Believing Binda (5 page)

"But how
come after thousands of years of nothing, the Great Wind returns now?"

She rose to
return the book and began running her fingers over the book spines once again.

"C'mon,
where's one explaining the Goddess's link to the Great Wind?"

Another jolt up
her arm had her pulling a tome from the shelf. Okay, that was very cool. It
seemed the Goddess wanted her to work all this stuff out. Who else would be
guiding her to the books she needed?

She took this
new book back to the chair and settled in to read again. When the door opened
with a
creak
, it scared the life out of her.

"Shit!"

The large tome fell
to the floor as she flew to her feet and stumbled a little. She'd been one
hundred percent in research mode and had completely forgotten about reality.
She spun to the doorway with a hand over her racing heart.

"We're
sorry, Binda. We didn't mean to startle you."

Baxter and Zane
both stood just inside the door like they weren't sure what to do. She licked
her lips as she bent to pick up the book.

"That's
okay. I was so focused on what I was reading I didn't expect the noise of the
door opening. I, ah, I kind of have a habit of getting lost in a book."

****

Baxter grinned at the way Binda dipped her head down with obvious embarrassment.

"We thought
you must have found something good to read. The last time we came in you didn't
respond to us at all. We've come to ask you to join us for Dimitri, Max, and
Eilagh's Bonding Ceremony. It will be happening shortly down in the orchard. We
thought you'd like to be there. Carina woke earlier, so all four of your
friends will be there."

She frowned as
she carefully placed a leather bound tome onto the low table.

"Bonding Ceremony?"

She'd spoken
slowly like saying the words would help her understand.

"Eilagh has
agreed to bond with her two dragon warriors. You've met Dimitri, our clan
leader, and his twin, Max. He's the one who changed to dragon at your first
meal."

"That was
quick."

She'd mumbled
her words, obviously not speaking to them, so Baxter chose to ignore her
comment.

"Shall we
head down to the orchard?"

"Yeah, sure."

She strolled
past them and straight out the door. They followed her in silence.

Wonder what book she was reading? She's still not
really with us, is she?

No idea, Zane, but I agree that her pretty little head
is still in which ever book it was.

At least she
wasn't flinching from him. He'd been so concerned he'd truly frightened her
when he'd stormed out earlier. Once they were outside, he breathed deeply. Baxter
loved the smell of the fresh air. Unfortunately too much of a healer's work was
indoors.

They stood near
Drake and Savren, a short distance from the circle of red dirt the Great Wind
had left when it had brought the females to them. He glanced up as he heard
others coming. Carina had a tight grip on Skye as they made their way down to
stand near them. Their six warriors stood close to them but didn't try to touch
either of them.
At least we're not the
only ones having trouble with our Desired.

A sigh from Skye
along with a low growl from Drake and Savren had him looking up toward the
castle. Eilagh and Becky were making their way toward them. Both females were
dressed in their dragons' colors and looked resplendent. He looked down at
Binda. She stood with her spine straight. Her arms were rigid by her sides, and
she was clenching and unclenching her fists. Her face was tight with a forced
smile. Did she resent her friend’s happiness?

Do you think she's jealous of Eilagh?

Not sure, Zane.
Could be.

Skye's voice cut
short their conversation, "Eilagh is beautiful, and she looks so
happy."

Binda took a
deep breath and relaxed a little before she spoke.

"I can't
believe they got Becky to wear a dress—she even looks happy wearing it!"

Unable to leave
her be any longer, Baxter wrapped a hand around Binda's waist and pulled her to
lean against his chest. Zane moved in and took her hand in his as he stood
close to their side. Baxter could feel the tension in her body, but she fortunately
didn't pull away. He lowered his face to inhale against her hair, her sweet
dewberry scent soothing him like nothing ever had before.

He lifted up
when he heard Diego move the ceremonial bowl into the circle. The sun shone on
the golden honey making it glow like the sun. Once the bowl was centered, Diego
stood tall and began the proceedings.

"Welcome
all to the Bonding Ceremony of our Clan Leader Dimitri, Warrior Max, and Lady
Eilagh. Let us begin. Eilagh, do you accept Dragons Dimitri and Max as
yours?"

"Yes, I
accept both Dimitri and Max."

"To accept
your dragons before all of us here and the Goddess above, you need to begin the
ritual. Place both your hands—palms down—in the bowl, then place a palm on the
face of each of your dragons."

Baxter turned
his attention to his Desired. The ceremony obviously spiked her curiosity. He
had no idea what they did on Earth for bonding, but he would guess by the way
all the females were watching with cute little frowns that it was not anything
like this.

He'd been a
teenager when he last witnessed a bonding ceremony. Only close friends and
extended family attended a ceremony. The focus was on the family bonding and
their link with the Goddess, so it didn't need dozens of witnesses.

Settling his
hands on Binda's hips, he allowed his mind to wander. There were roughly two
hundred dragon warrior males on Feury. He and Zane were the only healers, and no
doubt pregnancies would soon happen with these five lovely females. That would
take even more of their time. They needed to train up more healers. It was the
only solution to allow him and Zane to have a life with Binda.

Zane, we need to train more healers.

Ah, yeah. Okay. But what's that got to do with the
ceremony?'

If we want to bond with Binda we need to prove to her
she's a priority. Why do you think she's jealous? I'd guess it's mainly due to
the fact Eilagh has had Dimitri and Max pay so much attention to her.

Zane sighed
through their link.
Okay, well training
is going to take time, too. But I hear you. Guess we need to start approaching
the younger warriors who haven't found their place in the clan yet, ones with
enough compassion and heart to take on being a healer.

Yes. Start making a list. I will, too.

Binda released
Zane's hand and cupped her palms over her mouth as she gasped. Baxter looked up
to see ribbons of light wrap around and among Dimitri, Max, and Eilagh's left
hands. This was the final part of the ceremony.
The Goddess
blessing them with her mark.
It was a spectacular display to watch.

Chapter Three

Relief flowed through Zane as Binda got into the spirit of ceremony. She
laughed along with them as Dimitri slung Eilagh over his shoulder and rushed up
to the castle.

"Don't
think there's any question about what those three are going to spend the night
doing!"

Moments later
Binda tore from Baxter's grip and ran to Becky. The females embraced for a
moment before turning to their other two friends. All four had a quiet moment
together before Becky's strained voice floated over the air. "Been a crazy
week, huh?"

That had all
four of them laughing, and Zane looked to Baxter to see him staring back at him
looking as relieved as himself.

She’ll be fine, Baxter. We will make this work. We
will win our Desired.

Baxter nodded at
him, and then they joined the others in herding the females toward the castle
for a meal. However, it probably hadn't been his best idea to watch Binda's
hips sway the entire way to the dining hall. Sitting with a hard-on wasn't
going to be overly comfortable. Zane pulled out a seat and helped Binda settle
into it as Baxter filled her plate with roasted meat and vegetables.
His own
stomach grumbled, and she chuckled at him.

"Stop
fussing, Zane. You're hungry, you need to eat."

"I like
fussing over you, beautiful. Best get used to it."

He kissed the
top of her head before moving to load up his own plate. He sat and ate his meal
while watching all those around him. At least half the clan were here eating
even though they hadn't attended the ceremony. He looked over the faces of the
warriors. Most had at least half an eye on the females. Some looked sad, others
jealous, and the occasional one angry. Zane hoped the Great Wind would deliver
more females for the other warriors. Every family deserved to find the one
fated to complete them.

His attention
turned to Carina as Denver, Phelan, and Hart ushered her out of the room.
Strange that Skye wasn't with her. He glanced over and nearly choked on his
mouthful of meat. Skye was being shown how three warriors tempted their
Desired. Reaching for his water he glanced at Binda to see if she'd seen what
was taking place across the room. Binda's hand held her fork above her plate, frozen
in place as she stared over at her friend. Her forehead creased as she chewed
on her lower lip. She lowered the fork as she carefully glanced to Baxter
without moving her head. As if to gauge what his reaction was. Baxter was
staring at his plate, looking worried.

Smile, would you? Binda's trying to work out your
reaction to Skye getting attention at the dinner table and you're sitting there
looking cross at your food.

Baxter's face
instantly smoothed to a pleasant mask before he looked over at Binda as he
brought up a hand to massage the back of her neck.

"
You enjoying
your meal, precious one?"

Binda nodded and
focused back on her food. Baxter pushed his plate away and turned his seat to
face Binda. He kissed her shoulder as he continued to massage her neck. With a
clank her fork landed on her now empty plate.

"Please
don't, Baxter. It's been a long day, and I can't handle you starting something
you won't be able to finish because someone else will require your
attention."

Zane closed his
eyes on a wince. Her words were like a slap in the face to both him and Baxter.
Fuck.
She was feeling neglected and
confused.

"Can we
please go? I just want to curl up somewhere warm and sleep."

Zane was fairly certain
she wasn't meaning between him and Baxter.
Although that
would keep her more than warm.

"Sure, Binda.
We'll head back
to our chambers."

He rose and
attempted to take Binda's arm to help her up, but she pulled away and marched
out of the room on her own.

She's furious. We can't just neglect our jobs! How the
hell are we going to get this to work?

Let her sleep tonight, and in the morning we'll tell
her about our plan to train others to help with our work. Explain that she is
the center of our lives and we will do whatever we need to do to keep her
there.

By the time they
reached their family room, Binda had stopped stomping and was looking so worn
out she must be struggling to stay on her feet. Zane took her face in his hands
as Baxter moved in behind her and rested his hands on her hips.

"Binda, you
are our Desired.
The center of our world.
I know our
jobs make that hard to see at the moment, and we'll discuss that in the morning
after you've rested. I also know that you want to sleep alone tonight, but we
can't let you do that."

Her face went
hard, and her eyes narrowed at him. He pressed his thumb over her lips before
she could speak her mind.

"Two of the
rogue dragons are still on the loose, beautiful. We can't risk it. But you'll
have the bed to yourself. Baxter and I will sleep in dragon form on the
floor."

At the mention
of the rogues her gaze lost its fire, and she nodded. "Okay. Yeah. I
understand the need to be safe."

He leaned
forward and tenderly pressed his lips to hers. She responded but didn't open
her mouth to allow him in. He pulled away and stepped free. Baxter pressed a
kiss to her neck before he, too, released her. She slowly walked up toward the
master bedroom looking so tired and down. Zane had to lock his legs in place to
not run after her. He needed to comfort her but knew she wouldn't welcome it
just at the moment.

"Give her a
few minutes to settle in, and then we'll go in. It's going to be a long
night."

"Yep, being
so close yet not touching her is going to drive us crazy by morning."

"Hopefully
being in dragon form all night she'll feel the pull as she sleeps and be more
relaxed with us in the morning."