~Kade~
I could hear shouting. Crying. A voice in my head. I could feel a pressure on my chest. A kiss on my face. A weightlessness. A warmth. I could not see anything, only darkness. But all my senses were buzzing, alert and sensitive. But my eyes wouldn't open, my hands wouldn't move, my body wouldn't respond to my attempts to resurface. I was trapped in my head and my nerve endings.
But then, everything silenced. A silence so deafening that my heart rate picked up as the anxiety built. Was I dying? Was I already dead? Was that all I was to leave behind as a Head Alpha? Dying in the middle of a crisis without an heir? What was wrong with me? Why did my body betray me when I needed it the most? Then the silence became muffled and then loud. It was a ringing silence and then everything cleared. I could feel fabric beneath me, a pounding in my head, and a weight on my chest.
My eyes flickered open. I had to blink a few times to clear my blurred vision. After a moment of staring at the ceiling, I realized I was my room, in my bed. My body felt heavy, like my bones were replaced with lead. After a few moments of breathing I finally pent up the energy to turn my head.
The first thing I saw was Ariella. She sat in a chair beside my bed. She slept bent over onto the bed, her head resting on her crossed arms. Her face was turned toward me, her long lashes casting a shadow from the lamp light on my desk behind her. She was haloed in that lamplight, and her hair looked like it was on fire. I reached out, hesitantly, as if she would disappear like a figment of my imagination, and pushed some of her hair out of her face to stroke her cheek, not really touching her but wanting to. My thumb grazed her full bottom lip and I remembered kissing her. How soft her lips were against mine. How, even though she'd deny it with every breath after, she returned each kiss.
I couldn't get over just how beautiful she was. Her flawless skin, her crimson hair, her full red lips, her rare smile, her piercing blue eyes. Every time I saw her she took my breath away whether she was fuming mad, smirking with mischief, or grinning from ear to ear. While my breath was taken by her beauty my heart soars with simply being with her. Even in this time of urgency, I find solace in her presence, despite her attitude.
The second thing I saw was the paper. It was everywhere: balled up and piled in a mountain where my waste basket used to be, littered across my desk, taped to the walls, pinned to the bulletin board that hung above my desk, everywhere. I saw the edge of a notebook peeking from underneath Ariella's folded arms. I reached out and carefully slipped it from under her. It was open and the page was filled with what looked like notes written in both Russian and English. I glanced back over at my desk to see a book open face down on top of the papers. What the hell was she doing? I slowly put the notebook down on the other side of me to look at Ariella again.
I smoothed the worry line that had begun to form between her eyebrows and she relaxed slightly in her sleep. At the contact a bolt of energy entered me and I started at the unexpected jolt; it helped clear the grogginess my collapsing had caused. Ariella stirred then relaxed again. She shifted again before sluggishly pulling herself out of the uncomfortable position. With her eyes still closed she stretched then groaned, rubbing at her sore neck, wincing with each rub. After rolling her shoulders a few times she finally opened her eyes and looked directly at me. When she saw me she froze, blinking once then squinting her eyes as if she couldn't grasp what she was seeing. Then her eyes widened in realization and, surprisingly, filled with tears.
"Kade?" She rasped. The word was hesitant, as if she were afraid to believe her eyes.
"Miss me?" I rasped, my throat sore, and giving her a grin. She let out a strangled laugh and launched herself at me. I caught her as she landed on top of me and I turned us so that we both lay on our sides. She held me tightly and I held her just as tight.
"I hate you." She muttered into my neck. I chuckled and pulled back to look at her. Her eyes were still filled with tears and a few had leaked. I rested my forehead against hers, smiling.
"I take it you really missed me?" I raised an eyebrow, my smile turning into a smirk.
"I hate you," She whispered again harshly before pressing her lips firmly against mine. I hesitated, taken off guard before I started to return the kiss. It was desperate, as if there was so much to say but no time to say it. She deepened the kiss, stealing my breath and probably my heart. The kiss was heating up, and fast, and Ariella's wandering hands weren't helping either. I pulled back, resting my forehead against hers again, trying to catch my breath and slow my pounding heart.
"Maybe I should pass out more often." I couldn't seem to wipe this stupid grin off my face. How did I get so fucking lucky?
"Breathe Ari," I chuckled when I realized she still hadn't taken a breath. She inhaled slowly then let out a shuddering breath.
"I don't think I've ever seen you cry," I said in wonder as I reached up to wipe a few stray tears that glistened on her cheeks. I gave her a chaste kiss on her lips before pulling her back against me, turning to lay on my back and pulling her with me. She snuggled into my chest and I relaxed into the bed. She reached out with seeking fingers for the hand that wasn't holding her to my side and grasped it tightly, as if letting go would make me disappear. We're silent as we lay there, just breathing, and I realized the only words Ariella has said to me since I woke up was "I hate you."
"So...what's with all the paper?" I asked looking around the room again. She let out a surprised laugh.
"Research. Futile at this point. I've been through those books we got from the library backwards and forwards but can't find damn thing. I just seemed to be digging farther into that psychopath's fucked up brain."
"But I thought you already tried that and that they were a dead end."
"Yeah but it's all we have to work with so I had to dig deeper. Now I know too much about the bastard."
"What about Xavi−I mean Ares?"
"Just after you passed out, about two days ago, Caine had barged in bearing news. During our little swim Ares had escaped. They were going to dump the body when he was suddenly alive and slitting their throats."
"Shit. Shit. Shit!" I snapped, moving to sit up but Ariella pushed me back down and resumed her spot on my chest.
"Calm down. He wasn't going to talk anyway. There is nothing in this world that can convince him to help his enemy. He likes playing the game too. Why would he try to end it?"
"But he knows where Rancouff is holding the children."
"Yes. But he has been through far more hell then I have and he's directed that rage at me, where all his pain started. He may not be a complete slave to Rancouff but he is a complete slave to his hate for me. He would never help us in this, especially now that I'm involved."
"Then how the fuck are we supposed to find him?" I whispered, mostly to myself. We let the question hang in the air above us; it smirked down at us mockingly at our inability to solve the sphinx's riddle.
"I know this is a bit of a sore spot but what about the place he held you before? Could he still be there?" She was silent for so long that I didn't think she would answer the question, but then she spoke.
"He's not there. When I escaped, I unleashed hell upon that place, literally. I burned it to the ground. All of Rancouff's failed experiments and those in progress that I couldn't save all died in that fire. Rancouff never stayed in the facility overnight so I knew he was still out there. So I ran and never looked back."
"But you did."
"I went back a long time ago and the burned remains were still there, abandoned. That's why I thought I was somewhat safe...but Ares did say he was brought up in a different facility. That might be where Rancouff resumed his experiments and where he's holding the children. But where is the question." She was talking to herself at this point, letting her thoughts flow freely from her mouth.
"You did all this in only two days?"
"Almost two days. What was I supposed to do? Mope? Cry over your unconscious body? Why are you smiling?" She snapped when an involuntary grin stretched across my face.
"Because you're just so beautiful," I held up a hand before she could further protest, "and because you've probably done more to find Rancouff in the past two days then my alphas probably have." She doesn't respond which is answer enough for me. After a moment, she yawned.
"How much sleep have you had?" She sat up and looked over at the clock on the nightstand.
"Maybe an hour." She yawns again. "You're condition does not help me sleep. Dammit. I need to get up." She tried to roll off of me but I held fast.
"Ariella. You need to sleep."
"Kade," She broke free of me easily to brace herself above me. "I don't have time for that. We need to find Rancouff. We only have four days left."
"You can't find or fight Rancouff dead on your feet." I reasoned, pulling her back to me. She sighed and settled back into me as I wrapped my arms around her again. "I'll wake you in the morning." I kissed the side of her head and settled also. Whatever was wrong with me hadn't gone away completely yet, and I could feel the pull of sleep. But this, Ariella with her guard down, was where I wanted to stay not break the rarity of the moment. In the fragile atmosphere of the late hours, Ariella relinquished her hold on her insecurities if only for a few precious moments. Moments I wanted to live in forever.
"G'night Kade."
"G'night love."
