Her Druid Desire (The Amber Druid Series) (44 page)

           
Minutes later, Drake came to the side of the bed. Sitting down beside her she
noticed his eyes changing right before her.

           
“We’re about to start soon,
love
. Are you sure this is
what you want?” His hand grasped one of hers while his other hand went to the
side of her face, pushing away her hair.

           
She said the only thing that needed to be said, “I love you.” She knew that was
what he needed to hear when his eyes closed and it seemed to her that he
relaxed somewhat. When he opened his eyes she noticed he was serious. Then Kale
spoke from the foot of the bed.

           
“Nadia Mali Morales, you have extended your wishes to be ‘gifted’ into the
world of the Amber Druids. This matter is not to be taken lightly. Many
instances of your life will change and you have been informed of these
instances, have you not?”

           
At Drake’s nod, she answered, “Yes.”  His grip on her hand tightened. His
eyes burned into hers as Kale continued.

           
“Ramsey, Brenan, and I, have come today as witnesses to this induction into our
world. We are also here to provide help, if needed, and a shoulder to lean on
should things turn unexpectedly.”

           
Drake’s eyes closed at that and Nadia sensed the war he had raging inside of
him. He wanted her with him forever, and she wanted that also, but the unknown
in front of them was killing him. She could tell from the way he clutched her
hand and kept quiet.

           
Ramsey and Brenan moved, each taking the same side of the bed that was
unoccupied while Kale stayed at the foot. They all stood, except Drake, silent,
ancient beings-sentinels guarding her from what Drake was about to introduce
her to.

           
“Drake, I assume you are ready to do your part?” Kale questioned.

           
Nadia watched Drake open his eyes and spear her with heat. “I am,” he replied.
The base tenor of his voice having changed to deep Druid mode, Nadia shivered,
but bravely squeezed his hand.

           
“You may, at any moment, ask her the question and proceed.”

           
Golden eyes held hers. “I love you, angel.”

           
Not the words she was expecting, and sure enough the sting of tears threatened.
“I love you too,” she replied.

           
She watched as his lips began moving, and words she couldn’t understand
whispered into the air above her. There was no change in anything, and within
about a minute he was finished. He had already told her that spells wards and
other casting abilities were adopted when a person transformed. The spells came
from whichever ancient Druid had genetically sent certain abilities into his
bloodline. Every Druid had a different set of spells and they were ingrained,
not learned. Since she was being ‘gifted’ over and not changing on her own, she
would adopt the same abilities and spells that Drake had. It would be as if he
were sharing his soul with her on some level.

           
When she felt his gentle fingers on the neckline of her shirt, Nadia tensed for
a second then relaxed. He had told her that the bite was usually on the neck,
since it was close to the heart. That meant the power could be injected into
the body as close to that muscle as possible. He had also told her that within
seconds after being bitten the inductee usually passed out as their body
started the transformation.

           
“Nadia, do you accept this gift I’m about to bestow on you? Do you accept all
of its grievances and abilities? Do you accept your new life?” His voice was
deep, but sure, and as Nadia stared into his gorgeous eyes, she let go and gave
into her love for him.

           
“I do.”

           
His fingers pulled the material away a final time. Nadia took a deep breath,
and watched as Drake’s mouth opened. Fangs gleamed from within as he lowered
his mouth to her neck. Instantly a searing pain exploded on the side of her
neck, and she gasped, but immediately after her hands came up to burrow in his
hair, she felt as if she were floating. Then there was nothing as she passed
out into blackness.

***

           
Two days had passed.

           
There had been blood from her nose, a small amount that Kale had staved off,
but other than that there had been hardly anything else but a bit of thrashing
and a killer fever.

           
Drake sat by Nadia’s bedside in the semi-darkness with only one little lamp
giving off light. The guys were still there, in the bowels of the monstrous
house doing whatever they wanted with Drake’s highly faceted electronics. Every
now and again he would hear them exclaim over some sport they were watching.
But he knew that if he needed anything they would be there in seconds. The
loyalty they all felt for each other was as strong as blood. Even though only
Ramsey and Brenan were cousins, to every single one of them they felt as close
as family.

           
The bad phase had passed. And even though Kale told him that, and he knew that
himself, it was still hard to sit beside Nadia while she lay unmoving and
silent. Power that hadn’t yet settled was coursing through her blood. The power
he had gifted to her was singing through her veins, taking inventory of its new
owner. He could feel it pulsing to him on thick waves, battling against his own
power. It was like this with every Amber Druid, but after years of ignoring it,
Drake and the others had become adept at not worrying with it. It was similar
to a calling card of sorts. The Druid’s ways of letting each one know that
another comparable to them was coming close.

           
The change so far had been blissfully quiet. Drake didn’t know whether that was
a good thing or not. She had had the requisite heightened fever color on her
body, and she was hot, eerily so. That was all normal. The body would bloom red,
as fever raged, and the transformation began. This was usually the time where
they would be able to tell if her soul was strong enough to handle the change.
So far so good.
With her aura pounding around her body like
her blood was pounding inside her skin, Drake kept a close eye out for the
violently colored red that would converge over her body. The telltale color was
the mark that showed pain at its highest. And that was the reason the guys were
here. They could all help with the pain, and the better she handled the pain,
the easier she came out of this okay.

           
So Drake sat and watched and prayed like he hadn’t prayed before.

           
With her long black hair a mess around her small body, she resembled a
teenager. Drake remembered every moment they’d
shared,
not only the most recent, but the ones when he had first met her. They played
like photo snapshots in his mind. For what seemed like hours he sat and
reminisced about her and her family and then thought about the present and the
future.

           
When all this was over and done, it seemed only perfect that he ask her to
marry him.

           
Shuffling feet got his attention from across the hall; seconds later, Ramsey
peeked in. “How is she?” he questioned. Drake motioned him into the room. The
large Scotsman entered quietly, and then knelt on the opposite side of the bed.

           
“There has been no change, hardly any movement as of yet either,” Drake told
him with a deep sigh.

           
Flashing green eyes took in Nadia’s still form. “That can be good. She seems
like she is a fighter.”

           
Drake thought of all the years she had quietly loved him. He also thought of
everything in her life she had gone through, and she was only twenty-five. “Oh
yeah, she’s a fighter alright.”

           
“I took it as so.” Quiet reigned for a few moments until Ramsey spoke again.
“It is clear to see the feelings you two share. It’s almost humbling to be in
your presence.”

           
Drake let a smile curve his lips. “Don’t even think to steal her away from me,
Scotsman. You need to find your own woman to hound. Leave mine alone.”

           
A deep chuckle sounded from Ramsey. “I would never be able to take this one.”
Green eyes found his and Drake felt a brotherly instinct kick-start inside of
him for this man and the others in his vicinity. “She is already yours,
brother. You deserve to be happy.”

           
Drake inclined his head. “You do too, so take my advice and find you your own woman.
That should be easy for the most eligible bachelor in New York.” He almost
missed the heartbreaking look in Ram’s eyes, as it was, the flash only lasted a
second.

           
An instant coil of movement from Ramsey alerted Drake, and within seconds both
men were staring at the bold red color that boiled above Nadia’s now thrashing
form.

           
“I take it that we are needed now.” Kale’s voice from the doorway was a shock,
but Drake didn’t question the man’s eerie abilities, he just nodded.

           
The next few minutes were hectic as the men each found a space around Nadia to
concentrate on. With their hands they touched wrists, forehead, stomach, and
ankles, and within seconds there were pain relieving spells rising up to the
ceiling.

           
Drake concentrated hard, feeling his fingertips burn, but not acknowledging the
pain. Nadia needed him and the others, and for right now any pain would be
taken in stride for her.

           
For what seemed like hours they called forth their own brand of spells until
the red started to dissipate and her body seemed to quiet. Drake watched as she
seemed to breathe a bit easier and his body relaxed too. He and the others
removed their hands and stood silently by her bedside. They all knew this could
go on for hours or minutes. No one knew just yet.

           
Minutes later the room had cleared out once more. Drake sat back in his chair
and kept up his silent vigil beside the woman he loved.

           
Nadia awoke on Tuesday morning to a blessed darkness.

           
In the back of her mind, she went through everything that Drake had told her
about after the transformation. She would instantly feel amazingly better. Her
new power might take her unawares, so it was best that she not become agitated
or upset. She would be able to feel the presence of other Druids, and at first
it might make her feel as if she should be on her guard, but he told her that
was normal and would always happen. Her eyes would stay amber for a good three
to five days, and her eyeteeth would be sporting points for the same amount of
time. Any spells or wards would have been implanted deeply in her subconscious,
ready to be called forth when the time came for it. Her senses would be
enormously awake.

           
For now, with her eyes open in the darkened room, she felt the press of an
emotion that was telling her to beware. When she cocked her head to look to her
right, she actually felt her hair sliding on the pillow and the separate
strands of thread that made up the material. This senses thing was pretty damn
strong.

           
The feeling that she needed to protect herself made sense when she saw Drake
sleeping in the chair beside the bed. A rush of love imploded in her body. She
sat up carefully, thankful to note when the sheet fell away from her that she
still had on a tee shirt and a pair of sleep pants.

           
Licking her lips, she stopped short as two pointed pricks snagged her tongue.
At first she was confused,
then
she remembered she had
fangs. For a few moments, she had to stop and feel them with her tongue, lips,
and even her fingers, trying to make herself realize that this was indeed real.
After the shock had worn off, Nadia reasoned with herself that she would have
to find a mirror as soon as possible.

           
As her eyes turned back to the sleeping man beside the bed that thought drifted
away and the only one left was that now she was his, he was hers, and they
would be together for a very long time.

           
Everything seemed so much brighter now. Her eyes were crisp with every color
heightened in perfect pitch and tone. His hair was a luscious shade of every
brown she had ever seen. His skin was sumptuous, a deep, rich warmed tone that
was supple and pleasing to her new eyes. Long, dark lashes rested lightly atop
high cheekbones and Nadia had the urge to run her fingers over every ridge of
his face.

           
She didn’t stop herself from giving in.

           
With her newfound strength and speed she was kneeling in front of him on the bed
within one second. She couldn’t stop the air from stirring though, and that was
what sent those lovely lashes fluttering up. Light brown eyes focused on her
instantly and Nadia felt her heart stutter to almost a stop as he visually
checked her for outward signals that would tell him if she was okay or not.

           
“Hello, beautiful. I see that you survived with no ill effects inside or out.”

           
It was in that moment when Nadia remembered that she could sift through his
emotions now. He would never be able to hide from her unless he ‘
glamoured
’ himself. Right now that wasn’t happening.
Everything he felt was there, out in the open and stage center for her to see
and read around him. Nadia felt her soul expand when she saw the shimmer of
pure emotion hazing around his body. Love, wholesome and real, was there and
she felt it in the way his eyes traveled over every inch of her body, in the
way they warmed as he looked at her, in the way she heard his blood moving
furiously inside of his body.