Nolan's Evolution (68 page)

“You need to calm down,” Michael was saying softly.

Nolan glared at him. “Get her out of this room now.”

Raina shook her head,

Nolan growled. “I need this out of my system.” He wanted to shout at her. “Don’t you understand?” He glowered at Thanatos unmoving form.

              “You can’t,” Jonathan broke in now that Raina had the immortals attention. “You will kill him.”

              Nolan sneered. “He will heal.” He raised his arm and dealt another blow, ready to follow with more.

              Jonathan drew Raina back against his chest and murmured one sentence in her ear.

              She gasped and struggled against his hold. He let her go this time. “Nolan stop,” she screamed. She ran at him and she set her body between him and the wounded man. “Stop, please my love.” She set a hand to his chest and pushed gently.

              Nolan groaned and fell back on his backside in exhaustion.

She kept herself between the two.

“Why? Why?” he shouted. “Why can’t I for once act out and get what I want? Why can’t I lash out this one time like he has done so many times? I am hurt! I am angry…and I want to deal with this now.”

              Raina shook her head, turned to look at the broken Thanatos and began to weep.

              Nolan frowned.

              “You can’t.”

              He buried his head in his hands. “He will heal Raina, don’t look at me like I’m a killer.” He looked back up at her. “I just need him to feel it…like I have felt it. This burn in my muscles…this fire every time I thought of his betrayal.” Nolan was close to weeping.

              Raina reached forward and took his hand. It was shaking.

              He pressed her fingers with his own, holding on like a lifeline.

              “Nolan don’t you see?” She tugged so that he moved toward her and closer to the still unmoving Thanatos. She let go of his hand so that she could rip the bottom of Thanatos shirt. She began to try to clean his damaged face. He was swollen and bleeding and it only seemed to get worse. “He is not healing.”

              Shocked silence filled the room at her statement.

              Nolan moved behind her to look over her shoulder. He swallowed hard. “Why is he not healing?”

              Raina looked to Michael and then to Maxim. “He was bringing us our wedding gift Nolan…not to ruin us or steal me away.” She began to weep then. “He said he would show his love in a way I would know…we would know.” She closed her eyes and then turned them to Nolan. “He brought this gift to you…you have nearly killed him.”

              Nolan frowned. “I don’t understand Aelan.”

              “He went to meet Maxim last night…and now I have learned…Michael.”

              Nolan swallowed and looked to his friends with questions. “I still don’t…what does this mean?”

              She took his strong hand with its long usually gentle healing fingers and put Thanatos bruised and tattered hand in it. Immediately the bruised knuckles began to heal.

“Thanatos?” she whispered and she saw his eyes open to her through her tears. “Don’t you see Nolan?” she nearly sobbed.

Nolan looked into his friends face and swallowed hard. He couldn’t seem to get any moisture in his mouth. He swallowed again and shook his head in disbelief. The eyes…those vivid green eyes were now a greenish brown…a hazel. “How?”

Raina smiled “Do you see it?”

Nolan’s breath was pulling through struggling lungs.

She leaned down and kissed Thanatos’ bruised mouth chastely.

Nolan reached down and touched a cut above the eyes he couldn’t look away from. The cut healed cleanly with one sweep of his finger. Nolan trembled, and choked over the words in his throat. When they came out the words were deep and resounding.

“He’s mortal.”