Alpha's Blue (BXB)

Chapter Fourteen

Marco didn't even bother to wait for me at the door. He just barged right in and settled himself on the edge of my bed. I had no idea we had already gotten close enough to just enter each other's room without asking.

When I tried to glare at him with only one eye open, he had the audacity to laugh.

"How are your hands?" He asked, sobering up.

I had totally forgotten about it until he mentioned it. I got my hands out of the blanket and tried to untie the bandage but to no avail. I still wasn't awake enough.

Marco grabbed my hand after he saw me struggling for a minute straight and untied the knot with just one hand. Then he slowly peeled off the bandage and wiped the excess salve to look at the skin underneath.

"It healed." He uttered in shock after staring at it for almost a minute. He hurriedly untied the other bandage too, only to find it healed as well.

"I didn't know it works just as good on humans." He looked up at me in surprise.

My mind couldn't process so much so early, so I just pulled my hands back and moved my fingers. It didn't hurt anymore and everything seemed just fine. I guess the salve was worth the hype.

"Do I really have to get up already? I feel like I just went to sleep." I whined, snuggling further under the blanket.

"Nicolas was looking for you." He shrugged as if he didn't shock me awake.

I tried to roll out of bed quickly but fell on my butt instead.

Marco laughed and got up. "I'll wait downstairs."

"I'll be there in five." I yelled after his disappearing self.

I brushed my teeth, shaved, took the quickest shower possible and got dressed - all within five minutes. It was probably a dumb idea to shower before exercising, but I was about to be around werewolves' sensitive nose and that forced me to shower under exceptionally cold water until my limbs went numb.

Nonetheless, I was kind of proud of myself as I walked out of the door with Marco leading the way. He seemed to like walking ahead of me from what I've witnessed so far. I guessed it had probably something to do with him being the beta of the pack.

I looked down at my hands and touched the healed skin there, there wasn't even a scar left behind. "Is Nicolas' mother Luna? Can I thank her? For the salve, I mean."

Marco stopped in his tracks all of a sudden. I barely stopped myself in time before colliding with his back.

"What's wrong?" I asked, trying to look at him.

"His parents died when he was twelve." He turned to me with a pained expression on his face. "A twelve years old kid not only had to grow up overnight but he was responsible for others too." He looked up to the sky and let out a sigh. "He hasn't thought about himself ever since."

"Each one of us owes him a lot. And we'll do everything to make sure he leads a happy life starting now." He looked at me again and gave me a brief smile. "We'd like to thank you someday for not giving up on him and the rest of us."

My vision blurred from moisture and I tried to smile back at him. My heart broke when I thought of the things the twelve years old Nicolas had to go through. Although I knew what it was like to grow up without parents, at least I had my grandma with me. She always made sure that I never missed my parents, but Nicolas had no one. And I couldn't even think about having to take care of other people at such a young age.

Now I wanted to make Nicolas happy more than ever and I wasn't ready to give up, not even if he told me to.

I wiped my eyes with the back of my hands and put on a real smile. "Come on. We're gonna be late."

Marco started leading the way again and I followed after him. When we reached the training ground, I saw Nicolas lying down on the ground. His chest moved up and down but other than that there was no other movement, even his eyes were closed.

He seemed to have fallen asleep in the middle of the clearing and I couldn't let the opportunity slip. I finally had the chance to stare at his beautiful face without getting caught and even though I felt like a creep doing that, I just blamed our bond.

I succeeded in convincing myself that there was nothing wrong with it and it was probably natural to find your mate attractive, not that I had any proof of that, but I didn't really need one. My eyes followed the features of his face until I found my gaze drifting downward.

"Does it still hurt?" His voice made me jump back a few steps. My gaze snapped up to his and I was sure he caught me staring, again.

My face flushed under his gaze and I lowered my head, trying to hide my blush.

"Does it?" He asked again after a few seconds.

For the life of me I couldn't remember what he was asking, so I just nodded my head and hoped it was the correct answer.

"It does?" He sounded worried and got up instantly. Stepping toward me, he grabbed my left hand and turned it to look at the back of it. "Maybe I should have let Maya take a look. I'll go get her." He let go of my hand and started walking toward the housing.

"I don't think he heard you right." Marco said before Nicolas could've walked past me.

I had completely forgotten about his presence. My blush deepened when I realized he must have caught me staring too.

"Ask him again." I was shocked to not find a hint of amusement in Marco's voice. I expected him to laugh until his stomach hurt.

Nicolas walked back to his previous position in front of me and asked again. "Does it still hurt?"

I shook my head immediately.

"Not even a bit?" He asked again.

I shook my head again.

"That's good." He said, sounding relieved.

His blatant worry and gentle voice gave my confidence a boost and I let my words out before I could have backed out. "If you don't mind, I- can I exercise here? Along with you... All?" The last word was added as an afterthought and I hoped he didn't notice it.

Nicolas stepped back and I felt my heart sinking. I looked up but he turned around before I could've seen his expressions.

"As long as you stay away from there." He pointed toward the padded columns and a grin took over my face.

I looked at Marco and he was already looking at me, smiling wide.

"Okay." I said, trying not to sound too cheerful.

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