Page 13 of His to Protect
Kaea could hear the tears in Xavier’svoice, and wanted to comfort him and tell him everything would beokay, but he couldn’t form the words.
As darkness started to claim him, andhe felt himself drifting away from his body, he heard Xavier cryout in pain, and knew he was dying.
****
Xavier ignored the tears that werestreaming down his face. Never before in his life had he felt sodamn helpless. He held his dying mate in his arms, and he had noidea how to save him. He was an Alpha for fuck’s sake, and the oneperson he was meant to love and protect above all others wasslipping through his fingers.
“Kaea, please,” Xavierwhispered, lifting him higher into his arms, holding him tightagainst his chest. “Don’t leave me, my love. Do you think that Iwill not follow?”
The air was suddenly rich withlavender.
“Use the bond,boy.”
Xavier looked around wildly. “Who saidthat?”
“Save my grandson,Xavier.”Kaea’s grandmother was talking tohim. Ordinarily that might have been cause for concern, but rightnow he was so desperate to save his mate, he would listen to anyoneand anything, real or not.
“Tell me what todo.”
“Save your mate. Yourlegacy was to give your life force for your family. Do it now,before it is too late. Save him.”
Xavier frowned. Give Kaea his lifeforce? How the hell was he supposed to do that? He was about tobite into his wrist and press it against Kaea’s mouth when he heardtwo last words.
“Matingbond.”
And he understood. He reached for thebond that shone bright within him, the connection that linked himto Kaea, and concentrated on it. He imagined his life force as astream, a constantly moving force within him that held everythinghe was within it. Then he imagined pouring that force into themating bond. The pain that came with that had him roaring in agony.At first, there was nothing, no sign that what he was doing wasworking or not, and he became desperate. Refusing to give up, oradmit that he was too late, he poured himself into that bondharder, and faster, and then he felt it. That shimmer and light atthe end of his bond that was his Kaea.
Xavier ignored the pain and the factthat he might very well die from what he was doing to save hismate. But he didn’t give a shit. If he came out of this without hismate, Xavier would follow him into the arms of his ancestorsanyway. After all, that’s what it meant to be claimed by anAlpha.
Epilogue
“Never again, Kaea.”Xavier growled at his mate. “Never again will I come that close tolosing you. My heart can’t fucking take it.”
Kaea laughed breathlessly. “Neveragain, my love. I promise.”
“Too fucking right youdo!”
Xavier was still pissed at how farKaea had pushed himself to take Gray out, but he was so damnrelieved to have him in his arms that he’d never been happier atthe same time. Rolling his hips forward with a snap, he buriedhimself balls deep in Kaea’s welcoming warmth. His mate cried outin pleasure as he arched his back off the mattress.
“Have I told you,” Xavierpanted, talking to take his mind off the orgasm rushing toward himin a vain attempt to stave it off, “how much I am going to loveliving here in Nantahala? So much room to run, so many places I canfuck my mate hard, and no one will hear him screaming myname.”
Kaea looked up at him, eyes feverishwith arousal. “I want to be screaming now, so make me, my mate,please, mate.”
Xavier groaned as he sped up, slamminginto his lover with more speed than finesse. “Damn you, Kaea, youknow what you calling me mate does to me.” He hadn’t a hope ofsustaining that speed or intensity for long, and soon roared outhis release as Kaea yelled his. The two of them thrashed throughthe waves of pleasure together, just as the fates had deemed it tobe.
“Wow,” Kaea breathed, andXavier chuckled.
“Yep, my wordsexactly.”
The two laughed and shared a fewgentle kisses before Xavier rolled off, both of them groaning whenhe slipped free of his mate’s body. He used some tissues to cleanhis lover, and then lay down beside him, pulling him closer in thebed, his heart and his soul settling now that he had him in hisarms.
The two of them were just about todrift off to sleep when the room filled with the scent of lavenderand vanilla.
Xavier groaned. “Kaea my love, as muchas I adore the fact that we saved your Nanny-ma, and brought herhome, it freaks me the hell out that she’s with you when I’m insideyou. It just feels really fucking wrong.”
Kaea laughed. “It’s not her physicalself, baby. Just her essence, her echo, nothing that would makewhat you just did to me wrong in any way. Ataahua is coming home.She’ll be here tomorrow, and we can release Nanny-ma into the armsof her ancestors. Then, it’ll be just you and me.”
Xavier grinned. He fucking loved thesound of that. Kaea’s grandmother had helped him save his mate, andbrought to life the legacy his own grandmother had foreseen manyyears ago, and he would forever be grateful to her. He just was toomuch of an Alpha to share his mate even with her.
