Finding Home

Chapter Forty Three-Nathan

Nathan left Paige with the healer, doctor, and professor. There was some type of cleansing/purification thing they thought would help the process go smoother tonight. Nathan wanted to stay but Paige insisted he go shower and eat. "You stink," she insisted, crinkling her nose. "Go, I'll be fine. I promise."

He did as she asked and a few hours later they were all gathered in the goddesses clearing to complete the ritual. Nathan had to carry Paige in. "I am perfectly capable of walking." She said indignantly when he scooped her up.

"Micah said you couldn't take more than a few steps with out holding on to someone." He saw her shoot Micah a dirty look over his shoulder and smiled. "Let me take care of you Paige," he said softly. "I know I can't make you change your mind on this, but please let me help you how I can. Let me take care of you," he pleaded.

She grumbled a bit but Nathan was sure he heard a 'fine' somewhere in there. The arrived in the clearing to find it lit up with candles. Nathan set her on her feet but continued to hold on to her. Healer Hartland came over and gave her a white robe.

"You'll need to strip and put this on." She asked why as she took it from the healer. "It's symbolic."

"Of what? Purity?" Paige asked skeptically. "Because that ship sailed a very long time ago." Paige had once explained to him that in many American human weddings brides wore white to signify their sexual purity. Nathan was flabbergasted. That something like that would be considered and declared by the bride wearing white was insane to him.

"No, white carries the energy of all the other colors, we didn't have time to get you a robe in the proper color so this will have to make do. The robe will be easier for your wolf to shake off once you shift."

Nathan held up the robe to block her as Paige stripped down, ever the gentleman he kept his eyes closed tightly. "It's nothing you haven't seen before," Paige joked with him as she put her arms though the robe.

"Yes, well, you haven't told me I can look again." He said dropping the robe on her shoulders and pulling her hair out as she tied it. "Just because you gave me permission once doesn't mean there's blanket permission for all future instances." She turned and smiled at him, he had to fight from going weak in the knees.

"I sometimes forget just how good of a person you've become."

"What does that mean?"

"Just that, when you left, for a while I had to villainize you in my mind so I could try to move on. It was easier to think of you as the dipshit I punched in a bar in Sydney instead of the incredible male I fell in love with."

Nathan's heart hurt a little when she told him what she had to do to survive his leaving, but as soon as she said 'love' it soared. He would never tire of hearing that word on her lips, especially when it was in reference to him.

The moon started to peak its way out from one mountain and the sun settled behind another. The professor walked up to them and said, "It's time." He directed Paige towards the center of the clearing. Nathan walked her there and then kissed her again.

"Whatever you do, stay alive. Please."

"I'll do my best." They kissed again and Nathan walked to the edge of the clearing to stand with the others. Paige hadn't wanted a large audience incase this didn't work. Her mother, brother and sister were the only ones she invited. She had confessed to Nathan that she didn't really want her sister there but that she wouldn't make her sit at home alone with their father. The doctor, healer, and professor where all there because they were necessary. And of course Nathan. He had wanted his officers present incase something should go wrong but Paige stood firm.

"If I become uncontrollable you and Micah can handle it. You're the Alpha and Micah's and excellent warrior. My mom and sisters are quite the fighters too."

Nathan stood to the side watching Paige. They had instructed her to sit on the bed of pine needles that covered the clearing and meditate, she needed to be in almost a trance like state for the ritual to have maximum effect. He kept his eyes on her as Healer Hartland recited some prayers and asked for the goddess help in completing what she had already set in motion.

Nathan watched as Paige as her breathing became more labored, she started to sweat and the expression on her face was pained. Nathan longed to go to her but they had warned him to not interfere no matter what happened. It was difficult. Malcom was crying out to him, trying to get him to go to her. "Mate is hurt! Go to mate! Protect Mate!" He couldn't understand why Paige had to go through this pain.

He was barely holding on when her painful gasps escaped. Paige didn't like to cause others to feel bad for her or like she was inconveniencing them. She rarely showed pain until she was suffering quite a great deal of it. The fact that she was letting these gasps escape meant that she was hurting, a lot. He started to hear the tell-tale cracks of her bones breaking. When wolves shift their bones break so they can reform into their wolf form.

Paige let out a cry of pain and before he knew what he was doing, Micah had him in a vice grip, pinning his arms to his sides. Nathan had been moving to get to her. "Let me go!" He snarled. "She's hurting! I have to get to her!"

"I know, Alpha. Believe me I know." Micah said, still not letting him go. "We can't help her. This is something she has to survive on her own. If we interfere now it will just make things worse. She's strong. She can handle it."

Paige let out a blood curdling scream and there was a blinding light. It seemed like it was coming from Paige herself. Micah dropped Nathan as they both lifted their arms to cover their eyes. Nathan could barely make out Paige in the center of the light. The image he saw was of her wolf and Paige flashing back and forth, as if they were shifting back and forth over and over again. Each time he blinked she would be in a new form.

He called out to her. Trying to let her know that he was there but he couldn't tell if she could hear him over her own cries of pain. There was a final flash of light that overwhelmed them all. Nathan fell to the ground. He squeezed his eyes tight but could still feel the light through his eyelids. He wasn't sure how long that lasted until suddenly, it was gone.

Nathan opened his eyes and blinked a few times to acclimate his vision. All the candles has been extinguished and only the fair light of the crescent moon gave them anything to see by. He sat up and looked around. Everyone else was in a similar state as he was. He looked to Paige.

She was lying in a heap in the ground. He ran to her as fast as he could. She was face down in the bed of pine needles. An arm angled out in a way that it was never intended to be angled. He legs were similarly splayed out. He reached her and gently tried to turn her over slightly so he could look at her.

"Paige, my love. Can you hear me?" He struggled to keep the pleading tone out of his voice and the tears in his eyes. He listened for her heartbeat and was glad when he heard it, though it was faint. "Paige baby? Wake up. Please wake up." He hugged her to his chest. The doctor and healer reached them and told him to set her down. She groaned and he laid her back on the bed of pine needles.

Her eyes fluttered open. "Nathan?"

"I'm here love. I'm here." He grabbed her hand and held it to his face.

"Are we alive?"

"Yes, we're alive. You did so well."

"It hurts."

"I know baby, the doctor is gonna take care of you. Hold on. You'll be okay." Her eyes closed as she fell back in to unconsciousness. "What happened?" he asked, terror lacing his words.

"She probably just passed out from the pain, she'll be okay. We need to get her back to the infirmary so I can check her out and set the broken bones. You should carry her Alpha, the mate bond will help ease her pain."

He scooped her up and stood. He quickly made his way out of the clearing, the rest of Paige's family trailing behind them.