Gabriel’s POV
Patricia took my blood, and it was now flowing into Aria’s body.
I stared at the blood bag without blinking.
I wanted to kill him.
I will kill him.
He wasn’t aware of what’s coming. It will be brutal. I will rip him apart piece by piece. He will beg for mercy. I will laugh in his face. He will scream in pain, and I will enjoy it. It will be music to my ears. It will be the most beautiful sound I have ever heard.
“We should clean her up before I continue,” Patricia’s voice interrupted my thoughts.
The blood bag was now empty, and Patricia gently removed the needle from Aria’s arm.
“You can take her, Nick,” she said and moved away. “Be gentle. Be careful with her wounds. I need to close them properly.”
Nick nodded and walked over to the bed. He picked her up in his arms and placed her head on his shoulder. He kissed her cheek and walked over to the bathroom.
“Do you need help?” I asked him.
He shook his head and closed the door behind him.
“We should change the bedsheets,” Patricia said as she started to remove them.
I walked over to her and helped her.
“I will bring the clean ones,” Jacob mumbled and left the room.
Patricia and I worked in silence.
“How do you know all this stuff?” I asked her once the silence became unbearable.
“I was in pretty bad shape after I broke the bond,” she sighed. “I had to take care of myself.”
“And you learned all of this from that experience alone?” I asked, surprised.
How bad was it if she needed to learn to do stitches and blood transfusions?
“No,” she chuckled. “I learned it along the way. I was an unofficial healer in my village. People would come to me to tend to their wounds.”
I nodded and we continued working in silence.
Jacob returned a few minutes later with a set of fresh sheets and Patricia and I put them on her bed.
“Will she be okay?” Jacob asked quietly once we finished.
“Yes,” Patricia nodded and gave him a small smile. “She needs to rest and eat, but she will be perfectly fine.”
Jacob sighed and ran his hand over his face. “Thank Goddess.”
The bathroom door opened, and Nick walked back out, holding Aria in his arms. He washed her body and her hair and dressed her up in a clean set of clothes.
“Great,” Patricia said and pointed to the bed. “Lay her down here.”
Nick placed her down on the bed and kissed her forehead. “I am here, love. I am not going anywhere.”
Patricia took something from her bag and walked over to Aria. She started stitching up her wounds.
Nick walked back over to me. He was distraught. His jaw was clenched, and his eyes were filled with unshed tears.
I raised my eyebrows in question.
“I didn’t see her wounds properly until I removed her clothes,” he said through his teeth. “Her whole body is beaten and bruised.”
My heart clenched painfully, and I wanted to punch something.
Well, no, not something. Someone.
“Motherfucker,” Jacob mumbled.
“I will kill him,” I said, my nostrils flaring.
Nick nodded and leaned against the wall. “We will make him pay.”
I looked back at my sister, and I just couldn’t hold back my tears anymore. She looked so tiny and broken. There were bruises, scrapes, and cuts all over her skin. I didn’t even want to know what was under her clothes. I couldn’t bear it. It would kill me.
I needed to do a better job of protecting her. I would never let her out of my sight again. Never. I couldn’t lose her again. I wouldn’t lose her again.
Nick placed a hand on my shoulder and gave it a reassuring squeeze. I didn’t look at him. I couldn’t look away from her. I didn’t want to.
“Why isn’t she waking up?” Jacob asked, his voice trembling.
Patricia turned to look at him before continuing her work. “Well, she is exhausted. She has lost a lot of blood, and I am sure he hadn’t been feeding her. She is dehydrated as well. Her body needs rest. Also, I gave her a strong sedative and it is keeping her from waking up.”
“Why would he do that to her?” Jacob sighed. “He wanted her power. She would be useless to him. Why would he torture her to the point of death?”
I winced at the word ‘death’. Nick growled quietly.
“Her power would be easier to take if she was weak,” Patricia explained, not looking away from Aria. “He wouldn’t let her die.”
“It looks like she would if we hadn’t got to her,” Nick growled.
He was right. I think she wouldn’t have survived if we hadn’t made it there in time.
Patricia nodded. “I agree. He messed up. I guessed he was angry and took it out on her, not paying attention to the extent of the damage he did.”
I clenched my fists and tightened my jaw. The bastard was taking his anger out on her. My blood was boiling, and I could feel my magic getting out of control.
The lights in the room flickered and everybody looked around confused.
Nick furrowed his eyebrows and looked at me. “Gabe, go outside for a while. You are losing control over your magic.”
“I am not leaving her,” I said through my clenched teeth, not removing my gaze from her.
“I will be here,” Nick said. “I won’t leave her. And you will come back soon. Just take a little break.”
“Come on, man,” Jacob said and placed a hand on my arm. “Let’s go talk to the guys downstairs. I am sure they are wondering what is going on.”
I looked at him and sighed. I nodded stiffly and followed him out of the room.
I took one last look at my sister, and I felt pain wash over me. It was actually painful for me to walk out of this room.
“I will be back soon, love,” I said to her and closed the door behind me.
Nick’s POV
I watched as Patricia finished stitching up her wounds.
“That’s it,” she mumbled quietly.
“Can I use magic to heal some of her wounds?” I asked desperately.
I couldn’t look at her like this. It was killing me. When I took off her clothes in the bathroom, I thought I would burn up in flames. Anger consumed me and all I saw was red. The only reason I didn’t blow up was because I was holding my life in my hands.
“Healing with magic can be tricky,” Patricia frowned as she disposed of the things that she used to help Aria. “I would have already told Gabriel to do it, if I had thought it would be a good idea.”
I sighed and ran a hand through my hair.
She was right.
I know Gabriel would have done it immediately if he had thought it would help. I would have done it. But I know it could be dangerous.
If not done properly and carefully, healing with magic could do even more damage. Bones could heal improperly, and open wounds could get infected or not close properly. It was even more dangerous with an internal bleeding. You can’t see the source, and you can leave it damaged, thinking that you fixed it, only for the person to die.
Potions can be used in healing, but they can’t heal everything. There were only a selected few conditions that could be treated with a potion. I knew Aria was a healer. That bitch Grace actually taught her something useful. Maybe there was a potion Aria could make that would help her heal at least some of her wounds.
“You could ask Gabriel to heal some of her bruises,” Patricia said, pulling me away from my thoughts. “He could do that, and it would help her not to freak out when she wakes up and takes a look at her body.”
I nodded and waited for Patricia to finish cleaning up so I could go to my mate.
She put her things in her medical bag and turned toward me.
“I am done here,” she said as she placed the bag on her shoulder. “Stay with her. The mate bond will help her heal.”
I nodded. “There is no fucking way I am leaving this room.”
Patricia gave me a small smile. “Just be careful.”
“Of course,” I smiled back and walked over to Aria.
She left the room and closed the door behind her.
I took off my shoes and carefully laid down next to her.
“Hey, baby,” I said quietly and took a deep breath of her scent.
My nose scrunched up immediately. She smelled like Gabriel.
Fuck.
The blood transfusion.
She wouldn’t smell like herself for a few hours, probably.
“You smell like your brother,” I said as I traced her jaw with my fingers. “It is kind of freaking me out, but I would have you smell like him forever if it meant you were safe.”
I stopped talking, wishing she would respond.
But she didn’t. She was sleeping peacefully.
“I missed you, love,” I said as I got close to her.
I carefully wrapped an arm over her belly, and I leaned my head on hers.
The tingles and sparks I missed like crazy spread all over my body. Every ache I had was gone. She was in my arms. I could see her. I could feel her. I could touch her soft skin. I could run my hand through her silky hair. She was here. And she was mine.
The only thing I was missing was her voice. I needed to hear her say my name. I needed to hear her say she loved me.
I will be complete when she wakes up.
I kissed the top of her head and pulled her closer to me, minding her injuries.
I heard the door open, and I saw Gabriel walk inside.
He pulled a chair close to the bed and took her hand in his.
“Hey, love,” he said quietly. “I am here. I will be here when you wake up. Please wake up soon. I miss you.”
I was running my fingers through her hair, and I was watching my friend. He adores her. And I couldn’t be happier that she had him. He was an amazing brother, and he would do anything for her. He was the only one I trusted with her.
Gabriel sighed and placed a hand on her cheek, rubbing it softly.
“I love you, Aria,” he mumbled.
“She loves you too,” I said.
He nodded and ran his fingers through her hair, not taking his eyes away from her face.
“Patricia said you could heal some of her bruises,” I said quietly.
Gabriel looked up at me and frowned. “It is dangerous. You know that.”
“I do,” I nodded. “But just the bruises. And not a lot. Just so she wouldn’t freak out when she wakes up and sees her body.”
Gabriel looked at me and sighed. “Fine. But I am not using a lot of my magic.”
I nodded and moved so I could lift up her shirt. I knew Gabriel hadn’t seen much of her bruises, and I was a little bit afraid of how he would react.
When he saw her belly and her ribs, his eyes darkened, and I could see him clenching his jaw.
“Calm down, Gabe,” I said. “You will help her.”
He nodded and placed a hand on her. She was so small that his hand covered her entire belly.
“Percuro,” he said quietly, and I could see her bruises fading away slowly.
He didn’t cure all of it, but it looked a lot better than it did before.
I pulled her shirt back down and covered her with a blanket.
I laid down next to her and placed my head on her shoulder.
I could see Gabriel taking her hand and leaning his head on her thigh.
Sleep was slowly consuming me. I closed my eyes, hoping that my love would be awake once I opened them again.
