Chapter Twenty

Ryo

'My l- umm Sir?' Hunter looks up at me and his tongue stumbles over his greeting as he drops his boots onto the ground and stands up from his upturned crate being used as a seat.

'Relax Hunter,' I order and he does so marginally but still remains focused as he begins to look over me with his trained professional eyes until they land on the girl in my arms.

He quirks up a surprised tawny eyebrow at me and waits for me to speak. It's not every day I have a girl in my arms like this, well it's been never but Hunter doesn't have to look so surprised at me though, it kinda hurts my pride I think.

Hunter is restraining a smile on his face and carefully coughs to hide his laughter at me. 'For God's sake man, don't read my mind all the time!' I exclaim at him and he loses his wrestling match with his smile and it spreads over his face.

He coughs again and speaks carefully as he reveals something to me, 'I didn't read your mind Sir,' he tells me and keeps his eyes trained on my face but not looking directly at my eyes, 'you were...speaking your thoughts aloud again Sir,' Hunter informs me and he tries to, but he does a bad job of it to keep the laughter from his voice.

'Oh for the love of the Gods!' I groan out loud, I would scrub my hand over my face for my shame but both my hands are occupied at the moment and that reminds me of why I'm here.

'Anyway Sir,' Hunter speaks moving towards me after getting himself quickly under control, 'what's the problem?' He asks and then proceeds to lead the way into his tent and holds the flap up for me to duck under and quickly place Briar down on an empty cot bed.

'It's Briar here,' I tell Hunter straight away, 'something's not right with her, she's suddenly fallen ill, looks pale, feels cold, acted like any exertion was a tremendous task and was complaining of maybe having a headache,' I list her symptoms to Hunter who nods and begins taking her pulse and starts to rummage in a bag off to the side of the tent for something. 'I think though, someone's given her something because no one asked for help for her when she's so obviously in a bad way,' I reveal to Hunter my suspicions.

Hunter stops with what he's doing to look at me and nods, 'I see Sir,' in his understanding way and now instead of doing whatever he was first going to do, he does something different and unexpected now but that's why he is the best mender to have by my side.

His features distort a little as he can choose freely what part of his body he can shapeshift into and still retains his reasoning unlike some shifters who are all or nothing and can't remember anything of importance in the other state of mind most of the time.

Hunter's wolf nose twitches at me for a surreal moment and then he buries it quite suddenly in the crook of Briar's neck and he begins to sniff in earnest and moves down her body, pulling her loose top up to reveal her stomach and the pale moon touched coloured skin.

I couldn't help it and I growled in the back of my throat, a long deep threatening growl that had Hunter stop what he was doing and move away from Briar, he then pauses to look at me with narrow eyes.

'Do I need to order you to leave Sir or will you behave?' Hunter asks cautiously of me.

I pull myself together and speak up, 'I'll behave,' I tell him. That's because I rather see what you're actually doing instead of imagining really bad things I reason to myself in an effort to tame my beast's reactions.

'Sir!' Hunter snaps out in shock, 'I heard that one as well and I am a professional!' He reminds me and this time I slap myself in the face.

'I'm sorry Hunter,' I apologise sincerely and heavily to him, 'I'm a little overtaxed and under slept these last few weeks, it messes with my filter and my control it seems if I push myself beyond six weeks,' I admit to him.

'Well glad to see we all have something in common with you then Sir, eventually you have a limit too,' Hunter says rather cheekily but Sir..? He questions me, 'Your reaction just then seemed..?' And he then trails off waiting to see if I will reveal anything to him.

'Who knows?' I say to him honestly, I know what Hunter is hinting at but I really don't know the answer to it and I would like Briar to get to know me better before trying to test that theory out.

Hunter searches my face for some hint but he gets nothing and he sighs and turns back to begin his ministrations over Briar again, 'This is unusual,' Hunter murmurs and peers closer at Briar's skin and his hand trails down her stomach following some kind of trail.

'What is?' I bite out and physically stop myself from restraining Hunter from touching her in this vulnerable state. He stops examining the skin on her stomach and grabs an arm instead and pushes the loose sleeve up and out of the way.

'It's here as well,' he remarks mysteriously and reaches for her other arm but he barely makes contact with her other arm when something quick and green snaps out at Hunter, startling him and making him fall back.

'What on the Gods land is that?' Hunter exclaims in a stunned voice.

I put myself between Hunter and whatever is attached to Briar's arm, I guess she wasn't totally vulnerable then I think to myself. 'Did I say anything out loud this time?' I ask Hunter cheekily as I grin in a feral manner to the unexpected guest.

'No Sir,' he answers me as he gathers himself up off the ground, 'but this time I didn't have my control in place from reading your mind though,' Hunter informs me.

'Dang it Hunter, it's impossible to have fun with you,' I complain to him.

'Sorry Sir,' he replies dryly back at me. He cautiously gets back up besides me and watches the green thing that just attacked him now with me. But the more you stared closely at it and it's movements, it was no longer that much of a mystery about what it was we discovered attached to Briar.

It resolved itself into several slim, small, green vines that waved back and forth and had some young green thorns attached but not yet hardened with age. The mystery though was why were the vines attached to Briar and why were they protecting her?

An image of a bigger thorn thicket I recently saw, overlaid itself in my mind and I took a gamble on my hunch and spoke out to them and the vines stilled as if they were listening to me. 'So you're the baby version of those big sickle thorns I saw the other day,' I ask them and they shook their leaves at me in response which makes me smile and I continued to speak to them as Hunter gasps in sudden understanding, looking back and forth between me and the young vines.

'So I guess you'll grow up big and strong and do an even better job of protecting Briar then won't you in the future,' I say to them and they wave side to side happily in response and I continue to speak to them after a small pause to chuckle.

'You know we mean no harm to Briar here but we think she's sick with something and I think you know that too,' I tell them and they droop slightly in response to my words.

'If you'll let us,' I say to them, explaining, 'we will continue to check Briar over and see if we can find out what the problem is and help her get better,' I carefully next reach a hand out to the vines and they gently bend down to reach my hand as if it was a handshake.

Pleased that I think I have an understanding now I turn my head to glance at Hunter and say, 'You can carry on with your examination now with no problems I believe.' Just as I finished saying that remark I then feel a sharp sting on my hand and I snap my attention back to it in time to watch as a single drop of my blood wells up and descends to land on Briar's bared stomach below.

Chapter Twenty-one

Ryo

I stare in fascination as time slows down as I watch my drop of blood splatter on that moon kissed skin, the contrast is startling but what happens next was inevitable I think, as my blood is absorbed into her skin and a light shoots out of Briar and hits me in the shoulder, the force of it pushing me back.

'Sir!' Hunter yells and spins me around to face him as he yanks my grey uniform jacket apart and my pulls my tunic aside as well to examine the skin there. I look down numbly in shock as well and see a raised welt in a pattern of a leaf now branded on my skin permanently.

'Sir this means-!' Hunter exclaims in excitement of what an actual mark means for a Fae. Our skin normally holds no blemishes nor does it heal with scars left over. If anything were to happen to us, our skin would let it appear as if it never had.

So for a mark to be formed is only known by one way, to exchange blood with your fated mate and this proves your bond to each other. These marks were practically unheard of though, so no wonder Hunter was looking in awe at the one placed high over my left pectoral.

'I know what this means,' I say and I reached out reverently to stroke Briar's sleeping face, I then also look at my wounded hand to see that it's healed up already and I turn my attention to glare at those seedlings who look decidedly sheepish now to me if plants could look that way.

'I hope you know you took part of her choice away,' I mildly scold them and they droop slightly lower in shame I hope when they hear my words.

'What do you mean Sir?' Anyone would be thankful to have found their mate, especially if it was someone like you Sir!' Hunter rushes to say to me in his enthusiasm that it makes me slightly uncomfortable as he gushes on.

'That's the thing, she doesn't know me or who I am,' I pause as I scrub my face tiredly, 'I suspected this to be the case,' I openly admit to Hunter who looks even more happier, 'but she should have been given a choice to decide if she even wanted me enough to give the mate ceremony a chance,' I say to him and then the look of confusion crosses Hunter's face at my words.

'Now she's going to be stuck in a partial bond for the rest of her life with me if she doesn't want to complete it,' I explain to him, a little exasperated at my mender, so dense.

'But Sir, maybe when you tell her..?' Hunter broaches the topic carefully.

'She's not full Fae!' I point out to Hunter and that brings him back to once again examining Briar with a keen medical eye. 'That means she might not as strongly adhere to our beliefs,' I explain to him quietly and an unexpected pang of sadness hits me in the heart that's already very decidedly attached to that sleeping girl laying there.

'I already know that Sir, but she's at least a half,' he exclaims in excitement to me, 'and something more besides,' he taps his still transformed nose at me. 'I couldn't decipher what the other smell was entwined with the human and Fae blood,' he tells me and then turns to look at the small sickle thorn vines that look like they are watching us in interest and obviously understanding us as well now.

Hunter leans closer to them and takes a long delicate sniff of the air to confirm something only his highly trained nose can do. 'This girl, your mate,' he tells me to reinforce that this situation is all very real, 'carries the sickle thorn within her blood as well,' he announces to me.

Chapter Twenty-two

Ryo

I blink in shock at Hunter's diagnosis and turn to look at those young vines, 'Is that true?' I ask them and I wait patiently for their response to my question. They bend their top half quickly as if nodding yes to my question. I look at Hunter and say, 'I guess it's true then,' I tell him. Hunter scoffs at me and throws his hands up in the air in exasperation of me.

'Of course it's true! I told you that already,' and he nudges me out of the way to point to something I didn't notice before until he snaps his fingers and produces a bright spark of light that dances on the end of his finger tip.

A pattern of faint gold-ish green perhaps bronze-green leaves, vines and thorns trace down both sides of her soft but slim stomach. Hunter then moves his light over to reveal the skin on her exposed arm in better definition for me. The same type of pattern is there as well.

'Now I know what these marks are, they're proclaiming her heritage that belongs to the sickle thorns,' Hunter says in excitement, the professional in him is really fascinated with this discovery I can tell.

I sit down heavily besides Hunter on the ground and I look at them too in fascination, her marks are really beautiful and I compare my bond mark to those leaves on her skin and I find they're not dissimilar at all.

I gently trace her skin on the side of her stomach but feel nothing but smoothness. These marks could almost pass for the ink that some humans like to decorate themselves with permanently but us Fae can't as it eventually dissolves away off our skin soon after branding.

'They're not too dissimilar are they Sir?' Hunter asks me and I realise I haven't heard a word he's said for the last minute or two.

'What is?' I ask him in mild confusion.

'You're nearly the same Sir,' Hunter tells me and I rear back from him.

'We aren't,' I tell him in a sad but caustic tone, 'no one has ever looked at me and thought my body was even mildly appealing in appearance,' I tell him and the truth is bitter on my tongue.

'Oh I don't know Sir, the first time you allowed me to examine you, I found you really interesting,' Hunter says quite cheerfully and I nearly choke on an unexpected laugh.

I shake my head at him and refocus my thoughts on why we are here in the first place. As much as all these discoveries warrant a lot of thinking and talking about, I need to know what's wrong with Briar. 'Anyway,' I say to Hunter, 'putting all this aside for the moment,' and Hunter's eyes bug out at me, 'do you know what's actually wrong with Briar?' I ask him and he rolls his eyes at me but resumes his professional role again.

'I think I do, I smell a faint trace of something coming out of her pores,' Hunter informs me and furrows his brow thinking over something. 'I don't know how the stuff was got a hold of, it's extremely valuable and locked away as far as I know in any Mender's establishment,' he mumbles and was going around the topic instead of spitting out what he thought it was instead. This made me think I wouldn't like Hunter's answer at all.

'What do you think it is?' I prompt and glare at him for good measure as a warning to get on with it.

Hunter visibly deflates under my stare, because he knows what my reaction will be when I hear his diagnosis and he speaks aloud to me one word, 'Janus.'

I visibly recoil at the word but then I feel an anger at whoever tried to poison Briar with the Trickster's Lotus root. One out of thousands of edible roots would turn in the right conditions it was often misidentified as the safe and delicious version and could harm people really badly or even permanently if too much was ingested.

The harmful effect was that it could very well cripple the magic of a weaker adult Fae for the rest of their lives if they weren't careful and ingested it. But stuff like that didn't happen much these days, things got checked again and again as the crops grew and there was a simple test when cooking the roots.

Everyone knew to add simple salt to the water when cooking the purple root and it would either turn a dark blue or a pink. If it turned pink, you knew not to eat it. It was simple as that unless you were in the middle of nowhere only surrounded by wild Janus roots to eat raw in order to survive and you had no salt with you at all...so basically it never happened these days unless on purpose.

But the trickster root also had another purpose which was highly prized and that was to teach Fae children of noble houses to learn how to survive not only on magic but by other means available to them as well. To learn how to strengthen the other skills that they had and grow stronger in themselves ultimately when their access to magic was blocked off momentarily. Unfortunately some children had been known not to have pulled through whatever secret trials their families had put them through during this process.

Nobles until recently were still very keen on the practice until I started to campaign against it. Even if children suffered less side effects than adults from the same small dose ingested, it was because they hadn't fully come into their magic as of yet unlike an adult and to an adult it would feel like they had lost apart of themselves and their equilibrium permanently. I believed the children could be challenged to grow in different areas without being made to take a harmful substance. Why risk the life of your child after all?

For me though when the archaic practice was forced onto myself, it stripped me of all my control that I had as a child and furthermore endangered everyone that was around me. All of that I endured to further the ambition of an unfeeling father by making me an even stronger successor to him by turning me into an absolute beast.

I was a strange mix due to an accident I had whilst too young to remember but I was born a full Fae undoubtably but I was also something else too. In some ways people either feared me or they respected me but they always capitulated in public to a might they couldn't fight head on but tried to scheme around instead.

As if they really believed I wouldn't notice what they were doing. I just had my network of spies record and evidenced everything so that it would be ready to be brought up on a moment's charge if they were caught doing something truly reprehensible like willingly poisoning their children.

Briar though was an adult and I couldn't guess how this poison was going to affect her. She obviously didn't need to strengthen whatever incredible gift she had though. But the need to repress her magic had to mean something bad was happening with it at least to even risk a chance of permanently crippling her. Hunter must have also been thinking along the same lines as I was as he remained quiet and retracted his beast nose, apparently finished in his diagnosis.

'I believe someone knows of Miss Briar's ability and they knew she wasn't in control of it maybe? Due to past circumstances, Janus root has been given to elder Fae who are out of control of their powers for whatever reason as a last measure for the safety of those around them,' Hunter dredges up from the depth of his learning somewhere as a suggestion to me.

'So this is to protect her from something worse happening to her,' I ask Hunter dubiously, wondering what circumstances has made someone resolved enough to use a solution like that in this case.

'It would at least shield her from whatever is happening to her and keep her abilities from being discovered amongst strangers who might pick up on something odd about her,' Hunter tells me, 'if you hadn't already known she was gifted Sir would you have known now?' He keenly asks me suddenly and I think over my real response to that question.

'No, I definitely wouldn't have, she smells of pure human now to me,' I concede to Hunter.

'I can only tell her true heritage due to my exceptional skills, a normal mender couldn't have,' Hunter muses and then he looks like an idea has come to him and he turns to me in excitement.

'I think that whatever Miss Briar's gift is, it's so powerful someone feared for her safety so much that she would be lost to it without that person's intervention,' Hunter tells me and I can see his inquisitive nature getting all fired up over a new oddity to study now.

I knew my personal mender couldn't help himself but he wouldn't be examining and putting my mate through any tests if I could prevent it from happening. I assessed him to see if he would do anything right now. Problem was I knew Hunter was a sneaky thing in how he got things done sometimes to assuage his curiosity. You couldn't turn your back on him for a moment or you would find a needle drawing your blood from your buttocks one day...some people were never the same after his pursuit.

'So we do nothing for her until she gains back her control again?' I ask incredulously to Hunter.

'I think it's a case of getting out of this forrest or we will lose her to it,' a new voice chimes in and Raine enters inside the tent with Ashton pushing another man in before him, who I've never seen before.

'Who's that?' I ask Raine and Ashton but Hunter beats them to it.

'It's one of the Winter court's menders that Lord Ashton has recruited,' Hunter tells me and continues speaking, 'I really should've known who'd done this,' Hunter says in a deprecating manner. 'I trust at least you got the dose right,' he asks in a snarky tone to the stranger.

'The small amount I have given her could never harm her,' he confirms as he stares fixedly down examining Briar and I don't like his attention at all on my mate.

'We both found Lucas looking inside and around the carriage that Briar has been travelling in and we both happened to think how odd his behaviour was and so we went to talk to him,' Ashton announces casually as he examines and buffs his nails against his loose waistcoat. I look at this Lucas more closely and see he is favouring his side slightly. He's lucky Ashton went lightly on him and I give this Lucas a feral grin, letting my beast show as the man happens to look at me and he pales slightly.

'Why'd you do it?' Hunter asks in his typical curious state of mind. I let him do the talking as I'm curious to know this Lucas's answer as well.

'Because I have watched over and protected her since being a child from people who would have done worse to her than what they were already doing!' He aggressively snaps at us, I look at this stranger as if he is a fascinating exhibit, his attitude is reckless but also refreshing to me.

'I needed to protect her also from being discovered by strangers who I don't know what their motives are towards her either,' he glares back at me suddenly and that surprises me so much that I laugh which makes him more defensive. This Lucas has guts at least. 'I swore I would help protect her, even from herself if necessary,' he declares to us all defiantly.

'This is because of the forest?' Hunter asks and cocks his head to the side considering something.

'Briar nearly died last night,' this Lucas tells us and sighs deeply and shudders as he recalls what apparently nearly happened and my protective instincts surge up fiercely for Briar. 'If I hadn't felt her in danger of losing herself to the dense woods and nature around her last night, Briar wouldn't be here right now,' he tells us all and I feel as if I've been punched in the stomach as a hollow feeling fills me up. 'She almost slipped away from this world, from this body,' Lucas indicates Briar's sleeping form, 'to join the consciousness of the forest around her forever.'

Hunter gasps and his sentiment is echoed around the tent at that revelation, it's unheard of by any nature wielding Fae to have that much power over the domain of nature, they could only peek behind the curtain and access a small part at any given time. But I wanted to know something else too that had been nagging at me since this Lucas had declared he had dedicated himself to protecting Briar since being a child.

'What are you to Briar?' I ask this Lucas and he looks at me resolutely and rolls up his sleeve to reveal his forearm to us all and I see the same kind of brand that I now carry on me and Hunter is truly shocked as he switches gazes between me and him.

'I'm her mate,' he tells us and Raine and Ashton look staggered at this revelation as well.

'Sit,' I command this Lucas and he sits cautiously on the other cot in the tent, away from me though I notice still. 'Tell me for how long have you known about Briar and how did you find out?' I ask him and Ashton shoots me a questioning look but Lucas misses that look between us.

'From being a baby, Briar had always been a being of note at the Winter court due to her unusual circumstances of birth and they wished to know if they had a weapon of worth or not and they tested her from a very young age,' he says with a touch of revulsion colouring his words.

'This has something to do with her losing her mother in the dungeons and then carrying her mother's slave sentence?' Ashton asks Lucas.

'Something like that,' Lucas answers vaguely, 'that day she was born, a disaster befell the castle and sickle thorns breached the perimeter and entered into the dungeons and they did what their nature tells them to do and that's feed on anyone foolish enough to get in their way,' he tells us.

'Briar's mother was in one of the cells that was attacked and that prompted her to give birth early but the sickle thorns kept pumping their venom into her mother and it was indirectly fed to Briar via the placenta that was still attached to her and saturated her entire being and bonded with her,' this Lucas explains to us.

'That was the circumstances that probably saved Briar from being attacked as a baby as everyone believed the sickle thorns couldn't identify her as a separate entity at the time,' shock tears through me and Raine visibly pales at hearing about Briar's tragic circumstances for the first time. I look at Ashton and I see him putting some pieces together in his mind. He did after all hear a little bit more of Briar's past from her, herself.

Ignorant of our inner turmoil and Hunter is off thinking of far off things in his head for the moment, Lucas carries on speaking his tale to us, 'My Grandfather who is also here with us, is a mender and I followed in his magical tendencies and so he took me on as a little apprentice back in those days. I was probably a bit of a nuisance to him back then,' Lucas admits with a wry grin for a moment as he fondly remembers the past we can't see.

'I met a little girl back then in the mender's wing and I would play with her often, not really understanding why she was there,' he tells us, 'one day though I fell and scraped my knee and I was crying because it hurt and it was bleeding and so the girl went to kiss it better because I was crying,' Lucas looks directly at me again and I can tell where his story is going.

'Your blood was absorbed by her?' Raine asks him the obvious question to confirm the answer we know is coming.

'Yes,' Lucas answers, 'but that was not all, she healed my wound as well,' he reveals to us all and everyone's attention snaps back to him.

'Healed your wound?' Hunter asks Lucas, 'you're sure it wasn't yourself that did it?'

'I'm sure of it,' Lucas confirms to us all.

'But that would mean she would have other Fae magic as well lending towards that of the mender type and not strong nature magic,' Hunter points out the obvious, 'A typical Fae only has one strong speciality over any of the others and it is almost unheard of for two specialities to be carried within one individual,' Hunter states the obvious facts known by society at large.

Only Fae who leant towards healing could use their magic to heal other Fae of their injuries which was handy when the damage was too much for our internal healing to keep up with a serious injury which didn't happen all that often outside of war campaigns that is. So all this knowledge meant Briar was in more ways than one a very special person.

'My Grandfather saw what happened that day and he knew what the brand was on my arm, he acted swiftly and did what he had to do to protect his little grandson's mate, his new family,' Lucas says, his voice trailing off at the end of his explanations to us.

Hunter breathed out in understanding, 'Your Grandfather used Janus root in small quantities to seal her powers?' He asks and Lucas nods yes to his question.

A howling rage goes through me as I think of something I don't really want to know, but I need to know the answer to it and I bite out in an icy voice, 'For how long for was Briar fed Janus root?' Raine and Ashton shift warily as if ready to protect this Lucas from me, they do after all know me the best.

'Until a year had past after the testing year for any abilities to show up and then he weaned her off the minuscule doses. But it had appeared to my Grandfather's great sadness that Briar no longer had access to her magic after being fed trace amounts for five years,' Lucas admits fearfully and my self control snaps right then and I lunge across the space to get at him. Lucas falls beneath me as I draw back my fist to rain a punch down on him and he lets me do it. The satisfying crunch of bone breaking under my fist only happens once because Raine has a hold of me and drags me off of Lucas.

Ashton places himself in front of Lucas with his back to him as he gets himself back up from being sprawled over on the cot and proceeds to heal himself and wipe the blood off of his face. 'I know I deserve that and I deserve worse too but-.'

'You're going to tell us that the other outcome for her would have been worse right? Raine asks him in a sarcastic tone. 'Five years of being fed Janus root when a child is normally only fed it once or twice for a year!? What you did was criminal,' he tells Lucas in a deathly whisper.

'It probably would have been worse though,' Hunter answers and gives us all a shoulder shrug from his outsider's perspective of us all. 'You probably don't agree but there are worse existences out there, you ask me to help them, remember?' Hunter points out to me and I duck my head at his words.

'My Grandfather and I are just so relieved she still has a connection to magic after all these years of watching over her and seeing nothing,' Lucas tells us, 'we were working so hard to curry favour with the nobles to gain Briar's freedom even if she never knew of our connection or her powers, I would have been content at seeing her be free,' he told us all chivalrously and I snort aloud.

'Like heck you would be happy if your mate went to live with and love another man other than you, her mate,' I scathingly say to him and Lucas flinches.

'I didn't say I would be happy per say as long as she was,' Lucas tosses back at me angrily, 'I deserve worse as I couldn't protect Briar like I should have upfront but instead I had to do my best watching over her from the shadows,' his anger is now spent in his last words and he drops his head into his hands in sorrow at everything that has happened in those years that I couldn't possibly imagine.

'This isn't like you Ryo,' Ashton says perceptively as he gestures back and forth between myself and Lucas. Ashton means flying off the handle and punching someone, I'm normally more controlled, I have to be for everyone's sake.

'Well I don't know what to think about him, I don't know him as well as I know you two now do I,' I retort back cryptically and Lucas looks confused at my statement and Hunter looks at Raine, Ashton and me with some speculation dawning in his eyes.

'Would you say someone taught Miss Briar how to use her current magic and keep it hidden from others then, if you and your Grandfather never notice with your monitoring of her condition that she had regained the use of her magic? Hunter asks Lucas in order to turn the topic away from the current heated moment. He looks at me as if to say that he will be asking me questions later though with his expressive eyes.

I shrugged as if to say right back to him that I might answer if I feel so inclined to do so and his eyes narrow at me but Lucas misses all that subtle context between us two and answers Hunter's question. 'Yes, we think someone took her under their wing but we can't figure out why? Or how? They seem to be protecting Briar like family...,' Lucas's eyes shot up as he realises he might have said too much.

'Relax,' Ashton tells him, 'I have suspected some things for a while now about certain people but I don't pry where I'm not wanted to,' Lucas looks away from Ashton and his comment before he replies quietly to him:

'Nothing was ever indicated in the tests that they were subjected to take also,' Lucas informs Ashton.

'That's because those two know of something I bet that successfully blocks the infallible tests and random acts of sensing another person that no one can predict when or where it will happen to successfully protect themselves against it all the time. Eventually there are slip ups or poisonings and people are discovered but I have found those two are quite formidable,' Ashton chuckles darkly.

'You mean the overprotective mother-daughter combo who have said quite openly that they would do very bad things to anyone who hurts Briar or gets close to her? I suspect they can back up their game quite easily,' Raine remarks to us, 'Ryo has already said the daughter is very forward with wanting to stab people but I had thought in the beginning it was just because it was Ryo-.'

'Hey-!' I snap out in my defence and interrupt what Raine was saying but he still carries on over my complaint.

'Then I had my own encounter with them as well,' Raine says to us with irony colouring his words about two women who are professionals in making people comfortable and just don't.

'I fear gentleman that even if all this conversation is quite interesting to hear,' Hunter interrupts us all prattling on, 'this is still getting us nowhere with the patient,' he points out to us all. We all look down in shame for our behaviour when Briar is in need of help right now and we're all messing around not getting any further forward.

'You claim we need to get out of this dense forest and Miss Briar will start to become better yes?' Hunter asks Lucas and he nods yes.

'How many day's ride is that?' Hunter asks me and I close my eyes in thought for a moment before answering him.

'A day and a half,' I reply approximately as I think of our destination to reach the base of the mountain as our goal for the next part of our journey.

'Did you administer enough Janus root to last that long?' Hunter enquires quickly of Lucas.

'No, I only gave enough for a child's dose and so it should wear off soon by night fall again for an adult of her size that is,' Lucas informs us.

'Well,' Hunter says as he is thinking, 'if we travel while she is in this state and get as far as we can go with her like this, when she awakens we should give her the opposite of a sedative- a stimulant and swap it out for that to keep her awake through the rest of the journey. I can make something to work for that purpose Sir,' Hunter says that last part to me only and looks expectantly at me.

I nod my head decisively, 'Do it,' I order him and Hunter nods back in confirmation for me.

'Now if someone can take the patient away and monitor her condition, they can inform me when she wakes up good and proper,' Hunter begins planning and rummages through his bags for something and finds a white crystal tied to a black leather thong and gently lifts Briar's head up to slip it over and leaves it to rest loosely against her gently rising and falling chest.

The colour of the white crystal turns pink in a few moments for us all to see. 'This crystal will turn back to white completely when the current drug is out of her system,' Hunter explains to us, 'it means anyone can monitor her condition then,' he points out to us and starts looking through his bags once more for other stuff now. He has obviously dismissed us as he mind is now working on another problem and I roll my eyes at him. If he wasn't so damn good at what he does, I'm sure the others would get offended by him.

'So who wants to take first watch?' I ask, obviously ignoring the new guy Lucas in my question.

'I will,' Ashton volunteers, he steps closer and lifts his hand up to vote at the same time that Raine does the same action. A green elongated blur whips out and breaks into two to snap around Raine's and Ashton's wrists and yanks them sharply to fall across everyone else in the way, which is really unexpected and actually hurts a lot too by the groaning I can hear. I shake my head and clamber back up in time to see two red drops of blood drop off my friend's forcefully extended, scratched hands and splash down onto Briar's still exposed stomach.

Hunter who has tumbled also, is rubbing his head but his eyes are practically bugging out at seeing the same phenomena happening again before him as we all watch their drops of blood get absorbed as well and an answering returning light emerges from Briar and smashes into Raine and Ashton's bodies throwing them backwards and they fall even further than I do because the sickle thorn vines let go off them like a hot rock and retreat back into the smaller and less noticeable form they were in before and I swear they are watching the tent and us now to see if any retaliation is coming their way, the little rascals!

'You might be in more trouble with her than us,' I warn them and they quiver slightly in response to me.

We've all picked ourselves back up again when Lucas speaks, 'What just happened here?' Lucas asks in confusion, shock lacing his tone as Raine pulls his loose shirt to one side and sees a brand of a leaf on his right pectoral and Ashton is turning his head awkwardly to peer at the top of his right arm to see the same mark.

'Well Lucas,' I say with satisfaction and reveal my own brand by pushing aside my clothes once more, 'Briar has more than one chosen mate,' I explain and his mouth has dropped wide open, not knowing what to say until he snaps it back shut.

'But to have so many!?' He asks and shakes his head and he begins counting but I ignore him as Ashton grins joyously at me and Raine just grabs us all to have one big hug in the middle of the tent as his body shakes in silent laughter and joy at discovering he really does have a mate and is bound to her and us even more. He's always the one that craved connection the most out of all of us, to have a pack.

'I wonder if anyone can just be her mate?' Hunter murmurs his question out loud and is eyeing the sickle thorns with intent as he reaches his hand out to them too.

'No!' I gasp out in horror not wanting that theory to be tested out but it's too late as Hunter is trying to touch the vines. But luckily as all my attention has zeroed in on the sickle thorns, they actually back away from Hunter's hand and shake slowly from side to side as if to say no to Hunter. Maybe they didn't want to get into anymore trouble than what they've already done.

'So I guess it's not a universal kind of bond,' Hunter's body sags in disappointment and he drops his hand away as he says those words with obvious dissatisfaction at that discovery, 'but it's still unusual to have this many bonded to one person, I must research this when I get back!' He says with more enthusiasm and his eyes light up at the prospect of a new research project as he looks back up at us.

'Back up slowly from Hunter now,' I stage whisper to the guys and they do, even Lucas, who just looks confused at us. 'I don't want to be a part of another research project,' I say to Hunter, shaking my head in denial to him.

'Oh don't be such a baby Sir,' Hunter says with a sniff but a shiny new syringe has now suddenly appeared in his hand by magic.

'What are you going to do with that syringe?' I ask eyeing him and estimating my chances of getting out of here without being pricked. I might have to throw one of the guys at him to buy myself some precious time to escape, unfortunately Lucas is behind me, so it won't be him I think as I make my plan to escape Hunter's machinations.

'I want samples of the recent phenomenon,' Hunter says to us all as if it's really obvious to us, 'and then I want periodic samples to cross check with in the future with the originals,' he tells us as if that would make whatever he's saying clearer to us.

'Oh by the Gods!' He swears, suddenly looking down at Briar laid there defenceless apart from the young sickle thorns at her side. 'I missed the perfect opportunity to get a sample from Miss Briar before the mating bonds started to commence,' Hunter complains and sounds really put out at that thought as he begins to hover over Briar and his intent is clear as day as he begins to descend the syringe into her arm.

'Stop it!' I yell and I fling Ashton and Raine out of the way as I place myself between Hunter and Briar to protect her from him and I feel a sting in my right buttock.

'See,' Hunter tells me matter of factly and disappears his sample of my blood to preserve it and another syringe appears in his hand again, 'all this fuss over nothing Sir, I bet it didn't hurt at all,' he tells me placatingly and I wince at the throbbing pain I feel in my lower region. He's the one who came up with something that could actually break through my tough skin!

The days and long nights avoiding his attacks and tests on me with anything he could actually try out on me has now made it difficult for me to fall asleep especially when Hunter gets like this. But the fact that the needle actually pierced my skin is very telling and that means he was originally going to go for me anyway first and he tricked me, the devious mender! Only magical creatures or magic infused items can cause some damage to me, we have discovered after all the test trials.

'Now then gentleman, please line up,' Hunter says with a happy hum and everyone gives in straight away and lines up without putting up any resistance on their part and I sullenly glare at them for peacefully co-operating with Hunter.

'I don't know why you put up such a fuss,' Raine says to me, already done with his sample and Ashton just shrugs at me like it's not a big deal either. For me it is, as Hunter maybe my personal mender but he is also my personal tormentor as well in a sense. The only one who can inflict pain on me when he sees fit, most of the time.

Hunter seems quite happy now and is talking with that Lucas about mender things and no doubt knowledge of Briar's medical history as well. He's quite oblivious to my sour looks aimed at him as Ashton turns his back to them and carefully picks up our mate in his arms to take her back to the carriage she's travelling in but not before Raine and I gently place a kiss on her sleeping forehead before he carries her away.