Talia reached to hold Damon's hand again, and the same zap prickled her fingers.
She was startled the first time, but now she didn't jolt away, and the contact lasted for a second before she retracted her hand and observed it.
There were no visible changes on her skin.
Was it static electricity? Was it due to medications she got? Or maybe that blow to her head rewired her brain?
Whichever it was, Talia wanted to feel it again.
She held Damon's hand and closed her eyes as the delightful sparks traveled up her arm and seeped into her body, making her feel alive.
It was addictive.
Without knowing how or when, Talia climbed onto Damon's bed, on his right, and she scooted under the thin cover that concealed his body from the waist down.
Talia leaned against Damon's body gently, careful not to disturb his wounds, eager to experience this tingling sensation wherever they touched.
Damon was wrapped in many bandages from the neck down, leaving only some gaps of his skin exposed, and Talia was wearing a short-sleeved hospital gown that was tied at her back.
Talia slowly moved her hand up and down Damon's torso, testing the sensation with and without thin layers between their skins and she marveled how good it felt.
Even through the gauze and the cotton fabric, the sparks prickled her skin, and wherever they had skin-to-skin contact, it was electrifying.
Talia had no idea how long she was lost in this daze when the door opened, and a nurse came in.
The nurse didn't look toward the bed, but Talia could see a small smile on the nurse's lips as she placed the tray with food on the side table and scurried out without a word.
When the door closed, Talia felt guilt swelling within her. She was lost in a daze of this newly found sensation, forgetting that Damon was unconscious.
Yes, Doctor Travis said that Damon's life was not in danger, but when she looked at Damon's pale face, her heart tightened painfully.
She needed him awake. She needed to see his intense gaze directed at her. She needed to hear his voice, feel his touch, and this… this was not acceptable.
"The food is here. Won't you get up to feed me?", Talia asked, wishing that he responds with one of his cocky remarks.
Part of her hoped that this was a dream, a hallucination caused by medications, or maybe it was one of Damon's pranks.
"You can stop pretending now.", she said. "Open your eyes and tell me you are joking. I won't be mad."
Of course, he didn't move.
Damon wouldn't miss a chance to tease her, but he wouldn't go this far.
In front of Talia, Damon would always put on a brave front and make sure that whoever harbors ill intentions toward Talia, gets what he (or she) deserved.
In the forest, when facing the rogues, Damon didn't look at Talia, but she was confident that his priority was her safety. That's why he got so many injuries.
No matter how moody Damon was, Talia knew that he was reliable. He would make sure that she was fine and that she doesn't suffer injustice, and no matter what the situation was, he would support her. Even if he was stabbed with a wolfbane-laced blade, and people shot poisonous bullets at him, Damon would never abandon her. And that's why he ended up in this state.
With every passing second, Talia's vision was blurrier with tears, and she leaned her forehead on Damon's shoulder and started sobbing quietly.
"You asked me not to leave you…", she whispered in a shaky voice. "You said that we will be together forever. I am scared, Damon… I don't know what to do without you. I need you to wake up. Wake up…"
Her tears fell on his skin and silently glided down his arm, like transparent pearls that had a faint silver shimmer.
"Wake up… I need you to be fine… Wake up...", Talia chanted.
Talia felt the heat in her chest expanding and spreading through her body while morphing into an inexplicable cooling sensation that coursed through her veins.
If she looked up with her honeyed eyes that flickered in silver hues, Talia would see that the whole bed was enveloped in an ethereal hoary glow that pulsated in the rhythm of her heartbeat.
And then she passed out.
Doctor Travis dashed into the room with panic on his face, only to find Talia and Damon in bed, both with their eyes closed, like nothing unusually happened.
Travis scratched his head. Did the machines malfunction? He was startled by the alarm which indicated that the readings on machines tracking Damon's vitals were going crazy, but now everything seemed normal.
Damon might be unconscious, but how could Talia sleep with all the beeping ruckus the machines made? Or did the system malfunction only on his side?
Travis approached the machines, to check the history logs, and he saw that only a minute ago, machines recorded unusual values. What the heck?
Travis glanced at the bed, and he paused in surprise when he saw that Damon's eyes are open and directed at him.
"Alpha?", Travis called softly, careful not to startle him. He was not sure if Damon was aware of his surroundings.
With one glance, Damon knew he was in the pack hospital. Considering his history with fighting, Damon was familiar with this place.
It took him a second to remember the incident from the forest.
At that time, Damon heard that the patrol was less than a minute away. Considering that there were four armed rogues and they held Talia, it was wise to wait for reinforcements, but when Damon saw the rogue pressing a knife against Talia's face, he lost it.
From the moment Damon regained consciousness, he was aware that Talia was by his side, even before opening his eyes because he could feel the delicious sparks of the bond.
Other than Talia, Damon was prioritizing one more existence.
'How are you doing?', Damon asked his wolf.
The moment the blade pierced Damon's skin, he knew there was wolfsbane.
When a werewolf gets wolfsbane into his system, it's important to flush it out quickly, otherwise, his wolf will suffer. It's not uncommon that the wolf side is crippled or disappears completely with prolonged exposure to wolfsbane.
Most of the wolf-less werewolves ended up in that state due to wolfsbane poisoning.
Damon could feel the presence of his wolf, but he was worried about his condition.
'I'm tired, but good. Thanks to mate.', Damon's wolf responded.
'Thanks to Talia?'
'She healed us. Both of us.'
After the initial surprise, Damon felt pride swelling in his chest.
He wanted to know how did Talia heal them, but he could sense the fatigue of his wolf, and as long as everyone was fine, Damon was in no rush to probe for details.
'Rest, old guy. We will talk later.'
Damon could feel his wolf fading at the back of his mind.
Damon blinked once, twice, and then his eyes moved from Travis's inquisitive gaze to Talia who was lying on his right with her arm draped over his chest.
"How is she doing?", Damon asked.
"You should worry about yourself."
"I am fine.", Damon responded curtly. "How is Talia?"
Travis shook his head in disapproval, but he knew that it's not wise to oppose Damon.
Travis was about to talk about Talia's injuries, but he paused when he realized that the bruise on her cheek was gone completely.
Travis leaned closer to observe her face, without disturbing her sleep. "Talia was hit, but it seems that it was not as bad as I thought."
Damon hummed in confirmation. "Her healing improved."
Travis's eyes flashed in understanding. Talia's wolf was waking up, or at least making progress.
"Continue.", Damon ordered.
Travis straightened his back and responded with his official tone, "Talia's head and abdomen were injured, and the muscles of her legs suffered an extreme strain. As for her current condition, I will know once we do tests."
Travis looked at Damon with a complicated expression. "You got two stab wounds and I pulled three bullets out of your body. Blades and bullets were laced with wolfsbane. I patched you up and flushed the poison from your system, but to be honest… I'm surprised you are awake."
"I feel fine.", Damon assured him.
Travis let out a long breath. "OK. Since you are awake, let me check your wounds."
"Careful not to wake Talia.", Damon grumbled in a low voice when Travis reached to remove bandages.
Travis made a face. Mates. Every werewolf will dote on his mate, but Alphas are taking that to the extreme because the strength of the wolf is amplifying instincts to provide for their mate.
Now that Travis knew Damon and Talia are mates, he wondered, how come he didn't see it before? With Damon putting so much importance on Talia's wellbeing, and even accompanying her to her appointments… really. He should have known.
But… how was it possible that Talia was not marked?
Yes, Caden explained that Damon wanted to gain Talia's trust, but with Damon's instincts in overdrive, Travis didn't understand how could Damon resist that urge to claim her completely for everyone to see.
