Pathways

I was still extremely weak. Two days had past, I couldn’t sleep or eat and all I did was lay limp in the bed. Occasionally crying softly, and if I was lucky I was granted the option to lay in Darren’s arms. His wolf was still under full control, the weak human side of him locked away until he would be able to handle it. He was still extremely surprised that I was handling it as well as I was, although according to me I wasn’t handling it well at all.

The clock cast a stray red light across the bed, shining right into my eyes. Midnight, marking the three day mark. I was so tired, so sick of not being able to sleep. My stomach was empty, but every time I attempted to eat Darren found himself holding my head above the toilet. I just wanted to be able to live again, believe me when I said that even I hated laying limp in a bed.

The bedroom door creaked open quietly, he was clearly hoping that I was asleep. Maybe if he entered quietly he wouldn’t wake me up. Unfortunately I was still in the exact same spot he had left me in three hours ago, thankfully I knew what had forced him to leave. He had a pack meeting, one about me to be precise. He was discussing whether or not they would accept me as their Luna now, hopefully the answer was yes. That would allow me to roam freely throughout the pack, to be able to live with Darren no matter what, and to be able to stop hiding out in this mansion.

He sighed deeply when he laid eyes on me, seeming to get quite annoyed with the fact that I couldn’t get better. Although it wasn’t my fault, he did bond with my wolf to get this bazaar choice to claim me. I was all for the decision, don’t get me wrong. The after math was what was driving me crazy. Darren approached me, kneeling next to the bed and cracking a small smile at me. His hand creeped up to push stray strands of greasy hair out of my face.

“You, my darling, need a serious shower.” He smiled, his happiness bringing me hope. Did this mean that I passed the test? Were we in the clear?

I forced myself up on one elbow weakly, his hands shooting out to catch me if I fell. Looking at him my eyes traveled down his smiling face, the smooth curve of his neck where my almost fully healed bite marks laid, and that tight white shit that gave me a perfect view of his abs. God, he is still beautiful. “What did they say?” I whispered softly.

He brushed his fingers over my sticky forehead. “You are my new Luna, Rose.” I smiled as best I could, that made me extremely happy. No more hiding, we could be publicly open now. Thank god. “Once you are better we will make it official. Now, lets get you cleaned up and drugged up.”

I giggled a little, wincing at the pain that erupted in my neck. God, I did not think that I would ever be in this much pain over my mate. It was worth it though, especially after all of this waiting. Before I knew what was happening he was scooping me up in his strong arms, holding me close. If felt perfect to be curled up against his chest, he was warm and sculpted. Comforting. What girl wouldn’t want to be held like this by the man she adored so much? Carefully he walked a crossed our dark bedroom, taking me into the bathroom which seemed to be littered with my discarded clothing and a few dry wash clothes that had been draped over my forehead at one point. Snuggling closer to Darren’s warm shoulder I sighed deeply. I had a feeling that if I were able to lay like this for a few minutes, I would finally get the sleep I needed. Being this close to him seemed to make the pain go away, the soft sent he was giving off almost seemed to sooth me.

“The claim is beginning to work its magic.” The smirk in his voice was clear to me. It made me smile though, it was nice to see him finally letting loose.

Before I knew it I was pressed against his body in the shower. He was supporting all of my weight, and holding me under the spray of water. My head was resting heavily against his shoulder, his arms wrapped rightly around my back. Chest to chest. Hot water strayed against my back, soothing my sore muscles. It felt great, you will never realize how much you miss a shower until you haven’t had one in awhile. Darren was phenomenal at this, I was given a full body message with a mint body wash that made my eyes grow heavy. Unsure if it was the sent of the shampoo, of the feeling of his fingers rubbing each knot out of my tired body. My hair was scrubbed soothingly, and ever so gently he washed the blood off from where he claimed me. Under this water and extreme pampering I was beginning to feel better, I didn’t feel a harsh pain anymore. All I could focus on was Darren. His tan soft skin, the curve of every muscle that covered his body. His biceps strong, his abs smooth until you got to the dull fading scab of a bear claw mark, his legs tall and lean. God, he was ripped. I leaned onto him again, trying to stop myself from looking at his manhood. That would be quite awkward giving my state at the moment.

Gently I wrapped my arms around him, pressing my face into his breast and not moving. Eventually he gave up on rubbing circles into my back and he simply wrapped his arms around me. Rocking me slowly, humming and making his chest vibrate against my cheek. I don’t care if this was Darren’s wolf, I still loved him more then anything. He had given up his time being free, just to take care of me. He was here, for me.

“Hm, lets get you to bed Darling.” He purred softly, shutting off the warm inviting water and dragging me out of it. I knew I wouldn’t be able to sleep unless he stayed with me, I was hoping that he would be able to catch onto that as well. The bright bathroom was so warm, I didn’t want to leave. Forcing myself to step around my discarded clothing I allowed Darren to wrap me up in a warm towel. “Lets hope we gave Max enough time to change the bedding, you wait here.” He leaned in and pressed his lips to mine, leaving a group of fireworks to be passed through my body. Heart pounded my chest, breath hitching in my throat. He chuckled when he found my baby blue eyes gazing up at him longingly, smirking at me and tousled his dirty blonde hair. Clicking his tongue and kissing me once again he chuckled, waltzing out.

Trying to gather my thoughts I shook my head. How did he woo me so? I grew dizzy from shaking my head, so much that I had to quickly sit down on the closed toilet seat. In order to regain my composer I had to rest my head against my knees and breath deeply. Waiting for this sickness to overtake was going to drive me insane.

“Darren?” Ryder’s voice questioned from what seemed was the bedroom doorway. I listened carefully. It was a surprise to me to hear Ryder’s voice, he had all but disappeared from my life since he had broken down about Gwen. There had been many times over the past few days that I had wished he would’ve shown up when Darren was at work. Technically Ryder was my bed friend.

I heard Darren take down something from the closet, then he walked towards Ryder’s voice. “Yes?”

“Is…Is Rose okay?” I heard Ryder ask quietly.

Darren chuckled again, walking towards the bathroom once more. “Of course Rose is okay, would I ever let anything happen to her?”

“We will see.” Ryder said with a little more confidence. That was odd…what could he mean by that? He has been acting so off lately. It was concerning. If I weren’t hanging on the verge of throwing up again I would’ve stalked out there myself and demanded to know what he was doing. First it was the weirdest thing that he was virtually non existent for the past few days and suddenly he was voicing his concern. Something was defiantly off about him.

I heard Darren turn to him again, leaning against the wall that was opposite of the bathroom. It creaked underneath his weight. “What do you mean by that, Ryder?” He questioned, sounding dangerous. Darren was in protective mate/alpha mode. He sensed the same change that I did in Ryder.

“Something is happening around here, Darren.” Ryder warned, his voice beginning to grow quieter as he exited our bedroom. My breath caught in my throat, what in the hell could Ryder be talking about now? “Whether you see it or not, something is happening.”

I heard Darren growl at Ryder’s disappearance, thinking that he was going to chase after him and leave me alone again I did something completely selfish. I called his name quietly, begging him to come back. Of course he did, coming back to the bathroom quickly.

Hiding his concern perfectly Darren pulled me into one of his oversized tee shirts, then forced me to brush me teeth. As I did so he actually did the one thing I didn’t expect any guy to do, he actually brushed my hair. This whole ‘lets worry about Rose’ thing was getting kind of awkward. I love Darren to death, but being smothered to the point where he actually brushed my hair was quite concerning. We both need a break, and I don’t mean a cuddling in bed break I meant like a night out break. Once I get better I am taking him as far as he will let me, even if it’s the actual living room to watch a movie inside of watching the tv in our bedroom.

Turning around I wrapped my arms around him, pulling him close and stretching up to peck him on the cheek. He smiled sweetly and hugged me back. Just standing there and taking in the moment.

“After this, we need a night out.” I giggled into his warm shoulder. I felt him nod into the top of my head.

“Yes, I agree to that.” He chuckled, beginning to drag me to the bed. Thank god he agreed to that one.