14. Cecil

Chapter 14

My ass hurt. My neck burned, my mouth felt like the desert, and my entire body ached like I'd been body slammed by someone much larger than me. And I'd had the oddest dream. There was no way that I'd woken up with a beast with fire eyes looming over me. The beast had licked up the side of my neck and then disappeared, which was the oddest thing. I didn't understand it, not even a little.

I rolled over and grabbed my head. Seriously, my body felt like it weighed a thousand pounds. Why did I feel so terrible? I tried to roll again but froze when I encountered something. Or rather, someone. I opened an eye, immediately relieved that it wasn't extremely bright inside the room.

I saw an arm that was attached to a chest. A massive chest that was covered in hair. Warwick. I gasped, pushed up, and immediately regretted my choice. Warwick turned his head, his dark eyes looking right at me, and where I expected irritation, I saw only concern.

"What do you need?" he asked. "Do you want to crawl back on top?"

Well, that was an interesting proposition. I wasn't sure I'd ever had that question asked of me before. And although it sounded like an amazing idea, I wasn't sure I was up for it. I shook my head but grabbed it when the movement caused it to throb painfully.

"I'm not sure what's wrong. My entire body aches, but my head especially hurts."

Warwick sat up, and the man had absolutely no right looking that good after being in bed. "Don't take this the wrong way, but it's good to hear you talking to me coherently."

I was rubbing my head and stopped to look at Warwick. "Why would you say that?"

Warwick sat up the rest of the way, the sheet pooling around his waist. I really wanted to see what was under that sheet. We'd claimed each other last night, but I didn't remember exactly what Warwick looked like below the waist. But with the way my ass hurt this morning, I could only imagine just how big he was.

"Cecil, what do you remember?"

"We had pizza. I remember asking you to fuck me, and you carried me upstairs." That's where it got a little fuzzy, and I rubbed my forehead again, trying to figure out why. "I know we claimed each other. I can see my bite on your shoulder." I winced. That had to hurt. "Sorry about my aim. I guess I was a little off." Warwick shrugged. "I guess I was on top at some point. You asked me a bit ago if I wanted to climb back on top." My head was really throbbing. "I'm not trying to say it wasn't amazing, because I am sure it absolutely was. But I don't remember being on top."

Warwick chuckled. I wanted to glare, but that hurt my head even more. But when I looked at him, he was holding out a glass. I took it and sighed as the cool water slid down my dry throat. It felt wonderful, and I managed to drink the entire glass in seconds.

"Oh, that's wonderful. Thank you."

"You're very welcome. We should probably talk."

I looked at Warwick, suddenly worried. "You know, if we were human, those words are usually precursors for the we-need-to-break-up talk."

Warwick grinned and shook his head. I couldn't help but stare. He was seriously gorgeous. His hair was absolutely wild this morning, but that only added to it. "No, no breaking up for us. But we do need to talk."

Warwick turned, grabbed something from the bedside table, and held it out. "It's not the next morning, Cecil. We claimed each other six days ago." I took the phone he was holding out. "Look at the date."

I glanced at the phone and saw that it was almost eight in the morning. That explained the early morning light coming through the windows. But it was the date. It didn't say October fifth. It was the twelfth. How was that possible? I looked at Warwick, confused.

"You went into heat, Cecil."

The phone and glass both slipped from my hands. "What? No," I whispered.

Warwick reached for my hand, lacing our fingers together. "Yes. You went into heat. We've spent the past six days in this bed. That's why your head and body ache as much as they do."

I looked around the room. I didn't recognize any of the furniture. It must have been Warwick's from his place. Which was probably a good thing because I was sure he wouldn't fit in my bed even without me in it.

"No," I said again. I pulled my hand free and glared. "No," I said louder. "That's such a cruel thing to say to me. You know I can't." My chest started to tighten up. How could my mate be so mean? I'd told him I didn't have heats.

Warwick pulled my hand back to him and then yanked me closer. I gasped at the strength, but I shouldn't have been surprised. He was an alpha, and a large one at that.

"I understand you're surprised. But you did go into heat. Look," Warwick said. "Watch, and believe me, you did go into heat."

Images started flashing through my mind. I shook my head at first, but then I realized that they were Warwick's memories. They started with him carrying me up the stairs. I saw quite clearly while I rode Warwick, and then he bit me as I came again, and he finally joined me. I watched as he took care of me not even an hour later when his knot released, and I was begging and writhing on the bed, needing his knot again. Warwick showed me over and over how he took care of me, physically, sexually, and emotionally.

I watched as he wiped me down with a damp cloth. I watched as he carefully held a glass to my lips, and I drank from it while he was knotted inside me again and again. He fed me fruit, small squares of food that I figured were cheese and meats. But through it all, there was one constant, and that was Warwick taking care of me. Him telling me how lucky he was and how beautiful I was.

I blinked several times. I looked around the room. Warwick had pulled me to him, and I'd climbed onto his lap. I was straddling him on the bed while his arms were wrapped around my waist, and his hands were rubbing my lower back. "You took care of me," I whispered.

"I did. But I will always take care of you. You're my mate. I was gifted you. You're mine to take care of and protect, and I'll always do that, no matter who the person I'm protecting you from. I will always be here for you."

I smiled. "You think I'm beautiful?"

Warwick grinned again, and my heart fluttered in my chest. Why did he have that effect on me?

"I do. Inside and out. You had a shit childhood, and despite all of that, you are this beautiful man who gives to others. You have gone through life thinking you were broken, but that couldn't be further from the truth. There is nothing broken about you, Cecil. You are exactly as you should be." Warwick's hand moved from my lower back to my shoulder. His thumb gently rubbed over my claiming bite, and I gasped at the sensation.

I looked down at my shoulder as best as I could, but I couldn't really see it. I thought I saw black and red, but that shouldn't be what I was looking at.

"Our marks are a bit different," Warwick said. His eyes were focused on my shoulder. His thumb moved over it one more time before he dropped his hand and looked at me. "We bite, but it doesn't quite heal. Not until our beast licks over the bite. Once that happens, it heals, but the black bite is left behind. It's circled by the flames of our beast, and I'm not quite sure what exactly it means other than it's the mark of a hellhound's mate. Brice shouldn't have been able to go to our realm with us, but he was. Maybe it will allow for you to travel through that portal, but I'd never take you there. It's not a nice place, and I wouldn't want you to see the horrors that you'd find there."

I placed my hand on Warwick's fuzzy cheek. "I don't mind having your bite on me. I'm honored, actually. And if it looks different, then I'm really happy to show it off. Others will see it when I shift, and I can grin and tell them that my hellhound mate gave me the special mark." Warwick met my eyes. "I could never be upset about your claim on me."

I thought about what all had happened this morning already, and I'd only been awake for very little time. It had been an overwhelming week for certain. First, my parents, then Warwick, then the move, being claimed, and I went into heat? I didn't understand that, but what Warwick had shown me through his memories could only be that. I'd had a heat cycle. My very first heat cycle.

"Eventually, we should probably ask to talk to your boss. I'm not sure if he'll know why you haven't had a heat cycle until now, but maybe he can give us some information."

I nodded slowly, thinking about everything. But my mind was racing and always came back to one thing. "Warwick?"

He met my questioning gaze. "I'm going to be optimistic and say that it is a very real possibility that you caught. I know that the goddess said if we wanted children, it could be possible for us. I wasn't ever supposed to be gifted a mate, Cecil. But that was in my realm. Here, I belong to the goddess, and she's much kinder than her brother. You want children, and I want to make you happy. And if you want children, I'm more than ready to help with that in any way possible, so yes, I think it's very possible that you caught and we'll end up having a baby."

I took several breaths, but they were shallow, and it felt like I wasn't able to breathe. I might be pregnant. My dreams of having a family, the dreams that I'd long given up on, might come true. Warwick placed his hand on the back of my head and started rubbing. He pulled me close, and after he gave me a quick kiss, he placed his forehead against mine.

"Just breathe with me. In and out. In and out."

I did as he'd said, and in just seconds, my body was relaxing. Warwick's voice and scent surrounded me, both calming to me. I took one more breath, this one deeper than the previous ones, and was able to hold it for a few seconds before releasing and taking another deep breath. When I felt the panic receding, I opened my eyes and found Warwick staring at me. Only I wasn't looking only at Warwick. There were flames in those eyes. I was staring at his beast as well, and I could only smile. The flames flickering up so closely were mesmerizing, and I wondered how often I'd get a glimpse of that side of him.

"Your eyes are hypnotic."

Warwick closed them, and when he reopened his eyes, the flames were all but gone. Only the faintest traces of red at the bottom remained, but it was gone with another blink.

"My beast would very much like to meet you again. For longer than the quick meeting I allowed last time. I didn't wish for you to go through your heat with an unhealed claiming bite though."

"Thank you," I told him. I leaned in and pressed my lips to his. A tingle went through my body when Warwick pressed back. His lips were warm and soft, and I was beyond thrilled that he was who I would be spending the rest of my days kissing because despite me being the one who initiated, Warwick quickly took charge. How he knew, I wasn't sure, but he seemed to know exactly what I wanted and needed.

Too soon though, the kiss ended when Warwick pulled away. "There will be a whole lot more kissing. I promise you. But maybe we should get you into a bath to soak for a bit. I'll get you a real meal, some more water, and coffee if you'd like."

I moaned at his words. Those sounded like perfection. "That sounds so much better than it actually should. I'm not trying to pull away from you because you deserve for me to be taking care of you after everything you showed me just moments ago."

Warwick chuckled. "Nonsense." Warwick patted my hip, and when I realized he wanted me to move, I did. When he tossed the sheet aside, I finally got that first coherent look at the glorious body that belonged to my mate. I had to bite my lower lip hard to keep from moaning in appreciation.

Warwick's chuckle turned to a deep laugh. My eyes slowly traveled up his body, stopping at his chest briefly before I moved on up to look at his face. "You do realize that you don't have to bite your lip to keep from moaning, right? It pleases me to know you like my body."

My eyes widened. Shit. He'd heard my thoughts. "I forgot. We're mated, and there's the bond thing."

Warwick moved back to the side of the bed and leaned down. "Hmm…yes, we are. How do you think I knew exactly what you wanted over the past few days?" Warwick kissed me quickly before he stood back up. I wasn't expecting it, but I should have. He grabbed me again. I squealed when he put me over his shoulder and started toward the door that connected the bedroom to our bathroom. The second we entered, I scented the bath.

"What are you doing?" I asked while laughing. I knew Warwick wouldn't drop me, but I couldn't ever remember being carried in such a way.

My world tilted, and then I was suddenly upright and sliding down Warwick's body. My squeals and giggles turned to moans. Warwick kissed my nose, and then I slid down and away from him. When he stepped back, I registered the loss of his body touching mine.

"You take care of morning needs. I'll be right back," Warwick said. He kissed the top of my head and then walked away. I turned enough to watch him leave, once more appreciating the view as Warwick walked away. The man had a very nice backside. Then again, all of him was incredible. And he was mine. I shook my head in wonder. How had I gotten chosen as his mate? Me. I wasn't anything nearly as wonderful as he was.

"You're amazing. Much more so than I am," Warwick called out from the other room. I grinned. Right. Thoughts. I had been told how the mate bond worked, and it was a relief to know that ours was certainly working. But should I limit my thoughts to him? Why? I sat on the toilet, thinking about what I possibly had in my memories that I should keep from my mate. Nothing. I had nothing there. He'd already had access to them, so why would I pull that?

It didn't take long to take care of my needs, and when I was finished, I moved to the sink and washed my hands. I had my toothbrush in my mouth when Warwick reentered the bathroom. He had his phone in his hand, and I wondered why.

I spit out the toothpaste and nodded. "Do you need your phone in the bathroom?"

"No." Warwick placed it on the counter between our sinks. "I was messaging Master Edison. He had checked in a couple of times, but he obviously knows what happens when mates meet and claim each other. He has been keeping your grandparents up to date because they were worried. They, too, were under the impression that you wouldn't have a heat cycle after your last dinner together."

Yeah, that. "How will we find out if it was real or not? What if it was just my body's reaction to finding you? What if it wasn't really a heat cycle, Warwick? I mean, I'm ninety-six. You would think that if I was going to have one, I would have by now. Wouldn't I?"

Warwick shrugged before he placed his hand on my back and gently rubbed up and down. "I have come to realize that things are rarely what they should be any longer. I shouldn't be here. I should be dead along with the other six hellhounds that are supposedly here in this realm."

"Supposedly?"

Warwick nodded. "Hmm…yes. Five of us have somehow found our way here to the council. It's my understanding that the goddess told Atticus that there would be six more after him and that he was to be our pack leader. That's fine with those of us that have found each other. But we're still missing two. Who are they, and where are they? And why do we suddenly get mates?"

I didn't have an answer to any of those questions. "I'm not sure."

"Nobody is. Maybe for whatever reason, the goddess decided that you would be a hellhound's mate, and you would be able to have children with him. Maybe it would have been the same with any other alpha that had been chosen for you. Why does any of this happen to anyone?"

I sighed. "You really need to stop being silent and speak up more. Your friends don't seem to think you're much more than a quiet man that will mess everything up, but that's not you at all. You are quiet, sure. But you're amazing. You stepped up and took care of me. You recognized the signs of heat and did everything I asked and needed."

"Any alpha that was worthy of having a mate would do those things though. Why is it that you think otherwise?"

"Okay, they would do that. But your guys think so little of you. Why?"

Warwick shrugged. "I really don't mind what they think about me. I do my job, and I'm good at it. The council is appreciative of my contribution, so do I really need more validation?"

He wasn't getting it. "But they're your pack, Warwick. They warned me you were going to fuck everything up, but yet, you went out of your way to make sure you didn't. Even without knowing what they thought. Doesn't that bother you?" If it didn't, it should. Warwick was amazing, and everyone needed to see it. I got it—he didn't like people. I didn't blame him for the most part. But his own pack seemed to have so little faith in his abilities. That was wrong, and they needed to realize it.

"I'll talk to them. Later. Right now, my concern is you and getting you into the tub to soak. There is an oil that Master Edison sent. He said to add it to the water, and it will help with all of the aches and such."

I sighed. He was deflecting a bit, but I wasn't going to argue about it more. "Fine. Bath. Are you joining me?" I really wanted to feel his arms wrapped around me again. Warwick glanced at the tub before nodding.

"I think I'll fit."

I grinned. We would certainly find out soon enough. And if he did, I had plans. Maybe not for today, but definitely in the very near future.