Lovers' Oath Ch. 07

"We haven't used it for quite a while, actually, so the blockage might have been placed right when the mole infiltrated, we just discovered it tonight." Rohan made a face, "And we can't accuse Rogers, not yet. He discovered it just in time and removed the Energy Block. If he was the mole, he would have rather kept it up. You were as good as dead at the mission site, so was Rayn."

"So, if hewasthe mole, he just ruined a perfectly good chance of doing his job and consequently would have been murdered by Gedan by now. Which brings us back to square one."

"Hmm. May be not. We still have all those other suspects."Rohan absently supplied.

"Yeah. We do." Sighing, Kiel stood up from his chair and walked around his table to stand at the window overlooking the hall below.

"Why is it that you don't trust him? He has been working here even before you came along. I believe Kendra's mate, Alexander recruited him." Rohan curiously asked.

"Precisely for that reason. He has been working here for even longer than me, yet we know almost nothing about him. He says he is a shape-shifter, yet he lives on like a Were, he has enormous grasp over magic, and we don't even know where he came from." Kiel said with growing irritation.

"His file says he is from the Area five of Sector 99, that's around the Saints Islands."

Kiel snorted, "Islands that were taken by the Perlin Oceans at the time he joined us. Convenient." He shook his head.

"Kiel..." Rohan hesitated before asking the next part of the question, "I don't know if you know this, but, there was a time when he was being considered for the position of Chief of Operations here, your position." He saw Kiel's back stiffen. "But then you came along, and seeing the Alpha in you, Alexander gave you the position."

"Yes. I'm aware of that." Kiel quietly answered, "and before you ask, no, I don't feel threatened by him. Did you know, " Kiel turned his head to look at Rohan, "He was then offered your position, too?"

Rohan smiled, "Yes. He was a spec op by then, wasn't he? It was the very next promotion he should have gotten." Pausing, he surveyed Kiel's face with curiosity, "Yet, you gave it to me. Why did you?"

Kiel smiled at his friend's abrupt question, "And I kept wondering when you would ask that." He muttered.

"Yeah, I've been meaning to for the past few thousand years, but I kept forgetting. Old age does that to you. So, why did you?"

"Ro, you are hardly old." Kiel turned away his head to look down at the hall again.

"Dodging the question, are we?"

Kiel chuckled. "No." Then he looked back at Rohan. "You really wanna know?"

"Yeah."

"Well, I did need someone I can trust in that position. After the Chief and the Chief Strategist, Head of Armory and Tactical is the most powerful position. I knew I'd be more comfortable with you there. But, that wasn't the only reason." Kiel paused as his eyes followed a raven haired woman walking across the floor below. Her hair reminded him of Rayn. As the woman stopped to talk to someone, he continued, "He had refused the position. He actually said the job role clashes with his personality. He wasn't as "Flashy" as the job needs, and that you would be a better choice."

"The nerves! He said I'm flashy, eh?" Rohan exclaimed amusedly. Kiel shrugged.

"Yeah, well. Later when I grilled him some more about it, he told me he likes the backseat, not the forefront."

"Huh..." Rohan eyes his friend thoughtfully, "Yet, here you are suspecting he is the mole. Why?"

"Because no one seems to know anything about him. And also because he seems to have a good relationship with Rayn. I don't want to give him any chance to harm her." Kiel frowned.

"Ah!" Rohan solemnly exclaimed. "So that's it. You are scared he will do your girl?"

"No." Kiel quickly said. Then, seeing the look on Rohan's face, he sighed, "Yes."

"But she is your mate. Not his."

"You know very well she has a choice in the matter, Rohan. Shecanrefuse me. There have been instances of such happening."

"Which is so rare that it may only happen once in a few thousand years." Rohan incredulously supplied. "Really, Ki, you are behaving like a love struck, inexperienced puppy." Rohan continued chuckling as Kiel scowled, "But then you probably are all that, aren't ya Kiel?"

"Shut up!" Kiel glared at his friend, and added, "Just because I don't do every woman I lay my eyes on, doesn't mean..."

"Yeah yeah, cap it. Tell me, what happened at the field today?"

Startled at Rohan's sudden change of topic, Kiel blinked, then turned towards the window again, staring down at the hall. His eyes fell on the woman again. She had turned around, but leaning down on a table at the comm center, studying something attentively. He frowned, realizing he hadn't seen her there before. As a part of his mind worked to identify the woman, he answered Rohan distractedly, "I'm not sure. I went in and planted the explosives. Then went to the room you told me would be convenient to open the Gate from my end. But, it didn't open. By that time, the others had retrieved their material and Rayn gave the signal for evacuation. Seconds after that the demons were after me. And from some place we had missed plotting on the map, they just came pouring out. It was good that she came when she did, without her I'd be dead now."

"Hmm." Rohan came to stand by his side, looking down at the hall. "It is possible that the Gateway was diverted. Instead of opening here, it opened at a place they kept a reserve army or something."

"Hmm, possibly." Kiel nodded.

"So, how long did the healer say Rayn would need to recover?"

"Not sure. Clara estimated a day, but Rogers then walked in and said a few hours. Dunno whose estimate to believe." Kiel explained a little irritably. To be truthful, he wanted Rogers' estimate to be correct, because it meant she was strong enough to fight with the trauma. But then, to him, Rogers wasn't the most trustworthy person.

"A day? But why? Surely..." Rohan began with a frown, then he realized what had happened, "She transformed on the field?"

"Yeah." Kiel's eyes again swept the floor down below, then almost as if his name had been called by her, his eyes fell on the woman again. This time, she was looking right up at him with a smile on her lips. His eyes were captivated by her beautiful, big, green eyes. They made him think he was looking into Rayn's eyes. He could almost see her lips move as someone seductively murmured sweet nothings in an inaudible tone. He strained his ears to discern what the voice whispering at his ears said.

"So, how was she?" Kiel heard Rohan ask him.

"Beautiful, of course." Kiel answered absently, his attention focused on the whispering. He leaned forward to plant his palms on the glass, his eyes still held captive by the woman's.

Suddenly, the woman's face fell, and she blinked startled. With that, almost like the snipping of a tightly held cord, Kiel felt a connection break between them. Surprised, he looked around at Rohan, who pointed towards the glass of the window. Looking back, Kiel realized that the glass had gone dark, making him invisible to the woman.

"Oh." Kiel softly muttered, shaking his head.

"Hmm. She is Dina." Rohan pointed at the woman below. She had already gone back to work. "New transfer from substation one to the headquarters."

"Hmm. That's the recruit you had told me about?"

"Yup."

"Okay." Kiel again eyed the woman coolly, then turned to Rohan to tell him something. Before he could say anything, the internal comm unit in his office buzzed,

"Kiel, Rayn is looking for you. Please get down here as soon as possible." Clara's voice announced.

"Oh!" Without uttering another word, Kiel all but ran out of his office to get to the medical bay as soon as possible.

*****

"You said you would inform me when she awakes!" Kiel spat in a barely suppressed rage. He glared at Clara from where he sat on Rayn's bed, his fingers trailing soothing lines on her arm. Clara blushed with anger and embarrassment.

"Yes, I know. And I instructed the trainee as such when I left him in charge, so I can go check on the other patients. He...wasn't aware of the circumstances, and when she started muttering your name unconsciously, well, he didn't know what to do." As she saw the look on Kiel's face, she felt bad for him instantly, "Kiel, I'm sorry. I never should have left such a young one as him in charge of her. It's not his fault. He didn't know."

Kiel was going to say something in return, when he felt her fingers close around his wrist as she whimpered, calling to him again. He sighed. Despite knowing she can't hear him, he gently trailed his other palm over her head and face, soothingly murmuring to her, "I'm right here, Rayn. We are safe. It's okay." Her grip on his wrist loosened as she settled once more. As he again looked up and around, his eyes fell on the young healer. The rage inside him reared again as he remembered the pained cries he had heard when he entered the medical bay. She was probably going through each moment of the fight, and she moaned and called his name every time she remembered him getting hurt. Only when he had sat down beside her, when he had touched her arm trying to calm her down that her whimpering had reduced. May be, just may be if he had arrived earlier, she would have experienced less pain. He again started to say something to the trainee, when Rayn whimpered softly, this time muttering fearfully, "Eyes... Eyes..."

Frowning, he gently wiped at the beading sweat on her forehead. He didn't know what to make of her mutterings about the 'Eyes'. Looking up, he threw a questioning glance at Clara, who shrugged, indicating her inability to understand it. As he saw Rayn's brows frown again, he came to a decision, "I need to get her home. Is there any problem with that?"

Clara shook her head, "Technically, no. We can arrange the drip to be transferred to her apartment at The Den. But she needs careful supervision."

Kiel interrupted her irritably, "Yes. I'm aware of that. Transfer the drip to my apartment at The Den, to my bedroom, more specifically. I'll take care of the rest."

"Er... Your bedroom?" Clara asked, startled.

"Is there a problem?" Kiel coldly asked with a raised brow as he stood up.

"Er, no. No problem Chief." The Healer murmured.

"Good. Arrange transport for me and her, now." Throwing the instructions at no one particular, he once again settled beside her as almost everyone except Rohan, who had followed him to the Medical Bay, went scurrying around to carry out the orders.

As Rohan saw the worried look on his friend's face, he chuckled to himself, 'Yep. Love-struck puppy, alright.' He mused, slowly walking out of the room to leave his friend alone with his love.

*****

Something kept nudging at her mind insistently. She had to...do something. She tried to look through the darkness. It felt as if something was lurking there. That feeling of restlessness returned. Something was not alright. Danger was around. She needed to move, to act.

She tried to stand up. As her body struggled with the lethargy that had taken over her limbs, she felt the darkness pressing in on her, threatening to overtake her. She struggled, pushing back against it. Her whole being screamed in protest. She couldn't let it engulf her. What if she got lost in it? What if she couldn't find her way back?

What if she didn't see Kiel again?

Kiel.

He was in danger. Two gleaming eyes stared down at her maliciously, captivating her. She felt her body growing heavier under their gaze. She again pushed back against the feeling. Suddenly, the eyes changed to long talons, slashing down at her. She felt the pain tear through her as she screamed silently, wordlessly. But, she found herself unscathed. Blood dripped in front of her from two gushing wounds. Slowly, a body took shape around those wounds. Kiel's wounds. He was hurt. Pain and restlessness took over her heart. Why couldn't she move? He was getting hurt every second she didn't move. He was losing blood and life.

She again pushed back with all her strength against the darkness. To her surprise, it gave way. Not entirely disappearing, it hovered just around the bend; ready to take over again when she weakened, but away enough to allow some sort of lightness around her. She tried to move again, to open her eyes.

Suddenly, she became aware of a feathering sensation against her cheek. Startled, her mind quickly replayed the last things her eyes had seen. She was surrounded by those demons. One slashed at her. Trying to avoid the venomous talons, she leaned back. Then something had hit her hard on the head, and she had collapsed, as the demons closed in on her. She again felt the sensation against her cheek.Enemies.She frantically thought. One of the demons must be touching her. Rage bubbled inside her. Pushing back against the lethargy with all her might, she snarled, slashing at the demon with her own talons. Her eyes snapped open right as her talons were about to slash down at the 'demon'. As she recognized who it was, she gasped, stilling mere seconds before her talons ripped off half of Kiel's face.

"Kiel!" Her body shook with shock. To her surprise, she noticed he hadn't even flinched as her talons had come so close to his face. Letting out a tired sigh, she let her body fall back on the bed. The feathering sensation returned to her cheek. This time, she recognized it for what it was. He was tracing whorls on her cheek with his fingertips. She didn't try to move away from him. His touch felt so soothing, comforting. She closed her eyes to make the feeling of disorientation go away. Suddenly, he stroked at a stretch below her left eye, tracing a straight line descending to her cheeks. As his gentle fingers followed that line, it sent sparks of pleasure down her spine. Moaning, she opened her eyes to look up at him, and found him looking curiously down at her. Almost thoughtfully, he again stroked down that path below her eyes. This time, she felt her sex heating up, getting moist fast. She felt her nipples harden almost instantly as his thumb traced a shorter line above her brow.

"Oh!" Her back arched. She never knew those regions can be so sensitive, or was it because of the way he was touching her?

Suddenly, he stopped caressing her face and turning his head he captured her wrist in his hand, looking speculatively at her long talons. At this sudden shift of his focus, she felt a little empty - as if something that should have happened didn't happen, but she realized that she still had her hand raised, and her talons very close to his face. As soon as realization hit her, almost with an audible 'snap' the talons retracted and her vision, which, she realized, had been showing everything around her in high contrast, returned to normal.

"I... I'm so sorry. I thought... I didn't know... I was..." She stammered to apologize to him. She felt horrible as she realized she was about to tear his head apart, and he hadn't even flinched. Did he really trust her that much?

"It's alright. You were only disoriented." He smiled reassuringly at her, then waved a finger at himself, "No harm done, see?"

Confused and flustered, she just nodded. Although her talons had retracted, she noticed he kept her hand within his. As her eyes went to his, she found him looking down at her with an odd look she couldn't interpret. She could see relief there. But the rest of the emotions she couldn't decipher. Casting her mind around for something to talk about, she let her eyes wander around, taking in the room.

"Umm, this is not my room." She stated, looking back to Kiel unsurely.

"No, it's not." He agreed, his eyes twinkling amusedly.

"Then whose is it?"

Before he answered, he eyed her speculatively. Then, with a strange glint in his eyes, he proudly declared, "Mine."

"Oh." Rayn mumbled. She eyed him from under her eyelashes. He was still speaking about this room, right? But, why, then, was there that strong possessiveness in his voice? He spoke as if he expected to be challenged for his possession and he had no intention of letting go. Also, did his grip on her hand tighten when he said 'mine'? Trying to focus on something else, she asked again, "What had happened?"

"You went back into the factory to get me back. You fought valiantly by my side. Then towards the end, things got heated up, and you... Transformed. I mean, you had your first shift. After fighting some more, you collapsed. That was when reinforcements came and we won. I took you back to the HQ first, then brought you here so you can get some rest and I can keep an eye on you." He quickly summed up the events of the night, then gently brushed back a few strands of hair from her face. She hummed in pleasure.

"Mmm... That's good. " She gently closed her eyes. Then frowned, "Why did you need to keep an eye on me?"

"Because of this." Kiel stroked down in that sensitive stretch of her face right below her eyes. In response, her back arched, heat coiling in her belly almost instantaneously and involuntarily.

"Oh!" Her eyes snapped open landing directly on Kiel's, then she gulped as she saw her excitement reflected in his eyes.

He softly chuckled, his palm coming down on one of hers, and slowly trailed one finger down a talon that had reemerged. "You kept shifting back and forth. It took away a lot of energy needed to cope with the trauma; I had to keep the drip going. I think you have almost finished Clara's stock."

"Oh, I... Um..." She stammered, embarrassed again. Then as she found his eyes twinkling in amusement, she stopped, realizing he had been pulling her leg again. As he started to rise from the bed, she tried to sit up, "Well, now that I'm alright and all may be I should go to my room..." She tried to say it as casually as possible, trying her hardest to not let the disappointment at the absence of his touch on her skin, show.

"Keep your ass right on that bed." Kiel sharply and firmly instructed her as he strode towards a small cabinet built into one of the walls and took out a small bottle and a glass.

"Why, you wanna screw it?" She couldn't stop the retort that seemed to have escaped her lips without being registered into her thoughts. The moment she said it, she saw Kiel's head jerk around towards her with a startled expression. As the words she had said registered in her thoughts, she blushed, her ears seemed to have caught on fire they felt so hot. She quickly averted her eyes, but not before she caught the very amused (and... hopeful? She wondered) look on his face. As she studiously observed the fine decor of Kiel's bedroom, she heard him approach the bed. Her breathing grew heavier, her cheeks burning brighter with every passing second. She wondered for a brief second if he was actually going to take her up on her suggestion before dismissing the idea. He was just taking care of her because he was her mentor, right? Not because he had any interest in her, right? As she felt the bedding behind her dip under his weight, her breath hitched. Slowly, she turned her head towards him, only to find him holding out that dreamless sleep medicine to her. Letting out the breath she didn't know she was holding in, she scrunched her nose, "I guess that should take care of the flashbacks I was having while unconscious?"

"Yeah." He nodded. Taking the glass from his hand, she quickly drained it, then returned it to him. As she slid under the covers, he pulled them securely over her. Her eyes were drooping when she remembered something,

"You know, that 'dreamless' part doesn't work." She muttered, yawning widely.

"No?" He quietly asked, his fingers returning to her arm to draw caressing designs on her skin.

"Hmm... Last time I had a dream, a nice one." her muttering got slurry as she spoke of the last time Kiel had given the medicine to her.