Hunger was the first thing that came to mind when Keira woke up. She must have missed a meal. Instead of getting up, Keira laid in bed. She knew something had changed when the General and she bonded, not that it was planned or anything. The urge had been too great to stop, and Sabelina taking over her body did not help the situation.
"You dont even feel guilty," Keira said to Sabelina.
"I don't," Sabelina agreed. "He's mine, and I dont share."
Keira could feel the General's strong heartbeat, his breathing, and the powerful aura coming off of him. It radiated strength and power.
'It must be the bond,' she thought, feeling a small twinge of pain from her shoulder. 'There's no going back now… This may put a damper on my leaving after a month. Sabelina won't stand for it, and neither will his wolf…'
Using the new bond link that had formed between them while they slept, Keira decided to look around. She felt the presence of the other pack members. Ten of them had tagged along with the General. While she explored a bit, she heard Marcus speaking.
'Alpha,' he called out.
Keira didn't feel him move.
'Alpha, it's urgent.'
Still, he didn't stir.
'Alpha.'
'He'sasleep,' Keira said, unsure if she should have spoken. 'Ican wake him if you like.'
'I-no,' Marcus answered. 'I'll handle it.'
Keira left the link and opened her eyes. She was nestled between the General's body and arm, and he looked sound asleep.
'Should I get up?' Keira wondered. 'If he's really tired, I don't think he will wake up, but if he's a light sleeper….'
Keira decided to wait a few more minutes. But when the urge to use the bathroom and eat was too powerful, she had no other option but to get up. Being mindful of the General, Keira maneuvered herself toward the edge of the bed. The General stirred several times but didn't wake up. She took a look at him one more time before slowly coming to her feet. When she tried to take a step, she almost fell down. It felt a soreness inside, a very different feeling than anything she had ever felt before.
She sat down and tried again. Keira was successful the second time around. Walking tenderly, she went to take care of business and take a quick shower. With a towel wrapped around herself, she cleaned her bite mark. Keira took a few things from the bathroom and went to clean the General's bite as well. He didn't wake.
'The bond must have taken it out of him,' she thought.
Her stomach protested its emptiness once more. After getting dressed, she didn't need to go far since a cart full of food was left outside her room, and there were some clothes stashed underneath.
'Must be for the General,' Keira thought, wheeling the cart inside. 'I get the feeling this was planned.'
Keira wondered if she should wake the General to get him to eat, but decided against it. If he really got hungry, he would wake up. She got comfortable in one of the chairs and ate her fill.
'Sabelina,' Keira called out.
She had been quiet since the bonding with the General had taken place. Sabelina had been beyond excited to find their mate and complete the mating ritual. But now, Keira hadn't heard much from her, which was worrisome.
'Sabelina,' she tried again. 'Are you still there?'
'Sleep now, talk later,' came her quiet response.
Keira wasn't one to be worried, but Sabelina was beginning to act differently. Keira had to wonder if the bond with the General had done something to her. When she felt Sabelina fall asleep and their link diminish, Keira decided to take another nap. She took the clothes from the cart and put the empty plates on it before parking it outside her door. She got comfortable between the General's body and arm like before and closed her eyes.
*
The second time around, when Keira woke, she felt a lot better. She was feeling warm and safe. Keira bathed in the safety until she realized, 'Why was she safe?'
Keira woke up and bumped into a chin as she tried to sit up.
"Are you awake now?" a voice asked from above.
Keira shifted slightly to look up. Somehow, during their slumber, she had ended up in the General's embrace; she was tucked underneath his chin, and he had both arms around her.
No wonder she felt warm and…safe.
"Yes," she said in a small voice. "I hope I didn't keep you from leaving."
The General didn't comment.
"What time is it?" she asked.
"Around 2 in the morning," came his reply. "We'll be leaving in a couple of hours."
'I can't believe I slept so long,' she mused.
"Ok," she said and stayed where she was.
Keira was beginning to doze off when the General spoke.
"Where is your wolf?"
"Hmm, I don't know," she mumbled. "Last time I spoke to her, all she wanted to do was sleep."
From their bond, Keira could tell he was starting to become on edge.
'Sabelina,' Keira called out. 'Tell your mate that you're fine. Or at least let him know that you're alive.'
'I'm alive,' was her reply before she fell asleep again.
"Are you ok now?" Keira asked even though she already knew the answer to the question.
"I should go," the General stated.
"Sure," came her reply, snuggling closer. He was warm.
"Captain-" he began.
"Keira," she said. "Or you can call me Grace. I think we are past the formal title stage of our relationship."
"My pack needs me," he said.
"Yeah," she agreed. "Marcus was looking for you earlier."
"I should go," he repeated.
"Not without a kiss," Keira teased.
She really doubted he would, but it was nice to tease him. Keira moved closer to him. The General didn't pull away, but he did readjust her to where they were both sitting up, and she was straddling him. Keira raised an eyebrow at him as she felt him get hard.
"How about one more round before you do?" Keira asked, wiggling her eyebrows at him.
*
Sometime later, Keira was taking another shower, this time without the General. She quickly got dressed and went to pack her things. There wasn't much she needed to pack, so she was done in no time. Keira took another quick look around, making sure she hadn't forgotten anything. She grabbed her bags and almost ran into Nigel, who was about to knock on the door.
"Princess," he greeted.
Keira tried not to grimace at the title.
"Keira," she said, smiling. "Nigel, is there breakfast being served anywhere?"
"We've prepared several meals for the trip," Nigel said, taking the bags from her. "I'll show you to the staging area."
Keira nodded and followed him.
He led them to another part of the palace that Keira was all too familiar with. She had been there several times in the last couple of years when her grandfather was the Captain. It was the only place the Task Force was allowed to be when they dropped off supplies and personnel. Had she known this was where they were going, Keira would have made her way there on her own.
"Thank you, Nigel," Keira said when they arrived.
Keira took her bags and went toward one of the vans. As she got closer, 5 pack members were standing around. They looked like they were having an important conversation.
"What's going on?" she asked no one in particular.
"We're debating how much room to leave for the Lunas' luggage," someone replied.
"I say not much," Keira said. "Load everything up. I'm sure she can find a seat to stash her things under."
"How would you know?" the wolf asked, turning around to face her.
This wolf seemed to be in charge of the group.
"Because I only have two bags," Keira said, lifting her bags. "I can stash them underneath a seat or something."
"Luna," another voice called out, drawing everyone's attention to the newcomer.
"Wade," Keira greeted, turning to face him.
"Good, you're here," Wade said. "Alpha asked me to escort you to the loading docks."
"Nigel brought me," Keira replied.
"I'll let him know we're here," he continued. "We are leaving as soon as everything is packed."
"Nice to meet you all," Keira said, turning back to the group. "I'll go load my things."
Keira walked away from the group that still hadn't spoken to her. There were three vans in total, and she loaded her things in the first one. No one had told her where she would be sitting, but if she needed to move her things to another van, then she would.
When the General arrived, there wasn't much left to pack. Keira was standing off to one side, not getting in the way of anyone. She wouldn't have loaded the vans the way the pack members had done, but she wasn't going to tell them that. Keira felt the General's presence when he approached her; it was odd.
"Are you still thinking about leaving after a month?" he asked quietly, coming to stand next to her.
The question caught her off guard. She hadn't given it any more thought after they were bonded. Now she wished she had.
"Do you want me to leave?" Keira asked instead of answering.
"I don't care," he finally said, heading toward the vans.
'Ouch,' Keira thought, looking at his retreating back. 'That hurt a bit more than I was expecting.'
Keira stood there motionless, off in her own world. When she came to her senses, she noticed that the vans were gone.
'They left me!' she thought, looking around, making sure she wasn't hallucinating.
Keira was looking around the docks when she heard footsteps approaching. She turned and saw Nigel.
"Princess!" he said, shocked. "What are you doing here? Where is everyone else?"
"They left me," Keira stated.