Crimson Mist ✔️

52: I hope they make you suffer.

Inside one of the guest rooms in Tristan's way too big house, in a bed, lays Jeremy. Above his wound, there's an enchanted bandage being soaked in blue healing potion every few minutes, on its own, pressuring onto the deep bite marks. I don't have to put my body weight on it this time, as Petra has already done some magic to help it stay there, and heal him. Hopefully.

I'm sitting in a chair brought up from the living room, with the blanket Gail made for us draped around me, just staring at my mate. I've been staring at him for hours. Some time during the night, I fell asleep, but when I woke up I continued to just look at him.

My whole body feels like a shell around emptiness that can never be filled back up.

Before Tristan and Tyler carried him inside, he lost consciousness. The small blink he did at me before I attacked his brother seemed to not matter anymore, because he hasn't shown any other sign of life since. Other than breathing, and having a slow pulse.

My eyes are constantly staring at his chest to see if it stops rising.

Suddenly a hand touches my shoulder, and I jump, feeling my heart start to race, and I quickly glance up to see Michael standing next to me with a cup of my favorite tea in his hand. He hands it to me, and moves a chair that he brought with him up next to me, to sit down on.

I didn't even hear him come in, much less put the chair down before touching my shoulder. I didn't hear him come up the stairs or anything, my ears are solely focused on the slow beating of Jeremy's heart, and the sound of his even, shallow breaths.

"Any changes?" he asks, and I appreciate that he doesn't tell me to do something else, or tell me he's going to be fine, because that's not what I need right now. I just need support, or preferably, him.

I shake my head, and lift the steaming mug up to my lips, never taking my eyes off Jeremy.

"Nathan's still here," he mutters.

I choke a little on my hot tea, and cough a few times, before letting out a restrained laugh.

"Whatever he does next isn't going to be right," I say back. "If he leaves, he's a stupid asshole for leaving his brother, if he stays, he's a stupid asshole for doing this in the first place and I'm going to break his bones if Jeremy doesn't wake up soon."

"With that threat I don't see how he can possibly consider staying," he chuckles.

I want so badly to roll my eyes at him, but I can't take my eyes off of Jeremy. I need to know he's still breathing, in order to keep sane.

We're not even fully mated, but our bond makes me go crazy at the thought of him dying. Maybe it's because deep down I know we both want to be together, to mate, to live together in our new house, decorate and furnish it together.. Inside the broken pieces of my heart that are still hanging onto my ribcage, I know I want that, and I feel stupid for not realizing it fully sooner.

I've been naive and dumb, thinking I needed to be strong by myself, and that I didn't need love, or a soulmate, but I do. I so do. He's everything that I never knew I wanted in a future other half, and everything I hoped I'd see in someone some day. I've even grown to love his mood swings.

The glass bottle on the bedside table rises by itself, floats over towards Jeremy and his bandage that's covering half his torso and his whole neck, and soaks it in the blue, sparkling water again. It hasn't been that long since it did before, but it calms me just a little to see that the magic is at least working on this side of the white cloth. It makes it that much easier to believe that his deep wounds are actually healing on the other side.