Any minute the others would arrive, and surely Kayden's father would be leading the cavalry. Chase holstered his gun, clearly in shock. As far as Kayden knew, Chase had never fired a weapon in his life, and today he'd killed a man in defense of the woman they both loved.
Kayden saw other vehicles begin to filter in from different directions and surround the scene. For the second time that day Chase reached out his hand to Kayden. They held each other's forearms, just like old times. They'd brought her home together, but their truce would end the moment Dani was safely delivered to the Enclave.
Dani had been unconscious for two days. Kayden sat at her bedside, holding her small hand in both of his and listening to the steady beeping of the machines connected to her. The helplessness was overwhelming. He was supposed to be a warrior. He should have been strong and fearless. He'd been anything but that for the past several days. He'd been scared to death of losing her.
Warriors were supposed to protect their charges and deal with losses as they came. He'd failed at both duties and was waiting for the consequences. His father had likely not approached him yet due to Dani's condition, but he'd the distinct feeling he would be relieved of his charge.
Doc had him talking to her and trying to reach into her mind the way Chase had, but it didn't work. Kayden had never done it before, but he wanted it to work so badly that he refused to take a break at all. He'd even allowed his mother to bring him bags of blood, instead of heading out to hunt. It was unthinkable to him before, but it was better than leaving her again. It worried Kayden that Doc spent so much time at the Enclave tending to Dani. It was out of the ordinary and made Kayden wonder if he was holding back information regarding Dani's prognosis.
"How is she doing?" Doc queried when he and Griffin entered the room.
"No changes," Kayden replied, moving to allow Doc to look her over. Doc went through the normal exam he had performed several times a day.
Griffin stepped up to the other side of the bed and ran his hand through Dani's streaked hair. "How are you doing, kid? Can you hear me?" Unexpectedly, her heart rate picked up, and the beeping of the heart monitor became faster. Doc and Griffin looked at each other.
"Danielle, can you hear me?" Doc asked, and again her heart kicked.
"Maybe he's right," Doc said to Griffin.
"Who is right? What are you talking about? Do you think she can hear us?" Kayden asked. A look passed between the two elders. There was something they weren't telling him. "What is going on?"
"Kayden." Doc seemed to steel himself for a fight. "You know Chase has been here waiting to see her."
"Here's the problem, son." Griffin came around the bed and rested a hand on Kayden's shoulder. "Chase says Dani has been trying to talk to you since yesterday, but she can't reach you. He can hear her, as long as he stays close. She's been reluctant to talk to him, but today she says she's lost. She can't find her way out of wherever she is in there, and she can't reach you to help her get out."
A light came on in Kayden's head. Memories of seeing Chase and Dani in Chase's bed, Chase holding her mostly naked body, rushed into Kayden's head and burned him. "It's comparable to a coma in some ways, I believe." Doc shook his head. Dani's heart rate kicked again, and Doc took her hand. "The brain will shut down to give itself time to heal. She's in there and she can hear us, as we suspect some coma patients can. Sometimes they wake up spontaneously after years of being under. Sometimes it just takes the right trigger to get their brains firing again." Then he looked past Kayden to Griffin. "We are going to need to try a blood transfusion, or she won't have the strength to fight. She hasn't fed in at least three days." He left the room at a clipped pace.
It was quiet for a long time. Both men stood and watched the sleeping girl. "Something my father taught me comes to mind," Kayden said. "Being a warrior means making decisions in the best interest of your charge. Being a mate means doing that, plus putting your mate's needs before your own. I know what needs to be done. I just hate the idea of not being able to provide everything and anything my female needs." He looked over his shoulder at Griffin.
Kayden sat there, brooding over the idea of Dani being in close physical contact with Chase. Kayden never had a jealous thought in his life, until Dani came along. She made him crazy and possessive. He'd dealt with her living under Chase's roof in the past for her safety, because he'd had no choice in the matter. But giving Chase permission to touch her made his skin crawl. What else could he do? Her needs were more important than his jealous pride.
"I won't be gone long, baby," he whispered next to Dani's ear. "I guess I'm gonna need to go, so you can get some help. I'll be back soon." He kissed her lips softly and turned to Griffin. "Tell my father I'm going to take a break. Please have someone call me if she wakes." Kayden left the room with one last look over his shoulder.
In the hall, Chase paced and listened to the soft whimpering in his mind. He could feel her confusion and distress. She was getting further and further away. His Lovely was lost and couldn't find her way out of the darkness. As time passed, she became completely silent. Even the soft whimpering faded away. Chase was deep in thought, trying to talk to Danielle, when Koren startled him, poking her head around the corner.
"Alright, let's see what you can do. Kayden's out of the room, but who knows for how long, so let's get moving." She prodded him into action.
Chase's heart leapt in his chest, and he tore down the hall ahead of Koren. At the door to Danielle's room, he was met by Gage, who gave him a stern look that was clearly a nonverbal threat. All Chase cared about was getting to Danielle.
The room was dark and quiet, except for the beeping of the heart monitor. She looked so small and fragile in the bed that was meant to hold warriors three times her size. He lowered the bed rail and pulled off his shirt. The last time, Doc had said skin contact might help. He crawled into the bed next to Danielle and began to search, reaching out to her verbally and telepathically, as he had before. His bare chest against her arm, holding her hand and resting one of his on her forehead, just like before, he called to her.
"Lovely, I am here now. Can you hear me? I've come to find you." He said it over and over again, until he noticed the heart monitor beeping faster. He lifted his head and said, "Danielle, can you hear me? Come toward the sound of my voice."
Then, it started just as it had before. First, he got pictures only. She was flashing clips of J. R. with a knife to his throat and a syringe in his arm. It felt like a question, somehow.
"J. R. is fine. He didn't even need stitches, but he's been worried about you. I think he's still here with Griffin. If you wake up, you can talk to him."
Then, he listened but there was no sound. He saw flashes of her memory of being loved and pleasured in his bed. Then the next morning when they'd had breakfast. It felt warm and happy. She was enjoying their time together. He saw himself through her eyes and was surprised at her view of him. He could feel the affection for him that she usually suppressed. Then, he saw Sam wearing her best bitch mask. "Don't worry about Sam. I'm very sorry you felt the need to leave alone because of that situation. I blame myself for what happened to you, but none of that matters now, Lovely."
I was hungry. I needed to feed. That is not your fault, Chase, she acquitted him.
"I hear you now, Lovely. Keep moving toward my voice. Doc says you should try to visualize an exit door. It may help. We can find the door, together." It had been too long since he'd heard her mental voice.
I don't want you taking the blame for my crap. He heard her agitation with him, and it was wonderful. He would take what he could get, even if it was annoyance.
"You wouldn't have left alone, if not for the rude interruption, and I left you in order to deal with her."
He felt a flash of something hot and angry from her. She is your mate. What else are you supposed to do? He could feel her getting closer to him.
"She is not my mate yet, Lovely, and you know I don't love her. You know I only want you. I wish you would give me a chance to rectify the situation, before you write me off. I think I'm making some headway. I've got my mom on my side now.
"Please come to me. We can talk about this later. It's time to get you out of there. You need to feed and so do I," he coaxed.
Then, he had the strangest sensation of being touched, but it was in his mind. She grabbed on to him and held tight. There was no way to explain being telepathically embraced by another person. Especially one he craved so deeply. She wrapped herself around him, and he held on to her for dear life. It was like floating in a dark cloud with her very soul snuggled to his chest. They just hung there, unspeaking, entwined with each other's thoughts. He heard her take a deep breath, and her eyelashes brushed his cheek. He didn't move a muscle. She felt too good in his mind to release her and not be allowed to touch her again.