Chapter 14

W e're back in the family room of the main building. Alpha Mortlock and Lena sit on one of the leather sofas, the latter wringing her hands as she watches me pace up and down the room. Alex is in his usual place to the alpha's right, propping up the wall with arms crossed and a scowl across his face.

Isa walks into the room and heads straight towards me. With a hand on my shoulder, she takes me to the side, lowering her voice as she looks at me seriously.

"I hear you have problems with a man," she tells me in her thick German accent. "Would you like me to pummel him?" she asks sincerely.

I raise my eyebrows at her, struggling not to laugh at the gamma offering to beat up Killian. Now that is a fight I would pay to see. A warm feeling fills my chest, and I realise with a shock that it's the feeling of belonging. I look at the woman in front of me in bemusement. When did she start considering me as someone she would protect? Because that's exactly what she's offering by threatening to beat up Killian.

"Is Killian not part of the pack? Does he not get protection?" I query. Surely she's not being serious.

With a wink, she chuckles softly. "Men who think women cannot look after themselves deserve being shown otherwise," she tells me conspiratorially.

I let out a stunned laugh. I like this woman.

"I'll keep that in mind, Isa. Thank you," I reply, and I hope she knows from my tone how much her comments mean to me.

Isa nods her head in acknowledgement and goes to take her spot behind the alpha. I resume my pacing until Seb walks in and wraps his arms around me. I go still at the sudden contact, but as soon as I smell his sweet scent and know it's him, I relax in his arms. I'm glad he's here, although I would have insisted had the alpha not invited him. I'm not sure when it happened, but Seb is part of my little family now.

"Ariana, please take a seat. We have a lot to discuss," Alpha Mortlock says, bringing my attention back to the room.

I give Seb a grateful smile and squeeze his arm affectionately as I pull out of his arms. Walking towards the other leather sofa, I sit down so I'm facing the alpha and his mate. I expected Seb to sit next to me, but I can't see him. Spinning in my seat, I see him standing by the door. I raise my eyebrows at him and gesture to the seat next to me. He widens his eyes at me and looks over to Alpha Mortlock like he's asking for permission. Mortlock nods and Seb comes and sits next to me with a smile. I struggle not to sigh at this show of pack politics. Just because Seb's not as strong as the others in the room does not mean that he should be standing on the sidelines. Sure, Mortlock is much more lenient than other alphas, from my limited experience, but this still frustrates me.

Mortlock looks around the room and clears his throat.

"Now that we're all here, we can get started," he announces. Guess that means Killian isn't part of this discussion.

I haven't seen him since he skulked off after the showdown in the gym. What the hell was all that about anyway? Anger, frustration, and a little bit of fear are all running through me, and I have to take a deep breath to calm myself .

"Ariana, how much do you know about mated pairs?" Alpha Mortlock asks me.

I feel the blood drain from my face and can feel all eyes in the room on me. I stand up, my fight-or-flight instinct kicking in. This cannot be happening. Especially not with an asshole like Killian. I'm planning my escape from this room for the second time in less than a week when someone takes my hand. Jerking my head down sharply, I see that it's Seb.

"Ari," someone calls, and I look across the room to see Alex walking towards me. "It's all right, let's work this out together." His voice is soft and rings with honesty. He's never spoken to me like this before.

I turn and focus on Seb's face. There's nothing there but worry for me. He nods and gently pulls at my hand to get me to sit again. I slowly sit back down, fighting my natural response to bail on situations like this.

"Mating is for life," I say, finally answering Mortlock's question. I don't know much, but I do know this.

The alpha nods his head in acknowledgement of my response, and my unspoken fact that I know next to nothing about the intricacies of pack life.

"Any shifters can choose to form a mating bond, but as you said, these are permanent and for life. These should not be rushed, and we don't see these often, as most shifters tend to use the human form of bonding and commit to marriage instead."

I nod to show my understanding, not quite sure how this relates to me.

"True mated pairs are a different ball game altogether. We don't see these often anymore, but a true mated pair is when two shifters are drawn to each other and are destined to be together. They are your perfect partner." Mortlock stops at this point and smiles at Lena, takes her hand, and places a kiss on the back of it. I can see the love the two of them share from here.

"The bond, once accepted, is also for life," he continues .

I latch onto this piece of information. I have a bad feeling about where this conversation is going.

"So the pair bond is not inevitable? You don't have to accept?" I ask, a note of desperation in my voice.

Mortlock sighs and looks back at me, shaking his head. "No, the bond has to be accepted by both shifters. It doesn't happen often, but there are records of rejected bonds. But once the bond has been triggered, it's very difficult to resist. If the bond is accepted, the shifters will have access to each other's power," he finishes.

"Okay, so why are we having this conversation?" I question a little bluntly. I know it's rude to talk to the alpha that way, but my nerves are making me feisty. A little part of my brain is screaming at me that I already know, that I just don't want to admit it, but I silence those thoughts.

Mortlock pauses, looking like he really doesn't want to be having this conversation.

"Killian is showing signs that you might be his true mate." I go still as he continues. "The overprotective behaviour, not letting another male close… It's all behaviour ingrained in us to make sure another male doesn't mate with our true mate. When the bond has been accepted, this will calm down. It never goes away, but it gets easier." He smiles at me in a way that says he understands. I'm sure he does, but I don't like that he keeps saying ‘when,' like I'm just going to accept the bond.

"But I don't feel anything!" I practically shout. Surely if we were a mated pair I should be feeling this ‘bond' as well.

Mortlock shoots me a look like he doesn't believe me. "You don't feel drawn to him in any way? Your powers don't call to each other?" He shakes his head slightly, not waiting for my answer. "Even if this was true, the bond often takes time to grow. Killian's was triggered at the thought of others hurting you."

I run my hands through my hair, trying to take in the overload of information.

"So why isn't Killian here? Why is it just me having this lesson?" I inquire. Where is that bastard anyway?

Mortlock sighs and looks at Lena as if searching for strength.

"Killian is having a difficult time accepting all of this." I'm about to protest at this comment when he continues. "He had a mate before. Julie. They loved each other and decided to take the mating bond. He was alpha of another pack…" Alpha Mortlock pauses and runs his hand over his face, his tone weary. "He made a bad decision, and there was an attack on his pack. Everyone died, including Julie, and the bond was broken. I've never experienced it, but I'm told it's like a piece of your body is ripped open and the wound never heals. For him to now find he has a pair bond…well, I can't imagine all the thoughts running through his head right now. Just give him time." His voice is rough as he talks.

A lot more of his behaviour makes sense now, and I definitely understand his attitude. I can't imagine the pain of losing someone you are bonded to. Even my shrivelled, broken heart can understand the heartbreak of losing someone like that. If I lost Tori, Garett, or even Seb, I think I would break. Then to find that he has a true mate as well, it would be like rubbing salt into his wounds. Fate is cruel.

"So what happens next?" I ask, a little subdued from the turn of conversation.

Alpha Mortlock shrugs, and a slight smile graces his lips.

"That is up to you, like I said. You don't have to accept the bond. I would suggest that you don't rush anything, either way."

I nod at his sage advice. It may be my first instinct to push the idea of a bond away and flee immediately, but perhaps it's time to stop running. I'm still not accepting the bond, but I'm starting to feel like I might be a part of something here in the pack, and I find I'm reluctant to leave it before I've even properly started.

"So when can I start in the medical wing? I'm beginning to feel twitchy not being at work," I say with a small smile, focusing on the familiar rather than the unknown, pushing all thoughts of mates to the back of my mind .

I expected the alpha to smile, but instead, he looks weary, rubbing a hand over his face. Lena leans across and takes his hand, stroking it to comfort the alpha. The image makes me smile, the large alpha receiving comfort from his small female mate. Equals.

"I was hoping you could start immediately. I was coming to find you when Seb came to get me. One of the pups is very unwell. She developed a fever, and we thought it would pass, but she's taken a turn for the worse," Mortlock explains.

I jump to my feet, the need to see this child increasing as he speaks. I feel guilty that I've kept a child who needs my help waiting because of my freak out with Killian.

"What are we waiting for? Let's go."

I brush hair from the little girl's forehead. She has a fever of 39C, or 102.2 Fahrenheit as it is here—I still can't get used to that. I look down at the sick child. Lottie, her parents told me her name was. She is a little younger than Jessica, only six years old. Her mother hasn't left her side since I arrived, holding her hand and talking to her the whole time. It's dark outside now, but I'm not sure what the time is. I've learned a lot about Lottie in that time. She likes to climb trees and wrestle with the other children. She often gets into trouble for getting into fights when sticking up for the smaller wolves. She's going to be strong when she grows up.

Alpha Mortlock took me straight to her after a quick trip to the medical building for some supplies. Seb has been running things back and forth to the medical building for me, since she's too unwell to move and a human hospital is not the place for her. When the alpha came to check on how things were going, I pulled him aside and told him he needed to get a doctor here. I can't be here twenty-four seven, and if someone else becomes unwell, I would struggle to spread myself between my patients. I also need a doctor, as nurses can't give medications that aren't prescribed, and I don't want to lose my licence. In an emergency, I can give fluids, which is what I did, but there is a limit to what I can do. The alpha reluctantly agreed with me and managed to borrow a doctor from a local pack who came over and prescribed some IV antibiotics. Lottie's mother broke down at seeing her little girl hooked up to machines, but I explained that she had a severe infection and this would hopefully allow her to heal quicker.

The doctor left a couple of hours ago, and Lottie's condition has stabilised enough that we can move her to the medical building. Her temperature has lowered now, and she's even woken up enough to complain that she's hungry. A nurse from another pack attended with the doctor and agreed to stay the night to keep an eye on the little girl.

I hear the door open and look over my shoulder to see Alex. I look across to the other nurse, who nods at me, letting me know she's got this. I leave the little girl's side and walk over to Alex.

"How is she?" he asks quietly, glancing over at Lottie.

The pack is struggling with one of their pups being so unwell, being fiercely protective of their young.

"She's stabilised now. She'll be running around causing havoc again before you know it," I tell him with a tired smile.

"When was the last time you took a break?" Alex asks with a frown.

I shrug. I've lost track of the hours. I yawn as I pull my phone from my back pocket, surprised to see it's ten o'clock in the evening. I see a text from Tori telling me she'd seen my message that I'm not going home tonight. When I saw how poorly Lottie was, I decided it would be best for me to stay onsite. It's been a long day. Alex gently puts his hand on my arm and starts to pull me towards the door.

"Come on, come with me," he instructs softly. I look over my shoulder at the little girl and her mum, not wanting to leave them. "Nurse Beth has everything under control. Besides, there's a rotation to keep an eye on things. One of us will be here constantly. "

I frown at him. "You didn't do that when I was looking after her," I comment.

"While we trust the alpha's word that Nurse Beth can be trusted, we take looking after our young very seriously and aren't going to risk that. We trust you," he says simply. That warm feeling in my heart heats again, and I have to look away from the expression in his eyes, not quite ready to acknowledge what I can see in them. I glance over at Lottie, and Beth smiles at me.

"Don't worry, Ari, I'll watch her," she assures me, and I can hear the sincerity in her words.

I smile at her and cast one last look towards Lottie before turning back to follow Alex.

"Ari, wait!" a voice calls.

I turn to see Lottie's mother, Mary, just before she wraps her arms around me, hugging me tightly. I startle slightly at the sudden contact, but I relax and hug her in return. We don't say anything, we don't need to, her gratitude shines through her eyes. She squeezes my hand before going back to her daughter's side.

I look back at Alex who's smiling at me. "What?" I ask him, raising an eyebrow in question.

"Nothing. Come on," he tells me, taking my hand in his as he leads me from the room.

I'm so shocked he's holding my hand that I don't think to ask where we're going. I debate pulling my hand away, but it feels nice. I pull a face at that thought. Since when have I gone from groaning when I see Alex to liking the feel of his hand in mine? I pull my hand away. Spending all this time with the pack is making me soft. I expect Alex to say something about the space now between us, but instead, he smiles his understanding. It's unnerving.

"Where are we going anyway?" I inquire, as I notice we are walking towards the woods.

He grins, and this worries me. No good can come from a smile like that.

"We're going for a run. It's time to shift."