The following morning, I woke up more tired than usual. I also feel very cold. Ekaterina made the cave warm last night with her fire, so I shouldn't be feeling cold. I try to stand up but find it challenging. Water drips from my forehead and lands on my hand. I look up to see if the cave has a hole and water is leaking through, but it doesn't. Bringing my eyes back down, I notice my hands are wet and not only my hands my neck and face. Why am I sweating? I'm not hot. I'm cold. I try to lift myself off the ground, but I can't.
"Elizabeth, what's wrong?" Nate asks, rushing to my side. He must have noticed me struggling to get up.
"I don't know," I whisper. My throat feels sore, and it hurts to speak. What's going on? I look Nate in the eyes, pleading with him to help me. I'm scared. I don't know what's wrong with me.
"Do you feel pain?" he asks, worried. I nod my head, saying yes.
"Where do you feel the pain" I use my hands to gesture all over my body.
"Do you know why you're in pain?" I shake my head no.
"I think her wolf is sick," Ekaterina says, walking toward Nate and me.
"Sick? What could make her wolf sick" Nate asks.
"You haven't marked her, so it's making her wolf sick," Ekaterina says.
I try talking to Eva, but all I get back is her whimpering. Ekaterina must be right. Eva is sick, and it's because Nate hasn't marked us.
"Is there anything I can do to help without marking her?" Nate asks.
"Let me see what I can do," Ekaterina says, touching my forehead to check my temperature. "Her temperature is high. I think if we put her in cold water, her temperature might drop. If her temperature drops, she might feel better," she says, standing up. But I grab her hand to stop her.
"Nate, I'm cold, I don't want cold water to touch me," I mind link, Nate. It's too difficult to talk right now.
"But it will help you feel better," he replies.
I'm about to beg when Ekaterina interrupts me.
"What is she saying?" Ekaterina knew we were mind linking.
"She says she's cold and doesn't want to be put in cold water," Nate says, and Ekaterina takes a minute to think.
"Cold water is best, but we can't submerge her into it. We can put her in water but not cold water. I'll cast some spells into the water. It'll reduce her temperature."
"Alright, I saw a pond not too far from here. I'll take her there," Nate says, lifting me off the ground. The moment Nate's skin touches mine I start to feel better. I snuggle closer to him as I feel the coldness dissipate.
Nate walks out of the cave with me in his arms. We reach the lake and Nate gently places me into the water. Ekaterina chants some words into the water, and I start to feel a little better.
"Do you feel better?" Nate asks through the mind link.
"A little," I reply.
"How is she feeling?" Ekaterina asks.
"She feels a little better. Is there anything more I can do to help?" Nate asks.
"I have heard being close to the sick mate can help them heal faster."
"I'm close to her, but I don't think it's helping."
"Not this way, closer to each other..."
"Explain," Nate says, sounding irritated.
"There's a lot of body contact during mating. I know you can't mate and mark her, but I'm thinking you should both be naked under the water. If your skin touches hers, she will feel better," Ekaterina says, but the only words that stick out to me are 'can't mate and mark her.' What does she mean? Is there a reason Nate hasn't completed the mating process? I always assumed it was because he hates me.
"I'm not getting naked with you." I mind link Nate, but he doesn't say anything back.
I know being naked will help, but I'm not ready to go there with Nate. We still have a lot of things to figure out in our relationship.
"I said I'm not getting naked with you," I try to tell Nate, but he blocks me off.
Nate begins removing my clothes. He starts with my shirt, placing his hand on my waist and lifting the shirt above my head. His fingers grazed my skin and a shiver goes down my spine. Next he moves to my waist to take off my pants, unbuttoning them and dragging them down my body. Why is this taking forever?
"I'll leave you in your underwear," Nate says.
Thank God. I feel shy in my underwear in front of Nate, but it's better than being fully naked.
Nate starts undressing. The minute he takes off his shirt, Ekaterina leaves. She says she'll be back soon. I'm sure she's leaving because she thinks this is an intimate moment between Nate and me. If only she knew it wasn't the case. Even half-naked in front of Nate, I doubt he finds me attractive.
He takes off all his clothes except his boxers. I try my best not to gawk at his body as he enters the water. Once he's inside, he pulls me closer to him. He places me on his lap. He puts my legs above his and wraps his arms around mine. My body begins to regulate its temperature at Nate's touch.
"Do you feel better?" Nate whispers into my ear. My neck was not inside the water, so I felt his breath as he whispered into my ears. I feel the need to give him more access to my neck, wishing he would shower it with kisses.
"Yes, I do," I say, breathless, and it's not because I'm sick. It's because of Nate's breath fanning my neck.
"That's good," he says, interlocking our fingers together. His arm rests on my stomach, and I feel him making patterns on my belly.
I feel something poking me close to my bum. "Nate, something is poking me. Please, can you check and remove it?"
"I wish I could, but I can't," he replies.
A scent hits me—arousal. Nate is hot for me right now. This brings a big smile to my face. It's so good to know that I'm not the only one. I can't believe the situation we're in right now makes him want to mate. Then again, my ass is sitting on his cock, and there's no way his body wouldn't like that.
The longer I feel his cock pushing against my ass, the more I start to feel something pooling between my legs. I quickly close my thights to stop it, but it does little to help.
"I can smell your arousal," Nate huskily whispers in my ears. His lips start leaving a trail from my shoulder to my neck, stopping at my ear. He gives my earlobe a little extra attention by nibbling on it. What's gotten into him?
He removes his fingers that were interlocked with mine then traces all around my skin with his index fingers. He touches from my fingers to my arms all the way to my neck, then goes down to my belly. When he reaches my waist, he slides his fingers down my left thigh and continues all the way to my feet before coming back to my right foot. He goes from my right foot all the way up to my other thigh, and once he reaches my waist, he stops again.
He goes back to my neck, and this time he doesn't use his fingers. He uses his lips. I move my neck to give him more access, and he doesn't fail to do a fantastic job. His lips do wonders to the marking spot. He kisses it, nibbles it, sucks it, and grazes his teeth across my skin. I feel his teeth begin to apply more and more pressure when Ekaterina screams.
"Nate, don't!" she shouts, and Nate immediately pushes me away from him.
Why did she scream? Why won't she allow Nate to mark me? I look at her, confused, and all she does is shake her head at me.
"Trust me, it's best he doesn't," she says, pity in her eyes.
"I don't need to stay with her any longer. I think she's feeling better," Nate says, walking out of the water. I want to tell him to stay with me and not leave, but I know it'd be a waste of time. I sink down into the water, wondering why Ekaterina stopped Nate from marking me.
YOU ARE READING
My Cursed Mate
Werewolf"Yes, you are. Don't you have any shame?" "Shame?" I asked, confused with what shame has to do with being jealous. "Yes, shame. Don't you have any shame for yourself? You're jealous of a woman being with your mate who wants nothing to do with you. I...
