Page 57 of Alpha Scorned

My eyelids were sticky, but I managed to force them apart enough to see his face. I tried to reach out, but I couldn’t move. All my fingers did was twitch. I cried out at the agony even that tiny move caused me.

Owen had placed me on my stomach with my head to the side. Worry etched his face. He let out a harsh breath and leaned forward, kissing my forehead. “Thank the Mother,” he whispered.

I tried to speak, to ask him what had happened, but I had no voice. It was a battle to get air in and out of my lungs. My eyes closed and as much as I wanted to look at the male who owned my heart, every little piece of it, I couldn’t. Large hands curled over my shoulders and he shook me gently. “Kerores? Come on, love. I need you to listen to me. Open your eyes again. Please, baby,” he cajoled. “It’s just for a little while, I promise.”

I did. Grey eyes mixed with yellow watched me. His wolf. “Sweetheart, I need to heal you. Please, will you let me?”

His voice trembled, and his eyes gleamed wetly. My own burned in response. I had never seen or scented Owen so frightened. It just confirmed my own fears. I was dying.

“Lina, if I claim you, I can heal you.” His forehead rested against my temple. “Please?” His voice broke a little.

A tear seeped from my eyes, dripping onto the pillow. I’d fought this for so long and now I didn’t know why. I’d never felt this way about anyone else. I wanted to be his so much my heart hurt. But my wolf had deserted me once again. I searched inside myself. Searched so hard. But she was buried so deep, I didn’t think she would ever emerge.

I shook my head. If she didn’t come back to me, Owen would be saddled with a mate who couldn’t shift, which remained my biggest fear. It was better I died and left him to find someone who deserved him.

“What…? No? What do...what? You’re sayingno?” The howl that exploded from his chest was like nothing I’d heard before. It was so full of agony.

I didn’t want to hurt him. I had to make him understand. I wasbroken, and that knowledge shattered my heart into tiny pieces. I dragged every bit of energy I could muster to explain. “I. Can’t. Shift. You deserve better.”

“Oh, my love,” he said, cradling my face in his calloused hands as best he could. “Thereisno one better. I deserve you. Only you.” He scooted closer, laying on his side next to me. “Listen to me, Lina. You shifted, didn’t you? To save Devon?”

I managed to nod, biting my lip as pain throbbed down my neck.

“That was because my wolf spoke to yours. She trusts him. Become my mate, let me become yours, and we can work together to bring her back. He’s proved that she can reconnect with you, she just needs to feel safe.”

Another tear fell from my eyes. I wanted to believe him so much.

“Kerores, let him try, letmetry. Please, don’t leave me.”

My mate was pleading with me. I’d never heard Owen ask for anything before. And the fact that he was begging me had warmth spreading through my chest. He still wanted me. Hope budded in my soul. He was right, my wolf had responded to his. She had trusted him.

I tried to speak, but words wouldn’t come.

His lips brushed mine, his eyes turning a stormy grey. Determination twisted his features and his nostrils flared. “I can’t let you go, baby. I just can’t. I’m sorry.”

I held his eyes and nodded. “Mate,” I rasped.

“Oh thank Mother Wolf.” And his canines descended.

He tilted me and there was a stinging pain in my neck. Electricity shot through me and I felt his first draw down to my toes. All the agony in my body faded until all I could think about was this new sensation flooding through my limbs. Pleasure coiled in my belly, dulling the pain. I wanted him to continue, to draw more and drown the pain completely; to replace it with the pleasure only he could give me.

Owen groaned and pulled away, his eyes a turmoil of yellow and grey, his teeth shining with my dark red blood. We were both panting hard.

“My wolf can sense her now that we have your blood. Let him in, baby, let him find her. She can heal you.”

I held his gaze and nodded. Owen’s fingers gripped mine as he stared into my eyes, his wolf’s power pushing inside me. I put up no defenses and felt his wolf’s spirit pushing at my mind. It was a relief to let him in, to trust Owen and his wolf enough to share this burden, to help us. I’d put up so many walls to prevent any other shifter from sensing my lack of connection to my wolf that letting my mate see into my soul was a blessed release; the guilt, the shame, finally fading away.

I felt it the moment his wolf found her. She snarled until she realised it was Owen’s wolf. Then she relaxed and let him coax her forward. Tears fell from my closed eyes as I felt them connect. She trusted him; not me, not yet, but it was a start.

“Come out, beautiful wolf. You’re ours. We will protect you, always,” Owen murmured, his voice deep and gravelly.

I swallowed as warmth filled my chest. She connected with me, her need to be with her mate overwhelming her fear of what could happen to her if she trusted me. A sob escaped me.Thank you for coming back. He won’t let us down. I know he won’t.My reassurance was unnecessary. She knew he wouldn't.

Owen’s heavy-lidded gaze ensnared me, his irises once again a mix of grey and a vivid golden yellow. Carefully he rolled me onto my side and threaded a hand through my hair, cupping the back of my head, while his other hand gripped onto my waist. My wolf whined, pushing forward, until I stopped her. Her impatience to be with her mate fired my lust, making me groan. She pushed against my control and my fangs lengthened. But still I was worried if I dropped my hold on her she would fade away again.

Owen leaned in, keeping eye contact. “He has her, baby. He’ll not let her go. Now release her and make me yours,” he commanded gently. He leaned closer, careful not to touch my injuries. By the time the hot skin of his neck was against my lips, I was desperate. The pain in my neck and spine faded into insignificance and all I could think of was claiming Owen. He was mine, no matter what happened next. He would never leave me.

My sharp canines punctured his skin, and I clamped down on his neck, greedily drawing in his power-laced blood. His taste exploded in my mouth, and sensations I’d never experienced before shot through my blood and bones until my toes curled. A few draws were enough to seal our bond, but Owen wrapped his hand in my matted, blood-soaked hair and held me against him. “Drink, love, don’t stop until I tell you. Use me, use my wolf, to heal.”

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