Chapter 2

Alpha Erik POV

Many members of the pack had questioned my choice of Beta, telling me I had made a mistake, many thought Will had something to do with the packs missing Luna since she went missing the day after I made him my Beta, however, he was with me the whole day and I know he adores her almost as much as I do.

Will may be a bit of an idiot at times, but he is one of my top fighters and an excellent strategist, just two of the many reasons I chose him as my Beta, although he has this annoying tendency too over exaggerate the simple things that take place within a pack.

This time the mind link from Will was different, the pack doctor had been clustered in and Will was asking us to meet him at the edge of the forest immediately. As soon as he said where, it was like I had been stabbed in the heart by a million silver shards completely knocking the wind out of me. I knew she had come home, it was TJ, my perfect Luna but something was not right.

Taking off at speed, I stopped metres away recognising her bright red chaotic curly hair immediately, no one else had hair like it including anyone in her family. Her delicious scent of crisp fresh mint began filling my nostrils, at that moment I was thankful she was alive, my life would not have been worth living without her.

Will and the pack doctor were crouched over her which displeased me greatly, I am Alpha, I am her mate, I should be the one to see her first, yet at the same time I was grateful she was getting the attention she obviously needed. As I strode closer, I could see that they were both trying to shield me from the state she was in, she was in the clothes I had last seen her in, a once pale blue tshirt and blue skinny jeans that were now ripped and caked in mud and blood. The open wounds covering her once milky white body whilst a slow trickle of blood leaked from her mouth, her eyes closed making it look as if she was just sleeping.

The wolf in me took over, pushing Will and the Doctor out the way and scooping my mate up, I hastily carried her to the pack hospital with the doctor hot on my trail. Her heartbeat was slow as she laid lifeless in my arms, I was relieved it was still beating.

The doctor and the nurses tried to keep me out the room as they dealt with TJ, but I was having none of it and had to enforce my Alpha orders on them to allow me to stay in the room. I had been without my mate long enough.

The memory will live with me forever, I cannot, and I will not risk losing her again, she must heal for her sake.

TJ’s POV

Those damn beeps were getting closer and closer together and was also beginning to sound like one constant noise, once again I silently screamed but this time my eyes shot open and my body flung itself to an upright sitting position, I was sat on a bed, slowly I looked around, it was just me in a room, I could barely smell that familiar scent anymore. I had no idea where I was. A moment passed as I took in the room I was in, the beep had slowed again back to the annoying consistent beep as before, gradually bringing me back to my senses and finally enabling me to figure out what  and where the sound was coming from.

I watched for a moment and figured it was a machine next to me with wires trailing to my left hand. Panic began to rise in me, and I began ripping the wires out of the machine and then out of my hand. The machine started losing its shit and became one continuous beep, I carried on ripping the wires and tubes out trying to make it stop but there were so many of them, panic now coursing through my veins. Footsteps began moving quickly somewhere nearby and I knew I had to run.

Checking myself I noticed there was a tube going up my nose, as I began to pull I started urging and gagging, it wasn’t just up my nose but down my throat, as I continued to pull, someone rushed into the room, a tall slim female with blonde hair pulled back into a high messy bun.

“Please stop pulling” she insisted, her eyes glazed over for a moment “Alpha Eric is on his way”

It was too late, I pulled the tube hard, as it came out, so did a load of bile and my nose started to bleed just as the familiar scent began to fill my lungs. As I looked up, he stood filling the doorway, tall, very muscular with short messy blonde hair, he was wearing grey joggers with a white tshirt that was straining at his bulging biceps. I could not help but look him in the eyes, they were a piercing blue colour, he stood there staring back at me as blood trickled out my nose. Another female squeezed in from behind him, wearing the same clothes as the blonde lady but this time she was short with brown hair, I didn’t see her look at me, I could not take my eyes off the man “lets clean you up” she said taking my hand, bringing my attention back to her. The blonde woman began clearing up the bile I had puked everywhere whilst the brown haired woman tried to put a needle in the back of my hand which I was not having and kept trying to pull my hand away.

The next thing I knew the large man had taken my arm and was holding it still for the lady, all whilst watching me, this pissed me off, who did he think he was to hold me still like this, I tried to wriggle away but he just held my arm firmer, using his other arm to still my body. Fuck, this guy was strong.

“Just let them help” he spoke softly, staring into my eyes. It was the same voice from before. As the needle went in I let out a low growl, a sound that shocked me, a sound that was animalistic.

The lady with the needle smiled at me, clearly trying to distract me from the pain she was causing “It’s nice to finally see you awake, you had us all worried there for a minute”. When she had finished taping it into place, the man let me go and walked back over to the door. Who was this guy and why did he smell so good, yet felt he had permission to hold me like that?.

I looked at the blonde woman and she smiled too adding “We will need to change your gown; I will just fetch a clean one” and walked out the door. It was then that I realised he was no longer stood in the doorway, I tried to look out the small window right by the door, but he had disappeared and was nowhere to be seen. I frowned, sensing my frustration, the brown-haired nurse spoke “Alpha Eric will be back shortly, he is just catching up with the doctor”.

Knitting my eyebrows together I quietly mouthed the word “Doctor?” more confusion settling in.

She nodded, without missing a beat “We were not expecting you to wake like this” and with that the other lady came back in with a gown. They both helped me to get changed into the fresh gown, my body weak and unhelpful as I tried my hardest to help. Both women reassured me it was normal when you had been in bed for as long as I had.

I nodded my head like I knew what they were saying to me, afraid to say anything more, these people were acting like they knew me, yet my insides churned at the uncomfortableness in the room. I didn’t like how they were touching me, it made me cringe and something was telling me that blondie was not to be trusted the way she was watching that man when she thought I wasn’t looking. I made a mental note to watch her extra closely whenever she was around.

As they were tucking me back into bed, the scent began to fill my nostrils again, it was a beautiful scent and my body had a yearning for it too envelope me

“Can I come in?” the deep voice filled the room.

“Yes Alpha” both women chorused “She is all cleared up”

The door opened and once again he filled the door frame, he took another step closer and the women bowed their heads to him as they walked past. Had I woken to a nightmare where men controlled everything? He looked me up and down and took my hand with the needle in before sitting on the pale blue chair next to my bed.

“How are you feeling?” his voice was music to my ears and the fluttering in my stomach had returned but I couldn’t understand why, he gripped my hand a little tighter and repeated the question but I all I could do was stare into his stunningly bright blue eyes, they were captivating and I’m pretty sure he could win over anyone just by looking at them. Something stirred in them and it looked as if a little twinkle had appeared, the corner of his mouth twitched up almost like a smile. I was fascinated, something in me felt calm, like he was my safe place and he would protect me but there was one problem. I had no idea who he was…..