Chapter 16 Mate

"Come in," Selena called out as a knock sounded from the door leading into Rowan's room. "Good morning, I'm healer Cassandra; we met at the construction site." The witch said with a soft smile as she entered the room holding a pouch full of potions and herbs. "Oh, you're awake; that is good," she said with a gentle nod and a polite smile to Rowan. "We need to check your wounds; how are you feeling?" she asks sweetly.

"Alright, I guess? My chest hurts, and I'm kind of sore overall, but I can manage." He responded as Selena nodded along with his description. "Good," Cassandra replied. "Let's take a look then, shall we?" She asked while sitting on the end of the bed, her hands going to his chest, glowing a pale yellow as she began inspecting him. Rowan winced in discomfort when she touched one of the tender spots on his chest. "Sorry, that's going to hurt," she apologized, pulling her hands away.

"So, I'll start off by saying your lung was punctured and your back was shattered in several places, but you will be fine. The most pressing issue is the curse he put on you." Cassandra began as she reached into the bag of goods she had brought, pulling out a purple vile with green swirling patterns mixed into the liquid. "Here, drink this; it's a potion to help with the soreness," she offered to Rowan.

Rowan eyed the suspicious vile with the swirling liquid inside. "What is in it?" he asked hesitantly, a bit disturbed at the color. "Honey, it's best if you don't know." She replied with a sympathetic smile, patting him on the leg. Rowan just looks back at her as Selena laughs quietly in the background. He rolls his eyes at her and shrugs.

Taking a deep breath, he downs the green mixture in one gulp, his face turning green as he gags down the potion. "Not so bad, is it?" the healer says with a wink. Rowan just gives her a forced grin. "Ya, not so bad," he cringes, feeling the liquid stick on his tongue. He dry heaves as the taste finally settles in. "Here, this will help with the taste." She offers him a mint.

"Thanks," he manages to say through another gag, placing the mint in his mouth and popping it. A cool, minty sensation spreads across his tongue as he chews, washing away the lingering taste of the potion. "Better?" the witch asks. Rowan nods his head in affirmation as he sucks on the mint. "Now then, you will be staying here for a couple days while the elder witches and healers talk about and look over your curse; it's something that we have never seen before," she begins explaining as she stands up, collecting the empty vile and her potion pouch.

"Worry not, you are safe here; we have magical runes all throughout the building, and the forest surrounding us is full of elves, fairies, and other creatures that will keep out all dark magic." She informs the teen and his protector. "If you would please excuse me, I have to go and get a meeting started with the elders. Feel free to use the facilities; the shower and bathroom are down the hall, and the third door is on the left." She informed them before leaving the room and closing the door behind her.

"I call dibs on the shower." Selena declared while stretching out her arms, and Rowan couldn't help but notice the way her tank top stretched across her chest, exposing her tanned cleavage and flat tummy. "Something you like?" Selena teased, noticing Rowan's wandering eyes. "Yes," he answered without hesitating, shocking her a bit. "Huh, I didn't expect you to be so blunt about it," Selena said, a blush appearing on her cheeks. "You kissed me," he muttered, his brain hazily remembering the end of the battle.

"I was kind of hoping you wouldn't know that." Selena said shyly, her hands running through her hair to cover the embarrassed flush of her face. "Why?" Rowan asked curiously, "Why kiss me if you don't want me to remember it?" He clarified, looking her deep into her green eyes as she tried to look away. "Because..." she paused a moment as she contemplated her answer. "I just felt like you were going to die, and I didn't want to regret anything," she replied, her eyes finally meeting his. "So do you regret kissing me?" he asked her in a soft, timid voice. Selena gazed at him for a moment, her eyes searching his face as she studied his features. 

"Never, I..." she trails off as she thinks back to that moment, her heart racing at the thought of losing him. "I want you to be my mate," she finished before leaning forward and capturing his lips in a passionate kiss, her hands cupping his face as she pulled him close. His head was spinning as he felt her lips move against his, her touch sending electricity down his spine as he melted into her embrace, her breasts pushing against his chest as she pulled him into a tight hug.

His hand moved on its own, reaching up around her back and pulling her closer as he returned the kiss, his lips parting slightly as he deepened the kiss, his tongue entering her mouth and exploring every inch of it, savoring the sweetness of her lips. As she pushes herself against him harder, enjoying the feel of his body as she presses her chest firmly against his, "Ouch! That stings," Rowan moaned, pulling away from the kiss as his chest screamed in pain. Selena immediately let go of him, her face bright red with excitement. "Sorry, I got carried away," she breathed heavily, her pink nipples poking out from the thin fabric of her tank top.

"Don't be; I liked it." Rowan said with a small grin on his face as his hand rubbed his chest, trying to make the pain go away. "So, Rowan, will you be my mate?" Selena asks, looking him straight in the eyes. "Of course," he says as he smiles at her. Selena returns his smile with one of her own. "If you ever think of leaving me, I will stalk you till the end," she threatens him in a joking manner.

"I won't." Rowan replies with a laugh before leaning forward, not minding the stinging pain, and kissing her lightly on her soft lips. Her eyes close as she feels his warmth fill her. Selena sighs contentedly as they break the kiss. "Alright, let me go wash up real quick. Then you can go in afterwards." Selena says this as she grabs a set of clothes and heads for the door. "Unless you want to join me," she teases him with a smirk before walking out with a sway in her hips as she heads down the hall.

"Damn that cat," he muttered to himself as he lay back on the bed with a sigh, thinking over everything that happened, his eyes falling shut from exhaustion from his body still healing even with all the help from the healers. 

"So the curse is surrounding his heart?" An elder witch with gray hair and deep violet eyes asked Cassandra with a grim expression on her face. "Unfortunately, yes. From the readings, we can tell it's also expanding like a parasite." She responds gravely, "Expanding?" Another witch questions, "How is it expanding? Is it taking over his body or just his heart? We need more information." The first witch said her name was Mina, the oldest witch in the room at two hundred years old and leader of the healers.

"Right now we are not sure." Cassandra admits as she looks through her notes. "We do know that the curse is like a parasite feeding off of him and using his body as a host" she continued to explain, her mind working overtime as she goes over the data she got from examining Rowan earlier. "I see and is there anyway to stop it?" another voice chimes in.

"At this moment, we are unsure," a fourth female answers with a sigh, her short silver hair shifting as she crosses her legs while leaning back in her chair. "But there is hope," she continues after a pause. "I was going through the archive and found this," she finishes, handing a large tome over to Mina, who skims the pages before her face lights up with realization. "Ah, the sealing ritual. While it would halt the curse for a bit, we still don't have a way to remove it," she muses aloud as she ponders their options.

"Is there anyway we can cut it out of him or cast a counter curse to disrupt the connection between Zarek and Rowan?" a younger witch asks in a hushed voice, only to get glared at. "Oh yes, cut out the human's heart that will do wonders." came a voice from her side, snickering. "That's enough, Beth." Mina snapped her disapproval at the others. "Sorry, I spoke without thinking," the younger witch apologized with a bow of her head. "But that is an interesting idea; cutting out his heart would remove the curse and the tracking the dark warlock is using." Mina leans back, her old eyes glimmering with ideas.

"Yes, but how would we remove his heart without killing him?" another witch pointed out with a frown on her face. "Yeah, and not to mention that is a pretty horrible way to die getting your heart removed." the first witch chimed in, shuddering at the thought of having your heart cut out. "Well, humans have made a way to transfer organs without dying," the young witch muttered again, earning more glares from her peers. "But a human heart won't do; we will need one that can fight off the remnants of the curse." Mina brings up a valid point as they think over the possibilities of transferring organs. "For now, we will do the sealing ritual to halt the curse's progress, and then we can think more about this matter." Mina finally announces standing up and making her way to the exit of the room. "Understood," the other witches chorused and gave a respectful bow of their heads.