The door to the operating theatre whispered open, and Vance stepped out. His face was drawn with dark circles under his eyes, but his lips were stretched in a half-smile.
The breath rushed out of Hope. Gripping Aaron's hand, she rose to her feet. "Eve, is she…?"
"She's out of danger but in a coma." Vance put his hands in his pockets. "It's just a way for her body to cope with the damage, giving itself the time and space to heal by shutting down everything but the most vital functions."
Finding her knees weak, Hope swayed on her feet.
Aaron slipped his arm around her shoulders, pulling her close. "How long will she be like this?"
"Hard to tell," Vance replied, forehead wrinkling. "But her vitals are strong. We just have to monitor her and wait for her to wake up naturally."
"And Freya?" Hope asked.
"She's in the recovery room, sedated. I reckon she'll be out for another twelve hours at least." Vance smiled. "You did well, both of you." His glance encompassed Aaron. "You can see Eve, but just for a few minutes." Vance stepped aside, beckoning to Hope to go in.
Hope walked into the room, toward the bed where Eve lay covered with a sheet.
There were tubes running from her, and a machine beeped in the background. Underneath it all, her sister, so vibrant in real life, lay still, face pale.
Hope held her hand, curling her fingers around Eve's. "I'm alive, thanks to you. Don't give up on me. I need you to see for yourself the miracle that I have with Aaron. I want it for you, too, Eve. This feeling of finding another who fits you like he was born for you. A feeling so seamless that I don't know anymore where I end and he begins."
Her sister lay quiet, and perhaps it was just her imagination, but Hope could have sworn her breathing grew calmer.
"It's possible to mate with non-dragon shifters. Our species has a chance of surviving, and on our terms. Do you hear?"
Eve didn’t answer. The machines beeped.
Hope held her hand a little longer, until Aaron walked in and put his arm around her. "She needs to rest and so do you."
When she walked out, it was to find Kris and his mate waiting.
"I'm Tara." The woman hugged Hope. "Kris and I will wait here and watch over your sister while you go get some rest."
Hope began to protest.
Tara patted her cheek. "You go on home, honey. It won't do any good for your sister to wake up and find you in a bad state. You haven't had it easy either. You need to recover your strength, so you can take care of her."
Aaron ruffled Tara's hair. "You always know the right thing to say."
Aaron trusted Kris and Tara, and that somehow made it easier for Hope to nod her acceptance.
"Cain's coming in a few hours to relieve us." Kris touched her shoulder. "You’re family. We take care of each other."
Relief coursed through Hope. Her limbs felt weak.
Kris and Tara would make sure her sister stayed safe. Tiredness washed over her as the events caught up with her, and she swayed.
Aaron's grip tightened on her.
"You two get some rest." Kris jerked his head toward the exit.
49
Aaron
Everyone in the infirmary had referred to Hope as his mate, and she hadn't protested. Either she had accepted it, or… No. That was just wishful thinking. Hope had only mated with him because it had helped overcome the Elysian so she could save Eve and Freya.
No. That wasn't completely true either. The woman in her loved him as much as her dragon did, only she was too stubborn to say anything about it.
Aaron walked with her through the quiet township.
They passed the lit windows of the little standalone bungalows that dotted the street. Shifters, humans, and vampires who had families lived here.
Reaching his room on the ground floor of the barracks, he opened the door, letting her precede him.
He wondered what she made of it. It was a studio-like space with a small kitchenette at the far end. A single bed big enough for his length was neatly made up.
To the right, the double doors opened onto a patio. The one perk of being a Guardian was that he got the sea view.
She didn't look at it.
Crossing the floor, Hope went to the bed. Lying down, she turned on her side where she doubled up her legs and brought them close to her chest. She pillowed her face on her arm and shut her eyes.
Aaron lay down next to her. Stretching out, he put his arm over his eyes.
He must have dropped off to sleep, for a sound jerked him awake.
When he opened his eyes, he realized it was dark but for the faint starlight that came in through the windows behind the bed. The sound of the waves crashing on the shore reached him, but it wasn't that which had woken him.
There was another low cry, one filled with such terror that it twisted his stomach.
Aaron curved his body around Hope's.
Her back was drenched in sweat. She was shivering, even though it was warm in the room.
Waves of helplessness brushed his senses through the mating bond.
She wouldn't want to be seen as this vulnerable, wouldn't want him giving her comfort, but he didn't care. She was in agony.
He had to soothe her.
Curling his arm around her, he pulled her close to his chest. That seemed to calm her down, for her body stopped shaking.
Making a small noise at the back of her throat, she pushed back into him.
The soft slide of her butt brushed the front of his jeans.
Heat tugged his groin. He was instantly hard. His chest felt like it was going to explode. A bead of sweat rolled down his neck.
He should pull back then.
Yet to do so would be to disturb the woman who was sleeping in his arms. Her chest rose and fell against the arm Aaron had slung around her waist.
Letting the rhythm of her breathing calm him, Aaron closed his eyes.
50
Hope
The warmth seeping into her skin had her burrowing in further. At her back was a wall of heat that flowed over her, wrapping her in a cocoon of such comfort she didn't want to move. Sighing, her dragon and the woman inside, both, wallowed in the sheer feeling of being exactly where they wanted to be. In the arms of their mate.
Mate.
Hope's eyes flew open.
She tried to change position only to find a heavy weight around her waist holding her down.
When her fingers brushed Aaron's forearm, a shudder of liquid want zoomed straight to her core. She knew where she was then. In Aaron's room, in his bed.
His scent surrounded her, tugged at her.
She wanted to touch the hard planes of his chest.
He felt big and strong, and so sexy.
Hope swallowed.
Her dragon lunged toward Aaron, her fire simmering, ready to pour out into her veins, into him.
Turning, she placed her lips at the base of his throat.
She licked the saltiness of his skin, she breathed in his dark eucalyptus and pine scent.
Her dragon simply wanted to fold itself around him. It wanted to be with him on the physical plane and complete the mating bond that was a living, breathing thing between them. And Hope wanted that, too. The woman inside her acknowledged that she needed him, needed the strength of his presence to anchor her. More than that, he made her dragon feel at peace, like it had found its place.