I had never seen a warlock in action before. When Ibhan drew on the shadows, darkening the field, my breath caught in my throat. His powers were scary and brutal as he commanded shadows into a solid physical form. But when Matthew sunk his teeth into Ibhan’s thigh, I snapped out of my daze. The scream that echoed from Ibhan’s mouth seemed to squeeze around heart and throat, suffocating me. Ibhan thrust his hands upwards once more, and the shadows wrapped around Matthews body, throwing him aside like a ragdoll. His arms fell limp by his side, and I was there in an instant.

"Hey, hey, hey, open your eyes, look at me," my words tumbled out of my mouth as I assessed the damage. The claw marks on the chest were shallow, his robe falling aside in tatters. The teeth marks in his thigh were deep, oozing blood as he lay there.

"Get the medics!" I yelled to the other wolves who were still stunned by what was happening. I looked up as I heard a low growl, Matthew climbing to his feet once more. Something in me snapped at the site of him and I snarled. My hands were covered in blood as I stood, stepping between Matthew and Ibhan.

"Stand down Matthew, or I'll finish what he started," I said as he paced in front of me. He was injured, limping even, but a scorned wolf was stubborn.

"Don't for a second think that he did this for you, he did it for himself," Matthew’s voice spoke in my mind. I scoffed and shook my head.

"Don't be an ass Matthew, just get out of here," I said but he came closer.

"Let me finish him off, then we can move on," he reasoned.

"We can ‘move on?’ Matthew, I don't ever want to see you again," I said, and he finally tore his gaze away from Ibhan, another growl rumbling in his chest.

"I came back for you," he said, his voice sounding pained.

"I didn't ask you to do that," I said, and he snarled, turning his attention to the medics who were trying to quickly evacuate Ibhan from the scene. "Don't you dare, Matthew I will come for you," I warned him. He shot me a glare before he took off after the medics.

"Damn you, Matthew!" I yelled as I ran after him, shifting mid run into my wolf form. My paws hit the dirt hard as I took off after him, slamming into his side with all of my weight to throw him off track. We rolled over in the dirt and he snapped his jaws at me, as a warning. I paced around him, not backing down from his challenge.

He tried to push past me, and I growled, swiping at him with my claws. He made a hissing sound and backed up, but I could see his body tensing for another attempt. His time in the city had made him sloppy.

When he leapt, I was ready, springing up and pushing him aside. We tussled in the grass as he tried to get me off of him. Having had enough, I locked my jaw onto his neck, teeth digging in just enough to slow him down.

"Yield, Matthew, don't make me kill you," I said, giving him one last chance. He growled, swiping a paw at me and I stamped it down with my own, letting my claws dig in as far as they could. He whimpered and finally stopped struggling. I waited a few more moments before releasing his neck. I shifted back into my human form, still breathing heavily.

"You have one night in the southern medic bay," I said to him, calling for another team of medics, "tomorrow you go home." I stood up, assessing my won injuries. Nothing more than some scratches and bruises.

"Kyda!" Ameena jogged over to where I was, "Ibhan, he's in a bad way," she said and I immediately pushed past her, running towards to the medic bay. We had several of them over the pack and I had never been more grateful for that before now. Bursting through the door I located Ibhan’s room immediately. The smell of burnt lavender and metal filled the room.

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Most of his clothes had been removed, his skin still covered in a thin sheen of sweat. One wolf was cleaning and bandaging the scratches on his chest as 2 worked on his thigh. I could make out the individual teeth marks, at least 12 of them.

"He's not a wolf, so his recovery will be slower," One of the nurses said as she came in holding a bag of blood in her hand. I nodded numbly as I looked over the patches of his skin already mottled with bruises. "You can still hold his hand, you're his mate so it will help some," she said with a smile, and I nodded once again. I approached the bed slowly, like I might hurt him if I was too loud. I sat on the chair by his bed and very carefully, took his hand in mine.

His knuckles were swollen and bruised where he had punched Matthew. I ran my fingers over them gently and swallowed hard. My feelings were spiralling out of control, and I was scared. I had spent the night trying to come to terms with the fact that I would be letting him go, but I knew in that moment that I wouldn't. I pushed his hair out of his face with my other hand, a large bruise forming on his face, his eye swelling too.

"We gave him a sedative, he'll be out for a little while," the nurse said to me as she finished hooking him up to the bag of blood.

"Is he going to be okay?" I asked and she smiled again, a practiced face for worried people.

"They got him here pretty fast, and there wasn't too much ragged tearing of the flesh, so he should be fine." She gave me a small nod and left the room. I sat back in the chair, letting the other wolves finish their work. They stitched his thigh up and wrapped it in a thick bandage, pressure dressing on the rest.pf his wounds. They handed me two ice packs, one for his hand, one for his face, and I positioned them carefully and sat.

I didn't know how much time had passed before the door opened again. My parents stood there, worry on their faces as I looked up at them. They stepped into the room and warning growl left my throat before I knew what was happening.

"Easy love, we're not here to hurt him," my dad reassured me, and I sighed heavily, letting go of the tension I had held onto.

"Sorry," I murmured as I turned the ice packs over. My mother came around to the other side of the bed, her eyes running over Ibhan’s battered body. She had been trained as a medic before she changed to tracking when she was about my age.

"They say he's gonna be fine, but he'll have to stay here to recover," she said softly, and I nodded.

"Matthew is being carted out in the morning," my dad said, laying a hand on my shoulder and squeezing gently. I looked up at him and his face softened. "Oh, love, it’s alright," he bent down and wrapped me up in his arms. My father was the only one who ever made me feel small when he held me, and it was just what I needed in that moment.

"Tell me,” My mum said, reaching for my hand, "can you let Ibhan leave your life still?" She asked. I shook my head, and she gave me a sad smile. The mate bond was complex and intense, and today's events had only reinforced its hold on me. I wandered what effect it had on Ibhan, was it equal or was it just me?

"We're gonna go get you some food, okay?" My mum said as she ushered dad out of the room. I took Ibhan’s hand in mind once again and laid my head on the edge of the bed. I was suddenly bone achingly tired. I let my eyes close and stayed that way for a while.

"Wolf," a raspy voice croaked, and I was up in an instant. Ibhan coughed weakly as he looked around the room.

"I'm right here," I said, and his eyes finally landed on me. I thought I saw the briefest hint of relief on his face before he winced in pain.

"That bastard, I'm gonna kill him," he hissed.

"Don't move so much, you'll mess up the stitches," I said as I poured him some water.

"Where is he?" He asked, still trying to get upright. I sighed and adjusted the position of his bed and handed him the water.

"I sent him away," I said simply as he took inventory of his injuries. He looked up at me, his expression grim.

"Still protecting him?" He asked and I rolled my eyes.

"Don't give me that shit," I hissed, "he was my best friend for years, years." I sat back and took a deep breath. "But when he attacked you? It didn't matter anymore. I had my teeth on his neck," I said, meeting Ibhan’s gaze, "and if he hadn't given in I would have finished it."

He held my gaze for a long moment, searching for something. He nodded after a long moment, running his hand over the bruises and bandages.

"Your leg is gonna take some time to heal," I said, and he sighed, "so unfortunately you're stuck with me." I stood up, getting ready to leave.

"Kyda," he called, and I stopped. I hated that my heart skipped a beat when he said my name.

"You need something?" I asked, looking back as I reached for the handle.

"Thank you," he said quietly before he laid his head back and closed his eyes.