13: Do this without you...
**Aife pov**
My arm was starting to experience an odd feeling, like that prickly pins and needles thing when your leg falls asleep, but it was happening to my entire arm. Pretty sure that was because I didn’t pull my hand away from the beast’s face.
But how could I, when Bane’s eyes were looking down at me with so much hope and the gravely voice begged me not to pull away?
The same, I also couldn’t look away. To my surprise, Khan, Enzo and the rest of the lions were keeping their distance to give us some privacy.
I knew they wouldn’t back down for good and would stay close by just in case, but I truly appreciated the little space they gave us both. I also felt truly grateful for their trust in me. The fact that Khan and Enzo decided to claim me as their child was mind-blowing, but the trust they put in me without a question was even more surprising.
The beast took a shuddering breath and closed its eyes. “I don’t think I can do this without you. Even if I try, he will find his way back to you. I tried to restrain myself, I agreed to be drugged up with anything that came to my pack members minds, but he still longed for you, just as badly as I did. This is the first moment of true peace I’ve experienced ever since you left the pack.”
“Bane,” I whispered, unable to find the words I really wanted to say right now.
Truth be told, I didn’t know what to do. I wanted to go with him, but I also didn’t. I stood at the crossroads of a choice I had to make regardless if I liked it or not.
On one hand, if I left with him and returned to his territory, there was a chance that we could keep that beast thing and the monster he mentioned at bay. That could win us some time to figure out how to return Bane to who he really was.
On the other hand, if I followed him blindly, there always was a certain risk to my own safety and that of our baby. Deep down, I didn’t believe that Bane could truly hurt our child, but the parasites in his body were downright unpredictable.
“Can we focus on the important first and decide later?” I asked, more to win some time to think than anything else.
“Of course,” he growled in that deep voice that didn’t fully belong to him. “What do you want to focus on? Do you want to tell me more about your pregnancy? I’m a little sad you didn’t tell me sooner, but I understand and I won’t hold it against you. I could never, truth be told. You did everything in your power to protect the fruit of our love and I will be forever grateful for that.”
A faint, accidental smile spread across my lips as I shook my head. “No, we can talk about the baby a little later. First, I want to check on Zion. It looked like he got some hell of a beating and I want to make sure he is okay. After all, he and Kala are expecting a baby too, we need him safe. Not to mention, he’s your best friend and Beta.”
He nodded quickly, somehow managing to keep my hand still pressed against his cheek. “Can I come with you? Can I hold your hand? Please.”
Bane sounded so damn desperate that I didn’t have the heart to say no.
So, I slowly slid my hand into the large claw and finally pulled my other hand from his cheek. Clearly, he was more than happy about the skin to skin contact we had made now, so I didn’t bother to speak and instead, turned back towards the camp and led him towards it.
As we came closer to Khan, he nodded at me and flashed an unsure smile. “I trust him,” I assured Khan. “I trust he won’t cause more trouble now. Can we go and see how the wolf is feeling?” I asked, making it clear we wanted to check on Zion.
Reluctantly, Khan glanced at the beast, frowned in disapproval, but eventually nodded. “I’ll walk you to the tent. But let me warn them about this.. thing coming so he doesn’t scare someone to death. We’re not exactly great with surprises.”
I nodded and placed my other hand on the beast’s arm to pat it gently, mainly to ensure it wouldn’t lose its temper and attack someone because of what Khan just said.
Again, I trusted Bane, probably more than I should, but I had no idea how unpredictable the beast really could be, so I rather stayed safe than sorry.
We walked into the camp hand in hand and it was instantly clear how much he stood out. It wasn’t just that he didn’t belong because of the rotten-looking flesh and the odd look of the beast overall, but also because he was far larger than anyone in this camp. And just to compare, the lions already were huger than any wolf I had met before.
Khan walked in front of us, nodding at each lion in our path, as if silently allowing them to let us go further into the camp and warn everyone that Bane wasn’t a threat after all. Clearly, not many believed that because the looks the beast was getting weren’t kind or accepting.
On reflex, I squeezed the claw, as if I needed it myself to assure Bane we were okay and nothing bad would happen.. at least for a little while.
Thankfully, the hostility didn’t increase and by the time we reached the tent in question, Than only nodded at us and entered it without unnecessary words and unwanted lectures towards Bane.
Around us, the mountain lions watched us from a safe distance, but seemingly the same as their leader, they kept quiet and simply stayed around just in case. After what seemed like ages, Khan finally exited the tent, looking a little pale and nodded towards the entrance, “the healer wants to see.. that thing you’re holding onto, cub.”
***P.S. Still doing that “checking something” thing, PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT AFTER YOU FINISH READING THIS CHAPTER.***
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