Chapter 9 – Xander
Wrenching pain was swallowed by searing heat as something was plunged repeatedly through my body. My chest felt like a herd of elephants were sitting on it while something was gnawing on my legs.
For the life of me, I couldn’t figure out what was wrong, and I couldn’t fucking open my eyes to see what it was either. The only thing I did know was that Kiema was with me. Her magic wrapped me in layers of love and peace even as agony rippled through me.
Phantom fingers mussed my hair, smoothed my brow. A cool kiss was pressed to my head as a blazing inferno incinerated me from the inside out.
“Xander.”
I grimaced.
“Xan baby, I know you can hear me,” a wrenching familiar voice said. I’d longed to hear that feminine voice one more time. To wrap it around me like a blanket, to store it forever in my memory. My memory hadn’t done it justice.
A husky chuckle that brought a tear to my eye. “Come on, Xan baby. Just open your eyes.”
I shook my head. If I didn’t open them, maybe she would keep talking to me.
“Xander Finneas Kandma, open your eyes right now, young man.”
My eyelids flew open at the bark of command.
A cool hand ran down my brow, over my cheek. “There’s my big strong man. You’ve got to wake up, baby.”
“Mom?” the word quivered as it passed my lips. “What are you doing here?”
“Apparently, you needed a familiar voice and person to convince you to wake up. Your friend Kiema called me.”
My brow furrowed. “How the hell is that even possible?”
Mom shrugged. “I don’t know, Xan baby. I’m just glad she did. Look at how big you are. And so handsome! I’m so happy you’re happy, baby. And so very sorry I can’t be there with you now.” She looked at something over her shoulder, nodded. When she turned back to me, tears had gathered in her eyes. “It’s time to wake up, baby. Asher needs you. They all do.”
She leaned down and kissed my forehead one more time.
“Don’t leave yet, mom. I have so many things I need to say. Things I need to apologize for.”
She laid a finger over my lips, waited until I stopped talking. “You have nothing whatsoever to apologize for. Even with all the bad your daddy had in him, he gave me you and your brother. I would do it all over again a million times to keep getting the both of you. Love each other, Xan baby. Never let each other go. Fight for this family you’ve created. Let me fight for you.”
She leaned down and kissed my forehead. As I closed my eyes to imprint the memory on my brain, I felt her form go to mist before it evaporated.
The next time I opened my eyes, Kiema was looking down at me. Her silvery eyes sparkled with her tears. “There you are, Xan baby. I’ve been searching for you forever.”
My heart pinched. It hadn’t dawned on me that she called me by my mother’s pet name before now. But it fit her, fit my Kiema down to the fucking ground. She’d saved me when nothing else could. Just like my mother all those years ago, stepping in front of the fists and kicks I’d never been fast enough to dodge.
“How did you find her, sweets?” I asked as tears clogged my throat.
“Find who, Xan?”
“My mom, Kiema. She was here. Talking to me. She said you’d found her, told her I needed someone comforting to wake up for.”
Kiema looked at me like I was coming unhinged. “I’m sorry, Xan baby. I have no idea who your mom is. I saw what your spirit needed to come back. But I have no idea what went on inside of the healing.” She ran a hand over my chest.
I gripped her fingers to me, squeezed them. “Thank you, sweets.”
With a sad smile, she brushed her fingers through my hair. “Of course, Xander. I love you.”
“I love you, too, little sister.”
She sat beside me as I laid on the ground, staring up into the nothingness of the Gateway. I don’t know how long we were there, but I felt my heart settle the longer I stayed in that place.
“Xander, would you ever give up your magic?” Kiema asked as she ran her fingers through my hair again.
“Considering it’s brought a lot more shitty stuff than good stuff, probably. But I really like Junior. And I don’t know if I’d have you or Scarlet, so probably not, too.”
She chuckled. “Yeah. I guess we have to take the shitty to get the good. It just sucks that we do, though.”
“I hear you, baby sister. I hear you.”
I grabbed her fingers, pulled them to my lips. “Thank you for coming for me.”
She ran her fingers over my lips that somehow reminded me of my mom instead of being anything sexual. “Of course. And speaking of which, everyone donated some magic for me to be able to get you. So if you’re ready, we should probably head back.”
“What happened to me? All I remember was getting nicked in the side with one of the Warden’s weapons.”
Kiema shrugged. “I’ve got no idea, Xan. I heard Asher’s scream over the guys’ implants. We knew something bad had happened. Oliver told us not to reply, but to head over to the warehouse with him. We found you bleeding out on the floor by the time we got there.”
We both got to our feet. I wrapped her in my arms. “This is going to be a shitshow, you know that right?”
She chuckled against my chest. “Xan baby, you have no idea. I’m pretty sure Scarlet is now a serial killer. But since we’ll help her hide the bodies, it shouldn’t be too bad.”
I squeezed her to me at the idea that my mate had been in danger.
“Let’s blow this popsicle stand, yeah?” I said.
“Right behind you,” she said.
Together, we walked from the Gateway back into our bodies.
With a noisy inhale, I sat up from the floor of the warehouse.
A bloody Scarlet launched herself into my arms as Asher crushed both of us against his chest. Taryk came up from behind me and supported all of us against his body as he leaned against the wall.
We’ve got some serious talking to do, you asshole, Asher said over our twin bond.
Whenever you want to chat, bring it on, Fuckbite.
He sobbed against Cherry’s hair.
Taryk tugged all of us closer.
Out of the corner of my eye, Kiema lurched to the side.
“No!” I burst out, reaching for her.
Chapter 10 – Ransom
I caught her before she tumbled to the floor in a dead faint.
Xander disrupted his unit’s embrace, almost shoving Scarlet to the side to get to Kiema. His face showed his horror.
Saint grabbed Xander before he could hurt his own mate. “She’s just exhausted, Xander. She’s fine. I swear,” Saint said.
Xander looked up at me.
I nodded. “She told us as soon as you both came out of the Gateway. Apparently, she used a lot of power and it drained her. She’s going to be fine, I promise you.”
His dark brown eyes were flickering with the white, blue, and purple colors of his elemental tiger. “You swear on your life?”
I dipped my head. “On my life.”
He fell back, scooped Scarlet back into his arms. Buried his head against her shoulders and began sobbing.