Alpha's Compromise (Alpha Selection Book 2) Page 9

  “How can you be sure? If everything is going to be okay, why were you all watching over us?”

  “Because we love you guys and were worried, you big idiot,” Alara said as she pushed past Alex to give me a hug.

  I chuckled into her hair. “You have such a way with words, A.K.”

  She stepped back and my brother came forward. He grasped my shoulder and squeezed it. “Now that you’re awake, we’ll give you some space.”

  He turned to the crowd and ushered everyone from the room aside from Ember. The healer was obviously an exception.

  Ember lowered herself onto the chair Alara kept at her vanity as she spoke. “You should lie back down. You need more rest. Just try not to jostle her too much.”

  “I thought you said she was fine,” I said, searching the healer’s face for any sign of falsehood.

  “She will be but it’s better safe than sorry. Rest, alpha. It’ll make her feel better, knowing you’re by her side.”

  It sounded cheesy to me. She was unconscious. How was she supposed to know I was by her side? I obeyed anyway, just in case she did know. I lowered myself back into a reclining position and curled my arm loosely around my mate’s waist.

  I stared at her sleeping, taking in the peaceful expression on her face as I searched for any indication that she was in pain. I hadn’t intended to fall back asleep but I must have because, the next thing I knew, Lily’s screams were pulling me back into reality.

  27

  Liliana

  The world spun as I rose from the ground. I couldn’t quite remember how I’d come to find myself lying on the floor beside the couch. The last thing I remembered was panicking over Sam.

  A shriek pierced the air and I whipped my head to face the doorway that led into the living room. Tessa ran toward me, her face full of fear. Before I had the chance to move in her direction, she moved… through me.

  Shock mingled with terror as I looked down at my body. My form was blurry and translucent. Holy shit, am I dead?

  “You’re very much alive, Liliana,” a familiar voice replied. I looked over my shoulder, my mouth dropping open as I found the speaker. Plush, white fur. A black crescent moon on her forehead. It was my wolf.

  “What in the actual hell?” I gaped. “How are you… and I’m...?”

  All semblance of coherency was lost to me. Sputtered partial sentences were the best I could manage. I’d felt my wolf, heard her--I’d even seen her in my mind’s eye--but being face to face with my inner beast? It was a whole ‘nother level of insane.

  “You expelled our spirits with your use of magic. Wolves aren’t meant to wield a witch’s power,” the majestic creature said as she moved closer to me. A glowing purple haze surrounded her body, as if the power of her spirit was so strong it couldn’t contain itself within her incorporeal form.

  “Ben did magic,” I retorted automatically.

  “He was a witch and a wolf. You are a human wolf. It is not the same. Neither side of your being is meant to cast spells. You must be careful, child,” she reached my side as she finished speaking. Her flank pressed into my side, the warmth from her fur seeping away the bone deep chill that engulfed me.

  I crouched down beside my wolf and wrapped my arms around her neck. We weren’t meant to be separated like this. We hadn’t been joined together for long but I could feel the emptiness within my spirit. Sam was my perfect mate--no doubt about that--but this ivory wolf was a part of my soul.

  “Better?” She asked.

  I nodded, remaining silent, as I closed my eyes and held her against me.

  “What’s your name? I’ve just been calling you my wolf,” I asked as my fingers stroked her sides. It was strange, petting the animal that lived within me. Was that how I felt when I was in wolf form? Did I have the same power presence that exuded from her very being?

  “Adira,” she replied.

  “That’s a beautiful name.”

  “My name means strength. It’s something you have in you--though you rarely let it out. The physical world is not an easy place to survive for many and it’s going to get harder for you in the near future. A human turned wolf with magic? You are going to be a target. You need to be strong,” she nuzzled my face with her own. As strange as it was, I felt like a frightened child being comforted by her mother.

  I let out a self-deprecating laugh. “I’m not strong. I’m a hot mess if you haven’t noticed lately.”

  “Because you doubt yourself. You have a fierce inner light. Stand firm with your ideals. I chose you for a reason. You can handle the path that you are destined to walk if only you believe in yourself.”

  I wanted to protest her words but something she said caught my attention. “You chose me? I thought I just gained a wolf because I was bitten.”

  “Wolves are not made. Physically, you survived because of your children but you thrive because I bonded to your soul. Wolf spirits cannot survive on the human plane without a mortal soul. When you were bitten… I could feel your essence calling out. You wanted to live. Use that strength to survive.”

  “To survive? Adira… I’m so confused. I need more information,” I pleaded.

  “There’s no time. We’re fading. We’ll be back in your body soon. Just be strong, Lily,” she nuzzled me once more before closing her eyes. Her voice echoed around me as I felt my conscience begin to fade. “This is going to hurt.”

  That was the only warning I received before I felt like I was being ripped apart while simultaneously being burned alive. Heat like I’d never felt before encased my ethereal form. My body that had lain forgotten seemed to pull Adira and I into it piece by piece. I thought the first time I changed into a wolf had been awful but that pain wasn’t even a fraction of what it felt like to have your soul shredded. I opened my mouth in a silent scream of agony but no sound came from my partial form. It felt like I was being torn from existence until finally I had a voice once more.

  I yelled until my voice was hoarse--the pain never lessening. I was vaguely aware of Sam’s arms wrapped around me, of his soothing tone as he tried to calm me. It didn’t work. Nothing could distract from the anguish that overwhelmed me.

  Adira spoke in my mind, her own voice wavering from the torment we were forced to endure. “Our spirits are being put back together again. It’ll get better.”

  I continued to thrash in pain until darkness descended and smothered the suffering.

  28

  Sam

  I watched as Ember shoved the needle she held into Lily’s arm and pushed in the medicine that would rob her of her consciousness. It wasn’t an easy task, even for a healer as experienced as ours. Lily had looked possessed. Her body lifted off of the bed, body contorting, as screams and curses spewed from her bloodied lips. Nate and Ryan had returned to the room at the commotion and the three of us had to work together to hold her down long enough for Ember to drug her.

  I hated seeing her in pain, hated not knowing what was wrong with her even more. A sigh escaped her as the medication kicked in. Her body went slack, all tension draining out of her almost immediately.

  I turned to look at the healer. “What the hell was that?” My voice came out as a growl. I had a tenuous hold on my wolf. So tenuous that I could feel the fur moving under my skin, ready to burst out.

  “I don’t know, Alpha. Medically, she’s fine. We may need a witch healer. Her body will burn through the medication in a few hours--maybe sooner. We have to monitor her and run some tests,” she said. The healer was clearly rocked by what had just happened. She wasn’t the sort of person to ever be clueless. She always knew what was wrong with a patient or, at the very least, she knew how to find out. The fact that she was out of her element made my worries grow stronger.

  “The medicine won’t hurt the babies?” I asked.

  “They’ll be fine. Their wolf blood is just as strong as Lily’s. They’ll burn it off with no lasting effects,” she explained.

  I couldn’t help but question her. My mate had been
screaming so loud and long that it sounded like she was being tortured. There was no mark on her person but it was clear she was in pain. I felt useless. I couldn’t help her, couldn’t make her feel better. Hell, I couldn’t even figure out why she was hurting.

  Tessa walked back into the room, a man at her side. Nate inclined his head. “Chancellor.”

  I stepped forward and reached out to shake his hand. “Chancellor Warren. It’s nice to meet you in person. Although the timing is… less than stellar.”

  “Samuel. Believe me, my timing is nothing short of perfection,” he replied before looking down at Lily’s prone form. “I need everyone to leave the room.”

  “I’m not leaving.” I stared at the man as if he were completely insane. Hell, he must be crazy. No one in their right mind would ask a wolf to leave his injured mate.

  The witch stared at me as if he were sizing me up. A moment of silence passed as I held his gaze, refusing to back down. Finally, he nodded. “Everyone else out then.”

  All eyes turned to me. I looked at my friends and family--and Ryan--before I nodded. They all filed out of the room albeit reluctantly. As the door shut behind Ember, the chancellor spoke once more. “Stand against the wall. Do not step away from the wall. Make sure your back is touching the wall at all times.”

  I crossed my arms over my chest as agitation consumed me. Every word he spoke dripped with condescension. His repeated warning made me feel like he thought I was an idiot incapable of following orders. I expected his hatred of my kind to be visible, but I hadn’t predicted the air of superiority he let off. It chaffed my pride to allow him to talk to me like that, but Lily was more important than my ego. I let out a frustrated huff as I stepped back as directed.

  Once the chancellor was satisfied that I was out of the way, he reached out. His open palms hovered an inch from Lily’s body as he began to chant in a foreign language. My eyebrows knitted together as I watched. Tessa had done magic in front of me a handful of times but I’d never seen her speak in tongues. She’d sometimes speak her intentions aloud when it was a complicated spell but it was always in English. Uncertainty and doubt warred within me. Was he actually helping Lily? Could he be trusted?

  A golden light emanated from his palms as he began to move them up and down the length of Lily’s body--never touching her. The magic grew brighter with each pass. It was so bright my eyes burned. Dark spots began to color my vision but I refused to close my eyes or look away. There were too many unknown factors. I watched my pregnant mate, my heart in my throat as I searched for any sign that he was harming rather than helping.

  The process continued for what felt like an eternity before he let his arms fall to his sides. “She’ll be alright. Once the drug your healer gave her wears off, she’ll awaken.”

  He motioned for me to step away from the wall. I rushed to Lily’s side immediately. “What did you do?”

  He sighed as he sat in a chair beside the bed that someone had clearly brought up from the kitchen. “I anchored her soul to her body again--her wolf’s too.”

  “I’m going to need more than that,” I said, tone flat. There was no reserve of patience within me. I needed answers. I needed to understand why my mate had been in such pain. Witches, especially their elders, had a way of speaking in circles without actually being informative.

  “When she used magic, her soul separated from her mortal coil. She pushed so hard that she disrupted the balance within herself and detached her spirit. It’s a danger all witches face but, as a human turned wolf, the risk is higher. Her body isn’t built to handle magic. She needs to be taught,” he explained.

  I watched the man in silence for a moment as I held Lily’s clammy hand in mine. My thumb stroked absent circles on the back of her hand as I processed his words. Werewolves and witches may be a part of the same hidden world but we didn’t share knowledge with each other readily. Never had we been told that magic could be so dangerous for witches to use, but Lily wasn’t a witch.

  “How is she even using magic?” I asked.

  The chancellor shook his head. “I don’t know. I would assume it has to do with the hybrid’s bite. Our magic isn’t transferred through bodily fluids, but your venom is. His magic must have melded with his venom.”

  I nodded. It made sense in a way, but I still didn’t understand why it took so long to manifest. I said as much to him.

  “I would assume her fear for your life activated the magic. It’s been inside of her since the bite but she wasn’t able to access it. Her desire to save you made her tap into it. While Liliana had no active knowledge that she had magic, subconsciously she did,” he said as he rubbed his hands over his eyes.

  If I hadn’t spent so much time around Tessa and Bael recently, I wouldn’t have noticed how drained he was. He looked fine on the surface, but the subtle tremor in his hands said otherwise.

  “I’ll be back to check on her later,” he said as he stood.

  “Thank you for helping her.”

  “Of course. Liliana is important to my family.”

  “She is?” I asked, confused.

  He cocked a brow and stared down at me as if I were an idiot. “Yes, she is. She is my daughter’s best friend after all.”

  A haughty smirk broke out at the dumbstruck look on my face. I opened my mouth to speak but, before I could, he disappeared into thin air.

  I was an idiot. Chancellor Warren. Tessa Warren. How did I never draw that connection before? No wonder Tessa had so much sway with the chancellor. She was his daughter.

  29

  Liliana

  My eyes felt glued together as I forced them open. Looking around, I tried to figure out where I was to no avail. The bedroom was unfamiliar to me. Thankfully, the man who slept in a chair beside me was not.

  I smiled softly at the serene expression on his face. My body ached from disuse but it was nothing compared to the hell I had experienced when my spirit melded with my body--if that even actually happened. It all felt like an incredibly trippy dream. The memory had a hazy quality that had me questioning its authenticity. The only thing that was clear was the anguish that had ravaged me.

  It was real. Adira’s voice sounded in my mind. I smiled softly. Her voice was clearer now. No longer a muffled whisper. Out of body experiences sucked. 10 out of 10 would not recommend--but I would forever remember being able to meet my wolf. That part had been pretty awesome at least.

  I sat up carefully, not wanting to strain my stiff limbs. The motion was slow going but I managed. I scooted up enough to lean against the wooden headboard. Sam shot up as the movement jostled him slightly.

  “You’re awake,” he said as he stared at me. He didn’t move, or touch me, and fear was evident in his wide eyes.

  I gave him a small smile and grabbed his hand. “I’m alright. The babies?”

  “They’re fine. Heartbeats are strong and Ember didn’t find anything abnormal. How are you feeling?”

  “I’m fine,” I answered. “I do have to tell you something though. I did magic.”

  “I know. That’s what hurt you,” he interrupted.

  “Yeah… that wasn’t what I had to tell you,” I said hesitantly.

  He frowned but remained silently, gesturing for me to continue. I launched into a detailed description of my spectral experience. Sam remained silent long after I finished speaking. He just stared at me with bulging eyes.

  “Say something,” I demanded.

  “That... is insane.”

  “No shit, huh? I experienced it and I still feel crazy saying it out loud,” I replied emphatically.

  A knock sounded on the door and Sam called for the visitor to enter.

  Tessa entered and rushed to my bedside, shoving Sam out of the way as she launched herself at me. An oof escaped me on impact and my mate immediately pulled her back from the hug she smothered me with.

  “Careful,” he snapped.

  I waved him off. “Relax. I’m not made of glass.”

  He squinte
d his eyes at me in frustration. “You didn’t see yourself, Lily. You need to be careful until Ember gives the okay.”

  I sighed at his overprotective behavior but let it slide. I’d given him a hell of a scare. I couldn’t give him too much crap about being overbearing. Tessa perched on the bedside, looking surprisingly chastened by Sam.

  “Sorry, Lil. I’m just so happy you’re okay. Nate heard you talking,” she said as she reached out and squeezed my hand.

  I opened my mouth to speak but another knock sounded on the door Tessa had left slightly ajar. I looked up and a grin split my face. “Daniel! What are you doing here?”

  “Hello Liliana,” he said.

  “Daniel? So weird,” Sam muttered.

  I frowned at my mate. “What?”

  Daniel smiled at me as he entered the room fully. “Your mate just figured out that I’m Tessa’s dad last night.” The look he shot Sam wasn’t nearly as pleasant.

  “Figured out?” I asked.

  He chuckled softly. “I’m the chancellor of this region.”

  “No way!” I exclaimed as I reached out to punch my best friend in the arm. “Why did you not tell me your dad is the chancellor you and Nate have been meeting with?”

  Tessa shrugged. “Calling him chancellor when discussing official business is a sign of respect. Besides, Nate says Chancellor Warren all the time. I thought you guys knew.”

  “I’ve literally never heard him say that or I would have asked,” I responded with an eye roll before I turned to her father. “It’s always nice to see you, but why are you here?”

  Daniel laughed. “Subtle and charming as always.”

  I laughed before I winked at him. “Learned it from your daughter.”

  “Of that, I have no doubt,” he said. “I anchored your soul back to your body last night. I wanted to see how you were feeling.”