The Mating Rules

Hadley’s POV

As I twist the handle and prepare to open the door, a scream that chills me comes from right behind me as pain fills my chest. I turn to see Jamie-Lee fall to the floor, clutching at her body, her claws coming out as she slashes at her own flesh. Her screams of agony pale my own pain in comparison and it takes only a moment to realise I’m feeling residue through or bond.

I drop to my knees instinctively, all thoughts of the door and Caden flying from my mind as I try to help my mate.

Pushing my hands under her shirt, my hands splay across her stomach as her skin burns fiercely against my own.

‘Jamie-Lee!’ I yell in horror, trying to get her to open her eyes and look at me as a second piercing scream echoes around me. I instinctively look up to find the Warlock looming over us, his features split into a broad grin as he stares down at Jamie-lee hungrily.

‘ahh, you have arrived, just in time’ he announces, bending down toward my Mate as Hunter pushes forward, taking control and launches us at the man, shifting as we both fall into the room, rolling across the floor.

Avrilak is on his feet slightly quicker than I am, his eyes widening as he comes face to face with my wolf. Hunter growls loudly, the sound rattling the bottles and vials that are stationed around the room.

‘How?’ is all the man gets out before Hunter throws himself toward him, the Warlock barely avoiding his sharp claws as he dodges around the table. The downside of my wolf’s huge form is that the man we’re chasing can turn a hell of a lot quicker than we can, it takes a hot minute to stop this much muscle, and in a confined space like the room we are in, he has the advantage.

Avrilak dodges us again as my wolf tries to clamp down on his arm with his teeth, bolting around me and heading directly for Jamie-Lee who is still curled up in the doorway.

Snarling, Hunter jumps clear over the Warlock and lands between him and our mate, a warning growl rumbling up his throat as our opponent skids to a stop and backs away.

‘Caden!’ I yell down the mind link at the screaming man on the table, ‘fight it, you have the power to fight it.’

‘I can’t’ gasps back the Alpha weakly, ‘everything is on fire.’

‘Alpha’ I order, drawing his wolf’s attention, even through the agony at being given an order from a lower ranking wolf. ‘Jamie-Lee and Skarla can feel your pain, you need to fight it, for her! Look at her, look at what he’s doing to her!’

My eyes don’t leave the man who is glancing around, looking for a way to get past me. I fleetingly wonder why he doesn’t teleport away, but then I realise, he needs Jamie-Lee and I’m too close to her for him to be able to grab her and teleport again.

‘We need to guard our mate’ I mumble to Hunter who snorts back angrily, his eyes never leaving the Warlock, ‘he wants her, he won’t try to disappear until he has a hold on her.’

Hunter nods curtly, his gaze locked onto the man in front of us, zoning out everything else, he’s not getting near our mate.

Caden’s POV

I have never felt pain like I’m in right now, I’d be thrashing around on the table if I had any kind of give in these restraints. I can dimly hear screams over my own but the fire in my veins in taking all my concentration.

Something is crashing around me and I try to pry my eyes open but I just can’t.

‘Caden!’ suddenly comes Hadley’s voice through our pack mind link, ‘fight it, you have the power to fight it.’

‘I can’t is all I can send back, I really can’t, I need to make the pain stop but I don’t know how.

‘Alpha’ the tone comes over as an order, demanding I do as he says. Even in the haze of agonising torture flowing through my body, my wolf still reacts, not liking anyone telling him what to do. ‘Jamie-Lee and Skarla can feel your pain, you need to fight it, for her! Look at her, look at what he’s doing to her!’

My eyes spring open immediately, my head turning as far to the side as I can until I can see my Mate curled up on the floor, sweat dripping down her face as she screams.

‘Mate hurting!’ Cobalt growls furiously, pushing up to his feet unsteadily in my mind. I’m not sure if he thinks he has the strength to take over or something but suddenly we both have something to focus on other than the pain.

The Warlock is moving toward her as a huge wolf jumps over him and bars his way, a wolf I recognise as Hunter.

I close my eyes again, drawing on everything we have, Hadley said I have the power to fight it, he has his wolf back, he must have fought too. ‘I can do this’ I hiss to myself, refusing to allow the small voice of Avrilak to enter my head again. I concentrate with everything I have, feeling my way through the molten lava that pulses through my veins, fighting against whatever the Warlock injected me with.

I want to rip my own skin off, but I try to ignore it and will my body to block everything out.

‘Come on Cobalt’ I growl at my wolf, my hands tightened into fists as I fight as hard as I can. ‘Block it out, for Jamie-Lee.’

My wolf whimpers, his whole curled into a ball as he trembles from the effort but no matter how much we try we just can’t force away the never ending pain, it’s debilitating us.

I gasp for breath, wishing I could wipe at my brow that is drenched in sweat. I know I can’t beat this, I just don’t know how, I’m a failure.

Cobalt howls weakly in my mind, feeling me start to give up, ‘no Caden’ he growls, ‘we must help Mate, keep trying.’

I shake my head, my eyes rolling closed, ‘I can’t buddy’ I reply tiredly, ‘I can’t do it.’

My wolf growls threateningly at me, scratching at my mind but I’m in so much pain I can barely feel it. Turning my head, I prise my eyes open again, staring at the love of my life as she thrashes on the floor, at least she’s not screaming anymore.

‘Cobalt’ I murmur dazedly as an idea comes to me.

‘What human?’ my exhausted wolf asks.

‘We can’t stop the pain, but do you think . .’ I grit my teeth as another wave of agony rolls through me, a whimper coming from Jamie-Lee telling me that she can feel the influx too. ‘Do you think we can block our bond to Jamie-Lee and Skarla?’

My wolf is laying down in my mind now, unable to support himself but his ears twitch at my words. ‘If we can block her, she won’t be affected by the pain’ I continue. I’m not even sure if it’s possible but we can try.

My wolf seems to agree as he turns his attention away from the pain and instead puts it toward the tether that anchors Jamie-Lee and I together, working to tamp it down.

Unsure what to do, my feverish brain conjures up a thick cord in my mind that runs between me and my Mate. I choose a section and put all my focus into severing it in some way.

‘Imagine it’s a rope’ I mutter, ‘make it fray, the fewer strands, the weaker the bond, cut into it.’

I’m mentally cutting at the tether, my blade rusty and blunt, but after a few minutes, a couple of strands work loose. I keep going, Cobalt is beside the rope, sawing at it with one of his claws, his body swaying back and forth as he tries to focus on the same section as me.

I risk a glance over to our Mate who is slowing her movements, she’s still whimpering but not as much as she was. I want to cheer, it’s working, somehow, we’re mentally cutting through the connection between us.

As Jamie-Lee rolls onto her stomach, the pain I feel intensifies and I bite my tongue hard to stop myself from screaming out and jogging my attention from the job I need to do.

‘It’s working’ I snarl, my hands tingling as I realise that Cobalt’s claws have come out unintentionally in real life, and are now poking through my palms and out the back of my hands.

‘Save Mate’ are the only words that my wolf can grit back out at me, and I mentally nod, saving my strength so that I can keep fighting, keep protecting Jamie-Lee so she can focus on Avrilak.

‘Can not feel Skarla as much as before’ Cobalt pants out as he rolls to his side, his face etched with pain, though he keeps hacking at the bond between himself and Skarla, ‘she is fading from my conscious.’

‘Keep going’ I encourage him in return, ‘cut it completely, we need to cut all ties between us.’ I don’t dare reach out to Jamie-Lee, I’m too worried that doing so will cause me to falter, lose our progress and strengthen the connection again. I know if I feel for her, i’ll want to deepen the bond again, want her tied to me as she has always been, even before our marking. I can’t though, I have to release her, she can’t fight whilst she can feel me.

I don’t know how I’m even doing what I’m doing right now, the tiny logical part of my brain that isn’t infested with fever and pain is whispering in my ear that it’s not possible to sever a bond without rejection, but I ignore it, I need this to work, for her, for my Leeway.

‘Come on!’ I growl frantically, mentally hacking with everything I have as, with each stroke, the pain in my body intensifies. Halfway, we’re halfway through, just a little more and she’ll be OK.

Cobalt’s paw is barely moving now, as he pulls in shuddering breaths. His huge, black body is convulsing as a mixture of whines and snarls leave his lips.

‘No Cobalt’ I whisper, ‘don’t give up, please, we need to do this!’ Another strand and then another and another but my mind is so clouded, I’m so exhausted and the pain is unbearable. If I sleep, maybe it will stop the pain, just a little nap and then I can finish the job.

Another strand severs, there are only a few more left, just a few strokes and it will be done, but I’m just so tired.

‘Cobalt?’ I call out again weakly, ‘please buddy, I can’t do this alone, I need your strength,’ but I don’t get any reply, my wolf isn’t even moving now, I am not even sure if he’s stll breathing.

Strike, strike, strike, another frayed hair snaps between us, just three more, that’s all I have to break. Two . . . One . . .

The waves of fire licking my body are all consuming now, I don’t even know what I’m supposed to be doing anymore, I have a vague feeling that I was doing something, it was important but I can’t quite grasp it anymore. I just want the pain to stop, i’ll give anything for just one moment without this feeling.

‘Please let me die’ I whisper desperately as my mind finally succumbs to the agony washing over me, my mind going blank as I hear the final cord tying me to my Mate, snap.