My Brother’s Mate
Chapter 73

Angela's POV

It's been several days since they left to go get the crystals. Cyran has been helping me with my magic, well mostly just helping me replace more book the in giant library. And helping me reach the books on the highest shelves. I'm so grateful for him. He's also been helping me translate some of the bizarre ingredient names. And helping me gather materials to make potions.

"Have we tried this one?" He asks pointing to a new potion.

"I don't think so."

"Would you like give it a shot?" He asks.

"Maybe tomorrow, I'm beat." I say pushing the book away from me.

"We should get some dinner, the others should be up soon."

"When will they be back?" I ask.

"I'm not sure. I haven't been able to reach Samson for a few days." He says.

"I'm worried Cyran." I say.

"I know. We need to keep busy until they get back. Come on." He takes my hand and leads me to the kitchen.

"What would you like?"

"Maybe some pasta?" I say.

"Alright, go boil some water and I'll make the sauce." Cyran says. I fill up a pot with water, sprinkle in a pinch of salt, and place it on the stove. I watch as Cyran chops up some onions and garlic, cooks them down, adds some crushed tomatoes, and basil. He really knows his way around the kitchen.

"Where did you learn to cook? I ask him. The water starts to boil and I pour in some penne pasta.

"Well I was a human once.." he answers.

"Oh yeah, of course silly me." I chuckle nervously to myself. That was a stupid question.

"But I never cooked when I was a human, not really anyway. In truth I didn't really start until I became a vampire.. Samson taught me." Cyran admits.

"Oh I see.. interesting. Where did Samson learn?"

"Well he traveled a lot when he was a young vampire, When you live as long as we do I guess you replace different hobbies to fill your time."

I stir the pasta in the pot, so it won't stick to the bottom. The steam from the boiling water flushes my face with warmth.

"How much did your tastebuds change after you became a vampire?" I ask him.

"For me not very much, but my cravings changed a lot. Obviously."

We laugh together before he continues. "Food still tastes good, but it doesn't satisfy. It's almost like chewing up your food and then spitting it out. It never truly fulfills you. For that you need.... Well you know." He says. He cooks the sauce while I wait for the pasta to be cooked.

"Do you feel everything your wolf does? When you are in wolf form?" He asks.

"Yes, we are one."

"And your wolf talks to you?" He asks.

"Yes, it's like I have another person in my mind."

"How interesting. Can you shut her out?" He asks.

"Actually yes, if I really wanted to. When I was younger she was a bit bull headed. But the older we get, the more sensible she becomes." I say. Cyran finishes up the sauce and I go to strain the pasta.

"Before you do that can I scoop up a ladle of the pasta water?" Cyran asks me.

"Sure, absolutely." I step back to let Cyran do his thing. He ladles some of the pasta water into a separate cup. Then he strains the rest of the pasta and adds it to the sauce. He lifts up the pan and expertly tosses the pasta and the sauce together. Then he puts the pan back down and pours some of the pasta water into the pasta. This time he uses a spoon to stir it in. Then he grates some cheese on top and tosses it together again. He scoops some up and makes two plates. "Cheese on top?" He asks.

"Yes, please." I reply.

We take our plates to the table and sit down.

I take a bite. Mmm the sauce is velvety smooth and so flavorful.

"This is amazing!" I say.

"Thank you!" He replies.

"So what shall we do tomorrow?" Cyran asks.

"Hmm we should look into what weapons we can make with the crystals once they get back." I suggest.

"Great idea. I'm sure we have some books about it in the library."

We continue to eat our pasta. And when we finish me and Cyran both get to work cleaning up the kitchen. I'm in the middle of washing the sauce pan when I hear some commotion coming from the front of the house. "CYRAN!" I hear a voice cry.

"ANGELA!" I drop the pan and we both rush out of the kitchen and towards the front door. I see Liam carrying a limp Emily.

"She's still alive, but she's lost a lot of blood." Liam says. I can see tears in his eyes. He looks absolutely exhausted.

"Goddess what happened?" I ask. I see Emily has a bandage around her stomach that is bleeding through on the side. "Where is Samson?" Cyran asks.

"Where should I take her?" Liam asks.

"Through here, there is a clinic in the east wing." Cyran says. Liam rushes through to the east side of the house with Marcus close behind.

"The creatures. There were more than we anticipated. They..they killed Samson and cut Emily." Marcus says.

"Oh my goddess." I say as we make our way into the clinic. Liam places Emily on the bed and I make my way to the other side.

"Her wound, it wouldn't stop bleeding, we wrapped it and ran back here as fast as we could." Liam says out of breath. I unwrap her bandages and see the wound is intact and still bleeding. It looks fresh, like it just happened.

"I need hot water, clean bandages, towels, and if there is some kind of antibiotic in this house, I need it." I say. The guys stare at me.

"NOW!" I shout. They hustle around and Marcus hands me a towel. I put the towel directly on to the wound and hold it there while I wait for everything else. I get the water and start cleaning the wound. Emily is still breathing, but her pulse is faint. Marcus comes in with something that looks like a green paste.

"What is this?" I ask him.

"There is magic in her wound. That why it's still so fresh. This paste will break down whatever magical properties linger in the wound." Marcus says. I take the paste and apply some into Emily's wound. I wrap it back up and wait to see if it will bleed through the new bandage. It doesn't. Her bleeding has stopped. I finally catch my breath as I sit beside the bed. Cyran turns to Liam.

"Tell me what the hell happened." Cyran demands.

"Those things are what happened. At first we were fine. We got down into the crater and I dug up a crystal and gave it to Emily. A few creatures surrounded us, but didn't attack. They kept coming. There must have been hundreds. We thought it would be fine but then they attacked. They couldn't hurt us at first but they were all over the place. We could barely move forward. Emily tried to fight them off, but there were so many. They over ran me. Samson came back to help and Emily blasted them with magic, but they just kept coming. We made a run for it. It all happened so fast." Liam explains.

"It looks like the bleeding has stopped, she hasn't bled through her bandages. Are you two hurt?" I ask the guys.

"No, we're fine. Just exhausted." Marcus says.

"You two should go rest up. Liam I'll wake you up if something changes." I say.

"Ok, I won't be gone long. I want to be here when she wakes up." Liam says.

"Don't worry she won't be awake for awhile. Her body needs time to rest and heal." I say. Liam and Marcus leave.

"Cyran, I'm so sorry about Samson. Are you alright?" I ask. He's quiet.

"Samson was my best friend. He taught me everything. I just..I'm going to need a minute." Cyran says and walks out of the room. I hold Emily's hand.

"Emily it's going to be ok. I'm right here, Mommy's here. You're alright n-." My words are interrupted by my yawn. I suddenly feel so tired. I yawn again.

The room is quiet and my eye lids start to feel heavy. Why am I so sleepy? I close my eyes for a moment. I feel myself drifting off to sleep, but I quickly snatch myself out of it. I try to stand up, and walk over to Emily, but the room is spinning.

What am I doing? I'm so tired. Why am I fighting this sleep again? I'm tired, I want to sleep. I plop down in a chair and I see Emily on the table.

NO!

I need to stay awake to help her. Why am I falling asleep? I need to help her, but I can't fight this. My eye lids are too heavy my body doesn't work anymore. I close my eyes. I need to sleep. I'm tired. I need to sleep......

NO!

I snatch myself awake yet again. But the room is different. Daylight is peering through the open door. Was the door open before? I don't think so. My head is aching, I don't feel sleepy anymore. What was I doing again? Why was I so eager to wake up? Emily! I whip my head around to the table she was laying on. She's gone, she's not there. Where is she? Is she all better? I stand up. My legs are wobbly underneath me. I steady myself on the empty bed.

"EMILY!" I shout. I hear running towards me.

"Emily?" I say again hoping to see her walk through the door. But it's Liam.

"Emily's been taken." He says.