Saved By Her Dragon (15 page)

He lifted his head to see her lazy smile and half-lidded
eyes, in that instant, his world became complete. It was not that
he hadn’t known she was his–of that he had no doubts–but to have
her in his bed with the look of a well-loved woman, and to know he
had put that look on her face, was worth every second of every day
for the past one hundred and twenty years. There was no doubt she
was his…
forever.

Devon rose to his knees and slowly crawled up Anya’s body,
placing his hands on either side of her head when he had reached
his destination. He gazed into her eyes, pouring all that he felt
into that one poignant look and spoke the words he had waited his
whole life to say, “
Ta’ mo chroi istigh
ionat
, Anya Sloane.
Is breá anois agus go deo.
My heart
is within you. Love now and forever.”

Tears came to her eyes and for a second he thought he had gone
too far, but the smile that came to her lips was a thing of beauty,
and when she uttered, “Now and forever,” back to him, he was
helpless to do anything but lower his lips to hers.

Their tender moment was cut short by the sound of Aaron’s
voice in his head,
“Dude, I’m sorry to do
this to ya’ but Max, Sophia, and Juan Carlos just pulled up. Rayne
called them to help. You better…ah…well, you better get your ass
out here before the vein in his head starts throbbing.”

Although he was pissed at the intrusion and so hard he thought
his dick might burst, Devon still snickered at just how
uncomfortable his brethren sounded at having to disturb them. He
was sure the others knew what had just happened, even though they
had tried to be quiet, but he couldn’t work up the energy to
care.

Mentally chastising himself for putting his needs before
those of his mate’s, he moved to sit back, but Anya held him tight,
forcing him to look back down at her. He was surprised to see her
smile from before replaced with a scowl. She shocked him further by
speaking directly into his mind,
“I’m
still getting the hang of talking to you this way and us sharing
thoughts, but I know what I just heard. Let me tell you one
thing,
Mate,
what
we just shared was amazing, and I won’t let you or your worries
ruin it. We have to take our joy where we can find it. So
cut the shit, alright? I’m healing faster than
ever, and as for the rest, you’ll get it all handled. I have faith
in you.
”

Devon was humbled by the complete belief and conviction he
felt in Anya’s words. Without another thought, he leaned down and
kissed her breathless, showing her with his actions where words
failed, that he appreciated her trust.

When their kiss ended she spoke, somewhat breathless, “Since
I can’t return the favor, how about I promise to make it up to
you?” She winked and reached between them, the back of her fingers
grazing his still partially erect cock.

Devon shuddered slightly and chuckled at the sly half-grin on
Anya’s face as she continued, “You better go wash up, change
clothes, and get out there. Sounds like you have important
company.”

“I’ll help you get ready first.”

“No, I’m fine. I feel much stronger today, and if something
happens that I can’t handle or I get weak, I’ll call
you.”

Devon hesitated, but when she put the palms of her hands on
his chest and pushed, he felt her strength and relented, making her
promise again to call him if she needed anything. Despite her
griping, he still helped her up and into the bathroom before he
washed up and shaved. She was sitting on the edge of the tub when
he walked back in after dressing.

He gave her his best glare and reiterated, “Call me if you
need
anything
.”

“I will. Now get outta here so I can get ready.”

He swooped in for a kiss and smiled from ear to ear when she
muttered, “Best kisser ever,” under her breath as he walked out the
door.

Still smiling and unable to work up any guilt at all for
taking the time to properly say good morning to his mate, Devon
turned the corner into his mother’s dining room and found a
horde–not only his entire force and their families, but also a few
of the younger Guardsmen, along with Maximillian Prentise, King of
the Big Cats. Max’s sister, Sophia, and their two most trusted
lieutenants, Juan Carlos and Ernesto were also in attendance. All
eyes snapped to him when he entered the room and not one to let a
moment pass, Lance, aka The Pain-In-The-Ass, was the first to
speak, “Glad you could join us, Dev.”

His comment broke the silence and the room erupted into roars
of laughter. Devon crossed the room to where the King and the other
werepanthers were seated. Max stood as Devon extended his hand and
as the men shook, Devon said, “I want to thank you for sending Dr.
Lawrence to help us, and you,” he turned towards Ernesto, “Thank
you for involving your Leo. I will forever be in your
debt.”

Max was the first to reply, “There is no debt. We’re in this
together. The traitor has taken from us all. Besides, I’m hoping we
might finally get an invitation to a dragon mating
celebration.”

“You’re at the top of the guest list. All of you are.” Devon
looked at each werepanther and then around the room at all the
others, smiling at his good fortune.

Never one to be left out, Aaron snorted, “Well, aren’t we
just one big happy family…”

Rayne cut off whatever was to come next in his commanding
fashion, “I asked Max to help with the search. While you were
otherwise occupied,” the Commander raised an eyebrow before
continuing, “We have narrowed it down to five properties from our
original thirty, with two at the top of the list.”

Kyndel quickly interrupted, “We came,” she motioned to Grace
and Sam, “To see if there was anything Anya needed and maybe get
her out for some fresh air.”

Devon nodded, “I left her getting into the tub.”

It allowed him to completely focus on finding Andrew knowing
that Anya would not be alone. He had felt her strength and her
conviction to take care of herself but couldn’t stop worrying or
checking in to be certain she was okay.

The girls and children headed out of the room, but not before
Sydney ran over, stopped right in front of him, and crooked her
finger in a
‘come here’
motion. When Devon leaned down, she kissed his
cheek, and then turned and ran to catch up with the others. He
stood grinning and headed to the table that was completely covered
with maps.

Aidan began explaining, “These two, although as far on either
side of the hospital as possible, are our best bets. The county
records show that their lots are enormous and remote, with damn
near a forest for cover. The houses themselves are located in the
back corner of each property and they have huge open spaces just as
you described from Anya’s memories. These are definitely where we
should start. Kyra had no feeling one way or another so we’ll have
to do it the old fashioned way.”

“I recommend we split up into two groups, comprised of both
dragons and panthers, and go tonight,” Max suggested as he turned
towards his sister. The look they shared let Devon know they were
speaking through the feline version of mind speak. A swift nod from
Sophia and she and Ernesto headed towards the door.

Max looked back to the group and explained, “Sophia is going
to call Raphael, Fausto, and Benedicto. They’re the best trackers
in the Pride.”

“Your help is truly appreciated,” Rayne acknowledged and
turned to Devon. “This is your show. Lead away, my
friend.”

It was almost an hour later when Jace knocked on the door and
hollered, “Hurry, this son of a bitch is heavy!” Royce laughed as
he opened the door and the two younger Guardsmen hauled a brand
new, solid oak door across the threshold.

“Did ya get the biggest and heaviest they had, young’un?”
Royce asked.

Jace grinned a wide, shit-eating grin, “I got solid oak.
Thought y’all might need the extra reinforcement.”

Devon shook his head, “You’ve been spending way too much time
with Aaron and Lance.”

“Hey! Not cool!” was heard from the vicinity of the kitchen,
but it was the smell of sand and sea that drew his attention. He
spun around and there, standing in the doorway between the hallway
and the living room, was Anya. His feet moved of their own
volition, and within seconds he had his arms around her and was
lost to her loving gaze. Sydney squeezed between them and tugged on
his belt loop.

“Doesn’t Anya look pretty, Dev? I picked out
her top. Purple’s my favorite color,” Sydney chattered on until
Devon relented and picked her up.

She placed one arm around his neck, the other around Anya’s,
and kissed them both on the cheek. “Love you guys. Now let me down,
I need a cookie.”

Devon watched as Sydney ran into the kitchen to get her
cookie before he looked back to Anya. She had her head bowed and he
could feel her embarrassment at the child’s words. Placing his
forefinger under her chin, he gently lifted her head until he was
looking into her eyes and smiled. “You are absolutely gorgeous and
it has nothing to do with the shirt, although it’s nice too,” he
chuckled. “You could be wearing a burlap bag and would still be the
most beautiful woman in the world.”

He kissed the tip of her nose and pulled her tight against
his chest. “You are perfect and you are mine,” he whispered just
before their lips met.

“Ahem, there’ll be time for that later, you
two,” Rayne’s voice sounded behind them.

Anya jumped and tried to pull away, but Devon held her tight,
speaking against her lips, “He can wait another minute.”

He kissed her until she once again relaxed in his arms.
Pulling back, he winked and helped her to the kitchen table,
thrilled to see how much better she was walking. Kyndel appeared
with a plate of food and a big glass of her special tea. Kissing
Anya on top of the head, he said, “Eat up,
evgren
. I need to make sure Jace and
Liam aren’t tearing down more than they’re fixing.”

One quick trip down the hall assured him the young men had
everything taken care of. When Devon returned to the kitchen, Anya
was laughing and talking with the mates of his brethren, Sydney,
and his mother, but all conversation halted when he approached the
table. Devon snorted, “What the hell? Is this a ladies only
conversation?”

“Sure is,” was Sydney’s quick response, causing everyone in
both rooms to burst out laughing.

“I see how it is,” Devon feigned annoyance
but winked towards his mate. It was then that he noticed her
rubbing the inside of her left wrist.

He knelt at her side, taking her hand in his. “Is your wrist
bothering you?” he asked, examining the area she had rubbed to a
bright red circle.

“It started itching while I was in the tub so I put some of
‘Granny’s Special Recipe’ that Kyndel gave me on it. The irritation
stopped for a while but now it’s back with a vengeance.” Anya
looked from her wrist to him while she spoke.

Devon could feel small raised bumps that seemed to almost
vibrate when his thumb rubbed over them. Worried his mate was
having an adverse reaction to something in his mother’s home, he
pulled her wrist closer and used his enhanced vision to examine the
affected area.

“I’m just gonna take a quick look,” he said offhandedly,
concern for Anya’s wellbeing outweighing his manners. What he had
originally thought to be a rash began to take shape before his
eyes. It took just a moment for him to identify the small marking
as it continued to materialize on her wrist.

“I’ll be a son of a…” He mumbled under his breath and looked
up at Anya.

Concern evident in her eyes, he quickly explained, “I’m not
sure how it’s happening but you’re being marked.”

Her eyes grew wide with fear making Devon hurriedly explain,
“It’s nothing bad at all. I promise.” He touched her knee with his
other hand and pushed love and reassurance through their mating
bond.

“It’s the mark of a heart scale.
It’s said that only once in every white
dragon’s life do they produce the rare heart scale and most shed it
without ever knowing. I know we haven’t had time to talk about it,
but…my dragon is white.”

“I have
only ever personally known one other white dragon–my dad. He
actually found his when he and my mother were together,” he looked
up at Siobhan to find her looking at the locket his father had
given her. “He had a locket made for her to hold his heart scale
and told her that it was their special blessing from the Universe.
I think you developing this particular tattoo is pretty awesome,
but I have no clue what it means.”

Siobhan
spoke from across the table, “There has to be something in one of
the many volumes of history I have or are housed in the Elder’s
library. Let me do some research and I am sure we can find the
origin of this miracle.”

“Miracle?” He and Anya asked in unison.

“Yes, whatever is happening here is
most
definitely
a miracle. Can you not feel it all around us?
Your
mating is special,
we just need to see exactly how special.” Siobhan assured everyone
listening and then turned to Kyra, “Would you mind joining me? It
is now more important than ever to find out if Anya is under a
Concealment Spell and remove it, if necessary.”