Kaden

Healing

Tansy giggled, showing Kaden her latest drawing while I put pillows under his side so he wouldn't get bed sores. Zach was less optimistic by the day, but I refused to let Kaden see the devastation in my eyes. So, I smiled and laughed, singing along with Tansy and Kaden to hide my broken heart.

Still, he knew. His pained smile told me he understood my turmoil but wouldn't speak of it until little ears wouldn't hear. Life was hard enough when you were two, so Tansy didn't need our stress weighing her down. As soon as Tansy left to play with Tuck, I broke down crying. Kaden tried to calm me with words but his voice broke because he cried too. My head was close to his, as close as I could be to my mate while I sobbed.

Then, the temptation must have proven too great, because fingers tangled in my hair and Kaden jerked me forward to kiss me deep. It was only after I raised my head that we realized what he did and our tears changed. I laughed, wanting to hug him but not daring to just yet while Kaden chuckled with shellshocked eyes. Zach came running when I texted him Kaden moved and he kicked me out while looking him over.

I paced in the hall, worrying my lip, then Zach burst from Kaden's room, grabbed my legs and lifted me in a spin while he laughed. "He'll be okay, Kira," Zach soothed after he'd lowered me and I cried into his shoulder. "He'll be okay. He's healing. He feels his toes, legs, arms, chest, everything. He remembers everyone, and while he hurts, he's pleased. So, let him move as he can, but don't let him overdo it. Tansy will adore this surprise. But she'll cry too."

I hugged and kissed Kaden upon returning to his room, crying into his shoulder and he chuckled. "I'm okay, Kit. Soon I'll be on my feet and you'll wish I was still confined to this bed," Kaden teased.

"Never!" I denied with vehemence. "I never want you confined anywhere. Where you go, I go, and where I go, you go. We are meant to be together and I refuse to let anyone stand in the way of that. Including my father. I will put him down if I must to have my mate and pup. You are mine to love and defend and I'll be damned if I let anyone hurt you. Were you with me the whole time, this would never have happened."

Kaden chuckled, but didn't speak which was wise of him. I wasn't in the mood to listen to why we couldn't be together, or who disapproved. After what he suffered to guard the secrets I protected, I refused to let my father chase him out of my life. Had Kaden asked it of me, I would have spilled every secret I knew to save him. And I would have hated my weakness, but saving my mate would have been worth it. It startled me to realize I'd give the world to save Kaden and Tansy and it wouldn't upset me so long as they were safe.

Instead of arguing, he buried his fingers in my hair to pull my face down so he could kiss me again. Not that I fought him. But I did let him pull me since it was wondrous he could move again. I was still hesitant to jostle him and he chuckled then pulled me off balance so I ended up sprawled across him. "Something else works too," he mused before kissing me again and I laughed into the kiss.

"I'm so happy for you," I assured him and he laughed too. Then his expression turned serious and this kiss was gentle. The tenderness flowing from him to me brought tears to my eyes and I cried. So did he.

"I was so scared when Dane told me you'd vanished. I knew what that meant and I feared I'd never see you alive again," Kaden confessed with a sob. "He expected me to be so focused on you, knowing I wouldn't pay enough attention to my surroundings so I stepped right into the trap. I knew the second I put my foot down I was fucked, but it was too late." His expression gentled and his fingers tightened in the hair at my nape again so he could bring my head down and kiss my forehead. "I'm okay, Kit. I've been through worse, believe it or not. Can't think of any stories at the moment, but I've blocked them most of my life to preserve my sanity. I despise my uncle. And I hated Marco because I thought he gave up and joined him in torturing people. I expected him to come here and start on me because it would please that slimy bastard. He doesn't want anything from me, other than my pain."