Page 21 of The Alpha’s Forced Plus-Size Mate (Silverfang Creek Wolves #3)

Naomi lay motionless on the bed, her skin pallid and clammy. Her breaths were shallow, each one reminding me just how close she was to slipping away. The sight of her like that was enough to break me. It felt like someone had broken my ribs and grabbed my heart in their fist, squeezing hard.

Fucking wolfsbane. My mate had been poisoned with wolfsbane under my own fucking roof.

She was so still, so quiet. Naomi was never quiet like this. Even when she was mad at me—or scared—there was always some spark in her, some fire. But now—she looked lifeless. And it was my fault.

“Dammit!” I growled, pacing the room. I raked my hands through my hair, tugging hard enough to make my scalp burn. The sharp pain wasn’t enough to drive away the self-hate, though. I left her alone, and she was attacked. Poisoned. “How could I let this happen?”

“Danny,” Saul’s voice came from the bedside. He was trying to remain calm, but there was an edge of worry in his voice. He’d been working tirelessly for hours, but still, Naomi was stuck in a wolfsbane coma. “You didn’t let anything happen. Julian’s wolves ambushed her. They’re the ones who—”

“I should’ve been there!” I snapped, rounding on him. “I promised her I’d keep her safe. What good am I as an Alpha, as her mate, if I can’t even protect her? I’m never letting her out of my sight again!”

Saul didn’t answer right away. He just looked at me with those steady eyes of his, a faint sheen of sweat on his brow as he adjusted the IV hooked into Naomi’s arm. She looked so small under the blankets, her head resting limply against the pillow. Her lips were tinged blue, and the faint scent of wolfsbane still clung to her skin despite the hours we’d spent trying to clean it off.

“She’s holding on,” Saul finally said. “But she’s slipping deeper into herself. The poison didn’t kill her outright—it’s like it’s keeping her trapped in her mind. The dual existence of werewolves makes them especially vulnerable to this kind of thing.”

I slumped into the chair by the bed, burying my face in my hands. I didn’t care if the poison had come from Julian or some random thug who followed him. I was going to rip them apart for this. Every last one of them. I would taste their blood and make them pay.

But first, I had to save her.

“What do we do, Saul?” I asked, my voice raw. “Tell me how to fix this. Tell me how to free her.”

Saul hesitated, his hand lingering on Naomi’s wrist as he checked her pulse.

“There’s something we can try,” he said carefully. “It’s risky, but—I’ve seen it work before. When someone’s trapped like this, a strong enough bond can pull them back, and the mate-bond is one of the strongest connections out there. You’d have to go into her mind, though. Connect with her on that level and guide her out.”

I stared at him. “You’re saying I have to—what, like a dream? How do I even do that?”

Saul exhaled, pulling a small pouch from his jacket pocket. The faint smell of sage and something acrid drifted from it as he opened it. “There’s a ritual. The connection you two already have through the mate- bond will help. But it’ll take all your focus, Danny. And if you don’t find her in time—”

He didn’t need to finish. I knew what he was saying. If I failed, Naomi wouldn’t just stay like this. She’d die.

I stood, pushing the chair back with a scrape that echoed in the room. My fists clenched at my sides. “I don’t care what it takes. I’m doing it.”

Saul nodded. “Then let’s not waste any time. Lay next to her.” His lips thinned. “And please don’t fail. I don’t feel like being ripped limb from limb by the Red Canines for killing their Alpha.”

I stepped closer to the bed, my eyes locking onto Naomi’s face. She looked so fragile, so unlike the fiery, stubborn woman who had challenged me every step of the way since we met. I reached out, brushing my knuckles along her cheek. Her skin was cold, and I swallowed hard, forcing back the fear that threatened to drown me.

“Hold on, Naomi,” I murmured, my voice barely audible. “I’m coming for you. You’re not leaving me. Not like this.”

Saul began setting up the ritual, lighting herbs and drawing symbols on the floor. The room filled with a heady, smoky scent that made my head swim.

As I climbed into the bed, I clasped Naomi’s hand in mine, focusing on the feel of her fingers, even as limp as they were. My heartbeat was a drum in my ears, and every second felt like a countdown to disaster. I leaned closer, pressing my forehead against hers, breathing the smoke of the sleeping herbs deep into my lungs. “I need you, Naomi. More than I ever thought I’d need anyone. Just hang on a little longer, okay? I’m coming.”

***

The moment I opened my eyes, I knew I wasn’t in my world anymore. I was in some dreamscape inside Naomi’s mind.

Saul hadn’t had much time to explain to me what diving into my mate’s mind would be like, but he did tell me that it was likely Naomi was hiding in her memories somewhere.

At first it didn’t seem too odd—just a normal house, with chalkboards hung on the walls and toys scattered about. The closer I looked, though, the sadder it all felt. Everything around me seemed washed out, like someone had drained all the color from the place. It shifted between an average, well-kept house and a creaking structure with faded wallpaper curling at the edges and worn carpeting underfoot.

Reality, and what it had felt like to Naomi.

I took a cautious step forward, the floorboards groaning beneath my weight. The place felt familiar, even though I knew I’d never been there before.

Then it hit me: this had to be Naomi’s foster home.

Sadness filled me as I took in the drab surroundings. This was where she’d grown up. Where she’d been taught to believe she was invisible. That she didn’t matter. She had been safe, warm, and fed, but emotionally, she had suffered for years and years, craving some permanent connection.

“Naomi!” I called, my voice echoing down the dimly lit hallway. “It’s me, Danny. I’m here for you. You’re safe.”

No answer. Not that I expected it to be that easy.

I moved deeper into the house, stepping carefully over a frayed rug and past a dented banister. The whole place was eerily quiet like it had been abandoned for years. It didn’t feel like a home—it felt like a cage. I thought back on how I’d kept her hostage in the boarding house and cringed. It was no wonder she wanted to kill me in the beginning.

Room by room, I searched. The kitchen was cold, its countertops littered with phantom dishes. The living room was dim, the furniture threadbare and sagging. Every inch of the place screamed neglect, and I hated the idea that she’d spent her childhood here, thinking this was all the world had to offer.

“Naomi!” I called again, my voice growing more urgent. “I know you’re here. Please, talk to me!”

I opened a door to find a narrow staircase leading down into a basement. The shadows stretched long and deep, but I didn’t hesitate. My boots thudded against the wooden steps as I descended, my eyes scanning every corner.

Nothing. Where in the hell was my woman?

I clenched my fists, frustration mounting. “Naomi, I’m not leaving without you! You hear me? But you have to come out. You’ve been poisoned.”

“I know about poison, and you’re wrong” The voice was small, barely audible. I whipped around, and stumbled backwards in shock when I saw the little girl. “They taught us all about it in school, and I’d never be dumb enough to drink it.”

The girl looked to be around six, with light brown hair in a short bob, straight bangs covering her forehead. They were a little long, and she kept blowing them out of her eyes. In her arms was clutched a well loved black wolf stuffed animal. “N-Naomi?”

“Yeah, duh,” The girl rolled her eyes, and the gesture was so familiar that I almost laughed. “But you’re wrong. I’m not poisoned. See?” She did a spin. “Perfectly healthy.”

I swallowed hard. “Naomi, I don’t even know how to explain—none of this is real. You’re trapped here in your mind and I need to bring you home.”

Little Naomi’s face shuttered, and she let a single sniffle sneak out before she turned her head away. “I don’t have a home. I don’t have anyone. All I have is this place.”

I stepped closer, but little Naomi stepped back. “It won’t always be that way. When you’re grown up, someone will appreciate you very much. They’ll give you a home, a place to belong. But you can’t stay locked away here.”

“LIAR!” the little girl screeched so loudly that the windows closest to them shattered in a spray of glass. Tears were covering her face, and she threw her stuffed animal down to the glass-covered floor. “No one EVER wants Normal Naomi! It’s always a LIE!”

She turned and ran, and I reached out an arm to stop her, “Wait!”

But my hand passed through her shoulder like she was a ghost, and between one breath and the next, she was gone. I felt my heart breaking. My sweet Naomi put on such a tough exterior, but that lonely little girl was still alive inside of her, wandering the halls of the boarding school that had taken the place of the warm family home she longed for.

But that hadn’t been my Naomi. That had simply been an echo of her past. I still had to find my mate, wherever she was in this labyrinth.

As I walked, faint memories of Naomi’s life played on the white-washed walls around me. There was little Naomi, finishing a portrait of only herself that she was told to hang among the scribbled pictures of entire families on the classroom wall. Naomi shifting for the first time, and the rest of the young wolves making a game out of leaving her behind. Lonely summers in the boarding school with only the teachers for company. A sad Christmas tree with a few gifts bought by school employees that felt sorry for her.

Naomi was never hurt, or hungry, or abandoned. But her loneliness was suffocating.

I called for her, again and again, to no avail.

Then I heard it. A soft whine.

My head snapped toward the sound, and I followed it to a small closet tucked into the far corner of the basement. The door was slightly ajar, and as I approached, a familiar scent hit me—spiced cherries.

“Naomi?” I said gently, reaching out to push the door open. The hinges creaked, and there she was—but not like I’d expected to find her.

Her wolf slunk out of the shadows, her fur dull and her tail tucked between her legs. Her eyes—usually so fierce and full of life—were filled with loneliness and regret. She looked up at me, trembling, and my chest ached at the sight of her like this. It just wasn’t right.

“Hey, hey,” I said softly, dropping to my knees in front of her. “It’s okay. You’re okay now. I’ve got you.”

She whined again, her ears flattening against her head, and tried to back away.

“No,” I said, holding out my hand. She stopped but didn’t come any closer. “You don’t have to hide anymore, Naomi. Not from me. You’re safe now. I promise you nothing and no one will ever hurt you again.”

She hesitated, her body low to the ground, as if she didn’t quite believe me.

“You aren’t alone in this place anymore. The Red Canines are waiting for you. Your pack needs you; your friends need you. And I—” I had to swallow past a lump in my throat. “I need you, Naomi. You have to come back to me.”

Her eyes flicked to mine, and for a moment, there was nothing but silence between us. Then, slowly, she began to change. Her fur receded, her body twisting and reshaping until she was human again, kneeling in front of me. She was trembling, her arms wrapped around herself, and tears streamed down her face.

“Danny,” she whispered, her voice cracked and raw. “I was so scared.”

I didn’t wait. I pulled her into my arms, holding her tightly against me as she sobbed into my shoulder. My mate was cold, but I was more than happy to give her my body heat.

“I’ve got you,” I murmured, my lips brushing against her temple. “You’re safe. You’re okay. I’m not letting go.”

Tiny degree by tiny degree, Naomi relaxed. She melted into me like ice cream in the hot summer sun.

“You’ve been poisoned with wolfsbane, Sweetheart,” I explained, rubbing comforting circles on her back. “But we can save you if you come back with me. You want that, don’t you? You want to come back home?”

She nodded, her fingers curling into my shirt. “I hate it here.”

“Look at me,” I tilted her chin up so her eyes met mine. “I love you, Naomi. Come home to me.”

Her beautiful brown eyes filled with tears, and she let out a shuddering breath. “I love you too. I’m ready to go.”

The world around us began to shift, the dull, oppressive atmosphere lifting as if a weight had been taken off our shoulders. Light filtered in, soft at first, then brighter and brighter until I couldn’t see anything but her.

And then, just like that, we were back.

Naomi’s body jerked slightly on the bed, and her eyes fluttered open, her hands reaching blindly for me. I leaned into her touch, pulling her close. She was solid and warm and real. The relief was staggering.

“Danny,” she whispered again, her voice full of wonder and relief. “Are we alive?”

I smiled, brushing a strand of hair from her face. “We sure as hell are. Welcome back, Canine Queen.”