Chapter 17 - Shane
After Hyacinth leaves, I sit at the table for a while, trying to get up the strength to move. When I finally do get up, I have every intention of going to bed, but my feet carry me towards the front door instead.
I have to go to the infirmary.
By the time I get to the door, I feel a little stronger, and the warm morning sun bathes my face in rejuvenating light. I stand on the porch for a few minutes, trying to keep my mind clear and free of worry.
It’s true that the infirmary doesn’t need me there if I’m sick. I don’t want to be a burden. But at the same time, I just feel guilty as sin being anywhere else.
I close up the house, then go out to the car. I’m so tired that every movement seems to happen in slow motion, and it frustrates me that I’m so weak.
Arriving at the infirmary, I psych myself up a little, then put on a brave face as I hurry up to the doors. I check the charts to see what urgently needs to be done and wave at our nurses and healers while I try to put on a good show of being energetic.
I think I’m nailing it until Kara comes up to me and gently takes my arm. “Shane,” she says softly. “Are you alright? What the hell are you doing here?”
“I’m helping,” I reply. “Don’t worry about me, I’m fine.”
“Have you looked in a mirror today?”
“What? Why?”
“Because your eyes are covered in dark rings, and your skin is so sickly and pale, it looks like you just dragged yourself out of a shallow grave.”
“Okay…” I say haltingly. “Shit. I didn’t realize I looked that bad.”
“Please, come out the back with me. Let me give you some fluids.”
“No!” I protest. “Don’t waste any time or resources on me. These people need it more.”
“And we need you!” she yells, tugging on my arm. Her shout shocks me so much, I waver a little on my feet.
Although maybe that’s just the exhaustion.
“It is not a waste to take care of you,” she says in nearly a whisper so she won’t disturb anyone else. “If we lose you, we’re all fucked. You know that, right?”
I nod, letting her lead me out the back. Kara sits me down in a chair and starts an IV, hooking me up to a fluid pouch.
“What’s in this?” I mutter.
“Just fluids to rehydrate you, and a nutrient boost. It’s the only thing that works. For some people, all it does is keep them alive. I’m hoping that for you, it will actually rejuvenate you a bit.”
“Yeah, me too,” I reply.
Kara finishes hooking me up, then waggles a finger at me as she gives me a stern look. “I’m going back out on the floor. You need to stay here until this is all finished. You got me?”
“Yeah,” I reply.
“No, not ‘yeah.’ I want you to sit, right here, and rest. Promise me.”
“Okay,” I sigh. “I promise.”
She narrows her eyes at me as if she doesn’t believe me, but she eventually turns to go back to the main hospital. I lean back on the chair, closing my eyes as the drip slowly ebbs into my veins.
She says they’re lost if they lose me, but what have I done to help anyone? Nothing. I’m fucking useless. It would be better to pass the mantle of alpha on to someone else at this point.
My thoughts blur, and I actually manage to doze for a while. When I wake up, I feel refreshed. Even though there’s still a bit of fluid in the bag, I pull the IV out and quietly slip out the back door.
Sorry, Kara. I couldn’t keep my promise. I have too much to do.
***
I drive over to work and make sure everything is running smoothly there.
The guys have been a little lost without me, and I have to balance the budget and reorder a few items. It frustrates me that they can’t do these simple tasks without me, but I have to remind myself I chose them for their mechanics work, not their office skills.
By the time I leave the shop, my vision is wavering again, and my heart is beating so hard, I can feel it in my throat. With every pulse, colors streak across my vision, making me feel unbalanced and nauseous.
Am I actually cracking up right now?
The idea sends trickles of fear prickling through me.
Even though the sickness has been getting worse, I never once believed I could actually die.
As I drive to the bakery to pick up Hyacinth, I try to force that thought out of my mind, but it buzzes around in my head, as aggressively as an angry wasp. My anxiety and fear increase, and I have to grip the steering wheel to stay awake.
I’m not afraid to die, but if the sickness is affecting the alpha this badly, the rest of the pack have absolutely no hope.
At the bakery, I drag myself out of the car and go in through the back door. The kitchen and stockroom are quiet and dark, and I lean on a counter as I try to figure out what to do next.
“Hello?” Hyacinth’s voice cheerily calls through the main door to the shop. “Is that you, Lisa?”
I can’t even raise my head, let alone speak. I hear Hyacinth emerge through the doors and then her swift footsteps coming towards me.
“I’m just closing up, Lisa,” she calls around the corner. “I’ve got that fondant icing mix and—”
Her voice cuts off with a sharp gasp, and her footsteps quicken.
“Shane? What the hell happened? Are you okay?”
I try to answer, making every effort to look up in her direction, but a wave of nausea rolls over me, and the room spins into a blurry mess of color. I don’t even realize I’m on my way down until my body crashes to the ground with a horrific, shattering jolt.
All I know is pain. My world is utter darkness, flashes of agony tearing through me like jagged white waves across the shadows of consciousness. Despite that, I’m relieved that the nausea is gone. A cold weight is pressing all other sensations out of my body.
Am I dying?
It’s not as bad as I thought it would be.
Far away, I can hear someone calling my name, but it doesn’t seem to matter much. The only thing left to do is drift. Eventually, I’ll come to a place where there’s no more pain.
Suddenly, a white-hot sensation sears through me, a shock so forceful it’s as if raw fuel got poured into my veins and set alight.
I try to gasp for breath, but to my shock, my mouth is where the heat is blooming the strongest. My body shudders against the ground, and I feel aching in my muscles and joints as my limbs flail.
The heat on my lips doesn’t fade; it just gets stronger. I reach up with my hands and feel something soft and warm, immediately clinging to it. Pleasure thrills through me, a cascading wave that rushes from my lips to every inch of my body.
When I can finally open my eyes, I see Hyacinth, beginning to pull away after the kiss. I can feel her hands on my cheeks, the closeness of her body. My grip on her shoulders tightens, and she smiles.
“Are you alright?” she asks. “You fell.”
“I…” I shake my head, completely lost for words.
“I don’t know what to do,” she says.
“Kiss me again,” I reply.
For the briefest instant, I see a conflict warring in her bright violet eyes. It’s as if she wants to run, but something is keeping her in place. Eventually, the edge of fear leaves her face, and I see only tenderness there.
She tightens her hands on my cheeks and leans in again.
When her lips touch mine, I get the same sensation of fire, a racing wave that floods through my body, awakening every inch of skin.
My grip on her shoulders tightens, and I yank her down to me, wrapping my arms around her to press our bodies together.
Hyacinth moans as she writhes on top of me, her arms wrapping around my shoulders as she deepens the kiss. I let my hands roam past her waist, reaching down to grab her ass and groaning with pleasure when she thrusts her hips towards me in response.
I run my hands up her back, holding the back of her head as she kisses me, reaching up with light caresses to bring her back down when she tries to pull away. The heat in me is crashing through my blood, replacing weakness with vitality, and even awakening my powers again.
I can smell her, so clearly. Something addictive and sweet. Nourishment I need to survive.
Hyacinth wriggles against me and puts her hands on my shoulders, breaking my grip as she sits up. “Seriously, Shane, are you alright? You fell so hard—I was so scared.”
“I’m alright,” I answer. “Thanks to you.”
I run my hands up her arms, trying to pull her back down to me, but she shakes her head.
“I don’t know what’s happening right now,” she says with an edge of panic.
“I think you do,” I answer, looking into her eyes and waiting for her to admit it.
She shakes her head again, keeping her eyes fixed on mine. Her big violet eyes sparkle with a hint of tears, and her teeth peek out of her mouth to gently nibble her lower lip.
“It’s like a fairytale,” I say. “Your kiss brought me back to life.”
She shakes her head again, and this time I sit up, grabbing her upper arms. The health and well-being surging through my body in that moment almost makes me howl with my whole heart.
“It’s meant to be,” I whisper urgently. “You can feel it, can’t you?”
Hyacinth nods, and a single tear trickles down her cheek.
I kiss her softly, kneading her lips with mine and gently exploring with my tongue. She relaxes a little in my arms, and I feel the amazing wave of healing energy flood through me again.
It’s like this was always inside me, living deep within my bones. I’m not suddenly attracted to Hyacinth because she healed me. I was always captivated by her, and once I got the full strength of my senses back, that was when I realized it.
Hyacinth moans, arching in my arms, and I deepen the kiss, gripping her even harder. She softens all over, bending to my touch and the pressure of my mouth. When I feel a shudder of pleasure run through her that makes her waver, my wolf fully awakens, my mind rewritten with primal instincts.
Growling, I grab Hyacinth’s arms and hurl her to the floor, pouncing on top of her.
She cries out but doesn’t resist, and I pin her by her shoulders and push her legs apart with my knees.
A soft whimper rises from her lips, and I cover it with my mouth, kissing her hard and reaching for her tongue with mine.
A shudder runs through her, and she thrashes under me, pinned by my weight on top of her, my hands on her shoulders, and the pressure of my mouth. It only inflames my wolf further, and I tighten my hold on her, rocking forward to thrust my hips against her.
When she relaxes, I pull back from the kiss. She keeps her eyes closed as she brings one hand up to her forehead, shaking her head back and forth a little. I run my hands down the front of her blouse, encouraged by the way she presses against me.
Through the thin fabric, I can feel her nipples hardening under my rough palms. I can only stand the torture for a few seconds before I grip the front of her shirt and violently rip it in half.
Hyacinth lets out a short, sharp scream that quickly winds down into a moan of pleasure when my mouth finds her nipple.
I collapse against her, one arm wrapped around her waist, pinning her down as I feast on her breasts. I lick and suck on her nipples, squeezing hard with my free hand as I switch back and forth.
Hyacinth moans, writhing under me, thrusting her hips towards me. I move my grip to her hips, sliding down to roughly shove her skirt up to her waist as I bend down and plunge my face into her pussy.
Hyacinth screams, grabbing the back of my head and opening her thighs.
Gasping with need, I wrap my lips around her clit and suck, eagerly lapping through the slick folds to find her slit and stick my tongue inside her.
I dig my fingers into her thighs to keep her in place as I lap deep into her pussy, waiting for the waves of pleasure to weaken her before I go back to her clit, wrapping my lips around it and stroking hard with my tongue until an orgasm shudders through her.
I come up for air, gasping as I climb up her body. Gripping her shoulders, I rock my hips towards her, feeling the slick heat of her pussy against the head of my cock. Hyacinth is still shaking under me from her orgasm when I reach down and thrust my cock into her.
She screams again, her hands linking behind my back and wrapping her legs around me. She leans her head back, opening her hips so I slide all the way inside, as deep as I can possibly be.
For a moment, all I can do is rest my forehead against her chest, feeling her body opening to mine as we become enmeshed in each other. Her pussy throbs, tightening around my cock, and I rock my hips forward, making her cry out.
I raise my head, looking into her beautiful eyes before leaning down to kiss her. She tightens her grip on me, thrusting her hips against me.
She breaks off the kiss, putting her cheek against mine. Through her rough panting, I hear the faintest whisper.
“Fuck me,” she gasps, holding on to me as tightly as she can.
I bury my head in her shoulder and reach down around her waist, grabbing her ass and squeezing the cheeks hard as I thrust forward, pinning her to the floor as my cock drives into her as deep as it can possibly go.
Hyacinth writhes, her pussy spasming as her movements stroke up and down my hard shaft. I stay still, barely doing anything at all as she works herself up to an orgasm, gasping and thrashing under me as pleasure crashes through her.
She goes limp under me, her hands loosely gripping my shoulders and her knees falling away from my waist. I grab her ass even harder and start to thrust, feeling my cock get harder on every stroke.
Hyacinth cries out, trying to cling to me as I increase my pace, ramming her into the floor.
A groan rips out through my teeth as pleasure floods down my spine, and I pull back to look into her face.
Her beautiful eyes are closed, and her mouth is twisted into a little pout.
I stroke her cheek gently, leaning down for just one tender kiss.
Then I grip her shoulders and start to thrust hard and fast, letting my body take over as my cock swells inside her, filling every inch of her until my pleasure peaks. My release pours through me, a thundering shock that steals my breath and wrings the strength out of my limbs.
When it’s over, I wrap my arms loosely around Hyacinth, rolling onto my side to cradle her gently against my chest as I wait for sanity to return to us both.