Chapter Nine

Max’s POV

When my parents returned without my brother, I was not surprised, he had probably found a girl to follow after, what shocked me was when my mother announced Alexander had actually found a girl he really liked- his mate. They announced that Alexander had stayed behind whilst they had been called back for some urgent pack business. He wanted to keep an eye on her as she was not yet eighteen and therefore had no clue she was his mate.

No doubt he would try and rub it in my face.

My mother looked at me expectantly “It will be your turn soon”

I shake my head at her “You know I do not believe in being mated to someone”

My parents had been trying to help us find our mates since we turned sixteen and whilst my father had given up after the hundredth time of telling him I did not believe in destined mates, my mother still hoped that one day it would happen. Why she could not just be happy that I was one of the youngest doctors ever I do not know, but she was certainly set on making sure I found my mate before I became Alpha.

Two minutes older, that’s all and I am expected to be the Alpha, to be in charge and run the huge pack known as Midnight Moon, I would quite happily just be the packs doctor for the rest of my life, well, in between my travels.

When I got the call from Alexander to say his mate was seriously hurt, I wondered what he had done to her, since he had turned sixteen there had been the odd girl end up in hospital for some reason not through intentionally hurting them, but this was different, there was pure panic in his voice, the same panic that I had heard in many peoples voices when they thought they were losing their mates.

I advise him to get her some strong sleeping tablets so she would be out cold, relaxing her muscles to allow me to see the injuries better. Alexander mind linked me to let me know when he was getting closer and I took a bed outside the hospital to wait for her. The jeep sped in and skidded to a stop in front of me and I didn’t hesitate in yanking the door open.

I was nearly knocked off my feet by her scent, the scent I had heard so many stories about, the scent I did not believe in, a fruity floral smell overwhelmed me but I couldn’t stop. I had a job to do. As I rushed her through the hallway I could not understand how she was mated to my brother when it appeared she was mated to me.

Her eyes were closed and she was relaxed as I manoeuvred her body so I could get a better look of her injuries. An overwhelming pressure to ensure she was not in pain routed itself in my stomach and I realised I would have to remove her clothes without her permission to check out all her injuries. An act that would not normally bother me but this was different, she was my mate.

I told Alexander as much and he was angry, what I failed to tell him was that I could scent her as well. Eventually he agrees and I call a nurse in to help me remove the clothing. Alexander paces outside the room and I start carefully removing her clothing.

Her skin was a dull shade of grey, her ribs jutted out whilst her abdomen was sunken. I kept my eyes trained on the task at hand, fighting the desire to look over her. The nurse and I adjusted her ribs so they were sat back in place properly and bandaged her up tightly so they wouldn’t be able to move whilst they healed. Her left arm was next, it needed realigning and once set we placed a cast around her arm to allow it to heal properly. Her legs needed some stitchesand deep claw marks sat on her ankle.

Ordering a heavy dose of pain killers I let my brother know of all her wounds, he frowned at me when I said she would need to stay in for a few days before he could take her back to the house. I wanted to say something about the mate bond but how could I?, I still did not understand how this girl could be mated to two wolves at the same time.

Alexander asks me in the evening if I could stay with Charlie as he wanted to make sure there was a room set up for her. I nod my head and watch as he kisses Charlie on the forehead and leaves me fighting the urge to attack him. Sitting in the chair by her bed, I watch her for a few minutes, her chest raising steadily up and down, showing that her breathing was normal.

I had never believed in the mate bond, I had never fooled around with a girl and truly believed I would find someone one day to fall in love with rather than being forced together through some mystical bond, yet here she was, completely unconscious and I could feel the mate bond pulling me towards her. I changed the I.V bag and reconnect it, she stirs a little but nothing more and yet I feel her calling to me.

Her skin was an odd shade of grey, lack of nutrition will do that to a person, her skin was cold to touch and I grabbed another blanket from the cupboard and wrapped it around her. A weird happy fluttering appeared in my stomach and the more I tucked it around her, the more the fluttering grew. Could I feel her happiness? It had to be impossible, she had not even met me yet and was not old enough to scent the mate bond.

I held her small hand and I felt a small squeeze from her fingers.