Taurus looks over at my primary but settles himself next to me on the right. Leaning into my back to give me support, he places his palm over the bottom of my feather, stroking a little. “Does this work?”
Nodding, I sigh. That works every day and most of the night, but he’ll stay gentle so he doesn’t distract me. “Uh-huh. Please behave, though.”
Rafe slides into my left side, his fingertips touching the scar on my rib cage. It’s not our mating mark, but it is a powerful reminder of an emotional event, so he’s picked a good conduit.
“What do I do?” Talia asks.
“Close your eyes for a moment.” I turn to look at them one by one. “I need you to open up to me and let me in. Trust that I will only take what I need.”
Taurus opens to me without hesitation, connecting and giving me a soft caress with his heart.~All I have is for you, love. Always. ~
I smile, my mate’s presence in my soul familiar and comforting. “Thank you.”
Steeling myself against the flood of pain, I pry open the door in my heart. The things I put away flood back and I fight to keep them in check, so they don’t touch the other two. When I get a grip, I open my eyes and look at the woman in front of me. Damn the fates for putting me in this position.
Those bitches are not getting a Yulemas card this year.
I place my hands on Talia’s face and rest my forehead against hers. Closing my eyes so I can visualize inside her without distractions, I dive in mentally. First, I feel around for burned nerves and vessels to work on knitting.
She calms as I touch her and the more she relaxes, the easier it is to use my gifts to see the damage that I need to heal. I work slowly, as I have not done something so intricate before. There are places that stubbornly defy my magick, refusing to mend as I coax them, and I draw more from my mates, using the extra power to force the healing to begin.
It must hurt, so once I sense her distress, I speak into her mind to soothe her. I need her to be stationary and compliant or I could screw something up.
~ If you need to, do something to distract yourself— but don’t move your head, please. ~
Her indecision is palpable, so I assume she is unsure what she can do that won’t distract me. It’s a product of having the snake out, I’d bet. If I stay full-on Beast for too long, everything looks like dinner, so I get it.
~If you don’t distract me, you can do what you need to. With the boys, I’m solid. ~
Please don’t let it be?—
Fuck. I was right; she was thinking hanky-panky because she dreams up a very sexy scenario in her head.
While she does that, I check in with the boys—only them, because she is not a mind speaker and if I don’t speak to her, she won’t hear it—to see if I can get more help with power. Having them should make it a breeze to force this, but it’s not.
~I’m having a problem. Things are far more difficult than they should be, even with you two helping. It may be because we are not all open to one another—joined rather than you both joined to me. Help me, please… ~
Taurus’ glare burns against my skin, and I know I’ve aggravated him. I can’t work with them pushing one another away, and he has to know that I wouldn’t force something I didn’t need. I wait, giving him time to assimilate as I’m sure it annoys my primary. If I have to swallow my pain, they can get the fuck over themselves and do it, too.
Another moment passes, and I can only assume he’s talking with Rafe in his mind or trying to set me on fire—one of the two—but I feel my husband enter the bond as an open conduit. The addedenergy flows into me, and I sigh, the slight strain of working so carefully lifted as their energy bolsters my own.
Within a few seconds, my primary follows suit, everything in him filling the rest of the space, and it’s astounding. There’s a well so deep that I’m glad they can’t access all this on their own. It’s powerful—a myriad of talents and gifts melded into one giant pool of possibilities.
I feel Taurus recoil, and I twist my lips to keep from chuckling.
They may not see the picture that I can of our family’s potential, but what they can do is feel one another’s emotions and powers. I suppose he’s getting a taste of what’s below the waves with my iceberg-like mate. Maybe his wife can. They both need to see the hidden depth of his love and devotion, I think. They will need that when this is all over.
Once she’s healed, I will have to tell them.
Gathering the excess energy, I entwine it with my own. I start by fine-tuning the most intricate parts of her nerves and vessels, pushing past the stubborn refusal to heal. I smother the tender connections with soothing warmth and tidbits of emotion until they heat and knit. People laugh, but feelings help heal physical trauma—you have to know how to use them.
Talia makes a soft sound, letting me know it must have also increased the pain on her end. I know she’s trying, but she’s not strong enough to push this away.
I whisper into her mind,~ Touch me if you need to ground. I don’t want you to pass out. I need you to be conscious and take part to finish. ~
Her hand comes up to rest on my leg, fingertip brushing the claiming bite.
Not there, Jesus fucking Christ!
