The Unwanted Wolf

MARK

I saw the b***d on Adira’s hand and my heart stopped beating. I didn’t see her get hurt in the fight, so I had no idea when that happened or how long she had been bleeding for. I looked down at her and saw that her side was seeping with b***d. I grew terrified for the baby and the mate, knowing we had to get her help immediately.

Adira started swaying, her eyes growing unfocused. Her hand pressed against my chest to steady herself, but then I felt her body go limp in my arms. I caught her before she fell and picked her up bridal style.

I looked at the others with wide eyes. “Adira needs help. She’s hurt!” I moved over to Ginger, who had created some sort of magical bonds around Cain’s arms to retrain him. “You have to heal her,” I begged Ginger. My voice was strained, and I felt like I was about to lose it.

Ginger’s face fell. “I have never been very good at healing, but I’ll do what I can. Set her down.”

I lowered Adira to the ground gently, but when I went to let go, she squeezed my arm. “Mark,” she whispered. “I wanted to tell you this earlier, but I’m pregnant.”

I cradled her head in my arms. “I know, baby. I know. We’re going to save both of you. Don’t worry.”

Adira’s eyes were half lidded, and I could tell she was fighting. “I’m sorry I didn’t do a better job at protecting us.”

I shook my head. “No, no. You have nothing to apologize for. You were amazing today. Now save your strength.”

I looked up at Ginger pleadingly. We were too far away from anything to get immediate attention. Ginger kept one hand towards Cain to keep him in place, and she used her other hand to touch Adira. Her eyes went white as she touched her, and I held my breath, waiting for an answer.

Ginger’s eyes returned to normal. “She and the baby are okay for the moment, but their hearts are growing weaker. I slowed down the bleeding, but they will need more medical attention as soon as possible, or else…” She stopped talking.

I nodded, understanding what she was saying. I picked Adira up, holding her close to my body. I looked over to Rie and Scythe. “Is Doctor Zayla with you by any chance?”

Rie stepped forward, looking paler than normal. I knew she was terrified, but she was doing a good job at hiding these emotions. “She’s coming, but I don’t know if she’ll have what we need here. We should get her back home as soon as possible.”

“I can heal her,” Cain said, drawing everyone’s attention to him.

“You will not touch her. It’s your fault she’s in this position,” I growled, my alpha tone emerging. I held Adira closer to me, feeling the struggling of her chest moving from the pain she was in. Cain had taken her away from me already. I couldn’t trust that he wouldn’t try something again.

“She needs help, and I can help her. Is it worth the risk of trying to get her medical attention?” Cain asked. “I understand why you don’t trust me, but you don’t have a choice. Look, I didn’t know about the baby. I wouldn’t have… I didn’t mean to…”

Rie and Scythe looked at me with wide eyes, but I ignored their stares. Now was not the time to get into Adira’s pregnancy. I kept my eyes on Cain’s, hoping I would be able to find the right choice in his face. I was terrified he was lying, but I was more terrified of losing Adira right now.

“If you do anything to harm her, I will make sure you die a slow and painful death.” I kept my grip tight on Adira, too afraid to let her go.

Ginger looked at me and nodded. “If he tries anything, he won’t be leaving here alive or with her.” She turned to Cain. “If you hurt that girl or the baby, you won’t escape. I will make sure of it. I have more years of sorcery under my belt, and I can guarantee you won’t defeat me.”

“I’m not going to hurt my daughter or grandchild,” Cain said. “I know you won’t believe me, but everything I have done is to protect Adira.”

Cain’s voice sounded sincere, if not a little manic. I believed that in his mind he thought he was trying to save Adira, but that didn’t actually change what he did or make up for anything. Knowing I couldn’t waste any more time, I approached Cain, letting him get close to Adira. Ginger released Cain’s restraints, but she kept close to him in case he tried to pull anything. Cain placed his hands on Adira’s wound, and I held my breath, hoping I wasn’t making the biggest mistake of my life.

–

ADIRA

Moon and Shadow approached me slowly. I smiled when I saw the two of them. It was good seeing them like that. They were slow with their movements, and they sat down in front of me simultaneously. I was sitting cross-legged in the familiar white room, and there was a sense of overwhelming peace filling me.

“That was incredible,” Shadow said. “I didn’t know you could use magic like that.”

I smiled and petted Shadow’s head. “I didn’t know I had that kind of power in me, either. You know what the crazy part is? I’m pretty sure that wasn’t the full extent of my magic.”

“It wasn’t,” Moon confirmed. “You have grown significantly in your abilities, but you have much to learn in regards to powers, if you can manage to live long enough to reach your full potential.”

“Do you have to be so grim?” Shadow snapped. “We were enjoying a moment of celebration together.”

“I’m just being realistic,” Moon said, rolling her eyes. “I know both of you feel it. We don’t have much longer.”

I frowned, knowing what Moon said was true. I could feel my strength waning, and part of me felt Mark’s arms around me, terrified we wouldn’t get to live our best life together.

“I’m not ready. Mark needs me,” I said.

“I’m not ready either.” Shadow let out a whimper and placed her head on my lap. “We just got our mate back, and we haven’t even had a chance to celebrate our pup together.”

Moon moved closer, snuggling up to me as well. It was strange having her show any kind of affection. “I’m not ready either, but we can’t heal ourselves. We don’t have that kind of energy or strength.”

I should have felt afraid of the future, but I couldn’t feel any fear. I only felt this calm peacefulness. It was a feeling I was very familiar with. I felt it every time Mark held me in his arms as we fell asleep together. I felt it when he held my hand and gave me gentle k****s. Even though I could feel Mark’s fear, his touch gave me strength, and I knew he would figure something out. He wouldn’t give up. Not when we just got each other back.

“Mark will figure it out.” I lay back and stretched my limbs. Either way, there was no point in stressing out right now. There was nothing I could do to change the circumstances anyway.

Moon jumped onto my stomach, making me jump. “How can you be so calm?”

I shrugged my shoulders. “You said it yourself. We can’t heal ourselves. Mark has us. It’s up to him now, and I trust him with my life.”

Shadow shifted to my side and lay down next to me. Her paws framed her face, and she looked at me with sad eyes. “I’m scared.”

I reached down and stroked her head, trying to calm her down. I knew I should have been scared, but something deep down inside of me told me I didn’t need to be scared. It was going to be okay.

A bright light in the distance glared into my eyes, so I sat up to get a better look at it, knocking Moon off me in the process. Something drew me towards the light, so I stood up and started walking towards it.

“Um, don’t you know they always say, ‘Don’t go into the light,’” Moon asked as she ran to catch up to me.

Shadow jumped up and joined me on my other side. “What Moon said. We should walk away from the light.”

I smiled and said, “This is different. Something is telling me this light is a good thing.”

I continued walking on, and the closer I got to the light, the more energy I had. I picked up my pace until the light was surrounding me completely.

–

MARK

I couldn’t breathe as Cain held his hand against Adira’s wound. This was taking much too long. She should have woken up by now. My chest ached from not breathing, but I couldn’t get my body to take a breath, not until Adira was okay.

I held her tighter, growing more and more afraid. If Cain couldn’t heal her, then I didn’t know what I would do. I leaned down and pressed my lips against her forehead. “Please, Adira. Don’t give up on me now.” Tears filled my eyes, but I did my best to swallow them. I had to be strong for her and our baby.

When I pulled away from the k**s, I saw the most beautiful pair of brown eyes staring back at me. The tears finally spilled over.

“Hi,” Adira whispered.