Chapter 135

135 Chapter One Hundred Thirty Five

“Come on, Katie... Come on,” Cole called out to the girl while he applied pressure to the point right below her ribs in short bursts. “Not the way I pictured this day going... Now please come back to me,” he yelled to her. He was far from the clearing and the only person he knew that could get to them was Lina...

Even if she got to them, there was not much she could do either... “Why do you get injured when you are very far from a hospital?” Cole argued as he continued the procedure he’d been trained. He placed his lips against her soft ones and tried what he could... Just then, the girl coughed up tumults of water into his face... Unfazed by this, the man placed a peck on the girl’s cheek, “Just how many times are you going to scare me?”

Katie reached out and hugged Cole tight, “Cole, you found me...” she spoke into his shoulder, “Ashley went crazy. She wouldn’t listen to anything I said.”

“Hush... I’m here, okay. Everything is alright,” Cole cut her off, lifting her into his arms.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to... Umm, nearly get myself killed,” she apologised, looking at the ground. Cole took a seat by the treeline, allowing the girl to rest on his chest.

He was quiet for a bit... “Who’s Ashley?”

“Oh, my wolf...” she replied, drawing her lips in a tight line. She hadn’t meant to reveal that to anyone, but now it was out there.

“Ashley Ashley... Why is your wolf so conveniently named?” he mused, his mind wandering through the possibilities of this being the same girl that had been killed in Brigadia, “Is she...”

“I don’t know, Cole, but she might be the reason I don’t feel so bad being a werewolf,” Katie replied, letting go of the stress in her muscles. A brief silence went between them before she asked a question, “How’s Crysta?”

.....

“That’s the last person I’d expect you to ask about,” Cole scoffed.

“I didn’t mean to...”

“I figured. You’re not one to snap like that. Do you have control again?” he asked her.

“Yes, I have control of myself again,” she replied, “What am I supposed to do, Cole? I don’t want to ever be trapped in my body ever again.”

“You can talk to your wolf about that. Listen to me, Katie,” he lifted her chin so that she looked him in the eye, “Wolves never lose control when something is about them...”

“What do you mean?” she asked.

“I mean your wolf only lost control because she couldn’t stand it when someone close to her was threatened. Crysta knew what she was doing when she was pushing your buttons. Don’t get mad at your wolf for that,” he tried.

“I’m still trying to see how my wolf has been a good thing. Ever since she showed up, I’ve been hungry all the time, emotional and now I almost killed someone. How am I supposed to be convinced there is anything good coming from that?” she argued.

Cole sighed, hurt by the words the girl was saying, “Your wolf allows many around you to understand you. You don’t always have to hide your feelings. And eating is the same for everyone. Just a little bit extra for a royal... There is a lot you wolf helps you to experience that you wouldn’t have if you were human,” he tried.

“I haven’t experienced anything good from my wolf since we were reunited... How do you even live with it? Knowing there is something that can take over your body and make you do something you’d regret even if you wouldn’t have done it yo...” the man pressed his lips against hers while she was still talking and cut her off...

‘You think too much, beautiful,’ the man said through the mind link. Katie gave in as sparks washed over her whole body and sapped the strength to argue from her all at once. The two remained in each other’s arms until Cole pulled away. To the girl’s amazement, her mental torment had been brought to a halt.

“Is that better?”

Responding with an obedient nod, Cole lifted the girl up, “When you do let me mark you, you will know much more about what it means to be a werewolf. Werewolves protect their own regardless of the consequences. They do not think through it as humans do. We are bonded to one another and will never leave another behind or unavenged. You don’t have to think about it... that’s a hunter’s job,” Cole said to her.

“So if I had killed Crysta...”

“You would not be responsible for her death. She would have brought that on herself,” Cole finished the explanation. ‘The Royals were exempted from a lot of their powers, through the law and yet... in werewolf society, they still held as much power as they were supposed to... ‘That’s twisted...’ Katie thought to herself.

‘Katie...’ Ashley’s low voice came out. The wolf was weakened and in bad condition after having exerted herself so much with the Prometheus gifts, she couldn’t tell up from down.

‘Rest up, Ashley. I’ll take it from here...’

‘I’m sorry, Katie. Can you forgive me? I had...’

‘Don’t think about it, Ashley. Of course, I forgive you. Just don’t go jumping into a river next time before you’ve learnt how to swim,’ Katie replied, chuckling softly. Cole carried her along the river bank, taking notice of the internal conversation the girl was having.

‘It feels like you should be scolding me for much more than jumping into a river,’ the wolf replied, ‘Still, Katie, I am truly sorry.’ With that, the wolf went silent and Katie brought her eyes back to the present.

“Now this reminds me of the way you used to carry me when I couldn’t walk,” the girl mused.

“Can you walk now?” he asked.

“Yeah, I think I can manage,” Cole carefully placed her down as though he was holding glass. The girl couldn’t help but be charmed by how careful he was every time he was handling her...

“We’ll have to cross the river. You’ll ride on my back... You are also in dire need of a change of clothes,” the man took in her wet and muddy attire all over...

“Do you mind telling me what happened between you and Crysta? Not in a bad way... She just said something I had never thought of,” Katie asked him...

“Well, what exactly did she tell you?” he asked her.

“Well, she told me that she was the reason you forgot about your deceased mate,” Katie replied, making sure she got the meaning across in the way she’d understood it.

“Oh, she was really asking for it,” Cole shook his head in disappointment, “During the Royal games, I met a girl... At the time, my only friends were Caden and Jason... well, the only ones that I cared about. The others were all just adoring fans that wanted something from me and I did my best to avoid them. I didn’t think she had any bad intentions then... I still don’t know if she does.”

“Are you saying she was something other than a gloating scamp who’s full of herself?” Katie asked, washing her face in the shallow water of the river.

“Yes, exactly that...”

“What was she like then?”

“She was... kind, caring and many things that males would like in a mate. We dated for a bit. It was two years ago. I decided to end our relationship,” he replied.

“Why did you end it? You had no mate and she seems willi...”

“What was supposed to happen on the day she turned eighteen and found her real mate? Was she supposed to reject the wolf the moon goddess had paired her with just to be with a royal?” he made a decent argument, “There were other reasons why I did it, but that’s what I convinced her about. For some reason, she was convinced the moon goddess would grant me a second chance mate and she would be happy to fill that position.”

“Is it always that simple?” Katie asked him.

“I don’t know how it works, but the moon goddess doesn’t just pair people because they like each other. We didn’t talk after that and with time, I buried myself into assignments from the King. By the time I met you in Brigadia, I’d completely forgotten about her... and I was not going to remember after finding out that you were my mate,” he confessed. Katie couldn’t help but feel holes in the story, but she chose not to press him further and allowed him to shift so that they might get back to the palace.

“Have I ever told you that you have the most beautiful fur coat I have ever seen?” Katie began...

“Don’t patronize me, Katie. You haven’t seen yourself,” the man asked. It was only then that Katie actually took it into consideration.

“Your right, Cole. I haven’t seen myself. What do I look like?” she asked him, forgetting they were already halfway through the river... Much to her surprise, the sudden movements from her excitement didn’t faze the wolf one bit... ‘Cole has abilities of his own that aren’t like other normal wolves... Could it be that...?’ she couldn’t put her finger on it, but she could remember something similar to the man never seeing his blood before... ‘What is that supposed to mean?’