Book 1: Chapter 88

*** Solaris POV ***



I was surprised when I gained consciousness. Surprised and a little disappointed. My body hurt. Everything just had a level of pain that, while I had come to expect, was tirelessly excruciating. Without opening my eyes, I went through the checklist. Fingers, toes, wrist, ankles, arms, legs, hips, shoulders and so on until I finally confirmed that everything was working just not at its best capacity. The door to my right opened and I listened as someone walked into the room.

“Where am I supposed to put this?” Sam’s hushed voice sounded a bit panic-y.

“Just put it on the couch. Lay it across the back and put her bag on the seat. Don’t worry about it.” Charles sounded like he was better.

I knew human shifts were painful. I’d gone through enough of helping others. Some when perfectly smooth and others ended up losing their mate. I’d seen the full spectrum of pain and anguish, which is why I was so adamant about chastising Sam. Bonds were sacred and needed to be treated as such. Throwing caution to the wind regarding a bond was not acceptable. Sam may have not known but with his designation change and his thirst for knowledge, he should have researched more. Not to mention Charles going around biting people thinking there wasn’t anything wrong with that. 

Goddess, I wanted to throttle them both. When Sam texted me because Silas wasn’t giving him any answers, I’d never felt so much pure angry adrenaline. I didn’t even think. I was worried about Sam and Charles. Hindsight was twenty-twenty and I knew I shouldn’t have left. At least not without telling the guys. Noah went too far though. Before I started to think about, or cry, I let a smile play lightly on my lips.

“You know, sneaking into a girls room is not okay, right?”

Sam squeaked and Charles chuckled as I peeled opened my eyes. Looking like a deer in headlights, Sam was draping my uniform garment bag over the back of the couch while Charles leaned against the doorway with his arms crossed.

“I…we…just…your clothes…” His brow furrowed for a second. “Wait! You’re awake! You’re actually awake!”

As he said it, Charles seemed to realized it as well. He stood up from his lean and came into the bedroom. Sitting on the edge of the bed, he took my hand and pressed his fingers into my wrist.

“You’ve scared everyone, Sol. Most of us didn’t think you would make it.”

Smiling, I heaved an exaggerated sigh. “People always underestimating me…I swear.”

His hand briefly touched my forehead before he squeezed my shoulder. “How are you feeling?”

“Like shit but that’s the constant lately. How are you? Everything okay?”

Charles started to shake his head. “You are a kamikaze. You shouldn’t be asking how I am, Sol. I’m alive.”

“So am I, surprisingly. So, I’m asking. I’m pretty sure that doorway didn’t shrink.”

He laughed. “No, no it didn’t. I gained a few inches in height. I’m now nearly as tall as Silas. Nate is pissed. He’s the shortest now. Everything else feels good but sore. It’s like a growth spurt and sometimes my muscles will lock up or just still getting used to the extra bulk.”

He wasn’t kidding when he said extra bulk. He rivaled how bulky Finn was before he got pregnant. Honestly, I’m sure he could give a regular wolf a run for his money. Sam was standing in the room, rubbing his hands on his jeans as he blushed. Apparently Charles’ change was approved by him as well. 

“You okay there Sam?”

Suddenly, tears filled his eyes. My eyes widened and I watched as he completely unraveled. Charles had a sad smile on his face as he watched him mate. Sam rushed over to the bed and took my hand, holding it to his cheek.

“I’m sorry Sol. I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have been so stupid…I…”

Sighing, I brought my other hand over and ran my hands through Sam’s hair. “You’re right. You shouldn’t have been so stupid. You should have known better.”

“You almost died…I mean…Silas gave you some blood to help make you a little stronger but…”

Shaking my head, I patted his head. “You don’t get to blame yourself for my condition. Only I’m responsible for that. I chose to come up here and that was my decision. Noah overreacted but that was my doing, not yours. You are only responsible for almost killing your mate.” My eyes narrowed at him and he whimpered.

“We are all okay now and thats what matters.” Charles reached out and caught a couple of Sam’s tears while he squeeze my hand.

“Okay is pushing it a bit.” I made the two of them chuckle.

Sam wiped his eyes on the edge of his shirt. “Finn gave me some of your clothes. I’m sure Mer would be happy to help you into them if you want.”

I nodded absently. “How is Finn?”

“It’s…a bit chaotic over there. Noah apparently crashed from his anger pretty hard. They had to close the bar down for the past few days. Finn was worried about him and was trying to be there for him but he’s still angry at Noah.”

Closing my eyes, I willed the tears to not fall. Noah’s words cut into my soul and hurt more than any physical pain I felt. Not to mention, my baby was destroyed completely. Denia was going to be gift to Nate, let her live on through him. He would have enjoyed her ride and I’m sure he could have kept her going. Now, she was probably already in the trash or hopefully donated for parts to someone. The memory of Noah bringing down Silas’ truck door on her over and over again made me shiver.

“Solaris?”

I opened my eyes to see Sam and Charles both worriedly looking at me. “Sometimes, the consequences of my actions take over.”

“Like keeping everything from Silas and Nate?” Charles challenged me with an eyebrow raise.

“Absolutely not. You also better be careful.” I smirked. “Now that you’re part of Sil’s pack, you answer to me. I’m the First Alpha Prince and you do not question me. Only I get to question me.”

Sam giggled and Charles shook his head. “Just for that, I’m not giving you back your phone.”

“It’s fine. I don’t want it anyways.”

“You don’t want to text Finn?” He sounded surprised and a bit confused.

Shaking my head, I didn’t look him in the eyes. “If you want to tell him I’m awake, you’re welcome to but I don’t need to text him.”

“Sol…”

I closed my eyes. Keri was right. Somehow I needed to keep them safe. Maybe I should have commanded them to leave but this gave me an opportunity to push them away. The issue was trying to keep them away if they found out that we were looming closer and closer.

“How maybe days was I out? How are the Hunters?”

Sam and Charles made eye contract, probably mind-linking between each other before Charles spoke first.

“You’ve been out for four days. All of your army has moved to the designated area. The Hunters seem to have mobilized. They are getting close to pouring into the city. Or at least Silas thinks so. He’s already operating on the assumption that they could attack at any time.”

I cursed. “Well, it’s a good thing I did wake up. Is Keri here to coordinate everyone?”

Charles growled and Sam just chortled. “Your Gamma has been here. Both Charles and Alpha…well…”

“That woman is insufferable!” Charles grumbled and I outright laughed.

It made me couch from the pain of my muscles contracting but it was worth it. “Keri does that. She’s a pretty strong personality. If you can get past that, then she’s meticulous and incredibly strong.”

“Yeah, I don’t think Alpha can get past that. He’s, on more than one occasion, gotten into a shouting match with her.” Sam bit his lip for a moment. “Beta just watches, laughing the entire time. Apparently, Keri and Beta met before? Anyway, Beta and Keri don’t have an issue with one another. But Beta tries his best to force Alpha to have to interact with her. He gets some serious enjoyment on how much she frustrates him.”

Keri must have approved of Nate after their little interaction. Either it was because he stuck around or challenged me or maybe even helping me, but that must have been enough. If she was willing to fight Silas, that meant she didn’t approve or find him worthy. Snickering, I shook my head. Silas would be overpowered by Keri every time. She was much stronger than Silas was and if he ever won, it’s only because Keri let him.

“We’ll tell her you’re awake. I’m sure she will want to come see you.”

“I’m a little too tired right now to deal with her. I’m sure she will be full of ‘I told you so’s and I’m not really in the mood for that.”

Charles rolled his eyes. “Sounds about right. Is there anything we can get you? Help you with?”

Humming, I stared at the ceiling. Their bond seemed to float in front of me and I reached up, caressing it. It was the usual wispy red color I saw from most wolves. My eyes narrowed through as I grasped it. Of course, it hummed and you could tell just from the feel that they had solidified their bond by the marking. Letting it go, I created another strand of red and started to use both hands to weave it together. Much like on of those old friendship bracelets we made as kids, I took a few more strands and wove them together with their original bond. Finally, the three I’d added were tied in a Chinese Ladder pattern. It wasn’t near the strength of the golden braids but it was stronger. 

Pulling the ends tight, I attached them right where I saw the bond coming out of both Charles and Sam. They hadn’t said anything but were watching me curiously as I’m sure to them looked like I was braiding the air. Once they attached though, both Charles and Sam touched their chests.

“What…what did you do Solaris?” Sam’s voice was a little shaky.

Smiling, I closed my eyes. “It’s my apology to the both of you. Putting so much pressure on you with my brother and my mate. While it might not be as strong as the golden braid, I strengthened your bond a little bit.”

“I…how…” Sam was stuttering.

“What will this do?” Charles asked.

I shrugged. “Who knows. I’ve never done it before.”

There was silence before they both started laughing. “You are something else, Sol.”

Humming, I smiled. “I’m going to go back to sleep but if you guys could put some pain pills on the nightstand for when I wake up again, that would be great.”

“Of course. Sleep well. We’ll give everyone the heads up that you’re at least conscious.”

“Kinda. Kinda conscious.”