Visions of Wolves

The after effects

The crowd gathered in an amphitheatre, me rising up from kneeling in front of Alex, the pride in his eyes, my hands in his. He leads me to the front of the stage to face the crowd and announces that I am now Luna of the Obsidian pack.

When I woke up I was in the infirmary. I felt weird. I was dizzy and faint as though my body was not my own, not quite. Suddenly I remembered what had happened. I threw back the covers to find I was now in my pyjamas a bandage had been wrapped and fastened around my waist.

It didn’t hurt. I couldn’t feel the bite, I mean the mark, at all. I unclasped the bandage and slowly unwound it from my body. I took a deep breath before I removed the last bit of bandage, terrified of the deep and gushing wound I expected to find underneath.

But it wasn’t there. Instead there was a similar mating mark to the one Ally had shown me on her neck. 

I gently touched the raised scar. Did it work? How long was I passed out for? Please don’t let me have to do this again.

“You gave us quite the scare there Teal,” Jay said coming up to my bed. He had a clipboard in one hand and was wearing scrubs. Hard to believe that this serious professional in front of me was last seen courting two women outside the Harvest Festival marquee. 

“Where’s Alex? Is this what’s meant to happen?” I asked waving at the hospital bed and vital machines laid out around me.

“He uh, he wasn’t quite sure if you would want to see him.” Jay said sheepishly rubbing the back of his head.

“What do you mean?”

“Well, he said that he lost control, that he marked you but you weren’t ready?”

“What? No! I told him to do it. I just…got a fright when I saw the whole,” I pointed at my mouth and Jay laughed.

“Phew, well good. Because he’s been insufferable. He’s a mess about it and a real pain in the ass. I have to give him updates every ten minutes.”

“I’ll go chat to him now,” I said throwing my legs off the side of the bed but as I went to stand I felt my knees buckle. Jay caught me just in time. His clipboard falling to the floor as he did. 

“You’re not going anywhere until I say so and you are not to move from this bed without my permission,” he said tucking me in like a small child. I giggled and lay back down.

“So um… did it work? Isn’t it supposed to be your neck?” I asked sheepishly while absentmindedly stroking the scar over my shirt. 

“Judging by how well you healed I’d say yes. It definitely looks like you have some shifter blood running through your veins. But I think the fact that he’s an Alpha and that he marked you on your side rather than your neck was the reason you had such a bad reaction. Although the more superstitious among us believe it has to do with the full moon. It has extra powers and therefore blah, blah, blah…” He shrugged off the idea.

“What happened exactly? How long have I been passed out?”

“Two days.”

“TWO DAYS!” I shot back at him.

“Yeah, you passed out from the pain but it also seemed as though your heart couldn’t take it. I had to resuscitate you. Which is also why you’re not leaving this bed until I say so and might be feeling a little disorientated for a while.”

“So for the past two days he thinks he almost killed me and that if I live I’d hate him for it?”

“Yeah, that’s pretty much it. But you’re not dead…or angry, so I really should go find him.” Jay said with a huge grin on his face.

“Go, please. Go.” I said waving my hand to the door.

My heart hurt, not from resuscitation or the shifter blood now coursing through it. But from the quilt that Alex had spent all this time so worried about me when I was just as much to blame. A little while later I heard the doors open, I shot up and tried to hide the disappointment in my face when Ally came running towards me. 

“Oh Teal!” She hugged me and I could hear her sniffling on my shoulder, I patted her back reassuringly.

“I’m fine, really I’m fine. You underplayed this whole marking thing a bit, but I’ll live.”

She laughed and sat back on the bed using her sleeves to wipe her eyes and nose.

“How do you feel?”

“I’m fine. Nothing hurts, I’m just a little dizzy and disorientated. I also almost fell flat on face when I tried to stand so Jay has all but chained me to this bed until he says otherwise.”

Ally snorted, “yeah, been there.” We both laughed.

“I feel really bad though.” I confessed.

“About what? If you think you’re feeling bad, Alex has been a nightmare.”

“I told him to do it and then I panicked, and then I pushed him which his how this happened.” I lifted my shirt to show Ally the mark. She traced her fingers around my mark and then her own, as if comparing them.

“Well, you’re ok and now it’s done, and for what it’s worth I am happy for you both. This should be a reason to celebrate, not sit around and sulk…”

“Teal?” Ally and I both looked up to see Alex now at the entrance of the infirmary.

“The’s my cue,” Ally said before patting my leg and then skipping away. She gave Alex’s arm a small reassuring squeeze before she left.

He looked terrible. His hair was a mess, he was unshaven, he almost looked pale and skinnier. He stared at me through sunken eyes that clearly hadn’t slept since this happened. I wanted to run over and hug him, tell him it’s fine. I needed to kill the tension in the room, prove to him that I mean it when I say I am fine.

“You look terrible, did I manage to bite back?” I said with a smirk.

I saw his shoulders drop and his whole body relax. The side of his mouth lifted in a small smile as he visibly sighed with relief.

“Teal, I’m so, so sorry. I completely-”

“Stop, Alex please. Just come sit with me.”

He walked over and I shuffled to the side of the bed so that he could lie down next to me. Then he swung his arm around my shoulders and I nuzzled into his chest. It felt different. I never wanted to leave this position. He smelt and felt like home, like I belonged here, as though he was a part of me and I a part if him.

“I thought I’d lost you,” he said planting a kiss on top of my head. “And then when I knew you would be ok, I thought I’d lost you anyway, for forcing you to-”

“Alex, you didn’t force me. I asked you to, I just got a little spooked when I saw your big bad wolf teeth. I didn’t mean to react that way. Please, I hate that you’ve been hurting. It’s done.”

He stayed quiet for quite some time. Unsure how to ask. “Can I…I mean do you mind if I…see it?” He asked quietly.

“I mean, you’ve seen a lot more,” I snorted. Then I sat up, turned to face him and lifted my shirt to show him the mark. He traced his fingers lightly around it. The feel of his fingertips against my skin sent shivers down my whole body, I squeezed my thighs together in response.

Clearly seeing my bodies response to his touch Alex pulled back his hand and shook his head. “No. After all this I’m never touching you like that again.”

“What? That’s not fair? Is it up for negotiation?” I joked.

“No, I’m Alpha and what I say goes.” He sat upright and put his hands in his lap like a well behaved school child.

“Is there anyway I can convince you?” I said walking my fingers up his thigh. He jokingly swatted them away and I pretend to be offended.

“Nope, nothing.” He said with a straight face.

“Nothing?” I asked before leaping forward and into his lap. I straddled him, my legs wrapped around his waist. He grabbed my hips with both hands.

“Nope,” he said leaning in to rub his nose against mine.

I kissed him gently and he did the same back. Both of us savouring each other’s mouths and the new bond and connection that flowed between us.

“Oh you’ve got to be kidding me!” Jay said with a sigh while rubbing his eyes with his fingers. He was standing at the edge of the bed. Both Alex and I were so absorbed in a kiss we didn’t even hear him enter. We both just laughed.

“You said I wasn’t to leave the bed, I haven’t…” I said with a smile while climbing off of Alex’s lap and shifting back to lie next to him. 

Jay glared at me and Alex just laughed. “Yes well, I didn’t expect you to be so creative with the rules. You really do need your rest so off you go Alpha.” Jay pointed to the door and Alex sighed, gave me one last kiss that lingered just that little too long purely to annoy Jay and then headed out the infirmary.

“Alright then new rules. You’re not going anywhere until I say so and you are not to move from this bed without my permission AND no one else is to join you on this bed.” 

I gave Jay a salute and the lay back down to sleep.