He tucked the blanket in around her to keep her warm and then pulled the only chair in the room up next to the bed. He sat and leaned forward until his head was by hers, and he closed his eyes as he breathed in her scent. It calmed him like nothing else could. He reached up, without opening his eyes, and took her hand in his intertwining their fingers. He knew he needed to check on his warriors and figure out if anyone had run off to tell Emilian of his arrival, but he could not bring himself to leave her side. He needed to hear her voice, needed to see her eyes open and full of life. So he sat with his head next to hers, breathing her in, allowing his wolf to take solace in the feel of her skin on his. He pushed away the rage for now and simply focused on her.

“Luna, come back to me,” he whispered into her mind through the bond that had grown stronger since he had completed the Blood Rites. “We have so much living to do, beloved, and so many things to see and experience. I have yet to even taste your lips and you are finally of an appropriate age for me to do so. You have to come back to me; I need you. You have to come back so we can build a life together, heal our pack, and see what adventures the Great Luna has in store for us. Please, Mina, hear my voice and obey me. Come. Back.” He could feel her spirit slipping away not to death but to a place where there was no pain, no fear. Her mind and body were trying to protect her by keeping her unconscious, and he could not allow that. He gathered his power, called on his pack―those loyal to him―to share their power with him, and then he pushed it into his mate. She would hear him and answer him because any other outcome was not acceptable. She would not leave him while he had to watch her body whither as her mind stayed shut away from him. She was his and just as he would give her every bit of himself, he would demand the same of her.

This time when he spoke to her, he addressed her wolf. “Wolf mate,” he rumbled into her mind and used the Alpha power bestowed upon him to draw her to him. He felt her wolf seeking him out, could feel her urgent need to get to him but she too was locked in Alina’s fractured mind. “You are strong, and sometimes it is necessary for the wolf to take the lead. She needs you, needs your strength, wake her up, mate. Call her back from the quiet place.” He probably did not have to put the command in his tone, but wolves like to know who is in charge; it makes them feel safe, and lets them know their order in the pack. Alina’s wolf would respond to his dominance and find security in his ability to take control.

“She fights me,” her wolf answered him softly. It was the first time he had heard Alina’s wolf speak. The use of words seemed foreign to her, and he could tell she was using what she had learned from hearing Alina speak.  “Her human spirit is tired. She suffered much from the mongrel. We fought, but he was so strong. I could not save her. I tried, mate. I tried to save her.”

“Hush,” he purred as he felt his wolf mate’s frustration at not being able to protect her human half, and he was surprised when he also felt worry that she had disappointed him. “You both belong to us, to mywolf and to me. You have nothing to be worried about. You did what you could, and it is because of you that you are both still alive.”

“I long to be in my wolf skin, to be close to you in your wolf skin, to leave this place for a time and find a den to share, away from pain, away from deceit and those who would harm us.”

She was laying herself bare before him, acknowledging him as her mate, submitting to him, and it took his breath away. Never had anything so very precious been given to him. Alina’s wolf trusted him and his wolf to care for them, to provide for them, to protect them and love them. His own wolf was stirring at his mate’s wants and needs. He too wanted to be out, covered in fur, and free of the human trappings. He wanted his mate by his side, wanted to play with her, hunt with her, and curl his large body around her smaller one, wrapping her in his scent.

“Then wake her up so that we can do all those things you want.”

Vasile could feel Alina’s wolf pushing into her mind, trying to take over, to give her broken body strength. He sat patiently waiting with his hand still entwined with hers and his head still on the pillow. He had no idea how long he waited until he finally felt her stir. First she squeezed his hand and that little movement had him bolting upright. He looked at her hand in his and then at her face. Her eyes were fluttering as though she were fighting their desire to open them.

“Open your eyes, Alina,” he commanded. “I will not wait any longer; open your eyes.”

“Has anyone ever told you that you are a tad overbearing?” Her raspy voice hit his ears and it was the most beautiful sound he had ever heard.

“Not to live and tell about it,” he said and smiled at her as her pale grey eyes opened and met his. “There you are,” he whispered.

Alina stared at the man before her, desperately trying to take in every detail of his incredibly handsome face. He was more beautiful than she had remembered it seemed. When she realized his hand was wrapped around hers she pulled it to her face and pressed his palm to her cheek. The warmth of his flesh on hers nearly made her whimper. How she had longed for his touch, needed it, and at times even craved it. So many nights she had lain awake imagining what it would be like to have his arms wrapped around her, his lips on her skin, his teeth…and just like that the fantasy crumbled as she remembered just whose arms, skin, and teeth had been on her.

She rolled away from Vasile throwing her head over the side of the bed as she retched. Her stomach protested violently as her mind conjured up the memories of what had taken place in her parents’ cottage. Tears streamed down her face and she gasped for air in between the heaves. She felt a cool towel on her neck and a soothing hand on her back rubbing small soothing circles against her skin. She could smell Vasile, his scent mixing with the smell of vomit, and she felt mortified that he was seeing her this way. But then what did it matter, because surely he had seen the bite mark from Serghei. He could not possibly want her now.