Hidden Within

Instinct

As I finished the last few mouthfuls of soup, the doctor came in with one of the men I saw last night.

"Good afternoon, Dalia." Annie said cheerily. "I'm not sure you got the chance to meet my mate last night. This is Jay." she says with a big smile on her face. "He's is the beta of the pack. A beta is like the third in charge and the Alphas right hand man." she explains.

"Afternoon and nice to meet you." I respond a little meekly.

"How do you feel? I see you've eaten and showered." Annie smiles at me.

"I actually feel really good, better than I have in a long time. Thank you!" I answer her with a small smile on my face.

"Well, I think you're well enough to go into your own room now, so Jay is going to show you where it is." she explains while writing something down on a chart hanging on my bed. "I have some instructions for you to follow to get you back in shape, ok?" her eyes scrutinising my body as she talks.

"Ok, but is it really OK for me to stay here? " I ask quietly, hoping the answer will be yes. "I don't have any money or anything at all, actually." I tell her in one big breath while toeing the sheet on the bed. "I can work here, I can clean?" I add with my eyes cast down at my hands.

A chuckle brings my head snapping up to meet Jay's eyes. He was laughing at me. He must think I'm pathetic. I look down at my hands again.

"Sorry." I mumble.

"Sorry? don't be sorry. I am laughing because if the Alpha found out you were working here, he would lose his mind, Dalia." he explains with a joyful smile plastered across his face. He looks kind.

"What do you mean?" I ask, confused.

"I mean, he would never allow his mate to work to stay here. You don't have to worry about anything. It's all taken care of," he grins at me, showing me his dazzling teeth.

"Oh," is all I can respond with, not quite sure I understand his logic.

Annie grabs a pair or slippers that are sitting on the ground near the armchair and comes back around the side of the bed.

"I have put you on a calorie increasing diet and added some vitamins to it." she states. "The vitamins are already in your room, just one of each a day at breakfast." She instructs me.

I nod my head and slip the slippers on that Annie placed down for me.

"Every Friday at ten in the morning, you will have counselling sessions in your room." she says with absolution, leaving no room for objection.

I smile at her politely, I feel like she guinely cares about me. It feels strange but nice.

"Thank you for everything!" I tell her.

"Ok, Doc, can we go now?" Jay says sarcastically and gestures for me to go through the door, which leads upstairs.

I obediently walk up the stairs, but when I get to the top and out of the doorway, I stop. I stand there, taking it all in. Everything is so magnificent. White marble floors, a grand set of stairs that lead to a beautiful second floor. Even the light fixtures are beautiful. They look like crystals raining down from the roof. Very old looking artworks decorate the walls. Everything just looked so grand, defiantly not a place I've ever been before, I think to myself.

"Ahem, follow me, young lady," chuckles Jay, and I'm dragged back to my senses.

"It's beautiful." I smile while I follow Jay, who is leading the way to the grand stairs.

We get to the second landing, but Jay doesn't stop he follows the floor around until we come to another set of stairs. These ones are smaller and not visible from the bottom floor. Still beautiful, though. I admire the wooden railings as we start to assend this set.

"This floor is for the Alpha and Luna only," Jay explains while I'm studying the artworks that line the walls on the third floor.

As we pass the first door, I get a whiff of the most beautiful smell I've ever smelt. It smells like rosemary and the rain.

Jay chuckles, and I look up. I realised I had stopped at the door and was just standing there sniffing it while Jay was half way down the hall now.

Jay takes a few steps back towards me and says, "That's the Alphas office. Would you like to go in there?"

I shook my head and hurriedly walked in the direction Jay was leading me.

Every part of me wanted to go in there, but I was nervous.

We get to the third door and Jay opens it up, stepping aside for me. The room is huge but what caught my eye the most was the amazing window that went from the floor to the ceiling.

"I can stay in here?" I ask dumbfounded.

"This room could fit a whole village." I laugh.

"Yep, but please don't invite a village in here that won't go down well with Jax." Jay replies while walking over to the closet. "The omegas organised some clothes for you," he says while opening the doors.

My mouth fell open, the closet was like another room.

He steps away from the closet and goes towards another door and opens it, "This is the bathroom. It should be fully stocked with whatever you girlys like to use."

I head over and peak into the bathroom. It's big as well and there's a tub in there. I instantly flinch away from the room.

flashback

"You disgust me, now get in there before I throw you in!" My aunt screams at me.

Before I can even move, she has a hold of my hair and drags me towards the tub. I try to get away but she's stronger than me. I am tossed fully clothed into the tub.

I scream as the water soaks me. It's boiling. It scalds my skin. I start to scream when my head is pushed down.

flashback over

I'm on the floor, tears streaming down my face. Yahni is yelling in my head but all I can focus on is how much my skin burns.

It burns, I sob out when I feel tingles ignite all over my body. Slowly, the pain begins to fade and I am brought back to reality. I am not in the boiling bath tub at all, I'm crumbled on the floor, surrounded by soft, luxurious carpet. The smell of rosemary and rain engulfing my senses, bringing me further back into reality.

"Shhh, it's ok. No one can hurt you. Just breathe." I focus on the husky voice whispering in my ear.

After what felt like a lifetime, I felt somewhat normal again, incredibly embarrassed, though.

As I start wiggling out of the big arms wrapped around me from behind, I hear Jay explaining to someone what happened.

"She just started breathing really fast, then she was on the ground saying she burns." he whispered to someone.

I turn around to see who he is talking to but come face to face with Jax. His beautiful blue eyes suck me in, and before I can stop what is happening, I whisper "mate" as my lips meet his.

The kiss lasts for a few moments before I pull back, hoping to keep some dignity about me.

I glance around awkwardly and notice that we are alone now.

I can't believe I just did that, I think, in my head.

"Natural instinct, usually that happens on first encounters with your mate but I think you were a little in shock." Yahni laughs while playfully yapping around in my head.