Saved By Her Dragon (16 page)

“Absolutely,” the little witch answered, kissing her mate as
she stood to leave. Kyra stopped beside Anya and touched her
shoulder. “It’s just like I explained, Honey, nothing to worry
about. We always have shit of some kind or another stirring around
here. We’ll get this all figured out. You got a good guy there.”
She kissed Anya’s cheek and patted Devon’s shoulder before jogging
after his mother.

Devon watched a million emotions flash across Anya’s face and
was driven to comfort her. Doing the only thing he could think of,
and with the help of his enhanced abilities, he scooped his mate up
as he stood and then sat in her chair with her cuddled against his
chest. Anya fought his hold and mumbled something he missed.
Putting his ear right in front of her lips, he asked,
“Pardon?”

“Put me down. Everyone’s looking at us,” she
whispered, her breath ruffled his hair and stroked his ear, causing
his eyes to slide shut.

Clearing his throat and attempting to push back his dragon he
answered, “Yeah, and…?”

“And it’s embarrassing.”

“I’m sorry you’re embarrassed,
mo chroi’
, but we
are an affectionate bunch.”

“But…”

Her comment was cut short when Grace spoke from across the
table. “Seriously, Anya, you’re gonna have to get used to it.
They’re all a mess and it only gets worse the longer you’re with
them. Heavens help you if you ever get…ohhhhhhhhhh…”

In a flash, Grace was picked up out of her seat and was being
carried towards the door by her obviously adoring husband who
shouted, “Max and Rayne will catch you up, Dev. We’ll be back
later. It seems my mate needs to
rest
.”

Devon chuckled, “See, told ya.”

“Okay, I guess,” Anya giggled, but he could
see it was going to take time for her to get used to their
ways.

“Max needs to get back to his Pride to prepare for tonight,
so if you’re done causing trouble, could you get in here?” Rayne
called from the dining room.

“Oooooo….oomph,” came from Aaron in the corner. Devon turned
to flip him off just in time to see Kyndel rubbing the back of her
hand and his friend rubbing his stomach for the second time in two
days.

“Kyndel’s getting good
with the backhand, Bro. You better watch out or move
quicker,”
Devon joked through their
link.

“Damn, she’s fast,”
Aaron chuckled.

“She’s murder with a wooden spoon,
too,”
Rayne added to conversation.
“Now, get your asses in here,”
he added quickly, switching from friend to
Commander mid comment.

Both Guardsmen chuckled as Aaron headed towards the dining
room and Devon stood, not wanting to let his mate go. He sat her
back in her chair, kissed her forehead and said,
“I gotta go. Have fun with the girls and
Jay,”
right into her mind.

Anya grabbed his arm and pulled until they were eye level.
She laid her lips to his and answered back in the same
fashion,
“Thank you.”

The sound of her voice in his head got better every time.
Wanting to grab her and run as fast as he could to his home but
knowing he had to prepare for their nighttime surveillance, he
sighed, pulled back from her lips, and headed towards the dining
room. He had one foot over the threshold when Max’s laugh reached
his ears, “It’s good to see that some things never change. I
thought werecats were bad, but dragons fall hard.”

“And it’s the best plummet in the world,
King,” was Devon’s quick comeback. When he looked around, he
smirked to see Rayne, Lance, and Royce nodding in agreement.

Aaron cleared his throat, “I don’t give a shit how great it
is, I’m not giving up the single life. What about you,
Max?”

The King’s answer was cut off when Rayne began explaining
their plans for finding Andrew, apparently tired of waiting. “Since
you were otherwise engaged,” Rayne raised an eyebrow at Devon and
shook his head before continuing. “Max and I have set the teams.
You lead the team with Aaron, Royce, Max, Ernesto, and Raphael.
Everyone else will be with me.”

“Except Sophia,” Max interjected. “She will be with the Pride
handling another matter.”

Devon wondered about the sudden change in the Leo’s demeanor
but knew it was none of his business. It was more important that he
catch up on all that had been discussed in his absence. Royce spoke
up, spinning the largest map on the table so that everyone could
see. Pointing at the most eastern point of the circle they had
drawn to indicate the hundred mile radius around the hospital, he
explained, “I believe this property’s our best bet. The house is
almost completely hidden by trees. There’s an iron fence across the
front and halfway down both sides, then it turns into a five foot
rock wall.
Hell
,
the large clearing even has cover.”

Aaron handed Devon a picture that had been printed from the
county records showing nothing but a huge expanse of trees, bushes,
and foliage of all varieties; and then an aerial view in which he
could see the large open area and the roof of an absolutely
enormous home, along with everything else Royce had described. He
had to agree that if he were hiding out and training a group of
black magic wizards it would be the property he would use. The only
problem he could see was the huge iron gates and the security
cameras he saw everywhere. More to himself than anyone else, he
asked, “What the
hell
are we gonna do about all those cameras?”

He was surprised when Max answered, “Raphael is an electrical
wizard. Once we’ve arrived at the property, he’ll find the main
switch and disable them. I’d imagine there are people watching the
feed, therefore, we’ll need to move quickly, but I’m sure even you
dragons can keep up.”

Laughing, Lance answered, “I hope your people don’t have a
problem watching dragon ass as we take the lead.”

For next several hours he and the men debated every possible
scenario, until Devon was sure they had everything covered at least
ten times over. Plans changed halfway through and it was decided
everyone would go to the first property. After looking at both, it
was the best possible choice. If it proved not to be the one, then
they would be doing the same thing the next night. His gut said
this was the one and if Devon had learned anything, it was to
follow his gut.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Anya spent the afternoon trying to ignore the weird
sensations in her wrist and listening to the conversations all
around her. It had been so weird to actually meet the King of the
Big Cats, as Devon had called him, Maximillian Prentise. Her
parents had known a few jaguar shifters over the years so Anya
thought she knew what to expect, but the Pride members had
been
nothing
compared to their Leader. The power seemed to roll off of him
in waves and his feline characteristics were almost completely
masked, making him appear human. His sister, Sophia, was drop dead
gorgeous and also had no distinguishable panther
characteristics.

Ernesto’s voice seemed familiar and Devon’s voice in her head
confirmed her thoughts.
“Ernesto is a
nurse at the hospital and took care of you during some of your
stay.”

She acknowledged Devon’s words with a nod and thanked Ernesto
for all he had done to help her. The last man, Juan Carlos, was
taller, more muscled, and had a much darker complexion than
the
others. When he
shook her hand she felt a raw, almost untamed power that wasn’t
present in the others. Anya wondered about his differences and
decided it was something she would ask Devon about later. Royce
called from the dining room and again she was left in the kitchen
with instructions to take it easy, something that was really
beginning to get on her nerves.

She knew she was supposed to be getting to know the girls and
it was something she really wanted to do, but the plans Devon was
making held her attention. “Did you hear me, Anya?” Sydney asked,
interrupting her wayward thoughts.

“No, Sweetheart, I’m sorry. My mind keeps
wandering.”

The child rolled her eyes but smiled before whispering, “You
were leavesdropping on Devon and Daddy weren’t you?”

Anya giggled, “Yes, Syd, I was
eavesdropping
and I shouldn’t have
been. It’s not a nice thing to do.”

“That’s okay, I do it all the time,” the
little beauty said in a matter of fact manner, making Anya laugh
out loud.

“Well, it’s not polite, little miss,” Sam answered from
across the table.

Both Sydney and Anya giggled before whispering,
“
Busted!
”

“We better behave,” Sydney said amongst her
chuckles.

“Yeah, we better.” Anya looked up to find
Kyra almost
j
ogging towards her. “What’s up?” Anya questioned.

“Can you come with me? Siobhan and I found something and I
want to see if it works.”

“Sure,” Anya replied as Sydney jumped off her lap. Before she
could stand on her own, Devon was at her side practically lifting
her from the chair. “What the…”

“I’m going too,” Devon replied before she even had the chance
to ask the question.

Grabbing his forearm, Anya turned to chastise Devon when the
mark on her wrist made contact with the tattoo on his arm, and the
resulting electrical charge caused her to stumble against his hard
body. His chest was heaving and the sound of his heart pounding
under her ear made it sound as if he had run miles instead of just
a few steps. Looking up with wide eyes, she could see that his
surprise mirrored her own. When he spoke, his voice was little more
than a growl, “What the hell was that?”

“I have no clue.” She narrowed her eyes, about to speak when
the tattoo on his arm wiggled under her fingertips. Dropping his
arm like he had the plague, her eyes shot to his.

“What’s wrong,
mo chroi
?” Devon asked with
concern.

Eyes wide, shaking her head, she looked from Devon to his arm
and back again, I…you’re arm…I…” She stopped and took a deep
breath. “Your tattoo…
moved
. I felt it
kinda…
wiggle
.”
Anya wiggled her fingers to help explain.

She watched as Devon turned his arm over, inspecting every
inch before looking at her. “I didn’t feel it, but I was a little
preoccupied with the shock you gave me,” he said, eyes narrowed,
thinking so hard she could almost hear his thoughts.

His words surprised her and she blurted out,
“
I
…shocked…
you
?”

“Well, yes. I know you felt it, too.” His eyebrows rose and
then his brow quickly furrowed.

“You know I did, but I thought it came from you.”

“I think it came from both of you,” Siobhan called from the
doorway. “A similar occurrence was documented in one of the
journals I just read. In very special cases, when the mating marks
touch, a ‘shock’ of sorts happens. I know that your dragon brand
and the marking on your wrist,” she motioned from one to the other
of them before continuing, “are not mating marks, but they are
enough like them that I believe we can ascertain it is the same
phenomena. The author of the journal entry believed it was due to
the combination of the magical abilities of both
people.”

Kyra jumped in, so excited her small frame vibrated as she
spoke, “And that’s why I’m positive you’ve been under some type of
Concealment or Protection spell for most of your life. I felt the
magic in you before, and now that you and Devon are together it
seems to be growing, even without the official mating
ceremony.”

The tiny witch took a step forward, “We just need to perform
a little spell and then we’ll know for sure.”

There was no way Anya could have said no, even if she wanted
to, with Kyra standing their bouncing from one foot to the other,
her eyes wide, nodding her head in reassurance. The waves of pure
belief rolling off of her were strong enough to power a
city.

Devon started to speak but Anya cut him off. It was time he
learned that she could speak for herself. “Sure! Let’s do
it!”

That was all it took. Kyra jumped up and down, clapped her
hands, and then ran over and did her best to get her tiny arms
around both of them for a hug. Anya caught Devon’s scowl right
before he schooled his features, and spoke through their
link,
“It’s going to be fine. And…I can
speak for myself.”

“I know that you can. I just worry that you’re not giving
yourself time to heal. And…”

“And what?”

“Nothing.”

She knew he wasn’t telling her everything, but Kyra had their
hands in a death grip and was attempting to pull them towards the
door while talking a mile a minute, explaining the ritual they were
about to perform. Only Royce slowed her down. “Kyra, honey, let
them walk,” Royce commented, barely able to keep the laughter out
of his voice.