Exactly.Darien tilts his head.She must have been attacked.
We’ll need to wait for her to wake up to know for certain.
I shouldn’t be relieved about this distraction because it means someone else was hurt, but I am disturbingly happy about it, just because it gives me a little escape from reality.Man, I suck.
Or you are simply meddlesome and like to help others,Darien points out.It doesn’t always need to be something bad.He sounds annoyed again, and I am not so sure why. I do know he has been pretty fed up with me for a while. Last night was the first time in ages we were on the same page.
I contemplate asking him about it, but I can’t find the right words. It’s like there is a hand around my throat preventing me from speaking. I can’t even talk to my own wolf; how pathetic can one person be?
“Water…”
I scramble to my feet when I hear a voice.
“I need…”
It’s the woman!
“I am sorry,” I blurt out. “Just give me a second!”
I hurry to the kitchen to grab a glass of water. My brain is particularly slow today. Maybe because of the realization my family has hated me my whole life, and despises me so much that they even killed my mate, or because of my body being drained of all the energy due to being awake for 48 hours.
Probably both.
How can I mourn someone I didn’t even know? I don’t know the answer to that. I just know I am mourning my mate, even if I never truly met her.
“Here.” I return and help the woman sit up slightly, holding the glass to her lips. After a few sips, she sinks down onto the sofa again, leaving me even more anxious than before. Does that mean she is awake now? No, it seems like she is falling back to sleep. Is that good? Should I do something?
While I am still pondering what’s going on, she wakes up again with a gasp, her eyes wide open, and she frantically gasps for air. It looks like her mind is finally catching up on being awake. It must come as a shock!
“Hey, there!” I soothe. “Try to calm down. You are safe.”
I make sure to keep the blanket wrapped around her naked body while I help her to a sitting position again. My own instincts kick in again as I try to help her calm down and get her to understand she is safe.
Much sooner than I expected her to, she calms down. “So, I survived,” she says suddenly.
Goddess, how did she recover her senses that quick? I thought I’d need to coach her through more than one panic attack and then explain everything to her in detail, because obviously, whatever happened had to be a traumatizing event for her.
But the woman just keeps gazing around for a moment, as her breathing settles back to normal. Then her head whips to the side, her eyes pinned on me. In slow motion, I can see her expression, the look in her eyes and even her stance changes completely. It’s like a door is being closed. “You are an alpha,” she says, her voice calm and void of any emotion.
“Well,” I mutter. “I… I…” Fuck my awkwardness. I can’t even get one straight sentence out. “Yeah. Or at least I will be eventually. Or maybe not anymore, I don’t know.”
She keeps staring at me, her eyebrows furrowed. “Forest Young.”
I gape at her. How the fuck does she know my name?! “I am sorry. I don’t recognize you, I probably should, so I apologize deeply.”
Again, her eyes scan me, almost boring themselves into me. “You don’t know me,” she says shortly. “We have never met.”
“But you know me.”
“I’ve studied all alphas and future alphas of this area.”
I am amazed. She must have a crazy memory and a fantastic education if she knows us all. “Normal wolves don’t know that much,” I say. Now it’s my turn to look at her. Darien is right, there is a certain aura around her. Her wolf must be strong, and while she looks skinny and pale, she doesn’t really look frail. “Are you a luna?”
She tilts her head, raising her brows. “Color me impressed.”
She doesn’t explain any further, but knowing now that she isn’t just of high rank but one of the highest, the state I found her in is even more shocking. “By the goddess, what happened?” I exclaim. “How come… You must have been attacked… but why… how? Fuck, I am sorry. Instead of rambling, I should probably get you to a hospital or back to your pack.”
“No, you shouldn’t,” she says calmly. “My wolf has healed me plenty, and I don’t need a hospital.”
