Chapter 16 Fucking blood tie
Dravik's pov
“Did anyone know about this?” My voice comes out carrying that edge of irritation.
Auren is sleeping now, her breathing shallow as she lies on the bed. Hope has stitched her up and pumped her full of drugs, yet she still looks like she fought a war alone. Shadow paces inside my mind like a caged storm.
“Someone’s head is going to roll for this”. His voice rumbles through me, sharp as broken glass.
“Not now,” I warn him in my head, though my jaw tightens because he is right.
Someone is responsible for this and the person's head will roll.
Brandon stands near the wall, his arms folded, watching me as if waiting for me to explode.
“I don’t think so,” he answers, calm as always. “If she was mated back in Silver Veil, she wouldn’t have left so easily.”
“She didn’t exactly walk out smiling,” I snap. “She practically collapsed on the damn floor.”
Brandon shrugs. “You said that was from starvation… illness… fear.”
“I was obviously wrong.” The words scrape my throat. I hate admitting it.
He pushes off the wall and steps closer, studying my face. “Maybe her mate was near.”
I turn toward Hope. She avoids my eyes like a child hiding behind her mother’s skirt. She knows something.
“Why is it always her all the time,” Shadow growls.
I know he wants to have a fight with Hope's wolf snow.
“Hope,” I growl. “Spit it out.”
She jumps.
“Don’t look at me like that, I don’t know anything,” she blurts out, her hands up.
“Hope.” My voice hardens. “I almost killed her by kissing her. Whatever you know, you’re going to tell me.”
“Alright, alright.” She rubs her forehead. “You don’t have to go all Alpha on me, okay? She had a mate. That’s all I know. He rejected her.”
Shadow goes silent for a breath, and that is worse than when he roars.
“You’re certain?”.
“That’s what she told me. I didn’t dig deeper because I got caught up talking about my own rejection by Shawn, okay? You know how I get when I talk about him.”
I grit my teeth. She is right. When she talks about Shawn, her mouth runs faster than her brain.
“Did she accept the rejection?” I press.
Hope stares at me like I’m speaking another language. “Did she what?”
“Did she accept it? Rejections are only final if both wolves say the words.”
Hope frowns. “I didn’t ask that. What kind of person doesn’t accept a rejection? That’s… that’s the whole point.”
“Hope.”
“Come on, Dravik,” Brandon mutters, stepping between us a little. “She’s telling the truth.” He glances at Auren, lying so still. “What I’m more interested in is how she even knew she had a mate. You said she was bound, right?”
I freeze for half a beat. I had been so focused on the blood tie I had thrown the rest aside. Stupid.
“She shouldn’t have been able to feel him,” Brandon continues. “So how did she know?”
“I don’t know,” I admit. “Nothing about this adds up.”
I go back to her bedside, lowering myself into the chair with the weight of too many questions. Her skin is warm again and her cheeks have color instead of that pale hollow look she came with.
Her lips are no longer cracked and her breathing isn’t ragged anymore. It almost feels like she is coming back to life in front of me.
Hope slips in and out of the room every few minutes, checking her vitals. Every time she enters, she murmurs another apology for not telling me about her mate, she didn’t know it was important.
I wave her off. I don’t need her guilt right now, what I is need answers.
Midnight bleeds into one in the morning before Auren finally stirs. Her eyelids flutter and she groans softly. When her eyes open, she tries to sit up, sees me and freezes.
“I’m sorry,” she whispers.
The sound of her voice pulls something in my chest tight. I reach for her hand before I register the movement.
“What are you sorry for?” I ask.
My fingers close around hers without effort, without thought. I haven’t touched anyone willingly in years.
“I… I caused trouble,” she stammers. Her gaze darts around the room, searching for escape like a cornered animal. “I didn’t mean—ow—”
She folds forward, clutching her stomach.
I’m already out of the chair, reaching her before the pain pulls another sound from her throat.
“Easy,” I murmur. “Lie back.”
She tries, trembling. I guide her down with one hand on her shoulder. The other brushes her hair aside so I can see her face better.
“Hope stitched you up,” I explain. “You need to keep pressure on it until you’re healed. It will take a bit of time.”
She blinks fast, holding back tears she clearly doesn’t want me to see. “Am I in trouble?”
“For what?” My voice softens without my permission. “Why would you be in trouble?”
She swallows hard. “I don’t know.”
That alone tells me too much.
I sit beside her again, still not letting go of her hand. “Why didn’t you tell me?” I ask.
“The pain came on too fast. I tried—”
“Not that.” I shake my head. “About having a mate. Why didn’t you tell me?”
“He rejected me,” she whispers.
Shadow’s snarl rips through my skull so violently my vision sharpens. The idea of someone rejecting her burns through me like a blade pulled from fire.
“Did you accept the rejection?” I ask.
She looks confused. “Accept… how?”
“Vocally,” I explain. “When he said the words, did you say them back to him? Did you tell him you accepted the rejection?”
Her eyes widen as if she doesn’t know what I’m talking about. She didn't speak or breathe. She didn’t even blink. She clearly doesn't know what I'm talking about.
If she didn't accept the rejection that means she is still partly mated to whoever the bastard is.
Shit.