Chapter Forty-Seven Hers

Neal watched me for a few more moments before turning his head and speaking. His words sounded warped, and my body felt like lead. Everything swirled, and I gagged. My eyes closed on their own, and I listened to the conversations around me. Neal's voice came through in a tortured tone, "Fuck, Alpha, these scars are worse than Caitlín's."

Next was Louise's motherly voice, "Alpha, can you lift her into the ice?"

"She says it burns when I touch her," Ollie said in a shaky voice which caused Ms. Cordeau to tsk at him.

"Of course, it burns you, stupid boy. You are her fated mate. Your strength is calling to hers. Now pick her up and get on the ice with her."

I felt Ollie's searing touch as he lifted me bridal style. I dug my fingernails into his skin to alleviate the fluctuating pain. I snarled, "Please, leave me be."

Ollie's eyes turned directly toward me, "I can't."

I glared at him, trying to push away, "You sound like Dr. Cunningham! Next, you will tell me it's for my own good!"

The venom in my voice causes a flash of hurt in Ollie's expression but is replaced with a stubbornness I've never seen before. I sensed his body adjust me as he stepped over something and we sunk into freezing water. I screamed as the pain was unbearable. The ice froze my skin, but the raging inferno in my chest steamed around me. I flailed and gripped the tub's edges, my eyes wide open now.

I used all my strength to pull away from Ollie. He adjusts his grip, and I try to throw an elbow to his nose, screaming, "Let me go! You can't do this!! You are just like them! All of you!"

I jerk my body to get out of the frigid liquid. Ollie grabbed my hands, ripping them from the metal siding, wrapped both arms around my torso, and held my arms to my chest. He whispered something in my ear as he bound his legs over mine to keep me shoulder-deep in the icy water.

"More ice!" Ms Cordeau called out next to the tub. Her face was full of concern, and I found myself begging her to make Ollie let me go. The water began biting at each cell of my skin, and my internal organs felt like a glacial frost had crept along and engulfed them.

A clinking of ice pouring into the tub had my gaze slicing to the culprit holding the bucket. "Finn! Finn! Please stop them! It's going to kill me!" I sobbed, fighting Ollie's grip. Finn was frozen in place—his mouth opening and closing like a fish fresh out of water. I bit into Ollie's forearm to get him to release me.

Ms Cordeau shoved a horrified Finn and commanded, "More Ice!"

Ollie's voice finally reached my burning ear as they cooled under the ice, "Goddess, please calm down. We just have to cool you down. I promise I'll let you go as soon as I can. I'm so sorry you are going through this. Please, baby, you are safe with me. I won't let anything happen. I will keep you safe. I love you. Anam Cara, I love you. Nyx, please stop fighting me."

I realized then that I was fighting Ollie's hold on me, tearing at his skin where I could—kicking and thrusting my body against his. The bite on his arm was bleeding slightly. The searing heat I felt from his touch earlier had become warm, comforting, and like a beacon for my soul. Flashes of light burst before my closed eyelids as he kept repeating himself. My panting and gasping breath began to settle as it mimicked his breathing pattern. "That's it, Nyx. Breathe with me."

My body sunk into his, relaxing with each breath we took. Ollie felt like the same quiet peace as the darkness, and I held onto that feeling like it was my lifeline. My heart still burned with every beat, and it felt like lava spewing into my veins. I instinctively knew what I needed. A small voice from the depth of my delirious state commanded, "It's time to wake up."

Ollie loosened his grip on me enough that I was able to raise my arm and grip the back of his head, lowering it to the nook of my neck where his mark was. A part of me didn't understand what was happening, but a more decisive part knew that I would not survive this if I didn't share this power. Without a word, Ollie sunk his teeth into his mark, and I felt all the overwhelming heat painfully burst from my heart and surge through the mark into Ollie. I saw Neal right next to us now. His hand gripped my shoulder while the other tried to pry Ollie from me. A deep, primally powerful growl echoed from Ollie into me and burst from both of us. Neal fell back like he was shot, his eyes wide.

All the molten lava I felt throughout my body slowly seeped from my pores into the water and through Ollie's mark. My eyes burned with salty tears momentarily before I felt Ollie release my shoulder, his body hot against my frozen back. Ollie's hand wrapped around my forehead as his head slumped against the tub edge. Before I lost consciousness, I felt more than heard Ollie whisper, "Fuck, that was so much power."

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I awoke later in the night to Ollie watching me. I slowly looked over his serious expression, enjoying how his eyes roamed over every inch of me. His fingertips draw circles around the star-shaped scar on my hip. Ollie's face split into a tender smile. I felt my heart skip a beat or two when he placed his entire hand over the scar on my hip. My breath hitched when his hand moved up my side, his thumb tracing back and forth over each part of my skin until he cupped my shoulder. His eyes flicked to mine, and I felt my stomach somersault at the intense emotion his face held. My heart beat rapidly as if screaming to tell me that look was love. But my broken brain could not believe that this incredible person loved me. I bit my lip to reign in my emotions, but Ollie moved his hand so it cupped my face. He gently traced my cheekbones with his fingertips and huskily said, "Hey."

I blinked back tears as I asked in a barely audible voice, "What are you doing?"

"Trying to memorize every inch of you"

"Seriously, Ollie? You are so cheesy sometimes." I rolled my eyes and shifted to my back. I groaned as every muscle in my body was sore and stiff. Memories of earlier flooded me, and I tried to figure out how I got back to the bed. I looked down to see I was still naked. My hand snagged on something, and I noticed an IV line taped to the back of my hand, but nothing was attached to it.

Ollie shifted so his head lay in his bent palm, and his elbow dug into the pillow. "Tally stopped by a few hours ago. Your fever broke; however, you were dehydrated. She will be back soon to check in."

The things I said to Ollie surfaced in my mind. I felt my cheeks burn with shame, and I looked away from his face, barely managing to whisper, "I'm so sorry."

"You have nothing to apologize for. I'm sure this brought up a lot of bad memories, and I wish I could take those away for you." His mouth softens into something too sad to be considered a smile.

I blinked back my tears, "I just hate being a burden to you."

A knowing smile graced his lips, "Anam Cara, you are a dream to me."

I froze and eyed him suspiciously, "What do you mean?"

His expression became shy, "I know you think at some point I'm going to see something in you that will drive me away, but you don't even know how much I love you. Nyx, you are the reason for every breath I take."

I felt a tear roll down my cheek, and trying to find a distraction to compose myself, I asked, "What does Anam Cara mean? You've said that to me since we first met."

Ollie stared at me, the love in his eyes never faltering, "My heart."