7: The Unknown

Bruno

Two days I have sat and watched the subtle rise and fall of Amelia's stomach, taking comfort in the fact that she was still alive. I may have not been able to protect her, but I was able to help fast enough. Janae and Tyler, who were actually on the way to get Janae's things from her old pack, turned right around when they heard that something had happened to Amelia. The two of them and my parents make regular visits to make sure that she is still breathing and only left just an hour ago. I yawn as I stare at the ECG monitor, watching her heartbeats cross the screen in a rush of green light. As long as they kept coming, I would be ok.

I yawned again, kissing the back of her hand and then I stood up needing to go find some coffee. I walked to the door and gave her one last fleeting glance as I pulled the door handle down and went through it. I trudged to the small cafeteria, making a beeline right to the coffee stand that I had grown quite accustomed to in these few days. I looked around at my pack members who were staring at me, not even looking as I grabbed a cup and filled it with the grainy coffee that was provided here. I quickly threw in some cream and sugar then put on a lid, so that it wouldn't spill on my way back. I walked back down the hallway and could hear a commotion. There was a lot of yelling and the distinctive sound of an ECG flatlining. I immediately dropped my coffee and took off towards Amelia's room.

My shoes squeak against the tile flooring and my eyes flicked rapidly to each room number till I found Amelia's. The door was wide open and there were tons of nurses rushing into the room. There were a few blocking my view of Amelia's bed and when they moved, I sucked in a quick breath. Amelia was currently trying to stand up and ripped the IV out of her arm. Nurses were trying to get her to sit back down yelling about her ripping her stitches.

" I don't care lady! I need to find-" Amelia yelled at the poor woman, but when her eyes met mine she stopped.

" Alpha, can you please ask your mate to sit down? She needs to stay on her IV and any quick movements could rip her stitches," the nurse asked.

I looked at Amelia and she nodded. I walked into the room and grabbed Amelia's hand. I placed a small kiss to the top of her knuckles as I sat down in the chair that I had placed next to her bed.

" We just have run a few more tests, Luna, then I promise you guys can go home," the nurse said. Amelia sighed but nodded her head in understanding. The nurse then left the room claiming to need to go find the doctor.

When we were alone, I stood up from my chair and wrapped my arms around Amelia. Taking in her fragrant scent and relishing the pleasurable sparks that crept all around my body. I pulled back to look at her and saw that she was already looking at me.

" You have no idea how happy I am to have you back," I said.

" How long was I out?" she asked rubbing her eyes and running her fingers through her knotted hair.

" Two days," I replied.

" That's still a long time for one of us to be out. Did any of you call my Dad?" she asked.

" Yes, I did and once he was done yelling at me, 'it's only been one day, had could she already have gotten hurt,' he said to keep him posted but he really needed to stay with the pack," I said.

" That sounds like Dad," she said.

" How are you feeling?" I asked.

" My chest is a little sore but nothing that I can't handle. I really just want to get out of here," she said as she tried to stand up again.

I stood up and gently put my hands on her arms. She looked up at me with wide eyes and halted.

" Amelia, I'm sure that you would love to get out of here, but for the last two days I have done nothing but pray that you would wake up so that I could hear your voice again. I prayed that I would get another chance to protect you. So please...will you wait for the doctor before you do anything?" I said pleadingly putting my hand down on the scratchy hospital blankets next to her.

" Ok," she said simply. She threaded her fingers into mine and held tightly to my hand. The doctor came in a few seconds later with the nurse in tow.

" Gave us all quite a scare for a while there, Luna. How are you feeling?" the doctor asked as he looked at her charts.

" I'm feeling fine. I would like to get out of here though," Amelia said.

" As soon as we run a few more tests to make sure that you are healing properly, I promise that you can go home," the doctor said.

He then walked around to the other side of the bed and put on gloves on. He went to pull her shirt up and I growled stopping him in his tracks.

" Alpha, I can't help the Luna if I can't look at her wound," the doctor said respectfully.

Amelia looked at me and she nodded her head mouthing "It's ok." I closed my mouth and nodded my head at the doctor. He proceeded with lifting her shirt and carefully peeled back the bandages. Across her chest was a line of stitches trailing on for about a foot. The wound was healing and I could see it trying to close but that the stitches were getting in the way.

" Nurse, can you please get me a bowl, a syringe of lidocaine, a pair of scissors, forceps, rubbing alcohol, antibiotic salve, and a few sterile bandages with tape?" the doctor asked the woman standing beside him. She nodded and quickly left to gather the supplies.

" Luna, your wound is healing nicely, so we are going to take your sutures out today then you will be on your way," the doctor said with a smile.

The nurse comes back into the room soon after and gave the doctor all he had asked for; thus, the doctor went right to work. First, he numbed the area with lidocaine. Then he cut each individual suture with the scissors. After each suture was cut, he took the forceps and pulled them out gently, dropping them into the bowl he had asked for.

Once they were all out, he cleaned the closing wound with rubbing alcohol and put something on it; then he covered it carefully with bandages, taping down the edges to ensure that they wouldn't come off.

" Ok, Alpha, you take your Luna home. She needs a lot of rest and shouldn't be doing any strenuous activities until at least the end of the week. That especially means no shifting unless it's an emergency. I don't want the change to exacerbate the wound," the doctor said as he shook Amelia's hand. Then he gave me a respectful bow and left the room.

Amelia just about jumped out of the bed, grabbing my hand and pulling me out the door. She didn't stop pulling me until we were out of the hospital and she could feel the sun on her face and smell the scent of the forest around us. Her eyes were closed as she sat criss-cross in the grass. I just stood watching her with my hands in my pockets, not knowing what to do.

" I have always hated how hospitals smelled. When I was little, I spent a lot of time in the pack hospital getting tests run after I fell out of a tree. My doctor said my dad was paranoid that something was wrong with my wolf spirit or there was some disease that made me naturally uncoordinated, but he realized that I was just really clumsy," she said with a smile.

" Sounds like you were a unique child," I said with a chuckle.

" Yeah, I had some odd issues growing up," she replied.

" Come sit with me, Bruno," she said beckoning me with her hand. I walked over and sat down next to her in the grass. Her eyes were still closed, but by the twitch of her ears, she was aware that I had sat down.

" Clear your mind; I can practically hear the gears turning in there. Close your eyes and just sense what's around you...the softness of the grass, the smell of pine and cedar in the air, feel the coming storms, hear the birds and running deer, and listen to the heartbeat of the warriors that have been following us since we left the hospital," Amelia said. I had just relaxed and begun to clear my mind, but the last thing she said brought me right out.

I opened my eyes and looked at her unamused face. I had forgotten yet again that she went to the same schools that I did and had the same enhanced training as me.

" I'm sorry, Amelia, but you were just attacked to need. We need to make sure that it doesn't happen again," I said.

" Can you think of any reason why rogues would be after you?" I asked her.

" No, Bruno, I can't," she said.

" Don't look at me like that. I'm not a baby, Bruno. The only reason I got jumped was because I thought that rogue was you. I can take care of myself," she said as she got up quickly. I got up and stood beside her.

" I know that you can take care of yourself, but you are my Luna now and that comes with certain dangers that you have never encountered before," I said. She scoffed and began to walk away. I grabbed her arm stopping her from moving any farther. She growled and her wolf's eyes flashed at me.

" Amelia, please be rational. You know that an organized attack from rogues is rare and highly unlikely. It means there is something bigger at play. All I am asking you to do is be more cautious and at the very least, never go into the forest alone; take Janae, Tyler, or myself with you. Can we at least agree on that?" I said.

" Fine, but don't you ever treat me like a child again," she said as I released her arm.

She walked away and I glared at the warrior that was still waiting just on the other side of the tree line.

" Leave and I expect to see you in the stealth courses for the next three months without fail, Kent," I linked to him.

" Yes, Alpha. Sorry, Alpha," he linked back.

I followed after Amelia soon after, giving her an ample amount of space. We walked all the way back to the pack house in silence and she went right into the kitchen when we got there. I walked in and saw that she was happily talking with the kitchen staff, so I left her to go to my office.

Amelia

"I can't believe Bruno thought that I would be ok with being followed. I have been followed my whole life and this is the first time that I feel like I am free from my father's paranoia and now Bruno wants to do the same thing. Why can't I ever be-" I said to Annabelle.

" Luna, the Alpha's mother is looking for you," one of the staff said breaking me from my conversation with my wolf. I looked down at my hands, I realized that I had been washing the same plate since I started talking to my wolf.

" Thank you, can you tell her that I will meet her in the living room?" I asked the woman and she nodded taking the plate from my hands. I grabbed a towel and dried my hands off before walking out of the room.

I sat down on one of the couches and waited for Debra to show up. She came in the front door a few minutes later smiling from ear-to-ear. I stood up and met her halfway giving her a big hug. Then we both sat down on the closest couch.

" Amelia, I have been looking all over for you. How would you feel about coming over to my house and helping me bake some cookies for the Elementary schoolers?" she asked me.

" I would love to do that with you, Debra. Should I invite a friend to come help as well? I'm sure they're many kids to make cookies for," I said.

" Sure, let's get that friend down here and then you both can follow me back to my house so we can get started," she said hugging me.

" Actually can you help me with that? I haven't officially joined the pack yet so I can't actually mind link, anyone," I said.

" What's her name?" she asked.

" Her name is Janae, she is Tyler's mate," I replied. Debra's face went blank for a few seconds. When I heard someone running down the stairs, she was focused back on the room. Janae rushed into the room in slippers with a huge smile on her face.

" Let's get going; these cookies won't bake themselves, ladies," Debra said and she got up from the chair motioning for us to follow her.

We walked out the back door and into the woods. She leads us through thousands of trees that all look the same. It left me wondering how she doesn't get lost in these trees. Eventually, we find a stone path that leads to a small stone cottage that backed up onto a huge mountain and lake. She pulled a key from her pocket and unlocked the door for us to go into.

" This is where my mate and I moved to after Bruno took over as Alpha. We wanted Bruno to have the pack for himself and his mate whenever she came along," she said as kicked her shoes off at the door.

" That's really kind of you two. This house is really nice though; I'm sure it wasn't a hard choice," I said jokingly.

" It wasn't," Debra replied with a wink.

" Now, what kind of cookies are we making for the kids?" I asked.

" I thought chocolate chip would be pretty universally liked," Debra answered.

" I don't care what kind we make as I long as I get to some," Janae said.

" That is given, dear," Debra said with a laugh.

We moved into the kitchen and all the ingredients were laying out waiting for us. Janae sat down at the corner and pressed play on the Bluetooth speaker that sat in the corner. "Kiss" by Prince rushed out of the speakers and I looked at Debra surprised.

" I did not have you pinned for a Prince girl," I said.

" What can I say? I am a surprising woman," she said with a laugh as she began to sway with the music. I reached over the counter and turned the music up.

In the next two hours, I learned three things about Debra 1) she has a surprising collection of old music, 2) she really knows how to dance and 3) she really can't cook. She had messed up the first batch's batter so bad that I had to restart it; thus, I have been doing the baking by myself now. We were now listening to "Escape" by Rupert Holmes. While I baked, the other two were sitting at the bar badly singing along to the song. I was sweating profusely as I danced along to the music.

" Amelia, you are a baking goddess! These cookies taste amazing!" Janae raved.

" Thanks, Janae," I yelled over the music which was starting to give me a headache.

" I don't know if we can give these to the kids...I think we may finish them before them!" Debra yelled.

I went to turn the music down and a wave of dizziness washed over me. I grabbed onto the side of the corner and closed my eyes. I heard the music get turned off and a warm hand was placed on the small of my back. I hissed at the pins and needles went up through my back from her touch.

"Amelia, honey, are you ok?" Debra asked.

" I don't know," I said while taking deep breaths trying to get my world to stop spinning.

" Janae, help me get her to the couch," Debra said.

They practically dragged me over to the couch and sat me down. Debra kept a watchful eye on me while Janae went back into the kitchen. That's when the pain started. It stabbed into my stomach and traveled all the way up my back into my neck. I whimpered and Debra gasped.

" Janae, mind link Bruno. Make sure he knows what's happening if he doesn't already," Debra yelled.

" Ok," Janae yelled back.

Pain stabbed into my stomach again and I screamed out. Debra and Janae rushed into the room and kneeled down in front of me.

" Amelia, do you know what's happening to you?" Debra asked.

" Yes," I said.

" You know that the only thing that will stop this is for you and Bruno to...." Debra said trailing off. I nodded my head, but I knew that I wasn't ready yet.

" I don't...want to...do that...yet," I said between breaths.

" Ok. Janae mind link your mate, tell him to chain Bruno up in the dungeons," Debra said and Janae nodded.

I screamed again and instantly regretted my decision to keep Bruno away.

" Debra, Tyler said that Bruno had already asked him to do it himself," Janae said.

" Janae, run the perimeter of the house and make sure that all the male guards know not to come anywhere near here. Have Tyler to order all the female warriors to guard the house. Get a few pairs of Bruno's clothes and bring his comforter from his bed" Debra said and Janae rushed off immediately.

" Amelia, I will do everything I can to help you stand by your choice, but this is going to be a long four days and there will be a lot of pain," Debra said and through my pain-filled haze, I nod.

I scream again and prayed to the moon goddess to make this end, but I know that I brought this upon myself. Dark blips dotted my vision and I faded into the dark hoping that I will get some solace from the pain, but I didn't. Just before I passed out, pain shot through my stomach. I arched my back and squirmed around the couch trying to relieve the pain. Through the haze, I heard Janae come back in the house and then Bruno's scent surrounded me. I grabbed onto the cloth and brought it to my nose, deeply breathing in his scent. The cramps ceased slightly and I faded into darkness completely. I dreamed of the many pleasures that Bruno could be giving me right now, but I woke soon after from the heat. I threw off Bruno's comforter and tried to take off my clothes, but Debra and Janae stopped me.

" Amelia, let's get you to my room before you take your clothes. There are too many windows and too many guards wandering around for you to do that," Debra said and then they both lifted me up to carry me.

As soon as they touched me, pain flared where their hands were and they apologized as they walked. I whimpered the whole way and when they put me down on cold tile I shivered, breaking into a cold sweat. I heard the sound of water running and then my clothes were taken off my body; I was too out of it and in too much pain to care about modesty. I was placed in cold water, but it did little to numb the pain; the cramps persisted. Ice was thrown in the water around me and my body began to numb.

The pain was too unbearable for me not to scream again causing the other people in the room to cover their ears. When my unnaturally warm body temperature melted all the ice cubes and warmed the water around me, I was lifted from the water and dried off. Their hands were causing more pain, but I knew that they were trying to help. I whimpered as they put clothes on me and put me back on the couch, wrapping me in Bruno's comforter. I continued to shiver even though I was wrapped tightly in a warm blanket.

A wet rag was draped over my burning forehead and an ice pack was placed on my stomach. I felt my teeth extend and my eyes change over to Annabelle's than I screamed bloody murder for Bruno. I swear I heard him reply, but before I could ponder it any further, I passed out.