Silenced: Luna in the Making

Chapter 4

Xander stared down at his tiny mate. Someone had cleaned her and wrapped her wounds. However, he could still see black and blue bruises wherever she wasn't bandaged. Cables ran from his mate's arm to machines by her bed. The girl was so small, especially for a werewolf. He hoped that she was young enough that she would be able to grow some more once she was given proper nutrition. She had been whimpering when he came in, but she seemed to settle a bit with his presence though she still seemed uncomfortable. The doctor had not lied, she was a mess.

Just thinking about the doctor seemed to have summoned him. Xander watched the older wolf approach the machines connected to his mate, and start making adjustments.

"Is there anything else we can do for her?" Xander asked the doctor.

"Yes, but you won't like it," Doc Peters replied.

Xander tenderly brushed the girl's blond hair out of her face. "I would do anything for her," he whispered.

"I know, but what is the best thing for her? Don't you think it might be kinder to let her pass away peacefully?" Doc Peters asked.

Xander looked intensely at the doctor before responding, "I need her Doc."

Doc Peters let out a deep sigh before stating, "Mates can make each other stronger. Well I should say true mates after mating strengthen..."

"You want me to MATE her in while she is in this condition!?!" Xander yelled in outrage.

"Absolutely not! That would be rape," Doc Peters adamantly replied. "And if she didn't die from her injuries, the mating would most certainly kill her!"

"So what are you suggesting?" Xander seethed at the older wolf as his brother and beta quietly slipped into the room. No doubt they had become concerned when the yelling had started.

"Do I need to go get the tranq gun again?" Zack asked his alpha.

Xander about to lose the last of his patience responded, "No, but you will be out of a job and a pack if you threaten me once more."

Zack visibly gulped and wisely chose to remain silent.

"What I was saying before you all interrupted me," Doc Peters continued while glaring at the three other males in the room. "Your blood would strengthen her. If she had the blood of an alpha especially an alpha who happens to be her mate running through her veins, I think she would start healing herself."

"So take it. Take it now. Make. Her. Better." Xander demanded.

"It's not that easy," the doctor replied warily. "Since the two of you are fated mates, the mixing of your blood would act as a mating claim."

Xander hesitated and looked down at the girl who was already so precious to him. Though unconscious, every now and then a whimper or groan was heard from her. "Will she survive if she is not given my blood?"

"No, she will not," Doc Peters responded with a gentle but firm assurance. "Her vitals have only continued to deteriorate since she was brought in. Right now, she is dying."

"Can the claim later be reversed if it is not what she wants?" Xander asked.

"You know that is not possible. If a mating claim is made, the two of you will never be able to mate with anyone else," the doctor calmly replied.

"So you are telling me, my two choices are to watch or die or to force her without her consent into a lifetime attachment with me?" Xander growled out.

"I told you, you wouldn't like it," the doctor responded. "But Xander you need to make a decision soon. If she continues to deteriorate, mating claim or not, she will be past the point of saving."

After giving the alpha the ultimatum, Doc Peter quietly left the room with a statement to find him if he was needed. Surprisingly he was shortly followed out by Zack.

Brexton had silently listened to the doctor's advice, and then silently watched his brother grapple with what he had been told. As annoying as it could be to have one's brother in charge of you, Brexton loved his brother fiercely. He wished that it was his mate lying there, not Xander's. Finally after some time, Brexton broke the silence, "I know I was mad at you earlier, but Xander you are not dad!"

"If I forced a mating I would be." Xander replied.

Brexton looked at his brother in shock, "No you would not be! Dad forced a mating after our mother turned him down. She wanted a chance to find her own fated mate, but he raped and mated her for his own gain. You would only be forcing a claim, and only because she needs it to survive."

"Who knows if she wants to survive?" Xander said. "Look at her. She looks like she has been through hell. If I claim her, I am taking away her choice. And I would only be doing it so that I don't lose her. That is the kind of selfishness our father had. I promised myself that I would never turn into the beast he was."

"You. Are. Not. Him." Brexton uttered. "He was selfish and cruel his entire life. He felt like the world owed him since his fated died. He took what he wanted because he wanted it. You have always protected us. You have always put the pack first. You do not have a selfish bone in your body. Save her, it is what you do."

Lilliana, the pack's fiercest female fighter and the shewolf Xander's father had tried to force him to mate, walked in to hear the last of Brexton's rant. "It's true, you do save us," Lilliana said. "Zack got me. He said you were too stubborn and dumb to do the right thing."

"You think I should let her die?" Xander asked her while ignoring the insult.

Lilliana scoffed at the question. "Of course not! Xander that is your fated mate lying there and you can save her. I know you, and I know how you think. If you do not do everything in your power to save her, you will regret it. The regret will eat you alive. The alpha that we need will morph into something that will look a lot like your father. I mean that is if you are able to survive her death. So do us all a favor, quit sniveling about this, and just claim her."

"What if she ends up hating me?" Xander asked in anguish.

"Cross that bridge when it happens," Lilliana suggested. "But do the one thing your father never did. Love her. Treat her well, and just love her."

After a moment of contemplation Xander decided, "Fine. Get the Doc, I will do it."