Why Me, Alpha?

Chapter 13

“Okay,” she replied, sounding excited, and he wondered what for.

“What’re you so excited for?” He asked, not being able to help himself.

“Oh, nothing,” she mumbled. “Anyways, shouldn’t you be asleep?”

“No, I wanted to wait up for you,” he replied, though he was genuinely tired.

“You don’t need to. You’re tired, I can tell.” She said, concerned. There was some noise from her end and she said, “I have to go, Marcus. I’ll be there in, maybe, two hours. Please, get some sleep, okay?”

“I’ll try,” he said, and he really was going to try since she’d asked it of him.

“Thank you,” she paused for a moment before continuing. “I love you and I’ll see you later.”

“I love you, too,” Marcus replied, smiling.

The line went dead and he rested his head against the couch, closing his eyes.

Lia put the phone back into her pocket. She was a few steps away from the restaurant and cars. They had vetoed the idea of stopping to eat, because it would take too long and Krysten could barely move—not to mention the fact that they didn’t want to attract attention brining in a girl who was covered in scars and bruises.

She headed back to the car, where she had left Krysten, who was sleeping, with pillows surrounding her, a blanket covering her legs and another to cover her upper body.

The day after tomorrow, she’d go through her first shift, and Lia had asked Alex what it had entailed, which was essentially the same for werewolves. Which meant unbearable heat, glass-like bones, and an excruciating pain that would go on for hours. It was often a cause for celebration in a pack, another member going into adulthood, but Lia was slightly glad that she never had to go through it.

“Do we wake her up to eat?” Nolan asked, jerking his head to Krysten as he came up to the car. The wolves from the other car, now joined by Ian, nodded at her before entering the red SUV.

“Yeah, she hasn’t eaten dinner, maybe even lunch, so she should eat.” Lia replied. “She’s way too thin for comfort.”

“Alright,” he replied as he handed a bag of food. “She should eat little by little though, so her stomach won’t get upset.”

“Yeah,” Lia whispered as she got into the car, with Jace following beside her. Krysten sat by the door, so she’d have something to lean on to sleep. “Nolan, could you get Lorraine to look at her first thing in the morning, please?”

“Will do, Luna,” Nolan nodded with a smile.

“Krysten,” Lia called out to the sleeping girl, afraid to touch her because of all the bruises on her.

She only had to say it once before Krysten bolted upright, the blanket falling off her shoulders, her eyes wide and fear in her eyes. She winced when the pain registered, but didn’t alter her stance

Everyone froze, aware that any movement would cause the girl to panic.

It took a moment for the girl to relax and she sighed, mumbling, “sorry.” She fidgeted with the makeshift sling on her arm, looking embarrassed.

“It’s alright,” Lia smiled as she took out a burger from the plastic bag. “You should eat, have you eaten anything today?”

Krysten shook her head.

“Then eat with small bites, slowly, so you don’t upset your stomach.” Lia said, repeating Nolan’s instructions. She handed Krysten the burger, which the girl took with her very frail looking and bruised hand, which was covered in bandages, too.