I make slow movements toward her, keeping low to the ground, and embarrassingly, my tail is between my legs with fear that she’ll yell and send me away. Those last words we shared were heated, and didn’t leave me in a position to feel like she would forget them soon. I crawl up between her and Klaus and try not to attract her full attention.
There must be something on her mind that has her fully distracted, because she barely pauses before placing her other hand on my head. A zing travels through my body, and happiness follows the sensation until I’m left with the desire to roll my eyes back and stick my tongue out while thumping my tail.
Without thinking, I place my muzzle on her thigh and she starts to play with my ears. By the Fates, does that feel amazing. The moment she stops the pets, I can’t help but bump her hand to get her to start again. It’s like a high I constantly need to chase, never wanting to be left with the feeling of its absence again.
My headbutt to her hand causes her to gaze down at me, and her body stiffens with recognition immediately. Shit, I went too far with seeking her touch. I let out a low whine, worried this is the moment she’ll tell me to get away from her. My canine instincts are in full effect tonight, because my eyes are begging her not to reject me.
Holding my breath, I wait to see what her reaction is going to be. In every aspect of my life, I’m an Alpha. But in thismoment, I want her to know she’s our pack leader. This revelation doesn’t surprise me when it pops in my mind... I just know it’s true. She’s more Alpha than any of us. I roll onto my back, exposing my stomach and neck to her.
Surprise flashes across the blue depths of her eyes, and my actions seem to make up her mind. She places her hand on my chest and runs her fingers through my fur while her eyes study mine like she’s trying to discern my intentions.
She lets out a sigh after a few moments and gazes back at the fire. Just before her eyes leave mine, I catch a glimpse of extreme pain reflected back to me. I feel a clutch in my chest like she thinks I’m the one who caused her the pain.
I roll back onto my stomach, and place my head on her leg once again, wanting to be as close as possible to her while she’s willing to let me. She keeps her hand on me, and I couldn’t be more grateful to her. I needed this. Her touch has soothed out my frayed emotions that have been in a frenzy since the moment they were turned back on.
I’m not sure how long I’ve been basking in the joy of her touch, but when she yawns, Klaus speaks up, “Marcus set up the tent just for you, Sunshine. Why don’t you get some rest? We’ll guard you while you sleep.” He gives her an adoring smile, trying to make sure she feels taken care of. Klaus may come off as nonchalant most of the time, but he’s constantly the one making sure everyone’s needs are covered.
She nods her head and stands up. After glancing at the tent, she turns around and holds a hand out to Derrick. Her eyes are so expressive she doesn’t need to use her words most of the time, even though we all want to hear them. Right now, she’s saying she desperately doesn’t want to be left alone, even if it’s just a tent wall between her and everyone else.
Derrick takes her offered hand without a word, and who could blame him? None of us would be able to say no to her. He glances back at us, gaging our reaction as he follows her.“Take care of her, brother,”I send to him, knowing he needs the reassurance we’re okay with him sleeping in her tent.
Alex pipes in with his own statement,“Just make sure you keep things PG.”I can’t say I don’t agree with his statement.
Chapter 8
Marcellus
Five Hundred Years Ago
It’s been five days, and Cecily still hasn’t woken up. I’ve concluded that her magic has her in some suspended state. She hasn’t eaten or had anything to drink, and yet she’s still alive. I’ve tried everything I can think of to get her to wake up, and nothing works. I’m consumed with fear she’ll never wake up. That I’ll never be able to tell her what truly happened the other night.
I’ve spent every available moment I can spare with Cecily working on a way to wake her up. Every moment possible to just be with her. I don’t know what to do, I’m totally and completely helpless right now. Each moment I spend being unable to help her, makes me feel panicked that I’m losing precious time I can’t afford to waste.
I tried to find a way to send a message to her parents, but I have no idea how to send a letter to them. I don’t know where their castle is located; I have no idea where any of the shifter packs are that she mentioned; I don’t even know where my own parents live that she’s adamant are alive. The one thing I do know is that I can’t trust anyone around here to help me.
Knowledge is something I’m severely lacking. I’ve been crippled my entire life because Silas withheld vital information as to who I am. And now I’m wholly alone in the world, with the woman I love teetering on the cusp of death, and it’s all my fault for trusting someone who I thought had my best interests at heart.
I need to get rid of some of this pent-up energy flowing through me. Standing up, I pace around the cave-like room I formed into the side of the mountain. So far it seems like Cecily has been protected here. Silas has been distracted by preparations to attack the royal family, and hasn’t asked about her since I told him I burned her body.
I’m supposed to leave with Silas and our troops in the morning to march against the family of the one person I care about most in the world. I peer down at her and feel overwhelmed by the dread consuming me with the thought of being so far away from her. My pacing brings me to the wall in front of me, and rage sends my fist slamming into it.I’m such a helpless weakling.
My knuckles split, and drops of blood instantly well up on the surface of my skin. I stare down at what I did to myself. I wish I could say punching the wall made me feel better, but it didn’t. Now my hand is experiencing a fraction of the pain tearing at my heart.
There has to be something I can do! My life was finally getting to a place where I could see happiness in my future. Now all that lies before me is a bleak void of nothingness until Cecily wakes up. If she ever wakes up, that is. Why is this happening? What did I do for Karma to decide such a fate for me?
My pacing brings me back to Cecily, and I sit on the rock ledge beside her. I smear the blood from my knuckles onto my pants to make sure I don’t get any of it on her. Once I knew she was safe here, I got her all cleaned up and into a new dress, unblemished with blood. I stretch out next to her on the ledge, and pull her into my arms, making sure her head rests comfortably on my chest. Something I wish we had been able to do before everything got all messed up.
I stroke my hand through her hair. “I love you, my Darling. I don’t know if you can hear me or not, but I need some help on what to do. I can’t tell you how many times I wished I had asked you to start training me on how to use my magic in the last several days. Maybe then I would know what I could do to help you. I’m so sorry, my love. The Fates gave you a failure of a mate. You deserve so much more than me.”
My lips tingle with the need to kiss her. I tilt her head back toward my face and place a soft kiss on her forehead. I really don’t want to leave her here over the next few days. I’m not sure how long it’ll take before I’m able to come back. I hold her close to me, trying to take as much selfish comfort as I can. My greatest hope is that she wakes up at any moment, even if it happens while I’m gone.
If she wakes up and chooses to leave me behind, it would still mean she’s conscious, giving me a chance of making things right between us. I’ll hunt her down to the edges of the world to make things right. I’ll never give up my quest, no matter what happens.
I close my eyes to quiet my mind enough to get some sleep. I need to wake up early in the morning to get back to the castle before Silas realizes my absence, but it’s worth it to hold her close for a few moments.
The slight buzz under my skin when I touch her is in full force. It’s slightly different from how it’s felt in the past, but I still find it comforting. That feeling is what I concentrate on in order to quiet my thoughts as I play with her hair until I drift off into sleep.
∞∞∞
