24. Chapter Twenty-Two
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
MAE
T he weight lifts off of me, and I suck in a deep breath of air and cough uncontrollably. Strong, comforting arms envelop my whole body and hold me close.
“ Are you okay? Please tell me you’re okay. Talk to me!” Michael’s panicked voice filters in my brain.
“ I’m okay.”
“Just breathe for me. You’re okay. Everything is going to be okay. You’re safe now.” Michael keeps repeating in my brain.
“I’m okay. You’re here.”
But that doesn’t stop Michael from holding me for what seems like hours. I’m not complaining. I feel safe and protected with his arms around me.
“ Peter!” I yell through the mind link. “Is he okay?” I ask.
I pull my head away from Michael’s chest and try to look over, but I’m not able to.
“ He’s okay. They’ve taken him back to get checked by our pack doctor.”
I relax into Michael’s arms and take several deep breaths. He’s okay. I’m so relieved.
“ The rogues gave him several doses of wolfsbane, one soon after you and I stopped mind linking.”
“He’s going to be okay. Peter’s a tough man.”
“I feel so bad. Peter took the brunt of the blows. He tried to get the rogues away from me.”
Michael kisses my forehead and holds me tighter. “ He was supposed to do that. Every man in the pack knows to protect the women and children in any type of situation.”
That was the same way with my old pack. While some women and children learned how to fight, a lot of the older people didn’t know and didn’t want to learn.
“ I still want to learn how to defend myself.”
“Can we talk about this later? I just want to hold you and never let go.”
A wave of panic sweeps over me. “ Are we safe? What happened to the rogues? Do we need to get out of here fast and find a safe place?”
“Everything’s okay. We are safe, and the rogues have been taken care of. We got help from another pack that was bordering ours. They were also having trouble, so we took the rogues out. You don’t ever have to worry about them again.”
I sigh and snuggle into his embrace. I wish they had been taken care of before they attacked my old pack, but I’m happy it’s done. Now they can’t harm anyone else like they did my pack, my first family.
“ I’m sorry for everything they’ve done. I’m sorry they took away people you loved.”
Tears well up in my eyes as he mind links me.
“We got justice for them,” I whisper.
“Maybe when we get back to the pack house, we can ask around and see what happened to the land where your pack was before. We could go visit.”
I don’t know if my heart can take visiting where I saw people die. But maybe it would be the closure I need to move on and live my life with Michael and my new pack.
“ Only if you go with me. I don’t think I can do it by myself.”
“I’m never leaving you again. You’ll be stuck with me for the rest of your life. We’re going to be in the same room at all times for several weeks.”
“I think that might be a little dramatic.”
“No, it’s not. I saw you get taken away. Your limp body in the rogue’s arms. I don’t ever want to see that again. We don’t know if there is another group of rogues or not, but I’m keeping you close.”
“But you’ll have work to do.” I try to reason with him.
“I’ll make sure you can come with me.”
“I still think it’s a little overkill. You don’t need to bring me everywhere. I’m going to be safe if I’m with other people and not close to the border of the pack.”
“Will there ever be a time when you’re okay not to go walking out and near the border?” He raises an eyebrow at me.
I huff and pull away. He has a point. I love to go walk outside, feel the grass and dirt on my feet, the breeze dancing across my skin.
“ What if I don’t go walking without you? And we don’t have to get close to the border. We can just walk around the pack or even the houses. And when I don’t want to go on a walk, you don’t have to be close,” I suggest.
I know where he’s coming from. I don’t really want to leave him, either, but I know it’s not going to be healthy for us to stay next to each other all the time. We’re going to get annoyed with each other and fight. We need our time alone and time alone with other people.
“ I don’t know.”
“We can talk about this later. How about we go back home? I want to take a shower and get something to eat. I’m starving.”
I don’t know how long this whole ordeal took, and I don’t really want to think about it. All I know is I want to get cleaned up, fill my belly with some yummy, hot food, and drink all the water I want.
“ I love you.”
“I love you, too.”