Chapter Forty-Nine

Celina

My days are growing longer, and admittedly lonelier. Between my time interviewing every single soul in this goddess-forsaken palace, dealing with my family, going to visit Chris- now in week three of his coma, finding the Lunar Pack orphans new packs, and my hunts for that asinine beast, exhaustion is starting to creep up on me. I can’t stand to sleep in my room alone, so I’ve been sleeping in Chris’s hospital room on a bench built into the window bay.

This annoyed his main doctor to no end. Dr. Holder has been trying to get me to sleep in my room so the attendants can work on Chris at night, without worrying about waking me; that’s not going to happen. I told the staff to pretend I was not there during the night, but they just ignored that suggestion. I think he’s relieved I’m willing to leave the room during the day, but that is only because Leroy and Ruben have offered to sit with him while I’m working.

Mia has been visiting me every single day to see if I’m okay. I lie and tell her I am. She doesn’t buy it and then the cycle repeats. All I want is to rip my hair out and scream at the top of my lungs until I can’t anymore. I know she senses this, and she’s been trying to keep me distracted with trivial things like remodeling Chris’s and my bedroom. Planning for my coronation. Getting through my second heat cycle by keeping ice packs on me at all times, and unmated males out of the same vicinity as me; minus Ruben.

My hunt for Damian is growing stagnant. I gathered every soldier and guard after the incident at the mansion. I had them all lined up and forced every single one to submit. Once they did, I asked for any who swore allegiance, or had a blood oath with Damian, to raise their hand. Over sixty did, and almost simultaneously, he cut every single lifeline to kill every one of them instantly.

Over the period of three weeks, I’ve interviewed every single person inside this palace, or in any of the councils, and over seventy had the exact same result as the soldiers. One day I woke up to find eight nurses dead, and two doctors, from the same cause of death as the others. One of them being Dr. Holder. Either Damian has gone nuts, is trying to thin our numbers, or is trying to taunt me. That, or I’m going crazy and am reading too much into this while he’s just tying up loose ends. I swear I’m the one starting to go insane at this point.

At the end of the day, I walk into Chris’s room. He’s still hooked up to more wires than I care to get close to. He’s on a breathing tube and is still pale, but some more color is in his cheeks today. Ruben is sitting in the bay window reading. I give a small smile, seeing he’s already made a makeshift bed for me.

He smiles at me when he looks up from his book. “How was work?”

I shrug, “More people ended up dead. I think Mia is going to kill me if I don’t settle on a flower choice for the coronation soon. Your father is still protesting being confined in his bedroom. My father is driving me nuts by trying to guide me through endless property disputes between packs. And I’m at the point that if I see one more rogue attack, I’m going to go hunt down the rogue and rip his throat out personally.”

Ruben smirks. “I’ll look into it after the royal baby wakes up.”

I nod. “Thank you. How is he?”

“He’s still in a great deal of pain, so they’re still keeping him sedated. Have your fangs come in yet?”

I shake my head; both Mara and I trying to get them to come in. I scream in frustration; also partially from the electric pain. “This is so frustrating. All I have to do is bite him and I can’t even do that.” That’s all I have to do. It’ll give him enough strength to overpower the silver and bromine in his system so he can finally heal. I can’t even do that.

Ruben frowns slightly. “It’s nearly been five weeks Cel, give it time. The earliest anyone has fully shifted is six weeks. It really depends on how your wolf handles the transition. The more she’s focused on trying to get you to shift, the longer it’s going to take her to transition.”

“We’d both be willing to stop trying to shift if we were able to bite Chris.” I grimace. “And this heat isn’t helping.”

Ruben nods, his eyes trained on Chris. “It’ll happen Cel, just give it some time.”

I shake my head and go sit next to Chris. I gently take his hand as I look at his rising chest; unable to look at his shallow face. “I’ve never wanted to bite someone so badly in my life.”

“I know Cel, I know.” Ruben comes over and puts his hand on my shoulder. “I wish there was something I could do to help.”

“Nothing will help. The only time I’ve even come close to shifting since Chris marked me was that last battle with Damian. I was trying so hard to force him to submit so he’d release those kids from their blood oath, that Mara nearly broke through.” I shake my head. “No matter the amount of anger or desperation I possess, I cannot force even a small shift.”

Ruben cocks his head. “So she was almost triggered because you forced Damian to submit?”

I nod. “I used my full aura on him. He submitted but damn did he fight it. He never renounced me as his alpha, but he didn’t exactly fully give in either.”

“You’re missing the point, Celina,” Ruben says, coming to stand in front of me. “Your wolf was able to show herself for a few moments, right?”

I nod, still confused by his train of thought. “My eyes were somewhat flashing.”

“Perfect!” Ruben says, taking a step back. “Make me submit.” What? His face is set in his determination as he spreads his arms wide. “Come on sis. If you’re truly that powerful, you should have no problem forcing me to submit to you.”

“Are you insane?” I demand from him. “You know what that can do to you.”

He nods. “Look, all you need is a second to bite him. The amount of pain I’m going to feel is nothing compared to what he is actively feeling. Now do it!”

I bite my lip, hesitating because I know what this is going to do to him. “This isn’t going to be a simple instinct to do it. It’s going to hurt. It’s going to feel like every bone and organ is rupturing until you comply with my order.”

Ruben shoots me a look like I’m an idiot. “You’re acting like my father never did it to me. Now do it, and just remember to give me a simple order. Also, remember to bite fast. If this doesn’t work, I’m going to be taking a swing at you.”

“Your funeral,” I tell him as I walk to the other side of the bed. Setting my jaw firm with determination, I kneel so I’m next to Chris. Gently, I push his head to the side, exposing the mark-free side of his neck; so I can bite his neck the moment I get the chance.

I fix a steely gaze on Ruben “If this works, remind me to thank you.”

“Just do it,” Ruben tells me, folding his arms impatiently.

Mara growls; signaling she’s ready. Without showing any mercy, I push my full aura onto Ruben. Ruben cries out in agony as he drops to the ground. His neck is twisted awkwardly, trying to show me he’s submitting. While I focus on my aura, Mara focuses on forcing my canines to descend.

When I feel something move underneath the agonizing electric current tormenting my mouth, I speak my order. “Whistle.”

“What?” Ruben demands.

“Whistle!” I bark, feeling something brush my lower lip when I instinctively pull my lips back in a snarl. Wasting no time, I sink my larger-than-I-remember canines into Chris’s neck. Chris’s heart monitor picks up while his back arches. His hands clench the bed sheets while I hear a weak whistle coming from the floor.

On cue, when my brain recognizes that Ruben has fully submitted to me, and complied with my order, I lose my grip on the small shift. My canines retract quickly, making the electrifying pain subside. When my teeth are no longer in Chris’s neck, his body relaxes and he falls back into a peaceful slumber.

My entire body is now light and I feel faint. I take an unsure step back, trying to focus on the sound of Chris’s breathing.

“Did-did it work,” Ruben pants from the floor, looking up at me with sweat drenching his body.

I nod weakly and sit on the bed next to Chris. “For a few seconds, but I managed.”

His brow furrows as he looks me over. “You don’t look so good.”

“Jeez, thanks,” I say as I look at my pale hand. “Mara is out cold right now, and I’m barely here. You have no idea how much that hurt.”

He gives me a hard glare while he gets to his feet. “I think I could manage a guess.”

A weak smile appears on my hand while I grab Chris’s face. “His skin does feel warmer,” I comment while I lean toward him to stroke his cheek. I glance at the monitor. “His blood pressure is up and so is his heart rate.”

“That’s something,” he muses; his muscles still twitching. “Are you going to be alright?”

I nod. “I think so. I’ve been exhausted a lot lately. I think this is what pushed it to the edge.” Gently, I use my finger to wipe at the blood on Chris’s neck. “Either way, it was worth it just to see some improvement.”

“Agreed,” Ruben nods as he stretches. “Anything on our demon problem?”

I shake my head. “Nothing. It’s like he’s vanished. I have my father’s guards in every pack to keep an eye on them. I know they’re loyal since they’re linked to the pack. You can’t belong to two alphas. This way every pack under our rule, lycan included, is closely monitored. There was nothing left from our SUV except the charred remains. At least ten massive packs have appealed for redemption and have denounced Damian; along with a handful of minor packs.”

“Maybe the amount of people he’s going through, and the people renouncing him, is taking a toll on him,” Ruben suggests.

“Possibly.” I shake my head. “Still, I don’t like that I can’t locate him. He’s planning something, I just don’t know what.”

“Well, first let’s figure out how many more of our staff this bastard is going to kill, then we find him.” He touches my shoulder. “Get some rest. I’ll stay a little longer and watch him. I’ll wake you if there are any changes.”

I’d argue, but at this point, I don’t have it in me. I nod and make my way to the little makeshift bed, ready to face any hellish nightmare that is waiting to greet me. I have no peace in my life, why expect it in my dreams?