“Mom! Please tell me she’s ok?” I’m a blubbering idiot looking at my ghostly white mate. Jayce is snuggled up so tightly against her, his eyes are bloodshot from crying.
“Sit down boy. Nico, I need your blood to help Aurora.” Mom was like a brigadier general ordering us around like peons. She was calm and commanding as she began setting up a makeshift hospital in her home. Alexis had arrived at some point and was setting up for the transfusion. Thank fuck we have a nurse in the pack otherwise I think my beloved would be doomed.
Nico went and sat in the chair as directed and stretched his arm out. “Take it all if you have to, you must save my baby!” Even Nico was crying, looking at his near lifeless daughter. Alexis moved quickly setting up to take at least three pints of blood from Nico. She had a pole set up next to him with saline to help replace the blood volume he was about to lose.
“Mom? What’s wrong with Aurora?” My heart is in my throat as I lean on the counter next to Nico. I rest my hand on his shoulder as we both look at my mother for answers.
“It’s quite simple, they tried to poison her. The arrowhead is made of silver and the toxin it’s coated with is a blend of aconite and nightshade. Apparently, they didn’t know of Aurora’s true sire otherwise they would have known this combination wouldn’t kill her.” Elena moves to adjust the drip of the saline for Aurora making sure to hydrate her to help flush out the toxin. “I’m going to flood Aurora’s system with her father’s blood to try to reverse what damage the toxins did to her body. I’m positive it’s the quickest way to safely heal her.” Elena didn’t look up to regard anyone as she prepared everything for the tricky transfusion she was going to attempt.
I watched how carefully Alexis moved towards my mother with the first pint of blood. Together they hooked Aurora up and started the drip. Jayce wouldn’t move for anything, he was far too frightened to leave her side. At this point I’m too afraid to close my eyes or leave even to relieve myself. “How long before we know if it’s helping her Mom?” My voice quivered like a scared tear-filled child. The love of my life was before me fighting for her life and I can’t do a fucking thing to help her. I’m so fucking grateful that her father lived and is with us, without him she’d be dead.
“Have faith son. Alexis is a nurse and specializes in hematology. The first signs of a positive response will be the return of color. While this pint infuses, we need to drain a pint which will make her body start to produce more red blood cells and platelets. It’s pretty much going to be a rinse and repeat the process with the three pints. Tomorrow if we need to, we’ll take two pints from you Sebastian to help wake up her wolf. Then the tough part will be that you are going to have to force her shift so her wolf finishes healing her.” Say what? I just stood there blinking as Dominik came flying through the door.
Dom immediately dropped to his knees when he saw the state our mate was in. His tear-filled eyes sought out my eyes and then his brothers. My mother pulled him out of the room to catch him up quickly. When he returned, he thanked Nico for protecting his fallen body and hugged it out with him. Jayce called Dom over and switched out with him and ran out of the room. I watched Jayce leave then looked to Dom. “Bathroom run” Ah that explains the swift departure.
I swear to the Gods above Jayce just broke the land speed record for taking a piss. He rushed back into the room and tugged on Dom’s arm to get him out of the bed. Dom reluctantly left Aurora’s side and walked over to me. “Makes me want to cry, it takes Aurora almost dying for my brother to get over his shit.” Dom bit his bottom lip and sighed. A single tear rolled down his cheek. I draw him in for a tight hug. Honestly, I don’t know if I’m hugging him to comfort him or to comfort myself. “I feel so fucking powerless Bash. I’d trade places with her if I could.”
Nico’s head whipped up at that exact moment. His eyes burned liquid mercury as he stared at Dom. “Did you not hear what was done? You would be dead, leaving that poor girl behind without her mate. A severed bond feels like you died right along with them. I fell from the fucking sky when her mother died. I didn’t want to live without her. If it wasn’t for the fact that I felt my child’s life I probably would have mourned myself to death.” Nico looked away at that moment, the pain from the loss of his mate still evident on his face. Over two hundred years later and it looks like it was just yesterday to him.
Seeing the depth of Nico’s loss really puts how lucky we truly are into perspective. I kissed Dom’s temple then leaned down and side hugged Nico and kissed the top of his head. We were all suffering together, unfortunately Nico was in hell all over again. My eyes remained locked on the pint and Aurora’s color was slowly improving so that was a blessing. I exhaled a bit louder than I thought and everyone looked at me. “Her color is coming back.” Everyone’s eyes shot to Aurora and tentative smiles broke out across the room.
My mother entered the room passing out food and drinks. “Eat! She’ll kick your collective asses if you don’t take care of yourselves. That means you too Milord.” She winked at Nico and handed him a burger as well. Only Jayce didn’t budge, he was still too frightened to move. When I finished my food, I moved over to him and sat on the edge of the bed. “Please eat. She needs us all strong for her. I’ll lay with her till your done eating ok?”
Jayce slowly sat up and nodded. He’s so broken up he’s practically gone mute. Ever so carefully he slides out of the bed. He reached over and readjusted Aurora’s pillow and her blankets before he motioned for me to slide in where he was. Once I was situated, he adjusted my pillow and pulled the covers up. “She needs to stay warm. Keep her warm for me.” He whispered, when he spoke his voice quivered with emotion. Tears welled up threatening to overflow as his eyes turned bloodshot again. Jayce’s cheeks flushed as he attempted to hold back the emotions that threatened to break free. Out of the males he was the one most in touch with his emotions.
To see him fight against his nature hurt my heart. “I will guard her till my dying breath and then some. I swear to you I will keep her warm and safe.” I allowed a few rogue tears to flow down my cheeks and Jayce smiled at me and kissed my lips softly and whispered his thanks before walking over and hugging his brother. As soon as he was in Dom’s arms the dam broke and all the tears and sorrow flowed freely.
My heart started aching for him and that’s when I felt it. Aurora’s arm moved slightly. “Guys!! I think she just moved.!” Everyone crowded around the bed watching Aurora. She was midway though the second pint of her father’s blood and she was starting to twitch a little. Anyway you look at it, it was a step in the right direction. Any kind of a positive was a bonus at this point. Jayce moved over to the side where the transfusion was running and slipped two of his fingers into her hand. Without warning her hand snapped shut and gripped him tightly. He started bawling like a baby that she had just grabbed his fingers. I decided to expose her hand on my side and try it myself. I gently placed two fingers in her cupped hand and slowly she closed her fingers around mine. Greatest moment ever! We looked to Dom and he moved to her ankle and placed his hand there. Within moments she wiggled the toes on that foot.
“Ok boys back the fuck off and let me check her!” Holy fuck my mom can still be scary even at her old age. Jayce and I held up our hands that were being gripped by Aurora and my mother just smiled. She leaned over and forced Aurora’s eye open and shined a light to test pupil reaction. My mother was shocked to find the silver orbs of Aurora’s wolf looking back at her. Aurora’s pupils reacted very sluggishly but at least they reacted this time. “She’s improving. We need to keep round the clock watch on her. One in the bed, one awake. Switch out every 4 hours to give each other a break. So, to spell it out for her mates one awake two asleep. If you all need a break get Nico or me.”
Mom left quickly after that and we all looked at each other. “Jayce why don’t you sleep beside her first, I’ll take first watch. We can switch about midnight and so on if that’s ok?” I looked between Dom and Jayce and they both nodded. It took se
veral attempts for Jayce and I to get our fingers free. Once free he scooted in where I was, and I made sure that he and Aurora were comfortable.
First watch wasn’t bad at all. I discovered that both twins snored quite loudly. I also discovered that Dom will laugh if he farts in his sleep. When it was my turn to slide in, I deferred to Dom since he hadn’t had the chance to lay next to her yet. It killed me to give up my chance but to be a good Alpha means putting others before yourself. I moved to the recliner and laid back. I kept my eyes on them for as long as I could.
The warmth of the morning sun was on my face when I woke up. Fuck I slept though my watch. I woke up with a start ready to launch out of the chair when a firm hand landed on my shoulder. I looked back and saw Nico. “Shhh all is well son. The twins weren’t handling her being ill very well, so I took watch for the last eight hours to let them both sleep beside her. You wouldn’t wake up when it was your turn.” Well that explains that, I just nodded slowly and examined Aurora. Her color had fully returned but she still wasn’t waking up.
“Sebastian get in the chair it’s time to draw blood from you.” My mom was way too fucking happy about stabbing me this early in the morning. Dimitri my savior came in carrying a mug and a pot of coffee.
“Thank the Gods that Dimitri brought coffee I don’t think I can handle getting stabbed without it.” Mother allowed me long enough to get my coffee made before she stuck my happy ass in the chair to start draining me dry. I watch my life blood drain into the bag and just hope and pray that this finally wakes sleeping beauty up. It’s been two days since she fell in battle and it feels like forever. We are starting to look worse for wear as the days tick on. Hell I sound like it's been a month instead of two days.
Jayce won’t leave Aurora’s side for anything, except maybe for a bathroom break. I guess since he can’t feel her through the bond he’s twice as leery as the rest of us that can feel her. I can almost bet that once this is over that bond gets put in place the moment Aurora is able to. I watch him as he sits there brushing her hair talking to her as if she’s awake. Then again no one knows for sure how much someone who’s in a sleep like state actually hears. Bag one gets taken away and bag two gets hooked up.
“Ow, what the fuck!” My eyes dart to Alexis as she starts an I.V in what was my free arm. She mouths sorry but continues to do her job. I can see her looking me over from head to toe. Her arousal is palatable in the air. Lord fucking help her if Aurora wakes up right now. “You know I’m a mated wolf right Alexis?” That catches her off guard and gets my mother's attention. Mom comes over and takes one sniff of Alexis and boots her ass out of the room immediately.
“Fucking vultures.” Elena grumbles as she walks back into the room. Dom and Dimitri both spit their coffee and look at me. All I could do was shrug my shoulders at them. Mom approaches me and kisses my temple. “You know Aurora is more than likely going to hunt her ass down and kill her?” Slowly I nod then turned to stare at my mate.
“I hope she wakes up soon, I don’t know how much more we can take Mom.” Jayce is still in his own little world and Dom is giving Aurora a sponge bath in bed. Me, I feel so fucking helpless. Basically, I’ve put myself on self-imposed guard duty. Every night Dimitri and I take turns standing guard while the twins keep Aurora warm at night. It's not that I don’t want to sleep next to her, my wolf would do better in close quarters.
Aurora’s color is improving more with the first bag of my blood and I can see how happy Jayce is looking. He gently leans over and kisses her lips like a Prince from a fairy tale. Aurora’s left hand shoots up and grips the back of Jayce’s head holding him in place. The rumble of her wolf echoes throughout the room. We all gasp and stop what we are doing and practically hold our breath waiting. Just as quickly as her hand rose it fell and she was silent again. She’s fighting and that’s the most important thing.
I feel so guilty. I fought hard but not hard enough. Aurora ended up shot and fell in battle and I blame myself because I’m the weakest link. As much as Dom and Sebastian and the others try to convince me it’s not my fault, I still blame myself. I’m over analysing every move made around Aurora, I won’t let her be harmed again. I just wish I was more dominant, being an Omega fucking sucks. I’m not as strong as my brother who’s a potential Alpha. I’m not even in the same orbit as Aurora or Sebastian. Though it does get quite interesting to just watch when Sebastian would get too full of himself and Aurora would knock him down a peg.
Aurora’s dad Nico has been fabulous with me. He worries about if I’m taking care of myself while I tend to his daughter. That’s what a father is supposed to be like. Not like the monster Dom and I had for a father. I was so happy when Aurora and Nico killed him. Dare I say best day ever! For the first time in years I saw Alex smile, like really smile. There was a noticeable weight lifted off of Dom’s shoulders as well. Afterall he was next in line for the political mating, Ugh the bitch he was supposed to get was a hag. I hope my brother realizes just how blessed we are. Sadly, it took my mate almost dying for me to see how truly wonderful she is.
When Aurora wakes up everything is going to change. No more being a chicken shit and hiding instead of facing my feelings. I love her with all that I am. I lay beside her all day and all night for as long as I can. The guys have been awesome letting me stay and not enforcing the rotation rule with me.
At the end of day one, yesterday, her father’s blood had brought back a lot of color to her skin. We are so thankful that Elena knows what she’s doing when it comes to poisons. Pint after pint her color has improved and at one point her hands moved. I keep talking to her and the guys look at me like I’m nuts.
Elena is giving me that motherly smile and she touches my shoulder. “Don’t worry Prince, she’ll wake up. Keep talking to her she needs to know you’re waiting for her. Right now, her wolf is in protect mode making sure she heals right.” Elena leaned over and kissed my temple and gave me a hug. “I’ll get you dry shampoo and a brush for her hair. I’ll show you how to use it, so she wakes up not feeling gross.”
Elena made a final check of everything and left to go to procure the goods. I wave for Sebastian to trade out with me, I needed to stretch my legs and hit the men’s room. I don’t think I’ve ever pissed so fast in my life like I have since last night. My chest fucking hurts being away from Aurora for too long. My wolf actually feels like he’s trying to rip free of my body to get to her. I can’t blame him I feel exactly the same way. It’s never easy for an Omega to deal with the Alpha being injured. We tend to go into nurture mode and mother the hell out of them until they recover.
Elena returned with all the hair care and skin care products she could find. The boys and I all watched as she explained what each was for and how to use it. We all wanted to be able to help with her care, just some of us are more in tune with our nurturing side. I could see how uncomfortable Sebastian was with everything and I snickered out loud. The boys only really hung around for the bed bath portion of the care instructions. Figures right? I smiled and copied everything that Elena was showing me. I felt like I was really making a difference in how Aurora felt.
We slept peacefully last night, and I wasn’t bothered. Sebastian and Dimitri were like sentries watching over us as we slept. Kind of creepy but with everything that’s happened it’s a necessary evil at this point. I woke up to them prepping Sebastian for his donation and fresh coffee. I sat up and started to fuss with Aurora’s hair and wiping her face off making sure she was ready for the day. I made sure I explained to her what was going on with Sebastian.
My hands shot to cover Aurora’s nose when I smelled Alexis’s arousal. Thankfully Sebastian and Elena handled it before I said something. Slowly I begin Aurora’s bed bath making sure every inch of her body is cleaned and dried. The first bag of Sebastian’s blood is flowing into her. I can see tiny differences in her color and skin texture. I can’t help myself. I cover her up and lightly touch her face before I leaned over and kissed her gently. I miss her so muc
h.
Without any warning her hand is gripping the back of my head holding my lips firmly to hers. The rumble from her wolf makes me hard in a second as she holds me in place. I surrender completely to her in this moment. My heart is pounding in my chest I feel as if this kiss has gone on forever. She manages to nip my bottom lip drawing blood; I feel her suck at the bleeding lip. Aurora’s tongue flickers over the wound before her hand and teeth release me. I’m panting from the intensity and the passion I felt. I can’t bring myself to look at the others just yet. I know in my heart this was her way of telling me that she’s going to be ok and I just have to be patient.
Slowly I turned and looked at the guys. I couldn’t help the lovesick puppy look I had on my face. Single greatest moment of my life. I returned to giving her the sponge bath and whistled while I worked. Sebastian came to sit next to her once all three pints were taken from him.
“Love, I found and killed the person that shot you. I took their head and heart to give to you as a gift.” Sebastian’s eyes dropped to Aurora’s hand and he picked it up and held it. “If you can hear me baby please squeeze my hand. I beg you.” I feel so much sympathy for Sebastian, he’s an Alpha without his mate. Alphas usually don’t do well when they are separated from their mate for any reason. I can see Aurora’s fingers twitch in his hand then close slowly. Part of me is pleased as punch that she reacted stronger to me. But on the other hand, I feel horrible that he’s not receiving just as strong of a reaction from her. There’s no words of comfort in moments like this. We tend to beat ourselves up when bad things happen.
An audible sigh escapes Aurora’s lips and she moves her entire body adjusting position. Dimitri runs off yelling down the hallway for Elena. Aurora is fighting so hard to wake up. Her eyelids flutter and her eyes move rapidly. “Come on baby you can do it. Please open your eyes.“ I can’t help but prompt her I can’t resist urging her to return to us.
Hide Little Wolf: The Aurora Marelup Series Page 16
