Everyone's Mate (BoyxBoy)

Chapter 25

I went to walk closer, and the creature did as well – but it walked through the mirror. I startled, jumping back, but the creature was quick to wrap me in an embrace and whisper in my ear seductively; "Táimid ar cheann."

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I woke up screaming. Fear kept me clenching the bedsheets as I looked wildly around the room, waiting for someone to appear and drag me into the same darkness that allowed me to see that ethereal creature. It was nighttime, bringing with it the scent of rain and frost on the wind coming through a cracked window. This calmed me down about as much as a dagger to the wrist calms down an anemic person. I could imagine tendrils of darkness coming towards me, grabbing my ankles and pulling me out into the night. Tears streamed down my face as I keened, feeling my body shake with panic.

I heard someone burst through the door and looked up dazedly to find the Alpha himself looking at me as if I had been in some great danger. To me in my haze of fear and panic, he was an island paradise.

I reached out to him, sobbing, and he rushed to me, taking me into his strong arms and holding me against him. He buried his face in my neck and when he touched me there it sent sparks through my whole body, as if I were coming home after a long trip. It felt like climbing out of a pool and laying on the warm concrete, it felt like warming myself by a fire after a moment in the rain. Compared to the fear I had felt before, I would take this any day.

And yet still, that same feeling I had felt in that dream permeated my entire being. I could feel its cold talons gripping my heart and suddenly that haze that I had been in before covered my mind like a toxic fog once again.

"Shh," Rio crooned in my ear. "Shh. Baby boy, Shh. I'm here."

I continued to shake uncontrollably, unable to properly move my own limbs. Every movement felt sluggish to me, and I fought even to speak, only to find that I couldn't.

"Shit," He muttered, taking my temperature. Another moment and I felt the Alpha pull me further into his arms, cradling me against him like the most precious thing on this earth. He carried me bridal style into the bathroom; I whimpered out as he let me stand, the tile like ice against my feet. He hastily turned the shower on, all the way to the cold side. I faltered, and he caught me against the wall, the length of his warm body against mine.

"Damnit, Aaron," He murmured, kissing my forehead hurriedly before picking me up once again. I quivered at his every touch, too weak to fight against him as he promptly stepped into the tub. The cold water hit me like a tidal wave of ice. I yelped loudly, and thrashed weakly against him. Rio slid with me in his arms to a sitting position in the tub, feeling the cold water pelt down on us. Large tremors went through me, and I was quickly soaked. He pulled me to him and I grasped at him desperately, wrapping my arms around his neck, crying.

He combed his fingers through my hair, allowing me to curl, shaking, against him. His muscles stood out in sharp relief against mine, the water turning his white shirt nearly see through. I couldn't seem to care about that, however. I could only seem to care about his arms around me, keeping me from harm, the water like ice needles pelting down on us, and the feeling of his lips brushing against that sensitive spot on my neck and the way it sent a pleasant warm feeling to my chest, floating there like ink.

I focused on that single feeling, and slowly the shivering stopped. Eventually, greatly weakened, I allowed myself to fall asleep as he whispered sweet nothings in my ear, my head resting on his warm shoulder.

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I woke up mightily disoriented and confused, unsure of what to do with myself. My hair was damp, and I felt only a tad bit sick. I yawned and stretched, squinting angrily at the light shining on me from the opened window.

It seemed to be daylight, which comforted me none, and a slight breeze filtered through the cracked glass. The scents outside spoke of autumn; cinnamon and old pine needles.

I heard a knock on the door and jumped, looking over at a head with long blonde hair poking in. "Are you okay?" She asked, coming halfway into the room as if she were tempted to rush to me but knew better.

I shakily nodded my head, trying to catch my breath. She'd spooked me. I watched her take in my haggard appearance before hearing her mutter in an angry voice, "I told the man to stay with you," before fully walking into the room and closing the door.

Her smiling face was a calming one, at the very least. "Hello," She chirped. "My name is Danika."

"Aaron," I murmured in return, sinking back into the plush and soft bed, feeling my nerves calm. I sighed deeply, rubbing my hand over the mattress. Memory foam, huh?

She walked around to my side of the bed, and without further ado she leaned in close and rested a hand on my forehead. Compared to me, her hand was freezing. I barely resisted the urge to shy away from her.

"You've still got that fever," She shrugged. "It's not life-endangering now, at least. Can you believe you had a 104 temp before?"

"How do you know?" I asked uncertainly, not remembering much.

She arched an eyebrow, plopping herself down on the chair at my bedside. "Well," She bit her lip, "I was one of the people who took care of you. It's been a couple weeks since your – er...Friend, left the pack lands."

"You mean he got kicked out?" I mentioned sardonically, remembering what happened. My heartbeat quickened and I desperately hoped he was okay.

She looked almost regretful about that as she nodded. I couldn't tell if she was sincere or not.

"How am I okay?" I asked, sitting up once again. She blushed as the sheets rode low on my waist, threatening to expose my boxers, but otherwise kept a calm facade.

She cleared her throat. "By all means, that mark should have killed you. Many werewolves have died for much less, but right now you're as weak as a human. Rio – I mean...Alpha, had to...Wait," She leaned closer, "You really don't remember?"

I couldn't recall anything. I felt different – new – like something had been done to me. I was changed, somehow. I pressed my hand to my hip, hissing in discomfort when I realized the mark there was still swollen. I was still connected to Alex. Then how?

My hand trailed up to my neck and a warm feeling burrowed in my gut as I touched the mark there. It was healed over already, which was surprising, but it was a mark nonetheless. The fang indentations were slightly deeper than the rest, and pressing against them made my stomach feel as if I were on a fast roller coaster on its first drop. That feeling of butterflies, of fear, of that tickle in your throat as you begin the descent. It felt wild – reckless. I'd been marked by the Klauss pack Alpha.

With that, all the memories of the weeks before came rushing to my mind, making me gasp. I ignored Danika's questions as I relived the events that had passed, trembling as I recalled the pleasant pressure of his mouth on my neck, and the way he had held me and comforted me in the shower. I'd had a lethal fever, and Riordan had saved me.

"Aaron?" She asked again, and I shakily threw the sheets off.

"Starving," Was my simple answer, weakly picking up a discarded shirt at the foot of the bed.

"Oh," She got up, "I wouldn't wear that if I were you. We haven't had the chance to wash them, but, here. It's laundry day, so I got you some of Rio's old clothes to wear."

She handed me a plaid shirt and a pair of tattered old jeans. I looked from them to her, before stating the obvious. "These are two sizes too big."

"I've got a belt," She grinned, presenting it like some massive prize, and I couldn't help but to grin at her.

I challenged, "That the best you got?"

"You know," She walked coyly around me, "I could always snatch those pants and run. I'm sure Rio would just love to see you tripping around the pack house in your boxers."

"You wouldn't," I gasped.

She quickly grabbed the pants right out from my hand and before I could even yell, she was out the door.

I had a feeling I would grow to like her.