His Arrogant Human Mate novel Chapter 50

"D-Dominic?" I whispered.

He leaned back to look at me and just as our eyes met, hot pain erupted in my chest, knocking the wind from my lungs and making my legs collapse under me. Dominic cursed and fell to the ground with me, holding me against him as all the strength left my limbs. "Hey, hey, it's okay. It's just a little blood. Look at me, gorgeous, look at me," he said hurriedly, patting my cheek lightly.

I could hardly keep my eyes open. Each time that I tried, the pain in my head grew. It was too bright and there were too many faces and people beginning to lean over us. Dominic started yelling sharply at someone until I started to drift off.

The blood was spilling down each side of my face now, in steady streams. "Caroline, stay awake. You have to tell me what's wrong. Stay awake, baby," he gushed, the patting on my cheek increasing in pressure. "Sugar, please, look at me, yeah?"

I tried, I truly tried, but not an ounce of my strength would return to my body. My head, neck, and chest suddenly were constricted with an invisible pressure, so much so that I was unable to breathe. It was as if something was tying itself around my throat. Dominic was shouting at me now, but I was too far gone to go back, to be able to understand what he was trying to tell me.

Darkness consumed me like a wave, hitting me hard and rolling over my whole body with a force uncontrollable by man. I succumbed.

To see Caroline like this was more painful than anything I had gone through in my life. The only sign she was alright was the warmth of her soft skin and the regular breathing. She wasn't always like this though. Her body was repeatedly wracked with fits of coughing and her skin would become clammy. The heart monitor would start wigging out and the doctor and nurse would burst in to try and sedate her.

At least she wasn't dying. That much I knew. If she were, I would be able to feel it. There would be a burning in my chest, my wolf would be extremely upset. He was upset now, of course. He didn't enjoy seeing his mate limp and lifeless for almost two days, but the doctor was sure she would wake up soon.

I held her little hand tightly between mine, kissing her knuckles gently. The worst of it all was the breathing apparatus strapped to her face. When she began coughing, it meant that her throat was closing up, so the breathing tube helped a bit to keep oxygen cycling through her. We knew thus far that the irritation began at her neck, and I feared it had something to do with the mark.

This woman was probably the only one I would let hit me. Mostly because she was vital to the health of many individuals in our pack, including my own mother. Many people felt Zara was a godmother of sorts, and I was no different.

"Your little mate will wake up today, but only for a few minutes. When she does, remove the tube long enough to feed her. Right now she needs nutrients to keep her strength up while her body fights itself and fights the mark. Within a couple days she will almost be back to normal, slightly tired though," Zara explained, patting Caroline's hand gently. "The spirits like this one."

This peaked my interest. "Is that right? What are they saying?"

"That you're a fool for forcing your mark on her," Zara retorted sharply. "They like Caroline's fight. She has a strength that comes from a dark past, one with great loss. It is a strength that is not as visible. But it is there nonetheless. The spirits hope you do not smother that strength with the dominance and ignorance that alpha's inevitably display."