Page 18 of Night Fury
Luke nodded. “I called a witch that we’ve known for centuries. She can trace magic, and the only source she felt came from you.” He rubbed the length of her spine as she fell against him, her body needing his for strength and support. They stayed like that for precious minutes before he asked, “What triggers the pain?”
Johanna’s fingers slid down his sides, coming to rest at his back as she held onto him. She was scared that even the mention of what happened would trigger the pain, but she knew she had to share the information for him to help.
“When I try to remember what happened, or when I think of my ancestors.” She braced herself but felt nothing. She sighed in relief, then cautiously turned over her next words in her head to pick ones that would hopefully not trigger the pain again. “My mental abilities are hereditary, like most witches, but I still don’t know how I could have made this mental block.”
Luke’s arms tightened around her as she settled into his warmth. “Can you tell me what your powers are?”
“Telepathy, mind control, telekinesis, and teleportation.”
“Teleportation?” Luke asked.
She nodded. “That’s the hardest one to learn, but it is entirely possible.” Johanna bit her lip, making a noise of disgust.
“What is it?” Luke continued to rub her back, the soothing motion making her feel safe enough to be honest.
“Those abilities were used to kill people in the past, even vampires. Because of that, I wasn’t taught to master them,” Johanna whispered.
Luke made a soft humming sound. “They probably deserved it. That may cause some complications with The Council later, but it doesn’t cause any with me. How do you create a mental block?”
“It’s extremely complicated. It needs a lot of practice and focus, but essentially an item is determined and a restriction is placed upon it. Whenever that person violates that restriction, a punishment occurs.”
“Like your pain?”
“Yes. But I can’t think of a reason why I would block out so much. The larger the block, the more energy it takes and the harder it is to break it.”
Luke continued to rub her back, his fingers caressing her skin as she snuggled closer into his embrace. She knew it was strange, but thus far all their interactions had been, and she didn’t have the strength to fight against the comfort he made her feel.
Luke’s voice was quiet, gentle, as he asked again, “What’s the last thing you remember?”
Johanna closed her eyes, letting the lull of his heartbeat give her confidence as she tried to remember something, anything. “I was leaving the hospital after visiting … my grandmother!” She pulled back, beaming with excitement. “She’ll know what to do if I just—”
Luke’s face went from confusion, to horror, and then a blank sadness that infected her, squeezing her heart.
“Luke, what is it?” she asked shakily.
“Johanna,” he said with a swallow, “your grandmother passed away six months ago.”
And just like that, Johanna shattered all over again.
CHAPTER 10
Luke sighed and looked down at the golden angel pressed against his chest.
Last night had been a whirlwind. Johanna had been distraught at the news of her grandmother’s death. The grief, the realization that she had lost six months of time and couldn’t even try to remember anything about her family without feeling the backlash of her own abilities, and the information that she had been unconscious for weeks was too much for her to bear. She’d cried herself to sleep, and Luke didn’t blame her. In his opinion, she was taking the news well. He couldn’t imagine how it would feel to not have the support of people he loved and trusted around him, especially when he woke up in a strange place with someone he didn’t know.
Then there was their mate bond. In the span of the few minutes she’d been awake, he’d nearly kissed her three times, and he was deeply aware that it wouldn’t have stopped there. What was worse was he knew she wanted him as well. Mate bonds had different intensities and theirs was incredible, but he’d resist it or die trying. Luke wanted Johanna to feel comfortable with him, and while in her moment of grief she’d turned toward him and had desired him, he knew a lot of that may have been from the mate bond itself. He wanted her care, her love, and he was willing to fight through anything for her, even the need to take her and make her his. This wasn’t the time for that. No, his mate needed someone to be there for her right now, and that’s what he wanted to be: her confidant. He wanted her to trust him completely, and while fucking her into oblivion would be enjoyable, her possible regret afterwards would kill him.
And then there was his own fear and insecurity. Johanna had to rely on him until she got her memories back, and while he was sure that would foster some sort of feelings for him, would she choose him in the long run, especially after she remembered what happened to her? Luke wasn’t sure of the torture she’d been through, but he had several concerningideas—after all, she had blocked herself from remembering six months of trauma. But one day she would remember everything, and she might blame him in the same ways he blamed himself.
He looked down at her, his fingers sliding through her hair carefully, not wanting to wake her. Her chest rose and fell peacefully, her breathing long and deep. Her hand curled over his chest where she had been holding onto him, while her head rest on his shoulder. Her long legs bowed over one of his underneath the blanket they shared.
The sight of her in his arms restored a piece of his soul, but he still couldn’t sleep. Instead, Luke remained her faithful protector, staying awake to watch over her. He didn’t want to miss when she woke up, didn’t want her to feel alone. An irrational piece of him was also scared that she wouldn’t wake up, that somehow she might have locked herself in another mental battle that would keep her away for days, maybe months.
While vampires didn’t need sleep, they did function better with it. Maybe once he closed his eyes and finally rested, he’d be able to make some sense out of this mess. But until then he’d wait, and wonder, and worry, and try to tell himself everything was fine. Because it would be fine, it had to be.
Hours later, after the sun began to filter through the pale curtains and slowly bathe the room in light, Johanna stirred. It was a mesmerizing thing to Luke. She flexed first, wiggling her toes ever so slightly. The hand over his heart clenched. Her heartbeat quickened as it breathed energy into her gorgeous body. She shifted again, ever so slightly, but this time it was her hips that moved, and Luke had to bite his lip to keep from moaning. Then she did it again, but a frown appeared on her face as if she was confused.
“Good morning to you too, sunflower,” Luke said, his voice teasing and slightly husky.
