Healing His Mate
Chapter 8

Aaliyah POV

I wake to the feel of warmth surrounding me as sparks of electricity run through my body. Lifting my eyelids slowly, I’m met with a dark blue colored cloth. I feel a soft breath against the top of my head as the pillow I’m laying on rises up and down.

I feel the hand on my back move slightly causing me to hold my breath as memories of what happened last night play like a movie in my mind.

I broke out of the hospital and the others chased after me. I refused to be tested on anymore and I decided death would be better. In that moment, I wanted to die.

He stopped me, I drag my thoughts away from the pain and fear.

He wouldn’t let me hurt myself. He said I was safe. He said that he would protect me.

I shift slightly in his hold to lift my head towards him. Leaning my temple against his chest, I scan the face of my protector.

I take in his solid cheekbones and tossed hair. His lips are tipped into a lazy smirk as he dreams and the sight causes my heart to beat faster. I feel the heat pass between us as sparks run up my back from where he is holding me.

I know who he is.

He is my protector. He is my mate.

Without Aiya's words to prove it though, I still feel wary.

What if I'm wrong? I think to myself. I feel my heart crack at the thought, What if this is just another test from the hunters?

A whimper escapes my lips at the thought. I feel his arm twitch tighter around my waist as the small sound reaches his ears and his eyelids open to meet mine.

His eyes are dark and open as he screams out his thoughts to me without opening his lips. I read him like a book as the feelings of hope, fear, and concern all float through his orbs.

"Good morning, angel," his voice calms my nerves. He lifts one of his hands from my waist to brush my hair back from my face, "How are you feeling?"

His concern is real. I know it is.

What if I'm not wrong? I question myself, Is he my mate?

"Hey," he rubs his thumb against my cheek to refocus my attention back on him, "What's going on in that beautiful head of yours?"

I open my lips to answer him, but the tightness around my throat intensifies. Another strangled whimper replies instead of words.

He sits up and pulls me into his lap, hushing me gently, "What's wrong?"

I want to reply. I want to tell him that I'm alright for the first time in years. I want to ask him if I'm safe here and warn him about the hunters.

I want to ask him if he is my mate, but I can't.

I can't say anything.

My voice has been spellbound.

A month or two after I had been captured by the hunters, they brought in a young witch. The girl couldn't have been more than ten years old and they made her perform binding spells on all of the rare test subjects.

They didn't want us to be able to communicate with one another, so they made her bind our voices similar to how a coven can bind a witch's magic.

But, she couldn't control the spell. She was too young and inexperienced at magic. When she bound my voice, she made it impossible to communicate at all.

No talking. No sign language. I can't even write. The most I could do is small gestures like nodding or pointing and I can make noise.

But it's not enough.

I can never connect with someone. I can't ask this man, who said he would protect me, if he is my mate.

Moving away from my thoughts, I focus back on the man who is holding me in his arms. He's still waiting patiently for a response which will never come.

Lifting my hand, I rest it on his chest. I feel his heartbeat against my palm and focus my breathing to match the soft rhythm.

"Better now?" he asks gently.

I nod, giving him a soft smile which he returns.

"Good. Can you tell me your name?"

I bite my lower lip as tears fill my eyes. I tell him no with a slight shake of my head.

"Why not?"

I want to hold out my wrists so he can see the magic chain brackets sealed around them, but I know he won't be able to see them. Only a witch can.

I take the hand not over his heart and point towards my throat, shaking my head no again.

"You can't talk?" I nod, "What about writing it down?"

I tell him no. I can't even tell him something as simple as my name. How am I going to ask him to replace a witch who can undo the spell?

"I can try to guess it," he suggests.

I give a crossed look, trying to convey an are you serious? questioning. He laughs deeply, his voice melting like chocolate as it causes tingles to run up my body.

"Is it Emily?" he guesses first. When I tell him no, he tries again, "Alexandra? Isabella?"

He tries for almost ten minutes, listing off every name he can think of. Sadly, none of them are close. It's then that I realize he has been trying to guess my name, but he still hasn't told me his.

While he is trying to come up with another name, I poke his chest.

"I'm trying. I'm going to get it," I shake my head again. I point towards him and I watch as my question dawns on him, "You want to know my name. I should have introduced myself. I'm Aaron."

I smile as I play his name over and over in my mind.

"Since I haven't gotten your name yet, how about I just call you angel?" he asks me.

I feel my face heat up as blush is surely spreading across my cheeks. I nod in agreement.

"Perfect," his tone drops to a soft caress, "My angel."

His use of the term makes me smile for the first time since I was taken. I almost forgot what it felt like to do so. He leans closer to me and presses his lips against my forehead in a soft kiss.

"Do you mind answering a few questions for me?" he asks as he pulls away.

I nod in reply, hoping my trust in him is real.

"Are you a shifter?" I nod, "But you aren't a wolf, right?" I nod again.

I figured he could probably tell by my scent that I'm not a wolf, but since foxes are rare in this part of the world, I doubt he knows what my scent is.

"Were you at the laboratory? Were you being held by the hunters?"

I tell him yes as I try to hold back the memories of being locked in that place.

"How long were you there?"

I hold up three fingers to represent the years I had been trapped in that hell.

"Three years?" his anger seeps out of him as he pulls me closer to his body. I watch his eyes carefully and I can see his wolf pushing against his mind to shift.

I rub his chest in a circular pattern, hoping to calm him down.

If he gets this upset with the time I was trapped there, what will he do when he sees the scars? I question.

"I'm sorry, angel. I'm not mad at you. I wish I had found you sooner. You should have been here, safe," he apologizes, "I'm so sorry."

I shake my head as I cup his cheek with my palm. It isn't his fault.

"I promise I will always be there to protect you," he swears to me.

I give him a soft smile and lean into his chest. He shifts to lay back down with me against his chest, wrapped in his strong hold.

"You will be safe."

I might not know whether he is my mate or not, but I trust him when he says he will protect me.

I trust that I am safe with him.