Memento Mori -- Chapter 9
#9 of Eben Black Series -- Memento Mori
© All characters and storylines involving said characters belong to me: Eben Black.
I had persuaded Donovan to rest up, but he had one condition. He wanted me to sleep with him. No. He didn't want sex, he could barely stand, let alone make love, but he wanted me to sleep with him. To be honest I'd been on my back unconscious for three days, and even after a good breakfast was still exhausted around the edges so I accepted. Donovan settled against the dark red sheets, while the duvet pooled at his waist. He'd stripped and so had I. Kane had helped me lie him back against the sheets, and had then left. I'd asked he remain with us, but instead he'd promised to remain outside instead. He was still being awkward around me, but I had one emotional wolf lying against the bed sheets now, let alone the other one outside the door. One dilemma at a time. I slipped across the bed and snuggled in against the warm cream fur that was Donovan's side. He let out a deep breath he'd held. The wolf winced a little and then relaxed. He had an arm around me as I gently lay beside him. He growled deep in his chest, but it wasn't an upset growl, it was a growl of content. I rested my hand on his stomach and played with all the warm cream fur, the streaks of golden yellow and orange looked beautiful in the dim light. The window drapes had been drawn, slithers of sunlight splintered through here and there, but all in all the bedroom was darkened. It was warm and intimate, not to mention beautiful. Basil definitely knew how to decorate.
"Feel better?" I breathed as I listened to my alpha wolf breath deep again.
"Much better. You were right, I needed this. I'm no good if I'm half-dead, right?" Donovan asked.
I laughed under my breath and then said, "So do you disapprove of the newest bond I have?"
He went silent beside me.
I sat up and eased back on my elbow, looking down at those pale green eyes. "You do have a problem with it?" I demanded.
"You sound shocked that I would have a complaint," he replied.
"I expected Kane to put up more of a fight, and even Sawyer I expected would have an issue, but I thought you'd be less...pissed about the whole situation."
"I'm not pissed at you, Eben. There's just something about Basil that doesn't agree with me."
"What do you mean?" I asked with a curious look.
"I understand he's different than what he was a few days ago, and I appreciate him saving us and putting us up until things are taken care of, but still...I have a bad feeling about him."
"What kind of bad feeling?"
Donovan looked at me, and then slowly eased up onto his elbows. He watched me with those pale green eyes and then answered me. "He feels old."
"O-Old?" I stammered.
"Yeah. He feels older than what he seems. And I don't mean by about ten years, I mean really old," he explained.
I thought long and hard. Should I tell Donovan about Basil's past? Or should I leave it alone? What if Basil was outed and he ratted me out too? No. This coalition, this bond between us was about trust.
Donovan frowned. "What?"
"Your right. Basil is older than he seems. He's three hundred and three to be precise," I explained, "He's that old because he was once a member of the beast council, Donovan, but he's on our side now."
"He used to be on the council?"
I nodded. "He was Balthazaar's whipping boy, sold to Balthazaar a long time ago to prevent the council from ravaging a village."
Donovan frowned and looked at me for a moment and then asked, "Do you trust him?"
I nodded again. "He's bound to me now, Donovan, and I don't know what it is about the bonds, but for some reason I feel you guys cannot lie to me. So yeah, I do trust Basil."
"Thats a sign that the bonds are strengthening. Its common among female wereanimals when they bind themselves to alpha males. The bond is about more than companionship."
"You could've mentioned that sooner," I murmured.
"It didn't seem necessary until now. Besides, you figured it out on your own in the end," he replied with a gentle smile. He touched a hand to my cheek and caressed me there. "So your bound to an ex-member of the council. In some way it may work out for the best."
"Really? How so?"
"Think about it. Basil will not lie to you now," he replied, "That means you can ask him anything and he'll answer if he can."
"What would you have me ask him?" I asked.
"About the council. We need to know as much about them as possible. Balthazaar's death resulted in the beast council being reorganised and newer members being brought in. Sawyer's information is no longer valid where the council is concerned, too many things have changed. However, Basil saw the more recent council. No?" Donovan asked.
I nodded. "He said that when Balthazaar died he took Balthazaar's seat and then the members were reorganised, some old, some new. He was then kicked out because he showed compassion."
"Compassion?" Donovan repeated.
I sat up and the sheets pooled in my lap as I drew my knees to my chest and hugged them. "He refused to acknowledge their ideals of wiping out the weaker wereanimals and being the feared monsters they used to be."
Donovan frowned and said, "So he was chased?" I nodded. "He fled to LA and found Nico?"
"He asked Nico for help, and when Nico attacked him, he retaliated and killed Nico. He took the crown of the black tiger clan and a few weeks later met with us. He's new to town and looking for a home, Donovan."
"And what about his tigers? Nico was a cruel bastard. Soldiers for hire. Having a cruel tyrant one moment, and then a gentle spirited King the next? It's going to fuck with their dynamic," Donovan explained.
I nodded. "He said he was worried about his tigers at first, but after seeing what my beast was like, he decided to stand with us and has decided that if any tigers have a problem, they are welcome to challenge him."
"He's sure he'll win?"
"I asked the same question, but he's a Level Three, Donovan. He can handle himself, no problems," I replied, almost assuring him as well as myself.
"Alright then," Donovan replied. He collapsed backwards and winced from the sudden movement. When he settled he looked up at me and added, "I trust your judgement, Eben. I have to. Your my Lupine."
"That's wierd."
"What is?" he asked with a smile.
"You've never actually called me "your" Lupine before."
He rolled onto his side, while watching me with those beautiful green eyes. "What can I say? Its the truth."
I smiled and asked, "So your cool with Basil then?"
He nodded and grinned, "Yeah, I'm cool with him."
"I met Leon."
"Leon?"
"Maximillian never told you? Leon's the alpha white lion."
"Oh? What's he like?"
"Awkward."
"Awkward? Awkward how?" Donovan asked with a cautious expression.
I cuddled closer so that he could trail a hand over my stomach, I laced my fingers with his as he looked down at me. "I think he's having second thoughts about the coalition."
Donovan looked confused.
"He came here looking for protection, and Maximillian promised him that. But after seeing us all half dead, he's kind of gotten cold feet."
"I'm guessing he needs some kind of assurance?" Donovan asked.
"Yeah. He wants to fight me one-on-one. He has abilities similar to mine. He can control water, Donovan, its amazing how much control he has. He wants to "test" out my abilities against his own and then decide what to do."
"And your up for that?"
I shrugged and replied, "Honestly, I don't see the harm. We tussle and in return we could guarantee a dozen alpha werelions to back us in the future. But I said I need permission from my alpha."
Donovan grinned then and repeated, "You need permission?"
"As my alpha, my King, I have to follow your orders. You forbid me from transforming unless absolutely necessary, and considering what happened in the penthouse, even that's a rule that can be broken."
He nodded and said, "Your abilities are still new. I mean no one else has started transforming whenever they use their abilities. It makes me cautious around your beast until we know what we're dealing with."
"So that's a no then?"
He looked at me and asked, "Leon's not going anywhere soon right?"
I shook my head.
"Then I'll speak with Leon tomorrow and see what we can arrange. Perhaps Sawyer or Kane could fight him instead?" Donovan suggested.
"I suppose so," I replied, there was a hint of disappointment there.
"You wanted to fight him?"
"I don't know about fighting him, but I would like to practice some more with the abilities I've been given."
Donovan looked at me concerned for a moment and then added, "You promise to be cautious?"
I nodded.
"Then I'll arrange it so that you and Leon have a little sparring match at some point in the future." He rolled onto his back and gazed up at the ceiling. I snuggled in against him again and cuddled that warm fur. I ran fingers over the warmth of his chest as he took a deep breath and relaxed. Exhaustion washed over him and soon he was fast asleep. He pulled me in close, and winced now and again when he moved, but soon he was deep asleep and slowly I could see his smaller wounds closing and healing. He had small cuts and bruises here and there. When I'd last seen him in the penthouse he'd taken a beating from that she-wolf, but still he hadn't had such bad wounds over his abdomen. Or had he? Had I not noticed? So many things had happened during that confrontation. Exhaustion washed over me and swallowed me as I cuddled against the alpha wolf I'd grown to love as deeply as I loved Snow. His chest rose and feel while the day passed us by.
I felt like I'd been asleep for about two minutes when a gentle knock stirred me from my sleep. I opened my eyes and sat up, the sheets pooled in my lap as I looked across the bedroom. A tall, broad-shouldered white tiger took a few steps inside the bedroom and gestured for me to follow. Why was Snow being so damned secretive? I spilled out of bed and slipped into some pyjama bottoms, then padded across the bedroom and out the door. Donovan was fast asleep still and hadn't stirred one bit. I smiled after glancing back at him, then closed the door behind me and stepped into the dim light of the corridor.
"What time is it, Snow?" I asked, still half asleep.
"Snow? Nah! Its Bartholomew," a familiar deep voice said.
I wiped my eyes and looked up at the white tiger before me. "Oh, your awake? Feeling better?" I asked.
He grinned and then winced. He was bruised here and there and no doubt his spine was in a state thanks to the wall he'd been slammed into by Jasper during the brawl. "I'll be honest, you guys play rough."
"Trust me, we don't always play that badly at all, its just the bad guys tend to follow us around from time to time," I smirked back, "So what's up?"
"Its almost six in the evening. Its even darkened outside. Maximillian asked me to come and see if your awake yet."
"Ah, everyone else is up and about then?" I asked. I yawned and stretched as I spoke.
"Well...not everyone," he said. His face went serious for a moment and then he added, "Snow's not woken up yet, and I'm starting to get a little worried. Its been almost four days."
"Seriously?" I asked, looking shocked by the new information.
"That doctor...Fiona?" he asked. I nodded. "She looked him over and put his arm in a splint. He's healing, but he's not waking up. Most of his wounds have gone, just the arm is healing, but still, he's unconscious."
"What did Fiona say about his unconsciousness?" I asked.
"She said that different wereanimals differentiate during the healing process, some blackout like we all have, some can't sleep until the healing is done. It all depends on the individual. But she didn't sound certain." He looked up and glanced behind him. I knew what he was looking at. Snow's room was down the hall. I smiled at Bartholomew and then nodded. "You wanna go see him?" I nodded again. "OK cool," he replied, he smiled and then together we walked down the corridor toward Snow's bedroom. Bartholomew opened the door and we stepped into the hushed silence of the bedroom. There he was. Fast asleep, or rather, unconscious, on his back, his one arm bandaged. He looked peaceful. I'd never seen him so silent, even when he slept his breathing was deep and almost beautiful to hear, but now he was still. I stepped up beside his bed and touched a hand to his forearm. He was still warm. I held that forearm and stared down at him. A warm tear trailed down my cheek as I looked down on him.
"Wake up."
"You say something?" Bartholomew asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Please wake up," more tears came as I looked down on the big white feline that I loved. "Bart?" I asked, glancing back.
"Yeah?" he asked with an almost scared look on his face.
"Let Maximillian know that I'm going to wake Donovan up. We're sorting things out now. Everyone's slept enough." I looked back at Snow and added, "Look after Snow for me, Bart?"
"You sound like your going somewhere?" he replied with a cautious look. He added, "I didn't want to upset you, by the way. I thought you being here would wake him up."
I wiped the tears away and smiled. "You did the right thing, Bartholomew, thanks."
He smirked and added, "You like him alot, don't you?" he asked.
I nodded and said, "I love him. I love Donovan. I love Kane. I love everyone who stands with me and who fights to protect one another. I love the family I've made with them all, Bartholomew." I looked back at Snow and touched a hand to his still one. "And I swear I will figure things out and when Snow wakes up he'll have nothing to protect me from."