To Suffer With

Chapter Five - Rescue

A message from Conner was unexpected but it gave me back the one thing I had been missing, hope. Despite how much I appreciated it I wish that the message had been a little more specific. When was the resistance planning on initiating a rescue? I knew it would have to be before I was discharged from the hospital because after that Roman was planning on taking me back to the pack house. Yet that deadline was fast approaching, and I hadn't seen or heard anything that would hint at a rescue. Roman had been in and out over the past couple of days, he never left for long and when he did, he never failed to leave a pair of his wolves stationed outside the door. Apparently, it was for my own protection but we both knew it was to prevent me from running. I hadn't seen the nurse who had delivered the message since then and I knew better than to ask about her. Which just left me to sit, rest, wait and do my best to ignore Roman.

I shake my head running a towel through my tangled curls relieved that I had finally been deemed healthy enough to shower. The warm water rushing over me had washed clean more than just the superficial dirt. It was as if it had rejuvenated me for the task at hand. When I'm satisfied that my hair wasn't actively dripping, I throw the towel at the small hamper in the corner of the bathroom. I zip up the black hoodie pleased to no longer be walking around in a hospital gown. Even if these clothes had come from Roman and had a distinctive smoky scent that I had come to associate with him.

I step out of the bathroom back into my hospital prison and stop short at the sound of voices. The door to my room had been left ajar and I could just see the slight outline of Roman's back, but it wasn't his voice I could hear. The voice speaking was deep and gruff and instantly brought to mind the image of an older man with a full beard smoking a pipe in front of a fire. On reflection maybe I had been around Kaiser too long.

"Come now Roman," the voice says, the casual way in which says Roman's name narrows down the possibilities of who it could be, "as much as we like to pretend otherwise these human rebels are becoming a problem. They took Lostwood."

His words bring a smile to my lips.

"Lostwood," Roman interrupts, "wouldn't have happened if it was part of my pack's territory."

The other man laughs at his words, "Nor mine but its done now. Clearing out that group of them was a win but the Council's worried," the man pauses here as if he's unsure on how to continue.

The Council, I knew from Kaiser's tutelage that they must be referring to the High Council of Alphas. The twelve most powerful Alphas' sat on it and I also knew that Roman was one of them having taken his father's seat. I was beginning to suspect that the man he was talking to might be on it too.

"Because of her," Roman finishes the other man's sentence.

"Don't give me that look, it reminds me far too much of your father. We're all ecstatic you've found your mate but forgive us if we're a little concerned about her background," the man replies.

"Her background is no longer important," Roman retorts.

"The rest of the Council wants to know what you plan to do with her," the man says, and his words sound rather ominous for me.

"She's my mate," Roman scoffs in reply.

"Are you going to make her one of us?" he asks.

His words turn my blood cold. Make me one of them. The thought had never even occurred to me and it should have. The idea that I might lose my humanity terrified me.

"You're going to want to," the man continues when Roman doesn't reply, "it's the best way to keep her in line. As a wolf she'll feel the bond and be able to take on her responsibilities as your pack's Luna."