Chapter 83 Appeasing my mate

Chapter 83 Appeasing my mate
Dravik’s pov
I step into the hospital, not bothering to go wash away the blood on me first.
I had left Hope and some guards to keep watch over Auren, in case she shifts, forcing myself to handle the treason and Cassy’s wild claims before returning to my mate’s side. Hope marches over to me with her arms crossed over her chest. 
"Brandon told me what happened," she whispers hurriedly, her dark eyes darting around. "Are you alright? Dammit, Dravik, how could Damien be that stupid. And I knew Cassy was a snake, but I didn't know she was that…..” She searches for the word. “Snaky.”
The side of my lips lift despite what is going on. That’s what she could come up with?
“That scheming, manipulative shit,” she continues. “I have always hated the way she kept Garrick wrapped around her little finger. Not normal."
My gaze shifts past her, locking onto my mate, who sits silently in the corner of the waiting room with her legs tucked underneath her. She is staring at an open picture book in her lap, her fingers on the paper without turning a page. 
She raises her head, her eyes locking onto mine. 
Shit!
I can still feel her jealousy even though she’s trying very hard to push it down. 
"There was no sign of her shifting while you were gone," Hope murmurs, tracking my line of sight. "I watched her like a hawk.” I nod. “So what are you going to do about the boy, Dravik?" 
"I'm not sure yet," I step around her and head toward my mate, but Hope’s hand shoots out to catch my forearm, forcing me to halt. She looks me dead in the eye. "I hope you know what you're doing, Dravik. Don't you dare let her ruin this.”
I pull away and cross the remaining space to Auren, dragging a chair to sit down in front of her. She doesn't say a word, refusing to acknowledge my presence as she stares down at her lap, her thoughts a chaotic storm of self-doubt as she mentally berates herself for feeling what she’s feeling.
"You've never felt jealousy before." I say softly. "It feels strange, doesn't it? Having this urge to attack another person?"
She snaps the picture book shut with a sharp thud, her eyes flashing up to meet mine. "Why….why do I feel like that?" she asks, her voice trembling slightly under the weight of her confusion. 
"Because of this," I murmur, pointing to the mark on her neck. “It will make you feel a lot of things that you have likely never experienced before. I assume Hope explained to you what happened between me and Cassy?”
She lowers her gaze back to her hands, her shoulders slumping slightly as she swallows. "She told... told me a lot.”
I take her hands into mine, leaning closer. "Then you know I didn't kiss her back, Auren. I threw her off me, and I’m never going to allow that happen again."
She bites her lower lip. "She's... she is very pretty. 
She's so furious Shadow says.
"She's not as pretty as you. Not even close.”
She shakes her head, pulling her hands away. She doesn’t believe me. “Is she going to leave like she did before?" 
“No, she isn't leaving, especially now that I have absorbed her pack into ours. She will likely have to reside here permanently.”
Her eyes narrow slightly, a fresh spike of irritation moving through her, but I take her hands into mine again. "She is only still here because she provided the information about Damien’s betrayal," I explain, stroking the back of her knuckles. "Without her, I wouldn't have been able to know they were plotting against us. It takes a lot for someone to betray their family like that.”
“She…she doesn’t seem to like that you marked me,” she murmurs, trying to pull her hands away again.
I tighten my grip on her hands. "I don't give a damn what she likes. You’re the one I chose, you’re the one carrying my mark, and she knows damn well that you’re my fated mate. I have already issued her a warning. If she attempts to harm or disrespect you in any way, I don't care what assistance she gave me, she won’t live to try it again.”
I feel her rage and jealousy start to fade.
“I….I…I…” she looks down at our joined hands. 
"I chose you, Auren," I reach up, running my knuckles across her cheeks. "I was meant to find you. And I have no plans of ever giving you up for anybody."
She closes her eyes, leaning into my touch, her body relaxing even though her mind isn't entirely convinced yet. 
Tell her about the boy Shadow says.
Now isn’t the time, Shadow I snap at him. She is already drowning in jealousy over Cassy, what do you think will happen if I tell her she might have borne my son too? We aren't even certain the boy is ours, so we wait until the test is complete
Shadow falls silent.
“Come,” I say, standing and pulling her to her feet. “Let’s find out whether Collins has discovered anything.”
I drape an arm around her shoulders as we leave the hospital. We have barely step outside when I catch Cassy’s scent.
She’s waiting near the entrance with her arms folded.
“Still with her, I see,” Cassy says, looking Auren over from head to toe before turning toward me with a bright smile. “Thank you for bringing him back to me. I told him about you and that you—”
“Cassy!” My voice cuts through hers and she pauses. “Not now.”
“But—”
“Not now,” I repeat, letting enough Alpha command bleed into my voice that her smile falters.
“Fine.” Her expression tightens. “We’ll be waiting.”
I turn Auren away before Cassy can say another word and guide her toward Collins’s house.
I can't believe I’m going to be stuck with her forever if the child turns out to be mine.
No way she’s ours Shadow growls.
I hope you're right.
Collins’s door is wide open when we arrive, and Brandon is already inside, leaning against the wall. Collins looks as though he hasn’t slept since the ceremony, judging by the dark circles beneath his eyes, and several books are scattered across the table while he frantically flips through another.
“Any news?” I ask.
“Nothing yet,” Brandon says, the corner of his mouth lifting.
He hadn’t stopped grinning ever since the child reveal. He even calls the boy “Dravik junior”. I don’t find it funny.
Collins suddenly slams a book onto the table. “I’ve gone through most of them. There is no mention of the word Lycan, but there are references to creatures matching the description you gave me. Half human, half wolf.”
Brandon frowns. “Why do you even have books about them?”
“Because I was bound, remember?” Collins looks toward me before continuing. “Before Dravik came along and got my sister and me out, I was trying to figure out how to break the binding myself. The only information I could find about supernatural bindings involved these creatures.”
My body stiffens at the mention of his sister, a sharp, familiar pang of guilt stabbing into my chest. 
“I was trying to figure out how to unbind it myself.” Collins continues. “But the only information that I could find in binding is in these creatures.”
"Why didn't you bring this information to my attention sooner?" I demand, my voice strained as I push the guilt down inside my chest. 
“Because I’m a wolf. It was never relevant and I didn’t think…….” His green eyes move to my mate. “I didn’t think Auren would be anything other than a wolf.” He places his hands on the open pages of the books. “This is centuries old information. All of them are. You couldn’t find anything, Dravik, because they were never referred to as Lycans. They were known as Hybrids.”
“Hybrids?” I repeat.
He nods. “According to these records, they don’t transform into a complete wolf. They become something in between. There is also something here about a supernatural mark placed upon a human woman, except instead the mark changes her into something else.”
I feel Auren’s fingers tighten around mine.
“There’s very little information,” Collins continues. “Almost as if it’s a secret.”
“Yeah yeah, we know the basics, what else can you tell us? “ Brandon says, then glances at me and shrugs. “Xavier likes to talk.” 
I frown. 
Just how much do they talk about down there. 
“You have been bound how many times again?” Collins directs the question to Auren, but she still says nothing, her body moving closer to mine. 
“At least five times that we know of,” I answer, pulling Auren more tightly beside me. “But what does that have to do with anything?”
I know how she hates being reminded about this. Especially talking about it with other people. Collins picks up one of the books and hands it to me, with the pages open. I take it with my free hand, my eyes running through it. 
“This right here states that the only hybrid that had been bound was bounded only three times.”
“Okay,” my brows furrow as I read through the page. “I see nothing that says anything about our situation.”
“The third time killed him, Dravik.”
My eyes snap up to his, which are filled with something that looks like pain. 
“What does that mean?” Brandon asks. 
“It means in theory….,” Collins' eyes move to mate. “Auren should already be dead.”