Chapter 37: Chapter 9

DAMON

Natalie finally begins to stir after what felt like the longest two hours of my life. I get to my feet and move her hair out of her face.

Her eyes open and she looks around, confused. “What happened? I feel different.”

“We didn’t know if you were dying, so Finn linked you to me. I’m sorry for doing it without your permission, but it was an emergency. I already talked to Dec. He’ll bring you back into his pack as soon as you go back.” She nods, then looks at Spencer. She reaches out for him, but I take her hand. “Nope. You’ve already done enough. He’s sleeping it off. You saved his life.”

“Do I have to stay here?”

I drop her hand, disappointed that she wants to leave. “No, of course not. I can have Finn take you home.”

Natalie’s pretty smile stretches across her face and she giggles. “I meant here in the hospital.”

Oh, Goddess, I’m so relieved. I smile back at her. “No. You don’t have to stay. Are you hungry?”

“I could eat.”

I help her with her jacket and she slips her shoes on. I hand her my phone so she can call Kya.

“How did you know?” she asks once she hangs up the phone.

“Know what?” I glance her way in question.

“That I needed to change the energy into something else. Or that I could, for that matter.”

“After we eat, I’ll show you.” I don’t want to take her to Lou’s; I want more time alone with her. Having her link established feels incredible. She’s like a single ray of light where everyone else is a regular string. I wonder if it’s because she’s a healer… I’ll have to ask Dec. Hopefully, Kya has calmed him down by now.

I pull up to the alpha house and Natalie smiles. We head straight for the kitchen and I wash up and start cooking. She helps me clean the veggies, then I throw everything into a grill pan. I wish this stove had a flat top and a grill top. I’ll have to put that on my list of things to do. “What is all that?”

Natalie points to the few wrapped gifts. “I’m making my way through them, slowly.”

She laughs and gets closer to the pile. “It’s two days away. I can help if you want. Maybe after we eat.”

“Yeah, I could use the help. Are you sure?” I don’t want to upset her with bad memories.

“Of course.”

I pull the steaks off to rest, then get the vegetables seasoned. I’m just waiting for the potatoes to finish.

Natalie stands beside me. “I should really learn to cook…and drive.”

“I can teach you.”

“It’s all right. I know how busy you are.”

“I really don’t mind, Natalie.” I pull the potatoes off the grill and serve up dinner. I literally own four plates and no table, but it’s perfect for just us right now. Natalie doesn’t seem to mind sitting on the counter while I stand to eat. “I think I should probably invest in a table and a new stove.”

She looks over the room. “I would rework the whole kitchen layout. This doesn’t make sense. If that wall were gone, you could put in an island, then over there close that off for a pantry. Then the refrigerator and cupboards could go along that wall, with a nice stove there.” She points everything out and I make mental notes.

She hops down from the counter and begins washing up. I dry the dishes, then we sit down to wrap the presents for the pups. I’ve already wrapped family gifts.

“Damon. What is going to happen when I go back? What if someone else gets hurt?”

I’ve been thinking about that a lot, and I honestly have no idea. I’ve been reading that tome, but I haven’t finished it. “I don’t have an answer.”

Natalie gets up from the floor and turns on the television. She scrolls through the channels until she finds a holiday movie. “Is this all right? I’m enjoying the whole holiday experience.” She sits back down on the floor.

“It’s perfect. I have cocoa. It’s not as good as my mom’s, but…”

Natalie gets to her feet and rummages through the kitchen. She comes out with two mugs.

“Thanks.” I take a sip, then set it beside me. Wrapping takes half of the movie. Once we’re finished wrapping, we share the recliner with her slightly on top of me to finish watching the other half. My eyes begin to get heavy and we both fall asleep.

Natalie is kicking and shoving me in her sleep; she lets out a scream. I take hold of her wrists and the power in her palms begins to turn blue.

“Natalie. Natalie, wake up.”

Her eyes snap open. She looks at me, then sobs into my chest.

I hold her tight and soothe her back. “I’m here, Natalie. You’re safe. You’re safe.” I’m glad she wakes up so easily; who knows what power she was about to unleash. I hold her for as long as she needs me to. Once she stops crying, I continue to hold her. I could hold her forever.

Goddess, I hope I’m not wrong and that she is my mate. I’m already falling hard for her. She won’t know until the Moon Goddess thinks she’s ready. Usually, it’s eighteen, but sometimes the Goddess allows us to know earlier. That’s what happened with B and Finn. She was only seventeen. I hope I don’t have to wait another year and a half.

Natalie finally stands up, which sucks because comforting her means it’s fine to touch her. Any other time would be inappropriate. I get to my feet and lift her chin to look at me. Goddess, she’s beautiful.

Her eyes are seriously turquoise with a dark ring around the outside of the iris. I think turquoise has become my favorite color. Her hair is like starlight and her features are soft in her heart-shaped face. “Are you okay?” I wipe away the tear streak with my thumb.

She sniffles with a little nod. “I’m okay. I get the same nightmare a lot.”

I can’t stop myself; I pull her into my body and kiss her head. I force myself to pull back. “Let’s go. I’ll take you to the pack house so you can shower and change.” I take her hand and lead her to my jeep.

At the pack house, she goes off to her room and I go to mine. I think it best for her to read the tome, but I also want to finish it. Maybe there’s a way to protect the pack inside, like a ward or something.

~“Are we having training or what?”~ Finn gets my attention.

~“Shit, I lost track of the time. Start. I’ll be right there.”~ I close the book and head out. It’s guard training and we’re in our wolves. This is my favorite because I get to work too.

Alpha Troy and Bruno taught me so much, but I still want to learn more. Finn works with me; I’m stronger, but he has more fighting knowledge and is the best fighter in our pack.

I still want to master that shifting thing Chase does. He shifts so fast that by the time he drops his shirt, he’s already in his wolf. I’m getting better at it but still not quite there yet.

~“Alpha. Spencer is awake, but Natalie passed out again,”~ Marlena tells me and Finn uses my distraction against me. I quickly recover and get him to submit with some difficulty.

~“I’ll be right there.”~ I shift and grab my gear. “Take over. I have to get to the hospital.” Finn nods his wolf head, then pairs up with my dad; he was the best fighter in Robert’s time, even Beta Stewart wasn’t as skilled.

After a quick shower, I’m beside Spencer’s bed. “Did I miss the party?”

“Nah, man. It’s tomorrow.” He smiles and stretches. “How you feeling?”

“I feel fine now. Before, that was…that was intense. It was like I was trapped in darkness. I couldn’t even see or feel my body. I thought I was dead until I heard you through the link. Then all of a sudden I was dreaming.” I give him a nod.

“He’s good to go, Alpha.” Marlena pops her head into the room to tell me.

“Sweet. I need a shower and Dorothy.” I blast out a laugh. Spencer practically lives at the diner.

“I’ll catch up with you later. I want you to tell Natalie what you told me.” After commanding him to keep Natalie’s secret, I leave him and head to her room.

I stop at the doorway and admire the beauty in the hospital bed. I’m pissed that she came here and spent all of her energy, but I understand her need to heal people she knows are injured. I could alpha command her to stop, but that would probably be torture. She’s still asleep, so I walk in to stand beside her bed. I slide the hair from her face and hold back the strong desire to kiss her.

~“Damon, we have a visitor. I threw him in a cell,”~ My dad tells me and I’m curious as to who would warrant a trip to the cells.

~“Be right there.”~ I look over my sleeping beauty. I kiss my fingertips, then gently place them to her soft lips. “I’ll be back to check on you. Sweet dreams,” I whisper, then leave my mate in the hospital bed.