Chapter 21 Sixth day
Dravik's pov
“Fucking witches”.
I hear Jace mutter as we step into the hall.
“It will be so much better if they have a scent or something,” he adds, shaking his head.
The irritation hits me hard and I turn on him before I can stop myself.
“Really? That is what you are worried about right now?”
He presses a hand to his chest as if offended. His hat is tipped back on his ridiculous blonde curls.
“You do not want them disappearing and sneaking up on us. A man needs warning. A little scent will go a long way.”
I stare at him.
“Thank the Goddess you are not the first born. That brain of yours would have killed us all by now.”
Garrick snorts behind me.
“He would lose the whole territory in a day.”
“Heyyyyy,” he drags out the word. “I am useful. I am charming, I kiss babies and calm their mothers. You are lucky to have me.”
Garrick swings his arm, aiming to smack him across the back of the head. He ducks with a grin then shoves him into the wall. They start wrestling like they did when we were pups. Their laughter fills the hall despite the tension around us. I watch them for a heartbeat, knowing I would tear the world apart if anything ever happened to either of them. I hide that thought as soon as it rises. Alpha or not, I have no desire to show softness today.
“Enough,” I cut in. “I need to talk to Brandon.”
“Come on guys,” Jace groans as if we ruined his entertainment, but he follows. Garrick does too.
We head toward my office. My steps hit the floor with steady force. My mind is already on Auren, the way the witch looked at her then bolted out as if she had seen a ghost from her own nightmares.
Something is wrong with that pack.
Something……
I push open the door and see Brandon and Hope bent over a board game with Hope laughing as they argue over what is what. He rises as soon as I come in and comes around the table.
“How did it go? Can she help?”
“She was going to,” Garrick mutters.
Hope turns to him as her brows lift.
“Was?” Her head snaps toward Jace. “Jace, what did you do?”
Jace clutches his chest again and looks offended.
“Me? Why is it always me? What makes you think it is me?”
“Because I know you,” she fires back.
He lifts both arms. “I behaved.”
“He did,” I confirm. “The witch reacted strangely the moment she saw Auren and heard her pack’s name. She was out the door before I could question her.”
Brandon frowns.
“What in the world is that pack hiding? Witches do not flee without reason.”
“They must be hiding something serious because she walked away,” Garrick says. “Without looking back.”
“Are you serious?” Hope asks.
“Yeah.” I run a hand through my hair. “Had Auren been awake when we were gone?”
“Just a few times,” she says, looking at me. “She screamed and I gave her something to knock her out so she would not hurt herself. So what now? Is this a setup? Is her pack trying something?”
“We will figure it out,” Brandon sits down on the chair beside Hope. “We always do.”
I open my mouth to speak when a sharp scream cuts through the floors above us. Auren. Her voice rips down the hall like it is being dragged by claws.
Hope jumps to her feet.
“Shit. It did not work.”
“I will go,” I tell her before she reaches the door.
Her eyes search mine as if checking I am stable enough to handle what waits there, then she steps aside.
I take the stairs two at a time. Her screams grow louder as I reach the floor. They are raw, broken, filled with pain that no one should endure alone. My heart pounds as Shadow stirs inside me, snarling and pushing at my skin.
I burst into the room.
She thrashes across the mattress. Her limbs twist and her body arches. She is wearing one of my shirts now and it rides up her thighs. Her breath comes in gasps and I could feel the heat radiating from her body.
She cries out again, her body trembling so hard the bed frame shakes beneath her.
I move without thinking and wrap myself around her, holding her down gently but firmly so she does not injure herself. Her breath comes against my throat. Her nails dig into the sheets and her heat almost sears my skin.
“Protect her,” Shadow paces in my head.
I keep holding her like that till she quietens. I whisper to her through it , I whisper to myself, I whisper to any force watching, for five days. Five long fucking days……..
Five nights without rest. Five nights listening to the sound of her suffering, as she fights through every second, clawing at whatever curse her mate tied to her blood.
No one else can hold her through these waves. I take the worst of it every time. I take her pain and the fear in her eyes when she wakes between the storms.
She does not know that Shadow howls for her. She does not know I run every morning to keep myself from losing control. She does not know I pace outside our door at night because sleep does not come to me when she is trapped inside her mind.
On the sixth morning the house is suddenly silent when I return from running. No screams.
I break into a run all the way to my room and shove the door open.
She lies naked at the edge of the bed on her stomach, passed out, her limbs limp, her hair tangled around her cheek. Sweat has dried on her skin and her chest rises in a slow, steady rhythm.
“Is it over?” Shadow steps forward in my mind.
“We will not know until she wakes,” I mutter.
I walk to her and lift her without effort. She feels light in my arms…..Too light.
I carry her to the center of the bed and lay her down, lying down beside her. I watch as minutes pass, then her lashes flutter and her fingers twitch. Life returning in small movements.
Her eyes open and she stretches her limbs like someone waking from a long, bruising sleep. She freezes when her hand lands on my chest and her gaze shoots upward, locking with mine.
She moves back fast, then her hands went to her chest and her eyes widened.
“I am naked.”
“You are,” I answered.
A hint of relief slips through me. If she cares about modesty then the worst is over.
She draws her arms across her breasts.
“Can you look away please?”
“You have been naked for days,” I watch as she retreats more and more towards the far end of the bed. “Your body overheated. Hope has to run water on your skin everyday to keep you alive.”
“Please,” she whispers.
Her voice shakes as one hand reaches out, searching for an invisible blanket.
I let out a slow breath. I get up, grab the blanket, toss it toward her and walk towards the Window. She catches it and wraps it around herself like armor.
“Did we…?”
She swallows.
“Did something happen?”
“You were in pain,” my jaw clenches. “And was not in your right mind. I’m not that desperate.”
The words come out rougher than planned. I feel insulted by her assumption. The idea that I would take advantage of a girl on her sick bed makes my blood heat.
“Shadow did not…?”
“No. He was more focused on keeping you alive.”
From the reflection in the window, I see her touch her chest and let out a soft sigh of relief.
“Trust me,” I keep watching her reflection. “If I fucked you……..you would definitely remember.”