Chapter 12: Chapter 12

24 hours!

Whoa. I'd been asleep for a whole day? My hand went to my shoulder which bore absolutely no wound at all, not even a scar. So I definitely had accelerated healing powers and the doctor was probably right about being immune to silver. The fact that I had healed completely from the bullets was a big clue there. The silver woukd have caused extensive damage to my flesh ehich would heal slowly and leave ragged scars. But the force field thing? They had to be wrong. And wouldn’t I remember summoning one? I think I would have remembered producing a force field! I was going to ask them about it when Melissa said, “Allie, I’m so sorry I upset you, but there are other things you need to know. Important things.” I didn’t like the sound of this.

She hesitated before she said, “The banished Alpha who killed your parents is still alive. He is living as a rogue, and we think he is living in neutral forest in the North of the country.”

“We think he sent the rogues into our territory,” said Reece, “To kill you”.

Straight to the point. Panic erupted in my chest. And fear, my hands started to shake. The wolf who killed my parents was now trying to kill me. This was too much! Why is this happening to me? What if he tries again to kill me? What if he attacks the pack, or Melissa? What if we can’t stop him?

I knew I was freaking out but I couldn’t calm down. “Allie! It’s ok, you’re safe,” Melissa said trying to soothe me, “Try and calm down honey, please, your eyes are glowing. You haven’t learnt to control your powers yet. You could summon another force field, it’s dangerous!” she begged.

I tried; I really did. But tears were now streaming down my face, and I started to hyperventilate. The room started spinning, making everything blurry. I felt Reece grab my hand quickly, and start gently caressing it, rubbing slow circles on the back of my hand. I felt instantly better, the fear dripping away,, and the room stopped spinning. The sparks from the mate bond snaking across my skin drove away the last of the panic in my chest. Lana was purring with delight, and I was able to breathe again. Despite me not wanting a mate, I was glad he was here to help this time.

“Allie, you are perfectly safe here,” Lily said reassuringly, her voice soft and comforting.

“We have our best trackers trying to locate Lucien, and we are working hard trying to get information from the captured rogues,” said the Alpha.

“Is he going to try again? To kill me?” I asked, wiping away my tears from my cheeks.

“We don’t know yet, Allie,” he answered honestly. “I wish I could tell you he won’t, but I can’t do that right now. The best thing you can do right now is to leave it to my team and get plenty of rest. You need to regain your strength, and Reece will look after you,” he said, smiling.

I didn’t need him looking after me, I thought indignantly. I could look after myself. I'm not a child and i can protect myself.

“Melissa is going to be working with us too, to try and locate him and neutralise some of the dark magic that he might be using,” said the Alpha.

I looked at Melissa. I had never seen her look so worried, or vulnerable. “Please can I talk to Melissa? Alone.” I said, firmly, taking my chance. Despite looking a little shocked at my request, the Alpha nodded. “Of course. We will step outside.”

“Gentlemen,” he commanded. Doctor Stevens smiled at me and made his way out of the room followed by Alpha Spencer and Luna Lily. Reece was still holding my hand, and it didn’t look like he was going anywhere until the Alpha called to him, “Reece, out. Now” he demanded.

He reluctantly released my hand and moved away, looking bereft and angry at the same time, his forehead creasing in displeasure. I felt the sparks go with him and Lana howled to show her displeasure too. Get a grip, Lana! He's not leaving forever. I had bigger things to worry about right now, and I needed her to focus.

When everyone had cleared the room, I let out a big sigh. My eyes met Melissa’s, and I noticed a sprinkling of fine wrinkles around them which I had never noticed before.

“I’m so sorry, sweetheart,” she gushed, almost sobbing, “Please forgive me. When you left and I couldn’t find you, I was so worried. I thought I’d lost you.” From the moment that she dropped the bombshell, I had been trying to find something to blame her for. I'd been angry at first, hoe could I not be? It was a big shock. But, in all honesty, I couldn’t find a thing to blame her for. She had not done anything to intentionally hurt me. And it wasn’t her fault that my parents were sirens, or that I look to be one too. She had only done what she thought was the best thing in a hopeless situation, and she had protected me and cared for me my whole life. I understood whynshe did what she did. There was no other option than to forgive her. “Of course I forgive you,” I said, “I’m sorry I ran off.”

She reached for me and hugged me tightly. We stayed like that for a long time, crying and comforting each other, until I heard a soft knock on the door. Reece quietly popped his head in and asked, “Can I come back in?”

Ok, so subtlety wasn’t his strong point. I nodded and he sailed back in before anyone could answer. Melissa grabbed us some tissues and we dried our eyes, and Melissa checked her hair was still in place.

“I’m going to see how I can help Alpha Spencer” she said, “I’ll check in on you later.” She leaned in and gently kissed my cheek. I watched her walk away and realised I would be left alone in the room with my mate. He came over to my bedside, sat in the chair and reached for my hand. I moved it away as he got close. He looked horrified by what I did. And Lana wasn’t too happy either.

“So,” he said, recovering quickly, “Are you ok?”

“Yes, I’m fine. Thank you,” I said quietly. I didn’t know what else to say, and things felt awkward.

“You’ll be safe here, Allie. I will make sure of it,” he said.

“I can’t stay in the hospital forever,” I pointed out, "I will need to go home at some point."

“No, I meant the pack house. The hospital is an extended wing off the main pack house, though,” he said, smiling. “Once the doc discharges you, you’ll be staying in the pack house with me. It’s the safest place in the territory.”

Lana was swooning at the thought, my earlier sins forgiven. He had to be kidding! I didn’t want to leave my home, or Melissa. This was getting a little too much. I took a deep breath.

“Look”, I started, “we need to talk. I don’t know how to say this, but I won’t be staying at the pack house. I’m really not looking for a mate.”

“What do you mean you’re not looking for a mate? You have a mate. Me!” he said.

“I don’t want a mate,” I answered. I felt bad as soon as I said it. He looked dumbfounded and confused by what I was saying. But mostly, he just looked devastated. Why did my mate have to be the future Alpha of our pack? It would have been so much easier if my mate was a low-level regular werewolf, then I could reject him relatively easily and get on with my life. But things had gotten really complicated, really quickly. And the mate bond, and Lana, were making thinking clearly really hard. I had to try and explain to him.

“It’s not you. I’m sure you’re great. I wasnt expecting my mate to be the Alpha. It’s just I have things I want to do with my life, and being Luna isn’t part of the plan. I’m sorry,” I said. I had a feeling I was just making it worse, though, because he did not look happy. He stood up and walked slowly away from the bed and started pacing around the room. I remained silent.

After a few seconds he turned to me and said, “The Moon Goddess has paired us together for a reason, Allie,” he said, not so calmly, “It is your destiny. I have been waiting a long time for my mate, and now that I have found you, I don’t plan on giving you up now. Are you forgetting the danger you are in right now?” His voice was getting louder. He was pretty pissed. “All the things you supposedly want to do with your life will mean nothing if you’re dead.”

Ok, so he was a jerk! And a smart ass. I crossed my arms in front of me, preparing for battle.

“For your own safety, and the safety of this pack, you will stay at the pack house,” he ordered. And with that, he turned and stalked out of the room, slamming the door loudly behind him, leaving me alone in the room. I lay there in the bed, waiting for the anger to come. But it didn’t, I didn’t feel angry at all. I should have but all I felt was guilt. I had clearly upset him. It was the strangest thing; I didn’t even know him. He was a complete stranger to me but all I was concerned with was how I had made him so angry he had stormed out and left me. I knew it was the mate bond making me feel so bad for hurting him, and I knew I had hurt him because I felt his pain. I lay there cursing the mate bond, a single tear fell down my cheek, and I started to want him to come back. I couldn’t help it. Stupid stupid mate bond.