Hidden Within

Werewolf

Dalia's POV

Sterile, clean air filters through my nostrils as I begin to stir. I did not want to wake up. I felt really comfortable and warm. It has been years since I slept on something this soft.

With those thoughts, I abruptly sit up in a panic. This was not a dream I realised when my eyes became focussed and I could see I was in some kind of hospital room. My arm had some kind of thing attached to it. I'd seen it on the TV before when I snuck glances while my aunt would watch her shows. I think it is called a drip? I went to remove it when I saw someone asleep in the corner of the room.

Blue-eyes, I recognised him instantly, and my heart started racing. Jax, I think he said his name was.

"Sure is girl, and he's all ours." Yahni grinned in my head.

She is still there, maybe I really have lost it, I thought to myself while studying Jax. He really was stunning. Jet black hair, that was cut short at the sides but a bit longer on top. His figure was quite masculine, and he was tall, too. His face had a small amount of facial hair, I noticed. Something about him screamed dominance.

"Ahem, sorry to interrupt, but you've been staring at him for like ten minutes now, and I really want to check your observations now you're awake." A female said with a smirk on her face.

"Sss sorry I stuttered!" Certain my face looked like a tomato.

"It's only natural, no need to apologise, but I would like to check you over if that's ok? I'm Annie, by the way." she smiled widely, waiting for me to respond.

"Ok." I agree in a small voice, looking down at my hands.

My heart races as she moves around me. I flinch as she reaches towards me out of instinct.

"No one here is going to hurt you," she says reasuringly.

"In fact, I don't think anyone will ever hurt you again with a mate like that." she smiles while nodding her head towards the blue-eyed man named Jax.

"What happened to you? what's your name?" she says almost like she couldn't hold it in any longer.

I study her face for a moment. She does look like a nice person. She hadn't done anything to me except show me kindness. I decided it would be ok to answer her.

"My name is Dalia." I tell her, ignoring the other question.

She finishes looking over me.

"Well, Dalia, it's nice to meet you and welcome to the pack! I'll just go get the next bag of fluids and I'll be right back." she says, but before she can turn to leave, I grab her hand.

"Please, can you tell me what is going on? I am so confused. I saw a wolf turn into a man, and there's this other wolf inside me that keeps talking to me. I had a dream I met a goddess, and what is a mate? Have i gone mad? Has my aunt finally made me lose my mind." The questions tumble out of my mouth so fast I'm not sure if they even made sense.

She just looks at me while making a weird face. This must be the part where she realises I'm completely luney.

Her eyes dart to the sleeping man and then to a chair. She grabs it and moves closer to the bed and plonks down.

"Ok, so I take it you came from a household of humans? You said your aunt made you go mad. I'm guessing you lived with her and she was human? Yes?" she asks while studying me intently.

I nod my head relieved that she is validating what I just said.

"The wolf that turned into a man is called a shifter or I guess werewolf if you prefer." She chuckled slightly at that and continued.

"I don't want to scare you but all of us here can do that, including you." She explains gently.

"The wolf inside your head is real and yes, you can talk to each other. She is your other half. When we become of age, which is usually sixteen, our inner wolf is released from within us, making us whole." she smiles and takes a breath while her eyes flicker between brown and black.

I sit silently as I try to take in what she is saying, my eyes moving around the room, landing on Jax again.

I ask, "What is a mate?".

Her eyes follow the direction of mine and she smiles happily. "We are all born with a mate. It is the person made just for us. A bond that shouldn't be broken." Annie says with a dreamy expression in her kind eyes.

"Some of us spend our entire life searching for our mate. They can be hard to find but once you do find them, your whole being becomes about them. They make us stronger, we can feel each other's feelings and we can rarely live without them. They become ours, we become theirs, A soul mate." She further explains when a knock sounds on the door.

I jumped from the noise, and my head spins to the door. Another woman comes in with dirty blonde hair and an apron on. She smiles and announces the food is ready while placing a tray down on the little side table.

"Thank you, Bell. Annie says and waves her off.

Once she leaves, Annie stands and goes to the tray of food. It smells divine, making my mouth salivate. Arranging the food and wheeling the little table to me, she says, "Eat up, you need to gain back some strength."

I stare at her incredulously, is she for real. "This is for me?"

"Of course honey, now please eat." she soothes.

With that, I dig in, tasting the hot soup on my tongue. My face breaks into the biggest smile. My taste buds are in overdrive. I tare off some bread and pile it in my mouth.

"Slow down! You might make yourself sick if you don't pace yourself." Annie says sternly.

Remembering what happened when I broke into the fridge, I ease up a bit.

"Sorry, I haven't eaten anything other than dog kibble and scraps for the last 12 years." I tell her with a shrug, but before I even close my mouth, a loud growl tares through the room

"What! jax roars while leaping to his feet and marching towards the bed.

I panic and push the table away, my knees going up towards my chest. I tuck my head in to protect it from what's to come. I didn't even notice he had woken up to engrossed in the food.

"Alpha, calm down or get out!" Annie growls back at him.

I peaked up and saw Annie standing in front of me protectively. Was he going to hurt me, I shivered at the thought. He looked much stronger than my aunt.

"Mate would never hurt us!" Yahni, who has been silent for the last half hour, says defensively.

"Sorry, I hear Jax saying, and his voice is softer. "I am not angry at you. I was just shocked at what you said. Who hurt you?" he asks pleadingly.

Taking a shakey breath, I shake my head, scared to answer. Jax places his hand on my knee and tingles shot up my leg, my heart beat slows, and my body un-tensesd slightly.

Staring down at his hand, I open my mouth and answer. "My aunt, I lived with her since I was six. She hated me, and I am finally understanding why!" I choke out, a stray tear rolls down my cheek.

"I never understood what I had done to her but finding that letter and now all this!"I gesture with my hand around the room.

"It all makes sense. She knew what I was. A werewolf! or like what she used to call me a mutt."