Dimitri’s POV
She wasn’t going to take that plant. If something happened and she wasn’t able to mind-link me I would fucking lose my shit.
But on the other hand, her powers made her sick. She was hurt because she was trying to help me. How could I let her be in pain when there was a solution to it all?
“I have that lunch with the Lunas today,” Maddie said as she tried to get up.
I growled and pulled her back to my chest. She was crazy if she thought I would let her get out of this bed.
“It’s way past lunchtime, Mads,” Will said. “It is almost 6 p.m.”
“Shit,” Maddie mumbled. “You should have woken me up.”
“Like I would have let you go,” I said, growling again. “You heard what Oliver said. You need to rest.”
“Don’t worry about it, Mads,” Ellie said. “I talked to the Lunas and I arranged for breakfast tomorrow. I told them you weren’t feeling well and they completely understood.”
Oh, she wouldn’t be going to that either. She was going to spend the day in bed. She was going to rest and I wouldn’t let her do anything or go anywhere until I was completely sure that she was okay.
“She isn’t going,” I said, making both Maddie and Ellie look at me. “She is going to rest.”
“I have to go, Dimitri,” Maddie said. “I made them a promise.”
I growled and wanted to argue, but Ellie interrupted me.
“We will see how she feels in the morning, okay?” she said, giving me a knowing look. “I know you want to make sure that she is okay, but she has obligations, Dimitri. She will go if she is feeling well.”
I raised my brows at Ellie. She really had some nerve telling me what would happen. I could feel anger boiling inside me.
“Don’t start, Dimitri,” Will sighed. “Ellie is right and you know it.”
Maddie turned her head and placed a soft kiss on my chest. I relaxed immediately.
But then I figured out what she did and I growled.
“Maddie!” I exclaimed as I cupped her cheeks and made her look at me. “You have to stop doing that!”
She sighed and closed her eyes.
“I am so sorry,” she mumbled as she opened her eyes again. “I am just used to it.”
I shook my head and placed a soft kiss on her lips.
“My princess,” I said softly. “You need to stop. You are hurting yourself.”
Maddie nodded and buried her face into my neck. She took a deep, slow breath and I could feel her relaxing. I placed my hand on the back of her head and held her close to me.
“Maybe Oliver’s idea isn’t a bad one,” Will mumbled and I looked at him. “She is obviously having trouble controlling it.”
I growled and narrowed my eyes at him.
“I need to be able to mind-link her, Will,” I said. “I need Skye to be able to talk to her.”
What if I wasn’t with her and something happened? What if Skye wouldn’t be able to let Skol know what was going on with her? My princess had a bad habit of not telling me everything I needed to know. She had a bad habit of thinking that she was protecting me by hiding things from me. That was another thing I needed to talk to her about. She had to stop doing it. She had to be completely honest with me. But until she learned how to do that, Skye was my way of making sure that my princess was okay.
But Will was right. She was having trouble and it was only hurting her.
“She is never alone, Dimitri,” Will said. “One of us is always with her. You would always be able to reach her and you would always know where she is.”
I tightened my hold on her. I wasn’t sure. I still wasn’t fucking sure.
“Oliver said that the side effects were only a possibility,” Ellie said. “Maybe she won’t have them. She could try to take it and see. The effect of the plant should wear off after a while.”
“She will probably have the side effects,” Ali said quietly, making Will, Ellie, and me look at her.
Maddie lifted her head and looked at her as well.
Ali looked at me and I could tell that she was very nervous. I tried to soften my gaze. I knew I didn’t make the best first impression on her and I didn’t want her to think that I didn’t like her. She was important to both Maddie and Will and that made her important to me too.
“How do you know that, baby?” Will asked as he ran his fingers through her hair.
She looked at him and took a deep breath.
“Because I believe that I know what plant Oliver was talking about,” she said. “It’s wolfsbane and it would surely block her mind-link and her connection with her wolf.”
My eyes widened and a feral growl escaped me.
“Wolfsbane?!” I screamed. “He wants to give her fucking wolfsbane?!”
I wanted to get up and go find the fucker, but Maddie stopped me.
“Not in the amount that would harm me in any way, Dimitri,” Maddie said calmly. “He is going to use small amounts and mix it with other plants.”
I furrowed my brows and shook my head.
“How do you know that, Maddie?” I asked.
“Because he used it to help my mom,” she said calmly. “Healers use wolfsbane in a lot of their potions. It is not dangerous in small amounts.”
“She is right,” Ali added and I looked back at her. “Oliver will probably make a tea with a mixture of different herbs, one of which will be wolfsbane.”
I clenched my fists and gulped.
“But you are sure she will have those side effects?” I asked and Ali gave me a small nod.
“I am sure that Oliver didn’t say anything because he didn’t want to scare you,” she said. “But even a small amount of wolfsbane would cause her to lose the ability to mind-link and talk to her wolf.”
I tightened my jaw and forced myself to remain calm. I couldn’t let the fear and the anger overwhelm me. I couldn’t give Maddie a reason to use her powers. I was sure that she would do it if she felt me get angry or afraid.
“Are you sure that he would use wolfsbane?” Ellie asked. “Maybe he was talking about another plant.”
Ali furrowed her brows and bit her lower lip.
“Maybe,” she said. “But I doubt it.”
I took a deep breath and released it slowly.
“You don’t have to decide right now, Dimitri,” Will said. “Maddie needs rest anyway. Sleep on it and we can talk about it again tomorrow. It’s a tough decision.”
Will was right. We didn’t have to make that decision now.
“You are right,” I said, giving him a small nod. “We will talk about it tomorrow. Do you need me to go back to the office with you?”
Will shook his head and relief washed over me. I didn’t want to leave Maddie.
“Everything is ready for tomorrow,” Will said. “I will just go over some details one more time before going to bed.”
“Mind-link me if you need anything,” I said and he gave me a small nod.
He looked at Maddie and smiled.
“Get some rest, okay Mads?” he said softly. “I will see you tomorrow.”
“Goodnight, Will,” she said, smiling back at him.
Ali and Ellie approached the bed and hugged Maddie.
“I will see you tomorrow, Maddie,” Ellie said, smiling a little. “Get some sleep.”
Maddie nodded and smiled at them. I watched them walk away.
My lips were on Maddie’s even before Will closed the door.
“How about I prepare you a warm bath?” I asked as I lowered my lips to her neck.
“Only if you will be in that bath too,” she said and I chuckled.
“Oh, that is surely going to happen,” I said as I stopped kissing her neck. “I can’t wait to feel your naked body pressed against mine, princess.”
Maddie smiled and I kissed her lips again. I was going to show her how much I loved her. I was going to show her that I wouldn’t leave her. I was going to show her that she was my entire world and that I wouldn’t be able to live and breathe without her in my arms.
