Chapter 95
Charlie POV
“No, don’t go, please?” He begged as I tried to leave, the pull I still felt made it hurt, made me want to destroy the world if I could spend its last minutes in his arms, I fought the craving with everything I had.
“Daniel?” I asked tentatively, he was already moving closer, the compulsion we both had, felt unbeatable and unavoidable. “Do you think we can get through this? Get the Alphas to believe us? Get them to go home? So, we can do everything we want to do?” I asked, part of me knew we had to get through it, the only way to get what we wanted was to get through the next few days, but I needed to know if he thought we could survive it too. I needed his faith, to help me believe.
“We have to, I need you, Charlie like I need water or air. People talk about not having their mates around and it feels like a piece of them is missing, like an arm or a leg. Sometimes, they’ll say it's like having their hearts ripped out. But not being able to touch and kiss you, it's like I’m missing half my torso or my brain. I can’t function without you besides me, so we need to convince them all to go home, quickly... Do you think we can make it?” He reached out to hold my hand but froze less than an inch away from me, a pained look on his face.
“We have to, I want to introduce you to my mother.” I teased, in a lame attempt to lighten the mood.
“I’m afraid I’ll go insane before I have you in my arms again.” He admitted, almost like he didn’t mean to.
“I’m afraid of that too,” I whispered, I closed my eyes so I could picture his hands on my waist, and his lips on my skin.
“We should get out of this room, it still smells of sex, and that isn’t helping to keep me calm and focused.” He breathed, his body fought against the spell's protective barrier, to get closer to me, I could see the struggle on his face, as much as he tried to hide it. I just had no idea how to stop him, I had always used my touch to calm him, soothe him, reassure him.
“Daniel, please don’t fight it?” I begged before an idea came to me. “Close your eyes... please? Trust me?” He gave me a no-fair look, but closed his eyes, and sat on the armchair, I edged as close as I could to him, so he was right against the barrier. “Can you smell me?” I asked as I pictured his lips on mine.
“Yes, I can smell you.” He whispered as he struggled to keep his eyes closed. I could hear the pain in his voice, it threatened to break my resolve.
“Is it enough?” I asked, praying it would calm him.
“No, but anything less than you wearing my mark and, in my arms, will ever be enough for me now.” He replied with a sad smile.
“Maybe I should stay away until the Alphas leave? We could video chat, and call and text each other? Pretend we aren’t on the same continent?” I suggested, unsure how to make it more bearable for both of us.
“I hate it, but I think you’re right, I’ll tell Hyacinth I’m going back to the hotel, I’ll have Dermot bring your things back to you.” He said sadly, but made no effort to move, neither of us did, we just stared at each other, each trying to memorise everything about the other. I felt foolish, it would only be a few days, but it felt like an eternity since we had touched already. “I keep thinking I’m going to get up and leave this room, but my body doesn’t seem to want to go anywhere.” He chuckled humourlessly. I stood, but walking away from him felt wrong, so I stood frozen, my head told me to leave, but my heart couldn’t, even for a second. He must have sensed my inability to move, he also stood, I could tell he wanted to comfort me, just as I wanted to embrace him. We exchanged sad smiles, unsure what to do, when someone knocked on the door.
“Daniel? Charlie? You decent?” Dermot’s voice came through the door.
“Yes, we're... clothed.” Daniel choked out, allowing Dermot to open the door a crack.
“Hyacinth thought you might be having a hard time? Mentioned you might need a little help?” Dermot said through the gap in the door, we chuckled at the absurdity. Hearing our slightly insane laughter, Dermot felt safe to pry the door open a little further. “I can’t imagine what’s been asked of you.” He said solemnly. “I can’t go a day without seeing my Siobhan, so I won’t tell you it’ll be alright, or it won’t be long, because I can’t believe it will help. But I will promise we all will do everything in our power to keep Charlie safe.” He said to Daniel. “And we will do whatever we have to, to get that Alpha away from here, in two shakes of a lamb’s tail. There will be nothing stopping you from completing the bond and saving all our hides.” He said with a small smile to me. I didn’t want to cry again, I simply nodded my appreciation, and the distraction from Daniel gave me the courage to walk towards the door. Until I heard the voice I had been dreading.
“MINE!” Daniel's wolf roared, half shifted and tearing across the small room. Dermot's proximity, and me walking away, was obviously too much for him, and he lost control. I body-checked Dermot back through the door and grabbed his hand, as I ran through the house. My only thought was to get to Hyacinth, because, without the ability to touch him, I had no idea how to calm a jealous wolf. I heard bones snapping behind me and realised Daniel had shifted completely, he was on the hunt. I threw Dermot behind me and tried to block his much larger body with my own, I hoped that just the idea of me being injured would be enough to stop Daniel from lunging for Dermot’s throat.
“Get Hyacinth!” I screamed, unable to take my eyes off my Alpha’s magnificent form. “Let him go, and I will stay here with you,” I whispered, my voice faltered in my terror, but I knew he heard me, from the way his ears twitched, his eyes darted from me to Dermot, his hackles raised. “I wasn’t leaving you for good, I would never leave you, we just need a few days.” I managed to say a little louder, my mouth dry as cotton wool. “Then I will be yours, forever, and you’ll be mine, always, remember?” I begged; I took a small step forward. “Dermot, leave!” I said with a little more determination, but it was all the fuel Daniel needed, and he pounced. A scream flew from my lips, in fear, I didn’t want Daniel to hurt anyone because of me. I closed my eyes and used my arms to protect my head as I prepared for impact, but it didn’t happen. I hadn’t moved an inch when I heard Dermot take off running, without a word, his footsteps shook me out of my defensive stance. I opened my eyes and saw Daniel, naked and floating through the air. “Daniel?” I whimpered, terrified, but he didn’t move, or respond. I rushed to him, but I couldn’t approach him because of the spell. “Daniel, please tell me you’re alright?” I cried out to his slow-moving body. I was just about to scream for help when I heard footsteps behind me. “Hyacinth? Help me, please? I don’t know what’s wrong with him!” I wailed, unable to check his injuries.
“Oh, my goddess...” Hyacinth said as she ran to him and checked him over. “He’s alive!” She cried; tears fell freely down her face as my legs gave way. I hadn’t registered Dermot’s presence, he pulled me away as my breath came in gulping sobs, I didn’t fight him, I was numb and had no idea what I had done.
Dermot didn’t register the danger, didn’t consider it, and neither did Hyacinth, which was more troubling to him. A small dark part of him wondered if he had been sent to provoke a reaction, shatter whatever was left of the spell that is binding Charlie’s powers, before he pushed it aside, ignoring it. The tiny girl had some strength to her, she had managed to shove him bodily through a door, and then drag him along with her, he wondered again how he could have missed Daniel’s attack. Until the unsettling memory of what happened next flashed before his eyes again. Charlie in front of him, to prevent her mate from attacking with her in the way, it worked for a bit, until they tried moving apart, thinking it would calm the wolf. Instead, he took that moment to attack, the mighty beast soared through the air, claws and jaws spread as he sailed over the girl, that’s when it happened. Dermot had seen wolves shift before, he understood the basic science behind it, but what she did was something completely different. It was like the process wasn’t as violent and brutal, yet it looked wrong. Daniel was frozen in mid-air as his wolf, then as he was caught by whatever it was, he was slowly, it almost looked like he had been blown back, as impossible as that sounded, even to Dermot himself. His fur receded, his claws and fangs retracted, his limbs straightened, but without the snapping of bones, or the pain of the transformation. It looked almost unnatural, a Lycan’s shift, is animalistic, wild and savage, like the people can be, to see it made as easy as changing your clothes, unnerved Dermot. He didn’t want to think it, but there was that little venomous sliver, that once again wondered, could Charlie be dangerous? Could her powers come from something dark? Something that went against the natural order of the world? He once again shook away the mistrustful thoughts and made his way back to Hyacinth after placing the girl in the parlour with Aine.
“How is he?” Dermot asked as he approached the kneeling queen.
“He will live. What did she do to him?” The Fae asked him, her eyes boring into him, it made him believe in the stories of the Sidhe invading minds and changing people's thoughts as it pleased them.
“He was mid... leap, attack, I don’t know what you would call it, and he was... blown back, and he started shifting, but his bones didn’t snap and break. It was like he was shifting at super speed, but moving through the air in slo-mo.” The still-dazed man tried to explain what he had seen but was convinced that without having seen it for themselves, no one would ever know the terror that gripped him at that moment.
“Damn it! I was right, she is breaking through the bounds too quickly, and putting the boy through so much, she’s overworked his system. We will need IV bags, a cocktail of vitamins and minerals, and a lot of food, for when he wakes up.” The queen said with a nod, she stood and looked to Dermot, who had not moved. “Now Dermot, we need to call the hospital, and the doctor, move man!” She yelled, shoving Dermot violently from the trance he was in, while the transformation played on repeat inside his mind. Grateful for something to do that would help Daniel, and keep his mind from wandering, he immediately ran off, leaving Hyacinth alone to deal with the Alpha and his mate.
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