The Rare Mate

Chapter Seven

Chapter 7

Tasha’s pov

I watched as my magic took hold over her, she slowly started to fall over and I quickly caught her. I was surprised at how light she actually was. I was so concerned with her back that I didn’t notice how emaciated she was. Her eyes and cheeks were sunken in, I could easily see her ribs, her hip bones stuck out and her stomach was sunken in. 

I gently picked her up and moved her onto the bed, I laid her down on her side so I could quickly clean up her back and cover her. “Jer, I need you.” I said to him through our own link. Within a second he was in the room with me.

“I am here, what do you need?” He asked as he looked at the girl.

“I need you to go find the healing herbs from Maryen’s old healing recipe.” I told him.

“You mean the one that she used on the wolves who were-” I didn’t need him to finish his sentence.

“Yes that one. Fast, I don’t think she has much time left, she doesn’t even feel her wolf anymore.” I said to him urgently. “We have all of it back at the castle in our room, please hurry.” He nodded his head and quickly left. 

This was a terrible practice. I went into the bathroom again and grabbed some more towels and warm water with some soap, and a bowl to put any pieces of silver in. I started washing her face, she will be very beautiful once she is healthy again. 

She was covered in dirt and blood, I grabbed another towel off my stack and soaked it in the warm soapy water, I started cleaning down her neck and gasped in shock, she had bite marks all over, I realized they trailed down to her breasts and stomach. “Oh sweet girl, you have been through hell.” I said out loud when I heard movement behind me.

I turned to see Jeremy standing behind me with his arms filled. “I grabbed the  mortar and our mixing bowl too.” I quickly covered her up and ran over to him, I gently measured out each of the ingredients making sure not to add too much of any one kind.

Once I had all the herbs together I took the pestle and started grinding them up together. Once they were ground I took the final ingredient, a basic slave, and dumped the herbs in. I mixed it well and began to gently rub it over the rips and tares in her back. 

Once her entire back was covered I grabbed Jeremy’s hand, together we chanted the spell. “auferte argentum vulnus sanare.” We repeated until the salve began to glow. I watched as it soaked into her skin and all the rips began to glue themselves together.

“Wow, I haven’t seen this one done before.” Jeremy watched in awe as her back pieced itself back together like a puzzle. 

I chuckled, “I have seen this one time, but it wasn’t this bad of a wound. It is amazing to see though.” I walked closer to her and sighed, “this will save her life, but she will be left with these scars for the rest of her life.” I felt Jer’s hand on my shoulder.

“Hey at least she will have her life.” He said with a smile.

“I just hope we managed to heal her wolf too.” I said as I stood up, I looked at him and he wrapped his arms around me.

“Only time will tell, for now let’s get her more cleaned up.” He said.

“Maybe we should have another female help me.” He looked at me confused, “it’s obvious she has been through a lot. I think she would feel better having females around her right now.” He nodded his head and bent down and kissed my forehead. 

“Who do you think would be best?” He asked me.

“I honestly don’t know, I think someone she knows would be better. However I don’t know if I should trust anyone with her that is from this pack. Look at what they have done to her.” I said while holding my hand out towards her.

“I know, she has been through a lot. I agree that we shouldn’t trust anyone, but we can’t bring too many people here. Especially someone they could use against us.” I nodded my head.

“I understand, maybe you could bring Claire or Sara then bring them back?” I said as I looked at her. 

“I will see what I can do, my love.” He vanished and I went back to work cleaning her up. The hardest part would be washing all the dried blood from her hair. I looked at her hair, still unsure of what color her hair actually was. 

I decided to skip her hair and began to wash one of her arms.  I  sighed as I noticed more scars as I wiped away the dirt and blood. I heard a noise and looked up to see Sara and Claire. I chuckled and looked at Jeremy, “babe, I said I just needed one person, not two.” I laughed.

He shrugged his shoulders, “eh, they both said they wanted to come.” He gave me another kiss before he left again. 

“My goddess, what happened to her?” Claire asked as she picked up a towel. 

“I don’t know, I managed to speed up the healing process on her back but we have a long way to go.” I sighed as I continued to clean her up. “Weren’t you supposed to be watching Margarete and that stupid new female?” I asked Sara.

She shrugged her shoulders, “I was told I had some time, Emerald took over watching her. They decided to take the kids into the kitchen and make some cookies and stuff.” 

I laughed, “oh no, another baking day? We are all going to be fat by the time summer hits.” They both laughed at me as we worked.

It took some time but finally we had her cleaned up. I noticed burns on the inside of her legs and lady area as well as some deep rips from someone's claws. I fear what may have happened to her, I only hope it didn’t leave lasting damage. “Okay, I think we can start to wake her up.” Sara said. 

I nodded my head, “I agree but I need you two to back up and stay out of sight. She freaked out the last time she was awake. Talking about being tricked again, I am going to start waking her up.” I walked into the bathroom and grabbed the white robe that was hanging on the back of the door. 

I looked around and noticed Sara and Claire peeking out of the closet,  I took a breath and focused on the hold I had on this young woman. I slowly let go of it until it was completely gone. I had at least put her in a dream that would calm her, at least I had hoped it would calm her. 

She started to stir and stretch under the covers, her eyes gradually opened and she jumped pushing herself up against the headboard of the bed. She bundled the blankets up around her, I averted my gaze and held out the robe. “Please put this on, we need to talk.” I said calmly. 

She reached forward and grabbed the robe from my hand and quickly put it on. I looked at her and could see more of the white lights around her than I could of the black. I sighed in relief. “Who are you?” She asked with a hoarse voice.

I conjured up some water in a cup and handed it to her. “I am Tasha, I work for King Zeke and Queen Jane. I was summoned here to help you. Do you remember anything?” 

She nodded her head as she slowly drank the water, “I remember Annabelle helping me escape the dungeon, I remember running from someone but I don’t remember who.” She said quietly.

“That’s good, do you remember what happened to you?” I needed to know if she remembers.

I watched as her eyes furrowed together and tears filled her eyes. She closed her unique eyes, quickly took a breath and firmly said, “yes, I remember.”

I took a step towards her and she jumped back, I stopped and put my hands up. “I won’t hurt you, can you feel your wolf?” I asked her.

She closed her eyes again and a small smile formed on her lips then disappeared again as she opened her eyes. “Yes, I can feel her, but it’s like she is in a deep sleep.” her voice was soft. 

“What’s your name?” I asked as I slowly inched forward another step so I could sit on the bed.

She eyed me carefully as I sat down, “Magnolia, Magnolia Evans.” My mouth dropped open when she said the name. 

“Wait, like the alpha of Desert Moon? Alpha Scott Evans?” Her eyes lit up at the name.

“He’s my uncle, my fathers brother.” She looked down at the cup in her hand, “he helped train me, but I guess I was never very good at fighting. It’s probably a good thing he thinks I am dead.” 

Suddenly Sara burst out of the closet Claire hot on her heels, “she doesn’t even know does she?” She shouted.

I glared at her and Magnolia backed all the way up to the wall, “No she probably doesn’t.”  I said calmly and pointed for them to sit on the floor. They instantly obeyed and dropped to the floor. 

“Sorry, we didn’t mean to frighten you.” Sara apologized in a soft yet hurried voice.

“What don’t I know?” She asked, looking between us.

“Your uncle has been looking for you for over a year. He learned about the attack but Alpha Black told him you were killed. He said he didn’t believe that and continued his search for you.” I told her the truth, she needed to hear it. 

“This entire time he was looking for me, he didn’t believe I was dead?” Her voice was filled with disbelief. 

“Yes, he will be so excited to see you, so will your mate.” I said with a smile.

She shook her head, “I don’t have a mate, not like he would want me anyways.” she wrapped her arms around her body and turned her back on me.

“What would you say if I told you I knew who and where your mate was?” I asked her calmly. 

“I would say you’re lying to me.” She hissed out, I could see the pain on her face. 

“I am going to have someone come in here, he will not hurt you, I promise.” She glared at me but I didn’t care. I knew what she needed right now. I linked Zac, “You can come in, but you need to open the door slowly and not make a single move towards her.” 

“Okay.” He responded to me. I waved my hand and allowed the barrier down. Zac opened the door and cautiously walked in. Magnolia had backed into the corner of the room and she looked at him with her eyes wide. 

I could feel the electricity in the room from their connection. Zac couldn’t take his eyes off of her, I smiled knowing their connection was forming and it would be strong. Soon this connection would help to completely heal her. “Magnolia, we are going to go right outside the door, if you need anything let me know.” I turned to Zac, “don’t you dare move from this spot without her permission.” I hissed at him. 

He didn’t take his eyes off of her as he began to nod his head. I don’t think I have ever seen him like this before. I motioned for the other two girls to follow me, we walked out and everyone was sitting next to the railing waiting. 

Zeke jumped up, “What’s going on?” He asked worriedly. 

I put my hands up to calm him down, “Shh, she is not in the greatest of shape mentally.” I whispered. I motioned for him to follow me down the hall. “Look she has obviously been tortured in multiple ways. We need to know exactly what happened to her but you need to know who she is.” He looked at me confused for a second, “her name is Magnolia Evans.” 

His eyes grew wide, “as in?” I nodded my head, “I need to call her uncle now.” He turned around and walked towards the stairs.

“Zeke, don’t let him come out here, not yet. Things would get really dicey if he did. Maybe I should take her away from here.” I said quietly.

“We will talk, right now I need to tell him his niece is alive.” He ran down the stairs and out of sight.

I walked back to the door and gently knocked. I peeked my head in and was happy to see that they were standing a few feet from each other just staring. “Magnolia, would you like something to eat?”

Her brows furrowed, “I don’t know.” she never once took her eyes off of Zac. 

I knew she needed something, “okay well I will bring a tray of snacks and if you decide to eat they are here for you.” I said quietly, she only nodded her head. I smiled knowing that we finally found our future queen. 

Zac’s pov

I paced back and forth anxiously waiting for any news on my mate. Suddenly Tasha’s voice echoed through my head.  “You can come in, but you need to open the door slowly and not make a single move towards her.” The tone she used was one I had heard many times when she would try and get the seriousness through to her boys. Axel and  Alex, twins that are the tricksters of the castle.

“Okay.” I said as I jumped up and made my way to the door, I reached out and my heart jumped when it reached the door knob. I gently twisted it and slowly opened the door, I stepped inside and was stunned. Her hair was still dirty but I could now make out that she had a darker hair color. Her skin was pale and I could see how her bones stuck out giving her a sickly look. Her eyes were a gorgeous purple, I stared into her eyes and she into mine. 

I could feel the hairs on the back of my neck stand up as goosebumps made their way over my body. “Magnolia, we are going to go right outside the door, if you need anything let me know. Don’t you dare move from this spot without her permission.” Tasha said, her voice firm, I was in too much of a trance, I gently nodded my head not taking my eyes off of her. 

“Magnolia, that’s a beautiful name.” Matt said to me, “I wonder what her wolf’s name is.” 

The door was cracked and I felt myself start to take a step forward and I stopped. “May I move closer to you?” I softly asked her. 

She nodded her head and I slowly moved towards her, I was a few feet away and moved my foot forward when she started to take a step back. I quickly put my foot back and stayed where I was. I knew then that this was as close as I could get to her, for now. 

I don’t know how long we stood here when the door opened again, “Magnolia, would you like something to eat?” I heard Tasha’s voice.

She didn’t break eye contact and I could see the corner of her pink lips start to curl up then it disappeared as her brows furrowed. “I don’t know.” Oh her voice is beautiful, like a symphony in perfect harmony. I smiled as I heard Tasha walk away.

“Okay, well I will bring you a tray of snacks and if you decide to eat they are here for you.” Tasha said calmly. She didn’t respond and I heard Tasha as she walked away and down the stairs.

I didn’t know what to do, I didn't want to rush her but I needed to be next to her. I could feel Matt as he attempted to push forward. I took a breath and spoke softly, “Magnolia, may I hold your hand? My wolf wants to take over and I think it would help.” She thought about it for a minute before reaching her hand out. 

I smiled and slowly grabbed her hand, I was surprised her hand was freezing cold and so bony. I didn’t care though, I knew soon she would have the proper care she needed and would soon be healthy. The tingles that shot through my hand felt amazing, so much stronger than the last time I held her hand. 

She let out a soft sigh and I felt my chest warm, “all I want to do is hug you, I have been looking for you for years.” She quickly jerked her hand away and turned around shaking her head, a tightness quickly replaced the warmth in my chest.

“You don’t want me.” She said softly.

The sound of her voice made the tightness grow, she sounded so broken. “I do want you, why would you think I wouldn’t? Have I don’t something to make you think that?” I tried to keep my tone as neutral as possible. 

She shook her head, “when you realize, you will want someone else.” She said sadly her voice was so low I could barely hear it. 

I wanted to reach out and comfort her but at the same time I was afraid that would make her scared. “Please look at me, Magnolia.” She ignored me, “Magnolia, there is nothing that could have happened or ever will happen that would make me not want you.” 

She turned around and I could see how her eyes were bloodshot as she tried to hold in tears. “Talk to me so I can help you, please.” I pleaded with her when the door fully opened and Tasha walked in. 

“Okay, I brought a few different things since I didn’t know what you liked, also I brought you some more water.” She looked up and her eyes grew wide, “why are you crying?” She asked but instantly turned to me. “You out!” 

I knew better than to argue with her and took one last look at my mate before I walked out of the room. My dad walked up to me, “What happened?” 

I took a deep breath then I explained what she said.

“So she thinks you won’t want her?” He asked more to himself than to me. I nodded my head, “do you want her?” He asked me.

“Of course I want her. Now that I have her I couldn’t imagine not having her by my side.” I said honestly. 

My dad nodded his head, “well you will have to show her you can be trusted. That’s the big thing.” He said in a matter of fact tone. 

“How do you suppose I do that?” I asked him.

He smiled, “well for starters why don’t we get her some things that she needs, like clothes, toiletries, maybe a few books.” I nodded my head, “We can’t have the girls leave here, they may be spotted. But maybe you, Luca, and James could take a drive with the woman who is Margarete's friend.” He said softly, my dad was always tender when he needed to be and I was thankful for that. 

“Yeah I will see if Luca can get her number from his mate, but I will first ask that lady some questions before we go anywhere.” I turned around and let my nose lead me to her, I knew she was with James so I followed her scent. I rounded the corner into the kitchen. The kitchen walls were all white except for the wall where the kitchen table was sitting was a dark forest green. 

The tiles and counters were white with some black mixed in, and the cabinets were black with chrome handles. I turned right to walk further into the kitchen and stopped in shock. James and the other girl were lip locked together in a very heated make out session. 

“What the hell is going on here?” Matt asked me with a bit of jealousy in his tone. I cleared my throat and James jumped away from her.

“Uh, Zac, umm. This-” I put my hand up.

“What is this?” I asked pointing between the two of them.  It wasn’t that odd to find him like this but I was not in the mood to deal with his single male behavior. 

“Um-” He looked at her and she just nodded her head, “we are mates.” He said quickly. I looked back and forth between the two of them. 

“Well I guess we weren’t the only ones to find their mate this time.” Matt said in my head.