Odin’s POV:
“Caoimhe!” I asked confused.
Caoimhe’s arm gave out from under her as it bent at an awkward angle causing her to fall backwards until her naked back collided with the counter, her head hung over the edge uncomfortably as her newly shifted silver eyes stared blankly above us at the wooden ceiling. Her face was void of any emotions as the very life that was within her seemed to hibernate deep within the pits of her mind. Her body felt cold as if it were an empty vessel that I held within my hands; her shallow breaths trembled along her rogue lips revealing the faintest signs of life within her tiny frame.
The once vibrant woman was now void of any sign of life, I wanted to shake her back to reality and yet I felt afraid to move her even if it were just an inch. I knew I hadn’t killed her as her heart was still beating within her chest, if not weak, almost undetectable, her mind was elsewhere as if her soul had become detached from her body.
I don’t know how to fix this, I thought to myself as panic began to creep in from the edges of my mind.
I had harmed the one woman who was meant to be my eternal mate and yet I wasn’t sure how something like this was possible nor did I know how to bring her back to reality as the enchanting creature from before I felt a world away. The roots of Caoimhe’s hair was beginning to grow a steady silver-white as the colour seemed to be spreading like a slowly invasive virus, a virus that was determined to consume its host.
“Caoimhe,” I pleaded as I gathered my arms around her waist and lifted her from the countertop, her head hung limply from under her as I lifted her bodyweight into my arms.
Her head propelled forward the moment I had gathered her into my arms with her chin now rested along my shoulder as gravity caused her eyelids to fluttered closed the moment her face contacted my bare skin. An empty sigh escaped her delicate lips as I held her close to me, my hands positioned themselves along the base of her back and her bottom to support her body weight. Her legs hung limply on either side of my hips, I couldn’t help but feel as if I were holding a doll within my arms at that moment, she was a doll who seemed to grow heavier with each passing minute as I carefully carried her over to the old sofa.
“We have a problem,” Ure stated in a panic as he connected to me through the mind link just as I placed Caoimhe’s limp body on the sofa.
Now is not a good time, I wanted to say and yet I knew I could allow my beta to hear those words.
I wanted to groan, to punch a wall and take my anger and frustration out on anything and anything, I knew that now wasn’t the time to lose control over my beast as both my unconscious mate and my pack members needed me. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath to steady the tornado of emotions that were threatening to expose my true emotions. I glanced down at Caoimhe’s silent form as her delicate head nestled gently on the white throw pillow with black knitted vines, her new hair colour seemed to stand out amongst the bleak contrast and yet I knew this wasn’t the first time I had to seem this colour within her hair, only this time it was spreading from her roots to the edges of her hair at a slow rate.
I held the bridge of my nose as I finally willed myself to answer the desperate man after a moment of gathering my thoughts.
“Yes…” I said after a moment before catching myself.
“Alpha…” Ure started.
I could tell that the normally stoic man had taken a moment to contemplate his words as he dared to interrupt his alpha claiming his mate, little did he know that I needed the temporary distraction, even if it were only for a few moments. I assumed that Immoenne had filled him in on the details that she was currently aware of as I couldn’t see Ure letting her go without questioning her about the scene that he had walked in on only to be shooed away from in a hurry.
“What is it?” I asked casually as I struggled to control the tone of my voice.
Ure seemed surprised, if not taken aback by my casual tone as he had expected me to blow upon him the moment he had connected to me, he was used to my anger as I had allowed it to consume my very soul in the past despite knowing how I would normally react. I needed the distraction now more than ever as my mate refused to wake up, something within me knew there was nothing I could do now to retrieve her consciousness in her current state of mind.
“We’re… outnumbered…” Ure said after a moment as his words tumbled from his lips as if he couldn’t seem to make sense of what was occurring before him.
“What,” I stated simply before my words were suddenly interrupted by the earth trembling from under us.
There was something about the earthquake that was unnatural as Ure was immediately cut off from the mind link, I could sense the others desperately fighting outside and yet the only signs of life I could sense were that of my packmates. I could taste hints of blood as I versioned Immoenne’s getting sliced open just as she attempted to dodge an attack from our newest intruders, and yet the one thing that bothered me the most was the fact that I could see the intruders through their mind's eye. They were fighting against empty air and yet it was only their blood that adorned the earth of Gliese, something wasn’t right about this situation.
“I’m sorry Mate, but I need to help them,” I said as I attempted to conceal the newfound panic within my voice.
I kissed Caoimhe’s burning forehead moments before I stepped away from the enchanting creature, she appeared lifeless as I slowly retreated from her still form. I gradually approached my long and forgotten sweat pants and slipped my feet into the fabric as I kicked the thick material from around my ankles until I bent over and grabbed the hemline and hiked the pants up to my thighs until they hung snugly around my muscular thighs. I gingerly wrapped the course material around my fingers as I tightened them from around my waist to not fall from around my ankles while securing a double knot.
Let’s see what trouble they’ve gotten themselves into now, I thought to myself with a sigh.
My attention should have been on my mate at that moment and not my pack members who were trained to protect themselves and their alpha and yet they seemed incapable of even that at that moment.
“Forgive me Caoimhe,” I recited through our shared mind link.
I furrowed my eyebrows as I finally allowed the presence of my beast to surface as he diligently sought control over my very being, I wanted to give in to his endless hunger as I finally allowed myself to exit the small cabin and took a step forward into the unknown. The ground seemed to disappear as my beasts paws met the ice-covered ground, the frost pierced my subconscious as I slowly disappeared from within myself with the painful process of the change began to overtake my mind as my beast saved me from the pain and agony
We are the same, I thought to myself as we leapt forward eagerly.