Too Many Secrets To Hide | ✔| #Wattys2017

Chapter Twenty-Two

Word Count: 3347

   I shoved the monster off me while he was trying to lick up the blood. He licked his lips, looking satisfied with himself. Well I hope he was. I slapped him across the face. He looked hurt, but more emotionally than physically. "I have a mate!" I screamed at him and stormed off to the bathroom. "How could you do that to me?"
  
   I stood inspecting the wound in the mirror. It wasn't bleeding too bad and it didn't hurt as much as when Jasper had done it. "I'm your mate," Malachi told me again. "I can feel the mate bond- can't you?" I sighed heavily, angrily, as I remembered my cold shower. I couldn't have two different mates could I?
  
   "And I didn't see a mark, either," he continued. I rolled my eyes. "That's because it was only temporary. He had to do it in stages..." and I trailed off, remembering something. "Why?" Malachi asked, visibly very confused. "Because I'm half human and doing it all at once could kill me," I said, my voice laced with a horror the was pulling my vocal cords up my throat. The look he was giving me mirrored that emotion in his soft gray eyes.
  
   "Kill you? What!?" He stammered around with different things he wanted to say. I deftly reached up to the bite mark and rubbed it as I went almost instinctively for my phone. I turned it on for the first time in days, and it was at this point that the real pain started. It was a searing hot, burning sting that pulsed through my body faster than my heart was beating. I tried not to scream out, but the pain was like nothing I had ever experienced. I whimpered pathetically as I fell to my knee's. Malachi rushed out of the room and began talking on the phone with somebody, but I couldn't make out what he was saying.
  
   The phone finally turned on and I had over a dozen voice mail's and text messages. I called Bel first. "Cadence!" she screamed instead of saying 'hello'. "Bel," I mumbled. "I love you," was the only other thing I could think of besides "I'm dying"- and I didn't want to lay that on her just yet. "Cadence?" she said my name once more, this time pronouncing it like a question. "What's going on? Are you okay?" I heard someone who sounded like Jasper say 'is it Cadence' from a distance. "Ja-as-per," I called through throbs of fire surging down from my neck and up into my head.
  
   "Cadence, what is it? What's wrong? What's going on?" came Jasper's worried voice over the line. "He...said I'm...his...mate," I stuggled to get out. I was feeling dizzy. "Ma-arked...me," I stuttered. "Who did? Where are you?" I might have smiled at his possessiveness if I could have smiled at this moment. I heard him yell something like 'can you trace it?' at someone.
  
   "Who marked you, baby girl?" he asked frantically. "Alpha..." I murmured, probably incoherently. "Alpha..." I repeated. "Alright, I need you to stay on the line for me, okay baby?" Jasper cooed softly. I cried for the pain and barely sobbed out an 'okay'.
  
   "Now who marked you baby?" Jasper asked again. "Mal-a-chi," I told him through bolts of unbearable pain. "Malik?" Jasper tried to guess what I had said. "Alpha-" I cried out with a particularly intense shot of pain. "Malachi..." I said, focusing my entire being on saying the name as clearly as I could. I was dizzy and parts of me we're going numb, so I couldn't tell how well I was speaking. "Alpha Malachi?" Jasper questioned. I repeated the name. I couldn't think of anything else. That name, that was what was important. I just kept saying that name. Even after Jasper started screaming mine, that's what I kept saying. Eventually, it turned to just my humming, unable to open my lips. Jasper still kept calling out to me, but I couldn't make sense of anything as I passed out.
***
  
   I woke up in the pack infirmary. Why had that doctor given me that shot? Oh. This isn't the pack infirmary. That's Malachi who marked me! Why did he do that! And why am I so dizzy? What is that IV? Am I on morphine again? I swear if that's morphine again...
  
   "Good, you're already up," came a voice. I looked around trying to figure what it was. I think it was a voice, maybe just in my head though. But what would voices be doing in my head? I looked around, spotted a face. Who was that? He better not try to touch me like stupid Malachi dude, marking me like that.
  
   I tried to glare at the face I saw, but I felt too confused to really glare properly. I huffed to make a point, but evidently that was chuckle worthy. I turned my glare on the owner of the laugh. It was him! I was just about to give that douche bag a piece of my mind when another man spoke up. "I'm the doctor," he said. I scoffed and rolled my eyes. "The doctor is at Jasper's pack and he has no idea where I am," I told him- as if he didn't know. "So who are you really?" I asked. Did he honestly think he was going to pass off as the doctor? I don't think so, I know an imposter when I see one.
  
   "I'm the doctor at this pack," the imposter replied. I looked him over. He did seem like the sort of guy who had gone to medical school. Maybe he was a different doctor, and not just trying to impersonate the real one. I was willing to give him the benefit of a doubt. I gave him an approving nod.
   "Malachi explained to me the situation," he said. "So it's only fair I tell you everything as well." I straightened myself, ready to listen. "It appears as though you have two different mates. I'm not sure how that could be possible, or if it's even true, but I'm sure it has something to do with your human side." Oh yes, that terrible human blood that saved my life a few days ago.
  
   "Regardless, you have also been marked by both of them. Being marked by two different male wolves, especially one being an alpha," only one? "you are going to experience things. Luckily, Malachi got you to me quick enough, and you're a strong enough girl that I think you'll make it out alive, but it is going to hurt. I've got you on an extremely high dosage of painkillers right now, which is probably why you feel a little funny." I took in the information I was being given, and I had to admit that I didn't feel quite like myself.
  
   "How can we fix it?" I asked the obvious question. The doctor sighed and dropped his eyes. What? What was wrong? "I'm not sure what will happen," he confessed. "Normally when a female is marked by two different males, the mark of her true mate will fight the other mark and win eventually. In your case, because the first mark was only a partial one and because the second mark was made in anger, and that they were both supposedly made by your mates, I'm not sure what will happen."
  
   "Well what does it being done in anger have anything to do with it?" I asked and received incredulous looks from both men in the room. That was going to stop or I was going to get mad. "If a male marks a female out of anger rather than love, it causes the mark to be extremely weak- and it's probably the only reason you're not dead yet, especially considering he is an alpha." I rolled my eyes. They were acting like this guy is so much better than Jasper. "Jasper's an Alpha, too," I sneered. "Jasper being the other male who marked you?" the doctor asked. I nodded. Duh, who did he think it was? Could I really trust this guy when he seems so dumb?
  
   "Mated and marked to two alphas," the doctor tsked as he walked out of the room. He returned a few moments later with some papers in his hand. "I also found some trace amounts of wolfsbane in your system," he said. Yes, I know about the wolfsbane. "Nonetheless, because of the dueling marks, your wolf had gained control of your body. You are going to feel unusually weak, at least for another day." With that, he gave a curt not and walked out of the room.
  
   I rolled my eyes and tried to look for my phone. I needed to call Jasper and get him down here. Now that I knew the mark of my mate could fix me, I wanted to go back home. If I wasn't going to hurt Bel or anyone else, I wanted to be there to protect them. If they would take me back, that is.
  
   Unfortunately, the various wires and things attached to my body prevented most of my movement. By this I was very irked, so I started disconnecting myself from the wires. "Hey, don't do that!" Malachi all but yelled as he jumped from his seat and came over to me. He grabbed my wrists and held them down to my sides. I glared up at him and ew, how did I ever think that guy was hot? He is not my mate.
  
   "I need to call my mate," I growled. "Not until I hear the real story," Malachi demanded. "What real story?" I asked, genuinely confused. "Your past, Cadence. I wanna hear what really happened that brought you here." I rolled my eyes for the millionth time. "Ok, so for the first fifteen years of my life, I thought I was a human and that werewolves didn't exist," I began. His eyes were skeptical but I kept going. "Then, I moved to this new school and meet Jasper, my mate," I growled special emphases on the last part. "Then, my little sister got kidnapped and I had to go rescue her and when I did, I found out the guy that kidnapped her was our dad. A few days later, the pack was going to attack the rogues that took my sister and Christopher and Mark told me that if I learned to shift, I would be able to go. So Jasper taught me how to shift and I went." Malachi nodded for me to go on.
  
   "So when I got there, I got attacked with wolfsbane but I tried to find my dad anyway. I eventually had to shift back to my human because I knew the poison wouldn't affect her so bad. So basically being a human saved my life." I gave Malachi a pointed look. "So anyways, I found my dad and I killed him and apparently I was laughing like a creep or something over it and Jasper and Mark and Christopher saw it and now they think I'm some kind of monster. But I was still dying so they needed to save me and the doctor wanted him to mark me to save me and he did." I saw a hint of what looked like jealousy on Malachi. What was this guy's issue anyway? Yeah, I'm hot, but I've got a mate dude, chill.
  
   "So then I wake up in the hospital or whatever- and that was the first time I woke up on painkillers after some guy who claimed to be my mate marked me. But anyway I hear them talking about me and I decided I was probably dangerous so I ran away. And that's how I ended up here," I finished. Malachi nodded and considered for a bit. He finally sighed, "alright," he said and handed me my phone. Looking irritated, he left the room.
  
   I put in a call to Jasper and didn't hardly even have to wait for him to pick up. "Cadence? What happened, where are you? Are you okay?" he assaulted me with questions. "Yes, yes, I'm fine," I told him dismissively. "But listen, this guy keeps saying I'm his mate and he just marked me. Like, seriously dude, why'd you mark me? But I have no idea what his problem is please just get down here and knock some sense into his ass." He didn't say anything back. "Please Jasper, I miss you," I whined.
  
   "I'm on my way," Jasper assured me. "We traced the last call and we're already halfway there." I wondered how tracing calls works? "I'm not at the hotel anymore," I informed him, in case that would be an issue. "What do you mean?" Jasper asked, confused. Gosh, did I have to just spell everything out for this guy? "Last time I called you I was at the hotel, but I don't know where I'm at now." Jasper sighed. "Alright." There was silence for a minute, then the sound of dialing and a man's voice I didn't recognize saying 'hello'.
  
   "Hey Lucas," Jasper greeted the newcomer. "I've got Cadence on the other line, can you trace it for me?" he said. "Yeah, give me a minute," he mumbled. I stayed quiet, listening. "Cadence, baby," Jasper broke the silence. "Why did you leave? Did someone threaten you or..." he trailed off as he waited for my response. "I thought you thought I was a monster," I whimpered, suddenly feeling like I wanted to cry. "What?" he questioned with an disbelieving tone. "I heard you talking before I woke up. Your dad said I was dangerous and you think I'm heartless!" I yelled, years flowing down my cheeks now.
  
   "I don't think you're heartless, princess. I was just kind of shocked that the same girl with that adorable giggle smiled while she was killing her father. Don't you think that probably surprised me a little bit?" That did make sense, I guess. "And as far as dad thinking you're dangerous, it's good to have a Luna like that. And even if he wanted to throw you out because of it, baby I would have gone with you." He said honestly, and, okay, wow. Did he have to be so perfectly adorable?
  
   "But why wouldn't you even touch me after I killed him?" I asked. "Because I was feeling all the emotions you were blocking out," he told me gently. "What do you mean?" I questioned. "All the remorse and guilt and sadness you felt that you were shutting out so that you could kill him easier- I felt it all." I had been shutting off my emotions? I hadn't even noticed. "That's how I know you're not a monster. But even if you were, I would still love you. If I had to chain you down in the basement to keep you from causing trouble, I would still come visit you everyday just to tell you how much I love you."
  
   I couldn't help but start balling my eyes out at that. That didn't last long though, until the door opened again. "Malachi's back," I complained, sounded as irritated as I could through my sobs. "That's the guy that marked you?" Jasper asked defensively. "Yeah," I sneered with a glare at Malachi. "Put him on the phone," Jasper told me. I held out the phone to Malachi. "Hello?" he said less than enthusiastically. And even as he walked away, I still heard Jasper yelling; "Keep your motherfucking hands the fuck off my girl!" he screamed. I giggled but I was the only one amused.
  
   "She's mine!" Malachi growled back. "She won't be if you're dead!" Was Jasper's response. I needed to end this, those boys were being childish. Before Malachi could issue any retaliating death threats, I snatched the phone out of his hand. "I'm gonna have to call you back later," I said quickly before ending the call. I crossed my arms over my chest and glared at Malachi. "I am not your's," I snarled. Malachi scoffed. "Yes you are," he told me flatly.
  
   "I need you to lay back down on the bed, miss," said the doctor from behind me. I swung my glare around to him now, as I hadn't realized he was behind me. "I feel fine," I asserted. "Because you're still high on the pain meds," he replied and began pulling me towards the bed. I shoved his hand off my arm. "And I don't want to be on pain meds!" I yelled. He was about to argue some more, but Malachi cut him off. "It's okay," he said. "When she decides she wants it back, we'll put her back on it." I crossed my arms unhappily, because I so hated that he thought I would actually ask for that stuff again, but this was a start. The doctor sighed and left the room once more.
  
   Somewhat content, I stepped back over to the bed and sat down on the edge. Our eyes met and we were suddenly engaged in a staring contest. It lasted at least a full minute before Malachi finally spoke. "So why do you think he's your mate?" he asked. I rolled my eyes again. "Because I got really possessive and the hot spells," I told him because seriously, he should have known that. He was a werewolf, so didn't he know how the mate bond thing works? Gosh even I know more than some of these idiots.
  
   "You did?" he questioned skeptically. "I did," I sneered. Now it was my turn to ask a question. "So why do you think I'm your mate?" I queried. "Because I feel extremely territorial and like you belong to me," he answered without missing a beat. I examined him, deciding if he was being truthful. It was true that when we first met, I had been attracted to him, but what girl wouldn't have been? And he could easily just be a hot guy trying to trick me- for what reason I did not know.
  
   "Well you can't have two mates," he finally put in. "Nope," I agreed with a single cold word that we both knew the true meaning behind. He sighed, realizing he wasn't getting anywhere. "I don't mean to keep you locked up in here like a prisoner," he changed the subject. "I could walk you around a bit." I considered his offer. "As disgusting as walking around with you sounds, it's got to be better than here. Give me the grand tour." Malachi flashed a smile and reached his elbow out for me. It was clearly meant for me to walk arm-in-arm with him, but in that I wasn't interested. He didn't argue though, and just led me out of the room. He took me down the hall and up a flight of stairs. We entered immediately into a kitchen looking area with an oven and a dish washer. There was also various food items littering the counters. Where were we?
  
   "This is the kitchen," Malachi informed me. Well I could guess that much. There were a few people, or most likely werewolves in here. They all stopped to look at me curiously, but I ignored them. Then we walked into another room. "This is the den," he told me. "Living room," I corrected. He gave me a puzzled look. "Nobody calls it a 'den'." He rolled his eyes and continued the tour. He led me to a few different rooms, then upstairs. "And this is my bedroom," Malachi said mischievously. I scoffed. "The one room I couldn't be less interested in," I muttered. He didn't seem to take offense to my comment as he showed me his office and a few other places. I paid close attention to where we were going. He didn't know it, but I was just familiarizing myself with the place, so that when the time came to escape, it would be no problem. Jasper was coming for me, of course, but in the event that Mr. Delusional-thinks-he's-my-mate locks him up, I'll need to know my way around. Jasper was coming for me though, I knew he was.