"I want him in the cells by sunrise."
"Yes, Alpha."
Another yawn escapes me. It's becoming harder and harder for me to remain awake. I curl closer into Grayson, searching for any sort of comfort. Now that I'm focusing on all of the sleep I haven't been getting and the supernatural reason why, my complete exhaustion finally sets in. I'm whiny, emotional, and my eyelids keep closing every few seconds just for me to jerk myself awake. I know that if I fall asleep I'll have another nightmare which could be more detrimental to my health.
"Madeline, any suggestions for the time being?" Grayson asks. He directs the question to Cole's mate, the red-haired girl who I haven't been introduced to yet. She's beautiful even after she was woken up in the middle of the night. Her fiery hair is naturally wavy, and her green eyes shine like emeralds. She is definitely taller than me, probably around 5'5" or 5'6", but then again, everyone's taller than me- I barely made it over 5 feet.
Madeline looks over to me with what she probably intends to be a small smile, but it actually looks more like a grimace. She hesitantly starts speaking up.
"I'm really sorry, but there's not much you can do. I will say that falling asleep is the last thing you want to do- every time you fall asleep, the magic will be siphoning energy off of you, making you even more exhausted than when you were awake. I can reach out to my friends in another coven and see if they have any magical potions that can soften the effects of the spell. Unfortunately, the only way these spells can be lifted is if the casting witch or warlock removes them."
She lowers her head, obviously distressed that there's nothing more she can do. Cole wraps his arm around her waist and kisses her cheek. She smiles sadly at him and leans into him for support. I wonder why Madeline knows so much about magic? I'll have to ask her once this nightmare is over and I've had a whole 48 hours to sleep.
"Fuck!" Grayson growls. "So you're telling me that if we don't find this fucking warlock soon, Thea will never be able to sleep?!" He sounds like he's angry at Madeline for the news she shared, but I know he's just frustrated for my sake. I can see Cole's grip on Madeline grow tighter and more protective with his Alpha's raised volume. He doesn't say anything, he just stands still while waiting for orders.
If there's one thing I've learned about werewolves, it's that they're extremely loyal beings. They are extremely protective, sometimes overprotective, over their mates, and they'll defend their Alpha and Luna with their life. I don't even know Madeline very well, but I can tell that she will do everything in her power to help me, a mere human, only because I'm Grayson's mate and her Luna. It's comforting to know that I have more people in my life to look out for me.
"Yes, Alpha. That's what I'm saying. Thea will begin to deteriorate even more, and eventually..." Madeline looks away and bites her lip while trailing off her sentence. It's very obvious what she means- I'll die if we don't find Eli.
The loudest growl I've ever heard emits from Grayson, and the others in the room are so effected by the sound that their knees begin to wobble from the pure power Grayson releases. The furniture shakes from the noise alone and I suspect anyone who was sleeping is wide awake now. His canines are fully extended and his eyes are pitch black. He grips me tighter as he stands up and towers over the four other leaders of the pack. They are Betas and Gammas, yet they don't even compare to Grayson's alpha power and strength.
Although my ears are still ringing from his outburst and I am a little more tense from his anger, I rest my head in his neck and give off small kisses to calm him down. I'm starting to understand this whole mating thing, because Grayson slowly, and I mean slowly, begins to reel back his aura of power.
"It's okay, Gray. They'll find Eli. I'm fine." I whisper.
"You're not fine, Thea. Don't pretend that you are." He rubs his nose along my neck, collecting my scent presumably to remind himself that I'm still here, alive, with him. "Begin gathering the pack warriors. We're leaving in 20 for the coven. I want him alive."
The Betas and Gammas exchange looks of pity, determination, and anger, which gives me full confidence that they'll try to get this sleep magic reversed. They turn around and head out the door, I presume to wake up some pack members to begin the search for Eli.
I can't believe that someone I considered my friend is a warlock. I had heard from Grayson that they existed and lived in covens, but that's the extent of what I know. I don't know if they use cauldrons, magic spell books, potions, or wands. I haven't got a clue about how they live, but I do know that I'm hurt. Eli hurt me, and I don't think I can forgive him for that. He used me to get to Grayson, which makes me more mad than I can express. Grayson doesn't deserve to be upset, and just by looking at his eyes that are now constantly battling between blue and black, I know he's furious that I'm not doing well.
Once the others exit the office, Grayson carries me back into his bedroom. He uses his backside to nudge his bedroom door open and he skillfully closes it again with his foot. If I attempted to do that, I probably would have fallen on my face. His werewolf nature allows him to do simple things so swiftly and casually, and I'm not gonna lie- I'm a bit jealous.
He lowers me into his bed and props me up with pillows. I let him take care of me, knowing that if I even attempted to protest he would shut me right up. His wolf side makes his need to protect and provide for me that much greater, so I happily let him position me.
"What can I do?" he asks, his voice croaking and filled with emotion. I tiredly gaze down at him and give him a small smile. I reach over to him and snuggle into him. My arms drape lazily over his chest as I close my eyes.
"Nothing..." I can feel the darkness begin to cloud my mind, but I'm quickly shaken awake.
"Thea! Baby, you can't go to sleep. You heard what Madeline said. I'm so sorry, but you need to stay awake." He lifts me up from the bed as he grumbles about how stupid he was to put me on the bed where I can easily succumb to sleep.
"How about I make you some coffee? You like that, right?" he asks, placing me down in an armchair tucked into the corner of the room. I nod, too afraid I'll whine more about being tired if I speak. I've pulled all-nighters before for school, but going almost a week without proper sleep... well, it feels like I'm dying. I look like death too, and my mind is on overdrive with the knowledge that my former friend is trying to kill me.
"Okay, I'm gonna go get you a huge cup of coffee. Please try to stay awake, okay? I'll be right back." With a quick kiss to my cheek, Grayson practically runs out the door to fetch me coffee. In any other circumstances, I would find his eagerness funny, but I can't really process much right now. Also, Grayson is always telling me that I drink too much coffee and how it's not good for me to ingest that much caffeine, but now he's the one offering to bring me some. Funny how things change.
I find my eyes starting to droop, so I find an interesting spot on the wall where I can just barely make out some spackle that was painted over to match the color of the room. I wonder how that hole was made...
In record time, Grayson returns with a HUGE mug of coffee. I'm not joking, it looks like one of those mugs that people buy to give to their friends and family as a joke. When I hold the mug in my hands, they don't even meet each other- that's how big it is! The warmth that seeps into my hands makes me feel all tired and fuzzy, so I blow and quickly take a sip of the most heavenly beverage in existence.
"This is a bit excessive, don't you think?" I retort, looking up to Grayson with tired, playful eyes.
Grayson doesn't seem to be in the mood to joke around. "You need to be constantly drinking this. Also," he crouches down in front of me and places his hands on my cheeks. He traces the sunken in dark circles under my eyes and frowns. "I have to leave you. It pains me to do so, but I'm the Alpha and the only possibility for the coven to give up Eli is if I go and threaten them. Cooper will stay with you to keep you awake while two guards will stand outside of the room for your protection."
As upset as I am that Grayson can't stay with me, I'm grateful that he's trying to save me. Eli hasn't been answering my calls or texts, and I have no idea where he is, so Grayson trying to find him is our best bet for my recovery. I frown and place the large mug on the floor. I wrap my arms around his neck and sigh, already missing him. "Okay. I'll miss you."
Oh yeah. Since I'm so tired, I also seem to have no filter, so word vomit is very likely to occur.
I release him from the hug- which Grayson isn't too happy with- to tell him something. "You have to make me a promise before you go."
"Anything," he promises as he takes my hand in his. My tone is very serious, and I can tell that he understands how important this is to me.
"You can't hurt him."
He scoffs. "Anything but that."
"Please? Grayson, as angry and frustrated and tired and confused as I am about this situation, he was once my friend. Who knows the real reason he's doing this? Maybe he feels like he had no other choice, or maybe he was forced to!"
Grayson is already shaking his head quickly. "I love how you try to see the good in all people, but warlocks don't give a shit about human lives. Your friend," he spits out, "did it because he and his coven are trying to wage a war with my pack through you. They know I'll be more vulnerable without you. So, no. I will most definitely be hurting him, and as soon as you're better, he'll be dead for even touching you."
"No!" I scream, standing up quickly and shoving him back. He doesn't even move. Stupid werewolf strength. "You will not kill him! You have to let me talk to him! I'm sure there's a reason!"
I'm desperately grasping at straws now. My first reaction was to feel betrayed by Eli, but remembering his tear-stained face as we parted last? He must have had a reason. There's no way our whole friendship was a lie! I do see the best in people, and I truly hope that I'm correct in assuming that Eli didn't want to do this to me.
A light knock on the door interrupts our argument. Cooper stands in the doorway with his own cup of coffee in his hands as he hesitantly walks into the room. Grayson only glares at him, obviously annoyed at being interrupted.
"The pack has been trying to mindlink you. They're ready."
"I'm aware." Grayson looks back over at me and gives me a long kiss on my forehead. I can practically feel all of the love and protectiveness from the kiss, and it warms me to my core. He lowers his head down, his lips right by my ear.
"You will never speak to that warlock. Don't test me."
I widen my eyes at him, slightly backing up from his tone of voice. Grayson has never addressed me with a stern voice before. It's a little scary. I bite my lip and look away from him, too upset to respond. He used his "alpha" voice, I know this because he expects me to follow his command like I'm one of his pack members. Sucks for him when he realizes that he can't tell me what to do.
"I l-" Grayson starts, then he clears his throat. "I'll be back as soon as I can." Grayson turns to Cooper, who also look a bit scared by him. "Don't let her fall asleep or else there will be consequences."
Cooper gulps and nods his head. Grayson leaves without another word, and the tension in the room leaves with him.
"Your mate is scary as fuck," Cooper whines as he pulls me down into the comfy armchair and plops down next to me. He holds out my coffee mug for me as he scrolls through Netflix to find a movie to watch. I take it from him and swallow a huge gulp, the warmth already waking me up a bit more.
"Oh, wait! I have the perfect thing to watch!" Cooper speeds out of the room, my hair whipping across my face from the speed in which he leaves. In a second he's back with five DVD's. He puts the first one into the DVD player and joins me in the armchair once more.
"We're watching Twilight, but with a twist," he grins mischievously.
Oh no, what does he have planned? I do enjoy the Twilight series, so I definitely don't mind watching with him. However, I am still a bit confused on what his idea of a "twist" is.
"What is it?" I hesitantly ask.
"Every time Edward acts as a creepy overprotective boyfriend, we take a shot. In this case, we drink coffee. So, prepare to finish that whole mug by only half of the movie."
I laugh so hard, definitely remembering how many times Edward acts irrationally for Bella. This will be fun.
As we watch the movie, I do find that we are drinking lots of coffee. Edward stares at Bella in their biology class? Drink. Edward follows Bella around town in his car? Drink. Edward watched Bella sleep? Drink. And drink, and drink, and drink. By the end of the first movie, most of my large mug of coffee is gone and I'm a jittery mess. I'm still extremely tired, but at least I'm entertained and making the best of this situation.
Cooper puts in New Moon next. "Okay, now every time we see Jacob being pathetic because of the unrequited love between the two, we drink!"
After we're only ten minutes into the movie, the sound one would hear from a gust of wind fills the room. Cooper and I turn around, and my eyes widen as Cooper blocks me from the intruders.
Next chapter is from a perspective you haven't heard yet! Guess correctly and I'll give you a shoutout before next chapter!
Xx alexia