The men who were close to Natalya all her life burst into the room. They found Natalya cradling her mate who was struggling to breathe. The doctor looked like he was at a loss. Her father quickly made his way towards her side. Tears ran down her cheeks as she looked up at him. He could see the torment that flowed in her violet irises. He could see that he will lose his daughter if he didn't do something quick.
Turning to his mate, something passed between them before Nikolai turned back to Natalya. He took hold of his daughter's shoulders to hold her attention. Maksim held in controlling Constantin's body. It looked like he was having a seizure.
"Natalya, look at me." He demanded. "You need to listen. I don't know if this will work but when your mother tried it with me it healed. The doctor at our old pack once said that bonds between two mates are the highest form of healing. You need to try marking him. Hopefully, this will comeback what his body is fighting against and give his wolf a sense of power to overcome and defeat it. His wolf needs a purpose to survive. Give it to him."
Natalya nodded quickly before turning to Constantin. She knew what her father wanted her to do. She needed to mark him. This is usually not done like this but if this will save him, she will do anything.
Maksim exposed Constantin's neck for her. She looked at her brother almost in panic before her brother ordered her to do it too. Her canine's elongated and her eyes turn a shade darker as she leaned down and bit into her mate's stiff neck. She heard him growl ferociously as he continued to throw almost an epileptic fit. Tears ran down her cheeks as her saliva and scent completely combined with her mates completely. She could feel his emotions. The pain he was feeling pulsed through the bond. She winced at how painful it was but dug her canines deeper. A low throaty sound came from him before his body fell limp.
Afraid she must have killed him, she pulled back. Her mate's blood dripped down her lips and chin as fear reflected on her face but not before she heard his breathing and his faint heart beat.
"He's not dead." She said in a very hushed voice. She didn't care if anyone heard her.
Her eyes flew up to her father who looked down at her with an encouraging smile. The doctor checked Constantin's vitals before nodding towards Natalya.
"Alpha, it looks like his body is regulating. Everything should be fine for now." He confirmed. "We won't know what the affects of the mark will do until he wakes up...if he ever wakes up. For now, we need to keep him comfortable."
Natalya felt numb. Her body felt like it was flying through space and she was standing in one spot seeing everything flash before her. Her family moved her around the room. Constantin was picked up and placed on a hospital bed.
When she finally gained some consciousness, she was sitting in a chair staring at Constantin while he slept. She heard voices outside but there seemed to be a bubble wrapped around her head. She could barely make out what they were saying.
It seemed like only hours that she was staring at him but in fact she had been staring at him all night. The sun had finally peeked over the horizon. Her mother tried talking to her but she made no response. She didn't hear a single thing. Everything sounded so muffled.
Her mother looked at her worriedly before disappearing. A moment later, her father appeared in front of her. He grabbed onto her cheeks and brought his face down to her eye level. She saw his lips moving but she couldn't make out he was saying.
Everything was like a blur in her eyes. After giving up on making out what her father was saying she turned to stare blankly at the wall. The corner of her eyes she could see her mother and father talking. They were arguing and her mother wept into her father's chest.
How did she get here?
How did she go from living a simple life to such a complicated life? She wanted everyone to go away. She just wanted to crawl into bed with Constantin and fall asleep in his arms.
~~
Her father appeared back in her line of vision again. He was dressed differently from before. She wondered did he just change. How did he do it so quickly? Again, her father placed his hands on her cheeks to talk to her. She watched his lips moved but heard nothing.
Finally, her father moved her into a bed next to Constantin. She lay in that bed and stared up at the wall. It was simply a white ceiling—nothing special really, but Natalya couldn't tear her gaze away from it. She wondered if she will ever paint again. If she did, she's going to paint every hospital room. People deserve to see colors.
Somebody turned her body over and she was able to see Constantin again. He lay in his hospital bed, sleeping peacefully. He was truly beautiful and now he was all hers.
The mark that was on his neck.
The strength in their bond.
She prayed that whoever turned will let her be but unfortunately, they pushed her back onto lay down her back. Saddened from the different view she felt her heart feel a new sense of heaviness. She wanted to touch him but she couldn't seem to move.
Her family came by all the time. She was growing tired of seeing their faces popping out of nowhere. Even Yulian came by to see her. She couldn't hear or make out anything they were saying. It seemed like she was stuck in this state forever until she saw a pair of eyes that took her breath away.
His palm on her cheek sent tingling awareness all over her body. She took in a sharp breath and it felt like the bubble that was around her disappeared. A smile graced his lips and his dark tousled black hair fell over his forehead as he leaned forward to look at her.
"Natalya." He said softly.
Her smile widened. If this was heaven, she never wanted to leave. If she was dreaming, she never wanted to be woken up again.
Constantin's voice was a deep gravelly voice. She blinked to see if he will disappear. He didn't and when he leaned down to place a kiss on her lips. She knew he was real.
"You're real." She hoarsely spoke for the first time. It felt weird. She felt stiff and awkward. She moved her muscles.
He pulled back and sat on the edge of her bed. He was still wearing hospital pants and a white t-shirt. He chuckled at her response and she watched in complete fascination at how his voice rumbles now.
"I'm real." He replied back. His voice still sounds a little rough but Natalya could hear just how wonderful he sounds like.
"You could talk." She whispered.
One corner of his lips lifted into a half smile. "It worked."
Natalya remembered now. It was the memories of him writhing down on the ground and the amount of fear that she felt when she saw him dying in front of her. She shook her head and pushed herself into a straighter sitting position which in turn pulled her away further from him.
"I saw you dying." She replied back, broken. "I thought you were going to leave me."
Constantin immediately knew where she was going. The pitch in her voice grew higher and she was going to become hysterical any second now if he didn't calm her down. He placed his hands back on her cheek and scooted closer to her, so that if she was to run, he can catch her in time.
"I'm okay. I'm still here. I promise you I will always be here." He quickly spoke.
"I don't want to go through that again." She shook her head and a tear slipped from her eyes. "I don't want to see you like that again."
He knew the pain and torture she was feeling. He leaned in and kissed her lips, lingering as long as he can before he pulled back.
"Ok, never again." He promised.
She nodded hesitantly before looking down at her hands that were now fisted together tightly. Slowly she let go of her hands and try to steady her breathing. Her mate could now speak and now she could hear perfectly fine.
Constantin watched her for a while before he took hold of one of her hands, snapping her out of her thoughts. She looked up at him and he watched her patiently.
"You went into shock." He said. "Your body and wolf shut down completely after what happened. Nobody seemed to be able to break you out of your haze. No matter what they did you remained silent. Do you remember anything?"
She nodded. "I thought it was weird I couldn't hear them say anything."
He gave a short laugh before kissing her forehead. "It is a good thing you responded to my touch."
Natalya wanted to be close to Constantin. It seemed like forever since she was in his arms. She didn't wait a moment longer or to ask him for permission. She scooted over on her bed to make enough room for him. With her eyes she directed him to get in.
He chuckled before following her lead. She snuggled immediately into his side and wrapped her arms around him. They remained quiet in each other arms for a very long time before she spoke again.
"I marked you."
"I saw that." He replied back but there wasn't any anger in his voice.
"I'm going to do some damage to your friend." She said. "If you stop me, I'll be upset with you."
He laughed. "You know what she did might've helped."
"I don't believe that crap." She muttered.
He sighed and pulled her closer. "Can you at least let her explain first?"
"Then kick her ass?" She retorted.
His chest rumbled and she knew instantly that she will never grow tired of hearing him talk or laugh. It was a beautiful sound. She sighed and snuggled closer to his body before staring back up at the ceiling.
"After I kick her ass, I am going to paint these rooms." She responded sleepily. It seemed like forever since she had a good sleep. Her eyelids were heavy with sleep. She yawned and buried her nose into her mate's chest inhaling his scent before allowing sleep to take over.