Chapter 362-My Mate’s Wolf
Theodore:
I had never imagined that someone I loved this much would go through her first transition right in front of me.
But Verity’s transition was strange.
I understood that she was a very late bloomer, but still, I had seen people transition for the first time in their thirties and forties, and none of them had been in this much pain.
Verity was only in her early twenties, yet her entire body was writhing.
She had developed a high fever too, and instead of actually transitioning, she remained trapped in excruciating pain for almost an hour.
Jaguar and I both tried to comfort her, but nothing helped.
It was as though her bones were breaking apart and forcing themselves back into place over and over again.
That was how I knew something wasn’t right.
She was in far more pain than she was supposed to be.
Then, after nearly an hour, just when we thought she might finally transition, her body suddenly went limp.
She passed out.
For one terrifying second, neither of us moved. Then I noticed the steady rise and fall of her chest.
She was still breathing.
Jaguar and I had both opened the back doors and were practically leaning into the car. He held one of her hands while I gripped the other, trying to comfort her through the pain.
Once she lost consciousness, we carefully laid her across the back seat.
For a moment, Jaguar and I simply stared at each other, both still half inside the car.
"We should take her home before she wakes up and starts going through the same pain again," Jaguar suggested.
"But how are we supposed to help her?"
I stepped away from the car and shut the door. Jaguar did the same from the other side before we returned to the front seats.
He started the engine.
"I think we should prepare a cold bath for her. Her body is burning up," Jaguar suggested.
I immediately agreed.
Truthfully, I was grateful for my brother.
He didn’t even know it, but he was taking such good care of his future sister-in-law.
At the same time, there was guilt hanging between us.
We both knew exactly what that guilt was about.
But we had made a promise.
We weren’t going to talk about it.
By the time we reached home, Ragnar had already started calling.
I had barely answered when I saw Jaguar reach Verity before me and lift her into his arms.
Now that was going a little too far.
Still, I had to let it go.
As far as Jaguar knew, there was nothing between Verity and me, so expecting him to keep some imaginary boundary around her would have been ridiculous.
Besides, he was only trying to help.
"What happened to her?" Jenna cried, rushing after us as we carried Verity toward her room.
I kept the phone pressed against my ear.
"What is going on?" Ragnar demanded from the other end, probably because he could hear all the shouting and panic around us.
"Verity went through a transition. Well, not exactly a transition. I don’t even know what happened. She passed out, and she’s burning up with a fever. We’re just trying to help her."
I was panicking so badly that I could barely form a proper sentence.
"What? Is she okay?"
Panic immediately entered Ragnar’s voice, though he quickly brought it under control.
"Anyway, take care of her. I found out that someone really was blackmailing Diana before she died. We recovered her phone and found the number that had been messaging her. We should be able to trace it soon."
I nodded even though he couldn’t see me.
My attention remained fixed on Verity as we entered her room.
Jaguar carefully lowered her onto the bed.
"Um, why don’t you two step outside while I help her in the bathtub?" Jenna suggested, moving between us and reaching for Verity.
I didn’t know about Jaguar, but I wanted to stay with her.
𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮
Of course, none of them knew the truth about us. For me, seeing Verity naked wouldn’t exactly be inappropriate.
"How about you don’t undress her? That way, we can help too," Jaguar suggested.
Thank God.
It didn’t matter if her clothes got soaked. I’d buy her a fucking boutique if I had to.
All I cared about was making her feel better.
"Yeah, that’s a good idea," I agreed quickly.
Before Jaguar could reach for her again, I slipped my arms beneath Verity and lifted her myself.
I carried her into the bathroom and carefully lowered her into the bathtub. Then we began filling it with cold water.
Jenna hovered around her for a while, making sure she was comfortable.
After some time, Verity’s eyelids began to flutter.
Jaguar stepped back while Jenna moved closer. She had already prepared fresh juice and some food, anxiously waiting for Verity to wake up so she could give them to her.
"Oh my God. What’s going on?"
The moment Verity realized she was lying in a bathtub full of water, panic flashed across her face. She abruptly tried to sit up, but Jenna caught her by both arms and gently eased her back down.
"You need to relax. I’ll explain what happened."
Jenna told her everything, from the pain she’d been in to her wolf finally waking up.
"I didn’t transition?"
There was a trace of sadness in Verity’s eyes as she asked.
"It’s okay. Maybe all the stress scared your wolf back into hiding, but at least she’s awake now," I reassured her, instantly moving closer.
Then I noticed everyone watching me and stopped myself.
The fact that Mrs. Bundy and Verity’s grandmother, Lucille, were so worried about her said a lot about the kind of person Verity was.
The entire mansion seemed concerned. Even the warriors and maids outside were praying for her recovery.
That was how much of an impact Verity had on people, and it genuinely surprised me.
Not that I wanted to compare her to Gigi, but Gigi had done plenty for others too. She had always been kind to people and had earned their respect because of it.
With Verity, though, it seemed to come naturally.
Or maybe it was because the things she did were simply impossible to ignore.
Risking herself to help a woman being blackmailed was huge.
Killing a lycan to save innocent victims was even bigger.