“Fucking hell, Dame!” James’s voice cuts through the comfort of Sophie’s presence, and I flick my eyes to the left to find myself surrounded by the beta, Heinrich, Conan, and Dianna.
“Watch your language, Beta,” I growl at him, but the smirk on my lips is playful as I pat my chest. “At least I know I didn’t die.”
“You were very close to dying,” Heinrich says, shaking his head, clearly still spooked. “You nearly bled out.”
“From where?” I ask with a frown, and Sophie takes a step toward the bed and points to my left side.
“Your ribs were pretty bad. It took you at least two hours to heal.”
“Two hours?!” I exclaim in shock, lifting myself to sit upright as I pull the sheet down, only to find a few small scars there. “It would have never taken me two hours to heal. Days, maybe, but not hours.”
“Sophie is a very gifted healer, Dame. Why are you even surprised?”
“I’m not…” I murmur in response to Dianna, looking up to meet Sophie’s brown eyes as she lowers her gaze shyly. “What happened with the demons?” I turn to the men. “Were there any casualties?”
Heinrich clears his throat, then glances at James, who shrugs nervously, his lips curled downward.
“What’s going on?”
Conan huffs as he steps forward, crossing his arms against his chest, sounding bitter when he says, “Your sister thought it was a good idea to bring the human to the fight.”
“What?!”
Sophie curls into herself, while Dianna steps forward. “I’m sorry, Damian, but James linked me in and told me what happened to you, and that they were losing the fight against the demons. It was the only way to stop the demons and save you.”
“You went to the south…?” I murmur in disbelief, but only shocked because I was out cold and didn’t get to witness it.
Sophie nods tentatively, staring at her hands as she wrings them in front of her. “I don’t remember much.”
“She was spectacular!”
“She burned that group to ashes!”
“She’s a liability, and it’s only a matter of time before more of them come for us,” Conan grouches irritably, glaring at Sophie. “The demon attacks are already becoming more frequent. Now they’re gonna come after the human and—”
Conan doesn’t get to finish what he wants to say when I’m on my feet in no time, grabbing his neck and pinning himagainst the wall, feeling stronger than ever, as if I didn’t get another taste of death tonight. “Make up your fucking mind, Conan,” I growl, my eyes narrowed at him menacingly. “Earlier tonight, you were asking where she was ‘cause you were scared of the demons. She saved your life, too, and now you’re talking shit about her?” I scoff, letting go of his throat as he coughs and splutters. “You will respect my mate, or consider yourself alone in this fight.”
“Silver Stone will withdraw as allies if Damian pulls out,” Heinrich adds, and Conan finally straightens up, swallowing and clearing his throat.
His nostrils flare, but all he does is say, “I’ll see myself out,” before pushing past my shoulder and leaving the room.
“I think he’s losing his mind,” Heinrich comments, and I wait for the thud of the front door before turning to the Alpha of Silver Stone.
“Thank you, Henry,” I nod at him, and he returns it. “But I think you’re right. Conan’s losing his mind, and we need to keep an eye on him. And tonight’s fight needs to be reported to the council.”
“I’ll handle the council,” Heinrich replies. “You should get some rest, Damian.”
Heinrich, James, and Dianna soon leave, allowing me to turn to Sophie with wonder.
“I have so many questions…”
“I’m sure you do, but so do I,” Sophie replies with a sigh as she finally meets my gaze. “When you left, I couldn’t stop thinking that something happened to you. Ifeltsomething, and I ran out. That’s when Dianna arrived, and said—” Sophie chokes on the words, her eyes filling with tears. “I don’t know how I didit, but it just happened!” she sobs, compelling me to step forward and wrap her in my arms.
I soothe the back of her head with one hand, cooing and whispering words of comfort, my heart aching for her. While she’s in my arms, I can feel the whirlwind of her emotions, conflicting feelings colliding with kaleidoscopic impact.
“I don’t know what’s going on with me, Damian…” she wails, and there’s a part of me that wants to tell her about her lineage from the Ashclaw Pack. She just learned about the existence of werewolves, only mildly making peace with it, and she’s struggling to trust me.
But she deserves to know that some of her ancestors are werewolves and witches. She needs to know why she’s as powerful as she is, and that none of this is because of me, or because she’s my fated mate.
