Serenity

Chapter 15

Julian

James walked over to Tami and wrapped an arm around her. I bit the inside of my cheek to keep from reacting to the sight of another male touching my mate. Andrew grinned at me and nodded. He understood what I was experiencing. "We need to get out of here. Tami's ready to crash."

I nodded and studied her for a moment. Although the makeshift cast protected Tami's arm, it looked broken. Even with our increased healing and use of gunna paste, it would take a few days to heal. That's after we made sure her bones healed straight. In our world, a broken arm that doesn't heal is enough to take her out of the field.

I ran over to Tami and tucked a few stray strands of hair behind her ear. As much as I wanted to pull her to my chest and hold her until my Mori stopped trembling, I couldn't. The last thing I wanted to do was make her injuries worse. "Tami. Think you can hold out until we get back to the safe house? I want to get as far away from here as we can. Before Kelly's friends realise she's gone and decide to come looking for us."

She nodded. "Sure. As long as you have supplies on the plane. I have to make sure this heals straight." She held up her injured arm, and I could see the wince she held back. Now that her adrenaline was fading, the pain of her injuries came flooding over her.

"Okay. You're with me. I need to file a flight plan and prep the plane for takeoff. Andrew, take Marie, Elizabeth. and James back to the hotel. We need to check out of our rooms. Elizabeth, do you mind packing Tami's bag and your own?"

"Sure."

"Great. Phil, you're with me as well."

Phil smirked as he looked at his sister. "Someone has to make sure Tami stays inside the plane."

We laughed, even Tami managed a weak smile, then separated to complete our tasks.

An hour later, we were sitting in the plane, waiting for clearance to take off. The whiteness of the cast on Tami's arm told me she had used the supplies in the plane's first aid kit while I did my pre-flight checks.

The lack of pain filtering through our bond was a relief. I don't think I could have flown the plane while distracted by my Mori's reaction to its mate's distress.

By the time we were back in the safe house, the stars were out and pain was creeping through the bond. The first thing I did once we had reached the lounge was retrieve a can of gunna paste. Tami's face scrunched up into a grimace. I couldn't blame her. The original creators subscribed to the theory that the worse it tasted, the better it was for you. I don't know how it works other than that it has something that kills pain faster and more effectively than anything humans have while speeding healing. Tami would eat the paste, even if I had to force feed it to her myself.

But, I didn't think it would come to that. The alternative would leave her injured for weeks and need intensive physiotherapy for her to regain full use of the arm once the bone had healed. Something she didn't have time for.

I didn't have a reason to worry. Despite the grimace, Tami was smart enough to take the gunna paste when I offered the can to her. She gave me a half-smile, exhaustion showing in the way she stood. Elizabeth caught my eyes and smiled. "She's fine. She just needs food and sleep. Using that much magic is exhausting if you're not used to it."

I nodded and studied Tami. The rigidness of her stance answered my question of how she was still standing. It was only through force of will. "Phil. Can you get some food into Tami and put her to bed while I report in? Dieter will need to arrange for a pickup for Kelly."

"Sure thing. Are Andrew and James going to be okay with her?"

I laughed and nodded. "They'll be fine. Elizabeth gave her a sleeping draft. She'll be out for so long that by the time she's awake, she will be on her way to India."