Page 120 of A Wolf's Heart

Dr. Thatcher had gotten to us with a new compound they were testing to dissolve the silver in the bloodstream. Lila had been dying, regardless, so there, on the battlefield, she had injected her with it.

It bought us time.

We were able to move Lila back to the medical center, where she underwent a blood transfusion. We needed fresh blood, and after testing the three of us, Weylin was a full donor match.

I sat in the chair across from her, elbow up on the armrest, my head resting on my hand. Once she woke up, we would be able to move her back to the condo, and we all could get some decent rest.

“Not bad for a mutt, for tainted bloodlines.” Weylin grinned.

Lila’s hand on his stomach flexed, and we all froze. She had been moving more and more. Dr. Thatcher stated it was only a matter of time before she woke up.

“Coincidental,” Kage grumbled.

“I don’t think it is. I don’t think any of this is,” I said. Within me, the beast was dormant. I’d thought he was satisfied by the amount of meat he had consumed, putting him into a sort of food coma. But that wasn’t it; it was Lila’s scent that relaxed him. The moment I left her, he would awake to ensure I returned promptly.

I had disobeyed my instincts by shutting down the bond, a mistake that nearly cost us our mate’s life. The beast no longer trusted my judgment and forced me to be in her presence. Although force was a word used mildly. I, myself, had barely been able to take my eyes off her.

“What we know is that Lila is the only surviving shifter to the Scarab bloodline. That she carries a generational gift, a gift powerful enough that the council wants it eradicated. A gift important enough that the fates bestowed upon us these markings on the day she was born. That we were enchanted with the link that brought us together, for a purpose.”

I could hear the gears in both Kage’s and Weylin’s minds grinding as I said everything out loud.

“I agree with Weylin, no more closing off the bond,” I told them.

“We do what’s right for the pack,” Kage said in a hushed tone.

“She’s what’s right for the pack right now, Alpha. We will work on her, try and assist the gift out of her, but I think it’s time we stop fighting the fates and give them what they want.”

“Which is?” Weylin asked.

“Her protection. Perhaps, even claiming her would help.”

Weylin scoffed and Lila stirred. I sat up straighter, anxious to see if she would finally wake up. I hadn’t realized how much I missed seeing her eyes.

When she settled back to sleep, Weylin continued. “Claiming goes both ways. I doubt she would ever claim us. You felt her. I don’t even think Kage’s father hated me that much.”

“Kage’s father liked you.” It was true. “The man just never knew how to express it, except by pushing you to your fullest potential… and use it for his own personal gains.”

“So, we continue. No claiming,” Kage said.

“No.” I cut my eyes at him. “We will claim her.”

“And how do we do that?” Kage raised his eyebrow at me, knowing I was already working on a plan.

“We cut the bullshit, cut the lies, tell her everything we know, and be as open and honest with her as we can be.” I took a deep breath, knowing that was already a tall order, but I was about to add the most difficult part. “And then we show her we are wolves worthy of being claimed.”

I knew it was a challenge, but maybe Kage could learn to keep his mouth shut long enough to give us all a fighting chance.

Lila

My entire bodywas stiff when I woke up, but oddly, I felt…new. I stretched my limbs out, enjoying the feeling in my body, letting out a light groan, followed by a yawn.

I opened my eyes to find Weylin, Kage, and Rainor staring at me. “Shit,” I whispered.

“That was the cutest fucking thing I have ever seen in my life.” Weylin grinned from my bedside.

“What are you… Where am I?” I asked, though when I looked around the room, I knew where I was. The bed I was lyingon, though larger than the average, was a hospital bed. An IV was connected to my arm. There were monitor stickers along my chest and one on my finger and faint beeping from one of the many machines next to me. Judging by the remnants in multiple empty bags of blood hanging from a machine, a lot had happened while I was sleeping.

“In the medical wing.” Kage was the one to answer.

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