Match 5

Luke had tried his best. He had really tried to get him out safely without anyone finding out but still somehow he had managed to get caught and now he was standing up there with everyone aware of his existence and awaiting for his punishment. They would find out about him soon too. That this was his jacket and he didn't know what he should be worried about more. About the fact that his father the pack's alpha and the man who was speaking to the crowd right now would skin him alive for putting their secret in danger or the fact that he had brought in a human but not only that but a male one.

"Speak!" His father shouted and punched him with so much force his chair fell to the wooden floor. He felt his skin itch like something was completely wrong with his body as he looked at Alex beg him with his eyes to help him. What could he do though? He was powerless.

Everything was his fault. He should have never brought him here in the first place. He didn't know why he just wanted to stay a bit more with him. From the first moment he saw him that day with his teammates he looked like he was shining and after that on the field he couldn't turn his eyes away. He was beautiful, pure and Luke seemed mesmerized by that. He had been selfish wanting to get to know him better, wanting to look into those ocean blue eyes for a little while longer and travel into their waters.

He had to stop this. His heart was breaking looking at him. He had to save him, protect him. He wasn't the kind of person to back away. He wanted to help him, apologize and maybe see his heartfelt smile one day.

"Father!"

"Alpha!" Someone shouted with a voice much louder than him and Luke turned to the source of the voice.

"What is it Mikael?" His father asked and Luke noticed that his best friend Michael was talking. He was a tall twenty-year-old man with blond hair and dark blue eyes. They had grown up together and maybe one day if Luke took over the pack from his father he was planning to make him his Beta, his right hand man. Knowing him ever since he was a child his father stopped Alex's torture to listen to him. He was known for being smart and a natural born strategist.

"I don't think this is the right way to do things. Killing him won't reveal the traitor and since he knows he is going to die anyways he probably won't talk. I mean how about we offer him his freedom and in exchange he tells us who did it? I mean he won't be talking for sure now. He's passed out from the beating." He said and Luke looked at Alex filled with worry. His head had fallen forward and his brown hair were hiding his closed eyes.

"Father I agree" he spoke up. "Let me take the boy. I will question him. I can't help but think that the ways of the pack sometimes are too over the top. We can do this without acting like brutes."

"Are you calling me a brute Luke?" His alpha asked him and his eyes were burning with the immediate insult. Luke took a deep breath and cursed his lose mouth before he spoke.

"Of course not. You are the leader that's why I'm telling you this. Everyone knows how smart and reasonable you are."

"Well…" his father started thinking. He looked at Alex for a bit his face altering with disgust. A disgust that infuriated Luke for some unknown reason. Someone like his had no right to look Alex like that. "You and Mikael can take that thing and deal with it. You have two days to find the traitor or else I just come in and kill it."

"Yes sir, thank you" Mikael said and moved towards the stage.

Luke followed him and with a leap he jumped up and approached him. He didn't know where to touch him so he wouldn't cause him any pain. Every part of his body that was exposed to his eyes had been bruised tinted a dark purple and Luke was scared that he would hurt him even more. He was aware though that his actions were the most hurtful.

He didn't want to be hated. He didn't care about others but having him look at him with hate filled eyes made him sick. He kept standing there like an idiot when Mikael moved first and started undoing the ropes. His friend looked at him and silently warned him to start getting his thinking together. He had become too obvious it seemed that something was wrong with him.

Once Mikael had untied him carefully Luke lifted him up and held him in his arms. He was so small in comparison to him, and every bit of him felt so fragile. His head had fallen on Luke's chest and at that unfamiliar touch Luke felt his heart beat faster. He felt his body turning hot and not wanting anyone to realize he stormed off the room in a hurry and headed towards the infirmary.

The pack's infirmary was more like a small hospital wing with around six medical beds aligned perfectly in the milky white room. There were some machines around for checking someone's blood pressure their heart beat and at the back of room there was a desk where the head doctor sat. At the moment no one was inside except for a young nurse. Mikael told her to go get the doctor and her while looking at the unconscious human in Luke's arms ran to fetch him with a perplexed look.

Luke carefully placed Alex in one of the empty beds and let out a sigh as he dragged a metal chair next to the bed. He sat down and hid his face in his hands. He wanted to scream. Alex was still unconscious and he flinched in pain a few times but still kept breathing steadily. Mikael looked at his best friend and shook his head.

"You are that dumb right?" he asked him and Luke's grey eyes widened.

"What do you mean?"

"I remember him. You talked to him at The Warriors college. You brought him in here but the reason is why?"

"He saw me. I was half transformed and he saw it so I just punched him and brought him here. I was trying to help him escape last night but somehow he got caught. I can't understand how though. I took him till the exit there is no way…."

"He was found running back." Mikael said and Luke looked at him confused.

Why would Alex want to return? He was mad at him and he said he didn't want his friendship so why did he risk his life just to return back and get caught. That fool.

"Tell me the truth Luke. Do you like this guy? I saw how you were looking at him, your eyes lit up and while he was being beaten your expression was like you were getting beaten too. Is it possible that he is…"

"No! I don't feel like that. Definitely no. It's just that he was easy to talk to, he was funny and for a second I felt that I could make a normal friend but I ended up putting him in danger."

"I am your normal friend." Mikael said and faked being insulted by his words. Luke smiled his grey eyes though remained sad as he looked at him.

"You know what I mean."

"I do. So what are we going to do about it? His teammates will be looking for him. What if they announce him as kidnapped?"

All Luke had been worrying about till this moment was if Alex would get out of this horrible situation okay but after all there were a lot of things that he had to reconsider. The fact that someone had to be looking for him. He had been missing for a full day and he would be away for a while now so they had to do something so they wouldn't raise any suspicions.

"I'm going to call his college and say he had to return home for a few days because something happened. You keep an eye on him just in case someone tries to you know…clear out the trash."

"Don't call him trash" Luke said and Mikael laughed.

"Be careful." He warned him before he left. At the door he came face to face with the doctor, a woman in her late thirties wearing a pair of red glasses and a white robe that reached her calves. She greeted him with a smile and entered the room heading immediately to where the unconscious human was.

"Poor boy" she mumbled as she examined his wounds.

"Will he be okay?" Luke asked his words filled with concern.

"Yes. I mean his rib is broken and his wrist is sprained but I don't think there is something more major. He will need rest. I will clean him up a bit and patch him up in a few places and he will be fine. You can go now."

"I think I will stay" Luke said and the doctor smiled. She grabbed some of her tools and started taking care of Alex carefully.

"You know sometimes as a doctor I think our pack can be very cruel."

"The ways of the pack have been decided centuries ago." Luke said not wanting to show that he agreed with what the doctor said. He was the alpha's son and showing that he did not have the same beliefs as him or that he wanted to handle things differently could be easily taken as disobedience and those who did not want him to become the next pack leader could have very strong evidence against him.

The doctor whose name was Samantha smiled at him and finished with her examination. Soon Alex looked a bit better, as good as he could look in his situation. His hand was wrapped in a bandage and the blood had been cleaned up. Even if he was in pain he at least seemed like he was going to live and that relieved Luke's worry to some extent.

"I'll be going for now. If he needs anything feel free to call me" she said and headed towards her office where she wrote her number into a small piece of paper and handed it to Luke. He thanked her with a tired smile and his eyes turned to Alex.

He looked at him for a while. His beaten up face, his scratched arms. He had gotten a pretty good beating but he still looked very beautiful. His small nose and well-shaped pink lips, soft brown hair in the color of milk chocolate.

He flinched a bit and let out a groan before his closed eyelids fluttered. Luke suddenly felt his pulse raise and he felt uneasy in the chair that he had been sitting on for hours. Alex slowly opened his eyes and that icy blue color froze him on the spot.

"Am I alive?" He asked with a sore throat and Luke nodded.

"I managed to get you out. My friend and I told them that we were going to make you talk so you could reveal the traitor."

"But you are the traitor."

"That's true." Luke replied and his eyes were filled with sorrow. "I'm sorry. I didn't want any of these for you. I shouldn't have…"

"It's not fully your fault. I turned back" Alex confessed.

"Why?"

"Because I am stupid" he said and tried to smile but the cut on his lip made him frown instead. "I wanted to tell you that I wanted to be friends after all"

"You and I being friends seems like a disaster but…"

"…you want it"

"Yeah. I do. I want to see you again" Luke told him and noticed that Alex's cheeks turned a slight pink. He brought his hand at the back of his neck and scratched his head awkwardly not knowing what else to say.

"Thank you for saving me"

"Don't thank me. I could've done a lot more. I should've. Watching you up there. It…it broke my heart"

"Really?" Alex asked wanting to get some confirmation. It broke his heart in what way? Because saying that something broke your heart it meant that it was really serious. Was a new friendship this serious or could it be something else?

"I contacted the school. Oh, good you're awake" Someone said and an unfamiliar to Alex figure entered the room. He had opened the door without making the slightest sound and now was standing at the edge of his bed looking at him with a relieved smile. "Hi. I'm Mikael, Luke's best friend."

"Hello" Alex said and turned his eyes over to Luke. He nodded at him telling him that Mikael was a safe person and his upcoming fear subsided slightly. He had a kind looking smile and that made him feel a bit better. He was Luke's friend after all so he wouldn't be that bad.

"I'm sorry to ruin this romantic atmosphere but I have bad news."

"What happened now?" Luke asked with an annoyed look.

"Our Lily dearest, your girlfriend recognized your jacket and she is waiting to meet your father who is in a pack meeting to tell him. So we need to get Alex out. Immediately. We have about an hour to save his life and yours my dear friend."

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Thanks!