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Chapter 45

Alisha, despite being in a total haze, felt her body being lifted onto an uneven surface. Not exactly comfortable, but the smell that enveloped her made her feel comfortable in a familiar way. Without foreseeing it, she closed her eyes as the movements became constant beneath her. She didn’t know when she was like this, but when she dropped her onto a bed of dry leaves she knew she was close to home. She could smell the scent of her mate nearby and it made her open her eyes to find herself alone again.

She m****d faintly, lifting her head with an effort to drop it abruptly. Who was it that had saved her? His voice sounded sweet, young, with a slight tremble, but what was worth it was that he had helped her even without her knowing his identity.

Lying there on her side on that soft natural mattress, she felt nothing. There was no more pain, her limbs were so numb from the wet, the wounds and the cold that she was barely aware of her surroundings. She tried to call Cristian but her mind was further away than she thought. The air caressed his dirty, wet fur and ruffled his skin. She could no longer think. The images were beginning to blur. Would he just die there? Did he have to do something? He no longer knew. Everything was light around him. Only before his eyes closed again did he softly utter the name of his partner.

Cristian broke the glass between his hands alarming Steicer beside him. He had turned his face to the window as he faintly heard the voice he longed for. Faint, distant, but so close.

-Beta, what’s wrong?” Serguei put down the map with the places they had surveyed over the six torturous days next to Dakota to look at the wolf with a frown.

But Cristian didn’t answer him. Uncaring of his hand he ran out of the house leaving them all staring at each other’s faces. Only when Raice, with his above average sense of smell, sniffed and nodded his head did they realise what it was.

-Dylan, Raice, Louva, follow me, the rest of you stay sharp,” Serguei ordered them to run off after the beta who already had a good distance behind him.

Cristian felt his heart hammering in his chest as he ran at full speed. He changed his body, his clothes torn, his claws sticking out of his nails, transforming himself completely into a wolf, increasing his speed. He stomped, sniffing, searching. His mate’s scent was scattered everywhere, he didn’t know where exactly.

He saw Raice catch up to his side and nod to him. This one besides being his best tracker was the fastest, his wolf was so strong in him that he had no certain limits like the others. So he passed him easily. Cristian followed him, he trusted him. If Raice said his mate was out there, he believed him. At his back, at least half a kilometre away was his alpha with the other two wolves, but he didn’t wait for them.

They ran about four kilometres until Cristian spotted his mate more clearly. Raice slowed down and let him pass him. The beta stopped suddenly as well. Less than five metres away, facing him was the wounded body of a wolf whose fur was once white.

Cristian’s paws trembled as he approached it, circling it and touching its neck with his muzzle, expecting the worst. There ever so slightly his chest rose and fell heavily, as if his lungs couldn’t handle the extra work.

The beta was transformed. His eyes were wild with worry. He ran his fingers hesitantly over his companion’s limp face to receive no response.

-Alisha,” he called to her and a tear fell down his cheek. Once again his she-wolf was wounded.

Serguei, Louva and Dylan arrived also transformed. The albino wolf was the first to approach the she-wolf leaving the others with disfigured faces from the transformation.

-Beta,” he touched Cristian’s shoulder calmly, “Let me check her out for a moment.

He nodded reluctantly and gave her space. Louva superficially inspected Alisha, checking her condition, her torn jaw, her broken ribs, her torn muscles, the exhaustion she was suffering, but in the end he smiled slightly. Her condition was serious, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t be saved.

-We must get her back as quickly as possible,” he said.

Cristian nodded and carried the wolfish body carefully. Despite her size he was strong enough to hold her in his arms without any problems. They returned to the house and he went upstairs with Serguei and Louva to his room.

-Dylan, what happened? Steicer shook the wolf’s arm as he watched the three of them disappear up the stairs.

-Why didn’t we protect her more Steicer,” Steicer turned around grabbing the collar of his friend’s shirt, “You saw her condition, she’s not well, she’s not well, she’s not well.

Dakota looked at the scene and felt distressed. Despite his differences with the wolf, watching her die was something else entirely.

Alisha had been unconscious for at least three days. He could feel her bones regenerating rapidly, her body trying to recover on its own. Every moment a metallic taste touched her palate filling her with strength and the male voice of her partner echoed in her head.

She opened her eyes slowly when she had the capacity to do so. The distorted colours told her that she was still in her wolfish body. He moved his paws slightly, checking his condition. Around her she quickly recognised the ivory walls of her mate’s room, the soft fabric beneath her, the fluffy mattress. She smiled inwardly, she was back.

-Calm,” a hand stroked her head softly.

Alisha shifted her eyes to see Cristian sitting next to her. He looked tired. Under his eyes were dark marks, probably from the sleepless nights. His skin was slightly paler. Still he stood beside her and looked at her tenderly. Gathering what little energy she had, she concentrated on transforming her body, delaying circumstantially to regain her human state. Using Cristian’s arms as support, she climbed on top of him and hugged his neck, crying on his shoulder.

All the frustration, the pain, the anguish of the last few days came crashing down on her and her only consolation were the words he calmly professed to her, and his quality hands that caressed her back giving her comfort and consoling her.

-Calm down, precious, I’m here,” he said against her ear while she did her best to cling closer to him.

Cristian grabbed the quilt to one side and draped it over her shoulders trying to keep her body warm. Even though she was recovered thanks to the extra b***d that had been given to her, there were still wounds that would not heal so easily, those that were beyond what one could reach.

-I’m sorry, Cristian,” she sobbed against his shoulder, “Blaren, Blaren, him.

The beta pressed his lips together.

-He’s alive, I can feel it.

-But they took him away, he sacrificed himself for me.

Cristian raised his head and kissed his lips tenderly.

-Calm down, while you were recovering we’ve been looking for him. He’s my twin, we have a bond that’s different from the others but just as special. If he were dead I would know, besides he’s strong, he won’t let himself be defeated so easily,” he said those words to her as well as to him.

They hadn’t had much information after they had found her. It was as if the earth had swallowed him up. She had opened the channel to communicate but to no avail. It was the same as when they were both trapped. In a way he was relieved to have his partner back. He wanted his brother with him too, but he knew he could take care of himself and hold on until they found him. He wanted to trust that idea.

He touched his mate’s back to the nape of her neck where his mark was and stroked it. He kissed her neck and licked it eagerly. He had been separated from his she-wolf for so many days that he just wanted to melt into her. Considering his state it would only be counterproductive but she was telling him something completely different.

Alisha’s lips sought his, melting as one. Her trembling hands grasped the edges of his shirt and moved them along his shoulders until they fell to the bed. Hugging him, she swung her legs around and straddled his thighs and let his hands roam all over her naked body, shuddering all over her.

-I wish I could be more accommodating but I don’t think I can do it right now,” she begged against his lips, “I promise I’ll take it slow later,” his fingers dug into her body, feeling her insides begin to moisten.

A grunt of acceptance from her made him pull out his fingers and he unzipped his trousers and pulled out his c**k. Holding his partner’s h**s, he thrust all the way in, she accepting him without restraint. Only when he was joined to her as one did he sigh against her breast.

She was the being he adored most, wanted to love. He thought he would go mad after waking up that one time and not seeing her by his side. The hope that his brother was watching over her was the only thing that didn’t make him lose his mind even though Serguei was threatening to lock him up.

The days ahead were as torturous as they were painful with no trace of them around. A touch in his mind had fanned the flame of his life in a moment of madness. Now beside her, smelling her body, licking her skin, moving inside her, he could at least begin to breathe some calm into himself.