The God and the Shifter

Chapter 36

When I started to rouse from my unconscious state I was fully expecting to wake up in my cell back at the Hydra facility with the soldier by my side. But I didnt.

I woke up and found myself in the medical wing back at the Avengers tower. I was home.

I sat up in one of the hospital beds and realised I was in human form. My hands went instantly to my neck, afraid that pain was going to follow because I wasn't in my wolf form, but the collar wasn't there and I let out a sigh of relief. What was there, however, were lumps that felt scabbed over.

I hadn't noticed the two people in the room with me to start with, but as I looked around to find a mirror to look at my neck I saw that Loki was asleep in a chair to my right and the soldier, also asleep in a chair, to my left.

"Loki?" I tried to ask but my voice was mearly a quiet croak and it hurt but it was enough to wake the two sleeping men.

"Lady Liz!" Loki gasped awake and moved instantly to my side in a blur.

"Little volk, you're awake!" The solider said and came to my side also.

"Are you really here?" I whispered to Loki and I touched his face. I was so scared I was in a dream. A dream that I had frequently where I was back home with my family.

"Yes my love, im here" he cooed as tears started welling im my eyes, coming to the realisation that it wasn't a dream. I had been saved.

I turned to the soldier and touched his face too, to reassure myself further that it wasnt a dream. He smiled at me and put his hand over mine. "Your friends saved us, little volk"

I seemed to crumble into the soldier and cried my heart out. I knew my Loki was sat on my other side but the soldier had been my only solace in so many months and I felt safe with him.

"Thank you, soldier" I whispered in a croak to him between sobs.

"For what, volka?" He asked, stroking my hair comforting me like he had done for so long in my wolf form.

"You were the only person to be nice to me for so long" I replied still sobbing. "By the way, whats your name?"

The soldier laughed at my question and I sat up to look at him.

"My names is James Barnes, but you can call me Bucky" he smiled.

I smiled back at him and held out my hand "Nice to properly meet you, Bucky, Im Liz" and he chuckled and shook my extended hand.

Loki had been quiet while Bucky and I had been talking and when I turned back to him he looked sad and hurt. I guess he expected me to hug him as soon as I woke up, but he would understand.

"Loki, thank you. Thank you for saving us" I whispered, my vocal cords scratching at every sound I made. I leant over to him and hugged him hard. He hugged me back but shot backwards almost instantly.

I looked at him in shock. "Whats wrong?" I asked

"Little shifter, you're so thin" the sound of both heartbreak and anger in his voice. "Lift up your top"

I raised an eyebrow at him. This wasn't the time or place to be stripping down.

He rolled his eyes at me, realising what must have been going through my head. "Not all the way, just up to the bottom of your chest" he said dryly.

I did as he said and the look of horror and anger on his face made me wince back from him. I knew it was stupid to wince away from him, he wouldn't hurt me, but it was going to take a while to break four months of habit.

I looked down at myself and nearly threw up and shoved my top back down. I looked worse than when I last looked at myself all those weeks ago in human form. I was all but skin and bones.

"What did they do to you?!" Loki roared and I moved closer to Bucky, backing away from the anger, my eyes wide with terror.

Bucky put his arm around me and Lokis face dropped when he realised I moved away because of his anger.

"I'll tell you everything I know later" Bucky said to Loki. "But the little volk should really get something to eat.

Loki nodded and left the room in search of something to eat for me.

"They're not going to hurt you, volk. You don't need to be afraid. Theyre your friends" Bucky said after Loki had left the room.

"I know, its just habbit" I sighed in.a whisper. "Hey, Bucky, what does volk mean?"

He smiled and said "It means 'wolf' in Russian" and I smiled too. "Im going to go and let your friends know that you're okay. You should get some more rest" and he left me to go and find the team.