Kameron's POV ...
She looked so small and frail, and I could only imagine her human form-I could probably snap her in half with one hand. When they told me they found a wolf crossing our borders, she hadn't been what I was expecting.
There was something about her that called to me. Even though she was covered in dirt and looked sickly, she was still eye-catching, even in wolf form. Her gray-blue fur looked so soft that I wanted to touch it, though I didn't. Even her eyes were like nothing I had ever seen before. They were this sapphire color that pierced right through me. She intrigued me.
She was conscious now, and there was no need for my presence anymore. I had no reason to stay, as I had other things to attend to-but for some reason, I felt like I wanted to stay. I forced myself to turn away from her and exit out of the healing center.
"So, you found her on the southeast border?" I asked Thomas. He was the one who alerted me of the breach as soon as it happened.
"Yes, alpha," Thomas responded. "She crossed into our lands about half a mile before we came across her. The wolves that were chasing her got close, but they scattered once they picked up on our scent."
I was about to ask if they had any leads on who those other wolves were when I saw Rex, my head healer and best friend, walk in. I waved him over.
"What's the status of the girl we found by the border?"
He peered down at his chart. "She was severely dehydrated and malnourished when she came in. So, we pushed some nutrients and fluids to give her body a fighting chance. We did some blood work, and everything came back clean. So, other than lack of nutrition and fluid, she seems to be fine. Her body was covered in scars, but none appeared to have happened recently. For the most part, she is healthy."
I nodded. That was good. I didn't know much about the she-wolf, but, from what I could piece together, she certainly had not had an easy life.
I needed answers, and I needed them soon. No matter how intriguing she was, the fact of the matter was that she was running from something.
She could be a criminal on the run from another pack. I couldn't allow my pack to be found out for harboring a fugitive.
But the girl didn't seem like the type. It was crazy to think but I just didn't get that vibe from her. She wasn't a criminal. She seemed more to me like a wolf that had been mistreated. Most likely by her previous pack or alpha.
Whatever her reasons for being on the run were, I needed her to wake up so she could tell me herself.
"Tell me when she wakes up, and not a second later," I said. I patted Rex on the back and stepped out of the healing center.
The further I got from the healing center, the more I felt a tug within me telling me to stay. I wasn't sure what exactly it was, but I had this gnawing feeling that I couldn't go far. Maybe it was the alpha in me trying to make sure that this new guest was really not a threat. But it felt more than that. It was a pull I couldn't describe or understand.
I continued on my way away from the center, but, with each step I took away from the building, my heart rate picked up.
I needed to know who she was.
***
Callie POV ....
Beep beep beep.
That annoying sound pierced through the darkness of my dreamless sleep. I turned away, hoping to rid myself of the noise, but it just kept going. Why wasn't it stopping?
And why was there beeping in the forest?
Then, like a tidal wave, the memories came crashing into me. The wolves I was running from and then darkness.
My eyes snapped open. I was still in the healing center. Which meant I was still under their watch.
I should have felt terrified at that fact, but a part of me knew they wouldn't hurt me. If they wanted me dead, they would have done it in the forest. I was safe here-at least for now. As long as they didn't find out about my past, I was okay. I needed to keep my guard up. If they found out where I was from, they would send me back and I couldn't go back; never again. Death was a much better fate than my old pack.
I turned my head towards the beeping sound and found a heart rate monitor. My arm twitched and a sharp pain sparked throughout it. I looked at my arm and saw an IV sticking out of it. I did a double-take when it registered to me that I had an arm.
What in the world? I was human? But how?
Shifting for me was never an easy experience, unlike other wolves. Since I usually had to be ready to run or fight, I rarely shifted to my human form. So how had I managed to do it without being aware?
It was such a rarity to be in my human form, and it felt a bit strange. My body, which was usually covered in fur, felt more susceptible to the cold in the hospital room. The flimsy hospital blanket and the blue hospital gown I wore did nothing to keep the chill away. It was a little unnerving that someone saw me naked and had to have changed me, but I was also grateful. Nudity was normal for my kind, but not for me. I was not used to be being around other wolves.
A man with a healer's coat walked through the doorway holding a clipboard. He walked straight towards my bed with a soft smile on his lips. He seemed young but older than me. He had soft features for a man, which gave his face a certain aura of kindness. His brown hair was cut short, and his brown eyes were assessing me as he drew closer.
He didn't seem to be scared of me, and yet there was still a certain wariness to his gaze. The heart rate monitor picked up as he drew closer to the bed. He may not have seemed like a threat, but he was still a wolf.
His face split into a gentle smile as he stopped by the side of the bed. "Hello. Good to see you back with the land of the living"
I just stared at him, unsure of how to react. He cleared his throat quietly, seeing that I was not one for communicating. "I'm Rex, the pack healer. I've been treating you since your arrival. You were severely malnourished and dehydrated. We pushed a few IVs in you and also gave you some necessary vitamins to bring back some of the nutrients to your body. Understand?"
This time, I nodded. He seemed nice enough, and he helped me. It was not like he was asking intrusive questions.
His smile grew wider at my small attempt of communicating.
"Can you tell me your name? It would be nice to call you something other than patient 33."
I opened my mouth, and then I closed it again. I cleared my throat and tried again.
"I ... I..."
My throat felt like sandpaper. I hadn't used my vocal cords in I don't know how long.
The muscle felt strained and painful.
Rex reached for the jug of water on the small table beside me. He poured me a glass and placed a straw in the cup. He brought the straw towards my mouth and encouraged me to take a sip. I took the straw into my mouth and sucked up the cool water.
I felt my muscles come to life as the water passed through my throat. It had been a long time since I last tasted clean drinking water. I always had to make do with river water, which was often muddy and sometimes contaminated with pollution.
After a few more sips, I released the straw from my lips and leaned back into the pillow. I hadn't been in a bed in what felt like years. I looked up at Rex, who was watching me through curious eyes.
"Thank you." My voice sounded so strange in my ears. I hadn't heard it in such a long time.
"You're welcome," he said with a smile. "The alpha is on his way to see you."
"The alpha?" my voice came out a little louder.
He must have seen the concern written on my face. "You have nothing to worry about. Alpha Kameron is very fair. To some, he may be slightly intimidating, but what alpha isn't? Just answer all his questions and be honest with him. I'm sure you didn't mean to intrude on our lands."
I shook my head. "No, I didn't. I was merely
passing through."
He nodded "Just tell him that, and he will understand."
"Okay, I will."
A sudden surge of excitement flowed through my body as I thought of him being close to me again.
It was a strange feeling I wasn't used to. I hadn't officially met the man, and yet I was as giddy as a teenager about him coming to see me. This place was making me feel strange things and I didn't know if I liked it.
Rex looked like he wanted to say something else, but he was cut off when the door to the center opened and everything shifted.
Alpha Kameron carried himself exactly as you expected alpha to. He easily towered over everyone in that room. His bright green eyes locked with my sapphire ones from across the space.
There it was-that pull again. I thought it was simply a side effect of my dehydration, but what I felt the first time I saw him was real. And, from the look on his face, he felt something too-but I don't think the feeling was the same as mine.
Alpha Kameron's expression looked startled like he had seen something horrendous.
To be fair, I had just turned back into my human form and was probably in need of a bath. My hair probably looked like a mess, and my face, well, that was most probably a mess as well. Suddenly, I felt self-conscious. I didn't want him to see me this way. I wanted to present my best self to him.
As he drew closer, my heart rate began to pick up, but it wasn't out of fear. I felt no fear at all as he drew closer to me. In fact, I felt excited. I felt like something inside of me was awakening. Then like a lightbulb went off in my head, and it all clicked.
The mate pull.
That was the only explanation for everything I was feeling. But how? None of it made sense.
Besides, if it was the pull, then both of us would have to feel something. And the way Alpha Kameron was looking at me, definitely didn't match what I was feeling.
Alpha Kameron came to a stop by the side of my bed.
"You're awake," he said, staring down at me with those mesmerizing green eyes. "What is your name and what pack do you belong to?"
His voice was filled with authority and I found myself wanting to answer him. I opened my mouth to speak, but then I quickly closed it.
What had I just been about to do? I panicked.
Alpha Kameron raised an eyebrow, waiting for his answer. He asked two simple questions, but my answers were not simple.
I spent years running and hiding from a man whom I never wanted to see again. I evaded him for this long, but if I revealed who I was, then there was a likelihood he would find me again and I couldn't risk that.
I couldn't fall back into the hands of the man who killed my parents.