I couldn't see Andrea's face but I heard her shocked intake of breath. Her control also faltered and I felt the stinging prick of surprise as it raced through her in the pack bond. Andrea wasn't the only one who was surprised by this Raiza was better at controlling her facade but she couldn't hide the slight increase in her heartbeat, which seemed to cancel out all other noise. It was a tense few moments of utter silence it was rare but there were cases of a Beta's vow being rejected. 'Was Andrea really going to reject this vow?' Neither of us really liked each other but in more ways then one we needed each other and right now I needed her to accept this more than I needed air.
I jumped when Andrea's lips touched my neck, I had been to absorbed in my own thoughts to notice she had moved closer. She didn't say anything, through the pack bond she betrayed no other emotion other than surprise. Her lips had hesitated for a moment when they had touched my neck but she didn't hesitate for long. Her lips parted and her teeth clenched down ripping into my flesh. I wanted to cry out from the pain that coursed through my body but I kept silent. A Servari's vow became binding through pain and blood, because I wasn't just pledging my loyalty to Andrea I was pledging my life. It was now my duty to protect her life with my own and that meant that if she died I did as well. A new bond was forged between us through our mixed blood, for when she bite me she had already bit her own lips causing her blood to mix with mine. Having a new bond forged felt amazing, better than anything I have ever experience, it was utter oblivion. It was also painful, I could hear and feel my wolf soul as it fought against the chain that was linking me to Andrea. In a away I ripped and tore at the insides of my head fighting the bond I had voluntarily chose, but that didn't change the pain my wolf inflicted as it fought against it. Wolves, especially dominate wolves, don't submit their lives easily no matter the reason. When the bond was finally done Andrea extracted her teeth from my neck and without any pretense I gladly collapsed.
***
"I was in my wolf form running through the forest. The sunlight filtered through the tress and made the world glow. I felt happy and was in a daze like state, I never remember feeling so happy. A howl of pure joy ripped from my lungs as I ran through the trees. Up ahead I heard another wolf respond to my howl. If I could smile a grin would have broken out over my face. I wasn't sure who I was chasing or why but I was content. I wasn't hunting he person up ahead I was trying to catch up to them but they just kept slipping away. "Wake up! Your bleeding all over my bed!" Andrea shouted. I groaned and rolled over in the soft bed, trying to catch the last wisps of my dream as they floated away. Andrea was next to me on her bed, she was kneeling on it and so she towered over me. In her hands was a wade of used gauze in the other was disinfectant. "What are you doing?" I asked still sleepily. A week before if I was woken up like this I would have freaked out think Andrea was going to try and kill me. Now because of the vow I just stared at Andrea holding in laughter at her discomfort. "Raiza told me to change the bandage every 8 hours for the first 2 days, to keep the wound from getting infected." She told me. "You could have just woken me up to begin with." I told her as I got out of the bed. I took the teams from Andrea's hands and made my way into her bathroom. Andrea trailed after me dejectedly. "I was trying to be nice. After your vow you need a long time to rest." She said.
For most injuries werewolves healed fast, no matter how they were injured; however, when a wolf made a blood vow the injury made to complete the vow took about as long as a human would take to heal from it. This was why Andrea was so uncomfortable, many wolves weren't used to injuries that: wouldn't just heal right away or injuries that could get infected.
I stood before the bathroom mirror and looked at the wound on my neck. The bite had gone pretty deep and it looked like a bloody mangled mess. I sighed and started looking for a wash cloth. "I don't understand why you can 'to just go to a healer," Andrea muttered. I was to distracted by cleaning the wound to answer right away. After I had cleaned most of the blood of I put the disinfectant on, unfortunately Andrea hadn't grabbed a disinfectant that wouldn't sting and I fell to my knees in agony. The disinfectant seemed to burn through my neck, it was more painful than the actual bite itself was. "What's wrong! Kye!" Andrea said. I blocked her out and searched for the gauze. Andrea found it first and she gently bandaged the wound. When she was done I was still on my knees but happily the pain was beginning to fade. Andrea didn't wait for me to feel better and scoped me up from the bathroom floor and carried me to her bed. "Sleep, Kye, next time you wake up I will have some food ready for you." She whispered before she lid me back down onto the bed.
****
I spent a week in Andrea's room being nursed back to health, in that time the only thing I really did was sleep and eat. Honestly I don't remember much and in a way I am grateful for that. After the first week the wound finally scabbed over and I had more energy, Raiza declared I was well enough to move out of Andrea's room and into my own. Sadly she wasn't talking about my old room back in the barracks but my new room, right across the hall from Andrea's, in the Meeting house. Apparently Skye and Ember had taken charge when I was healing and decked out my new room. It was fairly nice but not much changed compared to my old room except that this one was bigger. "Well?" Skye asked after a couple moments. I had walked across the hall with an entire company of wolves trailing after me. Originally I had thought that they were just worried that I would collapse in the hallway or that they wanted to see what I thought of my new room, both thoughts were wrong. Raiza, Andrea, Skye, Sadie, Savannah, Ember, Carson, Laura, Levi, Ryan, Corrigan, heck even Aspen, had come to see the look on my face when I opened the door and found my Dad standing in the middle of my new room. I also notice Mitch and Simone stood behind him, but at first I focused in on only my Father. I couldn't believe he was here, I always thought he would never return for any reason short of Raiza's order, and there was no way Raiza would ever order him back here if it only brought him pain. "Dad?" I choked out. When I had left I hadn't thought that I would see him again for a good five years. "Kye" was all he said before I ran into his arms. I didn't cry but I probably would have if half the pack hadn't been crowded around my door watching. "I'm sorry, Kye. I should have been here for everything." He said. I just shook my had and pulled him closer. "Hey be careful pup, your going to open your wound before we even get our hugs in," Mitch teased from behind my dad. I let go of my dad and looked at Mitch. "Who said you were getting a hug you old gramps." I teased back. "Old? Old? I'll show you old!" He said before he picked me up in a giant hug. I was to busy laughing to notice. This time it was Simone who did the scolding. "Mitch put her down! She's injured." Mitch didn't put me down but just looked at me. "She ain't injured women, she's been hurt worse ten times over in a week before." He told her. "That was different, those healed quicker." She argued. "Ahh, they might've but as soon as they were near enough healed she go and do something stupid to get hurt again." He replied. "He's right and you know it." I told Simone. She just shook her head and muttered about how she wanted to show both of us what it really meant to be injured. I tapped at Mitch's shoulder and he set me down. It was an old signal from when I was a kid. When I was on the floor I went over to Simone and gave her a hug. "It is good to see you Simone." I told her. "It's good to see you as well."
***
After I got a chance to catch up with them Raiza ushered everyone out of my new room and left me to get some sleep. I laid down and fell into a fitful sleep but something was pressing on my thoughts and after only a two measly hours of sleep I was up and pacing my room. It was the middle of the day everyone was busy with something, maybe Mitch or Simone wouldn't be busy. I didn't know where they were and if anyone saw me outside I would get chewed out for not resting. I had been cooped up for the last week I wanted some fresh air. Maybe that was it, maybe I was just sick of being trapped inside. Hopefully a walk would put my head at ease. I couldn't leave out the front door but I knew there was a side exit that no one really used. I walked quietly through the halls incase there was someone on the other side of one of the doors. I didn't find anyone as I made my way out of the giant wooden cage. Once I was outside I took off straight for the forest, effortlessly I slid into my wolf form. The ripping sound of my cloths barely registered as I flew through the trees. My soul felt as though it was jumping with joy, it had been so long since I wore my wolf skin and I hadn't realized until just now how uncomfortable it was to be caught in a singular form. I moved through the forest enjoying myself for the first time in a week. It wasn't long until I was exhausted and I found my way to a hidden clearing not far from Devil's Peak. I closed my eyes and gladly feel asleep.
A rumble of content woke me from my dreams. I startled awake and hunched into a fighting stance. Before me Azarias lay sprawled on one of the lower branches of a tree not far from me. He was cloaked in shadows but I could see his blue eyes track my every move. "Your the most beautiful women I have ever seen, no matter what skin you wear." He told me. He didn't move from his place of the branch across the clearing so I relaxed, a little. "I take it Raiza filed you in on our shared history?" He asked. I nodded my head and he continued. "I can feel the new bond you have established, I can also see the wound. Changing forms didn't make it disappear however when you change back it will probably have opened up again." He paused before he continued. "Kylie, I know this will make no difference to you but I am sorry that I have hurt you. I won't lie though, if I could I wouldn't take back a single thing I have done." He moved from his spot on the branch and appeared in front of me. "Your Alpha has found that you are missing from your room it won't be long before she gets here. Before I leave just know that despite everything I truly don't want to be the cause of your suffering...though that changes nothing, and for that Luce Mia I am sorry." With that he was gone and disappeared into the forest.
Not long after he took another wolf blasted out of the trees. At first I thought it was Raiza because of what Azarias had said and the power that was rolling off the wolf in waves. I was wrong the gray wolf that stood glowering before me wasn't Raiza it was Andrea. "What are you doing?" She demanded. "You can't just run off like that especially why your injured! It's dangerous!" She had started pacing back and forth in front of me. She continued to lecture me for a while until I got feed up with it and interrupted her. "Enough! I know it was probably stupid but I need to be outside, to be alone. I stayed away from possible places where anyone would be so that I wouldn't attack anyone. I know an injured wolf is dangerous. I wasn't going to let anyone get hurt, Andrea!" I told her through the bond. I had gotten slightly better and communicating using the bond since I had started working with Corrigan. "I know you would never have hurt anyone else! I was worried about you! You thick headed, unthinking, reckless wolf!" Andrea had stopped pacing and glowered at me as she pushed her words into my head. "If you want to be alone and outside fine, next time would you just tell someone?" Before I had the chance to answer she turned and ran from the clearing. "I'm sorry," I sent the thought after her unsure whether or not she received it.