Stay For Me

Chapter 8

DECLAN

Declan woke in the infirmary, shooting up as if the bed was on fire. "Ranielle?!" Janice, Nik, and Mattias all jumped back, then gathered around him again.

"She's dead, son." Mattias said with tears pooling in his eyes.

"No, no, no, she can't be!" Declan ripped the IV's out of his arm, yanked his clothes on and ran out into the garden with the three following closely behind him.

He skidded to a stop, causing the others to collide with him. The diamond tomb was crumbled and dust littered the ground. Declan bolted to the large pedestal, searching with urgency for her.

He inhaled sharply. There was her body, laying on the ground, softly curled around a large diamond rock.

"Rani?" He whispered, quietly making his way to her. Her red hair glinted in the light of dusk. "Rani, baby?"

He gently rolled her into his arms. He smoothed her hair back from her face, and then he noticed something.

On her neck, there was a small tattoo. A tiny symbol, celtic for water, bathed in red, surrounded by the outline of teeth marks.

"My mark..." He whispered incredulously. He leaned down and gently kissed it.

A spark jumped from his lips to her neck. He jerked back.

RANIELLE

She inhaled sharply. The first thing she noticed was she was was breathing. Her stomach didn't pulse and her neck tingled. She let her eyes flutter open. Soft eyes stared into her own violet ones. "Declan?"

"Ranielle......" He held her tightly, clinging to her like his life depended on it.

"Declan!" She whispered. He nodded into her neck. He scooped her up and carried her over the debris.

Mattias stared wide-eyed at the girl in his son's arms. "Is that...."

"Hi Councilman Mattias. I'm Ranielle Masters." She quietly said whilst burying her face into her mate's neck.

Declan gently rubbed his thumb across her back. "Come on, Rani, let's get you cleaned up."

DECLAN

He let her down softly onto the floor of his bedroom. His eyes roamed over her, taking in every inch of her frame.

Ranielle blushed and looked away. *It's so wonderful to have mate back.* Colton sighed contentedly. Declan responded, *Yes, it is. She's so beautiful when she blushes and laughs and cries and smiles and gets mad and-*

*I get the point, lover. She needs to mark us. I want to be in that beautiful head at all times.* Colton growled.

Declan warned his wolf to stay under control. "Rani?" He whispered quietly. She turned, and her body was wreathed in sunlight from the window.

"Declan..." Her warm, sweet voice filled his heart. He couldn't hold back any longer. He rushed to her, caught her up in his arms.

He buried his face by her mark, breathing in the sweet smell of blackberries and vanilla. He wished he could make this moment last forever, but it ended abruptly.

Ranielle screamed, gripping her temples and ripping her body away from him. She crashed to the floor, her screams filling the room. Janice, Matt, and Mattias broke the door down. Ranielle began convulsing on the floor, her body thrashing around like a fish out of water.

"RANIELLE!" Declan grabbed her shoulders. Slowly, her body slowed, and she opened her eyes.

"Who are you?!" She shrieked and scrambled away from him. His heart began hurting so horribly bad.

"Rani, it's me, it's Declan, your mate, remember me?" He whispered in fear. She slid backwards as she tried tp get away from him.

Colton howled. *Mate doesn't remember us!*

Declan could feel her slipping away. Her hair moved, and he caught a glimpse of the mark on her neck. "The mark...,. My mark......." He took a deep breath and moved towards her, trying not to spook her again. "Let me help, Rani. Let me help."

She looked at him warily, then nodded hesitantly. Declan gently tugged her hair away from her neck and looked again into her terrified eyes. "It's okay."

He pressed his lips to the spot, then took a step backwards and gazed at her worriedly. She blinked a few times then looked around, whispering, "I don't know where I am."

Declan's stomach tied itself into knots. Where had his beautiful Rani's mind gone?

Mattias gently stepped in front of his son. "Ranielle, my dear, welcome."

She curtsied gracefully. "Your High Councilness." She kept her head bowed in front of her.

Declan felt crushed. His mate knew his father, but did not know him. He turned and strode away from her, feeling more hopeless than he ever had.

RANIELLE

She couldn't place it. Why was the man walking away so familiar? She curtsied again to the councilman, and ran off after the man who was so handsome and charming.

She got lost in the maze of shrubbery. She made her ears strain for the faintest noise, but it was growing dark faster and faster and she had no way to find her way out. Then, out of the twilight came a glowing light. "The house..." She whispered and ran towards it with all her might.

She slid to a stop outside the house. Her chest began to ache, a fire burning inside her chest that spread up her sternum and into her arms and neck.

*Declan....our mate....Declan....*  A girl's voice, steely cold, was whispering in her mind. The pain got worse, hurting more and more.

"Declan!" Ranielle began to gather fragments of her memories, bits and pieces of things she knew.

"GAHHHHH!" She screamed in pain. The mark on her neck was searing hot. She dug her nails into her skin.

"Mate is cheating on me....." was her last thought before she blacked out.

DECLAN

Declan stormed, depressed and alone, into the house. "Declan, is that you, baby?" Mariah called sweetly.

"What do you want?!" He asked, infuriated. Mariah said nothing, simply stalked over to him and kissed him.

It was a moment of weakness, and Declan was feeling vulnerable. He began kissing her back, grabbing her sides, her cheeks, her hair, whatever he could touch.

"Come to bed, my love," Mariah whispered in his ear, leading him off, giggling, and Declan followed.