She slid down to sit in the tub, wrapping her arms around her knees as she hugged them to her chest. Tears mixed with the water as she let her emotions have free reign. She cried for her parents and how they had died. For her mother and what Harlan had done to her before he’d killed her. She cried for the child she’d been. She cried for the people she’d read about it Uriah’s journal, tortured and killed for no more than a possibility of what they might have been.
She cried for Tah and the child she carried. Would they always be in danger? Is that how their lives would be? Constantly on the lookout for hunters nursed on hatred and reared in blood and death? Would it ever end? Would they ever just be a family?
Slowly, she eased back up to her feet and stepped further under the spray, letting it soak her hair as if the water could rid her of the ghost of Harlan’s fingers there. Nothing was certain. She needed to get to Tah. She’d wasted too much time as it was, but she’d needed those precious minutes to shore up her strength again. He would need it, as would their child. They would both need her to be strong, and she wouldn’t let them down.
There were plans to be made. Tah had accepted the lion, and if the rest of the legend followed, then his pride would begin to awaken, and they would be drawn to him. She had preparations to make, research to do, and a mate to take care of.
Taking a deep breath, she began washing the blood from her body. Only one thing was certain. This was only the beginning.
Chapter Seventeen
From the journal of Ebidiah Lane
I’ve watched over the man as best I can, as I was trained to. It saddens me that I didn’t begin training my son in our family’s duty. Now it’s too late. I’m dying. I won’t make it back home this time. The hunters found him, and no matter what I tried, I couldn’t get them off the man’s track. I shouldn’t have stepped in, but I am just a shadow and nothing more. He is the sun. I can only pray my sacrifice gave him the time he needed to get away, and he will hide better this time.
Maybe someday, one of mine will hear the singing in his blood and heed its calling. Then once again, a Lane will watch over the descendent of the great Tau and protect him at all costs. But for now, I can only pray, as I prepare to leave this world behind, and hope I have done enough to earn my passage into the great beyond.
May the gods wish me safari ya salama.
* * * *
Tah was up and around in three days. Abby knew Diane was beside herself trying to figure out what it was in his blood that allowed him to heal so quickly. Logan was still laid up in bed, driving Diane crazy with his requests for some lion blood to help speed recovery up for him as well. The doctor had finally thrown her hands up and yelled at Reno, telling him to deal with Logan. Reno just told Logan to shut up and heal up, then left.
Two more of Tah’s friends had shown up the day after the incident with Harlan, at least that’s how Abby classified it in her head. An incident she hoped never occurred again. Murphy and Finn both red haired and obviously Irish to the bone had arrived and jumped right in to help Reno clean up. Neither batted an eye when Logan recounted the event, complete with how Tah had shifted into a full-grown lion. Of course, that might change the first time they saw it happen, no matter how much they claimed it was just in their blood to believe in magic. But then Abby sensed there was more to the brothers than met the eyes.
She and Jess were able to talk, and Abby poured out all her joy and fear to her best friend. Jess had held her, while she bounced between laughing, crying, and shaking with rage. Abby was sure the hormone surges going through her were going to drive everyone away if she didn’t get a hold on them.#p#分页标题#e#
Jess shared a little about how she’d found her mates, and how they’d decided she was the key to them uniting all the wolves into one pack. She’d hinted at some things, skimmed over others, and basically told Abby just enough to appease her. Abby could tell her friend was worried and made sure to tell Jess several times that she and Tah would help them in any way they could. Still, she sensed a restlessness and unease in her friend.
It was no surprise when Abby woke up the next morning to a letter from Jess.
Yes, I snuck out like a thief in the night, but then, as you know, I’ve always hated goodbyes. I wish I could stay, but the timing isn’t right. I’m part of a family now with my mates, and there is still so much we have to do. I’ll visit as often as I get the chance, but they come first. I’m sure you understand that better than anyone.
Who would have thought when we sat up late all those nights in Africa talking about our dreams, they would come true? I always hoped and believed, as I know you did. And here we are, each living what we always wished for. Funny how the reality is so different from the dream. Better in every way, no matter the danger that seems to surround us.