Page 48 of A Hunter Turned
Wasting no more time, Morgan approached Travis and knelt by his head. The rise and fall of that massive, scaled chest, reassured her, as did the steady sound of his thumping heart but why wouldn’t he wake? For the first time, she wished he was a vampire so that she could open a vein and bring him back with her blood. Touching his face, she bent close. “I’m here Travis. Please wake up. We need you.” And then with a broken sob, “I need you.”
Continuing to stroke him, she told her mate, “Your sister is awake, she’s safe and uninjured. You saved her.” Judging by his position, Morgan knew that he had to have rolled to take the brunt of the impact, sheltering his sister with his body in the fall.
A long exhale followed that statement, and Travis’s big body began to shrink down as the scales receded. Morgan closed her eyes for a moment in relief. “That’s right, my love. Come back to me.” She looked up at Sophia who was hovering on Travis’s other side, now wrapped in a blanket that one of the pack must have provided. “Come back to us.”
With a shout, Travis lurched up into a sitting position and Morgan quickly wrapped her arms around him to keep him steady. God, his back was practically shredded, deep, bloody furrows marring his flesh from his shoulders all the way down to his backside. The wounds made her want to weep at the pain he must be suffering. “We need to get him to the healer,” she called, turning her head to locate Jeremiah.
It must have been torture for Travis to even raise his arm and yet he reached for her to cup her face. His voice was hoarse, cracking as he uttered her name. “You’re okay?” he asked.
“I’m fine,” she said with a soft smile. “And so is your sister.”
His thumb traced over her cheek, a low growl rumbling in his chest. “You’re bleeding.”
“Just a scratch. It’ll be gone before you know it.”
“Travis,” was whispered in a small voice, and his head jerked toward the sound, his hand once more reaching, this time for his sister.
The tears in his eyes as he spoke his sister’s name, so reverently, nearly broke Morgan’s heart. Years he’d spent searching for her, giving up his life and everything familiar, uprooting himself, all for this moment. And as Morgan slid back slightly so that the siblings could embrace, joy unfurled in her heart for both of them.
Chapter Thirty-Two
It was later the next day that Jamie and Archer finally got around to testing the effectiveness of the talisman. She had thought about giving it a try at first light, but Archer had wanted to be with her and up until now, he’d been busy checking in with all of his pack members, helping board up broken windows, and dealing with the worst of the damage caused by Sophia’s awakening.
As for Cady, the shaking and chaos had been scary, but she’d come through without a scratch. As she’d told her father, a dragon was supposed to make a lot of noise, so really, no one should have been surprised. She was now excited to meet the woman who held such a massive beast within her body though she’d been told she’d have to wait until Sophia had settled in.
When Archer told Jamie the story, she’d laughed, and had shaken her head, marveling at the resiliency and fearlessness of children.
“Are you ready?”
Standing near the door, Jamie took a deep breath, clenched the talisman in her hand through her shirt, and then let it settle back against her skin as she nodded. “Let’s do this.”
“First sign of trouble, you tell me.”
Smiling, she leaned up and kissed him. “I will.”
Gripping her hips in his hands, he tugged her fully against him and repeated with a growl, “First. Sign.”
“Don’t worry. I have no desire to end up looking like a prune.”
With a nod, Archer opened the door, and as Jamie had been one-hundred-percent honest in not wanting to end up like a piece of fruit inside a food dehydrator, she stuck her hand out first and felt the heat of the sun on her skin.
The talisman subtly warmed against her chest and there was a slight tingling, but no burn. As for her hand, it shimmered slightly, as if skinned in a translucent bubble. She gave it a moment more, just to be sure, and then stepped out into the sun, raising her arm to block the glare her eyes were no longer accustomed to.
“You okay?”
Jamie grinned. The talisman was just a comfortable warmth, and that faint shimmer had spread all over her body. “I feel great,” and then excitedly, “I get to buy sunglasses!”
Archer chuckled. “So, we’ll give it a few more minutes, then?”
“A few minutes? If this keeps up, I’m getting a sun lounger and a cocktail.”
That statement elicited another laugh, this one louder before Archer grabbed her up into his arms and kissed her soundly on the mouth. “God, how I love you.”
“I love you, too.” Pulling back slightly so she could see him better, her eyes lit up wickedly. “We can indulge in public displays of affection in broad daylight. How cool is that?”
A growl of approval was her answer before another voice was heard. Morgan’s shocked, “Oh. My. God,” had them breaking apart and turning to face her.
“What did you do?” Morgan asked in disbelief, her eyes raking up and down Jamie’s body. “How is this possible?”
