CHAPTER 5
1401 Words
“Freya!”, I heard Alex yell, “Freya open the door! What’s going on?” My eyes fluttered open at the sound of his voice and the handle rattling on the door. Even to breathe was a challenge for me. “Alex”, I whispered unable to move.
“Freya?”, he said. His voice was louder, more urgent. I could see my blood on the carpet, it had seeped under the door. “Unlock the door please”, he begged. “Can’t”, I barely whispered. The door shook on its hinges as he tried to force his way in.
My breathing was becoming shaky and I felt my life slipping away from me. Is this what it felt like to die? Did my mother and father feel like this just before they left this world?
I let my eyes close and pictured their faces in my mind. A loud crash from behind me brought my attention back to my situation. “Oh, my Goddess, Freya!”, Alex yelled as he knelt down and pulled me into his arms. I looked groggily up into his beautiful eyes, “It’s not your fault”, I whispered.
A darkness began to take over, and small black spots slowly covered my vision of Alexanders face. The last thing I heard was his voice saying, “No!”
******
Slow steady beeping and the constant dripping of water was the first thing that I heard. Then I could hear muffled voices talking somewhere nearby.
“She was exhausted. Whoever did this to her was incredibly strong, I’m surprised she survived as long as she did with such significant injuries. She’s very lucky to be alive.”
The answering voice sounded contorted and upset. I knew it was him, but why was he so sad? “How long until she wakes up?”
“I can’t say. It’s all up to her wolf now.”
Alex growled and then a loud bang made me jump. I opened my eyes and scanned the room. He was standing at the foot of the bed, his eyes staring at me with shock and sadness. He had definitely been crying.
“Freya?”, he whispered, walking around to my side.
“I’m fine”, I whispered, my throat feeling dry and hoarse. He reached out and held my hand in his before kissing the back of it. “You scared me”, he said, sniffing.
“I’m sorry.”
He smiled half-heartedly, “What happened? I told you to stay in the room, and there were no signs of forced entry other than mine.”
“I wanted to help, so I went to look for you. There was this man in the house, I think he was an Alpha of some sort, but he didn’t look like an Alpha. He attacked me, and Harlow tried to help but he was so strong. Eventually he just left, but he told me he would see me soon”, I gushed, trying to tell him the more important things he needed to know. I couldn’t bring myself to go into detail about all the things that disgusting monster had done to me, the way he shifted back to his human form and hovered over me like I belonged to him, the way he punched me, clawed me, beat me.
“I can’t say his description rings a bell, but there are a lot of packs that we refuse to deal with, mostly because of the way they live. The warriors have his scent memorised now so if he tries to come back, we will get him. I just don’t know how he made it past the night patrols.”
“I’m sorry”, I said again, feeling guilty for putting myself in so much danger.
He leaned over me and kissed my forehead, then leant his against mine. “I’m just glad that you’re safe, Freya. I can’t live without you.”
He stayed like that for a minute, staring into my eyes. There was a slight knock on the door and Tabitha poked her head in, “Is it safe to come in?”, she asked quietly.
Alex looked over and smiled, “Why wouldn’t it be?” he chuckled.
Tabitha came through the door, with Alex’s father, Tobias, following close behind. She had a beautiful bouquet of flowers in her hand, “These are for you my dear. I’ll have to get the nurses to bring a vase in, this is absolutely unacceptable.”
Alex frowned, “Mum, seriously, don’t go terrorising the staff with something so trivial. Freya should be home by this afternoon, she’s healed extremely well considering.”
“Ah, of course. Well then, I’ll take these up to your room for you. Maybe we can have dinner together tonight. Your father and I have some things we want to talk to you both about”, she said, standing to leave. She came over and patted me on the shoulder before leaving. Tobias nodded at both Alexander and I, then followed her.
“I don’t think your dad likes me very much”, I said.
“Of course he does. He just can’t get a word in edgeways with my mother’s constant babbling. I don’t know how he managed when he was the Alpha, she’s so flamboyant”, he chuckled.
“I’m sure it helped him when he needed to form allegiances with other packs”, I countered, laughing.
“That’s probably true.”
The doctor walked in with his clipboard and notepad. “Looks like you’re all good to go Luna. Just try to rest and relax as much as possible and come back if you have any issues.”
“Thank you, doc”, Alex said, getting up and gathering my things.
“No problem, Alpha”, he then turned to me, “As I said, if you feel off in any way, please don’t hesitate to come back in.”
“I will. Thank you for all your help, doctor.”
He smiled, nodded then left. Alex came over with my clothes in his hand, “Why don’t you get changed and I’ll go and sign your paperwork.”
“Sure, thanks”, I said, throwing my legs over the side of the bed and standing up. I wobbled slightly and Alex wrapped his arm around my waist, “Are you sure you’re ready to leave? I don’t want you to push yourself. There’s only so much your wolf can do at a time”, he said, pulling me close.
“I’m fine, I just got up too quickly, head rush”, I explained, trying to sound confident.
“Freya, I should probably tell you that if I lose you because of your stubbornness, I will be holding you personally accountable.”
I giggled and unwrapped his arm from around me, “I’m fine, Alex, really. Go and sign me out while I get changed out of this goddess awful hospital gown.”
He chuckled and gave me a kiss on the cheek, “I’ll be right back.”
I went into the tiny bathroom and damn near tore the hospital gown off before putting the clothes on that Alex had given me. I was relieved to feel normal again; I hated hospitals.
When I walked back out, he was perched on the edge of the bed, “Ready?”
“Ready”, I said and took his hand, pulling him up from the bed.
When we walked into the kitchen of the pack house, Alexanders parents were sitting at the bench, waiting.
“Finally,” Tabitha said, coming and giving me a hug. She took a step back and looked at Alex, “We need to talk.”
- Writer
