Mine to Protect Chapter 102: SUSPICIONS

*Hazel*

“Alice, there is nothing between Lukas and me, we are just friends. We went to a couple of very rough situations together, and we have learnt to watch each other’s back, that’s it.”

I feel a little annoyed that I need to explain myself on this, her comment sounded like an accusation.

“I think you should make sure Lukas knows that too; establish some boundaries, before he gets the wrong idea,” Alice goes on saying, her expression unreadable.

“Lukas knows that I am mated, and who my heart belongs to. You are overthinking it,” I brush it off, making Alice furrow her brows, but she doesn’t pursue the topic any further, and soon we are back to camp.

I find Derek in one of the medical tents, lying on a stretcher, his arm hooked up on an IV. He looks pale and there are still unhealed cuts on his torso and arms, a sign that the poison is slowing down his healing.

I tiptoe to his side, not wanting to wake him, but as soon as I get close enough, his eyes sprang open, drowning me in their ocean blue colour.

“Kitten, you are back, how did everything go? I was worried, what took you so long?”

He’s worrying about me, when he is the one who’s sick and hurt.

I place a hand on his forehead, feeling his temperature, he’s hot, he’s running a fever, that’s not good.

“Don’t act like you haven’t asked Ryder or Alice to keep you posted the whole time,” I reply with a small smile, while combing my fingers through his thick hair.

He smiles one of his sexy smiles, and it takes my whole not to bend down and kiss him; when he smiles like that, I’d do anything for him.

“You know me too well, but I want to hear it from your lips, I like the sound of your voice,” he says, smiling brightly.

“Wow, really? Is the poison talking, or yours is just a serious case of excessive cheesiness?” I joke.

He pouts unhappily, so I bend down a place a kiss on his forehead to appease him, only, the kiss doesn’t do the trick, because his brows furrow deeply, and a wave of something cold appears in his oceanlike eyes.

“What’s wrong?” I asked worriedly, thinking that maybe the poison is making him feel uncomfortable.

“You have been with Lukas, I can smell him on you,” he replies, kind of accusingly, like I have been doing something indecent with him.

“Yes, he came to warn us about the warriors sent by the court, they were on their way to arrest us for trespassing, but we intercepted them before they reached the border. We went to the border together, and he offered his support in case things were to go south.”

I try to keep my voice as levelled and carefree as possible, I don’t want him to think that I am defending myself or something, because I have done nothing wrong, there is nothing I need to explain.

He gives me a long look, like he’s trying to decide if he wants to believe me or not, then he asks me, still in the same accusatory tone, “Then, why is his scent all over you?”

I stared at him for a few moments, hurt at the fact that he doubted me, he doubted my fidelity, my love for him. I can’t believe it.

“He hugged me because he was happy to see me all in one piece, that’s it, it was a friendly hug, nothing more than that.”

I feel tears coming, and I can barely finish my sentence without choking on a sob, so I turn around fast, feeling stupid and weak for tearing up at just one stupid question. But his doubting me really struck me, and right this moment I feel like I want to be anywhere but here.

I turn around to leave, before he can see my tears, but he grabs my wrist and holds it tight in his grasp. A sob tears through me, without me being able to stop it.

“Kitten, don’t go, I am sorry, I … It’s just this whole situation is being hard on me. I want to be the one to protect you, but in the end, it always comes down to you handling things alone, I hate it. And then Lukas, I feel like he has a thing for you, and knowing that he came to your help, when I should be the one in his place, really just set me off.”

I understand where he’s coming from, I do, but it doesn’t hurt any less. He can doubt Lukas, but what about me? I have done nothing to let him think that I am being unfaithful, he should have some more faith in me, in our bond.

For Derek’s sake, though, seeing how he’s seriously ill, I decide to let this slide; I pack up my sadness and disappointment and plaster a smile on my face, then I turn around and tell him calmly, “It’s ok, I understand.”

His brows are still furrowed, and he’s looking worriedly at me; my eyes I bet are still lucid from the unshed tears, and I am doing a very bad job at keeping my emotions from filtering through the bond.

“Come here,” he says, moving aside on the stretcher to give me some room, and I obediently lie beside him, letting him cuddle me in his embrace. It is comforting and it feels like home, but the scar on my heart still lingers, and I don’t know what it will take to make it go away.

Derek

Once back to our pack, doctors immediately started taking all kind of tests on me, mixing up different antidots and trying their effects. It took days to find the correct mix to efficiently counteract the poison, and now I am slowly recovering, with the help of my gorgeous Luna, who hasn’t left my bedside for a second.

I still feel guilty for confronting her about Lukas, I was not in the right state of mind, and I let jealousy take over. I know I have hurt her, and I was so scared that she would leave me there and then, for accusing her like that, but instead she forgave me, and I really feel like the luckiest man in the world. I will not make the same mistake again.

During these last few days, she has even exchanged a few words with my dad, and I am happy to see that they are starting to get along, a far cry from the first time they met, when they practically wanted to rip each other apart.

This reminds me about my plan of reconciling Hazel and Emma, if she has given dad another chance, I don’t see why she wouldn’t agree to do the same with Emma.

I talked about my idea to Emma a couple of days ago, when she came in for a visit; she agreed eagerly and told me we could arrange a trip together when I feel better.

I think now is the right time, I am feeling much better, and the overall situation is quite calm; we haven’t heard any more news from the Court or from the humans, no suspicious disappearances have been reported; it’s a stalemate, and we should enjoy it, before the real war begins.

The only missing step is convincing my stubborn kitten to go, and that’s exactly what I am going to do now.

Here goes nothing.