Part Thirty-Nine

“Morning Sierra,” I said with a smile as I carried her breakfast tray into her room.

“Hi,” she said, looking at me tentatively.

“I brought you breakfast, you must be starving,” I said to her.

“I am a little hungry,” she said and sat up straighter in the hospital bed.

I put the tray down on the trolley table and pulled it closer to her bed so she could eat comfortably. She watched me as I lifted the lid and unwrapped the utensils for her. I poured coffee into her cup and then sat down on the armchair next to her bed.

“You’re going to watch me eat?” she asked.

“I thought maybe we could talk a little after you’ve eaten,” I said.

“About what I’ve forgotten?” she asked me as she took a bite.

“If you want to, there’s no pressure,” I said as my phone pinged and I took it from my pocket.

She glanced at me every now and then as she ate and I stopped myself from staring at her for too long. I didn’t want to make her feel uncomfortable and so I kept my attention on my phone. She ate slowly, chewing carefully, watching her plate and then me like I might take it away before she was finished.

“Do you want more?” I asked her when her plate was empty.

“No thank you,” she said and I stood up and moved the trolley away from the bed before sitting down again.

“We can talk about whatever you want,” I said as I looked up at her, putting my phone on silent.

“Will you tell me how you know me?” she asked.

We both looked at the door as the scratching sound came again and I smiled a little before standing up. I opened the door and Kane sauntered inside giving me a dirty look for not bringing him with me to see her.

“This is Kane, he’s my jaguar, he won’t hurt you, he just wants to be part of the conversation,” I said to her.

“He can talk?” she asked and I laughed a little.

“Only in my head,” I said as she looked from him to me.

Kane walked right up to the bed and put his head down next to her as he watched her. She raised her hand carefully and Kane sniffed it before nudging it with his head. Her hand went to his ears first and he closed his eyes as she stroked his fur.

“See, I told you she likes me more,” Kane said and grinned at me.

“Kane found you on the riverbank one afternoon and I carried you back to my house. When you woke up you told me that you were attacked by rogues and the next day you ran away. We found you unconscious again in the forest and took you back to my house. By that time my friend had called me and told me that the Hastings pack had lodged a claim with the Council that one of their members had stolen pack information,” I said and watched her reaction. She had stiffened at the mention of the Hastings pack.

“You told me the truth then, your abuse, how they planned to break you in and that’s why you ran initially. They then framed you for murder and I took your case to the Council, which we won by the way,” I said.

“Murder? Who died?” she asked me with big eyes.

“Jonas Lasing,” I said.

“I remember him, he was a guard,” she said and I nodded.

“Conrad Hastings kidnapped you and we waged war against them, they’re all dead and you’re free Sierra, you have nothing to fear anymore,” I said.

“You were my lawyer?” she asked with a frown.

“Yes and…” I stopped myself at that moment not knowing how to tell her the rest.

“And?”

“We became close in the time you lived with me,” I said.

“We did?” she asked.

“You also told me about the Oracle visiting you on your tenth birthday,” I said.

“How do you know all these things about me?” she asked.

“Because they happened. I wouldn’t lie to you, I care about you,” I said to her.

“Did we…. uhm…. how close were we?” she asked as her face reddened considerably.

“We shared a room,” I said as her eyes widened and she lowered her face into her hands.

“No, no, no,” she groaned. “I was waiting for my bonded half.”

“Sierra…” I began and stopped as I noticed she was crying now.

“This is too much,” she said. “I was saving myself for him!”

She was quite upset now and I stood up but she flinched away from me. I didn’t know what to do and Kane looked at me with distress on his face. I reached out to her and pulled her against me, even though she tried to push me away.

“Shh, it’s okay,” I said, trying to soothe her.

“How is any of this okay?” she asked me.

“Because I’m your bonded half, Sierra, you did wait, you did everything right,” I said to her and she looked up at me.

“If you’re my bonded half then why don’t I feel it?” she asked me and I had no real answer for her other than the truth.

“A witch took our bond away, as my punishment,” I said.

“Punishment for what?” she asked.

“For things I did, I know everything I’ve told you is a lot to take in. You should rest and we can talk some more when you’ve digested everything I told you,” I said to her.

“How long do I have to stay here?” she asked me.

“I can have a room prepared for you in the house, there’s no medical reason for you to stay here,” I said to her.

“Your house?” she asked me.

“The clowder house,” I said and she nodded her head lightly.

“It’s not like I have anywhere else to go,” she said.

“You can stay here for as long as you want, you might not feel it but I do, the bond is still alive for me,” I said to her.

“Is that why you’re helping me?” she asked.

“It’s why I want to help you, I care about you and I’m hoping that you can get to know me again,” I said as I stood up. “I’ll have the nurse bring you clothes and then I’ll take you up to the house.”

“Thank you…. for everything,” she said as I opened the door and I turned back to smile at her.

I stepped into the hallway once again and almost walked right into Jett. He stood leaning against the wall and grinned at me like a child would on Christmas morning. I walked to the nurse’s station and asked them to take Sierra some clothes and then to discharge her.

“That went better than I thought it would,” Jett said as I joined him again.

“Were you eavesdropping?” I asked him.

“Oh come on, like you wouldn’t have if the situations were reversed,” he said as I shook my head lightly.

“So what’s going on with your bonded half?” I asked him and he looked down for a few seconds.

“Tanith’s seventeen Griff, I can’t touch her for another few months and Taryn doesn’t want to let go, I don’t really know what to do,” he said.

“It’s easy Jett, Tanith’s your bonded half,” I said to him.

“I know but her parents want her to reject me,” he said.

“Jett, what am I doing right now? I’m fighting for Sierra, for the bond, you should do the same. Stay away from Taryn, make your intentions with Tanith clear, get her parents’ approval,” I said.

“Yeah I’m trying to do just that,” he said and sighed. We both looked up as the door opened and Sierra followed the nurse outside.

“Sierra baby, finally,” Jett said as he threw his arm around her shoulder and started walking.

“Are we friends?” Sierra asked him and I laughed.

“Ouch, my poor heart! We’re the best of friends,” he said as she smiled suddenly.

I followed behind them all the way back to the house as Jett regaled her with stories of how they met and how she liked him more than she ever liked me. She laughed a few times and that made me smile as well.

“I think I like Kane the best,” she said and Jett pretended to fall dead to the ground.

“You’re killing me, Sierra!” he yelled loudly as people stopped and stared at them.

“What are you doing?” she asked him as I took her hand and kept walking.

“Just ignore him, I do,” I said as we left him lying on the ground.

“Really? You’re just going to leave me?” he yelled as he jumped up and ran towards us.

Kane tripped him halfway and they both went down to the ground as Jett groaned loudly and Sierra turned her head back. Kane flicked his tail in Jett’s face and they started tackling each other as I pulled her towards the house.

“Is he okay?” she asked me and I laughed again.

“Mentally? I don’t think so, but physically he’ll be fine,” I said as she laughed.

“Hello Sierra, it’s good to see you up and about,” Damon said as we entered the foyer of the house.

“Sierra, this is Damon, my father and the Alpha of the clowder,” I said.

“Hello Alpha,” she said and lowered her head.

“Please call me Damon, we’re not that formal here,” he laughed as he hooked her arm into his. “Let’s get you settled into your room.”

He led her upstairs and neither of them looked back to where I stood in the foyer, not knowing if I should follow them or not. I decided against it and went back outside to see if Jett had survived being tackled by Kane.

“Kane! Get your fat ass off me!” Jett yelled as Kane held him pinned down.

“Let him go,” I said with a laugh and Kane stood up.

“You’ll be getting dog food, Kane, never mind cat food!” Jett threatened him.

“Maybe he’ll just eat you,” I said and Kane perked up at that idea. It was better than him threatening to eat me.

“I’m too hot to eat,” Jett said and flicked his hair away from his face as people stared at him.