Mistake

RORY

“Hunters…,” he grumbles as he grimaces in pain. I quickly act as capably as I can, slinging his arm over my shoulders to balance him and helping us get away.

I try to take most of his weight onto me and we scurry away, much further into rogue territory.

I trip many times, but Ace’s crushing weight almost grounds me in a way and prevents me from falling. That’s handy.

At least I won’t have to worry too much about my terminal clumsiness.

Hunters? I’ve heard of them, and I know they usually hunt rogue wolves. They’re the humans who know about werewolves and decide to hunt them down.

But some hunt all wolves, and most only hunt rogues, knowing that it’s the rogues that are the most threatening to humans.

Maybe they thought we were rogues, or at least that Ace was and I was a human he was going to hurt.

They shot him. ~Oh Goddess, they shot him~.

But he’s a wolf. He’ll heal. Won’t he?

Then why wasn’t he healing? It just looks like it’s getting worse as he clutches his chest in agony.

That’s a serious injury, even though he’s a wolf and he can heal fast. ~But why isn’t he healing fast~?

Okay. Calm down, Rory. Panicking is helping nothing.

It’s not like you’re helpless here, remember. You can save people, you can cure people, you can raise yourself from the dead.

I bet no one else in the pack can do that. I guess it’s something I’m good for.

But Ace can’t know. No one can. Mama told me that. Well, she wrote that.

And she’s right.

People can take advantage.

It’s not that I don’t trust Everett or Ace with my secret, and I don’t actually, although my brain is willing me to trust Everett due to the force of the mate bond.

But it’s that a secret is best kept if only one person knows it. The more people who know it, the further it can spread and then it's not a secret.

And those with malicious intentions would love to know someone with the gift I have and use it.

Back to Ace, if he’s hurt and isn’t healing, I have to help him, regardless of whether he knows about my gifts or not.

But he’s a wolf. He’ll heal. Hopefully.

We continue to trek into the woods with Ace leaning on me for support—very weak support, might I add, but support nonetheless.

“Why aren’t you healing?” I question in a sudden panic and urge him to just come out with it.

“They’re hunters. Their bullets are laced with wolfsbane. Which is poisoning me and also prohibiting me from mind-linking the pack and telling them where we are.”

He groans again as even I can feel the agony seeping from him, resonating from his body in waves.

He’s being poisoned? And if he can’t mind-link the pack, how will we get back?

He needs medical attention, and we have no clue where we are. We’re lost.

“This is all my fault. If you hadn’t gone off in search for the source of the noise, you would never have been caught in the group of rogues, you wouldn’t have backed away from fighting.

“You wouldn’t have run whilst carrying me, you wouldn’t have gotten shot by hunters. I’m so sorry,” I rant, dragging Ace along with all my strength.

For now, Ace is doing pretty well for an injured, possibly dying, man and wolf.

But soon, I might not be able to get him out of these woods, and we might be attacked again, by hunters or rogues.

That’s why this is a dangerous place and I never should have come here.

“I wasn’t following your noise. You were pretty quiet for a human. I was following the group of rogues. I thought I heard them and decided to branch off. It’s my fault that I went alone.

“I thought I could handle it, and I probably would have gotten hurt by at least one of those rogues if I had fought them.

It’s lucky I had you as an excuse to go,” Ace admits with a humorless chuckle. “But I’m no coward.”

“I don’t think you are,” I say.

He looks over at me with a pained smile but then slows a little, searching my face whilst doing so.

“You want to know why you’re still here?”

I furrow my brows at him in confusion. What is he talking about?

“Everett is a strong and dutiful alpha. Ever since his parents died when he was the young age of twenty, the weight of this massive pack was just dumped on him, and he wasn’t ready.

“His instincts as an alpha weren’t fully honed yet, and yet, the responsibility of alpha fell on him. So he didn’t follow what felt right. He weighed every decision, big and small, carefully.

“He knew making a mistake would not only make the pack lose faith in their young alpha, but it would be his responsibility.

“And, even though he’s older now, and he has the respect of everyone in the pack tenfold, and his instincts are trustworthy, he still weighs every decision, assessing the pros and cons, and he takes his time.

“He doesn’t follow his heart because he thinks that can cloud his judgment. And the weighed decision about you would be rejecting you, no offense Rory.

“Of course, if you were my mate, I wouldn’t. But Everett has to think like an alpha. And you’re a clumsy human who would be luna.”

I bow my head at his words, tears threatening to spill.

Why is he telling me all of this now? I know what Everett thinks of me. He’s disappointed to have me as a mate.

He hates me, but the mate bond has kept me in the pack, has kept his interest. But soon enough, he’ll reject me.

“Rory, what I’m saying is that Everett makes the hard choices well, he always has. He’ll do what’s best for the pack. He has always had the strength to reject you, Rory.

“He’s always been able to ignore the mate bond, even though it’s strong, and reject you. But he hasn’t. He hasn’t because you’re a mystery to him, you excite him, you intrigue him.

“He honestly thinks that you could be a good luna, even though he has doubts. He’s scared to get close to you because he doesn’t want to fall too deep.

“But because he won’t get close, he can’t get to know you.”

He grimaces in pain at his injury, but continues to walk and explain to me.

“I thought that you two had nothing in common. I’m a firm believer in the mate bond. Selene pairs people together for a reason, and she doesn’t make mistakes.

“When I found out you were Everett’s mate, I was dumbfounded. But I see glimpses of why now. And it’s my fault I haven’t seen more.

“I haven’t made an effort to get to know you, like Everett and Lucius, and I couldn’t see anything before. Only now am I seeing.

“You take on responsibility that doesn’t belong to you, blame yourself for problems that aren’t your own, and kick yourself for mistakes that you couldn’t have prevented. Everett does that too.”

“Why are you telling me all this?” I ask.

“I think I’m dying, little Rory,” he replies in a sullen voice, slumping down to his knees to catch his breath and rest.

He looks worn out, pale, and I believe death will be knocking on his door very soon. Of course, I’ve died myself, so I know how it feels.

“Don’t say that,” I scold, knowing that a positive attitude might get him a little further.

“We’re deep into rogue territory. Hopefully I might just get killed by a rogue before this poison takes me painfully. At least with a rogue it might be quick.

“You should go, Rory. I’m slowing you down, and you can’t die out here. Everett would never forgive me.”

“I don’t care what the alpha wants!” I snap, making his eyes lock on mine. “I’m not leaving you. And don’t talk like that. You’ll be fine. Stop being a baby, get up, and we’ll find our way back to the pack.”

A faint smile adorns his face, almost as if he is proud.

“Shit, I really should have gotten to know you more, Rory. You’re not the ‘rollover and take shit’ girl I thought you were,” he says with a pained chuckle, clutching the wound on his breast as he scrambles to his feet once again.

I grab his arm and place it over my shoulders again, helping him walk, and we travel a little further, hoping to find something or someone.

The truth is, I can help, maybe. I don’t know how my gift even works though. Can I cure poisoned wolves? I cured Ophelia, who had a terminal wolf disease.

But what if I can’t heal him? What if I fail?

No, think positive.

What have you been telling Ace all this time? You can’t give up.

The next time he stumbles, he might not get back up. I’d try and heal him, but our best bet is to get him to the pack doctors. They can cure wolfsbane poisoning.

No, no, no! Not again!

As I hear the low growling through the trees surrounding us, I’m almost not frightened at all, just from the irritation of it all.

Just as we’re about to get somewhere, we hit another roadblock. This is ridiculous.

“An injured pack wolf. It must be Christmas.”