Vladimir:
"Do you like it?" I asked, looking at the girl whose eyes were fixed on the bed.
She looked around the room, it was already cold, the AC was on, and the bedsheets freshly made. "Yes, whose room is it?"
"Yours," I said, and her eyes widened in surprise. "There are fresh towels for you to freshen up whenever you're ready. We had to borrow a few clothes from my sister, she believes that they would fit, and all of them are new. If you don't like them we can get you something else in the morning."
"I…"
"Are you okay?" I asked, and she nodded, silently letting me know that she was taken off guard with what I was saying.
"I don't know what to say, that is why I'm quiet." She said, and I nodded in understanding. "Thank you for this."
"You don't need to thank me, you're my guest. You can stay as long as you need to recover. Then the two of us can talk." I said, and she frowned in confusion. Her heart raced against her chest and she looked down at her feet.
"I'm sorry, I don't understand?" She asked, and I smiled in assurance.
"We can start with what you meant when you said that you didn't have a name, then whoever it was that was following you and the reason behind it. I know that you don't want to talk yet, but I am giving you the time to recover and process what happened. We can discuss matters when it comes to that later." I said, and she sucked in a harsh breath.
"What are you going to do about it?" She asked, and I smiled.
"We will be able to talk about that later." I said, and she looked away from me. "You can get some rest, when you've recovered…"
"I can leave if you want me to." She said, stopping me. "I don't have to stay if I am to be a burden or if I am to cause you any trouble."
"Whoever told you that?" I asked, and she shook her head.
"No one, but the bed, the bedroom, the clothes. I never had all of that at the pack, I don't want to push into something that is not mine. I can manage myself from here." She said, and I frowned. She looked away from me as her hands shook as if in fear, and I watched as she clenched then unclenched her fists. I studied her expression in silence, and I couldn't help but find myself noticing how weak she looked.
"Can I ask why you don't have a name?" I asked, and she gulped. "I know that those who don't are normally outcasts, but you are too young and seem so innocent to be an outcast. This wasn't something of your doing. I can tell."
"I was born, that was enough of a crime for them to seem what I am." She said, and I nodded. I sat on the chair that was in front of her dresser before turning it to face her bed. She looked at me, unsure of what to do, and I smiled in assurance. "Please, you can sit."
She went to sit on the floor but I shook my head before getting up. She backed away, and it was her fear that tore me apart. What happened to such an angelic face that she would fear the slightest of movements?
"You can sit on the bed. It is yours, I am not going to be on a chair while you sat on the floor." I said, extending both my hands to her, motioning to her to stay calm. "You can sit."
"I'll be on a higher level if I sit. You as the Alpha…"
"What difference would it make when you're standing?" I asked, stopping her. I smiled in assurance and couldn't help but notice how her eyes softened as the corner of her lips twitched up in a small smile.
She sat and looked at me, her tensed figure relaxed a bit and she waited to listen to what I was going to tell her. "I don't know what they told you, but being born is not a crime. You had no choice in the matter."
"I survived."
"As a basic instinct would dictate you to." I said, and she looked away from me. "Were you of an affair? Did your mother have someone in her life that she loved more than your father?"
"No." She said, making me frown in confusion. "She loves the Alpha. That is what everyone says. Me being born was not only something that she had to 'suffer', but she had to carry the weight of the world on her shoulders because of me. Because of me, she lost so much. I was not given a name as any bastard wouldn't. Had I been of an affair, she might have loved me."
"Whatever happened with her, whatever it is that you dealt with, it is not your fault. It can't be your fault." I said, my voice softening. I saw others like her in my life, how painful it was for them to believe that they were not wanted, that their families didn't want them simply because they were born. "I know, you might be able to say that. Either way, I was born an outcast, hence why I wasn't given a name."
"Do you want a name?" I asked, making her frown in confusion. "A name of your own?"
"Who wouldn't want that?" She asked, and I nodded, giving her a gentle smile.
"Audrey." I said, and she frowned in confusion. "It means both noble and strong."
"I am nowhere near being noble, Alpha. I am nothing but the runt of the pack, a pack who did not want me around." She said, looking away from me as she wrapped her hand around her injured arm. I extended my hand toward her, careful not to scare her, as I brushed my finger over her hand.
She looked at me for a second, but I was quick to remove her hand, allowing her to relax. Silently asking her to do so.
"The way you were born, unless you believe that it is something that YOU did as wrong, you are not. You were born and you survived, you acted on instinct of our nature as wolves." I said, and she looked away from me.
"I am no wolf. I don't have a wolf to begin with." She said, and I nodded in understanding, silently telling her that it was not the end of it. I didn't know the pain that she's had to endure her whole life. All I knew was one thing, if she believed the lies that they were going to feed her, then things were not going to change. Not unless I changed them. "It is only a matter of time before they take me back. They are going to look for me, at least the body, I doubt that they would be falling for a bunch of bones laid here or there?"
"Whoever told you that I planned on laying bones?" I asked, and she frowned in confusion. "You said that you were the daughter of the pack Luna? You are Ryan's sister?"
She looked down at her feet, avoiding my eyes, and I knew to take advantage of that point. I wasn't going to have Liana marry the bastard. The man was far too twisted for me to allow him to be close to my little light. I wasn't going to allow him to hurt her. I would rather kill him before he believed that he could look at my sister.
"I am the runt, Alpha…"
"Sister by blood." I said, stopping her. "Whether or not he likes it, the Alpha is going to be forced to submit to my terms. He wanted his terms to lay in front of me, this time it is going to be me laying the terms."
"I don't understand?" She asked, and I nodded, giving her a gentle smile.
"Don't worry, the two of us are going to talk about this when you've healed." I said, looking at her bed. "Get some rest, the maids and nurses should be coming in a bit. You'll need to listen to them if you are going to want to heal. The last thing that you want is to end up hurting yourself even more than you are."
I walked out of the room before she could say a word, knowing not to allow her a moment to process what I was saying or try asking questions. Arturo, who was standing by the door, raised an eyebrow at me and I nodded.
"I found ourselves a solution." I said, making the man frown.
"A solution?"
"I found the one way to make them submit." I said, and he raised an eyebrow.
"And that is how, genius Alpha?" He asked, teasing me, and I smirked.
"None other than marry their daughter." I said, making the man frown. "I'll explain later, for now, we are going to have to pay a certain Alpha a little visit…"