Wounded

Wyatt

Usually, I wouldn’t be scared of another wolf, especially a she-wolf, but after witnessing what she did earlier...

She's scary, and my hands instinctively go to the front of my pants.

“Come on then! I need her to heal, and she needs you for that.” She snaps, making her way to the diner.

“Fucking matebond.” She mutters, but I catch it and raise a curious brow.

What do they have against mates or even the sacred mate bond?

I entered the diner after Tess, who headed straight to my mate, who was lying on the floor, passed out. Dean came up behind me and instantly rushed over to help, but everybody growled at him, all for different reasons.

He quickly backs away, hands up in surrender. “Sorry, I just wanted to help.” He murmurs.

I turn my gaze to my mate, breathing in her delicious scent, and go up to her. I see the gamma girl, Freya, trying to stop the bleeding on her back with rags while Tess assesses her body, I’m assuming, looking for other injuries.

Axel comes forward, and I can feel his pride that she fought the wolves, her protectiveness over the females, and his relief that she is alive. But also his sadness and worry because she’s badly injured. But also a sliver of desire as he takes his first proper look at her.

And I agree with him—she is breathtaking! Her fur, the parts that aren’t covered by her blood, is primarily silvery white with patches of light brown. I remember her eyes being bright blue, like a clear sky. I could look into her eyes forever and never get bored.

I need to look into what shade of blue her eyes are. They've just become my new favorite color, right after her fur coloring.

“May I please have her name?” I ask, placing my hand on her head, and I hear someone growl.

“Robbie, knock it off. He’s her mate and her best chance to heal. You know how important that is due to her condition.” Tess scolds him.

Condition? What does she mean?

Having caught my confused look, Tess raises her hand to prevent me from asking. “Don’t bother, but I will tell you her name. The rest is up to her, Alpha Wyatt.” She says with a loving gaze as she looks down at my mate, rubbing and petting her front paw.

“A word of caution: Luna has been through the wringer. Had she not fought, she would have run away from you.” She says without looking up, and Axel whimpers.

It must have been out loud because Tess looked up at me with a sad smile. “If you come and see me, you might understand why.” She says as she stands up.

“Now, time to use the matebond because the bleeding is not stopping. Freya, step away, please.”

I nod and stand up. “Miss Tess, I definitely will be coming to see you because I would like to have a clear fucking understanding of what the fucking is going on. I think I have stood by the sidelines way too fucking long, and by your cryptic words, my mate seems to have a story as well, one I’m not going to like, am I?”

“As I said, I will talk to you, but regarding her or anyone specific, that’s up to them. I will not betray the trust of my girls.” She firmly replies and tells the women to clear out as I pull down my pants.

Axel wastes no time coming out, going straight to Luna’s back, and starts licking her wounds. Alpha saliva helps to heal faster, but rumor has it that with fated mates, it can heal wounds completely. Judging by how fast her wounds are closing, she’s my mate.

Thank Goddess.

‘She’s still weak. We’re going to have to take her to the woods. Between our bond and the moon, it will help her regain her strength.’ Axel says, and I shift back.

“I’m gonna take her to the woods,” I say.

Tess’s eyes bulged out, and she started shaking her head. “No, she stays here! You’ve healed her. Her wounds are gone!” She says, panicked.

What are these women so scared of? Do they honestly think I am going to hurt my mate?

“Yes, they are, but she’s still weak. She needs her mate and the moon to heal completely, so back off!” Axel says with a low growl, pushing his aura out slightly, feeling possessive and slightly irritated by the constant intrusion.

“Fine, but heed my words, Alpha.” She says through gritted teeth, refusing to tilt her head to submit. She's indeed a powerful little thing. I bet she was a high-ranking wolf before she became a lone wolf.

“Miss, I respect you, but do not interfere with our bond. When it comes to her, she will always come first, including her safety. Right now, she needs me.” We both say to her, picking up my mate. Even though she’s enormous for a she-wolf, I still easily carry her.

I also notice that despite her size, she’s very thin, too thin, and it angers me that I can see her rib and hip bones sticking out. We need to fix that. No one should be this thin, especially in wolf form.

“Miss, please stay here, and I promise you, my Alpha is not like the others, " Dean says.

I glance over my shoulder to see he’s holding her back by her shoulder, but she shakes his hand off, glaring and muttering something like, ‘We’ll see about that.’

“Dean, go home. I will be back as soon as possible, and do not tell anyone where I am or what happened tonight.” I tell him in a serious tone as I head towards the door.

“Okay, and I won’t. About anyone here.” He nods his head, giving everyone a nod of assurance before he follows me out.

We both head towards the forest but split up halfway, with him going to the pack and me to the little waterfall in the forest. There’s also a small cave nearby that might be useful if needed.

I’m not blind. I know there’s a danger to she-wolves, and there’s a reason or multiple reasons. All of the she-wolves, even the bear, were wary and scared when it came to me and Dean. Even my pretty little mate is petrified of us.

I just hope and pray that when my mate is healed and wakes up, she will see or at least give me a chance to prove that I am not like those other Alphas or males. I don’t want my mate to think badly of me in any capacity.

I would never hurt her in any manner, and I will kill any motherfucker who has hurt my sweet little mate. I hope Tess gives me some answers because it seems like there is a lot I don’t know, and I don’t just mean about Luna.

I will never be able to wrap my head around how anyone thinks it’s fucking alright to treat people like shit, especially the ones they claim they love.

I place her body inside the cave to keep her warm and partially hidden. Only her head peeks out so the moonlight can touch her, and I shift as well. Axel lies down in front of her, and we take a moment to look at her again, still mesmerized by her beauty. She is stunning, and I wonder what she looks like in her human form.

Wait a second. Where did that pretty waitress from earlier disappear?

‘Seriously? You have our mate in front of us, and you’re thinking about another woman?!’ Axel scolds.

‘Sorry. But don’t you think it’s weird? She just disappeared after the women showed up, and all of a sudden, our mate, in wolf form, was there. Do you think that maybe it’s Luna’s human form?’ I ask him.

‘I don’t know, but it’s not important right now. Luna needs to heal, and we need to sleep.’ He replies, taking another whiff of her wonderful raspberry scent and laying his head beside her. His snout is right up her neck, and he sighs contentedly.

He has a point, but I wonder. If so, hot damn, in more ways than one. Everything I have ever wanted is right in front of me. That was my last thought as I drifted to sleep next to her.

Not long after I've fallen asleep, I start having strange dreams that I can’t make sense of because all I see and hear are the screams of a woman with long brown hair in a fetal position on the floor, crying and clutching her chest in agony. It’s breaking my heart to see her like that, and all I want is to scoop her up in my arms and comfort her.

I get woken up by a loud feral growl tearing through the cave, and I jolt up, ready to attack and defend, only to be confronted by her.

My mate’s front is crouched down and is viciously snarling at me, showing off her sharp canines. Going off the tiny bits I know and how she reacted to me before she passed out, I can’t help but see her as a wounded, cornered animal.

She’s in fight-or-flight mode, which makes her unpredictable and puts me in a precarious position.

I quickly shift to human form with my palms up. “Woah, easy. I brought you here so you could heal faster. Axel thought it was the best and fastest way.” I say hurriedly.

She growls in response.

“Please calm down, Luna. I won’t hurt you, and more importantly, I won’t let anyone else hurt you,” I tell her with the gentlest and softest voice I can muster.

‘How the fuck do you know my name?’ She angrily snaps back via the mind link.

Hold up, how the fuck is that possible without us being marked? Is it because we’re fated mates?

Well, at least we can talk since it doesn’t look like she’ll be shifting anytime soon.

‘I asked Tess, and before you ask, she hasn’t told me anything else about you. She said that was up to you, and she won’t betray your trust. She might have also threatened to gut me like a pig if I were to hurt you, which I won’t, for two reasons.’ I replied through the link.

‘Oh yeah? And what would those be?’ She sharply asks, still in fight-or-flight mode.

‘Because you’re my mate, and honestly? After seeing what she did earlier, she scares me.’ I joke, hoping to put her at ease a little.

She snorts. ‘I’ve had enough mates to last me a fucking lifetime. That doesn’t mean shit to me, and what did she do to scare a big Alpha like you?’ She sneered, specifically at the word ‘Alpha’, which makes me think she has an issue or history of some sort with Alphas, as the other women do.

If she were in human form, I’m sure she would have rolled her eyes to match her sarcastic tone.

‘She sliced that warrior’s dick off, then ripped out his spinal cord after the gamma girl identified him as one of the men who hurt her.’ I say, my mouth twitching at the memory.

‘Huh, good on her. I would have done the same.’

What she said just clocked in, and I let out a low possessive growl. ‘What do you mean you’ve had enough mates to last you a lifetime? You’re my fated mate. You’re MINE!’ I hiss.

‘The fuck I am! I’ll never be anyone’s mate ever again!’ She snarled, going back into her defensive mode and stance.

‘Been there, done that. Fuck that shit. Mates bring nothing but pain.’ She angrily snorts.

Wait, the dreams….Oh, goddess, those were hers.

‘Those dreams, they were your memories, weren’t they? Did your… previous mate hurt you?’ I ask, trying not to snarl at the thought that another man has touched, kissed, hurt, fuck anything to do with her.

‘It’s none of your fucking business, I wish you never saw that. If I knew how to stop that, I would.’

‘It is my business! You are my mate, I’ve waited a long time for you, and I refuse to take a chosen mate, whore, breeder, whatever fucking bullshit other Alphas or males do.’

I scrub my face with both hands, taking a deep breath to calm myself down, as I don’t want to scare her more than she already is. I sit down, resting my back against the cave wall, tucking my dick under my legs, hoping to make it less uncomfortable for her.

‘Sorry, the fact you’ve had another mate is fucking with my head, but I meant what I said. I've searched and waited a long time for my fated mate, even though it’s not common practice anymore. For ridiculous reasons, if you ask me, but either way, I refuse to accept anyone but you.’

‘Well, too fucking bad 'cause I don’t accept you, so let me pass and leave me the fuck alone.’

‘Not until you tell me why, I, at least, deserve to know that.’

‘I told you, I don’t want a mate, chosen, fated, whatever bullcrap, so reject me and find yourself some other she-wolf.’ She snarls.

Something in her tone makes me think she doesn’t quite believe her words. She may not want me or the idea of a mate, but she also cannot stand the idea of me being with someone else.

However, if she genuinely doesn’t want me, why not reject me and get it over with?

I raise a curious brow.

‘If that's what you want, you do it.’ I challenge her, and I’m met with stunned silence.

She can’t, or she won’t, for whatever reason.

Fucking jackpot!

What is my little mate hiding?