บท 91: Chapter 91: Jealousy
Daxius POV
Ravyn looked distracted, and even annoyed by his request. "You NEED me?"
"It's Marieke." Impatience crept into his voice. "She's awake. I could use the best healer I know to hold her hand and tell her everything's going to be just fine."
The slick fabric of Ravyn's robe slipped out of his fingers. "Yes, yes."
She didn't seem to take him or his request seriously!
Gritting his teeth, Daxius gripped her slender arm. His fingers almost touched, like holding a bronze willow branch. "Now, if it's not too much trouble."
Picking up on the undercurrent in his voice because she knew him better than anyone, she re-focused and smiled apologetically. "I'm sorry, Daxius. I'm … well, it doesn't matter."
Softening, he looked sympathetically at her. "Your Alpha went off on you, didn't he?"
"It's personal for him."
"It's personal for you both. He should remember that." But his voice was tinged with respect. "If you had to choose a stepfather for Lilia, I'm happy it was him. But he shouldn't expect you to give up who you are."
"Well, never mind that. Marieke is waiting. And by the way, if you had to choose a stepmother for Lilia, you couldn't do better than a human who survived a dark curse. She's tough. She'll be just fine."
He grinned. "Now that's my Ravyn."
Together, they walked over to Marieke's bed. Daxius' fiancee looked small and pale, staring at Ravyn with cold eyes. With a gentle expression, Ravyn asked, "How are you feeling?"
Marieke turned away. "Tired."
"That's normal."
Stony silence from Marieke. She looked so wrung out by her ordeal that Daxius could see every vein in her body. Ravyn pulled up a stool and sat down beside her. "Daxius, fetch me some of that water they've been feeding the patients. Coconut water from the Heartless Isles."
Grateful for something to do, Daxius sped off to the jug of coconut water in the room and poured a glass while listening to Ravyn coax Marieke out of the dark hole she'd been plunged into. If anyone could, Ravyn could.
"I know about coconut water," Marieke said in a tone that could slice through steel. "I fed it to Daxius when he was trapped and too weak to move or even eat."
Comfortingly, Ravyn said, "You should be a healer."
A bitter laugh from Marieke. "Then why am I here, wasting away from a curse? Forgotten again, that's the story of my life."
Holding Marieke's fleshy hands, Ravyn stared into her green eyes. "Hold still, I'm going to get rid of this cloud that's over you. You might feel tingling, but it's nothing to worry about. It just means the spell is doing its job."
Marieke mumbled indifferently.
"I didn't catch that," Ravyn said, leaning in.
Her mouth in a stubborn line, Marieke stared past Ravyn as if she were one of the medical devices or part of the furniture.
His feet swift, Daxius couldn't hand Ravyn the glass fast enough. Ravyn handed Marieke the coconut water. "You're dehydrated," she said gently. "It's not only bad for your body, it also plays havoc with your emotions. Your energy is low and your defenses are down."
Marieke snatched up the coconut water and sipped the cloudy liquid, eyeing Ravyn with hostility. "Do what you're going to do, and then leave me alone."
The curse must be stirring up Marieke's dark emotions. Leave it to the demon to mess with her head. Ravyn used an amethyst, a black tourmaline, and a smoky quartz to cleanse Marieke's aura. She placed the amethyst on Marieke's heart and aimed the black tourmaline and smoky quartz rods at her. "Let all energy and attachments that don't serve you move on with grace and ease."
"That's it?" Marieke grumbled.
"You don't need the Pallamarok Rite of Soul Fusion," Ravyn told her. "At least, not yet. Only the direst cases require that. Cyran, my son, and Tulaska, the Evenhide Wise Woman survived the rite–and earned the respect of the Mystics of Merkur in Nauru."
She might as well have been reciting a list of the elements for all Marieke cared. Summoning up all her patience, Ravyn channeled the crackling energy of cleansing through the crystals.
Daxius put a hand on her shoulder. "Thank you for this."
"Don't thank me yet."
As she spoke, she noticed Marieke's expression.
Hatred. Jealousy. A look that said she'd like to turn Ravyn to stone like a basilisk.
The woman suffered from abandonment issues, and the negativity from the curse was feeding off that. Ravyn scooted away from Daxius as fast as she could.
It didn't lessen the hot fury that swamped her through the bond.
* * * * *
Jude POV
Cozying up to Daxius, her ex? Really?
"Maybe he understands feeling sorry for that murderer, that monster," Jude snarled, and his wolf egged him on.
The way dark-haired Daxius bent over Ravyn and gave her his smarmy smile just unleashed Jude's feral side. His teeth sharpened, and he stalked towards Daxius. Trouble all along. He should have dealt with him in the Sleeping Wolf Dunes. No matter. He'd protect what was his. The sinews of Daxius' lean body would rip apart like tissue paper …
Smelling like a firestorm, Bram blocked him and shoved him out of the private room into the main chamber of the Healing Wing. "Stop it before I pin your tail to the floor."
"Bram–"
"NO." Bram's wolf eyes smoldered with righteous anger. "Don't ruin this. Don't ruin the best thing to come into your life since Mom died. If you want to act like an idiot, let's go spar somewhere. I'm rested now."
Bram's soft hair looked more like Emer's every day, and Jude had the insane urge to ruffle it. No. He couldn't let himself be soothed.
Jiro and Dane flanked Bram, the two redheads and the brunette blocking him. "Why not make it three on one?" Dane's mouth stretched in a lazy smile.
Jiro shrugged. "I'm rested, too. I could use the exercise."
"You all don't understand."
"NO. We backed you up when Ravyn just acted like herself," Jiro said, the truth hitting Jude right between the eyes. "But this mate jealousy is overblown."
Dane agreed. "Is there anything in her that even remotely smells like rekindling her romance with Daxius?"
He folded his arms, waiting for a response.
"He's in there with her," Jude growled.
"He's there because of his betrothed," Jiro pointed out.
"Stop with the logic!"
Bram chuckled. "When he curls his lip like that, you know you're winning."
"Pipe down. pup."
Jude's baleful stare didn't make his son cower. "And so do the outbursts. He's very controlled. 'Never get your fur in a twist,' that's what he's always saying." Bram smiled victoriously.
"We should get Patch and Anneliese in here," Jiro mused. "We could have him rolling over."
"Or he'd run howling through the castle," Dane remarked.
Jude laughed at the absurdity of the situation. "Our friend King Odo would love that. But I do have a tough image to maintain."
"With everyone but your mate," Bram said wisely. "Not that I know about that yet."
"Put Patch and Anneliese on the case. You'll have your mate in no time," Dane smirked.
Jude's shoulders loosened, the tension leaving them. His jealousy faded, but his eyes still went to the door to the chamber where Marieke and Hades/Melisande lay. Daxius was there with Ravyn. She'd walked out on Jude. Even more maddening, Ravyn only returned because of her ex-husband–a man Jude could never get rid of.
"Just trust Ravyn," Jiro told him in a gentle voice.
Jude hesitated. Should he do as his family advised, or yield to the raging possessiveness that told him to burst into the private room and claim Ravyn all over again right there?
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AmandaMadden
AmandaMadden Time for a little drama between Ravyn and Jude to shake things up. Even though Jude and Daxius get along, there's still some lingering jealousy, and Marieke...well, we explore her point of view in the next chapter.
Creation is hard, cheer me up!
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