Uncovered Lightly

Chapter 3

Darkness. Raging heat. Pain.

Mara could not think, her mind occupied, racing with untraceable thoughts. Her rib cage produced unimaginable agony, yet she could not feel much else of her body and for this she was thankful. A warm pressure suddenly overwhelmed her, and the pain in her chest began to slightly weaken, not majorly but enough so that she was able to better form coherent thoughts. The relief at her minimizing physical pain was short-lived when Mara thought of Cici. What had happened to her? Was she alive? Making sure her sister was okay was of paramount importance, fear spread through her as her blood felt like it was reaching boiling point.

All of a sudden, a loud ringing reached Mara’s ears as she could feel herself gaining her hearing back. Why can’t I move anything? Mara questioned herself, anxious to get up and help her sister. But nothing worked. Opening her eyes was impossible. The loud ringing subsided as she slowly slipped back under, succumbing to the relief darkness brought her.

“Wake up!” He screamed relentlessly. “Just hold on for me, please, please I’m begging you” The man moved as gently as ever, careful not to make any injuries worse for her. He had her positioned on his lap, her head falling to the side against his chest. His hand moved on its own accord as he delicately stroked her cheek. “Please baby, be okay” tears began to fall down his face as he quickly became overwhelmed with emotions he did not expect.

“Milo…” A young voice called out hesitantly, bringing Milo to release a small growl.

“Okay…okay just, she needs to go to the hospital, we can’t do anything to help her here.” The young girl spoke soft but firm in order to get through to the emotional alpha.

“Get the doctor to come here, I don't want to move her.” He immediately argued against the idea, speaking more sharply to the girl than he intended, but he was scared of causing his mate more harm.

The girl showed no reaction to his tone, “We are too far for them Milo, it's better if we run. Quick shift, I’ll put her on your back.” With the harsh realization that he was wasting time, he carefully removed the girl from his lap, stood up and shifted into his wolf. As he lowered himself to the ground next to the injured girl, he watched with sharp eyes as Missy walked towards her, accidentally growling slightly when she touched Mara.

“Enough milo! Do you want her to stay unconscious like this? Get over the possessive s**t and let me put her on your back.” Missy snapped at him, offended that Milo thought she wouldn’t be as careful as possible with her future Luna. His wolf huffed at the disrespect but immediately allowed her to put his mate on his back. Without warning, he took off through the woods in the direction of the pack hospital, praying his mate was okay.

“I’ll meet you there” Missy’s voice rang through his mind as they were still close enough for their link to be accessible.

Missy was only fourteen, so she had not yet shifted, but she was an exceptionally fast runner on foot. She liked to boast constantly to her family, stating that when she found her wolf they would be the fastest in the pack, and she could not wait for that day to come.

Racing through the trees, a small groan immediately gained his attention, causing his wolf to whimper. “Not much longer, I promise.” Milo chanted in his mind, as if the girl could hear him, perhaps to calm himself also. They soon reached the hospital and as soon as they entered, doctors rushed to take the mystery girl off their Alpha’s back. Just when Milo shifted back to his human form, his mate had already been whisked into an already prepped operating room, leaving him feeling empty and helpless.

Missy walked in, spotting her brother instantly. As she sat beside him in the waiting area, she whispered to Milo “Dad is on his way over.” He didn’t answer her, seemingly lost in his own world. A tense silence took over them, neither one speaking as they absorbed everything that had happened in the last forty minutes.

It all became too much for Milo, as he began to stutter out a barely intelligible sentence. “I…what if she… I can’t?” he sighed.

Missy understood her brother's pain, anyone would be distraught finding their mate in such a state, but what she didn’t understand was why he was so worried about her outcome. It was obvious to her that the crash wasn’t bad enough to result in the girl’s death.

“She will be fine. It was just a small crash.” She says, in an attempt to make her brother see reason. Outraged, Milo leaped out of his seat and raised his voice to Missy, not understanding how she could be so insensitive right now.

“Just a small crash? Are you serious!” He threw his hands up in exasperation, as if Missy was supposed to know what he was struggling to process. She stared back at him, shock evident on her face at his outburst.

“Well… yeah. I know you're super protective and stuff right now because you have only just found her, but that wasn't that bad, you are just being dramatic. Hey, remember that time when Danny's dad got in an accident? It was way worse, but he was out of hospital within 2 days. Stop being such a drama queen.” She rambled out, trying to explain her thought process.

Milo shook his head at being reminded of that day. The crash was brutal. Danny’s dad was badly burnt, his injuries seemingly a lot worse than his mates'. But there was one difference between the two people which affected everything.

Milo had noticed something was wrong with her scent immediately when he found her at the crash, but he just assumed it was because of how much blood she had lost. However, while they were running to the hospital, his wolf alerted him to something that shook him to no end. Something he didn’t know was possible.

Danny’s dad was a wolf, but his mate…

“Missy, she's human.” Milo begrudgingly spoke, as if he had to learn how to say the word human. His sister turned to him mouth agape, looking as if she couldn't find any words to form a sentence.

“Close your mouth, you look stupid like that.” he grumbled. Missy's face remained unchanged, but by now she had at least remembered how to talk.

“But… how? I didn’t think that was possible.” she spoke barely above a whisper. Seemingly trying to understand the idea that her brother was mated to a…human. A weak human. A different species. The two weren't supposed to mix. She had never heard of wolves being mated to anything other than, well… wolves.

Milo ignored her statement, silently agreeing with her. He sat staring at the door which kept him from his mate, glaring daggers into it as if it would melt away and allow him to be at her side.

“So it’s not good then. She really might die” She voiced out casually. Missy had never been one to sugar coat anything, always very to the point and matter of fact.

Milo instantly redirected his glare towards Missy, staring at her as if she had committed the worst crime imaginable.

“Don’t say stupid s**t like that.” He forced out between gritted teeth, incredibly shaken at the idea of losing his mate. He didn’t even know her name, yet he felt as if his entire existence would be torn apart if she left this world.

“Ah, I forgot you are a superstitious ass” Missy began to mock him in a sickly sweet voice. “Saying things out loud makes them a reality, careful what you say and what you do blah blah blah”

A dangerous growl thundered out of Milo, his eyes reflecting his anger. Realizing she had gone too far, Missy quietened down to all but a whisper, in an attempt to actually comfort her brother this time. “Sorry, I'm sure she will be fine. Really I am.”

Ignoring her apology, Milo regained his original position of staring down the door, when out of nowhere, his wolf rose quickly in his mind.

“She’s awake”