Page 32 of The Jaguar's Flower

The ravens screeched. Mac bared his fangs again until he felt Violet’s hold grow stronger. He watched the other two, even as the ravens broke apart. “Violet, I have you.” the jaguar whispered as he embraced her.

Sarus’ eyes shifted around the endless realm. When the darkness formed a figure, the primordial snapped his fingers to knock out the shifter and his daughter. “You need to leave.” He turned to the reaper. “Thank you, but this will not be pleasant. For that, I am sorry.” As soon as the primordial grasped the reaper’s shoulder, he forcefully pushed him out of the realm.

The ravens swarmed again as they shifted their movements toward the shadowed figure. Carefully, he entered the small ring with the couple. As he kneeled to gather them, Sarus brought his gaze up and noticed the bright green eyes in the shadow. “Not again.” He muttered as he phased the couple from the endless realm.

Once he reached his garden, Sarus placed them under the weeping willow. He noticed his daughter stir against the shifter. As much as he wanted to touch her, the primordial stepped back. It wouldn’t be long until the shifter woke. He watched them as the hanging branches swayed in the breeze.

As Violet curled closer to Mac, she realized he didn’t move. Her eyes blinked open. She took in their surroundings until her gaze returned to Mac. She shook him to no avail. When she pressed her palm to his neck, she felt his steady pulse. A sigh of relief escaped her until she realized someone watched them.

When she turned, she expected to see Renfield. The doctor didn’t stand there. “Who are you? What happened to Mac?” She turned back to Mac and searched his body for injuries, but she couldn’t find any reason for him to be unconscious. “Mac? Wake up, please.” She whispered in his ear before she turned a tear-filled gaze toward the man. “What did you do?”

“What I needed to do,” Sarus answered. “Unfortunately, I needed to place you both under a sleep trance,” He explained. When his daughter’s tears fell down her cheeks, the primordial shared her emotions. “I cannot wake him.”

“Why?” Her pain and anger swirled until a deep blue tinted her skin as she gathered Mac to her. “He’s in pain.” Her darkened gaze met the man’s as she rose. The pain heightened her anger. “You hurt him. How could you hurt him when you don’t know him?” Her heart broke as her knees gave out.

Sarus reached for her as she fell. Before she pushed away, he used his powers to calm her as much as possible. “You may not believe my intentions, and I do not expect you to understand. You both would have been taken away if I did not do what I needed.”

A sob ripped from Violet’s lips as she shuddered against him. “Then why is he in so much pain?” Her heart broke a little more as Mac’s pain echoed through her. “He doesn’t have any injuries.” When she watched Mac, she noticed him twitch against the grass.

“Why can’t you wake him?” She felt another echo of pain and stared back at the man. “Who are you?” Her hand stopped short of touching his chest. “I don’t understand. Why can I feel his pain?” She blinked through her tears. “And yours?”

“Because I am,” Sarus paused. He couldn’t tell her. Not with her mate in an unconscious state of mind. Tenderly, he brushed her vibrant blue hair away from her face. When she winced, the primordial hid his own pain.

“I am the one who placed him in the sleep trance, so I cannot wake him.” A lie. When the shifter twitched again, Sarus knew what he needed to do. “The reason you feel his pain is that you are his mate. He is trapped in his dreams, and that’s what causes his pain.”

“He can’t be alone,” she whispered as she watched Mac. “You don’t understand what they did to him.” She wanted to reach out to the jaguar and calm him. “Please, I have to help him. I made a promise that I’d never let him hurt if I could help it.” Tears streamed down her face as she turned back to the primordial. “How do I help him?”

The pain he felt from his daughter reminded him of the past. Sarus grabbed her hand as he helped her up and led her to the shifter. “You can help him, but you must understand. The pain he endured and the stuff of his past.” The primordial inhaled. “They might be too much for you. I cannot stop you from saving him if you become trapped inside his mind.” He glanced at the shifter. “I will save you.”

“I’ll be fine. He won’t let anything happen to me, but I have to help him.” Her fingers combed through Mac’s short hair. “How do I help him? If he’s in his mind, how can I reach him?” Her heart shattered as pain crossed Mac’s features. “Please. He’s alone.”

“Lay beside him.” Sarus helped her before he sat on the ground beside them. “I will need to place you in the sleep trance.” When her teary eyes turned to him, the primordial shook his head. “There is no other way around it. You will both be asleep until he wakes up.” He almost touched her cheek. Instead, he tapped her temple. “Touch him, skin to skin. It will help with the linking.”

She nodded as she lay down beside Mac. When his arm wrapped around her, it brought her a sense of ease. A shaky breath escaped her lip as she slid her hands under his tactical vest and t-shirt. “I’m ready.” She laid her head against his chest and whispered, “You won’t be alone or in pain. I’ll be there soon.”

As soon as his daughter touched Mac’s skin, Sarus touched the shifter’s temple. “Breathe calmly.” When she did, the primordial allowed his powers to flow through them. He listened to his daughter’s breathing until it evened out. Once he released them, he pressed his back against the bark of the tree. “You both won’t be alone.” The primordial waited.

Chapter twenty-two

WhenasoundrousedViolet from her sleep, she reached blindly out with her hand to turn off the alarm. After the last couple of days, she wanted to continue to sleep as much as possible.

The sound refused to be silenced. Nor could she find her phone.What if it’s Draven?As soon as the thought occurred to her, she shot straight up. The last thing she wanted was for Draven to get into trouble because she wanted to be lazy.

At first, she believed she fell asleep with her glasses on or her contacts in. Except her eyes didn’t burn, and she didn’t feel a weight on her face. “Why isn’t anything blurry?” she murmured to no one.

The sound came again and forced her brain to work. First, she noticed she wasn’t in her room or the little apartment the facility assigned her. It almost looked like she was within the soldier training area, but that was impossible.

Draven wouldn’t have let her fall asleep anywhere he didn’t consider safe. It wasn’t until she realized she stared at three Macs that the events from the examination room hit her.

Renfield injected her with an unknown substance. William turned into a monster. She ended up in some weird place with Mac and an even stranger man.

Everything the man told her slammed back into her mind as she watched the three Macs only a few feet from her. She pushed herself to her feet and bit her bottom lip. “Mac?”

“I wonder which one of you will break at the end of the course,” Renfield spoke. The brothers stood at attention as they awaited their trials. Mac heard his name, but no one else occupied the examination room.

The young jaguar returned his focus to Renfield. When Matilda entered the room, his jaw clenched. “Remember to always present as one. Fail me, I will ensure you pay for it.” Renfield’s icy tone chilled the brothers. “Proceed with their physical exams, nurse.”

Mac’s expression remained stoic. The situation felt familiar, almost like he lived it before. His name reached his ears again, but he ignored it for the time being. He would pinpoint its location after their physical.

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