Chapter 74: Chapter 74

Chapter 74 Shift

MAIA'S POV

"I really don't think you should be here," Lucius said for the umpteenth time in the past 2 hours.

"No, Lucius! I am staying with you. You can't kick me out," I insisted.

He let out a stressed-out sigh as he ran his hand over his face. I stood in front of him and cupped his face.

"Hey. Everything will be okay. Just relax and believe in yourself. I will be fine. I promise," I said, trying to calm him down.

"There is nothing you should worry about, Lucius. I won't let her get hurt. I promise I will get her out of here the moment you start to lose control. Okay?" Neal explained.

I looked at Lucius and he was still worried about it all. No matter what Neal and I said, he still wanted me to lock myself up in his room.

"Listen to me, Neal, very carefully. If I see one scratch on her, let alone a bruise, I will kill you. Understood?" He threatened Neal.

"I already know. Now sit down so that the doctor can prepare you for tonight. We only have a couple of hours left before the first wave hits. Stop overthinking and just relax," Neal explained.

I walked over to him and held his hand.

"It's going to be fine. Okay? I am right here. We will get through this together," I said with an encouraging smile on my face.

He looked at me, and his face relaxed down a bit.

"Promise me you will leave the moment I lose control, okay? I don't want to hurt you, whether it is by accident or what now," he begged.

"I will. Now focus on yourself and not on me," I said.

The doctor injected him with the antidote before his furs started to come out.

"Oh shit! This is too early to happen. The antidote will not work on time," Neal panicked.

"What do you mean 'too early'?" I asked, trying to stay as calm as possible.

"He is not supposed to start shifting now. It normally starts half an hour before 12. The antidote needs 2 hours for it to take effect. Shit!" He exclaimed.

I looked at Lucius and saw that the process was taking effect and it was going faster than expected.

Neal and the doctor were already panicking while Lucius had his eyes closed as he tried to ease the pain. I wanted to help him, but I did not know how.

A couple of minutes have passed, Lucius started grunting.

"Where does it hurt?" I asked worriedly.

"You ... should go ... now. I .... will be shifting... soon," Lucius said, grunting.

"Stop talking and save your energy," I said.

An hour passed, and the pain kept getting worse to the point that he was already screaming in pain.

I wanted to hug him and comfort him, but he kept growling at me.

What seemed like forever had finally ended. I was then standing in front of my mate, who had turned into a demonic, scary beast.

Even though I had already seen him two months ago looking like this, I couldn't help but feel scared and worried.

This was the first time I could watch how he transformed into his cursed being. The process was long and painful. I was at the point of crying, but I held my tears so as not to worry Lucius.

It had been almost half an hour since he started thrashing around and growling. Neal, the doctor, and I were all standing by the door as he tried to claw the chains tied to him.

"Is he really like this always?" I asked, my voice was barely above a whisper.

It wasn't because I was scared. It was because I was sad that he had to go through this every full moon.

Neal simply nodded at me. It pained me to see him go through so much pain. Avi was crying and howling in my head as I stood there helplessly. All I remembered was that I was standing by the door and the next second, my feet moved on their own with my hand stretched out in front of me. I slowly approached Lucius, letting him know I did not come to hurt him.

I had no idea where I got the whole courage from, but I soon found myself petting his head. My heart was throbbing so hard that I thought it was going to jump out of my chest.

He was reluctant at first, and his growls were his warnings. I knew I had to say something, anything, that would make him calm down.

"It's okay. Calm down. I know it hurts. Let me help. I am not here to hurt you," I said in a low voice.

He looked me in the eye, and I could see those beautiful eyes of his. It was still there. Somewhere inside the beast was my mate, and he needed me.

I slowly nodded my head, encouraging him to take a step forward to which he surprisingly did.

"That's it. Nice and easy," I encouraged him.

The moment my hands touched his furry arms, I could feel the sparks. A smile crept up my face, knowing that we could still feel our connection even through his curse.

I slowly led him to the corner of the room and sat on the floor with my back to the wall. I lay out a blanket beside me and patted it, motioning for him to lie down there. He slowly made his way to me and lay down on the blanket with his head on my lap.

His eyes were staring at me as if he was staring at my soul. I was lost in those eyes as I ran my hands through his fur.

I didn't know how many hours had passed, but I was just glad when I saw him fall asleep on my lap. He had finally calmed down and could rest.

"How did that happen?" I heard Neal asked the doctor.

"I don't know, Beta," she replied.

I looked up at them and asked, "How did what happened?"

"How were you able to calm him down so easily when even the antidote and all the chains couldn't help him at all?" Neal asked.

I simply looked at my sleeping mate and replied, "I don't know how it happened. All I know is that I am happy that he is okay."

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