It felt wrong to linger too long on her beauty when she laid unconscious in another’s arms. I pulled her gently away from Jude and held her close. I didn’t know what to do now. I looked to Jude and his usually soft eyes had gone hard.
“I don’t think we should leave the area just yet.” He looked at the bundle in my arms. “Hunter, there is more to this little wolf than we know.”
I looked down at her. Her hair covered her face, and she felt so small in my arms. How did I get paired with someone so beautiful? Her cheeks were slightly rounded; her lips were full, plump, begging to be kissed. Her nose seemed delicate, and I wanted to laugh at the thought. When in the hell had I or my wolf ever thought of something as delicate?
I looked up to the bikes we were riding. I would have to find a way to keep her safe until we could get somewhere for her to rest. I didn’t know why she had passed out, but I didn’t want her to wake up while we were roaring out of town. My wolf pounded against my skin, trying to take over, and I flinched at the movement. He wanted out of this other pack’s land with his mate. I was still wary.
The others helped me get my mate on the bike with me, and I held her tight in front of me and regretted that she might have a sore neck when she woke. We couldn’t stay here though. This must have been closer to the heart of the Lupen Pack than we had realized. Most packs were very secretive about where their compounds were so that wasn’t surprising. Damien, our own Alpha, had thought they were in the Upper Peninsula.
We drove to the next town where we could rent a room and wait for my mate to wake. The hours that followed were torturous. She hadn’t woken up, but she was conscious and writhing in pain. The others were in the room next door to mine when she started to move. She twisted and turned like she couldn’t get comfortable. I didn’t realize she was becoming aware until she started to whimper. She was in pain.
This went on for another hour before it really started to escalate, and I realized that she was waking up. She would wake up to this pain that I didn’t know how to rid her of. My wolf paced and snapped his jaws. He was on the surface, so close that I was scared to get too close to her. I didn’t trust him around her yet. I didn’t trust myself with my own mate. I called Jude in.
“What the hell is happening to her?” I whispered to Jude. My brows were pinched tight as I watched as her eyelids flutter. Her forehead was scrunched, and I watched as a hand reached out toward us. I thought for sure she might be reaching for me, but when her muscles spasmed again, forcing her arm to lock, I squashed that hope. I had done something to her, and I didn’t know what. My wolf urged me to go to her, to make this better. I didn’t know how though. Neither of us were ever good at comforting, so I stood next to Jude and waited.
“I don’t know.”
She let out a low, pitiful moan. Sweat started to move down her forehead as she twisted in the sheets. I realized she was trying to get out of them and I wanted to move forward to take them off of her. I wanted to feel her forehead and see if she was hot to the touch, if perhaps she was coming down with something? That wouldn’t have made sense though, because wolves didn’t get sick. Not with human illnesses.
“Griff, Keith,” she muttered and let out a choked sound.
“Did she say Keith?” Jude asked.
“Yeah.”
“Fuck! That’s the Beta of the Lupen Pack.”
We both remained quiet after that. Jude didn’t swear often, but I could hear the panic in his voice. She must have been intimately close to the pack’s Beta. Otherwise, I would think she would have called out for her Alpha. But what bothered me more was that she called out for someone else. Another male.
I couldn’t stand not to be near her. I had to touch her, to remind myself that she was real. That she was mine. That when I touched her I would feel that familiar zing of heat right to my heart. I felt Jude’s eyes on me as I moved though.
“Hey, is your pack the Lupen pack?” I whispered to her. She moaned in pain, and I couldn’t stop myself from touching her cheek. She leaned into my hand and I felt my stomach drop. My heart stopped then began at a whole new tempo.
“Hmm,” she let out.
“Hey, talk to me, sunflower.” I wasn’t sure where the nickname came from. I mean, she smelt like sunflowers, but I didn’t know what prompted me to call her that. I didn’t use nicknames, though it seemed better than anything. I had to be the worst mate. I didn’t even know her name. I wasn’t even ever sure that this is what I wanted. That a mate was what I wanted. And yet I stood her watching her, needing to know how to make her better.
“There is something seriously wrong with her. We need to find the Lupen pack,” Billy said from the doorway. I didn’t even hear him come in. I was so focused on her. She was crying out and twisting in pain. I felt sick to my stomach, watching her convulse in pain, and there was nothing I could do. A growl exploded from my chest.
Helpless wasn’t a feeling I was used to.
I took what I needed. I never had someone else to care about since I lost my father at a young age. I promised myself it was easier this way. It was easier not to care for anyone else. And I was proving myself right watching her.
“Chill out, man. They can’t take her from you. She is yours after all.”
Yes, that is exactly what I was worried about.
“Someone call Damien and get the Lupen Alpha’s number,” I demanded.
“Hmm, home,” she whispered as she twisted herself around and slipped into unconsciousness.
Not for long, my wolf whispered to her. To me. I didn’t know that I would be able to let her go, because he had decided he wanted her. My wolf took what he needed, what he wanted.
About Becca Vincenza
Becca Vincenza lives in wonderful Michigan. She has a love for Skittles, rainbows, Star Wars, and reading about hot men. When she’s not wearing her author hat, she’s working to pay off her student loans for her recently acquired English degree.
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/beccavincenza
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Hexed Hearts Page 38
