Chapter 7

Audrey:

I stared at my reflection in the mirror, taking a deep breath as I did.

My heart raced and I wrapped my hand around my arm, forcing myself to process what the Alpha told me.

I had a name.

"Audrey," I whispered, looking down at the table. My chest ached at the fact that it was a name that my own mother didn't give me. She wouldn't even spare me a second glance if I asked her to. She wouldn't care about me enough to do so.

"I have a name," I whispered again, wanting to process that I was no longer going to be called a runt. I wasn't going to be called a the rat of the pack. And I wasn't sleeping on a haystack. I had a bed.

I turned to look at the bed, my heart racing before I slowly walked toward it. My stomach churned and I ran my finger over the blanket. The blanket was thicker than my own mattress. The mattress that I slept on for years.

I sat on top of the bed, daring to do so as my body was now cascaded by a white nightgown. A dress meant for only the higher ranks of the pack, even omegas were higher ranked than I was. It wasn't something that I needed anyone to tell me.

The bedroom door was knocked and I jumped, sucking in a harsh breath before moving away from the bed, fearing that it might be someone else's.

A nurse opened the door and walked inside. Her eyes met mine and she smiled before nodding at a maid to come in. "I apologize for coming if it is not the right time, but you are going to need to eat. Doctor Bianca said that you have to take your medicine, but for that to happen, you will need to eat something."

A maid set a tray of food, food that I have never seen before, not for myself at least. I looked at the quantity and knew that I wouldn't be able to digest it. It would hurt me if I ate the whole thing. Of course, they might not know that.

"Please, do take a seat and eat. I need to make sure that you got enough in your system before I've given you the antibiotic. It is a strong one and I don't want it to harm you. You are already underweight." She said, and I looked down at my feet. I walked toward the coffee table and sat on the couch that I had there. My hand ran over the fabric of it for a second, and though I was quiet, I couldn't help but find myself wondering whether or not it was a dream.

"Can you eat with your left hand? I am not sure if you should use your right hand. If not, we can help you." The nurse said, snapping me out of my train of thoughts. I knew that me stopping the way that I did might have confused her into thinking that I was in too much pain to move my hand to approach the food, and though it was somewhat true, the main aspect was me not believing that I had this many blessings in one day.

Fresh clothes, a bed to lay on, and food. Proper food instead of scraps of leftovers that I only ate when my mother allowed me to. I was not allowed to sit with the maids and eat, they had their own food, and only when one of them sometimes pitied my situation would I get a burned slice of bread or old cheese.

"I can manage, thank you. But this too much for me to eat alone, do you want some?" I asked, and both the nurse and maid smiled at me.

"No, we already ate. You only need to eat what you can, don't force yourself to get more than you can digest. Your body is still weak, that we are aware of, but we are going to do our best to help you recover, you can rest assured that we would." She said, and I nodded. She smiled at me and though in pain, I forced myself to wrap my hand around the spoon, taking a mouthful of the soup that I wanted to.

I smiled at the delightful meal that I had. It was the first warm meal that I had since as far as I could remember. My mother only allowed me to have a full meal on my birthday. For some reason, the Alpha always left the pack when it was that day and she would allow me to eat one full meal. I wasn't allowed sweets or delicacies. I tried vanilla once, I was slapped for it later. But I knew that I was always grateful for the day that I grew older, it was the day where she would spend ONE full hour with me, one hour without yelling or hitting me for existing. It was the one hour that I knew that I had a mother, though I was always a runt, I remembered her once calling me 'love' and another 'sweets'.

I put the spoon down once I've had enough of the soup. I couldn't get anything else inside me if I tried. "Do you want anything else? You barely finished a few spoons of soup. At least try the vegetables. If you have an allergy…"

"I do not, I just…" I stopped myself before I could finish what I wanted to say, fearing that they would grow angry with me. I didn't want them to. "I didn't mean to offend you or the efforts that you put in, I'm sorry."

"Neither one of us was offended, wolf. But we need you to eat something that is solid. You might be weak due to the injuries, however, I am going to need you to force a little solid inside you. You would be sleeping in a bit, it would help you and your digestion." She said, and I looked down at the vegetables. I knew their names, carrots, potatoes, asparagus, but most, I never even tried. There was even a chicken breast, a full chicken breast for myself. "You are a wolf, your body is going to need to burn to heal. And to burn energy, it needs it."

"I don't have a wolf," I said, making the nurse frown. "I never once shifted…"

"I doubt that it should be true. Your body is weak, indeed, but your blood is far too strong for you to be with no wolf. You would need to heal, but that would not happen with you allowing yourself to weaken." She said, slowly walking toward me. I did my best to sit in my spot, and she smiled before taking the fork in hand. "We will try the vegetables first. If you are worried about gaining weight, every pound that you add will only make you look more beautiful."

"I don't understand?" I asked, and she smiled.

"It is a skinny girl's trauma. Most don't like gaining a pound or two when being around the Alpha." She said, making me frown in confusion. She smiled and shook her head at me. "He is going to like you the way that you are. However, there is no Alpha that likes to see his woman weakening. You are going to have to force yourself to regain your strength for him. It is going to be the one way for you to be able to stand on your feet."

"I…"

"Come on, how about we try the asparagus? Or do you prefer the potato? She asked, not bothering to stop to listen to what I was going to tell her. I looked down at the food then looked at my hand. It was only a matter of time before I was forced to leave once again, and I didn't know when I would be able to get another full meal. I might spend days on scraps again, and with no pack to take me in, I would be as good as dead. I didn't even know what it was to deal with humans. All I knew were those who were mated to the wolves of the pack. And most of them never bothered sparing me a second glance.

"I can try the asparagus please." I said, and she nodded. My heart raced against my chest as she got a few small pieces on the fork. She extended it to me, helping me with eating the vegetable. And I couldn't help but find myself trying to recall the last time that my mother, or even a maid bothered to help me with a spoon or fork. I was forced to try eating off a plate, if I could it one, since as long as I could remember. And the older I grew, the more they neglected me.

"Once we are done with what you can eat, I'll give you your medicine. This is Kate, she is going to help you with brushing your hair, I see that you managed to take a shower. But next time, until you've healed at least, allow her to help you. It would ensure that you don't hurt yourself, okay?" She asked, and though I was quiet, I couldn't help but find myself tearing up, making the woman frown in confusion. "Did I say something to offend you? I apologize.."

"Thank you, for all of this, thank you so much…"