The Darkest Star

Ch. 35 Acknowledgement

Salem hadn't spoken since they returned to the pack house. Azrael didn't pressure him to and instead held his mate who cried silently with his face pressed to his chest. He eventually fell asleep, gripping Azrael's shirt tightly even in his sleep. Azrael thought that all the new changes had finally caught up with the little male. Ignoring them wasn't the right thing to do and now he was dealing with it harder than he would have if they acknowledged what was going on.

He's different and it's not a bad thing. Azrael wasn't ignorant though and he knew everyone in the pack has probably already heard about what happened. Not everyone will be as accepting of the little male as he is. That doesn't mean he won't do everything in his power to prove Salem is still the same. If anything, they should be grateful to have such a powerful being on their side.

Nox stayed curled up beside Salem, only getting up to wander to the bathroom to use his litter box. Somehow Salem kept it so even the wolves with their sensitive noses couldn't smell it. The fat kitten climbed up on Azrael's chest and slept beside Salem's face, purring occasionally when Salem would shift.

At one point, Salem's face scrunched up and he clung to Azrael. He whimpered but it wasn't long before his features smoothed and his grip on him relaxed. Azrael figured he was dreaming and didn't wake him.

He eventually had to get up to empty his own bladder and when he came back, Salem was sitting against the headboard with Nox in his lap. His pretty eyes were bloodshot and his hair was a mess.

"Hungry?" Azrael asked, sitting on the bed and watching Salem.

"Is Mel okay? I remember she was bleeding."

"Yeah just some scratches." Scratches that needed stitches but nothing to worry about. Melisande had gotten worse injures before she even had her first shift.

"The Alphas are going to ask what happened, aren't they?" Azrael nodded and watched Salem's brows furrow. "I don't know. I just did what felt right."

"No one could see what happened, everything went dark but even we couldn't see with our night vision." Salem sighed and sat Nox aside so he could crawl into Azrael's lap. Salem tangled his fingers in the curls on the back of Azrael's head, his full lips turned down in a frown.

"Are you scared of me?" He asked lowly, keeping his eyes diverted.

"Never." Azrael said easily and truthfully. He could never be scared of his Mate, if anything he was impressed by his new abilities. His little mate hugged him tightly and Azrael locked his arms around Salem's small waist.

"There was a face, in the smoke. I dont know who it was but I could feel their anger. Anger at everything but mostly me because I released it from it's host." Azrael ran his hand up and down Salem's back soothingly, breathing in his mate's sweet scent. "They were too weak, I scattered their darkness. It will take them a long time to find all of their pieces. But I felt something else, like someone was telling it what to do."

Azrael didn't know what to say and Salem pressed his face into the crease of Azrael's neck, making him shiver from the contact.

"Lets go get some food." Azrael said, unable to think so hard on an empty stomach. When he went to stand the little male jumped from his lap.

"Wait! No one can see me like this." He waved at himself before spinning and digging through his clothes. Azrael laid back on the bed and rubbed over his chest where he'd been struck by that ball of smoke. It had been painful, like a heavy weight that threatened to break bones. All he could think about at the time was getting to Salem and getting him away from that thing.

Nox had latched onto some colorful scarf and Salem was trying to tug it away, exposing his canines to the kitten as Nox did the same.

"Bad Nox!" The kitten whined and ran towards Azrael, looking for attention from him. Azrael chuckled and pet the kitten while Salem glared at the two. "Yes, baby him when he's being bad. That'll teach him." He rolled his pretty eyes and Azrael caught his slim wrist and pulled him back towards the bed. Azrael cut off Salem's huff with a gentle kiss.

The kiss had only just deepened when Salem pushed away and ran from the room to go take a shower. He fell back onto the bed and Nox jumped on his chest and looked down at him, his little tail flicking from side to side.

"I bet you're hungry too." The fat kitten meowed.