Shatter Pieces

Chapter Thirteen: Back Again

Mateo

I held them to light girl in my arms tightly against my chest. The fact that she weighed almost nothing worried me, there was no way it was healthy to be this thin. When was the last time they had fed her? When was the last time anyone had cared for this sad broken girl in front of me?

"How was she when you found her?" I mindlinked Nate knowing he was still running home and I wasn't interrupting his family time.

"She wasn't good Alpha, I don't know if you noticed but her leg has a bulge in it where I think it's broken. My best guess is she's pushed it out of place or that she broke it even more. She didn't seem to want us there, saw us as a threat. My best guess is she was trying to escape back to where she came from. I know it's not what you want to hear, but it's probably true and we need to figure out why the Luna wants to go back to the people that abused her."

I thanked him quickly as I set off back towards the hospital. I didn't know where else to take her especially when I had no idea if she had injured herself further. Not to mention, I still had to talk to dad about creating a proper diet for my mate. Hopefully, I could also get someone to come in and find out a little bit more about my mate and how she viewed the world. It was obviously very different than mine.

I stared down at my mate, she looked so peaceful when she slept, but I knew that it would never last. As soon as she woke up she would be terrified and confused, and somehow with all of that going on, I had to help her understand that she couldn't run away. So far she hadn't seemed to recognize the mate bond and I wasn't entirely sure why that was. Dad had said it was possible that her wolf had been suppressed and she just didn't have the strength to come out and tell my mate about what I was to her. The most worrying part of all of this was that it is possible that her wolf had been killed and would no longer be able to help my mate in any way or teach her about what she was.

She shifted in my arms curling closer to me, whether it was because of the possible warmth I was providing her or the fact that I was her mate I had no clue. All I knew was that I was going to protect her with everything I had, there was no way that I was just going to sit here and watch her suffer as she tried to adjust. I knew it was going to take time and patience to get her to where she needed to be but I was willing to work with her. The real question was whether or not she was going to be willing to work with me or if she would ignore what we tried to teach her and kept attempting to escape.

That was something else that bothered me. Why had she tried to escape? She was obviously hurt and in pain so why would she have pushed her tired broken body like that. It would have been excruciating and tiring to do what she had done and yet here we were, over six miles from the pack house and she had made it at least twelve from the hospital. Where had she been trying to go, did she even know where she was going? I would have to find out when she woke up so that we could prevent this from happening again because frankly, it wasn't something I wanted to do again.

Walking through the tall aspen and oak trees I was able to relax a little. The forest had always been my home away from home, as it was for most wolves. This forest though, it was where I grew up, where my father taught me to hunt and track, where I experienced my first shift. I had fought in this forest, earning my position as Alpha, learning how to lead and provide for those around me. I wasn't one to shirk my duties off onto those around me and had worked hard to prove that I would be a good leader for the pack.

I would have to delegate more now that I had found my mate though, she was going to need my full attention for a while. The pack would understand, they were all anxious to meet their Luna, though I had warned them it was going to be a while. My little mate didn't seem ready to be around people and I wasn't going to put her in a position that might harm her mentally. But I also knew that there was going to be a point where she would have to learn how to be a luna, to work inside the pack and lead them. I didn't know if she was going to be up to something like that, but the position was hers if she wanted it.

The woods were silent with the exception of my footsteps which didn't cause much sound anyways. Pine sap and earth filled the air and I hoped my mate found it as relaxing and reassuring as I did. I hoped that I would be able to take her out here often, teach her about the hidden places that only I knew of inside these woods. This was where our story would begin, in these woods I hoped our life together would begin.

Miles passed as I made my way back to the main pack area. I had already mind linked the other trackers and warriors and they should all be on their way home now. I didn't think I would run into any, but if I did I'd have to insist they met their Luna another day. It was obvious that today had been traumatizing to her and I had to reassure her that we were only here to help her not to harm her in any way shape or form.

Finally, the hospital came into view and I could see my mother and father standing outside the entrance with a gurney between them. Most people wouldn't expect the Alpha to be a doctor, but it was always something my father had been passionate about. He had been the second son, not meant to be the Alpha and that didn't bother him as he had always wanted to work in the medical field. He was amazingly smart, graduating from high school at sixteen and finishing his medical schooling by the age of twenty-four.

By then his brother had been the Alpha for six years, but during a large rouge attack, my father's brother was killed. The title was passed onto my father and he took on the responsibility of taking care of his brother's mate. My father had been mated to my mother two years earlier and I was due any day when it all happened. My Aunt ended up finding her second chance mate inside the pack so Dad no longer had to worry about her but the Alpha duties still belonged to him.

He had put away his medical work for a few years while he established how he was going to run the pack. Then he began to set aside a few hours every day to do what he loved and work in the pack hospital. He never put aside his Alpha duties but he also didn't give up what he loved and refused to let it set him back. The pack supported him as well as my grandparents in his decision, allowing him to do what he needed to really feel accomplished.

My mother had always been a natural leader and being Luna had come easily to her. She had worked hard to make sure the pack had everything it needed and that each member felt they mattered and were important to us. It was something she had always been skilled at, but now it was her job and one she enjoyed thoroughly. I had always been impressed with my mother's ability to see those around her and know exactly what they needed. Hopefully, that skill would be able to help my mate as well.

When they noticed me walk out of the woods edge they rushed over to me pulling the gurney behind them. My mother looked slightly frantic while my father was putting his medical training to use in order to stay calm. They stopped a few feet ahead of me allowing me to cool off in case my wolf was the one in charge at the moment.

"It's okay, I've got control for the moment being. Bring that gurney a little closer, we need to get her inside as quickly as possible." They rushed over to me once again and hurried my mate inside. As I made my way to follow my mate my mother grabbed my arm.

"We need to talk....let's go."