Hayley's P.O.V.
I start getting a bearing of my surroundings slowly. The first thing I notice is the beeping of a machine. It was a familiar sound. I knew I heard it before, but I couldn't remember where. My mind was...slow. Then came the smell. It smells like disinfectant or hand sanitizer. Strange, but still when I try to move I found that I couldn't. It took too much strength, and I was so tired. Why was I tired?
"You're safe." I hear someone say to me. A hand on my head. I knew that voice. Julius. That voice belongs to Julius. I want to see him. I need to see him. He's here. Julius. What happened? Why do I feel...like this? I find the strength to open my eyes briefly. There he is. A bit blurry, but I know it's him. I can feel it.
"Hey, hey...I'm here." he says coming closer to me. His hand keeps slowly caressing my hair. "You need to rest darling; you still need to heal. I'll be here. I won't leave you. Sleep."
For once I decide to listen to him. Sleep sounded nice. I was so tired...
Next time I came to be I was slightly more aware of my environment and with that awakening came the understanding of the pain I currently felt in my body. Instinctively I try to move. Sit up, do anything except lay in bed vulnerable to others, but hands are quick to push me down and stop my efforts. That's when I realize that someone was talking to me.
"You need to lay still darling." he keeps saying pushing me down.
"Julius?" I call out still feeling a little confused "Where am I?"
"You're in the Hospital darling. Do you remember why?" he asks me taking my hand in his as he sits right beside me.
I think for a few seconds but the answer came to me eventually.
"There was an attack. At the house. I killed them." I tell him
He smiled at me, and he was looking at me with proud? concern? I couldn't tell, my brain was still a little fuzzy. What the fuck did they give me?
"Yes, you did. You did good. I saw the surveillance; you were like a little badass ninja kicking men's ass half your height." he saw with a proud smirk.
"Surveillance?" I ask confused. I didn't see any cameras on the house.
"They are scattered all over the common areas. Undetectable, that's why we didn't see them." he says, knowing exactly what I was thinking. "There are none in the bedrooms. Don't worry, I checked." he says with a sly grin.
Of course he jokes at a time like this, but then again he wouldn't be him if he didn't.
"Can I have some water?" I ask him suddenly realising how dry my throat actually was. I was parched.
"Of course." he says getting up to pass me a cup of water with a straw in it.
"Small sips." he instructs and I do as he instructs. I immediately felt better. The water was fresh and cool on my sore throat.
"How bad was it?" I ask him when he moves the cup of water away.
His expression turns serious and slightly angry at my question.
"Bad. You had a ruptured spleen. They had to take it off completely. The knife nicked a major artery that was causing you to bleed out to quickly. For a moment I thought you weren't going to make it." he says holding tight to my hand.
I hold tight to his hand, trying to give him as much comfort as I could in my state.
"So I no longer have a spleen?" I ask a little worried
"You can live without a spleen." he says calmly "It won't affect your day to day."
"Good." I reply relieved "That's good."
We stay quiet for a few minutes, just taking some time to process everything. To reassure each other that we were both here. Both alive. But there was something in his eyes, a question, he was curious about something and he seemed to be building up the courage to ask me about it.
"Ask your question." I tell him
"Huh?" he asks confused
"You want to ask me something, I can tell. Ask." I insist
"Well...we manage to see what happened because of the video surveillance, but there wasn't any sound on them, and before you lost conscious you told me that the people who attacked you were hunters. How did you know? What did they say?" he asks really intrigued "If it's too hard to relieve those moments, you don't have to-"
"It's okay. I don't mind." I reassure him "Help me sit down, I don't want to be laying down for this." I request. I would be too...vulnerable laying down. Too much like a victim. And a victim I definitely wasn't. Julius seemed to understand what I was feeling, because he helped me sit down without once complaining. He even went to get more pillows to get me more comfortable. He's an idiot really. My idiot.
"Okay, huh...I woke up maybe an hour after you left, took a shower and then I was hungry so I went to the kitchen to prepare something to eat, and that's when I felt something was wrong..."
*Flashback
I had the fridge door open to see what I had to eat for breakfast when I heard a soft thump on the ground. Almost like something or someone had fallen on the floor. Not ignoring my instincts, I am quick to grab a knife from the counter.
Now that I am armed, I feel more confident to investigate the mysterious sound. Everything was silent which to me just raised more alarm than anything else. There was no sound of the guards outside, no small conversation, nothing, which was unusual.
Suddenly another sound was heard. A creak from the living room floorboard. There was someone in the house. And they were trying to be silent. That did not bode well for me. That means they have not come here for friendly conversation. The opposite most likely. I hear the closet door open and then I hear shouts and a door being shut closed and locked up. They must have thrown something down the basement. What was it? A gas most likely. I needed to help them, but for that I needed to get rid of whoever lock them in there first.
I place myself against the wall right next to the door that leads the kitchen on the living room. With any luck they haven't notice that I am here. I adjust the grip on my knife and prepare myself for the fight. I hear footsteps, light, and more than one, two, maybe three people. Tricky but not impossible.
The second the first person crosses my sight of line I jump at him. I slash his hand so he drops the gun and then I plunge the knife in his armpit making him yell out in pain, and then in a quick movement I remove the knife and maneuver myself so that I am behind him, and I plunge the knife into his neck, successfully killing him. The second man, no longer surprise by my appearance and the death of his buddy raises his gun at me but I quickly place the body of the man who I had just killed, who I was still holding in front of me having him receive the two gun shots that were previously aimed at me. I quickly dump the body to the side and I grab the hand of my assailant that was holding the gun to the side so that it was no longer in my line of sight, and in a move my brother taught me, a couple of years ago, I twist his arm to the side, and I break it, making him yell in pain. With the knife still in my hand I stab him in the collarbone, but I am thrown to the side violently and harshly, making me loose the knife and therefore my only weapon.
I regain my balance but not without consequences, my brief moment of distraction was enough to be hit twice with my attackers' fist. He was strong. Too strong for a regular human. He must be a wolf. I lean over in pain when he hits me on the stomach, he places his hand on my shoulder as if to hit me again, but I use the opportunity to grab his wrist pulling him forward and then I use my elbow to hit his arm, hard enough to make him growl in pain as I had most likely dislocated something. I hold him down enough for me to hit his face with my knee, making him fall to the ground, his face bloody from his broken nose. I try to run for the closest weapon, my knife. It was laying there on the floor just waiting to be used, but I am thrown to the ground before I can reach it. The guy I had thrown to the floor had grabbed my left heel and made me fall down on my side, making me groan from the impact.
"You fucking bitch!" the guy yells out jumping on top of me. I had enough time to notice he had his own knife and he was ready to plunge it in my heart, but thanks to my survival instincts I guess, I am able to diverge the original path of the knife but instead he ends it up stabbing me lower on my torso, missing my heart entirely. But it still hurt like a bitch.
"Who's laughing now, huh bitch? This is what happens when you betray your own." he says with a sick grin on his face "Daddy says hello." he removes the knife, but what he doesn't realize is that he as enlightens a new fire in me by mentioning my father. I would not give my father the pleasure to beat me like this. Just as he was about to strike again I grab his hand and stop him from placing it in my heart. Right now this was a test of strength. Strength I knew would quickly fade from me the second the adrenaline stops pumping. Strength I knew was no match for a werewolf.
But then we are surprise by a large wolf barging into the house. A wolf I knew two well. Julius. He had come. The distraction was enough for me to use the opportunity to hit the guy's head with my own, making him stumble back and Julius took the chance to charge at him and bite his neck raw. Killing him for good.
*End Flashback
"So your father was the one who sent them." Julius comments angry
"He must have found out what we were doing and sent them to kill me off for good." I tell him "Were you able to identify who they were?"
"Two humans and a wolf, he used to be a rogue who joined the pack 9 years ago. The humans were born in the pack. We're looking into their known associates." Julius informs me
"We?" I ask confused
"The team, of course." he says amused
"So they're okay? I thought..." Honestly I thought they were dead.
"Jordan and Maddie where the only ones in there at the time. They got lucky. The attackers send a poisonous gas into the basement, but they had oxygen's masks in storage so they manage to hold down long enough for help to arrive." Julius tells me "The two guards on the front were both unharmed. They were drug with something that made them loose their senses. The scientists are still trying to find out with what."
"So nobody died?" I check
"Just the bad guys." he says "And for a moment I thought we would lose you too. In fact, Hayley I need to tell you something."
He seemed nervous all of a sudden.
"What?" I ask curious about his reaction.
"Well...you see...I... this wasn't how it was supposed to happen, but your life was in danger and I had no other choice and, and the doctor he said I had to do it to increase your chances of surviving, and you know, if it's about your survival then I will make sure you have all the chances you need. Consequences be damn, you know? It's like that saying, better to ask forgiveness than permission, and it was not like you could give me permission, you were unconscious!" he says completely rambling
"Just spit it out Julius!" I tell him annoyed with his rambling
"I marked you" he confesses looking a little afraid but at the same time determined.
"You...marked me?" I repeat confused "What does that mean?"
"Shit, okay. Just...give me a minute, I'm going to grab something." he says getting up in a hurry "Just sit tight, I'll be right back."
It was slightly amusing to see him so agitated and nervous. He...marked me. I feel like I've heard about this before but for the life of me I can't seem to remember what it was. Julius was true to his promise and came back to the room, only this time, surprisingly, he brought a hand mirror with him.
"Why did you bring a hand mirror?" I ask him
"Here, take a look." he says passing me the mirror.
I take it with caution, almost as if it was made of porcelain and I would break it if I hold it too tight. Julius nervousness was starting to affect me. What will I see when I look in the mirror? Was my face disfigured? Slowly, I raise the mirror and with a deep breath I look at my reflection. So my face wasn't disfigured, just my collarbone. There was a teeth mark on right collarbone. I raise my hand to touch it, and it was sensitive to the touch but it didn't hurt. It actually sent shivers up my spine. It reminded me of Julius, actually.
"You...bit me?" I don't know if I should feel angry, amused or simply just confused. Although the last one was definitely there.
"It's a mate mark. It tells the other wolves that you've been claimed." he explains quietly almost as if preparing for my outburst.
"Claimed? What am I an object?" I ask annoyed.
"What? No!" he objects "It's not like that. A mate mark is one of the most precious things to a wolf. You can only give one in your life. Whoever you choose to mate recieves your mark, and to werewolf law you are as good as married."
"So you married me while I was unconscious and bleeding out?" I ask. What the hell? Who the hell did he think he was?
"It wasn't...You were dying, okay?" he says exasperated. He runs his hand through his hair trying to remain calm "I don't think you realize how close of a call it actually was. You were bleeding out Hayls, and the doctor, he told me that if I wanted for you to make it through the surgery I had to mark you. Connects us in such a way, that you could use my life source to keep you breathing."
"What do you mean, use your life source?"
"The mate bond is sacred for a reason. And ours is even more powerful than the others because you are my true mate in comparison with the other who are chosen mates. By finalising our mate bond and marking you I... opened, I guess, a pathway between you and me. If you want me to keep it simple, think of it as in your life is my life, and my life is your life. We are connected now. If you focus you can feel it. Feel me, inside of you, just like I can feel you, here" he says placing his hand on top of his heart "You are a constant presence inside of me, warm and safe. That was how I knew you were in danger, I could feel you projecting your pain to me."
"I didn't realise I was doing that." I admit. This was all so...unbelievable, and yet I knew that he spoke no lies. I could feel him, somewhat, deep inside me. It was weird, in some way. Something to get used to, I guess.
"It was made unconsciously. You were in danger and you projected that feeling towards me. So that I could come save you. The same thing would have happened if it had been me in your situation."
"So it works both ways?" I ask trying to understand how this works.
"Yup. You are stuck with me now gorgeous." he smirks with a gleeful glint in his eyes.
I scoff in fake annoyance but I can't help the small smile that makes his way into my lips. It felt nice, to know you belong to someone, and that someone belongs to you in return. I can't help but think that I would never be alone again. I would always have Julius. My heart skip a beat with that thought.
"So this mark tells everyone I'm your mate?" I ask him still curious about the peculiar mark.
"That's right."
"But what about you?" I ask curious
"What about me?"
"Shouldn't you have a mark as well? How will people know that you are mated to me?" I quite like that thought now that I thought it. I never knew I could be possessive of someone, but if I had to be might as well be of him.
"Well...it's not like humans have the...necessary instruments to mark their mate." Julius says trying to find a good way to explain this to me.
"You mean the fangs?" I tease
"It's canines. We are not bloodsuckers." he responds in disgust.
"How, then? It's seems quite unfair for you not to have some kind of mark that tells people you're taken. I mean I have to go around with a bite mark on my shoulder but you get away scar free? I don't think so, mister."
"Possessive much?" he asks smirking in delight
"You should know it. You mated with me." I was not ashamed of it. I never did like to share my toys as a child, I don't know why that has to change now that I'm grown up.
He laughs and then he kisses me quickly but passionately.
"Strangely enough, your possessiveness is kind of a turn on for me." he tells me with a sultry look
"Easy now, you horn dog."
"Tattoos." he replies, changing the subject.
"Huh?"
"Tattoos. That's what the wolves who are mated to humans do to show the world they have been claimed. Well, that or marriage. But werewolves can't carry rings with them because they would be destroyed when we transform so people usually go for the tattoo option."
I bite my lip in thought, thinking what kind of tattoo would be the best to show my claim. Got it. I smile amused by the idea.
"Alright. Then I know what you are going to get." I tell him with confidence "And you have no say in it. My mark. My claim."
"Now you have me worried." he says intrigued "Can I at least know what it its?"
"Nope. I am going to draw it myself and then we will go together to the tattoo parlour. You will only see it after it is done and marked on your skin." I tell him, completely loving this idea.
"Alright, but keep in mind that you are the one who is going to have to stare at it every time I'm naked." he says coyly
"I think I can deal with that."
One more chapter done! We are slowly getting closer to the final phase of the book. There is still so much that needs to happen but we're nearly there!
Our lovebirds are alive and marked and Hayley just had a wicked idea for a tattoo for Julius to show as her claim. Should Julius be scared? Maybe....
Don't forget!
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