Stay With Me

      Elias stepped forward, frowning. He placed a hand on Claire's shoulder, who offered him a disproving glance before stepping away, still helping Colin stay upright. As more time passed, he was growing weaker and weaker. His body needed to rest in order to flush out the massive amounts of wolfsbane in him, but his severely weakened wolf wouldn't let him; his mate needed help. 

"She will come back with me," Elias stated calmly. 

      "Like hell I will," Claire muttered under her breath. 

      Ife grinned. "Well, Mademoiselle Claire, unfortunately we cannot leave you unattended." Elias growled at the King quietly, but everyone could hear him anyways. 

      "She should come with her family," Jocelyn replied sweetly. 

      "No," Claire and Elias responded at the same time. 

      But the Priestess only continued speaking, "If she were to develop any connections, I would be the first to detect them. And as I've said, I will not allow my granddaughter to exist as some abomination."

      Then, not to the surprise of a single person in the area who knew him, or even knew of him, Ife spoke up, "She is a vampire, no? Then she is my responsibility." He turned to face Claire with kind eyes. "Accompany me back to Algeria, mademoiselle? I will be a gracious host for as long as you need." 

      Elias growled again, causing Claire to shudder; the action caught Colin's dazed attention. As everyone spoke about his mate, he tried to focus himself on the conversation. All his energy was going into keeping the welcoming black haze out of his eyes. His mind refused to allow his body to slip into a much-needed bout of unconsciousness. 

      After much effort, Colin was able to push past his weakness, only to be slammed back down by the sheer rage roiling in the air as it radiated off the Alphas, all while they watched his mate. Only upon seeing his father's eyes so intensely fixed on Claire was he finally able to gather the energy to speak.

      "Claire," he whispered to her as he gently rubbed her forearm where they touched; the sensation caused both to shiver with delight. "Stay with me." 

      She stiffened at the offer. She could feel his disappointment at the reaction, but he didn't understand why she reacted like that; she didn't want to hurt him. He smelled so good. So damn good. And she had been born to kill. 

      Shaking the thought away, Claire replied, disorientated from her hunger, "Why?" 

      Although the response jabbed Colin's gut, he answered with as much love as he knew how to inflict onto his voice, "Because I want to help you." 

      'I need to help her,' he thought to himself. 'I've failed her so much already.' 

      Claire nodded slowly. That's what mates did, right? They protected each other. And packs, packs protected each other. Hesitantly, she moved her eyes ever-so-slightly, pointing at his father and the Alpha King. 

      Colin understood immediately. But what could he say? He wouldn't risk her life to simply ease her conscience and lie; but, if he told the truth about the threat Peter was, it would be suicide. 

      Luckily for both of them, Alpha Peter did not give them time to contemplate and overthink words. He had heard their conversation. While he usually found his youngest to be a burden at best, he was coming in handy with this issue. 

      "Is that not a fair solution to all? She wishes to go with her mate, then let her be." 

      All eyes turned to her. Claire kept her head hung low, staring at her and Colin's feet. He didn't have any shoes. "Your feet will get cold," she said to him suddenly. 

      It took Colin a moment to even realize what she was even talking about. He laughed softly before pressing his head against her arm. He felt her brace her muscles, and it made his heart falter. 

      Marwen was done with this entire game. They were well aware of the hidden agendas of all the other players, and they no longer cared. Their only duty was to assess the hybrid, and that was done. But they did feel a twinge of pity for the girl; she clearly had no clue what she was being dragged into. 

      "Miss Green," they spoke kindly, which surprised The Council Members; the dryad was usually apathetic at best. "You do not need to be monitored. If you develop connections, we will know in other ways. Go wherever you desire." 

      I don't want to go anywhere, Claire thought to herself. 

      But then, Colin weakly nuzzled his head into her arm again. This time, she didn't tense up; she relaxed. Of course, his feet wouldn't get cold: he was nothing but warmth. Her own personal bonfire. Without saying a word, she nodded, using her shaking hands to push his hair out of his face. 

      The smile Colin wore hurt his cheeks. His eyes flashed amber for a moment as his wolf tried to take control. He wanted to mark her, make himself hers forever. He felt his teeth begin to shift in his gums, but he quickly put a stop to it. If Claire noticed Colin's momentary loss of control, she said nothing as she helped him to a car. 

      Elias suddenly blocked the path. "Ma chérie," he whispered. She could feel his sadness. "Don't go." 

      "Fuck you," she spat, her voice shaky. 

      Elias sighed deeply and stepped out of the way. As she moved past him, he lightly touched her shoulder and said, "I will always be here for you." 

      With that, he returned to his house, the one he had shared with her for nearly a decade. Claire watched her sire, her best friend, her family, walk away. Colin squeezed her hand softly, but she did not respond at all. 

      Marwen walked up to them for a moment, staring at the pair. They had always been fascinated by the Goddess's decision to give wolves mates. As a dryad, they found it foolish to tie one's life to another willingly. Death was far too common to make such promises. 

"Miss Green," they whispered, getting her attention. "I have something to give you."

They touched a leaf from the vines hanging off their head. Instantly, the leaf curled itself around their wooden finger. With a light pull, the leaf came off and dried itself, still in a perfect ring. They held it out in their open palm to her. Hesitantly, Claire reached out and picked up the leaf. As their fingers brushed, Claire felt all her hunger disappear. She knew that it was temporary, but it left her with clarity. Confused, she looked back at the dryad, who wore a soft expression. "If you wish to get in contact with me, burn the ring beginning at the petiole." Claire nodded, pocketing the gift carefully. "Good luck, Miss Green." 

With that, Marwen Thumblerot walked into a tree and disappeared, signaling the end of the Council Meeting. 

Claire helped Colin into the car, buckling him before climbing in herself. A wolf shut the door behind her as the engine turned over, taking her away.