A Luna's Awakening

S1 E5

Marisol's POV:

As my eyes opened in the unfamiliar place, I felt relief. I didn't die. I winced at the pain in my sides and reached down to find them wrapped in bandages. I heard a door burst open, and then a man stood next to the bed I was in. I didn't know him, but he looked at me with a face filled with worry. His gray eyes and black hair were unlike anything I had seen before. He was tall and muscular too.

"Mate!" He gasped out as I winced in pain again. "Maddie!" He shouted and a woman arrived. She wore a doctor's coat, and she was very pretty. "Do we have pain meds? My mate is hurting." She frowned softly and turned to look through some cabinets.

"Don't get your hopes up." She said and he growled softly. A sound that reminded me of the wolves. Could a human make that sound? I flinched back from him and his eyes flashed back at me.

"Don't be afraid, mate. I'm here." He reached out to me and I cringed away from him. His eyes filled with sadness.

"Who are you? What's going on?" I demanded and groaned at the pain in my sides. The woman sighed and shook her head at the man.

"Sorry alpha." He growled at her again and she scoffed softly. "If you are so worried, lend her a bit of your healing. She is your mate. You should be able to." His eyes went wide and he looked at me. Before I could react, he reached out and took my face in his hands.

"It's alright, mate. Let me try to help." He touched his forehead to mine and I felt how warm he was. It felt nice despite it all. Then I felt a soft searing heat in my body. I gasped out.

"Stop!" I begged as it moved through me. It felt like someone had managed to light my insides on fire. "Please!" He shut his eyes and clenched his jaw.

"Don't fight it, mate." He growled out softly, and I reached up to claw at his hands. With a sigh, he let me go and the feeling faded. "Why must you be stubborn?"

"I don't know who you are or what is going on!" I shouted and cursed under my breath at the pain. The man glared at the woman, and she sighed and left the room, shutting the door behind her. The man sat in a chair I hadn't noticed next to the bed.

"Let me explain then. My name is River. I am the alpha of this pack, and you are my mate." I blinked in confusion at him. Alpha of a pack? Like wolves?

"Is this some sort of joke or am I dreaming? Did I really die to those wolves?" He growled suddenly and I flinched.

"You didn't die. Though I won't let Zeke off easily for how he hurt you. Don't you remember me rescuing you from him?" I furrowed my brow as I looked at him. I remember a black and white wolf with gray eyes as well.

"That's not possible," I said, and he scrunched his nose softly.

"It is. Whether you believe it or not."

"Prove it," I said, and he sighed harshly. He stood from the chair.

"Fine." He said and ran a hand through his hair as he shook his head softly. He opened the door. "Grayson!" I heard running footsteps.

"Yes, alpha?" I heard a new male voice say.

"Get me a change of clothes and leave them in the hall." He shut the door and turned back to me with a sigh. He pulled off his shirt and I frowned. "I like this shirt." He said as he draped it over the back of the chair. He shut his eyes for a moment and then, before I could fully comprehend how or why he shifted into that black and white wolf from before. I screamed. The wolf barked softly at me and then whimpered.

"Please don't kill me," I begged as I felt tears well up in my eyes. The wolf turned and opened the door with its teeth. After a minute, the man returned and he pulled on a new shirt.

"Why would I kill you? You're my mate. The one fated for me chosen by the Moon Goddess to be my wife." He stepped up next to the bed. "Now will you allow me to try and heal your wounds?"

"You don't know me. Where am I even? What about the other students?" He growled softly.

"Those humans were looking for you but had to leave. You are in our pack house. I believe you were warned about it. The humans said they would respect our property." I remember them mentioning the house we weren't to go near. He put his hands on the bed and leaned forward. "And I do not need to know you to want to heal you. You are my mate."

"Stop calling me that," I said, and he sighed.

"Then tell me your name." I frowned softly and he shook his head. "I told you mine. Is it not polite for humans to do the same?"

"Marisol," I mumbled softly and he smiled.

"What a lovely name. Marisol." He repeated with a wider smile. "May I try to heal you, Marisol?"

"It hurt. It felt like my insides were on fire." He furrowed his brow deeply, and he reached out to touch my forehead softly. I flinched back and then winced at the pain it caused. His eyes filled with regret at having caused me pain.

"It felt like you were in heat? How? Maddie said, despite your scent, that you had no wolf."

"My scent?" He nodded softly and seemed to be deep in thought.

"You have a wolf's scent. Like me and my pack. Yet despite smelling like one of us, you have no healing or inner wolf. You shouldn't go into heat. You also didn't smell any different."

"I'm not a wolf though," I said, and he sighed softly.

"I will ask the moon goddess for an answer at the upcoming festival. Please allow me to lend you some of my healing. It pains me to see you hurt."

"Then what?" He flinched at my sudden question. "Once I am healed will you let me go home? Will you allow me to leave?" His eyes filled with conflict as he stared at me. He opened his mouth to speak and then shut it again.

"I do not want you to go," he said finally. "You may not feel the mate bond, but I do. We are connected. My wolf is bonded to you. I can be with no one else but you now that I have found you. It pains me to think you would want to leave me." I frowned but at least I could tell he was being honest. It seemed he had yet to lie to me. Was that because of this bond? "Please. Let me have a chance to convince you to stay at least. That is all I ask. Let me show you my bond in a human way."

"I don't belong here though." He shook his head softly.

"You are not the first human mate to a wolf. They might not want you to be their luna, but you are my mate, and they must accept that. I am not asking you to decide right now. I am asking for a chance to show you how much I care for you." Would that really be so bad? He had saved my life technically. Now he was offering to heal me too. I would certainly owe him and I hated owing people anything. Maybe it came from being a foster kid.

"Alright. No promises though. I have a life too." He frowned, and I could almost see the words on his forehead. He wanted this place to be my life now. He took a deep breath instead.

"And I cannot promise that it will be easy to let you go. A wolf's bond to his mate is stronger than you might think." That felt a little foreboding, but his face was serious. His eyes filled with pain at just the thought of it. Could he really care for me so deeply, having only just met me? He reached out and took hold of my cheeks again. "Let me try to heal you. Do not fight it this time." He placed his forehead on mine again.

I shut my eyes as the fire rose inside me again. I winced softly, but I didn't try and pull away. It burned in my gut but nothing more.

"Mate." He growled softly, and I opened my eyes to stare into those slate-gray eyes of his. "Stop fighting me." I furrowed my brow softly. Was I fighting him somehow? I tried to force myself to relax, and then I gasped as the fire completely engulfed my insides. "There. That's it." He said in a soft, soothing tone. I whimpered and he shushed me softly. "Don't fight it now. It's alright. I am just trying to heal you." I shut my eyes again and tried to relax. The fire got hotter, and then I felt an itching in my sides.

Finally, he pulled away and the feeling vanished. He gently pulled at the bandage around my waist, and then I saw relief fill his eyes as he looked at my smooth unhurt skin. He brushed his fingers over where the claw marks had been.

"Thank the Goddess." He breathed out gently. He lifted my arm and checked that too and frowned at the wounds still there. They were not as bad but not closed. "Was it not enough to fully heal you?" He turned to the door and opened it. "Fetch Maddie. Now." He said to someone outside and I heard running footsteps.