Linked
Chapter 32

Blaren could feel the Latin of his heart in his ears, but not those of his twin’s companion. That was bad. They’d left his safety to him and he’d go and throw it away by being demure and not infringing on the line of respect for someone else’s women. Line her a*s and all the hell in the world. He put his hands on his chest and squeezed, initiating lung resuscitation. Nothing. He brought his face close to hers and against what he had been taught not to touch anyone’s partner, he gave her mouth to mouth air, this was not the time to think about it, he needed to save her. He started the resuscitation again and after 5 movements, the young woman’s body jerked and she let out a thick gulp of water, gasping and coughing.

Blaren let out a sigh of relief and pushed back her dripping hair. He helped her up so she wouldn’t choke as she coughed. He rubbed her trembling back and the rage hit him for a moment.

-I wonder what you were doing. If you hate us so much you can talk to the pack, but you don’t have to kill yourself to get rid of us,” he shouted at her.

Alisha looked at him in confusion.

-Why would I kill myself?” her voice was mushy, barely understandable.

-You weren’t trying to drown yourself,” Blaren looked just as confused as she was, he could tell he’d seen her head slowly sinking into the water.

Alisha touched her head and frowned. The head was killing her and she remembered her vision. Her eyes filled with tears again. She still felt the agony she had suffered those minutes. What kind of past was that. She could see why she didn’t remember anything from her childhood, maybe it would have been better not to know.

-Blaren didn’t know what to do when she saw his tears.

-Don’t worry. I’m fine,” she smiled trying to reassure him, she didn’t like it when he saw her crying, she was used to being a block of ice with hardly any emotions, but these last few days she had become very sensitive.

Blaren nodded doubtfully. She didn’t look well. She was whiter than usual and dark circles under her eyes were visible again.

He stood up and reached for her clothes, offering them to her.

-Put them on. My brother is about to arrive and I don’t want him to think something out of the ordinary- Cristián wasn’t closed minded, being beta he saw more than other people and analysed situations with a cold conscience, but it was better to be safe. He was talking about his partner, here things were unpredictable.

-Why would Christian come?” she put on her black shorts and blouse that stuck to her damp skin.

-Because he must have felt when your heart stopped. He must be out of his mind.

-As if he cared that much.

Blaren grunted and sat down beside her.

-Let me tell you a story.

-Poetic?” he joked, which the wolf ignored.

A pair of twins was born in a pack, a rare occurrence considering that the norm is one offspring per birth. They lived in a happy family. Their parents were mates and loved each other very much – this sounded like a children’s story but Alisha found it interesting – their children always wanted to have a relationship with their parents and to care for their mate with every fibre of their skin. One day the pack was attacked and all the females were kidnapped and killed.” A shiver ran through her, perhaps she meant… The twins’ father went mad like many of the wolves when he lost his mate and began to mistreat his children. They suffered a lot but they still loved him and cared for him because he was the only thing they had left. Years later one of the twins entered a witch’s lair by mistake. His father went to look for him and was brutally murdered before his eyes without being able to do anything- His voice sounded deeper than normal- Since that day the twin lived with the guilt of letting both his parents die and he promised himself that if he found his partner he would protect her until his last breath, so that history would not repeat itself and lose the most important thing for him, that was his anchor to not go mad.

When Cristián found you he had already lost all hope that you were in this world. The impact was too great and he may make mistakes because he doesn’t know which step to take without hurting you.

Alisha hugged her knees and looked down at the worn polish on her feet, taking in what she had heard.

-I know it’s hard for you, it’s hard for him and it’s hard for us. Our methods may be obsolete but the pack is only afraid of losing you.

Alisha was slow to respond.

-I, I don’t hate him, I don’t hate anyone in the house, I just… they never think about what I want,” she said.

-Because they want what’s best for you,” Blaren looked at her, “You’ve only recently been transformed and you barely know about us, and you might make the wrong decisions that could put your life in danger, more than it is. Serguei had no choice but to take drastic measures. I’ve known him for years and I know he puts the safety of the herd above his own. And you are part of that pack.

-I – Alisha was speechless. She was still hurt by what had been done to her, but after that conversation she somehow understood her reasons. Maybe it was time to let things flow into her water.

Christian’s scent came to her at once.

-Blaren stood up behind her and they saw a wolf run like a rampaging bull towards them.

Christian thought he would lose his mind. One moment he was talking to Serguei when his partner’s heartbeat stopped next to his and the next he was running after her, praying to everything that she was all right. What was his brother doing, he trusted his twin but he knew better than to leave her alone. Something bad always happened when he left her side.

In the distance she saw two people sitting in the trees who stood up when they felt it.

It was okay, she was okay. He rushed over and transformed, pulling her into his arms and squeezing her close as he buried his panting face in her neck. He didn’t care that she was uncomfortable with his nakedness, he needed to feel her to know that he hadn’t lost her.

Alisha stood static on the spot as thick arms wrapped around her and squeezed. She thought she felt something warm on her shoulder, maybe it was tears. She stroked his lower back in an attempt to soothe him.

-I’m fine, it was nothing.

But he didn’t respond, only pulled her tighter to him. Alisha looked at Blaren not knowing what to do but the wolf turned his back and walked away giving them privacy.

-Christian,” he patted her h*p, he was using too much force against her, “I’m really okay, you can let go,” he said.

-I thought you were dead, that I had lost you,” she sobbed.

Alisha dropped her arms to the side of his body feeling guilty. The big wolf that never seemed to be able to break down was crying silently against her shoulder and holding her so as not to let her escape.

She smiled weakly, she had been away from everyone for so long that she had forgotten what it was like to feel important to someone.

What it was to be loved.