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Desperation. Helplessness. Desperation.

Those were the feelings coursing through him as he ran like never before towards his mate. In animal form, they are barely capable of rational thoughts. Just basic instincts and urges drove the animal. But these thoughts still invaded his mind.

You are too late. It's been an hour.

Noooooooooooo....! The denial rose through him like a tidal wave, threatening to consume him. The urge overcame him yet again; he threw his head back and howled to the sky.

Fifteen minutes. That was the time it took for him to get to Eline's house. That was how fast he'd run.

The wolf threw itself at the door immediately it got closer, breaking the wooden door effortlessly to pieces. It followed the scent of its mate, allowing it to lead him to the room where he should go.

Eline, on the other hand, was still holding Ismena's body to herself, wrapped around Ismena—both arms and legs. Tears streamed down her face while she rocked the dead weight in her arms.

Deep relief filled her spine when she heard that loud howl, very close to her home. She knew he'd come for his mate. A few seconds later, the door of the bedroom burst open and a huge, white wolf glided in.

It stopped at the foot of the bed, yellow eyes fixed on the figures on the bed. On her and Ismena.

She pulled away from Ismena then. Eline was naked but with the situation at hand, her nakedness was the least of the problem. She untangled completely from Ismena, making sure to keep her motions harmless, docile, and submissive.

The last thing she wanted was to make any slight mistake that will make the wolf see her as a threat and attack her.

Away from the bed, she bowed to the waist. "Alpha King," her voice hoarse from crying.

The wolf didn't spare her a glance. Its yellow eyes never left the naked woman lying down on the bed with her eyes closed, her face pale-white like a ghost, and her skin so unnaturally red.

The wolf shifted form.

Wolfaraine stood there, looking at Ismena. At that moment, Eline saw every single emotion he couldn't hide on his face, in his eyes. They were laid bare for all to see. At that moment, he was no longer as guarded as he always was.

"How is she...?" As the question left his mouth, he was already undressing.

His hands were unsteady, shaky. Eline shifted uncomfortably, knowing she was seeing a side of him that almost no one else has ever seen—and she was not talking about his nudity .

"I have n-no idea, Your Highness." She answered truthfully, "I did everything I could, everything I could think of. She's barely breathing but that's the only—"

His head whipped to the side sharply, towards her. "She's breathing?"

But he didn't wait for her to answer. Completely naked, he climbed into the bed and picked Ismena up. Her body was unusually cold.

He held her so gently as if he was holding a precious, breakable glass. Plastering her to him full-body, his hand dug into her blond hair, burying her face to his neck.

"Please... Mena, please. Please. I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. Please..." Those words alternated out of his mouth repeatedly as he touched her all over. No response.

His hand grabbed a fistful of hair and jerked, twisting her head to the side to bare her neck to him. His head came down and he bit that part of it that pulsed for him.

She jerked weakly. Very weakly.

A thread of hope formed inside him, even as his chest twisted with worry. She is alive but half-dead too.

Wait, how is she still alive?

Doesn't matter. Nothing else matters for now.

"Please, baby, please. Come back to me, please." He scrapped his teeth through that spot and her body jerked again.

Eline has finished putting on her clothes, she wanted badly to stay and watch him pull Ismena out of this critical stage but the intimacy was making her uncomfortable. It would make anyone uncomfortable, especially seeing the Alpha King like this. Desperate. Scared. Unbalanced .

So, she bowed to him again and hurried out of the door, closing it quietly behind her. She was so worried about Ismena, her heart was pounding because of it.

At first, Ismena had been a human to her.

Just a human female the Alpha King entrusted in her care.

However, as time passed, she grew on her as fast as lightning.

The female can grow on anyone, not because she is the mate of the Alpha King but because she's a wonderful person with an amazing personality.

Eline did everything she could to see Ismena alive in those dreadful fifty-nine minutes. Now, she has to wait and pray that the Alpha King will be able to revive her completely.

Inside the bedroom, Wolfaraine noticed the tremors of his hand as he leveled Ismena's lax body up, adjusted her, and gently pushed her body down until his dick slowly disappeared into her tight body.

Thankfully, her body recognized him as her mate, making it easier for him to fill her moist channel.

He wasn't gonna have sex with her but instead, he has to hold her close to him in the most intimate way a male could ever hold his woman.

Her body was cold but that wasn't what his body was feeling. He was feeling his mate.

A woman he'd forced himself to let go of, an addiction he'd forced himself to go without after he'd found out that he was involved in her horrible past and he was the very demon of her childhood.

The knowledge was still like a knife to his gut but he shoved it all down to the deepest part of him. It isn't about him now, but about her.

A muscle ticked in his jaw and a vein popped on his forehead, for a moment, he was overcome by the need to start moving inside her, but he gritted his teeth and held on. He would not move, even if it killed him .

He ran his hand through her soft hair, his lips caressing her neck as he hugged her so tightly against his chest. "Come back to me, baby. I am so sorry. So sorry..."

Words poured from his mouth, talking to her, pleading with her. His hands were everywhere, touching her, caressing her.

His lips bit down on her neck—not enough to break the skin but enough to leave a mark.... enough to imprint on her so the mate in her craving for his touch would feel him. Shudders worked its way through her cold body.

The coldness slowly began slipping out of her.

Wolfaraine had no idea how long passed as he repeated the ritual over and over again, until most of the unnatural coldness was gone, replaced with the familiar warmth he'd missed so badly in the past few days.

Warmer, she sighed in his arms, took a deep breath, and continued sleeping. The worst was over.

Barely over but still.

The relief that whipped through his body made his hands shake. Gratitude poured out of his mouth to her, "Thank you, Ena, thank you. Thank you for coming back. Thank you for being alive, thank you, baby..."

He had no control over anything at that moment: not his words, not his actions, and definitely not his emotions. Thankfully, the mountain lion was being very quiet too.

A soft knock came on the door, it was hesitant and light as a feather but Wolfaraine already knew who it was.

Reluctantly, he threw the covers over their bodies to shield Ismena's nakedness from anyone's view and he used the bedclothes to wipe his face before he responded, "Come in. "

The door opened and Alphose came in. The night's glow made the room illuminated so that a person can see well enough even without their enhanced sense of sight so his eyes easily found Wolfaraine on the bed, "The Alphas are still outside, Alpha King.

I don't know if I should dismiss them or not.

They are so worried—agitated even—that I'm not sure they'll leave if they are addressed to do so. "

Wolfaraine sighed. He knew the Alpha gathered and they did so as fast as they could because of the Summon Howl that tore through his mouth after he'd heard the dangers Ismena was in. It hadn't been his intention to use that particular howl but instincts had taken over him already at that point.

"How long has it been?" He asked, his hand stroking her hair gently...their bodies still interlocked together.

"Three hours." Alphose looked out of the window, "Dawn will approach soon."

He'd lost track of time. "Dismiss them, Alphose. Tell them that I'll be with them much later, but for now..." His eyes lowered to the face of the beautiful woman cradled in his arms, "For now, I can't."

The cougar Alpha nodded, "Perfectly understood. I will tell Adanel so he can help me convey the message. They'll listen faster."

"Please, do."

Alphose nodded again before he turned to leave.

"Oh, and Alphose?" Wolfariane’s eyes finally lifted from Ismena's face to his.

"Yes?" Alphose turned eagerly .

"She's fine, so you can stop worrying. I can practically smell your own agitation and worry." His eyes returned to her, trailing the color that only started coming back to her body an hour or so ago. "The worse is over."

The breath whooped out of Alphose's body, "Oh, thank the gods. Thank heavens."

"You can go and inform Kassandra too, I know the human female kept vigil with all of us. Tell Elena to come and see me." He paused, "She saved Ismena's life somehow and I need to know how she did it."

"I will do that," Alphose responded, more relaxed now than he had been when he'd stepped in.

After he left, Wolfaraine drew back the covers a bit, more than satisfied to watch the colors return to her body. She doesn't look as white as the dead anymore.

A moment later, Eline entered. She looked better than she did before, so he knows Alphose has already given the news about Ismena's condition. She closed the door behind her and inclined her head, "Alpha King..."

"Thank you so much, Eline. Thank you. I can't... I can't even imagine what would have happened..." At a loss of words, he shook his head miserably.

Eline took a deep breath, nodding her head, "It's alright... I couldn't imagine what would have happened too. I was so scared..."

"Tell me how she went into Crave Shock. What happened?"