Falcon

I sat on the edge of the bed, staring at her broken body. I watched as her wounds slowly healed. They seemed to be open longer than I could have imagined. As a new vampire, she didn’t have our recovering abilities. It took more time, but I was growing impatient. I’d never seen a newly mated vampire wounded. Why the hell did it have to be her? I’d waited many lifetimes for my lovely mate. I continued to stare down at her pale face, then moved my gaze to her wounds.

Her bandages needed to be changed. I’d replaced them just an hour ago, and now, they were covered in a fresh round of blood. It gutted me to see her injured in any way. The growing need to smash something was building in me. This wasn’t supposed to be happening. She was supposed to be okay and safe in a secure lab. The enemy was in Europe, but they played us.

The war had been brought to my front door, and after years without any battles, it was time to strike in full force. Building an army would be a difficult task, but I knew this was the beginning of the end for The Lamia. Charlotte and Leonora came into our lives for this. That was something I was certain of. It couldn’t be for naught that we had a seer again, even a mediocre one. I closed my eyes and hoped that Nora would be well. I hoped that we would all be well. Would she hate me? Regret her life now that she’d been put in the devil’s path?

Nora was so beautiful and kind. From the first time I met the fiery little thing, I saw the genuine innocence and love in her heart. I took her hand in mine and gently caressed my thumb against her skin. She was so soft and warm. I couldn’t wait for her to wake up and heal so I could hold her so damn tight and never let her go. I closed my eyes and thought about our short time together. My life had been empty until that trip to the theatre. I couldn’t lose her now. “I love you. Please don’t leave me, Leonora,” I pleadingly sobbed, ducking my head and pressing my face to her hand.

“I’m not going anywhere,” she mumbled, her eyes still closed and her voice hoarse from dehydration. Immediately, I was leaning over her, looking down at her lovely face as her eyes fluttered open. Her eyes hadn’t focused on me yet, but with a couple of blinks, she was staring back up at me. My heart felt like it was going to bust out of my chest. The overwhelming feeling of joy owned me.

“God, Nora, you’re still with me,” I muttered, bending down and peppering kisses all over her face like a fucking nut. My mate was with me and I wasn’t going to let her out of my sight again. I knew that would be a tall order, but I was going to do my damnedest to make sure I had eyes on her at all times.

“Yes, I am,” she giggled briefly. The look in her eyes was full of happiness. It made my heart lighten. There was a lot to be happy about after all. She was alive and recovering, as slowly as it may be.

“How are you feeling?” I asked, staring down at her.

“I’ve felt better. Have I been out a long time?” she asked with brows raised.

“What feels like an eternity,” I said, turning my head to the clock on the wall. “It’s been four hours.” Her eyes widened and she tried to sit up. “Wait, don’t move. All of your wounds aren’t healed yet,” I cried out, gently pushing her back down onto the pillows. I could see the blood from her chest wound pump out an extra shot of blood as she moved. Seeing that there made me wish I’d slowly dismembered Nero and watched as fear entered his eyes. My brother was gone and my mate was injured by the hands of a foolish follower. My fists clenched in anger, turning my knuckles white and my soul black. Each of Stavros’ minions that dare to challenge me will pay heavily. I will show no mercy.

“Falcon, come back to me,” she said, touching my cheek. My eyes met hers and I could see her fear for me. “You slipped away, and the look on your face says you went to an unhappy place.”

“Sorry, I was just…wishing I could destroy Nero again and again,” I growled, pressing my lips against her palm.

She lifted my face to look at her. “Nonsense. I will be okay thanks to you. He’s gone, so let it go.”

I shook my head. I had to break the news to her. She’d never met my brother before, but I knew it would upset her. “It’s not that simple, my love. He killed Alessio.”

“Oh, no,” she gasped, raising her hand to her mouth with her uninjured arm. “Oh, Falcon. I’m so sorry. How about his wife and son? Are they alive?”

“Yes, they are, but I know that she does not wish to live any longer. If anything, she wishes to avenge Alessio’s death then join him,” I answered, my heart breaking for her, too.

“I need to change your bandages,” I said, getting up from the bed. Thoughts of her dying on me played through my head. My emotions were gutting me, and I didn’t want her to see it. I went to the dresser and grabbed the extra bandages I placed there earlier. I sat back down on the bed and worked on cleaning and rewrapping her wounds. As I dressed her shoulder injury, she whispered, “I don’t blame her.”

“Me either, my love…me either,” I muttered, taking her hand and pressing it to my face.

She rubbed the hair on my face tenderly. I could have stayed like that forever. “How long do I have to stay in bed? Do I need a doctor?”

“You have a doctor right here,” I teased. “No, you should be fine, and there’s no doctor for us vampires. We don’t get sick and we heal after a short time.” I moved onto her chest wound, and thankfully, the blood had almost completely stopped and the wound was noticeably smaller.

“Well, it would be awesome if I would heal sooner. I don’t want to be in this bed unless you are lying down with me,” she complained, looking into my eyes.

“I can fix that easily.” I took off my shoes and climbed onto the other side of the bed. I gently took her into my arms without touching her wounds and rested with her.

* * *

It was nearly midnight when I felt her get up from my side. “What do you think you’re doing?”

“I’m going to take a tinkle, if you don’t mind. Unless you want me to pee in the bed?”

“Smartass. I’ll help you,” I said, rushing to her side.

“I can pee just fine on my own,” she muttered. I knew she was embarrassed to use the bathroom in front of me, but I could hear her when she was in there anyway.

“I’m sorry, Nora. I just want you to be back to normal,” I admitted.

She turned around and smiled up at me. “I know, Falcon, but I want to pee in private. You can walk me back to bed when I’m done, okay?”

“That will have to be enough.”

I waited outside the bathroom for her. It wasn’t long, but it felt like an eternity. She came out with a placating smile. “Shall we, sir?” she asked, holding her hand out for me. I would have teleported her back into bed, but I didn’t want to test her strength and belly yet. She had barely eaten since she had woken up, and I wanted to make sure she could handle everything before we returned to life as it had been the day before.

“I’m going to be running around by morning. All of my wounds have disappeared. I’m a little stiff, but with some rest then some exercise,” she winked, “I’ll be as good as new.”

I shook my head, then walked her back to our bed. She draped her small frame over mine and we fell into a peaceful sleep.