Page 13 of Storm Dragon
Holding onto his hard-fought focus with all that he was, the Guardsman rode the waves of calm flowing from his Mate. He matched her slow, steady breathing. His heart stuttered, stopped, then started again in time with hers. It was yet another confirmation that the Bobcat Queen known as Tamsyn Ryder was indeed the Keeper of his heart and soul. She was his Mate, and that was simply all there was to it.
Closer and closer, one final push, and his mind brushed against hers. His dark, dank world filled with the same Light and Hope he’d felt the first time he’d felt her presence- that day in the meadow. The very essence of her being exhilarated his broken spirit, started to mend his wounded soul, and warmed his cold, unused heart. Without thought, he’d spoken directly into her mind.
“Tamsyn…”
Recognition arced between them, exploded in his mind, and skittered down his spine, landing in the depths of his soul. It was pure electricity, the most amazing display of Magic he’d ever seen. It was unlike anything he’d ever felt, and it was nothing short of miraculous.
Willing her to respond, he begged aloud with a pleading in his voice he barely recognized, “Please, Tamsyn.
Please, Mo chroí. Speak to me.”
But she’d stayed silent, sleeping, and Ruairí dared to hope that she was dreaming of him. He pushed with all the Magic and Mysticism he could muster while pleading in the language of the Ancient Dragons, “Feuch an bruidhinn thu ris an neach aig a bheil gaol ort,” and then immediately in English, “Please speak to the one who loves you.”
Still, there was no response. All he could hear and feel were her slow, deep breaths and the peaceful ebb and flow of her mind at rest, but he would not- could not give up. Over and over, he called to her. The beautiful moniker given to her by her parents became his mantra, the one thing keeping him sane in that fleeting, heartbreaking moment, keeping him from giving up and letting go.
“Tamsyn… Tamsyn… Tamsyn, Mo gràidh …”
The beautiful creature who smelled of a fresh mountain stream and the sweet, enticing scent of Dogwoods in bloom was to be his savior-and so very much more. There was no reason to deny the truth. It was as easy to see and feel as his prison had been for so many long years.
She would be his life. She was already his everything. She was the one the Universe had created for him. Not Heaven nor Hell nor the prison around him could keep them apart.
He knew she would find him. Felt it in the depths of his soul. His Mate was a Warrior. She possessed an inner strength that rivaled his own. They were truly a match made by the hand of the most powerful meant to bring evil to its knees and make enemies of the Light pay.
Tamsyn Elizabeth Ryder was a force unto herself. She was Magical. She was unstoppable. She was filled with a powerful white Magic, so pure and untainted that it could overpower the evil keeping him prisoner.
“She just has to know I am here.” He breathed the words, a prayer lifted up in the darkness.
He’d seen it all in her mind. It didn’t matter that he only got bits and pieces of her past and present. All he needed to know was that she fought for what was just and right and would always do everything in her immense power to help those in need.
“I must speak to her.” He pushed the words through gritted teeth, his voice low and shaky. It sounds like gravel rolling under a wagon wheel- and his throat burned from how much he’d been using it after so many years of utter and complete silence, but he had to keep trying.
Inhaling deeply, he let the aura of his Mate surround him. He used everything he knew of her like a bright, shining beacon, and concentrated as he never had before. Drawing on his incredible strength and years of training, Ruairí pushed everything he had, everything he was, into that one final plea.
“Tamsyn, my love, please answer me.”
Holding his breath, hoping and praying that her mind would open and her subconscious would answer his plea, Ruairí all but lost consciousness before collapsing from complete exhaustion. Every muscle, every bone, every hair that was left on his head ached from exertion, but his heart would not surrender.
Of their own volition, his heart and soul gathered the scattered remnants of Mysticism limping through his body and shoved it through the Mating Bond he shared with Tamsyn while adamantly declaring, “Tamsyn Elizabeth Ryder, I love you.”
5
Lifting the Styrofoam cup filled with watered-down Diet Mountain Dew from the night before, Tamsyn bit the tip of the straw as she watched Shifters from all over the world funnel in from every direction. She didn’t even notice that her favorite soda was flat and lukewarm as she took a sip because not only was she in awe, but she was also pretty much as confused as she’d ever been in all her life.
“Well, you better stop thinking about that rumbling, sexy voice from your dream, and pay attention to what’s right in front of your cute little nose, my girl,” Bridgette scoffed. “You know as well as I do that they’ll be lookin’ to you for direction, not some starry-eyed…”
“I am not…”
“Oh, yeah, you are,” Bridgette cut her off with a hiss. “You are thinkin’ about the three little words you think you heard while you were…”
“Okay, okay, okay, I’ll stop thinkin’ about it if you shut the hell up. You’re makin’ my ass twitch.”
“I’ll make more than your ass twitch if you don’t…”
“Consider yourself on ignore,” Tamsyn growled, slamming her mental blocks into place and exhaling the breath she hadn’t realized she was holding.
Scanning the largest field at the back of the Ryder Pounce Farm, she couldn’t believe her eyes. From every corner, groups of Shifters converged— Packs of Wolves, Prides of Lions, Clans of Dragons, Streaks of Tigers, and Lone Shifters of all Races together in one place, united for a single cause. Colorful clothing, shifting forms, and distinct accents mingled with the low hum of conversations, giving the entire field a vibrating sense of energy.
In the short time she’d been arguing with Bridgette, the crowd had almost doubled. It was mindboggling to say the least, and overwhelming in all the best ways in reality.
