“You what?” Nicu coughed.
“I had to,” Vasile defended. “I did not know if she was going to live and I was not going to live without her.”
“What about your pack? What about us?” Nicu asked.
“I love this pack. You three have become like brothers, but my mate will always, without question, come first. Besides, without her, without my true mate, I would not have been able to truly lead the pack like I should. My father proved that.”
They nodded in acknowledgment and he could see the understanding in their eyes, though he also could see that they would miss him if he died. That was not something he had expected.
“What should we do now?” Alin asked.
“Ion and Alin, I need you gather any males willing to fight. Emilian will know that we are here very soon if he does not already. He will not challenge me because he knows he cannot win.”
“He will fight dirty,” Ion agreed.
“Nicu, I want you to go to the castle and scout it out. Bring back any information that will help us. We need to know if he has a plan or if he is scurrying around trying to get prepared because he never thought I would return. If he is not prepared we need to strike now. If he is battle ready, then we will find a way to gain the upper hand. Alina is healing but it is not her physical wounds that concern me.”
“You take care of your mate, Vasile,” Ion told him. “We will get everything ready.”
“I trust that you will. Thank you,” he told them as they turned to go. He watched them be swallowed up by the night. Knowing he could trust his warriors to do what needed to be done, he started to breathe just a little easier until a shrill scream pierced the darkness and straight into his soul.
He turned and ran for Alina’s room. Auriel was banging on the door attempting to open it but it would not budge. He could hear his mate’s cries of pain, and it was making him frantic, but it was the smell of burning flesh that cost him his control. He rammed his shoulder into the door as he roared, “ALINA, OPEN THE DOOR!” He was afraid to use his power and basically blow the door open because he did not know where in the room she was. If she was close to the door, she could be hurt, so he relied on the strength of his wolf. She screamed again and he hit the door as hard as he could. He saw a tiny sliver of a crack as it began to give way under his strength. Bolstered by the progress he hit it again and again and again while over and over she whimpered and snarled and cried out in pain. Finally he shoved as hard as he could and the door, and the dresser that had been holding it closed, gave way. He was in the room a split second later, and his heart crashed into his ribs as he looked at his mate.
She was on the floor, her night gown and shift torn so that they fell away from her neck and shoulder. Her hand was wrapped around the candle he had left burning on the night stand, and the skin where Serghei’s bite had been was burned beyond recognition. He realized as he hurried to her side, his eyes locked on the wound, that she had been burning herself for a lot longer than she had been screaming.
“Mina, why?” His words were a whispered plea as he took the candle from her shaking hand.
She looked up at him and the look of utter despair tore at his soul. Everything inside of him begged for violence, to maim and kill and destroy the one who had put that look on her beautiful face.
“I felt dirty and soiled. I just wanted it off,” she told him through the tears that streamed down her face. “I would rather my skin be scarred and disfigured than bare another’s mark.” Her shoulders shook as she sobbed.
He pulled her onto his lap, wrapping his arms around her and holding her tight against him. “I do not want you to endure any more pain. To hear your screams and not be able to take it away is complete agony. If I could take away every terrible memory, every scar that reminds you of the nightmare you endured, then I would.” After sitting there in silence for several moments, Vasile stood with her in his arms and laid her back in the bed. Auriel was there without him having even asked with a cloth to clean the wound. It would heal but there would be a scar.
Vasile cleaned the wound as gently as he could. She never made a sound, just simply sat looking up at him. “I am not going anywhere, Mina,” he tried to reassure her. To his surprise and complete relief she reached up and grabbed his arm. She pulled until he sat on the bed next to her. One small hand reached up and cupped his face, and he naturally leaned into her palm as if he had done it a thousand times.
“I love you, Vasile Lupei,” she whispered to him never taking her grey eyes from his.
“Say it again,” he pleaded.
“I. Love. You. My Alpha, my mate.”
Her words and the passion with which she said them had him wanting to kneel before her, honoring her in a way that he would never bestow on anyone else. “As soon as you are ready I want to complete the bond. I need to know you are mine in every way. I need,” he choked up on his words as he tried to express to her just how urgently he wanted her.
“I know, and I understand. I just wish you did not have to bind yourself to someone so broken,” she admitted.
“Time and love heal all things. Let my love heal you―body and soul. Let me cover you in my adoration. You are everything that I need. Just as I am everything you need so we will get through this. I believe that down to the marrow of my bones, but I cannot do it without you.”
She dropped her hand from his face and took his hand in hers. “I am not going anywhere.” She repeated his words back to him. She took a deep breath and bit her bottom lip to keep it from trembling. Finally she asked, “Vasile, where are my parents?”
Alina attempted to brace herself for what he would say, but no matter how she tried to prepare for the news, it was still as if someone had punched her in the gut.
“I am so sorry that I did not get there faster.” His voice was tight with anger. “They have gone on to the other side. I would have told you sooner but I did not want to cause you more distress. Their bodies have been cared for and are ready for burial. I did not want you to have to deal with that after all that has happened.”
“It was Serghei.” She was not asking. She knew who had done it but she needed to hear it.
“Yes,” he answered anyway.
Alina squeezed her mate’s hand that she still held. She clutched it like a lifeline as the sea of turmoil and despair threatened to pull her under. She wanted to mourn for her parents, but she knew that for now she would have to put her pain aside. They had a pack to reclaim, a tyrant to remove, and a murderer to bring to justice. For now she had to be Vasile’s mate, the female Alpha of their pack, and when all was done, then she could be the mourning daughter.