The Darkest Star

Ch. 25 True Mates

Salem watched Azrael sleep beside him in the unfamiliar bed. He woke up with the male basically on top of him. Not that he was complaining. He was warm and he'd always liked the feeling he got when the male touched him. What was confusing him however, was that the male's scent was stronger than it had ever been, and it had nothing to do with his closeness. Like oak, like the forest. He cuddled up closer and breathed it in, letting it calm him until he was close to sleep again.

He couldn't remember how he got here, the last thing he remembers is eating breadsticks at the restaurant with everyone. He frowned. The room and the strong smell of disinfectant made him think of a hospital. He only knew about the Clinic in the pack house, having to visit it a few times after training with Melisande. He hoped no one was hurt. Sniffing, he detected a coppery smell and he pulled back his head enough to notice the blood around Azrael's shirt collar.

The door opened slowly and he inched closer to Azrael who unconsciously tightened his arms around him. Salem watched Allora hesitantly step into the room. When she noticed Salem's eyes on her, she froze.

"I'm glad to see you're up." The door clicked as it was shut softly. The Madam Alpha stood at the end of the bed, looking over her son who was clinging to him. "Did you know...That he's your True Mate?" Salem's eyes widened as he looked from a sleeping Azrael to his mother.

"W-what?" He sputtered, making Azrael growl in his sleep.

"So you've suspected it then." She could always read Salem and he hated it.

"Before, when I was younger." He admitted. "But then he left and mates don't leave." Salem looked to Azrael to see tired amber eyes already on him. Azrael frowned and buried his head in the crease of Salem's neck.

"Why didn't you say anything Azrael? Were you really going to go through with imprinting on the Red Rock female? Do you have any idea how dangerous that could have been after your wolf already found his Mate!" She ranted, making Azrael groan and pull away from Salem.

"No, I never planned on going through with it and neither did she." He sat up, acknowledging his mother. Salem's whole body ached and he stretched out on the bed. "She was going to disappear and I was going to help her." Allora growled in a similar manner to the way her daughter does.

"We're lucky things didn't go all to hell. Our blood will still be mixed." Her eyes held amusement and Salem sat up. "Your sister mated their sons."

"Sons? As in more than one?" Azrael asked, confused and still sleepy.

"Yes, twins. It was quite humorous."

"I missed it!" Salem shouted, trying to kick away the sheets tangled around his legs. "And she said she didn't want a Mate, I can't wait to rub this in." Salem went to stand but Azrael gripped his arm.

"Slow down, I'm sure they're not going anywhere and you've been unconscious for nearly three day."

"What?!" Salem shouted. "Why? What happened?"

Salem sat in shock as Azrael told him about the Witch and everything that happened over the course of two days. Salem had to stop him after being told about the Seer, whatever that was, his bladder was demanding release. Azrael hovered as he walked to the bathroom even though he repeatedly assured him that he was fine and his muscles were just sore. Salem had dealt with a lot worse after training with Melisande.

Salem handled his business and washed his hands. When he finished and went to pull his hair out of his face, he froze when he caught sight of himself in the mirror.

"Don't freak out." He whispered to himself. He didn't look drastically different but the ears that ended in sharp points were new and when he ran a finger over the scarred bite mark on his neck, he couldn't help but to gasp as pleasure raced straight to his groin. That's when he noticed his teeth. He pressed closer to the mirror and ran his tongue over the sharp canines. They weren't as long as Azrael's or any of the other wolves but they definitely weren't human.

"Salem?" Azrael asked on the other side of the door.

"What did you do to me?!" Salem shouted, looking into his own slanted pale eyes. He could understand why they'd make others uneasy. Azrael came in without invite and met Salem's eyes in the mirror.

"I'm sorry I marked you without your permission but it was the only thing I could do to wake you up." He seemed nervous, scared even. "I-if you don't want to, we don't have to complete the mating."

Salem rolled his eyes, there was no way in hell he'd reject Azrael. Even if he was an asshole at times and still needed to apologize better than he had. "No, why am I like this? Why are my teeth and ears pointy!" Salem bared his teeth to show him. "Yours aren't always pointy and, and your ears are rounded." Azrael pulled at his curls and his brows furrowed.

"Well um, I'm not really sure..." This has to be a dream. That was the only reasonable explanation. A very long and detailed dream. Salem pinched himself and ignored Azrael who was trying to repress a smile. When he didn't wake up, he ran his fingers through his hair and cringed as he tugged on knots.

"I need a shower...and a mango."

"A mango?" Salem squinted at Azrael who still stood there tugging on his curls and looking at him.

"Yes, I'm hungry."

"Right! I'll go get one, I'll be right back!" Salem rolled his eyes as the big male rushed out but couldn't help the small smile. He was so cute.

Salem hopped off the counter that he'd crawled up on and shut the bathroom door before stripping out of his clothes. There was blood on the shirt but someone, Azrael most likely, had cleaned it off his skin. He looked over himself in the mirror, thankful that nothing else was changed about his appearance.

The water from the shower drowned out the noise from other rooms that Salem could now hear. He'd never thought much of the non-scented soaps and body lotions all the Wolves use, but now he understood as his newly sensitive nose picked up on everything. He wondered if this was from Azrael biting him. He didn't think he'd change so quickly, usually it took weeks for a bitten Human to find their wolf and make the connection.

Azrael stomped heavily into the bathroom, making Salem squeak and attempt to hide his goods. Azrael froze with a armful of clothes and towels. The glass was foggy but he could clearly see through it. The male's eyes raked over Salem greedily before finally meeting his eyes again. Salem gave a slow smile as he removed his hands from in front of his private bits and slid the door open, giving the male an eye full. Azrael swallowed loudly, or it was just loud with his new hearing, he couldn't tell.

"I-I ugh, I brought you..." he trailed off, eyes dropping down before shooting back up. "I brought a mango." Azrael rushed. Salem stepped out and took the towels from the male.

"Thank you." Salem had to stand on his toes to kiss the male's jaw. He lingered for a bit before backing up to wrap his hair in the towel. Azrael's face had darkened to an adorable red. Salem was enjoying himself immensely.

Azrael had brought him a pair of his silky black sleep pants that he slipped on after drying off and ignored the briefs. Salem held up the shirt in front of him and raised a brow.

"Out of all my clothes, you pick this shirt." Salem giggled softly and slipped on the lilac shirt with the white logo of a wolf's head on the front.

"What? I like it." Azrael followed Salem out the bathroom who threw himself on the bed in front of the tray of fruit. The mango was cold and juicy just how he liked it, licking the sweet juice that ran down his hands and sucking on the seed.

"Wanna comb my hair?" Salem asks, noticing that Azrael hadn't stopped staring the whole time.

"Yes!" The male jumps up and returns with a wide tooth comb. Salem peeled a orange as Azrael crawled on the bed behind him and removed the towel still holding his hair. They sat in a comfortable silence as Azrael took his time combing Salem's long hair. He was mindlessly humming with his eyes drooping, lost in the contentment he was feeling and the gentleness the big male made sure to use.

He could get use to this.