Chapter 233
Katie stood on the balcony after two days of watching over her healing mate. Cole had been ill for those two days and Katie had been taking care of him, however, according to what the royal had said to her, he was supposed to be getting better that very night. She didn’t know when that was going to be, but the tension of having to wait for his fever to break had kept her awake. As a result, she’d stepped out of bed to bask in the cold wind.
Her mind kept her constantly aware of the hunter watching her every move. Looking in the distance, she could see a hint of a metallic bow in the cover of the trees. For someone who was supposed to be hiding, he wasn’t doing a good job. After calming down, she tried to think through the message he’d sent her. Going through all that trouble to rile her up seemed pointless to her. If he was really jealous of the wolf, he would have found some way to put him down and not Katie herself.
Her mind had been working on solving whatever it was that Jeremiah was thinking and she’d come to a conclusion. A sweet scent wafted into her nostrils, calming all her nerves. The metallic glint within the trees vanished... the wind itself seemed to still, announcing the arrival of the only being in the world capable of weakening Katie Sirius, “Someone can walk again...”
She said as his strong arms wrapped around her waist, “Well, it’s all thanks to special treatment from a special someone,” Cole replied, placing a kiss in the crook of her neck. The girl found herself leaning into the man holding her, feeling safe instantly. When no malice was detected from the watching hunter, she was now sure of her decision.
“You know I can wait till your ready,” Cole whispered into her ear.
“Well... Just accepting your offer that day made me realise I want you to do it. I don’t understand much about werewolves yet, but I do want to be yours...” her words came out before she could stop herself. The hunter bit her lip to stop any more from coming from her.
Cole took the chance and spoke up, “I would like nothing more, Katie. From the moment I saw those dark blue eyes, I was sure there was something I wanted from the person that owned them. At the time, I didn’t know what it was, but now I’m sure of what I saw that day. My mark will be proof of my dedication to you and that you belong to none other than me.”
“Does it hurt?” Katie asked when she’d found her voice. After what she’d been through, she found the question absurd. She’d gone through a lot of pain and yet here she was asking if a bite was going to hurt.
.....
Cole kissed the crook of her neck, “You won’t notice the pain.”
Before Katie could ask what that was supposed to mean, her wolf pushed forward in response to his. Cole’s breathing changed, growing deeper... “Just get on with it, Cole.”
The male royal sank his fangs into the shoulder of his mate, as close to her neck as he could. A myriad of feelings went through the girl... She felt the minds of all the wolves in her pack and almost as though a part of her mind was opening, she felt the minds of those in Cole’s pack as well. She felt the promise that was made by the moon goddess. The power of the royal’s bite sapped out of all werewolves that existed.
She was fully aware of everything that was going to happen to the werewolves. Werewolves were not to give birth unless they had slept with their mates and only their mates. Katie felt her connection to Cole grow stronger. She caught glimpses of his memories and felt him catch glimpses of hers as well. Her pain became his and so was their happiness... Amidst the numerous sensations that went through the girl, the pain of the bite was only a passing thought.
As Cole retracted his fangs, a pleasurable sensation went through Katie drawing every last bit of strength she had left from her. Cole carried his mate in his arms back into the bedroom and lay her on the bed. She was still stuck in her half shift for reasons she had no clue about, “Why am I still in this state?” she whispered.
“Because this goes both ways...” Cole replied. Katie’s eyes snapped open when he said it. She barely needed to check with Ashley as the wolf had already focused her mind on completing the ritual the two of them had started. Marking Cole brought with it even more intense sensations than the first. Their bond getting even stronger than she would have thought possible. However, when all was done, the two were so weak they could only sleep that night with barely another word spoken between them.
Masking their minds from the two great packs kept the realization from reaching the wolves. The moon goddess’ chosen had just marked each other and not even the royals knew it had happened. None of them knew about the loss of their power.
........
Present time...
“Lina, can I get more gauze over here. I’m running out. Bandages as well and hurry,” Honour spoke up while she worked on stopping the bleeding of one of the severely injured wolves. She’d so far managed to do what she could do for a number of them, but her heart never once calmed and her pace didn’t waver.
Lina could barely keep up with the girl’s diligence as they worked hard on keeping everyone alive and well. The junior hunters did the best they could and helped out. They got every single medical supply they could find in the hotel. The ones they could get from the vehicles had been the first to run out causing them far more trouble than they could have thought.
Spotting Trevor rushing out of the hotel gates with another kit, Lina rushed up to him, “Hey, can I have that?”
“Sure, however, I don’t think you’ll be getting more where that came from. Try to use the supplies sparingly,” the junior hunter tried.
“I’m not sure if that’s something I can guarantee with the pace at which she’s going,” Lina replied, forgetting there were others helping as well.
“Well, considering the others can’t handle as much of the severe cases as she can, I can imagine how much she must need,” Trevor said, following the girl through the fray. Seated next to another wolf, Honour got to bandaging the boy’s torso. She’d finished cleaning up his wounds and his healing had started kicking in.
“How many of the severe ones are left?” Ryan asked as he beckoned for two junior hunters to get the boy away. Once the students had been helped, they would then be taken to their rooms where they were lain to rest.
“I don’t know... I haven’t had the time to count,” the girl replied, taking the kit from Lina and moving on to her next patient. “If it wasn’t for the healing aspect of werewolves, we wouldn’t be able to get through this unscathed as we are going to.”
“Well, that sounds like good news. What’s with that look of concern on your face?” Trevor asked.
“The bite marks... Some of them look like they might have come from alphas,” she announced... “Please try to lie still. It’s going to sting a little.” She said to the wolf she worked on as he flinched at the sting of the medicine.
“That’s bad indeed... If any of them takes on the will of the alphas that bit them, they would start to wreak havoc,” Trevor said, just before silence took over the wolves. The junior hunter paid attention to the source of attraction and found that they were staring straight at Katie Sirius. She had taken off his coat and thrown it away. It was only then that he realized what a mistake it had been to give her that when Cole could get his scent off it.
The male royal was just beginning to relax, ‘Revealing myself to them would definitely pose a problem...,’ his thoughts were cut short when he watched the male reveal the mark beneath his shirt as well. The two of them marked... and Trevor knew the implications of that. “Honour, do you remember any of the wolves you’ve worked on seemed to have been bitten by alphas.”
“Yes, I remember a few of them. After all, I worked on them for the longest time. They were injured quite badly compared to the others,” she replied as she finished dressing the boy’s wounds and moved on to someone else, “I’m glad those that were in dire situations are done now... Although, one of them was human...”
Trevor stopped watching the royal couple to look at Honour. The girl had a different air about her. She was a free spirit earlier, but this was different. She was now in charge of whatever she was doing. Lina followed her every single order and stayed at her side every step of the way in case she was needed. Something else he couldn’t quite put his finger on resonated within his very being. He shook his mind free of his thoughts and went back to what had caught his attention earlier... “Did you say... human?”