Rapture Untamed (Feral Warriors #4)(79)

Lyon's jaw turned to stone. For one throbbing moment, Jag heard nothing but the pounding of his own pulse in his ears, the blood turning molten in his veins.

With a harsh exhale of air, Lyon scowled. "I can't remove your armband. You're the only one who can do it."

Jag swallowed back his anger, realizing Lyon hadn't outright refused. "By the time I heal enough to be able to take it off myself, Olivia will be dead."

Lyon shook his head, as if to himself, then reached out and grabbed Jag's mending arm, lifting it in a fiery rush of pain. Curling Jag's own fingers around the silver, he pulled the band loose.

The jaguar spirit urged him on. Deep inside him, Jag could feel the animal's desperation to save Olivia, every bit as strong as his own.

As he held her, Lyon slid the jaguar-headed band around Olivia's arm, squeezing it tight so that it wouldn't fall off. In Jag's mind, he felt the jaguar nodding its head up and down, up and down.

Jag took Olivia from Paenther, cradling her against his chest, and sank to the ground.

Kara knelt beside him. "Don't move, Jag. Without the armband, I'll kill you if I touch you."

"Help her, Kara."

She met his gaze. "I'm going to start slowly again." Kara reached for Olivia's hand, touching her lightly.

Olivia jerked violently, her life glow flaring.

Kara snatched her hand back, her gaze flying to his. "Did I hurt her?"

"No." Hope began to take root. "Do it again. Hold her hand until I tell you to let go."

With a quick nod, Kara did as he requested, curling her glowing hand around Olivia's far-too-pale one.

Again Olivia jerked. But that glow inside began to grow, just a little at first, then more and more, brighter and brighter.

"It's working!" As the color slowly washed back into Olivia's cheeks, his vision blurred from the raindrops running into his eyes until he could barely see through the moisture.

Maybe it wasn't the rain. His skin rose with goose bumps that had nothing to do with the cold as his chest filled with a pressure so intense it might have driven him to his knees if he weren't already sitting.

Beneath his arm, Olivia began to stir.

Kara pulled away before he could ask her to, her glow winking out.

Jag blinked hard, clearing his vision enough to meet Kara's gaze. "Thank you."

"You're welcome. Jag?"

"Yes, Radiant?"

To his surprise, she leaned forward and placed a soft kiss on his cheek. "I'm glad you found her. Good luck."

He gave her a rueful smile. "Thanks, Kara. I may need it." He'd found the love of his existence, then made her life a living hell. How could he ever prove to her he'd changed? How could he ever convince her to stay with him? Always.

Olivia opened her eyes slowly, feeling disoriented yet surprisingly warm despite the fact she was soaking wet from the rain whipping in the wind. She knew at once Jag held her, his scent warm and safe, his heartbeat strong in his chest. As her vision cleared, she looked up to find him gazing at her with eyes filled with...love.

With horror, she realized she was feeding and shut it off fast. No, not feeding. At least not in her usual way. She'd been sending energy out, not pulling it in.

"What happened?" Her voice sounded groggy, her mind felt disoriented, and she tried to sit up.

To her surprise, Paenther reached for her, helping her until she could slide her arm around Jag's neck. Then he grasped her upper arm. "May I?"

She looked down and gaped at the sight of Jag's jaguar armband around her arm.

Paenther pulled the band off her and returned it to Jag's muscular arm.

Jag tightened his hold on her. "You were feeding us when you fell unconscious. We almost lost you."

"The Daemons? Are they really gone?"

Pamela Palmer Rapture Untamed

"All dead."

"What about the humans?"

"Three killed by the Daemons and the Mage. Three are still alive."

"I didn't kill any of them?"

"No."

She lifted her hand and trailed her knuckles down Jag's damp cheek. "Tighe and Hawke?"

Pain darkened his eyes, and he turned his head, pressing a kiss to her palm. "We lost them."

"Oh, Jag. I'm so sorry."

"We have a problem, Roar," Wulfe said, striding up to the group. "We're having no luck clearing the minds of the humans. One appears to be blind from birth. He didn't see anything, but neither can we get into his head to clear his memories. And the two females have seen far too much."

Pamela Palmer Rapture Untamed

"Are they going to live?"

"If I heal them. The male was never touched, and neither of the female's injuries is bad. I can handle them."

"Olivia was feeding them," Jag told them. "I asked her to."

"We didn't want them to die." Now it seemed that the energy she'd given them had made them too strong for mind erasing. She swallowed. "I've killed them, haven't I?"

Her stomach tightened with misery, but she had no illusions. Humans could not be allowed to spread word of the immortal races.

Lyon sighed. "There's been too much death here already. Knock them out and heal them, then we'll take them back to Feral House and lock them up until the energy Olivia fed them wears off. Hopefully by then we can figure out a way to clear their minds and bring them back here."