Chapter 9 - Amelia

I can’t believe I had my first kiss. Too bad it was to try and counter the pain I felt from Ignazio being with someone else. 

Also, too bad that nearly half my tongue is missing. I could tell Stephen wanted to deepen the kiss. Or at least I thought that’s what it meant when his tongue brushed against my lips.  

Probably a good thing the nurse interrupted us. I don’t know if I would’ve been comfortable with French kissing. 

I don’t want him to be repulsed by my nub of a tongue. I don’t think I can face that reaction, especially with how sweet he’s been to me.

I should count myself lucky that I was left with enough of my tongue to taste anything at all. Somehow, I’m not surprised that Stephen tasted like a cinnamon roll for what flavor I could detect. It’s fitting, given how sweet he is. I almost feel like I need an insulin shot when he talks. 

And if he’s not being tooth-achingly sweet, he’s making me blush brighter than a tomato. Especially when he started to undress and even gave me permission to look.  

I know that nudity is a part of life, especially for werewolves, as we are naked when we shift back to our human forms. But it just feels different right now. It feels different to see Stephen naked even more because he implied I’ll see him naked eventually. 

I couldn’t help it. I sneaked a peek before Stephen shifted. My eyes didn’t dare look too low. Thankfully the bed helped hide some below his waist. I was right when I assumed he was fit.  

He’s muscular but in a lean way. He’s not bulky like my brother Ivan. His muscles have definition, but they are more proportioned to his frame. A few dark brown hairs on his chest match the trail of hair from his navel down. 

I blushed as my eyes almost went past his navel. I was thankful when he shifted to his wolf. 

Conway is a lovely tawny color with reddish highlights. ‘Conway is handsome.’ Faith whispered.  

I’m glad she likes Conway. Though I don’t like how weak she sounds. She’s going through so much pain every time Ignazio touches another female. I know I want to get to know Stephen better but I worry how delaying the inevitable will affect her.  

‘I’ll be okay. I want us to know Stephen and Conway before rejecting Ignazio and Maximus. Once we let him mark us, there won’t be any going back. So best to know him as well as we can before committing our lives to him.’ Faith assured me in a tired voice. 

‘Okay. Just hold out, and soon we will be free of Ignazio and the pain he brings us.’ I promised as I snuggled into Conway’s soft fur. I don’t usually fall asleep quickly, least of all in an unfamiliar place. But having Conway to hug helped more than I thought it would. 

Of course, I couldn’t get a whole night’s rest. I woke in the dark screaming as the burning pain in my bones was back. This is agony. How can he do this to me!? Why does he do this to me!? What did I do to deserve this, Goddess?  

“Amelia… crap… it’s going to be okay.” I could faintly hear Stephen’s voice.  

The pain was overriding all my senses. I just wanted the pain to stop. I started trying to claw at my chest. Something inside me was driving me to want to end the pain forever. To take out my heart so I could never feel pain again. 

Faith was whimpering, howling in as much pain as I was. I don’t think I’m going to survive this. He’s going to kill me. I’m going to die before I can free myself of him. Then, the bone-breaking, skin peeling, searing pain started to fade without warning. 

I blinked as my vision started to clear as the pain became a dull ache. Stephen’s face was so close to mine. I realized why the pain was going away as I felt his warm lips against mine. 

He was holding me in his arms. His skin was so warm and soothing. Everything about him was like a balm to my pain. 

“It’s okay, Amelia. I’m right here. I won’t let him keep hurting you.” Stephen whispered, wiping away tears that I only just became aware of.  

I blinked away the tears looking into his cinnamon eyes. He was worried about me. Why is he so caring? Why couldn’t he have been my fated mate? I can’t even tell him that. I can’t tell him how he makes me feel because of what Ignazio has done. 

Stephen sighed, pressing a soft kiss to my lips. “I’ll protect you from him. You’re my mate now. I won’t let anyone hurt you.”  

I sighed, snuggling closer to him, letting his sweet words soothe me. Closing my eyes as he stroked my hair. I don’t know what I did to deserve this pain. 

But I also don’t know what I did to deserve someone like Stephen to rescue me. I felt drained and knew Faith was too as I fell back to sleep. 

In the morning, I woke up blushing brightly to find a nurse standing at the foot of the bed with a raised eyebrow. I’m in the borrowed clothes they’d given me snuggled in Stephen’s arms.  

That should be reason enough for my embarrassment but add to the fact Stephen is naked… yeah, embarrassed seems too simple a term. But it wasn’t just embarrassment to be found in bed with a naked male. It’s that she’s staring at his naked body.  

I don’t like it. I can’t say anything, but I sure can growl. The nurse blinked as her attention moved from Stephen’s naked body to see my angry expression. I hope I’m getting the point across. I’d try to cover Stephen, but he’s lying on the blanket. 

“Don’t think you need to read minds to know she wants you out or at least to get your eyes off Stephen.” The blonde male from yesterday shook his head from where he stood near the door. I can feel his Beta aura and remember they called him Beta Alexander. 

“I was just coming to bring breakfast and check on her.” the nurse frowned, trying to excuse her creepy actions. Because who doesn’t announce themselves when entering a patient’s room? And to stare at someone’s naked body while they sleep? Not okay. 

Stephen grumbled, waking up. He blinked, looking at me, then turned to see we weren’t alone. “Beta Alexander? What’s going on?” He questioned his packmate before looking at me. 

“Why do you look so angry, Amelia?” He frowned. He seriously doesn’t get it, or is he still half asleep and unable to register he’s naked.  

“The nurse was checking your naked ass out. Put some clothes on, this is a hospital. We will wait outside. Then I want to check on Amelia’s recovery. I understand she had two more attacks during the night.” Alexander instructed, taking the nurse by the arm and leaving.  

Stephen seemed a bit dazed as he shrugged, getting out of bed. I quickly covered my face with both hands to look away as he genuinely didn’t care about his nudity. “I’m dressed now.” Stephen announced, sitting back on the edge of the bed. 

I sighed, taking my hands down just as Alexander and the nurse walked in.

“Alright, let’s get her checked out, and then we will leave you to eat your breakfast. When Alpha André gives the okay, you will be allowed to return to your room in the town hall.” Alexander explained, coming around to the side of the bed closest to me.  

It was embarrassing to lift my shirt enough for him to examine the bruises left behind from Ignazio being with someone else. 

It also didn’t help that Stephen was growling next to me whenever Alexander touched me. I lost count of how often Alexander reminded Stephen he’s a doctor, so the examination is medical and not sexual.  

During my exam, Stephen contacted his Captain to report my decision and that I wanted time to get to know him before letting him mark me. Thankfully after the exam was finished, Alexander and the nurse both left.  

Stephen smiled, getting the notepad and paper out offering them to me. “Should we pick up where we left off yesterday?” 

I smiled and wrote down some more questions. We alternated between Stephen answering my questions and then me writing answers to his questions about me. It was a slow way of doing this. But it’s the only choice we have as I can’t talk and we are mated or from the same pack to use the link.  

I learned that his family has a rainier cherry farm, but he doesn’t work there because, as a boy, his parents realized he would eat most of what he picks. Which is really cute. 

I learned he works in the mailroom of his Alpha’s company, Kinsley Industrial, while he attends university. He’s recently finished the first year of his civil engineering degree.  

I answered many of the same questions. Telling Stephen about my parents, who were the Gammas of my pack, my brother Ivan who’s always been protective of me even if we are only two years apart in age.  

I told him that I had wanted to become a teacher and work with young children. Before things went wrong in my pack, I often helped at the pack daycare and babysat for various families.  

Which got us started talking about family and what we each wanted. We both want children. Though I’m worried about being a mother now with everything that’s happened. How am I supposed to communicate with my child? They wouldn’t be old enough to form a family link till they were at least eight.  

So for eight years, they wouldn’t know the sound of my voice. I wouldn’t be able to sing my mother’s lullabies to them. Of course, I started crying at that point.  

Crying because I will never speak again. Crying because I’ll never see my mother again. Crying because any children I have won’t know my parents. Crying because so many children have become orphans thanks to Ignazio. 

And so two days passed in my hospital room. Every time Ignazio was with another, Stephen was right there to hold me and kiss me until the pain faded. Stephen never left my side.  

Two days of getting to know this sweet man. It still baffles me that he is willing to be my mate. I appreciate that he stayed with me, even though there was fighting going on beyond the hospital walls. He was sent here to fight, but instead, he was in a hospital with me.  

‘We can’t put this off longer. I feel comfortable with moving forward if you do.’ Faith suggested the third morning while showering in the cramped hospital shower stall. I sighed, rinsing out my hair. She’s right. We can’t wait any longer.  

After drying and getting changed into the clean borrowed clothes, they left for me, I walked out into the room. Stephen was sitting in the chair playing solitaire with a deck of cards waiting for me.  

“Feel better after a shower?” He looked up with that warm smile. I nodded while picking up the notepad and wrote quickly before changing my mind.  

“I’m ready for us to mark each other.” Stephen blinked, almost dropping the paper as he looked from it to me. 

“You’re… you’re sure? I don’t want you to feel pressured.” He questioned. I nodded firmly and tapped the paper for emphasis.  

“Um… okay. I’ll gather what we have here and see about us heading to my room at the Incubi town hall.” Stephen nervously got up, taking a tote to put the spare clothes and the notepads of paper we’d already gone through over the last couple of days.