Raul had awoken when Olivera had stirred awake in her room. Her muted cry for help had resonated through the bond and had aroused him from the sleep that had been plagued by Olivera in his bed without clothes, writhing under him. The boner-a constant feature in his life now-had died away when he had felt the terror that had swum over the mate bond. He had quickly donned a polo and a short for he usually slept naked, and ran out of the room. He had paused at the door for a second, to take a deep breath, not knowing what to expect in the room. Olivera had kept lying to his face for the past two weeks, and after she had butted him out of her mind those weeks ago, he had resolved not to attempt it again, believing that she would open up to him when she was ready. But he didn’t think he could wait any longer. This time he would have to force his way through even if it meant being in her bad books for a while longer. This was the third time she was waking up in terror the past two weeks
“I have called for breakfast.” Raul started when he saw Olivera come out from the restroom looking pale, looking sick. She hadn’t replied to his question earlier, nor had she bothered to explain who Vee was, and what the male meant to her. Rather she had watched him in silence for more than ten minutes, not offering any words at all. Until she had coughed, and ran into the bathroom. To vomit. He was sure. She was sick. She had spent more than ten minutes inside the bathroom. Perceiving the jasmine scent peculiar to soaps and body wash, he knew why. She had taken a bath. “Are you okay?” He wanted to pull her to himself, to hug her and whisper sweet nothings of care into her ears, but he knew that she wouldn’t have that. She would rather die in her vomit. The past two weeks had told him that. She loathed him. She hadn’t been kidding when she had said she didn’t want him around her. “And since when did you care?” Taking a bath must have rejuvenated her. He thought, watching as she
Olivera’s mind was divided in the meeting that Raul had called five minutes ago, probably because the meeting hadn’t yet started. Nick was yet to come. What was taking him too long? She wondered, suddenly aware that her hand had come to rest on her stomach. Quickly, she removed it, and any inclination either in face or mood that would show that she was pregnant. Although Raul had promised that he had clothed her with some scent that would make the others oblivious of her state, she still added her own extra precautions. After all he had been the same one that had promised to hold her straight and well during the transition, and yet she had gone into an unconscious state. ‘Olivera, it wasn’t my fault.’ Olivera heard this through the mind link, and scoffed, putting up her mind walls. Vee had mentioned that they be up at all times, even if not at full strength, so that she would be able to tell if the vampire was trying to infiltrate her mind, so that the latter wouldn’t be able to j
With Raul’s sharp gaze landing on Olivera, and everyone following the same, Olivera cussed Raul in her thoughts, or so she had thought. When she saw the smirk on Raul’s lips, she knew that it had come out aloud. She cussed again, especially as she now remembered the plant. It was the particular flower-less one that she had first seen, or rather that had grabbed her and had called for her attention the first time she had been in Nick’s place. Nick was sure to be happy then. The plant had surely grown out of bounds for a flower in a flower pot. But what was that got to do with her? Jeremy didn’t know too, but the other three in the room seemed to have an inkling. “Nick had come to see me sometime after you had arrived at the pack, with this pot of flower which he claimed had been magical, which he claimed had sprouted as soon as it had seen you.” Raul started, and my ears perked up. “He had believed even then that you were quite special. Sadly, I hadn’t seen it, and neither had my
“Olivera, do you perhaps know why your mother had been used, why she had tried to tempt you into killing? And do you have a taste for blood, seeing as your dream has depicted that?” Seth’s question which seemed off point threw Olivera off balance. These were questions she had been asking herself for a while, apart from others, and she had no answers to them. “Seth, that isn’t what we are discussing now.” Raul enthused, but Seth shook his head, annoying an already annoyed Raul. “It might help. You see, in the dream, Olivera could put out the vampire stain from the jaguar's head, without killing him off, without listening to those evil creatures around. What if there was the presence of another species apart from the vampires that also drink blood, but not to kill. I think that’s what I had been able to deduct from the dream. The separate species that she was in that dream, that can turn into white hot light. The light alone indicates the presence of magic too. It’s nothing else. Anc
Zande sat by Jacob’s side, by the edge of the table of healing soil, her fingers intertwined with his cold, unmoving hand. He had been on the healing table for eighteen hours now, buried in rich, sacred soil that was supposed to aid in the recovery of his memories. The ancient process was a last resort, one he had finally agreed to two days ago. Now, she watched him with growing dread, her heart heavy with fear and uncertainty.Had she made the right choice?Was knowing the identity of Olivera important?Should they have let it slide?She shook her head. This had been the last resort. And they needed to know who Olivera was. It was the last piece of the puzzle.The healer, Kendalf, had told them that the soil, imbued with powerful herbs and ancient magic, would help Jacob reconnect with his past. And so her lifemate had sunk into the soil with a sense of determination and hope, but since then, he hadn’t woken up. The first three hours had been the hardest to watch. Jacob had thras
Jacob floated in a sea of memories, each one more vivid and enticing than the last. He had agreed to the ancient process of recovering his lost memories two days ago, and since he had sunk into the soil bed, he hadn't woken up. The healer had warned him that the journey would be perilous, that he might get lost in the labyrinth of his own mind. But Jacob had been desperate. He needed to remember, needed to reclaim the pieces of his past that had been torn away. He needed to overcome the taint that the vile creature of the undead had left on him. If he had decided the easy way out, he knew that he would never have forgiven himself. The first three hours had been agonizing. He had felt his body convulsing, his muscles straining against an invisible force. The spasms were violent, jerking him around like a puppet on strings. He had thrashed on the soil bed, gasping for breath, his mind bombarded with fragmented images and sensations. It was as if every memory he had ever had was tryi
Relieved signs dropped from the mouths of the ancients in the room when Jacob spoke out aloud. Kendalf dropped a reassuring hand on his shoulder. “You scared us there for a moment, lad.” There was an emission of chuckles in the underground chamber. “Well, at least he had come back with the memories. I would have beaten him with a laden spoon if he had us worry for nothing.” Raven said with a chuckle, her hands staying intertwined with Caitlin who was looking at Jacob like he was some strong god. She ignored Zendedari’s grunt of disapproval in her head. The man can be so territorial. ‘All males of our kind are the same way.’Caitlin held back a scoff, but she made sure to send that feeling down the bond, whilst resuming marveling at the fact that Jacob was here with them. A part of her had feared that he wouldn’t make it, considering the turn it had taken when he had seemed lost in his memories, when his life force had started waning. And another part had thought that even if h