Chapter 12 The Cat Makes Her Point #2
“He’ll freak out,” I mumble, hoping for another way. He won’t freak out; he’ll rip her a new one for letting it get this far. He’ll unleash the wrath, and she can’t take that right now.
“What do I do?!”
“I don’t know. I’ve never had healing fight me like this. I don’t know if we’re bonded enough or if you’re strong enough to figure out what’s wrong. Even if you could, I don’t know that you could do anything about it. Fuck,” I wheeze, trying to breath and finding it difficult.
I really fucked things up this time.
Her head rears back as if smacked, and I know she’s taking my words wrong.
I’m not together, so I didn’t pick my words, and now, we’ll have an issue later.
“I’m calling them now. That's all I know how to do.” Her voice is soft, and I know it cost her some pride to admit that.
Her eyes close, and I can only imagine the images she’s sending them as a message.
“I didn’t mean it the way you took it. I meant you haven’t drained with me. You haven’t had enough of my mutation to fix it. It was not a judgment of the relationship.”
Before she answers, Taurus apparates into the room, hand entwined with Rafe’s until he lays eyes on me. Shoving his way through our mates, he’s next to me in a blink, expression enraged. “What the bloody fuck happened?”
Talia shrinks back against the wall, looking worried and upset.
I feel his anger, Rafe’s worry, and her shame all flooding into me, so I can only assume she’s communicating with my husband mentally.
Her picture messages don’t filter through to me, and mind speech does, so I have to mishmash what I get from them to figure out what she’s saying.
Rafe looks at me, then at his wife and his mate, padding over to her to calm her down.
“Stop. Stop,” I whisper. “It’s not her fault. She needed help. She’s not used to this like you, my love.” I look up at him, trying to smile. I loll my head to the side and smile at her, too. “You aren’t there on your own yet, Sin. There is no shame in that.”
I feel him connecting to me and wincing at the pain as he reels back.
He lets the demon out inside so he can cradle my beast and keep her calm, then poke around to see what’s wrong.
I don’t fight it, as he is not so inclined to poke where he doesn’t belong like she is.
He must be lashing out at Talia mentally, but I can’t see it on his face as he leans down and opens his wrist, holding it out to me to start the process.
He’s as gentle as one would be with a newborn as he sorts through the mess I’ve made.
There’s a sob and I feel a void, my concentration breaking for a moment. Blood pools and I blink, vision going fuzzy. “Damn it, where is she going? We haven’t fixed the cat yet.”
Before I can stop him, my primary crashes through the gates in my mind, finding where I’m hiding the severity and the cause of the problem. “Oi, love, she can’t drink. She’s got a nicked lung. We have to fix it first.”
~Drinking can only help, mate. ~ Taurus growls low.
“I think we need my wife, though.” Rafe looks at me, and I nod a little.
~Then fucking get her back. I want to see her right now. ~
Rafe takes off with a speed he rarely uses, intent on getting her back to help fix me. I look up at my husband and sigh. “It’s not her fault. I did it.”
“Sod off, woman. It is her fault. No more games—tell me what to do.”
Rafe comes back in, dragging her with him as she wails about this being her fault and how she can’t help me. She’s mentally communicating with him, and he’s looking frustrated with all of us as he argues back.
“Bloody hell, wife, it’s bad.”
“I think it got worse as we tried to figure out what to do.” I decide that I’m not speaking out loud anymore as internal speaking takes far less energy, and I need to conserve what I have as best I can.
~Your lung’s pierced, but you knew that.
It feels like some kind of mystical healing ban, but I think you have ideas on that, too.
I’m going to relieve some pressure on your chest so you can rest a bit while we work this out.
The only reason you’re not dead is that you’re the strongest bloody woman I know. ~
I smile a little. ~Watch out, warrior princess. There’s a new queen in town. We’re going to need all of you to break this. We have to work together as before. It will only make it worse and take longer and hurt more if you don’t. ~
My husband growls and gives me a ‘scary Taurus’ look. ~You’re asking a lot. She did this to you. I’m not big on understanding right now. I don’t even know where to start with the ‘how’ yet, and you’ve already got demands. ~
Nodding a little, I try to send him a smile inside.
~That’s me. I’m all kinds of unreasonable and demanding.
Besides, I’m going to tell you one more time: I did it.
I put the knife in my bloody chest, not her.
Work from the outside in, and I keep so much more stored there than I let on.
I’m afraid to let Talia try because last time, it was way too much.
She isn’t ready for the whole well yet. They will have to anchor you and help you as you knit things.
I don’t know how much I’ll be able to guide you because I could pass out. ~
Sending me an annoyed look, he growls again. ~How in the bloody hell will I know what to do? ~
~You have the knowledge in you from me. All you need to do is look for it. ~
My primary is still holding onto my new mate near the doorway, eyeing me as he murmurs to her.
She looks scared and angry and hurt, unwilling to leave because I need her, but wanting to run because she’s feeling guilty.
Finally, my husband takes his eyes off me to turn to them, and I sigh in relief.
“Okay, kiddies. We’re doing this together, so buckle up.
It will be a bumpy ride, given that I’m not sure what the hell I’m doing, and I’m sure my wife is going to cease to be helpful while we’re doing it.
You’ll need to anchor me, feed me energy, and take some bleed like we did when we healed Talia.
You’ll catch on soon enough.” He changes his position on the bed, making room for them. “Come closer.”
I close my eyes, sinking deeper inside myself to conserve my energy as best as I can. It’s much easier to keep my grip on all the things I’m holding when I’m not focused on them.
The bed dips as Talia and Rafe join us, and I feel them gathering their energy.
I feel Taurus joining their ley lines of energy to his and working to center all the power so he can focus.
He speaks with them both, and his love for them bleeds into me a little, making my lips curve.
He might get angry with her, but he loves her and knows she didn’t mean for this to happen.
I feel his wrist bump my lips as he murmurs, ~Start drinking, love. Time to heal. ~
Pushing out my fangs, I take a low, wheezy breath and drink carefully. The combination of all our power besides mine is heady and makes me feel a little buzzed as it flows through me. I see some of their emotions, some of their thoughts, but I can’t keep my mind on that as my body is weak.
Taurus murmurs into my mind as he rests his fingers on my chest, and I cross my fingers, hoping that my faith in them isn’t misplaced.