Chapter 9

Raven touched down on the loose gravel in front of Tayla's cabin with his brothers landing close behind him.

The sun sank below the horizon, taking the remaining warmth along with it. Long shadows cast by the ancient gum trees stretched across the gravel drive. His body shivered uncontrollably, and he clenched his jaw to silence the annoying chatter of his teeth.

Raven surveyed the area. Nothing had changed since he'd been here only an hour before.

Except for one thing.

Blaine.

That sonofabitch stood on the veranda, leaning on his elbows on the railing, a smug look on his face.

“Well hello, brother.” Blaine smirked.

And that was the final straw. The lid on Raven’s volcano exploded, fiery lava erupted out the top, and he took off at a dead run toward Blaine.

“What have you done to her?” he roared.

His feet skidded to a halt, his torso yanked backward by an invisible force. He ripped at his jacket, but EJ’s strong arms locked tight around his chest.

“Let me go,” he snarled, fighting to get free.

Aric stepped into his spotted vision. “Don’t make me punch you again. No good will come from fighting him, trust me.”

“It'll make me fucking feel better,” Raven snapped.

EJ tightened his grip.

Aric turned to face Blaine. “What have you done this time?”

Blaine lifted his palms in surrender. “Nice to see you too, friend.” He shifted his sinister gaze to Raven. “Easy there, brother, she's not here.” Blaine strolled to the front door and placed his palm flat against the surface as though sensing Tayla’s presence. “She hasn’t been here for some time.”

“What do you mean she isn't here? Her car's in the driveway,” Raven shouted back, shoving again against his captor. “EJ, let me go.”

Aric glanced across his shoulder at Raven and raised his brows. “Will you play nice?”

“Not likely,” Raven snapped.

Aric half-shrugged. “Fair enough.”

The second EJ loosened his grip, Raven shoved out of his arms. He stalked toward the cabin.

Aric kept pace with him, within arm’s reach.

Raven glared at Blaine. “Where is she?” he growled.

“You know, this look…” He circled Raven’s face in the air with his finger. “Kinda suits you, brother, you should give it a go full-time.”

More than you know.

“Fuck you, Blaine. This is your last chance. Where is she?”

Blaine shrugged, unfazed by the threat. “No idea. Like you, I just got here.”

Blaine leaned his forearms on the railing and tilted his head slightly to one side. “Why is she so important to you, anyway?”

“She's a Chosen. Of course, she's important to me.”

Blaine narrowed his pitch-black eyes. “No, I suspect she's more than just your Chosen, brother.”

Raven growled, transforming Blaine’s smirk into a full-blown sadistic smile.

“While you’re here, care to explain this?” Raven pulled the crimson feather from the back of his jeans and held it in the air.

Blaine gaped and pressed his palm against his chest. “What? Are you following me?”

Raven ground his molars and stalked forward another step. “Exactly how many times have you been here?”

“Oh, I don’t know.” Blaine half-shrugged. “Nice little place though, for a tiny cabin in the middle of a forest. Bet it’s quiet, being so far from the main lodge and all.” He clapped his hands together and strolled along the veranda before descending the creaky steps. “Anyhoo, be sure to say hi for me if she makes it back.”

Blaine unfolded his sinister wings, the crimson feathers bright as if dipped in fresh blood moments before. Only a handful of black flecks remained. “Nice to see you all again, it's always a pleasure.” He bowed his head curtly to Raven before he shot to the moonless sky.

“What was that about?” Aric muttered.

Raven craned his head back and stared at the billions of tiny sparkling stars, filling the sky with warm yellow glitter. Goosebumps popped over his arms as a chill traveled down his spine.

“She's somewhere out there, and she's freezing,” Raven mumbled, rubbing his chest with his open hand.

He glanced across his shoulder at each of his brothers. “EJ, stay here, see if you can find something that'll give us a clue to her whereabouts. Aric, you and I will check the mountains; she couldn't have gone far on foot.”

EJ nodded, already marching to the front door of the cabin.

Aric stepped closer and squeezed Raven's shoulder. “We’ll find her, man.”

****

Raven hovered several feet above the thick canopy of trees, scanning the ranges. He peered over his right shoulder and zeroed in on the expansive grounds of Cedar Lodge and the smattering of log cabins. No sign of Tayla. His gaze drifted further out to Summit Creek Dam, the still water glossy and black in the darkness of the night, the town's lights illuminating the banks. He turned. More blackness. A gloomy canopy of darkness covered the mountains.

Aric hovered next to him, silently flapping his wings, waiting for a hint on which direction to head.

“She's shivering,” Raven muttered.

“Concentrate on the connection to her. Feel past the physical symptoms.” Aric motioned to the gloomy mountains. “That's a frickin' lot of ground to cover with just the two of us.”

Raven pictured Tayla behind his closed lids, her wavy chestnut hair swaying in a gentle breeze, her fresh spring-rain scent filling his nostrils. Her hazel eyes bright with excitement…

Got it!

Like a fluorescent orange flare shot into the black sky, Raven latched onto their connection. He turned and sped toward the dark mountain range.

The pit of his stomach quivered, and his shoulders tensed. The frigid wind howled over the tree canopy, stinging his cheeks and burning his throat with every gasp of air. He knew this terrain like the back of his hand, had flown over it thousands of times, but he couldn't pinpoint her exact location. The spiritual tether connecting them dropped in and out as though in a black spot or some shit. Which was not fucking helpful.

Aric pointed to his left. “The falls are over that way,” he yelled above the wind. “Maybe she hiked there? Or there's the summit trail following the river.”

At that moment, the beacon flashed on, and Raven shot toward it, his gaze glued on the location in case it dropped out.

“I can't see a thing up here,” Raven bellowed over his shoulder. “I'm going down on foot.”

He plummeted through the trees, not giving a shit when branches ripped and tore his flesh. Dead crunchy leaves flew up around him in a frenzy as he landed. Wasting no time, he bolted straight ahead, tucking his wings behind his back.

Aric's heavy footfalls caught up to Raven and he cast him a quick glance. “Rough landing?” He smirked.

Without slowing, Raven used the sleeve of his jacket to wipe the thick warm blood gushing down the side of his face.

They raced ahead, effortlessly leaping fallen trees and shoving overhanging branches to the side, clearing a path. Smaller twigs and ground cover crumbled and snapped under the pound of their boots.

Keep going, nearly there. Faster!

He swiped again at his cheek…

Raven’s heavy combat boot stubbed a rock, camouflaged under a pile of leaves. A sickening crack echoed through the forest a second before searing pain shot through his ankle. He stumbled forward, flailing his arms in the air, unfurling his wings just in time to prevent face-planting in the dirt.

Righting himself, he balanced on one leg and peered down at his left combat boot, bent in an unnatural way. He swallowed the vomit rising up his throat. He didn't have time for this; he needed to get to Tayla.

He clenched his jaw and pushed his broken foot down on the ground and—One…two…three—snapped it in the opposite direction.

The bone popped back into place.

Vomit rose again, and this time he leaned to the side and hurled it up. Trees swayed before his eyes as though he were on that merry-go-round again.

Aric gagged beside him. “Fuck, man, that was nasty. I'll get her. You wait here.”

“No,” Raven grunted, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. He pressed his “fixed” ankle lightly against the ground, testing the weight-versus-pain ratio. “I'm good.”

Aric grimaced and scrunched up his face. “Providing you don't fucking pass out.”

“I won't. It's already healing.” Kinda.

Raven pointed straight ahead, toward a mound of boulders. “She's gotta be there.”

He hobbled forward, as fast as he could, which only slowed them down. Numbness crept up his injured leg, making him wobbly on his feet. White-hot pain burned inside his ankle and his body shuddered.

Faster.

The tug inside his chest intensified and he keeled over, struggling to fill his lungs with air. His hands shot forward to break his fall, scraping his rough palms on the dirt.

“G-get her,” Raven choked, pointing ahead.

Aric didn’t need to be told twice. He kicked into gear and bolted to the boulders.

Raven heaved in and out, gasping for air.

God, her shivers racked his body as though they were his own.

His good foot tingled with pins and needles and his ears stung so badly they might just snap off.

Latching onto a tree trunk beside him, Raven clawed himself off the ground and stumbled forward.

“She's here,” Aric shouted in the distance. “And alive.”

Raven sagged against the tree.

Aric rounded the far side of the boulder and strode to Raven, cradling Tayla in his arms. His expression tight. “She's gotta get warm, man. Stat.”

The sight of Tayla’s head falling limp over Aric’s arm snapped him into action. He rushed to Aric, pushing aside his pain and, as gently as he could, transferred Tayla’s pale, shivering body into his arms.

Aric stripped off his leather jacket and laid it across her torso.

Raven nudged her closer to his chest. Her head lay in the crook of his arm, against his beating heart. And damn, if it didn't feel so right.

Tayla murmured words in her semiconscious state, but he couldn’t make them out.

Raven stretched out his wings and curled them around his body to gently encase Tayla’s slender frame in a warm cocoon of silky feathers.

Heat instantly flooded his body from the center out, traveling along his veins and transferred through their connection. It chased away the numbness. Color returned to Tayla’s cheeks and she snuggled her head closer to his chest. Her warm breath tickled his skin through his cotton tee.

God, he had to figure out this connection between them.

But this was not the time nor the place to attempt to process whatever the fuck was going on. His first priority had to be to get her warm without being naked. Although, that was a proven method to increase body temperature. Nope. Nakedness led to other activities, and as much as he wanted to, those activities were forbidden between a Guardian and a Chosen.

Fate had punished him enough for one eternity.

He tore himself away from his thoughts and glanced at Aric, who met his gaze with a slight furrow of his brows as though he saw something Raven didn’t.

“She's not out of the woods yet, man, no pun intended. You gotta get her to a mortal hospital.”

His stomach churned at the lack of protection at a hospital and her cabin. Blaine had been there, for fuck’s sake. But could he risk the consequences for him and his brothers bringing her to the safest place on Earth?

He had to. There was no other option.

“She’s coming back with us,” Raven said with an air of authority. Suddenly, something inside he couldn’t explain, shifted. Locked into place.

He stared hard at Aric daring him to argue.

Instead, Aric nodded before turning away.

Raven peered down at the beautiful mortal nestled between his wings. Her lips had returned to their usual rosy color, her cheeks a healthy dusty pink. The violent shivering had ceased.

Aric returned to his side. “EJ's meeting us back at the house.” He jerked his chin at Raven's ankle. “You right to fly, man?”

“Yep. Wings are still attached.”

Didn't matter if they weren’t. No way would he hand her over to anyone else.

Ever.

Aric pursed his lips, about to argue but didn't. Thank God.

Raven slowly folded back his wings and squeezed Tayla closer to his chest. Shifting her weight into one arm, he tossed Aric’s jacket back to him. As gently as he could, he maneuvered Tayla back into position, tucking her tightly against his torso.

Tayla moaned, snuggling in closer. His heart pounded inside his chest.

This wasn't the best idea. Jesus. He needed to get her back to the house and out of his arms.

Aric cleared his throat. “Ah, you good, man?”

“Let's go,” Raven replied in a thick voice.

Aric wasted no time arguing and shot into the sky in one swoop, skillfully avoiding stray branches. Again.

Raven leaned his head forward and tenderly kissed her warm cheek. He gently reached out with his mind into Tayla’s subconscious and eased her into light sleep. Better than her freaking out if she woke on their flight home.

“You're safe now, Tayla,” he whispered. “I’m not letting you go, again.”

He glanced skyward before taking off—carefully navigating the trees like Aric had—with his mortal safely tucked in his arms.