The Queen's Half

Chapter 3

First feedings

I resisted the urge to lean on Theo as I limped away from the clearing. Mate! He was my mate! I peeked at him from the corner of my eye. He looked so much like Finnic. He was tall like Finnic, and had a strong jaw and high cheekbones like him
too. But he submitted to me, and tried to defend me, very unlike Finnic.

"Deena," Theo called out, pulling me from my thoughts.

A woman with long black hair, dressed in a green tunic and flowing brown skirt began to walk towards us. She paused and inclined her head to the both of us. "Yes, Alpha?" She asked, her voice like smoke.

"Meet me at my house, Queen Selene will need her leg fixed."

"Let me look at her now so I'll know what to bring." She came closer to me, and I could smell the scent of herbs that clung to her skin. "Do you mind, Alpha?" she asked me.

"Go ahead," I said, angling my left leg towards her.

"Nasty bite," she murmured, looking at the punctures and tears on my upper thigh. Then she kneeled, shut her eyes, and raised her hands, allowing them to hover over my skin. She hummed to herself as she moved her hands up and down, seeing my wounds without her eyes. She nodded to herself as she at stood back up. "Nasty bite indeed,"she said before turning away. I watched her retreating figure, baffled by the encounter.

"A moon blessed healer," I heard Jupiter whisper behind me in awe.

"I've never met one before," I said.

Theo smiled, his white teeth on display. There was no threat or challenge in the expression. "She's been in Beartah since before my father was ever alpha. Seems like the power she channels in her healing keeps her young. I remember that a few years before I went to live with my cousins, the pack celebrated her hundredth birthday."

"She's over a hundred? She doesn't look a day over thirty," Jupiter exclaimed.

"Moon blessed," Theo said with a chuckle before he began walking again. I hobbled along side him, Eric and Jupiter close behind. "Let me carry you," Theo suggested after I hissed through my teeth as we began to climb uphill.

I hesitated for a moment, wondering if it would make me look weak. I glanced around and saw that no one else was around. "Okay," I relented, grateful to be off my injured leg.

He swooped me up quickly, his arms around my back and under my legs. I was flushed against his chest, my arms locked around his neck. His scent invaded my senses, warm and comforting, I could feel my canines ache to mark him. My ears burned when I remembered that I was still completely naked and that we weren't alone. "Thank you," I murmured avoiding his eyes.

"No worries," he said huskily. I glanced at his face and found his eyes dilated and cheeks flushed.

We walked in easy silence for a few minutes until we came up to a large, three story house. "This is the pack house," Theo announced, his voice rumbling in his chest. "You're welcome to stay in any room," he said to Eric and Jupiter.

Jupiter nodded as Eric adjusted the two duffle bags on his shoulders. "Thank you, Alpha Theo."

"I can take her in," Eric said, reaching his arms out towards me.

Theo growled low in his chest, stepping back.

Jupiter elbowed Eric in the ribs, amusement in his eyes. "Come on, Eric."

Eric frowned, "I can take her," he said, reaching for me once more.

"She will stay with me," Theo said, his alpha tone seeping into his voice.