Chapter 109
Yorick:
I fought the monsters without a weapon. Every time one of them attacked the baby, I quickly moved my arm and grabbed it by the neck before it could reach me or the baby. Only I know how I managed that. I guess the adrenaline rush was so high that night, and I was angry. I finally had a moment with Clementine. I felt the mate bond with her, only for these creatures to come and ruin it all. So yeah, I was beyond angry, but somehow I survived. The anger I channeled through my powers worked, and I secured the baby. But the rest of the night was a blur. I had wounds I couldn’t even heal. Even to shift, I would need a lot of strength. I just knew I held the baby close to my chest. Although the baby was cold, I managed to drag myself out of the woods where I had been hiding and reach the station.
There were moments when I saw Clementine looking at me, and I didn’t know how that was possible. How could she be in so many places? One time, when I was in the woods, she offered me water. I drank from her hands, but then she was gone. I don’t know what was happening to me. I only knew my clothes were drenched in the blood of the fleshmingos. Then I was back on the mainland. By the time I woke up, I was being taken to the hospital. I was told I had secured a baby, but there was also a dead baby in the same carriage with me. I saw the baby’s face as they took it away, and somehow I felt my whole existence stop when I realized the baby I carried was the one wrapped in the black blanket — which meant it had died. So whose baby did I have with me?
When I was in the hospital, the lurker stood outside my room, making sure no one got to me. Throughout that time, I would wake up saying Clementine’s name. I knew this because when I finally woke up, Miss Rue told me I had been missing my squadmate a lot. She said it was because Clementine had been left behind in the North, and that broke my heart. I remember losing all the progress I had made in recovery until she came back and told me Clementine was back, and so was Troy, and they had babies with them. I was also told Sadie had passed away and her baby was given back to her parents. Now I was heading back after I had healed.
“You’re awfully silent,” I said to my wolf, wearing my shirt after I had run around to heal in my wolf form, even though lurkers were everywhere. My wolf knew we could shift and run all we wanted, but it wouldn’t get us anywhere. We couldn’t escape. Bold of them to think I wanted to run anymore. My mate was here.
“Someone was watching us in the North, Yorick,” Rich said, making me frown. I was finally feeling like myself. All the ache in my bones and body was gone. I felt powerful and happy.
“Yeah, I know. I had a feeling. Maybe it was the fleshmingos,” I said, not caring much. I just wanted to get back home quickly to see Clementine again. And the fact that Haiden was already there put me in a very competitive mood.
“No, fleshmingos are blind, Yorick. Somebody was there. I noticed a shadow. Every time we turned around, there was a shadow on the ground, like someone was behind us,” Rich said, making the hair on the back of my neck stand up.
“Maybe it was just in our heads. Remember, we’d been seeing Clementine all over the place, too. We were badly wounded. And you know werewolves — once we lose a lot of blood, we get hallucinations,” I reminded him. It wasn’t far-fetched that our wounds caused those visions.
“I don’t know. Anyway, we should hurry back. I don’t want Clementine, our mate, to be with Haiden or that Troy who’s been acting weird around her,” Rich said, and I nodded.
“I’ve noticed that too. Troy acts like Clementine belongs to him just because they were friends sometime in the past. That means nothing, especially when it comes to a mate. I’m Clementine’s mate. Of course, my place should be higher in her life now, or at least I hope so. If not, I’ll make it happen p>
The minute I reached the dorm room, I opened the door and saw the most beautiful sight ever. Clementine was changing the sheets on my bed. I couldn’t imagine her doing chores. She wasn’t the type. But you know what else suited her? Taking care of my stuff.
“Yorick!” Troy was the first to see me because he was facing me. They were all changing their bedsheets. When he mentioned my name, Clementine turned around and looked at me. I noticed her eyes widened as she sized me up, almost like checking on me and my wounds. Once she was sure I was fine, I saw a look of relief. I couldn’t believe it. It meant a lot to me.
Troy came over and hugged me, laughing. “We all made it back.” I did a quick headcount. Although I wasn’t pleased to see Ian back with us, he was just there. Whether he existed or not, didn’t matter much.
“Hey man, I’m glad you’re back.” Then Haiden showed up with a bit of a sour look on his face, even though I remembered him taking care of me on the train. Still, I could feel some tension between us, and I wondered when I would tell him that Clementine and I are mates.
I gave him a side hug, and he patted my back before stepping away. Then Clementine came into view. “I’m happy to have you back,” she whispered, looking a little timid. That was probably the effect of the mate bond on her.
I didn’t respond, just lowered my face and stared at her through my eyebrows. The more I looked, the redder her cheeks got.
“You should— rest. You just—- healed, so y—ou shou—ld be resting,” she started to stutter and fumble awkwardly, trying to avoid my gaze. I liked that. The red suited her cheeks.
“I’m fine now,” I said.
“Welcome, dude.” Then Ian broke through. Everyone turned to look at him, which confused me. Did something happen while I was gone? I knew we all didn’t like Ian, but he must have done something else for everyone to be paying so much attention to him.
“By the way, did you thank Clementine? She was the one who handed her baby to you. Then she left Haiden standing at the door, just to go fetch a baby for herself,” Ian said, making me realize the baby I had was Clementine’s.
So she gave up her baby just so I wouldn’t have to go back to the North? My eyes landed on her, and all I felt was shock. How could someone be so selfless?
With that, I didn’t care who was watching us. I rushed to her, cupped her face in my hands, and crushed my lips against her soft, juicy ones.