Author's Note: Hey all! Long time no see haha here's a long chapter for all the wait. Its full of pretty much every kind of emotion! Do enjoy it <3
[29] Sacrifice
"I know you want to find them Mia, but we both know it would only make things more dangerous."
Mia nodded mutely, if only not to cry. She was torn between wanting to split Jasmine's head open and falling into tears, because although Jasmine was the one who took the kids outside in the midst of battle, she should have known better than to overlook a woman who had shown herself to be unhinged.
In the end, Sammie was right. She had to stay inside. By having matura she would only make herself their favorite meal, not to mention she didn't have the skills to fight against wolves of that calibre. The least she wanted was to become a liability in the field.
"I'll be back with the kids, I promise," Sammie whispered.
Mia wiped a stray tear and nodded again. She watched dejectedly as Sammie and Stella ran off into the woods to find them. When the two could no longer be seen she closed the door and locked it. In the kitchen she rejoined Lisa and the others as they continued making more batches of healing treatments. With shaking hands Mia went back to the recipe. She noticed Lisa was making a batch with slightly different ingredients.
"If in case...the kids..." Lisa whispered, not daring to say more.
And thankfully she didn't. Otherwise Mia would have surely started bawling. This was all her fault. She was the one who allowed Jasmine in this house. This never would have happened if she hadn't been so open to her sob story and realized that she should handle her problems on her own. Mia's sadness gave way to anger. The strokes of her hits against the grinder became more raged.
"If you want you can take a break," Mandy said nervously, wincing as the powered herbs were being disintegrated beyond necessary under Mia's hand.
"You know what, I think I will." Mia abandoned her station and walked purposely to the hallway. She breezed right past her own room and went inside Jasmine's.
Various clothes were strewn around in disarray. There was a particular white, lacy ensemble she had set up over her bed. Clean and brand new, as if she were planning on wearing that tonight. Mia grabbed it and threw it in the trash, right where Jasmine belonged. As a matter of fact, any of her clothing items that were not inside a suitcase Mia added into the trash bin. She rounded up all of her suitcases (which suddenly felt rather light and empty) to place them together.
Catching glimpse of a phone she reached for it. Over twenty missed calls. All from Stephen, the Shark King, and even more numerous unanswered text messages. The woman wasn't smart enough to lock her phone, something Mia was quite grateful for. Most of the messages were from Stephen asking how her visit to seeing Samantha was, and when she was planning to come back.
Mia smiled coldly. Whether Jasmine liked it or not, she would be leaving tonight.
<<<>>>
Saurus almost missed the clawed hand sent to reach out for him. With lightening reflexes Rex swooped over the corcorus from behind and rammed him harshly against the ground. It allowed Saurus just enough time to grab the next corcorus' by the neck. Before it even had a chance to hiss he twisted, unblinking at the resounding crack. Saurus rarely got distracted like that, but there was a scent in the air below the metallic taste of blood. If it was as he thought, then they were in deep problems.
Rex only confirmed his sense. Jasmine is coming our way with three children.
Saurus clenched his bloodied fists. Not good. This meant—
"Maturaaaaa," the vile creatures hissed.
The group of beasts which were once slugging their way to him paused, their noses lifted to the air as a wave of ecstasy moved their bones and filled their eyes with deeper hunger at the smell of Jasmine.
"Childrennnn," another set echoed.
In response their putrid eyes went from murky green to scarlet red. For the first time this entire fight, Saurus felt fear, and not for himself. Children were kept highly guarded in the packhouse for good reason. Aside from a corcorus' obsession with eating humans with matura, more than several had an even deeper taste for children. As they were weaker and not as developed, a corcorus with red eyes had the power to freeze a werechild with one look and make them do as they wished. It was perhaps their most dangerous trait, the ability to make a little one defenseless to run away.
Saurus' own eyes turned gold with rage. It was easy to fight these corcorus when they were all heading towards him. With them now turning away it would be harder to chase for the kill. Their lucrative amount made it easy for one to slip through his fingers. The worst part is he had this section to himself. He had ordered their men to split and allowed himself to be alone so the others could be in equal quads.
A rush of adrenaline pumped through his veins. He slashed through several of them, but it was no use. While he fought some, and Rex others, a few were advancing behind him to their preferred prey. Within moments the shape of Jasmine along with Allan, Amy, and Jason appeared at the edge.
"Alpha, we brought what you needed!" Allan called.
The three kids each raised a bottle with foreign liquid. From here he could smell it. It was nothing but some ointments he had in his room.
Samuel's fury rose to new heights. He couldn't believe Jasmine would trick the kids with falsehood to get them to come here. He feasted her with a seething glare. "What the hell were you thinking coming here with the children?!"
Jasmine trembled, she pushed against them to be at the forefront. "I know the truth now Saurus..." she said sadly, "you won't forgive me because Mia is here. She's the one you made drawings of, the girl you loved who never loved you back. But I can love you. Mate me and I'll take the kids back to the pack house," she said.
Saurus felt his insides twist. He had no time to respond and could only react with Rex to attack the onslaught of corcorus headed their way. He had never seen this side of Jasmine before. She had always been nice, sweet, and accommodating. This was his worst nightmare. Despite Jasmine's ultimatum, her own legs quacked with fear as she saw the carnality of the battle field. Necks were twisted, stomachs were opened and trails of intestines were laid out. Heads were being decapitated with limbs ripped from their socket.
He could see the kids try to put on a brave front, but they were turning pale. He had never wanted them to see this so young. Not yet fully trained.
"Jasmine, I'm begging you, please take the children back. Run back home. If you truly love me take the children back."
She shook her head vehemently. "No, not until you tell me you'll stop loving Mia. Not until you say you'll mate me."
Saurus wanted to spit at her face. Sensing his anger, Rex warned him.
Careful, Saurus. A bad word and she might do something risky.
He warred against his emotions and forced his disgust into one of no emotion, instead deciding to reason with her. "Please take the kids home and we'll talk about this later."
"Childrennnn, look at me," a corcorus hissed. It slithered its way to them, appearing more snake-like than a wolf in its slower movement.
"Look away!" Saurus demanded. "Don't look at them in the eye!"
The three obeyed him instantly and looked away right as a few corcorus tried to meet their gaze from the distance.
He slashed through three of them with Rex, but it was still not enough. They were slowly advancing to Jasmine's way. Saurus forced his panic down. He had to figure out a way to get them safe.
"Climb the trees! Go as high as you can!" He ordered.
Slight relief filled him as they began climbing the branches. If there was one thing corcorus couldn't do, it was climb trees. Allan and Jason managed to get to a high enough altitude, but Amy was clearly struggling. She had never been good at climbing, and still now she had yet to reach a branch.
Jasmine began wailing. "All I ever wanted was to love you, why won't you accept me?"
As he gouged the eyes out of a particular corcorus with red eyes he spit at the ground. "I will never mate a woman as disgusting as you."
Jasmine gasped. She clutched her heart painfully and began crying. "Then if I can't have you, no one can."
She grabbed a struggling Amy by the neck and forced her gaze out—right into the red eyes of an approaching corcorus. Amy's fearing face turned blank, her body became still as a board, an empty canvas as she gazed at the wicked beast.
Jasmine's eyes hardened to steel. "Mate me and I'll cover her eyes."
"You're willing to risk the life of a child over something so selfish?!" Saurus thundered.
"Yes."
Saurus had never hated someone as much as he hated her. More corcorus were slipping through the cracks. He was making progress, but it felt futile as they moved away from him and went on to the juicer target.
"Comeeee to meee," the corcorus told Amy.
Slowly, Amy took a step towards.
"No!" cried Allan front the tree tops. "Amy, stop!"
"Stop Amy!" Jason called out.
The two trembled in fear as they saw their dear teammate advance towards the vile creature. A situation like this had never happened to Saurus before. For the first time, he didn't know what to do. Kids had never been in danger before like this. Never.
"Amy, stop." Saurus commanded.
Again, she froze in place. Her face still blank. He sighed in relief. His power of alpha still worked under the influence.
"Comeeeeee little one."
"Stop."
It was battle between the corcorus' and his own power of alpha. Saurus tried to think hard. The corcorus were dwindling now, but based on the ones behind him he wouldn't get to them on time.
"Close your eyes," Saurus ordered her.
"Open them," the corcorus hissed.
It was futile. He could tell her to run, but the corcorus would tell her to stop. If Jasmine covered her eyes it would grant enough time for her to be out of the influence, but it was hopeless for that now. As he sliced through an abdomen he saw from the corner of his eye the corcorus advance closer to her.
"Rex."
Do what you have to do, I'll go on the defensive. His wolf said, ripping off the leg off a corcorus. At this point, they had stopped trying to fully kill them, and had resorted to disabling them to hurry along.
For the first time Saurus left his wolf alone in battle and advance towards Amy, cutting through the corcorus advancing to her path. The red-eyed corcorus reached a feet away from her, he could hear the tears of Allan and Jason crying, and in his own heart he was too. The corcorus bared its yellow teeth, sharp and disgustingly jutting as it closed in the distance.
Saurus swooping in and rammed his fist in his ribcage, pulling the air and ripping its heart out. The next moment, searing pain soared through his body as two corcorus immediately behind used his disadvantage to bite him. The pain was almost unbearable. His veins turned black in the area they bit. In his haze he struggled to find vital organs and kill.
He told Amy to run away. Had he used the power of alpha? He couldn't remember. He did remember her tears, and her calling out to him saying alpha with desperate cries. Why wasn't she running away? The other corcorus would have time to get closer if she didn't leave. He could feel his body trying to fight the poison. His mind would come in and out. More ripping and slashing. Rex finished and joined him.
"Saurus! Saurus!" An urgent voice shook him. When had he fallen to the ground?
"Sammie, take the kids," he slurred, "others coming..."
"No, they're all dead. You killed them."
He didn't remember that.
"They're safe?" he asked.
"Yes, they're safe."
Finally, he closed his eyes and blacked out.
<<<>>>
The packhouse was in disarray. Moments ago had they been waiting in quiet anxiousness for the wolfmen, now it was frantic. Mia received the children with relief. Their cheeks were tear-stained, their eye completely horrified at what they had seen. The werewomen immediately rushed to bath them and send them to rest.
It was the sight of Saurus, completely unconscious and deathly pale, carried into the packhouse by three wolfmen so as to not further damage his injuries that made tears burst forth. It was reliving her dream all over again, only worse, because this was real and he wasn't there to tell her it would be okay. All the way at the end trailed Jasmine, looking like a guilty lost puppy.
Sammie closed the door behind her. She could see it took all her best-friend's energy to not do something to the girl. Any blow from Sammie and Jasmine would easily die.
It's a good thing Mia didn't have that kind of worry.
Without a second thought she went right up to her and slapped her across the face. The hit was so hard Jasmine's face snapped to the side with a resounding sound that reached all the packhouse. The remaining people around gazed in opened mouthed shock, but said nothing.
Jasmine clutched her injured cheek. It was bright red, unnaturally so. Mia knew with the hit she gave her it would turn purple. Fat tears came down her face. "I-I didn't mean to—"
"Get out."
"B-but i-it's dangerous—"
"Get out. You were willing to go out there when it was dangerous. Now all the corcorus are dead. You took the kids with you, you bitch. I don't care how you get to the airport, or if a taxi even comes. I don't even care if you have to walk all the way to town. Get. Out."
Jasmine's lips trembled. "My things—"
"Right here." Mia opened the door for her. "Good-bye now."
Jasmine looked all around her. Mia had just slapped her and cursed at her, had just told her to leave in this dark hour. No one came to her defense. She was met with cold eyes and crossed arms, from both weremen and werewomen as they gave her looks of disgust. She was an aberration to them, a complete abomination, a very corcorus herself in human skin.
"I force you out myself if I have to," Mia threatened.
Oh what she wouldn't do to this women. She was being generous enough as it was. Only a slap? Only kicking her out, and with her things? She was being exceedingly generous. Seeing no other option Jasmine gathered her things, her dress dirtied and soiled, her sandals breaking at the bottom, and left.
Suddenly, the sound of glass being shattered could be heard across the rooms.
"Saurus, no! Don't fight! Stay down!" The frantic voice of Mandy cried.
Mia and Sammie immediately ran, passing through other injured wolfmen as they made their way to Saurus. In terms of casualties, the majority had only obtained ugly gnashes and torn muscles. Saurus was the only one who had gotten bitten.
The scene before them was a mess. There, half naked in his room was Saurus. His eyes were purely gold, drops of sweat lined his forehead, his breathing uneven as he crouched in a defensive position. Mia saw two large bite marks in his abdomen and another on his lower leg, all surrounded in black, as though the skin around it were slowly dying. Beside him was a mess of shattered glass and herbs they had mixed together splattered messily.
The werewomen were standing some feet away cautiously, weary for his response.
"He's hallucinating," Lisa said worriedly. "If we don't get this mix on him soon he'll get worse. That poison is vicious, if it travels through his blood long enough it'll damage his vital organs. The more he strains himself, the worse it'll get."
"Alpha, we're trying to help you," Mandy said calmly, slowly approaching him with a new batch of the remedy at hand.
Within two steps he growled at her fiercely, freezing her in her tracks. He was looking at her as though she were the enemy. After repeated tries and another broken bowel Sammie had enough.
"Saurus, stop it!" she cried.
"Sammie, you try getting closer to him," Lisa handed another bowel to her.
Thankfully, Sammie's closeness did not make him react. He only kept looking behind his sister warily. It appeared only the people closest to him would not ignite him in his hallucination.
"I need help," Sammie said, finally reaching him. "The bandages, bring them over Mia."
Mia's mouth dropped. She had no time to voice doubt before Lisa stuffed her arms with the additional supplies and shoved her over to him. What if he didn't recognize her?!
Thankfully, his response to her was the same as Sammie's. As a matter of fact, the moment Mia touched his arm and told him to relax he sat down and ended up fainting. It allowed the wolfmen the perfect opportunity to lift him and place him in bed again.
Mia and Sammie worked fast. Within twenty minutes he was properly wrapped up. Already she could see the poison being sucked out. The bandages they had wrapped were steadily turning a murky black color.
"These will need to be changed every two hours for the first day." Lisa said. "We typically wait longer, but he has three bites so I don't want to risk it. Try to make him drink as much fluids as possible," then, looking as his completely knocked out state she sighed, "if he can..."
With their alpha now attended to, the other wolfmen were taken cared of swiftly and easily. Mia and Sammie stayed by Saurus' side. As they were the only ones he could tolerate they took post near his bed.
Every two hours, like clockwork they would get up and change the bandages. It was disgusting, yet oddly satisfying to pull away the murky bandages, apply another layer of salve and replace it with new ones. Saurus was not doing much better. At times he would wake up and crawl around the room to sniff as though looking for some enemy. Sometimes he would let them take him back to bed, other times he wouldn't, and they'd have to wait until he fainted again.
After a day of no sleep Sammie forced Mia to leave and took post. For the second day the bandages only needed to be changed every four hours, and Sammie said she could handle two changes on her own. Unable to hold up much, Mia agreed, returning punctually in eight hours and sending her best friend to sleep right after.
"Are you sure?" Sammie asked.
"Yes, go to sleep." Mia insisted, pushing her out.
Within an hour of changing his bandages Samuel started groaning in pain. Lisa had upped the dosage of salve to make it more effective, but in return it made the process more brutal to endure. Samuel wasn't responding as he should to the medicine. His fever had yet to lower and his injuries were healing very slowly.
Wanting to comfort him, Mia took a soft cloth and wet it in cool water, gently wiping the sweat from his face and neck. She passed it down his arms and chest, avoiding the bandaged injuries. Seeing him so pained and vulnerable made her teary again. If she could go back and do things differently, she would.
She cupped his sleeping face tenderly, a frown marring her face. "Please get better soon, I miss you so much already." Her pleas were met with silence. He continued to breathe deeply, struggling against the illness. A worried hand passed over his forehead. "I never told you how much I care about you...how much I love you," she whispered.
Her silent sobs filled the room with her sadness. How could she be so stupid? What would have happened if he died? He would have never known. And now he was sick, hallucinating and barely progressing since yesterday.
A soft touch gazed her cheek. Mia looked up. It was Samuel, he was awake now, looking at her with those golden eyes. He wiped the tears from her cheeks as though they had no business being there. For a moment, she almost thought he was lucid, until he did his usual of prowling around the room. He was still hallucinating.
She took advantage of his moment being up and changed his bed sheets. When Sammie tried to come back for a switch Mia refused. Her heart couldn't take being away from him when he was like this. She would stay. In the meantime, Sammie could help handle pack affairs that still needed to be done in Saurus' absence.
So thus Mia continued to watch over him day and night. When the sheets got too sweaty, she changed them. When his temperature became too hot, she covered him in ice packs. She would wipe his face, neck, and chest when it became sticky with sweat. She knew the bites were getting better, because now they were no longer black, instead it was combination of purple, green and sickly yellow. She would change it three times a day now and get rid of any nasty exudate. The smell it released was repulsive, but it ensured her the poultice was working. On the fourth day no more pus was pulled. The bites were a clean, bright red. On the fifth day his fever broke.
"I need water."
Mia jumped at the sound of his voice, surprised. It was raspy, and Mia suspected it was severely sore. It's the first time she heard his voice in days.
She handed him the glass of water beside him, but as she kept refilling it he kept asking for more. He ended up drinking the whole jug before requesting food. Mia ran to the kitchen and heated recent left overs. She loaded a plate full of carbs and protein. He needed all the energy he could get. Once satiated, he made move get out of bed.
"What are you doing?!" She cried, alarmed he would do such a thing. He was fresh from recovery. Shouldn't he stay in bed? Then again, he had prowled every now and then while hallucinating, but Mandy should at least check him out before he started doing things.
"I need a shower. How long have I been ill?"
"Five days." Mia practically ran to be next to him. He refused to heed her concern and was trying to get up.
Saurus didn't stagger, but he placed a pained hand to his forehead. He was probably still getting minor symptoms.
"I'm okay, Mia." He withdrew from her to enter the bathroom.
Mia felt like panicking. Should she just leave him alone in there? What if he fell? She stood near the door for a few minutes to ensure he didn't fall. While he showered she changed his sheets again.
"Mia, could you bring me some fresh clothes? I forgot." He called, his voice muffled by the bathroom door.
Mia looked through his things. She settled for loose fitting clothes that would be comfortable for him. For some reason, she blushed when she picked his undergarment. He was a simple man. It was either dark blue, black, or white.
"I have them." She said. The door was unlocked, so she opened it enough for only the clothes to fit.
Some moments later he was out. Mia turned around from the powder she was mixing to find him shirtless with all bandages taken off. Most likely they were discarded in the trash.
His skin looked raw, but lacked the infectious color that had worried her.
Mia pointed to his bed. "You can sit so I can reapply your bandage."
He obeyed without complaint. Mia gathered the supplies and put them in order on his bed. Knowing she would need to access his abdomen Saurus opened his legs for her to stand between them, and used his arms for support as he leaned back.
A wave of self-consciousness washed over her. She was used to doing this for him while he was asleep. Now, the wereman was wide-awake, and his black eyes watched her with rapt interest. It was unnerving.
Mia used the cleanser to wipe the area. "You may think it looks bad but it's actually much better." She commented, hoping idle conversation would ease her jumpy nerves.
Saurus nodded. "Yes." Silence resumed between them. Then, he said "These days I have been sick, you took care of me."
Mia looked up. "Yes, I did take care of you. Sammie and Mandy came in too."
"I don't remember them. Only you."
He remembered? Probably because she was with him most of the time. That made sense. Mia applied the poultice over his skin. After placing a large pad over it she grabbed a new set of bandages to keep it in place. Saurus went back to his original position, no longer leaning back.
The problem with this is that it made him much closer than before, and Mia's heart was doing some jumping. She started to wrap the bandage, ensuring to not apply it too tight so that he feels comfortable.
Samuel's voice became lower, more deeper. "You said you missed me... and other things..."
The remaining roll almost fell from her hands. She quickly finished it and clipped it in place. A rosy flush filled her cheeks. It was so easy to admit feelings when it was life or death situations and he's asleep.
Saurus stood up. "Thank you."
Within moments she was in his arms, pulled intimately close to his tall, built form. The smell of soap and aftershave wove around her. An indescribable happiness filled her at seeing him so well. His face found the familiar curve of her neck, where he nuzzled her from her collarbone and then back down. Warmness encased her as her own arms rose to his shoulders. The feel of his warm skin pressed over her made her feel heavenly.
"I'm not sure if I was hallucinating or not, when I thought I heard you say words I had only ever dreamt of you saying to me," he murmured, the words bouncing off her skin. "Maybe I was dreaming... it was a good dream."
Mia bit her lower lip. She shouldn't feel so shy. Just three words.
He pulled back slightly and stared into her eyes, jet black meeting hazel. He sighed and joined their foreheads together. Just a hairsbreadth away, yet she wanted him to be so much closer.
"Tell me Mia... was it real, or was I dreaming?" he whispered.
His eyes closed, as though he wanted to relive it.
Her hands rose to his cheeks, just as she had held them the night she watched over him. The night she admitted how she felt for him.
"I love you, Samuel."
Without a second thought, she closed the distance and kissed him. His eyes exploded open. Wide and glittered with gold.
"You love me?" he asked against her kissing lips, shocked at her response.
"Yes, now kiss me back you reptile! Before I—mmm"
Samuel moved his lips over hers, she could feel his happiness in the way he drunk of her deeply, luxuriating in the feel of her close to him. He lifted her in his arms and spun her. Mia laughed, and then gasped when she remembered he was still injured and needed to recover. He interrupted her concerns with short kisses, insisting he was fine and keeping her lifted in his arms like she was some sort of queen too important to have her feet touch the ground. His lips kept finding hers, but he was too excited that he would pause and ask her to say the same words again.
I love you.
Samuel couldn't stop smiling. He sat her on his lap to further enjoy the feel of her close to him. Her body fit over him so perfectly, they way his hands molded over each curve drove him crazy. Her lips were bright red, a testament to all the kisses he had given her. She tasted so sweet, he could drink of her every day and never get tired. He sighed as her hands played with his hair, touches that made his body melt. Because the woman of his dreams loved him, she was finally here to stay.
Author's note: hope you enjoyed! i made sure not to make it a cliffy for your sakes haha. Also, for those who read Wolf Chase, back when I wrote those scenes with Jasmine I had no idea I would make her this evil so that's why it may seem she was treated too nice in WC 😂 back then I was like idk what I'll make her do but something bad, the way this story flowed made it much darker it would be imposible to realistically have her invited in the future. Anyways, thanks for reading !