Chapter 4

Viola’s POV

I woke to the smell of rubbing alcohol. Bleary-eyed I looked around. It was the pack infirmary. I sighed. “Great. Just great. All of the falling in training must have seriously fucked me.”

Snort. ‘You really think a couple falls in the training room got us here?’ I bolted upright at the voice in my head. The room started spinning as I felt a hand on me. I looked over to see Derek next to me.

“Hey, take it easy girl.” He soothed as he guided me to lie back down.

The memories came flooding back after that. Drew, the strange guy, uh my mate? Shifting. Ah, oh. ‘Vex?’

‘Still here.’ She snorts again.

I breathed a sigh of relief. “How long have I been here?” I looked at Derek. His strange intoxicating scent wasn’t overpowering as it had been the day at training, but it was incredibly soothing.

“Just a couple of days.” He leaned forward in his chair and rested his folded hands on the cot I currently laid on. “Usually after a first shift you’re five and take a nap for a week. Give or take a day or two.”

“Is this how it will be every time?” I ask quietly.

He shakes his head. “Nah. Just the first couple of times.” He smiles then. “So, how did it feel?”

I smiled despite the circumstances. “Euphoric.”

His green eyes sparkled as he laid back into his chair. “That feeling doesn’t go away.”

“Where’s my father? Did you discuss everything with him?”

The happiness drained from his face as he frowned in disgust. “I did. That’s why he isn’t here. He’s searching for answers.” Derek shakes his head.

I purposely kept my mouth shut because Vex did know, she remembered.

“Viola, do you remember the teachings on mates?” He crossed his arms over his chest as he looked at me.

“I, yeah. Their scent is stronger than anyone else’s and…” I stopped and stared at him. This was completely impossible. “I, are you sure?”

He nodded his head and took in a deep breath. “I smelled it when she tried to break through during training, and now.”

‘Vex!’ I yelled in my head.

‘I have no idea Viola, I’ve never heard of someone having 2 mates before.’

“Derek, I-”

“You don’t have to say anything. This is all incredibly confusing particularly with your wolf just now emerging at twenty two. I just wanted to tell you.”

I had known Derek my entire life. He was a different beta for our pack than Max. Max was a friend to my father while they were pups. Derek had become the second beta because his parents left him as a baby and he was brought up here, my father trusted him as his own. He was twenty five and had been here since he was days old from what I was told. Everyone in the pack helped raise him and he had certain talents as a warrior. Each warrior did. It was what made them warriors to begin with.

I nodded my voice stuck in my throat.

“I’ll see if Amy is ready for you to get out of here.” He quickly rose from the chair and went to find the pack nurse. 

I began rubbing my temples astonished that I didn’t have a headache yet.

“Looks like we can really have some fun now little wolf.” Drew’s voice filled with contempt reached my ears and my eyes sprung open to see him walking towards me after shutting the door to the room I was in.

His putrid breath in the forest hadn’t changed when he shifted. As he got to the edge of the bed I put my hand up as if it would stop him, it was completely instinctual. I felt a burning in my fingers as they became claws and pierced his belly. He jumped back in shock and growled in pain.

His eyes glowed that ugly green again as it did in the woods as his hand went to his stomach. “You stupid bitch!” He extracted his own claws much more slowly than I had when the door burst open for Amy and Derek to flood in.

Derek’s reaction was immediate as he grabbed Drew by his shirt collar. His eyes leaving Drew’s for barely a second as he glanced at the blood in his shirt from where I had unintentionally stabbed him with my claws.

“Try to touch her again and you’re dead, I don’t give a shit who your father is.” He tossed him towards the door and signaled for him to leave. He looked at me and his eyes were still bright with frustration. “You good?”

I nodded before looking at Amy. “Can I get out of here now?”

“It seems you are fine, really you were here for observation. Given the circumstances, I would say you will be just fine.” She gave me a smile and turned to walk out of the room with her short red hair bobbing as she went.

“What was that about?” Derek asked when we walked out of the infirmary doors.

“Everyone knows how much Drew hates me.” I shrugged my shoulders. 

I was walking close enough to touch him had I felt so inclined, and from my understanding it should be hard to not want to touch him even, it was how mate bonds typically worked. But just like with the guy in the forest, my initial reaction was not to get closer. Granted he had seemed pretty threatening, dangerous even. I didn’t want him until my senses had been flooded with him. I peeked at Derek through the corner of my eye remembering the day in the training room. My senses had been flooded then too and it wasn’t like I hadn’t wanted to be close to him then. Perhaps this was an emotional thing. The desire to, well, be close.

“I need to see Cade.” I said abruptly. He was the smartest were I had ever met. Maybe he could help me figure out all of this.

Derek stopped and looked at me curiously. “Sure, I can take you there now before I go on patrol.”