Her Feral Heart

A Deal

I awoke to a subtle but familiar beeping. I groaned, still light headed from blood loss and sick of waking up in this hospital bed.

“Well good morning sleepy head,” I heard a warm voice say. I cracked me eyes open to see a lopsided grin plastered on Andrew’s face.

I covered my eyes with my hands, exasperated with my situation.

“Did I pass out again?” I mutter. I hear him chuckle in response and try to ignore the way that sound makes my heart feel. I slowly stretch my body, feeling the tiredness and aches from my journey. I begin to sit up, determined to get back on the road.

“Woah woah woah, don’t go trying to rip out your IV again. You lost a lot of blood, you’re dehydrated, and you’re starving. You need to take some time to heal um…”

I heard him pause and looked up at him, puzzled.

“I um.. still don’t know your name. I’m assuming based on your previous reaction that you probably don’t just want me to call you mate.”

I cringe, shaking my head in agreement.

“I’m Astrid.”

“Any last name?” He inquired.

I gave him a warning glare. “Just Astrid”.

“Well alright then ‘Just Astrid’. I’m Andrew Hill. It’s nice to have finally met you after all this time.” He leaned forward in his chair, close enough for me to feel his warmth and I struggled not to lean into him. I finally gave myself a moment to look at him.

He was tall, 6’3” or 6’4”, almost a foot taller than my 5’5” stature. He appeared to be in his early 20s. His skin was tanned and he had dark hair. The most striking feature though were his eyes. A light, crystalline blue that made it difficult to look away. His angular jaw and muscular body would have made him intimidating, but his soft eyes drew me in, making me feel safe.

“Andrew, I’ve heard of you before. I didn’t realize I had traveled so far West. I’m sorry to have intruded on your pack. If you would, just help me find some clothes and I’ll be happy to get out of your hair and back on the road.” I say, swinging my legs over the edge of the bed and reaching for my IV again. Just as I am ready to pull it out, I hear the door open as a second man walks in.

“I would really prefer if you stopped pulling out your IVs Miss..” he trailed off.

“Astrid,” Andrew answered for him.

The man nodded. He was older, maybe in his early 50s, and he had a nice, fatherly smile. Based on the lab coat, I assumed he was one of the pack doctors.

“Well Miss Astrid, I’m Dr. Evans and I’d much prefer you leave that IV and lay back down. You need some rest. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen a wolf in such bad condition. Your wolf is too weak to heal you due to starvation. If you leave now, you won’t get very far before you collapse again. I would like you to stay at the pack atleast 2 weeks to give yourself time to heal.”

I rolled my eyes. I didn’t have have time for this, but it was clear by Dr. Evans and Andrews faces that I was going anywhere right this second. I let out a frustrated sigh and plopped back down on my back. I saw Andrew give a satisfied grin, and silent cursed myself for smiling back.

“Thank you Dr. Evans. I’d like Astrid to come stay at the pack house soon if that’s possible? How long does she need to stay in the hospital?” Andrew asked. I started to argue, but if I was going to escape, it would probably be easier to go unnoticed at the pack house than the hospital, so I stayed mute.

“She should be able to leave tomorrow morning, as long as we get her hydrated today. That means plenty of rest, no ripping IVs out and dragging blood all over my hospital floor,” he said, giving me a pointed, but humorous glance. I smirked back.

“Thank you Doctor. I will stay with her today and tomorrow morning help her make the transition. Can you send word to my Beta? Ask him to meet me here when he gets a moment.” Andrew said.

“Yes, Alpha” Dr. Evans said, nodding as he exited the room.

Andrew turned back towards me, sat down in his chair, and pulled it as close to the bed as possible.

“Guess it’s just you and me for a while, plenty of time for us to get to know each other I guess” he said playfully.

“Listen Andrew… I really appreciate all of this but I can’t stay. You don’t understand, I have to keep moving. My former pack and I.. we didn’t part on good terms and I don’t know if they would’ve sent anyone after me.” I whispered, feeling my face burn with embarrassment. I cast my eyes down, refusing to meet his.

He lowered himself in his chair, bending his head to look me in my eyes.

“Astrid, please stay. I can tell you went through something, I’m not dense. You’re emaciated and covered in bruises. But you’re my mate. I will protect you. You don’t have to be afraid with me. The New Moon pack is the largest pack in North America, and they will protect their future Luna with the same fierceness I would. There’s no where safer for you than here.” He urged, and I could hear the desperation in his voice.

I hesitated. Belle was pulling me to agree and if I was being honest with myself, I didn't want to go back to running. I wanted to trust him, to hang on to the idea of leading a normal life and maybe even fall in love with him one day.

"I don't know Andrew..."

"What about this, let's make a deal" 

I peeked up at him through my eyelashes, curious.

"Stay here for 2 weeks while you're recovering. During that two weeks, we can get to know each other and I can show you what life is like at New Moon. Even give you an idea of what it would like to be my Luna. At the end of that 2 weeks, if you still want to leave, you can reject me and I won't fight you on it. I'll give you money and means to go wherever you want to go. Just please give me two weeks."

See? He's trying! 2 weeks won't hurt us, please let's stay.

I could feel Belle's anticipation. I mulled it over. I was pretty far West, and Blue Fire was on the East Coast in North Georgia. If they did send anyone after me, it might take them a while to realize how far I'd gotten.. I could make 2 weeks work. And If I got too nervous, I could just break our deal, leave in the middle of the night, and go back to running.

I felt myself let a smile slowly grace my face. I nodded slowly.

"Okay fine. Two weeks." I reached my hand out for a formal handshake, finally letting myself acknowledge the sparks his touch sent up my arm.

"You have a deal, Miss Astrid. But I promise, at the end of the two weeks, I'm going to make sure you want to stay. " Andrew said with a sly grin.