Chapter Twenty-Two
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Devon was beside himself. He paced in front of his bed, watching Vinea’s chest slowly rise and fall, willing her to open her eyes. He’d contacted Missy again, and after she performed her magic, she said while she couldn’t make any promises, she was hopeful Vinea would recover. After all, Vinea had healed quickly the last time.
What had possessed Vinea to try to heal him again? If Missy hadn’t been able to rush to the rescue, Vinea might have died. Why couldn’t she understand that his wolf would have taken care of him?
Vinea’s eyes slowly opened, and Devon immediately sat on the bed and picked up her hand. “How are you feeling?”
She took a moment to respond. Vinea glanced around, probably trying to figure out where she was. The last thing she would have remembered was being in that terrible house.
“Kind of weak, but okay.”
He blew out a breath. “That was a pretty foolish thing for you to do,” he said, keeping his tone light. “You know my wolf would have healed me. It just would have taken some time.”
She glanced away. “You would have done the same thing if I’d been injured,” Vinea said struggling to talk.
“Yes, I would have.” This discussion seemed to be stressing her out. Her breath was quickening. “You need to rest now. We’ll talk later.”
“I’ve rested enough.”
“Vinea,” he said in the same voice his father used to use on the kids when he was young—stern but compassionate.
She grabbed his hand. “I need to find out about Mr. Sanford. He never showed up at the café, and I’m worried about him.”
Devon remembered she was on her way to his house when she disappeared. “He’s fine. I spoke with him. We’ll talk about it later.” A small smile flitted across her lips, and then she was out.
Confident that Vinea would heal, Devon returned to the living room. As soon as Dalton and Connor had helped them both home, they had gone back to headquarters to make sure things were ready when the shit hit the fan. The Changelings would need some time to regroup after losing their leader, but they would return with a vengeance. While killing Brother Jacob had been one of Devon’s finer moments, it might have been his stupidest one. In the past, the Changelings hadn’t come right out and attacked his Clan. Now, they might.
Needing to stay in the loop, he called Connor. “How’s Vinea?” Connor asked without saying hello.
“She was awake for a little bit, but she’s asleep again now.”
“Is she going to be okay?”
Devon was pleased that his brother sounded so concerned. “I think so. It will take some time though.”
“Look, I owe you an apology.”
He sure did. “I’m listening.”
“I misjudged Vinea.”
That was all he needed to hear. “I get it. She hurt me the first time, and you didn’t want it to happen again.”
“Sorry, bro. I was an ass. I should have trusted your instincts.”
“No, I was fooled by the evil Vinea the first time, and we both know it. You believed she was that same person. You were just trying to protect me, and I appreciate it,” Devon shot back.
“So we’re good?”
Devon could never stay mad at Connor for long. “We’re good. Have you heard any scuttlebutt about the take down?”
“No. The Changelings are keeping everything quiet. I imagine it’s not something they want to brag about. I figure it will take some time for them to take care of the mess and regroup. They’ll need to find a new leader, though it will probably be John Ernst.”
“He might be worse than Brother Jacob. Shit, maybe I made things worse.” The door to the bedroom opened. “Look I gotta go. Vinea needs me.”
“Tell her I’m sorry.”
“I will.” Devon hung up and rushed down the hallway. “You should be resting.” Yes, he sounded like a broken record, but he couldn’t help himself.
He reached out and wrapped his arms around her. She snuggled her head against his shoulder, and her scent shot his damn wolf to attention. “I’d rather rest out here with you.”
He placed an arm around her waist for support and led her to the sofa. “Fine, I’ll get you propped up on the couch, and then get you something to drink. Or are you hungry?”
“Do you have any hot chocolate? I’ve found that it relaxes me.”
“Coming right up.” Devon came back carrying the steaming cups. After placing them on the coffee table, he then pulled it closer so she could reach it easily. He lifted her legs and sat down, placing them over his lap.
“So tell me how you ended up in that house,” he said. He hadn’t wanted to discuss the tragic events until he was convinced she was strong enough, but she seemed on the mend.
She blew on the steaming mug then sipped her hot chocolate. “A man I’d never seen before came into the café around the time that Mr. Sanford usually shows up and asked if I’d seen him.”
“And once you realized your regular customer was late, you began to worry.”
“Yes. The man was supposedly Mr. Sanford’s lawyer.” She explained about the house he’d driven her to. “I remember thinking that it didn’t look like how Mr. Sanford had described it, but I didn’t say anything. I should have gone with my gut instinct and vanished.”
He almost smiled at her answer to everything. “If you had disappeared, it might have made you a more valuable target.”
“True, but in this case, they already knew who I was. To finish the story, just as we reached the door, someone came up behind me and hit me on the head, knocking me out. I felt a pinch and then the sting of being injected with a drug. I don’t remember anything until I woke up in that room.”
Anger at the attack once more stabbed him in the gut. “If I hadn’t already killed Brother Jacob, I would rush up there now and tear him limb from limb.”
She chuckled. “I don’t think it would have been that easy. By the way, how did you get past the guards?”
“Sam incapacitated them.”
“Wow. After what I tried to do to him, I’m surprised he was willing to help.”
Devon smiled. “Everyone believes that you’ve changed. I think Sam has even forgiven you.”
“I’ll have to thank him.”
Devon nodded. “What else do you remember?”
“When I came to, I was really mad at myself for not leaving when I had the chance. My lapse must have been because I had been worried about Mr. Sanford.”
Devon looked off to the side. “The Changelings must have been planning this for a while. They knew just which of your buttons to push.”
“I know.”
Vinea was vulnerable. If anyone doubted the change in her, this would prove it. She was almost too kind. “If something like this ever happens again, we need to get something straight,” he said after drinking some of his now-cooled hot chocolate.
“What’s that?”
“You can’t keep healing me.”
She placed a hand on his arm. “What was I supposed to do? Let you die?”
“As I said, my wolf would have healed me.”
She shook her head. “If you had seen yourself like I did, you too would have thought you had maybe an hour to live. Besides, when Naliana shot me with light, part of the process to rid my body of the evil was to give me the ability to heal. As I become a better person, my ability to draw the pain from others increases—or so I’ve found.”
“I don’t like it. If you keep doing that, people will learn of your abilities, and you’ll have hoards of people flocking here to ask for your help. Some might even be Changelings.”
Not that he and Vinea would be in Silver Lake for much longer, as he had his own office to run in Pittsburgh.
She looked off to the side. “I had wondered about that. I should probably restrict my healing only to those I love.”
Devon stilled. “Love?”
“Yes, love. Like you.”
“Me?”
“Yes, I love you, Devon McKinnon, and I have for a long time.”
He lifted her legs, and she sat upright beside him. Devon leaned over, cupped her face, and then kissed her gently, not wanting to take advantage of her when she was still healing. Even that small touch caused his wolf to wake up and demand more. Devon had to work hard not to mate with her right then and there.
His breath came out too fast. “If I continue to touch you, I’ll want to make love with you, which will lead to mating.” Devon couldn’t believe how far they had come since their first meeting. “You are the most important person in my life, Vinea. I love you.”
She grinned. “Then show me.”
“You aren’t ready for that yet. You need to rest more. Actually, you should be in bed.”
“With you, maybe, but geez, I’ve been in bed for almost a day now. Besides, Missy’s magic worked.”
He was so happy to hear that. “I think ever since she mated with Zane, she’s become a stronger healer.”
Vinea smiled. “Then I can recommend her to anyone who needs help.”
He stroked her face. “I like that idea better.”
Vinea set down her drink and straddled him. “Oh, yeah?”
“Ahem,” said a female voice in the direction of the kitchen.
Vinea’s eyes widened, and she jumped off his lap. “What are you doing here?”
Devon twisted around, and they both shot to their feet. “Naliana?”
His tongue was barely able to say her name. He had forgotten that the white moon was tonight, the one night Naliana made her appearance. With everything going on, it also had slipped his mind about her being Vinea’s sister.
Naliana smiled. “I came to congratulate you, my beautiful sister.”
Vinea’s eyes widened “For what?”
He could see the family resemblance. “Because you finally allowed your white light back inside you and are fully embracing it. As I’ve said before, I tried to help when you were sent to the dark side, but I was told that it wouldn’t be for long. I’d just met James, and after I informed them that I wasn’t ready to return, my punishment was to be kept away from you.”
Vinea clasped Devon’s hand. “I never did understand how you could defy our parents.”
Naliana shrugged. “Think of it as letting my heart guide me. I figured if I was supposed to be the one to pair shifters and Wendayans, I needed to live among the mortals and learn about love.”
Vinea staggered back, and Devon slipped his arm around her waist. “How about we all sit?” he suggested.
Naliana floated in front of them and then took the seat across from the sofa.
“So you really wanted to contact me all those years ago?” Vinea said to her sister.
“Yes. I knew deep inside you were a good person, albeit immature and rather impulsive. I’m happy to say that you’ve seasoned now, though I have to give credit to Devon for helping you.”
A slight smile lifted Vinea’s lips. “I’m seasoned. I like that.”
Naliana looked down at her hands for a moment. “There are things you should know before you and Devon mate.”
He planted a hand on Vinea’s thigh. “What’s that?” His voice came out harsher than he’d intended.
“Vinea is an immortal, but if she mates with you, she no longer will be.”
Injustice slammed into him. “But you’re mated to James and he’s immortal. How is that any different from what Vinea and I have?”
“To save James’s life and give him immortality, I had to return to the light realm for good. Do you want Vinea to do that?”
Conflicting emotions slammed into him. He looked over at her.
“No,” she said before he could answer. “I want to stay here. With Devon.”
“But we won’t mate. I don’t want her to make that sacrifice.”
Vinea twisted toward him. “Like hell we won’t. Why would I want to live any longer than you anyway? It would be a terrible and lonely life.”
While seeming impossible, his love for her strengthened. “I guess that settles it.” He faced Naliana. “Thank you for everything you have done to help both of us.”
Naliana stood and opened her arms. “Can I get a hug before I go?”
Vinea choked out a sob. Slowly, she eased to her feet, stepped around the coffee table, and then flung herself into her sister’s embrace. Her back heaved, and he hoped those tears were joyful ones.
Naliana stroked her sister’s hair and rubbed her back. “Our parents wanted to let you know that you are welcome to visit any time you want.”
Vinea leaned back, tears running down her cheeks. “Really? They want to see me?”
“You are now the daughter they’ve always dreamed of having.”
Vinea swiped a hand across her cheek. “I would love that, but I’d want them to meet Devon too.”
“Perhaps that can be arranged.” Naliana let go of Vinea. “I should get back to James. We have so little time together as it is. I will always love you, Vinea.”
“Can I ask one more thing?”
“Of course.”
Vinea looked at Devon and then back at Naliana. “Can a goddess and a shifter have children?”
“I can’t honestly say, but I see no reason why not.” She smiled and so did Vinea.
“I love you and thank you,” Vinea said.
Not only had Naliana given her sister the wonderful gift of forgiveness, she’d given him much more. Devon stood. “Would it be totally inappropriate to ask for a hug too?”
Naliana opened her arms and smiled. The hug that followed filled him with hope and acceptance. A second later, she was gone.