Luke savored her sent, it was so strong that he had to sniff a couple of times so it wouldn't leave his nostrils.
'I can't believe it! After five years of waiting, I finally found my mate!' Thoughts like these invaded his mind. It was the sweetest scent his nose has come upon. It was this honey-like scent that made his body tingle in anticipation. She was close.
'Was she the girl with Ysabelle that is in danger?' His heartbeat fastened and he could feel the anxiety start to form inside, he started sweating in yearning. She had to be okay.
'Please be okay.' He prayed to the goddess to keep her safe and sound until he found her.
Suddenly her scent became polluted with a strong rusty smell, blood. She was wounded, and he sped up before anyone else. His wolf was currently in control, they both wanted to get to her fast, but it was as if time was not in their favor. Luke did not expect their first meeting to be this way, he did not know how he expected to meet his mate, but this, this was not it.
He pushed his wolf to run faster, his features distorted in anger as he sensed her closer. His heartbeat was the only thing that rang in his ears, it was beating faster than it had in a long time; not in a joyful manner, but in a phobia, he did not know existed. He just found her and she was wounded, not expected at all.
The rest of his companions were not too far away as they found the carriage and three rogues were already running towards them, their red eyes seemed to gleam with the light of the day. Just as they came face to face with the rogues, Luke turned and ran down the ravine, it was slanted, making it easier to run down but harder to stop. He left the job to Ethan and other pack members to take care of the rogues.
His brother's scent then filled his nose as he had taken the lead a while ago, it was mixed with Ysabelle's scent. His mate was injured as well. Of course, Ysabelle had been in danger and was his top priority, just as much as his was his newfound mate. His blood boiled in fury knowing they were both injured.
Ysabelle had become like a sister in the short time they had spent together. Although they didn't speak much to each other, she was a warm, and brave person and deserved his brother just as he deserved her. His brother became the perfect mate, and he couldn't be happier for them. Luke stopped to look around but I didn't see her.
"Mate!" he cried in his mind, hoping his mate would hear him. His voice cracked, in pain, as he felt her closer. He could not sense her pain or a sound toward him, despair embraced him like a broken child when there came no sound that would tell him where she was.
Silence. He decided to turn back to his human form and continued his search.
"Mate!" He called again, hurt. She did not answer. He ran past Logan and Ysabelle and further down until he could make out a body at the stream. His eyes widened in realization, everything blurred except her small figure laying down in the middle of the cold water. She laid there immobile, her bloody scent hit his nostrils like a skunk, it was so strong that his knees startled to buckle below him but he restrained himself from doing so. He whimpered with his wolf, hoping her injuries were minor ones, he did his best to comfort himself.
'That's her! No, she has to be alright. I know she's alive, my heart tells me she's alive. I can hear her faint heartbeat now.'
Her scent was overwhelmed by her blood, but it was recognizable regardless. She was laying on her stomach in the middle of the stream, her head was facing the other way, so he could only see her black curtain of hair floating around her shoulders. Her clothes were drenched from the freezing water, and as he stepped into the stream and felt the freezing water himself did he realize how freezing the water actually was.
He turned her body slowly and took in her appearance. His knees melted at the sight, he knelt and stared at her, his heart skipping more than one beat at her angelic features. 'An angel among beasts' was his first thought.
She was beautiful. Even though she was too pale, her thick eyelashes captivated him. He couldn't wait to see her eyes! What color would they be? Her lips were not that full, but they looked soft and were partially open. Her delicate complexion made him want to treat her like a delicate porcelain doll. So fragile-looking and small. Her wounds just added more to the desire to protect her.
He heard her slow heartbeat, making him realize she needed urgent medical assistance. He hesitantly caressed her delicate skin, her cheeks, her forehead instantly igniting his hand with an electric collision from the touch. He withdrew immediately, it was the first time he had felt such an encounter, and he did not know what to feel or do.
Her right arm had been scratched by a filthy rogue. He clenched his fists in fury, his eyes scanning her for more wounds. She was not healing, which made him panic more. Why was she not healing? He took her wrist and checked her pulse while looking at her visible wounds intensely. He groaned in frustration when her wounds stayed the same.
"Luke! We must take her to the doctor, now…" Ysabelle ordered from behind, he knew that already.
He carefully took her small body in his arms and stood up, the sparks grew where skin met skin, making him feel weak at the knees. Her scent and skin, it was too much of everything in one single moment, it was overpowering. She was so close, and having her too close in that state made him mentally powerless.
"Phew! Our clothes were not ruined." Luke heard Ysabelle say as he reached the carriage. She was picking up the shopping bags from the ground as Logan helped her carry them. Luke caught Ethan staring at his injured mate in his arms with an unfathomable expression; jealousy spread through him, making him growl lowly at him for looking at her. When Ethan ignored his growl, he turned him body the other way, blocking his view.
"Mine," Luke growled at him in his wolf's voice, he wanted to rip his head for just looking at her. Ethan might be worried for his mate, but she was his to look at only. He was jealous to the core but controlled his wolf before he did anything dumb. Ethan looked away with hurt and disappointment in his eyes. No one will take her away from him.
.
.
.
The pack doctor was already waiting for them when they reached Ysabelle's parents' house. They were waiting outside her room, waiting for his report on her wounds, but hours seemed to pass by and no word from him. Luke's patience was running low and it was harder to control his restless wolf, it kept on giving him a headache by transmitting its worry and anxiousness. Luke rubbed his temples slow and deep, trying to erase the antsy feeling away. It was taking all his willpower to not burst inside that room and see for himself what was going on.
But as time dragged on painfully slow, he decided to stand up from the chair outside her room and was about to knock when the doctor came out. He looked at Luke pitifully and sighed with a little bit of understanding in his gaze.
"Not so patient, are you?" The doctor asked after closing her bedroom door. Luke tried to peek inside but didn't get even a small glance. Already knowing the answer to his question, the doctor sighed, then looked at Luke in the eyes, he looked tired. This man has been their pack doctor before he graduated from his medical career, way before. He was an apprentice to his father and now the pack's most trusted doctor.
"She will be fine." He answered sympathetically before Luke could ask the question that was eating him up.
He breathed out in relief, closing his eyes from the worry. A huge weighed got lifted off his shoulders as he leaned against the wall, trying to normalize his breath.
"But," the doctor paused, looking down at his notebook. Luke immediately opened his eyes and eyed him carefully. His body got tense, waiting for the bad news while holding his breath. Luke gave him an urging look to continue what he was about to say.
"How's Eirisse, doc?" Ysabelle asked from behind Luke, her steps getting closer. Logan beside her, they must have heard the doctor coming out.
"May I ask why, no, do you have any idea why she does not heal?" The doctor asked while looking at each of them. Luke looked at Ysabelle, hoping she knew something.
"I was wondering the same thing," Luke commented to no one in particular, it didn't occur to him that they might know.
"It's kind of difficult to explain. You see, when I found her, she told me she had crossed a portal from the human world to here. She still is finding it hard to believe that this is real, that we are creatures with a human form." She paused and looked at the doctor, then at Luke when she said the next words,
"My thought is that since she was in the mortal world, she does not know about her magic. So, she cannot activate them without the help of a wizard." Ysabelle explained while the doctor and Luke were trying to process this information.
"Her magic?" Luke whispered to himself, looking away from them, trying to connect the dots.
'She did not know about mates? Wait, I did not stop to think about this, she is a witch? I am mated to a witch.' He rubbed his chin thoughtfully. Although she is more human now than anything else, that did not matter to Luke. No wonder her wounds would not heal. She is like a porcelain doll, just as he thought. He realized he had to treat her with more care than he expected.
'How am I going to explain all of this to her? Will she accept me if she knows I'm a werewolf? Most importantly, will she accept herself? She is a witch after all. A witch mated to a werewolf.'
"That complicates things a bit," the doctor muttered more to himself than to them. His words pulled Luke out of his thoughts. The doctor looked lost in thought and checked his notes once again. He sighed and shook his head slowly.
"What is it?" Ysabelle asked, worry was all he could feel now.
"She has two broken ribs, a broken ankle, and I'm afraid a concussion…" he paused, going down his heavy notes. Luke's heart almost stopped after hearing all of this, the wolf inside of him whimpered,
"some small cuts also, but those will heal quicker with some medical herbs and medication… What I wonder about also, is the body art on her back. The tattoo seemed to, glow red. I have never something as such." The doctor stopped, lost in thought.
Body art? Had he seen her without clothes?! Wait, of course, he had to check her, he was starting to think that the whole mate thing was getting him out of control. Luke's wolf also detested the idea of another male seeing her body before he did, even if it was a doctor and it was imperative for her health. His desire to mark her grew within a minute. A small growl escaped his lips, but he looked away before anyone told him to control himself. Everyone thought that his growl was because of her injuries, not knowing the real reason. He did and undid his fists to control himself.
"Yes, I've seen her tattoo. We don't really know what it means." Ysabelle answered with a questioning look, sending Luke warning looks. Luke rolled his eyes at her.
'What? Couldn't I get jealous over my mate now?'
"I am not sure if it helps her or if it is doing her something wrong but, I tried to touch it and it burned my skin, it felt like, an electric, burning sensation. Her body was burning up, but I calmed her down with cold compressions. If you could do that when her temperature rises, it will be a great help." He sighed.
"Because of the concussion, she will be out for a while. I'm not sure how long, so keep an eye on her until she wakes up. I'll come to check on her, don't' worry." The doctor concluded, but the last words were directed at Luke, to keep him at ease.
"I'm surprised her neck did not break after that harsh fall." He added, before walking towards the stairs. "I'll come back every third day to check on her." He commented before going down the stairs.
Ysabelle and Logan followed behind him while Luke stared at her door and walked towards it.
'I'll watch over her until she wakes up.' He did not want to leave her alone for another minute.
He turned the doorknob and sighed. He wanted nothing more than to protect her after this, she could not get hurt again.
'I agree with you, whoever wants to hurt her deals with us first,' his wolf growled inside. Luke could feel his anger, so he took deep breaths to not think about it for now and focus on taking care of her.
'In the meantime, think about a way to explain all of this to her,' Luke suggested to both his wolf and himself, hoping he would shut up for a while and do something useful while he was stuck in there instead of angering Luke.
His only answer was a low growl, not liking Luke's way of shutting him up. He was annoying sometimes and Luke got stuck with him for life. He was right though, the word soulmate, it was not easy to explain, especially to someone who did not understand their world. Would she be afraid? Would she accept a stranger as her partner for life?