast was over, Kyra and Siobhan excused
themselves to further research ways to identify and remove Anya’s
Concealment Spell while Devon began to lay out the beginnings of
his plan to catch the traitor.

“From what I saw, Andrew is held up in a mansion with a huge
open field either on the property or very close by. During all of
her memories, Anya was either in the house, in that field, or
walking from one to the other. The only time a vehicle was even
mentioned was when she was first abducted.”

Heads nodded around the table as Devon and Aidan both opened
laptops and Royce and Rayne began spreading out maps of the area.
While his computer was booting up, Devon said, “Royce, I hate to
ask this. I know you’ve had about as much family as you can stand
for a while but do you think Rian, Rory, and their Force would be
able to come help out? I have a feeling…”

“Already spoke to my brothers and Kellan.
They’ll be on their way as soon as the sun sets. Bro, you’re
thinking
loud
enough for every dragon within
a thousand miles to hear,” the older Guardsman chuckled.

“Thanks, man,” was all Devon could say.

“Why don’t y’all just hug it out and then we can get back to
work,” Aaron joked from the corner and was rewarded with a smack to
the back of head from Royce.

Always the Commander, Rayne stepped in before things got any
further out of hand, “Time to get to work.”

Devon took over, “’A’, can you look through tax records in
about a hundred mile radius from the hospital for expensive homes
or estates? Focus on anything that’s in the name of a trust or a
company. I’ll take empty, abandoned, or bank owned
properties.”

“Can you guys mark them on the maps?” he asked Rayne, Royce,
and Aaron without looking up.