POV: Gasper
It had been almost a week. They were both completely exhausted, and she almost seemed to get worse. Every night, she begged him to make it stop, and he didn't know how.
Why won't she come out of this?
Gasper asked Azreal, drowning in her touch.
I don't know.
His wolf admitted.
It usually is gone in a few days.
We can't do this forever.
You can't.
Azreal laughed at him. His wolf's sense of humor was annoying sometimes.
Stop. You know what I mean.
Out of nowhere, the doctor threw the door open. Sookie screamed and tried to burrow into Gasper's chest to hide. He kissed her neck gently, and the screaming stopped.
"I'm sorry, but this will bring her out of it."
The doctor held a small vial and dropped it next to the pool.
"I thought the mating and marking would be enough, but I spoke to my mother when your parents told me you were still here. It's worse than someone wanting to get a she-wolf into heat to submit to you. Someone gave her a breeding poison. Some alphas would use it on their breeders or mates if they aren't working out. It keeps them in heat for a few weeks to get pregnant or burn trying."
"That's sick." Gasper shuddered, thinking about it.
"It's been banned for years, but this is the antidote. My mother helped me with it. This was more common when she was a doctor." The doctor shook his head. "You have her take this, go one more time, and it should bring her out of it. It will trick her body into thinking she's pregnant."
"Okay. Thank you. You should go."
The doctor nodded and left. Gasper knew there was no way Sookie would take it willingly. So he emptied the vial into his mouth and kissed her, very slowly leaking it into her mouth. It made his tongue go a little bit numb, but he did feel her body get a little cooler almost immediately.
"That's better," Sookie mumbled. "It doesn't hurt as much."
"Good girl." He poured water on her again. "Last round."
Laughing, she said, "For now?"
Great. Now everyone was a comedian.
"Oh, darling, yes. Just for now."
And he meant that. He would be with her any day, any time, until he died. And he planned to have her begging him to do it every night for the rest of their lives. After a short vacation, that is.
Out of the pool, they went back to bed. He was gentle this time, barely moving. He could feel how raw she was even being so wet. It went on for a very long time, but when she released around him, it was so powerful that he marked her all over again, and she marked him. With each other's blood on their lips, he collapsed on top of her, falling fast asleep.
When Gasper woke up, she was gone, and panic rose in his throat. He called out her name as he searched around the house. From the top of the steps, he saw her downstairs in the living room, bones breaking as she shifted.
Azreal took him over so quickly he didn't feel the shift.
I'll help, mate. You can rest now.
He ran down the stairs and lay beside her while she struggled with the shift. It might be her first time. If it was, Gasper sympathized. The first time was always challenging. Having every bone in your body broken and rearranged was unpleasant when you didn't know how to do it. A late shift could be even more painful since your bones were already set in a way younger bones were not. Plus, the heat had likely weakened her. Why Katherine picked now to be let out was beyond him. Or it just happened. She had been denied for a long time.
She is always fighting me on it! We have been here a few times before, but she won't let me do it!
Katherine was frustrated. So that solved the mystery. Although, if she had shifted before, how could she still be confused about having a wolf?
She thinks it's a dream or hallucination. But it's real, Sookie! It's always been real!
Let it happen, Sookie. Let Katherine have control.
Azreal tried to coax her.
That bitch is not in control!
Sookie's mind was so strong that the whole house shook.
Sookie. I know this seems insane, but Azreal is my wolf. He lives in me. Katherine lives in you. I am right here with you, and Azreal is here.
Azreal licked her face gently. Gasper reached out with his mind to pull Sookie into the part of their mind space where they could be together without the wolves, and the wolves without them. It was a place he went when Azreal needed to be alone and where Azreal went when Gasper did. It was also where Azreal had locked him up when he refused to let him out. Where Gasper put his wolf when he didn't want him to come out.
It was the first time Gasper could have someone there with him. It felt less lonely. He imagined Katherine alone in a space like this for all those years. Anyone would go mad.
This place was empty, but they were together, floating. He laced her fingers with his.
"This isn't real." She insisted.
"It is." He pulled her into a hug. "I assure you it is real."
"I think this is the longest dream I have ever had." She smiled. "And I've had some epic ones, but this... you... I didn't think I was that creative."
"It's not a dream, Sookie."
What did he have to say or do to make her believe him? She was becoming a wolf right now. How could anyone write that off as a dream?
Looking down, Azreal was still coaxing Katherine, and slowly, she was emerging. Not shifting regularly could make things more challenging as well. After a she-wolf gave birth, the following few shifts were painful since they couldn't shift for months. At what age Gasper assumed Sookie to be, only shifting a few times was not ideal. Each time would feel like that first time, and it was a pain he wouldn't want to ever feel again.
Her fur was starting to sprout, but Gasper had never seen such a color on a wolf. Tufts of gray that were almost blue emerged.
Blue wolves were considered nearly extinct and were only descendants of royalty.
It would explain why someone was trying to breed her. But how could she be royal, living in the human world? The king would never allow it. Or did he not know she existed? If he didn't, did Gasper tell him? Marking a royal without permission was a death sentence if the court did not excuse it. And the court and council both hated him. They had been trying to find a way to get rid of him for years. This would be an easy way to do it.
When Katherine was done, Gasper could see a white streak on the left side of her body that ran to the end of her tail. On her right side, her paws were also streaked with white. The amount of white fur seemed to be constantly changing as if it was alive. She was a pretty petite wolf, but damn, was she fast. He watched her easily dodge Azreal multiple times, and his wolf was trying. Then she would growl at him and lick his face before starting again.
This was Azreal's version of heaven. Seeing them together gave Gasper a sense of peace he had never felt. Azreal had waited so much longer than Gasper had, living many lives without her. His heartache had been so raw for so long, but his happiness was so much more intense than the emptiness ever was.
Gasper averted his eyes, knowing Azreal would also mate and mark her. He didn't want to see it or have Sookie see it. She wasn't ready for that, and he wasn't interested in watching.
Sookie pulled back enough to look him in the eye.
"I don't usually remember my psychotic breakdowns, but I kinda hope I remember this one."
"It's not a..."
"I think I like you," she said, and he kissed her gently. "That might be even more insane than the whole wolf thing."
"I know I more than like you. I love you."
"Thank you for a very interesting time." The smile she gave him was forever etched in his mind.
"I'll spend the rest of my life trying to top it."
The world around them gently quaked.
"We are going to go back now. I'll see you on the outside."
Gasper felt the pull of consciousness dragging him back into his body. The mind space dissolved around them, and suddenly he was lying on the floor of the living room in his wolf form. Azreal gave control back to him slowly, reluctantly, still humming with satisfaction.
Katherine stood a few feet away, her blueish-gray fur catching the light streaming through the windows. She was magnificent. The white streaks seemed to pulse and shift with her emotions, growing and shrinking like living things. Her golden eyes locked onto Azreal, filled with an ancient recognition that made Gasper's chest ache.
Then Katherine's body began to shift again. Bones cracked and reformed, fur receding as Sookie's human form emerged. She collapsed onto the hardwood floor, gasping and trembling.
Gasper shifted immediately and went to her, gathering her into his arms.
"Easy, darling. Easy. The first shift back is always hard."
"Everything hurts," she whispered, her voice hoarse. "Everything."
"I know. I'm sorry. It gets easier, I promise."
He carried her upstairs and laid her gently on the bed. Her skin was covered in a sheen of sweat, her body shaking from exhaustion and pain. He grabbed a blanket and wrapped it around her, then climbed in beside her, pulling her close.
"That was real, wasn't it?" Her voice was so small, so fragile. "I actually turned into a wolf."
"Yes."
"And you're a wolf too."
"Yes."
"And we're mated. Bonded. Whatever you call it."
"Yes."
She was quiet for a long moment, and Gasper held his breath, waiting for her to reject him. To tell him this was too much, too insane, too impossible.
Instead, she turned in his arms and pressed her face against his chest.
"Okay."
"Okay?"
"Okay." She tilted her head up to look at him, those icy green eyes searching his face. "I don't understand any of this. I don't understand what's happening to me or why. But I believe you. And I..." She paused, swallowing hard. "I don't want to leave."
Relief flooded through him so intensely he thought he might cry.
"You don't have to. Ever. You're mine, Sookie. And I'm yours. For as long as you want me."
"Even though I'm apparently some kind of crazy royal wolf person that someone tried to... breed?"
The word tasted bitter even hearing her say it.
"Especially because of that. Someone hurt you. Someone drugged you and tried to use you. And I will spend the rest of my life making sure no one ever hurts you again."
The alpha command in his voice made her shiver, but not with fear. With something else. Something that made her eyes darken and her scent shift.
"You're very intense, you know that?"
"I've been told."
"It's kind of hot."
He laughed, the sound startling them both. When was the last time he had genuinely laughed?
"You're kind of hot when you punch holes in walls."
"I did that, didn't I?" She looked embarrassed. "I don't usually have that kind of strength."
"You do now. You're a wolf, Sookie. You're stronger than you ever imagined."
"A royal wolf, apparently. Whatever that means."
"It means you're descended from the first wolves. The ones chosen by the Moon Goddess herself. It means you're powerful and rare and..." He hesitated, not wanting to scare her. "It means we might have some complications ahead."
"What kind of complications?"
"The kind where I might have to explain to the Alpha King why I marked his long-lost relative without permission."
"Oh." She blinked. "That sounds bad."
"It could be. Or it could be fine. We'll figure it out."
"We?"
"We," he confirmed. "You're not alone anymore, darling. You have me. You have Azreal and Katherine. And you have a whole pack who will protect you."
"A pack." She tested the word. "Your pack."
"Our pack," he corrected. "You're the luna now. They're yours as much as mine."
She looked terrified and thrilled all at once.
"I don't know how to be a luna."
"Neither did my mother when she started. You'll learn. And I'll be with you every step of the way."
Sookie relaxed against him, her breathing finally evening out. The heat was gone. The poison was neutralized. She was safe and whole and his.
"Gasper?"
"Yes, darling?"
"Can we sleep now? I'm so tired I could die."
He kissed the top of her head, breathing in that key lime and coconut scent that would forever mean home to him.
"We can sleep. I've got you. You're safe."
Within minutes, she was out, her body finally able to rest after a week of torment. Gasper held her close, feeling the mate bond pulse between them, strong and true and unbreakable.
He had found her. Against all odds, against all the pain and loneliness and violence of his life, he had found his mate.
And he would burn the world down before he let anyone take her from him.