The Lost One

Chapter 32

He was hot under her touch. The little skin left was slick with the blood and sweat from his many wounds. The rest covered in burnt and crisped tissue.

She flinched away, her panic soaring again.

Suddenly she felt the familiar warmth and feel as her mate wrapped her hand in his much larger one. She shot him a look she hoped was grateful. The touch comforting and calming her.

Fighting the rest of her panic and the natural reaction of her body to flee she picked up the man's arm. Ignoring everything else in the room except for the feel of her mate's skin against hers she lifted the wrist to her mouth. She waited for the last second before releasing her wolf. Her dominance and authority erupting around her. The air changing with the feel of her wolf on display. Her teeth elongated before piercing the vulnerable skin of his wrist. The coppery taste of his blood filling her mouth as the venom held in her saliva was transferred into his veins.

Satisfied she placed the limb back on the bed. Getting momentarily distracted from her task by the mounting chaos around her she let her wolf out more. A touch from her mind had the others calming, backing down. Silence filling the space as they eased to the sides watching her intently.

Kaiden's hand tightened around her own, not looking up she dropped the rest of her blocks in her mind letting it open to him, and to Richard. Letting them feel what she refused to show.

Picking up her own wrist she brought it to her mouth. Her teeth still sharp and coated with blood she took a breath before sinking them as deep as she could.

The blood began to ooze from the messy puncture wounds. Focusing her mind to the hand still gripped around her own she pushed the open wound against the dying man's lips forcing his mouth open and around the delicate skin of her wrist. She shuddered from the feel of the touch, of his skin against hers. Kaiden transferred her hand clasping it in his other before placing his hand on the small of her back. Moving closer to her he began to rub soft reassuring circles over her t-shirt. His thumb caressing tenderly against the back of her hand as he murmured soft reassurances to her. The motions, scent and words soothing her. Helping to take her mind off of the touch that was making her cringe and panic.

Even still, she couldn't help but feel echoes of pain. The pain her mind and body had been trained to experience at any contact. The heat, the burning searing feel that would take over her body before piercing into her brain, her eyes. Before exploding every cell and nerve until she was pulled into darkness. It was only the gentle pressure on her hand and her back that kept her still now. That let her breath and fight through what her mind was brutally conditioned to feel.

Letting her blood drip down the injured man's throat she forced her wolf out more, pushed until she knew the others had had to drop to their knees, heads bowed from the force. She felt a distant flash of shame and embarrassment at that. She heard Kio whimper from somewhere behind her but still she pushed. Only her mate and Guardian were able to stay standing with their eyes above the floor.

When she had gone as far as she could she grasped for the man's wolf. It was nearly gone. Weak and beat down. She sensed him steadily slipping away.

Aislinn used her blood, her bond, her right to call to him. Used it to command him to return to her. She called out with every bit of power and every ounce of strength she had. She felt his surrender to her summons. He had to. He had no choice. She was his Queen. His Luna. His mother, sister, daughter. It was bound to his very essence to listen to her call.

Her wolf surround his. She blanketed him in comfort. Poured her strength into him. Her life everything she had as she directed her blood through his body. Her wrist still pressed to his mouth she refused to let her wound heal. Instead forcing more of her blood into his veins. She closed wounds. Stitched together broken bones. Pulled poison, infection and death from his flesh. In some part of her mind she recognized that she had been working for hours but it was only a tiny insignificant part. The majority of her had lost sense of everything except for the task at hand.