Chapter 137

Lucas’s POV

I felt the energy shift in the room once more. It was lighter and far easier to breathe.

The burning sensation beneath my surface calmed to an icy coldness. My entire body was covered in a thin layer of sweat.

My gaze remained locked on Harper. The panic I had felt in my muscles began to dissipate as her body stopped thrashing wildly next to me. Part of me was still worried about whether or not the power transfer had worked.

I could barely move, aside from slightly twitching my fingertips. I didn’t have the energy to even check on Harper myself. Every muscle in my body was screaming with pain.

There was no doubt in my mind that the blood ritual had worked. Based on the passage I read from that ancient tome, partaking in such a high-risk ritual will likely drain each participant for a considerable amount of time.

Never in my life did I feel so weak—not even when Harper first came to the pack to apply as the new head healer and I needed medical attention. Nothing compared to this feeling.

But even though I was drained of all my energy, I felt significantly better knowing that I was able to aid Harper through it all.

Aurora reached down to wrap her fingers around Harper’s wrist, checking her pulse. Out of the corner of my eye, I caught her gentle smile. Finally, I was able to relax.

“She’s going to be just fine,” she said. “What Harper needs now, as well as yourself, is to catch up on a lot of rest.”

The witch extended her arms outward like she had before and levitated Harper’s body back over to the bed. Taking in several deep breaths, I pressed my hands against the floor and pushed myself up. I happily pressed a majority of my weight against the nearest wall.

As I fought through the exhaustion, I heard several heavy footsteps storming down the hallway. I could only assume that it was the staff coming to investigate all of the noise that was going on.

*Knock! Knock! Knock!

“Alpha? Alpha Lucas, is everything alright?” one of the maids asked.

I closed my eyes and let out a shaky breath. “F-Fine. E-Everything’s fine,” I called out.

I hated how my voice wavered. Being seen as anything less than the strong, confident Alpha that they expected was going to lead to further trouble down the road. I was still annoyed that the council saw it necessary to send one of their delegates to gather information.

“Sir, are you sure everything’s okay?”

“Is it Harper?”

“Should we send for one of the other healers?”

A disgruntled sound escaped from the back of my throat. No matter how hard I tried to pull myself up, I just couldn’t. My bones felt like lead, weighing me down to that one spot.

Suddenly, I heard the familiar, firm tone of Mason carrying through the hallway.

“That’s enough, everyone. Leave Alpha Lucas and his mate alone,” he told them. “This is a crucial time for the two of them. Please, everyone, return to your stations.”

God, if I had the strength, I would have swung the door open and hugged the man.

Aurora came to my side and tapped my shoulder. I half-hazardly glanced back at her to find her wanting to hand me a glass of some dark liquid.

“Drink this,” she said. “It will help you regain some of your strength.”

I hardly thought to question what it was. Taking several sips of the herbal mixture, I felt almost an immediate wave of relief course through me. I gained the feeling back in my legs first and was able to actually stand up on my own.

Downing the rest of the mixture, I headed straight over to Harper to check on her. Her breathing seemed to have leveled out, and her fever had gone down tremendously.

“Thank God,” I sighed.

The two of us were in desperate need of a shower, but that could wait until a little later.

“Our mate is fixed,” Levi said. “As is our connection.”

He was right.

I placed a hand over my chest and felt something thrumming beneath my heart. It was like a cord tugging in the direction of Harper. It was...Remarkable. I could feel her in the back of my mind—the same way that I could always sense my wolf.

Now, Harper was there too.

“No,” I said to myself. “This feels different than before.”

The connection that Harper and I shared before was purely awareness of each other. We could vaguely sense each other’s emotions. But now, I felt as if I could dig so much deeper.

“Performing that blood ritual tied the two of you together in more ways than one,” Aurora mentioned.

My brows drew together. “What are you saying?”

“I’m saying that if the two of you were to fully bond, it wouldn’t matter. The blood ritual has tied the two of you together in such a way that it’s taken the place of the bond.”

My heart dropped into my gut. Oh my God. Had I seriously missed that in my readings??

Aurora gave me a pointed look. “Relax, Lucas. Don’t forget, Harper can sense you just as well as you can sense her.”

I steadied my breathing again. This was a situation that I would have to deal with in due time.

In the meantime, I turned to face the witch. “Thank you,” I told her genuinely. “If it wasn’t for you, I would have surely lost Harper.”

Aurora bowed her head and gestured toward Harper. “I must leave now. But, rest assured, I will return in a few days to check in on Harper’s progress.”

Through wondrous eyes, I watched the woman transform back into the same graceful white owl that I had encountered hours ago. Aurora drifted through the window and flew into the early morning sky.

While Harper was resting, I took the opportunity to quietly slip from the room to speak with Mason.

Harper’s POV

I awoke with a sharp breath and a jolt throughout my system. For the first few seconds, I struggled to gain a real sense of my surroundings.

I was in the master bedroom, yet everything looked out of place.

It felt like everything was terribly heightened. My body was sore, and there was an awful ringing in my head. Worst of all, I found myself completely alone.

However, within seconds, I heard an instant scratching noise coming from the other side of the door. An unidentified need consumed my mind. It was the other wolf souls that had taken a kinship toward me.

The thought of keeping a barrier between us was unthinkable. I stumbled out of bed and precariously made it over to the door. But before I could open it, a rush of panic came over me.

I heard a voice. It wasn’t Erie, but someone else. Their voice was low and rough.

“You’re awake?” Was that...Lucas?! “Hang on, I’m coming to you.”

I shook my head in disbelief. My God. Had I sustained some kind of concussion? How on earth was I able to hear Lucas’s voice?

He and I were not bonded!