The Doyennes' Worldly Convergence

Chapter 8 - Healing Touch

Cole

I placed Harlee on the passenger seat of my car as gently as possible. Her physical pain and exhaustion was obvious, as she fell asleep shortly after I started driving. After the morning she had, you bet I let her rest the entire trip.

She finally opened her pain-filled yet still beautiful hazel eyes as I made the turn up the driveway towards the coven, just in time for her to read the sign that was up to make things appear legitimate.

"Raven Sanitarium? Your brilliant idea was to bring me to a wellness clinic? Don't you think a hospital would have been closer?"

"This is my home ...."

Harlee turned to look at me, her lips forming a faint coy smile, "Well Mr No Name. We haven't even been on a date, and you're already bringing me back to meet your family?"

I couldn't help but smile at her attempt of sarcastic flirting while in pain as I put the car in park and turned off the engine, "It's Cole, and you can't really go back to your home right now, not after what you did. Jennifer's family will be looking for you."

"Who's Jennifer?" Harlee asked as she opened her door and made a slow attempt to get out of the car on her own, making me hurry over to her.

Not really knowing where to touch her without causing her pain, I simply held out my arm for her to hold onto so that I could help pull her up to her feet, "Jennifer is the vampire you dusted, and she comes from a high-end human family. They have a lot of people in their pockets. The Blavelts are a good example."

Harlee stopped walking just as we reached the front door of the large, stone castle, horror and shame written all over her beautiful face, "Andrew and Sally .... I shouldn't have ..... I need to call Dee ..... "

I gently placed my finger under her chin, encouraging her to look me in the eyes, "I was watching through the windows the best that I could. They went into the basement after they locked you in the back room. Listen, don't you dare feel bad for showing them a kinder exit than they deserved, not after what they've done. Do you know how many humans they probably sold to Jennifer? What they were doing was nothing short of human trafficking, they needed to be stopped."

Harlee was quiet and continued to hold onto my arm despite the fact that she turned away to stare blankly at the old wooden door in front of us. I decided to tackle this battle later on, so I opened the door and continued to support Harlee as we made our way into the large entrance room.

"Hello? Mrs Isabella? Mrs Laramie?" my voice echoed down the hallways and up the stairs that were to the left and right. Not really the most professional way to get the attention of the new doyennes of our kind, but I was hoping that if they saw Harlee at her worse they wouldn't be so quick to judge the situation, especially since I was still in hot water after my last stunt.

Damian quickly walked out of his office from the hallway towards our left to see what was going on, "Cole, what the .... who is this? She's not on the list ..... "

"This is Harlynn Danovich ......"

Harlee looked up at me, her cute nose wrinkled in confusion. "How do you know my name? I never told you ..... What level of stalker are you?"

"Before we get caught up in the hundred plus reasons why Cole is a creep, I'm Damian Kavanagh-Reynolds, basically one of the security guards for the covvvvv .. itarium," Damian tried to correct himself, which he didn't know wasn't necessary.

"I prefer to be called Harlee. Also, I know that this is a coven for vampires. I might be a human, but I know a thing or two about the supernatural," Harlee said as she attempted to reach out to shake Damian's hand, but quickly sucked in a sharp breath of air and held her right side instead.

Damian must have mind linked Aiden, as the young werewolf quickly ran down the set of stairs that was located to our right. He stood politely in front of us, waiting for his instructions. The kid really has come a long way in the short amount of time that he's been here.

Damian smiled softly at Harlee, "Mrs Danovich, this is Aiden Sangoma. Aiden, can you please help Mrs Danovich to the doctor so that she can get checked over?"

"Yes, Sir," Aiden answered as he offered his arm to Harlee.

Harlee hesitated, giving my arm a squeeze instead, "It's Miss."

Both Damian and Aiden gave her a confused look, but I knew exactly where she was going with her comment, even before the affectionate squeeze she gave my arm that made me want to sink my teeth into her and turn her in front of them.

"Last I checked I was single, so that would be Miss Danovich," Harlee let out a long breath before letting go of my arm and taking hold of Aiden's.

I swallowed the jealousy I had from seeing Harlee holding onto Aiden as he helped her down the same hallway as Damian's office. That should be me with her, not him.

Jay happened to walk past them, and turned around to do a double take as they passed each other, giving the stranger a questioning glance.

"Who's the new human?" he asked as he approached Damian and me.

Damian looked at me with his typical smug expression, "I guess her name is Miss Harlynn Danovich, and she prefers to be called Harlee. Isn't that right, Cole?"

I rolled my eyes at his attempt to ruffle my feathers and embarrass me, "She's one of the two women who felt the need to interfere when I was, uh, talking to Allen Anderson."

"Book and stun gun, or pepper spray?" Jay asked as he calmly crossed his arms over his chest.

I rubbed the side of my head, reminiscing about the moment that I fell for Miss Harlee Danovich.

"Book," Jay and Damian said in unison as they nodded their heads.

"So, why is she here? What are we missing?" Damian asked, as both he and Jay kept their eyes on me.

I ran my hand over my mouth a couple of times before I answered them, "She burned down the Blavelt Funeral Home after she killed Jennifer Harris with a juniper stake ...."

"WHAT!" Damian blurted out so deeply that I honestly couldn't tell if it was him, his wolf, or both.

Jay did a wonderful job at keeping his usual stoic expression, "How does she even know enough facts about vampires to do that?"

I shook my head, not caring about explaining how she knew, "I'm more concerned about ..."

"What's all the ruckus about? Who are you guys talking about?" Sophia interrupted me as she made her way down the stairway from the left.

I closed my eyes and sighed, not wanting to deal with my sister right now.

Damian completely ignored Sophia, "Jay, get a hold of Mia, will you? Izzy's already going to be in a bad mood since Lian and Mia dragged her out of here for a girls' day out. I really don't feel like being the one who makes her day worse."

Jay knowingly nodded his head before walking off.

"Sh.it ..... " Harlee's whisper got our attention, and we turned see her with a frustrated look on her face, still holding onto Aiden's arm with a paper bag in her hand.

Sophia let out an annoying scoff before glaring at Harlee, "Is THAT who you guys were talking about?! She's seriously not staying here, is she?!?"

"Don't look at me like that, Sophia. The feeling is completely mutual. I forgot the fact that you're his sister. I'll just call myself a cab ...."

"NO!" Damian and I both loudly interrupted Harlee, making her, Aiden, and Sophia stare at us with questioning eyes.

"Miss Danovich is staying here while we figure things out, and there will be zero issues. Do you understand me, Sophia?" Damian may have just been the Delta of his old pack, and he is typically a sarcastic smart ass, but we've all learned he's not one that you want to piss off.

"You've got to be kidding me ...." Sophia mumbled under her breath, but not as quietly as she should have.

"It brings me so much pleasure to say that I am, in fact, not kidding. So zip your blood sucker. Understood?" Damian smiled at Sophia, daring her to say another word.

After a few seconds, Sophia rolled her eyes and scoffed before going back upstairs to her room, her high heels loudly clacking on each wooden step.

"I swear the Moon Goddess hates me, because she keeps surrounding me with these crazy stubborn ass women, " Damian turned his attention back onto Harlee, "Well, what did the doc say?"

Harlee

The castle was breathtaking, being completely remodeled on the inside to look like an upscale hotel without taking away from what the building actually was.

I was surprised that they had a doctor on hand, but I had a strong suspicion he wasn't just here to keep the vampires healthy. Either way, the man had a sense of humor.

"Dr Merkel said that it's about time you sent him a human that didn't have too much blood taken from them, so you're finally doing your job right ....."

Damian sighed in irritation, and I had to fight back the urge to laugh.

"He said that I have a lot of bruising, including multiple ribs, and that I'm lucky nothing's broken. I guess that I should probably go without a bra for a while ..... Oh! He gave me some muscle relaxers and gel for the bruises. Hopefully, the drugs will make moving around and resting a little easier to do. I guess it's a good thing that I have a little more cushion for the pushin', huh?"

I could feel the sudden tension in Aiden's arm, and a part of me almost felt bad for making the cute kid uncomfortable. He seems so kind and respectful. I'm sure the girls all swoon over him with his honey-colored eyes and coffee-colored skin.

The other man, Damian, let out an amused snort. He was shorter than the others that I'd seen, but he was still well-built and not exactly ugly, with black hair, blue eyes, and a fair complexion.

"On that note, why don't I show you to your room?" Cole asked as he walked up to me and offered his arm in place of Aiden's, which I took a little quicker than I had intended.

"Nice meeting you, Miss Danovich," Aiden said with a smile as he nodded his head and quickly went back upstairs.

"We'll all talk after you've, uh, rested a bit," Damian winked before he returned to the room that he had come out of, leaving Cole and me alone. I could already tell he was the king of sarcasm around here.

"Please tell me my room isn't up those awful stairs," I mumbled as I watched Aiden walk up the staircase to our right.

"Well, those doors straight ahead are elevators, but typically only guests use them. And no, my room is downstairs, down the hallway to our right. I didn't want my room around any of the ..... "

"I didn't ask where your ...... oh!" my eyes widened while I covered my mouth with my free hand, feeling a little stupid for not realizing what Cole was implying before I opened my mouth.

"It's not like that. I just, I don't know. I want to keep an eye on you while you're here. You're hurt, and you and my sister clearly don't get along. You just don't need any grief from her right now," Cole started walking us down the hallway, and the funny thing? I didn't even hesitate to follow his lead.

"It's just work drama between her and I. She was the stuck-up co-worker that happened to be screwing the boss and placed on a pedestal ...."

Cole's chuckle interrupted me.

"What's so funny?"

"She was drinking that douche bag's blood for money outside the coven's safety regulations ....."

It all made sense now! "So that's what this place is? People come here and pay you to be bitten, almost like a brothel? Right?"

Cole's sudden uneasy silence told me it was something that he didn't really want to discuss with me right now. "At least people come here willingly. If you took them against their will, I'd probably have to stake you and burn the place to the ground ..."

Cole smiled as he looked down at me, "Oh, you have jokes?"

"If you only knew. So, who was the handsome Native American that Aiden and I passed in the hallway?"

"That was Jaycee Ditlihi. He's Mrs Laramie's mate and a guard here. Damian is Mrs Isabella's mate. Mia and Izzy are not only the leaders of this coven, but they're also the doyennes of our kind. They come from very old bloodlines that put them above anyone else. They're still trying to figure out what it all means and gain respect from the other covens. It's a slow process .... "

"And you?" I couldn't help but be curious about Cole's past.

"And I am right here ...." Cole dodged the question as he stopped in front of an antique wooden door to unlock it.

I walked in as soon as he pushed the door open and turned on the lights, handed him the paper bag, and kicked off my slip on shoes as I made my way towards his bed.

"What are you doing?" Cole asked as he shut his door while I unbuttoned my shirt.

"At first I couldn't decide if our first time should be the bed, or the shower. But since I saw the bed first ......"

"You .... you can't be serious right now ...."

"Shut up and open the bag ....." as soon as the words left my mouth my eyes widened, knowing exactly what Cole was going to see first.

I heard the paper bag open, and turned around to see Cole holding my very expensive 40-I bra, "Sh.it, I forgot that was in there ...."

Cole raised a brow as he held the garment up in the air, "Uh, huh. Sure you did."

I rolled my eyes and shook my head, "Just shut up and get the arnica gel, will you?"

Turning back towards the bed, I continued fighting with the buttons on my shirt as Cole placed the bag, and my bra, on his night stand before handing me the tube that the doctor gave me.

"That's your job," I informed him, finally managing to get the last painful button undone, remembering why I usually just pulled the damn shirt over my head.

"Excuse me?"

I sighed as I turned my back towards him, unsure of how he was going to handle what I was about to say, "Look, Cole, you're all that I have right now. I can't exactly do this part on my own ...."

Without waiting for a response, I let my shirt fall off of my shoulders and land on the floor.

Cole sucked in a breath of air as soon as my back became visible, his hands ever so lightly touching my skin where I knew the bruises were. "What the f***k did she do to you?" he whispered.

"That scrawny bi.tch threw me around like I was nothing more than a rag doll before you showed up," I answered as I stood still, enjoying his touch on my skin that probably looked like a multicolored ink blot test.

"Lay down," Cole quietly instructed, to which I was more than happy to oblige.

I took off my now slightly twisted glasses before I carefully crawled onto his bed, closing my eyes as soon as my head touched his pillow and inhaling the faint scent of a man I didn't even know.

The bed dipped down to my left, and I didn't even care that part of my breast was completely exposed, especially when the cool arnica gel made contact with my bruises and Cole's fingertips gently rubbed it in.

My entire body hurt, and for the time since it happened, I allowed myself to stop being strong. Jagged, painful breaths escaped my mouth as tears of pain threatened to escape.

"Harlee, I'm so sorry, I should have .... I can take this away, you know. I can make it so that you don't feel the pain anymore ......."

"Never," I whispered loud enough for him to hear. I knew exactly what he was insinuating, and that's something I didn't want ....

"Then I'll just have to take your pain away by other means," his voice was soft, yet deep. Kind and caring, yet strong.

I didn't question Cole's motives as I felt his fingers slip into the waistband of my leggings and slowly pull them off of my body. I also didn't think about the fact that I was wearing a thong underneath them until Cole cleared his throat.

"You, uh .... you've got some nice .... um ..... b .... bruising on your upper leg and hip as well," Cole stammered as I felt the cool gel touch my right hip, followed by his hand.

I couldn't help but smile as his hands continued to work their magic over my body. As a mixture of arnica gel, massage oil, and his touch took away my pain, sleep took away my mental and physical exhaustion.