King's Throne(6)

“I don’t know,” she whispered.
“My arms and legs tingle like they don’t want to work. I can also feel myself slipping back into that nightmare of being aware but unable to move.” A little of the horror he must’ve felt came through in his voice, though she knew he tried to put on a brave face.
“No matter what happens, I’ll be with you, Mitch. Now that I know you’re aware at least some of the time, I’ll keep you company. Nobody can get to us without considerable trouble here, and my father will be by in the morning. He may not have the title any longer, but he certainly still knows how to organize and protect things. This area is part of his fortress of solitude. It’s well hidden and protected by more than you can imagine. He’ll keep us safe while you heal, and my mother is a registered nurse. She’ll help too, if we need her. You’ll have the best care any shifter could hope for.”
“You have my thanks, milady. And if the worst should happen, I have no family to return my bones to. Just tell Cade. He’ll know what to do with my few possessions.”
“Don’t talk like that, Mitch. So far, my blood is keeping you alive and awake for longer periods of time. It might just take more of it than usual. That’s okay. I’m willing donate whatever you need.”
“You’re not only a princess, but an angel as well.” He still had strength enough to tease her and his face brightened in a weak but devastating smile.
She wasn’t unaffected. Mitch had more than his share of charm.
“Not a princess or an angel. Just a doctor. With a family and loyal friends that will keep you safe while you heal.” She knew the predator in him paced at the idea of being unable to protect himself from others who would prey on any weakness.
She kept reinforcing the idea that he would be safe, knowing it would reassure the beast side of his nature. Even Alphas needed to take time to heal once in a while. As long as she could placate the beast inside him, his rest would be peaceful and healing.
“I’m not used to trusting anyone but my partner or other Royal Guards,” he admitted. Some of his natural protections had dissolved along with his grasp on reality. He seemed to be floating in a half-awake sort of state, though she knew it was the poison affecting him. He was aware, even if the poison took him under again and he appeared to be unresponsive.
“What about the Nyx? Would you trust the pantera queen to see to your safety?”
“Ria? I protect her. Not the other way around.”
His dedication to his duty was impressive, but not unexpected. Each of the big-cat shifter monarchs had a group of loyal Royal Guards to see to their safety. That was the way their society had been designed back during the European Renaissance. The Renaissance had influenced the names they called their monarchs as well. There had been a decided classical and Egyptian influence.
The queen of the pantera noir was called the Nyx as a nod to Greek antiquity. Black panthers saw the humor in naming their ruler after the goddess of the night. Just like the golden tigers, or tigre d’or, named their leader after the Egyptian sun god, Ra. The Tig’Ra was the king of all tigers and he was always a rare white tiger. The tiger queen was known as the Tig’Ren. The last royal couple to reign in the ancestral stronghold had been Gina’s parents, but they’d had to leave it all behind due to murder and treachery.
“Okay then.” She refocused on their conversation. “What about the Tig’Ra?” Whatever it cost, she had to get him to feel safe so that he could heal. “My father may not rule the Clan anymore, but he does rule over these lands. You’re in his realm now. Nobody gets through the perimeter unless he lets them through. He has a small Pride of loyal tigers. They’re stationed all around. I bet even Dad is prowling around out there tonight. He loves padding through the snow fog. It’s his best camouflage.”#p#分页标题#e#
“I’ve never seen the white tiger,” Mitch mused sleepily. “I would like to see him before I die.”
She squeezed his shoulder, regaining his attention. “You will not die, Mitch. I won’t allow it. And you will meet my father tomorrow. He’s demanded it. You can’t let him down. Very few golden tigers are granted an audience with him these days. In fact, none in the past decade that I can recall. You need to honor that meeting.”
“I will,” he said sleepily as the poison overtook him again. “Just don’t leave me, Gina. I’ll stay as long as you do.”
“You have my word.”
He was gone again. Under the spell of the poison.
Gina was physically exhausted by all the excitement, the drive and the trek to the cabin, but she stayed by his side, talking long into the night. Even though he looked unconscious, he’d told her the poison left him unable to respond but aware. She took that to heart, talking to him, telling him about her childhood escapades here at the cabin, where her family sometimes camped when teaching her survival skills. Many romps in the wilderness had ended with a toasty fire in this cabin and burnt marshmallows on sticks.