The Seeing Mate

9

(Camila's POV)

I put the dagger up and was about to plunge it into my chest.

"NO!" I heard loudly in my head. I looked around and saw...

"Mom?" I asked aloud and the trance was broken.

"How the hell did you do that!?" the man shouted and quickly took the dagger from me.

He jumped at me but I moved out of the way. I shook my head to clear the remaining fog, and let the lessons of taekwondo kick in. He came at me again. I caught his arm, pushing it until I heard a c***k or a pop. He screamed in pain as he kept coming at me. I dodged and finally was able to get the dagger away from him, but right as I did that, he had a gun to my face.

"Let's see you dodge this!" He pulled the trigger but it clicked.

"Seems to me like you're out of bullets." I said, punching him, and I ran for it. That's when I heard a bullet fly past me and hit a tree.

I stopped with my back to the man, as he laughed.

"Good-bye, cousin." he said, but that's when I heard growls, something big flew over my head, a few bullets shot and then screams of pain. I turned to see what was going on, but it was silent. I ran over and checked. My heart was like a jack hammer in my chest. Something was telling me...

"Josh?" I called and pushed him off the man. The guy was still wheezing, but a cackle later he was gone. I checked Josh.

The jet black wolf laid motionless, and I was starting to worry. I shook him a little but he wasn't responding.

"Help...someone help me!" I screamed and called out, hoping beyond hope that someone was close by. Tears ran down my face, as I started to panic and sadness filled me.

"Camila!" I heard. Bracks was there next to me in seconds. He checked Josh and soon shifted too. He pulled him on his back and ran with him back to the cabin. I ran behind him, before I followed, I took a couple things from the guy. The dagger and the gun. Bracks got back to the house way before I did. I walked in on a really pissed off wolf. Everyone else was on the floor.

"What's going on?" I asked as I walked closer, barely feeling an urge to kneel.

"Camila, talk to him, show him it's you." said Bracks.

I looked at the wolf on the bed, he was on full alert, his eyes yellow. I bowed my head like everyone else but kept walking toward him.

"Josh, they're just trying to help...please...please calm down." I said in a small voice. I was on the verge of tears again. He was alive. I reached for him, and I carefully placed my hand on his front leg. He then put his nuzzle in the crook of my neck, and took a deep breath. His body just slumped to the side and he was out again.

Bracks quickly stepped forward and looked at the wounds. I laid Josh's head on my legs.

"Okay, he was shot four times and almost in the same place."

"What does that mean?" I asked.

"It means it's going to be a long night. I hope you aren't squimish."

Bracks was right about it being a long night, two bullets went too deep for him to get out, and to top it all off.

"They're blessed silver bullets." he said, looking at the two he had managed to retrieve.

"I know silver is bad, but what's wrong about them being blessed?" I asked, my ignorance clearly showing.

"It tells us two things: One, this man was prepared to take on a wolf, and that they have a black witch at hand."

Shawna was suddenly very alert. She took the bullet in her hand, and I could tell it was burning the skin on her fingers.

"Stop it!" Bracks said, taking the bullet from her, and putting it back in the container.

"I thought silver killed werewolves."

Bracks looked at me and gave me a small smile.

"In the movies, yeah, but in real life. A silver bullet, poisons us from the inside out. It won't do much harm if they're taken out in time but leave it in for months or years. It's a slow and painful death."

"So what does the blessing do?"

He shrugged.

"This one I have no idea. Every blessing is different. If it doesn't have a death one, he should be in the clear. As an Alpha's son, and as a dominant wolf, he's strong enough to fight off anything but that."

"So are you taking the other bullets out?"

"Can't, we'll have to let them fester out, and that is very painful."

Now I really felt like s**t.

"Why were you out there in the first place?" asked Shawna, now taking a look at my feet.

I shook my head, I couldn't understand what happened either.

"I have no idea. First I'm fast asleep, then, I'm about to stab myself with a dagger."

"A dagger?" Shawna asked, looking at me. I pulled out the gun and dagger. Shawna took the dagger and Bracks took the gun.

Shawna got to her feet and Bracks handed the gun to her too, and she hurried out. I looked back at Josh, he was still in his wolf form, but fast asleep. I was barely aware that Bracks was watching me closely.

"I know now is not the best time for questions, but...I have something to ask you."

He broke the silence, and I took a deep breath before looking at him.

"What?"

"We all know about your history with Josh, and how you two left things thirteen years ago, and that things now aren't going as smoothly..."

"How did you...."

"Wolf thing, but why are you so caught up on what happened thirteen years ago?"

He asked the same question I had been wondering myself, and I didn't really have an answer until just now. As I looked at Josh in the bed, with blood and pain.

"I never had any friends, Bracks, I was always alone. Besides Mom, no one wanted to be around me because I was the creepy kid. When Josh and I became friends, he gave me hope....hope that I was never going to be alone. Hope that someday...someone can look past my gift and see me...and when he didn't tell me about Sophia....it hurt because that meant he didn't trust me. Then I found out...all this just a month ago. So that only added on to the pain. So he expects me to trust him blindly, but he couldn't trust me the same way. How is that fair?"

"Not just the fact that you had feelings for him back then."

I scoffed but didn't deny it.

"I've been trying, Bracks, I've been trying like hell to let go...but I just can't." Tears ran down my face.

"I'm not saying get over it, but what I'm asking is, let go. Because the harder you make it for both of you, the more bitter these next few years will be."

With that, he got to his feet and walked out. I stayed where I was in my chair and kept watch over Josh.

I must've dozed off, because the next thing I heard was grunts and groans of pain. I looked around and found a full human Josh on the bed. His body was covered in sweat, and when I touched him he was burning up.

"Bracks!" I called and he came in. He checked Josh, and just shook his head.

"His body is fighting off the silver and the blessing the bullet had."

"What can we do?" I asked in a shaky voice.

"There's nothing we can do, just wait and see."

He walked out and later Shawna came in with a thing of like warm water. I took a rag and started padding Josh with it.

"I'm so sorry!" I said in a whisper, as more tears ran down my face.

"Cam...Camila..."he gasped out, and I just kept padding.

"I'm here, Josh, right next to you." I whispered in despair.

He trembled all over, his muscles were taut all over his body. All I could do was sit there and watch him. It felt like hours that he shook, he started to settle down and just slept. I tried to move back to the chair, but he grabbed my arm. Making both Shawna and I jump.We both looked at each other, and she just shrugged. She got up and walked out. I carefully got into bed and snuggled up next to him. Sleep came quickly and I didn't fight it.

I must've moved at some point during the night, because I found myself facing the wall, but I wasn't alone. I felt arms around my waist and a soft breath on my neck. I peeked behind me and remembered that I had been sleeping with Josh. I felt my face burn, but I couldn't move. He had me held down tightly. I was pressed against his chest, and I was very aware of two things. His body was so warm and comforting and he was...at full attention. I remembered he was completely naked, and that hadn't changed.

Excitement started to warm my body up. The ache I had been feeling two nights ago was crawling back. His breath on the back of my neck was making a shiver down my back.

"Getting a little hot, are you?" his voice said in a low growl, quickly I sat up and pulled away.

I looked at him, but it wasn't Josh looking back at me. His eyes were yellow.

"No, I'm fine." I said lamely trying to get off the bed, but he grabbed my arm and pulled me back down on the bed. This time pinning me under his body.

"I can smell you, sweetheart, no point in lying." He said as he had his face next to mine, letting his nose run lightly along my neck. Then I felt a light peck on my pulse.

His hands were doing something else, one was right next to my head, the other...was running along my waist, and threatening to go lower. My heart was hammering in my chest, as he started to kiss my neck and his hand at my waist started to push my sweats down.

Even when this was happening, I took notice of how he was shaking a little. Then I realized that there was only one reason it wasn't Josh in control. I grabbed the wondering hand, and stopped it. He looked at me surprised that I had the nerve to stop him.

"You're hurt, now isn't the time." I said a little firmly, a small wolfish grin spread on his face, and he laid down again.

"Suit yourself." he simply said and closed his eyes. His soft snored told me he was asleep again. I carefully got up and went to find Bracks.

The house was dark but the fire place, I looked around but nobody was awake was my guess.

"Good morning." I heard behind me from the living room. I turned and found Max sitting in an arm-chair.

"Sir." I said bowing my head a little. He got to his feet slowly and stretched. Then walked toward me.

"How's he doing?" he asked once he was close to me.

"Well, his wolf...um...yeah, his wolf just talked to me." I said trying to save myself the embaressment. Max gave me a knowing smile, he heard the lie.

"Wolves, unfortunately are always hungry for flesh, Camila, not just to consume it but to feel,and smell it. Having a mate grants us the opportunity to feel both sides of that. It gives us comfort."

I thought about that and couldn't help not liking the answer. It made it sound like we were some kind of toy.

He came and at down at the stool.

"Sir you are a very kicked back alpha." I simply stated. He chuckled and nodded.

"You should've met my brother, he was the biggest hard ass I ever knew."

I sat there and looked at him.

"You took over the pack for your brother?"

"Yes, he was cruel to his team and very soiled in a way he always wanted his way. Was never happy when he didn't."

"What was his name?"

"Samuel."