Heart Of The Storm

-Chapter 10- The Ties That Bind-

Apollo

I'm not sure how to respond. To be truthful, I'm not quite positive I heard her correctly, that I just heard what I've been wanting to hear since the day she opened her eyes.

"Aella?"

Her soft smile returns, she looks so beautiful when she smiles, which is why I try so hard to make her smile as often as possible.

"I want you to mark me Apollo, I'm ready now."

I swallow hard, my canines making an appearance out of reflex.

"Are you sure? Once I do this, it's permanent."

I have to ask, because this isn't a temporary thing. Once my mark is on her shoulder, with my scent infused with hers, the only thing that will remove it is rejection, her rejection of me.

Or death...but I refuse to accept that as anything but a problem for a lot later in our lives.

She nods, her thumb brushing over my lips and under my canines, making Ronan and I growl lowly.

~What are you waiting for? She wants our mark! She's finally ready to be tied to us! Think of the benefits kid! We'll be able to watch out for her better, no one will dare mess with her, her scars will heal, and she'll never have another.~

He has a point...and with that, I lean my forehead against her shoulder.

"Then be still, this won't hurt a bit."

She nods again, and I can hear her heartbeat begin to pick up in anticipation. Trying to soothe her anxious mind, I start by pressing soft kisses to her jaw, slowly working my way down the arch of her throat. Her soft sighs replace the rapid pace of her heart, and by the time I reach the sweet spot in the curve of her shoulder, I can feel the warmth of her blush radiating off of her skin.

With one last kiss to her shoulder, I gently bite into it, my canines sinking in deeply. Her fingers tighten on my arms as my essence mixes with her blood, and as the link develops I can feel the pleasure she's experiencing.

"Apollo~" She sighs out, her bliss filled voice brings another growl from my chest.

From my view of her back, I watch the old scars slowly disappear from her skin as the healing factor spreads through her blood stream, and I know it's definitely healing the injury she just received, the doc will have to come back in and remove the stitches so it will completely disappear.

Once the mindlink is completely intact, I retract my canines from her skin, lapping at the wound with my tongue to remove the blood and seal it closed. Pulling back, I brush a hand over her shoulder, the bite mark healing up. It will be about an hour or so before the actual mark appears, but my scent is already melded with hers.

~How do you feel love?~ I ask, testing the link. She jumps in surprise, looking at me in frustration.

~Just focus the things you want to say towards me.~

She narrows her eyes in concentration.

~There are so many...how do you keep track of them all?~

I realize the problem, with her link being newly connected to the pack as well, all of them are welcoming her at once. She doesn't know how to close out the links yet, and being the marked mate of a Gamma now means she'll be able to hear everything each close by pack member is thinking. I quickly ask the others to save their questions for later, and it effectively leaves just the two of us.

~I'll teach you how to control conversations, but my link also links you to the pack...they just felt your link to them as their Gamma's mate, and got a bit excited.~