Chapter 27

The fear began to rise in her again. As he felt it, she was already moving back to his side. He ran his palm beneath her ponytail and over the silky skin of her neck.

Her face tilted up to him, her blue eyes concerned. "What does it do to you when you help me like this? Does it hurt you when you take my emotions?"

His gaze caressed her features one by one, the dark gold lashes sweeping up from her eyes, the curve of her brows, the high soft line of her cheekbones.

"It doesn't hurt."

"Do you feel them yourself when you take them from me?"

"No. Not as you feel them. There's an energy in emotions, especially strong, negative ones. I feel it like a low current. Not pleasant, but not painful." His thumb traced her jaw beneath her ear. "Knowing that I ease your discomfort gives me pleasure."

Her gaze softened, her lips lifting in a small, sweet smile that set up an ache deep in his chest. "Thank you."

At the sound of a throat clearing behind him, Lyon turned, dismayed to realize he hadn't even heard Paenther's approach. The black-haired warrior stood in the doorway now, his gaze flickering between him and Kara, his mouth tight with a disapproval he gave no voice to.

"There's a dark charm in the house that's been affecting Kara, B.P. Organize a full search."

If Paenther was surprised, he didn't show it. He nodded and turned to leave. "Vhype."

Paenther's greeting had Lyon's head snapping up just as Vhyper froze in the doorway.

Gold eyes watched him caress Kara's neck. "Get the hell away from my mate."

Lyon released Kara slowly, $ deep growl escaping his throat as his beast rose. Lyon fought back the wildness. "She needs my help, Vhyper."

"I'll just bet she does. The same kind of help you gave her during the Pairing?" The snake's eyes began to turn feral red.

"Stay in your skin, Vhyper."

"Go to hell, Chief." Wicked, curved, snake's fangs sprouted from his mouth. "Give her to me."

As Vhyper closed the distance between them, Lyon shoved Kara behind him, his beast leaping in protective fury, snarling beneath his skin.

His fingers burned, but he fought the feral anger, balled up his human fist, and smashed it beneath Vhyper's jaw in a hard uppercut.

The snake's head snapped back, two trails of blood trickling down his mouth from where his fangs pierced his lower lip.

"Back down now, Snake," Lyon snarled. "Get back in your skin, or you're joining Wulfe in the prison."

Vhyper hissed at him, his red eyes spitting with anger.

"You wouldn't."

Lyon leaned forward until he was fully in Vhyper's face. "Watch me. If you're not in control, you threaten the safety of the Radiant, which endangers us all."

"So this is how you stay away from her, Chief?" His voice was low and hard. "With your hands all over her? And you condemn me for losing control? Not a man in this house would blame me for taking you down for this insult." A low sound rumbled from his throat. "You have no right to touch her, no right to keep me from touching her."

His beast roared in protest.. She was his to protect. His.

But, dammit. What Vhyper said was true.

It didn't matter. He wasn't letting her go. His teeth clenched and unclenched in a low, rhythmic violence as his innate fairness battled with his beast's hyperprotectiveness and the primitive instinct that told him not to let her out of his sight.

His instincts won.

"Tomorrow night we ascend her. Then she's yours. Until then, as the finder and chief, she's my responsibility." His voice brooked no argument.

Vhyper's fangs slowly retracted, a show of more control than Lyon himself had. "She's your responsibility? Or is she yours? To touch. To fondle. To fuck?"

Lyon's hands balled into fists, and it was all he could do not to smash them through Vhyper's face. "Watch your language, Snake."

"Watch your hands, Roar. I saw you touching her. Holding her. You've said yourself you lost control during the preparation for the Pairing. And every Feral watched you lose control during the Pairing itself. Why in the hell should I trust you with her now?"

He shouldn't. Goddess knew, Lyon didn't trust himself. What in the hell was he doing?

Yet he couldn't back down. Kara needed him. All he knew for certain was she needed him.

He rarely explained himself to his men. He sure as hell didn't feel like explaining himself now. But he didn't have a choice. At the very least, he had to convince himself he was doing the right thing. That he hadn't, in fact, lost complete control.

He straightened and crossed his arms across his chest, pinning the other man with his hardest look. "Until she's ascended, you're not touching her. And I'm not letting her out of my sight."

With a hiss of anger, Vhyper whirled and stormed from the room.

As his beast roared with approval, Lyon wondered what in the hell he'd just done.

"I'll be right outside your door," Lyon told Kara that evening as he stood with her in front of her bedroom. This was the first time he'd been alone with her since they'd returned from the falls. Dinner had been a tense affair, with Vhyper glaring at him and Foxx snarling at every man at the table. Kougar and Jag had gotten into it over something trivial, but both managed to regain control when he'd demanded. Not once had he left Kara's side, but neither had he trusted himself to be alone with her.

He rested his hands on either side of her neck, now, draining the emotions, hoping she'd be able to fall asleep before they became unbearable again. Because the one place he didn't dare follow her was into her room while she slept.

His control wasn't that strong.

"Are you going to stay out here all night?" Her blue eyes watched him.

"All night." His thumbs brushed the underside of her chin. If not for Vhyper, he might have attempted the torture of staying with her to keep the emotions at bay. But Vhyper's accusations were too close to the truth. He wanted this woman with a need that was like fire in his blood. The temptation of her was just too much.

Kara lifted her hands to cover his. Warmth flowed into his bloodstream.

"I'm glad." She sighed, her lips parting, drawing his. gaze. He tried to look away, but it was no use. Her scent teased his nostrils, her hair gleamed beneath the golden glow of the lamplight. Her mouth beckoned until his hands shook from the effort of not giving in to the need to taste her again.

He should leave. Now. Before he did something he'd regret.

But the thought of putting so much as a door between them had his beast howling with unhappiness. His fingers brushed her neck. With one hand, he stroked her hair.

"Have they found the dark charm, yet?" she asked.

"Not yet. But they will. And if they don't, I'll call the Shaman. He has a unique ability to sense magic. He'll find it for sure."

Something warm glowed in her eyes. "I almost wish you'd wait and call the Shaman later."

He lifted a brow in surprise. "Why?"

"Because once the fear goes away, you won't have any reason to touch me."

Lyon tossed back his head and groaned even as he pulled her against his chest and dug his fingers into her hair.

Her slender arms went around his waist. "I wish it were you." Her voice was so low he wasn't certain those words had been meant for his ears, but he heard. Goddess help him, he heard.

His hand slid down her back, hard, shaking with a need he couldn't slake. The blood pooled between his legs, heavy, his erection pressing against her abdomen.

If only he could slake his desire for her. Maybe it would be over, then. He'd be able to forget her.

But he couldn't. Ever.

He needed to get the hell away from her.

Lyon gripped her shoulders and pulled her gently back. "Go to bed, Kara. Before I do something I'm going to regret."

The look she gave him was almost a smile. A sad one, but a smile.

"Good night, Lyon."

He locked his hands behind his back to keep from reaching for her. "Sleep, little one. Dream-free." Then she turned and left, closing the door behind her.

Lyon settled on the floor, propping himself against the wall. It promised to be a damned long night, but he wouldn't be able to sleep in his own bed for wondering if she was okay. At least this way, he'd hear her if she became distressed during the night. And more importantly, he'd be here if Vhyper got it into his head to claim his mate.

He could hear the sound of a basketball game on the television in the media room punctuated by the yells of his men as one team or another scored. More than two hours had passed when Paenther came upstairs.

"No sign of any kind of charm. I called the Shaman, but he's in New York visiting one of the enclaves. He's going to drive back tonight and will come over after dawn."

"Good. Any change in Wulfe?" Lyon asked, as the other warrior leaned one wide shoulder against the wall.

"None."

"What about the others?"

"Foxx is holding on to his control by a thread. As is Vhyper." His black eyes met Lyon's with the hard glint of truth. "And you."

Lyon couldn't deny it. He was definitely teetering on the edge.

"Jag's more volatile than usual, but that may just be because his digs are getting more reaction than he's used to. The others seem fine. They're taking turns watching Wulfe. Pink's annoyed as hell at all the blood spilling but showing no signs of trouble. Hawke and Jag have been mopping up the messes for her."

"And you?"

"I've been balancing on the edge of control for centuries. Nothing's changed." His gaze flicked to Kara's door. "How's she doing?"

"Well enough."

"Are you going to stay here all night?"

"I am. It's either that or lock up Vhyper."

Paenther eyed him soberly. "You really think he'd hurt her?"

"I think he's mad enough to want to. And I'm not sure his control is currently strong enough to refrain if he gets the chance. I'm not risking it."

Paenther's mouth compressed, but he said nothing as he met Lyon's gaze. Finally, he nodded, said good night, and went down the hall to his room.

Lyon tipped his head back, resting it against the wall behind him, his senses tuned to Kara. She was sleeping, he was almost sure of it. He was too far away to feel her emotions clearly, but low levels of fear were reaching him in regular waves. Unless he was touching her, she was never free of the rancid emotion. He wondered how she stood it.

His beast refused to settle down, whimpering continuously to go to her. To touch her, to ease that fear. To simply be near her.

What had she done to him? Just thinking about her made him ache in a way he barely understood, filling him with a need that was more of the spirit than of the body, though that ache was an ever-present torment as well. As soon as she was ascended, this ache would leave him. He'd go back to being as he'd always been.

He didn't need anyone. He'd never needed anyone.

Until Kara.

And it had to end.