The night of Heath's ceremony went on without a hitch. The wild boar was delicious. The night lasted what felt like a long time. Heath did a wonderful speech as did David. Clark, Timothy and Michael all took the stage with Heath as he announced his team. There was much cheering at his choices. When it was finally time to shift Heath and his team did first, then we mates followed, then the rest of the pack. We all ran our territory together until well after midnight. The pack had a wonderful night.
It was a lot simpler to move around in my wolf form while pregnant. I stayed in wolf form as I walked through the pack house and up to my bedroom. I was completely exhausted, I curled up on my pillow, trying to fall asleep. Clark came in just after me, laughing out loud when he saw me on the bed.
"No way darling. You are not sleeping in the bed like that. It will be full of fur!" he told me. I whimpered at him and stretched out across the bed. "Come on Char, no way is this happening." I sat up, staring at him. I snorted before I flopped back down and rolled all over the bed.
Clark laughed out loud, dropping his clothes and shifted into his wolf, pouncing on top of me and rolling us around the room. We nuzzled and played together for a while. It was the first time we did that inside the house. Balls of our fur flew around the bedroom as we played together, tossing and jumping. We had so much fun.
I don't recall when we fell asleep but we woke up tangled in each other's naked forms a little past 6am. Clark had me wrapped in his arms, I was tucked up against his side. I moaned when he tried to move me, so stiff from pregnancy. "Come on darling, we should get up." He said with a husky voice. I shook my head, refusing, "Nope, I don't think the baby will let me move." He chuckled, kissing my forehead, "I have to get to training. Today is your brother's first official day with us, I don't want to be late." I held him in place, muttering against his chest.
Clark sighed at me, frustrated, "Pregnancy makes you difficult." I laughed, kissing his neck sensually, I bit down on my mark. He growled at me, trying to fight the urges I was tempting him with. "It also makes you horny." He whispered in my ear, sucking it into his mouth and nibbling. "I know, I'm a trouble maker." I whispered. Clark nudged me onto my back and got up quickly. I grumbled but he just laughed at me, "Sorry darling, usually your little vixen behavior would work but I can't be late for Michael's first big day." I nodded, rolling over and attempting to get out of bed. We had a quick shower together before Clark was out the door. I went to the kitchen to make some tea before going to the library.
A few hours later I heard some shouting down the hallway, I got up and went in search of it. It was coming from the conference room. I walked in to see all our senior pack members gathered around Timothy's map. There was a lot of commotion, I was having a hard time sorting it all out. Clark and Michael came rushing in behind me, "How many were spotted?" Clark yelled.
"The patrol said three but they didn't get a good look at them." Heath told him, he pointed to an area on the map. Clark went to it, studying the terrain and nodded. "We will have to go now, maybe we can pick up the trail and hunt them down." Clark motioned for a few warriors to follow him. He walked up to me quickly, kissing me good bye and rushing out the door.
I went over to Melanie, "What's going on?"
"A patrol spotted some rogues between Ice Water territory and ours. We alerted the werebears immediately and now we are sending a warrior squad to hunt them down." She told me, not looking away from the map.
"They saw three right?" I asked. Melanie nodded, "It's only three rogues which won't be a problem for our warrior team. However, if they are just a small part of a larger group, which we suspect they are then that is more dangerous."
I sucked in a deep breath, for the first time since I arrived at Black Lake I was worried about Clark's safety.
"Don't worry we are sending out more patrols around the pack house and a warrior team has gone to Ice Water to enhance their warriors. We will be fine." She assured me. I nodded, but I was not afraid for my safety. I decided to go to my herbology lab and mix up some salves. It was better to have extra around then to not have enough. I made six large jars for the extra strong salve before I ran out of tea tree oil, I made a note for myself to get more.
The afternoon came and went, moving into the evening. I couldn't link with Clark yet; he was too far out of range. I went to the library again, trying to distract myself from worrying too much. I knew he was strong and perfectly capable to defend himself, but as his mate I wanted to protect him in any way I could. Just after supper time Tabitha and Michael brought me some chilli to eat. I was grateful for the company.
"It's wonderful to see my brother like this." I teased. Tabitha blushed, as she tossed her hair over her shoulder I saw a fresh bite mark on her neck. I didn't draw attention, but I smiled sweetly. It was nice to see. "He is wonderful isn't he." Tabitha suggested, beaming at me.
Michael blushed, "I'm not so sure about that but she is certainly the most amazing woman in the world." I couldn't stop smiling at them. Their joy was infectious.
"I have you talked to mother and father yet?" I asked, finishing off my chilli. Michael shook his head, "I was going to do it tonight before the rogue attack but now I'm going to wait until all this is over. I'm sure they will be excited for us."
"I am sure they will. Now they have two reasons to visit us here at Black Lake." We all nodded together at my words. Tabitha stood up slowly, giving Michael a sweet kiss before she walked towards the door, "I'm on kitchen clean up duty tonight. Amy will kill me if I don't pitch in after being absent for two full days." I chuckled as she left.
Michael turned to me, running his fingers through my hair, "Oh my god Char, I can't believe this has happened!" I burst out laughing as he slumped back on the sofa.
"She is perfect! Tabitha is sweet, kind, funny, sexy. She thinks I am amazing. She wants me to be her mate, she actually wants to spend time with me!" he told me. I leaned forward as if to whisper, "That is how it should be for two mates. It should feel like you belong together, made for each other."
"When she was hiding from me I thought the worst you know. I thought it was Stella all over again. I couldn't find her and I ran all over the place looking for her. I was desperate. I was surprised she was so young, just seventeen. I didn't think of that when I caught her scent, I was sure she was just playing games with me." Michael explained, I rubbed his arm. He was so afraid of being hurt again, I could understand that based on how things had been with Stella.
"Tabitha is just seventeen. She wasn't sure how to handle the situation, she was scared. That's why Tabitha came to find me." I whispered. Slowly I moved myself on the sofa a bit, readjusting my hips and back to make myself more comfortable.
"She loves me Char. I can feel she loves me, through the bond. It was never like that with Stella. She always held herself back from me. Tabitha doesn't hold anything back. She gives me everything she has. I love her more then I loved Stella already, after two days. Is that possible?" he confessed. "I believe anything is possible now Michael." I admitted.
"I'm sorry Charlotte, but I have to tell you, the sex is amazing. Like, I can't even believe it's possible to feel this good. She does this one thing..." Michael started to tell me, but I pushed my hand over his mouth, "There are some things I really don't want to know big brother." He nodded, laughing through my hand. I wrinkled my nose at him and stuck out my tongue.
Michael left my side to grab a book, I adjusted again, sliding my feet up onto the sofa. I suggested he rub them for me but that didn't seem to appeal to my brother. We sat and read together for another hour before Tabitha came back to get him. Michael went with her eagerly, I giggled as they rushed out of the library.
It was after 8pm, still no word. I tried to link with Clark but he was still out of range. I left the library and returned to the conference room. Timothy and Melanie were the only ones left in there. They both looked exhausted. Luckily I had been carrying my herb bag around just in case I needed it when the warriors returned.
I went to Melanie first, "Here, chew on this. It's like a caffeine boost but healthier." She smiled at me and took the stick from me. Timothy was engrossed with the map so I just tapped his shoulder and handed him his, he chewed it absentmindedly.
"How's it going?" I asked Melanie as I lowered myself onto a chair. She shook her head, "No word yet. We sent out another warrior group after them. It's been a bit long." I searched her face, Melanie was concerned. I rubbed my belly, praying to the goddess for their safe return.
"When were you expecting to hear from them?" I asked. Melanie paused a long time before she answered, she met my eyes carefully, "Four hours ago." My eyes welled up with tears, I was terrified. That was a long time to be missing.
"I'm sure everything is alright. They are probably on their way back now." She told me, but I could see in her eyes she was worried. I felt as though something was wrong, I wish I could just link with Clark to know he was alright. "Is there anything I can help with?" I asked, I wanted to make myself useful to keep my mind busy.
She shook her head, "Not really. You could bring us some coffee if you wanted, but these caffeine sticks probably did the trick." I nodded, standing up to head downstairs. I could do that; I could make the coffee. Even though I'm sure it would have them climbing the walls I needed something to do so off I went.
As I was preparing the tray I suddenly felt the worst pain come over my back. It shot through me, forcing me to my knees. I screamed in agony as the intense anguish ripped across my spine, it felt as though a whip made of daggers crossed my back. I became woozy from the shock, I was panting. Rolling to my side, I tried to get up but I started to loose consciousness. I heard voices around me, I couldn't make out faces, they were trying to get me to focus. My eyes were heavy, my senses fading, I floated away from everything into the abyss.
I wasn't sure how long I had been unconscious but when I woke up I was in the infirmary. There was a bright light on the ceiling, my eyes had a hard time focusing. Then I realized I didn't have my glasses on, I felt a bit silly that I hadn't noticed that. Cheryl was sitting next to me in a chair on one side, Michael was leaning against the window sill. I moved my tongue around the inside of my mouth to try a relieve the cotton feeling, "What happened?"
Michael jumped as I spoke, running over to the bedside, "Oh thank god, you are awake. Char you scared the hell out of all of us!"
"Thank goodness girl. We were worried." Cheryl whispered, squeezing my hand. "What happened?" I repeated.
"We aren't sure. You screamed so loud it shook the walls of the pack house. We thought you were being attacked or you went into early labour. The medic looked you over but there was nothing wrong with you. They couldn't find anything wrong at all." Cheryl explained. She rubbed my hand she was holding with her other hand.
"The baby?" I asked quickly, touching my belly. He was still in there; I could feel his movement. Michael smiled at me softly, "He is fine Charlotte."
I sat up slowly, my back no longer hurt. I looked back over my shoulder to see if I could see any blood, nothing. I shook my head, "I felt a terrible pain across my back, it knocked me to the floor. I had never felt anything more painful in my entire life."
Cheryl rose, toughing my shoulder to lean me forward to see my back, "There is nothing there my dear. Not a mark on you."
I gasped as it hit me, "Clark... it was his pain... he's been wounded."
Cheryl's eyes shot to mine, fear and panic crossed between us both. "I felt something when I heard you scream but I thought it was just my concern for you." She whispered. I reached up and touched her face, offering comfort.
"Michael, go and get Heath. Meet us in the conference room, we need to find him now!" I said calmly, with force. I was commanding him kindly. He nodded and ran out of the room. I swung my legs over the edge of the bed, wrapping a dressing gown around my body. I threw my herb bag over my shoulder and made my way to the conference room.
Timothy was still at his map; Melanie had finally passed out on a chair in the corner. The clock on the wall read 1: 45am. Clark and his team had been missing for ten hours. "Timothy, I know Clark has been wounded, we need to find him now." I told him. Timothy's eyes shot to me, his face went white with dread.
"The second team came back with nothing; I send out a third team about an hour ago. How do you know he has been wounded?" he sighed, crossing off sections of the map.
Melanie moved in the chair, rubbing her eyes, "Charlotte, what's going on?"
"I could feel Clark being attacked. He is hurt somewhere. We need to find him." I explained to her. She jumped out of the chair and ran to me, "Are you sure?" I nodded.
"Where have the warriors searched so far Timothy?" I asked, moving to the map. He pointed to two different sections, looking to be about one thousand acres each. I studied it, red X's through the searched areas. I looked to the pins in the map, wondering if there was a correlation.
"Where was the rogue camp?" I asked him. Timothy showed me, I put my finger on the pin. It was out of range of the searched areas. Clark had found it before; it was where they found evidence of very strong rogues. I thought about it for a bit. Heath, Michael and Samuel rushed into the conference room. I was concentrating hard on Clark; I knew he was somewhere close to that camp. I could feel it.
I turned to Heath and Michael, "I want you to take me here." I pointed to the rogue camp. They both looked at me like I was insane. "You are not going out there." Heath told me. Michael stepped forward to see where I was pointing.
"Listen to me, I can feel him. I know he is there. He is badly wounded, he will die. Heath, let me save my mate, take me there. Clark needs us." I begged. "Charlotte you are pregnant!" Samuel cried. I nodded, "I know, but I need my mate. I know exactly where he is. I can channel into him. We will find him faster if I go with you."
Heath's face was cold, stern. He shook his head at me. Tears fell down my cheeks silently, "Please Heath, let me save him." I begged. The room was silent; the only sound was the crackle of the fire in the hearth. Heath was loosing his resolve; I could see it. "Please." I repeated softly.
"I will take you myself." He whispered. Samuel roared loudly, "Heath, you can't take her out there! She could be killed!" Heath turned to his father and hugged him hard, "I will bring them all back. That is what the Alpha does."
Michael and Timothy stepped forward, awaiting orders. "You two stay here. I will bring a dozen warriors with us. If we are not back in three hours signal the alliance packs and get reinforcements sent here." Heath commanded. Both men nodded, Michael went to gather the warriors, Timothy to retrieve the alliance contact information. I studied Heath, he turned to me, "Downstairs in ten minutes. You will guide us, Char. Let's go."