Chapter 16

                                    

                                          
Goal: 50 Votes, 15 comments
Xavier's POV
   "So what is it that you think Christopher has done?" Lesa glared at me. I knew that she was only defending her mate but it had my wolf wanting to yell at her. Yell at her about how her mate has made my mate scared, the Luna of this pack.
   "I don't know. But I believe that they used to be part of the same pack. Who knows how long they have known each other. A few years. A few months. All their life. I don't know. Within any of those time frames he could have done a number of things." My wolf growled inside my head at almost all of the thoughts.
   "Or he did nothing. Maybe Celeste just mistook him for someone else." I growled at her and stood up.
   "I have phone calls to make." I gave her one last glare and walked up to the third floor. 
   I opened the door to my office and enjoyed Celeste's scent that lingered in the air. I rubbed my temples as my wolf tried to take over so we could go get Celeste. As much as I wanted to have her near me, to hold her, to comfort her, I knew that she needed some space.
   I called all three Alpha's to double check the meeting time. After it was confirmed I sat down, annoyed that I was still away from Celeste.
   Ignoring my thoughts that Celeste should have some time for herself, I pushed off of my chair. I walked out of my office and went to my room. I hesitated for a moment  before cracking the door open.
   "I miss you Lycer," I heard Celeste mumble. My wolf growled. Who the hell was Lycer? 
   I pushed open the door and Celeste jumped up. I wanted to yell at her. Ask her who the hell was Lycer. Demand that she will never think of him again. All of that went away when I saw her tear stained cheeks.
   I ran to her and picked her up, holding her to my chest. She wept into my chest  and every now and then I heard her say, "I miss him." My wolf and I were too concerned to care about the fact that she was thinking about another male.
   "Celeste, calm down. You're safe. You're fine. Everything is okay." Only it wasn't. Everything wasn't okay because my little mate was weeping in my arms.
   "I miss him," she whispers one last time and falls asleep. She's exhausted herself again. I wish she would stop doing that. It's not healthy for her. 
   I laid her down on the bed and went to the bathroom. I got a wash cloth and turned the sink on to a warm temperature. After the wash cloth had water on it, I wrung it out and went back to the room. I sat down next to Celeste and wiped her cheeks with the cloth. She moved away from me and I sighed. I picked her up in my arms and continued to clean off her tear stains.
   When she tried to move away from me again I sighed in annoyance. I put the cloth down and just held her to me. She still tried to move away from me. What was going on with her? She never tried to push away from me when she was sleeping. In fact, she would always move closer to me.
   "Lycer," she mumbled as she pushed away from me. "Help me." All of a sudden I felt like my arms was being stabbed. I looked down to see that Celeste was digging her nail in my arm. 
   "Celeste, wake up." I put my hand on my wrist. I pulled her hand away from my arm. She struggled in my hold for a moment before her eyes snapped open. "Are you okay?" 
   "What- what's going on?" She put a hand on her head. Did I accidentally hurt her head? Was it her wolf? What the hell has been going on?
   "Nothing is wrong little one." She nodded and moved closer to me. I held her closer to me, taking in her scent.
   "What happened to your arm?" I looked at my arm where she was tracing the little cut that was there. "Did I do it? I'm sorry." 
   "It's okay little one. It will heal in a minute." I looked down at my little mate. Her tear stains were gone but strands of her long and beautiful brunette hair were stuck to her cheeks. Her brown eyes were swollen and red from her crying. Her perfect lips were cracked and dry.
   "But I hurt you." I kissed her forehead, trying to calm her down.
   "It would be an honor to be hurt by you." She smiled a little and leaned into my chest.
   "Go ahead and ask."
   "Ask what?"
   "Who he is. You heard me say his name and I can tell that you are curious. Angry, but curious. So go ahead and ask." I sat up straight and Celeste moved in front of me. 
   "Alright then, " I paused looking at her. She wouldn't look me in the eyes but I could see that she was looking at he hands. She was fiddling with her sleeves again. "Who is he?"
   "His name was Lycer. He was my best friend, my only friend, while I was a rogue. He would protect me from Christopher when my mother wasn't around or when she was too depressed to care. He's my protector.
   "In fact, him and I are linked." I growled. What the hell did she mean that they are linked? She should only be linked to me and the pack. 
   "He became my protector when I turned fourteen." She pulled down her shirt to where it revealed her shoulder. She turned around and in little white cursive letters was the name, Lycer. My wolf and I growled. How dare anyone but I mark her!
   "Please calm down," she whimpered. I stopped and she turned to look at me. I sighed and kissed her forehead. 
   "Why did he mark you?" I couldn't help the small growl that slipped out at the end.
   "So he could protect me. One time Christopher and his friends hurt me to the point where I couldn't call for help. He was worried out of his mind. He went looking for me. He had never done that before. We would always meet up somewhere. When everyone saw him they attacked. Of course he fought back. He fought back and got to me.
   "I was ugly, covered in bruises. Christopher and his friends were said to be innocent of course. They said they found a rogue attacking me and I couldn't speak. Lycer knew the truth though. 
   "He had shifted sometime during the fight. He laid with me the entire time I was healing. He growled at anyone who he thought would hurt me." I smiled a bit at that. At least I knew that this guy protected her during her time as a rogue.
   "After I got better they wanted him gone. He agreed but he was always close by. Like always. I turned fourteen the next week. Lycer knew that he could mark me in a different way than mates marking. He marked me on my shoulder blade so we could be connected in case anything like that ever happens again."
   By now she had tears going down her face again. I pulled her into my chest and kissed her forehead, wishing that she would stop crying. I hate seeing her cry.
   "Is that why Christopher scares you? Because he used to hurt you when you were a rogue?" As much as I hated it I wanted to be sure. Lesa would yell at me if I accused her mate again without being sure.
   "We used to be friends. Then a rumor spread that the rogue attack was because of my dad. Then he started to make fun of me along with any one else. Then he and his friends started to push me around. It only got worse from there." I growled and held her closer.
   "Pleas Xavier, don't let him come near me. I don't have Lycer here to protect me from him any more. So please don't ever let him come near me."
   I nodded, "I promise."


   Is everyone okay? They're pretty sure its over in Paris but not 100 percent sure. Not to mention that a few other places were threatened. Please continue to stay safe until they are sure that this is over.
   The cover contest: the last day to enter is the 20th. You can enter more than one cover. 
   Happy Birthday to my friend, and VP of Odyssey Of The Mind! Thanks for helping me out with with OOTM, even though you're required to help me since I'm president and your VP it still means allot. I hope you have a fun Birthday!
   Until next time- "We Stand With Paris"