Painted Scars

DAISY

I’d spent a lot of time thinking about potential mates.

Sure, I never really felt that spark, but I couldn’t help but wonder, “what if?”

Take Gabe, for instance. He would’ve been a terrible mate.

He would’ve tried to protect me too much, treating me like I was made of glass. He’d think that because I was a healer, I was delicate and fragile.

Zavier was another possibility, back when I was seventeen and full of hormones. But he was too much like his brother, Zack.

Zack was a moody, lovable jerk, and Zavier was just an older version of him.

The last thing I needed was someone who was always on edge, ready to explode at any moment.

Before Eve came into the picture, I’d even thought about Raphael as a mate. But that idea was too terrifying to even consider.

I’m sure it would’ve been the same if I’d thought about Shade as a mate.

But like most women, I saw Shade as one of those distant, unreachable male wolves. The thought of him being my mate never even crossed my mind.

And yet, there I was, sitting on him, staring into his beautiful eyes, shocked by the realization that he was my mate.

I felt like running. Shade was both a dream and a nightmare, all wrapped up in one incredibly attractive package.

He should’ve stayed out of my reach.

My body gave out, unable to hold itself up any longer, and my mind shut down, completely worn out.

I passed out while sitting on the Gamma of the Millennium in the middle of a battle, completely naked.

Embarrassing doesn’t even begin to cover it.

***

I woke up to a peaceful silence.

I was back in my room at the Pack House, dressed in my favorite pajamas. I was clean and refreshed and fully recharged.

It had been a while since I’d last needed to recharge.

The feeling, the rush of knowing I had enough healing magic to cure an entire army, was satisfying.

I was about to sit up when a growl echoed through the room.

I froze, and reluctantly turned my head to the left, where a wolf was hidden in the shadows, away from the moonlight streaming through the window.

He was standing on all fours, watching me with eyes that glowed a wolfish emerald.

I swallowed hard, my heart pounding in my chest.

My mate was here, standing guard. My mate was here.

My mate was also Shade.

I gulped again, sitting up slowly, ignoring his growling.

As I sat up, the wolf’s growl grew louder.

That made me frown. “Don’t growl at me like that, Shade.”

The wolf didn’t stop growling. He also didn’t step out of the shadows, so all I could see were his eyes, and his intoxicatingly masculine scent enveloping me.

Why was he still in wolf form now that I was awake? And why was he hiding in the dark corner?

There was a knock on the door and I jumped, then relaxed when I recognized the scent. It was just Gabe.

The door opened slightly, but before Gabe could come in, the wolf lunged. It happened so fast, I could only sit there on the bed, stunned.

In an instant, Shade was in human form, completely naked, and had the door open.

His tall, muscular body blocked the entrance, his hands braced on the door frame as he looked down at Gabe, who was slightly shorter than him.

“Get out of here,” Shade growled, his voice barely recognizable.

What was happening?

“Shade—” I couldn’t see him, but I could imagine Gabe gritting his teeth in pure alpha anger.

"Get. Out.” His voice was sharp, his words filled with tension.

I shivered, instinctively wrapping my arms around myself.

My gaze drifted to Shade’s back, and I saw the scars I’d felt earlier on the battlefield.

They were deep, probably made with a special alloy that couldn’t be healed properly, no matter what.

I could heal them, though, if Shade let me. I had enough power for that.

Why hadn’t he let anyone look at them, or try to heal them?

I could tell that the scars hadn’t been touched by anyone else. And I doubted Shade would let anyone touch them, after the way he’d reacted when I tried to heal them.

Gabe growled, and I quickly turned my attention back to the situation at hand.

“Stop being an idiot, Shade,” the alpha snarled, “you still have a bullet lodged inside you, and from the smell of it, Daisy’s already up and fully recharged.

He narrowed his eyes. “So stop acting like a jerk, and—”

Shade’s body tensed as he growled, his sound much more intimidating.

Even I cringed. Usually, the only men who could make me submit were Rafe and Gabe, when the latter was being a stubborn fool.

But Shade, radiating danger and mystery, had never made me feel like that.

Not that I knew much about him, of course, but something about the fact that he was so overwhelming felt wrong to me.

Mates shouldn’t be overwhelmed by each other. That wasn’t right.

“Fine,” Gabe spat. “Do whatever you want, idiot.”

Shade didn’t wait for Gabe to leave. He simply slammed the door shut in his face.

Then he turned to me, his face twisted.

Shade was known for being incredibly handsome, but right now, as angry as he was, there was nothing attractive about him.

He was dangerous. Really, really dangerous. In a hot, masculine kind of way.

My nipples tightened, and heat pooled in my lower belly before I could even finish the thought.

Shade slowly moved toward me. I found myself frozen in place, my eyes wide on him.

Then he climbed onto the bed and knelt before me.

His closeness made me shudder, my skin suddenly hypersensitive. My wolf growled lowly inside of me, hissing mate in her own voice.

But everything faded when Shade’s hand suddenly cupped my cheek.

His eyes were a wild, jungle green, his mouth tight, his expression almost murderous.

“Why did it have to be you?” he suddenly asked. I flinched as if he’d slapped me.

“I’m just as confused as you are,” I responded, my voice trembling. My feelings were a jumbled mess, unsure and unsettled.

What was he trying to say?

His gaze fell on me as his hand shifted from my cheek to my chin, holding it firmly, tilting my head back to meet his eyes.

“I don’t want a mate,” he declared, his eyes wild and intense, “I’ve never wanted one. This wasn’t supposed to happen.”

“Are you out of your mind?” I shot back, disbelief ringing in my voice.

I wasn’t hurt. I was angry.

“You don’t pick when you meet your mate! It’s not a damn ~choice~! Do you think if I had the option to choose my mate, I would’ve picked ~you~?”

I let out a disbelieving laugh, because the alternative was to cry. And I didn’t want to cry. Crying was a sign of weakness.

And I was not weak, no matter what people thought about healers.

His eyes were wild, his chest heaving, and suddenly he was closer than before, his nose brushing mine, his body pressed against mine.

He continued to growl, his eyes becoming more animalistic. His body tensed, muscles locking as if he was holding himself back.

I realized he was battling himself, and his instincts. His mating instincts.

What I’d just said was a direct challenge for him to prove just how suitable he was as my mate.

And he was about to respond. But then, he’d forced himself to stop.

I’d never known a wolf who could do that; mating instincts were supposed to be overpowering, leaving no room for debate.

The fact that he was somehow able to resist them…

It was concerning. Not just for me, as his supposed mate, but because no healthy werewolf in his prime should be able to control himself like that in front of their mate.

No healthy werewolf…

His scars. My gut told me it all came back to his scars.

But I didn’t get the chance to ask. Shade suddenly let out a different kind of growl, a growl of pure tension. He jumped off the bed and away from me.

When he looked at me, his eyes were no longer wild. He just seemed furious.

“Stay away from me, Luxford,” he snarled, his eyes flashing at me.

My heart pounded, and all color drained from my face. I had a feeling where this was going, and I didn’t like it. Not one bit.

“Shade,” I said, forcing my voice to be calm and rational, “let’s talk about this like adults. You don’t have to—”

“There’s nothing to talk about,” he interrupted, his voice low and harsh, and this time I did wince.

“Thank you for healing me. I’ll get your sister to remove the bullet now.”

Those last words were the final blow. I jumped off the bed and marched over to him, furious.

“I healed you, so ~I~ will get the damn bullet out. You don’t get a say in this.”

His body tensed again as I stopped right in front of him, my hands balled into fists, my lips trembling with pure rage.

“You’re not an alpha, Luxford. You can’t order me around.”

I gave him a sweet, fake smile. “In this case, I’m pulling rank.”

Only a head healer could pull rank in a pack, and only if they believed a werewolf involved was on the brink of death.

Which included a situation like this, where a bullet was still lodged inside Shade.

Shade’s eyes turned back to their wolf-green. “I’m not part of your pack. That little trick won’t work on me.”

Technically, he was right, since he was part of the Millennium Wolves, free of any pack, maintaining the balance along with the Alpha of the Millennium.

But I’d already prepared for this argument. “You’re in my territory.”

I gave him another sickly sweet smile. “And Daphne’s not here, so she can’t pull rank. I’ll do it instead. So you’d better get back on the bed before the bullet infects your blood.”

He looked ready to tear my head off, but I gave him another smile and stepped back, gesturing to the bed.

“Be my guest, Shade,” I said, giving him a triumphant look. I had won and he knew it.

He gave me a heated look, then walked with obvious annoyance to the bed and lay on his back.

Now his body was fully exposed. Until now, I’d done my best to look only at his face, but that was no longer possible.

I stared at his chest, gleaming in the moonlight like sculpted marble, at his waist, then his most intimate part…

He was aroused. Really aroused. My insides clenched and I felt my panties getting wet.

Heat surged in my gut, urging me forward, wanting me to touch the long, thick shaft. To lick it, touch it, ride it…

“If you touch me there, I’ll kill you.”

I snapped my eyes back to Shade’s and shivered, my arousal vanishing instantly.

He looked serious. He sounded serious. He seemed like he would do exactly what he said, mate or not.

Swallowing, I gave him the best haughty look I could muster right now and flicked my hair back.

“Don’t worry,” I said, moving closer and preparing my healing magic for the extraction of the bullet, “you’re not that attractive that I wouldn’t be able to control myself.”

That was obviously a lie. Even if he looked like dirt—which he didn’t, but that was beside the point—I would still want him with undiluted lust.

Because he was my mate, and that’s how mates worked.

Shade’s eyes told me that he knew I was spouting nonsense. I didn’t care as long as it got him to shut up.

My chest was still aching from the verbal assault, and I wasn’t ready for more now.

Besides, he still had a bullet inside him.

I needed to take care of that before I beat some sense into him.

I pressed my hands to the spot where the bullet was lodged beneath his skin, closing my eyes and reaching out with my magic.

It responded eagerly, slipping under his skin, into his blood, seeking the bullet at my command.

I found it nestled a few inches from where it had last been. I began to envelop it in my magic, gently urging it upward, back towards the surface.

The bullet yielded bit by bit. It was a slow process, but I didn’t want to rush it. I wanted the bullet to exit his body as cleanly as possible.

My eyes were shut, and I was so engrossed in coaxing the bullet that I barely registered a voice.

Had someone come into the room while I was working on Shade? I wasn’t sure, and it didn’t matter. I needed to stay focused.

After what felt like an eternity, the bullet finally grazed against Shade’s skin.

Now came the most challenging part—extracting the bullet entirely without it piercing the skin again, causing a fresh wound.

Healing magic, in this sense, was almost telekinetic. I willed my magic to tighten its grip around the bullet, then guided it through the skin, leaving it unscathed.

It was magic similar to passing through solid walls.

I had infused some of my magic into the bullet, making it one with the magic. Only then could I activate this unique, seldom-used aspect of my ability.

I usually avoided doing this, not just because it drained a lot of energy, but because our healing abilities weren’t meant to do it.

The fact that I could, well…

I suspected it had something to do with a certain Webb Montgomery.

Slowly opening my heavy-lidded eyes, I picked up the bullet, which lay on Shade’s bare, unblemished skin, and tucked it into my pants.

It might come in handy, I thought, since I’d essentially infused some magic into the bullet, converting the magic into mana. That was something to contemplate later.

Wiping the sweat from my brow, I looked around and was surprised to see Raphael and Eve standing there.

They were joined by a seemingly healthy Zack, Claire, and Gabe. I glanced down at Shade and saw his eyes fixed on Gabe, unreadable.

Gabe was doing his best not to return the gaze, judging by the tension in his jaw. I couldn’t help but frown at that.

Acting all grown-up now, just because Rafe is around. You’re such a hypocrite, Gabe.

Eve’s eyes caught mine when I felt them on me. “Thank you for healing Shade,” she said, nodding in what appeared to be respect.

Had any of them seen me using my magic in that unusual way? Looking around, I concluded that by the time they had arrived, the bullet had already been removed.

Which was a relief.

I shrugged. “No problem.”

Shade sat up and looked at Raphael. “What are you doing here?” he asked, his voice back to normal.

That made me clench my teeth in anger. What game was he playing?

“Got a favor from a Deity to teleport us here,” the One True Alpha replied.

Then his expression seemed to darken. “We heard about the Hunters back in Shanghai. I made sure we came back as fast as possible.”

Gabe nodded in agreement. “Now that the battle is over, we can—”

“It’s over?” I interrupted, suddenly realizing I’d been unconscious during most of it. “What happened? Did we win?”

Gabe glanced at Shade before turning back to me.

“Shade tore through the remaining Hunters,” he said. “There weren’t many left standing, and since he was fully healed, he was able to finish the rest of them.”

So, I’d done the right thing by using all my healing magic on him. “I see,” I said, relief washing over me.

But Gabe decided to spoil the moment by scowling and giving me his alpha stare.

“You’ll be punished, however,” he said in a tone that left no room for argument.

“You disobeyed a direct order from me, Daisy. You used Raphael’s room to sneak out, and you put yourself in danger. That’s beyond acceptable and you know it.”

I clenched my hands into fists. He wanted to do this right here, in front of everyone? Fine.

“You were, and still are, being unreasonable,” I told him in a cold voice that made his eyes narrow. “I’ve spoken with Jocelyn White, you know. The head healer of East Coast Pack?”

I narrowed my eyes. “Her alpha allows her to go into dangerous situations to save her packmates’ lives. That’s what we head healers are here for. That’s what we’re supposed to do.”

My voice grew louder. “It’s part of my role as the strongest, most reliable healer in the pack. You can’t order me to stay back while your soldiers are falling and there’s no one there to help. You can’t do this, because it will break me.”

My voice wavered, and I realized I was crying. I angrily wiped the tears away.

“So please, if Aiden Norwood can allow Jocelyn to use her healing abilities to the fullest without clipping her wings, you can’t be so different. You must not be so different.”

Gabe’s eyes were livid. All he said was, “The two situations are different. Aiden doesn’t love Jocelyn.”

And that, I knew, was the root of all these problems.