Page 70 of Untamed

21 – Frenzy

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"How did you shake the drugs?" Ezra has stopped laughing at Rhet, catching his breath enough to ask the question.

A question that makes my back teeth grind together. I was pretty out-of-it, but I remember the feel of my mate, her soft scent, and the chill of her nose bumping under my chin. Then, the sting in my wrist, nothing to get too concerned about, but considering that I woke up in the clinic, I think it's safe to assume that I was, as Ezra says, drugged.

With a touch as light as a ghost, gentle fingers pulled the i.v. out of my skin. My mate can tend to more than plants with those delicate hands.

"Why?" I rumble the question out, throwing it toward my brothers and their Luna. I still feel queasy. There's a sensation of vertigo in my head. My wolf, still pretty knocked out by whatever they had in me, is awake enough to be shaking his head back and forth as if a bee stung his ear. It's an instinctive reaction to feeling sluggish from whatever toxic shit they were pumping into me.

I swallow reflexively against the welling of mating venom in my mouth. I have already Marked my cat. She's sporting the scar just above her collarbone. Her lithe body is curled into me. Maybe I'm holding her; maybe she's holding me up. So why more venom?

"In..." Lyri smiles at me weakly, sympathy dancing in her eyes. The pit in my stomach yawns open in dread. "You kept trying to Mark her. Even when it was done and over with, you kept at her. She wasn't even conscious anymore."

I feel myself sway in dread. A mating frenzy. That's what Lyri's really saying. They thought I had entered a mating frenzy.

I let my mate go and step back as if she's suddenly turned to poison. No. I couldn't have... if I did, she wouldn't be so eager to cling to me, right? But... she's so innocent. Too innocent to understand... "Did I...?"

"No!" Lyri hurries to say. "It was just the bite, In."

Qitsukturns to look at me, confusion clear on her face. One of her hands comes up as if she wants to touch me, but I back away a half-step. Hurt flashes across her face, but there's nothing I can do about that. I can't be near her. Not with venom coating my tongue and claws threatening to erupt from the ends of my fingertips. It’s all an indication of how close to another frenzy I am.

"It was like watching a bad t.v. show about vampires, with how much you were snacking on her neck," Ezra jokes weakly.

I just shake my head, probably looking just like my wolf.Qitsukwhimpers softly, taking another step.

"No," I order her to stop. Her feet come to an abrupt halt, and she almost trips, clumsy for the first time since I met her. Goddess, has it only been six days? Not even a week, and I Mark her in a fucking mating frenzy.

"It doesn't make sense," I beg my family for answers. Lyri looks at Rhet, so I do too. His blue eyes are dark in worry and sympathy.

"There's a lot of things that can cause a frenzy, In. We don't know what triggered yours." Rhet's eyes slide to my mate, who has wrapped her arms around her torso as if she's hugging herselfbecause I can't do it. If I touch her, then I'll lose control.

I reach for the chain around my waist and unclip it. Golden eyes widen on me. Pain swims in their depths.

"I can't," I try to explain to her. "I'll hurt you."

"What's concerning is that your mate isn't reciprocating by Marking you," Rhet says in a low voice. "It may be her age... or her nature."

Ice floods my veins. Without meaning to, I turn towards my golden cat. "Don't you want me, mate?" The words are harsh, torn from my gut by my wolf's desire to mate her as he wakes up more.

Shit.

Golden eyes narrow on me. Instinct is strong enough in my luna that she automatically retreats from me, the bells singing softly as her hands drop to her sides. She's the one who takes a step backward from me this time. Anger replaces the hurt, the emotion glittering like real-fucking gold.

I feel my canines slide out of my mouth. My eyes flicker from her gaze to the Mark on her neck. I run my tongue over the sharp edge of my fangs and smile at her. "PrettyQitsuk. Come to me."

This time, Thjis doesn't have a chance to touch me. My wolf and I won't make that mistake twice. Too bad for me that he thought of this scenario. A sting in my chest breaks my concentration on my mate. I look down to see a bright orange, small feather sticking out of my left pectoral.

He shot me with a fucking tranquilizer.

—-

I come to with a blinding headache. My mouth feels like someone's stuffed it with cotton. I try to swallow, and my tongue feels like it's three times its normal size.

My cat isn't here. Blinking my eyes, disoriented, I swing my legs off of the bed and stumble to my feet. Nausea swamps me, and I fall to my knees, retching onto the familiar blue and white rug.

I'm in my suite in the packhouse. Panicked, I surge back to my feet even though my body is still wracked with shudders. Stumbling, it's slow progress to take just a couple of steps.

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