Serena's POV:
"I am going to kill you! What were you thinking sending her in there? They could have killed her!"
A somewhat-panicked voice replied, "It was the only way you would help get Jessica and Alex out! She is safe now!"
Darien roared in fury from somewhere below. I opened my eyes sleepily and realized that I must have fallen asleep as Darien had carried me. I slowly sat up and realized that I was lying on a bed. If I hadn't been sitting, I would have fallen down when I saw Alex sitting at the foot of the bed.
He glanced back at me in relief, "Oh, good. You are awake. Do you think you can calm Darien down before he gets angry enough to leave the house to go after those three? They are currently in the backyard shaking in their boots, but Darien won't go that far while you are up here."
I blinked as I tried to wake up. Darien must have heard Alex since he appeared in the doorway before I could even think of a response. Alex swiftly got off the bed and moved away from me before slipping out the door with a faint smile.
Darien was already beside the bed, "How are you feeling?" His eyes were a bit darker blue than normal, but nothing like that black color.
I yawned, "A bit tired, but fine. Are you okay?"
He sat on the bed beside me and pulled me onto his lap as he hugged me to his chest, "I am relieved that you are all right."
That wasn't quite what I had meant... "Were you injured?"
"No."
I leaned against him with a sigh of relief. I spoke quietly, "Thank you for coming for me."
He wrapped his arms tighter around me and placed a small kiss on my forehead, "I would always come for you. Without you, nothing else matters. You are my heart. If you were to die, life would not be worth living."
I hated to break it to him, but he had it backwards. I wasn't sure how I could possibly live life without him at this point. Look at what the bond had done to me within mere hours when we had been separated. All I could think of was that stupid dream of the heart and the shield.
I looked up at him, "I will be your heart if you will be my shield."
He looked deep into my eyes, "I can handle that."
He leaned forward to gently kiss my lips. I returned the kiss, but we both kept it short and sweet. I refused to admit that it made my insides turn into mush. No doubt it was another side effect of the bond, although I didn't let that interfere with how much I enjoyed the kiss.
We sat there for some time, simply relaxing in one another's company. My stomach growled, and I blushed as Darien chuckled before picking me up bridal style and getting to his feet. I lightly kicked my legs, "I can walk you know."
His amused eyes smiled down at me, "I know. I prefer it this way though."
I rolled my eyes in good spirits, one day this guy would get tired of lugging me all over the countryside. At the very least, he would have to put me down in the kitchen. I realized that we were at Nick's place again and glanced around as we entered the open central area.
I was proven wrong about being put down as I noticed that Alex was already sliding an omelet onto a plate. He carefully approached Darien to hand me the plate. Darien eyed him up, but didn't seem overly bothered by his approach. I took the plate and fork with a quiet thank you. Alex nodded with a kind smile as he went back into the kitchen.
Darien headed to the living room to sit in the overstuffed chair in the far corner. I guess I wasn't getting out of his arms anytime soon. Not that I really wanted to be. Sitting on his lap was more dignified than being cradled in his arms though, and being able to sit also made eating my breakfast easier.
Jessica was watching us warily from the kitchen table with a laptop. Alex returned and took a seat on a nearby couch with a cup of coffee in his hand. I glanced out the window to the garden to see the other three cautiously approaching the house. Nick stuck his head inside, "Is it safe for me to come in?"
Darien growled wordlessly at him. Nick seemed to think that it was an improvement since he slowly entered the house, although he kept to the furthest side of the living room. I decided to try the omelet and took a bite of it. It was delicious.
Tristan and Clair glanced in a window and Darien snarled at the sight of them as his muscles tensed up. I wasn't entirely happy to see them here, but I rubbed my hand along Darien's arm as I leaned back against him. I knew he was mad at them for kidnapping me, but I didn't really want him to leave me to go after them.
I also thought they were insane for coming back here after that stunt. If they thought that merely having me on his lap was going to stop him, then they needed their heads examined.
They cringed away from the glass at his snarl and apparently realized that they had pushed Darien too far. Both of them backed up and I saw them exit the garden gate as they once more went to the driveway. A few moments later, a car went past another window as it backed out of the driveway.
I was relieved that Darien remained in the chair with me. Although, if a glare could set fire to something, they would have been in the center of an inferno. I had no idea why they had dared to come back here, especially after what they did. I was very glad to see them leave though.
Alex sipped his coffee and spoke conversationally, "You have one scary-ass mate there girly."
I glanced over at the odd Tarulk who didn't seem to have a problem with my presence, "He has never scared me."
Alex chuckled, "Well, that is probably because you aren't on the receiving end of his anger. Truth be told, I am glad that it isn't being directed at me."
Darien turned to examine the surprisingly calm man, "You don't seem to have any doubt that she is my mate. In fact, you knew even before I got to that room."
"She let a few hints drop. As you know, my parents were soulmates, and I could tell that the separation was affecting her. Your reactions to her could only be the mate bond."
Darien sat up straighter in slight concern as he glanced down at me, "Affected her how?"
He shrugged, "She kept trying to distract herself and she occasionally spaced out. I put the pieces of the puzzle together when she rubbed her heart. My own mother would do that if my father had to leave for a period of time."
Nick seemed startled, "But those symptoms usually only affect Tarulk. Most other races don't feel the bond as strongly, if they even feel it at all."
Alex sent him a look that plainly said how dense he was being, "Use your head. They were separated for only hours, not days. A new bond shouldn't have affected either of them to such an extent, even if Serena had been a Tarulk. That anomaly should have stood out instantly to anyone."
Darien was watching Alex intently, "And what are your thoughts?"
Alex shrugged, "At the moment, I am not entirely sure. Something seems to have sent the bond into overdrive. It might be the numerous separations that lasted hours, but I am positive there is more to it than that, otherwise your strength would have waned once you were reunited."
Alex leaned back as he gazed at us, "Just the fact that Darien recognized the mate bond at such a distance means that this isn't a normal bond. Most mates had to touch to recognize the bond; some were a small distance apart, but none were more than fifty steps away from one another. From what I heard, these two were at least a kilometer apart the first time they saw one another."
I looked at him in confusion. That did sound odd, and I hadn't sung until we were trapped in that lab. There must have been something different with the bond right from the beginning when we first saw each other.
I had no idea what it would be though, unless it was just the fact that I did have the odd musical magic. I remembered how my magic had risen when our eyes had first met, even though I had not been singing.
Darien nodded slowly, "I had wondered about that. My abilities have increased far more than I thought should be normal."
Alex nodded, "That burst of speed and strength when you first saw her wasn't that unusual, but it should have faded and it didn't. Your abilities should not have continued to grow stronger either. Have you seen any decline in them at all?"
Darien shook his head, "No, only increases."
Alex sipped his coffee as he pondered this oddity. He glanced at me, "You don't strike me as much of a fighter. Do you have any training at all?"
I made a face, "Oh, I have training, but my trainer told me that she has never seen someone so unable to fight regardless of how much effort they put in. I had trained three times a week for over a year and it got me nowhere. When it comes to flight or fight, she told me that I only have a flight response and lack the fight reaction."
Alex slowly nodded, "And I think that is the key. As a human, you are pretty delicate compared to most races. Add that to the fact that you can't defend yourself, and we have a soulmate bond that was amplifying Darien's abilities to make up for your vulnerability. Being parted by force unsettled the bond and it was convinced that you were in danger, thus further increasing Darien's abilities so he could meet the trouble head-on."
That made sense. That made far too much sense. That song for help had occurred just before Darien's power had grown exponentially. I had originally thought that it hadn't done anything since nothing obvious had happened, but now that I looked at it from this angle, it had affected the bond and supercharged Darien so that he could help me.