In Sickness and Health

7

The heat of him behind me helped ease my shooting pain. Stephan and I were laying in his bed, his body tucked against mine and an arm was thrown around me. 

Tears wouldn't stop between us. "I'm so sorry, my mate," I sobbed, clutching the arm that was around me. "I-I should've told you sooner b-but I was so scared that you would leave me and I'd be all alone again." 

"Hush, beau, I'm not going anywhere." He pressed firm kisses on my head and I shuddered; from pain or pleasure, I didn't know. "You don't need to keep apologizing mi amour. I understand why you kept it hidden. Your family abandoned you and you were scared I would too. But I swear to you I'm not going anywhere. Now hush, please - you're going to make yourself sick -" 

A cry cut him off as agony ruptured throughout my entire being. My spine arched against the white hot pain and all I could feel was the torment my body was going through. His arms tightened around me and he whispered soothing things into my ear. 

Slowly the claws around my stomach let up and I collapsed onto the bed, panting. After a moment of silence, Stephan asked softly, "Is it normally this bad baby?" 

I shook my head, loving the way his scent relaxed me and how warm he was. I turned and snuggled against him but not even he could stop the echoes of the claws slashing at my belly. "It's worse at night, it seems." 

Stephan kissed my forehead. His lips were so soft. Being in that amount of pain, even for a short period of time, was utterly exhausting. "Why haven't you done chemotherapy?"

"Money," I breathed. "My parents cut me off, remember?" 

"Well how have you been surviving this long? You've had to be getting some cash from somewhere." His hand was under my shirt, rubbing small circles onto my stomach. It was greatly comforting. 

I hummed. "My older sister was giving me checks but how can anyone live on $200 each month? I had bills and I had to pay for rent and food. I ended up selling my car. I had to pay for so many doctor visits and medication..." My voice trailed off and I sank further into him. 

He smoothed my damp hair away from my eyes. "Well you don't have to worry about that anymore," he said soothingly, "I'll be right here to take care of you. I promise, beau." 

***

"My family wants to come and meet you," Stephan said, his hand rubbing small circles into my belly. 

I stiffened. "W-when?" 

I felt him press kisses against my neck reassuringly. "In a couple of days. Is that okay? There's little I can do to stop them - they were very persistent." 

I swallowed thickly. With his dad being the alpha, it made my nerves spike. My scars itched along my back and I couldn't help but trace them with my fingers. 

"Is your dad nice?" I questioned softly, my nails subconsciously digging into my scars. Stephan gently grabbed my hand and kissed my knuckles. 

"He's stern and can be intimidating but overall he's nice," he soothed, his thumb rubbing across my knuckles. 

"My dad wasn't," I breathed, memories of him flooding back to me. 

I felt Stephan's fingers slide underneath my shirt and touch the bare skin of my back. "Is this okay?" 

I nodded. His warm fingers traced my scars along my back, following them up to my shoulder blade. "Did he do that to you?" His voice was soft. 

"Yeah," I said, nodding. "After I came out." 

The warmth of his fingers retreated. "How did you know you were gay even though you hadn't met your mate yet? I could've been female, what would you have done then?" 

I smiled and turned around to face him. "I was never attracted to girls. I've... been with a few guys before, but felt repulsed by the idea of being with a girl. And, if I had been mated to a girl, I probably would tell her that I was gay and pray she wouldn't throw a fit." 

"And if she did?" 

I sighed. "Want to hear my honest answer?" He nodded. "I would hope my... sickness would finish me off." 

A heavy silence fell between us and I felt his arms wrap around me. "We'll get through this," he promised, breath teasing my neck. 

I bit my lip, a question rolling around in my head. After sitting there for a while, I convinced myself that I would be prepared for any of his answers. "Do you... do you actually want to be mates with... me?" 

Stephan suddenly sat up and I followed suit. His eyes turned very serious and he cupped my face in his large hands. "Don't ever ask me that again, mi amour," he said sternly, looking back and forth between my eyes. "I promise you there's no one else I would want to me mated to." 

I could feel the prick of tears behind my eyes. "Even if they weren't sick?" My voice was barely audible and I wondered if he heard me or read my lips. 

"Baby, you being sick doesn't change anything. I swear. I told you, I love you." 

His words made my heart race wildly. Thumbing away my tears, he leaned forwards so our foreheads were touching. I breathed the scent of him in deep, feeling myself start to relax. "I love you too," I whispered. 

His lips crashed into mine. Everything seemed to fall into place after that. His hands ran over my body - I had never felt this good. His lips moved against mine and I shuddered. Oh, how I had craved this. Stephan gently coaxed my mouth open with his tongue along my bottom lip. Our tongues met and I moaned, breathing in him deep and loving how he tasted. 

He gently picked me up and sat me in his lap. I wrapped my legs around in waist in response, our mouths never disconnecting. Stephan's hands rubbed my thighs as he began slowing the kiss down. When we pulled away from each other, we were both panting. I stared into those gray eyes, my heart flowing. It felt like a pleasurable warmth had spread from my lips to the rest of my body. I felt happy. For the first time in seven months, I felt happy. 

I could help it; my lips curled into a smile and soon, Stephan was smiling back at me. "You're so beautiful." One of his hands caressed the side of my face, his thumb rubbing against my cheekbone. 

I shook my head. "You are." 

I knew I wasn't beautiful. My skin was pale, my face sunken in, bags under my eyes, my skin stretched tight over my bones. 

But the way he looked at me, like I was the most  beautiful thing in the world, made me start to second guess myself. 

I fecking love the part where they finally kiss aAAHHH

XOXO​​​​​​​

-Ally