Chapter 8: Speedy Recovery

Chapter 8

Those darn mosquitoes. Every minute I drew closer to sleep I had a new itching spot. Being this close to the forest I could hear every crook, creak and flutter of the hundreds of insects crawling about in the bloodcurdling darkness beyond the trees and into the unnerving forest.

It wasn't the bugs, arachnids, arthropods, the chilly night air, the pessimistic itching or even the hard soil and tree bark I lay against that I was afraid of. It was the lurking creatures that may be trudging through the forest behind me.

I may have insulted Thane and left the house willingly but I didn't expect the guy to just leave me out here...alone...in the dark.

Note to self, don't let pride get in the way of my sleep.

I sat out here for so long that the cool night air turned into a frosty midnight. My kidnapper didn't even have an ounce of chivalry to get me a blanket. I guess the saying was true, chivalry fell on its sword. I felt as if the frost bites were giving me hypothermia.

No matter how much blood suckers bit me or how much I froze my ass off, nothing stopped a girl from sleeping.

It must have been way after midnight when I finally fell into a deep slumber.

The last thing I remembered was hearing a low growl near me then the sensation of someone lifting me up.

~~~

I jolted awake by the itching in my nose and the feeling to sneeze.

Rattled by the softness I was laying on, I sat up. I seemed to be confused each time I'm in this room.

I had a feeling Thane doesn't take no for an answer as I laid here on his bed.

I felt a fever on my skin and my crazy sneezing acting up again. I looked upon the night stand for some tissues and I couldn't believe what my eyes landed upon.

Sitting primed, proper and framed on the bedside table was the picture of my family. Thane must have found it last night and framed it for me.

Grabbing the picture frame and looking down at their smiling faces. I was washed over with the feeling of nostalgia and homesickness. The fond memories and sentiment this piece of paper held, brought tears to my eyes.

That didn't help because my nose just became stuffy. I placed the picture frame back as I got off the bed.

As I placed both feet on the ground and took a step forward, my foot caught on something.

More like someone.

I went tumbling forward as I heard a loud yelp of pain.

I screamed as I landed on my right side on the floor with a loud thump. That's going to leave a bruise, I thought as I felt my side light up in pain.

"Emery! Are you okay?" Thane quickly scooted towards me to check for casualties.

I looked up into his eyes and saw worry as clear as day written all over his face, but of course I had to scream at him.

"What the hell were you doing there?!" I yelled at him. "Are you trying to kill me or get yourself killed?"

"Hey, hey I'm sorry." He honestly said to me. "I didn't think you'd have woken up so early. You really gave me a good kick there though." He smiled.

For some unknown reason I couldn't help but laugh at that. I must be mentally unstable.

"Aww," I yelled in pain as my side hurt when I laughed.

"Are you alright?" But before I could answer, he continued. "Come on let's get you off the floor." Thane rose from the ground where he proceeded to lift me by holding my sides.

"Bad idea..." I puffed out before I held my right side to somehow ease the pain.

And of course I caught the cold from staying outside so sneezing really didn't help my predicament.

Thane looked a bit scared which confused me. Maybe he didn't want his victim getting hurt by anything except him. But he was a strange man indeed. He kidnapped me, promised not to hurt me and acts very kind and sweet, I mean the dude even framed the picture of my family.

But one thing that television taught me was that serial killers always had a charm to them. Thane was practically the poster boy for charismatic, polite, affectionate and cordial. It was practically a true crime story waiting to happen.

He bent towards me and gently said, "I'm going to lift you from under your arms, please try not to make any sudden movements to do any further damage to yourself."

I knew he was right so I let him do what he had to while biting on my tongue to hold my screams of pain.

"To be fair, it is your fault I'm like this." I said to him.

He chuckled and replied, "You're the one that tripped on me, you do know that, don't you?"

"Well you're the one that was creeping in my room." I said with clear pain in my voice as he gently laid me back on the pillows.

"Don't forget you're in my room sweetheart." He winked at me suggestively.

"You know you're a real jerk."I said to him.

"I wear it with pride." How egotistical. He smiled and touched my forehead. "You're hot."

I snorted, "I know I am." I arrogantly said.

"I meant you're burning up with a fever." He chuckled.

I blushed a deep red. "Ohhh."

"Though your temper is quite heated." He smirked as he embarrassed me further.

"And you're egotistical, you may want to try a bit of humility to solve that problem." I shot back.

"Should I get the doctor here or could you make it to the first floor?" He tried changing the topic.

I chastised him. "Oh dear, did I hurt your pride and dented your ego?" I rhetorically asked.

He gave me a serious expression before he looked into my eyes and chuckled. "Okay I will give you that one but only because you need a doctor."

"Sure." I said knowingly. "And I can walk."

"Come on." He said as he maneuvers himself to prop most of my weight as we got off the bed. He had one of my arm draped around his neck as he held me around my waist.

We probably made it to the door when the pain became unbearable.

"I can't go any further." I managed to get out as I rested all my weight on him and clutched my side.

He looked down at me with a serious expression, "You wouldn't bite, kick or punch me if I lift you, would you?"

"I make no promises." I breathed out as he gently scooped me into his arms bridal style. This position was becoming a little too familiar for us.

"Did I hurt you?" He panicked. I continued to hold my side as I shook my head 'no' at him.

Being this close to him as he carried me to the doctor eased my pain. I don't know how or why but in some way, I felt a little better and the pain subsided. The situation I was in was strange but Thane was stranger. He made me feel safe and somehow content and relaxed. Though I might never admit this to him, but I had unconsciously placed a certain trust in him.

Even though he kidnapped me, I know that if he wanted to hurt me, he would've done it by now. He's protective of me and I don't know why. I still don't completely put my life in his hands and I still want to get back home as soon as possible but as of right now, Thane knew things I didn't, and I had to get answers. All I can hope for is that curiosity doesn't kill the cat.

"How did you even get hurt this bad?" Thane asked as he slowly walked down the stairs, too afraid to hurt me.

I gave him a 'you're kidding me' face. "Are you serious? You tripped me!" I accused.

"I didn't trip you, you tripped on me."

"Same difference." I rolled my eyes.

"You're pretty fragile, and clumsy." He concluded.

I faked smiled, "Thanks I get that a lot."

"Who else told you that?" I could see that he was trying to contain his anger. Told you, over protective.

"Hmmm, you and let me see...you." I clarified.

"Really, I was almost certain everyone told you that." He said with a smirk. He played it off as his anger left him but I could tell something else was bothering him.

I was about to ask him but I was interrupted by all the staring aimed at us.

Thane must have noticed my uncomfortable situation.

"Don't mind them, they're just curious about you." He said.

"Who are they?"

"They are all apart of the pack." He replied as if I knew what the 'pack' was.

"What's the pack?" I asked confused.

"They're my family."

"Does your family know you kidnapped me?" I asked solemnly.

"Are you ever going to drop that?" He answered my question with a question.

"Are you ever going to answer that?" I countered.

He went silent and I could feel his entire spirit drop. That feeling unnerved me so I continued the conversation.

"Why is your family curious about me?" I asked.

"Because you're with me," He stated.

"That doesn't even make sense," So much for an explanation.

"It doesn't have to sweetheart," I gave him a look when he called me that. "What?" He asked smiling.

"I told you not to call me that."

"No you said to never call you 'babe', I'm pretty sure I just called you 'sweetheart'," He said matter of fact.

I glared at him, "Okay, how about you don't call me any form of endearments. You can call me Emery."

"No I think I'll stick with sweetheart, Emery is such a mouthful." He winked.

"You know if there was ever a record for most annoying and stubborn person, you would be the record holder." I smiled.

"Touché." He said as we walked into a large room on the first floor.

The room was white and filled with about a dozen or more beds, three of which are occupied. It smelt like the hospital which I was accustomed to. It brought back horrible memories of my sister's sickness and reminded me of my goals in life. Because of those unmentionable memories I decided to become a doctor but as long as I was stuck here, I couldn't chase that dream.

"Are you alright?" Thane asked as he saw the uneasy expression on my face.

"Yeah, just please put me down." I asked.

As Thane gently placed me to sit on the bed and left to get the doctor I could feel the pain completely disappear as I removed my hand from the area. That was strange. I tried turning and even though there was a slight pain I could've completely move unlike before.

"You're the new Luna, aren't you?" Someone to my right asked.

I turned to see one of the three patients in here awake and looking at me. It was a boy, he look about twenty.

"I don't know what you're talking about." I told him. Luna. I kept hearing that word everywhere and yet I had no idea what it meant and why everyone thought I was it.

I was clearly not the moon.

He looked a bit confused till something dawned on him. "He hasn't told you yet." He mumbled. "But you are the girl from the ritual aren't you?"

"Is that what I'm known as around here? The girl from the ritual?" I embarrassingly asked.

"No, don't worry about it. However, you may not know this, but you are the most respected person here." His eyes told me he was being honest.

"Respected? I don't know anyone here. I'm Emery by the way." I offered.

"I'm Hayden. Don't worry you have the rest of your life to know everyone." He smiled at me.

Trying to distract myself from him saying I have all my life, as if I'm staying here forever, I changed the subject. "So what are you in here for?" I asked.

"I was attacked by a rog- something in the forest." He said.

"What was it?" I asked curiously.

He just shrugged and mumbled, "A bear."

But I wasn't so convinced.

"How did it happen?" I asked instead.

"I was just trying to collect some pieces of wood and it attacked me." He said and I could tell he didn't want to talk about it.

I heard footsteps coming back and saw Thane and the doctor return. I gave Hayden a smile before returning my attention back to Thane. He clearly saw my interaction with Hayden and held a pissed off look but said nothing.

"Ms. Aiken, I'm doctor Adler." Dr. Adler looked like he was in his early fifties.

"You can call me Emery." I said as I shook his hand.

"Yes, well Ms. Aiken," He chose to keep calling me by my last name, "Thane said you were getting a pain in your side, what happened?" He asked.

"Well you see Thane trip-"

"She tripped and fell." Thane interrupted me and I gave him a death glare.

"And which side did you fall on?" the doctor asked.

"The right side, but when I came in here the pain was barely there." I informed him.

"Okay I'm going to ask you to lie down so I can check your side. Is that alright?" Even though I knew he was asking me I could tell his question was aimed at Thane.

I found myself looking at Thane for an answer which was odd but as he gave a curt nod I found myself saying 'yes' to the doctor.

As the doctor examined my side I looked at Thane who had a worried expression as he looked at the doctor.

He must have felt my gaze on him as he turned to look at me. Instead of feeling embarrassed, I was caught in his eyes.

The doctor brought us out of our staring contest as he said, "I'm going to gently press and you say if it hurts."

I nodded my head and Thane gave me a small smile as he took my hand in his for support.

As he started of gently press my side, I didn't say anything but when he applied more pressure I whimpered in pain. "That hurts." I manage to get out.

I heard Thane growl and gave him a perplexed expression but squeezed his hand in assurance.

The doctor nodded. "From what I could tell there isn't any internal damage and the only physical problem is the bruise which does indicate that you should be in more pain. From the immense pain Thane described you were in, there isn't any damage. It seems as though you miraculously healed pretty quickly."

I was puzzled because I was never the one to heal fast. I always took longer than an average person, for instance I once got a paper cut that took weeks to heal and it wasn't even that deep.

"Are you sure doc? As a pre-med student I'm pretty sure no one heals that quickly." I said flustered.

The doctor gave Thane a knowing look before he answered me. "Cases like these are pretty common, I'm sure you weren't extremely hurt to begin with."

Again I was shocked. I was in no place to question him because I only just began studying medicine, but did this guy even have his medical license?

"I will get you some analgesic gel for the bruise."

"She's also running a fever and had the cold." Thane informed him.

"She doesn't seem to be over body temperature but I will get her something for the cold."

I sat up as the doctor walked away and Thane still held my hand.

"How do you feel?" He asked.

"Well the pain is pretty much gone." I told him as he checked my temperature.

"He was right you no longer have the fever." Thane said.

"Just out of curiosity, he does have his MD right?" I quietly asked.

Thane laughed at my expression but replied, "Yes, he is the most qualified person here." He guaranteed.

Soon enough Dr. Adler returned with my medication and analgesic gel which he applied to the bruise to ease the slight pain.

When we walked out of the infirmary Thane was still holding my hand but with the continuous curious glances set on us from his 'family', I felt as if a lightning bolt of realization struck me as I dropped his hand like if it was on fire.

I heard a low growl rumble inside of him as he walked ahead of me into the kitchen.

I knew he was still riled up about me talking to Hayden and I just made things worse as he stormed through the halls. To some it may seem like he was a tad jealous but to be honest he was starting to agitate me because I know he wasn't.

What reason would he have to be jealous?

When we walked into the kitchen I had to try to stop myself from laughing.

There standing right in front of us was Bailey and Lucas in the middle of a heated make out session.

"Get a room!" I shouted at them. They sprung away from each other faster than I could blink as Thane and I began laughing at their obvious embarrassment.

"Alpha, Luna." They greeted.

There that word goes again 'Luna'. I didn't see any moon around the room. And about Alpha, what was that about?

Thane and Lucas were having an intense staring competition which was the definition of awkward. It was as if they having some sort of silent conversation, which I knew was impossible.

"Hey." I said as I approached Bailey.

"Morning sweetie. Want some pancakes." She said avoiding eye contact with me since she was a bit embarrassed from being caught with Lucas.

"No thanks. So, you two were getting it on in the kitchen huh?" I said laughing at her dilemma.

"Emery! Hush!" She shushed me as she motioned to the guys who were right next to us.

"I want all the details later, okay?" I said making her promise.

"You're never going to let this go, are you?" She more stated than asked. I loved how she just knew me without knowing me.

"Got that right." I winked at her as I moved around the kitchen looking for some cereal.

I felt a presence behind me as I tried to reach the cereal box on the high shelves after I heard Lucas and Bailey left.

"You should be resting." Thane said as I felt his hands on my waist as he moved me to the side.

I quietly went and sat on the stool as I knew he was already in a bad mood. Was he ever in a good mood?

He brought my cereal to me, grabbed a high stack of pancakes for himself and sat down casually next me as silence engulfed us.

The only sound that could be heard was the crunching of my cereal and the sound of him chewing as we awkwardly ate in silence.

"So what's the plan for the day?" I asked just to break the deafening silence.

"We're going shopping." He answered in a monotone.

"Shopping?" I painfully asked.

"Are you okay?" He asked worriedly.

"I hate shopping." I exasperated.

"But you're a girl." He stated.

"That's so sexist." I slapped his arm.

"Sorry, I shouldn't have said that." He earnestly said to me.

"So are you ever going to talk to me?"

"Am I not talking to you now?"

"You know what I mean." I said.

"Actually I don't."

"You're jealous." I said to him smiling.

"No I'm not." He denied.

"Deny it all you want, I know better."

"What would I be jealous of?" He stared at me.

I glared at him. "Hmm well I guess if you aren't, I will just go back to the infirmary. Did I tell you, I made a new friend, his name is Hay-"

"Don't you dare say his name." He cut me off as he grabbed my hand before I could move away.

"So you are jealous." I smirked.

"Of course I am. You're mine and no one else's." He declared.

"Okay, I know you are this super protective and definitely dominant male, but I'm not your's buddy." I said patting his arm.

"I beg to differ."

"I'm not your property. You do not own me. I own myself and I'm not going to defy my morals and self worth to appease you. I don't know who you are or what you want from me, but just remember that you don't own me." I said leaving him speechless as I walked out from the kitchen.

I had a plan in my mind. It was time for me to leave.

A/N

Hey everyone! I hoped you paid extra attention to this chapter, that's all I'm saying.

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