His Miracle Mate

Chapter 19

"Close to death."

As soon as the word left Hayden's mouth, a thundering growl shook the entire cabin. Glass shattered. I closed my eyes, my face pressed into Ezra's chest, his arms around me.

Loud growls shook Ezra's entire body. Waves of hot rage rolled off of him. There was movement, but I didn't raise my head. Something told me I should stay put.

"Ezra. Calm down," Sam's voice was steady and calm.

Ezra's only response was to growl more loudly and tighten his grip on me, crushing me into him.

"No one is taking her away from me," he said through his teeth, his voice so deep as to be unrecognizable.

"No one is taking her away," Sam said. "What Hayden said is just a theory-"

Ezra's growl cut him off again. Oh boy. I guess Ezra didn't like Hayden's words much. But they were just a speculation. I was as healthy as a horse. Other than the normal colds people went through every once in a while, I never got sick.

"Orla, a little help here," Sam said.

Okay. First, let's get Ezra to calm down. How could I do that?

Following my instinct, I slowly raised my head and looked up at him. His eyes were a paler brown, his fangs poking his lower lip. I wasn't afraid, I realized.

I smiled and brought my hands up to his cheeks. "Ezra. Calm down. I'm here."

The growling didn't stop, but it did lessen. I took it as a good sign and continued.

"Remember, I'm not going anywhere unless you leave. And you promised you wouldn't," I said, planting a kiss on his jawline before putting on my best puppy-eyed look. "So calm down, okay? Please? For me?"

His fangs retracted slowly and the glowing dimmed drastically. He blinked, his eyes focused on me, and nodded. I rubbed my thumb against his cheek. The growling stopped.

He turned his head and pressed a kiss to my palm, then hugged me to his chest. Okay. Much better.

When he finally pulled back, he looked almost normal. Almost.

"Well... it's been a long time since I've witnessed an Alpha King lose his shit like this," Sam said.

I turned my head and gaped.

The cabin looked like a hurricane had just raged through it. The windows were shattered. The TV was caved in, like someone had punched it, pieces of its dark screen littering the floor. The wooden coffee table looked like someone had stomped on it. The island stools and the armchairs were knocked down and broken.

The only area that seemed unscathed was where Ezra and I sat.

Sam, Hayden and Haley all stood against the wall, looking uncertain. Thank God Gray wasn't around. He'd have been terrified.

Sam sauntered towards his arm chair, glass crunching under his steps. He pulled it up like it weighed nothing and plopped down on it. Crossing his ankles, he leaned back and grinned at me. "Good thing you're around, Orla."

"Are you okay?" I asked as Haley sat down next to us again.

"I'm fine. At least he's not making things fly around when he's in a mood, like a certain idiot," she said, giving Hayden a pointed look. He rolled his eyes and sat down next to her, putting his arms around her neck in a playful choke.

"Who are you calling an idiot?"

"You! You told an Alpha wolf that his mate is..." she glanced at Ezra. "...ill. That's the most idiotic thing anyone could ever do."