Olive the Other Werewolves

Chapter Twenty One

I didn't even realize that I was screaming until Matteo's hand slipped over my mouth and muffled my cries. "F:cking hell, you're going to be fine, it is just your mark."

All the warmth was gone. I shoved him off of me, my hand clamping onto my neck to try and alleviate the radiating pain that was screaming from it. I waded my way out of the shallow water and onto the bank, I started storming away from Matteo when I realized that we were still on the opposite side of the river.

I dropped my hand from my neck only to twine through my hair as I desperately tried to maintain an even heart rate, if I kept myself calm the pain would go away much more quick. Even though I knew that every werewolf went through this process, the pain I was experiencing just seemed too brutal to be normal.

I returned back to the bank of the river to see Matteo basking carelessly in the sun as if nothing had happened. I tentatively reached my hand up to touch the wound on my neck once more and found a bloody, open mess. That definitely was not right.

Normally when a mate marks another, the wound transforms almost instantly into the gentle scar of the mark. It didn't bleed and fester like I was discovering and it definitely didn't usually hurt for this long.

An intense pain ripped through my body, bringing me to my knees. I screamed out as I collapsed onto my side into the sandy beach, writhing in agony alone. From the other side of the river I saw Fran and Devin standing on the bank while Amias pushed through the water, rushing over to me.

My own mate didn't do that.

He skidded to a stop beside me and immediately elevated my head, allowing him better view of the now completely sandy wound. "What did he do to you, Olive?"

Matteo narrowed his eyes over at us and swiftly pushed up and off of the sand, stalking over to Amias threateningly. "What did you just say?" He grit out between his teeth.

Amias started to shrink away from Matteo but he was still holding me and the small movement caused me to groan deeply which reminded Amias of what was really important in the moment. "Something is obviously wrong with her, Alpha." He lifted me off of the ground and held me tight in his arms even as I contorted in fits of pain. "She needs my help."

Matteo finally turned his attention to me, his amber eyes scanning over my partially exposed upper half and then coming to rest on my grotesque mark. Even Matteo couldn't disguise his repulsed reaction upon seeing it. He shook his head as Amias began wading back into the current with me, "I didn't do that, it wasn't that bad when I--I just marked her, it shouldn't look like that."

Amias suddenly stopped, the water pooling around his knees as he jerked back around. "You're right, it shouldn't look like that." His tone was sharp, I'd never heard Amias sound like that let alone stand up to Matteo. He took a deep breath, glaring cooly at his alpha before he turned back around and continued through the water.

He emerged on the other side with me, making sure the entire time to avoid any jarring movements to cause me unnecessary pain. Amias gently set me down onto a soft patch of grass as Fran and Devin crowded around me, Fran frowned. "What happened to her?"

Devin shook his head, he looked as if he was going to be sick. "I can't be here." That's when I noticed that his eyes were trained on the bloody wound on my neck, he forced himself walk away. I suppose sprint away would be more accurate though.

Amias didn't answer Fran, he was too engrossed in his own thoughts as he rapidly started to work on me. He tore through his bag and produced a medical kit, he immediately doused the wound in a harsh liquid that burned but nothing as bad as the roaring flame that was engulfing my entire being.