Chapter 44
“And you have been getting nosebleeds how long?” Doctor Pat asks.
“Awhile,” she answers. She kicked up a huge fuss when I refused to leave, and I was curious as to why, so had refused to leave the room, and she only gave vague answers whenever he asked any questions, which was beginning to
annoy me.
“Answer his questions,” I snap at her, forcing my aura out over her and she shudders before blurting out an answer.
“4 years.”
“Did she have any resistance to your aura? She answered the question rather quickly?” Doc asks, and I can see the concern in his eyes as he peers down at her.
I shake my head; I barely used my aura. Valarian would have been able to fight what I just used, but there was no resistance from Everly – like her own didn’t exist at all.
“Her blood pressure is low, very low. She is also underweight,” the doctor says, looking over the top of his clipboard at me. He had been running tests non–stop while his assistant took
notes.
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“What about unusual bruising?” he asks, and she shakes her head. I shove my aura out. She growls and jolts in her seat.
“Yes,” she spat through gritted teeth before glaring at me.
“Any at the moment?”
I raise an eyebrow at her about to use my aura before she blurts out an answer before I have to.
“Yes, my ribs.”
“Can I see?”
“I would rather you didn’t.”
“Everly, remove your shirt, or I will do it for you,” I warn her.
“Can’t you make him leave? What about confidentiality or is that not practiced in this pack?” she spits at the doctor.
“You are his mate. He has every right to be here being the Alpha. I am sorry, Luna.”
“I am not your damn Luna,” she says, and I growl at her. Everly rolls her eyes before tugging her shirt off, but I was not expecting to see her so purple and blue. Her skin across her ribs looked like she had been beaten. Red and purple blotches covered her ribs and back.
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“See, must be low iron, see just my ribs,” she says before she starts to pull her shirt on. I snatched it from her, standing up and spinning her to the doctor, who also gasped.
“What are you doing?”
“Your back is worse than your ribs,” I snap at her, and she looks under her arms, twisting, trying to see.
“This bruising comes and goes?”
She doesn’t answer as she’s too busy inspecting herself.
“Pardon?” she asks, looking up at the doctor.
“Does the bruising remain, or come and go?”
She chews her lip nervously.
“Everly?” I ask. Her tongue pokes the side of her cheek, and she looks at the ceiling for a second.
“It stays,” she murmurs before looking at the doctor who is actually looking at me. I’m confused.
“What?” I ask, and Everly hastily tugs her top on covering herself.
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“It’s infidelity markings; the more people the mate is with, the more it affects the bond,” the doctor says.
“I haven’t been with anyone since finding her,” I tell him, horrified.
“That may be so, but how many have you been with since Everly knew you were her mate?” he looks at Everly in question.
“I have known he was my mate for just over four years now,” she answers, and my stomach drops. I knew that, but to count that many times I had sex?
I swallow, looking at the doctor. “Those are from me?” I ask, and the doctor nods.
“They are called a taint or infidelity marks. Every time you are with someone, it taints the bond. Everly is your bond. Therefore, it taints her. They are apparently quite painful, but if it has been four years, she probably has a good pain threshold of it now, be more like a normal bruise, except it scars the bond.”
“But it will go away, right?” I ask, not wanting to be the blame for her remaining permanently disfigured like that.
“Yes, after a while, quicker if you mark her, as long as you remain only with her, of course,” He leans forward and pauses, bracing his hands on his knees and sighs.
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“Your bond is toxic, and it is essentially poisoning her and eventually. Please don’t take this the wrong way, Alpha, but you have been with a lot of women for her body to be deteriorating at such a rate, most of the time this is the reaction of a rejected bond, and in the advanced stages.”
“What do you mean?”
“She is dying Alpha, at this rate, it could only be a couple of years, especially if you remain sleeping with other women. You will kill the bond and, in turn, kill her.”
Everly gasps.
“Wait, but people live like this for decades, not years, I …” She glances at me. “I have researched it.”
“Yes, but you are rogue and also young. I haven’t seen this sort of deterioration in a patient before. Given Alpha Valen’s reputation with other women, I am afraid you are
deteriorating quicker than most I have seen, which explains your lack of aura, also all your other symptoms.”
“So, how do we fix it?” I ask, desperately, still feeling sick.
“You mark and mate her. Remain close to build the bond. Bonds are fragile, Alpha. They are supposed to be taken care of, not abused,” he says, glancing away. It was like being punched in the gut. So, I did this? I did all of this? I nod, but
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Everly is shaking her head.
“No, we will find another way,” Everly says.
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“There is no other way, I am marking you, and that is final.”
Doc clears his throat, and I look over at him.
“May I make a suggestion?”
“Yes, please,” Everly says and huffs.
“I understand, Everly, you don’t want him to mark you. That is, unfortunately, the bond. It hurts; I get it. I get that betrayal is unforgivable, and you have been living with this a long time clearly.”
What the fuck was he doing? Doc looks at me before frowning.
“Maybe if you mark him until you are comfortable accepting the bond, it will help strengthen it and slow it down, but eventually, he will have to mark you.”
“No, I will just mark her and be done with it,” I say.
“Alpha, I don’t recommend forcefully marking her. You need to understand that you doing that could hurt her more,”
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“But you just said…”
He scrubs a hand down his face.
1
“I know what I said, but your bond has been weakened. Unless Everly wants you to mark her, you could make her worse. You need to remember you being with another woman was basically like rejecting her repeatedly. The bond is damaged. You need to repair it before forcefully marking her. You marking her will not only make her hate you but may shock her system.”
“What if she never lets me mark her?”
“We will cross that bridge when we come to it. I would like to rebook for a month’s time,” he says, and I nod while Everly also inclines her head slowly, to which I am relieved she would agree. Maybe hearing this may have scared her. It petrified me. I just found her and may lose her all because I was an idiot. I made myself feel sick.
I rebook her appointment and see them out while Everly waits in the living room. When I return, I find her staring out the window.
“Everly?”
She nods, turning around before walking toward me.
“We should head back,” she states, about to move past me
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when I grab her. “We need to get back.” She looks like she’s on the verge of tears.
“I know you hate me, but please, just mark me.”
“I will think about it, come on.” She tries to step away, but I shove her, pressing her against the wall. She struggles, trying to push me away.
“I know I did this. Let me fix it,” I snap at her.
“Valen,” she growls, which sounds more like a purr than any threat.
“No, you aren’t leaving my apartment until you mark me. Stop being stubborn. I know I fucked up but don’t let me be the reason you die. Think of Valarian, hate me but fucking me mark me, don’t kill yourself because of me!” I scream at her before shoving my aura over her. I use a little too much, and she cowers away from me, making my heart twist painfully in my chest.
I drop my aura before resting my head on her shoulder. My breathing is heavy, along with my anger. However, it wasn’t aimed at her, but myself.
“Just take me home.”
“You want me to beg? I will fucking beg,” I tell her before dropping on my knees. I didn’t care how stupid it was; I would
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do it. Whatever she asked, I would do it.
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“Please, if not for yourself. Do it for Valarian, don’t leave him because of me, don’t do that to our son,” I plead before it becomes too much.
I couldn’t live with the guilt if I killed her. I couldn’t. I bury my face in my hands. Utterly ashamed of what I caused her, I did this, I did this to her. I made her hate me. I ruined our bond. I couldn’t remember the last time I cried, but this news was gut–wrenching. I couldn’t take it, knowing I did this. The guilt weighed too heavily, and I knew I would never be able to live with myself if she died.
I feel her fingers brush through my hair, making me glance up to see her eyes rimmed with tears.
“For Valarian,” she whispers, and I nod.
“Please,” I tell her, gripping her legs, and she nods before looking away.
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