The Alpha King's Mate

Chapter 5: THE HOSPITAL

I hear mumble voices. I'm trying to open my eyes but can't every inch of my body is hurting. I cannot comprehend what is happening and am too tired to focus. I keep drifting in and out of consciousness but one thing is sure I'm being carried in a hurry. Someone is carrying me in his arms I can feel the warmth of his skin against mine. He is not wearing a shirt. Again I hear some voices, it is more like someone is shouting commands but I cannot understand what they are saying. I drift again into darkness.

When I gained consciousness, I was in a hospital bed, surrounded by doctors and nurses.I couldn't remember how I had gotten there, but I felt a sense of relief knowing that I was safe. May be they brought me here or was I just dreaming? How can that be possible?

As I was trying to make sense of what I had just experienced my eyes met someone's glare. There she was standing at the foot of my bed my aunt, my legal guardian. I wanted to hug her, to cry in her arms. I wanted her to hold me to tell me I'm safe. Tears started flowing from my eyes. But she stood there like a statue carved out of stone. Finally her lips parted and she spoke.

"What happened" she asked uninterestingly.

"I was attacked! That man, he almost.. he almost.... but they saved me... I don't know who or what were they but... but they saved me" I said crying at the moment.

"Who saved you" she asked.

"Wolves" I answered.

"The wolves?" my aunt scoffed. "Don't be ridiculous. Tell me the truth. I don't have time for your made-up stories. You probably got drunk and stumbled on a stone and had a concussion."

"Whatever happened. I don't know what fool got you into this hospital" she said angrily walking a few steps. "How do you plan on paying the bills" she said raising both her eyebrows and hands.

I felt tears stinging my eyes as my aunt stormed out of the room. I couldn't believe that my aunt, my guardian wouldn't believe me. Especially after what happened to me.

The police were equally skeptical, they dismissed my claims as delusions brought on by the trauma of the injury. They were convinced that I had made up the story to get attention from my aunt. Things teenagers do these days, they said.

The police said they patrolled the area and found no one there. They were surprised why I had gone so deep in the woods as it is not safe. "You must have been attacked by an animal" one of them said. Yep, I definitely can't differentiate between a man and animals.

"Listen child, we know you are scared, why were you there in the first place? Tell us the truth okay, not some fantastic story you read about werewolves. I know people your age are obsessed with such things and sometimes it gets harder to differentiate imagination from reality but still try and think about what happened and tell us the truth" an older officer said.

No matter how many times I told them, none of them believed me. They kept forcing me to tell them the truth or more importantly the truth they wanted to hear.

So I lied. I told them what they wanted to hear. I told them that I lost my way and got scared and started hallucinating. They believed me this time. They liked the story and left.

No matter what they say I know what I saw and heard.

I cannot understand why no one wants to believe me. Is it because I am just a young girl, easily dismissed and ignored? Or is it because the truth is too hard for anyone to face?

They gave me some medication to help me sleep. My eyes starts feeling heavy and I drift into sleep. I am running as first as I can, some one's following me but I don't know who. I cannot see their face. I keep running as fast as I can. I'm in woods everything around me covered in snow. I can't seem to run anymore. My body is giving up. My heart is pounding so hard it feels like it is going to come out of my chest. I trip on something and fall. There is a huge shadow coming towards my way I try to focus but cannot see who it is. It is getting closer. The shadow looks like a man from proximity. It extends its hands towards me. The hands are around my neck strangling me. I try to shout but no sounds come out of me. The grip gets tighter around my neck. I can't breathe anymore.

"Wake up! Kate! What is wrong with you" someone shakes me with full force. As I open my eyes it is my aunt.

It was just a nightmare. I am safe.

"What is wrong" she asks. "A bad dream? You seem to have many them these days" she continues.

"Now tell me who paid the bills" she looks at me inquiring.

"What bills" I have no idea what is she talking about.

"Hospital bills! What else" she replies.

"I don't know, you said we don't have the money".

"Yes we don't but surprisingly some starnger paid for your bills and no one is telling me who did" she says annoyed.

"Tell me who did. Don't dare to lie to me. I hate lies. They make me angry you don't want to make me angry. Do you?" she is clearly annoyed at this point and I know my answer would enrage her.

"I honestly don't know who did" I plead.

"Huh! you DON'T know" she scoffs. "Okay, no problem may be some philanthropist did, right. Who cares as long as it is paid. Forget about the bloody bill. Now tell me the true story of what happened. The story police refused to believe. I know your crazy but your not gonna make that much s**t. Who attacked you?" she asks.

I tell her everything I knew about the man and everything that happen in the woods.

She looks at me scornfully.

"More like you got in trouble with an older man. I told you to stay away from boys so you started hitting on man, eh. It is true then you are a w***e and may be that man of yours paid for the bills" she gets closer to me. She put her hand on my head caressing me. "It's okay now, love. You are safe" she pulls my hair so harshly that I start crying. "Stop it! Stop your act now! Be done with it. Do I need to remind you again and again to not be a f*****g w***e like your mother. Answer me!" she shouts.

"My mother is not a w***e!" I don't know where I got the courage to talk back to my aunt. But I will never let her disrespect my mother.

I feel a sharp stinging pain on my left cheek. She hit me so hard that I feel my cheek throbbing and heat rising in it.

"Don't you dare to ever talk back to me" she says gritting her teeth.

"You will get discharged today. I will be here to pick you up. Better collect yourself and keep in mind what happens when you talk back to me" she says getting away from me and walking towards the door. She opens the door but stops at the doorsteps. "I am not done with you yet. You will give me every detail about the man you are involved with. I am already dealing with a lot by having you in my house. I don't want any more trouble." She walks outside the room and closes the door.

I start crying uncontrollably. No matter how much I try to calm myself, it is of no use. I am missing my parents. I really need them. I want them to hold me. I want to cry in my mother's arms. I wanna tell her what happened to me. She will believe me. They will believe me, they love me. If my parents were here today none of this would have happened. I never had to worry about anything when they were around. Life was so much better. So easy. But now, now it is hard. I can't even exist in peace. I can't go a single day without offending my aunt and then facing her wrath. I hope it will be over soon. A day will come when this all will be left in the past and everything will be good again. I hope that day comes soon because I can't take this anymore or I'm just foolish thinking about something that will never happen.

I try to sleep again and surprisingly sleep comes fast this time. I starts dreaming but this time it is someone else I am dreaming about, someone strange yet familiar. Someone dangerous but I still feel safe with him. Someone from that night.