Ocean Of Lies

The Struggle

JASONS POV 

After what had happened with Willow before I always told myself that when I found her, I would never let her again. Willow was beautiful. Blonde hair with seafoam green eyes, her body was always small, when I saw her in the hospital room, I was working in I never thought it was her, never in a million years but when she woke up and started asking about Mindy, I knew it was in face, Willow. I left the room quickly to get Mindy but to my surprise she was already heading to the hospital. For a moment I forgot I was mated and marked, I wanted so badly to wrap my arms around her and never let her go. As soon as our conversation started, I saw the door was cracked but that didn’t bother me, I knew Marissa was close but Willow has always been my person. She’s my best friend. I let out a sigh and looked up at willow when I realized she thought I didn’t know, as soon as I looked at her, I knew something was wrong, she looked down at me and instead of her eyes being the lovely seafoam green they were they turned a light purple, I had never seen such a thing, not in human form anyways, all wolfs eyes are different colors but I've rarely seen a wolf with purple eyes. As soon as they appeared they were gone, her eyes were closed and looking at her for a short time you’d think she was sleeping but I could feel something was wrong. I couldn’t quite put my finger on it but I could just tell. I was right, in an instant Willows nose started to bleed and she was having a seizure. I hit the button on the wall to alarm everyone there was something wrong and 20 nurses and 2 doctors ran into the room. I was suddenly pushed to the back of the room trying to scatter my thoughts on what just happened and what was happening now. I turned out in to the hallway and slammed my body against the wall slowly letting myself drop to the ground as I felt the wall indent with my body. I couldn’t lose her again.  

“Jason?” A familiar voice said to me, I looked up with tears escaping my eyes to see Luna Mindy and Alpha Ron  

“I don’t know what happened” I said my voice braking and with that Mindy ran into the room. Trying to push past everyone in her way to be by Willows side. 

I sat against the wall for another 20 minutes before someone came out I could just barley hear the whispers as they walked away.  

“Can you believe she's still alive?” One of the other nurses said to another, I didn’t really bother to know everyone's names.  

“No, I really can’t it's been 5 years since she went missing, I thought Marissa killed her honestly with the way she was talking.” The other nurse responded and that got my attention quick  

“She always did hate the relationship her and Jason had, she loved Jason but he was always with Willow and never gave her the time of day when she was around; though it wasn’t that often as she grew up but she still really struggled” The other nurse responded  

I was stunned, after all these years I still casted Marissa aside for Willow at first chance, Maybe I just need to say my piece and move on from Willow. I'm mated and marked at that. It wasn’t meant to be with us. Just as I sat thinking about what to say to willow, I was met with a kick in the foot  

“Huh?” I looked up 

“Hey, she’s okay and she wants to talk to you...” Alpha Ron replied giving me a reassuring look  

“Oh, Um okay...” I answered as I stood to my feet and shuffled myself into the room practically forcing myself to walk forward.  

“Hey” Willow said to me as I entered her voice quite almost like the wind was blowing. 

“You, okay?” I asked in a sheepish tone to let her know I was worried 

“Yeah um... I’m fine but I really need to talk to you then, alone.” She replied and I knew where this was going.  

“Okay, but you need to rest now.” I answered giving her a reassuring look 

“Yeah, I think that’s best, hey can you get me a water?” She asked as if she didn’t want to bug me 

“Yeah, I can do that for you” I smiled and nodded my head  

I turned me heal to walk out of the room when I was met with my mate, who was very obviously mad at me.  

“Hey.” I said with a sarcastic sheepish tone. 

“She okay?” She answered pointing to Willow and I knew she didn’t really care but I played along anyways   

“Yeah, she’ll be fine. I'm just going to get her some water” I answered as I motioned her to walk with me. Not because I was worried about Willow but worried for her if she tried anything  

“Oh... Okay... We can talk while we walk right?” she asked confidently, I knew I was in a world of trouble but I had one goal until tomorrow, Keep Willow safe.  

“Yeah, we can talk” I answered as I started walking making sure she was right behind me every step of the way.  

I knew this was going to get me in a bunch of trouble, especially with Marissa, but I couldn’t help myself. I swore I’d keep Willow safe but when she needed someone the most, I couldn’t be the one to save her, to find her, to help her.  

MINDYS POV 

As soon as I heard something happened, I rushed back to the hospital as quick as I could run without shifting. Once I got there, I saw a broken-down Jason on the floor and could hear a bunch of commotion in the room across the hall, I looked over and saw it was willows room, Once the words left his mouth, I pushed my way through the crowd to see Willow laying on bed with blood coming out of her nose, I stood there frozen with a million things running through my mind. I couldn’t fathom what was happening we were gone for 10 minutes. She was about to be released; She was perfectly fine and as soon and random as it started it stopped, Willow woke up and it was like nothing happened, when we knew in fact something did.  

“What's going to happen now?” I asked Dr. Steph concerned about Willow’s well being 

“I'm going to run some test and blood work and if everything comes back clean then maybe we can talk about discharging her, until I know what's wrong with her; she stays here.” Dr, Steph said and I could see the disappoint on Willows face   

“Please don’t make me stay here” Willow said with a crack in her voice like she was going to cry, like she was scared to be in a hospital, or maybe she was scared to be alone? 

“How about if I stayed with you?” I said to her trying to give her some comfort 

“I’ll stay with her” A voice said from behind me, I knew automatically it was Jason.  

“I don’t think that’s a good idea” I said with a demanding tone. I don’t know what happened last time but I know it wasn’t good.  

“No, it's okay Aunt Mindy, Jason can stay with me” Willow said shyly shocking everyone even Jason.  

“Are you sure honey?” I asked sympathetically  

“Yeah, I'll be okay I promise.” She said with a reassuring voice.  

“Okay, if you are okay with that. I’m going to call around and see if I can’t get ahold of your parents and let them know you are safe while they do blood work” I said with confidence.  

“Okay, Bring me comfy clothes please?” Willow asked with puppy dog eyes. I never could say no to her.  

“Okay honey” I answered walking out of the room 

I quickly left the room and mind linked Ron while walking to my office to grab some of our daughters' old clothes. Since she was at collage it didn’t do them any good to sit in the closet and collect dust. I asked him to meet me in the office.  

And a few minutes later he walked in while I was on the phone with another pack trying to get the phone number from Alpha Kam for Alpha James. He knocked on the door and peeked his head in and I waved for him to come in while still focusing on my conversation  

“Yes, I understand that Kam but I found his daughter.” I said calmly while rubbing my temples 

“Okay, when you do reach out to him, please have him call me asap.” I said while trying not to rip my hair out. Kam was closer to James than I have been for many years, ever since Willow disappeared, they didn’t want to go anywhere and always stayed home to protect their pack; but Kam had a small pack and was able to travel while leaving his beta in charge, we were not able to do that often since we have a larger pack.  

“Thank you, Kam.” I said and hung up the phone, slamming it down on the table while letting out a sigh.  

“What is it baby?” Ron asked me concerned as to why I was so angry no doubt.  

“They won’t give me his number and no one is supposed to call unless it's for emergency's” I said rolling my eyes in the back of my head. I was already starting to get a bad headache from all of this.  

“This is an emergency, why don’t you try his office? The number isn’t personal information so you could just call and ask to speak with him. The number should be online” Ron answered and my face light up like the fourth of July.  

“Why didn’t I think of that?!” I said enthusiastically and quickly opened my computer to find the number and quickly put it in my phone 

“Hi, this is Willow enterprises, how may I help you?” The lady on the other line said. 

“Hi, I need to speak to James Heart, He’s working on a project for me.” I answered carefully. James and I have our problems but hopefully he wouldn’t ignore me this time 

“One second please. “ The voice on the other end said before placing me on hold. After a few minutes of waiting 

“Hi this is James's secretary, James will be out of the office until Friday if not longer, Can I take a message and I’ll get it to his home office?” Another woman said  

“I’m sorry but this really is a personal matter with our project and I would like to speak to him directly, Could I have his home office number?” I asked with a tense voice snapping out some attuited  

“I'm sorry Ma’am but I'm really not allowed to give out that information, could you give me your name and a call back number and I will try to get ahold of him?” She asked with a sweet tone, it was really pissing me off.  

“Sure, the name is Mindy, from Little things designs, the number is 832-765-9928" I answered without missing a beat 

“Okay, I will email this number and your name over to him right away, Can I ask what the project name you are working on is?” She asked again with a more annoyingly sweet tone 

“Willow.” I answered with a lot of sass in my voice.  

“Oh, like our company name, that’s so cool.” She answered annoyingly sweet again.  

“Okay, I will email this over to him right now, it may be a few days till he gets back to you though.” She answered a little less sweet, maybe some anxiety in her voice.  

“Okay, do you know why he’s out? He never misses a day of work let alone a week.” I replied curious 

“Oh yes I do actually, He wanted me to tell everyone that called for him that his Wife is about to have a baby” she said cheerfully  

“Ohh, Okay. I must send a gift over then! Please be expecting something, do you know if it’s a boy or a girl?” I answered cheerfully  

“I do not, but I can give you a call as soon as I know!” She said with the upmost happiness. 

“Please do! I’ve known James for a really long time and I would love to know what he’s having now!” I answered happily 

“I will, Have a good day, Mindy!” She answered cheerfully again 

“You to!” I said as I hung up the phone, I almost forgot that Ron was standing in the room waiting  

“Well?!” He asked with excitement 

“Nothing but an email sent to James with my number and name. Oh, but I did find out they are having a baby!” I said slummed in my seat trying to wrap my brain about everything going on.  

“Oh, that’s cool, I’m surprised we didn’t know.” Ron answered a bit over dramatically with the attitude  

“Oh, you know they haven’t been the same since Willow went missing, speaking of which her birthday is coming up isn’t it? Maybe we should just plan to drive down there tomorrow night and let them know.” I responded thinking of anything to help this situation  

“That’s not a bad idea, we can get Carson to go with us and hopefully Kilton won’t have a problem handling thing’s while we are gone” Ron answered and headed towards to the door  

“Where are you going?” I asked carefully 

“To give the clothes to Willow?” He turned around and laughed at me before turning his heel and walking out of the door.  

Everyday this man amazes me, the man I fell in love with all those years ago is still the same man that can calm me down just by looking at me. He never ceases to amaze me.  

RONS P.O.V. 

I walked out of the room and towards the hospital when I noticed a bunch of girls gossiping about Willow, I decided to just stand there for a minute and eavesdrop on their conversation  

“Do you think she’s going to go home soon?” I heard one of the girls ask 

“I f*****g hope so, for my relationship’s sake she should’ve never came here!” I heard a familiar voice yell, it was Marissa. Back to trying to make Willow miserable I see  

“Listen Jason never gave you the time of day when she was around before and he got super depressed when she went missing, He barley wanted to be with you when he found out y’all were mates, did you really think he would give you attention now that she’s back?” One of the girls snickered  

“Oh, shut up Kas! Don’t act all high and mighty, you aren’t even mated yet, how would you know anything about the mate bond!” Marissa yelled again 

“I don’t that’s the problem, but I’m sure my mate wouldn’t come on to another girl while I was standing in the hall way.” Kas laughed but was quickly quite when Marissa grabbed her by the throat  

“I’m not going to let that little b***h weasel her way into my mate bond!” Marissa screamed in her face still holding on to her throat  

“Dude, chill out. You heard her say she doesn’t f**k with the mate bond, Jasons the one that said he would break it for her!” One of the other girls yelled while pulling her off of Kas.  

“Don’t tell me to chill out!” Marissa screamed and started stomping away like a child who didn’t get what she wanted.  

Finally, I came out of my hiding spot to check on Kas and make sure she was okay.  

“Hey, are you okay?” I asked as I walked around the corner looking at her neck who still had a handprint on it. I couldn’t do anything to Marissa unless these girls told me what happened, I may be Alpha but I still need proof before I can do anything to her.  

“Oh this?” The girl asked pointing to her neck, I just nodded  

“I don’t mean to give out too much information Sir, but my boyfriend and I got a little to freaky last night, if you know what I mean” Kas answered without a second thought. I knew she was covering for her, but why? 

“Okay, if you say so Kas. Please have a good day” I answered and quickly went my separate way. I pushed the hospital doors open and walked in, smiling to anyone who smiled at me. I know Willow wouldn’t dare to touch the mate bond. She was always taught it was a very special thing and that anyone who defies it would have to deal with the moon goddess herself, even if you reject someone there is a chance you never find love again and have to take a chosen mate. Beyond my thinking I knew Willow as a person. She wouldn’t even so much as look at a mated man that way, unless she didn’t see the mark at first but as soon as she did, she would stop, Willow was a good person as a kid. She went through a lot in the last 4 and a half years though so maybe, just maybe she changed her perspective on it? I got to Willows room and waited a few seconds for everything in my mind to settle when I ran into the doctor outside  

“Coming to check on Willow?” Dr. Steph asked, I nodded my head slightly  

“Well, I was just about to give her, her test results, would you like to come in with me?” Dr. Steph asked  

“If she would like me to stay I will” I answered and nodded my head gesturing her to go first  

She knocked and waited a bit for a response.  

“Come in” a very faint voice on the other side on the door said  

“Hey, Willow. I just wanted to share your test results with you, would you mind if Alpha Ron stays with you?” Dr. Steph asked politely. 

“No that’s fine” Willow said with a smile on her face. How could she be so happy after what she’s been through.  

“Okay, so your blood work shows some inconsistency with starvation and dehydration. It also looks like your body is fighting off some kind of infection but I don’t see any marks on you and you don’t seem to be in pain” Dr. Steph said trying to look over her body again.  

“The mark you are trying to find is on my hip. I thought it was infected but I couldn’t tell” Willow answered and pulled the hospital gown up, covering herself with a blanket just enough to show Dr. Steph the mark  

“Oh, honey that looks bad; Mind telling me how you got it?” Dr. Steph asked with concern in her voice Willow looked at me before she spoke  

“Anything I say stays in the room, right? No one else will know?” Willow asked anxious, she was fiddling with her hands waiting for an answer before she spoke. 

Yes, Willow. Anything you say stays between me and the Doctor” I answered giving her a reassuring look  

WILLOWS P.O.V.  

“Okay, right before Luka came to save me the last week I was there. I dropped a plate on the ground and it broke... and while I was cleaning it up one of the people that worked there came in and saw that I broke a plate so I had to be punished. They realized that beating me wasn’t making me submit, He wasn’t my Alpha, I had no reason to. So... 

-----BEGIN FLASHBACK----- 

“Listen here you little b***h, you will submit to me!” Kris screamed in my face  

“I will never submit to the likes of you, you are not my alpha. You will never be my Alpha no matter how hard you try! You should just kill me now!”  I hissed and spit in his face  

“You are going to regret that w***e!” Kris sneered back wiping the spit from his face  

“I doubt it.” I answered without hesitation 

Before I knew it Kris had pulled out a silver bladed knife and slashed threw my hip with it. Leaving a burn, but me trying not to look weak I didn’t scream but winched when he touched it.  

“Oh yeah, let me hear that moan come out of your mouth baby” Kris said getting closer to me.  

“I branded you darling” He got close and whispered in my ear while touching the cut.  

“I will not submit!” I screamed and pushed him back  

“Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow. But until the day you die, I will make you submit to me.” Kris roared in my face. I just stood there.  

“Can I go now?” I asked with an attitude  

“Go finish cleaning up the mess you made and work on dinner!” He sneered back at me. Making me clench my fist  

I turned my heel to walk out as the Beta walked in  

“Sir you wanted to----” He stopped and looked at me for a second as his sentence trailed off, looking over my body until he saw the burn on my hip. His eyes quickly looked at mine and he froze 

“What the f**k are you looking at?!” I yelled at him  

“N-n-nothing" He answered and I walked away but stood close to the door  

“I thought you said not to harm her?!” The beta yelled  

“Yeah well, she got the best of me this time.” Kris said with what I can only guess was a grin  

“Stop hurting her Kris” The Beta yelled again, He was the only one that actually cared if I was hurt 

“I am the Alpha! And whatever fascination you have going on with her right now put an end to it!” Kris yelled again  

“I don’t have anything going on with her” The Beta said reassuringly  

“Really dude? Then why is your d**k hard?” Kris said and I heard him let out a laugh before the door closed the door completely 

----END FLASHBACK--- 

When I stopped telling everyone what happened I was so focused on getting through the story and the flashbacks going through my head that I just completely missed the fact that Jason and Mindy had entered the room.  

“So yeah...” I answered and looked around the room, everyone’s mouth was hanging open  

“Oh, um. Let me get some antibiotics for that cut and some cream to put on it to help it heal faster” Dr. Steph said walking towards the door and before I could respond she was gone.  

“Willow...” Uncle Ron said sadly, I looked at him and he had tears in his eyes so did everyone else  

“Don’t you dare start crying on me!” I yelled at him and he looked shocked  

“I don’t want to be known as the girl that went missing Uncle Ron! I don’t want to be known as the 14-year-old little girl who could barely take care of herself!” I yelled at him again this time sitting up 

“So, stop being sad! I did what I had to do to survive okay!” I yelled a little louder  

“Will---” Jason started to say before I cut him off  

“No Jason you don’t get to say anything about what happened to me! I’m here and I'm alive and that’s all that matters! You asked what happened Uncle Ron and I told you what happened! I don’t want you to feel sorry for me! I don’t want to feel anyone's pity! I want to live my life!” I yelled a little bit louder again.  

“Well, you can certainly hold your own” Aunt Mindy said clapping her hands  

“I would have killed the person talking to me if it wasn’t you” Uncle Ron said 

“How did you manage to live” Jason said dumbfounded  

“I did what I had to do.” I answered quietly  

“Please Willow, we need to know what happened” Aunt Mindy said.  

“I would like to tell everyone at once, this includes my parents, did you get ahold of them?” I asked shyly  

“No honey, but Ron and I are going to drive out there tomorrow” Aunt Mindy said reassuringly  

“Can I go with?” I asked quickly  

“I’m sorry Willow but no, you need to stay here until we get this infection under control and get you hydrated again” Dr. Steph said coming in again.  

“I’m sorry Willow but I will give Jason the next few days off to stay with you” Uncle Ron said 

“Okay Uncle Ron, I understand.” I said sadly  

“Well, here are the clothes you asked for...” Aunt Mindy said trying to change the conversation  

“Can I shower?” I asked quickly while the doctor was still in the room  

“Yeah, but try not to get your arm or leg wet...actually let me go grab you some plastic to put over it and over your I.V.” She answered and quickly left the room 

“Aunt Mindy, I know it’s a lot to ask but could you help me?” I asked anxious  

“Yeah, sure honey, I don’t mind helping you!” She responded quickly and helped me sit up 

“I’ll start the water a while, okay?” She asked and I quickly nodded.  

“Are you sure you want to wait?” Uncle Ron asked again  

“Yes, I’m sure. I really don’t want to have to explain it more than once.” I answered giving him an attitude  

“I may not be your alpha but I am an alpha and your uncle, Respect me Willow.” Uncle Ron said glaring at me  

Those words to me back to a dark place in my head and I just shrugged my shoulders and looked off to the side, I didn’t want anyone to see me cry.