Cade and Becca tried to keep Aldain’s mind occupied by including him in some of the things they did. They went on late night picnics and hikes exploring caves near the surrounding area. Aldain went with them on most of their jaunts but he passed at the cave exploring. There wasn’t a cave in Scotland that he hadn’t explored. While they were cave exploring, Aldain was seriously considering taking a vacation, maybe the south pacific. He just wanted to get away for a while.
Becca decided she wanted to make something she found online for dinner. Cade and Aldain went into the den to watch a show as she cooked. She hated having anyone in the kitchen when she was preparing a meal. This was fine with the men; they would rather do something else. Cooking wasn’t at the top of their list as the most enjoyable thing to do.
As they were talking about the day during dinner the phone rang and Becca got up to answer it. They heard her greet her mother, and then they heard her voice raise several octaves. “What! Oh, my god is she o.k.?” The silence was grating on both men’s nerves. They decided to join Becca in the study.
They both walked in to see that Becca had a death grip on the phone and tears were falling down her cheeks. Cade walked over to her and put his arms around her waist. He wanted her to know that whatever was happening he was there for her. Becca then said, “Mom I will be on the next flight out. Tori will be alright. I promise.” Becca hung up and when she turned around her eyes were red and her fangs were out in full force.
Cade holding her close asked. “What happened Bec? What is wrong with Tori?”
Becca growled, “That bastard of a boyfriend of hers beat her so bad she is in the hospital. Mom said she is going to be alright, but Tori is pressing charges and Tom, her now ex -boyfriend has sworn he is going to get even with her. The police said he will probably be able to post bail, even though it is probably going to be a stiff one. His parents come from money.”
Aldain growled; he has never understood how a ‘man’ could ever hit a woman. In his mind, there wasn’t even a name low enough to describe such scum. He looked at Becca, “Let me go!”
Becca looked at him like he grew another head. “What? Why? You don’t even know her. She has never met you and after what happened I don’t even know if she would go anywhere with a strange man. I think it’s best if I go alone.” Becca turned to go upstairs to pack.
Aldain stopped her to plead his case. “Listen Becca. Why don’t you let me go? While you are a vampire and able to take care of yourself her ex doesn’t know this. If he sees just the two of you; he may decide to do something stupid and then you would end up giving yourself away when you protect you and your sister. Look at me, men like him never mess with men my size. They prey on the weaker person, someone whom they know they can beat. Like he did with your sister. I can go get her and stay there a few days so she can get comfortable around me, then I will bring her back here. It’s a win win situation for everyone.” Becca really wanted to see her sister, and what Aldain said made sense. She knew he would keep her sister safe. He could fly as a dragon at night and she knew he would keep her sister safe. Flying as a dragon would save him the worry of taking night flights. In the day, he could take a regular plane.
Becca picked up the phone to call her mother; she told her of the change of plans. She assured her mother that Tori couldn’t be in better hands than Aldains’. She also pointed out that Tom would never go after Tori while a bigger man than him was around. The idea that Tori would be safe seemed to placate her mother. Her father was wanting to beat the hell out of Tom and it took her mother everything she had to keep him from taking a bat to Toms head and beating him half to death. Becca was sure he could do it too, but he wasn’t a young man anymore. Tom wouldn’t think twice about cheap shotting him. Becca didn’t want her dad hurt next.
Aldain said he would arrive the next morning; he planned on flying all night. Her family lived in Boston so he could just go under the radar while it was still dark and shift back before anyone would see him. Becca’s mother told her Tori would still be in the hospital when Aldain got there so he should go there when he got into town. The doctors wanted to keep her for at least a couple of days but Tori was fighting that idea tooth and nail. She hated hospitals and insisted she was fine, the doctors begged to differ. To calm her down they knocked her out with a sedative. She wasn’t going to like that when she woke up.
Becca stopped Aldain from leaving right away. “Maybe you should go and put a few clothes in a bag. You are going to be there at least a day or two. You did say you were going to give Tori a chance to feel comfortable around you before you brought her here.” Aldain agreed and shoved some clothes in a bag. He hugged Becca telling her he would protect her sister with his life. If it would have come from any other man, Becca would have rolled her eyes. Coming from Aldain, she knew he meant it.
Aldain took off from the back of his castle, his mind a chaos of thoughts. This was the get-away he so badly needed, but he wasn’t planning on company. When he heard that Becca’s sister was hurt, he felt a pain deep down in his heart. He figured it was because he loved Becca like a sister and her family became his family. He always protected his family, this wasn’t going to be any different. He had never met Becca’s family but he would make sure and let them know he considered them family as much as he considered Becca family.