Chapter 15

"We're running out of time." One voice said in my foggy mind.

"Wolf....die." A deeper voice agreed, Damian's.

"....mate." Another soft, weak voice agreed or asked, I'm not sure, all I knew is that the voice belonged to Nolan. That normally sweet and enthusiastic voice now sounded weak and defeated. It broke my heart even in my slightly unconscious state.

"She's waking up." My mother's soft voice said, making all the voices keep quiet as the familiar, gentle touch that I associated with her hand caressed my forehead.

"Mom?" I hoarsely whispered.

"I'm here, Baby. I'm here." She softly reassured with so much care and relief in her voice that it urged me to slowly open my eyes. The bright light of the room had me flinching and closing my eyes again before I attempted once more. The second time was better to my pleasure as I successfully opened my eyes just to find my mother's warm, chocolate brown ones piercing into mine with a whirlwind of emotion, but the most prominent emotion was relief."

"What happened?" I weakly asked as my eyes slowly darted to the familiar setting of Nolan, Zane and Grace's living room, but was I or rather 'we' doing here?

"You fainted, Sweetheart. " She softly explained.

"Fainted?" I faintly asked as I tried to remember all that happened, but unfortunately, everytime I tried, a pain in my head called a headache threatened to crack my skull into two.

"We should tell her, my Love." Damian's soft, but deep baritone voice appeared before Damian's warm features faced me.

"We're not even sure, yet, Damian. We can't spring something like this onto her. Especially when she's as weak as she is." Mom cautiously responded.

"I understand your concern, Luna, but I'm afraid we are running out of time. The more time we don't move the further Liam gets." A young man who looked to be in his early thirties softly explained, but I didn't understand anything they were saying. For one, why is he calling my mom, Luna when her name is Annabelle? Secondly, who's Liam?

"Please Luna?" Nolan's weak voice pleaded from beside me. That's when I noticed the gentle grip on my left hand. My eyes softly landed on Nolan's rugged, exhausted features as he weakly smiled at me while gently caressing my features. He gently squeezed my hand in a way that almost seemed like he was asking me for strength. "Hi Sweetheart, how are you feeling?"

"I've been better," I honestly replied, giving him a small smile. His hand felt so warm around mine, it felt so right that I couldn't bring myself to remove it. Or maybe that wasn't the only reason. "What's happening?" His shoulders immediately tensed as his face grew tight with pain. "Where's Grace?" I opted to ask instead.

"She's asleep in her room. All the crying and stress wore her out." He weakly smiled at me. His words had me quietly moaning as a small memory flashed in my mind. Grace was crying so painfully in Nolan's arms, but why?

Looks were suddenly shared around the room as though everyone was voting on who would break the news to the black sheep who didn't know anything.

They eventually settled on my mother who sighed and gently took hold of my hand. She was still wearing the same clothes from dinner, but her make up was completely off and her face looked worn out with exhaustion and stress.

"Sweetheart, Zane is not well," She cautiously said, not knowing that her soft tone did not help to lessen the blow on me as the memories all resurfaced in my mind at lightning speed. The image of a deathly pale and still Zane had my stomach painfully churning and my body growing damp with a thin layer of sweat. My hands felt shaky and my breathing tight and short from the constricted ball in my lungs that did not allow me enough oxygen. "Take it easy, Baby Girl. Take deep breaths, okay? He'll be okay, I promise."

I slowly nodded as I followed her instructions, her soft eyes only making my emotions boil over even more as tears wet my eyes. One look at Nolan had me breaking into a sob, but I felt like without him, I would be even worse. It felt like he was currently my anchor, even though he was only there and holding my hand. The warmth that radiated from his hand seemed to calm my nerves some, but not enough for the emotions to completely die down.

"Why am I feeling like this?" I softly cried in both frustration and confusion.

"I'm sorry, Baby," Mom gently coaxed as he leaned down to press a kiss onto my forehead. "I would take away all your pain if I could, but I can't." She softly cried as tears slid down her own cheeks.

Damian was behind her in seconds, hugging her from behind as he tried to calm her down while uttering sweet nothings.

Once Mom was calm enough, she wiped away at her tears before smiling at Damian with gratitude.

"I'm sorry, Baby. It's just a lot knowing that I can't help you now of all times," She sniffled," So, I need you to do something, Sweetheart and I promise to explain everything to you later."

"What is it?" I weakly asked, while gently squeezing Nolan's hand subconsciously. It was like I was seeking comfort from him and without a heartbeat, he gently squeezed mine back. I instantly felt lighter again from the mere affection that provided me with not only strength, but some reassurance.

"I- we," She corrected herself," Need you to touch, Zane."

"W-what?" I stuttered in confusion as I slowly sat up from where I laid on the couch. "He needs to see a doctor, Mom."

"Sweetheart, a normal doctor can't help Zane." Damian said as he gently placed his hand on Mom's shoulder and squeezed.

"What do you mean a normal doctor can't help? He's dying over there and instead of helping him you're not getting him help. This is crazy." I found myself frustratedly exclaiming.

"Mel, their kind," Mom paused, confusing me at her chosen terms. What does she mean by 'their kind' ? There is no such thing as another kind of human. "They need different help, Honey."

"Mom," I sobbed," He needs professional help before it's too late."

"I'm sorry, Baby but please trust me on this one. Please, Melissa? Let's try this first, please?" Mom begged.

I shook my head and removed my hands from both of theirs, almost instantly earning me a weak cry from Nolan, but I ignored it even as my heart shattered at doing so. I wiped my tears away and sniffled before nodding.

"Fine, I'll do it just so you can see that this won't work. That this is absurd." I angrily glared at them all.

Nolan immediately whined like a puppy under my stare as he tried to avoid my glare. I found myself feeling guilty at hurting him, so I took his hand in mine and gently squeezed. I don't know why, but I did it.

"Thank you, Honey." Mom sighed in relief along with everyone else in the room but Nolan who seemed quite enthralled with my affection.

"But I need you to tell me why first. Tell me as much as you can." I negotiated.

"As you wish, Princess," Damian responded this time. His voice was warm as always as he spoke, no ounce of malice or anger at my outburst just genuine care. "Please try to keep an open mind?"

I merely nodded in response as I waited for him to continue.

"How strongly do you believe in mythical creatures?" He suddenly asked.

Is he being serious right now?

"Why are you asking me this?" I cautiously asked.

"Just answer him, Mel." Mom urged.

I sighed but nodded," I don't. I only see them as fictional creatures in stories, books and films. I don't think they exist or that they have ever existed. It's like Capricorns and Santa, they don't exist." I finished.

"Well this will be harder to explain." Damian groaned under his breath.

"Why are you asking me this? What's the point in that question?" I shook my head in disbelief.

"Fine, do you believe in soulmates? Maybe life partners?" He ignored my previous statement, almost making me groan in irritation.

"I guess so," I honestly responded. "I think that there are such things as soulmates, but I don't think everyone finds theirs."

"Good, we can work with that," He sighed. "So, that's where we'll start. My kind has such things as soulmates, but we prefer to refer to them as mates. Not everyone one finds them, but those who do count themselves as lucky," He gave my mom a soft look, which she returned with a small smile as she raised her hand to gently squeeze his that was on her shoulder.

"Our soulmates are very important to us, some can even say they are the sole purpose of our lives. Without them, we never know pure, unfiltered happiness. We never know how it feels to be at peace and to feel complete, so many strive to find theirs and when they do, they never let go. Unfortunately, some never find theirs and as such, some even stray which leads to their demise. Something that we refer to as the 'mate bond' punishes them for engaging in any sexual activities with anyone who isn't their mate, especially if they never genuinely take that person as a mate," He paused to let me absorb the information, which I slowly did.

I gave him a small nod after a few minutes to tell him I was ready to go on.

"So, for those who reject their mates, they slowly die. Its almost like a forbidden, unwritten rule of nature. Which is probably also why those who lose their mates due to things such as accidents and such, almost never make it. Most lose their minds and end up going astray, others take their own lives while others die from loneliness and mostly heartbreak. Losing your mate is the hardest thing for my kind which is why most die from the rejection or the loss. Unfortunately, the punishment of a rejection or of having sexual relations with someone other than your mate is dire. The death is slow and painful, it's almost like nature punishes you for making that choice."

Why did a huge part of me feel like Zane was in the former? He has Grace, meaning he had sexual relations with someone else other than his true mate.

My heart painfully squeezed at the revelation for some reason as a cloud of sadness filled my heart, but my feelings for Grace didn't change in the slightest. I still cared for the little girl, it's just the thought of her father having been with another woman that's a problem. It's very unsettling.

The thought of me being with any other man other than Nolan or Zane makes me wanna hurl. I feel sick to the stomach at the mere thought.

"So, I'm assuming Zane is being punished?" I found myself asking. Why am I even finding this story convincing? Why do I believe that it's true?

"Unfortunately, yes." Damian sighed as he ran his hand through his short hair.

"How is me touching him going to help?" I curiously asked.

That's when Damian's gaze turned to my mother, almost as though he was saying, 'It's your turn'.

"Sweetheart, we believe that there is a possibility that you might be his mate." She softly said.

"What?" I said in a deathly calm tone.

"Sweetheart, as your mother has said. We have reason to believe that you might be Zane's mate, but not only his, but Nolan's too." Damian responded.

"Wait what?" I blinked in confusion. "I'm only a human and a person can't have two soulmates. No way!" I declined, shaking my head.

"It's true," Nolan's soft voice suddenly appeared, making me turn to look at his exhausted features. "Mel Baby, I know for a fact that you are my mate, but now I'm almost sure that you're Zane's too. The way he reacted when he first saw you and the way he's punishment had gotten worse after that day explains it too. The way you've been so concerned for him and how you fainted after seeing him as well as how you feel about his current situation proves it all. You are his mate too and right now, he needs you so much. Please help him? Please? I can't lose my brother and Grace can't lose her father. We can sort this all out afterwards," He choked on a sob," For now, please help him? Please?" He begged.

His cries tore at my heart and tore at my resolve. I couldn't let him suffer. Even though I was still unsure about all of this, I had to try. For Nolan. For Grace. And most importantly,  for Zane himself.

"Okay, I'll do it." I whispered, turning to my mother with a straight face.

"Then we must make haste. There's no time to lose." The man who I'm assuming is the 'pack doctor' suggested.

I nodded in response, not trusting my voice to not betray me.

Nolan got up and helped me up before we all made our way to the same room as earlier. The moment we walked into the room and I spotted the unconscious body on the bed, I felt my body shake with sobs. Seeing him for the second time feels just as bad as when I first saw him. It physically hurts seeing him like this even though I barely know him.

"Okay, you can take his hand." The man directed to which I tried to obediently abide to as I bit my bottom lip in both hesitation and a way to get a hold of my raging emotions . I have never touched him before and what if this doesn't work.

"Calm down, Princess," Damian's soft voice filled my ears before I felt his hand gently caressing my back. A feeling of comfort and reassurance immediately filled me, just like how Mom's touch always makes me feel. It's like my body recognizes him as a father figure to me.

Wait, is it possible that Mom is Damian's mate? Hold that thought.

I let out a deep breath and gently took the frail, cold hand into mine. For some reason, even though the hand was cold, a sudden rush of warmth engulfed both our hands just like how Nolan and I's felt.

"Just hold him for a few minutes and I promise we'll start seeing a difference." The man reassured to which I abided.

We stood in anticipation and hope for five minutes before I felt it. His hand twitched in mine as his chest slowly started moving. His hand started twitching vigorously in my hand before it calmed down to a still as his eyes slowly opened to reveal a pair of forest green orbs with golden specks.

"The presence of his wolf is resurfacing. Liam is gaining consciousness." Damian sighed in relief.

Everyone in the room seemed to shine with relief, and some joy but one person. Zane.

"What have you done?" Zane's weak and hoarse, but deep and mortified voice filled the room.