A Howling Heart
Chapter fifteen

When his lips make contact with mine, and his feral growl vibrates his tongue against mine, I jolt awake from screams that pierce the house loud enough to break the glass. I frantically scan my room and sweat a second skin along my body. The covers feel a million pounds as I kick them off. I shove my covers off and realize I'm alone and that Matias isn't anywhere to be found.

It was just a dream. One he invaded. He's not really here... but someone's screaming.

Oh no! My mom!

I lurch out of bed, stumbling on the blanket as my feet get entangled in its trap before I kick it off and sprint out into the hall. I listen to the sound of groans, my heart hammering frighteningly in my chest.

Her bedroom door is cracked. I move toward it, calling her name. "Mom!"

Please be okay.

"Mom? Are you okay?"

She doesn't reply. Just another stretch of strangled moans when I push her door open and search the room for her. She's crumbled at the foot of her bed, clutching her stomach, a pile of vomit beside her. I cringe, saliva pooling in my mouth while I become crippled with nausea.

I never do well with vomit. I'm a sympathetic vomiter.

I kneel before her, frowning when I note her clammy, flushed skin and the strange purplish tint to her body.

Why is she turning purple?

I clutch her chin, her mouth going slack as her eyes roll in the back of her head, and a choked noise leaves her throat.

"Mom! Are you choking?"

I look in her airway and don't see any obstructions, and that's when the panic truly starts to set in.

No, no, no, no! I need to call someone.

I press my hands against her shoulders, attempting once more to rouse her from whatever sickly spell she's having, but she doesn't respond.

What is going on with her?

I stand and sprint back to my room in pursuit of my phone.

She's going to die. If they don't get here... she is going to die!

As soon as I get in my room, my eyes are shrouded by morbid images of my lifeless mother. Dead. Buried. Grieving. I force myself to take some steadying breaths and begin moving around the room, tossing papers everywhere, kicking clothes out of my way, and ripping my bed apart.

"Where is it? Where the hell is it," I scream, my desperate plea bouncing off each wall uselessly. I drag my fingers through my hair and blink away hot tears from my eyes. "I can't find it! I can't find the damn phone!"

I sniffle, spinning around to jog back to my mother's room. My mouth falls agape at her lifeless figure.

Am I too late?

"Her phone."

I silently curse the fact we're a part of the age where house phones are basically obsolete and move through her bedroom, tossing her books onto the ground, yanking drawers open, and rummaging through her clothes. Why can't I find it? Where the hell is it?

"I can't find anything!"

I cover my mouth with my hand, lips quivering and nostrils flaring as I cry helplessly beside my mother.

I could call him.

Matias....

I'm sure he'll come.

She needs help.

I dread the fact that I have to rely on someone, but the longer my mother lays there in the throes of her possible demise, I realize I may not have a choice but to call upon my alpha. Matias! Please! I need you!

My mother is hurt! I can't find the phones! I need someone to help me! Please!

Come to me!

I expect his usual invasion. His gruff voice is a reassurance that everything is going to be alright, but I'm met with silence.

When I need him, he's silent.

"Oh, no..."

I drop to my knees in front of my mother, pressing my ear against her chest to listen for a heartbeat. I gasp when I hear hers faintly, but I am unsure of how long it'll last until she succumbs to her sickness. "Oh Mom, please don't go. I- I can't lose you. I just can't. I don't have anyone else. I don't. You're it." "Fae, move."

I sit up so fast it makes my head spin, and I almost believe Matias's large frame, which swallows the space of the door frame, is fake; He has to be a mirage. Until his heavy steps ring around the room as he nears me. He came! He heard me!

"Yes, I did. I am yours. So I came." He's mine....

And I barely know him.

It's weird, but I don't have time to dwell. He gestures with a nod for me to move so he can assess my mother. I scurry upward, moving so he can have easier access to her.

He presses his hand against her neck, his thumb along the vein where her pulse is before he lets out a deep breath and takes action. He loops his arms underneath her, scooping her upward into them, before he stands and looks at me. "What are you doing? W-what's wrong with her?"

Oh no, did she choke to death?

Hysteria surges within me, and he shakes his head.

"She didn't choke. Let's go."

"A-are we going to a hospital?"

He moves past me, wordlessly carrying my mother down the steps, and I hear him mumbling words in Latin beneath his breath.

Why won't he tell me?

I need to know she's going to be okay.

I need to know!

My eyes widen when I notice his jeep out front. He manages to pull open the door without dropping her and gently lays her on the seat. And I thought he didn't know how to be gentle.

"Fae, get in."

"Where are we going? A hospital? She needs medical attention, Matias!"

He huffs frustratedly, yanks open the passenger door, and nods.

"In. Now."

"Why won't you tell me? If I really am that valuable to you, tell me!"

He growls, stalking toward me before he loops his arms around my waist, lifts me, and brings me toward the passenger seat.

"Matias! Let me down! I'm not a child!"

I attempt to wriggle out of his grasp to no avail.

He's freakishly strong.

"Matias! Stop! You can't just force me in!"

"I am trying to help your mother, but you're making it difficult. Do you want my help or not?"

I nod slowly, very aware of how I'm pressed against his body in a way that sends shock waves of pleasure throughout my body. My face heats up with embarrassment at this notion, and I inwardly reprimand myself for getting turned on when my mother's life is at stake.

"Yes.... I do."

"Okay then. Get in the damn jeep." He sets me down next to the jeep, and guilt crashes into me. I realize my throwing a fit is prolonging the time it takes to get my mother proper help.

I climb into the passenger seat, too ashamed of myself for calling to question his actions after he showed up and not trusting him to handle things.

It's okay... he's bringing her to the hospital. We're going to get her help. Everything is going to be fine.

I rest a hand on my stomach, hoping the knots will untwist.

She's not dead... and she's not going to die. I won't let her.

I stare intensely at the road, hating the fact that I have no clue where anything is.

So, even if I wanted to bring her to the hospital, I wouldn't be able to.

I hate feeling helpless!

"You're not helpless. So as long as I have breath in my body, I will help you." He squeezes my thigh reassuringly.

Intense.

"Mating is intense."

Mating... such an animal kind of word. Like a bunch of stray dogs.

I wince when I hear the squeak of hands tightening around the leather steering wheel. I dare a glimpse at him, firming my lips embarrassingly when noticing tension corded in his muscles, his shoulders high up, and his jaw is clenched. Oops. I didn't mean that.

"You have a lot to understand, Fae."

Understanding any of it scares the hell out of me.

"Our bond goes deeper than just some humping in the wild."

"Humping in the wild?"

I blush, casting my gaze out the window to avoid his vibrant ruby eyes, which have begun to glow at the mention of humping in the woods. My thoughts are carried back to when he pulled me on top of him yesterday, and he'd almost taken me in front of the entire pack.

No way in hell could I handle people watching that!

"You will."