Chapter Forty-One

The emergency waiting room was practically empty. Kane and Owen sat on the closest chairs to the nurses station. Kane tapped his feet against the floor anxiously, glancing between Owen and the nurses at the desk. He wanted answers. He wanted to see her.

Kane tried to use the bond to check on her, but yet again there was no bond to be felt. It scared him, after so long of being aware of her presence through the bond, he felt suddenly helpless. The same bond that he spent months cursing was the bond he now wished that he had. He thought of that for a moment. No, he didn't wish that the bond had reformed, but he did wish that he could feel her presence. He wished that he could just know that somewhere behind those thick walls and locked doors, she was breathing.

"Do you think they are ever going to update us?" Kane asked, "Should I go up and ask again?"

Owen placed his hand on Kane's arm. "When they know something they will let us know. Let them do their work."

Kane sighed. "I know, you're right."

"They are going to save her," Owen told him, with all the confidence in the world. "They are."

Kane looked up when the door opened. Eve came running into the room, her eyes searching for them. He was glad for her timing, he needed the distraction. Kane lifted his hand and Eve saw him. "How is she?"

Kane shrugged. "They took her into resus and wouldn't tell us anything."

"Oh god," Eve exclaimed. "Do you think she's going to be alright?"

Kane started to speak but stopped. He wasn't sure, and he didn't want to say those words out loud. Owen spoke for him. "She's strong."

Eve nodded slowly. "Yes. Yes," she repeated, as if that was the only word she could think of.

"What happened with the rogues? Did the plan work?" Owen asked her.

Eve's concerned expression shifted. "It did," she told them with a sigh, "we subdued all the wolves including their Alpha. We made the truce. We let them go, and in return they agree to give up their search for Mason. We told them that any attack on our pack or any pack we have an allegiance to ends the truce and we will come after them. They didn't seem too fond of that idea, so I think they will stick to their end of the bargain."

Kane smiled. Their relentless search for Mason was over. Mason wasn't in danger anymore. He could almost breathe easy, for the one second he forgot where he was.

"Did we lose any fighters?"  Owen asked, concern in his words.

"No, thank the Moon Gods, there's some injuries but nothing a few days rest wont fix."

Kane looked at the few cuts on Eve's arms which were edged with dirt. "You didn't come off scot-free."

"I'll be fine," she shrugged.

"Have you spoken to Mason?" Kane wondered.

"Yes, he's completely safe."

Kane sighed. "Good. It was a good call you two getting him to stay behind. The wolf that captured me told me that all the wolves were on the hunt for his scent. They had one of Mason's shirts at the house. They would have gone for him right away."

Owen nodded. "We thought they would try something like that."

"Thanks again for helping us. I don't know what we would have done without your help."

Eve wrapped her arm around his shoulders. "Don't worry at all." She looked around the room. "Now, where can I get a coffee around here? I think we all need one to get through."

Owen stood. "I saw signs down the hallway, I'll go with you. Do you want to come, Kane?"

Kane shook his head. "I don't want to leave."

Eve's eyes were understanding. "We will bring you back one."

"Thanks."

Kane watched as the two of them disappeared down the hallway. His eyes drifted back to the nurses station. He watched as they typed on computers and talked to people through the holes in the glass window. He thought of Nora's lifeless body as he clung to her in the car. There was still traces of blood on his hands and arms, and he was sure that there was some on his shirt, hidden between the dark threads. He looked down at his hands.

A voice broke him from his trance. "Kane?"

He looked up. In the doorway stood Mason, calling out his name. Their eyes locked, and everything changed. Kane gasped as his mind screamed out one word. Mate. The first time he had felt the bond with Nora it had felt like a punch to his chest, taking the wind out of his lungs and tipping his world upside down, but this time was different. Now, a smile overcame his face as a feeling of completeness fell over him. He felt indescribably happy, the connection between them growing stronger by the instant. This time, he didn't shy away from the bond urging him to grab Mason and kiss him. He felt Mason through the bond and he was sure that he could sense every atom of his being, every piece of his soul, all in each moment he focussed on the bond between them. It felt like home.

Mason smiled that beautiful smile of his, dimples forming in his cheeks. "It's fixed!" Mason exclaimed from across the room, joy pouring from his words. "Kane, how?"

Kane ran the distance between them until he could wrap his arms around Mason's waist. He pulled him in close, starring into Mason's eyes. This time, when the bond urged him to kiss his mate, he didn't pull away. He leant down and the moment their lips touched Kane truly understood why the bond had let him kiss Mason in the first place. In one instant he understood what everyone had been feeling all this time. He saw that future, the one that had seemed so hazy for far too long. The future that he'd only had one glimpse of before, and that was then he kissed Mason for the first time. He felt complete.

The nurses must not have appreciated teenagers making out in their triage area, because suddenly a nurse tapped on the glass a few times. Kane laughed as he pulled away to give the nurse an understanding nod. Mason clasped his hand as they walked back over to the chairs.

Mason shook his head in disbelief. "I never should have doubted you," he said. He played with their intertwined fingers. Kane felt the sparks of the bond wherever their skin touched. "You were right. How did this happen?"

Kane sighed. "Nora's heart stopped when the rogues tried to drown her in the lake. We got her back, but it must have reset the bond or something."

Mason looked at him with wide eyes. "They tried to drown her?"

Kane nodded. "They did, but we stopped them. Eve and the fighters overpowered the rogues and put an end to all of this. They agreed to a truce. They won't be coming after you anymore."

Mason gasped. "This is all over? They won't try to find me again?"

"It's all over," Kane assured him as a smile overcame his face, "and the bond is fixed."

Tears welled in Mason's eyes. "I'm so sorry, Kane, for everything I said last night. I didn't mean it. I never wanted to leave. I didn't-"

As Mason spoke, Kane felt him through the bond. He felt the guilt and the pain that Mason felt as he had spoken those words in the diner the night before. He didn't blame him for any bit of it. He understood why Mason did what he did. Kane let go of his hand to wrap his arm around Mason's shoulders. He pulled him in close. "I know. It's okay."

Mason pressed his cheek against Kane's chest. "I'm sorry that I hurt you."

"I'm sorry that I didn't listen to you. I was so focussed on finding a way to fix the bond that I didn't focus on you. I just wanted to fix it so badly, for our sake and for Nora's."

Mason was quiet for a moment. He smiled up at him. "You never give up, and that's one of the millions of things that I love about you."

"Does that make me the best boyfie in the world?" Kane asked with a laugh.

Mason smirked. "Maybe not the best boyfie, but definitely the best mate."

"Mates," Kane repeated, "I like the sound of that one."

"You were just paired up with the wrong mate for a little bit there."

"Now that I'm with the right one, can I kiss you?" Kane asked, staring at his lips.

"The real question is," Mason said slowly, "can you never stop kissing me?"

"I'll try boyfie."

That made Mason laugh. "I think I vetoed that title."

"I'll try, boyfie-mate."

"Somehow that's worse," Mason mused just before Kane lent down and connected their lips.

Kane felt like he was floating. This was everything that he had ever wanted. Mason was his mate. There was no question about it. Their connection was so strong, much stronger than he had ever felt with Nora. He never wanted to let him go. He wished that they were in a more private place, because every fibre of his being wanted him to rip their shirts off and explore every piece of Mason's body, but, regrettably, this didn't seem like the time nor place.

"Well," Owen said, an amused tone to his words, "this is unexpected."

Kane sadly pulled his lips away from Mason's to see that Eve and Owen were standing in front of them. Eve let out an excited sound so high pitched that Kane couldn't even describe it.

"Did the bond fix itself!?" Eve asked.

Fear overcame Owen's features. "Wait!" he whispered with urgency, "does this mean that Nora's.... uh, that Nora's?

"No, no," Kane said quickly. "I felt the bond between us break when she was in the lake. I think that it reset the bond. I didn't want to say anything until I saw Mason and knew if I was right or not."

Owen sighed. "Thank god."

Eve handed Kane one of the two coffee's in her hands. "I'm so happy for you two!" she exclaimed. She hugged them both with one hand, trying not to tip her drink all over them.

Kane felt Mason's eyes on him. He turned and Mason whispered. "I think every single one of our kisses have been interrupted."

Kane laughed. "You're sadly right about that."

Mason's eyes focused on something to their side. Kane turned his gaze and saw that a nurse was walking towards them. He held a clipboard in his hands. The man pushed his glasses back as he said, "You kids are with Nora, yes?"

Kane stood instantly. "Yes. How is she?"

"She's stable now. I can take a few of you back to see her now if you'd like."

"Yes," Kane answered quickly.

"Just two of you at a time please."

Eve motioned towards Kane and Mason. "You two go. We will wait here."

Kane linked their hands as he and Mason followed the nurse through the door. There were groups of beds with blue curtains separating them. Kane followed the nurse right on his heels, anxiously wanting to know where she was. He made a few turns and then stopped suddenly. He reached over and pulled back a closed curtain.

Kane breathed a sigh of relief when he saw her sitting up, and surprisingly, trying pull the IV from her arm. He paused when he saw those red marks around her neck and the white bandage that was around her head. He saw flashbacks of when he pulled her from the lake and shuddered.

"What are you doing?" the nurse said. He ran the space between them and put his hand over hers. "This needs to stay in."

"I need to find my friends!" she said with urgency.

"Nora," Mason called her name and she paused and turned slowly.

She smiled brightly when she saw them. "You're alive." She raised her hands slowly. "I won't try to pull it out again, I'm sorry."

The nurse glanced between them, a confused look on his face. He shot Kane a look as he left that told him to watch her. "Press the buzzer if you need me," he said slowly as he walked away.

Nora sat back in the raised bed with a sigh. "Kane, you're alive."

Kane sat on the edge of her bed. "Of course I am. It was you that everyone was worrying about. You almost drowned."

Nora shook her head. "They told me that they were going to kill me and then you once they had Mason, and then I woke up in some hospital room and the mate bond was gone. I was sure that you were dead."

"It was you that died," Kane explained to her, "for a minute or two, that is, until we brought you back. It reset the bond."

Her eyes widened in understanding. "You saved me?"

"Owen did most of the heavy lifting, I just found you in the lake."

"You're okay, too?" Nora asked Mason.

Mason sat on the small chair next to the bed. "Yes. I'm more than okay. The bond is fixed."

"Wait," Nora said to Kane with an understanding smile, "by reset you mean that you two are bonded now?"

"Yes," Kane replied happily. "Rita was right about one thing. Someone had to die to fix the bond."

Nora wrapped her arms around Kane. "Oh my god."

"The Moon God's really do have some weird ways of doing their work," Kane joked.

Nora pulled back to look at Mason. "I told you in the car that we would fix the bond one way or another. I was so right, you were being stupid planning to run away." Nora smirked.

"Hey!" Mason responded in shock.

"She's kind of right," Kane agreed.

"He knows, right?" Nora asked Mason, as if she suddenly remembered that this wasn't common information.

"Yeah," Mason shrugged, "I kind of broke up with him over dinner while you were being kidnapped."

"Stupid," Nora said with a laugh. "So stupid."

Mason gasped. "You're really being a cow right now."

"Children stop fighting," Kane told them. He linked his hand with Nora's. "How are you feeling, really, for someone who kind of died a few hours ago?"

"Werewolf healing really is something. I feel exhausted, but I'm fine. I don't feel like I just died." She motioned to Mason. "You are staying, right?"

Mason pressed his hand to his chest. "How could I leave my cow of a bestie and my boyfie-mate?"

Kane laughed as Nora's eyes narrowed. "Your what?"

"I love that it's catching on," Kane mused.

Kane felt his pocket vibrating. He hadn't even realised he was carrying his phone. He pulled it from his pocket and declined the call. He saw that he had a significant amount of missed calls and texts. "I'll be back I'm going outside to call dad back."

Nora nodded and then reached over towards him. Kane wrapped his arms around her in a strong hug. "I'm so glad you're okay," she whispered in his ear.

"You too. It was really scary seeing you like that," he whispered, glad that he wasn't looking into her eyes as he said the words. The memory was all too much.

"I'm okay now, thanks to you."

He pressed a kiss to her cheek before leaving the cubicle. He backtracked the route the nurse had taken them through and ended up back at the waiting room. Owen and Eve were standing close to the doorway. He held the door slightly open.

"How was she?" Owen asked. "Is she awake?"

"She's doing well," Kane assured them. "She's up and making jokes. Back to her old self."

They both visibly relaxed. "Can I go see her?" Owen asked cautiously.

Kane motioned towards the door. "Yeah, just follow that way and then turn right down the second corridor. Her cubicle is down there. I left the curtain open, you should see them."

Owen thanked him and stepped through the door. Kane walked with Eve back over to the chairs. "My father tried to call me. I should update him on what's been going on."

Eve looked sceptical. "If my father or Alpha hasn't gotten to it first."

"Oh, you're right he probably already knows. Odds are that he's worried sick."

Kane pressed the phone to his ear. His father answered on the first ring. "Are you okay?"

"Yes. Nora's in the emergency room, but she's doing fine. I promise we are okay."

"I just got off the phone with the Alpha of the Rosemont pack," his father told him, "and he filled me in on what's been going on. Your mother and I have been so worried."

"It worked, Dad."

His father paused for a moment. "What?"

"The rogues agreed to a truce, and the bond reset itself. Mason and I are mates now."

Kane heard his father's sigh of relief. "That's incredible, son. Just incredible. I'll tell Victor at once."

Kane opened his mouth to speak, but the door beside them opened suddenly. He was surprised to see Mason standing in the doorway, looking between he and Eve with wide eyes. "Guys.."

Kane stood to his feet. "I'll call you back," he told his father before hanging up the phone. "What happened?"

Mason's eyes turned confused as a smile touched his lips. "Nora and Owen are making out right now."

"They are doing what now?" Eve spoke in shock.

"I think," Mason explained as he shook his head in amused disbelief, "they are mates."

Eve turned to Kane with the biggest smile he'd ever seen on her face. "Well we were damn lucky that there was no full moon while you three were here."

Kane's eyes widened. "Wow I don't even want to think about that."

"He's pretty hot," Mason said with a smirk. "I wouldn't have been too mad."

"Ew, that's my brother," Eve complained.

Kane laughed. "That better be a joke, boyfie-mate."

"It won't be if you keep calling me that," Mason threatened as he wrapped his arm around Kane's waist.

"Wow I can't believe they are mates, that's incredible," Kane cooed.

Kane couldn't believe that they had started that day as one of the worst in his life and it was ending as one of the best. He pressed a quick kiss to Mason's lips, revelling in the fact that he could touch his mate without fear and guilt. That he was Mason's and Mason was his, without question. Then there was Nora, who desperately wanted that mate bond he and Mason had. He smiled as he thought of how happy the two of them would be together. After everything they had been through, Nora deserved happiness. She deserved someone who would love her the way she deserved to be loved, and he was sure that Owen could give that to her.

I hope you enjoyed the chapter, what did you guys think?

Please remember to leave a vote! There is one more chapter left of this story, which will be posted soon! I am also in the process of writing a few one shots for this story which will be posted once it's finished!