The Gift chronicles

Chapter 35

Book 1 Chapter 35

One Month Later

One month had gone by, and Alpha Cain and his Pack Leaders had not discovered any leads on who

had poisoned me. Luckily, whoever poisoned me didn't use a strong enough dosage, and I recovered

within days.

On the night of the poisoning, Cain was mindlinked by Beta Jax because him and a few other men on

patrol had captured two rogues trying to sneak into their territory.

Alpha Cain went to the prison to question the rogues, and it wasn't too long after that he felt my pain

through our mate bond, and came rushing back. He found me nearly dead on the floor.

When I recovered, he told me that he found the note, and informed me that he did not write it. Whoever

left the note left no scent or traces that could be linked back to them.

When I suggested to Cain that it may be one of his pack members who poisoned me, he went into a

rage, telling me that no one from his pack would ever harm their Luna. The way I saw it, only a pack

member could have snuck into his Pack House undetected and leave the note. Alpha Cain and his

Pack Leaders disagreed. They thought it was related to the two rogues they caught sneaking on to

their territory.

Even though they tortured the rogues in every way imaginable, neither of them confessed until the day

they died, about two weeks after my poisoning.

Cain was smothering me in attention and affection since the attempted assassination. He rarely ever

left my side, and when he did, he assigned 3 guards plus a Pack Leader to watch over me. Typically,

the Pack Leader was Gamma Axel, because Axel was not only the third strongest in the pack, but

swore to the Alpha that he would rather die before letting anything happen to me. I suspected he felt

guilty about my whipping, and wanted to make it up in this way.

I could tell that Cain felt extremely guilty for the poisoning, and blamed himself for leaving me alone in

the Pack House. I knew I would never be without a guard for the rest of my life because of the incident.

In a way, the poisoning changed things between Cain and I. We had somewhat bonded due to

spending so much time together, since he would take me with him almost everywhere. I typically sat in

his lap as he worked on paperwork, and he even would explain what he was doing, not keeping me in

the dark about pack matters. I wouldn't say I liked him, but I had learned to tolerate his presence.

Cain and I even woke up early and spent two hours every morning training. Most of our training was

sparring, both using powers and not using powers. Initially, Cain was hesitant about fighting me,

worried that he would hurt me. After I (nonlethally) injured him by sending a dagger into his gut, he was

much more willing to be rough during our trainings.

I had taken a few hits of fire as a result of the fighting, but I reassured Cain that it was fine, and part of

the training. Eventually, I got better and better at dodging the flames until he couldn't hit me with them if

he tried. He always succeeded in pinning me down eventually, but I could tell that it wasn't easy for him

to.

I convinced Cain to let me train with his pack warriors for extra practice after a combination of begging/

guilting/ threatening him. This morning would be my first session, and I could hardly contain my

excitement.

I threw Cain's heavy arm off of me when I woke up, and leaped out of bed to get dressed. Cain grunted

half asleep, and said in a husky voice, "Has anyone ever told you that you're extremely gentle?"

Immediately, I ran back to the bed and jumped on his waist, holding a knife to his throat before he could

open his eyes. Gentle, huh? I teased.

His eyes sleepily blinked, but he nonetheless played along, flipping me over on the bed so he was on

top. He plucked the knife from my hand and sent it clattering on the floor.

"Like a little bunny," Cain smirked, and I growled playfully, snapping my teeth at him. "You're in a good

mood," he remarked.

I shrugged, I get to beat people up today, why wouldn't I be happy? Ccontent © exclusive by Nô/vel(D)ra/ma.Org.

Cain rolled his eyes. "I forgot who I was talking to. Should I be alarmed that you're so ready to harm my

pack members?" I squirmed underneath him until he got off of me and I went to get dressed.

As long as they respect me, nobody should be too hurt, I didn't add that one of his pack members

harmed me with the poison, not wanting to start an argument when I barely was able to convince him to

let me train.

"Nobody would dare to disrespect my mate. They know that would mean instant death," Cain

threatened.

And you say I'm aggressive? I laughed. Alphas.

I walked out of the closet after getting dressed. I wore dark red leggings, a black sports bra, and black

running shoes.

Cain frowned when he saw my attire. "You couldn't even put on a shirt?"

I snorted. Says the one who walks around half naked at all times.

"That's different," Cain protested.

How? I challenged, and he just glared at me in response. Even right now, he wasn't wearing a shirt,

only boxers, which was his sleeping attire every night. I tried not to stare at his muscles, but in my

defense, I was merely appreciating the muscle definition as a fellow athlete. Besides, you said nobody

would dare disrespect me, right? Which is it? Either they'll respect me and you don't have to worry, or

they won't and I'll beat them up anyways.

Cain sighed heavily, knowing he lost the battle. "Fine, but tell me if anyone says anything to you, I'll

handle it."

I glared at him. I can handle myself, Alpha.

"Trust me, little mate. I am well aware," He rolled his eyes, and I smiled thinking of all of the times I got

a punch or kick in on him. "Axel will be leading the training session, and I know he'll tell me if anything

goes wrong."

I snorted. He's a snitch. And he was. When he was guarding me, if I so much as sneezed, Cain knew

about it.

Cain finally got out of bed and walking into the closet, returning a few seconds later, only wearing

sweatpants. Hypocrite.

"He cares about you, Ares. Remember how often he was there for you while you were in the hospital

after the poisoning," Cain reminded me. How could I forget? Even when Cain was there, Axel would

sometimes stand guard outside of the door, and he especially would stick around when Cain was gone.

Only because he feels guilty I took his punishment, I countered.

Cain shook his head. "I don't think it's that. I think it's his instincts to protect his Luna kicking in. He's

been waiting for a Luna just as long as I have."

I frowned. Don't call me Luna, I'm technically not the Luna yet.

"Speaking of, there is a Blood Moon in a week. Since you are fully recovered from the poisoning, I

figured we should do the Blood ceremony then," Cain proposed, grabbing my hands as he spoke.

I'll think about it, I reluctantly responded. He didn't look pleased with my less than enthusiastic

response, but he was lucky I was agreeing to consider it at all.