Chapter 28: Chapter 12 Part 2 Well That Was Embarrassing

Chris’s POV

Chris groaned as she opened her eyes, all she saw was blurry darkness. She blinked a few times allowing her eyes to adjust to her dark glasses. Finally she was able to focus on the strange scene around her. Joseph half naked appeared to be biting his knuckle as he looked down on her. Next to him Garrett looked immediately relieved and exhausted, which made her wonder if he was next to pass out, and Peter who physically sighed. Then her eyes fell on Terrant who stood next to her, his head tilted slightly and eyebrows raised as he examined her slow progression into consciousness.

She passed out… she must have. It didn’t make sense why she would be in… she glanced around for a second to gain her bearings, she appeared to be in Joseph’s living quarters. She started to push herself up on her elbows when a sharp pain reached through her skull and she let out a hiss. The males around her reacted, all coming toward her as though she might die. She started to put up a hand to wave them away but Terrant was too quick; his arm reaching out to usher them back from the bed.

“Give her space. Peter go get her some water. Garrett get her Healer on the phone.” Both men nodded and rushed to do his bidding while Terrant sat down next to her, helping her lay back down. Chris could feel her face flushing red as he checked her pulse again. She glanced up at Joseph who was very tense watching every single thing that Terrant did. “Do you remember everything that happened?”

Chris thought for a second and nodded. “I remember you punched me.”

“What!?” Joseph said.

Terrant smiled, “You were lucky I didn’t punch you. Do you have any pain?”

“No. What do you mean I was lucky?”

Terrant smirked, “I couldn’t tell if you were playing a trick again. Thankfully I made the right decision and caught you instead of punching you.” Chris’s face got even redder which made Terrant smirk even more. “Do you have any condition that could cause fainting or dizzy spells?”

Chris shook her head, wishing she could hide herself under a pillow… this was so embarrassing. Peter handed Terrant a glass of water and left the room. Chris reached for the water but Terrant put it on the bedside table. “I don’t want you to have any until we have a better understanding of what happened. Now tell me everything that led up to you fainting.”

“We uh… were fighting and I was….winning.” Terrant smirked but didn’t disagree. “I felt like a bolt of lightning hit me. Like I… I don’t know… suddenly had all this energy, but I couldn’t keep up with it and I started to get pressure in my chest then my body stopped responding and…. everything went black.”

Terrant nodded, a thoughtful look on his face. He pulled a small penlight from a black bag and went to remove the dark glasses from her face.

Before he could touch them Garrett called out, “The Healer wishes to speak to you Alpha Terrant.”

Terrant paused for a second before handing the light to Joseph. “Check her eyes while I speak to the Healer.” Terrant stood up and walked toward Garrett who stood at the door. Garrett held out the phone and Terrant took it speaking quietly to the Healer.

Joseph kneeled down next to the bed and pulled Chris’s glasses up, shining the light into both eyes, checking for them to constrict. He glanced over his shoulder and then whispered very quietly, “He will find out soon enough. He’s a smart one.”

Chris sighed ignoring Joseph's comment. “Can I get up now? This is horribly embarrassing.”

“Well you will have to ask Dr. Terrant.” Joseph said smirking, turning just at Terrant hung up, and handed the phone back to Garrett.

A loud buzzing sounded on the bedside table. Joseph rolled his eyes and picked it up answering immediately, “Yes?” He glanced down at Chris. “She is right here. No you can’t talk to her now.” He began walking away from them, turning before he left the room and mouthing to Chris ‘Gia,’ before he disappeared behind the door.

Terrant made his way to the bed and sat down next to her. “Your Healer didn’t have any clue why you would be in this condition. He asked me to do a quick physical check if that is okay with you?”

Chris nodded, not really sure what to say or how to feel about the weird situation she found herself in.

A grunt was heard from Garrett as he was backing up to the door. “I will just wait outside…. Uh, if you need me Alpha.” To which he also disappeared behind the door.

Terrant gave Chris an incredulous look. She shrugged, “He is very shy and nervous when there is possible nudity.”

Now it was Terrant’s turn to turn red. He smiled and shook his head, “I assure you there will be no nudity during this physical.”

Chris’s wolf sighed in disappointment and she internally kicked her. ‘It is already awkward… stop it.’ She said to her wolf, who chuckled at Chris’s nervousness.

Terrant watched her closely as he touched her head, feeling for any bumps or injuries. He skipped over her glasses and began feeling under her chin at her lymph nodes. “Let me know if anything hurts or feels different.” He moved to her shoulders and down her arms, checking her circulation by pressing on the tips of her fingers. Then down her sides to check the stability of her rib cage. He continued down pulling out the stethoscope to listen to her abdomen. She watched him curiously as he continued to press on her stomach and then check the stability of her hips, he was so engrossed with what he was doing, that her anxiety left her and was replaced with curiosity.

“So did you want to be a Healer when you were a kid?” Chris asked innocently as he pulled off her sneakers to feel the pulses on the top of her feet, checking her circulation.

He blinked and looked up at her; his concentration broken. He smiled, “If my parents had more children I would have given up being an Alpha and trained as a Healer.”

Chris’s eyebrows shot up in surprise, “You didn’t want to be Alpha?”

“Is that surprising? You didn’t want to be Alpha either.”

“What makes you think that?” Chris asked not because she was offended but genuinely curious about his opinion.

“Well I suppose the better phrase is that you didn’t really have a choice.” He sat down next to her on the bed. “Was I wrong in my assumption?”

Chris thought about it for a second. “In the beginning it was definitely more of a job, but now I actually find the position fulfilling.” Terrant nodded. “So you never wanted to be Alpha?”

Terrant looked up at the ceiling before he answered. “No. I have come to the conclusion that I am needed more as an Alpha than a Healer. My people need me here.” His eyes narrowed as he shifted his attention to her exposed stomach. “Do the scars hurt?”

Chris pushed herself up to a seated position. “No more than anyone else's.” She grabbed the water and took a sip before noticing the confused expression on Terrant’s face.

“How many people in your pack have scars? I was under the impression that-”

“Some of my people come from a very…. Abused background.”

“Including you?”

Chris could see concern on his face and quickly looked away putting her glass of water down on the bedside table. She didn’t need pity.

Just then the door opened, and Joseph walked in. “Garrett said you were getting naked in here. I wanted to know why I wasn’t invited.”

Terrant’s face contorted into a weird grimace which made Chris cough in an attempt to hold in a laugh. “I did a quick physical that is all.”

Joseph smirked, “and wished it was more physical huh? Huh?”. Terrant stood up walking into the closet.

“Uh... I am right here Joseph.” Chris said crossing her arms over her chest.

“It was a joke. Come on!”

Suddenly a ball of fabric flew out of the closet at Joseph’s face. Terrant calling after it, “So far the only person who has been close to being naked is you. Put a shirt on.”

Joseph started to pull on the shirt looking sufficiently cowled.

“So, what is wrong, Alpha?” Garrett said standing next to the door.

Chris turned toward Terrant who walked out of the closet. “I couldn’t find anything immediately wrong. Which makes me think this is an acute attack.”

“Attack of what?” Peter asked, apparently he slipped in with Joseph.

“An acute attack have symptoms that can start and stop quickly. Sometimes too quickly for anyone to figure out what caused it in the first place. So Chris I need you to go back to-” Terrant paused thinking, “last night. Right after you left the council meeting. What did you do?”

Chris pulled her legs around so she was sitting on the bed facing Terrant. “I had a quick meeting with Garrett and then got ready for bed. Slept for a few hours and woke up. I was at the gym for about half an hour before you got there, and... you know the rest.”

Terrants hand came up as he scratched his chin. “Nothing else happened? Any weird symptoms? Even the smallest detail could be a clue.”

Chris shook her head, her eyebrows coming together in concentration. “Oh wait! I did call Gia last night. About burning the blood contracts in the morning.”

“I don’t see how that could be anything.” Joseph sighed. “I guess we'll just have to have your Healer-”

“Wait!” Terrant interrupted staring at Chris. “Repeat that.”

Chris looked around at the other males before repeating. “I called Gia to make sure they started burning the contracts….. There is no point for them anymore.”

“When?” Terrant asked.

“When? What?” Chris felt thoroughly confused.

Terrants gaze was becoming very intense as he stared at Chris. “When did they start burning them?”

“I uh… told them to start this morning.”

“What time?”

Chris looked at Garrett who shrugged before responding. “Uh normally the secretaries would handle it. So maybe around 7 or 7:30.”

Terrant nodded and began pacing. He pointed at Garrett, “Could you confirm when the secretaries came in and when they started burning contracts?”

Garrett nodded and pulled out his phone.

“What are you thinking Terrant?” Joseph asked watching Terrant pace up and down the room.

Terrant stopped and looked at Chris’s confused expression. “I’m sorry. I forget to explain myself sometimes. Uh… so blood contracts are upheld by the magical force within our blood.”

Chris nodded encouraging him to continue.

“Now normally the magic is secured by the contractor’s magic rather than the contractee. Chris you would be considered the contractor for all the blood pacts that you have made; because it is you that is setting the limits and it is the contractee that is agreeing to them.”

Chris nodded and Joseph shook his head. “The point Terrant.”

“The point is that normal blood pacts draw some energy but not a significant amount from the contractor. However, Chris is the contractor of a abnormal amount of blood pacts…. Thousands of blood pacts. Which could be the reason she has felt tired and stressed.”

Garrett interjected. “They started burning contracts 30 minutes ago.”

Terrant nodded. “That is about the time that we started sparring.”

“So you’re saying that burning contracts did that to me?” Chris asked a little flabbergasted at Terrants presentation.

“I am saying that-” Terrant paused shrugging his shoulders, “theoretically...because no one else has made as many blood contracts as you. Burning that many contracts broke the magical bond and gave you back the energy required to keep the contract in place. Energy that you haven’t had in a while…. So in theory… to many contracts burned at the same time will give you an energy rush; overloading your system and end up with you… potentially fainting.”

Everyone was silent as Terrant finished his explanation. Joseph moved toward Terrant slapping him on the shoulder, "Wow! I would never have guessed that in a million years!"

“Should I tell them to stop burning contracts?” Garrett asked looking between Chris and Terrant.

“Yes.” Chris said, “Until we can figure out how many to burn without me ending up on the floor.”

“Actually. How many contracts did they burn this morning?” Terrant asked.

Garrett looked at Chris who nodded, giving Garrett permission to respond. "200.”

Terrant nodded. “I would suggest between 200 to 300 burned slowly throughout the day. Do not burn any at night unless you never want to sleep.”

Chris looked at Joseph whose eyebrows were raised in amazement. “Okay I guess we will try that.” She nodded at Garrett who pulled out his phone again to relay the message.

Chris stood up and held out her hand. “Thank you. That was quite impressive.”

Terrant took her hand and shook it while smiling. “You’re welcome.” His eyes glazed over as he received a message. “I am very sorry but I have to leave.”

Chris nodded. “Of course. I hope you have a safe trip back to your pack.”

“Thank you.” They broke contact and Terrant started for the door.

“What no love for me?!” Joseph called after him.

Immediately Terrant turned around and headed back to where Chris and Joseph where standing.

Joseph smiled “See he can’t leave without saying-”

Terrant walked straight up to Chris. “Chris, would you have lunch with me tomorrow?”

*Thanks for reading! Please vote and comment! I love constructive criticism, however, if it becomes mean I will take you down.*

-LostArrow-

Edited by munbunny and ChelsieNielson